Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 257 - Mark (3)
Chapter 257 – Mark (3)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“I thought I might wait a little longer, but it seems there was no need. Thousand-Household Commander Mara Hyeon.”
‘This voice?’
The familiar, distinctive way of speaking and that voice.
The moment he heard it, the blue-eyed Thousand-Household Commander Mara Hyeon immediately recognized whose voice it was.
“Could you be Mok Gyeong-un?”
“Oh? Your memory for voices is quite good.”
‘!!!!!’
At the reply, Mara Hyeon could not hide his shock.
The man smiling faintly while wearing the face of Chief Eunuch Ho of the Western Depot.
He was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
“…So you were alive?”
As a man of the investigative department, he had felt inward grief at the news that Mok Gyeong-un had been killed.
Because Mok Gyeong-un had been attacked while heavily injured from a clash with his own teacher and superior, Deputy Thousand-Household Commander So Ye-rin, he had never suspected that he might survive.
So he could not help being stunned to see him alive like this.
Looking at the face of Mok Gyeong-un wearing the human skin mask, Mara Hyeon’s eyes narrowed through the slit in his mask.
“Ha… just what is that face?”
“Did you not just call me Chief Eunuch Ho?”
“I did, but how can you be wearing that face…”
Mara Hyeon could not finish.
Chief Eunuch Ho, the chief eunuch of the Western Depot, was not only a high-ranking eunuch but also a close retainer of Prince Gyeong, one of the true power-holders of the empire.
To go about wearing the human skin mask of such a man was extremely dangerous.
If discovered, the entire imperial palace could be thrown into chaos.
“Are you worried it might become a problem?”
“That too, but you should remember that there is still something I am meant to receive from you.”
“Ah, yes. That is true.”
Mara Hyeon had struck a bargain with Mok Gyeong-un.
He had agreed to provide information related to the underground forbidden prison and help when needed.
The price, naturally, was the removal of the gu poison inside his body.
“There are some circumstances behind this face, shall we say? But it will not become a problem, so do not worry.”
“……”
“More importantly, it looked as though that man there was threatening you. Or not?”
The person Mok Gyeong-un pointed to was the bearded Thousand-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard lying unconscious on the floor.
Mok Gyeong-un had been hiding nearby because he had come to ask a favor, and when that man had appeared, he had shown himself after learning that Mara Hyeon carried gu poison in his belly.
Though inwardly Mara Hyeon had felt some satisfaction at seeing the man collapse, he concealed it and said,
“…Even so, that was a rash move.”
“Rash?”
“If this man wakes up, how do you expect me to clean up what comes next?”
“Is that what concerns you?”
“………”
Could he possibly not be concerned?
This man was a close confidant of that person, and one who knew he carried gu poison.
If he woke and spoke, then the plan Mara Hyeon had been pursuing, of pretending obedience while waiting for a chance to turn matters around, would surely collapse.
So Mara Hyeon said to Mok Gyeong-un,
“…I could come under suspicion and lose my life.”
“Hmm. Has the matter grown that severe?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s easygoing reply, Mara Hyeon ground his teeth.
Was he doing whatever he pleased simply because it was not his own problem?
If the person behind this man became even slightly suspicious and decided to eliminate him, he could activate the gu poison at once and kill Mara Hyeon.
“You seem not to realize how serious this is…”
“You are serious, certainly. You are in a position where you can neither advance nor retreat because of what is in your belly.”
“And knowing that…”
“Calm yourself. More importantly, I came because I needed to ask you a favor.”
At those words, Mara Hyeon looked at him in disbelief.
The one in urgent need right now was himself.
This bastard had interfered with someone who should never have been touched, and now he wanted help with his own business first?
Thus, with his mood fouled, Mara Hyeon said in a low voice,
“Your tongue works well for a man who expects help while my life hangs by a thread.”
“You seem quite anxious.”
“Then keep your promise and remove it.”
Mara Hyeon stated what he wanted from Mok Gyeong-un.
The only thing that could solve the current situation was for Mok Gyeong-un to remove the gu poison from inside his body, just as promised.
“That would be difficult.”
“What do you mean, difficult?”
“I cannot do that until my own business is finished. If your weakness disappears and you suddenly decide to fulfill your duty to the Embroidered Uniform Guard by reporting me, it would ruin my work.”
-Grit.
At those words, Mara Hyeon ground his teeth.
From Mok Gyeong-un’s standpoint the logic was sound, but the reality that one bastard after another kept seizing upon his weakness to use him filled him with rage.
If he could, he wanted to overturn everything here and now, whether he lived or died.
-Clench.
Strength entered his fist.
Yet the reality that he could not do so was hateful.
He had still not repaid the debt he owed to his teacher, nor found that person.
So he had no choice but to endure, with the heart of one who sleeps on brushwood and tastes gall.
Mok Gyeong-un gave a short laugh at the sight of Mara Hyeon forcing himself to swallow his anger.
At that, Mara Hyeon snapped irritably,
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. You simply look extremely angry.”
“And yet you continue to provoke me on purpose?”
“Not on purpose. But if I am to ask a favor of you, I suppose I should resolve some of this first.”
“What?”
What was he saying now?
As Mara Hyeon wondered, Mok Gyeong-un bent down and searched the body of the unconscious bearded Thousand-Household Commander.
“Stop. What are you doing? Are you trying to make the situation even more complicated?”
Mara Hyeon was finding it harder and harder to contain his anger.
Mok Gyeong-un had no intention of removing the gu poison, yet kept making matters worse.
But Mok Gyeong-un paid no attention and pulled from inside the bearded officer’s clothes a wooden case about the size of a book.
At the sight, Mara Hyeon frowned.
‘This is?’
And no wonder, for it was a storage case for a human skin mask.
He recognized it because he himself had received just such a case from the artisan, filled with special preserving solution.
Holding it up, Mok Gyeong-un said,
“No matter how I look at it, this seems to be a human skin mask case.”
“……..”
“Why would he have brought this?”
Mok Gyeong-un opened the human skin mask case.
Inside there appeared a human skin mask soaking in solution.
And the instant he saw the face, a strange light entered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.
That was because it was an all too familiar face.
It was
“…the face of Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot.”
Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot.
He was the close retainer who served Imperial Noble Consort Seo.
Tilting his head, Mok Gyeong-un looked at Mara Hyeon and said,
“Why would this man be carrying the face, or rather the human skin mask, of Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot?”
At that question, Mara Hyeon let out a sigh and muttered,
“Haah… so he intended to use me for this as well.”
“Pardon?”
“That is the human skin mask I received from the artisan.”
“Thousand-Household Commander Mara Hyeon did?”
“Not one I ordered myself…”
Mara Hyeon cautiously gestured toward his own abdomen.
He meant to indicate that it had been ordered by the one who had planted the gu poison in him.
Of course, Mok Gyeong-un understood at once.
“I see. The one who planted the gu poison in you must have intended to do something with this.”
“Seeing that he brought this case with him, I think he meant to force me to wear it.”
Mara Hyeon felt this instinctively.
Otherwise, why would that man have bothered bringing back the very human skin mask case Mara Hyeon had once delivered?
“Is that so? Can you guess what he intended to make you do while wearing it? Well, I have a rough idea.”
He could at least guess it was meant to cause confusion.
But he could not know exactly what form that confusion was meant to take.
At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Mara Hyeon shook his head.
“I do not know exactly. Had you not knocked this man unconscious, I might have learned the reason by now.”
“So in the end this is my fault, then.”
“………”
“In that case, there is no helping it. We can wake him and ask.”
What in the world was he talking about?
If they woke this man now, the situation would only become harder to control.
So Mara Hyeon stretched out a hand to stop him and said,
“Stop. You do not intend to help me, so why do you keep making matters worse?”
“I am not making them worse. I am trying to help.”
“What?”
“I said I am trying to help.”
At those words Mara Hyeon frowned.
What sudden nonsense was this?
As he wondered, Mok Gyeong-un gripped the unconscious officer just inside the collarbone and said,
“It seems to me that if you keep being jerked around by these people, you will not be able to carry out my request properly. I mean nothing else by it, so simply watch.”
-Clench.
At that exact moment, Mok Gyeong-un tightened his fingers.
The bearded officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard awoke with a cry of pain.
“Guaaa… mmph!”
Mok Gyeong-un clamped a second hand over the man’s mouth before he could scream.
Then, smiling lightly at the awakened officer, he said,
“You are awake now?”
At this greeting, the eyes of the bearded officer widened.
That was because the face of Mok Gyeong-un was currently that of Chief Eunuch Ho of the Western Depot.
Among the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there was no one who did not know that face.
‘Chief Eunuch Ho? How is this man…’
The bearded officer wore an expression of incomprehension.
Why was a eunuch of the Western Depot in the office of the Six Service Offices of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
As he wondered this, Mok Gyeong-un continued,
“I have sealed off the sounds around us with true qi. I only covered your mouth because I dislike hearing screams, but I will remove my hand now.”
-Slide.
As soon as the hand came away, the bearded officer rolled his eyes around and glanced about.
Then he spotted Thousand-Household Commander Mara Hyeon standing behind Mok Gyeong-un.
At that, his eyes sharpened.
“Thousand-Household Commander Mara, what is the meaning of this? Let me say this just in case, but to Chief Eunuch Ho…”
-Smack!
Before he could finish, the bearded officer’s head snapped sideways.
The reason was simple.
Mok Gyeong-un had slapped him.
Slowly turning his head back, the bearded officer opened his mouth with anger blazing to the top of his skull.
“Chief Eunuch Ho. What do you think you are doing? I do not know why you are here, but…”
-Smack!
Before he could finish again, another slap sent the bearded officer’s head to the side once more.
Though it seemed no more than a simple slap, his face hurt as if it were burning away.
Barely enduring it, the bearded officer said,
“Haah… Chief Eunuch Ho. This is an overreach. I do not know why a eunuch of the Western Depot is here, but…”
-Smack!
Again the bearded officer’s face was knocked aside.
After the third slap, his left cheek was swollen and blood vessels had burst in his left eye, turning it red.
At this, he whipped his head around and glared at Mok Gyeong-un.
Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,
“Now you are a bit quieter.”
At those words, the bearded officer was dumbfounded.
Had he truly been slapped merely so that he would quiet down?
No matter that Chief Eunuch Ho was the head of the Western Depot, he could not humiliate a Thousand-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard like this.
But then,
“Now then, shall we talk?”
‘What?’
The bearded officer suddenly found something odd.
He had no real dealings with Chief Eunuch Ho, but since the man served Prince Gyeong, he had heard his voice in passing several times.
It had been a delicate, decidedly eunuch-like voice.
This one was different.
‘Could it be?’
The bearded officer let his eyes slip down to the back of Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.
Seeing it, his eyes narrowed.
As far as he knew, Chief Eunuch Ho appeared middle-aged because of his deep internal energy and cosmetics, but he was already a man in his sixties.
A man that age should have wrinkles on the back of his hand.
This hand had none.
At that point, the bearded officer became certain.
‘A fake.’
The one before him was absolutely not the true Chief Eunuch Ho of the Western Depot.
So then,
“Who exactly are yo…”
-Smack!
Before he could finish the question, the bearded officer’s head was struck sideways.
Not only did his cheek turn a dark blue, blood began streaming from his mouth.
The pain in his cheek went far beyond simple throbbing and made his whole head spin.
Smiling at him, Mok Gyeong-un said,
“Just answer what I ask.”
“………”
When the man finally went quiet, Mok Gyeong-un held out the human skin mask case and said,
“What were you planning to do with this?”
‘!?’
The moment he saw the case, the bearded officer’s eyes shook.
He had no idea who this impostor was, but one thing was certain. Something had gone badly wrong.
At once the officer’s mind began racing.
How could he get out of this situation?
Then he glanced toward Mara Hyeon, who was watching from behind Mok Gyeong-un.
‘I do not know who this bastard is, but he is certainly tied to that son of a bitch Mara Hyeon. In that case…’
The bearded officer shouted in haste,
“If you touch me, Thousand-Household Commander Mara will die too!”
He thought the only answer was to lay out the situation bluntly.
Mara Hyeon would never have been able to reveal the existence of the gu poison in words because of the restriction placed upon him.
But if this man was indeed helping Mara Hyeon, then surely he had to understand that he could not act recklessly against him…
-Smack!
The bearded officer’s head snapped sideways once more.
Blood poured from his now-red left eye.
It no longer seemed he could see from that eye at all.
Moreover, a shrill ringing whined in his left ear, as if he had lost both hearing and sight on that side.
Wracked with pain, he shouted in fury,
“No. If it means Mara Hyeon dies as we…”
“I cannot understand how you think you can threaten Thousand-Household Commander Mara when you do not even carry a commanding gu inside your body.”
‘!?’
At those words, the officer’s remaining eye shook as though caught in an earthquake.
He knew of gu poison, so he also knew what a commanding gu was.
A commanding gu was the female half of a matched pair capable of controlling parasitic gu.
‘T-this bastard, how could he know that?’
At a loss, the bearded officer turned to look at Mara Hyeon.
Something had gone wrong.
Mara Hyeon had been under a restriction that should have prevented him from revealing the existence of the gu poison by voice or by any other means.
The moment he revealed it, the gu poison would run wild and kill him.
Then how did the man wearing the face of Chief Eunuch Ho know that fact?
‘Damn it!’
Realizing how badly matters had gone wrong, the bearded officer’s breathing grew ragged.
-Clench.
Behind Mok Gyeong-un, Mara Hyeon, who had been silently watching, tightened his fist.
Because of the weakness of the gu poison, he had until now been unable to resist even once and had endured humiliation while doing everything he was told.
Now, seeing the bearded officer reduced to that state and thrown into confusion, he could not help but feel a thrill of satisfaction.