Chapter 32 Guyeo (4)

“Aaargh!”

“M-Madaaaam!”

The maidservants wailed in agony.

The veins on their faces swelled, as if they were about to burst at any moment.

“You wench!”

The escort warrior Ho-aeng, even more enraged, tried to rush forward.

At that moment, Lady Seok hurriedly shouted, “Ho-aeng! Stop!”

“Pardon?”

At her cry, Ho-aeng had to halt after a mere three steps.

Lady Seok glared at the diviner Sak, who was chanting an incantation, with a gaze filled with resentment.

Sak had adeptly grasped her weakness.

Lady Seok cherished the maidservants and escort warrior she had brought from her maiden home as much as her own children.

They shared the longing for their hometown.

However, if she allowed herself to be swayed in this manner, it would only provide an opening for exploitation.

“Ma…”

-Seuk!

Lady Seok raised her hand with a face turned cold as ice.

It was a gesture telling him not to intervene.

Glaring at the diviner Sak as if to kill her, Lady Seok spoke.

“Diviner Sak, if you don’t stop right now, I swear. I will mobilize all my connections and power to erase you and Ghostly Spirit Pavilion from this world.”

These words were sincere.

Sak had touched something that should never be touched.

How dare she not only betray her but also make her people suffer?

Faced with her fury, Sak couldn’t hide her bitterness, though she didn’t show it outwardly.

In the end, things had turned out just as Mok Gyeong-un wanted.

[You said you’d do anything. Surely you can do that much, right?]

[…]

This was the first time she had encountered someone so cunning.

She thought he was a clueless 17-year-old young master, but he turned out to be a little devil.

To think he would come up with such a tactic.

Because of this, Lady Seok would come to despise her and the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion.

No, from Ghostly Spirit Pavilion’s perspective, a long-time patron had turned into an enemy.

‘Haa.’

She let out a deep sigh.

She was in no position to worry about the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion.

What would happen to her once this truth was revealed?

In her attempt to save a single spirit servant, she had violated several of Ghostly Spirit Pavilion’s rules. It wouldn’t be surprising if she were expelled, exiled, or faced even greater consequences.

‘Is it time to leave?’

-Kwak!

Biting her lip firmly, Sak stopped chanting the incantation.

Then she shouted at Lady Seok.

“If you try to pursue and harm me, you will lose your two maidservants.”

‘This wench dares!’

Lady Seok’s anger reached its peak, but she barely suppressed it.

Having witnessed the bizarre power of exorcism techniques that could threaten lives from afar, she couldn’t easily dismiss Sak’s threat.

-Heum chit!

Lady Seok frowned, glancing somewhere.

She had heard the sound of many people within the estate rushing towards Hyehwa Hall.

They were likely the outer court warriors.

Finally, Lady Seok, who had been glaring at Sak, made up her mind.

“…Leave before I change my mind. Hurry.”

At these words, Sak let out a small sigh of relief.

“Whew.”

The technique she had employed was called the Six Men and Women Servant Technique, an exorcism method that could directly harm or control people.

Normally, it required a part of the target’s body, their date of birth, six sacrificial offerings, and two talismans.

Only when all these were prepared could one perform killing or any other action.

What she had used now was merely a temporary application, borrowing the power of a few special talismans and a unique artifact called the tranquil bracelet.

-Rustle!

The tranquil bracelet hidden in her bosom had shattered, so she could no longer employ the technique.

In the end, it had been a kind of gamble.

‘Let’s go quickly.’

If she didn’t hurry, she might get caught.

***

-Squeeeak!

Carefully opening the door to the medicine hall, the diviner Sak entered.

Mok Gyeong-un, who was sitting on the bed, raised his hand and spoke nonchalantly to her.

“Did you do well?”

“…Yes. I did as you instructed.”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un asked again.

“Are you certain about that?”

“Yes, Young Master. I have confirmed it.”

Sak slightly furrowed her brow and turned her head at the voice coming from behind.

The one who answered behind her was none other than the escort guard Go Chan.

‘As expected, he had someone keep an eye on me.’

Sak clicked her tongue inwardly.

Indeed, someone as cunning as him wouldn’t leave her unsupervised.

However, she didn’t particularly care.

For the sake of the armadillo, she had accurately followed his instructions.

Looking at the emaciated armadillo gasping for breath in Mok Gyeong-un’s right hand, Sak said, “Now, please keep your promise.”

“Alright. A promise is a promise.”

Despite Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Sak remained tense.

Although he was younger than her, she had no idea what this man might do.

Therefore, she couldn’t let her guard down.

Holding the armadillo’s neck, Mok Gyeong-un approached her.

“Ah! There’s something I want to ask.”

She flinched.

Surely he hadn’t changed his mind or was about to say something else, right?

She had doubts but tried her best not to show them and spoke.

“…What is it?”

“In that group you belong to, Ghostly Spirit Pavilion, are there others besides you who can control Imaemangnyang entities or ghosts as spirit servants, like this armadillo or Demonic Monk here?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Sak glanced at Demonic Monk, the Yellow Spirit.

No matter how she looked at it, that ghost undoubtedly belonged to the realm of evil spirits.

It was truly incomprehensible.

Ghosts are beings that remain in this world driven solely by their obsessions.

Therefore, due to their fixation on those obsessions and the grudges they seek to inflict harm with, they cannot be controlled as spirit servants.

No, they cannot even become spirit servants.

‘They are merely targets for exorcism.’

How on earth was that man controlling the Yellow Spirit as a spirit servant?

She couldn’t understand it at all.

Moreover, wasn’t he not even a diviner?

“Do you not want to talk about it?”

Startled by Mok Gyeong-un’s urging, she quickly answered.

“No, that’s not it. In the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion, there are three diviners, including myself, who can control spirit servants.”

‘Well, it will be two now.’

Not only had she violated Ghostly Spirit Pavilion’s rules, but she had also made an enemy of the principal wife of Yeon Mok Sword Manor. She had no choice but to leave in some way.

In the worst case, they might try to kill her or place a curse on her.

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.

“Not that many, I see.”

“…Not in the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion, at least.”

“In the Ghostly Spirit Pavilion? Are there other diviner groups then?”

At these words, Sak blamed herself inwardly.

She had spoken about something she didn’t need to mention.

If she were to leave Ghostly Spirit Pavilion anyway, she would have to join another group, but it was a mistake.

With that, she gave a vague answer.

“Just as there are many martial arts sects in the gangho besides Yeon Mok Sword Manor, it’s the same with diviner groups.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“Can you also tell me what kind of Imaemangnyang the other two diviners control?”

“…”

Sak truly wanted to click her tongue.

This man clearly hadn’t let his guard down regarding Ghostly Spirit Pavilion.

Not only had he sown discord between that woman, the principal wife who wanted to kill her, and Ghostly Spirit Pavilion, but he also seemed to be preparing countermeasures.

She glanced at the armadillo, who was looking at her pitifully in Mok Gyeong-un’s grasp.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.

“Go, a diviner who has long served as the sect leader’s assistant, controls the demonic bird Go-jo[[or Gu-diao 蛊雕]] from Mt. Nokou as a spirit servant.”

“What power does that Imaemangnyang possess?”

“I don’t know exactly. But I remember its appearance. It has an eagle-like body with peculiar horns.”

“You’re not pretending not to know when you actually do, right?”

“…A spirit servant is akin to a secret art for a diviner, so most of them conceal what powers they possess.”

That was true.

Even among diviners, they generally neither reveal nor inquire about each other’s exorcism techniques or spirit servants.

It was an unspoken rule among them.

Nodding his head, Mok Gyeong-un asked, “What about the other person?”

“It’s the sect leader of Ghostly Spirit Pavilion. Even I don’t know what Imaemangnyang the sect leader possesses.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yes. However, there’s a high probability that they possess a top-tier Imaemangnyang as a spirit servant.”

‘At least, since they’re one of the sect leaders of the Sixty-Four Halls of Fangwon, that’s likely the case.’

Sixty-Four Pavilions of the Directional Plains.

They were sixty-four diviner groups located throughout the Central Plains.

The sect leaders of these halls were renowned diviners in the hidden world.

Although they might not have reached the pinnacle known as the Six Directions supreme-rulers, they were said to be at least of intermediate level, so their skills must be extraordinary.

“Are there also ranks among Imaemangnyang entities? Like ghosts?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Sak nodded.

“Yes.”

“What level would a top-tier one be?”

“Imaemangnyang can be classified into Fierce Beasts, Monstrous Beasts, Demonic Beasts, Diabolic Beasts, Spiritual Beasts, and Divine Beasts based on their rank.”

Sak’s spirit servant, the armadillo, was referred to as a Fierce Beast in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

In fact, among Imaemangnyang, Fierce Beasts were considered relatively docile and tended to avoid humans.

However, even Monstrous Beasts included some that preyed on humans.

Therefore, starting from Monstrous Beasts, subduing or controlling them as spirit servants was extremely challenging.

“Hmm. Then, that sect leader must control a Spiritual Beast or Divine Beast.”

At those words, Sak shook her head.

“No, no. That’s not the case.”

“It’s not?”

“Yes. Spiritual Beasts and Divine Beasts are walking calamities themselves, so even the most exceptional diviners find it nearly impossible to make them their spirit servants.”

Spiritual Beasts and Divine Beasts were beings referred to as calamities or legends.

Even she had never actually seen these beings.

She had only encountered records about them in ancient texts or the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which she had studied to learn exorcism techniques.

‘Considering that, the Six Directions supreme-rulers must be truly remarkable.’

The Six Directions supreme-rulers, known as the pinnacle of diviners.

They were six diviners who had received the title of “supreme-ruler.”

Among them, she had heard that two had subdued Spiritual Beasts as their spirit servants.

Out of countless diviners, only two had reached that realm, so they deserved the title of “supreme-ruler.”

“Then, it must be a Demonic Beast or Diabolic Beast, right?”

“That’s probably the case.”

Even if not above the level of Spiritual Beasts, being a Demonic Beast or Diabolic Beast was enough to be considered top-tier among Imaemangnyang.

They were beings that gained notorious reputations in a region or possessed extraordinary powers.

Mok Gyeong-un muttered softly, his lips twitching.

“It would be nice if it were a Diabolic Beast.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

Sak furrowed her brow.

What did this man just say?

As she was wondering, Mok Gyeong-un handed the armadillo to her and said, “Alright. You may go now.”

“…”

With trembling eyes, she received the gasping armadillo.

***

After Sak left, the escort guard Go Chan spoke with a concerned tone.

“Young Master… Is it okay to let her go like that?”

“I promised to let her go, didn’t I?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Go Chan grumbled inwardly.

‘Since when was he merciful?’

However, he didn’t show it on his face.

Perhaps he had grown accustomed to it.

“Will it be alright? I have a lingering concern that the diviner woman might harbor resentment and seek revenge…”

“It’s fine.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

There was a possibility.

Although he couldn’t see anything with his eyes, based on what he had heard, it seemed Mok Gyeong-un had threatened the diviner woman with something precious to her.

So there was a chance she might hold a grudge because of that.

In response, Mok Gyeong-un said with a peculiar smile, “Go Chan’s words are correct, but she probably won’t be able to do that. Probably.”

“…”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Go Chan was puzzled.

He didn’t know what gave him such confidence.

***

-Tremble tremble!

The diviner Sak, cradling the gasping armadillo.

Her heart ached terribly.

She had spent years with this child, and the armadillo was her only friend and family.

Yet it was on the verge of death.

Having lost most of its energy, it wouldn’t be surprising if it died at any moment.

If she didn’t somehow replenish or restore its energy, she might lose the armadillo.

-Euk!

Her heart ached, and moreover, she was furious.

She was someone who had been recognized as a talented individual, receiving the title of diviner at a young age.

Yet she had to endure such humiliation.

The diviner Sak turned her head and looked towards the medicine hall where Mok Gyeong-un was.

‘…Although I’m retreating like this now, before long…’

-It seems you’re vowing revenge, mortal.

-Gasp!

Startled, Sak tried to quickly distance herself from the voice that suddenly came from behind.

However, someone embraced her head with two arms from behind.

-Seuk!

‘Oh no…’

She was at a loss.

The coldness she felt from behind sent chills down her spine.

Even the armadillo she was holding trembled like a leaf, terrified.

Not because it was weak, but out of genuine fear.

‘This… This sensation…’

She couldn’t possibly manort this feeling.

The being that had deflected her Reverse Killing technique and damaged her Spirit Eyes.

Beads of cold sweat formed on Sak’s forehead.

And those drops of sweat trickled down her cheeks.

-Drip drip!

‘It can’t be.’

Now that she was in direct contact with this being, she was certain.

This was definitely not some Green ghost or the like.

‘How can this be…?’

She couldn’t believe it.

To think he could control such an evil and spine-chilling being?

-Zzap!

“Ugh!”

Her Spirit Eyes, reacting to the evil entity, shed tears of blood with excruciating pain, as if they were being torn apart.

She could no longer see anything with her Spirit Eyes.

-Swirl swirl!

Through her dark pupils, she saw someone looking down at her upside down.

‘!!!!!!!!’

A beautiful face.

In stark contrast, those blood-red eyes gleaming with madness.

The moment she met them, she couldn’t breathe.