WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 8: Deathly Aura (2)
──────
This was Mok EunPyeong's residence.
Slurp!
Having finished breakfast, Mok EunPyeong elegantly drank Junshan Silver Needle, Hunan Province's renowned tea.
Jeon Yang-pyeong, a guard warrior who had reached the level of an Advanced master, cautiously spoke to him.
“Young master.”
“What is it?”
“Judging from Guard Gam's reaction earlier, it didn't seem to be a lie. Do you truly believe he was deceiving you as a desperate measure?”
Clack!
Mok EunPyeong set down his teacup and gave a short reply.
“No. It's fifty-fifty. There must have been something even Guard Gam didn't know. Even if it was a desperate measure, would he do something suspicious after just one day? No matter how much of a fool Mok GyeongUn is, he must have hidden at least one trump card.”
“What? Then why...”
“You mean, why did I say I'd take his life if he couldn't find Jo Il-sang within two two-hour periods?”
“Yes. Haven't you wanted Guard Gam for yourself?”
Mok EunPyeong had long wanted Guard Gam, the third young master Mok GyeongUn's guard, for himself.
Even after learning that the guard was a former assassin, his desire had not changed.
If anything, he had judged that such a person would be even more useful.
“If you had investigated separately and shown him trust instead...”
“I can't do that.”
“You can't?”
“If I showed unconditional trust, rather than being grateful, he'd see me as too kind or easy to handle. I merely intended to instill an appropriate degree of tension.”
“You mean...?”
“Do you think I'd discard such talent so easily?”
Mok EunPyeong smiled.
Even if Guard Gam exceeded the two two-hour periods, Mok EunPyeong had no real intention of killing him.
“Once I show him how demanding and strict I can be, I only need to forgive him after learning the truth. People respond far more strongly when you treat them harshly, then show them kindness just once.”
That was how Mok EunPyeong handled people.
Though Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong disagreed inwardly, they pretended to be impressed.
“As expected of you, young master. I did not know you possessed such insight.”
“So wait quietly. When people grow impatient, it becomes easier to break their spirit. It's unfortunate that we lost Guard Jo, but his sense of responsibility will only make him more loyal.”
“You are right.”
“Empty flattery.”
“Still, please don't push him too far.”
Mok EunPyeong raised one eyebrow.
“What?”
“Didn't you learn this while investigating Guard Gam's past?”
“Ah... that?”
“Yes. Guard Gam may be from that place. If he truly is from there, then even if he's retired, provoking him carelessly could become danger... no, troublesome.”
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong had started to say it could become dangerous, then changed the wording.
Mok EunPyeong had a strong sense of pride.
That was precisely why former members of assassin organizations were rather dangerous to keep as subordinates.
Especially if they came from that place.
Slurp! Clack!
“He may be. No one knows whether he is or not.”
“Yes.”
“Rather than that, think about what we should do with that bastard Mok GyeongUn. If he truly laid a hand on Jo Il-sang, I can't let him off.”
“...”
Judging by Mok EunPyeong's reaction, he was already offended.
Continuing to press the matter would only displease his master, so Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong stopped.
Just then, the sound of someone running in a hurry could be heard.
Knock, knock!
“Young master, it is Han Saeng.”
“Come in.”
Han Saeng was one of Mok EunPyeong's three guards and had the lowest martial prowess.
Like Go Chan, Han Saeng was merely at the Second-rate level.
That was why Han Saeng handled the most miscellaneous work.
Seeing Han Saeng rush in with such an expression, Mok EunPyeong asked in puzzlement,
“I sent you to examine the situation only a short while ago. Since you've come back in such a hurry with that look on your face, something must have happened?”
“Well, that is...”
“Speak.”
“Guard Gam has disappeared.”
“What?”
Mok EunPyeong's expression stiffened at the sudden news.
What sort of nonsense was this?
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong asked in disbelief.
“What do you mean? Guard Gam disappeared?”
“Well, that is...”
“Don't tell me he defied the young master's orders and fled?”
“That is not it.”
“Then what is it? Speak clearly!”
Pressed by Jeon Yang-pyeong, Guard Han Saeng spoke with difficulty.
“There is an uproar right now.”
“An uproar?”
“Yes. Outer Hall warriors have sealed off the area, so I couldn't get close. But I heard that Guard Gam killed three workers in the Medicine house, then tried to kill the third young master as well. He was injured and fled.”
‘!?’
Mok EunPyeong was dumbfounded.
What in the world did that mean?
He had ordered Guard Gam to find Jo Il-sang, his missing guard. Why would Guard Gam suddenly try to kill Mok GyeongUn?
‘Could it be...?’
Was he trying to prove his loyalty that way?
Or had he threatened Mok GyeongUn to learn where Jo Il-sang had disappeared to?
It was impossible to guess.
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong asked in the same incredulous tone.
“Are you certain? Why would Guard Gam do such a thing to him?”
“I don't know either. But they say young master Mok GyeongUn's injuries were severe enough to endanger his life, so it may be true. But that isn't the problem.”
“If that isn't the problem, what is?”
“I apologize for reporting this, but...”
“Speak quickly!”
At Mok EunPyeong's urging, Guard Han Saeng finally opened his mouth.
“It appears young master Mok GyeongUn told the Outer Hall investigators that you induced Guard Gam to betray him and ordered Guard Gam to kill him.”
‘!!!!!’
No sooner had the words ended than Mok EunPyeong's face twisted horribly.
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong hurriedly tried to calm him.
“Young master, please compose yourself. Even if that bastard Mok GyeongUn spreads such malicious rumors, the Outer Hall will never believe him.”
Bang!
Mok EunPyeong slammed a hand down on the table and raised his voice.
“Whether they believe it or not isn't the issue. If I become embroiled in a scandal before I have even been chosen as successor, what will the retainers think of me?”
Mok EunPyeong trembled.
The Outer Hall could not pressure him over this matter because it lacked the Manor Lord's authority. But neither would it overlook it.
If that happened, the retainers' support might waver.
“Mok GyeongUn, you bastard!”
Thud!
Unable to bear it any longer, Mok EunPyeong sprang to his feet.
Unless he went to find Mok GyeongUn and turn the place upside down at once, he could not endure it.
Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong stopped him.
“Young master, please calm yourself!”
“Calm myself? How can I calm down? That damned bastard stabbed me in the back twice, and you expect me to let it go?”
This was the second time, following the matter of Guard Jo.
This time especially had truly enraged him.
“But if you go now, you will only attract more suspicion. And if the Outer Hall is guarding the place, the retainers' eyes will naturally be drawn there as well.”
Grit!
Mok EunPyeong ground his teeth.
Though he was furious, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong was right.
If he went to vent his frustration on Mok GyeongUn or harm him, it would negatively affect the succession struggle.
Yet leaving him alone was equally unbearable.
How smug would that bastard be?
The eldest young master, Mok YeongHo, or First Madam might even laugh at him.
As Mok EunPyeong failed to calm his anger, Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong spoke quietly.
“Young master, since things have come to this, what if we move them?”
“Them?”
“The group Guard Gam belonged to.”
“...That place?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean, move them?”
“As I understand it, they take great pride in assassination missions and have an iron rule.”
“An iron rule?”
“Yes. Whether retired or not, they do not tolerate assassins from their own faction failing.”
“And what do they do if they don't tolerate it?”
“I hear they complete the assassination by whatever means necessary.”
Mok EunPyeong's frozen expression gradually relaxed.
“Didn't he say himself that Guard Gam tried to kill him? Then this is actually a good thing. I will pass the information on to them.”
At Guard Jeon Yang-pyeong's words, the corners of Mok EunPyeong's mouth rose.
* * *
Mok GyeongUn sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, as though meditating.
He was trying a Breathing Technique.
No matter how strong his recovery was, daggers had pierced between his ribs and into his thigh. Those wounds could not heal instantly.
Since things had come to this, he intended to try forming a dantian.
‘Then perhaps I can do something about this.’
Below Mok GyeongUn's navel, cold, Yin deathly energy had gathered.
It was the energy he had absorbed from the dead Jo Il-sang and Guard Gam.
Yet though he had absorbed it, unlike the internal energy he had handled after absorbing it through the movement of Adhesion, this energy only accumulated in his belly and would not move.
He was trying to form a dantian with it, wondering whether that might make it usable.
But...
‘Is this how it normally is?’
The Yeonmok Heart-Transforming Method described the Breathing Technique, or method of breathing, in detail.
Naturally, it also contained methods for ki circulation and the Ki Control Method.
In any case, to properly circulate ki, one had to use the breathing method to take in the energy in the air, gather it near the dantian, and form a small seed.
But something was strange.
‘Why is the energy I take in through breathing scattering away?’
The energy gathered through the breathing method was extremely faint.
It was far less than what he had absorbed through the movement of Adhesion, but the cultivation technique's martial arts book described that as normal.
Thinking that many drops make a river, he guided it below his navel.
Fwoosh...
But the instant it entered, it scattered away.
Just as the internal energy absorbed through the movement of Adhesion naturally dispersed, it simply vanished.
‘Why?’
He could not understand.
Was energy naturally prone to scattering?
There was no one to ask, and he could only follow what the book said. Thus, Mok GyeongUn had no choice but to follow its instructions.
“Hoo... Hoo...”
Using the Breathing Technique, he recited the cultivation technique's essential formula and gathered energy.
He continued for half a day, until the sun was nearly setting, but every trace of faint energy that entered scattered away the moment it reached below his navel.
‘...What is this?’
Why was this happening?
The martial arts book said that forming a seed, no, a dantian, was extremely difficult.
From that perspective, it certainly was difficult.
But it did not say that the energy would scatter away the moment it was gathered.
It said it would gradually disperse.
‘But it disappears immediately.’
Unlike what the book described, every bit of energy vanished as soon as it entered.
Why?
Could Martial Arts truly not be learned through self-study?
‘Hmm.’
Mok GyeongUn glanced toward Guard Go Chan, who was sleeping as though dead on the bed beside him.
Go Chan's left ring finger and little finger had been cut off, and after being tortured with muscle-and-bone manipulation, Go Chan had fallen unconscious while confined in Go Chan's own annex.
Mok GyeongUn had asked the Outer Hall warriors to bring Go Chan here.
He had considered letting Go Chan sleep, but decided to wake them.
“Guard Go Chan.”
“...”
“Guard Go Chan.”
“...”
Hmm.
Whoosh!
Mok GyeongUn raised his palm over Go Chan's face.
Then,
Snap!
Go Chan's eyes flew open. Go Chan quickly lifted their upper body and answered in a panic.
“Yes!”
“Wow. How strange. Weren't you asleep?”
“I, I was asleep.”
In truth, Go Chan had awakened around fifteen minutes ago.
After waking, Go Chan had no idea what had happened, so they had kept their eyes shut while assessing the situation.
That was how Go Chan learned this was the Medicine house and that Mok GyeongUn was right beside them.
For that reason, Go Chan could not bring themselves to open their eyes.
It was a kind of escape from reality.
Mok GyeongUn spoke in a whisper.
“There was something I wanted to tell you once you woke up.”
“W-what is it?”
Gulp!
Go Chan could not hide their tension.
Go Chan suddenly felt uneasy.
Mok GyeongUn gave a small laugh.
“Contrary to my expectations, you kept your mouth quite firmly shut.”
“...Haa.”
Go Chan let out a breath of relief.
There might not have been much difference between dying one way or another, but dying by Mok GyeongUn's hand seemed as though it would be the most agonizing death possible. That was why Go Chan had endured.
“I am starting to like you, Guard Go Chan.”
“Th-thank you.”
What a relief.
It seemed Go Chan's choice had not been wrong after all.
‘...Wait. Is this really something to be happy about?’
Go Chan felt as though Mok GyeongUn was gradually taming them.
Once Go Chan became aware of it, they were overcome with self-loathing.
Then Go Chan remembered something. Realizing their mistake, Go Chan looked around nervously and apologized.
“However, young master... I am sorry. Guard Gam discovered me on the way and took the item you entrusted to me...”
“Ah, I got it back.”
“What?”
He got it back? What did that mean?
Mok GyeongUn smiled at Go Chan's confusion and whispered,
“Keep this to yourself, Guard Go Chan. I killed Guard Gam and took it back.”
‘!?’
Go Chan's eyes widened.
Had Go Chan heard correctly?
Mok GyeongUn had killed Senior Martial Brother Gam?
Gam was a mid-rank assassin from Flying Kill Gate, one of the Central Plains' Three Great Assassin Organizations, even if he had retired.
“H-how...”
“Shh.”
Mok GyeongUn motioned with his eyes toward the Medicine house entrance.
Four or so warriors could be seen as shadows beyond the paper door.
Another four stood guard on the opposite side.
They were warriors from Yeonmok Sword Manor's Outer Hall.
“They believe Guard Gam disappeared after attacking me. So you should roughly understand it that way too, Guard Go Chan.”
Go Chan lowered their voice and whispered,
“Is that really true?”
“Why would I lie about something like this?”
“...”
Go Chan swallowed dryly.
That demon-like bastard would have no reason to lie about such a matter.
‘This is impossible... What is this bastard?’
Mok GyeongUn clearly had not learned Martial Arts.
Yet now he had even killed an Advanced master?
It was utterly impossible by any ordinary standard.
No, was such a thing even possible?
Seeing that Guard Go Chan still could not easily believe it, Mok GyeongUn said,
“I have something to ask.”
“Y-yes? What would you like to ask?”
“I want to form a dantian, but it is not going well. I thought I understood things fairly well, but I don't seem to understand the martial arts book's contents.”
“...You mean a dantian?”
Go Chan frowned.
Was this bastard still trying to learn Martial Arts?
But Mok GyeongUn was not young for someone beginning Martial Arts.
‘Seventeen... Waste has built up in his blood meridians, so even if he uses a Breathing Technique, it will be difficult for him to properly take in energy.’
That was why people began the Breathing Technique as young as possible.
Regardless of his understanding, naturally forming a dantian would be difficult.
Go Chan was at a loss over how to say it.
‘I am sorry to discourage you, but it is already too late for you to learn Martial Arts.’
Go Chan could not bring themself to say it.
After considering for a moment, Go Chan spoke.
“C-could you tell me what exactly is difficult?”
Go Chan would help for now.
Explaining it verbally would only upset Mok GyeongUn. It was better to let him experience it himself and realize that he was too late to learn Martial Arts.
Unaware of Go Chan's thoughts, Mok GyeongUn explained where he was stuck.
“...That is why, no matter what I do, the energy disperses.”
“...”
Go Chan was blank for a moment.
Had Go Chan misheard?
Mok GyeongUn had only just begun a Breathing Technique, yet already understood what ki was. He had even gathered it himself near the dantian below his navel through the Ki Meditation pathway?
Though it had scattered?
‘No. He is joking, right?’
A person who did not even know the first thing about Martial Arts had reached that point alone merely because he possessed a cultivation technique's martial arts book?
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.
Even with the Three breathing techniques, it was difficult to readily understand the nature of ki without first learning the fundamentals necessary to practice Martial Arts.
“Guard Go Chan?”
“Yes!”
“Why are you making that expression?”
“W-well...”
“Is there something strange?”
“No. Rather than that...”
“Rather than that?”
“Young master... Did you truly feel ki through breathing?”
He had felt it in less than half a day?
“Yes. Why?”
“Young master, this is something we must be absolutely certain about...”
“Why would I say I felt it if I didn't? I have no reason to joke about that.”
“...”
This was driving Go Chan mad.
From Go Chan's perspective, Mok GyeongUn might as well have declared himself a peerless genius.
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