Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 52 - Heaven and Earth Society (3)
Chapter 52 – Heaven and Earth Society (3)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Fate Blade King Son Yun, who had been glaring at Mok Gyeong-un, soon burst into loud laughter and said,
“Hahahahahaha! This one is quite a piece of work.”
It had been a long time since he had seen someone this bold.
Both outside and within the Society, anyone who knew even a little of his evil reputation could not act with nerves this swollen.
No, it was hard to even say his nerves were swollen in the first place.
‘He is different.’
Yeon Mok Sword Manor was a prestigious martial clan.
To think he would see a lunatic like this in a place no different from the righteous path.
For some reason, this brat was closer to this side than that side.
That was why he found him interesting.
After laughing for a long while, Son Yun shook his head and said,
“A living secret manual is walking to our Society of his own accord, so there is no reason to refuse. Good. I hope you do not regret those words.”
At those words, Madam Seok and Mok Eun-pyeong, the second son, and the others could not hide their inward delight.
The Heaven and Earth Society was so infamous that they had wondered what would happen if things went wrong, but this was the best possible outcome.
How good was it that everything had been resolved with that one fellow, Mok Gyeong-un.
But Manor Lord Mok In-dan did not feel that way.
-Clench!
Strength entered the hand gripping his sword hilt.
This was the first time he had felt such helplessness.
If he could have had his way, he wanted to shout for them to let Mok Gyeong-un go at once.
It was because, whether he liked him or not, he was still his son.
But the situation was ambiguous.
‘So he had memorized the secret manual.’
He had been greatly shocked when he first learned that fact.
That made sense, because even he had tried every possible means to see the manual and had not been able to undo even the prayer beads.
That was why he had naturally believed Mok Gyeong-un had not memorized it but was carrying it.
He had thought there would be no problem if it were simply returned, since he had not seen the manual in the first place, but that assumption had been completely off.
‘…Now that he has memorized the secret manual, they will never let him go.’
If an outsider secretly memorized Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s secret manual, then naturally that crime would be answered with his life.
That was how important a secret manual was to martial artists.
That was why Mok Gyeong-un’s judgment might be the right one now.
At least as a way to preserve his life even a little.
‘I am sorry.’
As the Manor Lord, he carried everyone’s lives on his shoulders, so there was nothing he could do.
If he fought to protect Mok Gyeong-un, annihilation was certain.
That was how monstrous that man Son Yun was.
‘…Just endure a little longer.’
He intended to ask the Alliance of Justice for help after those people left.
Along with the Heaven and Earth Society, the Alliance of Justice was one of the three pillars of the current martial world.
He had connections and friendships with some of its higher-ups, so he resolved to somehow borrow the Alliance’s strength and get his son back.
But then something unexpected happened.
-Slide!
At that moment Son Yun’s figure blurred, and before anyone knew it he appeared behind Mok Gyeong-un.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, he struck his acupoints.
-Papapapapak!
After having his acupoints struck, Mok Gyeong-un lost consciousness and started to collapse to the ground.
Son Yun caught him with one hand and called to the masked man.
“Take care of this one.”
At this, Manor Lord Mok In-dan shouted,
“What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Even if he said he would come of his own accord, did you think I would let him go on bargaining with his life?”
At Son Yun’s words, Mok In-dan ground his teeth.
As expected, he was no easy man.
Objectively speaking, it was the natural response.
“Well, that aside, we have recovered the secret manual, so shall we calculate the debt that remains?”
“Debt?”
“Manor Lord Mok. Did you think that after laying hands on the Society’s property, simply returning it would make it pass as though nothing had happened?”
At those words, everyone in Yeon Mok Sword Manor, who had been inwardly relieved, could not help but tense again.
They had harbored a faint hope, but as expected there was no way things would go that smoothly.
At that moment, Manor Lord Mok In-dan took a sword stance and spoke.
“Will you break your promise?”
“A promise?”
“That is right. If that child learns that you broke your word, do you think he will tell you the secret manual he memorized?”
“Hahahahahaha! How ridiculous. When I do not even know whether you will live or die, what meaning would that have?”
With those words, a powerful aura burst out.
It was so strong that everyone’s expression in Yeon Mok Sword Manor darkened.
“So you mean to come out like this after all?”
As he spoke, Manor Lord Mok In-dan drew true qi up from his dantian.
It was an explosive situation on the verge of igniting.
Pointing his saber at him, Fate Blade King Son Yun grinned and said,
“But I am in a good mood today, so I will give you one last chance.”
“A chance? What are you talking about?”
“I am saying I will give Yeon Mok Sword Manor a way to survive.”
“A way to survive?”
“That is right.”
At Son Yun’s words, Mok In-dan frowned and asked,
“What is it?”
“I will give you two choices. If you refuse all of them, Yeon Mok Sword Manor will be exterminated tonight.”
“…What are those choices?”
He decided to hear them out first.
If they fought, Yeon Mok Sword Manor would be annihilated nine times out of ten anyway.
“First. Surrender to the Heaven and Earth Society and enter as one of its subordinate sects.”
‘!!!!!’
At the words of Fate Blade King Son Yun, the side of Yeon Mok Sword Manor stirred.
That was natural, because Yeon Mok Sword Manor was a prestigious martial family that pursued the righteous path, but the Heaven and Earth Society was not.
They walked an independent path of tyranny that was neither righteous nor evil.
That was why surrender would be no different from throwing away their pride as people of the righteous path.
-Gnash!
It was only natural that those of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, though afraid of them, still boiled with anger enough to stir.
They would rather choose death than do that.
“Even if it means dying, we will resist to the end.”
“At least you have integrity.”
Son Yun had expected the first proposal to be refused.
“Then for the second, Yeon Mok Sword Manor will seal its gates for ten years, and I will take the successor away as a hostage.”
“………”
The moment they heard the second proposal, all of Yeon Mok Sword Manor fell silent.
Manor Lord Mok In-dan’s expression was not good either.
He had expected they would naturally make a difficult demand.
That ominous premonition had proved correct.
Sealing the gate.
It literally meant closing off martial world activities for ten years.
Ordinarily, when a sect was defeated in war against another sect, or when that sect fell, a sealing of the gate would be imposed.
‘Sealing the gate…’
It was more realistic than the earlier proposal.
It was the only way to admit defeat while not lowering their last remaining pride.
But for ten years Yeon Mok Sword Manor would not be able to engage in outside activities, would gradually weaken, and would be unable to associate with any other sect or anyone else at all.
‘If we seal the gate, this Manor will decline.’
Still, it was a better choice than having everyone die.
As he was pondering, someone approached him.
“Father.”
It was none other than the eldest son, Mok Yeong-ho.
He was the first son who had only disappointed him, living in drink and women and earning the name wastrel.
So when he spoke to him at this critical moment, Mok In-dan could only feel puzzled.
“What is it?”
“There is a saying about enduring hardship for future revenge. It will be difficult, but please accept this proposal.”
Enduring hardship for future revenge.
It meant bearing humiliation and pain for the sake of the future.
At those words from Mok Yeong-ho, a strange light appeared in Manor Lord Mok In-dan’s eyes.
‘This boy…’
It was not like his usual self.
He had thought the boy had lost all his spirit after drowning in drink and women.
But looking at his eyes and expression now, he could see him barely suppressing this disgrace.
He even seemed angrier than himself.
As he inwardly wondered, Mok Yeong-ho said,
“Send me. I am the eldest son of this Manor, so am I not the closest thing to a successor?”
“What?”
He was volunteering to go himself?
Was this child truly the same one who had done nothing but fall into drink and women and disappoint them?
As he stood astonished, Mok Yeong-ho whispered softly.
“It is fortunate. That you still have not made the youngest that child the successor.”
‘!?’
Manor Lord Mok In-dan’s eyes shook.
With that remark, Mok In-dan understood Mok Yeong-ho’s true intention for the first time.
Mok In-dan’s eyes reddened.
‘Ah… Yeong-ho. Yeong-ho. Was that why you had lived buried in drink and women all this time?’
Was it to yield the succession to the youngest, Yu-cheon?
Was that why you stayed close to drink and women and did nothing but disappoint us?
Mok In-dan clutched his chest as though the shock were too great.
It pained him that he had only scolded this child without trying to understand his true feelings.
He was so unlike his mother.
“Father. I am sorry for causing you pain all this time. Please keep yourself in good health.”
Mok Yeong-ho bowed respectfully, then turned toward Fate Blade King Son Yun and shouted loudly,
“The Manor Lord has accepted Sir Son’s second proposal. As the eldest son and successor of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, I will go as the hostage…”
“No.”
At that moment Son Yun cut him off.
Then he pointed at someone with his finger and said,
“Where do you think you are trying that kind of deception? I will take that child.”
‘Damn it!’
The eldest, Mok Yeong-ho, bit his lip hard.
The person Son Yun pointed at.
It was the youngest, Mok Yu-cheon, whom he had wanted to protect by sacrificing himself.
There was something they had overlooked.
Unlike the righteous martial world, which gave priority in courtesy to the eldest son born first or the senior disciple accepted first, the Heaven and Earth Society followed the law of the strong to the letter.
That was why, in their eyes, the successor of Yeon Mok Sword Manor was naturally Mok Yu-cheon, who possessed the greatest martial talent.
* * *
-Dagadak! Dagadak!
Inside the baggage wagon were one masked warrior and two people lying sprawled out with their eyes covered and their bodies bound.
They were Mok Gyeong-un and Mok Yu-cheon.
Since they were no different from hostages or prisoners, they were not treated well.
‘They are thorough. Ha.’
Mok Yu-cheon let out a sigh.
Unlike Mok Gyeong-un, he had not had the dizziness acupoint struck and so had not fainted, but since the numbing acupoint that paralyzed the body and the mute acupoint that prevented speech had both been struck, he could not move at all.
As if that were not enough, they had covered his eyes and tied his entire body and limbs with thick rope.
They were people who prepared thoroughly.
‘How far have we come?’
It felt as though they had moved for several shichen.
Though no sunlight entered because it was a baggage wagon, it was surely daytime by now.
He had thought they would enter some point on the righteous side and make camp since it was late at night, but they continued moving without resting.
‘A hostage…’
All that while, Mok Yu-cheon kept reflecting on his situation.
When Manor Lord Mok In-dan woke up, he had been filled with hope that he might become the successor, but in an instant he had become a hostage.
And not just any hostage, but one in the hands of the Heaven and Earth Society, the most dangerous group in the martial world.
He had no choice in the matter.
‘…What happens from here on?’
A hostage was, in truth, no different from a prisoner.
If it had been a hostage exchange between groups of roughly equal standing, that would be one thing, but it was hard to expect good treatment in the Heaven and Earth Society.
He was already being treated as less than human even now.
-Jolt!
As the wagon went up a hill, someone’s body naturally pressed against him with its weight.
Even if he could not move his body, his sense of touch had not vanished.
‘Mok Gyeong-un.’
It was probably Mok Gyeong-un.
Was his situation better than that boy’s for the moment?
No, it might have been better to be unconscious.
At least then, for that moment, it would be no different from sleeping without any worries.
Just then the wagon stopped.
-Screech!
He heard the rear door of the wagon open.
Then a small voice reached him.
“Here… for a while… we rest. So… go and take care of your business.”
“Yes!”
-Creak!
Along with the sound of the door closing, the presence disappeared.
Though he had not heard clearly, it seemed they intended to rest here for a while.
Well, they had been moving for half a day without rest.
Even if one had learned martial arts, that did not mean one’s stamina was infinite.
‘How long do I have to stay like this?’
It was then.
-Rustle!
A very slight movement was felt beside him.
‘!?’
What was that?
Right now there should have been only himself and Mok Gyeong-un inside this wagon, because the masked guard had left for a moment.
Then who was moving?
As he wondered, he felt someone wriggling behind him.
‘No way?’
That could not be.
It was not enough that his acupoints had been struck, his whole body had also been restrained.
And unlike himself, had not that monster called the Fate Blade King personally struck Mok Gyeong-un’s acupoints?
As he found it strange, someone lifted the cloth covering Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes.
‘Huh?’
Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes went wide.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
‘How?’
Astonishingly, Mok Gyeong-un was moving perfectly fine, and on top of that, he had somehow already untied even the ropes restraining his own body.
How in the world had this boy released his acupoints?
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