Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 268 - Office of Penal Service (3)

Chapter 268 – Office of Penal Service (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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-Murmur, murmur!

The cadets watching from around them stirred in agitation.

When Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol had been pressing Ju Un-hyang with internal energy, the atmosphere had been unbearably heavy and cold.

But in the middle of it, one of the cadets stepped in, and the situation changed.

Even Mak Myeong-bo, the Thousand-Household Commander who could be called second-in-command of the Office of Penal Service, had been unable to touch Im Gyu-wol out of fear of him, so no one had expected that an apprentice cadet taking the Embroidered Uniform Guard selection would step forward in such a situation.

‘What? That bastard?’

‘He grabbed the Deputy Thousand-Household Commander’s arm. Is he out of his mind?’

‘Is he so desperate to fail the selection exam?’

The ones thinking like that were cadets who ranked in the lower tier in the first selection,

‘What is this? Could it be that he really endured Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol’s power just now?’

‘……That guy didn’t seem to have internal energy that deep, did he?’

Yeom Gyeong of Mount Hua and the cadets who belonged to the upper ranks could not hide their inward shock at seeing Cadet Bae Ji-seok, who had been no more than middle rank, endure the power of Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol.

Of course, the real Bae Ji-seok would not have been able to do that.

Inside that skin shell was a completely different person.

That person was Mok Gyeong-un.

‘!?’

Thanks to that, Ju Un-hyang, who had escaped from Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol’s pressure of internal energy, knit his brows and raised his head to stare at Mok Gyeong-un, who was wearing Cadet Bae Ji-seok’s face.

Because Bae Ji-seok belonged to a different grade of Imperial Guard Bureau cadet, there had been no opportunity for them to cross paths or exchange words.

Even during training right before apprenticeship, it had been the same.

And yet,

‘…….This is strange.’

Ju Un-hyang was seized by a strange feeling.

For some reason, it felt familiar.

The face was different and the voice was different, yet this feeling of familiarity…

‘Could it be?’

Ju Un-hyang looked at Mok Gyeong-un’s face with suspicious eyes.

Right then.

-Grip!

More strength entered Mok Gyeong-un’s hand as he gripped Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol’s wrist.

‘Hngh….this bastard?’

Im Gyu-wol’s expression stiffened from the even stronger grip.

It would not have been an exaggeration to say that this bastard’s current power exceeded even his own eight-star power.

-Tremble!

His wrist was shaking.

If this had been a place where only the two of them were present, he might have raised his power and gone all the way.

But now there were far too many eyes watching.

If he carelessly showed himself being pushed back in power, then from the standpoint of one testing apprentice cadets, his authority would collapse.

‘Damn it.’

Yet it was awkward to figure out what to say to stop here.

After all, he had been the one who started it.

It was right then.

-Tak!

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been gripping his wrist, suddenly let go, brought both hands together and bowed his head, then said politely,

“As expected, I cannot withstand the Deputy Thousand-Household Commander’s power. I am sorry for stepping in while you were testing another cadet in the middle of it. I only stepped in because the cadet being tested might have been injured, so please forgive me with a generous heart.”

-Flinch!

At this attitude of Mok Gyeong-un’s, Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol’s eyes sharpened.

‘This damned bastard…..’

He was truly a cunning bastard.

He could have humiliated him, but not only had he withdrawn at an appropriate point midway, he had deliberately chosen the path of saving his face.

-Clench!

Im Gyu-wol clenched his fist tightly and barely suppressed his anger.

If he showed emotion here, not only would his face be ruined, he would also lose all justification.

So Im Gyu-wol, who looked back and forth between Mok Gyeong-un and Ju Un-hyang standing side by side, soon smiled as if nothing had happened and said,

“Indeed, they said the skills of the cadets participating in this Embroidered Uniform Guard selection were exceptional, and the reputation proves true. To withstand even this sudden internal energy test from this office so well, and to respond flexibly for the sake of a rival and fellow companion alike, I find it pleasing.”

“We are unworthy.”

“We are sorry.”

Ju Un-hyang and Mok Gyeong-un answered at the same time.

Then Im Gyu-wol said in a generous voice as he patted both their shoulders,

“I shall specially award merit points to you two.”

-Murmur, murmur!

‘Merit points?’

‘Was it really a test?’

At those words, the cadets could not hide their envy.

The atmosphere had been so vicious that they had worried some disaster was about to break out, but seeing Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol even grant merit points, it seemed he really had been testing them without warning.

On the other hand, Ju Un-hyang inwardly clicked his tongue at Im Gyu-wol’s ability to recover the situation.

‘He did not rise to this position for nothing.’

He was the sort who might have acted emotionally and lost face, yet handled himself quite well.

Of course, Ju Un-hyang judged that inside, the man was likely boiling fiercely.

So Ju Un-hyang thought he would have to be careful for a while.

Just as he expected, though Im Gyu-wol spoke as if magnanimous, inside he was grinding his teeth.

‘Just you wait, you bastards.’

“Then earn good results over these five days and I hope to see you in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol retreated while vowing revenge for later.

Once he entered the main building of the Office of Penal Service, Ju Un-hyang calmed the internal energy that was boiling up inside him.

No matter how much he had diverted it as much as possible, Im Gyu-wol’s internal energy had still been one step above his, so he had nearly suffered internal injuries.

‘If it had gone on any longer, it would have been troublesome.’

It was fortunate.

If he had not fully assimilated the innate true qi that Deputy Thousand-Household Commander So Ye-rin had injected into him, something serious might have happened.

As Ju Un-hyang settled his true qi like that, he soon looked at Mok Gyeong-un, who wore Cadet Bae Ji-seok’s face, and opened his mouth.

“Could you perhaps……”

“Could I perhaps what?”

Ju Un-hyang, who had been about to ask something, stopped himself.

And then he simply expressed his thanks.

“Thank you. Thanks to you stepping in, I avoided internal injury.”

“That is fortunate.”

At those words, Ju Un-hyang’s eyes narrowed.

The voice was thick, but this way of speaking and this tone were clearly…

At that moment, Thousand-Household Commander Mak Myeong-bo approached Ju Un-hyang and Mok Gyeong-un and said quietly, so that only the two of them could hear,

“I do not know what the reason is, but both of you are now as good as marked by the Deputy Thousand-Household Commander. Thanks to that, the next five days will be exhausting. I will keep an eye on things, but the both of you should keep yourselves as safe as possible.”

“Thank you for the consideration.”

At that, Mok Gyeong-un and Ju Un-hyang respectfully brought both hands together and bowed their heads in reply.

* * *

That night.

Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol personally prepared two maps.

On them was written Forbidden Prison Battle Map.

This was a map of the paths through the underground forbidden prison.

The underground prison beneath the imperial palace had been continuously expanded for hundreds of years, so it had formed like a cave, and because it was quite vast and dark, it was easy to lose one’s way if careless.

Therefore, the Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Office of Penal Service carried these Forbidden Prison Battle Maps so as not to lose their way.

However, these Forbidden Prison Battle Maps differed from the existing ones.

‘Heh.’

If one trusted these maps and searched for the route carelessly, one would end up in a completely different place.

Especially in traps where mechanisms had been installed.

‘Now they will learn why, over all these years, not one person other than a single exception has escaped the underground forbidden prison of the imperial palace in one piece.’

There was no need for him to dirty his own hands.

If they died while wandering the underground prison, there would not even be any need for special explanation.

‘Ju Un-hyang, Bae Ji-seok.’

Because of those damned bastards, he had nearly been disgraced.

Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol curled the corner of his mouth in a sinister way.

Just imagining those bastards wandering the underground forbidden prison and meeting their end made him unable to suppress his excitement.

Im Gyu-wol soon rolled up the two maps, tied them with red threads, and placed them among nine maps.

Only the ones intended for them were tied specially with red thread.

Feeling satisfied, he left the office and headed to his private lodging.

Once one gained command at the level of Thousand-Household Commander and above, one was given private lodging, and at the level of Deputy Thousand-Household Commander, one could use a fine room like this separately.

-Thud!

Im Gyu-wol, who had hung his outer robe on the rack, lay down on the bed in good spirits.

It was right then.

-Thunk! Thunk!

‘Hngh!’

His back bent upward like a bow.

Something had stabbed two places in his spine at the same time, and the pain could not be described in words.

But for some unknown reason, no voice came out.

‘W, what in the world is this?’

As he panicked, he heard the sound of something rattling from beneath the bed.

Then someone crawled out from under the bed.

The moment Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol saw the face of that unknown person, he could not help but be horrified.

‘Bae Ji-seok?’

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un wearing the face of Cadet Bae Ji-seok.

Mok Gyeong-un brought his lips to his ear and whispered quietly.

“Waiting was tedious, Deputy Thousand-Household Commander.”

-Flinch!

‘T, this son of a bitch, what is he? How did he get in here?’

Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Im Gyu-wol had no choice but to be flustered.

Around the main hall of the Office of Penal Service, Imperial Guard Bureau warriors had been standing guard, and in the lodging building, though they were the lowest rank in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the guardsmen had been taking turns on duty.

And yet he was saying this bastard had infiltrated while avoiding all of them?

‘Leaving infiltration aside, how did he avoid my senses? Is it truly possible that a mere cadet surpassed my martial level?’

At such an expression on his face, Mok Gyeong-un snickered.

“That is a fine expression.”

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un lightly touched his waist, which had bent like a bow.

-Press!

‘Nnghhh!’

Im Gyu-wol’s face, which had been pale white, turned bright red from the pain.

Even the veins on his forehead stood out.

‘You son of a bitch!’

He truly wanted to tear Mok Gyeong-un to pieces.

But once again, when Mok Gyeong-un pressed near his lumbar spine,

‘Ghhhhaaaak!’

Pain spread through his entire body through the spine as though lightning had struck him.

This was the first time in his life he had ever felt such pain.

It was difficult even to breathe properly.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

Cold sweat formed on Im Gyu-wol’s face in beads.

At the sight of him, Mok Gyeong-un crooked the corner of his mouth in a sinister smile and whispered into his ear.

“I once read a book on acupuncture, and it said there are needling methods one must not perform carelessly. Do you know what that is?”

‘H, how would I know something like that?’

Im Gyu-wol, unable to speak, glared murderously at Mok Gyeong-un.

Then Mok Gyeong-un said with a bright smile,

“Ah, ah, ah. I forgot that it is hard for you to answer. It is nothing much. They say there is something called vertebral needling, and unless one is a truly excellent physician, one should not carelessly put needles into the spine. If one is careless, they say the needles may dig into the spine and become dangerous?”

‘What?’

At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, Im Gyu-wol’s eyes shook.

But this was only the beginning.

“What is even more amusing, they say, is that as the pain grows stronger, one becomes a cripple who can never walk again.”

‘A, a cripple?’

At those words, Im Gyu-wol felt as though he would go mad.

The pain in his waist was far too severe to merely brush it off.

Im Gyu-wol’s complexion, filled with terror, gradually turned pale white.

Into his ear, Mok Gyeong-un whispered,

“I am a very cautious person, so when someone bears ill will toward me, I am not the type to let it pass.”

-Press!

‘Nnghhhhh.’

As the needles dug in further, Im Gyu-wol twisted his body in pain so great he could barely keep his senses.

Mok Gyeong-un watched him suffer as though he found it enjoyable, and when Im Gyu-wol had only just barely started to become accustomed to the pain, he brought something up near his eyes.

-Slide!

‘!?’

It was none other than a sharp needle.

Bringing such a needle right in front of his eyeball naturally left Im Gyu-wol flustered.

What exactly was he trying to do with that now?

As he wondered, Mok Gyeong-un answered the question.

“This needle belonged to a certain person, and it is coated in poison. You are curious what poison it is, aren’t you?”

‘Poison?’

The moment he heard that the needle was coated in poison, both of Im Gyu-wol’s pupils shook violently.

Just having that pointed tip flickering before his eyes was torment enough, but to hear that poison had been smeared on it made him feel as if he would go insane.

To the terrified man, Mok Gyeong-un said with a smile, as casually as if it were nothing,

“This is nothing much either, but if the needle were to pierce the eyeball, the poison would spread rapidly into the brain, and one might say the mind itself would become crippled.”

‘!!!!!!!’

And he called this nothing much?