Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 194 - Trial (4)
Chapter 194 – Trial (4)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“He is someone who should have died.”
At the words of the scarred middle-aged man, who bore a long scar above his left eyebrow, the Society Leader steadied his breathing and asked in puzzlement,
“Haa… haa… someone who should have died?”
“Exactly as I said.”
The Society Leader narrowed his eyes.
If one turned the phrase around, it meant the man in question had not died and was still alive.
And if one pressed further, it also implied that they had once believed him dead.
‘Sickle Killing Ghost…’
It was an epithet he had never once heard anywhere in the martial world.
Who exactly was this person called the Sickle Killing Ghost, for the scarred man to speak this way?
If this man had mentioned him directly, then he could not be someone to dismiss lightly.
After thinking in silence for a moment, the Society Leader spoke.
“Then let me ask directly.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him with your own hands?”
“Yes. With one palm strike I ruptured his internal organs, and then I pierced the chest where his heart was with this sword.”
The scarred man raised a blackened sword that looked as though it had been scorched.
The Society Leader asked,
“Then he should certainly have died.”
For him to be alive after that would have been more impossible than his death.
The man nodded as if he agreed.
“Yes. He should have died.”
“…And yet you say this because you suspect that the child from earlier might be the Sickle Killing Ghost who died by your hand?”
“The possibility is extremely low.”
“Then why say it at all?”
“It goes beyond resemblance. He looked enough like the same person that it unsettled me.”
“The same person?”
The Society Leader frowned.
Then,
“Don’t tell me…”
“Society Leader, let me say in advance that it is completely different from that.”
“Different?”
“Yes.”
“Then is such a thing truly possible?”
“That is precisely why I can only be concerned.”
Concerned.
In other words, he could not rule out even the smallest possibility.
The Society Leader fixed his gaze on the man and, after coughing once, asked,
“Cough, cough. Why did you kill this Sickle Killing Ghost in the first place?”
“He was digging into the traces of us.”
‘!?’
That answer made the Society Leader’s eyes shift strangely.
It was a disturbance.
Just what did the word us mean to provoke that sort of reaction from him?
Then the Society Leader spoke again.
“If he was digging into your traces, then the matter changes. Left Protector.”
“Yes.”
“Confirm beyond doubt whether this so-called Sickle Killing Ghost is truly dead.”
For now, there was still no actual connection besides a resemblance.
That was why the Society Leader demanded verification first.
The middle-aged man brought his hands together in salute and replied,
“Understood. If, by some chance, the possibility remains that he is indeed the Sickle Killing Ghost, what should be done? It would be better to dispose of him immediately for the future…”
“……”
The Society Leader drew a slow breath, then answered in a murderous voice.
“No.”
“But…”
“If that is the case, wait until the mission is complete.”
“Ahh.”
Understanding that the Society Leader intended to use the boy until the very end, the man smiled thinly.
“I will obey your command.”
* * *
Mok Gyeong-un stood side by side with Seop Chun, one of the Five Tigers and Third Guard Captain of the main hall, and Mong Mu-yak, another of the Five Tigers and son of the Vice Society Leader.
Standing before them with his hands behind his back, Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon began to speak.
“Time is short and there has already been delay, so I will explain the mission starting now.”
‘Mission…’
What an irritating situation.
If the Society Leader had summoned them personally and the Vice Society Leader himself was explaining the matter, then this clearly was no ordinary assignment.
Mok Gyeong-un glanced toward Hwan Ya-seon, the Shadow Sect Master, who stood far behind Mong Seo-cheon near the entrance.
Even the man responsible for intelligence and secret affairs had been forced to remain at a distance.
That alone made one thing obvious.
‘…For this mission, they do not trust even the Shadow Sect Master.’
From just that little, Mok Gyeong-un could already infer a great deal.
Then Mong Seo-cheon began the explanation proper.
“First, I will tell you the goal. The objective is to seize a certain individual being held in confinement somewhere and bring that person back to our society.”
At that, Seop Chun lightly raised a hand.
“Is that person one of ours?”
Mong Seo-cheon looked directly at him before replying,
“No. For now…”
“If not one of ours, then an enemy?”
At the repeated question, the Vice Society Leader’s expression tightened and his voice gained weight.
“Whether the target is enemy or ally is not the concern of the three of you. Your duty is only this: by whatever means necessary, bring that person to the main hall in the inner city of the Heaven and Earth Society.”
“……”
What sort of individual was important enough that even such basic information was being restricted?
Seop Chun sounded openly puzzled.
“Even if that’s the case, how are we supposed to snatch a living person, not a package, with information this limited?”
Mok Gyeong-un nodded as well.
The question was reasonable.
Mong Seo-cheon shook his head slowly and answered,
“Once you leave the society and arrive at the place where that person is being held, you will learn the necessary details.”
‘When we arrive there?’
That made it clear.
Whoever the target was, the information could not be allowed to leak inside the Heaven and Earth Society before the team left.
From that, Mok Gyeong-un inferred two things.
First,
‘Is it someone whose identity could provoke negative sentiment inside the society?’
From what he had seen, the Society Leader could be capricious, but beneath that he was deeply authoritarian. He was the type to push through what he wanted by force.
If even he felt the need to keep the identity secret, then there was a high chance the executives or society members would react negatively.
Second,
‘A spy…’
If they would only reveal the target after reaching the holding site itself, then they were clearly guarding against the information becoming known internally.
That might merely mean the mission required absolute secrecy to succeed. But seen another way, it meant there might be infiltrators inside the inner city.
‘…If they haven’t even discussed the mission with the Shadow Sect Master, then they may suspect that such an infiltrator exists even among the major executives.’
As that line of thought formed, the corner of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth twitched.
All of this was still inference.
But if even part of it was true, then this enormous organization had the potential to suffer a major tremor.
At that moment, the Vice Society Leader asked,
“Any further questions?”
“None.”
-Swish.
Seop Chun lowered the hand he had raised.
He had understood that no more information would be given, so there was no point in pressing.
Then Mong Seo-cheon folded his arms and said,
“This mission will naturally become known afterward, but until then it requires secrecy. So do not burden yourselves with excessive curiosity. Understood?”
“Yes!”
All three answered at once.
Mong Seo-cheon continued,
“The forces assigned to this mission are divided into an advance team and a rear team. The advance team has already departed. Once you arrive, you will hear the finer details from them.”
‘An advance team?’
So there were additional people with whom they would have to coordinate.
Mok Gyeong-un found himself hoping that, whatever the mission truly was, it would at least be one they could finish quickly.
At this point, however, the fragmentary information still left no way to measure the whole shape of it.
“The first gathering point where the advance team is waiting is Anrak in Henan Province.”
‘Anrak?’
The eyes of all three men shifted at once.
Anrak in Henan lay right near Kaifeng, the capital and site of the imperial palace.
If the first place they were to gather information was Anrak, then that meant only one thing.
‘…The capital.’
All three of them were able to infer the mission’s true destination.
* * *
After the brief explanation concluded, and just before departure, Hwan Ya-seon, who had been waiting for Mok Gyeong-un, beckoned to him with a hand signal.
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the others, the two began to speak.
“Master.”
“What an interesting turn of events.”
“Yes.”
“Did they tell you where the mission will be carried out?”
“No. They only gave us the first gathering point.”
“Is that so? Then…”
“It seems certain enough that it will be Kaifeng, the capital.”
At those words, Hwan Ya-seon smiled.
Not merely because he was his disciple. The boy truly was sharp.
“Oh ho ho. Correct. Kaifeng. More precisely, the imperial palace within Kaifeng.”
‘!?’
At the words imperial palace, a strange light entered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.
He had thought the mission might be in the capital, but he had not expected it to truly lead into the palace.
“Do not show it on your face. There are too many eyes watching.”
“Understood.”
“There is no time, so I will first tell you the identities of our sect’s infiltrators inside the palace.”
“Thank you.”
In truth, that was the biggest reason both Hwan Ya-seon and his disciple Mok Gyeong-un had been drawn into this mission.
If Mok Gyeong-un, as the Shadow Sect’s successor, was personally dispatched, then the hidden agents of the Shadow Sect inside the palace would stake their lives to assist him.
Mong Mu-yak’s participation operated on similar logic.
The agents under the Vice Society Leader’s direct control also existed inside the palace, and they would cooperate readily with Mong Mu-yak.
“…There are such people. Commit them to memory. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Yes.”
“And take this as well.”
Hwan Ya-seon handed Mok Gyeong-un a jade token engraved with a tiger.
“What is this?”
“If you carry that token and use the password I told you, they will cooperate without resistance.”
“Understood.”
Mok Gyeong-un accepted the jade token.
But as he did, he felt something else press into his palm as well.
‘A ring?’
It seemed to be a finger ring.
Hwan Ya-seon had deliberately slipped it beneath the token so that no one else would notice.
Lowering his voice even further, the Shadow Sect Master whispered,
“It is the insignia of a cult member. Keep it with you.”
“Why are you giving me this?”
“From now on, I issue this command not as part of the society, but as your senior in the divine cult.”
“……”
‘As my senior in the cult?’
Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.
Was this mission somehow tied to the Paehwa Cult as well?
As he was still puzzled, Hwan Ya-seon whispered softly,
“The person you are meant to seize in this mission is the Sacred Fire Leader of our cult.”
‘!?’
The Sacred Fire Leader?
Mok Gyeong-un had heard of that title before.
In the Paehwa Cult there were two highest offices. One was the Cult Leader. The second was the Sacred Fire Leader, who communed with the sacred flame and presided over ritual ceremonies.
But according to what Hwan Ya-seon had told him earlier, the Paehwa Cult Leader had died, and the Sacred Fire Leader had gone missing.
Mok Gyeong-un asked quietly,
“Why is the Society Leader looking for that person?”
He could not understand it.
Had he not been told that, regardless of orthodox or unorthodox divisions, the Paehwa Cult was shunned by martial artists?
Then why was the Heaven and Earth Society Leader trying to seize the Paehwa Cult’s Sacred Fire Leader?
Hwan Ya-seon answered,
“…I cannot explain the details now. But the success or failure of this matter depends entirely on you.”
“What exactly is my task?”
“If the society’s secret mission succeeds and the seizure is accomplished… before returning to the society, spirit the Sacred Fire Leader away.”
“……”
Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze shifted oddly.
He had always assumed that, by pretending to belong to the cult while also living within the society, a contradiction would eventually arrive.
He simply had not expected it to come in quite this form.
‘Ah… what a nuisance.’
They did not even know yet whether the seizure would succeed, and yet if he tried to spirit away the Sacred Flame’s guardian lord and failed, he would be branded a traitor to the Heaven and Earth Society.
No, the moment he attempted it, he would already be a traitor.
But if he ignored Hwan Ya-seon’s order, that too would certainly lead to trouble of another kind.
It was a genuine dilemma, with no easy direction left to choose.
‘What should I do?’
It seemed the time had come to make a choice.
* * *
While Mok Gyeong-un was receiving a secret order from Hwan Ya-seon, Vice Society Leader Mong Seo-cheon was also giving his son Mong Mu-yak a confidential command in addition to the information about the infiltrators.
“Keep watch on Mok Gyeong-un.”
“Watch… Mok Gyeong-un?”
“Yes. Watch his every move.”
“Father, why…”
“Hm! In an official setting, who told you to address me that way?”
At the rebuke from his father, Mong Mu-yak lowered his head.
“…My apologies, Vice Society Leader. But why are you giving such an order?”
“To confirm his loyalty.”
‘Ah.’
Of course.
Even if Mok Gyeong-un had sworn loyalty in Corpse Blood Valley, his roots still lay in the orthodox faction.
It was too early to trust someone completely as a member of the Heaven and Earth Society when he had sworn loyalty only half a month ago.
“And if… there is reason to doubt him?”
At that, Mong Seo-cheon took out a tiny red bottle from his robes and handed it to his son.
“Take this with you.”
“This is… don’t tell me?”
“Yes. If that bastard contacts orthodox people or shows any suspicious signs, use it. You know how to use it, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
How could he not?
He had seen its terrible effect with his own eyes.
Still, a useless doubt surfaced.
Would something like this truly work on that monstrous bastard, who had endured even the Society Leader’s profound true qi without so much as a groan?
* * *
While Mok Gyeong-un and Mong Mu-yak each received secret orders from the Shadow Sect Master and the Vice Society Leader, Seop Chun, left by himself, shrugged and muttered with a sigh,
“For people without backing, this really is a cold bowl of rice.”
Seop Chun’s situation was different from that of the other Five Tigers.
He came from a minor martial clan that had joined the Heaven and Earth Society only about twenty years ago rather than at its founding, and his family held no real influence inside the organization.
That meant he was essentially a piece to be used and discarded at any time.
This secret mission was no different.
Unlike the others, who had the protection of powerful executive backers like the Vice Society Leader and the Shadow Sect Master, Seop Chun had no patron who would step in to shield him if something went wrong.
Which also meant that, if the worst occurred, he might very well be the one chosen for sacrifice.
“Tsk.”
What a dull and depressing life.
Lost in thought, Seop Chun turned his eyes quietly toward Mok Gyeong-un.
Today had been their first real meeting, but there was clearly something unusual about the boy.
Unusual was not even the right word.
Extraordinary.
There were very few people who gave Seop Chun this kind of feeling.
‘Only the Great Young Master, perhaps.’
Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
He had always stood on a completely different level from the Society Leader’s other disciples.
Is this what it feels like to look at someone walking the path of hegemony?
That was the impression Na Yul-ryang gave.
And yet, strangely enough, Mok Gyeong-un, only seventeen years old, gave off something similar.
He did not look like someone meant to remain beneath another person forever.
‘Hm.’
Come to think of it, the Society Leader had promised that if this mission succeeded, he would accept Mok Gyeong-un as his fourth disciple.
Which meant the boy too would gain the qualifications to stand among the successors.
Though his support base would still be weak.
Staring at Mok Gyeong-un, Seop Chun let a faint smile rise at one corner of his mouth.
‘You only live once. Shall I try a gamble?’
End
© Hanjung Wolya