WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 7: The Principle of Attachment (3)
──────
‘Damn it. At this rate, I won't survive.’
Go Chan was on their way to Hyehwa Hall, First Madam’s residence.
In the end, Go Chan had been unable to sleep.
No, it would have been stranger if Go Chan had managed to sleep after hearing that.
Go Chan had not dared to ask Mok GyeongUn why he had done it, but Go Chan had no idea what to do now.
‘That lunatic. I told him over and over to let them go.’
Go Chan had never imagined Mok GyeongUn would kill Jo Il-sang, Second Young Master’s bodyguard warrior.
Go Chan had at least thought Mok GyeongUn possessed that much judgment.
What on earth was he thinking?
‘If that bastard Mok EunPyeong learns that his bodyguard warrior was killed, there will be hell to pay.’
Would there only be hell to pay?
Given his temperament, Mok EunPyeong might immediately seek revenge against Mok GyeongUn.
The Manor Lord was still alive, so he could not kill Mok GyeongUn. But he might break Mok GyeongUn’s arms and legs, or kill one of Mok GyeongUn’s bodyguards in return.
‘This is driving me mad.’
The back of Go Chan’s head throbbed.
Why had Mok GyeongUn killed Jo Il-sang and made such a mess of things?
[What about the body?]
[I took care of it, so you don't need to worry.]
How had Mok GyeongUn taken care of it?
Had he hidden it somewhere, like the secret place where he had found the martial arts book?
Even then, how long could that last?
Jo Il-sang had been sent with a purpose from the beginning.
If Jo Il-sang did not return, suspicion was inevitable.
‘What do I do?’
Had Jo Il-sang not been killed, it would have been different. But now, bringing this hollow secret manual to Second Young Master left Go Chan deeply uneasy.
Go Chan regretted it all over again.
Go Chan should have told Senior Martial Brother Gam everything.
But that chance had already passed.
Go Chan had lied to Senior Martial Brother Gam too many times out of fear of Mok GyeongUn. If Go Chan told Gam now, Gam would no longer trust Go Chan.
Gam was that sensitive, and that distrustful of others.
‘He was even worse in his active days.’
Compared to then, Gam had changed drastically.
He had been merciless toward enemies, but even more so toward traitors.
‘Still, it's strange.’
Even remembering what Guard Gam had been like, why was Go Chan more afraid of that bastard?
Go Chan did not know how things had ended up like this.
Phew.
Come to think of it, where had Senior Martial Brother gone?
When he had been with the real Mok GyeongUn, Gam never left his post except to rest during a shift change or in a genuine emergency.
Yet yesterday, he had been gone for nearly half a day.
‘What is this?’
Could he be carrying something out without Go Chan’s knowledge?
Go Chan’s eyes narrowed.
* * *
At the same time.
At the residence of Mok EunPyeong, the Second Young Master.
Mok EunPyeong sat on the edge of his desk, arms folded as he glared coldly at Guard Gam.
Guard Gam had been summoned abruptly and had no idea why, making it difficult to grasp the situation.
One thing was certain. Mok EunPyeong was extremely angry.
Guard Gam cautiously opened his mouth.
“Young Master. What is the matter?”
“That is what I would like to ask.”
“Yes?”
“What a coincidence. I tested it on the off chance, but every time even the slightest sense of foreboding proves right, it leaves a very unpleasant feeling.”
What was he talking about?
Guard Gam frowned slightly.
‘Could he have realized he is a fake?’
But that did not fit Mok EunPyeong’s tone.
Mok EunPyeong was plainly showing open hostility toward him.
Tap!
Guard Gam dropped to one knee and performed a fist-and-palm salute.
“Young Master, I do not understand what you mean. If you would tell me what is wrong...”
“What is wrong? Ha!”
Mok EunPyeong threw the inkstone from the desk.
Guard Gam could easily have avoided it, but he needed to endure Mok EunPyeong’s anger, so he took the blow.
Thud!
Trickle...
Blood ran down Guard Gam’s forehead.
It hurt because he had not protected himself with internal energy, but Guard Gam had learned to endure pain through breathing. He did his utmost not to show it.
Mok EunPyeong glared at him.
“I sent one of my bodyguards to confirm whether that bastard Mok GyeongUn had lost his Martial Arts.”
‘...I see.’
So there had been a reason.
But something was strange.
‘If that was all, there would be no reason for him to be this angry.’
The fake Mok GyeongUn had never learned Martial Arts.
If Mok EunPyeong had confirmed that, he should have put his doubts to rest. Why was he showing such hostility?
Then Mok EunPyeong continued.
“But that bodyguard has not returned.”
“What?”
Guard Gam looked up in surprise.
What did that mean?
“Do you not understand what I am saying? My bodyguard, who went to see whether that bastard had lost his Martial Arts, vanished without a trace.”
‘!?’
That could not be.
Guard Gam looked toward the bodyguards in the room.
One of the three was absent.
‘Jo Il-sang.’
They were on the verge of becoming Advanced.
In terms of skill alone, Go Chan, who currently guarded Mok GyeongUn, could never handle them.
So how had Jo Il-sang vanished?
Guard Gam spoke.
“That cannot be.”
“What?”
“I absolutely did not lie to you. That bastard... No, Young Master Mok GyeongUn cannot use Martial Arts. And Go Chan, who guards Young Master Mok GyeongUn, is merely Second-rate. They cannot handle Guard Jo Il-sang.”
He could say that with certainty.
Yet Mok EunPyeong’s eyes held not the slightest trust.
Trust had never been established between them in the first place. Now that the bodyguard had failed to return, Mok EunPyeong’s suspicions had only grown.
“Would you believe that if you were me?”
“It is true. If you cannot believe me, I will stake this arm.”
Guard Gam rolled up the sleeve on his right arm as he spoke.
For a martial artist to stake an arm was little different from staking everything.
Mok EunPyeong snorted at his resolute attitude.
“You will stake your arm? Fine. Then prove your words are true.”
“What must I prove?”
“If what you say is true, Guard Jo could not have fallen to such people. I will give you about four hours. Find Guard Jo and bring him to me.”
“...Understood.”
Guard Gam’s voice became grave.
It felt as though something had gone terribly wrong.
He would have to investigate it himself.
Mok EunPyeong warned him in a murderous voice.
“If you cannot find him, you should prepare to give up not only your arm, but also that paltry life of yours.”
“I will remember that.”
* * *
Guard Gam emerged from Second Young Master Mok EunPyeong’s residence with a terribly hardened expression.
He barely suppressed his feelings and hurried toward the Medicine house.
Then, on the way, he ran into someone.
“Huh? S-Senior Martial Brother?”
“You!”
It was Guard Go Chan.
Go Chan could not hide alarm.
Go Chan had never expected to run into Guard Gam so openly just as Go Chan was secretly carrying out Mok GyeongUn’s orders.
Guard Gam saw Go Chan, lowered his voice, and spoke angrily.
“Why are you here? I clearly told you not to leave that bastard’s side for even a moment.”
“Well...”
Go Chan could not answer properly, and Guard Gam’s gaze sharpened.
Touching a finger to the Dagger concealed at his wrist, Guard Gam said,
“Do not tell me you are plotting something with him.”
“P-Plotting?”
“Then why did you disobey my orders?”
“It is not that...”
Go Chan’s mind went blank, and they could not decide what to say.
Go Chan could hardly mention the empty secret manual meant for Mok EunPyeong, which they had tucked inside their clothes.
‘Damn it.’
There was no other choice.
Go Chan finally lied.
“The Estate Manager summoned me. They said there was something they wished to ask about what happened at the Main Hall yesterday...”
“What? The Estate Manager?”
Guard Gam frowned.
Following this path would indeed lead to the Estate Manager’s office.
Moreover, though they were bodyguard warriors, they were members of Yeonmok Sword Manor. If the Estate Manager summoned them, they naturally had no choice but to go.
But...
‘This bastard?’
Go Chan’s eyes trembled faintly.
Most people would have been unable to notice, but Guard Gam had been trained to do so.
Go Chan was clearly nervous.
Even if the Estate Manager had summoned Go Chan, leaving the post despite Guard Gam’s orders was not something Go Chan could be blamed for. There was no reason for Go Chan to be this nervous.
Guard Gam looked around.
There were signs of people some distance away, but no one conspicuous or nearby.
Once he confirmed that, Guard Gam pressed one of the vital acupoints in Go Chan’s neck and slammed them against the wall.
Smack! Thud!
“Urk!”
“You must be desperate to die.”
“S-Senior Martial Brother?”
“Speak. What are you hiding?”
“Hiding? I truly have nothing...”
Shhk.
Guard Gam pointed his Dagger at Go Chan’s heart.
“One of Second Young Master Mok EunPyeong’s bodyguards has vanished.”
“...”
“The person he went to see was that fake. Are you still going to deny knowing anything about this?”
‘D-Damn it...’
Go Chan had been exposed far too quickly.
The situation Go Chan had feared had come to pass.
No, was this really the situation Go Chan had feared?
How did Senior Martial Brother, who had not even been there last night, know this?
“W-Wait. How did you learn that... Could it be that you have already made contact with Second Young Master’s side?”
Go Chan already knew Gam intended to change allegiances.
But he had not yet decided whom to side with.
Still, if Gam knew the circumstances on Mok EunPyeong’s side, then he had already chosen that side.
“Why did you do this without discussing it with me...”
Squeeze!
“Gah!”
Guard Gam tightened his grip on the vital acupoint in Go Chan’s neck, preventing them from continuing.
Guard Gam spoke to the suffering Go Chan.
“Am I in a position where I must discuss and report every such thing to you? And are you truly in a position to question me about that now?”
“P-Please...”
Go Chan pleaded as the pain intensified.
Guard Gam loosened his grip, then whispered in their ear.
“What are you hiding? Confess truthfully. Otherwise...”
Stab!
The tip of the Dagger pierced Go Chan’s chest.
As the Dagger entered, Guard Gam frowned at the unfamiliar sensation.
He had meant only to prick some flesh, but it felt different.
Guard Gam slipped a hand inside Go Chan’s clothes.
“W-Wait...”
Squeeze!
“Ghk!”
Soon, the secret manual of the Yeonmok Heart-Transforming Method, with only two pages of content remaining, appeared in Guard Gam’s hand.
Guard Gam’s eyes widened at the sight.
“This is?”
‘It is over.’
Go Chan squeezed their eyes shut.
* * *
Bang!
The Medicine house door flew open, and Guard Gam entered with a fearsome expression.
Three Medicine house workers were inside, but Guard Gam paid them no mind. He strode toward Mok GyeongUn, who sat upright in bed, reading a book.
When he came right before him, Guard Gam spoke softly enough that only Mok GyeongUn could hear.
“What have you done?”
Mok GyeongUn answered without looking away from the book.
“What do you mean?”
Phew.
Guard Gam let out a heavy sigh.
Then he discreetly showed him a book from inside his clothes.
[Yeonmok Heart-Transforming Method]
It was the secret manual of the Yeonmok Heart-Transforming Method.
Guard Gam asked irritably,
“Where did you get this?”
Mok GyeongUn turned his head slightly, looked at the secret manual, and smirked.
“You are laughing?”
“Perhaps Guard Go Chan was unlucky.”
“What?”
“If you brought that here, you took it from Guard Go Chan, did you not?”
“...”
For a moment, Guard Gam was dumbfounded by Mok GyeongUn’s unwavering composure.
His insight was one thing, but this brat never lost his calm.
He had been caught plotting something behind Guard Gam’s back, yet he still acted this way. He was truly bold.
Then again, perhaps such audacity was why he had killed the real Mok GyeongUn.
Still, Guard Gam could not forgive being betrayed like this.
Shhk.
At an angle where no one could see, Guard Gam drew his Dagger and aimed it at Mok GyeongUn’s left ribs.
Then he spoke in a low voice.
“What did you do to Go Chan?”
“What do you mean, what did I do?”
“What did you do to make Go Chan keep their mouth so firmly shut?”
Before coming to see Mok GyeongUn, Guard Gam had taken Go Chan to his residence and interrogated Go Chan.
He had used muscle-and-bone manipulation and cut off two of Go Chan’s fingers.
Yet Go Chan had remained silent until the end.
[Speak.]
[...]
[I said speak!]
[...]
Seeing that, Guard Gam had been sincerely puzzled.
This brat might be different from ordinary people, but Go Chan should not have been unable to handle him. Guard Gam could not understand why Go Chan feared him so much.
He wanted to torture Go Chan all day, if necessary, to find out why.
But he did not have the time.
[I will give you about four hours.]
‘Damn it!’
Second Young Master Mok EunPyeong had given him only about four hours.
He had to find Jo Il-sang, that bastard’s bodyguard warrior, within that time.
Otherwise, Mok EunPyeong would surely try to kill him.
That was why he had left Go Chan behind and rushed here to confront Mok GyeongUn.
Yet...
“I truly have no idea what you are talking about.”
Mok GyeongUn continued to feign ignorance.
His casual shrug made Guard Gam’s anger rise.
Squeeze!
Grinding his teeth, Guard Gam changed his question.
“Fine. I will find out later what you did to that bastard Go Chan. Now speak. Have you seen Jo Il-sang, Young Master Mok EunPyeong’s bodyguard warrior?”
Jo Il-sang, Second Young Master Mok EunPyeong’s bodyguard warrior.
They were a master on the verge of becoming Advanced. Mok GyeongUn, who had never learned Martial Arts, and Go Chan, who was merely Second-rate, had no means of dealing with them.
That had to be true, yet why did he feel so uneasy?
Then Mok GyeongUn spoke.
“Ah, you mean the person who came to see me last night wearing a mask?”
“...Yes. That person.”
“I saw them.”
Guard Gam steadied his breathing before asking,
“You did not do anything to them, did you?”
“Come on. What could I possibly do? What strength do I have?”
Mok GyeongUn lightly waved a hand.
Guard Gam was just thinking that perhaps Mok GyeongUn had indeed been unable to harm Jo Il-sang.
But then...
“How could someone who lost his Martial Arts because his dantian was damaged possibly do anything to such a person?”
‘!?’
Guard Gam frowned.
What was that supposed to mean?
This brat knew he had spoken as though Mok GyeongUn had lost his Martial Arts...
“You...”
Mok GyeongUn leaned close to his ear, chuckled softly, and said,
“You finally changed allegiances to Second Young Master... but this fake refused to work with you and killed Second Young Master’s bodyguard. What should we do now?”
Guard Gam’s expression froze solid.
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