Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 15 - Bargaining (1)
Chapter 15 – Bargaining (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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‘!?’
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth, Bodyguard Gochan’s expression stiffened.
Now that the Manor Lord was safe, there had been no need to bring that matter up, yet he had never expected Mok Gyeong-un to mention it directly.
‘No, that……’
Had he really become so eager to provoke the First Madam, Madam Seok?
That was practically her secret.
If one said one knew such a thing, it would not have been strange at all for her to aim to kill and silence them on the spot.
‘Damn it!’
Gochan, completely tense, looked at Madam Seok.
Sure enough, Madam Seok’s expression had turned more vicious than usual.
Yet anger did not immediately pour out from her lips.
That was because,
‘This bastard……’
From the start, she had come here because she thought Mok Gyeong-un might have seen or learned something.
But Mok Gyeong-un’s manner now was wholly unexpected.
To confess that he knew her secret was hardly different from asking to be killed by his own mouth.
‘What is his intention?’
Was this wretched bastard coming out boldly because he thought he had seized hold of her weakness?
If so, he had made a blunder.
In any case, once Mok Yeong-ho became the Manor Lord, this fellow too was someone who had to be dealt with.
-Papak!
Madam Seok’s hand shot out like a snake going after prey and seized Mok Gyeong-un by the throat.
Seeing the movement of that hand, Bodyguard Gochan could be certain.
As expected from someone from the martial Seok family of Geumhwa, she was definitely a first-rate expert.
‘If not for Senior Brother Gam, no one here could deal with her.’
That also meant she was an opponent Mok Gyeong-un could not handle.
‘Huh?’
A strange light appeared in the eyes of Mok Gyeong-un, whose throat had been seized.
The strength was greater than expected, and the hand movements peculiar enough that he was inwardly surprised.
‘This woman is strong.’
The information sheet had said that, being from the Seok family of Geumhwa, she would have decent martial skill.
But at this level, she was far stronger even than Gochan.
‘Interesting.’
Madam Seok’s wrist was incomparably slender.
It was no different from that of an ordinary woman, so to think it held such strength.
The power of martial arts truly was mysterious.
Seeing Mok Gyeong-un’s reaction, Madam Seok’s eyes narrowed.
‘This brat……’
She had seized his throat to frighten him, to show that she could take his life at any moment, yet not only did he show no terror, he did not even appear flustered.
He was not her own child, so she had not seen him often, but had this child ever possessed this much nerve?
As far as she knew, he had been the most timid among the half-brothers.
“You……..”
That one word from Madam Seok’s lips.
Hearing it, Bodyguard Gochan swallowed dryly.
Could it be that they had been discovered?
Thinking about it, when someone had reached the level of a first-rate expert, would they not be able to tell merely by seizing another’s throat whether he had cultivated martial arts or not?
However,
“……..Had you been hiding your true nature?”
‘!?’
At those words from Madam Seok’s mouth, Gochan was left dumbfounded.
Should he count this as fortunate?
Or should he regard it as her having grown even more wary?
She had not suspected he was an impostor, but instead seemed to have perceived him in a bad direction.
“So this was what you were really like……”
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.
“That…..isn’t…..what…..matters…..here.”
“What?”
“If…..the Manor Lord…..were…..to die…..the First Young Master…..would have trouble…..becoming…..the Manor Lord.”
“You wretch!”
-Clench!
Madam Seok’s hand tightened further.
“Insolent brat. Do you think I cannot kill you right here? Who do you think you are to try bargaining with me?”
“This……hurts a little.”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, she furrowed her brow.
With this much strength in his throat, breathing alone should have been difficult, yet his expression had hardly changed.
Did it not hurt?
As she wondered at that, Mok Gyeong-un said,
“That…..is true…..a bargain…..can only…..be made…..when there is…..some amount…..of wariness”
“…..toward…..the other side.”
“Wariness? Do you think I would feel such a thing toward the likes of you?”
Among the four sons of the Mok family, Mok Gyeong-un was the one whose martial skill was the most worthless.
On top of that, his mother was dead, and his maternal family was all but ruined, so with what exactly was he to inspire wariness?
It was right then.
“Demon Monk.”
No sooner had those words fallen than,
-Flinch!
In an instant, a sensation so cold it made her spine chill seized her.
Then Madam Seok seemed to collide with something and was shoved backward.
-Whoosh!
Driven back about four bo, her eyes shook.
‘What was that just now?’
Though she could not see it, something had touched her.
In that instant she had raised qi and triggered a rebounding force, which pushed her back, but the sensation was beyond unpleasant and enough to raise goosebumps.
“Hoo.”
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un raised his upper body and rolled his neck loose.
-Crack! Crack!
“Having someone seize your throat is not a very pleasant feeling.”
At that leisurely tone, Madam Seok glared sharply and said,
“You…..what did you just do?”
“What do you mean, what did I do?”
“Just now, clearly……”
It was difficult to explain.
Mok Gyeong-un had not directly done anything to her.
Then what in the world was that strange sensation?
While she stood there unable to understand, Mok Gyeong-un sat on the bed and said,
“Do you now feel inclined to bargain?”
“Bargain? Ridiculous. It seems you had some hidden card, but do you think luck like what happened a moment ago will work again?”
“So not yet, then. Shall I use a maidservant this time?”
“What?”
“The left side would be best.”
“What do you mean, the left side? What in the world are you say…..”
It was just as she was about to ask back.
“Ah!”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the direction from which the sound came.
‘!?’
Madam Seok’s eyes shook.
No, not only hers. Everyone inside the medicine hall had their eyes go wide.
That was because one of the maidservants Madam Seok had brought was floating in the air at a height of about one zhang.
“Mm! Mm!”
It looked as though she was trying to scream in shock, but the maidservant could only make muffled sounds as if something had blocked her mouth.
At this sight, everyone was left speechless.
What in the world was this?
Why was a perfectly normal maidservant floating up by herself like that?
‘N…..nonsense.’
Madam Seok’s head became confused at this bizarre phenomenon.
She had heard that among those with deep internal skill, there were some who could manipulate objects with internal qi, true energy.
But there was no chance this young bastard was such a master of the internal path.
Moreover, if he had used such deep true energy as to lift a maidservant, she would at least have sensed some trace of that force.
‘W-what is this?’
Bodyguard Gochan was just as shocked.
What in the world did all this mean?
Had the fake Mok Gyeong-un been hiding such a bizarre ability?
-Ssk!
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un casually raised one hand and made a motion of slitting a throat.
It was at that very instant.
“Kuh!”
Then the face of the maidservant, who had been floating in the air as if seized by something, bulged with veins and her eyes rolled back.
It looked as though her breath would stop at any moment.
‘T-this?’
The corpse of the dead occult practitioner came to mind.
At that sight, the startled Madam Seok shouted,
“S-stop!”
“What do you mean?”
“It is you doing this right now, isn’t it! I don’t know what sort of evil technique this is, but stop it at once!”
“Who knows.”
“You!”
“I am only trying to prove that I have the qualifications to bargain with the First Madam, so would it not be all right if one person lost her life?”
Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly.
At that sight, Madam Seok’s expression instead grew more and more rigid.
The maidservant looked as though her breath would stop at any moment.
If it had been an ordinary maidservant, that would be one thing, but she was a girl who had attended her ever since her days at the Seok family home.
-Crunch!
Biting her lip hard, she shouted,
“Enough! Stop it! I will hear out this bargain or whatever it is, so stop at once!”
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un gave a light nod.
Then,
-Thud!
The maidservant, who had been on the verge of breathing her last, collapsed unconscious to the floor.
“So-hwa! So-hwa!”
Another maidservant hurriedly checked the unconscious girl’s condition.
Fortunately, her life did not seem to be in danger, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Madam Seok too felt relieved, but more than that, doubt arose in her regarding this bizarre power of Mok Gyeong-un’s.
What in the world was this?
It was a force far removed from qi.
It felt more akin to evil arts or supernatural power.
When had he ever learned such a bizarre power?
‘……..This bastard.’
Her mind had grown tangled with suspicion, but because she had no way of knowing what this power was right away, it was too dangerous to clash recklessly.
If she meant to do that, she should have brought only guard warriors who knew martial arts.
Staring at Mok Gyeong-un, Madam Seok opened her mouth.
“…….What is it that you wish to bargain for?”
“The Manor Lord could die any day now, so do you not need the Manor Lord’s seal?”
“……….”
Though she did not answer, she did not deny it either.
There was no need to deny it from the start.
After all, that was the only way to make the succession certain.
Yet there was something she did not understand.
“If you know that, you could have kept hiding it, so why speak of it?”
“Why speak of it?”
“Yes. If you are of the Mok family as well, you too should wish to become the Manor Lord.”
That was exactly what gave rise to her doubt.
She could not understand why he was telling her something he could just as well have hidden.
If he used the seal, he could win the strength of the retainers.
Yet,
“I do not particularly want to.”
“What?”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth, Madam Seok was momentarily left speechless.
He did not want to become the Manor Lord?
He could become the master of a long-established martial clan dominating the northern part of Anhui Province, and yet he said he did not want that?
“…….And you expect me to believe that?”
“Is it hard to believe?”
“Would you believe it, if you were me?”
“I would not. I might think it was deception.”
“Without a reason that I can accept…….”
“First, as I said a moment ago, I have no interest in it. Second, perhaps one could say that I simply do not wish to become involved in the succession fight and waste time fighting for no reason.”
“You do not wish to fight?”
“Yes. More exactly, I have no interest, so I would rather not waste time on something pointless.”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, she furrowed her brow.
Was this bastard really treating the matter of deciding the lord of the great Yeon Mok Sword Manor as a waste of time?
How much effort had she spent all this time trying to make her own son, Mok Yeong-ho, become the Manor Lord?
In a different sense, it was absurd.
After staring at Mok Gyeong-un, she said,
“……..If you truly want nothing, then tell me where the Manor Lord’s seal and the secret manual are. Then I will believe you have truly given up.”
At those words from her, Mok Gyeong-un gave a snort.
“I cannot do that.”
“Then neither can I completely believe your words……”
“Then don’t. I will go make the same bargain with the Second Young Master instead.”
“What?”
At that moment, Madam Seok’s composure shook.
“What are you saying just now…..”
“Exactly what you heard. Since the First Madam seems not to understand words very well, let me explain kindly. Even if I say I have no need for it, do you think the only ones who want the Manor Lord’s seal are you and Elder Brother Mok Yeong-ho?”
‘!!!!!’
Her expression hardened completely.
Seeing that, Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly and said,
“It seems you now understand whose hand holds the hilt.”
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