Chapter 130: Chapter 130
Any subject having an audience with the emperor must not look at his face until permission is granted.
This was an exceedingly irreverent act, and depending on the case, a situation where one would have nothing to say even if heavy punishment were meted out.
Even so, Cheon Woo-jin looked directly at the emperor. No, not stopping at merely looking, he even bore blatant killing intent.
A chilly atmosphere settled over the hall.
It was a situation where Cheon Woo-jin was already recognized as a master of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Tension settled over the faces of the Eastern Depot Director, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, the Military Great General, and Patriarch Peng Myeong-seok of the Hebei Peng Clan, who were present to assist the emperor.
“Insolent! In whose imperial presence do you dare…!”
It was Peng Myeong-seok, Saber Wanderer, Patriarch of the Peng Clan.
As the elder brother of Elder Peng Myeong-ho, the Saber King, he had deliberately attached Wanderer rather than King or Emperor to his moniker because he had many occasions to frequent the Imperial Palace.
At any rate, as the only martial artist in this place aside from Cheon Woo-jin, he had stepped forward first before sparks flew needlessly.
Whether he did so or not, Cheon Woo-jin’s gaze was directed solely toward the emperor.
‘…He is different.’
The emperor’s face was completely identical to the silver-haired man he had seen before. Not just the face, but even his slender frame and looking as if he had slightly passed twenty years of age were identical.
However, the light in his eyes was different. For a human, what revealed the inherently harbored spirit and character was precisely the look in the eyes.
The look in the eyes of the man he had encountered before resembled that of Master Black Elder. However, although a certain majesty was felt from the emperor before his eyes, there was no feeling of him being a martial artist.
The Director gripped a silver dagger inside his sleeve,
The Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander rested his hand on his sword hilt,
And at the moment the Great General and Patriarch Peng were about to raise their great sabers,
Cheon Woo-jin reached a conclusion.
Unbelievable though it was, the emperor and the silver-haired man merely had perfectly identical appearances; they were not the same person.
It was truly an incomprehensible matter.
When Cheon Woo-jin washed away his energy, the frozen, chilly atmosphere in the hall grew much softer.
Even before four masters who had risen to the peak of their respective fields, the one governing the atmosphere here was Cheon Woo-jin.
“Catch.”
Cheon Woo-jin threw the Crescent Moon Staff to the Embroidered Uniform Guard guarding the door. Embracing the subtlety of Telekinetic Attraction, it flew softly.
Catching the Crescent Moon Staff in a daze, the Embroidered Uniform Guard blinked his eyes. Due to the atmosphere from a moment ago, his entire body still seemed stiffened.
“…”
A heavy silence settled over the hall.
Everyone wore looks demanding an explanation.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at them one by one, then roughly pointed at someone at random and spoke.
“That person’s aura was so sharp that my body moved instinctively. I apologize.”
Everyone looked at the man Cheon Woo-jin pointed to.
The middle-aged man draped in gold-trimmed martial robes blinked his eyes with a dumbfounded face, then soon twitched the corners of his mouth.
That Heartless Wanderer who was said to have single-handedly crushed the Qingcheng Sect felt danger? From me?
His expression was exactly like that.
“Ha, Your Majesty. Inherently, for masters of high realms like the Heartless Wanderer, such things often happen due to instincts engraved to the bone. I earnestly beg that with magnanimity like the vast sea, you forgive that man’s rudeness.”
A clear sense of pride settled over the face of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander.
Although an official of the Imperial Palace, at any rate his essence was a martial artist.
Since a master of the Realm Beyond the Heavens seemed to acknowledge him, how could he not feel good?
The silver-haired emperor nodded his head.
There was no displeasure on his face either.
Rather, the gaze with which he looked at Cheon Woo-jin was full of intrigue.
“From what I hear, that child is a tremendous master, so it seems you too have not neglected your training, Commander.”
“Hahaha, Your Majesty’s grace is truly boundless.”
The middle-aged man who burst into hearty laughter spoke to Cheon Woo-jin this time in a tone full of goodwill.
“I am Gam Ji-byeok, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Having attained a certain enlightenment recently, I could not completely conceal my aura. It is understandable that you were startled. Please understand. Gwahaha.”
“…Yes, well.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head lightly.
For the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who could supposedly shoot down flying birds, he seemed like a lighter person than expected, but the statement that he had recently attained enlightenment seemed to be true.
Even while letting out easygoing chuckles, he had slightly angled the tips of his toes and finished preparations to protect the emperor’s front at any moment.
Soon, taking his eyes off the Commander, Cheon Woo-jin looked at the emperor. Because the imperial throne was situated in quite a high place, he had to look up.
For a moment, the two met each other’s gazes.
Cheon Woo-jin wore an impassive expression as always, while the emperor looking at him had a face showing he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“We have great interest in martial arts.”
The emperor said so without preamble.
Cheon Woo-jin answered in a manner asking so what of it.
“Yes.”
“If you are so strong, would you not exchange blows with Us? Though We are young, We are a master who occasionally wins even against the Commander here.”
Cheon Woo-jin looked at the Commander. For some reason, his face was flushed as if embarrassed.
Looking at it, he had clearly lost on purpose. The emperor had learned a tiny bit of martial arts, but in reality it seemed to be for the purpose of promoting health.
If the Commander had faced the emperor with full strength, he could have subdued him not in a single move, but with merely a glance.
‘Indeed, having become an Embroidered Uniform Guard, he could hardly beat up the emperor.’
Thinking so, Cheon Woo-jin replied to the emperor’s question.
“I don’t want to, though.”
“…You don’t want to?”
The emperor fell into contemplation for a moment.
It was the first time in his life he had heard the words ‘I don’t want to.’
“Why don’t you want to?”
“I think I will injure Your Majesty.”
The emperor’s eyes widened slightly, then he burst into long laughter with a ‘pwhahaha.’
“You are truly honest. In truth, We know full well that We have no talent in martial arts. The more the Commander trains with Us, the only thing that improves is his acting skill. Even so, We wanted to exchange blows at least once with the renowned Heartless Wanderer.”
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin looked steadily at such an emperor.
If he had been summoned merely to trade jokes, he intended to leave the Imperial Palace immediately.
Soon, the emperor’s words continued.
“Well, We cannot force someone who refuses.”
The emperor propped his chin on his hand and looked down at Cheon Woo-jin.
In an instant, the look in his eyes changed.
The eyes of a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle and those of a scholar devoted to research for a lifetime seemed different yet had similarities, and the emperor’s eyes were closer to the latter.
Cheon Woo-jin felt as though the brilliance contained in the emperor’s gaze pierced right through him.
“Thanks to you, We were able to punish the fellow committing terrible deeds in Sichuan. Borrowing the hands of a martial artist is truly a shameful matter. Therefore, We wish to commend your merit before ten thousand people and bestow a reward. By any chance, is there anything you desire?”
Cheon Woo-jin fell into thought for a moment.
As with the Young Castle Lord of the Black Overlord Castle, for some reason people always told him to name what he wanted whenever they saw him.
Of course, Cheon Woo-jin had nothing he particularly wanted.
Just as he was about to say it was unnecessary as always, Cheon Woo-jin suddenly recalled his noisy friends.
“My friends will soon arrive in Beijing. May we tour the Imperial Palace together?”
“Uh-huh, how insolent…!”
Patriarch Peng suddenly stepped forward. That was because he knew the friends Cheon Woo-jin spoke of were precisely the Inspection Hall.
However, the emperor immediately looked at him. Although he spoke no words, one could tell that it meant to shut his mouth.
Startled, Patriarch Peng bowed his head and stepped back a pace.
“Haha, friends. That must be nice. For We have no friends.”
“…Yes.”
Dry coughs burst out from various spots.
Soon, the emperor made an unprecedented proposal, saying that once those called friends arrived, he would personally show them around the Imperial Palace.
Everyone wore astonished expressions, but Cheon Woo-jin calmly nodded his head. At that sight, the emperor’s eyes narrowed. Even after he did this much, far from feeling awed, he showed not the slightest sign of gratitude.
“Is there nothing else you desire? The merit you established is by no means small, so taking a walk in the Imperial Palace cannot possibly reward it all.”
“There isn’t.”
“None? Why is there none?”
Born and raised in the Imperial Palace, the emperor could not understand at all.
Suddenly, the Eastern Depot Director beside him spoke.
“Inherently, there are many unpretentious people among martial artists. It is because they live looking only toward martial arts.”
“Haha, that also pleases Us greatly. For in this Imperial Palace, there are only those steeped in greed.”
Embarrassment showed in various spots, but the emperor continued his contemplation unbothered.
“Then what to do? We called you to reward your merit, but if We send you back empty-handed, wouldn’t it result in making you travel a long distance out of mere spite?”
Then the Director spoke as if his tongue were oiled.
“Your Majesty, how could that be? For all subjects, merely having an audience with Your Majesty would be an honor for three generations.”
“Director, stop your bullshit.”
“…F-Forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Cheon Woo-jin found that spectacle quite interesting. Was there not a completely different person sitting there from the emperor he had vaguely imagined in his mind? To think the emperor was a foul-mouthed cusser. Just what kind of childhood had he spent?
Around the time Cheon Woo-jin was thinking so,
The emperor spoke as if a splendid idea had struck him.
“Let Us do this. We shall bestow a Pardon Token upon that man, Cheon Woo-jin.”
In an instant, the air in the hall roiled once.
What was a Pardon Token? Bestowed upon officials who established the greatest merit for the nation, it was a treasure allowing a pardon for any crime, excluding treason, exactly once.
Rather than the mere significance of being pardoned for a crime, the meaning that the emperor trusted him that much was far greater.
For instance, those who had received a Pardon Token in the current era did not exceed three, and without exception, every single one boasted immense power within the Imperial Palace.
“Y-Your Majesty…!”
The Director hastily called upon His Majesty. Of course, it was true the Heartless Wanderer had done the right thing, but it was by no means to the extent of bestowing a Pardon Token.
If they handed a Pardon Token to a fellow whose martial prowess already touched the heavens, who in the world would not fear him?
Not only the Director and the Great General, but even the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander who held goodwill toward Cheon Woo-jin fiercely opposed it with their eyes.
Even so, the emperor ordered an attendant to ultimately bring the Pardon Token.
“Now, come and receive it.”
The emperor deliberately did not wear even a hint of a smile. His intention was to give no opening from the outset for the objecting officials to step forward.
Cheon Woo-jin approached the emperor with calm steps.
Receiving an object personally bestowed by the emperor was truly a great honor, but Cheon Woo-jin’s expression was merely dry.
He had no intention of living while committing crimes in the first place, so he wondered what meaning this small plaque had.
Cheon Woo-jin drew close to the emperor.
Soon, in the mere split second when the Pardon Token passed from his hand into Cheon Woo-jin’s hand, Cheon Woo-jin infused subtly raised energy into the emperor’s body.
And then he observed for a moment. Naturally, if one was a martial artist, regardless of the level of their martial prowess, the internal qi in their dantian was bound to react to energy invading from outside.
However, nothing happened.
The emperor had truly barely learned any martial arts.
‘Then that silver-haired man…’
Why did he bear the emperor’s face?
If the Dark Emperor had truly returned, just what was he thinking to commit such strange deeds?
Cheon Woo-jin, whose thoughts deepened for a moment, remained silent.
Thereupon, a slight misunderstanding arose between the emperor and Cheon Woo-jin.
‘Haha, no matter how dry a fellow he is, naturally he cannot help but be moved when given even a Pardon Token.’
Without knowing that energy had just been infused into his body.
Soon, Cheon Woo-jin bowed his head lightly and stepped back.
The emperor nodded his head with a truly pleased face, then ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander to provide quarters. At any rate, would he not need a place to stay until those called friends arrived?
Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the closest to martial artists among the organs within the Imperial Palace, it was thought to be a rather fine judgment.
“T-To the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”
Was it really acceptable to bring a master of the Realm Beyond the Heavens, one who had even received a Pardon Token, into the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
Such doubt crossed the Commander’s mind for a moment, but when the emperor stared with a solemn face, he was startled and lowered his head.
Soon, after looking fondly at the retreating figures of the Commander and Cheon Woo-jin, the emperor dismissed everyone in the hall.
Left alone, the emperor rested his chin lightly on the armrest.
His gaze staring into empty air seemed seized by deep thoughts.
“He truly resembles someone We miss.”
Grand Preceptor.
The one who teaches the Crown Prince or a young emperor. Naturally, by the nature of that duty, he wielded immense power.
The emperor also had a Grand Preceptor when he was young. Though he had disappeared now, the influence he left on the emperor was so great that it continued to this day.
He was a figure with neither background nor anything, but his martial arts alone were exceptionally profound. The reason the emperor had much interest in the martial world and martial arts was also because of that.
Having ascended the throne at far too young an age, surrounded by all kinds of treacherous officials, it was difficult for the emperor to lead a proper life.
What saved such an emperor was precisely the Grand Preceptor left behind by the deceased previous emperor. When he was by his side, no one in the Imperial Palace dared to manipulate the emperor carelessly.
That was because merely standing beside him held an atmosphere that strangely overwhelmed the surroundings.
The Grand Preceptor visited the Imperial Palace once a month, or once every couple of months, putting the emperor’s mind at ease.
However, once the emperor passed the age of fifteen and became capable of fending for himself, he vanished suddenly.
He still did not know who he was. For he was someone who had looked after him through a connection with his father, the previous emperor.
However, there was a single request he had left him.
– I have a child I am raising like my own, so when that child grows up later, will you look after him a bit?
– Heh, that is truly a grave matter. With the Grand Preceptor’s personality, just how could you raise a child? Bring that child to the Imperial Palace quickly before he becomes a demonic fiend.
The emperor merely wished to have a friend.
However, the Grand Preceptor shook his head firmly.
– To that child, the Imperial Palace is far too small a fishbowl. If you drag him here and seat him down, he will die of stifling boredom.
– Truly insolent. So, We must know who that child is to help him in the future, must We not?
– He is a child named Cheon Woo-jin. Please take good care of him later. It is for that reason I cracked open the heads of the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard stitch by stitch. Ah, tomorrow I plan to meet the fellow called the Great General. I really don’t like the eyes on that cheeky bastard. Should I just pay him a visit at night and slaughter him?
Even at the Grand Preceptor’s foul words, the emperor did not mind, as if it were a routine occurrence.
– Well, in this vast land, where would the name Cheon Woo-jin be just one or two?
To the emperor’s question, the Grand Preceptor merely wore his distinctive smile.
Soon, the emperor awoke from his reverie. Back then, he had not understood that smile, but now he understood.
“Seeing him in person like this, there is no way I could fail to recognize him.”