Episode 974
The time has come (4)
.
Yaharuk fell forward.
Slurp.
Yeonwi, who had sheathed the imperial sword, took a step back.
“….”
Gi Cheon-woong looked at Yaharuk with trembling eyes.
Surprisingly, despite the sound of a blade cutting into flesh, there were no significant wounds on Yaharuk’s neck.
The current Ki Cheon-woong did not see how Yeon-wi defeated Yaharuk. However, since I felt a hint of Yeonwi’s unknown power, I was able to roughly guess how the situation was going.
“Is it the sword of the heart?”
“exactly.”
Gi Cheonwoong looked at Yeonwi with sad eyes.
“How come you didn’t cut your throat?”
“Do you want this person to die?”
“….”
“This guy seemed to wish for his own death.”
“….”
Yeonwi sighed, looking at Ki Cheonwoong who couldn’t say anything.
“Even I don’t know how useful my mind sword is. So, I only exercise within the range I can control. “To begin with, it’s not an ability that can be used at any time like swinging a true sword.”
“….”
“I briefly cut the string that connects the upper and middle battles.”
“Is that possible?”
“There was no actual cut. They just made you think you were cut. “If you come back to your senses and become fully aware of your condition, it will not be impossible to recover to your original state.”
Gi Cheon-woong sighed.
“I wouldn’t have said anything even if you had hit this man’s head.”
“I didn’t leave you alone because I was scared.”
Yeonwi looked around.
“This is the royal palace. “There is no civil war, so we can’t see blood right now.”
“….”
“Although it was yours, the owner of this place is Your Majesty. “You can’t cut off someone’s head without his permission.”
“I didn’t think the situation was easy enough to even consider such a thing.”
“I just guessed what he meant. “If you’re wrong, just cut it down and that’s it.”
Gi Cheon-woong, who was quietly looking at Yeon-wi, nodded heavily.
“Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for.”
“If you hadn’t come forward first, neither I nor I would have had a good finish at Hogyo Shinjang.”
“I don’t think this is a moment where we need to assume that was the case.”
It was then.
It rattled.
The door to the royal palace opened and the emperor appeared.
The emperor’s eyes were as calm as always as he looked down at Yaharuk, who had fallen with his back turned.
“Are you the author?”
Yeonwi fought with all his might.
“That’s right.”
“Get up. Are you going to humble yourself like that every time we meet?”
“I apologize.”
Yeonwi stood up and bowed politely.
The emperor came down to the middle of the stairs and sat down.
As always, he did not show the appearance of an authoritative person in power.
The emperor extended his hand to Ki Tianxiong, who was right next to him.
“Give me a drink too.”
“Can I drink something that someone else has put into my mouth?”
“What a great thing that is.”
When Gi Cheonwoong handed over the bottle, the emperor took a refreshing sip.
“Good.”
The emperor’s eyes turned to Ki Tianxiong.
Gi Cheon-woong’s face as he looked at Yaharuk looked really complicated.
said the emperor.
“What he wanted was to kill me.”
“…I know.”
“You trust people too much.”
“If people want to live without trusting others, they have no choice but to live alone.”
The emperor smiled bitterly at the unexpected words.
“You’re right.”
The emperor did not treat Ki Cheon-woong as poorly as he did yesterday. I could tell just from the way they spoke that their relationship had softened a lot in that short period of time.
Gi Cheon-woong said with a sigh.
“I didn’t see the person properly. Sorry hi. “The emperor of a country almost died because of me.”
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“I wish I hadn’t died.”
The conversation between the two was like a conversation between old friends.
“I still don’t know. The head teacher was the most honest and upright person in our school. At least that’s how I saw it. “He was a person with a strong mind who was not shaken by any external pressure and lived according to the values he had established no matter what anyone said.”
“….”
“Why on earth has it changed so much?”
“He may have been an upright person, but he wasn’t a strong person.”
Ki Cheonwoong looked at the emperor.
The emperor, who always displayed a natural, breathing dignity with a unique presence, now looked like a village elder.
“Faith is the force that supports the ego and the soul itself. “When a person who lives by faith loses faith, all that remains is the habit of continuing to move straight ahead.”
“…!”
“I don’t know why he tried to kill me, but I think the author had a good cause in mind. “If I had lived without a cause, I would have simply followed the leader and never thought of taking direct action.”
“…Right.”
“The author was drawing the world in his own way. “It is quite common for someone who senses that that world will never come to want to turn everything into nothingness.”
The emperor’s eyes deepened.
“Jim was like that too.”
The monarch who tried to take responsibility for the lives of all the people, hearing that he was a gift from heaven, fell into an environment where he could not do anything, and fell into a state of affairs, ignoring the political situation.
In fact, the emperor was desperate at the time. Even though he tried to hide himself for the future, it doesn’t mean he didn’t think about giving up everything due to his incomparable frustration.
It took just over a year for the emperor to come to his senses again.
That one year could be said to be the fastest and slowest time in the emperor’s life.
“I was strong. But I didn’t get back up because I was strong. “The moment I tried to get up, I became stronger.”
“….”
“The author was strong? That’s not true. He just looked strong. “If the author were truly strong, your son would have killed him long ago, stripped him of his position, or sent him into exile far away.”
“…!”
“In the end, even in your son’s view, the author was an unstable person who could be used in some cases.”
Gi Cheon-woong sighed once again.
In the end, an indescribable sense of self-destruction arose when he thought that the Shinhwa Church had become like this because he had left the church out of greed to gain more power.
“What else can I say? “How can the emperor trust me when I brought a bomb with me on my way to join us?”
The emperor said with a smile.
“It’s true that I was a little disappointed.”
“It’s okay if you don’t give me what I want. I will fight them my way. Even if the martial arts criticizes and attacks me and my family, we will fight silently on our own.”
The emperor who was listening to Qi Tianxiong asked Yan Wei.
“What do you think of the religious leader’s words now?”
“God, may I dare to say a word?”
“Let’s leave those formalities aside even when we’re alone. “This is absurd.”
Yeonwi raised his head straight and said.
“I think it’s a simple and comfortable escape.”
Gi Cheon-woong’s eyes wavered.
The emperor burst into laughter.
“Do you know why I like the head of the family? It’s not because I’m smart or strong. This is because you live wisely even if you have the right heart. “It’s really not easy to do that.”
“That’s too much praise.”
Yeonwi said while looking at Ki Cheonwoong.
“For whatever reason, the subordinate you brought with you attempted to assassinate Your Majesty. “This is a big deal that will shake the entire country.”
“…I know.”
“Then you have to take responsibility for it.”
“Didn’t you say this to take responsibility?”
“As I said, saying I would give up on my demands was an escape and an irresponsible statement. “You know that’s not how you take responsibility, right?”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Your Majesty will tell you that. However, since His Majesty is a person with a heart like the sea, I daresay that he will not attack or try to throw you out just because of this incident.”
Ki Cheonwoong looked at the emperor.
The corners of the emperor’s mouth rose.
“If you want to take responsibility, you should think about working harder. Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Gi Cheon-woong sighed again.
Despite what he said, it was as if the emperor had said that he would leave this matter unwritten.
Of course, if the Shinhwa Church’s forces fall outside of the imperial palace’s watch, it could become a problem in itself. But before he could foresee such a situation, the emperor understood his feelings and forgave him.
“What have I got to say? “I am just grateful for the emperor’s distribution and generosity.”
“No matter what happened, I’m safe. “What’s important is the future, and if you want to picture the future, you can’t be a ghost of doubt.”
“….”
“In my eyes and in Yeongaju’s eyes, the religious leader had no intention of doing anything about me. “We decided that way, and we won’t have any unnecessary doubts.”
“I’m just grateful.”
“However, in addition to what Yeongaju said, there is one thing you must give me for responsibility.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Hwajeong (火精).”
“…!!”
Not only Ki Cheon-woong but Yeon-wi’s eyes widened. They had no idea that the emperor would ask them to hand over the Hwajeong of Shinhwaism.
“If it’s Hwajeong… Do you mean to tell me how to form Hwajeong?”
“What else could it mean?”
“that…!”
“why?”
The emperor asked with a mischievous look on his face.
“Is it a waste?”
Gi Cheonwoong, who was quietly looking at the emperor, smiled bitterly.
“Hwajeong is a martial artist of God and at the same time a cursed magical artist. “The moment you get too greedy, it’s a bomb that sets your whole body on fire.”
“I heard so.”
“Can you afford it?”
“I just have to deal with it.”
It was a strange thing to say.
It’s not that you can handle it, it’s that you must handle it.
“The reason I want to get Hwajeong is to extend my lifespan. “It’s not about becoming strong.”
“…!”
“why? “Is this unexpected?”
“Honestly… I see.”
“If you want to become stronger, you can learn the martial arts of Gokgyeong, or you can ask Yeongaju over there to find a martial arts that suits my body.”
“Of course it is.”
The emperor looked up at the sky.
“You look healthy on the outside, but I can tell. “The lifespan of this body is not very long.”
“….”
“My dream is for this world to regain peace. “There is no such thing as permanent peace in the world, but if I can at least make the lives of the people who are suffering a little better right now, that alone can be seen as completing my mission.”
“….”
“But I don’t know when the war will end, and my lifespan is decreasing day by day. Otherwise, I have too many things to deal with to improve my life day by day by learning the Neigongsimbeop or Seondanbeop.”
“So Hwajeong?”
“And you’re going to die.”
“What does that mean?”
The emperor was silent for a moment.
The emperor’s face as he looked at Yaharuk was indifferent. However, Ki Cheon-woong and Yeon-wi could tell that his thoughts had become more complicated than ever.
After a while.
“From the moment I first heard Yeongaju, I knew that the author’s purpose was to kill Jim.”
“….”
“And I thought about it. “Couldn’t we take advantage of the author’s actions in that situation?”
“…?”
“The answer finally came. “In fact, the answer came quickly, but I wondered whether it was truly right.”
“What is the answer?”
“Wouldn’t it be okay if Jim really died?”
Ki Cheon-woong’s eyes widened as if they were torn.
The emperor spoke calmly.
“Jim died here today.”
