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Chapter 24
“You went through all the trouble to switch sides to the second young master… but this fake one didn’t cooperate and killed the second young master’s guard. What to do about this?”
‘!?’
The moment he heard Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Guard Gam’s expression stiffened.
The death of Jo Il-sang, the second Mok Eun-pyeong’s guard warrior.
He thought that had the lowest probability.
The martial prowess of a warrior on the verge of reaching first-rate level could not be dealt with simply because he was strong.
‘No way.’
Guard Gam looked at Mok Gyeong-un with shaking eyes.
It couldn’t be true, but he couldn’t not believe it either.
The fact that the boy knew he had switched sides and had told the second young master Mok Eun-pyeong that Mok Gyeong-un had lost his martial arts was proof of that.
“You… really…”
“Yes. I killed him.”
“How did you, to someone approaching first-rate…”
“I hung him upside down and slit his throat to kill him.”
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“What?”
“He pitifully pleaded for his life. I guess whether he’s a master or not, he didn’t want to die.”
Mok Gyeong-un smiled as he said that.
Guard Gam, whose eyes met with him, felt a chill down his spine.
Mok Gyeong-un’s ominous gaze felt as if it was strangling him.
‘This guy is really…’
A homicidal maniac.
Once again, the fact that this fake guy was a death row inmate who had killed numerous people came to mind.
He himself had also been an assassin who killed many people, but he quit because he didn’t enjoy killing someone and felt repulsed by it.
However, this guy was in a different realm from ordinary people.
He enjoyed being close to death.
‘shit.’
For a moment, Guard Gam’s mind became complicated.
The time the second Mok Eun-pyeong gave him was two hours.
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He told him to find his guard Jo Il-sang within that time, but he was already dead.
In the end, his confident declaration, even betting his arm, became meaningless.
It was the worst situation.
[If you can’t find him, it’d be best to prepare yourself to not only lose your arm but also that miserable life of yours.]
Mok Eun-pyeong’s murderous warning echoed in his head.
‘I went through the trouble of switching sides.’
It was cut off in less than a day.
Who would have thought such an absurd situation would occur?
Guard Gam’s mouth was dry.
Then suddenly,
‘…Don’t tell me this guy intentionally killed him?’
Come to think of it, that was it.
Since this guy was a fake, he had to be careful about everything.
No matter how unpredictable this guy was, someone as cunning as him couldn’t possibly not know his own situation.
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But the fact that he killed the second young master’s guard…
‘He killed Mok Eun-pyeong’s guard warrior because I abandoned him and switched sides. Ha…’
It was truly astounding.
How could he be so cunning?
By killing Mok Eun-pyeong’s guard, the boy put him in a dilemma.
Now he couldn’t switch sides to any other young masters.
Who would trust him?
-Clench!
Realizing this cunning bastard’s intention, strength entered his fist.
To think that a homicidal maniac who hadn’t even learned martial arts was pushing him like this.
‘Because of this guy, everything I had prepared…’
It all went to waste.
He was furious.
“Your emotions sure change a lot? Seeing your face turn red, you must be angry.”
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Read Luna Lola-La Loba Lunar por Park Kara novela completa Capítulo 38 - Find Novel
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At Mok Gyeong-un’s sneering voice, Guard Gam glared at him.
He wanted to kill this guy right away.
No, should I kill him?
Even if staying in the Yeon Mok Sword Manor had virtually no meaning since the second young master Mok Eun-pyeong would be after his life anyway…
‘Ah!’
Suddenly, Guard Gam’s gaze turned to his own chest.
In his chest were the cover and two pages of content from the Ignited Wood Heart Transformation Technique.
Seeing the content of only two pages, Guard Gam realized.
This was the real thing.
‘Even though that Go Chan bastard kept his mouth shut until the end, the fact that he had this…’
It meant that this Mok Gyeong-un guy had obtained the secret manual.
How did he get the secret manual?
He was curious, but that wasn’t the important thing.
-Stab!
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Guard Gam pressed the dagger into Mok Gyeong-un’s ribs and whispered.
“The rest of the secret manual… you have it, don’t you?”
“Secret manual?”
-Tap tap!
Guard Gam tapped his own chest and said.
“I’m talking about this. This.”
“Ah. That?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course I have it.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Guard Gam’s face momentarily lit up.
As expected, there was always a hole to rise through.
‘It’s done! It’s done!’
The Manor Master’s life was hanging by a thread.
Since a successor had not been appointed, the opinions of the retainers were divided.
In this situation, if one possessed a secret manual that only the sect leader could learn or had a bloodline that had mastered that martial art, one would be closest to becoming the successor.
‘It can replace the price of my life.’
The second young master Mok Eun-pyeong also had no choice but to covet this secret manual.
If he had this, he could offset it with the life of the dead guard Jo Il-sang.
-Stab!
Guard Gam pressed the dagger even closer and said.
“I won’t beat around the bush. If you don’t want to die, hand over the secret manual.”
“You seem to really need the secret manual.”
“I don’t have time for word games with you.”
“You’re in quite a desperate situation, aren’t you?”
“You really have a death wish, don’t you?”
“No way. I just don’t think I’m the one in a desperate situation, so I’m asking if it’s okay to threaten me like this.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Guard Gam snorted and said.
“Don’t think of me as the same as Go Chan or Jo Il-sang. Killing you on the spot without even letting you breathe is no big deal for me.”
Even though he had retired, his original profession was an assassin.
The ways to kill numbered in the dozens, no, hundreds.
And he was a first-rate master.
The gap between someone approaching first-rate and a true first-rate master was clear.
He could kill the likes of Jo Il-sang with one hand.
“Don’t provoke me any further.”
“This is scary…”
-Stab!
Before he could even finish his words, the tip of the dagger slightly dug into the flesh between Mok Gyeong-un’s ribs.
“I won’t ask again. If you don’t talk about the secret manual, I will fully drive in the dagger. If it penetrates through here, it’s certain death.”
“…You’ll lose even more if I die here.”
As he said that, Mok Gyeong-un gestured with his eyes towards the medicinal hall workers.
It meant if he could really kill him with them watching.
At this, Guard Gam let out a faint breath.
“Phew.”
Then soon,
-Swoosh!
He removed his hand from Mok Gyeong-un and launched his body towards the medicinal hall workers.
His movement was so fast that Guard Gam, who had instantly approached where they were, stabbed their vital points with lightning-fast hand gestures.
-Stab stab stab!
The medicinal hall workers instantly died with their vital points stabbed.
Even though the dagger was stabbed, hardly any blood came out, and there were no screams.
It was a clean skill befitting a former assassin.
‘The second young master should be able to handle about three medicinal hall workers.’
He was confident that even if he didn’t know, the second young master could keep their mouths shut.
That’s why Guard Gam was taking a gamble.
“Are you still certain that I can’t kill you?”
Guard Gam approached Mok Gyeong-un and spoke.
He thought that to this extent, no matter who it was, they would be somewhat tense.
However,
-Chuckle!
‘Laughing?’
Mok Gyeong-un laughed.
Even though three medicinal hall workers died in an instant.
He’s laughing after seeing that?
“You really don’t seem to grasp reality. Then you’ll have to directly experience the pain with your body to open your mouth.”
-Swish!
Guard Gam used a lightness skill to instantly close the distance.
Then he used the Grappling Hand technique on Mok Gyeong-un.
-Tap tap tap tap!
Guard Gam grabbed his arm, twisted it behind, grasped one of Mok Gyeong-un’s right fingers, placed the dagger against it, and said.
“You seem to have quite a high tolerance for pain.”
Guard Gam recalled the first time he saw Mok Gyeong-un.
Even when he was locked in a prison cell and pelted with stones by onlookers, he didn’t let out a single groan.
Seeing that, he thought he was a monster.
“But you know, even if you’re a monster, it’s not that you don’t feel pain. I know how to maximize that pain.”
-Stab!
The dagger dug into his finger.
Guard Gam smiled fiendishly and said.
“I’ll shave off the flesh of your fingers line by line like peeling a fruit. It’ll be a pain you’ve never experienced in your life.”
“Is that so?”
“Let’s see how long you can maintain that composure.”
Guard Gam tried to tilt the blade of the dagger upwards.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.
“Before you start, I have something to tell you.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the corners of Guard Gam’s mouth slightly rose.
Of course.
No matter how much of a homicidal maniac he was, he was only 17 years old.
In this situation, no matter how much composure he showed, he would eventually fall into fear of the upcoming pain.
“Speak.”
“I was wondering how to utilize it, but I’m really grateful.”
“What?”
What nonsense is this?
What is he utilizing?
‘!?’
At that moment, Guard Gam felt a foreign sensation.
It felt like something was sticking to his palm that was grasping Mok Gyeong-un’s finger.
Thinking he was gripping too tightly, he slightly loosened his strength, but,
-Stick!
The palm stuck to the finger.
‘What is this…’
Thinking something was strange, Guard Gam tried to draw internal energy to his hand to detach his palm.
However,
-Whoosh!
At that moment, the internal energy he had focused on his palm was felt draining out.
“Gasp!”
Guard Gam could only be perplexed by the sudden phenomenon.
His hand was adhered, and his internal energy was rapidly draining out, and even the flow of qi circulation was disrupted, making it difficult to detach his palm.
A considerable amount of internal energy had already been absorbed.
His left hand and left arm holding the fingers were about to lose strength.
‘Where did this guy learn such sorcery?’
This was not a righteous martial art.
Absorbing someone else’s internal energy?
Already 10% of his internal energy had been absorbed, and if this continued, a real disaster might occur.
“Let go!”
Guard Gam tried to strike Mok Gyeong-un’s neck with his fist holding the dagger in reverse.
To knock him out.
But Mok Gyeong-un twisted his neck, and it hit his shoulder instead.
“Pft!”
However, a first-rate master was still first-rate.
Blood spewed from Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth after being hit by the fist containing internal energy.
Nevertheless, Mok Gyeong-un did not let go of the finger.
“Ugh! You bastard!”
-Thud thud!
The enraged Guard Gam wildly struck Mok Gyeong-un’s neck and back.
Despite being in pain from the fists containing internal energy, Mok Gyeong-un did not let go of his hand until the end.
‘This monster!’
At this, Guard Gam finally stabbed the dagger between Mok Gyeong-un’s ribs.
-Stab!
“Huk!”
As the dagger penetrated halfway through the ribs, his breathing was cut off, and the Chakui technique was severed.
The moment the adhesive force disappeared, Guard Gam kicked Mok Gyeong-un’s back with his foot and distanced himself.
-Thud!
-Clatter clatter!
Guard Gam, who had retreated about seven steps, looked at his palm with a pale face.
No internal energy was felt in his left hand, which was severely convulsing.
He could circulate it again through qi circulation, but this was the first time he had felt such an uneasy sensation.
Guard Gam glared at the staggering Mok Gyeong-un and said.
“What was that? What kind of sorcery have you learned?”
“Huff… huff…”
Mok Gyeong-un gripped the dagger stuck between his ribs, staggered, and barely regained his posture.
“You’re definitely… first-rate.”
“Speak. What was that just now?”
“With just this, it’ll be difficult to deal with you.”
-Grind!
Guard Gam gritted his teeth.
Does this insolent bastard think he can handle me just because that sorcery worked for a moment?
If so, that’s a miscalculation.
Guard Gam circulated his energy, pulled out the dagger, and assumed a stance.
There would be no more carelessness.
‘Let’s see if you can still do that kind of thing even after having all your limbs cut off.’
-Swish!
Guard Gam launched his body towards Mok Gyeong-un, who was barely maintaining his posture.
As long as he was careful not to let his palms touch, he could sufficiently deal with him.
-Thud! Stab!
One of the daggers Guard Gam threw stabbed Mok Gyeong-un’s thigh.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un staggered.
Not missing that opportunity, Guard Gam took out another dagger hidden in his wrist and tried to throw it at Mok Gyeong-un’s shoulder.
It was at that moment.
“Demonic Monk.”
-Shiver!
As soon as those words ended, Guard Gam suddenly felt a chill throughout his body and something trying to grasp his wrist from behind.
The startled Guard Gam lowered his arm to avoid that bizarre sensation and launched his body to the side.
And he looked at that spot.
‘!?’
Guard Gam frowned.
He clearly felt a spine-chilling, strange sensation from behind, but nothing was visible.
‘What did this guy do?’
What is this bizarre feeling when nothing is visible?
The bewildered Guard Gam moved his eyes to look at Mok Gyeong-un.
“What did you just do?”
“What are you referring to?”
“Don’t play dumb. Something clearly tried to grasp my wrist from behind.”
“You certainly have keen senses.”
“…So you did do something.”
“Well, it wasn’t me. It was this friend.”
“This friend?”
What is he talking about?
Could there really be an accomplice?
Guard Gam rolled his eyes around, heightening his senses, and Mok Gyeong-un nonchalantly said to him.
“Since you’re curious, I’ll show you. Demonic Monk.”
It was the moment those words ended.
-Rustle rustle!
‘!!!!!!!!!’
For a moment, Guard Gam doubted his own eyes.
Right in front of his nose, a giant monk wearing blood-soaked robes and a skull rosary appeared like a mirage and was looking down at him with a gruesome gaze.
‘Wh-what the …. is this…’
Guard Gam looked down at his chest where the dagger was stuck.
He had been protecting his body with internal energy, but due to the internal energy imbued in the dagger, it had penetrated deeply.
Guard Gam muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
“But how?”
To him, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said.
“The dagger and the internal energy are both yours.”
Guard Gam’s eyes trembled at Mok Gyeong-un’s words.
The dagger embedded in the center of his chest.
The internal energy contained within the dagger was his own?
Then, did this fellow forcibly take his internal energy and utilize it?
‘…… Impossible.’
Internal energy has its own unique properties.
Even if one takes another’s internal energy, transformed by various schools and sects, it would practically be poison.
Even if internal energy is passed down between master and disciple of the same sect, there is no way to directly utilize it without refining it into one’s own through breathing techniques.
Yet, he used it?
‘Just what is this bastard’s true identity?’
He was definitely not an ordinary civilian.
Guard Gam thought he could control him since he was a death row inmate and not a martial artist.
However, that was a miscalculation.
This fellow possessed strange abilities that he was unaware of.
He even manipulated the bizarre[1].
‘A mistake.’
It was wrong to bring this fellow here.
How foolish to think he could be controlled since he hadn’t learned martial arts.
The truly frightening aspect of this fellow might be that very point.
Using the bizarre to draw his gaze, then throwing a dagger imbued with absorbed internal energy to inflict a fatal wound—he possessed an extraordinary mind capable of such feats.
“Huu…… Huu……”
Guard Gam barely caught his breath.
It was difficult to breathe with the dagger stuck in his chest.
His body temperature was dropping, centered around his chest.
The location was too critical.
The moment he pulled it out, the bleeding might worsen, making it difficult to survive.
-Ssk!
Guard Gam raised his head and glared at Mok Gyeong-un.
In any case, he and this fellow could never go together.
They had to settle this somehow.
Although he was in the same situation, with daggers stuck between his ribs and thigh, moving would be just as difficult for the fellow……
‘!?’
Guard Gam furrowed his brows.
The dagger the fellow had thrown was the one that had been stuck in his own thigh.
However, why was the bleeding so minimal?
In that location, not only the thigh area but also the pants below should have been soaked with blood by now.
Yet, aside from that area, it seemed like blood wasn’t flowing.
‘There’s no way he controlled the bleeding or acupoints.’
He had never seen such a sight before.
Then, what was it?
Guard Gam, who had been staring at Mok Gyeong-un as if looking at a monster, bit his lip.
He had no idea how he ended up making an enemy out of such a bizarre fellow.
However, he still had a secret weapon.
Hadn’t he refrained from administering it for this very moment?
“…….You….. forgot about…… the poison pill……”
That was none other than the poison pill.
He had fed him the poison pill in advance to prevent him from acting on his own or trying to escape if he broke free from control.
At Guard Gam’s words, Mok Gyeong-un parted his lips.
“Ah? The poison pill?”
“That’s right.”
“I had forgotten about it.”
“Ha.”
Guard Gam was dumbfounded by Mok Gyeong-un’s words.
That cunning fellow couldn’t have forgotten about it.
“Haa….. Haa….. Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Stop fighting like this and just hand over the secret manual. Then, I’ll let you go.”
“Let me go?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted? Staying here is just a fake life anyway, and you’ll have to bear the risk of being exposed at any moment.”
Mok Gyeong-un nodded at these words.
“Well. That’s true.”
“…….So, I’ll give you the method to create the antidote and some money. Any decent physicians should be able to make it, and with the money, you can start anew. Cough, cough.”
As his speech grew longer, Guard Gam’s voice became hoarse.
If he didn’t receive emergency treatment and perform breathing exercises soon, it would become dangerous.
There was a limit to enduring with internal energy.
“Choose. Fighting like this will only harm both of us anyway.”
“There’s definitely some truth to that.”
Mok Gyeong-un showed a positive response.
Seeing Mok Gyeong-un’s reaction, Guard Gam tried to let out a sigh of relief.
After putting out the urgent fire, it wouldn’t be too late to eliminate him later.
For now, he had to reassure the fellow.
“I’ll give you the tranquilizer first. Each of us will get treatment…… Cough……”
At that moment, Guard Gam coughed.
It was a cough mixed with blood.
Since he was injured, it could happen, but here, Guard Gam felt a sense of discomfort.
‘The blood…….’
There was a foul smell coming from the blood.
Startled, Guard Gam tried to open his chest.
However, his hands trembled severely, unable to move.
‘Why are my hands…..’
-Thud!
That wasn’t the end of it.
Soon, Guard Gam’s legs lost strength, and he fell to one knee on the ground.
Then,
“Blegh!”
Guard Gam vomited a handful of black blood.
He had been trying to protect his chest and organs with internal energy, but something was rapidly spreading to his internal organs, causing damage.
‘Could it be?’
Guard Gam’s eyes widened.
These symptoms were undoubtedly poison.
Something was strange.
This fellow didn’t use poison, so why was he poisoned?
As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un staggered and slowly approached him, who was suffering.
“Phew. Having this dagger stuck here is quite painful.”
“You…… what…… did you do?”
“Ah, I forgot to mention something earlier.”
“What?”
“I also gave you my blood, in addition to the dagger and internal energy.”
“Blood?”
“Yes. There wasn’t enough time to wipe the blood off the dagger that was stuck in my thigh and give it to you. Although it was intentional.”
“what the …. are you talking about……”
Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said to the confused Guard Gam.
“Of course, you wouldn’t understand. I only told Guard Go Chan about it.”
“Go Chan?”
“Yes. It’s nothing special. It’s just that since I ate a lot of poisonous herbs from a young age, my blood has toxic properties.”
‘!?’
Guard Gam was dumbfounded by these words.
Toxic blood? What kind of nonsense is this?
Then, is this fellow saying he’s like a poison-bringer of the Sichuan Tang Clan?
‘This bastard, just……ha!’
It was absurd.
Just how much has this bastard been hiding?
However, that wasn’t the important thing.
He had to somehow use his internal energy to block the poison from spreading, not just around his chest.
He didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but it was so fierce that it felt burning.
“Cough, cough…….”
“It’s painful, isn’t it?”
“You…… You think…… you’ll be safe……”
“Rushfoil, Betel nut, Monkshood, Greed Dragon……”
‘!?’
Guard Gam’s eyes shook wildly at the medicinal herbs coming out of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.
They were all ingredients used in the poison pill.
“Pokeween, Fly Mushroom, Love Parsley.”
“You….. You….. How?”
“Well. I can roughly tell what they are just by lightly touching them with my tongue, can’t I?”
He can tell by tasting them?
Just what is this bastard’s true identity?
Mok Gyeong-un approached the dumbfounded Guard Gam, bent his knees, and met his gaze, saying,
“Actually, I don’t need an antidote or anything.”
“You…… deceived…… me…… Cough, cough…… to play with me?”
In response to that question, Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head slightly and stared intently at Guard Gam’s face.
His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with fear and terror.
Seeing his appearance, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,
“Whether they are martial artists or top-tier masters, they are not much different from other people in the face of pain and death.”
-Creepy!
The moment he heard those words, Guard Gam felt chills running down his spine.
How could someone wearing a human skin say such things and have such dead eyes?
It didn’t feel like he was facing a human being at all.
This fellow was a demon.
-Tremble, tremble, tremble!
Guard Gam couldn’t stop trembling.
His breathing became rough, and it became difficult to breathe due to fear.
The human heart was indeed cunning.
Just a moment ago, he still thought he had the upper hand over his opponent, so he looked down on him without any tension.
However, now it was completely different.
“You’re trembling.”
“Sa…… Spare my life.”
Guard Gam threw away his pride and begged for his life.
He couldn’t die like this.
He had dreamed of a stable life after leaving that cruel world of assassins where he could die at any moment.
However, losing his life like this was too unfair.
Mok Gyeong-un stroked his own chin.
“Spare your life, you say.”
“I swear…… I swear loyalty. No. I will swear loyalty. Please….. Please spare my life.”
Seeing him pleading, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,
“Now, your attitude is to my liking.”
“Oh, I will live only for you, young master.”
“Then, I would be grateful.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Guard Gam’s expression was about to brighten.
However,
-Stab!
“Kuh-urk!”
Just when he thought he was going to spare his life, Mok Gyeong-un pressed the dagger stuck in his chest so hard that even the hilt was embedded.
Mok Gyeong-un whispered into the ear of the suffering Guard Gam.
“Someone who easily switches sides according to their needs, what kind of loyalty are you talking about?”
“Ugh…….”
“It seems it would be more helpful if you just die.”
-Ssk!
“Uwaaah!”
With those words, he covered the mouth and nose of the gasping Guard Gam with his hand.
Guard Gam, with bloodshot eyes, flailed his arms and legs in agony, but Mok Gyeong-un watched him with an expressionless face.
It didn’t last long.
The twitching of his whole body soon ceased.
Guard Gam, who had taken his last breath with bloodshot eyes filled with terror.
Mok Gyeong-un stared at him as if he had lost interest, then removed his palm that had been covering his nose and mouth.
‘I handled it faster than I thought. Am I lucky?’
From the beginning, he had planned to kill Guard Gam one way or another.
There was no point in keeping someone alive who knew he was a fake, as it would only become bothersome.
Mok Gyeong-un was contemplating.
‘Should I kill Guard Go Chan too?’
If he got rid of Guard Go Chan as well, there would be no one left who knew the truth.
However, Mok Gyeong-un soon shook his head.
‘Nah, I’ll let him live.’
Go Chan was still useful.
It was convenient to have him handle various aftermath tasks.
Moreover,
‘He seems to be quite tight-lipped too.’
He was impressed by the fact that he kept his mouth shut until the end, even under torture.
Mok Gyeong-un didn’t care whether it was out of fear or because of the poison.
As long as he didn’t backstab him, he was willing to make use of him as much as possible.
-Sting!
Mok Gyeong-un looked at the dagger stuck between his ribs.
No matter how extraordinarily strong his recovery ability was, it was still painful to have this stuck in him.
However, he couldn’t pull it out now.
He had to maintain a plausible appearance.
‘I wish someone would come quickly.’
It was cumbersome.
“Ah!”
He almost forgot.
Mok Gyeong-un placed his palm on the danjeon area of the dead Guard Gam.
Then, he activated the Ritual of Binding.
It was to confirm one thing.
The internal energy dispersing from the dead man’s danjeon was sucked into Mok Gyeong-un’s body through the Ritual of Binding.
It was incomparable to the amount from Jo Il-sang.
‘A pipe dream.’
However, this was internal energy that would have dissipated and disappeared anyway.
What he was curious about was something else.
It didn’t take long for the influx of internal energy to stop.
The reaction he had been expecting didn’t occur.
‘Is it not?’
Just as he thought that,
At that moment, a chilling and ominous energy of death flowed in from Guard Gam’s abdominal area.
It was clearly similar to the energy he had absorbed from Jo Il-sang.
No, the quantity was even greater.
‘Aaah!’
There it was.
The energy of death from the dead Guard Gam’s body gathered below his navel in the abdominal area.
And it gradually took shape.
Although he didn’t know exactly what it was, Mok Gyeong-un was increasingly fond of this chilling energy.
-Phew.
A pair of red eyes watched Mok Gyeong-un with interest, as if he was fascinating.
It was Cheong-ryeong, holding a long pipe in her mouth amidst the thick smoke.
Cheong-ryeong whispered softly to Demonic Monk beside her.
-Rebel monk. I think I know why you are swayed by that mortal.
Mok Eun-pyeong, who had finished his breakfast, was elegantly sipping Silver Needle(s) of the Jun Mountain, a famous tea from Hunan province.
A guard named Jeon Yang-pyeong, who had reached the level of a first-rate master, carefully spoke to him.
“Young master.”
“What is it?”
“But judging from Guard Gam’s reaction earlier, it didn’t seem like a lie. Do you really think he was deceiving you as a last resort?”
-Tak!
Mok Eun-pyeong put down his teacup and answered briefly.
“No. It’s half and half. Guard Gam must have had something he didn’t know about either. Even if it was a last resort, would he do something that would raise suspicion in just a day? No matter how much of a fool Mok Gyeong-un is, he must have hidden at least one secret weapon.”
“What? Then how……”
“Didn’t I say I would only give him two hours and take his life if he couldn’t find Jo Il-sang?”
“Yes. Didn’t you want Guard Gam that much?”
Mok Eun-pyeong had always wanted to make Mok Gyeong-un’s Guard Gam his own.
Even after learning that he was a former assassin, his determination remained unchanged.
Rather, he remarked that he would be even more useful.
“If you had investigated separately and shown trust……”
“That’s not possible.”
“What do you mean it’s not possible……”
“If I had shown unconditional trust, he would have seen me as a pushover or a fool rather than being grateful. So, it was to instill an appropriate level of tension.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think I would easily abandon such a talented individual?”
Mok Eun-pyeong grinned.
Even if it took more than two hours, he had no intention of actually killing him.
“I should show forgiveness after demonstrating how strict and stern I am, once the truth is revealed. People are naturally more affected when you treat them harshly and then show kindness once.”
That was Mok Eun-pyeong’s way of dealing with people.
To this, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong inwardly disagreed but pretended to be impressed and said,
“As expected of you, young master. I didn’t know you had such insight.”
“So, just wait quietly. It’s good to crush someone’s heart when they become impatient. Even if it’s just out of responsibility for losing Guard Jo, he will be more loyal.”
“You are absolutely right.”
“Flattery.”
“But please don’t push him too hard.”
At these words, Mok Eun-pyeong raised one eyebrow.
“What?”
“Didn’t you find out while investigating Guard Gam’s past?”
“Ah…… Are you talking about that?”
“Yes. Guard Gam might be from ‘that place.’ If he’s really from ‘that place,’ no matter if he’s retired, if you stimulate him carelessly, it might be dang…… no, it might become tiresome for you.”
He was about to say it could be dangerous but changed his words.
It was because Mok Eun-pyeong had quite a strong pride.
That was how dangerous it was to have someone from an assassin group as a subordinate.
Especially if they were from ‘that place.’
-Slurp! Tak!
“You said he might be. We don’t know for sure whether he is or not.”
“Yes.”
“Rather than that, think about what to do with that bastard Mok Gyeong-un. If he really touched Jo Il-sang, we absolutely cannot leave him alone.”
“……….”
Judging from his reaction, he seemed to be already upset.
Continuing the same conversation here would only make his lord uncomfortable, so Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong stopped.
It was then.
The sound of someone running in a hurry was heard.
-Knock knock!
“Young master. It’s Han-saeng.”
“Come in.”
Han-saeng.
He was one of Mok Eun-pyeong’s three guards and had the lowest martial arts skill.
Like Go Chan, he was only at the second-rate level.
That was why he was in charge of most of the miscellaneous tasks.
Mok Eun-pyeong asked Han-saeng, who was rushing in, with a puzzled expression.
“It hasn’t been long since I sent you to assess the situation, but judging from your expression and how urgently you came, something must have happened?”
“That, that’s……”
“Speak.”
“Guard Gam has disappeared.”
“What?”
At the sudden news, Mok Eun-pyeong’s expression hardened.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong asked in an incredulous voice.
“What do you mean? Guard Gam disappeared?”
“That, that’s……”
“Don’t tell me he disobeyed the young master’s order and ran away?”
“Then what the …. are you talking about? Speak clearly!”
Pressed by Jeon Yang-pyeong, Guard Han-saeng spoke with a troubled expression.
“There’s a commotion right now.”
“A commotion?”
“Yes. The outer hall warriors are guarding, so I couldn’t get close, but I heard that Guard Gam killed three workers in the medical hall and tried to kill the third young master, but escaped after being injured.”
‘!?’
At those words, Mok Eun-pyeong was dumbfounded.
what the …. was this about?
He had told him to find his missing guard Jo Il-sang, so why would Guard Gam suddenly try to kill that bastard Mok Gyeong-un?
‘Could it be…..’
Was he trying to prove his loyalty by doing that?
Or did he try to threaten Mok Gyeong-un to find out where Jo Il-sang had disappeared to?
It was difficult to guess.
Then, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong asked in an equally absurd tone.
“Are you sure? Why would Guard Gam do such a thing?”
“I’m not sure either. But judging from the fact that Mok Gyeong-un’s injury was serious enough to be life-threatening, it might be true. However, that’s not the problem.”
“If that’s not it, then what is?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but……”
“Speak quickly!”
At Mok Eun-pyeong’s urging, Guard Han-saeng finally parted his lips.
“It seems that Mok Gyeong-un testified to the outer hall’s investigation that you, young master, instigated Guard Gam to betray him and kill him.”
‘!!!!!’
As soon as he finished speaking, Mok Eun-pyeong’s face contorted terribly.
Seeing his anger, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong hurriedly tried to appease him.
“Young master. Please calm down. Even if that bastard Mok Gyeong-un spreads such rumors, the outer hall won’t believe it.”
-Bang!
At those words, Mok Eun-pyeong slammed the table and raised his voice.
“Believing it or not is not the issue. If I get involved in rumors without even being selected as the successor, how will the retainers view me?”
Mok Eun-pyeong’s body trembled.
The outer hall wouldn’t be able to pressure him over this incident since he wasn’t even the clan leader, but they wouldn’t overlook it either.
If that happened, the support of the retainers might weaken as well.
“That bastard Mok Gyeong-un!”
-Whoosh!
Unable to hold back any longer, Mok Eun-pyeong shot up from his seat.
He couldn’t bear it unless he went to Mok Gyeong-un right away and confronted him.
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong tried to dissuade him.
“Young master, please calm down!”
“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down right now? That damn bastard backstabbed me twice, and you want me to let it slide?”
This was the second time, following the incident with Guard Jo Il-sang.
Especially this time, it really pissed him off.
“But if you go now, it will only raise more suspicion. Moreover, if the outer hall is guarding him, the eyes of the retainers will inevitably be drawn to you.”
-Grind!
At those words, Mok Eun-pyeong gritted his teeth.
Although he was angry, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong was right about this.
If he went to Mok Gyeong-un and vented his anger or harmed him, it would negatively impact the succession competition.
However, just leaving him alone was also infuriating.
How triumphant would that bastard be?
The eldest young master Mok Yeong-ho and the lady of the house might even mock him.
Seeing Mok Eun-pyeong unable to suppress his anger, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong spoke in a low voice.
“Young master. Since it has come to this, how about mobilizing ‘them’?”
“Them?”
“I mean the group that Guard Gam belonged to.”
“………Are you talking about that place?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean by mobilizing them?”
“As far as I know, they have a strong pride and an iron rule regarding assassinations.”
“An iron rule?”
“Yes. Regardless of whether they have retired or not, they do not tolerate failure from an assassin of their own faction.”
“What do they do if they don’t tolerate it?”
“They said they complete the assassination by any means necessary.”
At those words, Mok Eun-pyeong’s hardened expression softened.
“Didn’t he say with his own mouth that Guard Gam tried to kill him? Then, it’s rather fortunate. We will leak this information to them.”
At Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong’s words, the corners of Mok Eun-pyeong’s mouth curled up.
***
Mok Gyeong-un was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, as if meditating.
He was currently trying a technique called breathing techniques.
No matter how strong his recovery ability was, it was impossible for the wounds from the daggers stuck between his ribs and thigh to heal instantly.
Since it had come to this, he wanted to challenge himself to form a danjeon.
‘That way, I might be able to do something with this.’
Below Mok Gyeong-un’s navel, there was a chilling and ominous energy of death gathered.
It was the energy absorbed from the dead Jo Il-sang and Guard Gam.
However, despite absorbing it, unlike the internal energy he had absorbed through the Ritual of Binding, it just accumulated in his stomach without moving.
So, he thought that if he could form a danjeon with this, it might be possible.
But,
‘Is this how it’s supposed to be?’
The Ignited Wood Heart Transformation Technique had a detailed description of the breathing method.
Of course, there were also methods for qi circulation and key points.
Anyway, to perform proper qi circulation, one had to accept the energy from the air through breathing and gather it near the danjeon to form a small seed.
However, something felt strange.
‘Why is the energy I’m taking in through breathing dispersing?’
The energy gathered through breathing was very subtle.
It was much smaller than when he absorbed it through the Ritual of Binding, but according to the secret manual, this was normal.
So, thinking of it as collecting bits and pieces to form a mountain, he guided it below his navel.
-Swish!
However, as soon as it entered, it dispersed.
It just disappeared, as if the internal energy he had absorbed through the Ritual of Binding naturally dispersed.
‘Why?’
He couldn’t understand.
Was it normal for energy to disperse easily?
With no one to ask and only being able to follow what was written in the book, Mok Gyeong-un had no choice but to adhere to the instructions.
“Phew……. Phew…….”
He gathered energy while reciting the key points of the method through breathing techniques.
He did this for half a day, almost until the day was about to end, but the subtle energy he gathered still dispersed as soon as it reached below his navel.
‘………What is it?’
Why was that?
The secret manual stated that forming a seed, no, a danjeon, was extremely difficult.
From that perspective, it was indeed difficult.
However, there was no mention of it dispersing as soon as it was gathered.
It said it would gradually disperse.
‘It disappears immediately.’
But unlike the book, it vanished right away as soon as it entered.
What could be the reason?
Was martial arts something that couldn’t be self-taught after all?
‘Hmm.’
Mok Gyeong-un glanced at Guard Go Chan, who was lying on the bed next to him as if he were dead.
He had lost his left ring finger and little finger and had fainted after undergoing a torture called ‘Severing Tendons and Breaking Bones’.
Mok Gyeong-un had asked the outer hall warriors to bring him here.
He was thinking of just letting him sleep, but he decided to wake him up.
“Guard Go Chan.”
“………..”
“Guard Go Chan.”
“……….”
“Hmmm.”
-Swish!
Mok Gyeong-un raised his palm above Go Chan’s face.
Then,
-Slap!
Go Chan opened his eyes wide, quickly sat up, and answered hurriedly.
“Yes!”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Weren’t you sleeping?”
“I, I was sleeping.”
In fact, Go Chan had woken up about an hour ago.
After waking up, he had been keeping his eyes closed and assessing the situation, unsure of what was going on.
Thanks to that, he learned that this place was the medical hall and that Mok Gyeong-un was right next to him.
That was why he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes.
It was a kind of escapism from reality.
To him, Mok Gyeong-un whispered.
“I had something I wanted to tell you when you woke up.”
“Wh, what is it?”
–Gulp!
Go Chan couldn’t hide his nervousness.
He felt uneasy for no reason.
Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said to him.
“Contrary to my expectations, you’re quite tight-lipped.”
“……..Phew.”
Go Chan let out a sigh of relief.
In fact, he thought it wouldn’t make much difference whether he died this way or that way, but he endured it because dying at Mok Gyeong-un’s hands seemed like it would be the worst agony.
“I’m starting to like you more and more, Guard Go Chan.”
“Th, thank you.”
Fortunately.
It seemed that his choice was not wrong.
‘………Wait a minute. Is this something to be happy about?’
He felt like he was being tamed by Mok Gyeong-un.
Realizing that, Go Chan fell into a sense of self-disgust.
Then, as if remembering something, he looked apologetic and apologized.
“By the way, young master……. I’m sorry. I was caught by Guard Gam on the way and had the item you entrusted me with taken away…”
“Ah, I got that back.”
“What?”
What did he mean by getting it back?
Mok Gyeong-un smiled at the puzzled Go Chan and whispered.
“Only you know this, Guard Go Chan. I killed Guard Gam and took it back.”
‘!?’
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Go Chan’s eyes widened.
Did he hear that correctly?
He killed Kam Hyung?
The middle-ranked assassin of the Flying Daggers Sect, one of the three major assassin groups in the Central Plains, despite being retired?
“H, how……”
“Shh.”
Mok Gyeong-un gestured with his eyes towards the entrance of the medical hall.
Outside the door screen, there were shadows of about four warriors.
On the opposite side, there were also four guards.
They were the warriors of the outer hall of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor.
“They think Guard Gam attacked me and disappeared. So, Guard Go Chan, you should roughly know that as well.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Go Chan lowered his voice and whispered.
“Is it true?”
“Is there any reason for me to lie about this?”
“………”
Go Chan swallowed his dry saliva.
Indeed, this devilish fellow wouldn’t make false claims about such matters.
‘Unbelievable……. what the …. is this guy?’
He clearly hadn’t learned martial arts.
Yet now, he even claimed to have killed a first-rate master?
It was something that couldn’t possibly happen under common sense.
No, is this even possible?
To Guard Go Chan, who couldn’t easily believe it, Mok Gyeong-un said,
“I have something to ask you.”
“Y-Yes? What is it?”
“I want to open a danjeon, but it’s not going well. I thought I had a pretty good understanding, but it seems I can’t quite grasp the contents of the secret manual.”
“…….Are you talking about the danjeon?”
Go Chan asked back with a furrowed brow.
Did this guy still want to learn martial arts?
However, Mok Gyeong-un’s age wasn’t exactly young to start martial arts.
‘Seventeen…… With waste accumulated in the blood vessels, it would be difficult to properly absorb energy even with breathing techniques.’
That was why it was best to start breathing techniques as young as possible.
Putting aside the issue of comprehension, it would naturally be difficult to form a danjeon.
Go Chan was at a loss for how to explain this.
‘Sorry for being blunt, but you’re already too late to learn martial arts.’
He couldn’t bring himself to say that.
After pondering for a moment, Go Chan said,
“C-Could you tell me what aspects are difficult for you?”
Let’s help him for now.
Explaining it verbally would only upset him anyway.
It would be better to let him experience it himself and realize that he was too late to learn martial arts.
Unaware of his thoughts, Mok Gyeong-un shared the points where he was stuck.
“…..So, no matter how much I try, the energy disperses.”
“……..”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Go Chan was momentarily stunned.
Did he hear it wrong?
He had just started practicing breathing techniques, yet he claimed to have understood what qi was and even gathered it near the danjeon below his navel by himself through the qi circulation path?
Of course, it dispersed, but still?
‘No way. He must be joking, right?’
A guy who knew nothing about martial arts, no matter how much he had a secret manual, did it by himself to that extent?
This was something impossible no matter how he thought about it.
Even with the most basic Three Talents Method, it was difficult to easily understand the definition of qi without learning the basics for practicing martial arts.
“Guard Go Chan?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Why are you making that expression?”
“Th-That’s……”
“Is there something strange?”
“No. Rather than that……”
“Rather than?”
“Young master…… Did you really feel the qi through breathing?”
In just half a day, he felt it?
“Yes. Why?”
“Young master. This is a part that really needs to be clarified……”
“I’m telling you I felt it, not joking around. Is there any reason to fool around?”
“………..”
This is driving me crazy.
From Go Chan’s perspective, it was exactly like this.
Mok Gyeong-un was saying with his own mouth that he was a once-in-a-millennium genius.
The guard Go Chan stared intently at Mok Gyeong-un and soon steadied his breathing.
Everything this fellow said sounded like a lie.
It was impossible for someone who didn’t even know the precise definition of martial arts, no, internal energy, to read a secret manual alone and feel qi through self-study in less than half a day.
Well, perhaps it was possible.
But it would require a talent for martial arts that could be called a once-in-a-millennium prodigy.
“Even those born with a keen sense of qi find the beginning difficult.”
Yet Mok Gyeong-un claimed to have done it.
Although he honestly found it unbelievable, there was no reason for this devilish fellow to lie about such a thing.
Then it was a simple matter.
He just needed to verify it.
Whether it was true or not.
“Young master, may this subordinate directly confirm it?”
“How so?”
“Since you said you absorbed qi through the breathing technique, you can just do that. I will check if you are circulating qi during the process.”
“Verifying to that extent is not a difficult task.”
“I see. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Understood.”
Mok Gyeong-un sat cross-legged on the bed.
Well, this part wasn’t too difficult, so nothing could go wrong.
Mok Gyeong-un, having taken this posture, closed his eyes and slowly breathed.
“Hoo…”
Go Chan closely observed this.
Then he stepped down from the bed and approached Mok Gyeong-un.
And then,
“This is to check, so don’t mind it and just keep focusing on the breathing technique.”
With those words, he brought his two fingers together and placed them on one of the acupoints on Mok Gyeong-un’s neck.
Even a faint qi could be felt if it was being circulated through the breathing technique.
He didn’t have high expectations, but just in case…
‘!?’
Go Chan furrowed his brows.
What was this?
Surely it couldn’t be.
However…
‘……Ha.’
Qi was truly flowing through the meridians.
This meant that he was properly detecting and absorbing qi.
Go Chan was utterly astonished.
Even for 3 to 4-year-olds, known to have the most sensitive qi sense, detecting qi in less than half a day was truly a difficult feat.
No matter how outstanding, a fortnight was the norm, and without luck, it could take months.
Yet Mok Gyeong-un’s meridians had considerable impurities and his qi sense should be diminished at this age, but he felt qi in just a day.
‘Does this fellow really have martial talent?’
Go Chan’s gaze changed.
Until just now, he had been doubtful, but now he thought it might be possible.
There are no absolutes in all matters.
Exceptions do exist.
Mok Gyeong-un could be such an existence.
‘Let’s examine it.’
Since he said the qi was dissipating, directly checking was the only way to find the cause.
Go Chan quietly spoke to Mok Gyeong-un.
“I will infuse internal energy to examine it once. Please endure even if it’s uncomfortable.”
“…….”
As he was in the midst of practicing the breathing technique, Mok Gyeong-un nodded his head very slightly.
-Shoo!
Go Chan focused and infused true qi into Mok Gyeong-un’s Gimun (Liver) acupoint.
He guided the true qi through the Yangmun (Liver) and Jungwan (Ren) acupoints to the lower danjeon area to trace Mok Gyeong-un’s circulation path.
In that process, Go Chan couldn’t help but be surprised again.
‘……What’s with this fellow?’
Impurities don’t accumulate in the meridians only if one practices the breathing technique from a young age.
But right now, there were barely any impurities in Mok Gyeong-un’s meridians.
It was like looking at a 3 or 4-year-old child.
‘How can this be? He definitely wouldn’t have cultivated internal energy before, right?’
It was truly a bizarre phenomenon.
For the meridians to be this clean at this age without practicing the breathing technique, one would have to receive ‘Clearing the Passage Point’ for a long time from a profound internal expert. Otherwise, it was impossible.
Go Chan looked at the back of Mok Gyeong-un’s head with a puzzled expression.
‘Didn’t he say he lived with his grandfather in the mountains?’
What was this about?
Go Chan, who had been filled with doubts, shook his head and for now, sent true qi to the area around the lower danjeon.
It was almost there.
For now, there was one speculation.
‘The reason it’s dissipating is probably because he just started absorbing qi.’
Usually, that was the case.
At most, it hadn’t even been half a day since Mok Gyeong-un started practicing the breathing technique.
No matter how much qi he gathered, the amount would be too small, and since he hadn’t properly formed the lower danjeon, it was likely to dissipate…
-Startled!
In an instant, Go Chan got goosebumps.
He felt something cold and spine-chilling.
However,
‘Huh?’
He hadn’t removed his palm, but the true qi that had been connected was cut off.
What was this phenomenon?
Go Chan, who was furrowing his brows, once again infused true qi into the Liver (Gimun) acupoint out of curiosity.
And again, he sent it to the area around the lower danjeon.
However,
-Startled!
Once more, along with that bizarre sensation, the true qi he sent was cut off.
No, to be precise, it dissipated.
Go Chan was momentarily dumbfounded.
‘What?’
It was hard to understand this phenomenon.
It wasn’t the qi that Mok Gyeong-un himself had absorbed, but his own true qi.
Yet the moment it reached the area around the lower danjeon, he lost control over it and it dissipated and vanished.
Why was this happening?
Unless one directly cut off the true qi, this shouldn’t be possible.
As he struggled to understand, Mok Gyeong-un’s voice was heard.
“Sir Go Chan’s qi also dissipated?”
“……You felt that too?”
“Yes.”
‘This is unbelievable. This fellow’s qi sense is truly unparalleled.’
At this point, it could only be seen as an innate instinct.
To be able to perceive another person’s qi when he had just started absorbing qi himself.
It was tongue-twisting.
If this fellow had learned martial arts from a young age, how would it have been?
‘He might have had talent on par with the youngest young master.’
The youngest son of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor, Mok Yu-cheon.
His talent was so overwhelming that it might appear only once in three generations of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor.
A monster who reached the realm of a first-class master at the age of fourteen and reached the beginning of the peak stage just two years later at sixteen.
It was truly a dominating talent.
But it seemed that if this fellow had also started early, he might have approached that level.
However, there was one problem.
‘Why is it dissipating?’
He had tried sending it once more just now.
But the result was the same.
If the faint qi he had gathered through the breathing technique dissipated, the reason would be obvious, but for this, he couldn’t figure out the cause at all.
“Young master…”
“Do you know why?”
“I am ashamed to say that with this subordinate’s skill, it is difficult to know the reason.”
His pride was hurt, but Go Chan was merely a second-rate expert.
Martial artists referred to those at the first-rate stage and above as masters.
That’s how second-rate experts, while stronger than ordinary people, couldn’t be said to have reached the realm of masters or grandmasters.
“Unless an expert of a higher level than this subordinate examines it, it seems it will be hard to know.”
“But since you’ve trained in martial arts, don’t you have any speculations?”
“…I don’t know. I feel some unusual qi around the young master’s lower danjeon, but it’s hard to discern what it is.”
It was completely different from internal energy.
It was so cold and unpleasant that Go Chan wasn’t even sure if it should be called qi.
To Go Chan, who was like this, Mok Gyeong-un asked in a low voice,
“Then, I won’t beat around the bush and ask directly. If it continues like this, will I be unable to form a danjeon?”
A straightforward question.
At this, Go Chan replied with difficulty,
“…To be honest, that’s right. If the qi gathered through the breathing technique keeps dissipating, you won’t be able to form a danjeon.”
“In the end, ‘that’ becomes the problem.”
“Pardon?”
“No, no. Just talking to myself.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin.
While Go Chan couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, the cause seemed to have become clear.
The death qi near the lower danjeon seemed to be the cause.
‘Hmm.’
What to do about this?
The qi absorbed through the breathing technique doesn’t match with this and dissipates.
And with this breathing technique or circulation method, the death qi couldn’t be moved.
No solution came to mind for this method.
‘This is troublesome.’
The original purpose was to learn martial arts.
That monstrous man he had met back then.
When he tried to revive that sensation, he still didn’t dare to think of defeating that man, no, he didn’t even dare to confront him.
‘Am I unable to learn martial arts?’
If that was the case, there was no reason to stay here.
Mok Gyeong-un’s mind became complicated for a moment.
It was still too early to definitely feel discouraged.
As Go Chan said, he was merely a second-rate expert, so he might not have been able to grasp the exact cause.
Would getting help from a proper master be the answer?
As he was pondering,
“Oh my, how peculiar. Seeing how it dissipates the true qi, it seems completely opposite to the qi generated through normal circulation…”
“Opposite?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Go Chan waved his hands and said,
“It, it’s just my guess. You don’t need to take it too seriously…”
“Opposite… opposite…”
Mok Gyeong-un furrowed his brows and became lost in thought.
The moment he heard the word “opposite,” he recalled having a similar feeling when he first absorbed this cold and yin-death qi.
If the qi absorbed through breathing is considered life qi, in other words, living qi, then this is literally death qi.
Then perhaps the method was wrong from the beginning?
Mok Gyeong-un reached his own conclusion and said,
“Sir Go Chan’s words are correct. I should try reversing the qi circulation method and breathing technique.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un closed his eyes.
It was to directly attempt what he had realized.
‘What?’
For a moment, Go Chan couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Did he just say he would reverse the qi circulation method and breathing technique?
For an instant, he doubted his own ears.
The breathing technique was originally a type of cultivation method derived from Taoism that boosted life qi and yang qi.
But reversing it meant literally accepting death and yin qi.
Moreover, reversing the qi circulation was called the great method of reverse meridians, leading oneself to fall into the demonic path.
“Yo, young master! Stop! You may fall into a qi-deviation!”
Fire Entering the Devil[1].
This was a phenomenon that occurred even if the qi inside the body was slightly distorted.
But if it was like this with just a slight distortion, completely reversing the qi circulation direction was no different from choosing self-destruction.
–Phew!
Watching this scene, the corners of Cheong-ryeong’s mouth curled up.
That foolish fellow was doing something stupid with shallow knowledge.
-How can he think of such a thing?
Even the reverse meridian method developed by the main sect after long research often led to the destruction of the danjeon or severe side effects that turned people into cripples or corpses.
Yet a greenhorn who hadn’t even formed a danjeon was reversing the qi circulation on his own.
It was literally a suicidal act.
-If it goes well, I may find freedom.
Cheong-ryeong smirked and said to the Demonic Monk.
If harm was inflicted from the outside or the Devouring supreme-ruler tried to cause harm, it would eventually return as retribution.
But if one took their own life, it was a different story.
If that happened, they too might be freed from the shackles.
-Don’t interfere, mortal.
-Swish!
Cheong-ryeong lightly swung her pipe.
Then, Go Chan, who was trying to stop Mok Gyeong-un, was pushed back by an invisible force and laid down on the bed he had been lying on, stuck to it.
-Ack!
“Th, this is?”
The startled Go Chan tried to gather internal energy to sit up.
But he couldn’t move an inch.
“Yo, young mas…mmph!”
–Shh. You need to be quiet.
With a single gesture from Cheong-ryeong, Go Chan couldn’t even move his lips.
In the meantime, Mok Gyeong-un was already reversing the breathing technique and qi circulation.
Seeing this, Cheong-ryeong’s red lips twitched.
-If you die on your own, I’ll personally dismember your soul.
She was truly looking forward to it.
However,
-Swooosh!
White breath flowed out from Mok Gyeong-un, who was circulating qi.
‘!?’
That breath was not warm energy but extremely cold and yin.
Until just now, Cheong-ryeong had thought that Mok Gyeong-un would fall into a devilish state and die from recklessly reversing the qi circulation.
But as things flowed in an unexpected direction, one of her eyebrows raised involuntarily.
‘What is this?’
She had never seen such a sight before, even when she was alive.
Why were yin qi gathering around him as he reversed the qi circulation?
It was clearly visible to Cheong-ryeong’s ghost eyes.
In the world, not only life qi and yang qi were spread.
Naturally, as yin and yang energies maintained balance, death qi and yin qi were also evenly distributed in corresponding amounts.
But there was an important fact here.
It was that living beings could neither sense nor feel these opposite energies.
Yet what was happening?
-How?
How was Mok Gyeong-un, a living being, attracting death qi?
As she was finding it strange, the woman pretended to stroke the empty platform with her hand and muttered to herself,
“It’s alright. We’ll be leaving soon.”
Seeing her like that, Lady Seok clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘It’s hard to find a proper person among the diviners.’
Why did she find this one even less trustworthy than the diviner Myo-sin who came last time?
She had informed them of the news of Myo-sin’s death, so she thought the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion, the group of diviner in Mengcheng, would send someone more skilled, but she was quite displeased.
However, without showing it, she spoke.
“You said your name was Sak?”
“Yes.”
“…If you don’t mind me asking, may I inquire about your age? You look younger than you appear.”
“Age is not important.”
“Alright. I suppose you can’t reveal it.”
“I’m nineteen.”
“Pardon?”
She was even younger than expected.
Not even in her prime.
The guard Ho-aeng, having learned that Sak was young, carefully interjected.
“Shall we request Ghostly Spirit Pavilion again?”
At her words, Sak silently rose from her seat.
Then she stretched out her hand and spoke.
Guard Ho-aeng frowned and asked,
“What’s with that hand?”
“You’ll provide the travel expenses, right?”
“…What have you done to deserve travel expenses?”
“It wasn’t us who broke the agreement, but your side.”
“It’s not a breach of contract.”
“Since it’s a replacement of the dispatched diviner, I’m only requesting the travel expenses, excluding the penalty.”
“……”
It wasn’t just her aura that was irritating.
Lady Seok snorted as if dumbfounded and spoke.
“My family has had a connection with Ghostly Spirit Pavilion since my maiden days and maintained a good relationship, but this matter is hard to accept. For such a serious case where the diviner you sent died a strange death, you send a young friend who’s not even in her prime…”
“Diviner Myo-sin is my teacher.”
“Pardon?”
At Sak’s words, Lady Seok furrowed her brows.
Looking at Myo-sin, he seemed to be a middle-aged man who had honed his divineric arts for many years.
But this woman named Sak was merely nineteen.
Yet she says diviner Myo-sin is her teacher?
As she found it strange, Sak spoke.
“A diviner receives six levels of titles according to their skill. From top to bottom, it’s Shin, Il, Wol, Gi, Myo, Su. My teacher Myo-sin is at the lowest level, Su, having just completed 5 years.”
“The lowest level?”
As far as Lady Seok knew, diviner Myo-sin was quite renowned in Mengcheng.
But he was a diviner of the lowest level?
“Then what about you?”
“I am at Gi.”
It was the fourth out of the six titles and two levels higher than Myo-sin.
At Sak’s words, Lady Seok looked at her for a moment.
Her appearance still seemed young, and her strangely brazen and arrogant attitude was irritating, but if this was true, she wouldn’t be worse than Myo-sin, even if not better.
“Madam, I will go again…”
-Swish!
Lady Seok raised her hand, cutting off guard Ho-aeng’s words, and spoke.
“Alright. I will entrust you with the task.”
“Madam?”
“Since this diviner is said to be skilled, let’s see.”
For now, she decided to entrust it to her.
If it failed, the silver would freeze just like with Myo-sin.
And she would have grounds to protest at the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion.
Lady Seok rose from her seat.
“I have something to show you, so follow me.”
With those words, she went outside and guided them to a place like a warehouse located behind Hyehwa Hall.
Entering there, there was another door, and a waiting servant opened it and lit a lantern.
-Flicker!
As they entered, Lady Seok covered her nose with her sleeve.
It was because of a terrible stench.
Lady Seok pointed to a corpse covered with a straw mat, leaving only the feet exposed.
“This is diviner Myo’s corpse.”
The identity of that corpse was none other than the deceased Myo-sin.
It was made to look as if it had been burned, but it was hidden to show to another diviner.
-Step, step!
Sak approached the corpse of the dead Myo-sin.
And she removed the straw mat.
“Teacher.”
Sak stared intently at the face of the dead Myo-sin with trembling eyes.
Although there was said to be no great affection between diviner, the death of someone she knew was still unpleasant.
Lady Seok asked her,
“How do you think he died?”
A straightforward question.
To this question, Sak replied in a low voice,
“The cause of death is not judged by what is seen. Only the dead can tell.”
-Swish!
Then she brought her hand to the face of the dead Myo-sin.
Seeing this, Lady Seok and guard Ho-aeng frowned and slightly turned their heads.
They couldn’t imagine touching a foul-smelling corpse with their bare hands.
Sak touched Myo-sin’s face with her eyes closed.
And then,
-Clench, clench!
With her left hand, she made hand seals.
‘Gye! Tu! Jeon!’
The Baek, Ja, followed by the Byeong.
Sak, who had made the hand seals of the Nine Character Dharani, chanted something in a small voice.
“Three-Person Joint Technique. The Northern Emperor has granted me authority. So reveal all that you have experienced. Urgently, urgently, as the law and decree command!.”
The atmosphere was getting eerie.
The air seemed to grow heavy.
What is she doing?
Both Lady Seok and guard Ho-aeng held their breath and watched her.
Soon, a bizarre scene unfolded before their eyes.
-Tremble, tremble, tremble!
‘!?’
The entire body of the dead Myo-sin began to shake on its own.
‘The, the corpse is moving by itself?’
Guard Ho-aeng was so startled that he covered his mouth and unknowingly took a step back.
On the other hand, Lady Seok only furrowed her brows at this sight, not greatly frightened.
Rather, she focused on how the Fang Arts were being performed, as she couldn’t see it up close.
“Reveal all. Urgently, urgently, as the law…”
-Clench!
Sak bit her lip tightly, and her expression instantly distorted.
‘As expected.’
It didn’t deviate from her expectations.
As Sak pulled her left hand, which was maintaining the hand seal, the dead Myo-sin’s mouth opened with a creak and closed.
After that, the movement subsided.
Sak opened her eyes slightly and released the hand seal on her left hand.
“What happened?”
To that question, Sak said nothing.
But soon she opened her eyes, removed her hand, and spoke.
“I asked my teacher.”
“Asked? As if a dead person would really answer…”
“Of course not. Unless the spiritual remains in the corporeal part of the soul, they won’t directly answer.”
“……”
Was she making a joke now?
Didn’t she clearly say she asked?
As if reading her thoughts, Sak continued,
“All the dead have traces.”
“Traces?”
“In the spirit of a corpse that hasn’t been dead for forty-nine days, spiritual traces remain. If you awaken those traces, you can see how the owner of the soul met their death.”
“Then did you see who did it?”
“I didn’t see.”
“What do you mean? You just said a moment ago that within forty-nine days…”
“If one loses their life by Sal (murder), only a fragment of the last moment remains, so no matter how skilled a diviner is, it’s difficult to accurately confirm how they died.”
‘Fear…’
The last fragment of diviner Myo-sin that she saw was extreme fear.
That’s why she had bitten her lip tightly.
This in itself wasn’t particularly special.
But would a person living as a diviner have been this terrified just from being killed?
Of course, if it was a vengeful spirit of the Yellow Sprit level, it might have been difficult to handle with just the title of Su-ranked diviner, so it was quite possible.
Lady Seok asked,
“…Then you’re saying we can’t know anything?”
“That’s not the case.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dying by Sal means it was a death by supernatural phenomena. Seeing how the blood vessels of the corpse are so grotesquely protruding, it’s not an ordinary vengeful spirit.”
At those words, Lady Seok’s eyes sharpened.
This was the very point she had doubts about.
“So you’re saying it’s true that he died like this because of supernatural phenomena?”
“Yes. It’s a very strong vengeful spirit.”
“I knew it. That child did it after all. Ahhh.”
The desired answer came out.
Then it meant that Mok Gyeong-un used supernatural phenomena to kill diviner Myo-sin and even threatened the life of Sohwa, her maid.
As everything became clear, she trembled with rage.
What kind of bastard was he that even such vengeful spirits were helping him?
Lady Seok spoke sharply with a voice filled with anger,
“You can handle it, right?”
To her question, Sak asked back,
“If you promise one thing clearly, it’s possible.”
“What is it?”
“Not all supernatural phenomena are the same. Vengeful spirits are the opposite of cultivating life, so they can’t be tamed as Devouring supreme-rulers in the first place. So in the end, we have to consider it as possession.”
“And?”
“If what was mentioned in the request is true, that young master named Mok Gyeong-un may have already lost his corporeal part of the soul to supernatural phenomena and lost his spirit. Taking this into account, during the exorcism…”
Lady Seok cut off the complicated explanation,
“Just get to the point.”
“…There is a high probability of death. Is that alright?”
At Sak’s words, the corners of Lady Seok’s mouth curled up slightly.
Rather, it was what she wished for.
“I don’t mind.”
Seeing her like that, Sak sneered inwardly.
It was truly ridiculous to see a family coveting each other’s lives for the sake of the succession competition.
But it wasn’t something for her to concern herself with.
She took out a wooden dagger from the waist belt made of leather.
“What are you trying to do?”
“First, I’ll return the Sal to weaken the vengeful spirit and the host.”
“How?”
“Receiving a reverse Sal is an excruciating pain that makes one wish for death. Watch.”
-Swish!
Sak took out a talisman from her bosom.
On the talisman, it was written in red ink:
[逆(Reverse)]
She wrapped it around the wooden dagger and then unhesitatingly stabbed it into the chest of the dead diviner Myo-sin.
-Stab!
“The Northern Emperor grants me the talisman to drive away evil spirits, so urgently act according to the command!”
-Wriggle!
At that moment, the corpse of the dead diviner Myo-sin twisted.
***
–Phew. Damn bastard.
Smoke flowed from Cheong-ryeong’s red lips.
She glared at Mok Gyeong-un, who was circulating qi, with a displeased expression.
what the …. was that fellow’s identity?
If one reversed the qi circulation, it was normal to fall into qi-deviation, become a cripple, or face death.
But the death qi was gathering.
Those who could be affected by or sense death qi were the dead, in other words, vengeful spirits like themselves.
But Mok Gyeong-un was a living human.
Was this possible?
-…A living human attracts the qi of death.
It was an unprecedented sight.
But she still didn’t know.
Since it was an unknown realm that living humans hadn’t explored yet, even if he gathered death qi, it was hard to guarantee that he could circulate and control it like the qi of cultivating life.
Controlling the qi of death was no different from entering the realm of the dead.
–Whew.
Curiosity filled her crimson eyes as she exhaled thick smoke.
Could a living human really gather and even control the qi of death?
This was quite interesting and greatly stimulating.
However,
-Smolder, smolder!
One of Cheong-ryeong’s eyebrows, who had been looking at Mok Gyeong-un, raised.
-This is?
Cheong-ryeong stared in the northeast direction.
Then, Demonic Monk also flinched and looked northeast, and soon stood as if guarding Mok Gyeong-un’s breathing technique that was gathering death qi.
Tension filled Demonic Monk’s eyes.
At that moment,
-Thud!
Demonic Monk clutched his chest and was pushed back.
-Whoosh!
As if receiving immense pressure, Demonic Monk crossed his arms and distorted his expression.
-Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!
Wounds like something appeared all over Demonic Monk’s giant body.
Even his blood vessels grotesquely protruded.
Then, the eyelids of Mok Gyeong-un, who was concentrating on the reverse qi circulation with his eyes closed, trembled.
If that sensation just now wasn’t her imagination, it undoubtedly surpassed the level of a Yellow Spirit.
This was even more unexpected than the pain from the reflected evil energy.
A vengeful spirit above the level of a Yellow Spirit?
“Sak-bangsa[[Diviner]]? Are you alright?”
Lady Seok, the lady of the house, asked as she helped Sak up.
Sak nodded her head at this question.
Although the evil energy was reflected back at her, she had protected her body with guardian talismans, so she avoided fatal internal injuries.
“Cough cough……”
“What exactly happened?”
“The evil energy I sent was reflected back.”
“Reflected back the evil energy? What is happened does that mean?”
“Just as I said. Diviner Myo-sin lost his life to the vengeful spirit’s killing energy. but I sent the same killing energy back to the vengeful spirit.”
“But you’re saying it bounced that off?”
“Yes.”
At her answer, Lady Seok furrowed her brow.
What was going on here?
A diviner superior to Myo-sin in skill had her reflected evil energy bounced off – she didn’t know how to process this.
“…Then does this mean we cannot resolve this matter?”
-Shk!
At this question from Lady Seok, Sak wiped the black blood from the corner of her mouth and spoke.
“It’s not a matter of resolving it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The situation has become far more dangerous than anticipated.”
At Sak’s grave tone, Lady Seok asked with a worried look:
“Dangerous, you say?”
“If it was around the level of a Yellow Spirit, I could have sent the evil energy, weakened the vengeful spirit, and exorcised it with talisman techniques. But that went awry.”
“Awry meaning…”
“It’s a malicious vengeful spirit of a far higher level.”
At Sak’s words, Lady Seok asked in an uncomprehending tone:
“Do vengeful spirits also have levels?”
“Yes. You can think of it as a measure of danger.”
“Then you said before that a Yellow Spirit? Was it Yellow Spirit? Anyhow, you said it was of a higher level than a Yellow Spirit spirit, so how much more dangerous is it?”
Brushing her disheveled hair back, she replied:
“Actually, even a Yellow Spirit level spirit is extremely dangerous as it can directly inflict killing energy on humans and cause death. But anything higher than that is something even diviners who deal with monsters cannot help but be on alert for.”
“Even for diviners?”
“Yes. Green ghosts and above are quite rare.”
“Why is that?”
“To become a Green ghost or above, that vengeful energy must persist for decades or the spirit must have suffered immense agony. However, most vengeful spirits naturally dissipate over time and are exorcised on their own.”
“…So those Green ghosts are the ones that have survived over many years?”
“Yes. Vengeful spirits that have existed for decades. That is a Green ghost. Even for diviners who specialize in this, dealing with such high-level spirits is no easy task. In most cases, it requires at least five Level 5 diviners to stake their lives to exorcise them.”
Diviners like Myo-sin were absolutely no match for Green ghosts.
At Sak’s explanation, Lady Seok cautiously asked:
“Then is the vengeful spirit possessing him one of those decades-old Green ghosts?”
“Most likely.”
That was Sak’s assumption.
She herself had only encountered higher level spirits twice.
Those could be called calamities without exaggeration, but she felt this wasn’t quite to that degree.
If it was truly that high level, the Yeon Mok Sword Manor here would have already been dyed red with blood.
Its range of influence was incomparable to those below Green ghosts.
That’s why she was convinced it was a Green ghost.
“Sak-bangsa…if it’s that dangerous, can you handle it alone?”
At this question from Lady Seok, Sak held out her hand.
“…What does that mean?”
“You’ll need to pay an additional fee.”
“For what?”
“Five hundred silver nyang is insufficient for a Green ghost level. You’ll need to raise it to a thousand.”
“……”
This situation and she’s haggling?
At Sak’s words, not Lady Seok but the guard Ho-aeng interjected in disbelief.
“A thousand silver nyang? No matter what, five hundred is enough to buy how many sacks of rice, and you think that makes sense?”
“Silver and lives cannot be compared.”
“Lives? Ha! Just because madam requested you, I think you’re mistaken but this is a martial household. It’s not a place for ordinary people…”
“Then the guard can handle it.”
Saying that, Sak tried to leave the storage room.
‘This wench, really!’
Unable to hold back at her behavior, the guard Ho-aeng blocked her way.
“Who said you can leave as you please?”
“Please step aside.”
“Unless you spit back what you received or something…”
“No. It’s fine.”
“What?”
At the sudden words, guard Ho-aeng looked puzzled, but Sak glanced at the top of her sack and muttered as if calming something:
“Settle down. Guyeo.”
‘!?’
There was nothing on the sack.
But why would she say such things as if there was something there? It was bothering her.
Annoyed by this, the guard Ho-aeng asked:
“What’s on the sack that you’re talking like that? Before too, as if there’s something…”
-Rustle rustle!
Before she could even finish.
Subtle rustling sounds reached her ears.
Ho-aeng looked in that direction.
‘Huh?’
There were only piles of sacks and nothing else.
But again, rustling sounds came from somewhere.
And from multiple places at that.
-Rustle rustle! Rustle rustle!
-Shk!
With a tense expression, Ho-aeng moved her hand to the sheath at her waist.
It was an unpleasant sound.
It was coming from here and there and quite grating.
Then Sak waved her hand and spoke in a firm voice:
“Guyeo. Enough.”
As if by magic, the rustling sounds that were just coming from everywhere ceased in an instant.
Feeling a sudden ominous premonition, Ho-aeng asked in a slightly deflated voice:
“Wh…what was that just now?”
At this question, Sak shook her head side to side and said:
“Don’t provoke Guyeo.”
Saying that, Sak made a gesture as if petting the empty air above the sack.
She did the same thing before too, and there was no understanding what she was doing.
“There’s nothing there, so what on earth…”
“Guyeo is very shy.”
“No. What the heck is this Guyeo that you keep…”
“Guyeo is a native Imaemangyang of Mt. Yeoa at the end of Mt. Gal.”
“Imaemangyang? You don’t mean a monster?”
“Similar.”
Imaemangyang (魑魅魍魎).
To be precise, mountain goblins or monsters are called Imae (魑魅) while water monsters in rivers or seas are referred to as Mangnyang (魍魎).
Since ancient times, people have combined these terms and called them Imaemangyang.
“Guyeo is an Imaemangyang that became my servant ghost. Of course, even if it’s shy, it never forgives those who try to harm its master.”
-Hwarak!
As soon as she finished speaking, the torch flickered and a strange shadow was cast behind the sack.
‘Wh-what is this?’
Seeing the shadow, Ho-aeng took a step back with a terrified expression.
There was clearly nothing visible on the sack, but a huge shadow with a snail-like coiled body, a bird’s beak, and a snake’s tail was undulating.
Its appearance was utterly bizarre.
“If there’s nothing more, please step aside now.”
Sak tried to pass by the frightened Ho-aeng.
At that moment, Lady Seok spoke.
“Wait!”
“……..”
“Can you really handle that Green ghost or whatever it is?”
At that question, the corners of Sak’s mouth lifted slightly.
She figured they wouldn’t be able to refuse anyway.
Although a Green ghost level was said to be extremely dangerous, she felt she could handle it somehow as a diviner (Banggi) who could employ servant ghosts.
Sak erased the smile from her lips and turned her head with a serious expression.
“The vengeful spirit will be very angry after having the killing energy reflected back. If we don’t hurry and deal with it, an even bigger incident may occur.”
Lady Seok looked at Sak with sharp eyes.
Soon, she made her decision.
“Alright. A thousand silver nyang. I will pay it.”
“Upfront.”
“…….”
This diviner wench.
She seems obsessed with money.
***
Mok Gyeong-un slowly opened his closed eyes.
Everything was different from when he absorbed the life-nurturing energy through normal qi circulation.
Instead, these chilling and yin energies he took in through reverse circulation felt like wearing clothes that fit his body, allowing him to freely circulate qi.
They didn’t even disappear when entering below his danjeon.
‘Was this the answer.’
Rather than taking in life-nurturing energy that didn’t suit his body, this was better.
Moreover, he could even circulate qi.
However, there was one problem.
‘Too little.’
Compared to life-nurturing energy, this death energy was significantly less.
It was less than even a tenth.
Like a dried up spring, no matter how much he circulated qi, it wouldn’t fill up properly.
‘What a pity.’
If he could secure more of this energy, it seemed he could form a cinnabar field even with this death energy.
Should he just kill someone moderately and absorb death energy in a gruesome manner?
‘Hmm.’
Mok Gyeong-un had that fleeting thought.
But that seemed difficult to do right away.
The more he killed people recklessly, the more restrictions that would arise, so even if he did kill someone, he needed some thorough calculations.
Otherwise, he could end up in a predicament like before.
‘Should I ask them instead?’
As vengeful spirits, Demonic Monk or Cheong-ryeong might know where this death energy was abundantly distributed.
So he went to find Demonic Monk, but,
‘Huh?’
Demonic Monk’s condition looked quite bad.
It was sitting on the floor leaning against something, its body covered in wounds with gray haze-like substance rising from it.
He didn’t know why it was like this.
Moreover, the guard Go-chan was passed out on the infirmary bed in a strange posture as if he fainted.
‘What’s this?’
Did something happen while he was circulating qi?
As he was feeling puzzled, someone’s voice rang out.
-Hmph. You’re a handful. Mortal.
The owner of the voice was Cheong-ryeong.
Sitting on the bed with a pipe in her mouth, she puffed out thick smoke and spoke, lifting Mok Gyeong-un’s chin with the end of the pipe.
-Are you sure you’re a living human?
“You think I might be dead? My heart is beating just fine.”
-Hmm. If you were a proper living being, you should have drawn in life-nurturing energy, not death energy, and performed proper qi circulation and practices.
“Is that wrong to do?”
At this question from Mok Gyeong-un, Cheong-ryeong snorted.
It wasn’t a matter of right or wrong.
She was just curious about something that defied principles.
-Do you not feel like your heart will burst or your head will crack?
“No, nothing like that.”
-How odd. How odd indeed. You are the first mortal of your kind that I’ve encountered.
“Is that so? But may I ask something too?”
At this question from Mok Gyeong-un, Cheong-ryeong put the pipe back in her mouth, took a deep drag and exhaled, speaking in an annoyed tone.
-Huu. What do you want to know?
“Nothing much. How can I gather more death energy?”
-Why do you want to gather that? Are you really intending to form a cinnabar field with that energy?
“Precisely.”
At these words from Mok Gyeong-un, Cheong-ryeong twitched her red lips.
She found this mortal who bound her quite detestable, but on the other hand, she was curious.
If one formed a cinnabar field with death energy instead of life-nurturing energy and wielded it, she wondered in what form that power would manifest.
‘Death energy in a living human body…..’
Quite interesting.
Fiddling with the pipe between her fingers, she spoke.
-Good. I’ll tell you. There’s an easy way.
“And what is that?”
-Kill. That will do.
“….By killing, you mean?”
-When living things, be they humans or anything else, die, their life-nurturing energy transforms into death energy. What you absorbed was probably like that too.
At first, even Cheong-ryeong was doubtful.
After all, living humans cannot absorb death energy.
At her words, Mok Gyeong-un licked his lips slightly and said:
“That’s a pity. I also think that way would be faster, but if I do that, things will get quite troublesome. So it seems hard to kill recklessly right away. Any other methods?”
‘A pity, he says….’
The more she knew this guy, the more he was definitely different from ordinary humans.
His way of thinking was completely different, so to speak.
-Then change the place and time.
“Place and time?”
-In the first place, a place like this infirmary is a place to save people. It’s overflowing with life-nurturing energy, so how much death energy do you think you can gather here?
“I see.”
Mok Gyeong-un nodded as if he understood.
Seeing this, Cheong-ryeong shook her head side to side and continued.
-The time when life-nurturing energy reaches its peak is at dawn before sunrise. As it is the time when life stirs, life-nurturing energy is abundant. Then when would the opposite be?
“Around sunset?”
At those words, Cheong-ryeong laughed.
-No.
“No?”
-You may think so, but the time when death energy is most abundant is different.
“And when is that?”
-From the hour of the rat to the middle of the hour of the tiger[[11 PM to 3 AM]]. This is called the hour of the dead.
“Hour of the dead? Sounds plausible.”
-It reaches its peak in between at the beginning of the hour of the ox. At that time, death energy becomes most abundant.
“Then I should aim for that time. As for the place, somewhere overflowing with yin energy would be good. Like a graveyard, for example.”
-At least your head works that much. Mortal.
Cheong-ryeong lifted the corners of her red lips.
Then, as if becoming conscious of her own expression, she quickly returned to a serious face.
Seeing Cheong-ryeong like this, Mok Gyeong-un smirked inwardly but showed no outward signs and said:
“Thank you for telling me. But can I know why Go-chan and Demonic Monk are like that?”
He was curious about this too.
-You’re quick to be curious. That mortal, you…
As if realizing it would be problematic to say she did that to stop his suicidal act of reverse qi circulation, Cheong-ryeong quickly changed the subject.
She was about to talk while pointing at Demonic Monk with her pipe, but then,
-Uuu-oooh…
A strange sound was heard from outside.
It sounded like a bird cry but also like a fox cry depending on how you heard it.
Finding this strange, he heard a rustling sound from somewhere.
Mok Gyeong-un looked in that direction.
‘What’s that?’
It seemed to be coming from the left side of the bed, but there was nothing there.
-Rustle rustle!
But this time, the sound came from the right side.
So he looked there again, but there seemed to be nothing this time either.
Chapter 201: Who Dares to Touch My Yuan-Er! Translator: celefoata_ Editor: RegiusProfessor "Truly the ignorant is fearless! You aren’t thinking that because I’m an alchemist, my combat power is subpar, right? Today, I’m going to teach you just what kind of strength sect core disciples have!" Yang Hao said frostily. Ye Yuan curled his lips and said, "I say, you’re annoying. Are the martial arts of core disciples all on lip service?" "You’re courting death, Ye Yuan!" Yang Hao already had enough of Ye Yuan’s provocation and could not hold back any longer. He made his move! "Great Thousand-Leaf Hand!" Yang Hao cried out in a low voice. A palm created illusions of countless palms, smacking towards Ye Yuan. Seeing Yang Hao make a move, everyone was secretly shocked! "Tranquil Cloud Sect’s core disciple’s strength is indeed fathomless! This Great Thousand-Leaf Hand is a superior-grade Tier 2 technique, right? It has actually been cultivated to suc...
Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food Back at the school team residence, Chen Xing closed the door. Lying on the bed, Chen Xing closed his eyes and opened the Stone Booklet to check the mini-game related to Taotie’s newly awakened skills. Interactive Minigame (Escape the Great Vortex): Create a Great Vortex within the designated area. The owner throws a small ball into the vortex and the pet must dive into the heart of the Great Vortex to retrieve the target ball and bring it back within three minutes. Exceeding the time limit results in failure. Proficiency Level: Beginner (0/10) There was a friendly progress bar following the minigame. It seemed to represent the skill’s Proficiency Level, which could optimize the skill if the game was cleared successfully, much like a Passive Skill. But after thinking for a while, Chen Xing couldn’t help but stare at the word “Beginner.” The previous Passive Skill, Water Concealment, did not have this Proficiency Level advanceme...
Chapter 629: Three Formations! The scholar who arrived with a fresh set of green robes was Su Zimo who had escaped here. The attention of the hundred Nascent Souls were drawn over immediately. The old lady could not see what was going on outside and merely hugged the child tightly in her embrace. “You’re finally willing to show yourself, little beast?” Many Nascent Souls stood in midair and looked down at the mansion not far away, sneering in mockery. Su Zimo had an indifferent expression and walked down the stone steps into the courtyard. He gazed silently at the old man beneath the peach blossom tree with a deep sorrow in his eyes. The old man’s eyes were closed and he had a peaceful expression, as though he was in a deep sleep. The furnace made of red clay burned and flickered. There was a bowl of wine remaining above that was still warm. Su Zimo was oblivious to the encirclement of the hundred Nascent Souls and walked towards the furnace. He lifted the remaining bowl of wine a...
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