I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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To Seonwu, the Great Long Empire was similar to the Ming Dynasty he knew, yet different.
What was similar was that the authority of a province was divided among the Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and the Regional Military Commissioner.
What differed were the specific place names and various other details.
‘In the original Ming Dynasty, Hubei and Hunan wouldn’t have been divided; they would have been bundled together as Huguang Province.’
But here, it was simply Hubei Province.
Then again, Hubei Province, which held Wudang Mountain and the Zhuge Clan, was already large enough on its own to warrant being its own entity.
In any case, that was a trivial difference, and what truly mattered was the prostration in sackcloth that the Zhuge Clan Leader was currently performing right before the Hubei Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.
“Our Main House received the vast, ocean-like grace of the Imperial Court and escaped the tragedy of family extermination. Yet, upon recalculating the taxes paid over the past years, we found our conduct deeply lacking and ignorant…”
The Demon-Subduing Divine Dragon Sword chattered from his side.
[Ugh, that human speaks too much. Why does he keep repeating himself over and over?]
Dumbfounded, Seonwu stared at the dragon-head pommel of the Demon-Subduing Divine Dragon Sword.
[Are you really one to talk?]
[Hmph, what is wrong with this noble sword? If I were to speak of myself, I am a being who once cultivated the Dao in the Dragon God Realm right up until the moment before ascending into a dragon…]
‘Is this what they call hating your own kind?’
Seonwu shook his head side to side.
Compared to the Ming Dynasty, the Great Long Empire had simplified many protocols and courtesies by the will of His Majesty the Emperor.
However, even an imperial decree had its limits when it came to completely changing a nation’s culture.
Especially for an event like prostration in sackcloth, many long, elegant words were naturally required.
‘Come to think of it, I heard there was an emperor who once flew into a rage because ninety percent of the memorials to the throne were just praises to him, with only the remaining ten percent containing the actual point. Who was that again?’
Unable to recall the name, Seonwu pondered for a moment before brushing it aside.
It wasn’t particularly important anyway.
At any rate, the summary of the prostration in sackcloth currently performed by the Zhuge Clan Leader was as follows:
Though the Zhuge Clan were masters of formations, renowned as the Heaven’s Scrutiny Divine Calculators,
and possessed an internal cultivation method specifically optimized for clearing the mind and sharpening intellect,
they had nonetheless remained oblivious to a ‘mistake’ when calculating the family’s revenue and reporting taxes, complacently repeating the same error for forty years.
Having received ocean-like grace this time, and taking heed from the Namgung Clan’s affair, they recalculated and discovered the error late.
They wished to rectify this even now and properly pay the back taxes, so they begged for forgiveness.
“Ahem, this matter is not something this official can decide at my level. Therefore, I have submitted it to His Majesty, and once the imperial rescript is handed down, I shall inform you of the decision then.”
“Your grace is boundless.”
The Zhuge Clan Leader bowed flat, begging for his crime, declaring he would not leave his spot for days and nights until an answer arrived.
At a glance, it looked pitiful and grueling, but he too was a Transcendental Expert.
It was merely pathetic to look at; in reality, it wasn’t particularly agonizing.
‘He’s a gentleman who mastered immunity to cold and heat ages ago, after all.’
The same went for fasting for a few days.
At his cultivation realm, it truly posed no issue whatsoever.
Besides, whenever no eyes were watching, he would swiftly swallow some water and a Bigu Pill, so there was no need to worry.
From his side, Absolute Shadow spoke.
“Seeing them confess late only after the Namgung Clan was punished is truly despicable.”
“Junior disciple, someone might hear. Speak more quietly.”
“My apologies.”
“And there is a saying about mending the pen after losing the sheep.”
‘Losing the sheep and fixing the pen.’
At first glance, it sounded just like the Korean proverb about fixing the stable after losing the cow.
However, the actual nuance in usage was different.
‘While it is sometimes used to mean the same thing, it’s more commonly used to mean that fixing it late is vastly better than not doing it at all.’
The original phrase was ‘mending the pen after losing the sheep is not too late.’
It is never too late to mend the pen even after the sheep are gone.
‘It’s a good saying. You have to fix the pen to raise sheep again, don’t you?’
“You seem to view that prostration in sackcloth favorably, senior brother.”
“Yeah, fixing a mistake late, no matter what it is, is far better than continuing to live with the same wrongdoing.”
“If that is your will, senior brother…”
Absolute Shadow closed his mouth.
If his lord chose to forgive, how could he, a subject, dare to argue further?
Though it still didn’t sit well with him, he had no choice but to let it pass.
Even so, he didn’t stop glaring with eyes that burned like a wolf’s.
There was no way the Zhuge Clan Leader could remain unaware of that gaze.
‘King Wuryong is magnanimous, but his close guard is not.’
It was a relief that the reverse wasn’t true.
In any case, if he cleared the air this time, there would be no grounds for dispute in the future.
Punishing someone again for a matter already forgiven would look far too unseemly.
‘If I don’t shake it off now, it might catch our ankles later when we are riding high.’
Ultimately, it was decided to only pay the tax omissions from the past ten years.
That much wouldn’t be too crippling a blow.
It is always true that falling after flying high hurts much more.
Take the fourteen spiritual pills granted just recently; each and every one of them was incredibly precious.
Compared to that, ten years of omitted taxes wasn’t even that much.
‘Though they’re hard to sell carelessly, in terms of actual value, the spiritual pills are worth far more.’
Yet, the more one thrived under such grace, the more they would draw jealousy, envy, and checks from those around them.
In such a state, imagine if someone impeached the Zhuge Clan, claiming they had evaded taxes for a long time just like the Namgung Clan.
‘Thinking everything is fine just because one holds favor is a dangerous arrogance.’
Since no one knew when that favor might fade, the correct approach was to be prudent in all matters.
So, while favor still remained, they would take a small hit and clear the slate.
‘Though that favor…’
For some reason, it felt less like it was directed at his clan and more like it was entirely focused on Jun, one of his sons…
The boy himself claimed it wasn’t favor at all, but to anyone else, that was blatant nonsense.
It was a mystery why such a smart kid would stubbornly insist on something so absurd.
Watching their clan leader’s prostration from afar, the members of the clan murmured among themselves.
“Mmm, must he really go this far?”
“I wonder how much the fine to be paid will be.”
“There’s no way there wasn’t prior communication. There will probably be an appropriate reduction in sentence considering the self-report.”
The current prostration in sackcloth was for public display; the actual amount of money to be paid would have been decided in advance.
The reason the clan leader didn’t disclose it was out of fear that some loose-lipped fool might leak the fact.
‘No matter how much it’s a scripted play behind the scenes, it must never be exposed.’
“How much could it be?”
“Is this a matter that should be known by many?”
The clan leader would surely handle it well on his own.
* * *
Depending on the situation, a prostration in sackcloth could genuinely be a desperate plea of ‘just please spare my life,’ but this time, it was an event staged after coordinating everything behind the scenes beforehand, so the people of the Zhuge Clan weren’t particularly tense.
They simply felt that things had been moving at a frantic pace lately.
“Though minor things occurred over the past twenty years, there hasn’t been a major event like this.”
“Indeed. The Namgung Clan was completely devastated, and we ourselves almost suffered the tragedy of family extermination.”
While such talk drifted back and forth, Jun sent a sound transmission to Seonwu.
[You really are a king, aren’t you?]
[Did you think I was a fake until now?]
[No, I knew you were real, but seeing Changtian Jianzun suffer Qi Deviation and my father, the Zhuge Clan Leader, prostrating in sackcloth all because of a single word from you… it just fills me with admiration, that’s all.]
[Uh-huh, get your facts straight. Did I cause his Qi Deviation? He brought it upon himself.]
[Wow, look at how shameless this bastard is. You drove him into a corner, so who else drove him if not you?]
Despite Jun’s condemnation, Seonwu remained dignified.
[Who told him to sin? He just reaped his karma. Besides, they call it Qi Deviation, but it’s a very mild level that just needs a bit of settling, isn’t it? It hasn’t even reached the mind; it stopped at the level of unruly energy, right?]
[That may be true, but a master of the Realm of Creation ending up like that is no ordinary occurrence. I’ve realized anew that you wield absolute power.]
[What absolute power? No matter how much I flatter him, Imperial Father isn’t the type to punish the Namgung Clan if they hadn’t committed any crimes. I merely allowed their hidden sins to come to light.]
Jun had to agree with that much.
‘But that is the world-renowned Namgung Clan, with Changtian Jianzun, one of the Top Ten Masters, as its leader.’
Could just anyone expose the sins committed by such a clan, turn them into beggars, and cause their leader to suffer Qi Deviation?
‘If that isn’t absolute power, what is?’
The man himself stubbornly denied it, so what could he do? But even as his friend, he was truly incredible.
‘Sigh, a guy who yearned to be a chivalrous Xia of the Wulin in his past life turned into this, so I wonder how far he’ll go. The Wulin won’t have a single day of peace.’
At the very least, sects that had committed many sins wouldn’t be able to sleep well.
Their hearts would certainly get a lot of exercise.
* * *
The Zhuge Clan Leader’s prostration in sackcloth ended on exactly the seventh day.
“…Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor has commanded that the Zhuge Clan offset their past errors by paying the omitted amounts from the past ten years.”
“The mercy of His Majesty the Emperor is as high as the heavens and as deep as the sea. This humble Wulin servant, Zhuge, is merely overwhelmed with gratitude.”
The Zhuge Clan Leader slammed his head hard against the ground.
Being a Transcendental Expert, he didn’t actually bleed, but the sound alone was thunderous.
Watching this transpire among the members of the Zhuge Clan, Jun-ye, who was Jun’s older brother and rival, spoke.
“For now, the crisis of complete ruin like the Namgung Clan has been cleanly avoided with this.”
“Yes, it is a relief.”
“By the grace of the Emperor, we escaped a crisis where we almost suffered heavily at the hands of the Demons, so this level of prostration is a small price to pay.”
“Furthermore, since we received a pardon for the entire past forty years, no one will be able to find fault with us in the future.”
“I think so too. But you know, it is quite coincidental that your two friends from the Eunhak Sect happened to arrive just in time.”
At his brother’s words, Jun merely smiled softly.
In moments like this, he was completely Zhuge Jun.
“Those two friends were of great help during this raid, so for my part, I am simply happy for our friendship.”
Jun-ye launched a sudden sound transmission.
[Is that crane actually not a crane, but a dragon? A golden dragon, or a moon dragon?]
[Brother, you know what happened to Yang Xiu after he spoke of the chicken ribs, so why do you deliberately ask such a thing?]
When Jun brought up the historical anecdote where Yang Xiu was executed for carelessly speaking after pretending to discern his superior’s thoughts—even though it was true—Jun-ye laughed as well.
[Indeed, my younger brother is right.]
[When the time comes, father will naturally let us know what we need to know. Your younger brother has nothing to say.]
[Right, this foolish older brother asked an unnecessary thing.]
Both Jun-ye and Jun smiled softly.
To outsiders, they looked like two brothers of the Zhuge Clan who got along splendidly.
Jun-ye stepped back for now.
Even from this exchange, he had already gained what he wanted to gain.
‘As expected, those two are the connection to the Imperial Court.’
A separate individual could have visited the clan leader without his knowledge to inform him of the scheme of the demonic strategist, but no one conspicuous stood out.
Of course, if they were Yuelongwei, they could somehow pass word to the clan leader while deceiving his own eyes, but it was too coincidental.
Was that all?
‘Everywhere those two move, the government mysteriously gets entangled.’
Just recently, the Golden Dragon Guard deployed to the Namgung Clan and overturned it.
If those two were secret inspectors dispatched for a preliminary investigation, the story connected smoothly.
And was that all?
‘Looking into it separately, even before this, two minor sects that were lectured by those two were also punished by the government.’
Their tracks were deeply suspicious, suggesting they possessed the power to move the government in some way.
‘It is probably a secret inspection by the Yuelongwei.’
Forty years since the founding of the empire.
And twenty years since a degree of stabilization was achieved.
It was clear that the Imperial Family was finally moving to establish discipline over the Wulin.
‘From what the Wulin has gathered so far, His Majesty has no interest in the detailed affairs of state, so he simply approves whatever the ministers decide and only focuses on blocking the demonic monsters at the border and maintaining the Great Barrier that governs the world’s climate, but…’
That must have been because those matters were more urgent, so he focused his attention there.
Now, he would no longer leave the Wulin to its own devices.
[However, know that this older brother is also willing to follow whatever His Majesty wishes to achieve.]
[Uh, mmm. Brother, your younger brother is saying this out of genuine goodwill, but it would be best if you didn’t approach those two…]
[Haha, are you trying to keep me away?]
[No, it’s not that… I really…]
Jun hesitated.
He knew his brother viewed him as a rival and kept tabs on him.
Hence, he didn’t particularly like his brother either.
It was hard to harbor unrequited love for a brother who disliked him.
Yet, he was still his brother…
‘Brother, that bastard Seonwu isn’t just some Yuelongwei guard; he’s a king.’
While he himself was entangled with him due to ties from a past life, Seonwu wasn’t someone it was particularly beneficial to get too close to.
Of course, winning a king’s favor could lead to a swift rise in the world, but the danger increased just as much.
He wanted to earnestly request that his brother maintain a safe distance.
[I understand. I am not trying to fight you right this moment, so relax.]
[I truly say this with your best interests at heart, brother.]
Jun didn’t like his brother, but he didn’t wish for him to self-destruct either.
Truly.
Even if their relationship was poor, before that, he was a brother who shared the same blood.
Seonwu watched the two of them with gleaming eyes.
With the feeling that he had just witnessed something quite entertaining.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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