"Your Excellency, when a disciple of the Zirong Palace master becos a disciple, they receive the character 'Tian' in their na. The na he received was Sanqian. But after he was removed from the status of a master's disciple, he was no longer allowed to use the na Sanqian."
"Ah! I see."
Cheongun rembered that others had called the martial arts teacher Sanqian.
'So that's why he hated being called Sanqian.'
Only then could Cheongun understand the reaction of the man who was a martial arts teacher.
Great Master Gongye, seeing that Cheongun seed to agree, recited a Buddhist chant and said.
"Amitabha. The ti when Sanqian beca an ordinary palace mber was a year ago. We have already found the docunts to prove this."
"Hmm, if it was a year ago, it was after I was attacked."
At Cheongun's words, Great Master Gongye frowned slightly and then relaxed.
Cheongun asked Great Master Gongye again.
"Great Master, what do you think about the fact that the Zirong Palace dispatched many warriors to the Hyeokryeon Manor?"
It was one of the most problematic parts. Great Master Gongye, as if he had expected Cheongun's question, spoke without hesitation.
"Your Excellency, the Zirong Palace did not know about the Hyeokryeon Manor's rebellion. At that ti, the Hyeokryeon Manor belonged to the righteous path, and as you know well, it is a branch family of the Hyeokryeon family. From the perspective of the Zirong Palace, which protects the righteous path, there would have been no reason to refuse their offer of help."
"You are right, Great Master. But even if it was done without knowing, it cannot be seen as having no sin. If you kill soone by mistake, is there no sin? Even if you participated in sothing without knowing, if that thing is a rebellion, you wouldn't say you don't know that you beco a traitor as well, would you?"
"Amitabha. Of course. But it is also true that it is unfair."
"I also know that there is an unfair part to the Zirong Palace. But the Zirong Palace hid the traitors and provided an escape route."
The secret passage had already been revealed.
One more sin was added.
But he could not admit everything. If he admitted that part, it was the sa as admitting to the rebellion.
"Amitabha. My thoughts are a little different. It is a wrong statent to say that they hid them. They just let them into the Zirong Palace without suspicion because the news had not yet been delivered. And as for helping them escape, since they secretly used the underground passage, it is not the Zirong Palace's fault, is it?"
Great Master Gongye desperately defended.
In a way, it was a conjecture, but it was not a wrong statent either.
Cheongun took a deep breath and organized his thoughts for a mont.
Should he push the righteous path people harder? Or should he be moderate and deal with it later when there is definite evidence?
But the Blood Emperor, as if he had read his mind like a ghost, said.
[When you live in the martial world, you get involved in grudges and favors even if you don't want to. If possible, you should not make enemies and should bestow favors. Of course, you should only do that to those who are worthy. The ones you are facing now are fools who shout about righteousness and chivalry without knowing anything. So don't push them too hard.]
As he had said, there was no need to be at odds with the righteous path.
If he pushed a little more here, there would be many restrictions on his future actions in the martial world.
Cheongun ca to a conclusion and said calmly.
"I fully understand the hearts of you, Great Master, and the people here. I also admit that there is an excessive part."
Great Master Gongye, who had no other way, recited a Buddhist chant of relief at Cheongun's words.
"Amitabha."
Fortunately, he did not seem to be a completely unreasonable official.
As Cheongun showed a subdued appearance, Great Master Gongye opened his mouth again.
"Your Excellency, looking at these various circumstances, the pressure on the Zirong Palace is too harsh. I would be grateful if you would reflect on the fact that they have punished nurous evil enemies while protecting the Central Plains martial world."
The last card that Great Master Gongye had brought out was as expected.
It was a statent that since there was rit even though there was a fault, he should cover it with that.
But there was sothing they did not know.
The Zirong Palace had shed too much blood in the na of protecting the righteous path, and unlike what was known, they were people who were soaked in greed.
From Cheongun's perspective, who could not tell them everything, he had no choice but to say it nicely in a roundabout way.
"You are not wrong, Great Master. But it is not that there is no connection at all. Even if we cover up all these things, various wrongs are being revealed during the investigation. So I would appreciate it if you would wait until all the investigations are over."
Cheongun explained the reason why he was holding back the judgnt.
There was nothing wrong with the words of both sides.
It was just a matter of who would make the judgnt.
The person who was making that judgnt now was Cheongun. If Cheongun had maintained his original position today, they had planned to go up to the imperial capital and seek a new thod.
Fortunately, as Cheongun left room for maneuver, they saw a seed of hope.
As the eting, which was not a eting, ended, a few people approached Cheongun.
They were the three of the five dragons.
The person who opened his mouth first was Kang Ho-poong of Qingcheng.
"I was surprised that Young Master Lee was the Pacification Envoy, Lee Cheongun."
"It's the sa for . I had a feeling that the Pacification Envoy was Lee Cheongun, but I didn't know it would be Young Master Lee."
Namgung Ryong was also happy to see Cheongun after a long ti.
But the other one burst into a loud laugh as if he were sneering.
"Puhahaha. The mad demon is a Pacification Envoy? The people of the imperial capital will all fall down holding their bellies."
It was Peng Docheon of the tough connection.
Cheongun looked at Peng Docheon and said as if throwing a word.
"Mad dog, have you been well?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Because of you, I couldn't even go out and was stuck in training. I wasn't going to co this ti either, but the old man made such a fuss, so I had no choice but to co."
"Tsk, tsk, the way a young master talks to his parents. It seems you need to be beaten a little."
Cheongun gave him a scolding in welco. He soon turned his head and also greeted the two who were looking at him.
"Have you both been well?"
"We have been well. After the match that day, I gained sothing, so my skills have improved a little."
"Did you forget your promise to visit the Namgung family when you ca to Anhui?"
"Haha, Brother Namgung, how could that be? As you can see, I was moving under the Emperor's secret order, so I couldn't help it. I was planning to visit you in the near future anyway."
"Hahaha, it's a joke. If I had known earlier that Young Master Lee was a Pacification Envoy, I would have helped, so it's a pity."
Namgung Ryong was still favorable to Cheongun.
"More importantly, there was sothing I wanted to ask from a while ago. How do you know Brother Gwangryong, Young Master Lee?"
Namgung Ryong, who was surprised at the way Peng Docheon and Cheongun were treating each other informally, asked.
And rightly so, he had never heard that Peng Docheon had a friend.
He was so crazy about martial arts that it was rumored that he was always fighting. That was why he was called the Mad Dragon.
Cheongun, who had learned that fact for the first ti, was surprised.
"Mad Dragon? By any chance, are you talking about the mad dog here?"
"Haha, Brother Cheon's martial arts are not gentle."
Namgung Ryong was just amazed that there was a person who was alive after calling Peng Docheon, who was called the Mad Dragon among the five dragons, a mad dog.
Whatever Namgung Ryong's reaction was, Cheongun said in a tone that said it didn't matter.
"What Mad Dragon? If it's a mad dog, maybe. There was a mad dog on the way, so I beat him up a little."
Peng Docheon also did not lose.
"Hehe, I'll say it clearly, but I lost to you only once. You ca after training in seclusion sowhere and ambushed cowardly. But... did you fall from a cliff sowhere? Let fall once too."
"A cliff?"
"That's right. You appeared after a year, and you beca so strong that I couldn't handle you, so you must have had a fortunate encounter. And when it cos to a fortunate encounter, isn't it a cliff?"
"Aigoo, you crazy bastard. Try falling a hundred days. You'll only hurt your body."
Cheongun could not bring himself to say that it was not a cliff but a lightning strike. He had just exchanged jokes with Peng Docheon, whom he had t after a long ti, because he was happy to see him.
The martial artists who were about to go out stopped in their tracks.
Three of the five dragons were treating Cheongun warmly, as if they had a close relationship with him.
Moreover, he was showing an informal appearance with Peng Docheon.
There had been no martial artists related to Cheongun so far, but it turned out that there were not just one or two, but three.
Since those three were the pillars of the righteous path, Qingcheng, the Namgung family, and the Peng family, it was an even better thing.
Perhaps the Zirong Palace matter could end better than expected, and they began to have hope.
Cheongun felt burdened by their gazes.
Although there was no need to care about the others, they could get into trouble.
"Mad dog, let's go."
"Huh? Shall we?"
"That's a good idea. I'll buy you a drink."
"No. Officials should not accept drinks from others carelessly."
"Aigoo, are we strangers?"
* * *
That night, Kang Ho-poong was called to his residence by the call of the sect's elders.
Kang Ho-poong, who had entered the residence, greeted and stood in the center.
The elders of the sect, who were sitting around Kang Ho-poong, asked him.
"Feng'er, what is your relationship with the Pacification Envoy?"
"We t at the Jin family manor in Hebei a few months ago. At that ti, he said he was on his way sowhere under the Emperor's secret order."
Kang Ho-poong told them about the matter between him and Cheongun without adding or subtracting anything. There was no reason to hide it.
"If it's the Jin family manor, are you talking about the place that operates the Jintian Escort Agency?"
"Yes, it is the family of Jin Seolran, a disciple of the Huashan Sect."
As Kang Ho-poong said that, a bright color appeared on the faces of the people.
"Haha, so he also has a connection with the Snow Phoenix among the five phoenixes of the martial world. If we do well, we can easily conclude the Zirong Palace matter."
"That's right. If I had known this, I wouldn't have had to worry."
The people of the Qingcheng Sect laughed and were happy.
A similar situation was happening in other places.
Namgung Ryong of the Namgung family and Peng Docheon of the Peng family were also called by the elders of their families and had to explain their relationship with Cheongun.
In particular, the Peng family was hotter than the other two places.
"Then you're saying that he is the friend who passed on the lost secret art of the Five Tiger Saber to us?"
"Yes, I told you before that he had told and had brought it."
The Hebei Peng family had not looked favorably on the Pacification Envoy, Cheongun, so far.
As befitting the martial artists of the Hebei Peng family, who were famous for their fiery tempers, they had planned to have a match if an opportunity arose.
But it turned out that he was a benefactor of the family.
Thanks to that, the martial artists of the Peng family who had been dispatched to the Zirong Palace also had to rack their brains.
"Brother, what should we do about this?"
"This is a big problem. If this is the case, we can't have a match."
"A match? Are you going to point that ignorant saber at our benefactor?"
The man whose bulging arm muscles were more prominent than others had a dissatisfied expression.
He was Peng Zijing, the Soul-Chasing Saber, who had led the people of the Peng family.
He was the younger brother of the current family head and was Peng Docheon's uncle, and he also belonged to the ones with the thick blood of the Peng family.
"Brother, in any case, we should not be rude to the Pacification Envoy. If you draw your saber first this ti, I will tell my father."
"Hey! It's not good to bother soone who is resting well. You've been tattling since you were young, and you still haven't fixed that habit?"
Peng Zijing jumped up and down.
"That's not sothing you should say, brother. How can you try to cause trouble every ti you co out on a journey in the martial world? Isn't it because you're like this that Cheon'i is following you?"
"What's wrong with Cheon'i? He's brave and good."
The gazes of the two were directed at Peng Docheon, who was standing on one side. One sent a displeased look, and the other sent a loving look.
As the two were bickering, another person stepped forward.
"You two, please calm down. More importantly, shouldn't we discuss whether our Peng family should withdraw from the matter of pressuring the Pacification Envoy?"
The favor that Cheongun had bestowed on the Peng family was by no ans small.
The Five Tiger Saber, which was like the long-cherished wish of the family, had returned, and thanks to that, the martial arts of the Peng family had beco even stronger.
As befitting the Peng family, whose grudges and favors were clear, opinions were divided on how to treat Cheongun.
And after a long ti, a conclusion was reached.
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