Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 13 - Demon Monk (2)

Chapter 13 – Demon Monk (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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-Crunch!

The middle-aged man with a scar beneath his left eye, who had been sitting on the veranda biting into a sweet snack, let out a sigh and looked toward the halls leading to the main building.

Normally, the area around the halls where the guard warriors should have been was empty.

‘Is this really all right?’

His name was Jang Myeong-in.

He held the position of inner hall master, responsible for overseeing security of the main building at Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

In his youth, he had been a master of the blade famous around Shaoxing in Zhejiang, and nineteen years ago, during the campaign to suppress pirates in the Haeyeom region, he had met the Manor Lord and come into Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

‘Manor Lord.’

The Manor Lord in his youth had truly been a hero.

Jang Myeong-in had admired him and believed everything he did was right.

But how had things come to this?

[Inner Hall Master……surely you do not wish for that lowborn son of a mere courtesan to come to inherit the great Yeon Mok Sword Manor, do you?]

[That is……]

[Think carefully about what is the right thing for Yeon Mok Sword Manor.]

At first, he had not intended to get involved.

But he had no choice but to be swayed by the First Madam, Madam Seok.

Even if the youngest young master, Mok Yu-cheon, was overwhelmingly gifted in martial talent, he had no foundation and no allies in the clan, so if he came to inherit the family, it would ultimately lead to a split within Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

‘Yes. This is the right thing.’

Even if the eldest, Mok Yeong-ho, was somewhat violent, he was still the firstborn.

And his maternal family was none other than the Seok family of Geumhwa, enough to support him from behind.

In many respects, it was right for the eldest son to become the successor.

Still, one thing weighed on his mind.

[Even the physicians could do nothing, so how could a mere occult practitioner possibly……]

[It will not take long. You need only pretend not to know for about one shijin.]

[………]

[He is a capable occult practitioner from Meng City. If he finds it out, there will be no need to clash with the retainers or with that child Mok Eun-pyeong, the second.]

The Manor Lord’s seal.

With the seal, one could appoint a successor as one pleased.

It would also prevent a split among the retainers.

‘Is it really possible?’

Even so, he could not erase a sliver of doubt.

How could a mere occult practitioner, someone who only handled dubious arts, find out from the mouth of the Manor Lord, who was one step away from breathing his last, where the seal was hidden?

It even felt as though they might merely be wasting time on foolishness.

‘When they call it occult arts, they are not going to frighten the weakened Manor Lord lying in bed with medicine or something and force it out of him, are they?’

No matter how much he wanted the First Young Master, Mok Yeong-ho, to become the successor, that was not acceptable.

It would be an insult to the Manor Lord to whom he had sworn loyalty.

-Clench!

Strength went into Jang Myeong-in’s hand.

‘Yes, that would not be right.’

They had told him to leave the surroundings empty for about one shijin, but just in case, he ought to check.

They had said he must not interfere, so if he only looked, it would not be a big problem.

So Inner Hall Master Jang Myeong-in went past the halls and headed to the main building.

* * *

-Ssk!

Mok Gyeong-un touched with his hand the neck of occult practitioner Myo-shin, whose veins were bulging grotesquely.

The pulse of Myo-shin, whose breath had stopped, no longer beat.

Confirming this, Mok Gyeong-un turned back with an indifferent face.

‘This is fine.’

No matter who looked, it did not feel like the kind of death that came by a human hand.

A mysterious death.

That was what Myo-shin’s death was like.

-Srrrrrrk!

At that moment, above the dead Myo-shin, the bloodless giant monk appeared.

Around his neck hung a rosary made of rattling skulls.

Mok Gyeong-un stretched out his hand and touched it.

At once, the ghostly white eyes filled with eerie energy of the monk wavered.

“You wear something interesting around your neck.”

-………

The reason was simple.

It was because Mok Gyeong-un could directly touch his spiritual body.

As Mok Gyeong-un toyed with the skull rosary, he asked,

“You said you’d become a faithful slave, so what should I call you?”

At this question from Mok Gyeong-un, the giant monk who had remained silent muttered something softly.

It looked only as if his lips were moving.

-……….

This was not something human hearing could catch.

Yet it was heard clearly in Mok Gyeong-un’s ears.

“Demon Monk? That sounds more like a title than a name. Still, as long as I can call you something, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

The strange phenomenon called itself the Demon Monk.

Looking at this Demon Monk, Mok Gyeong-un let out a small laugh and then turned his head to look at the unconscious Manor Lord, whose arm had been cut off.

Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin.

“Hmm.”

He was troubled.

About whether it would be better to kill even the Manor Lord, or whether leaving him alive would be better.

The deliberation did not take long.

If he killed the Manor Lord right now, his own position would become inconvenient.

Therefore it was better to leave him alive.

“Then I should change the arrangement a little. Demon Monk. Can you move him in front of the Manor Lord?”

-……….

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the Demon Monk, who had been still, shook his head.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un muttered as if a bit disappointed.

“Don’t tell me you can’t?”

-………

He had thought that, since he had killed the occult practitioner, he would be able to exert physical force, but he had not expected him to be unable to exercise even such simple physical force.

Or was he only pretending he could not do it on purpose?

Moreover,

-Srrrrrrk!

The moment the parts of the body that had taken physical form touched sunlight, they vanished like heat haze.

That phenomenon resembled nothing so much as a shadow disappearing in light.

‘This is a realm difficult to understand.’

It was interesting, but hard to understand.

Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze turned toward the carrying case of the dead occult practitioner Myo-shin.

Inside it were various books related to occult arts.

If he consulted those, perhaps he might come to understand at least a little about these beings called strange phenomena.

-Step, step!

At that moment, the sound of footsteps treading on the veranda came from outside the door.

Soon the voice of Bodyguard Gochan was heard from outside the room.

“Is it not over yet?”

“Come in.”

At these words, Bodyguard Gochan opened the door and came in.

Gochan’s eyes widened as he entered.

“W-what is this……”

What startled Gochan was the dead occult practitioner Myo-shin.

He had thought the man would still be performing occult arts, so seeing him dead in the meantime could only leave him flustered.

What was strange, though, was that Bodyguard Gochan did not seem able to see the Demon Monk.

Mok Gyeong-un pointed slightly to the left and asked,

“Do you see anything here?”

“Pardon?”

“It seems you don’t see……”

-………

“Ah……is that so?”

“Pardon?”

“No. I was not talking to you, Bodyguard Gochan.”

‘!?’

At those words, Gochan frowned.

Then did that mean what he had just said was merely talking to himself?

While he was wondering in puzzlement, Mok Gyeong-un looked to his left and said something incomprehensible.

“No. I don’t think there is any need for you to reveal yourself.”

-……….

“Young Master? What in the world are you saying?”

To the flustered man, Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly and said,

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, would you move that occult practitioner over in front of the Manor Lord?”

“No. Young Master, why on earth is the occult practitioner……”

The appearance of occult practitioner Myo-shin was bizarre beyond words.

He had died with the veins of his entire face bulging hideously, and the expression on his face was full of pain, shock, and fear.

‘How in the world was he kill…..is this even what a murdered man looks like?’

Poison?

It was strange even to call it poison.

It was bizarre beyond measure.

‘Was he not killed by this fellow?’

Even if that fellow’s blood was poisonous, this was rather different from that.

Still, it did not seem as though he had been killed by any physical means either, so what in the world was this?

While he remained confused, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Instead of just staring, would you move him?”

“Y-yes….yes.”

Because he had been told the same thing twice, Gochan, perhaps sensing pressure, hurriedly moved the dead occult practitioner Myo-shin to the front of where the Manor Lord was.

Then Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Lay him down in front as naturally as possible. As though he went berserk on his own and died.”

‘What?’

How exactly was one supposed to lay him down so that it looked like he went berserk by himself and died?

At a loss, Gochan simply laid Myo-shin’s corpse down however he could.

He had done as he was told for the moment, but what exactly was the intention?

‘Could he be trying to make it look as though the occult practitioner did all of this?’

Looking at the room, now a complete mess, it did indeed seem possible.

The one somewhat fortunate thing was that the Manor Lord was still breathing.

His arm had been cut off, but that was better than dying.

“Young Master……..what are you going to do now?”

“Ah, I forgot something important.”

At that question from Gochan, Mok Gyeong-un picked up the sword that had fallen to the floor.

Holding the sword, Mok Gyeong-un approached the bed where the Manor Lord lay and swung it around here and there.

-Whoosh, whoosh!

“Let’s do this. We stopped the occult practitioner, who while trying to treat the Manor Lord with occult arts became possessed by a strange phenomenon, cut off the Manor Lord’s arm, and was trying to kill him.”

“………”

At those words, Bodyguard Gochan inwardly clicked his tongue.

Even in this situation, he had already made a plausible excuse by which to escape.

Certainly, if one saw the manner of occult practitioner Myo-shin’s death, it was so bizarre, as though he had been possessed by something, that it would seem plausible.

Still,

‘Will they believe it so easily?’

The First Madam was not a woman to be taken lightly.

Gochan considered simply not saying anything, but then cautiously spoke.

“Young Master…….but if we try to deceive them clumsily, it may only arouse suspicion.”

“Is it clumsy?”

“It really was mere chance, but if we say we happened to appear at just the perfect moment and save the Manor Lord, the First Madam is not likely to accept it easily. And since she herself hired this occult practitioner, all the more so…..”

“I see. Then it has to look more plausible.”

-Ssk!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un reversed his grip on the sword hilt.

Gochan was wondering what he was trying to do when suddenly Mok Gyeong-un brought the tip of the sword toward his own thigh.

“Y-Young Master? What are you trying to do now?”

“It has to look plausible. This should be enough.”

“W-wait…..”

It was before he could stop him.

-Thunk!

The sharp sword pierced straight into Mok Gyeong-un’s thigh.

‘!!!!!’

At this sight, Gochan’s expression hardened.

He was not merely pinching himself. He was stabbing his own thigh with a sword, and without even the slightest hesitation?

What was even more absurd was that, though it should have been painful, he did not let out even a single groan.

No, even his expression did not change.

‘D-doesn’t it even hurt?’

Even Gochan himself, if he had to endure such pain, would have gritted his teeth or twisted his face.

Yet this fellow hardly showed any change at all in his expression, as if he felt no pain whatsoever.

‘A vicious bastard…….’

One could only click one’s tongue in amazement.

Even if it was to avoid suspicion, stabbing his own thigh without hesitation was astonishing enough, but he was truly a venomous madman.

“T-there is no need to go this far……”

“This is the most effective way.”

“I will stop the bleeding!”

“No. A little more blood has to come out so my complexion will look somewhat pale.”

“………”

More and more, this fellow became not merely frightening but terrifying.

‘This kind of crazy bastard must never be made into an en…..’

-Bang!

At that moment, the door was suddenly flung open and someone rushed in.

Seeing him, Gochan was startled.

“Inner Hall Master?”

The middle-aged man with the scar beneath his left eye was none other than Inner Hall Master Jang Myeong-in.

In truth, this was not even something to be so surprised about.

Because he oversaw the security of the main building, he was originally someone who ought to have been stationed here.

Rather, it was stranger that he had been absent from his place.

-Shing!

At that moment, Inner Hall Master Jang Myeong-in drew the blade from his waist and aimed it at them.

“What have you done here?”

At his shout, Bodyguard Gochan waved his hands.

“Inner Hall Master. You misunderstand. Young Master and I…….”

It was before he could finish making his excuse.

“M-more importantly, the Manor Lord first…..”

-Thud!

‘!?’

Mok Gyeong-un swayed to one side and collapsed.

Watching that sight, Bodyguard Gochan was left momentarily speechless.

Don’t tell me he had just pretended to faint?

And while doing that, even managed to speak as though asking him to look to the Manor Lord first rather than to his own safety?

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