Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 125 - Shadow Sect (1)
Chapter 125 – Shadow Sect (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Inside a spacious room lit by only a single candle.
There was a bed in the room, and bamboo blinds had been hung around it.
A shadow sat on the edge of the bed as seen through the bamboo blinds.
The shadow drank down something from what looked like a medicine bowl, then set it on the table beside the bed.
“Cough, cough!”
The shadow coughed.
There was someone watching that sight with a somewhat bitter gaze.
He was a clean-shaven man in his early forties with white hair.
This snake-eyed man was Mong Seo-cheon, the Vice Society Leader and second-in-command of the Heaven and Earth Society.
“Society Leader… how about summoning the Physician of Hidden Cures?”
The Physician of Hidden Cures.
Together with the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal, who had long ago vanished without a trace, he was called one of the greatest physicians of the age.
Unlike the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal, who was said to have reached the highest realm in medicines, this man had mastered both external medicine and internal medicine, and in his youth his medical skill had been great enough for him to serve as an imperial physician in the imperial palace.
“If it is the Physician of Hidden Cures, then for the Society Leader’s…”
“No. It is fine.”
A firm voice came from behind the bamboo blinds.
Hearing it, Mong Seo-cheon clicked his tongue inwardly.
Why was he so stubborn?
He could endure thanks to his profound internal power, but if he could not release the energy inside his body, his illness would only deepen in the end.
“Cough, cough. More importantly, I heard the results from the Corpse Blood Valley gate have come out?”
“…Yes.”
“The observers?”
“Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, the Shadow Sect Master, Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, Bo Hyeok-so, Great Unit Leader of Yama Unit, and Dae So-man, Great Unit Leader of Red Blood Unit. Those six.”
“And the assignments?”
“With the exception of Bo Hyeok-so, Great Unit Leader of Yama Unit, each took one.”
“I see. Was there anything unusual?”
At that question, Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon let out a faint breath and opened his mouth.
“Do you remember sending the two children from Yeon Mok Sword Manor, the hostages, into Corpse Blood Valley?”
“Yeon Mok Sword Forge? Ahhh. I did.”
At the Society Leader’s reaction, Mong Seo-cheon clicked his tongue inwardly.
As expected, it seemed sending those two into Corpse Blood Valley had merely been an impulsive amusement.
The Society Leader he had known was that sort of man.
But it seemed the time had come when he would have to bear the backlash stirred up by that impulsive amusement.
“Those two hostage children…”
“Did they die?”
“…No.”
“They did not die?”
“No.”
“It seems they had more backbone than expected. Cough, cough. Then how far did they make it?”
“They passed the final gate.”
‘!?’
At that answer, the shadow cast against the bamboo blinds flinched for an instant.
Was he startled by such an unexpected result?
Soon a voice was heard.
“The hostages passed the final gate… something interesting has happened.”
“…”
Could this really be dismissed as merely interesting?
Not just anyone, but hostages captured from the orthodox path had passed the final gate of Corpse Blood Valley.
If word of this spread, there would be great controversy within the Society.
In one sense, this was no different from a humiliating result for the Heaven and Earth Society.
“This is not something to laugh off. They were not even trainees under our Society. Hostages seized from the orthodox path took joint first place.”
“First place?”
“Yes. The two brothers of the Mok family took joint first place.”
At the Vice Society Leader’s words, the shadow behind the bamboo blinds finally threw back its head and burst into loud laughter.
“First place? Hahahahahahat. First place?”
It was utterly unlike the Vice Society Leader, who had taken the result gravely.
He was enjoying it as if it were someone else’s business.
Then, perhaps because his internal injury flared up again, he began coughing violently and his breathing grew ragged.
“Cough, cough… haa… haa…”
As expected, the internal injury had not improved at all.
And yet he remained that stubborn.
It was hard to imagine even in a dream that that monster of a man could die, but if he were really to suddenly perish like this, a great rift would arise within.
The Vice Society Leader clicked his tongue inwardly, then said,
“Society Leader, if mishandled, this could lower morale within the Society and become a problem. At this point, it might be better to reveal that they learned the sword forms of Yue…”
“No.”
-Rattle.
At that instant the entire bamboo blind shook, and through it a pair of sharp eyes could be seen.
“Hup.”
The Vice Society Leader’s face hardened the moment he met that gaze.
The Society Leader’s aura was pressing down on the entire room so heavily that it was difficult even to breathe.
It was astonishing enough that even while lying sick in bed for so long, he could still exert this degree of pressure.
‘…He is still alive.’
There was a reason he was called one of the Six Heavens, standing at the very peak of the martial world.
Even if he was not at his absolute best, there seemed to be no one inside the fortress who could face the Society Leader.
Not even himself.
-Clench.
Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon clenched his fist, steadied his breathing, and calmed his trembling hand.
Then, before long, the aura that had filled the room vanished in an instant.
Soon the Society Leader opened his mouth.
“No, that is not it. No. That is still far from enough.”
‘…What is he talking about?’
Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon slightly furrowed his brow.
It was difficult to understand the meaning of what the Society Leader was saying.
What was still far from enough?
“Leave the hostages alone.”
“…”
Was he saying that in earnest?
If it became known that he had sent them into Corpse Blood Valley in the first place, and then allowed them to be taken as disciples by the observers regardless of their origin, there would be those who questioned it.
Was he saying that even that did not matter?
But he could say no more in objection.
“Understood.”
Within the Heaven and Earth Society, the Society Leader’s command was absolute.
“More importantly, have you found ‘that thing’?”
The Society Leader changed the subject.
At that question, Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon shook his head and answered,
“Not yet. However…”
And then he quietly said something.
* * *
He had just left the Society Leader’s residence and was about to leave the main building.
Someone called out to Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon.
“Vice Society Leader.”
At that, Mong Seo-cheon’s eyes narrowed.
From the voice alone, he immediately recognized who had called him.
The problem, however, was that even until this man called him, he had not sensed his position or presence at all.
‘…Has he improved again?’
He had heard that the man had come out of closed-door training a few days ago.
He had heard there had been results, but to think he had progressed to the point that even he found it hard to detect his presence.
It was truly astonishing.
“Young Master Jang.”
When he turned his head, he saw a handsome young man who looked to be in his late twenties, with curly hair and a sly face.
He was Jang Neung-ak, the Society Leader’s second disciple.
He was said to rank on the lower side in martial talent among the Society Leader’s three disciples, but that was only within that trio. Compared with others of his age, his talent was overwhelming.
Jang Neung-ak, the Society Leader’s second disciple, spoke with his usual mocking face, dimples showing.
“Is the Society Leader still obsessed with finding ‘that thing’?”
At the question, the Vice Society Leader smiled without a word.
That was because his conversation with the Society Leader was something that could not be revealed to anyone else.
That was true even for a disciple.
At this, Jang Neung-ak, the second disciple, jokingly said,
“I really do not understand why the Society Leader is so obsessed with something religious. Rather than that, it seems finding the Physician of Hidden Cures would make more sense. Wouldn’t you say?”
Mong Seo-cheon inwardly agreed with those words.
But who could stop the Society Leader’s stubbornness?
“He must have something in mind.”
“Ahhh.”
At the vague answer from Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon, Jang Neung-ak, the Society Leader’s second disciple, shook his head.
It was always like this.
Because he was the Society Leader’s right hand and the most influential person after the Society Leader, he wanted to win him over somehow, but with this man it was especially difficult.
The moment one tried to get even a little closer, he immediately kept his distance.
What was fortunate, at least, was that he had not yet taken anyone’s side.
‘But that too is only for now.’
Before long, he would surely come over to his side.
Jang Neung-ak raised the corner of his mouth and said,
“I obtained a piece of interesting information. I wonder whether you know it.”
“Interesting information?”
“Yes. I hear the one who passed this Corpse Blood Valley gate in first place is a hostage from Yeon Mok Sword Manor whom the King of the Fate Blade seized. Is that true?”
“…”
At that question, Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon let out a light sigh without a word.
As expected, the rumor had already spread.
Since Jang Neung-ak, the second disciple, had quite a number of supporting forces under him, it was only natural that he would obtain such information quickly.
If he already knew this much, there was no point in hiding it.
“It is true.”
“Kik.”
‘Kik?’
Jang Neung-ak suddenly bit at his little fingernail and laughed as though restraining himself.
At that sight, concern rose in Mong Seo-cheon’s eyes.
He had watched the Society Leader’s disciples since they were children, so he knew each of their temperaments better than anyone.
‘This is bad.’
When Jang Neung-ak became interested in something, the result was usually very unpleasant.
If it was something he could not touch from the start, it was one thing, but the moment he judged it to be something he could meddle with freely, he became full of malice.
“Young Master, I say this just in case…”
“Ahhh, Vice Society Leader. Surely you are not worried that I might do them harm just because they come from the orthodox path?”
“…It is not exactly that…”
“I am merely interested by the fact that even in the orthodox path there are fellows with that much grit and martial talent.”
“…From now on, they will become strength for our Society, not the orthodox path.”
“Then this works out nicely. I would like that strength to be of help to me as well.”
At those words, the Vice Society Leader was deeply troubled.
If there was something he wanted, Jang Neung-ak was the sort who would obtain and achieve it by any means.
* * *
The southeastern outskirts of the inner fortress of the Heaven and Earth Society.
That was where the main hall of the Shadow Sect was located.
As soon as he entered the Shadow Sect, a strange light appeared in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.
On one side of the compound, dozens of hawks and pigeons were flying in and out, while on another side, men carrying flags came running over and passed over things like scrolls, which others would read quickly and then burn.
-They are working properly.
Blue Spirit’s voice rang in his head.
-What are they doing?
-Exactly what it looks like. Managing the carrier birds, and burning the coded dispatches as they come in to preserve secrecy.
-Oh ho.
It truly suited an organization that handled information and secrets.
Even so, the Shadow Sect Master did not stop and kept heading somewhere.
It was not a place where carrier birds and confidential documents came and went, but a place where weapons and training grounds were located.
-Creeeak.
The door opened, revealing an indoor training hall.
The walls were thick, making it seem like a place with excellent soundproofing.
When the Shadow Sect Master gestured, the warriors who had followed bowed their heads, saluted, and then closed the door behind them as they left.
Thus only the two of them remained in the indoor training hall.
Why had he brought him here?
As he was wondering, the Shadow Sect Master said,
“Ohoho. This is my personal training hall.”
A space entirely cut off from the outside, without even a single window.
It seemed as though it had been made so that no one could interfere or watch.
As Mok Gyeong-un looked around, the Shadow Sect Master said,
“What do you think? Does it make you want to learn my personal martial art?”
“…”
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un furrowed his brow.
Even on the way to the Shadow Sect, the Shadow Sect Master had told him to think it over once.
The Shadow Sect Master’s personal martial art.
Naturally, as the martial art that had made him an executive, it could be called a supreme martial discipline.
The problem, however, was that to learn it, one had to be castrated.
-Kakakakak. Since the chance has come, why not just cut it off cleanly?
Blue Spirit laughed as though it were the funniest thing imaginable.
When one spoke of castration, it meant exactly that, removing the genitals and testicles, the center of a man’s yang energy.
Mok Gyeong-un had no particular thoughts of lust or of prospering descendants, but that did not mean he had any desire to be castrated either.
Mok Gyeong-un respectfully cupped his hands and said,
“I am sorry, but I do not think that will be possible.”
“You do not think it will be possible?”
“Yes.”
“Then you will not become my formal disciple, but only one of my subordinates. You can accept at least that much, can you not?”
“I cannot become a formal disciple?”
“Is that not obvious? If you do not even learn the martial arts of our school, how can you be called a disciple?”
“…”
It was certainly a reasonable thing to say.
But if he became one of the Shadow Sect Master’s subordinates instead of his disciple, that was a different matter entirely.
His authority would be far smaller, and he would remain in nothing more than a position of following orders.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un said,
“Must one truly be castrated in order to learn your personal martial art?”
“Yes. Of course. If you do not learn Ghost Yin Skill, you will not be able to circulate Flying Exchange Ghost Blade Method or Ghost Shadow Claw Method, and if that happens you will not even be able to execute the techniques.”
The Shadow Sect Master’s martial arts were based on powerful yin energy.
If one did not master the circulation method of Ghost Yin Skill, the techniques would not be able to display their proper power.
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin as though troubled.
Watching him, the Shadow Sect Master covered his mouth and laughed as he said,
“Ohohoho. I do not force anyone to be castrated. But if you wish to become my formal disciple, it is a process you must go through.”
“Must one absolutely possess yin energy to learn the martial art?”
“Yes. If it were a martial art that could be used with yang energy as well, then our school would not have needed to resort to castration generation after generation.”
The Shadow Sect Master had not been castrated because he wanted to.
It had merely been the natural course necessary to learn the martial arts of his school.
But because one lost too much in exchange, he always gave anyone who would become his disciple a choice.
Of course, until now, there had not been a single person willing to undergo castration at once.
The Shadow Sect Master had assumed from the beginning that Mok Gyeong-un would not willingly do it either.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un asked,
“If yin energy is the opposite of yang energy, is that not so?”
“That would be correct. By nature, men possess strong yang energy and women possess strong yin energy. One may say that Ghost Yin Skill was created to overcome that.”
-Slide.
The Shadow Sect Master extended his hand.
At once a damp, cold energy rose from his hand.
-Swaaaaaa.
His true energy was on an entirely different track from that of ordinary martial artists.
Once one reached mastery in Ghost Yin Skill, the wounded area could freeze cold and one could inflict fatal injury upon an opponent.
Displaying the yin energy of Ghost Yin Skill, the Shadow Sect Master said,
“To control yin energy in a man’s body, sadly, there is no way besides castration. Otherwise it may collide with the yang energy naturally produced within the body and lead to qi deviation.”
“I see.”
“I am not forcing you, so there is no need to feel burdened. In order to possess such yin energy, one must lose far too much…”
“Would something even more yin be acceptable?”
“More yin? What in the world do you mean by that…”
-Gooooooooo.
His words had not even fully ended.
‘!?’
At that moment, goosebumps rose over the Shadow Sect Master’s entire body and a chill ran down his spine.
Energy was suddenly erupting from Mok Gyeong-un.
It went beyond merely being yin and was spreading a vicious death aura like something that could only be felt from dead corpses.
“Now this… you truly do have a gift for startling people.”