Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 215 - Secret Mission (1)

Chapter 215 – Secret Mission (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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-Rumble.

The bottom of the bow scraped up onto the bank.

-Splash! Splash! Splash!

The anchors hanging at both sides and the stern of the ship were dropped, but the boat still rocked in the violent current.

Even so, they had succeeded in crossing the river in less than half a shichen.

When they arrived, Seop Chun, Ja Geum-jeong, Mong Mu-yak, and the others had awakened and wore blank expressions, as though still dazed in the head.

None of them could properly tell when they had fallen asleep and woken again.

They only had the feeling that they had merely dozed for a moment.

‘Hm.’

Looking strangely at them, Mok Gyeong-un approached Ha Yun, the resentful spirit standing before the rudder, clasped his fists in salute, and greeted it.

“Thanks to you, we crossed the river safely. You have my thanks.”

-I merely kept my promise, so you need not be too grateful.

“A promise is a promise, and gratitude is gratitude.”

-Very well. In that case, disembark carefully.

“Ah! Before I go, may I ask one more thing?”

-……..What is it?

“Did you perhaps see an old man carrying a bamboo fishing rod? Or know of him?”

At those words, the resentful spirit Ha Yun hesitated for a moment.

But then it shook its head and answered.

-I do not know.

“Do you truly not know?”

-…….That is so.

At that answer from Ha Yun, Mok Gyeong-un gave a short laugh, then bowed his head lightly once more and turned away.

Watching Mok Gyeong-un’s retreating back, Ha Yun recalled the earlier scene.

[If anyone asks about this old man, say that you know nothing.]

It had concealed the truth because of the elder’s request, but it seemed that astute young man had sensed it anyway.

At the very least, he had probably realized that some connection existed between the elder and itself.

Still, so long as the elder did not wish it, it was better not to know his identity.

‘…….If, as the elder judged, he truly possesses talent even beyond that person’s, then surely one day the connection will continue again.’

* * *

Around the early Dog Hour in the evening.

In front of the abandoned Temple of Guan Yu east of Giju Mountain in Anrak, Henan Province.

There, three men were sitting around a bonfire, tearing into roasted venison.

Among the three men, all of whom looked to be in their mid-twenties, one in particular stood out. His face was so white that it looked as if powder had been applied, and his lips were red as though rouge had been painted on them.

He was not even biting the meat in great mouthfuls, but delicately tearing it apart as he ate.

Watching him, a drooping-eyed man with a blue band tied around his forehead clicked his tongue and said,

“Yu Bong, you have practically become a court eunuch.”

“Hohoho. It has already been almost two years since I began living as one, so that is only natural.”

“Everything else aside, can you not do something about that laugh?”

“How could I fix something that is already on the lips? Please bear with it a little, Gan Yang. Hohoho.”

“Haah.”

The man called Gan Yang, with the blue band around his head, let out a sigh, bothered by the coy laughter.

Then, to him, the bearded man sitting opposite spoke in an irritated voice, pausing in his eating.

“Gan Yang.”

“What is it?”

“Have we not waited long enough? Would it not be better to return now?”

“Return?”

“Yes. The rear group will not make it today anyway.”

“But Ok Gi…”

As Gan Yang tried to say something, the man called Ok Gi raised his voice and cut him off.

“But nothing. It has been raining for nearly half a month. They say rivers are flooding everywhere and there have even been landslides, so how could they possibly make the deadline?”

What Ok Gi said was true. The damage caused by the fifteen days of continuing rain could not be described.

Especially around the rivers, they had heard that it was impossible even to launch a boat.

Taking that into account, Ok Gi judged that no matter how expert the rear group might be, there was no way they could reach the gathering point by the deadline.

“Hmm.”

Gan Yang rubbed his chin with a troubled expression.

Three days later, there would be the martial examination of the Imperial Guard Bureau.

Before that, they had to reach the imperial capital Kaifeng within two days, and they had to fully brief the others on the true objective of the secret mission and all the necessary conditions.

And that was not even the end of it. There was also someone they absolutely had to meet before the martial examination.

“It will be difficult with only us.”

“It is not a matter of difficult or not. They are already too late. If they arrive tomorrow, then at that point the mission has already suffered a setback.”

“……..”

“We accounted even for the possibility of the rear group failing to arrive on time, did we not? Let us withdraw now.”

At those words from Ok Gi, Gan Yang let out a sigh.

Indeed, no matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.

With the violent rains causing the river to overflow, they would have been unable to cross it for several days.

Realistically speaking, not tomorrow, but even three days from now the chance of their arriving here was slim.

“Hoo. Yes. You are right. Let us withdraw now.”

At Gan Yang’s decision, Ok Gi finally looked satisfied.

From the beginning, he had not welcomed the coming of the rear group.

They had been told the Society was sending promising younger talents at the request of that place, but in his eyes they would only be bookish young men with neither real combat experience nor experience as secret agents.

By contrast, he and his people had trained for this day alone.

He had waited only for the day he would render great service and return to the Society in glory, and now they were being told to carry out the mission with such bookish youths as the main force?

No matter how he thought about it, he could not accept it.

‘I will show them that we can carry this out perfectly well without such fellows.’

With that, Ok Gi pulled the remaining venison from the wooden skewer, intending to put out the fire.

It was then.

-Rustle!

A human presence could be felt from the brush to the southwest.

At once, he and the others turned their heads, hands flying to their weapons.

Then someone pushed through the brush and appeared.

“Ah. It seems we arrived just in time.”

‘!?’

Seeing the face lit by the bonfire, Ok Gi could not help but exclaim inwardly.

That was because, for a moment, the face was so beautiful he thought it belonged to a woman.

Then three more followed behind him.

The one who particularly stood out was a man with a fierce face, his body not especially tall but heavily muscled and robust, with a necklace of broken prayer beads around his neck.

At his sides stood a young man who looked to be in his late twenties, holding a somewhat light-looking saber case, and another youth whose cool bearing contrasted with his tall and handsome appearance.

‘Surely not?’

At their appearance, Ok Gi’s expression stiffened.

Could these really be the rear group?

‘Impossible.’

No matter how much they hurried, the rear group should not have been able to make the deadline.

They could not even cross the river in the first place, so by what means could they have arrived today?

While he stood flustered, Gan Yang, the leader of the advance party, said to them,

“Mandate of Heaven.”

It was the recognition code that had been agreed upon in advance.

At Gan Yang’s words, Mong Mu-yak stepped forward and answered.

“Earthly Fortune.”

At that, Gan Yang’s expression brightened.

That was only natural, because the rear group, whom he had believed would not arrive on time, had shown up precisely when he was about to withdraw.

-Pat!

Gan Yang clasped his fists in salute and was about to greet them.

“Welcome. I am Gan…”

But then Ok Gi cut him off.

“We still do not know for certain whether they are truly the rear group.”

“What are you saying? How could anyone else know this location and the recognition code…”

“And what if we ruin everything by letting our guard down? We need to make everything clear!”

At Ok Gi’s firm attitude, Gan Yang could not hide his discomfort.

After all, even before this he had been full of dissatisfaction ever since receiving notice about the rear group.

“Now see here, Ok Gi…”

“The Society told us there would be three in the rear group. Yet there are four here. And on top of that, they even met a deadline that should have been impossible. Does that not strike you as strange at all?”

‘He has a point.’

At those words, even Gan Yang’s expression took on a trace of wariness.

This was certainly strange and too much to dismiss as mere dissatisfaction with the rear group.

-Srrng!

At that moment, Ok Gi drew his sword and pointed it at the rear group as he said,

“I was told by the Society that the rear group would consist of three people. What are your identities?”

At such an attitude, interrogating them with a drawn sword, Mong Mu-yak stepped forward, annoyed.

“Whom exactly do you think you are suspecting right now?”

“If you have done something worthy of suspicion, you should clear it up. Why are you arguing?”

Under ordinary circumstances, even if the other side came out sharply like this, he would have first clarified the situation.

But as was true of everyone in the rear group, Mong Mu-yak was in an extremely irritable state at present.

They had arrived here only after nearly ten days of getting rained on in order to meet the deadline, without even taking proper rest.

And now they were being pressed in this accusatory tone, so there was no way he would not be annoyed.

“Arguing? Who exactly is…”

“Ah, please calm down.”

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un stopped him.

“But my lord…”

‘My lord?’

At the words my lord, everyone in the advance party, including Ok Gi, furrowed their brows.

Ignoring that entirely, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“The rear group is us three. This person here is my servant.”

‘What? Servant?’

At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, the vow-breaking monk Ja Geum-jeong wore an incredulous expression.

He had merely been watching to see how matters would unfold, but had never imagined he would be introduced in such a way.

Looking at the clearly displeased Ja Geum-jeong, Ok Gi snorted and said,

“A servant? In a secret mission? Do you expect us to believe that?”

“He was not brought by the Society. I picked him up along the way and made him my servant.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s calm reply, Ok Gi’s face hardened fearfully.

He had demanded an explanation, and in response the fellow had only spouted nonsense.

Gan Yang, the leader of the advance party, likewise seemed unable to accept this, and half-drew the sword at his waist as he said,

“Does this look like a joke to you? Do you really think we would simply let it pass if you say you brought some unknown servant along on the Society’s highly important secret mission?”

“Is it because of this gentleman’s identity?”

“No, that is not the point…”

“Have you perhaps heard the name Ja Geum-jeong?”

“Ja Geum-jeong or no… what?”

Gan Yang, who had been about to raise his voice because this was going nowhere, froze where he stood.

For a moment, he doubted his own ears.

The Ja Geum-jeong he knew was the vow-breaking monk of Shaolin, and even more notorious in the murim as one of the Three Mad Ones than for the epithet Demon-Subduing Fist Warrior.

‘Impossible!’

It could not be.

How could Ja Geum-jeong, the lunatic vow-breaking monk even Shaolin had cast out, have become the servant of a youth not even out of his teens?

It made no sense whatsoever.

Yet,

‘………’

Gan Yang’s gaze shifted to Ja Geum-jeong.

From the very first moment he saw him, he had thought the man looked strangely familiar.

The broken prayer beads, the robust build, the vicious appearance, all of it matched exactly the rumors he had heard.

Though the situation made no sense, he began to think that perhaps it really was him, and his words stuck in his throat.

Ok Gi, however, was not the same.

“Ha! Do you think anyone would believe such nonsense? No matter that Shaolin cast him out, do you think the infamous Ja Geum-jeong, one of the Three Mad Ones, would serve as the servant of a brat not even out of his teens? If you had any common sense, you would know such a thing…”

-Grip!

“Keh!”

Before he could even finish speaking, someone seized Ok Gi’s throat like lightning and lifted him up.

It was none other than Ja Geum-jeong, the vow-breaking monk.

‘Y-you bastard…’

Thinking he had only let his guard down for an instant, Ok Gi tried to cut Ja Geum-jeong’s arm with the sword in his hand.

But before he could do even that, Ja Geum-jeong twisted his wrist.

-Crack!

“Guhhh!”

-Clang!

As a result, he dropped the sword.

Paying no mind, Ja Geum-jeong, veins standing out on his forehead, hissed as he said,

“Whether I become a servant or a slave is none of your damned business. Shall I snap your neck here and send you to the Buddha?”

“Kuhk kuhk……”

Ok Gi’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck them.

‘I-it really is Ja Geum-jeong?’

Ok Gi’s martial skill was at the very peak of peak realm.

Among those of his generation across righteous and evil factions alike, he considered himself to be at least in the upper ranks.

Yet for such a man to be held by the throat in one hand and lifted without the slightest resistance meant this could only be Ja Geum-jeong.

And amid all that, Mok Gyeong-un said with a smile to Gan Yang, the leader of the advance party,

“If the headcount absolutely has to match, would it not be fine to reduce it by one while we are at it?”

‘!!!!!!!’

At those words, Ok Gi’s face instantly went pale with shock.