Chapter 362

Chapter 362: Truth (2)

“Have Eunuch Cha brought before me.”

Following the decree of the Supreme Eunuch, the Brush-Holding Grand Eunuch tensed up instantly.

“May I inquire as to the purpose of summoning Eunuch Cha?”

The Supreme Eunuch’s features darkened considerably upon hearing this wary interrogation.

“Since when do you demand explanations from me? To my knowledge, the solitary individual this old man serves is the Son of Heaven himself.”

In plain terms, he had absolutely no intention of clarifying his actions to a lesser Brush-Holding Grand Eunuch.

The Brush-Holding Grand Eunuch swallowed hard and struck his forehead heavily against the floorboards.

“P-Please forgive my insolence! I shall retrieve Eunuch Cha immediately, Supreme Eunuch.”

Unsettled by his recent sequence of blunders, the Brush-Holding Grand Eunuch recognized that his internal panic had caused a dangerous slip of the tongue.

The Supreme Eunuch stared down at his prone figure for a brief interval before delivering his verdict.

“Your physical state has been failing, rendering it far too demanding for you to persist in your responsibilities as Director of the Eastern Depot. I shall be shifting those obligations over to Eunuch Cha for the foreseeable future. Mark my words.”

“I shall obey the Supreme Eunuch’s commands implicitly!”

The Brush-Holding Grand Eunuch replied with forced enthusiasm before pivoting sharply to exit the chamber. Yet, the compliant words contrasted sharply with the expression he bore once outside, which was contorted in absolute rage.

Throughout history, the Directorate of Ceremonial, which held authority over every eunuch, was led by a single Director at the pinnacle, aided by three or four Assistant Directors.

Among these figures, the individual who possessed the highest degree of confidence was selected to lead the Eastern Depot. What the Supreme Eunuch had just declared was that he was stripping away that authority and transferring it to a rival Eunuch.

However, resisting the Supreme Eunuch, a figure whose immense political authority was rivaled only by his terrifying martial prowess, amounted to a death sentence.

Consequently, the deposed Director of the Eastern Depot was forced to make his way toward Eunuch Cha’s residence to personally convey the degrading update.

“You look absolutely pathetic, Eunuch Bang.”

Eunuch Cha glanced between the fresh blood dripping from Eunuch Bang’s forehead and the stains upon his lower garment, letting loose a mocking chuckle.

Eunuch Bang suppressed his rising fury and gave a curt reply.

“The Supreme Eunuch requires your presence.”

Unable to endure another moment of this degradation, the former leader of the Eastern Depot spun around and marched away in a huff.

“Hmph.”

Eunuch Cha emitted a soft grunt, then adjusted his features and smoothed his attire before proceeding toward the grand chambers of the Supreme Eunuch.

“I offer my humblest greetings to the Supreme Eunuch.”

Eunuch Cha sank into a bow to show his respect, and the Supreme Eunuch offered a brief gesture of acknowledgment.

“I am officially removing Eunuch Bang from his post and placing the responsibilities of the Eastern Depot Director squarely upon your shoulders.”

“I shall sacrifice everything I am to prove worthy of the immense confidence the Supreme Eunuch has placed in me.”

“How could you view this as merely my own confidence?”

“If it serves His Imperial Majesty, I am entirely prepared to lay down my life at a moment’s notice! May the Emperor live for ten thousand years! May his rule endure forever!”

“Hahaha. I shall make certain the Son of Heaven hears of your devotion.”

The moment the required political formalities came to an end, the Supreme Eunuch delivered his initial directive to the bowing Eunuch Cha.

“Starting this very hour, assemble a handful of reliable operatives from the Eastern Depot and journey toward the north.”

“I shall make the necessary arrangements and set out without delay. However, what is my precise objective once I arrive?”

“It appears that Agent Number One, who was placed within the Martial Alliance, has recently run into an obstacle regarding his assignment.”

‘Agent Number One’ served as the private designation utilized by the Imperial Court for the current leader of the Martial Alliance, Cheok Pae-myeong.

The individual recognized as Cheok Pae-myeong had not been born with that moniker. He was a youth who had undergone grueling training from his earliest years to serve within the Imperial Guard tasked with protecting the sovereign. Eventually, a highly classified mandate arrived for that youth to adopt the false identity of Cheok Pae-myeong and enter the Central Plains to insinuate himself into the martial community.

Furthermore, this practice was by no means limited to Cheok Pae-myeong alone.

With each passing year, a chosen handful of youths undergoing training for the Imperial Guards received identical secret assignments. The Eastern Depot would construct fabricated backgrounds for them and mask the martial styles they had mastered as fortuitous discoveries.

Those who advanced rapidly and secured substantial authority within the ranks of the Orthodox Faction were even provided with rare medicines, which the Eastern Depot likewise disguised as accidental strokes of good fortune.

Via this methodology, undercover operatives were stealthily scattered throughout the entire Central Plains, and the individual who ascended the ranks most rapidly and amassed the greatest degree of power among them was none other than Cheok Pae-myeong.

Owing to his unparalleled achievements, he received the designation of ‘Agent Number One.’

To assist his endeavors, the Court paired him with the most exceptional intellect among their young intellectuals, who was none other than the current Chief Strategist, Gongsun Hyeon, designated as Agent Number Two.

In addition to this, a significant percentage of the combatants within the Martial Alliance were actually undercover operatives nurtured by the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard, mirroring the origin of Cheok Pae-myeong.

The Supreme Eunuch provided a concise overview of the predicament currently facing Cheok Pae-myeong.

“Therefore, travel to the northern regions and investigate the inner workings of the Maitreya Luminous Cult.”

“Your will shall be done.”

Once Eunuch Cha offered a final respectful bow and exited, the ancient figure known as the Supreme Eunuch redirected his icy stare back toward the detailed map resting upon his desk.

Though the Han Dynasty was nominally a singular, consolidated realm, the map displayed before him made it appear as though it were carved up into dozens of sovereign, warring territories.

‘If only Emperor Qianxi had taken decisive action when the opportunity presented itself.’

Emperor Qianxi was the sovereign who held the throne before the Supreme Eunuch had even drawn his first breath. It was during his period of rule that the Demonic Cult, having been previously exiled to Xinjiang, initiated its very first incursion into the Central Plains. Yet, Emperor Qianxi dismissed the martial artists of the world as mere ruffians beneath his attention. Thus, while the imperial court remained completely passive, the organizations of the Orthodox Faction within the Central Plains united their strength, and the Martial Alliance was established in the wake of that crisis.

For better or worse, the newly formed Martial Alliance managed to draw the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon into an ambush and beat back the Demonic Cult, achieving victory without an ounce of assistance from imperial authorities.

Though the Orthodox Factions sustained devastating losses throughout the conflict, the state still refrained from taking action to dismantle them.

Emperor Qianxi held such immense disdain for those who identified as martial artists that he failed to perceive them as a threat requiring containment.

Yet, roughly four decades following the passing of Emperor Qianxi, the Demonic Cult launched its second major assault.

Regrettably, the sovereign occupying the throne during that era represented the absolute epitome of an incompetent monarch. He was a short-sighted individual who cared for nothing beyond indulging in extravagant revelry filled with endless banquets and courtesans.

Utilizing their prior wartime encounters as a blueprint, the Orthodox Faction and the Martial Alliance countered the second incursion with far greater efficiency.

Upon receiving word of the outcome, Emperor Taiping of that era simply dismissed it with a laugh, stating, “Hahaha. My devoted subjects took it upon themselves to protect our territories and repel those insurgents. How truly laudable of them.”

Hearing these words, the sycophants constantly surrounding Emperor Taiping immediately began showering him with praise.

“This outcome is entirely due to Your Imperial Majesty’s limitless benevolence! Because Your Majesty’s heavenly favor reaches the highest firmaments, what cause could there be for anxiety?”

As a consequence, the Imperial Family carelessly shifted half the duty of preserving peace and order within the Central Plains onto the shoulders of martial artists, permitting the imperial army to merely secure the frontiers while the monarch spent his days immersed in lavish extravagance alongside his untrustworthy ministers.

Yet, while the Imperial Court looked away, the factions of the Orthodox Faction managed to persistently amass incredible quantities of influence and strength.

“It was our blood that halted the advances of the Demonic Cult. It was our strength that protected the populace and eradicated bandits along with the villains of the Unorthodox Faction. We martial artists shall handle our own governance, so withdraw and stay out of our business.”

The situation escalated to the point where insolent martial artists would literally stride into government administrative buildings and audaciously demand total autonomy.

This marked the era when the ridiculous tradition known as the Non-Interference Pact between the state and the martial world was officially established.

Decades slipped away, and Emperor Taiping eventually perished.

The monarch who followed made desperate attempts to rectify the blunders of his predecessor, but the Orthodox Faction of the Central Plains had already expanded to a size far too immense to handle.

Simultaneously, widespread corruption and internal decay had crippled the Imperial Family’s actual leverage. Fixed on reclaiming the absolute dominance of the throne, the new monarch placed his hopes in two distinct forces.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot.

To eliminate untrustworthy ministers, root out systemic corruption, and execute anyone who dared challenge royal supremacy, he began funneling immense wealth into reconstructing these two intelligence networks, which had previously operated in name only.

To achieve this, Emperor Yuanli aggressively drafted eunuchs from all corners of the Central Plains, and it was during this era of widespread conscription that the Supreme Eunuch first entered the grand palace.

Over several decades, Emperor Yuanli managed to purge the corrupt elements, and the young Supreme Eunuch earned massive prestige along the way.

However, dismantling the Orthodox Faction organizations and shattering the absurd notion of the Non-Interference Pact remained an elusive objective. For while Emperor Yuanli concentrated on fortifying the throne and cleansing the administration, the Central Plains’ Orthodox Faction had only grown more massive than before.

Naturally, no solitary sect could ever hope to rival the Imperial Family or the military on its own. Yet, if they formed a unified front, even the royal army could not ensure a painless triumph, and the most pressing issue remained external perils. They could not simply vacate the borders and leave the realm vulnerable just to suppress a gathering of prideful martial artists internally.

Governing a territory as massive as the Central Plains required overseeing an equally expansive frontier. The brutal nomads of the northern plains, Sila situated past the Heilongjiang Province, the Demonic Cult entrenched in Xinjiang, the Southern Barbarians inhabiting the southwest, and the raiders who constantly harassed the shores.

Emperor Yuanli was highly intelligent; he recognized that extracting his legions from the frontiers to engage in a civil war against martial artists was a path he simply could not afford to tread.

Following the passing of Emperor Yuanli, a succession of rapidly replaced monarchs left the political sphere in complete disarray. Then, out of nowhere, a terrifying wave of violence washed over the Central Plains.

The Blood Cult had awakened.

The newly crowned and youthful Emperor Tianxing grew to completely lose faith in martial artists owing to that catastrophe.

From his perspective, the Blood Cult zealots murdering defenseless commoners were martial artists, and the Orthodox Factions taking refuge behind the Non-Interference Pact while greedily prioritizing their own wealth were likewise just martial artists.

Even after the Blood Cult was successfully put down, Emperor Tianxing brooded over the dilemma and ultimately forged a strategy. The master blueprint to completely eradicate the martial world was born.

It was designated as [Return to Origin].

If they lacked the freedom to abandon the frontiers to wipe out the martial world, then they would manipulate the martial world into destroying itself from within. It was a strategy conceived after observing the Blood Cult and the Orthodox Faction butcher one another.

The individual selected to spearhead the execution of that strategy was a eunuch who already commanded the post of Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial at that time. The very same current Supreme Eunuch.

He enacted the monarch’s commands, meticulously constructing the foundation over several decades to gradually and covertly embed operatives within both the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance.

Even now, long after Emperor Tianxing had passed from this world and a new ruler had inherited the throne, the Supreme Eunuch persisted in executing the grand design.

“Every span of earth within the Central Plains rightfully belongs to the Son of Heaven. I shall reshape this map into its proper form. Regardless of the sacrifices required.”

The ancient terror of the Imperial Palace whispered with icy determination as he stared intently at the document before him.

In the meantime, within the distant borders of Gansu Province, Il-mok sat with an expression filled with deep anxiety.

“Is there a particular matter weighing heavily on your mind, Big Brother?”

When Hyeokryeon Seon-ah stepped forward to pose the inquiry, Il-mok wavered for a brief second before releasing a prolonged breath.

“Third Brother delivered the specific intelligence I was praying to receive, but the circumstances that follow are where the true difficulty lies.”

The attendants shifted their gazes in sudden alarm.

Jin Hayeon stood as the sole individual managing to retain her composure. She spoke up on behalf of the group.

“If it was indeed the intelligence you were hoping to secure, does that imply you foresaw the Imperial Family’s plot from the very beginning?”

“I only wish that were true. I had absolutely no inkling that Deung Bi was a pawn of the Imperial Family until Third Brother brought the news.”

“Then what precisely did you mean when you stated it was the intelligence you were praying for?”

Il-mok offered a casual shrug of his shoulders and explained.

“I am referring to the coalition we have dedicated so much energy to forging up to this point. I have been desperately seeking a method to prevent it from shattering. I believed that even if our authentic identities as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult are brought to light, the coalition might actually hold together if an overwhelmingly massive external adversary suddenly manifested.”

He had secretly maintained a sliver of optimism that investigating why the Imperial Court masqueraded as the Blood Cult to orchestrate those mass casualties would provide the leverage he required. And then this revelation dropped straight into his possession.

“The Imperial Family is orchestrating a master strategy to completely wipe out the martial world, and they went so far as to execute a horrific slaughter just to bolster the position of the Martial Alliance. If that fails to serve as a powerful enough justification to hold a coalition together, I cannot imagine what would.”

Even Il-mok had never anticipated that the Imperial Family would be engineering such an utterly wild plot with such incredibly flawless timing.