WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 13: Ambush (4)
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Could this truly be described as nothing more than a change?
No matter how poor their relationship was, Lady Seok was his mother in name. Yet Mok GyeongUn spoke calmly of sacrificing her.
Mok InDan was so shocked by his words that chills ran all over his body.
This went beyond change. It felt as though he had become an entirely different person.
Then Mok GyeongUn whispered sweetly.
“She is the woman who intended to let the Manor Lord die and give everything to her own son. Is she worth hesitating over?”
‘This brat...’
Whether it was true or not did not matter.
Mok GyeongUn was giving him an emotional justification to make a cruel choice.
It was justification tempting enough for both a leader trying to save a group and an ordinary person.
But...
‘No.’
Mok InDan bit down hard on his lip.
He released Mok GyeongUn's wrist and quietly rebuked him.
“I cannot trust what you say.”
“It is the truth.”
“...Even if what you say is true, we cannot call it right to sacrifice one person to save others. And...”
Manor Lord Mok InDan looked at Lady Seok's face as she backed away.
Her terrified eyes fiercely denied it.
He knew her well because she was his wife.
If she had truly done something, she would have played innocent rather than react like that.
‘As I thought. It is not true.’
Which meant...
“If this was your doing, I will tell you that it was foolish.”
“Foolish?”
“Yes. And this is not the time for this.”
Whoosh!
With that, Mok InDan moved to stop Son Yun, the Saber King, from approaching Lady Seok.
But before he could,
Crunch!
Son Yun, who seemed intent on doing something to her, clenched the earring tightly in a fist.
As shattered pieces fell to the floor, Son Yun spoke.
“It seems someone here hates the Manor Lord's wife.”
“W-What?”
Lady Seok, overwhelmed by Son Yun's intense killing intent, asked through a cold sweat.
Son Yun snorted.
“It seems someone within Yeonmok Sword Manor wanted to frame you, or kill with a borrowed blade.”
To kill with a borrowed blade meant exactly that, borrowing another's weapon to murder someone.
Lady Seok's tension eased at those words. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees.
Son Yun radiated killing intent, sweeping a sharp gaze over Yeonmok Sword Manor's people.
“Did you think I would fall for such a trick?”
At those words, Manor Lord Mok InDan gritted his teeth and gave Mok GyeongUn a meaningful look.
‘See?’
This was the foolish thing he had meant.
If one looked at the forest rather than the trees, the circumstances became clear enough.
What criminal would leave behind such obvious evidence?
It only made it seem as though an enemy had planted it.
‘You made a bad move.’
No matter how clever he tried to be, this was the limit of a scheme conceived by a mere seventeen-year-old.
Mok InDan frowned at Mok GyeongUn and whispered.
“This has grown worse. No more. Hand it over.”
“What a shame.”
“What?”
“I was hoping fortune would favor us.”
“How can you say that now...”
At that very moment,
Slash!
Son Yun, the Saber King, swung his great saber and cut through the neck of one of Yeonmok Sword Manor's warriors.
It happened too quickly for anyone to stop it.
“Saber King!”
Shing!
Manor Lord Mok InDan drew his sword in fury and shouted.
Son Yun shrugged and replied casually.
“You broke our agreement, so what good will it do to get angry with me? Hear this, people of Yeonmok Sword Manor.”
“Hear this! Hear this! Hear this!”
Son Yun's voice, infused with internal energy, thundered out like an echo.
Those nearby had to cover their ears, their eardrums aching from the reverberation.
‘That was not even Son Yun's full strength.’
Mok InDan's expression darkened.
Son Yun's Force of ki was far deeper than Mok InDan had guessed from their brief exchange earlier.
Even in perfect condition, Mok InDan would not have been able to defeat Son Yun.
Unconcerned, Son Yun continued.
“I will give you one final chance. If you wish to live, hand it over. Otherwise, tell me who stands to gain the most from the Manor Lord's wife dying.”
Lady Seok, who was kneeling on the floor and steadying her breath, had the corners of her mouth trembling.
She had never expected to suffer such humiliation because of that damned Mok GyeongUn.
At first, she had kept quiet because she was wary of the Manor Lord. But since that brat had gone this far, she was no longer in a position to hide anything.
Lady Seok parted her lips.
“Great Hero Son...”
Before she could finish, someone raised a hand and shouted.
“I know who did this!”
The one who shouted was none other than Ho Aeng.
Lady Seok promptly shut her mouth.
It would be better for Ho Aeng, a bodyguard warrior, to report the truth out of loyalty than for Lady Seok to say it herself.
“You know who it was?”
“Yes.”
Son Yun wiped the blood from his saber and spoke in a killing voice.
“If you are lying, you will pay with your life.”
“If something happens to First Madam, the Eldest Young Master's position in this manor will become precarious. There are those who would gain an advantage in the struggle for succession.”
Though it had not been her intention, the eyes of Yeonmok Sword Manor's warriors naturally turned toward two people.
They were Mok EunPyeong, the second son, and Mok YuCheon, the youngest.
People could not help where their eyes went in that moment.
Mok EunPyeong shouted in alarm.
“W-What nonsense are you saying?”
Mok YuCheon reacted the same way.
“How insolent. Guard Ho, why would I do such a thing?”
Both protested their innocence.
Naturally, neither of them had done it.
Yet strangely, not a single person looked at Mok GyeongUn in response to Ho Aeng's words.
‘This...’
Manor Lord Mok InDan furrowed his brow.
Considering Mok GyeongUn had tried to bargain with him, Mok InDan was certain that if anyone had plotted something, it was this child.
Yet now that Ho Aeng had mentioned those who would benefit in the succession struggle, no one in Yeonmok Sword Manor looked toward Mok GyeongUn.
That was because he had the least power and the fewest prospects.
Then Son Yun looked back and forth between Mok EunPyeong and Mok YuCheon.
“It sounds plausible, but why should I believe it?”
“There may be evidence.”
“Evidence? Oh? Tell me, girl.”
‘Evidence?’
Lady Seok frowned at Ho Aeng's words.
Was there really any evidence?
As she wondered, Ho Aeng spoke.
“Besides the item Great Hero Son seeks, the underground chamber beneath the Medicine house held martial arts books that only Yeonmok Sword Manor's Manor Lord can learn. Whoever possesses them must be behind this!”
‘!!!!!!’
Both targets could not hide their alarm at Ho Aeng's words.
Mok YuCheon and Lady Seok possessed the original Yeonmok Heart-Transforming Method and Yeonmok Sword-Forming Formula, though they had only the cover and two pages.
They both shouted in panic.
“No!”
“Ho Aeng, you!”
The moment their simultaneous outcry drew everyone's attention, they realized their mistake and did not know what to do.
They should not have reacted that way to Ho Aeng's words.
Now it was obvious that their quarters would be searched.
‘Ha!’
Manor Lord Mok InDan looked at Mok GyeongUn.
The sight of him watching as though this were an entertaining spectacle made Mok InDan's eyes tremble.
[If fortune favors us and we can save everyone by sacrificing that one woman, would that not be a good thing in its own way?]
[What a shame. I was hoping fortune would favor us.]
Mok GyeongUn's words flashed through his mind.
The fortune Mok GyeongUn had meant was not what Mok InDan had understood.
“You...”
Mok GyeongUn smiled faintly and whispered.
“This is a serious problem. What could have ended with one person has entangled everyone. At this rate, that frightening person will throw a fit about killing them all, secret manuals or not.”
* * *
“What? You want me to put this earring in that wooden box?”
“Yes.”
“Mortal, are you stupid?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you put it there, who would believe it belonged to that old mortal wench? They would only suspect it was the work of someone targeting Lady Seok or whatever her name is.”
“Yes. That is exactly what I want.”
“What?”
“Why do you think I bothered giving them a martial arts book that was little more than an empty shell?”
“You... Surely not?”
“Call it a small precaution for if the Manor Lord awakens and checks the hidden chamber. Just a little prank.”
“A little prank? You certainly know how to put that scheming mind to work.”
* * *
Originally, it had been a precaution in case the Manor Lord awakened and inspected the hidden chamber.
Things had not gone as intended, but it had only increased the confusion.
Mok GyeongUn curled his lips into a sinister smile.
“Rather than regret it after losing them one by one, would it not be better to tell me about that wound now?”
Clench!
Manor Lord Mok InDan gritted his teeth.
‘What in the world is this brat...’
He could no longer think of Mok GyeongUn as his son.
He had never seen anyone so terrifyingly cunning.
The thought of him holding Yeonmok Sword Manor's danger hostage to obtain what he wanted was enough to leave Mok InDan dumbfounded and intimidated.
“What will you do?”
There was no longer any choice.
Mok InDan spoke.
“...Bring the secret manual and hand it over to Son Yun. Then I will tell you.”
“That is not how bargaining works.”
“You truly...!”
“We do not have much time.”
Mok InDan glared at Mok GyeongUn with a twisted expression. His cheeks trembled as he finally forced out the words.
“It was a wound inflicted some seventeen years ago in Longmen, Guangdong Province, by the one called Ghost Sword.”
“Ghost Sword?”
“You... Do you not know Ghost Sword?”
There was no way he could.
Mok GyeongUn had only begun learning Martial Arts recently. There was no reason for him to know about the martial world's affairs.
“Who is Ghost Sword...”
Before he could finish,
Jingle, jingle!
The sound of bells rang out.
Everyone's gaze immediately turned toward it.
“Taoist occultist Jo.”
Son Yun, the Saber King, called out to someone coming past the pavilion.
It was a middle-aged man leaning on a staff, wearing a blindfold patterned with snakes.
Yet more puzzling than the man's arrival was the bell at his waist. It rang on its own without anyone shaking it.
‘What is that?’
Then the blindfolded Taoist occultist Jo opened his mouth.
“An aberration is playing tricks.”
“An aberration?”
“It is trying to steal a person's shell.”
Whoosh!
The middle-aged man swung his staff through the air, formed a hand seal with his left hand, and recited a spellcraft incantation.
“Divine brush, move! All gods, grant your protection! May peace reign! Subdue demons and vanquish evil! By Supreme Lord Lao's command, Hurry, Hurry, Act According to the Law!”
Bang!
The instant the spellcraft incantation ended, the middle-aged man struck his staff against the floor.
An invisible wave spread out, and a powerful wind suddenly rose around them.
Whoosh!
“Aaaaaah!”
Lady Seok's bodyguard warrior Ho Aeng clutched her head and screamed madly as the wind brushed past her.
Those around her could not hide their shock.
Black veins bulged around Ho Aeng's neck. It was utterly grotesque.
“W-What is that?”
Twitch!
Ho Aeng's eyes rolled back, and her entire body convulsed wildly.
Everyone hurried away from her.
Retch!
Go Chan also felt his stomach turn, though not as severely as Ho Aeng.
The moment the wind brushed against him, disgust rose in him along with the urge to vomit.
But when he immediately raised his internal energy and deployed Defensive Ki, it became bearable.
“Huff... Huff...”
Go Chan looked at Ho Aeng.
Through his Ghost Eyes, he saw the Demonic Monk writhing in pain inside Ho Aeng's body.
Perhaps because the body was only Second-rate and the possession had only just begun, the Demonic Monk could not endure it.
In the end,
Thwack!
The Demonic Monk was thrown out of the possessed body.
Ho Aeng, who had been convulsing in agony, collapsed as though she had fainted.
Thud!
The corner of Taoist occultist Jo's mouth rose.
“I will exorcise you.”
Jo pulled out an Edict-Talisman Curse talisman from his waist, attached it to the staff, and shouted.
“Suppress ghosts, destroy evil! By the edict of Supreme Lord Lao, heavenly soldiers and divine generals, swiftly act according to the law!”
Whoosh!
Then Jo threw the staff.
Amazingly, it flew straight as an arrow.
To everyone else, it seemed to be flying toward an empty space. But the Demonic Monk was staggering there, still unable to escape the pain.
Yet before the staff, bearing mystical power, could reach the Demonic Monk,
Snatch!
Someone caught the staff midway.
“You are doing something troublesome.”
It was none other than Mok GyeongUn.
Taoist occultist Jo, the blindfolded middle-aged man, could not hide his surprise.
‘What?’
He had caught a staff bearing an Edict-Talisman Curse and a spell with his bare hand. Even for someone from a martial family, he was no ordinary person.
But that was not what truly shocked Jo.
Taoist occultist Jo furrowed his brow, glared at Mok GyeongUn, and spoke.
“You... can see vengeful spirits.”
A murmur ran through those gathered.
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