Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 224 - Mixed Blood (4)

Chapter 224 – Mixed Blood (4)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“I will arrange things so that Embroidered Uniform Guard trainees can be assigned even to the underground forbidden prison.”

“Oh?”

At those words from the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin.

It was not as bad a proposal as he had expected.

Infiltrating the Embroidered Uniform Guard was one of the major premises from the start, and after that, the most important requirement was a plausible reason for entering the underground forbidden prison.

The plan the advance group had established here was to go through Imperial Noble Consort Seo.

Imperial Noble Consort Seo had an older brother.

Seo Geum, the elder brother of Imperial Noble Consort Seo, had originally been no more than a low-ranking government constable from a small county, but thanks to the Emperor’s favor during the days when she had only held the rank of noble consort, before her child became Crown Prince, he had risen as far as the post of regional commander.

But there was no way all of that could have gone smoothly.

Since he had started out as nothing more than a common constable, his command experience while overseeing the northern Ningxia region had inevitably been shallow, and in the end he failed to stop the Great Fierce Tribe. He lost thirty thousand soldiers and even surrendered territory.

[Strip the defeated general Seo Geum of his office and put him to death by severe punishment.]

Naturally, a storm of memorials like that poured in.

But the Emperor, who cherished Consort Seo, could not bring himself to kill her brother.

Because of that, Seo Geum was stripped of his command and exiled to a remote wasteland.

Then, several years later, when the child born to Noble Consort Seo was installed as Crown Prince, Seo Geum was transferred into the imperial palace’s underground forbidden prison under the pretext that he was kin on the mother’s side of the future emperor.

[Your Majesty, this concubine’s elder brother deeply regrets his sins.]

[Your Majesty, my elder brother no longer harbors even the slightest desire for office.]

Imperial Noble Consort Seo had worked tirelessly to secure a pardon for her elder brother Seo Geum, but because his crimes had been so grave, the opposition of the other factions had frustrated her every attempt.

It was unfortunate for her, but that naturally made it a suitable pretext for entering the underground forbidden prison.

‘Together with Imperial Noble Consort Seo, attempt a prison visit to the underground forbidden prison and bring out the Fire Worship Sect’s imprisoned Guardian Flame Token.’

That had been the original plan, and it did indeed have the highest chance of success.

However, if a second route of infiltration presented itself here, then there would no longer be any need to forcefully persuade Imperial Noble Consort Seo or comply with her troublesome conditions for no reason.

‘It would let me avoid one irritating situation, but…’

Even so, Mok Gyeong-un still had to take one more step beyond that.

That was because, besides the Society Leader’s confidential mission, there was also the secret order given by the Shadow Sect Master.

[If the prison break succeeds, seize the Guardian Flame Token again.]

As a man of the Fire Worship Sect, the Shadow Sect Master had given Mok Gyeong-un that covert order.

That made the current situation profoundly contradictory.

He had to bring the Guardian Flame Token out safely in order to become the Society Leader’s fourth disciple, and through that, he would gain access to the Society Leader.

But if that mission failed, all of it would vanish.

‘Hmm.’

Mok Gyeong-un had been thinking about that the whole time.

If he ignored the Shadow Sect Master’s secret order without any countermeasure, he would surely end up at odds with him.

And that in itself would produce another irritating situation.

‘What should I do?’

Still, with two separate routes for infiltrating the underground forbidden prison, there was now at least some room to scheme something along the way.

After staring at the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard for a long moment, Mok Gyeong-un seemed to finish organizing his thoughts. One corner of his mouth lifted as he said,

“All right. I’ll accept that proposal.”

“Will that be enough?”

“No. Of course that’s not enough. In the end, I’m the one who has to bear the risk of actually entering the underground forbidden prison.”

“…Then what are you demanding?”

“Naturally, you’ll have to cooperate with me until that part is fully accomplished.”

“Cooperate?”

“Yes. If you do at least that much, won’t the scale be somewhat more balanced?”

“…”

The blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard was inwardly dissatisfied by what Mok Gyeong-un said, but he was not the one holding the reins here, so he had no choice but to accept it in silence.

He nodded and said,

“Fine. Then…”

Without speaking further, he cast a subtle glance toward his own stomach.

Seeing that, Mok Gyeong-un gave a short laugh and said,

“If the matter concludes safely, I’ll remove the gu poison for you.”

“What?”

“Is this your first time making a deal? Have you ever seen someone pay the price before receiving the goods?”

“…”

The blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard clenched his fist so hard it trembled, then finally let out a long sigh and answered,

“Fine.”

In any case, he had no real alternative.

It was close to a gamble, but he had no choice except to hope that this brat would keep his word.

“Now then, since we’ve concluded the agreement…”

-Step, step.

Mok Gyeong-un walked toward Song-ah, the daughter of the artisan from Hongbong Meat, to release the pressure point strike that had immobilized her.

As he watched Mok Gyeong-un approach, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard seemed to recall something and opened his mouth.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

Mok Gyeong-un answered readily, as though it made no difference to him.

The blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard asked,

“Do you happen to bear the surname Jin?”

“The surname Jin?”

“That’s right.”

At that question, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged and shook his head.

“No.”

“Then perhaps the surname So, or…”

“All sorts of family names are coming out. I’m from the Mok Clan.”

“The Mok Clan?”

‘Ah…’

At that answer from Mok Gyeong-un, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard’s eyes trembled.

He had asked on the off chance, but apparently not.

That meant the brat had truly comprehended his martial art merely by seeing it, which made him a genuine monster.

Then again, only someone like this could be said to possess martial talent on the level of a great grandmaster.

Clicking his tongue, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard said,

“So you really did steal and learn the body-lightening method.”

“Ah, that movement art? It was extremely useful. May I ask what the footwork is called?”

“You have no conscience, taking another man’s art and then asking that.”

“I’m acknowledging that I took it, which is exactly why I’m asking.”

At those words, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard hesitated briefly, then said,

“…Pungun, no… Wind God Steps.”

“Wind God Steps? The god of wind… It’s an arrogant name, but one that suits it well enough.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s evaluation, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard apologized inwardly to his master.

‘Forgive me. It couldn’t be helped.’

The true name of the footwork had originally been Pungun Steps.

However, because he could not reveal the movement art accurately, he deliberately altered the name when he answered.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Since we’ve already exchanged one thing each, may I ask one more?”

“What is it?”

“I heard that people from the Western Regions have brown or yellow hair. But your hair is black. Did you dye it with ink or something?”

‘As expected.’

At that question, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard’s eyes turned sharp.

Just as he thought, this brat was no different from anyone else.

Judging by how he had suddenly become interested in his unusual appearance.

But then,

‘!?’

When he looked at Mok Gyeong-un in reflexive disappointment, he saw that despite the question, the other’s face was utterly dry and indifferent, as though he felt no special fascination whatsoever.

‘What is this?’

Had he really asked out of simple curiosity?

Looking at Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes, it seemed to be neither more nor less than that.

It was markedly different from everyone else.

Even with his master, he still remembered the look from that first meeting.

Come to think of it, this brat too had shown no unusual reaction when he first saw his face. He had looked at him no differently than he would any ordinary person.

For some reason, that left him with a strange feeling.

‘…’

What a truly peculiar bastard.

Ordinarily he would have ignored such a question, but this time he answered.

“…Because I’m mixed blood.”

His mother had been a woman of the Central Plains, and his father had been a Westerner.

Because of that, he had been born unlike either a Westerner or a person of the Central Plains, and he had spent his entire life resenting his parents for it.

“Mixed blood? Ah. So that’s why.”

But that was the end of Mok Gyeong-un’s reaction.

As though his curiosity had been satisfied the moment he heard the answer, he simply turned his head away.

‘That’s all?’

The response was so empty that it almost made him think he himself had been the one acting overly sensitive.

-Tatatatak!

Mok Gyeong-un promptly released Song-ah’s pressure points.

Once she could hear properly again, she backed away from Mok Gyeong-un with a disgusted expression.

This was exactly why she had never wanted to become close with murim people.

As though he did not care in the slightest about her attitude, Mok Gyeong-un stretched a hand toward somewhere nearby.

Then,

-Shuk!

The leather pouch lying on the ground flew into Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

Seeing that, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard said in a startled voice,

“Wait. I told you I need to take that back to the inner school.”

“I already told you that would be difficult. I need to take the artisan’s severed hand with me as well.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard pointed at Song-ah.

“That is not the artisan’s hand.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. They put forward a fake in place of the real artisan.”

“A fake?”

Mok Gyeong-un turned his head toward Song-ah.

Song-ah nodded and answered,

“…The officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is right. The manor lord whose arm was severed is only an ordinary butcher.”

“An ordinary butcher? Then don’t tell me you’re fake too?”

The blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard replied,

“That young lady is not a fake.”

“And how would a Thousand-Household Commander know whether she’s fake or not?”

“You can tell by looking at the hands.”

“The hands?”

At that, Mok Gyeong-un looked at Song-ah’s hands.

Every joint of every finger had been rubbed so raw that her fingerprints were nearly invisible, and there was not a single place on them that was uninjured.

That alone was enough to tell him that she was no ordinary person.

“The real artisan is my father.”

“So in the end, that means I got fooled by the fake one.”

“…Yes.”

She answered in a voice that shrank as it came out.

“Well now.”

Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue quietly.

That meant there had been no need to work this hard and come all the way here in order to find a severed arm.

Still, there was no need to complain.

Because they had been tricked like this, had they not found a new route into the underground forbidden prison?

One might call it turning disaster into fortune.

“Then that means there’s no need to take this hand, correct?”

“…It’s unfortunate for that person, but if we want to stop this from growing into something bigger, I think this is the best choice.”

“Reasonable.”

At Song-ah’s words, Mok Gyeong-un tossed the leather pouch he was holding to the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The man caught it and let out a sigh.

If he had gone back without it, things would only have become tangled and that bastard would have gone berserk.

-Tak!

“Eek! W-what are you doing?”

Mok Gyeong-un suddenly hefted Song-ah over his shoulder like a sack of luggage, leaving her at a total loss.

Whether she liked it or not, he paid no attention.

“I can’t match my pace to yours. So let’s head back quickly. Thousand-Household Commander, I suppose I’ll be seeing you later.”

Mok Gyeong-un gave the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard a light nod and moved to leave.

Then, just as he was about to take another step, he paused and said,

“I nearly forgot. I said we’d meet again later, but I don’t even know your name yet.”

“…”

“My name is Mok Gyeong-un. And what is your name, Thousand-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”

At that, the blue-eyed Embroidered Uniform Guard answered briefly.

“Ma Rahyeon.”

* * *

-Fwish, fwish!

“Mmff.”

The movement was so fast the surroundings blurred from sight, and Song-ah shut her eyes tightly in fear.

Mok Gyeong-un continued using his lightness skill, but before long he suddenly came to a stop.

The reason was that someone had crossed his path.

It was Seop Chun.

“My lord!”

Mok Gyeong-un looked at him with mild surprise and asked,

“I told you to wait. Why have you come all the way here?”

“There was something urgent I needed to report, and I thought I might need to assist you, so I was on my way.”

“If it’s something urgent you needed to report?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Seop Chun looked toward Song-ah, who was still slung over his shoulder, and said,

“It’s because of that young lady.”

“This lady?”

“Yes. My lord may be displeased, but the manor lord with the severed arm was not the true artisan.”

“Ah, that? I already know.”

“You already know?”

“Yes. As you can see. So was that what you came to tell me?”

“Ah, yes. That too, but the true artisan also asked in great urgency that we rescue that young lady, his daughter.”

Fortunately, unlike what he had feared, Mok Gyeong-un had already saved her.

The truth was that he had hurried over because he worried his lord might return with nothing but the severed hand.

Even so, things had turned out well. They had rescued the artisan’s daughter too.

Then Mok Gyeong-un asked,

“Well, since I ended up granting the request in the end, I suppose that’s fortunate. So who did he say the real artisan was?”

“Do you remember that man with all the hair who guided us?”

“Ah? That man?”

“Yes. He was the true artisan.”

At Seop Chun’s words, Mok Gyeong-un slowly shook his head from side to side, then suddenly let out a small laugh.

Puzzled by that reaction, Seop Chun asked,

“Why are you reacting that way?”

At the question, Mok Gyeong-un suddenly set Song-ah down from his shoulder.

Song-ah also stared at him, unable to understand what was happening.

Then Mok Gyeong-un said to her,

“It seems that because your work is so secretive, deceiving people has become a part of daily life for you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I happen to have an unusually good memory.”

“What does having a good memory have to do with anything…”

“The same goes for that very hairy man, but among all the butchers there, not one of them had palms like yours, young lady.”

‘!?’

At those words, Song-ah’s expression stiffened at once in alarm.

Mok Gyeong-un placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and said with a faint smile,

“Since they said the one making human-skin masks was an artisan, I assumed it would be some seasoned old man, but I suppose that’s not always the case.”

At that, Seop Chun’s eyes widened as he stared at Song-ah.

“My lord… surely not?”

“Yes. It seems this young lady is the true artisan.”

(c) Hanjung Wolya