Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 40
>Chapter Title: Shadow Clan Leader (2)
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Just one hour and three quarters prior,
Mok Kyung-un let out a soft sigh as he gazed at the window paper illuminated by the surrounding torches.
Everything was proceeding exactly as anticipated.
Mok Kyung-un looked down at the scroll clutched in his left hand.
It was something the Demon Monk, possessing the Shadow Clan Leader's guard Bi, had secretly retrieved for him.
Every day at the same time, the Shadow Clan Leader would recite this repeatedly.
[Well, looks like I need to read it now.]
-Indeed.
From the looks of things, there wouldn't be a leisurely opportunity to examine it later.
And if he were caught with it during a room search now, the situation would escalate dramatically.
With that, Mok Kyung-un unrolled the scroll.
-Sssrrk!
It was so worn from frequent handling.
As the scroll unfurled halfway,
The Demon Monk possessing Bi furrowed his brow upon seeing it.
[This is...]
Even the Demon Monk had only seen it being read, never its contents.
Thus, he had no idea what it said.
Yet,
-This... isn't in our language.
Surprisingly, the scroll was inscribed not in Classical Chinese, but in some utterly unrecognizable script.
Blue Spirit, seeing it for the first time as well, tilted her head with her pipe in her mouth.
The winding characters lacked the regularity to be considered demonic script.
Which meant it might not even be from the Central Plains...
[Ho. This looks like the language of Persia.]
-What?
Blue Spirit's eyes widened as she stared at Mok Kyung-un.
Persia, or sometimes called Parthia, was known to be located beyond the Western Regions, along the northern coast—not in the Central Plains.
-Can you read this, mortal?
[More or less.]
-What?
How on earth could this guy read it?
As Mok Kyung-un scratched his head in bewilderment,
[Grandfather taught me.]
-Grandfather?
[Yes. He taught me a few languages besides Classical Chinese. Said it'd help with studying Western pharmacology.]
-Hah...
He taught him the language of Persia, which he might never use in his lifetime, just for pharmacology?
It made him increasingly curious about this mortal's grandfather.
But that wasn't important right now.
-What does it say?
[Let's see. It seems like some kind of verse or incantation. "This sacred body burns in holy flame, freed from attachments to life and death. The path ahead is illuminated with light..."]
-Enough.
[Yes?]
-...I know what it is.
[You do?]
-Yes. I thought it might be a martial arts manual, but it's not. This is scripture.
[Scripture?]
Wasn't scripture like Buddhist sutras—phrases used in religious prayer?
What kind of scripture could this be?
As Mok Kyung-un looked puzzled, Blue Spirit clicked her tongue.
-Truly a spectacle. The head of the Heaven-Earth Society's intelligence and secrets division is a fire worshipper.
[Fire worshipper?]
Something clicked in Mok Kyung-un's mind as he tilted his head.
It was the term "fire worship" that the Shadow Clan Leader had mentioned in his conversation with the Outer Hall Supervisor.
Fire worship literally meant bowing to fire.
Did that mean this scripture was related to fire worship?
[Worship... fire worship...]
-Hm? How do you know of the Fire Worship Cult?
[Fire Worship Cult? What's that?]
-This scripture. It seems to be from the Fire Worship Cult.
[Fire Worship Cult?]
"Ah..."
Unlike Mok Kyung-un's questioning murmur, the Demon Monk nodded knowingly.
As Mok Kyung-un remained puzzled, Blue Spirit puffed deeply on her pipe and explained.
-They're coming in from outside soon, so I'll keep it brief. The Fire Worship Cult literally reveres fire. Or rather, they worship a god from the Western Regions that no one's heard of.
[Western god?]
-Yes. It's a kind of impure heresy. Debating it is tiring, but once, this Fire Worship Cult infiltrated the Central Plains and spread among the common folk.
[Hmm.]
Most religions started that way.
They began from the lowest strata, the masses.
Those with nowhere to rely on, the impoverished, desperately clung to something to rise.
-It spread rapidly at one point, becoming a sudden threat to those who upheld Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
['Threat?']
More like unwelcome, perhaps?
New things were always rejected in some form.
[...From the sound of it, it didn't end well.]
-No. Branded as deluding the masses, they faced massive persecution. That was over a century ago. I never imagined survivors still existed—let alone one heading intelligence in the Heaven-Earth Society.
Blue Spirit spoke with evident disappointment.
From her reaction, she clearly didn't think highly of the Fire Worship Cult either.
If even a dead resentful spirit like her felt that way, it was easy to guess how most people viewed the cult.
Just then, a shout came from outside.
-Surrender now, intruder, or we will kill you.
Mok Kyung-un moved to roll up the scroll again.
But in the process, something slipped out and nearly fell to the floor.
He snatched it mid-air.
-Tak!
'Hm?'
What was this?
[اهریمن]
The word was followed by something else written below.
Less doctrine, more like a stark warning.
Mok Kyung-un stared intently at it before slipping the paper back into the scroll and handing it to the Demon Monk.
* * *
Back to the present.
The Shadow Clan Leader gripped his dagger, about to apply pressure.
Right then.
"But if you behead me, everyone will know Master worships fire. Not sure if that's okay with you."
'!?'
The Shadow Clan Leader's expression hardened instantly.
Seeing this reaction, a faint gleam flickered in Mok Kyung-un's eyes.
His guess had been spot on.
Blue Spirit had deduced he was a Fire Worship Cult follower from his daily recitation of the scripture.
-Pak!
In that instant, the Shadow Clan Leader seized Mok Kyung-un's collar and slammed him against the wall.
-Kwang!
His usual airy demeanor vanished completely, replaced by eyes brimming with killing intent as he snarled.
"You bastard... where did you hear such nonsense?"
"Nonsense?"
-Pak!
The dagger's tip dug slightly into Mok Kyung-un's neck.
Any deeper, and his head would come off.
Mok Kyung-un chuckled softly.
"If it's nonsense, just laugh it off. Why the overreaction?"
"You little..."
-Puk!
The dagger pressed deeper into his neck.
A clear demonstration that he could kill.
Yet,
'This kid?'
The Shadow Clan Leader's eyes sharpened.
Despite imminent death, Mok Kyung-un maintained his smile.
It wasn't confidence that he wouldn't strike.
He seemed utterly unattached to life itself, fearless of death.
This was a first.
"Not afraid?"
"Of what?"
"You might die right now."
"Die if I die, live if I live. Why complicate it?"
"......"
The Shadow Clan Leader fell silent at Mok Kyung-un's words.
He glared for a moment before speaking again.
"You said if I kill you, everyone will know. Have you told anyone else?"
His eyes trembled faintly as he asked.
He feared others already knew.
Mok Kyung-un smiled.
"Who knows? Maybe I didn't tell those who ought to know?"
-Puk!
"Hup!"
No sooner had he finished than the Shadow Clan Leader's fist slammed into his abdomen.
It looked like a simple strike, but the shockwave spread inward, wracking his organs with pain.
It didn't end there.
-Pak!
The Shadow Clan Leader grabbed his abdomen with five fingers and twisted like wringing a cloth.
Agonizing pain surged as the muscles tore.
"Speak properly now, or your...!?"
Mid-sentence, the Shadow Clan Leader furrowed his brow.
This technique was his own invention as a torture expert: induce internal pain via energy, then twist muscles to maximize agony.
It rivaled tendon-tearing in torment.
Yet Mok Kyung-un's expression remained unchanged.
'This kid?'
Aside from a brief breath hold when the internal energy hit, he kept smiling through the excruciating pain.
What kind of monster was this?
-Jururuk!
Blood trickled from Mok Kyung-un's mouth.
Internal injuries were expected.
Bleeding and in agony, yet his face unchanged—this was true grit.
The more he learned, the more extraordinary this kid seemed.
Martial prowess aside, everything about him.
But regrettably, this secret could never leak.
"...Tell me who you told. I'll spare your life."
"That won't do."
"What?"
"If you know who I told, you'd have to kill them too—and me. Only then does the secret die, right?"
-Kwaaak!
The Shadow Clan Leader twisted his abdominal muscles harder.
He growled lowly.
"Trying to teach me?"
"Not teaching. Just pointing out how obvious your lie is."
"You..."
Mocking him in this situation?
Provoking when it gained nothing—what was he thinking?
No matter how fearless of death, this was excessive...
Right then.
"This sacred body burns in holy flame, freed from attachments to life and death. The path ahead is illuminated with light; joy and sorrow alike turn to dust. Pity the worry-ridden mortals."
'!!!!!!'
The Shadow Clan Leader's face stiffened at the recited scripture.
How did this kid know the Fire Worship Cult's doctrine?
He couldn't hide his shock.
'No way?'
He surely hadn't seen the scripture scroll.
Even if he had, it was in Persia's tongue—few in the Heaven-Earth Society, or the entire Central Plains, could read it.
Not even the cult's scant surviving followers could fully decipher it. How could this kid?
Impossible.
Yet how could he recite it so fluently and accurately?
Unless he already knew...
-Pak!
The Shadow Clan Leader hastily released his abdomen and demanded.
"You... are you one of our faith's followers?"
[End of Chapter 40: Shadow Clan Leader (2)]