Chapter 15 Negotiation (2)

-Bang!

Upon returning to her residence, Hyehwa Hall, the First Madam Lady Seok kicked a chair violently.

The chair, infused with internal energy, split in half.

Her face flushed red, she panted heavily.

“How dare he!”

Even when she was in the infirmary, she had tried her best to suppress her anger.

But now that things had turned out like this, it was difficult to contain her rage.

“Madam, please calm down.”

Hoang, the escort warrior, cautiously tried to dissuade Lady Seok.

In response, she spoke in an irritated voice.

“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down right now? I finally found and brought a skilled diviner, but instead, that outrageous fellow got his hands on the seal… Argh!”

“Madam!”

Lady Seok grabbed the back of her neck.

As her blood pressure rose, she closed her eyes, perhaps feeling dizzy.

In fact, even though she kept the second son, the most cunning among the Mok family’s children, and the youngest son, whom the Manor Master favored, in check, she had paid no attention to the third son, Mok Gyeong-un.

He had no talent in martial arts, and it was no exaggeration to say that his maternal family was almost ruined.

Therefore, she had not paid any attention to him.

But who would have thought that the fellow, who was never even considered, would turn out to be such a hidden threat?

-Clench!

Lady Seok gritted her teeth.

She had not anticipated that the fellow would negotiate like this over the Manor Master’s seal.

She had thought that he would readily spill the information with just a little intimidation.

‘…Was he always like this?’

The Mok Gyeong-un she knew did not have such a cunning side.

Rather, he was close to being a coward and a scaredy-cat.

There were many anecdotes about him.

‘Was he hiding his true self?’

Come to think of it, until his birth mother died, he was constantly described as being quite intelligent, if not a genius.

‘Perhaps he did that to protect himself after that incident.’

If that was the case, he might be someone to be even more wary of.

Although he had stated that he had no interest in the position of Manor Master, those who knew how to hide themselves and had strong patience were all the more terrifying.

‘And that power…’

That bizarre power bothered her.

The maid Sohwa had suddenly floated up, her veins bulging, and she was about to take her last breath.

Seeing that, the image of the dead diviner Myo-shin had come to her mind.

Sohwa’s condition was very similar to his.

If that was the case,

“…That fellow must have killed the diviner Myo-shin as well.”

“Are you referring to that Mok Gyeong-un?”

“Yes.”

It certainly made sense if that was the case.

The diviner, who was brought in because of his rumored skill, couldn’t possibly have been possessed by an evil spirit and gone on a rampage.

It had to be the doing of that Mok Gyeong-un.

At Lady Seok’s conviction, the escort warrior Hoang leaped up.

“How dare he kill someone you summoned? Leave it to your subordinate. Before he can even use his sorcery, I will…”

“Stop.”

“But…”

“If the Manor Master’s seal really ends up in the hands of the second son, Mok Eun-pyeong, or the youngest son, Mok Yu-cheon, my son will have to bear the consequences.”

“But if we let that fellow lead us around…”

“Who said anything about being led around?”

“Pardon?”

Lady Seok took something out of a white porcelain vase on a shelf in the corner of the room.

It was a small bead made of jade.

The bead had a unique pattern engraved on it, and she handed it to the escort Hoang.

“What is this?”

“Take this and go to the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion^[1] in Mengcheng. And inform the pavilion master about the fact that the diviner Myo-shin was murdered.”

“Ah!”

The escort Ho-ang, understanding her intention, nodded.

Ghostly Spirit Pavilion.

It was the group of diviners to which the deceased Myo-shin belonged.

***

-Slap!

Guard Go Chan’s head turned to the side from the slap.

Guard Gam clicked his tongue, looking at him with disappointment.

“Tsk tsk, is it that difficult to monitor a mere novice?”

“N-No, it’s not.”

“I told you that you were allowed to subdue him, yet you took him to the main hall and back? Are you out of your mind to do such a thing?”

At Guard Gam’s scolding words, Go Chan couldn’t say anything.

In fact, if it were up to him, he wanted to reveal everything that had happened while he was away.

No, he had originally intended to do so.

But now, he was hesitant to do that.

‘…Why do I feel so uneasy?’

With just martial arts, Master Gam could easily deal with that fellow whenever he wanted to.

Yet, after experiencing the fake Mok Gyeong-un, he had become fearful of him.

Not only did he have toxicity in his blood and that eerie sorcery, but what bothered him even more was that the fellow didn’t seem human.

If he carelessly made an enemy out of him, it seemed that the end wouldn’t be good.

‘shit.’

He didn’t know what to make of this situation.

When they found someone suitable to play the role of Mok Gyeong-un, it seemed good, but now he had no choice but to do as that impostor commanded.

[I trust that you will keep your mouth shut.]

‘…’

Those words were quite ominous.

Although the fellow was outside the infirmary and couldn’t hear them, he strangely felt conscious of his presence.

It was as if someone was watching him.

Why was it like this?

While he was engrossed in this strange feeling, Guard Gam, who had been clicking his tongue, spoke.

“If you let that fellow snoop around one more time, I won’t let it slide.”

“…He won’t be able to walk around easily for a while anyway, with his thigh pierced.”

“Whether it’s his thigh or whatever, don’t let him draw attention.”

“I understand.”

“Anyway, you’re sure you weren’t caught by the First Madam, right?”

“Yes, I’m certain. I was right beside him. However, the First Madam was displeased because he visited the main hall.”

‘To be precise, he held the First Madam’s weakness and negotiated with her.’

Go Chan’s mouth was parched.

The boundary of whose side he was on had become blurred.

To think that he had to hide half of the truth from Master Gam, who he should be telling the facts to.

“Tsk tsk.”

Guard Gam shook his head from side to side.

Indeed, that fellow was not suitable for the role.

He had realized it when he killed the real Mok Gyeong-un on the spot, but as time passed, it would become more difficult to control him.

‘We need to hurry.’

Even though he had warned him, if he continued to act on his own like this, things could go wrong later.

A quick decision was needed on who to replace him with.

“Keep an eye on him without taking your eyes off him even for a moment.”

“Won’t you directly warn him?”

“There are too many eyes watching.”

Inside the infirmary, there were pharmacists and attendants.

Although they were mere servants, they were also in the position of escorts, so they couldn’t interfere with them as they pleased, and they couldn’t scold him in front of others, even if he was a fake.

Moreover,

‘He’s cunning. It’s not good to have a long conversation with that fellow.’

It was better to keep him in the dark about how the situation was unfolding.

That way, it would be easier to replace him later and deal with him.

***

Regardless of this conversation taking place outside, Mok Gyeong-un was comfortably leaning back and reading a book, flipping through the pages.

It was the “Synopsis of Various Philosophers: Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang”.

As he was flipping through the books, a certain passage caught Mok Gyeong-un’s interest.

‘When a dead person becomes a wandering spirit and turns into a monster, the level of the monster varies depending on various conditions.’

The “Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang” had a surprisingly detailed description of monsters.

Based on this, the Demonic Monk could be considered a type of ghost or evil spirit that had become a monster from a wandering spirit.

‘Low-level and weak wandering spirits take the form of earth-bound spirits and can only influence the living by stimulating their sixth sense. Hmm.’

According to the “Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang,” the levels of wandering spirits were divided into seven stages.

Putting aside various conditions and simply dividing the levels:

The first level was the Red Spirit… an earth-bound spirit that could influence the living by giving them goosebumps or a slight chill.

The second level was the Orange Spirit… it could possess others, making their bodies feel heavy or causing them to feel sick enough to have a cold.

The third level was the Yellow Spirit… from this level onwards, it was described as requiring exorcism as it was quite dangerous.

In terms of level, a Yellow Spirit could not only weaken the possessed person but also lead them to death.

‘…Based on the level, the Demonic Monk is a Yellow Spirit.’

Even within the Yellow Spirit level, it was further divided into three stages based on the degree of danger.

The lower stage could reveal its form and directly instill fear in humans.

The middle stage could directly influence or inflict pain on living beings.

The upper stage could kill the possessed person.

-Swoosh!

At that moment, someone appeared like smoke, penetrating through the wall near the entrance of the infirmary.

It was the Demonic Monk.

Mok Gyeong-un didn’t know, but it seemed that the Demonic Monk had a higher level than he thought.

‘So that’s what it meant by influencing living beings.’

He now understood why the Demonic Monk couldn’t touch the corpse of the dead diviner Myo-shin.

It was because he was already dead.

A dead body ultimately had no life, so it couldn’t be influenced.

‘I see.’

However, there were also things he learned that weren’t described in the “Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang.”

He had the Demonic Monk target the First Madam, Lady Seok.

But the moment the Demonic Monk lightly touched her, Lady Seok instantly reacted and was pushed back.

‘They said that woman was a first-rate expert.’

On the other hand, the First Madam’s maid didn’t even notice until the Demonic Monk directly threatened her life and was helplessly affected.

What was the difference between them?

Was it because the maid hadn’t learned martial arts?

‘Could it be that the power of monsters doesn’t work well on those who have learned martial arts?’

The “Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang” didn’t mention that aspect.

-Creak!

At that moment, Guard Go Chan opened the door of the infirmary and entered.

Mok Gyeong-un slightly raised the corners of his mouth and muttered.

“A good test subject.”

“Pardon?”

Go Chan asked, puzzled.

“Ah, I wasn’t talking to you, Guard Go Chan. Shall we try lightly lifting your arm?”

“Young Master, what do you mean by that?”

Right at that moment,

-Flinch!

Go Chan felt a chilling sensation throughout his body.

It was a bizarre feeling that went beyond the realm of the five senses, which could be called the body’s sensations.

-Lift!

“Huh?”

Go Chan’s arm suddenly tried to lift upwards.

‘What!’

The startled Go Chan sent his internal energy to resist it.

However, Go Chan’s arm, which was trembling as he resisted, couldn’t hold out for long and was forcibly lifted up.

‘What is this…’

Go Chan was utterly perplexed as he couldn’t understand what was happening.

But he soon realized why this was happening.

“Y-Young Master?”

Mok Gyeong-un gently waved his hand.

Then, as if someone had let go of his wrist, Go Chan was able to lower his wrist that had been forcibly lifted.

Although his wrist was lowered, Go Chan, who seemed very surprised, said to Mok Gyeong-un,

“What is happened did you just do?”

“I just needed to confirm something.”

“Confirm?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you do that to me…”

“You were just the right fit. Aren’t you a second-rate warrior, Guard Go Chan?”

“That’s right, but what exactly are you trying to confirm…”

“You don’t need to know.”

“…”

Yeah, you won’t tell me nicely anyway.

Go Chan stood in front of the bed with a face that couldn’t hide his discomfort.

‘this bastard.’

He slightly regretted that it might have been better to tell Master Gam exactly what had happened.

Regardless of that, Mok Gyeong-un nodded to himself as if he had learned something.

‘It works on Guard Go Chan.’

Go Chan also immediately noticed the moment the Demonic Monk grabbed his wrist.

Perhaps because he had learned internal energy, his senses were definitely more sensitive than ordinary people.

Although he resisted for a bit, he couldn’t overcome the Demonic Monk’s strength.

‘The Demonic Monk’s power works smoothly on ordinary people and up to second-rate warriors.’

That was the criterion for stable effectiveness.

Although it hadn’t been definitively verified yet, perhaps the power of a Yellow-level monster might not have a significant effect on first-rate experts.

If that was the case, it might be a bit disappointing.

‘Well, even so, it’s not like it’s not useful.’

The Demonic Monk, a monster, had high utility in many ways.

Just like how he had eavesdropped on the conversation between Go Chan and Guard Gam earlier, he could also send him to monitor if the distance was close, and it was good to send him for reconnaissance in blocked areas.

How useful was that?

Suddenly, as Mok Gyeong-un read the passages below in the “Basic Writings of the School of Yin and Yang,” he had such a thought.

‘It wouldn’t be bad to obtain an even stronger monster.’

The fourth level, Green ghost… very dangerous. Exorcism is a compulsary.

A wandering spirit that has existed for more than several decades. It can influence surrounding objects and cause auditory hallucinations, enough to confuse the living.