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In the Celestial Realm

Upon returning to the base, Mangnyang was waiting with Zhuge Sa and Cheon Woo-jin. Just like last time, it appeared that Zhuge Sa had been somewhat forcibly “invited” as he sat sulking inside the Land and Earth Diagram.

“Did you have a good trip?”

Mangnyang waved happily.

I nodded and looked around. “Is Jin So-cheong training?”

“Yes, it seems he was training in the Great Bamboo Forest nearby, completely engrossed it seemed.”

“……”

There was still a bit of time left until our promised month was up. According to Mangnyang, Jin So-cheong was training with his life on the line, most likely drawing upon the martial arts memories he inherited from me to unlock his genius.

“By the way, what business did you have outside?”

“I went to the Southern Barbarians in search of Hwayeo.”

“Hmm! That’s a good choice.” As Mangnyang subtly nudged him, Cheon Woo-jin bluntly replied, “Your older brother has too many secrets.”

Soon after, Cheon Woo-jin excused himself, and I began to recount everything that had happened during my journey south, including my encounter with Dongbang Mu-gyeol, my meeting with Naresuen, the Zhuyong Tribe, Hwayeo’s continent, and those Colorful-eyed folks.

After listening to my story, Mangnyang thought for a long while and then suddenly said, “You’ve brought back quite a lot. But how did you plan on finding Hwayeo?”

“I’ve heard that if the powers of Xuyou and Hwayeo combine, they would gain the strength to even annihilate gods. Since we lost to the god in our 17th past life, I wanted to prepare as much as possible.”

“You’ve certainly developed excellent judgment and insight…” Mangnyang praised before continuing, “In that case, you’ve got four hostages now—Dongbang Mu-gyeol’s crew and one of those Colorful-eyed folks.”

“That’s right.”

“If they ran into General Hwang Yeon’s group, wouldn’t they be confused?”

I shook my head at Mangnyang’s question. “I can partition the Wooden Armor and store it at will. They’re in different spaces.”

“Indeed… Quite an impressive demon artifact you have there.” After pondering a moment, Mangnyang said, “First, let’s take a look at the materials we obtained from the Colorful-eyed crew.”

I dumped the items I had brought from their warship onto Jinrang Valley, as Mangnyang commanded. Hundreds of firearms and cannons lay there, not to mention Western melee weapons, compasses, maps, and all sorts of useless books and junk that filled an amount that would take several boxes just to contain.

Mangnyang picked up one of the firearms, inspecting it from every angle. Finally, he stared at one for a long moment and exclaimed, “Incredible! What is this?”

He had already taken apart the small firearm in his hands.

“Do you know much about guns?”

“As an astrologer, I’ve accumulated knowledge on them while also honing my understanding. There are probably less than ten people in the Great Ming Empire who know more than I do about firearms and artillery.”

I glanced at the firearm again. It was definitely one used by the commander of the Colorful-eyed folks; though it was a single shot, its reloading speed was surprisingly quick. Upon sharing this realization, Mangnyang replied, “Look closely. This is very different from existing firearms. Traditionally, you’d ignite flint or put black powder in it, but this… The bullet is wrapped in paper. What a revolutionary concept!”

“……? How is that impressive?”

“To put it another way, it’s what you’d call a shell casing. The bullet is surrounded by a paper exterior, it’s like an integrated detonator. This is game-changing enough to redefine everything I knew about firearms!”

Seeing Mangnyang purely in awe made me tilt my head. He seemed to have immediately remembered the intricate internal structure of the firearm and quietly reassembled it before continuing, “Once this firearm starts mass production in the West, the world will undergo a huge transformation. No, it may already be changing.”

“Is that so…”

“It seems that the Western nations are more advanced than we thought. In my opinion, this firearm applies the world’s greatest technology.”

I couldn’t fully grasp the significance. While I acknowledged that the reloading speed was indeed impressive, I doubted it was enough to change the world. Moreover, I couldn’t quite understand what it meant to wrap a bullet in paper; but if Mangnyang said it was extraordinary, I had no choice but to accept that.

Eventually, Mangnyang set the firearm down and said, “Well, this isn’t immediately important to us. Speaking of other matters, I believe finding clues about Hwayeo is going to be a troublesome task.”

“Hmm. I don’t understand what it means that the sun is hidden by darkness…”

Mangnyang laughed heartily then. “Haha! That refers to a solar eclipse. Were you absent-minded?”

“Huh!”

In that moment, I realized that the description indeed sounded undeniably like an eclipse. I could vaguely recall something about eclipses from the texts I had studied, about how every now and then the sun is obscured by the darkness.

‘Guess I spaced out there…’ As I scratched my head, Mangnyang calmly continued, “If that’s true, it’s bound to become hard to find Hwayeo. This is because the timing of an eclipse varies depending on the continent’s position. In other words, there’s almost no way for us to know it at this current moment.”

“Are you saying it’s impossible?”

“Not exactly… But we at least need to pinpoint the likely locations. Observing the time differences of the sun and moon when we arrive is one thing, but if we end up thousands of miles away when the eclipse happens, we won’t have enough time to enter Hwayeo’s sealed place.”

“I see…”

I exhaled deeply. Mangnyang’s keen intellect could calculate the date of the eclipse somehow, but it evidently required considerable time and effort, and furthermore, with how vast the southern continent is compared to the Central Plains, we had to at least locate a general area. That would be as difficult as finding a needle in a desert.

‘Getting the Seven Luminaries is going to be really hard…’

As I grumbled internally, Mangnyang interrupted, “For now, that’s not something we can do right away. Let’s discuss other matters. The situation with Dongbang Mu-gyeol and Hwang Yeon.”

“Hmm.”

“It may be a bit twisted, but it seems manageable. Provided we perfectly manipulate Dongbang Mu-gyeol’s memories.”

“The Zhuyong Tribe are masters of mental manipulation, so I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“In that case, let’s proceed with assigning Hwang Yeon to Liaodong City. We can release Dongbang Mu-gyeol back to the Southern Barbarian royal palace so that Naresuen and the others can smooth things over.”

I wasn’t too worried about Dongbang Mu-gyeol’s handling as I expected that direction. However, when Liaodong City came up for Hwang Yeon, I was puzzled. Liaodong refers to the land east of the Liao River, a place you’d pass through when heading for Goryeo by land. I couldn’t understand why we would send Hwang Yeon there instead of entrusting him to the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School or the Bancheon Alliance.

Mangnyang then explained, “Liaodong City is where Hwang Yeon’s most loyal subordinate, the North Dragon Troops, is stationed, and it’s his most formidable power base. Plus, it’s where numerous elite soldiers trained through their wars with the steppes. Granting Hwang Yeon freedom there would be like a fish returning to water.”

“Ah!”

Thinking back, the North Dragon Troops, known as the finest troops of the Great Ming Empire, were indeed Hwang Yeon’s right-hand men. They had made a significant impression in the past war, and I remembered them well. However, I felt curious about Mangnyang’s plan as it didn’t quite make sense. “Then why haven’t you sent him to Liaodong City before?”

“Two reasons.” Mangnyang took a deep breath and continued, “The first is that if the Emperor or the Golden Eagle Guard decides to go after Hwang Yeon, staying in Liaodong City wouldn’t be safe at all. Though it’s not publicly declared, the Emperor could easily label Hwang Yeon as a sinner. If that happens, Hwang Yeon would have no choice but to lead the troops of Liaodong City in a rebellion. With no plans or preparations, that would be an extremely low-win fight.”

“Hmm.”

“Moreover, it’s questionable whether Hwang Yeon’s subordinates can manage against the Golden Eagle Guard. After all, they failed to protect Hwang Yeon properly, allowing the Golden Eagle Guard to kidnap him and imprison his family. If the Golden Eagle Guard takes a stealthy approach, it’ll be incredibly tough for Hwang Yeon to hold out.”

That made sense. The Golden Eagle Guard had many peak experts and experienced assassins. If they plotted a coup, they were a remarkably strong force. As I pondered this, Mangnyang noted, “Another reason is that it would benefit us to keep Hwang Yeon within our influence. You already know how successful Hwang Yeon is when commanding troops, from experience.”

Of course, I was well aware. When Hwang Yeon’s rebellion was a success and he nearly reached the palace, I thought it was nearly over. The influence of General Hwang Yeon was more powerful than we had imagined. I suddenly remembered something and said, “Something feels off…”

“What is it?”

“Back then… we almost succeeded in reaching the palace thanks to Hwang Yeon’s power during my 13th past life.”

“That’s right.”

I still vividly remembered it. Recalling those memories, I added, “Though I unfortunately had to commit suicide due to the interference of the Old Ruler, everything was going smoothly. If we proceed like back then, wouldn’t we succeed? We have even more talent now, and our capabilities have greatly improved.”

“……”

“Wait, thinking back, what was Zhuque doing during my 13th past life? If he had jumped in, it would have been tremendously tough for us…” Mangnyang sighed, “That relates to the true intention of the Four Great Experts of the Imperial Palace’s Zhuque.”

“True intention?”

“In my opinion, Hwang Yeon’s life likely wasn’t very important to Zhuque. To him, the Emperor was merely a useful pawn. Back in the 13th past life, when Hwang Yeon’s rebellion shifted the tide, Zhuge Yulong simply abandoned the board.”

My face contorted in confusion. “Abandoned the board? Isn’t that madness? Why…”

Mangnyang fiddled with the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line. “Because Zhuge Yulong could just wait for the next power player to join and recruit them again. That way, there’s less risk of exposing his identity, and it’s a safe method.”

“……!!”

“Rather than forcing a losing game, Zhuge Yulong’s tendency is to create a new board. After all, he isn’t loyal to the Emperor but to the Great Ming Empire.”

As Mangnyang rambled, he continued, “His son, Zhuge Bu, is actually the one who approached you for negotiations instead of clashing directly with Hwang Yeon. Think about it, Zhuge Yulong was behind Zhuge Bu. Every one of his actions was a move for the future.”

A chill shot through me at Mangnyang’s words. ‘How far ahead are these strategists thinking?’ Just envisioning it was terrifying. Even if I hadn’t rejected the call of the Old Ruler and chosen to commit suicide back then, Zhuque would have likely acted secretly against me. It would’ve been impossible to defend against an attack from Zhuque back then with the state of my abilities. If Zhuque aimed to seize Xuyou, there was no way I could have stopped him.

Mangnyang said, “Anyway, entrusting Hwang Yeon to Liaodong City was something I considered long ago. Unless you wish to establish a connection with Lee Kwang, I couldn’t send him to the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School.”

“What kind of tricks did you pull?”

“I met with the Master of the Twelve Joules.”

“Huh!”

I was taken aback. Did Mangnyang actually meet with the Master of the Twelve Joules? As I stared at him in shock, Mangnyang chuckled. “I had the chance to assess the Master of the Twelve Joules through your past life. I was confident in negotiating with him.”

“Is that safe? What if something backfires?”

“That’s why I took Cheon Woo-jin with me. Even if it’s against the Three Masters, he would be able to help me escape. So it seems the Master of the Twelve Joules didn’t mess around and listened seriously to my story.”

Mangnyang continued, “As a result of our negotiations, if we send Hwang Yeon to Liaodong City, the Master of the Twelve Joules agreed to protect him. The Golden Palace’s claws on Hwang Yeon will also be handled by the Master of the Twelve Joules. If Hwang Yeon quietly receives protection from the Twelve Joules and gains strength, the Emperor will have no ability to touch him. This is because the Twelve Joules hold actual sway over Goryeo, and a misstep could lead to war between nations.”

Bringing the Master of the Twelve Joules into the game! I was slightly stunned as I hadn’t considered that possibility. The Twelve Joules were a sly and powerful entity; could we really draw them in? As I questioned this, Mangnyang said, “Of course, the Master of the Twelve Joules won’t help for free. By putting Hwang Yeon forward, I persuaded him on how this would serve as a check against the Great Ming Empire, and I offered the Silver Phoenix Fragment as compensation.”

“Ah!”

Come to think of it, I had given Mangnyang the fragment I brought from the library in Taekyung Village, thinking it might be of help. Mangnyang used it as a bargaining chip in this negotiation with the Master of the Twelve Joules.

“You mean the Master of the Twelve Joules accepted that so easily?”

“Not just easily. Based on the Silver Phoenix Fragment, my past self arrived at the secrets of the Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram. It’s by no means an ordinary treasure. That’s why I felt confident showing it to him, and it was well received.”

Having said that, Mangnyang continued, “I think it’s good to have the support of the Master of the Twelve Joules this time around. It will allow us to paint a bigger picture.”

“Hmm… I’ll follow your lead.”

I didn’t quite grasp what Mangnyang meant by a bigger picture. He might give an answer if I ask, but I might not comprehend the full scale of it either. Still, knowing Mangnyang always did his utmost in plotting, I had confidence in him.

Mangnyang stood up. “Then let’s take care of other matters until the time comes.”

“Alright.”

I stood up alongside Mangnyang. From now on, I needed to utilize the Golden Lamp technique to send Dongbang Mu-gyeol’s crew back to the Southern Barbarian royal palace, while also delivering Hwang Yeon to Liaodong City. The cleanup process went rather quickly and smoothly, especially when it came to placing Hwang Yeon; the lord of Liaodong City welcomed him warmly.

“Don’t worry. We’ve already arranged everything with the Master of the Twelve Joules. He will be well taken care of.”

The lord of Liaodong City had a number of experts from the Twelve Joules lined up beside him. As Liaodong City is close to Goryeo, it was clearly within the primary influence of the Twelve Joules, and the lord couldn’t contradict that.

“Thank you for your help.”

After finishing all the arrangements, I returned to Jinrang Valley and waited quietly for Jin So-cheong’s training to end. Since he had mentioned it, I had to keep an eye on whether he would follow through as a friend.

Jin So-cheong arrived precisely on the morning of the one-month mark.

 

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