Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 263 - Clue (2)

Chapter 263 – Clue (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.

Along with the Physician of Hidden Cures, he was called one of the greatest physicians of the age, and it was said that in knowledge of medical arts, none could rival him.

With his outstanding medicine and healing arts, the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal had saved countless people.

There had been one event that caused his name to spread throughout the whole Central Plains.

It was when the Red Turban Rebellion broke out more than thirty years ago, producing countless dead and wounded.

As a result, corpses piled up like mountains everywhere and rotted, and from them spread a hideous plague of unknown origin.

That plague spread quickly, and in only seven days it covered all of Shaanxi Province, turning the whole region into a living hell.

Fortunately, however, the plague ended without spreading beyond Shaanxi.

That was because the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal created a cure for it.

Through that event, the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal, who had originally been little more than an unknown, rose along with the Physician of Hidden Cures to become one of the greatest physicians of the age.

Yet despite such fame, not much was actually known about him.

There were scarcely even any who knew where he lived or what his true name was.

“…If the Munno you speak of is the same name we know, then it is the former name of the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.”

At Gyeom-chang’s words, Mok Gyeong-un frowned.

That was because Munno was none other than the name of the grandfather who had raised him.

It was because his grandfather had been killed by the hand of Ghost Sword that he had asked, thinking perhaps this organization knew something about him.

But a completely unexpected answer had come back.

“What… do you mean by that-”

“Exactly what I said. The Munno I know, no, the one we know, is only the former name used by the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.”

“The former name used by the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal-”

“…Are you certain-”

“Unless there is another man with the same name, the Munno we know can only be that one.”

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

Just what was this supposed to mean-

He had come out into the world to find the enemy who killed his grandfather, and in doing so had learned many things.

Naturally, among them was the fame of the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.

After learning of his existence, Mok Gyeong-un had merely thought that he must be some famous physician who knew more about medicinal materials than his own grandfather.

He had not paid any special attention to it, thinking it had nothing to do with revenge.

But this was information he had never once anticipated.

‘Grandfather was the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal-‘

Mok Gyeong-un’s mind became tangled.

There were certainly shared points, such as his knowledge of medicinal materials and the skill with which he handled them, but could that alone really prove that the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal and his grandfather were one and the same-

So Mok Gyeong-un pressed a knee into Gyeom-chang’s chest and said,

“Lord Munno had lived in seclusion deep in the mountains for more than seventeen years. How could such a man be the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal…”

“Did you say seventeen years just now-”

“Yes.”

It was the length of time he had lived with his grandfather.

And yet,

“If it was seventeen years, then all the more, he must be the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.”

“What-”

“The Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal vanished almost eighteen years ago, and his whereabouts became unknown. If the Munno you know lived in seclusion for that long, then he must be the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.”

“……”

Because the man looked even more certain, Mok Gyeong-un’s thoughts became even more tangled.

‘Was Grandfather really the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal-‘

He had thought his immense knowledge of medical herbs, to the point that there seemed to be no medicinal material he did not know, was simply because his grandfather had been an herb gatherer who had lived in the mountains for a long time.

But now that he thought about it, among the people outside, there were few who knew medicinal materials as well as his grandfather.

‘Ha…’

All this time he had thought only of finding his enemy and had never once thought of learning anything about his grandfather himself.

That was also because he had never met anyone who even knew the name Munno.

Seeing Mok Gyeong-un fall silent after learning a truth he had not known, Gyeom-chang inwardly smacked his lips.

‘Munno…’

Their side had searched for the whereabouts of the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal for a long time.

Yet in such an unexpected situation, they had encountered someone who knew where he had been.

It was absurdly ironic.

‘What a shame.’

If this had not been such a situation, it would have become a great merit.

But now all of it was meaningless.

‘The Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal…’

As Mok Gyeong-un thought, the conversation he had once had with Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King, flashed through his mind.

[So you truly do not know who the one called Ghost Sword is.]

[That is right. What this old man learned by facing him was…]

[That he was gravely wounded by the one called the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal, who is hailed as the greatest physician of the age. Is that all you know-]

[…At first I could hardly believe it. Until now, no one had known that the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal practiced martial arts. He was a physician, after all.]

[He could have hidden it.]

[Yes. That is possible. But one thing is certain. If the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal truly was the one who heavily wounded Ghost Sword, then his poison arts far surpassed even mine.]

Recalling that, Mok Gyeong-un slowly began to sort out his thoughts.

It seemed that all this time, he truly had known nothing about his grandfather.

To think he had blindly clung to a single mark, saying he would take revenge, now felt almost foolish.

‘His fame… his martial arts…’

Why had Grandfather hidden all of those things-

The grandfather he knew was indeed someone detached from such matters.

But had there really been any reason to hide them even from him-

No, it was more likely he had hidden all this precisely because he knew such things could happen.

‘…Something is strange.’

But if his grandfather really was the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal, then something no longer fit.

‘Master Baek Sa-ha clearly said that Ghost Sword had been defeated by the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal.’

That would mean his grandfather’s martial skill had been stronger than even one of the Eight Stars, who were called the greatest masters in the martial world.

Could such a grandfather have been killed so easily by Ghost Sword-

Of course, it was not entirely impossible.

Because it was possible that Ghost Sword had trained unceasingly over seventeen years and advanced in martial skill until he surpassed Grandfather.

‘That possibility does exist.’

Though they had lived together for seventeen years, he had never once seen his grandfather training in martial arts.

Of course, for a master who had already reached a high realm, meditation or training in the mind’s landscape could be more effective, but he had not even seen him doing that much.

If one side kept training and the other stayed as he was or declined, then it was possible.

Still, there was one more thing to confirm.

‘That Ghost Sword left a scar on Grandfather means it is certain the two of them fought. But this man clearly said Ghost Sword does not leave marks on those he kills.’

From that, several possibilities arose.

One was that this man had lied, and that Ghost Sword killed Grandfather and left the scar.

But leaving a trace on someone already dead would only create evidence.

So that seemed unlikely.

Another possibility was that because Grandfather was old, he fought Ghost Sword, exhausted himself, and then lost his life.

But could a master on Ghost Sword’s level really make such a mistake-

That possibility too seemed rather weak.

Then,

‘…A third party appeared and killed Grandfather after he had been weakened from fighting Ghost Sword.’

Mok Gyeong-un’s fist clenched tightly.

That was the most likely.

Only then did it make sense that even after death, the trace left by Ghost Sword remained on Grandfather.

Once he had sorted his thoughts that far, Mok Gyeong-un stared at Gyeom-chang and asked,

“What relationship does your organization have with Munno, no, with the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal-”

“…What do you mean by that…”

“Enough pretending. You know the true name of the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal, which is unknown to the world, and the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal died at the hands of Ghost Sword.”

“What-”

“I said the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal died at the hands of Ghost Sword.”

“That cannot be.”

“What do you mean, that cannot be- Your organization’s mark, left by Ghost Sword, was there.”

At that, Gyeom-chang frowned and said,

“Did I not tell you- Why would Ghost Sword leave such a mark- Besides, the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal was someone the organization absolutely had to capture alive…”

At that moment Gyeom-chang shut his mouth.

He had intended to give what information the man wanted, while still trimming away as much organization-related information as possible.

But he had made a slip.

“Capture alive… so there really was a third party.”

“What-”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s strange words, Gyeom-chang shot back in confusion.

What did he mean, there was a third party-

To the puzzled man, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“That does not matter. Why were you trying to capture the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal alive-”

At that question, Gyeom-chang answered at once without even thinking,

“I do not know.”

“…It will not benefit you to refuse to answer.”

“I… I truly do not know. I was only given orders that his person absolutely had to be secured.”

“Do you know something-”

“What…-”

“Aaargh!”

With a cracking sound, his collarbone broke, and Gyeom-chang screamed.

No matter where it was, a broken bone was bound to hurt, but he had not known the collarbone could hurt this much.

As he writhed in agony, Mok Gyeong-un spoke into his ear.

“I can already tell whether you are hiding something or not. I would rather not make you want to complete ten pleas for death.”

“Ughhh…”

“No answer. Shall I try breaking the left collarbone this time- No, that would not be enough. It might be better to shatter it to pieces. Let us start with the right-”

“St… stop!”

“That is not the answer I wanted.”

“Aaargh! I… I heard that the Camp-Dissolving Medicine Immortal was hiding something important!”

In the end, the words burst from Gyeom-chang’s mouth.

“Something important- What is it-”

“Aaargh… I truly do not know. I only know that he deceived that exalted one and stole it away before going into hiding…”

“Stole it away-”

Was it something important to this organization-

But had Grandfather ever had anything that important to hide-

He remembered more or less everything that had been in the house, but there had been nothing that seemed especially important.

“You truly do not know-”

“I truly do. Please believe me.”

Gyeom-chang pleaded sincerely.

“Hmm. Strange how I cannot trust you. It feels like something more might come out if I squeeze harder.”

Mok Gyeong-un’s fingers, buried in his flesh, began to shift to the side.

Panicking, Gyeom-chang hurriedly spoke.

“I… I am only a middle-ranking officer belonging to the Second Realm. But if it is the higher-ranking officer Ghost Sword, who belongs to the First Realm, then he may know.”

“The First Realm-”

In an instant, Gyeom-chang’s face did more than harden. It twisted.

‘Ahhh.’

Now that he had gone so far as to reveal the organization’s rank system, Gyeom-chang felt truly abandoned to despair.

At this point there was no longer any meaning in trying to trim away information.

Then Mok Gyeong-un asked him,

“Is the First Realm the highest rank in your organization-”

“…It is.”

“So the organizational structure goes First Realm, Second Realm, Third Realm… like that-”

“…That is right.”

“How many realms are there-”

“There are five realms in total.”

“Ho.”

If he was a middle-ranking officer in the second of five stages, then he belonged to the upper ranks.

Then again, a man with martial skill of this level would never hold a low position.

Yet if even a man like him could not know everything, then this organization was indeed run as a remarkably thorough cell structure.

“Even as a middle-ranking officer of the Second Realm, your information is restricted that far-”

“Haa… haa… even if I am called a middle-ranking officer, I am nothing special.”

“I see. Then those upper officers above the First Realm know a great deal-”

“At the very least, they know more than I do.”

“So in the end you are telling me to ask a higher officer.”

“……”

“Fine. Then where can I meet this higher officer called Ghost Sword- It would be even better if you told me his identity.”

“I truly do not know that. Do you think someone of the Second Realm like me would know what visible identity the higher officer of the First Realm uses or where he is-”

“That makes no sense. Then to whom do you report your missions-”

At that question, Gyeom-chang’s words caught in his throat.

It seemed he had struck the right point.

No matter how much of a cell structure it was, it still had to be linked together in order to operate, with someone to report to.

To say it had none would make no sense.

“Speak. To whom do you report- To the exalted one you mentioned earlier-”

“D… do not speak nonsense. How could someone like me report directly to that exalted one- That exalted one is a noble being whom even we of the Second Realm cannot meet.”

“A noble being-”

Tilting his head, Mok Gyeong-un asked,

“Then I suppose you would not know that noble being’s identity either. No, since you do not even know the one immediately above you, Ghost Sword, I doubt you know that. Then what do you call this exalted being- You do not simply call him ‘that exalted one,’ do you-”

“That is…”

Gyeom-chang hesitated for a moment.

He had already said most things to this bastard anyway.

And even if he told him what they called that exalted one, there was no way this bastard could track that person down with only that.

To the hesitating man, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“If you mean to test my patience…”

“I… I was about to say it. We call that person this way. I do not know why we call him that, but the third- guh!”

It happened at that exact moment.

Before he could even finish speaking, the blood vessels in his face and neck began to bulge.

Realizing something was wrong, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed his head and face in an attempt to calm the swollen blood vessels.

But,

‘What is this-‘

He tried to settle the energy, but something was strange.

It was not like an ordinary case in which energy reversed or swelled abruptly until the blood vessels ran wild.

This was…

“……”

In an instant, Gyeom-chang’s head burst apart.

There was not even time to do anything.

As a result, Mok Gyeong-un’s hands, face, and even clothes were drenched in blood.

Pushing away Gyeom-chang’s dead body, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes sharpened.

The fact that he died while trying to say something meant a prohibition had been placed on him.

But this was not a prohibition created by martial arts.

The unpleasant and ominous energy rising from Gyeom-chang’s corpse was none other than spell power carrying a curse technique.

The meaning of that was simple.

‘A prohibition placed by sorcery.’