Chapter 7 Strange Phenomena (1)

In front of the room where the Manor Master was staying.

Lady Seok, the main wife of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, who had been waiting with a straight posture, looked in the direction of the footsteps ascending the floor.

A middle-aged man with a goatee, wearing a shabby Taoist robe with a yin-yang symbol, carrying a backpack loaded with old books and instruments, appeared.

He was the diviner Lady Seok had summoned.

This diviner, called Myo-sin, was known to be quite skilled in Mengcheng County^[1].

Lady Seok scrutinized his appearance from top to bottom with a doubtful face and clicked her tongue softly.

She had an attitude of not caring whether the diviner was offended or not.

Despite her attitude, the diviner showed no particular reaction and instead catered to her mood.

“Can I see the Manor Master now?”

“Yes.”

“That’s fortunate. The longer a strange phenomenon lasts, the worse the situation becomes. Then, please have everyone within thirty steps of the main building where the Manor Master is staying leave. If they are close, they may catch the impurities from the Manor Master.”

“I’ve done just that.”

What good would it be to leave prying eyes around when calling a diviner?

She had already cleared the surroundings with a suitable excuse.

“If Madam could also step back…”

Swish!

At that moment, Lady Seok slightly raised her hand and said,

“You remember the favor I asked of you, right?”

At this, the diviner smiled and replied,

“Of course.”

“Good. Since diviner Myo is said to be so miraculous, I will trust you.”

Then, lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued,

“If you can just find out where the Manor Master’s seal and secret manuals are, I will immediately give you three hundred silver taels as promised.”

“Oh my, thank you.”

Diviner Myo-sin bowed his head repeatedly, expressing his gratitude.

Seeing his behavior, Lady Seok let out a soft sigh.

“Phew.”

In fact, she didn’t have much faith in divi-ation or such things.

It was just that she had changed her mind due to a certain opportunity.

She had called the diviner with a glimmer of hope.

‘…If only you had given your support to that child, none of this would have happened.’

To think of making the son of a mere courtesan the successor.

Resentment filled Lady Seok’s eyes as she looked at the door to the Manor Master’s room.

***

On the way to the main building of Yeon Mok Sword Manor where the Manor Master was staying.

Walking side by side as a guide, Go Chan glanced at Mok Gyeong-un.

‘What is he thinking?’

It was true that the Manor Master’s life was directly tied to the fellow’s.

But what would he do by seeing the Manor Master in such a state?

‘Could he be thinking of trying to save him?’

That would be even more absurd.

I understand that his knowledge of medicinal herbs is exceptional, but the Manor Master had already been given up on by the clan’s personal physician and all the renowned physicians in the vicinity.

They said it was a strange phenomenon, and the exact symptoms and illness were unknown.

The moment the term “strange phenomenon” was used, it meant there was nothing that could be done.

‘Just what is his ulterior motive?’

He couldn’t read this fellow’s thoughts at all.

‘More than that, isn’t he worried about himself?’

Rather, Go Chan was concerned about something else.

If he unnecessarily stood out and interacted with others, and his identity as a fake was exposed, there might be trouble before he could switch sides with Guard Gam.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un looked somewhere and asked,

“What is that place for?”

“That is the martial arts training ground.”

The place Mok Gyeong-un pointed to with his head was the First Training Ground.

In Yeon Mok Sword Manor, there were a total of four training grounds, including the Manor Master’s exclusive training ground.

The Third Training Ground was for the ordinary warriors of the clan, the Second Training Ground was for the retainers to cultivate their martial arts, and the last First Training Ground was exclusively for the young masters.

“A place to cultivate martial arts…”

Interest flickered in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.

Seeing this, Go Chan clicked his tongue inwardly.

In a situation where his life and death were uncertain, the desire for martial arts was nothing but a vain delusion.

‘Even if you start learning now, do you think you can catch up to Captain Gam?’

It would be difficult for him to even take his first steps, yet it was honestly amusing that he was already thinking of learning martial arts to kill a first-rate master.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un suddenly called out to him.

“Guard Go.”

“Y- yes.”

“Every time I look at you, Guard Go, I feel like you have eyes that are tempting to play with.”

‘!?’

Go Chan flinched and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He stiffly turned his head, and Mok Gyeong-un put his arm around his shoulder and said,

“It seems you’re not one of my people yet.”

“Ho- how could that be?”

“You should look ahead, Guard Go. Is someone going to eat you?”

‘…Damn bastard.’

He was genuinely anxious.

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes were precisely staring at his left eye.

With a lick of his lips, it was as if he was dying to pluck out his eyeball.

Go Chan trembled and took a step forward.

Mok Gyeong-un grinned at him and said,

“It’s a pity. Right?”

‘Wh- what?’

It felt like cold sweat was running down his spine.

The more he got to know this fellow, the more he felt like he had provoked something he shouldn’t have.

Suppressing this uneasy feeling as much as possible, Go Chan walked forward.

‘Ah…’

Then, someone in the training ground caught Go Chan’s eye.

In the training ground, there was a boy with a strong impression, his upper body bare.

The boy, with well-developed tan muscles on his upper body, was practicing horse stance while sweating profusely.

‘Mok Yu-cheon.’

He was the youngest young master, Mok Yu-cheon.

Despite having innate martial talent, his passion was so great that he invested all his time in martial arts training except for meals and sleep.

It was no wonder the Manor Master favored him.

‘He’s attached.’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the First Training Ground was Mok Yu-cheon’s exclusive ground.

“Someone is training over there.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s remark, Go Chan said in a whisper,

“That’s the youngest young master.”

“The youngest? Is that Mok Yu-cheon?”

“That’s right.”

“Is that how martial arts are practiced?”

“He’s building leg strength through horse stance. It can be said that the foundation of all martial arts comes from the lower body.”

“I see.”

“Young Master, it would be better not to stare at the youngest young master. You might get entangled unnecessarily.”

“Just by looking?”

Go Chan frowned and looked at him.

He must have read the information sheet Guard Gam had given him.

The real Mok Gyeong-un’s martial arts skill was at the third-rate level.

But since he was a fake, if he acted recklessly and clashed with others, his identity as a fake might be exposed.

And there was an even bigger problem.

Go Chan whispered,

“The youngest young master really dislikes the real young master.”

“Ah.”

Mok Gyeong-un nodded.

On the information sheet written by the real Mok Gyeong-un, it was stated like this:

[I can’t stand the sight of that lowly bastard boasting about his martial talent. It’s unlikely to happen, but if you happen to run into him, refrain from engaging in conversation.]

He was wary of him to the extent of writing this.

Something must have happened.

“Why does he dislike him?”

After hesitating for a moment, Go Chan whispered into his ear,

“…The real young master disparaged the youngest young master’s mother as a vulgar courtesan and got beaten to a pulp.”

That was two years ago.

He still remembered.

The sight of the real Mok Gyeong-un crawling on the floor with his leg bones and ribs shattered.

He was begging for his life like crazy.

Because of that incident, the youngest young master, Mok Yu-cheon, genuinely hated Mok Gyeong-un.

“He seems to have a kind heart.”

“What?”

“Judging by the fact that he left his limbs intact.”

‘…….’

His brows furrowed.

As expected, this fellow had a different thought process.

Even if he was a fake, it was like talking about himself.

Anyway, now was not the time for this.

“In any case, let’s go quickly. It’s better not to run into the other young masters right now. It could become really dangerous.”

At Go Chan’s urging, Mok Gyeong-un silently chuckled.

It was a truly interesting place.

Seeing the brothers quarreling like this.

And so, they passed the training ground and headed to the main building where the Manor Master was.

Looking at the pavilion leading to the main building, Go Chan frowned.

‘What’s going on?’

Usually, the clan’s guard warriors would be guarding the front of the pavilion at the entrance of the main building.

But there was no one.

Come to think of it, the surroundings were too quiet.

Not a single shadow could be seen.

‘This is troublesome…’

Due to the Manor Master’s worsening condition, even the young masters were not allowed to enter the main building by Lady Seok’s order.

Therefore, he thought they would be stopped anyway and had to turn back, so he guided Mok Gyeong-un without saying anything.

But now, it seemed they would really get to see the Manor Master.

***

Inside the Manor Master’s room.

Around the Manor Master’s bed where he lay, a dozen red threads formed a boundary, and silver coins with holes in the center were flowing down between the threads.

Clang clang!

The flowing silver coins made a sound as they collided.

“Hmm.”

Diviner Myo-sin, who had removed the Manor Master’s top and was looking at his chest, clicked his tongue.

Usually, when called for a strange phenomenon, most of the time, it was unrelated.

So he just had to pretend to perform some divi-ation and pass the time.

But this time was different.

Bulge! Bulge!

Centered on the middle of the Manor Master’s chest, black blood vessels bulged out grotesquely.

At a glance, it looked like a symptom of poisoning.

However, the strange thing was that the area was constantly moving.

‘It’s heading towards the heart.’

The bulging black blood vessels were moving towards the heart, turning the area pale.

But as if blocked by something, they had not reached it yet.

Diviner Myo-sin grinned.

‘As expected of a martial artist. His vitality is strong, so the impurities haven’t penetrated his heart yet. With such a strong killing intent, that thing should have already taken over.’

The Manor Master was enduring well.

But even that was clearly at a critical point.

Looking at the Manor Master’s condition, he had been weakened for a long time after being afflicted by the impurities.

‘It’s fifty-fifty.’

At this point, even if the impurities were purified, the chances of survival were fifty-fifty.

There was nothing more difficult than simultaneously expelling the impurities and the killing intent.

But now, there was no need for that.

‘I just need to do what I was hired for.’

The request was not to save the Manor Master from the strange phenomenon.

It was enough to make the Manor Master spit out where the seal and secret manuals were before he died.

Diviner Myo-sin took out a talisman from his backpack.

Myo-sin, holding the talisman, poured red ink onto the inkstone he had prepared in advance.

Tap tap!

Dipping the brush in the red ink, Myo-sin began to engrave characters on the talisman.

As he drew the strokes,

It took the form of a ghost^[2].

Myo-sin chanted something in a small voice.

“The Emperor’s Proclamation… bearing the Strength… The othe five directions… why do you not perish?…  the flying immortal… ten thousand demons ….  demons’ hearts….^[3]

”

Tremble tremble tremble!

It was strange.

The end of the talisman trembled on its own.

Myo-sin attached the trembling talisman to the strange phenomenon on the Manor Master’s chest, which was constantly moving towards the heart.

Tap!

Right at that moment,

Bulge! Bulge! Bulge!

The black blood vessels began to subside, centered on where the talisman was attached.

Then, diviner Myo-sin formed a hand seal.

Snap!

[Lín (臨)]

Bringing the index fingers of both hands together and tightly interlocking the rest symbolized immovable roots.

[Bīng (兵)]

Supporting the index fingers and spreading the interlocked middle fingers, he brought them together.

At the same time, he began to chant the Mantra of Protecting and Killing.

“”皆兵…皆..兵….皆..兵…臨…..皆….臨…兵… “……”(Some bullshit)

As he chanted the Mantra of Protecting and Killing, the Manor Master’s body convulsed.

A faint vapor began to flow out from where the talisman was attached.

[Jiē (皆)]

He interlocked all his fingers.

It symbolized external restraint.

Then, the Manor Master’s Adam’s apple bulged out.

As if his airway was blocked, the Manor Master’s face turned red.

Seeing that, diviner Myo-sin’s expression hardened.

‘The killing intent is too strong.’

Myo-sin, who had been forming the hand seals, got up from his seat and raised his right hand, forming the vajra mudra on the Manor Master’s Adam’s apple.

And he continued to chant the Mantra of Protecting and Killing.

“皆兵…皆..兵….皆..兵…臨…..皆….臨…兵…”(Some bullshit)

Before the Mantra of Protecting and Killing could finish,

Creak!

At that moment, the closed door to the Manor Master’s room slowly opened.

As a result, the three red threads tied to the door came loose, and silver coins fell to the floor.

Clang clang clang!

‘Oh no!’

At that instant,

Bang!

“Ugh!”

With a strong rebound, diviner Myo-sin’s body was thrown backward.

The force was so strong that he didn’t know how far he would be thrown, but then someone grabbed his back.

Thud!

The startled Myo-sin turned his head.

The one who had caught him was a boy with extremely refined and handsome features.

The boy was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

Myo-sin, who had been momentarily at a loss for words due to his strikingly good looks, was about to express his annoyance at being interrupted.

“I told you not to let anyone in, so how…!?”

Flinch!

However, Myo-sin couldn’t express his anger to the end.

However, diviner Myo-sin couldn’t express his anger to the end.

It was because he discovered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes, which were as still as those of a dead person, without a single tremor.

‘How can a living human have such eyes?’