Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 39

“I need the head of the young master you serve.”

‘!?’

At the words of Ha Chae-rin, the Flying Killing Sect Leader, escort guard Go Chan was momentarily speechless.

He had wondered what purpose she had for entering Yeon Mok Sword Manor, but this was truly bewildering.

“Wh-What do you mean by that?”

“It’s exactly as you heard. I’m going to take the head of the one called Mok Gyeong-un.”

Go Chan’s mind became complicated.

There were a few rules for assassins.

One of them was that as long as they belonged to an assassination sect, murder without a request was prohibited.

That applied even to the sect leader.

Go Chan swallowed his dry saliva and asked, “…Did you receive a request?”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

At her quick answer, Go Chan furrowed his brow.

She came to take Mok Gyeong-un’s head without receiving a request. What was this about?

To the puzzled Go Chan, Ha Chae-rin twirled her hair and said, “A piece of information came in from someone in Yeon Mok Sword Manor.”

“Information?”

“Intermediate Assassin No. 29.”

-Thump!

At that moment, Go Chan’s heart raced.

Intermediate Assassin No. 29.

‘Senior Brother Gam.’

It was the assassin number of Gam Il-cheong, his senior brother.

Touching the chin of the stiffened Go Chan, Ha Chae-rin said, “I heard that Assassin No. 29, no, Uncle Gam, was killed by Mok Gyeong-un, the third young master of the Mok family.”

“…”

“It was unexpected. To think that the third young master of the Mok family, a mere third-rate, killed a first-rate master who was once a skilled intermediate assassin of the Flying Killing Sect.”

“…”

“But there’s something even more puzzling. As far as I know, Uncle Go, you were Uncle Gam’s junior… So why are you still by Mok Gyeong-un’s side?”

“…”

At her question, Go Chan was at a loss for words.

It was extremely awkward to answer.

If he said he had submitted to him, even though he was retired, she might harm him for turning a blind eye to the death of a former fellow disciple. But if he kept his mouth shut, he would also find himself in an unfavorable situation.

‘shit.’

After a moment of deliberation, Go Chan barely parted his lips.

“…I had no choice but to wait for an opportunity.”

“Opportunity?”

“Since it’s been quite some time since I retired, my skills weren’t sufficient to immediately deal with the Mok family fellow who killed my elder brother.”

At Go Chan’s words, the suspicious Ha Chae-rin grinned.

Then, placing her hand on Go Chan’s shoulder, she said, “As expected of Uncle Go. I knew it would be like that. No matter how retired you are, how could an assassin of the Flying Killing Sect submit to the enemy and turn a blind eye when his own elder brother was attacked?”

It felt like a dagger was flying and piercing his chest.

However, for Go Chan to escape this situation as much as possible, this was the only way.

Although she was young, if she had become the sect leader and inherited the title of Flying Killing Yama’s Guest, her martial prowess would be at least at the peak realm or above.

If he couldn’t run away, he had to use his head.

“How could that be? My senior brother cherished me so much.”

He was so cherished that he was interrogated to the point of torture, had two fingers cut off, and was treated with such affection.

So, even if he died, he had no desire for revenge or longing.

However, these words seemed to have an effect, as Ha Chae-rin nodded her head and then,

-Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!

She removed the needles embedded in his chest.

As the needles were removed, his stiffened body moved, and he could breathe properly instead of taking half-breaths.

“Haa…”

“Don’t feel too bad. I needed to verify whether Uncle Go had submitted to the young master of the Mok family or if there was another reason.”

“…”

Silently regulating his breathing, Go Chan asked her, “…But Young La… No, Sect Leader.”

“Yes?”

“This isn’t a matter that requires the sect leader to personally intervene, so why?”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“Is there a reason I can’t personally intervene?”

“N-No, how could that be?”

There was no reason she couldn’t.

It was just a bit puzzling that someone who had inherited the title of Flying Killing Yama’s Guest, one of the Four Great Assassins, would personally intervene in a matter related to a retired assassin, not even a top-tier request.

Of course, considering her temperament, it could have been a whim.

Ha Chae-rin grinned at Go Chan and said, “Since we’re at it, let’s depart for Yeon Mok Sword Manor.”

Seeing her enthusiastic demeanor, Go Chan’s complexion darkened.

‘I have to let him know somehow.’

Otherwise, his life might truly be in danger.

***

-Pak! Pa pa pa pak!

Mok Gyeong-un, practicing the stepping technique, the foundation of body-tempering techniques, for nearly three hours.

Although it had only been four days since he started proper martial arts training, at a glance, his posture was as precise as if he had practiced for several years.

Watching Mok Gyeong-un, Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue.

‘What kind of fellow is this?’

He was training martial arts independently through self-study.

She had thought he would ask for her help to some extent, but there was none of that.

Yet he had already achieved such mastery.

‘…It’s astonishing.’

Even when she was alive, she had seen countless martial talents.

But this type was a first.

Usually, when starting martial arts, one practices basic forms.

Forms are a type of shape, and when these forms are connected, they develop into a complete technique.

Therefore, mastering forms is important.

‘The reason for repeating the same posture is to make it familiar to the body.’

In the gangho, life-and-death confrontations are frequent.

In such moments, the outcome is often determined in an instant.

Because one cannot calculate many things in that instant, the outcome can be completely different depending on how familiar the body is.

Therefore, martial artists continuously repeat postures during training.

However,

‘…Except for the first time he assumed the posture, he never made a mistake from the second time onward.’

Mok Gyeong-un’s posture had not the slightest deviation.

He repeated that posture dozens of times over three hours without the slightest error.

This was possible because two conditions were met.

‘With his unbelievable memory, his body is embodying it exactly based on that memory.’

It was no exaggeration to call this miraculous.

Even if one remembers it in their head, physically reproducing it is a separate issue.

Yet this fellow can do it.

He can move his body accurately as he has learned or intended.

There is almost no margin for error.

There were sections where he needed to repeatedly adapt because the necessary muscles for some movements were not developed, but otherwise, long-term training would be meaningless.

-Whew.

The smoke thickened.

The tobacco in the pipe kept burning.

Watching this fellow, the desire to teach him something continuously arises.

However, she suppressed that.

Only those who are qualified can learn her techniques.

And in any case, he had already obtained the Breaking Thought Eight Forms, which could be considered the supreme enlightenment.

That alone could be considered immense fortune.

-Pa pak!

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been stepping through the body-tempering postures, finally adjusted his stance and regulated his breathing.

“Phew.”

-How long are you going to keep doing this?

Cheong-ryeong spoke to him.

That’s because the sun, which had been high in the sky, was about to set.

“Is that so?”

After dealing with escort guard Gam and obtaining the body of outer hall master Sang Ung-baek through Ma-seung, Mok Gyeong-un, whose movement had become somewhat free, had been immersed in martial arts training for four days after obtaining the basic techniques of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

In the first place, his purpose here was martial arts, so he was devoted to it.

‘The conditions are favorable.’

It was the best, as he wasn’t even disturbed.

Of course, Mok Gyeong-un presumed that this wouldn’t last long.

The moment the forge master’s breath ceased, it would likely be a series of troublesome events.

‘Leaving at an appropriate time wouldn’t be bad.’

After all, he had already obtained the martial arts.

There was no need to stay here any longer.

In any case, he had only one goal.

-Crunch!

To make a wine cup from the skull of the bastard who killed his grandfather and place it on the ancestral altar.

Mok Gyeong-un said with a bright smile, “Then shall we go in and have a meal?”

At those words, the corners of Cheong-ryeong’s mouth twitched upward as if she had been waiting.

***

-Munch munch!

Across from Mok Gyeong-un, who was holding a book, a young maidservant was sitting and immersed in eating.

The young maidservant ate the braised pork and drank from a wine cup, showing a happy expression.

“Gulp. This taste is the best.”

Watching the young maidservant, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled.

With that, the young maidservant refilled the wine cup and said, “What are you laughing at?”

“You seem to be enjoying it a lot.”

“One of the three joys of the living is eating. Someday, even you, mortal, will realize that this world is good even if you roll in a shit field.”

The young maidservant was none other than Cheong-ryeong, who had possessed her.

Every mealtime, she would enter the body of the maidservant who brought the food.

For four days, this had been her joy.

-Tuk tuk! Tuk tuk!

The problem was that it didn’t last long.

Cheong-ryeong, who had taken over the young maidservant’s body, looked at the back of her hand holding the wine cup and clicked her tongue.

“Tsk tsk.”

The veins were turning black and bulging out.

An ordinary body couldn’t withstand her ghost, which had ascended to the level of an Imaemangnyang entity.

Four days ago, she had tried to obtain any body, entering the body of a pretty young maidservant to endure it, but that maidservant nearly died.

“This one can’t even endure for a moment.”

“Just bear with it a little. Until a suitable body appears.”

“Hurry up and find one for me.”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un smiled.

In fact, he had no intention of finding her a body right away.

Cheong-ryeong, who was of a high level and could always stay by his side, was his trump card.

“Don’t nag.”

“Yes, yes.”

“By the way, you’re too interested in exorcism techniques.”

“Because it’s interesting.”

The book Mok Gyeong-un was reading was an exorcism manual called the Six People Spirit Summoning Technique, which the deceased diviner Sak had possessed.

Mok Gyeong-un had asked to bring all of Sak’s belongings.

He had obtained many useful items, more so than from the diviner Myo-sin.

There were several talisman techniques and a considerable number of related talismans.

These were enough to pique Mok Gyeong-un’s interest.

“There are quite a few interesting techniques here. For example, the dead…”

-Flinch!

Mok Gyeong-un furrowed his brow and turned his head to the side.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s attitude, Cheong-ryeong said with a glint in her eyes, “You’ve really become sensitive.”

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un closed the book and rose from his seat.

***

Half a quarter ago, in escort guard Go Chan’s room.

Go Chan brought a set of clothes to Ha Chae-rin.

“These are the clothes worn by the young maidservants.”

Slightly lifting and examining the clothes he had brought, she muttered with a chuckle, “So tacky. The courtesan clothes are better.”

Go Chan glanced at her.

He had to let Mok Gyeong-un know about this somehow, but she hadn’t given him a chance.

Then, as a last resort, he thought of the maidservant’s clothes.

He intended to secretly go to Mok Gyeong-un and inform him of this fact while she was changing clothes.

Go Chan slightly bowed his head and said, “Sect Leader. I will step out for a moment while you change clothes.”

“Why? Don’t you want to watch?”

“H-How could that be?”

“It’s a rare opportunity to see the bare body of someone with a figure like mine.”

With those words, she slightly revealed her cleavage.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Her mischievous behavior was still the same.

Even though she was still like this, the fact that the former sect leader had passed on the sect leader position to her showed how remarkable he was.

Go Chan bowed and waved his hands, trying to leave.

To him, Ha Chae-rin said with a smile, “Uncle Go. Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to enter here easily.”

At those words, Go Chan felt bitter inwardly.

It wasn’t a situation to be thanked for, as he had let her in half-forcibly, regardless of his will.

“No, it’s nothing. Then I’ll step out…”

Before he could finish his sentence,

-Pu pu pu pu pu puk!

‘!?’

Needles embedded in the numbing acupoints.

They were the Yeong-in Flying Needles.

Go Chan looked at her with a perplexed gaze.

Ha Chae-rin smirked and lowered her right hand, which was wearing a bracelet.

Then, approaching him, she opened her mouth.

“There’s no need for that.”

“Wh-What is the meaning of this?”

“Your role ends here, Uncle.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, it ends here.”

“B-But Sect Leader?”

“Did you really think I believed that foolish excuse you made? Ha.”

‘Oh no.’

Go Chan bit his lip tightly.

From the beginning, she hadn’t believed his words at all.

She had merely used him to easily enter without triggering the defensive net of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

“The fact that you obediently remained under the person who killed your senior brother naturally means you submitted. What nonsense is a retired piece of trash spouting about enduring for the sake of revenge? Hmph.”

Ha Chae-rin scoffed at Go Chan.

At her laughter, Go Chan gritted his teeth.

Seeing her unchanged personality disorder, his teeth ached.

How did she pass the Hundred Days, Hundred Kills and become the sect leader of the Flying Killing Sect? It was questionable…

‘!?’

Suddenly, Go Chan furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.

“Could it be… that you’re in the midst of the Hundred Days, Hundred Kills?”

To become the sect leader of the assassin sect Flying Killing, there was a rite of passage.

It involved taking a test called the Hundred Days, Hundred Kills.

At his question, Ha Chae-rin silently curled the corners of her mouth.

It was a sign of affirmation.

‘Ha.’

No wonder something felt strange.

It was odd for her, in the position of sect leader, to personally handle such a matter.

If she weren’t carrying out the Hundred Days, Hundred Kills, there was no way she would directly intervene in such a matter.

Ha Chae-rin, who had been smiling with the corners of her mouth raised, said, “But you’re not a complete idiot, I see. That’s right. The sixtieth sacrifice of the Hundred Days, Hundred Kills is none other than Mok Gyeong-un, the third young master of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.”

“…”

Go Chan Chan was drained by his own powerlessness.

Since when had things become so tangled?

Everything had turned into a mess after that fake Mok Gyeong-un appeared.

No, was it because he was so weak that he couldn’t even escape being a second-rate at this age, being swayed back and forth and ending up like this?

At that moment, Ha Chae-rin drew the dagger from Go Chan’s waist.

“Wh-What are you doing?”

In response to that question, she smirked and said, “Uncle, you killed the young master you served for the sake of avenging Uncle Gam and then committed suicide. Got it?”

“F-From the beginning…”

-Ta ta ta ta tak!

Ha Chae-rin sealed even Go Chan’s fatal acupoints.

Then, placing her index finger on her lips, she whispered, “Shh. Be quiet. You should be grateful that I’m saving your honor as a member of the Bisalmun Sect, even though you’re retired.”

With those words, Ha Chae-rin tried to slit Go Chan’s throat.

It was at that very moment.

-Pat! Whirik!

The dagger in her hand escaped and flew through the door screen.

‘!?’

-Pak!

Through the pierced door screen, someone could be seen holding the dagger.

At this, Ha Chae-rin’s eyes widened.

‘Oh… A bystander?’

-Kwang!

While she was astonished, that someone kicked open the door and revealed himself.

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

“Escort guard Go Chan. Were you in danger?”

For the first time, Go Chan thought this devilish fellow looked cool.