Chapter 47 Ambush (4)

Could this be described as merely a change?

Mok Gyeong-un, who nonchalantly suggested sacrificing Lady Seok, who was, despite their poor relationship, still his mother in name, left Mok In-dan momentarily shocked to the point of sending chills throughout his body.

Beyond being different, it seemed as if he had become a completely different person.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un whispered in a sweet voice,

“She’s a woman who left the Manor Master to die and tried to give everything to her own son. Is there any value in hesitating?”

‘This kid……’

Whether it was true or not wasn’t important.

Mok Gyeong-un was providing him with an emotional justification to make a cruel choice.

It was a justification that could sufficiently tempt him, both as a leader trying to save a group and as a person.

However,

‘No.’

Mok In-dan bit his lip firmly.

And releasing Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist, which he had been holding, he urged in a low voice,

“I cannot trust your words.”

“It’s the truth.”

“…….. Even if what you say is true, I cannot say it’s right to sacrifice someone to save others. And……”

Manor Master Mok In-dan looked at the face of Lady Seok, who was taking a step back.

Her fearful eyes showed strong denial.

He knew her well as his wife.

If she had done something, she would have feigned ignorance rather than reacting like this.

‘As I thought, it’s not.’

If that was the case,

“If that was your doing, let me tell you it was a foolish act.”

“A foolish act?”

“Yes. And now is not the time to deal with you.”

-Swoosh!

With those words, Mok In-dan tried to block the Bright Blade King Son Yun, who was approaching Lady Seok.

But before he could do so,

-Crunch!

Son Yun, who had been walking towards her as if he was about to do something, tightly clenched the earring in his hand.

Scattering the crushed earring on the ground, Son Yun said,

“It seems there is someone here who dislikes the Manor Master’s wife.”

“Wh- What?”

Overwhelmed by the intense killing intent emanating from Son Yun, she stammered in a cold sweat.

Son Yun scoffed and said,

“Someone among the Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s inner circle either wanted to frame you or have you killed by borrowing someone else’s blade.”

Borrowing someone else’s blade to kill^[1].

It literally meant borrowing someone else’s sword to kill.

At Son Yun’s words, her tension dissipated, and her legs gave out, causing her to collapse to the ground.

Son Yun exuded killing intent and glared at the people of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor with sharp eyes, saying,

“Do you think I’ll fall for such a trick?”

At those words, Manor Master Mok In-dan gritted his teeth and sent a glare at Mok Gyeong-un.

‘Look.’

This was the foolish act he had mentioned.

If one looked at the bigger picture rather than focusing on the details, the situation would become apparent to some extent.

What kind of culprit would leave their traces so blatantly?

It was more like revealing that an enemy had left them.

‘He made a bad move.’

No matter how cunning he tried to be, this was the limit of a scheme devised by a mere seventeen-year-old’s mind.

Mok In-dan frowned at Mok Gyeong-un and whispered,

“The situation has worsened. This can’t go on. Hand it over.”

“How unfortunate.”

“What?”

“I was hoping for good luck.”

“Now is not the time for such words……”

It was at that very moment.

-Swish!

The Bright Blade King Son Yun swung his Taoist sword and beheaded one of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s warriors.

It happened so swiftly that there was no time to stop it.

“Bright Blade King!”

-Clang!

Manor Master Mok In-dan shouted in anger as he drew his sword.

Son Yun shrugged his shoulders and joked,

“You’re the ones who broke the promise, yet you’re angry at me. I declare to the people of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor.”

-Declare! Declare! Declare!

His voice, infused with internal energy, echoed loudly like a reverberating sound.

Those nearby covered their ears, agonizing over the ringing in their eardrums.

‘He wasn’t using his full strength.’

Mok In-dan’s expression darkened.

During the earlier exchange of blows, he had underestimated Son Yun’s profound mastery of internal energy.

Even if his body were intact, Son Yun was not an opponent he could defeat.

Regardless, Son Yun continued his speech.

“I’ll give you one last chance. If you want to live, either hand over that thing. Or tell me who would benefit the most from the death of the Manor Master’s wife.”

At his shout, the corners of Lady Seok’s mouth trembled as she knelt on the ground, regulating her breathing.

She hadn’t expected to suffer such humiliation because of that damn Mok Gyeong-un.

Originally, she had kept her mouth shut out of consideration for the Manor Master, but now that things had turned out this way, she was in no position to hold back.

Lady Seok parted her lips.

“Warrior Son……”

Before she could finish her sentence.

At that moment, someone raised their hand and shouted,

“I know who did this!”

The one who shouted was none other than Ho-aeng.

Seeing her, Lady Seok closed her mouth approvingly.

It was better for Ho-aeng, the guard, to truthfully report the facts out of loyalty rather than Lady Seok herself.

“You know who it is?”

“Yes.”

The Bright Blade King Son Yun wiped the blood from his Taoist sword and spoke in a voice filled with killing intent,

“If it’s a lie, you’ll have to forfeit your life.”

“If the First Madam is harmed, it will also put the eldest young master of our clan in a difficult position. Therefore, there are those who would benefit in the succession structure.”

Although unintentional, the gazes of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s warriors naturally divided between two individuals.

They were none other than the second son, Mok Eun-pyeong, and the youngest, Mok Yu-cheon.

As humans, it was inevitable for their gazes to momentarily shift.

Mok Eun-pyeong shouted in surprise,

“Wh- What nonsense are you spouting now?”

Mok Yu-cheon was no different.

“How rude, Guard Ho. Why would I do such a thing?”

The two of them reacted with a sense of injustice.

It was only natural for them to do so.

After all, they hadn’t committed the deed themselves.

However, the curious thing was that not a single person looked at Mok Gyeong-un upon hearing Ho-aeng’s words.

‘This……’

Manor Master Mok In-dan frowned.

Judging by Mok Gyeong-un’s attempt to bargain with him, if anyone had plotted something, it had to be this child.

But when Ho-aeng mentioned those who would benefit in the succession structure, no one among the Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s people looked at Mok Gyeong-un.

That was because he had the least power and potential.

At that moment, the Bright Blade King Son Yun alternately glanced at the second son, Mok Eun-pyeong, and the youngest, Mok Yu-cheon, and spoke,

“It sounds plausible, but how can I believe that?”

“There is something that can be considered evidence.”

“Evidence? Hoho. Do tell, woman.”

‘Evidence?’

At the guard Ho-aeng’s words, Lady Seok furrowed her brow.

Was there anything that could be considered evidence?

As she wondered, Ho-aeng said,

“In the underground of the Medicinal Hall, along with the item Hero Son is looking for, there were also secret manuals that only the Manor Master of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor could cultivate. The one who possesses them must have been behind this!”

‘!!!!!!’

At Ho-aeng’s words, two individuals simultaneously failed to hide their bewilderment.

They were the youngest, Mok Yu-cheon, and Lady Seok, who possessed the original secret manuals, the Ignited Wood Heart Transformation Method and the Ignited Wood Sword Formation, albeit only the cover and two pages.

Startled, they shouted simultaneously,

“No!”

“Ho-aeng, you!”

Having shouted at the same time, they realized their mistake as attention focused on them and became flustered, not knowing what to do.

They shouldn’t have reacted like this to Ho-aeng’s words.

It was obvious that they would search their residences.

‘Ha!’

Seeing their reaction, Manor Master Mok In-dan looked at Mok Gyeong-un.

Mok In-dan’s eyes trembled at the sight of Mok Gyeong-un, who was looking at the scene as if it were an entertaining spectacle.

[If, by some stroke of luck, we can save everyone with the sacrifice of that one woman, wouldn’t that be a good thing in its own way?]

[How unfortunate. I was hoping for good luck.]

The words Mok Gyeong-un had spoken flashed through his mind.

The luck this kid had mentioned wasn’t the kind of meaning he had understood.

“You…….”

Mok Gyeong-un whispered with a smile on his lips,

“This is quite a big problem. Instead of ending it with one, everyone is getting involved. At this rate, whether it’s the secret manual or whatever, that scary fellow might go on a rampage and kill everyone.”

***

[What? You want me to put this earring in that wooden box?]

[Yes.]

[Are you stupid, mortal?]

[What do you mean?]

[If you put it in there, who would believe it was that old mortal woman? They would suspect it was the doing of someone targeting that Lady Seok or whatever her name is.]

[Yes. That’s the intention.]

[What?]

[Why do you think I gave them the secret manual that’s practically just a shell?]

[You….. Don’t tell me?]

[Let’s just say it’s a small precaution in case the Manor Master wakes up. Well, it’s a harmless prank.]

[A harmless prank? You sure know how to use your wits.]

***

Originally, it was a precaution in case the Manor Master woke up and checked the secret place.

Although it differed from his intention, thanks to that, the chaos intensified.

Mok Gyeong-un curled the corners of his mouth and said,

“Rather than regretting after losing one or two, wouldn’t it be better to tell me about that wound now?”

-Clench!

Manor Master Mok In-dan gritted his teeth.

‘This bastard, what on earth……’

The thought of him being his son had disappeared.

He had never encountered someone so terrifyingly cunning.

Seeing Mok Gyeong-un hold the danger to the Yeon Mok Sword Manor hostage to obtain what he wanted left Mok In-dan not only dumbfounded but also exasperated to the point of feeling nauseous.

“What will you do?”

There was no longer any room for choice.

Mok In-dan said,

“…….Bring the secret manual and hand it over to that man. Then I will tell you.”

“That’s not how a negotiation works.”

“You really!”

“We don’t have much time.”

Mok In-dan, who had been glaring at Mok Gyeong-un with a distorted face, parted his lips with trembling cheeks.

“Seventeen years ago, in Yongmun, Guangdong Province, I suffered this wound from the one called the Ghost Blade^[2].”

“Ghost Blade?”

“You…….. Don’t tell me you don’t know the Ghost Blade?”

There was no way he would know.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had only recently started learning martial arts, had no way of knowing about the ecology of the martial arts world.

“Who is the Ghost Blade……”

Before he could finish his sentence.

-Jingle jingle!

The sound of bells ringing could be heard.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned towards the source of the sound.

“Diviner Jo.”

The Bright Blade King Son Yun called out to someone entering the pavilion.

It was a middle-aged man wearing an eye patch with a snake design and holding a walking stick.

However, more puzzling than this man’s appearance was the fact that the bells at his waist were ringing on their own, without even shaking.

‘What is happened?’

As they pondered, the middle-aged man with the eye patch, called diviner Jo, spoke,

“An evil spirit is playing tricks.”

“An evil spirit?”

“The evil spirit is trying to steal a human’s shell.”

-Pak!

At that moment, the middle-aged man swung his walking stick in the air and formed a hand seal with his left hand, chanting a spell.

“………….!”

-Boom!

As soon as the spell ended, the middle-aged man struck the ground with his walking stick.

Along with it, an invisible shockwave was generated, and a strong wind suddenly blew through the surroundings.

-Whoosh!

“Aaaaargh!”

Then, Ho-aeng, Lady Seok’s guard who was hit by the sweeping wind, suddenly grabbed her head and screamed like a madwoman.

Those around her couldn’t hide their astonishment for a moment.

Black veins bulged grotesquely around Ho-aeng’s neck, making it extremely bizarre.

“Wh- What?”

-Thud thud thud!

Ho-aeng’s eyes rolled back, and her entire body convulsed wildly.

Everyone was startled and distanced themselves from her.

-Gulp gulp!

Although not to the same extent as Ho-aeng, there was one person who felt his stomach churning: Go Chan.

The moment the wind swept by, he felt an unpleasant sensation and the urge to vomit.

However, as soon as he circulated his internal energy and activated his body’s protective energy, he felt somewhat better.

“Huff… Huff…”

Go Chan looked at Ho-aeng.

In Go Chan’s ghostly eyes, he could see the Demonic Monk suffering in agony inside Ho-aeng’s body.

Because the body was merely second-rate and he had just possessed it, he couldn’t endure it.

Eventually,

-Aaaargh!

He was ejected from the possessed body.

Ho-aeng, who had been convulsing and suffering, collapsed on the spot as if she had fainted.

-Thud!

Seeing this, the corners of the middle-aged man with the eye patch, called diviner Jo, curled up.

“I shall exorcise you.”

He then took out a talisman of the Imperial Command Spell from his waist, attached it to his walking stick, and shouted,

“………..!”

With that, he threw the walking stick.

-Swish!

Surprisingly, the walking stick extended straight and flew like an arrow.

To everyone’s eyes, it appeared to be flying towards an empty space where no one was present, but the Demonic Monk was still there, staggering in pain.

However, before the walking stick imbued with a mysterious power could reach the Demonic Monk,

-Pak!

Someone caught the walking stick midway.

“You’re doing something troublesome.”

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

At this sight, the middle-aged man with the eye patch, diviner Jo, couldn’t hide his astonishment for a moment.

‘What?’

To catch a walking stick imbued with the Imperial Command Spell and incantations with his bare hands, even if he was from a martial arts family, he was no ordinary person.

However, what was truly astonishing wasn’t that.

Diviner Jo frowned and glared at Mok Gyeong-un, saying,

“You…….. can see vengeful spirits.”

At those words, the surroundings stirred.