Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 48 - Attack (3)
Chapter 48 – Attack (3)
===================
Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
The fight between the warriors of Yeon Mok Sword Manor and the masked men was temporarily halted by the shout of Son Yun, the Fate Blade King, one of the Five Kings of the Heaven and Earth Society.
Even so, it was not yet a situation where anyone could let down their guard.
The Heaven and Earth Society was still an armed faction that had not abandoned its ambition of unifying the Central Plains, so if Son Yun the Fate Blade King changed his mind midway, the battle would resume at once.
“……..This is bad.”
Madam Seok whispered in a hushed voice to the guard warrior Ho Aeng.
From what she had heard, those people seemed to be after some kind of secret manual the Manor Lord had found somewhere, and it was apparently in the hidden space beneath the medicine hall.
-Slide.
She cast a glance at Mok Gyeong-un, who was still circulating qi.
That child… it seemed he had found the Manor Lord’s hidden personal manual in the medicine hall.
Otherwise, how could he have bargained with her while never taking even a single step outside the medicine hall?
At that, the guard warrior Ho Aeng said to her,
“Madam…… then shouldn’t we inform the Manor Lord?”
“We should, but……”
Madam Seok’s eyes turned strange.
For the future of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, it would be best to tell him now so the Manor Lord could hurry and clean things up.
But a clever scheme arose in Madam Seok’s mind.
‘That child said he sent me only two pages of the Yeon Mok Star Sword Formula, and that the rest of the mnemonic verses were all in his head.’
Then given that cunning brat’s temperament, the odds were very high that he had destroyed the manual itself and memorized it all.
She was certain that was what he had done.
In that case, there was no need to inform them right now.
If someone had memorized a precious manual that even the Heaven and Earth Society called a treasure, how would they react?
“I think it should be fine to inform them a little later.”
The corners of Madam Seok’s lips curled up slightly.
If things went well, she might be able to get rid of that troublesome burden here.
Just then, Mok Gyeong-un, who had been immersed in meditative qi circulation while the situation had developed this far, finally opened his eyes.
“Young Master!”
Gochan, who had been standing guard beside him, called out in a low voice.
At that, Mok Gyeong-un glanced at him once, then swept his gaze over the surroundings.
Seeing the situation frozen in a standoff, Mok Gyeong-un smacked his lips in regret.
‘No wonder the death aura got cut off midway.’
It was because the fighting had stopped.
If anything, he regretted that no one was dying any longer.
Still, grasping the situation came first now.
“What happened?”
Come to think of it, what had become of the demon monk’s body, and why was he still here in the form of a vengeful spirit?
“That is…..”
To the puzzled Mok Gyeong-un, Gochan whispered what had happened into his ear.
At that, Mok Yu-cheon stole a glance at Mok Gyeong-un with a somewhat envious look.
‘Since when did that bastard get a guard like that?’
He had never seen her before, so when he heard Gochan was Mok Gyeong-un’s guard, he had found it hard to believe.
Her appearance was outstanding, but what had shocked him most was her martial skill.
Regardless, having grasped the situation to some degree, Mok Gyeong-un rubbed his chin and let out a small hum.
“Hmm.”
‘What do we do now?’
Gochan looked at Mok Gyeong-un as if at a loss.
It truly was a dilemma.
Soon, the masked member of the Heaven and Earth Society who had gone to search the hidden space beneath the medicine hall would return.
When that happened, a disaster could break out.
“Young Master….. the Heaven and Earth Society is truly a dangerous group. If things go wrong……”
“Wait a moment.”
“Pardon?”
To Gochan’s confusion, Mok Gyeong-un approached Manor Lord Mok In-dan, who was waiting in visible impatience.
At that, Mok In-dan admonished him in a low voice.
“If you were injured, then stay still and rest. Right now…..”
“May I ask who gave you that wound in your side?”
“What?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s sudden question, Manor Lord Mok In-dan furrowed his brow.
As if the situation were not already uncertain enough, why was this child behaving like this?
The Manor Lord let out a sigh and said,
“Now is not the time to talk about that…..”
“There is nothing in the underground chamber beneath the medicine hall.”
At those words, the Manor Lord nearly blurted something out in shock, but barely held it in and darted his eyes around.
Son Yun the Fate Blade King was standing with his arms folded, leaning against the wall and watching him.
Conscious of him, the Manor Lord lowered his voice even further and whispered,
“What are you talking about? What do you mean there is nothing beneath the medicine hall…..”
“Exactly what I said. So if you tell me where, how, and from whom you received that wound in your side, I will handle this situation.”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, the Manor Lord’s eyes sharpened.
Staring at him, Mok In-dan said,
“Did you go underground?”
“Yes.”
“How did you…… Ha!”
For an instant, he felt like clutching the back of his neck.
How in the world had this brat found that place and gone there?
And he could not understand why he was so obsessed with that wound.
But that was not what mattered now.
“Don’t tell me you tampered with it?”
“Please answer me first.”
“You!”
Yeon Mok Sword Manor was facing a desperate crisis, so what in the world was this nonsense?
Anger surging, Manor Lord Mok In-dan seized Mok Gyeong-un by the wrist.
Then he tightened his grip and said,
-Grip.
“Where is it? Tell me at once. The future of this manor hangs on it. This is no time for your games……”
“Does this look like a game?”
‘!?’
Manor Lord Mok In-dan’s brows drew together.
Was this brat truly the same child he had known?
He was gripping his wrist this hard and pressing him with force, yet Mok Gyeong-un did not avoid his eyes in the slightest, nor did he show even a trace of fear.
“You…….”
It was right then.
-Tatatatatak!
A masked man came running in haste.
Seeing him, the Manor Lord’s expression hardened.
It was the masked man he had sent to the medicine hall.
Son Yun, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened and said,
“Did you find it?”
“Here it is.”
Dropping to one knee, the masked man respectfully presented a worn wooden box covered in old talismans.
At that, Son Yun too accepted the wooden box with both hands, unable to hide his excitement.
“It returns to the hands of this society at last.”
Watching that, Manor Lord Mok In-dan asked Mok Gyeong-un,
“You…… did you lie to your father?”
Otherwise, there was no way the wooden box could still be so intact.
Worried that a major disaster would break out, Mok In-dan let out a breath of relief as his tension loosened.
If they just took that and left, then there would be no more casualties……
-Click.
Then Son Yun raised one eyebrow and opened the lid of the wooden box.
It seemed he intended to check whether something was inside.
But then,
-Swaaaaaaaa!
At that instant, an enormous killing intent burst out from Son Yun the Fate Blade King.
Its force was so great that both the people of Yeon Mok Sword Manor and the masked men flinched involuntarily.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
Manor Lord Mok In-dan, who had just begun to relax, could not understand.
Mok In-dan looked at Mok Gyeong-un.
Could it be that there was nothing inside?
“I told you so.”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, Mok In-dan felt not just anger but sheer disbelief.
Was this bastard truly out of his mind?
Yet unlike him, there was one person who welcomed this situation.
It was none other than Madam Seok.
‘Good!’
For a moment she had wondered whether Mok Gyeong-un had not touched the box after all.
But judging from that man’s reaction, that did not seem to be the case.
Now was the opportunity.
Madam Seok took a step forward.
And just as she was about to speak, Son Yun took something out of the wooden box between two fingers.
It was,
‘An earring?’
A splendid earring made of jade and silver.
There was only one, and no matter how one looked at it, it was clearly something worn by women.
‘!!!!!!!’
At the sight of it, Madam Seok could not hide her bewilderment.
And for good reason, because that item was supposed to be in her jade ornament box.
So why in the world was it there?
It was enough to make one think ghosts were crying.
‘Wait, don’t tell me?’
Startled, Madam Seok looked toward where Mok Gyeong-un was.
She had meant to look at Mok Gyeong-un, but her eyes first met those of Manor Lord Mok In-dan beside him.
He wore an expression asking what in the world this meant.
And for good reason,
‘Of all things, that one……’
That earring was one of the ornaments Manor Lord Mok In-dan had given her.
It was only natural that Mok In-dan would be suspicious.
As she stood there flustered, she saw Mok Gyeong-un beside him smirk and shrug.
‘You!’
Only then was she certain it had been Mok Gyeong-un’s doing.
He had been the only one to go to that place.
At that moment, Son Yun held up the earring toward Manor Lord Mok In-dan and said in a voice openly overflowing with killing intent,
“Manor Lord Mok. What is this?”
At that question, the Manor Lord was struck speechless.
It was already bad enough that the secret manual wrapped in prayer beads was missing, and there was no way he could say that earring belonged to his own wife.
“So you choose the cup of punishment after all.”
-Sreung!
Son Yun the Fate Blade King drew the tachi strapped to his back.
The masked men did the same.
As they drew their swords and sabers again after having sheathed them, the warriors of Yeon Mok Sword Manor also pulled their weapons with tense faces.
It was a situation where violence could erupt at any moment.
Then Mok Gyeong-un shouted,
“First Mother! This manor is in danger, and you still intend to keep your mouth shut? Isn’t that earring yours?”
‘!?’
For an instant, Madam Seok could not hide her bewilderment.
She had already been frozen because she knew it was her earring, but she had never expected him to drag her in like this all of a sudden.
“Y, you! What are you saying right now……”
“Hooh. So this earring belongs to the Manor Lord’s wife?”
With those words, Son Yun glared at Madam Seok.
Overwhelmed by his sharp gaze and presence, she staggered backward.
Waving both hands, she said,
“S, Sir Son. I think there is some misunderstanding, this is……”
“First Mother! We can end this without bloodshed, so why are you doing this? If you have the secret manual, then please hand it over quickly.”
‘This bastard!’
At that shout from Mok Gyeong-un, she felt as if she were going mad.
She wanted to rip his mouth apart on the spot, but that monstrous Heaven and Earth Society master, whom even the Manor Lord could not handle, was glaring at her as if he would kill her, so her lips would not move.
-Clench.
Manor Lord Mok In-dan grabbed Mok Gyeong-un by the wrist again and whispered sharply,
“Stop it!”
“Pardon?”
“What in the world do you think you are doing? No matter that she is not your birth mother, how could you…..”
“You are more naive than you look.”
“What?”
“That woman even brought in an occult practitioner to force from your mouth where the Manor Lord’s personal secret manual was hidden, and then intended to let you die. Yet it seems you still want to protect her.”
‘!?’
At that,
Mok In-dan’s expression stiffened.
What in the world was he talking about?
As he stood there in confusion, Mok Gyeong-un moved his lips and whispered,
“So you need not feel so guilty. If by some luck we can save everyone through the sacrifice of just that one woman, would that not be a good thing in its own way?”
It was like the whisper of a devil.
Like temptation itself.
At that, Manor Lord Mok In-dan felt goosebumps rise over his entire body.