Chapter 41: When the Moon Is Full, the Emperor Falls; Slowly Advancing, I Become King
At the center of the Hall of the Emperor, Namgung Byeok, the head of the Namgung Family, naturally sat upon the raised platform’s chair. Standing in orderly rows to his left and right were the commanders and elders who led the Hall of the Emperor Sword Division, Vault of the Firmament Sword Division, Flying Swallow Sword Division, Unhindered Sword Division, and Flash Lightning Sword Division.
The only people who should have been present but were absent were Namgung Il, the Commander of the Heavenly Wind Division, who had first brought this news, and Namgung Hu, the Commander of the Heavenly Thunder Unit.
Every face gathered in the hall was grave, making it easy to tell just how serious the matter under discussion truly was.
“When the moon is full, the Emperor falls; slowly advancing, I become king.”
From early morning until now, every discussion held within this hall had revolved around those eight characters.
At first, there had been some disagreement over their interpretation. But now, that dispute no longer existed.
When the moon is full, the Emperor falls.
There was hardly any need to think deeply about it. It clearly referred to the downfall of the Namgung Family.
Since ancient times, the Namgung Family had called itself the House of the Emperor. Here, the “Emperor” plainly referred to the Namgung Family itself, while “the moon is full” undoubtedly pointed to the upcoming wedding, which would take place on the night of the full moon.
There had never been any room for debate on that point.
The disagreement had not concerned the first four characters, the Bone Inscriptions.
It had been over the last four Blood Inscriptions, written in blood.
Slowly advancing, I become king.
There had been fierce debate over who exactly this “I, who slowly advances” referred to.
But even that had eventually reached an undeniable conclusion.
The heated argument now taking place was over what should be done about the person identified as that “slowly advancing one.”
“I’ve said this repeatedly already, but this is clearly slander!”
Namgung Jung, Commander of the Vault of the Firmament Sword Division, forcefully declared as he looked around the hall.
He was the only elder of the Namgung Family who also served as commander of a sword division, and in terms of seniority, he stood on nearly equal footing with Namgung Byeok. Naturally, his voice carried tremendous weight in a meeting like this.
“Saber Star has not even been part of this family for a full year. That means he still has absolutely no influence within the family. Even after marrying Hye-ah, that won’t change much. Surely everyone here understands that better than anyone? To begin with, that young man isn’t even a Namgung. So tell me, how exactly could someone like him threaten the position of Family Head?”
The “Saber Star” Namgung Jung referred to was Do Heo-ok’s title.
His voice was filled with unwavering certainty, leaving no room for alternative possibilities.
As though agreeing with him, many of the elders nodded.
“We’re seriously suspecting the man who’s about to become our son-in-law simply because of some grotesque message an intruder carved with the blood and bones of our own warriors? The martial world would laugh at the Namgung Family. Why would the man who’s about to marry into this family ever orchestrate something like that? I simply cannot understand why our entire family has been thrown into turmoil because of the malicious slander of a single vicious intruder.”
However, Namgung In, the relatively younger commander of the Unhindered Sword Division, did not share the elders’ view.
As soon as Namgung Jung finished speaking, he immediately countered.
Though one generation below Namgung Jung and the elders in seniority, Namgung In was widely regarded as the next likely Family Head, enjoying overwhelming support among the younger martial artists. Regardless of seniority, he possessed considerable influence within the family.
“I cannot agree with that opinion. Although the intruder was indeed cruel and unlawfully infiltrated the Namgung Family, I believe the eight characters, ‘When the moon is full, the Emperor falls; slowly advancing, I become king,’ deserve our careful attention.”
“Look here, Commander of the Unhindered Sword Division. Anyone can see that ‘slowly advancing’ is a character decomposition referring to Do Heo-ok. Are you saying such an obvious trick by the intruder is actually worthy of our attention?”
Namgung Jung immediately interrupted.
Namgung In calmly responded.
“Precisely because it is so obvious, I believe we should pay even closer attention. The intruder went through great difficulty to secretly infiltrate the Namgung Family, only to slaughter the Heavenly Wind Division’s warriors in full view of everyone and carve eight characters whose meaning could not possibly have been more obvious. That tells me his objective was never to assassinate someone within the Namgung Family or gather intelligence. And think about the three streams of light he released as he departed the sailing ship, the very phenomenon everyone in the family is now calling the Three Sacred Lights. After completing his task, he even sent out an unmistakable signal, as though inviting us to come witness what he had done. Then he disappeared again like a ghost.”
“So you’re suggesting we arrest Do Heo-ok based on the unverified slander of some intruder? The groom who’s to marry the Namgung Family’s daughter in just a few days? And what if it later proves to be slander? What then? If word spreads throughout the martial world, how do you intend to deal with the consequences? And how will you ever face Hye-ah afterward?”
“Whether the martial world mocks us is a matter for later. Even if this truly is the intruder’s slander, I believe we should first place Do Heo-ok under restraint. If, by even the slightest chance, the intruder’s words are true, wouldn’t that be a far greater disaster?”
Namgung In paused briefly, sweeping his gaze across the room before continuing.
“The intruder’s actions were far too bold, and his abilities far too extraordinary, for us to dismiss this as mere slander. With all due respect to the Family Head and our honored elders… who among those gathered here could reproduce the light we witnessed before dawn? This isn’t merely a matter of whether one has cultivated the Sun Divine Art or not. Even if someone within the Namgung Family had mastered it, I sincerely doubt anyone present… possesses enough internal energy to produce such overwhelming brilliance.”
“That’s going a bit too far—”
One of the elders flared up at Namgung In’s somewhat audacious words, but Namgung Byeok raised a hand and stopped him.
Namgung In’s words had been provocative and blunt.
But they had also been truthful.
Namgung Byeok knew that well, which was why he had interrupted the elder.
Namgung In lightly cupped his fist toward Namgung Byeok before continuing.
“I don’t know how he created those beams of light, but since the ship remained completely intact, we can be certain they were not flashes produced by Thunderbolt Bombs. If so, they must have been created through the Sun Divine Art or a martial art of similar nature. I believe that level of profound cultivation would be impossible unless one were among the Two Gods, Three Monsters, Five High Masters, and Ten Greats. Frankly, the thought of what might have happened had someone of that caliber attacked the Hall of the Emperor before dawn frightens me. Yet instead of attacking the Hall of the Emperor, he chose to leave behind those eight characters. Considering these facts, I believe we must keep every possibility open and prepare accordingly.”
“You’re saying he’s one of the Twenty Greatest Masters?”
Namgung Jung waited until Namgung In had completely finished before speaking again.
Although he didn’t think Namgung In’s argument was entirely unreasonable, he believed it contained a fatal flaw.
“If he’s truly someone that extraordinary, then why doesn’t he come forward openly?”
“The Twenty Greatest Masters are not all members of the Orthodox Faction. That is probably why.”
“Do you honestly think that makes any sense? If he isn’t from the Orthodox Faction, why would he help us? No, before that he secretly infiltrated the Namgung Family and murdered our warriors. That was deception and an attack against us. How can that possibly be considered helping us? He’s nothing more than a murderous demon who brutally slaughtered innocent members of our family and a despicable trickster.”
“What I meant was—”
“That’s enough.”
Seeing the atmosphere becoming dangerously heated, Namgung Byeok finally intervened.
“Both of you are right. As Commander of the Vault of the Firmament Sword Division said, the intruder is certainly suspicious. But Commander of the Unhindered Sword Division is also correct that we cannot ignore even the smallest possibility. Isn’t that precisely why the Commander of the Heavenly Thunder Unit and the Commander of the Heavenly Wind Division have gone out to investigate? Let us all remain patient and wait a little longer.”
Whether because of Namgung Byeok’s authority or not, silence immediately settled over the hall.
In truth, everyone present had been waiting for Namgung Il and Namgung Hu.
They had been the first to discover both the Bone and Blood Inscriptions and the Three Sacred Lights, and had already left the meeting to gather further evidence.
At that very moment, the Heavenly Wind Division had dispersed throughout the family estate in search of the intruder responsible for creating the Bone and Blood Inscriptions and the Three Sacred Lights.
If the intruder were still hiding somewhere inside the estate, then no matter how skilled he was, escaping the Heavenly Wind Division’s surveillance would not be easy.
Although the Namgung Family estate was enormous, there were not many places suitable for hiding.
Even a master of concealment would be unable to evade the Heavenly Wind Division forever if he remained within the estate.
Everyone gathered believed that.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Thunder Unit had departed toward Hefei to conduct reconnaissance against any possible external threat.
If some force truly intended to move against the Namgung Family on the night of the full moon, there should already have been signs of activity by now.
The Heavenly Thunder Unit had set out before dawn precisely to detect such movements before they could fully unfold.
After Namgung Byeok’s final words, a heavy silence descended upon the Hall of the Emperor.
Regardless of whether Namgung Jung or Namgung In was correct, one thing was undeniably true.
Someone had infiltrated the Namgung Family.
No matter how one looked at it, the situation left an unpleasant feeling hanging over everyone.
Time slowly passed.
Flap!
The sharp sound of fluttering sleeves abruptly shattered the long silence.
Someone had rushed into the Hall of the Emperor using Lightness Skill.
It was Namgung Hu.
“Brother!”
Perhaps because he was too flustered, Namgung Hu addressed Namgung Byeok as “Brother” instead of “Family Head,” despite the formal setting.
Ordinarily, Namgung Byeok would have reprimanded him for such impropriety.
But realizing that Namgung Hu had brought grave news, he merely asked in a heavy voice,
“What happened?”
At his words, everyone’s attention focused on Namgung Hu.
Namgung Hu was the Commander of the Heavenly Thunder Unit.
That meant the news he carried was not about the intruder, but about events outside the Namgung Family, especially in the direction of Hefei.
Judging from the anguish written across his face, everyone already knew it could not be good news.
“Not a single member of the Heavenly Thunder Unit who departed on reconnaissance has returned to the family.”
“Not… a single one returned…?”
“Yes. They were all supposed to return within one shijin, yet not one of them came back.”
Namgung Hu had said they had not returned.
But Namgung Byeok did not need to ask what he truly meant.
There was no reason for the family’s martial artists to simply fail to return.
If martial artists sent on reconnaissance did not come back…
…it meant they had died.
“What do you think happened?”
He was not asking about the scouts themselves.
Their deaths were already treated as a certainty.
He was asking why they had died.
“We… the Namgung Family…”
Namgung Hu hesitated briefly before speaking in a heavy voice.
“…I believe we’ve been encircled.”
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