Episode 580
Scent of Rebellion (2)
“It seems like only yesterday when I first saw you, but so much time has already passed.”
“….”
“You looked really dangerous back then. You talked a lot about lions and tigers, but when I saw you, you were closer to a devil than an animal. “I have never said anything like that to you.”
“….”
“But now, where has that dangerous devil’s personality gone, he is truly showing himself like the king of the mountains. The look in your eyes is different from then. The sense of intimidation has increased, but righteousness and justice are reflected in those clear and deep eyes. “He has become a man who truly deserves the nickname ‘Head of Byeoksan.’”
Hwa Jin-cheon smiled.
“This is truly a good thing. “I don’t know if it’s because you trained well on your own or because your father encouraged you, but now I feel like I can trust you deeply.”
It was a strange thing to say.
The Yongdu Ark is like a symbol of unity. And in order to put that agreement into practice, a lot of information is covered up.
We value logic over intuition and reason over emotion. After thoroughly considering all the ins and outs, if you are confident that it is truly within the guidelines of righteousness, you will move.
So you get a lot of criticism, so you need to have a strong personality.
In this way, the position of the dragon-headed ark of openness has been established as a solid symbol of consensus for generations to this day.
Such people speak with their eyes and discuss their intuition. If Yeonhojeong was not Yeonhojeong at that time, Hwajincheon was also not Hwajincheon at that time.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was looking at Hwajincheon quietly, spoke in a calm voice.
“You have become very gaunt.”
“hmm?”
“I know that you have passed on some internal skills to Hu-gae. “But I didn’t know you had become so gaunt.”
Hwa Jin-cheon burst into laughter.
“Hey man. Do you know how old I am? Aging is a problem that has nothing to do with the presence or absence of internal energy. “There is no place I haven’t been to throughout my life, so I can’t help but move further and further away from this world, little by little, as I enter the twilight of my life as a beggar.”
It’s strange.
Yeon Ho-jeong felt a strange sage in Hwa Jin-cheon’s voice.
It wasn’t as lively as before. My back was bent and I lost weight and became thin. The rags and gray-white hair that stretched out like a mane were the same, but the overall person was dwarfed.
However, Yeon Ho-jeong saw beyond Hwajincheon’s appearance.
Although his physique may have become smaller, the presence he exuded was much greater than before.
It wasn’t a matter of martial arts or internal skills. The mood of the person named Hwa Jin-cheon has changed. The changed atmosphere makes the small old man look like a giant.
Like a person who has realized the Tao. Overlapping the appearance of a small and shabby beggar is the appearance of Seunghyeonjin, a member of the shamanist Jang Munjin.
“I invited you, but we are both busy, so let’s have tea later.”
“great.”
“Let’s sit down first.”
Yeon Ho-jeong sat on the chair in front of the table.
Hwa Jin-cheon asked, sitting across from him.
“Is that the famous Black and White Twin Dragon Club?”
“Do you know my weapon?”
“Who do you think I am? It’s the Yongdu Ark that says there’s nothing in the world that doesn’t know about it. “It’s hard to not know if it’s the German weapon of the world’s greatest Kirinah, who caused a stir throughout the world.”
This is truly a grandiose expression.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
“It seems that the person who knew so little did not know that this uproar was going on in Sacheon.”
“Hehe, that’s right.”
His smile, which seemed to make the viewer feel good, suddenly turned into a smile.
“I didn’t know the issues I really needed to know, but I was only chasing what others were curious about, so I ended up doing it too.”
“….”
“It’s definitely my fault. I have handed over most of the Ark’s duties to my disciple. “I couldn’t feel so relieved after handing over my previous work to a trustworthy disciple.”
“….”
“It’s deplorable. Still, it shouldn’t have been like that if you held the title of Dragon Head Ark of Openness. “I should have looked at the world more carefully and immersed myself more deeply.”
Hwa Jin-cheon sighed.
“I was talking about the principles of the world and the future with that damn Taoist, but I actually missed my job. “I have no excuse for that part.”
I admit it calmly and honestly.
Even if you are a dragon-headed ark of openness, you can blame yourself for not noticing this in advance, but it will not be easy to admit your fault to others.
In that respect, Hwa Jin-cheon was definitely an accomplished person. It probably means that he is well aware of his duties as a person with power, as mentioned by Yeon Ho-jeong.
“When I get old, I have to die. I have to correct my past mistakes before I die. “It won’t be too late to bring up my mistakes after this work is over.”
“I agree. And…”
Yeon Ho-jeong had a bitter expression on his face.
“I am not in a situation where I can reprimand Lord Yongdu Ark.”
Hwa Jin-cheon smiled.
“You’ve really changed a lot.”
“….”
Well, have I changed that much?
Yeon Ho-jeong didn’t think much about it. If it had changed, it would have changed. That wasn’t what was important now.
Hwa Jin-cheon, who was looking at Yeon Ho-jeong, clapped his hands.
“You two guys, let’s not be left hanging around in a pitiful situation. “Isn’t the important thing now to discuss the future?”
Yeon Ho-jeong glanced around.
“You seem to be weak in arithmetic. “It’s not two, it’s forty-two.”
I’m talking about the masters hiding all over the bases.
Surprisingly, the martial arts skills of the hidden masters were so great that even Yeonhojeong could faintly sense their presence. Even if he had expertly learned the highest level of concealment, being able to deceive Yeon Ho-jeong’s spirit like this was not usually a great thing.
Hwa Jin-cheon chuckled.
“I haven’t yet developed the magnanimity to pretend not to know even if I know.”
“Ark and I don’t have a relationship based on trust yet, right?”
“It’s not a relationship built on trust… Yes, that’s true.”
“I didn’t know that the people who guard the owner of the Hundred Thousand Squares would be so amazing. Even the mighty of Holy Heaven wouldn’t dare approach.”
“Is that possible? If the strong of the Holy Heaven make up their minds and attack, no group of experts can stop them. “Well, it will at least buy some time.”
“The fact that it saves time is a huge thing.”
“I won’t deny it.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was quietly looking at Hwajin-cheon, tilted his head.
“I really don’t know.”
“hmm?”
“Usually, when you have a conversation like this, you can find out at least part of the person’s inner thoughts. “But I can’t figure out the true intentions of Yongdu Ark.”
In reality, it was unlikely, but even if just in the unlikely event that Hwa Jin-cheon had joined hands with the executives of Nakwonso, it would not have been a big problem.
Yeon Ho-jeong did not ignore the near-zero possibility. This was because the opponent was such a big player, and above all, he was the top leader of the Central Intelligence Agency.
If such a big name was with Nakwonso, it is understandable that the organization would have grown in size that much while hiding from the eyes of the world for a dozen years.
To be precise, the easiest way to interpret the situation is to believe that Yongdu Ark was involved.
‘and.’
If Yongdu Ark really joined hands with them, things would become very complicated and extremely easy at the same time. I just have to kill him right here.
So I dragged out the conversation and tried to take a closer look at Hwajincheon. I carefully looked at everything, including the pitch of my voice, my eyes, my facial expressions, and my hand gestures.
But there was nothing I could notice. I could sense the sincerity of what he said by looking at his voice and eyes, but even that wasn’t certain.
“Do you doubt me?”
As expected, Hwa Jin-cheon’s insight was amazing.
Yeon Ho-jeong did not deny his words.
“That’s right.”
“Okay, I understand. “If you ask me to find a way for them to increase the size of their organization in Sacheon for a long time, there is no easier explanation than the fact that Yongdu Ark was watching over them.”
“You know very well.”
“Then how did you come alone? “If by any chance I had really joined hands with the ruined servants of Paradise, I could have killed you right here.”
“I don’t know if you know, but my skills are quite good.”
“As someone who is on the verge of reaching sainthood, I completely understand your confidence. However, as you said, I have guards to protect me. “You won’t be able to handle it on your own.”
Yeon Ho-jeong touched his chest with his hand.
“Have you forgotten that I was with the master of the Tang clan?”
“….”
“The moment the battle breaks out, most of the experts here will lose their minds. “Just in case, I have already taken the antidote.”
Hwa Jin-cheon smiled.
“You didn’t come without any preparation?”
“I’ve often heard that he has good drive, but I’ve never heard him say that he’s stupid.”
“Hehehe!”
Hwa Jin-cheon burst into laughter without realizing it.
“What a nasty young man he is. “I thought I had grown up to be a majestic king of the mountains, but I found out that my fangs and claws were covered in poison.”
“If I want to keep my position as king, I have to win, even if it means ugly.”
Hwa Jin-cheon, who was looking at Yeon Ho-jeong with a smile, shook his head.
“Don’t worry. “I may have made a mistake that touched my heart, but I wasn’t crazy enough to join hands with those idiots.”
“All right.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Is that possible? But don’t be too disappointed. “I think it is a possibility that is infinitely close to nothing.”
“My bones hurt. There’s nothing I can do about it. “It’s my fault for being lazy.”
Hwa Jin-cheon took out several documents from his arms.
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“What is this?”
“It’s a list.”
“What if it’s a list…?”
“This is a list of elders from the main office who are close friends with the high-ranking officials of Sichuan Province’s Provincial Commanding Officer, Jehyeonganchal Master, and Seungseonpojeong Master.”
“…?!”
Hwa Jin-cheon nodded.
“It was only three months ago that I realized that the atmosphere in Sichuan Province was going strangely. Yongdu Ark holds a meeting with the elders of each region once a year. “It was a meeting with the elders of Sichuan Province three months ago.”
The number of open schools is greater than that of any other school in the central region.
The number of elders alone is dozens. Although it is not at the forefront of martial arts, its openness is not called the best in the world for nothing.
If you concentrate all your forces in one place, you can overwhelm even the entire Nine Gates faction through tactics.
That was openness.
“At that time, I saw something that should not be seen in the eyes of the elders who manage Sichuan’s information.”
“What should not be seen?”
“Worldly desires.”
Hwa Jin-cheon’s eyes deepened.
“Beggars are free. A pair of rags is enough to wear, and if you’re hungry, begging is enough. Although it varies depending on the time, our methods were able to examine the public sentiment with such freedom. “Even though I am criticized and despised, I check every day to make sure there is nothing wrong with the lives of the common people.”
“….”
“Do you understand? To be open, you must be free from material greed. Rather than a mountain of gold and silver treasures, a few iron coins are enough to get me through the day. “That is openness.”
“….”
“But the eyes of the elders who should be examples of such openness are filled with arrogance and greed. “Not only was there a strong greed for material goods, but even lust was evident.”
“….”
“I don’t know if he thought he wouldn’t get caught or if he was desperate. “After all, they are no less experienced than anyone else in terms of their deep roots in Gangho.”
“What do you mean now…?”
“That’s right.”
Hwa Jin-cheon closed his eyes.
“The reason Nakwonso was able to grow was not a problem at the level of our Sacheon branches. “The elders who manage the Sacheon region have been building relationships with high-ranking government officials for over a dozen years.”
“…!”
“And with the permission of those dignitaries, the framework of Paradise was built.”
