Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 198

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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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Chapter 198
Dokgo Myeong led his people into the Law Enforcement Division with unhurried grace.
Watching him stride in with his own feet, Dokgo Yeon-sin spoke in an even tone.
“How confidently you walk in.”
“Surely I couldn’t crawl in on my belly, could I?”
Dokgo Yeon-sin turned his gaze to the Law Enforcement officers who had followed behind Dokgo Myeong.
“I distinctly remember ordering you to bring in the criminal.”
“Well, about that…”
“It hardly looks like you’re escorting a criminal. If anything, it appears more like an honor guard.”
“…”
“Return and wait. I’ll question you separately about this matter.”
At his flat voice, the officers’ faces darkened.
“Come now, don’t be like that. Have any of them ever captured a demon cultivator before?”
“…”
“Let’s go. It’s late—let’s finish this quickly. Oh, and will you provide a late-night meal?”
Dokgo Myeong rattled off his jokes.
Dokgo Yeon-sin stared at him for a moment before speaking.
“Dokgo Myeong. Understand your position and circumstances. You are here as a criminal.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Law Enforcement officers, withdraw. I will interrogate the criminal myself.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin dismissed the officers and dragged Dokgo Myeong away.
The place they arrived at was the Law Enforcement Division’s interrogation chamber.
‘Quite the atmosphere they’ve created here.’
In this suffocating space sealed on all sides—front, back, left, right, and top to bottom—there were only two chairs and a single table.
On the table lay brush, ink, and documents arranged in solitary silence.
Dokgo Yeon-sin spoke.
“Sit.”
Dokgo Myeong dropped into the chair and immediately opened his mouth.
“How many demon cultivators have sat in this chair besides me?”
“Only one.”
Dokgo Myeong asked with a slightly displeased expression.
“Who was it?”
“Your father.”
“What?”
“The sins of the father truly pass to the son.”
The Saheon Sect Leader was dragged before the Law Enforcement Division?
Given that he avoided schemes and intrigues, it was quite likely he had actually committed a crime, but what charges exactly?
‘What in the world was he doing back then?’
However, Dokgo Yeon-sin showed no intention of explaining. He closed his mouth and retrieved an inkstone and ink stick.
Scritch! Swish!
Dokgo Yeon-sin, seated across from me, began grinding ink.
After a moment, Dokgo Yeon-sin opened his mouth in a low voice.
“I express my gratitude regarding the matter of Alliance Leader Hong Yeong-chan’s misconduct.”
He was the one who had been causing trouble within the inner family. It seemed he had indeed been receiving bribes from somewhere.
“The position of Law Enforcement Officer Commander has been stripped. His martial arts have been sealed, and his assets have been confiscated.”
I asked immediately.
“Which faction was he aligned with?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“When did it start, then?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“To gauge how badly the Law Enforcement Bureau has deteriorated.”
He stopped grinding the ink abruptly.
Soon he set down the ink stone and picked up a brush instead, then answered.
“We estimate it began in early this year. There were no traces in finances or personnel matters, so we couldn’t be certain, but reports to another faction were detected this time.”
“Early this year… that would be roughly right after the Sect Leader’s declaration, wouldn’t it?”
“These are turbulent times when no one knows who will become the next Sect Leader. Hong the Commander couldn’t abandon his ambitions and desires.”
“Good grief.”
I let out a scoff of exasperation and leaned back heavily against the chair.
“The Law Enforcement Bureau seems to have lost considerable discipline. I thought it was an organization that moved according to the law, righteous and impartial.”
“It has never been such an organization from the beginning.”
“Pardon?”
Dokgo Yeon-sin spoke with cold derision.
“This bureau wields tremendous power. Those who possess power inevitably become corrupt—how could impartiality even be possible?”
“Hmm…”
“What is it?”
“Can the head of the Law Enforcement Bureau really say such things?”
Dokgo Yeon-sin spoke matter-of-factly.
“I merely stated the facts as they are.”
I regarded Dokgo Yeon-sin with fresh eyes.
Only then could I begin to understand what kind of man this was.
A principled realist.
He demands principles not only of himself but of others as well, yet he understands that principles are nothing but ideals.
‘Is this why the Sect Leader promised him full authority?’
A man who understands the complex political landscape and uses it, but never turns his eyes away from his assigned duties.
‘So that’s why I didn’t dislike him.’
There was a reason he had pleased me.
The only problem was…
‘Now I have to figure out how to manipulate this man…’
It was then that Dokgo Yeon-sin opened his mouth.
“I will now begin the interrogation of Dokgo Myeong of the Saheon Sect, who is under suspicion of breach of duty and negligence.”
“People who know the full situation—do we really need to go through all this formality? There’s no one watching.”
“Such is the law.”
…This seems like a different kind of madness altogether.
After that, the formal interrogation began.
Since I had no intention of defending myself, I simply repeated “yes” and “no,” cooperating willingly with the questioning.
Dokgo Yeon-sin occasionally fixed me with eyes whose depths I could not fathom.
Even when I met that gaze directly, I could discern nothing, yet somehow it seemed Dokgo Yeon-sin felt the same incomprehensibility when looking at me.
How much time had passed like this?
“Then this concludes the matter. Documents will be submitted to the inner chamber, so await your disposition while under confinement.”
Just as Dokgo Yeon-sin finished writing with his brush and was about to lift the Jipbeop-bu’s official seal.
Dokgo Yeon-sin parted his lips.
“What scheme are you plotting?”
I smiled knowingly and spoke.
“Jipbeop-bu Leader. Are you satisfied with this?”
“…Satisfied?”
“Yes, I asked if you were satisfied.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s brow gradually narrowed.
Had the Sect Leader witnessed this scene, he would surely have smiled that characteristic smile of his.
‘So now he’s even trying to manipulate the Jipbeop-bu Leader.’
* * *
The sect leaders of what was now more aptly called the Dokgo Myeong faction filed out of Baek Jade Hall with worry etched across their faces.
After spending hours soothing and consoling them, Dokgo Jo-hak felt utterly drained.
“Tch, that damned bastard. He talks like a general but works me like a slave.”
Dokgo Jo-hak muttered irritably and gulped down cold water.
Geumsan Sect Leader Son Tae-im, the only sect leader who remained, opened his mouth.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“I’ve certainly worked hard by my own reckoning. Those insolent fools—I personally gave them their positions, yet they act as though those seats were theirs from the beginning, growing restless with ambition.”
Geum Seok-du let out a bitter smile at Dokgo Jo-hak’s caustic tone.
“I just received a note from Jang’s servant—he said the young master entered the Jipbeop-bu a moment ago.”
“Finally? Did the Jipbeop-bu Leader show some flexibility?”
“However…”
Son Tae-im gazed at the door through which the sect leaders had departed, his expression heavy with concern.
“The sect leaders’ resentment is beyond measure. The young master only returned today, and already external pressure is being applied.”
“All the better. This might be our chance to purge everyone harboring ulterior motives in one sweep.”
“You’re quite bold, truly.”
Son Tae-im shuddered.
“Not much time remains until the Hundred Sect Assembly…so things will begin in earnest soon, won’t they?”
“Not the beginning but rather the final stages. If the Hundred Sect Assembly is held and the vote proceeds without issue, we will have lost.”
Dokgo Myeong had entered the Jipbeop-bu.
For now, it would likely end with confinement and suspension, but soon he would be summoned to the Hundred Sect Assembly to answer for his actions and thrown into the prison tower.
And then what?
Under the pretext of holding Dokgo Myeong’s faction responsible for his recklessness, I’ll shake the entire power structure to its foundations.
Then around the first or third session of the Baekgak Conference, I’ll present some sort of agenda.
‘Probably something like a reorganization plan for the household’s internal factions. Dissolving and restructuring the Baekgak divisions that lack results or bring shame to the family—something along those lines.’
After that, it’s simply a matter of tearing apart the prey already caught.
That’s what they’re all thinking.
At that moment, Son Tae-im spoke up.
“Then I’ll begin making my moves soon.”
“Are you confident?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
Dokgo Jo-hak’s eyes gleamed.
“Those meritorious servants who follow only the household head—will all those Sect Leaders truly accept your requests?”
The Dokgo Household’s factions are indeed three in number.
Because the old meritorious servants who followed only the household head had not formed a faction.
And Son Tae-im had decided to target them on Dokgo Myeong’s orders.
Son Tae-im let out a soft chuckle.
“How would I know? They’re people who lack for nothing, after all.”
“You’re not confident?”
“Do you know what? Among all two-legged beasts, there’s not a single one who knows satisfaction. Even those who speak of desirelessness—don’t they desire greater enlightenment, greater teachings, greater…well, things like that?”
Son Tae-im’s lips curled upward.
“Everyone has their own deficiencies. Bribes simply target those places.”
Dokgo Jo-hak snorted.
“In the end, it’s amusing how the most important thing still depends on that man.”
“That’s precisely why I’m not worried.”
“Of course.”
Dokgo Jo-hak’s gaze shifted slightly.
Toward the Law Enforcement Bureau.
“Because he’s the one who roasted me alive with nothing but his tongue.”
* * *
Dokgo Yeon-sin furrowed his brow.
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether you’re satisfied playing the sword-wielder for two factions, constantly swayed by their machinations.”
“Don’t overstep your bounds, Dokgo Myeong.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s eyes flashed.
“Law enforcement inherently exists at the tail end of political maneuvering. We are merely an enforcement apparatus designed to handle the consequences of politics—did you truly think I would desire something more from this position?”
His words had grown lengthy.
It was not a bad reaction.
Showing emotion meant he had spoken not as the Law Enforcement Bureau Leader, but as Dokgo Myeong’s uncle.
“You should desire it. Isn’t that what any person should do?”
“Don’t try to persuade me with words. In my eyes, you’re no different from them. Do I look like someone susceptible to requests?”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s expression grew grave.
Yet Dokgo Myeong broke into a grin.
“When did I ever ask for leniency?”
“What?”
“On the contrary. Don’t settle for mere confinement—throw me into the prison tower itself. As deep as possible, if you would.”
What in the world…?
Dokgo Yeon-sin nearly voiced that very question before speaking something else instead.
“Give me your reason.”
“You wish to become a swordsman, don’t you? One who wields the blade of stern and impartial law.”
“….”
“Then do so. I will help you. Don’t resign yourself to contentment with the sword when it suits you so poorly.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin made no effort to hide the suspicion in his gaze.
Yet Dokgo Myeong remained composed.
“Once, both the Outer Hall Master and the Elder Council Leader came to me asking for my support.”
Had those two extended their hands to Dokgo Yeon-sin?
It made sense, certainly.
If one held the Law Enforcement Bureau, what tremendous power could be wielded?
But Dokgo Myeong had no interest in such things.
“I am not now asking you to lend strength to my faction, Uncle.”
“Speak plainly. Your eloquence borders on repugnant.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a laugh.
“From this moment forward, I will confess all my transgressions. You need only act according to the law.”
“What?”
“Strictly speaking, they aren’t crimes—but they are matters the Hundred Sect Conference would deem criminal. They should suffice as grounds for my imprisonment.”
Not asking to be released, but to be locked away?
This was a first. Dokgo Yeon-sin felt genuine bewilderment for the first time in ages.
“And then?”
At those words, Dokgo Myeong smiled once more.
“Do you know how this game was originally meant to unfold?”
“I know the Outer Hall Master orchestrated it. The Elder Council joined hands with him. Together they conspired to target you and your faction.”
“Yes, and they worked the Law Enforcement Bureau like servants to do it.”
“If you mean to keep dancing around the point….”
Dokgo Myeong spoke at once.
“I will give you the opportunity to turn your blade against all those who orchestrated this game. That is my proposal. All you need do is cast me into the prison tower and, when the time comes, draw your sword.”

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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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