Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 34

-How dare a lowly mortal presume to examine my body by striking my acupoints without permission? Does this fellow have a death wish? What should I do? If you don’t want your heart to burst, should I just pluck it out?

“Gasp… Gasp…”

Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek found it difficult to even breathe. He couldn’t relax due to the hand grasping his heart.

Mok Gyeong-un, observing Sang Ung-baek in this state, turned his gaze to Cheong-ryeong, who had a smirking expression behind him. Mok Gyeong-un was quite intrigued by her abilities.

‘The difference in level is clear.’

Demonic Monk, who was at the Yellow Spirit level, seemed to struggle even against first-rate masters, but Cheong-ryeong had subdued Sang Ung-baek with incredible ease. He, who seemed stronger than the escort guard Gam, had been caught off guard without even sensing it. It seemed she could kill him at any moment if she wished to.

It made sense why the Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang stated that beings above the Green ghost level were difficult adversities to handle. It was worth the effort to patiently appease her. Although she wasn’t fully under control like Demonic Monk yet, if he tamed her further, she might prove useful.

-Are you going to keep this up? I can’t maintain this partial materialization for long.

‘Ah…’

Is that so? It was good to know. One must accurately understand an ability to use it appropriately in a given situation.

Cheong-ryeong raised one eyebrow and said.

-Perhaps you can’t move because your acupoints have been struck?

“No.”

-Seuk!

Mok Gyeong-un moved and removed Sang Ung-baek’s hand that was grasping his wrist. At this, Sang Ung-baek’s eyes, unable to move, trembled. He was certain he had properly struck the acupoints. Yet how could Mok Gyeong-un move?

‘Could it be?’

Sang Ung-baek seemed to understand the reason. Even the forcefully injected true energy had dispersed within his body. That meant there was a high probability that the true energy used to strike the acupoints had also dispersed.

‘Ha!’

A body resistant to acupoint striking without the Acupoint Reversal Technique or profound internal energy. It was truly peculiar.

To the astonished Sang Ung-baek, Mok Gyeong-un asked.

“Does it hurt?”

“Haa… Haa…”

“Are you in too much pain to even speak?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek carefully parted his lips.

“Wh… What is happened have you done to me?”

Sang Ung-baek couldn’t understand what this thing was that penetrated his body and grasped his heart. In response to Sang Ung-baek’s question, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said, “You probably don’t want to know.”

“Pardon?”

If he learned what was behind him, he would become even more terrified.

“And I don’t feel the need to tell you.”

Upon hearing Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek frowned, not knowing what to do. Was this really the Mok Gyeong-un he knew? The atmosphere was vastly different.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un asked, “By the way, Outer Manor Master, why did you try to examine my body?”

“That’s…”

“I’d appreciate it if you tell me properly.”

-Gulp!

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Meeting Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes, Sang Ung-baek unknowingly swallowed his dry saliva. He hadn’t realized it, but those eyes were staring at him intently without blinking. What kind of gaze is this chilling?

It wasn’t the kind of gaze a mere 17-year-old boy should have.

“You don’t seem to want to answer. Cheong-ryeong, you said you wanted to burst his heart…”

“I-I wanted to confirm!”

Sang Ung-baek hurriedly answered in response to the threat disguised as a non-threat.

Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head slightly and asked,

“Confirm what?”

“…I found it hard to understand why the First Madam and the second young master would go to such lengths to target you.”

“You found it hard to understand why they were targeting me?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm. Why is that?”

“Pardon?”

“The competition for succession is in full swing, so it doesn’t seem like a strange occurrence.”

At those words, Sang Ung-baek hesitated for a moment before carefully saying, “If this is your true self that you have been hiding, I can understand their sentiments. However, based on the image you have shown until now and your circumstances, the others shouldn’t have actively targeted you from the start.”

“…”

“The manor master hasn’t even passed away yet, so it was strange for them to go to such lengths to target you. Thus, I thought you might be hiding something.”

Upon hearing Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek’s words, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue inwardly. To think suspicion could arise in this manner as well.

‘The real fellow must have been quite lacking.’

It was ridiculous to be suspected for such a reason. Of course, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. He had stood out too much in just a few days.

‘Hmm.’

Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin. If Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek, whom he had only encountered once, harbored suspicion, other retainers might also keep an eye on him for similar reasons before long. Fortunately, it seemed there was no suspicion of him being an imposter yet. They just seemed to think he was hiding his strength.

Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.”So, did you achieve your purpose of confirmation?”

At that question, Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek parted his lips with a tense voice. “…Did you hide it deliberately?”

“Who knows? I have no obligation to tell you that. Rather, I’m contemplating what to do with you, Outer Manor Master.”

-It’s hard to maintain this. Just kill him, mortal.

Cheong-ryeong spoke in a dry voice while puffing on her long pipe. Mok Gyeong-un shook his head slightly. “Not yet.”

If he killed the outer manor master, the situation would truly escalate. Then his plan to learn martial arts at Yeon Mok Sword Manor and leave would be disrupted. It was quite a dilemma.

-Then what are you going to do?

“Who knows?”

-I’m reaching my limit soon. Decide.

“Hmm.”

Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek couldn’t understand at all. Someone was clearly grasping his heart, but he couldn’t sense any presence behind him. It was a situation that would make even ghosts wail. What was even more bizarre was that Mok Gyeong-un seemed to be conversing with someone, even though Sang Ung-baek couldn’t hear anything.

How was he supposed to accept this situation? But that didn’t seem to be the problem now. It seemed he had learned something he shouldn’t have known. He might even face execution.

Thus, he hurriedly said, “Young Master… Please forgive my rudeness.”

“No. It’s too late to ask for forgiveness for something that has already happened.”

“It is indeed rudeness. As a retainer of the Mok family, I should have approached more cautiously, but I was too hasty. I beg for your forgiveness.”

“It’s alright.”

“I truly had no other intentions. I simply wanted to confirm if you also possessed the qualifications for succession.”

This was true. He had been disappointed in the chief wife and the second son, Mok Eun-pyeong. That’s why he wanted to verify if Mok Gyeong-un possessed something that warranted their caution. After all, the moment of decision would come when the manor master passed away in the future.

“Having witnessed your true self, I…”

“Enough.”

“Pardon?”

“I have no interest in the succession struggle among the family members. But if even the outer manor master gets involved, it might become a bit tiresome.”

“Y-Young Master? What do you…”

What did he mean? If he had no interest in the succession competition, why had he hidden his true colors?

Sang Ung-baek couldn’t hide his perplexity.

-Good. Then I can kill him, right?

Cheong-ryeong said with a curled lip, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“No.”

-No? Then what are you going to do?

Mok Gyeong-un glanced at the Demonic Monk beside him and said, “Can you do what you tried to do to me before?”

-…!?

At those words, Demonic Monk’s eyes flickered with interest. Cheong-ryeong gave him a questioning look, and Mok Gyeong-un pointed at Outer Manor Master Sang Ung-baek with his finger and said, “I remember reading in the Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang that when a ghost possesses someone, it’s called possession. Can you do it?”

-What?

Cheong-ryeong’s eyes widened at those words. Was this fellow blatantly giving an opportunity for possession? Instead of giving such a great opportunity to her first, he was giving it to this rebel monk…

-Hmm.

Cheong-ryeong’s eyes narrowed. Come to think of it, she truly disliked the fierce appearance of this mortal named Sang Ung-baek. It wasn’t a body she particularly wanted to seize. Thus, Cheong-ryeong spoke in a tone as if she was willingly yielding.

-Since he’s giving you the opportunity, why don’t you try it, Rebel Monk?

-…

Demonic Monk glanced around furtively, then looked at Sang Ung-baek with eyes like he was eyeing a delectable prey. The desire to seize a living body,. Even if they became spirit servants, it was the same.

“You can hold him, right?”

-It’s not a difficult task.

-…

At those words, Demonic Monk approached Sang Ung-baek.

-Shiver!

As he got close, almost face to face, Sang Ung-baek, sensing this chilling sensation with his intuition, cried out to Mok Gyeong-un in startlement.

“Y-Young Master, what are you trying to do now?”

“You heard it, didn’t you?”

“Pardon?”

“Possession.”

As soon as those words were spoken, Demonic Monk merged into Sang Ung-baek’s body.

-Swish!

“Ugh!”

Feeling this, Sang Ung-baek hurriedly drew up the energy from his danjeon, trying to expel this unpleasant something from his body. However, at the same time, Cheong-ryeong touched Sang Ung-baek’s danjeon and brain.

“Guh!”

Although temporarily, the energy that was about to spread from the danjeon throughout his body was blocked. Moreover, as she touched his cerebrum, Sang Ung-baek’s eyes became dazed, as if he had lost consciousness.

Demonic Monk seized this moment and attempted to possess Sang Ung-baek’s body.

-Urgh! Urgh!

Sang Ung-baek’s waist bent like a bow. Then, an eerie sound emerged from his mouth.

“Kkeuk kkeuk kkeuk kkeuk!”

-Tuk tuk tuk!

Black veins bulged out here and there, and his appearance resembled the previous state of the manor master. It was the process of occupying the body through killing.

Understanding this, Mok Gyeong-un looked at Sang Ung-baek with an intrigued gaze. His body was twisting violently, and he seemed to be in great agony.

-Hoo.

Cheong-ryeong exhaled a thick cloud of smoke from her long pipe. She, too, was observing this with eyes full of anticipation, just like Mok Gyeong-un.

‘Please, let it be severed.’

That wench named Sak had failed because she was a diviner. But this man named Sang Ung-baek was different. She hoped that the Demonic Monk would succeed in dominating the body and sever the bond of being a spirit servant.

If that happened, she could also target a corporeal soul that seemed easy to deal with at any time and sever the bond of being a spirit servant herself.

-Swish!

It was at that moment when they were watching with anticipation. The black veins that had been bulging out from the skin seemed to subside as the body became somewhat dominated. And the agonized expression on Sang Ung-baek’s face disappeared. It changed to a completely expressionless state.

-Tuk tuk tuk!

Straightening his waist, Sang Ung-baek opened his eyes that had been closed. With a pale face and a peculiar glint in his eyes, different from ordinary people, Sang Ung-baek’s demeanor had changed significantly from before.

At that moment, Sang Ung-baek slightly tilted his head and trembled.

“Why is this happening? Is the possession not finished yet?”

In response to that question, Cheong-ryeong answered.

-He must be imprisoning the self. It’s natural to dominate the mind after seizing the body.

“Oh. Is that so?”

-Once the mind is dominated, everything is taken away. Even the memories of the possessed body.

“Memories? Ah!”

Come to think of it, when Demonic Monk was an evil spirit, he had once used a diviner’s incantation to make the manor master blurt out the location of the secret manual in his mind. If memories could be read, it meant one could almost be divided into that person.

The corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth curled up slightly.

‘Not bad.’

There was no need to go through the series of troublesome processes to make him useful. A spirit servant was completely his own. There was no worry about them changing their mind at any moment, unlike humans.

It was at that very moment. The trembling of Sang Ung-baek’s head stopped. Although a subtle ghostly energy could be seen in his eyes, the paleness had disappeared to the point where it was difficult to discern at a glance.

“Is it over?”

In response to that question, Sang Ung-baek nodded. Then, as if satisfied, he said with a twitching mouth, “My lord. This body is now mine.”

The possession was successful. Mok Gyeong-un also smiled in satisfaction at having completely seized the body.

‘The outer manor master’s body.’

It might make his range of action much more convenient in the future. On the other hand, Cheong-ryeong’s expression wasn’t very pleasant. The reason was that she could see the red thread protruding from Sang Ung-baek’s chest still connected to Mok Gyeong-un.

-Tsk!

Severing the bond of being a spirit servant through possession was impossible.