WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 67: The Terror of the Old Teaching Hall (4)
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The Terror of the Old Teaching Hall (4)
A soul was, quite literally, a spirit.
Something like the lingering thoughts of the dead, the kind of thing people called a ghost.
Kang Mu-i, who had studied and mastered the Maoshan Sect's ghost-summoning technique, understood that these ghosts, visible to the eye and sharing the same space as the living, actually existed on a different plane entirely.
That was why he'd believed contact with them was utterly impossible without the method of suggestion.
And yet.
Ugh, uh, uh, uhhh!
The ghost with the half-melted face, struck by Mumu's charge, writhed as if in genuine pain.
What in the world was happening?
Even more than that,
Shhhk!
The black shadow with the bloodshot eyes, the one holding Tang So-so, vanished on its own, without any command, as if fleeing.
'Is it actually afraid of him?'
He was still stunned by that when the ghost with the half-melted face, sent flying by the blow, gave way, and Mumu charged straight at him.
It wasn't the kind of energy his ki sense could pick up. The presence itself was something else.
'This one's no ordinary opponent.'
Kang Mu-i's eyes narrowed in an instant.
His curiosity stirred. He considered blocking Mumu's charge outright, then grabbed Tang So-so by the collar instead.
And leaped upward.
Whoosh!
"Huh?"
Caught off guard by the sudden grip on her collar, Tang So-so had no choice but to rise along with him.
Thanks to that, Mumu's charge sailed straight past them.
'Can't rein in that strength of his.'
Kang Mu-i landed with a faint smirk.
That was the exact moment.
Boom!
Fragments of the floor sprayed upward as Mumu, who'd overshot past him, came bouncing back like a ricochet, closing in again.
Then he threw a punch, aimed precisely at his chest.
Kang Mu-i hurried to block it.
Fwaaaang!
The instant fist met palm, a violent gust of wind erupted between them. Tang So-so's hair whipped and tangled from the force of it.
Shhhhk!
Kang Mu-i's body, having blocked Mumu's fist, dragged backward across the floor about three paces.
But that was as far as it went.
He didn't slide back any further, and the fist and palm, still locked together, trembled as the two forces reached an equilibrium.
Kang Mu-i's mouth curled up at one corner as he spoke.
"You... you're that one. The one who passed the entrance exam on pure muscle alone, without any martial arts."
It came back to him now.
The academy had been buzzing about this lately. He'd wondered if passing on raw muscle alone was even possible, but strength like this made it believable enough.
A flicker of interest crossed Mumu's eyes.
'Huh. This person blocked it with pure strength.'
Ever since learning about internal energy, Mumu had come to recognize that martial artists gave off a distinct aura whenever they used Force of ki.
But Kang Mu-i had just blocked his fist with pure strength alone, nothing more.
Unlike his pale face, the forearm showing past his sleeve had swollen into a grotesque shape.
'That muscle's not normal.'
It didn't look like the result of training.
It looked more like the muscle had temporarily reshaped itself to boost strength for the moment.
"You're stronger than you look."
"That's what I want to say. Did you really get this strong just from muscle training?"
"Anyone can, if they train hard enough."
"Anyone, huh... this doesn't seem like that kind of realm. Are you really telling me you've never learned any martial arts at..."
Clench!
Just then, Mumu's left hand pulled back.
His forearm twisted and contracted, tightening with fine, deliberate precision.
Kang Mu-i's eyes narrowed at the sight.
'He's compressing the muscle?'
Fwaaaang!
Still marveling at it, the tightly compressed muscle released, and Mumu's fist struck Kang Mu-i's face like a bolt of lightning.
Kang Mu-i's body was flung backward and slammed into the underground wall.
Kaboom!
Dust billowed up in a pale cloud.
Tang So-so couldn't hide her shock at the sight.
Of all people, Kang Mu-i, the proud second-ranked among third-years, had just been taken down in a single blow by Mumu, a first-year barely enrolled.
'He was this strong?'
She'd seen his strength a few times before and knew he was powerful, but this was beyond anything she'd imagined.
Mumu asked her,
"So-so, you okay?"
"Huh?"
Her eyes lit up.
This was too good a chance to waste. Tang So-so swayed on her feet as if dizzy and leaned toward Mumu, letting it happen naturally.
"Ahhh. I think the shock is making me so dizzy..."
Thud!
Just then someone landed from the ceiling into the basement.
She looked over and saw Jin-hyeok standing there, apparently having come down through the hole Mumu had smashed open.
Jin-hyeok looked between Tang So-so and Mumu and asked,
"What just happened here?"
'Tch, tch, tch!'
Tang So-so's lips pushed out in a pout like a duck's beak.
She'd been trying to lean in naturally, playing up her charm as women called it, and it had all fallen apart.
'Could've come a little later.'
The timing couldn't have been worse.
Right after that, Mo Il-hwa and Hae Ryang dropped down through the hole too.
With everyone piling in at once, the chance was long gone.
Mo Il-hwa landed and immediately pointed a puzzled look at the dust-clouded wall.
"What just happened here?"
Mumu scratched his head and said,
"I don't know. I came down and someone was threatening So-so."
"Oh my. Really, unni?"
She'd already started calling So-so unni without missing a beat.
So-so nodded and answered,
"Good thing you all came, I was about to go looking for you anyway. And that man over there, the one Mumu just punched into the wall, was actually behind all of this."
"Behind what?"
Puzzled, they listened as Tang So-so briefly explained everything that had happened.
Everyone was stunned to hear it.
Mo Il-hwa in particular, who despised ghosts, made an even bigger fuss than usual.
"See, I told you it looked exactly like a real ghost."
She'd half-believed it before, but hearing it confirmed sent another chill down her spine.
Jin-hyeok, meanwhile, found the fact that someone had controlled the ghost through a technique even more unsettling than the ghost itself being real.
'The Maoshan Sect had techniques this bizarre...'
He could see now why they'd been shunned and fallen from the force of justice.
Controlling the dead through technique alone was a violation of the natural order itself.
'If it weren't for the Maoshan Sect's name attached to it, calling it black magic wouldn't be far off.'
He understood now why that senior, Kang Mu-i, had hidden away in a place like this to master it.
Being seen by anyone else could only bring trouble.
But even so, one question still nagged at him.
'How did that one manage to touch the ghost?'
If Tang So-so's account was right, ghosts could touch them because of suggestion, but hadn't she also said it was impossible for them to touch a ghost in return?
Yet Mumu had touched the ghost without any trouble at all.
No, more than touched, he'd actually landed a hit.
Jin-hyeok stared at Mumu, unable to make sense of it.
"What's wrong?"
"You..."
Jin-hyeok was about to press the question when Hae Ryang rubbed his palms together and spoke to Mumu in a syrupy voice.
"Wow. Young master Mumu really is something else."
"Huh?"
"Senior Kang Mu-i is second-ranked among third-years, and a senior like that got knocked flat in just one hit. I'd say you've basically locked in next year's top scorer spot already, young master..."
"My pride's taken quite a hit here."
'!?'
Everyone's eyes snapped toward the voice.
The dust had cleared, and there stood Kang Mu-i, walking slowly out from the broken wall, loosening his shoulders.
Each of their expressions shifted the instant they saw him.
'Didn't they say he got punched in the face and slammed into the wall?'
But Kang Mu-i's face was completely unharmed.
Knowing full well the monstrous strength Mumu carried, the sight left them all stunned.
'Ah!'
A beat later, wariness gripped every one of them.
They'd remembered that Kang Mu-i was the one behind the ghosts.
Jin-hyeok was the first to try and take a ready stance.
That was the instant his eyes met Kang Mu-i's.
A chill!
'!!!!!'
Jin-hyeok couldn't hide the wave of confusion that swept through him.
He'd only made eye contact, and yet for one instant he was seized by a vision of Kang Mu-i flashing forward like lightning and cutting his throat clean open.
Trickle!
Cold sweat ran down Jin-hyeok's forehead.
And it wasn't only him who felt it.
Mo Il-hwa stood frozen, her body trembling as if seized by convulsions, and Hae Ryang dropped the dagger he'd drawn.
The only two who stayed unaffected were Tang So-so and Mumu.
'Ho.'
A flicker of interest crossed Kang Mu-i's eyes.
Tang So-so clearly showed some tension too, but nowhere near the stiffness the others displayed.
That meant she'd already braced herself to take it head-on.
'Not a bad woman.'
That only raised his opinion of her further.
But what impressed him more was Mumu.
Even faced with killing intent at this level, he hadn't so much as flinched, calmly staring straight back at Kang Mu-i as if nothing were happening.
A boy with no martial arts training at all, and yet remarkably composed.
'Interesting.'
Landing a physical blow on a spiritual being like a ghost was strange enough on its own.
Not a descendant of the Four Immortal Masters, not from some prestigious clan either, just a first-year cadet, and yet somehow he'd captured this much of Kang Mu-i's interest.
Kang Mu-i's mouth curled upward as he spoke to Mumu.
"Mumu, was it?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"You're a lot stronger than you look."
Mumu answered him back.
"I heard you're a senior, but your body's a lot tougher than it looks too."
At those words Kang Mu-i tilted his head, then burst out laughing.
He'd been pouring out killing intent this thick, and all the kid had to say about it was that his body was tough.
Interesting didn't even begin to cover it. This one was genuinely fun.
"I could use a bit more strength here."
With those words, Mumu reached a hand toward the Ki-Restraining Bracelet on his right wrist and started to step forward.
At that, Kang Mu-i pulled back the killing intent he'd been openly letting loose.
He raised both hands, showing he had no intention of taking this further.
"Let's call it here."
"Huh?"
"Seems like you've got something held in reserve. If this gets any louder, the academy's guards will come running no matter what measures I've taken."
'Ah!'
Mumu, who'd been about to turn the adjustment screw on his Ki-Restraining Bracelet, lowered his hand.
Come to think of it, if he used any more strength here, the building might not survive.
He'd nearly forgotten they'd snuck into this place without permission.
Kang Mu-i glanced around, sounding almost regretful.
"Guess I've lost a decent training space thanks to you all. Well, since you all snuck in here too, I trust you'll keep quiet about whatever you saw me doing here. See you all around."
With that, he grinned, and his body scattered and vanished like mist.
Once he was gone, Mo Il-hwa and Hae Ryang sank straight down to the floor.
The pressure bearing down on them had finally lifted.
"Hah... hah... that guy's a total monster."
"Th-that's exactly what I wanted to say."
"......."
Jin-hyeok couldn't deny it either, hearing the two of them say it.
The overwhelming presence Kang Mu-i had shown just now seemed to reach far beyond even his own masters.
It was a level of pressure hard to believe could come from a mere cadet.
'Guess I should call it lucky.'
Tang So-so let the tension drain from her clenched hands.
With the kind of presence Kang Mu-i had shown, she genuinely doubted whether even unleashing her Body of Ten Thousand Poisons would have guaranteed victory.
She counted it fortunate enough that he'd backed off without a fight.
Unlike the rest of them, Mumu smacked his lips, looking almost disappointed.
'...He looked pretty tough.'
He'd wanted to test just how much his strength could take before it broke, and it stung that the situation hadn't let him find out.
Still, he kept that thought to himself, not sharing it with the others.
Just then, Mumu's eyes caught a faint, flickering shape shimmering in the dark hallway.
'Ah!'
It was the same ghost that had promised to show him where his slave was, then run off.
Mumu walked toward where the ghost hovered.
He didn't need to chase it. It moved slowly enough that it didn't seem to be fleeing.
The closer he got, the colder the air around him turned, thick enough that his breath began fogging visibly.
Shhhhh!
The ghost kept moving, as if trying to guide him somewhere.
Following it, Mumu reached the end of the hallway, and his eyes went wide at the sight of a riot of red flowers blooming through a mound of dug-up earth.
'This is...'
* * *
Not far from the Old Teaching Hall, behind a building where no one ever went.
Bathed only in moonlight, Kang Mu-i walked slowly, then came to a stop.
He looked toward a certain spot, pulled a flat, green Jade Medallion from inside his robe, and held it up as he spoke.
"Faster than I expected. Already marked with the sign."
At that, someone appeared from where Kang Mu-i was looking, without a trace of footsteps or presence.
The figure dropped to one knee and offered a proper bow of respect.
"I greet the one who will become our master."
Kang Mu-i's mouth curved upward as he spoke.
"So it was you, after all. I always wondered which of you, Meok Chong-un or Sa Mu-heo, was Master Heo. Guess the question's finally answered today."
"Forgive this unworthy servant for offering greetings so late."
"Everyone agreed beforehand to keep their identities hidden. No need to talk about disloyalty over that."
Kang Mu-i waved a hand, saying he didn't mind it at all.
At that gesture, Master Heo, who'd shown his respect, rose to his feet and spoke.
"A small variable has come up."
"A variable?"
"Yes. It seems the grand plan will need to move up ahead of the original schedule."
Kang Mu-i's shoulders lifted at those words.
Three years now since he'd entered Changcheon Martial Academy.
How long had he waited, longing for the grand plan to finally begin?
"So it's starting, then."
"That's right..."
Master Heo's brow furrowed mid-answer.
Then he asked,
"...The one who will become our master. Did something happen to you?"
"Something happen?"
Master Heo's eyes were fixed just beneath Kang Mu-i's nose.
Noticing this, Kang Mu-i brought a finger up to touch beneath his nose.
Swipe!
Seeing the blood smeared on his finger, one of Kang Mu-i's eyebrows rose.
He'd thought he'd let all the force in that punch bleed away harmlessly, but apparently that hadn't been the case.
'...Made me bleed.'
It had been a long time since anyone had drawn blood from him.
Kang Mu-i's mouth curled up in a faint, bloodthirsty smile.
'Interesting.'
This only made him more curious about that boy.
Footnotes:
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