Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 30

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, one of the three great forbidden books that has existed since the time of King Yu of the Xia Dynasty.

It is the oldest geographical book, and within it are written many strange records.

Guyeo is one of the Imaemangyang recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, a being so dangerous that it is described as an evil beast.

-Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Sss sss sss sss!

The various bugs swarming in were hard to count.

Mok Gyeong-un rubbed his chin as if troubled and spoke to Cheong-ryeong.

“Are these bugs Guyeo?”

-No. There is an Imaemangyang that has a good compatibility with bugs. Or rather than being friendly, I should say it immobilizes bugs.

“There are many.”

There really were many.

At some point, the floor had turned black, covered with bugs.

They filled every inch, making one hesitant to step down from the bed.

Those with weak stomachs might find it distressing to even look at.

Mok Gyeong-un glanced at Demonic Monk who was still leaning against the wall.

-Rustle rustle!

Demonic Monk’s wounds were slowly filling up.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un spoke to Cheong-ryeong.

“These bugs. They’re related to Demonic Monk becoming like that, right?”

-Probably so.

“Seems like even Cheong-ryeong doesn’t know for sure.”

-What’s there not to know? I saved it from the killing energy flying at it, so what? Be grateful. If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve been dead for sure.

“Killing energy?”

Reverse killing, yeoksal (逆殺).

He remembered reading about it in the Yin-Yang Book.

Being afflicted by a monster, a vengeful spirit, is called sal (殺).

Sending that sal back to the vengeful spirit or its host with the help of a higher being is called yeoksal.

It’s a kind of revenge.

‘An ordinary person wouldn’t know how to do that.’

Here, Mok Gyeong-un’s thoughts moved very quickly.

Ordinary people would have their thoughts freeze up or be extremely confused by the swarming bugs, but Mok Gyeong-un calmly analyzed the situation.

‘A diviner…then is it Lady Seok.’

And he instantly pinpointed the culprit.

In this situation, the only one who would call another diviner and request a yeoksal was the lady of the house, Lady Seok.

As expected, she wasn’t the type to give up easily.

Mok Gyeong-un shook his head side to side.

-What will you do? If you stay still like this, you’ll become food for the bugs.

Cheong-ryeong gestured with her chin.

The legs of the wooden bed where the bugs were touching were creaking and lowering.

-Rustle rustle!

The speed was quite fast.

The only places without bugs were the top of the bed and the long table with medicinal ingredients.

No, there was one more place.

‘The lamp.’

That place was a bit different from the others.

Usually, bugs had the habit of gathering toward bright places.

They would unknowingly approach and get pushed back by the heat or burn, so there was a circular gap around it.

“Cheong-ryeong. Can you help?”

-Well. Why should I?

“……”

Mok Gyeong-un raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

Then Cheong-ryeong snorted and took a deep drag from her pipe before exhaling and speaking.

-I helped you out of compassion earlier since you were circulating qi, but now that you’re awake, you have no confidence to handle even this much?

At these words from Cheong-ryeong, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue.

She was the type to be difficult at important moments.

He thought she might cooperate now that she answered his questions nicely, but it seemed not yet.

“Isn’t it practically a symbiotic relationship? Will you really do this?”

-I’ll let you survive.

“Ah.”

She was truly a difficult servant ghost to handle.

Then Cheong-ryeong grinned and spoke to Mok Gyeong-un.

-Hey. Mortal. Let me make a suggestion.

“A suggestion?”

-Yes. Try overcoming this crisis with your own strength. If you resolve this situation on your own, I’ll seriously consider whether to help you in the future or not.

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue.

She was his servant ghost anyway, so she had no choice but to help if his life was threatened.

Yet she was making this kind of proposal, which was laughable.

Perhaps it was because her level was high unlike Demonic Monk, but she was truly stubborn with a strong ego.

“Well, I have no choice. The one in need has to comply. Let’s try the easy method first.”

-Easy method?

At Cheong-ryeong’s retort, Mok Gyeong-un raised his voice and shouted.

“Is anyone there?”

Outside the infirmary were the warriors of the outer house.

Getting their help was the easiest way rather than resolving it himself.

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“Warriors?”

But no answer was heard.

The shadows on the door clearly showed them standing…

‘Hmm.’

Their heads were slightly tilted to the side.

As if they had lost consciousness.

It seemed something was done to them.

-What were you expecting?

“…I see.”

Mok Gyeong-un shrugged his shoulders.

-Thud thud!

Then a shadow approached the door of the infirmary.

Judging by the shape of the shadow, it seemed to be a woman, and on the woman’s right shoulder was a sack with a bizarre shape of a shadow above it.

It was a strange shadow with a bird’s beak and a snake’s tail.

-Coming in person, how confident.

“Is that it?”

-Huu. Yes. That’s Guyeo.

It seemed the bizarre shadow on the shoulder was Guyeo.

Puffing smoke from her pipe, Cheong-ryeong snorted and muttered in a displeased tone.

-Now there are even folks carrying that damn bird thing as a Shiksin.

“Seems you dislike it.”

-Bugs are absolutely disgusting.

Cheong-ryeong seemed to truly hate bugs as she shuddered for no reason.

Her dislike of bugs was unexpected.

Could it be she was refusing to help without showing it just because of this?

He didn’t believe that was the case.

-Rustle rustle!

At some point, the bed had sunk almost halfway due to the bugs.

This was the same for the bed Go Chan was on.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un bit the inside of his wrist below his back hand.

-Crunch!

-What are you doing?

“A temporary measure, you could say.”

-Temporary measure?

-Drip drip!

As blood flowed from his bitten wrist, Mok Gyeong-un sprinkled it in all directions.

-Plop plop plop plop!

Then an amazing scene unfolded.

As Mok Gyeong-un’s blood touched the bugs, they made strange noises and went into fits, frantically avoiding the spots where the blood splattered.

Seeing this, Cheong-ryeong asked in puzzlement.

-Why are they acting like that?

“I ate a lot of poisonous plants since I was young, so my blood is toxic.”

-Your blood is toxic?

At this, Cheong-ryeong looked at him in disbelief.

Having toxicity in one’s blood was practically the same as being a poisonous person.

The more she knew this guy, the more bizarre of a human he was.

-Plop plop plop plop!

Mok Gyeong-un kept sprinkling blood from under the bed to the surroundings.

Seeing the bugs get startled and avoid the blood made one imagine how strong the toxicity was.

Soon, the bugs couldn’t approach Mok Gyeong-un’s vicinity.

On the other hand, the bed Go Chan was lying on was precarious.

-Rustle rustle!

Mok Gyeong-un tried his best to keep the bugs away by sprinkling blood, but since it wasn’t the surroundings, the bugs were pushing in through the blind spots.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un threw the wooden pillow on the bed at the guard Go Chan.

-Smack!

“Ugh!”

Startled by the wooden pillow hitting his head, Go Chan woke up.

The awakened Go Chan instinctively looked around and gasped.

“Wh-what is this?”

A tremendous number of bugs.

Those bugs were covering the surrounding floor and even crawling up onto the bed.

The surprised Go Chan lifted the blanket and frantically shook off the bugs.

To such Go Chan, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“It’s dangerous, so keep catching the bugs.”

“Y-young master? What is happened…”

“I don’t know either. But I advise against getting off the bed.”

‘This is insane.’

Go Chan found this situation utterly baffling.

But for now, he had to do as Mok Gyeong-un said and shake off the bugs to keep them in check.

As they were battling the bugs like that,

-Thud!

The door to the infirmary opened and someone entered.

Seeing this, Go Chan shouted in surprise.

“You there, miss! It’s dangerous, don’t come in!”

The one who entered was a woman with one white eye.

She was the diviner Sak.

“Dangerous…huh?”

Go Chan’s eyes widened.

As Sak took a step inside, the bugs parted to the sides, creating a path.

Of course, that was because her Shiksin was controlling these bugs.

-Rustle rustle!

Her mismatched eyes sparked with interest.

She had intended to slowly apply pressure and instill fear, but for some reason, the bugs couldn’t approach, as if he had done something.

What did he do?

As she was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un spoke to her.

“Are you a diviner?”

At this question, Sak furrowed her brow.

Looking at the 17-year-old pretty boy standing on the bed, he didn’t seem possessed by a monster at all.

If he were possessed by a Green ghost-level vengeful ghost, he wouldn’t be in that state.

‘Is it that?’

Sak’s gaze shifted to the large figure of Demonic Monk leaning against the back wall.

Her black eyes saw nothing.

But her other eye, the white eye, could see.

The vengeful spirit, that is.

‘…Yellow Spirit?’

Her white eye narrowed.

Looking through the white eye, one could estimate the level of a monster or vengeful spirit to some degree.

But that injured vengeful spirit looked like Yellow Spirit level no matter how she looked at it.

‘How can that be?’

A Yellow Spirit level couldn’t deflect a killing strike.

If so, it meant not the Yellow Spirit but Mok Gyeong-un, who was presumed to be its host, had done it, but he didn’t seem skilled in sorcery at all no matter how she looked at him.

Then who on earth had reflected the killing strike…

-You seem young but quite skilled.

A voice ringing in her ears.

At this, Sak turned her head to the side.

-Throb!

Within a hazy boundary, her white eye burst with blood vessels at the sight of something red.

“Ugh!”

Startled by the intense pain, she tightly closed her white eye.

What was that just now?

Her white eye that could see the other side couldn’t contain that existence.

No, to be precise, she herself couldn’t accept that existence conveyed through the white eye.

It was right at that moment.

-Uuu-ooooh!!!!

The Guyeo that had been docile on her shoulder suddenly let out a scream.

“Guyeo! Calm…”

-Uuu-ooooooh!!!!

At the ear-splitting scream, Sak couldn’t endure and covered her ears.

She looked at Guyeo with a baffled expression.

Guyeo was staring at something with extremely wary eyes, so terrified that it couldn’t control itself.

‘For Guyeo to be this scared? What is happened…’

-Uuu-ooooh!!!!

-Rustle rustle!

Along with Guyeo’s scream, the bugs on the floor suddenly soared upward.

The orderly appearance disappeared.

Winged bugs flew up and swarmed madly toward Mok Gyeong-un and Go Chan.

“Y-young master!”

The flustered Go Chan didn’t know what to do.

Then Mok Gyeong-un reached out his hand toward the nearest lamp.

And he performed the Ritual of Binding (着) while chanting the mmemonic chant[[口訣]] in his mind.

‘A precarious distance.’

If he concentrated within a distance of 1 jang, he could pull objects with the Ritual of Binding.

The location of the lamp was right at the precarious boundary.

-Shake shake!

The lamp stand trembled.

Then it was sucked into Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

-Smack!

Seeing this, Go Chan’s eyes widened.

It was so surprising that Mok Gyeong-un, who hadn’t even formed a cinnabar field yet, was displaying such a technique.

But that was only for a moment.

-Thud!

Mok Gyeong-un leaped onto the bed where Go Chan was in one go.

Then he swung the lamp mercilessly at the flying bugs.

-Whoosh! Whoosh!

The charging bugs also found the lamp hot and scattered here and there.

However, as if influenced by Guyeo’s continued screams, they frantically tried to find openings and fly in.

“Go Chan, your guard’s dagger!”

“Yes?”

“Dagger!”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s shout, Go Chan searched his waist.

But the dagger he always carried for treatment was placed on top of his upper garment folded under the bed.

At this, Go Chan bent down and quickly reached his hand under.

-Rustle rustle!

“Eek!”

The bugs swarming from the floor were sticking to the clothes and even the dagger.

He hesitated for a moment, but Go Chan endured it and grabbed the dagger.

Thanks to that, the stuck bugs fiercely bit Go Chan’s hand.

One might think being bitten by bugs wouldn’t hurt much, but it’s a different story when dozens of them swarm and bite.

“Aargh!”

Go Chan lifted his hand holding the dagger while frantically shaking it.

Mok Gyeong-un swung the lamp at his hand.

-Whoosh!

The remaining bugs stuck to it fell off in a panic.

“H-here it is!”

Taking this chance, Go Chan passed the dagger.

Receiving the dagger, Mok Gyeong-un handed him the lamp and said,

“Keep swinging it.”

“Yes, sir!”

Go Chan swung the lamp at the flying bugs.

In that gap, Mok Gyeong-un drew the dagger and,

-Slash!

‘!?’

He slashed it toward his own forehead.

It wasn’t deep, but the skin was cut enough for blood to flow out.

‘Wh-what is this?’

Go Chan couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Why was he suddenly inflicting wounds on himself?

But that wasn’t the only one.

Mok Gyeong-un kept cutting here and there on his body with the dagger, creating wounds.

-Slash! Slash!

“Young master, what are you doing!”

Even at his shout, Mok Gyeong-un didn’t stop inflicting wounds.

‘…Did he go crazy?’

Even the diviner Sak, who was trying to control Guyeo somehow, had her attention stolen for a moment by Mok Gyeong-un’s actions.

Suddenly harming himself, what kind of act was this?

It was in that absurd moment.

The blood-covered Mok Gyeong-un, who had wounded various parts of his body, looked at her and lifted the corners of his mouth.

-Shudder!

That sight was so uncanny that Sak furrowed her brows.

How many scary things had she seen while working as a diviner?

But this feeling was completely different. It was right at that moment.

-Thud!

Mok Gyeong-un kicked off the ground and ran toward where she was.

‘What are you doing?’

This was truly a suicidal act.

The bugs were flying about and charging, yet he was frantically harming himself and leaping into it.

Was he crazy with a death wish?

That’s what she thought.

However,

-Plop plop plop plop plop!

In that instant, an unbelievable sight unfolded.

The bugs that had touched Mok Gyeong-un went into convulsions and fell to the floor.

Most of the nearby bugs also tried their best to avoid touching Mok Gyeong-un, as if not wanting to make contact.

As a result, a path naturally formed.

‘Why are the bugs…?’

She couldn’t fathom it at all.

If he made wounds like that, the unique smell of blood should make them swarm even more, but it was strange.

However, there was no time to be surprised now.

Mok Gyeong-un had come right in front of her.

“Guyeo! Block him!”

Sak shouted like that and flung her body back, trying to take out a talisman from her bosom.

Then Mok Gyeong-un threw the dagger he was holding at her.

‘shit!’ She was startled and tried to twist her body to avoid it.

At that moment, Guyeo, who couldn’t be controlled due to fear, seemed to sense her crisis and flew up from the sack, striking the dagger with its claws.

-Smack!

Clang!

And it let out an eardrum-shattering scream at the enemy threatening its master.

-Uuu-ooooh!

Along with the scream, the bugs shook and swirled from the floor.

Something huge was about to happen.

It was right then.

-Swooosh! -Uuu-ooh?

Guyeo, who had been screaming, suddenly lurched forward and was sucked into Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

It was the Ritual of Binding

-Ack ack ack! Guyeo, grabbed by the neck, choked and suffered.

“Whew. It’s quiet now.”

Mok Gyeong-un looked at the captured Guyeo with a satisfied face.

Seeing that, Sak’s eyes widened. ‘…No way.’

How could he grab an Imaemangyang that wasn’t even his servant ghost with his bare hands?