Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 217 - Secret Mission (3)
Chapter 217 – Secret Mission (3)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Within the inner palace register of the imperial palace, there were eighty-seven women who had received the Emperor’s favor.
That also meant that there were eighty-seven women bearing titles such as Cairen, Guiren, Pin, Consort, and Noble Consort.
Even among those many imperial consorts, there were two consorts whom the Emperor cherished the most.
One of them was Imperial Noble Consort Seo, Seo Yang-hyo.
The Emperor’s favor toward her was so great that, passing over the grown children of the Empress, the child she had borne, only seven years old, became Crown Prince.
Because of this, she became one of the four figures who wielded absolute power in the imperial palace.
Gan Yang, who stood in the position of leader of the advance party, spread out four fingers and folded them one by one as he spoke.
“If one were to name the four people who hold the greatest power in the current imperial palace, they would be Prince Gyeong, the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor, and among the Three Excellencies the Grand Preceptor, the minister Hang Yun-pa who also serves as Commander of the Central Military Governor’s Office, the Emperor’s second prince Palm King who had originally been the strongest candidate for the throne, and Imperial Noble Consort Seo, mother of the current Crown Prince.”
He listed them this slowly because Mok Gyeong-un had said he knew nothing at all about the factions and power structure of the imperial palace.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had lived only in the mountains, had learned many things through books, but did not really know either the murim or how the current Central Plains worked.
“So one of the four greatest powers in the imperial palace is Imperial Noble Consort Seo.”
“That is correct.”
“Why would someone like that help us?”
Mok Gyeong-un raised the question, as though he truly did not understand.
He had heard that relations between the imperial palace and the murim had improved a great deal, but that the non-aggression pact still remained and that only the righteous-path murim actively interacted with the palace.
Then why would Imperial Noble Consort Seo, one of the power holders in the palace, help the Heaven and Earth Society, which had once even opposed the palace and the righteous-path murim?
As he wondered that, Yu Bong spoke in a quiet voice, as though revealing a secret.
“Because it was our Society that supported her from the days when she was still only a Guiren, until she became the Imperial Noble Consort she is now.”
“The Heaven and Earth Society supported Imperial Noble Consort Seo?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
‘Ho.’
It seemed their claim that they had a plan had not been empty words.
If Imperial Noble Consort Seo had received the Heaven and Earth Society’s support in reaching her present position, then it would be difficult for her to completely ignore their request for help.
At that moment, the vow-breaking monk Ja Geum-jeong, who had his arms folded and was sipping liquor from his gourd with a displeased look on his face, spoke.
“Hmph. She might listen to an ordinary request, but would she really accept one that could affect even her own position?”
“……..”
At his words, none of the advance party answered, as though none of them could deny it.
Then Gan Yang spoke.
“What the Demon-Subduing Fist Warrior says is true. When people stand on high ground, they often easily forget all the hardships they endured to climb there.”
“So there is also a chance she will refuse?”
“I will not deny it. The current Imperial Noble Consort Seo is no longer the former Consort Seo. As the mother of the Crown Prince, she has risen to a position where even we cannot pressure her carelessly.”
When a woman of the harem becomes the mother of the Crown Prince, the imperial character is added to her title of Noble Consort.
From that point onward, it was no different from holding tremendous and nearly unchecked power.
From the Heaven and Earth Society’s point of view, the fact that the woman they had long supported had reached such a position was not something they could welcome without reservation, because in a sense she had moved beyond their control.
“So the interests of both sides must align.”
“Exactly. That is why we must have an audience with Imperial Noble Consort Seo in advance. Fortunately, because all of you came this time as the rear group, you satisfy the conditions she demanded.”
“Conditions she demanded? Then talks have already taken place?”
Seop Chun asked in puzzlement.
Yu Bong answered that question.
“Yes. One cannot simply go to someone in a position as high as Imperial Noble Consort Seo, the greatest power within the inner palace, and bluntly demand that she grant our request at once.”
“……..Then what exactly were those conditions?”
“Just as with the major and minor sects of the righteous-path murim, she asked that the Society dispatch properly trained younger talents it had raised itself.”
At Yu Bong’s answer, Mong Mu-yak clicked his tongue.
Mok Gyeong-un asked him,
“Why is that?”
“She truly is no ordinary woman.”
“What?”
“By asking this Society to send properly trained younger talents, she is essentially telling us to move openly and head-on in the light rather than through spies from the shadows and behind the scenes.”
Seop Chun also said, sounding dumbfounded,
“Ha! So even if she helps us, she intends in advance to prevent any situation that could bring harm upon herself.”
“It seems so.”
In the case of spies, one could cut off the tail if things went badly.
But if the Society officially dispatched younger talents belonging to it, the situation would be different.
If problems arose, not only would it be difficult to cut off the tail, but a situation would arise in which responsibility would have to be borne.
-What do you think?
Blue Spirit asked Mok Gyeong-un.
At that, Mok Gyeong-un gave a faint laugh and said,
-She is a clever woman.
-It seems so. Once things move officially, naturally the side that must watch its step is the side that has to ask for the favor. And if things go badly, that side must also take responsibility. She is trying to make that clear.
-That is not all.
-Not all?
-Yes.
-She has grown full.
-Grown full?
-Yes.
-Ahhh. So that was what you meant?
Blue Spirit understood what Mok Gyeong-un had meant by those words.
When one is hungry, one inevitably speaks in a pleading way because of that hunger, but once that hunger is satisfied, the situation changes.
One no longer wants to plead, and one no longer wishes to be kept on a leash.
Taking that into account, it was no longer simply a question of whether the woman who now held power would obediently grant their request.
Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.
“We may have raised this piece, but it is no longer something we can control as we please.”
At those words, Gan Yang replied in a tone of agreement.
“That is why we must soothe her to a certain extent while obtaining what we want. That is the key point of this mission.”
At Gan Yang’s words, Yu Bong added with a smile,
“Still, you need not worry too much. Her Ladyship Imperial Noble Consort Seo has not forgotten the help our Society gave her. She merely wishes to prevent anything that could adversely affect herself and the Crown Prince. If we can reassure her on that point, she will be of great help to us.”
At those words, everyone nodded.
In any case, they were not seeking to use Imperial Noble Consort Seo to do something to the imperial palace.
They only intended to complete the mission the Society had assigned.
While everyone was persuading themselves in that manner, Mok Gyeong-un looked back and forth at Gan Yang and Yu Bong of the advance party with a strange look in his eyes.
But he said nothing in particular.
After the rear group had thus been informed by the advance party about how the secret mission would proceed from here on, they decided to rest for about one shichen, since they had not had a chance to rest even once while coming here.
* * *
Out of fatigue, Seop Chun had fallen completely asleep, and Mong Mu-yak was circulating his qi and regulating his breathing.
Ja Geum-jeong passed the time sipping liquor from his gourd, using the roasted venison prepared by the advance party as a snack.
In a quiet place a little apart from the Temple of Guan Yu, Blue Spirit, who had come out of the wooden puppet for the first time in a while, was waving her tobacco pipe and showing Mok Gyeong-un something.
It was none other than a sword move.
As he looked at it, Mok Gyeong-un let out an exclamation.
“Ah!”
The sword move Blue Spirit was displaying was the sword form of Moon.
But the sword form of Moon had changed.
Compared to the Moon sword form she had originally taught him, it had become more precise and had lost its openings.
Moreover, far more complex variations had entered the sword form, and it had evolved into a move capable of bewildering and pressing the opponent.
After displaying this evolved Moon sword form, Blue Spirit spoke.
-What do you think?
“The sword move has lost its openings.”
-Is that all?
“It has many more variations too, so it has become a sword move that is much harder to deal with.”
At that, Blue Spirit smiled faintly and nodded.
-That is right. After seeing that old man’s sword move on the boat, I felt I understood what the Moon sword form lacked. So I took the opportunity to supplement it.
“Excellent.”
-You memorized it all, did you not?
“Yes.”
-Then forget the previous one.
“Yes. I will.”
Since there was now a supplemented sword art, there was no need to keep remembering the one that had flaws.
Blue Spirit put the tobacco pipe in her mouth and puffed out smoke as she said,
-But you, sentient being, saw that old man’s sword together with me. Did you not gain some realization from it?
“A realization?”
-Yes. After seeing that sword, did you gain nothing at all?
The sword the old man had displayed aboard the ship had been a shock itself.
After seeing it, Blue Spirit had filled in what the Moon sword form lacked, supplemented its moves, and evolved it closer to perfection.
She felt confident that now it had completely surpassed the brat’s Heaven sword form.
If even she had gained such an insight, then for this sentient being brat to have seen it and gained nothing would be a lie.
His talent was at a level even she could not measure.
She was curious as to how that sword had reached this sentient being brat.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un drew the Evil-Answering Sword.
-Srrng!
And he took a starting stance with the sword that Blue Spirit had never seen before.
Seeing that, she asked in puzzlement,
-What is that?
The starting stance Mok Gyeong-un had taken was neither the one the old man had shown nor the sword form of her Moon.
To that question, Mok Gyeong-un replied,
“Originally, each move of the Moon sword form required a total of four sword forms. But this time, two more forms entered it, and six forms came into harmony.”
At that, Blue Spirit curled up one corner of her mouth and said,
-Yes. Originally I judged that four sword forms were best for a single move, and that that was the limit, but that was nothing more than my own fixed idea. If forms are needed, one can add more to diversify the move’s variations and supplement its weaknesses.
She regarded six forms as the most ideal.
That was how the current Moon sword form had been supplemented.
“Yes. Seeing that, I also felt there was no need to be trapped by fixed ideas.”
At those words, a strange light appeared in Blue Spirit’s eyes.
-Could it be that you, like me, supplemented the sword move?
“No. Blue Spirit knows the Moon sword form better, so there is no need for me to supplement it.”
-Then what exactly?
“I simply thought about what the most efficient and ideal sword move would be, in my opinion.”
-Wait… You do not mean…?
Was this brat saying he had created a sword move himself?
Creating a sword move was by no means a simple matter.
It required not only swinging the sword, but the manifestation of a move through the harmony of forms, the sword intent that could be imbued into the sword, and the qi-circulation route best suited to the move and able to maximize its power, all three working together.
When one reached a level where such a thing was possible, people said one had reached the realm of a grandmaster.
‘Even I, after crossing the wall, refined the Moon sword form over years together with that man before finally creating it.’
Yet no matter how extraordinary a sword he had seen, for a brat who had not even learned martial arts for long to create a sword move himself was something beyond common sense.
And yet,
-Ssk!
Mok Gyeong-un slowly began moving the Evil-Answering Sword.
Like strokes being drawn with a brush, he carried out sword forms with trajectories entirely different from the Moon sword form.
-Chwak!
The first sword form was simple.
It was merely a horizontal stroke, and the second sword form was a vertical stroke.
But naturally, as more sword forms were added, the variations became more pronounced.
The Moon sword form had originally consisted of twenty-four forms, and each move had combined four sword forms, but now it had a total of thirty forms and combined six sword forms per move, increasing its variations still further.
-Chwak! Chwachwachwak!
The sword forms Mok Gyeong-un displayed passed ten in number.
By the nature of the straight sword as a weapon, thrusting and slashing inevitably had to be harmonized.
When that happened, overlapping forms would naturally appear.
Roughly half of the sword forms Mok Gyeong-un displayed resembled those of the Moon sword form.
But from a certain moment onward, the sword forms changed.
-Chwachwachwak! Chwak! Chwak!
The trajectory of the sword intent extended even to completely unexpected angles.
Seeing this, Blue Spirit could not hide her puzzlement.
Each sword form Mok Gyeong-un displayed gave her the feeling that not one of the trajectories overlapped.
‘There is no need to make them all different like that.’
Since the sentient being brat had no experience in such things, it seemed that the creation of sword forms was approaching him in an overly difficult way.
If it were done that way, the move was bound to become difficult as well.
Since the forms had to be combined to create it, beyond the first ten forms it looked difficult even to tell how they ought to be combined.
-Chwak!
“Hoo.”
The number of sword forms Mok Gyeong-un showed in that way totaled twenty-four.
Seeing that, Blue Spirit clicked her tongue and said,
-There is no need to force all the trajectories to differ. If you create sword forms like that, in the end the usable ones will overlap, and the rest will be discarded.
“No. I will use all of them.”
-There is no need to be greedy over such a thing, sentient being.
“Is that so?”
-The idea that none of the trajectories should overlap is itself merely another fixed idea. If you truly gained some realization, then do not bind yourself.
“I intend not to.”
-Are you listening with one ear again? Tsk tsk.
He really was stubborn.
Blue Spirit judged that saying more would be meaningless.
Once he tried to combine the sword forms he had created in that way, he would eventually realize that her words had been right.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un took his starting stance again.
And then,
“This will become the first move.”
It was at that very moment.
-Chwachwachwachwachwak!
Mok Gyeong-un linked the sword forms together and unfolded a move.
But as Blue Spirit watched it, her eyes began to tremble wildly.
‘No?’
That was because she had been wondering which forms he would combine to display a move, yet what was unfolding from Mok Gyeong-un’s hand at this moment overturned every one of her expectations.
For an instant, Blue Spirit was speechless.
Naturally, she had thought that out of the twenty-four forms, at most some combination of four to six would be used.
Yet the combination of forms in the move Mok Gyeong-un was now unfolding was,
‘He is harmonizing all twenty-four sword forms into a single move?’
It was a combination of sword forms that completely overturned existing common sense.
Countless non-overlapping trajectories of twenty-four forms were spreading at tremendous speed and becoming a single move,
-Chwachwachwachwachwachwachwak!
and it was a sword move of offense and defense in one, without even the slightest gap.
After unfolding the move in this way, breath flowed from Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.
The hand gripping the sword was trembling, because using all twenty-four forms at once had placed excessive strain on his muscles.
‘!!!!!!!’
Watching this, Blue Spirit was left speechless.
She had told him not to be bound by fixed ideas, and he had created a move that went outside common sense.
‘This brat… he truly is mad.’