Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 130 - Reunion (2)
Chapter 130 – Reunion (2)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Only a short while ago,
Crimson Grace House, located on the eastern outskirts of the outer castle.
At Crimson Grace House, famed for having only beauties skilled in music and dance along with rare fine liquor, there was the largest and most splendid VIP room.
Its name was Tryst.
The VIP room Tryst was, literally, a place that received only distinguished guests, serving either visitors from well-known sects and schools even within the Heaven and Earth Society, or only those of squad-leader rank or higher within the Heaven and Earth Society itself.
That was why every courtesan at Crimson Grace House wanted to go to Tryst, attend those distinguished guests, and form ties.
That was also because there were quite a few who had entered as secondary wives through Tryst, if not as principal wives.
But this time the competition was exceptionally fierce.
It was because of the rumor that, for the first time in a long while, even within the Heaven and Earth Society, a guest of unit-leader rank had made a reservation.
[Hoo.]
Go Chan, possessing Ha Chae-rin, had somehow barely managed to be included among the attendants.
Because of the battle of nerves with the courtesans, he had wanted to change his method.
It felt wasteful to give up and leave here after all the time he had invested.
-Swish
Go Chan quietly waited his turn.
Even in Tryst, there was a specially reserved time, and it was a place where the courtesans, one by one before the distinguished guest, showed off music, dance, or their personal talents.
-Ding! Ding!
At that moment one courtesan was showing off her art in front of the distinguished guest, dancing with her long sleeves fluttering.
In Go Chan’s hand was a huqin.
When he first entered Crimson Grace House, he had passed by playing the huqin, so he meant to do that again this time.
But the problem was that someone had already played the huqin before him.
‘Damn it.’
To be frank, the skill of the courtesan who had played it before him was a level above his own.
To begin with, he came from assassins, not musicians.
‘I cannot miss this chance.’
He knew that a unit-leader rank was also a considerably high position within the Heaven and Earth Society.
Through such a person, it would be possible to gain access into the Heaven and Earth Society.
But not only Go Chan; the other courtesans too were desperate to catch the eye of this lofty guest.
‘To think I have a fate where I have to compete over this with courtesans.’
No. It was hard even to call it fate.
What kind of fate was there left when he had already died and become a vengeful spirit?
It was the twisted destiny of a shikigami.
Just then a rough voice came from inside.
[Next!]
The moment that voice ended, the courtesan who had been dancing inside came out with disappointment written across her face.
It seemed she had tried, in her own way, to seduce the distinguished guest, but had failed, and was in a foul mood.
Yet this was already the sixth such courtesan.
‘Strange.’
Ordinarily, no matter how exclusive Tryst was to distinguished guests, they said that no more courtesans beyond the set number were drafted.
Yet there were ten courtesans in waiting, including himself.
Sixteen courtesans were waiting for the distinguished guest.
Thanks to that, he too had been able to slip into that group without incident, but just what level of high position did this guest hold for the beauty-hand to be putting in so much effort?
[I suppose it is my turn.]
At that moment, one courtesan stepped forward.
She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and was the courtesan who had picked a fight with Go Chan.
As she was about to go inside, the beauty-hand lowered her voice and whispered something into her ear.
Go Chan watched this closely.
The possessed body, Ha Chae-rin, had learned the Lip-Reading Technique, so he was someone who could roughly guess words from the shape of lips alone.
[He is a disciple of one of the Five Kings. One of the Five Kings. If you miss this chance, it is over.]
‘!?’
Go Chan’s eyes widened at the beauty-hand’s words.
He had known they were paying a great deal of attention, but the person inside now was not merely of unit-leader rank, but a disciple of one of the Five Kings, called high-ranking executives of the Heaven and Earth Society?
Go Chan could not hide his inward shock.
‘One of the Five Kings…’
If they were the Five Kings of the Heaven and Earth Society, then regardless of orthodox or unorthodox, they were masters counted among the strong across the entire martial world.
And a disciple of such a person was here?
He did not know if this was really all right.
‘Will I be exposed with only Ha Chae-rin”s secret art?’
As befitted the title of Flying Assassin Yeom-gaek, a fourth-generation assassin, he possessed a secret art for concealing his aura.
Of course, that secret art was not perfect.
That was because it involved inserting needles into several acupoints and blocking the qi gates.
At present, through that secret art, Go Chan had lowered his aura to about the level of a second-rate warrior.
If he completely sealed the qi gates, it would be difficult to respond if something dangerous happened.
‘Troublesome.’
Even a unit-leader rank was high enough, but if he became entangled wrongly with a disciple of one of the Five Kings, he might lose this body.
While he was worrying like that,
[Tch!]
He saw the courtesan who had gone in before come back in, fuming.
It seemed she had gone in only briefly before they called for the next one right away.
[So you like young girls, is that it.]
[…….]
It seemed she had been rejected the moment she went in because of her age.
The beauty-hand looked at her with a pitying gaze, then beckoned to Go Chan.
It was already his turn.
[Do not displease his mood too much, and if he seems displeased, come out at once.]
[……I shall.]
It seemed too late to change plans.
With a somewhat tense face, Go Chan entered Tryst, the guest room.
Once inside, he saw a man with a rather rough impression, looking to be in his early thirties with a short beard, sitting at ease and drinking straight from a bottle.
-Gulp gulp!
The man, brimming with masculinity, set the empty bottle down on the table and looked at Go Chan.
His gaze swept him from head to toe.
For an instant, Go Chan felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
Seeing him run his eyes over his whole body as if appraising livestock, he almost spat out a curse without realizing it.
‘Damn it. This feels filthy.’
Before long, he saw the corner of the man’s mouth twitch slightly.
It seemed he liked his appearance.
The man opened his mouth.
[Your face is fairly pleasing. Then show me one of the talents you possess.]
‘Ugh.’
Go Chan barely suppressed his inner thoughts and answered calmly.
[Yes, my lord.]
Even speaking with his own mouth, the goosebumps would not settle.
But he had to endure it.
To get near his master, he had to enter the Heaven and Earth Society’s inner castle.
-Ching!
Go Chan sat in a chair and set the bow against the strings of the huqin.
He had not even begun to play properly when the man raised one eyebrow, then waved his hand sharply as if telling him to put it away.
‘What is this bastard?’
Why was this young fellow, unlike his appearance, so difficult?
Unlike his hearty-looking face, he seemed the sort who was picky about many things.
At that moment the beauty-hand lifted the bamboo blind and came out, saying,
[Forgive me. I shall prepare the next girl at once…..]
[No. Stay out.]
[My pardon?]
[It is because there is something else I wish to see from this girl.]
[…….Understood.]
The puzzled beauty-hand went back into the waiting room.
He had said he did not want to see music or dance, so what exactly was there to see that made him tell her to leave him behind?
As he was thinking that, the man said,
[Girl. From the looks of it, you have trained in martial arts.]
‘…….So that was it.’
As expected of a disciple of one of the Five Kings, he immediately recognized that he had learned martial arts.
Since he had intentionally blocked his qi gates so he would show about the level of a second-rate warrior, he had thought that an upper-level expert would naturally notice.
However, Go Chan found it difficult to gauge this man’s level.
He could only surmise that at the very least he was an expert above peak level.
[Interesting. For a mere courtesan to have learned martial arts.]
At these words, Go Chan delivered the line he had prepared beforehand.
[It is only a minor skill I learned from my late father. It is no more than enough to protect my own body from street ruffians, so please do not think too highly of it.]
[You learned it from your dead father?]
[My father was a low-ranking warrior of the Society.]
[Hoh. Is that so?]
The man showed interest at Go Chan’s words.
Within the Heaven and Earth Society, warriors of third-rate and second-rate level were overflowing, so that alone was not very remarkable, but it seemed a courtesan learning martial arts felt different.
[Even if he was low-ranking, for the child of a warrior of the great Heaven and Earth Society to live as a courtesan in a place like this, that is quite a twisted fate.]
[……..]
It would have been nice if he could at least make his eyes well with tears here, but because the situation itself was repulsive, even Go Chan found it difficult to act that far.
Then the man snickered and said,
[……Did you think I would comfort you with words like that? The world is overflowing with those who live hard lives. Becoming a courtesan was your choice, so is it not laughable to expect comfort?]
[Your words are entirely correct.]
There was no need to act pointlessly anymore.
Then the man suddenly shrugged and said,
[Still, they say life grants a few strokes of luck.]
[…….]
[If your paltry martial arts can give this young master some interest, I shall take you as one of my own.]
[As one of your own?]
[Even now my guards are nothing but dull men, so I have been bored. If there were one pretty girl like you among them, at least you would be pleasant to look at.]
‘Would you look at that?’
Not as a concubine, but he was saying he would take him along as a guard?
His speech was rough, and he said he would not offer comfort, yet he handled things in a strange way.
He did not seem as petty-minded as expected.
This was rather better.
He had been wondering what to do if he had to enter as a concubine anyway, so perhaps this would be better instead.
Yet he became curious about this fellow’s identity.
[My lord. Before I show my talent, may I ask your honored name?]
[My name?]
[You said…..you might take me in, but would it not be improper if I did not even know your honored name?]
At Go Chan’s question, the man gulped down another bottle of liquor and said,
[Me, you ask? Hahahahat.]
-Thud!
After laughing heartily, the man then gripped something lying on the floor and lightly lifted it up.
That thing was none other than,
‘An axe?’
Not the kind used to chop firewood, but a gigantic axe large enough to split a person in half in one stroke.
At the sight of it, someone among the Five Kings came to Go Chan’s mind.
‘Axe-Breaking King Ho Tae-gang.’
He was a supreme master said to have cut down countless orthodox sect masters in two with a single axe.
And he was one of the Eight Stars, called the greatest experts in the martial world.
Once he realized who this man’s master was, he unconsciously swallowed dryly, and the man revealed his identity to him.
[I am Ho Jong-hyeok, grand unit leader of the Bu Myeol Unit.]
* * *
‘Damn it.’
Go Chan, the guard possessing Ha Chae-rin’s body.
Go Chan was so mortified that he could not raise his face.
Through showing his talent with throwing hidden weapons, he had managed to enter as the guard of this man, Ho Jong-hyeok, the grand unit leader of the Bu Myeol Unit and distinguished guest of Crimson Grace House.
But though the nominal position was that of a guard, this fellow was treating him almost like a concubine.
Putting him in clothes that exposed his chest.
Keeping him at his side and making him pour drinks for him all day.
‘This is driving me insane.’
He had been going along with the fellow’s whims with the mindset of enduring only until he found his master, Mok Gyeong-un, but to think he would end up showing such a humiliating side.
At once he wanted to knock away Ho Jong-hyeok’s arm wrapped around his waist.
-Kekekeke. Is not that fellow a man inside? The way he is acting, he has become a complete girl.
Blue Spirit cackled at the sight of Go Chan like this.
Mok Gyeong-un too found it somewhat unexpected, but in truth felt no particular emotion.
Rather, his gaze went to the handsome curly-haired young man and the people around him.
Every one of them was far from ordinary in skill.
At that moment, the guard assigned to him by the Shadow Sect Master spoke in a hurried whisper.
“Young master. You must quickly pay your respects. The person right at the front is Young Master Jang Neung-ak, the Society Leader’s second disciple.”
‘Jang Neung-ak?’
Ah. So that curly-haired one was Jang Neung-ak, one of the three disciples of the Society Leader, ruler of the Heaven and Earth Society?
He had heard of him from Yi Ji-yeom, Master of Corpse Blood Valley.
[Other than Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang, I have not seen the second and third disciples, so it is difficult for me to tell you their appearances. But according to rumor, in the case of the second young master, if you meet him, it would be best to be cautious.]
He remembered that the rumors about him had not been good.
Had they not said he had a violent temperament that made him insist on having whatever he wanted?
Judging only by appearances, he did not particularly look that way.
In any case, there was nothing to gain by clashing with this man right now, so Mok Gyeong-un put both hands together in a cupped-fist salute, bowed his head, and paid his respects.
“This disciple offers his greetings to Young Master Jang Neung-ak.”
He gave his greeting like that, yet no answer came.
Rather, as if he had no interest at all, Jang Neung-ak tried to pass right by Mok Gyeong-un and the guard.
‘Is that fortunate?’
It might actually be better if he took no interest.
It was just that things had become somewhat troublesome.
Since Go Chan was with the group of Jang Neung-ak, the Society Leader’s second disciple, it seemed difficult to take him away immediately.
So he was about to use voice transmission to ask who the person with him was, when,
-Tap!
At that moment Jang Neung-ak, who had gone past, stopped.
Then he turned his head and said,
“You……I think this is the first time I have seen you. Who are you?”
‘……..’
He had hoped he would pass by, yet to think he would stop and ask.
Mok Gyeong-un turned his body and, keeping the same posture of cupped-fist salute, answered,
“I am Mok Gyeong-un, disciple of the Shadow Sect Master.”
“The Shadow Sect Master?”
“Yes.”
“Was there a disciple under the Shadow Sect Master called Mok Gyeong-un?”
“I am hearing it for the first time as well. Under the Shadow Sect Master…..huh? Young master, is this not that fellow?”
‘That fellow?’
What exactly were they talking about?
It was while he was wondering this.
-Slide.
At that moment, while his head was bowed, Mok Gyeong-un saw two legs come before him before he knew it.
“Hoh. So you are that fellow.”
The owner of the voice was none other than Jang Neung-ak.
He had predicted that he was strong to a degree from the vast aura he revealed, but his movement was extremely fast.
Before he knew it, he was standing right in front of him.
“You……you are that orthodox hostage who passed the Corpse Blood Valley gate this time in first place, aren’t you?”
Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed at the question.
Not much time had even passed since the completion ceremony of Corpse Blood Valley had ended.
Yet how had this man already learned about him?
While he was thinking that,
-Tap! Slide!
Jang Neung-ak used the fan in his hand to lift Mok Gyeong-un’s chin.
Then he curled one corner of his mouth and said,
“I can sense only about the entrance of the peak realm from you, so how did a fellow like you take first place at the Corpse Blood Valley gate?”
What should he say here?
While he was pondering, Blue Spirit’s voice sounded at his ear.
-Bow yourself as much as possible. It is not yet time to clash in either skill or backing.
The opponent was the Society Leader’s second disciple.
Since he was aiming to become the next Society Leader, he held considerable influence in this place.
If he needlessly displeased him, his ankle could be seized before he even managed to do anything.
Naturally Mok Gyeong-un had that much sense.
Thus,
“I was merely fortunate. Thank you for thinking well of me…..”
That was the very instant.
In the blink of an eye, Jang Neung-ak’s index and middle fingers were stabbing toward Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.
In that split second, Mok Gyeong-un judged,
‘A test.’
This was clearly a test.
Jang Neung-ak had doubts because he regarded Mok Gyeong-un’s martial prowess as only around the entrance of the peak realm.
So now he was testing him, trying to make him reveal his true skill.
Here, Mok Gyeong-un’s choice was simple.
“Uh.”
Mok Gyeong-un squeezed his eyes shut, made only a slight flinch with his body, and moved.
Failing to evade would be natural, and if he kept his eyes open that too would seem strange, so it was to act like a weakling as much as possible.
-Pak!
Right before Mok Gyeong-un’s closed eyes, Jang Neung-ak’s two fingers stopped by a hair’s breadth.
After halting his fingers like that, Jang Neung-ak snickered.
A woman among his party, one with thick lips and red clothes and in her early twenties, smiled in the same way and said,
“It seems he is not as much as the rumors claimed, young master.”
“That seems to be the case.”
Jang Neung-ak too shook his head as if he held the same opinion and withdrew his hand.
It seemed he had managed to deceive him safely.
-Well done, mortal.
Blue Spirit too thought that, for once, Mok Gyeong-un had handled himself well.
But then,
“For someone who flinched in fright, the sound of his heartbeat is astonishingly ordinary, young master.”
“What?”
Jang Neung-ak turned his head and looked at someone.
There stood a middle-aged man with long hair, his eyes covered by a black cloth, leaning on a bamboo cane.
Among them, he possessed the calmest aura.
It felt like a clear lake, so could it be that he was a blind man?
As he was thinking this,
“If my ears are not mistaken, the one before us was not surprised in the slightest, young master.”
“…….Not surprised in the slightest?”
With those words, Jang Neung-ak turned his head and glared sharply at Mok Gyeong-un.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un smacked his lips faintly.
He had acted faithfully enough, but it seemed matters were becoming troublesome.