Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 4
>Chapter Title: Demon Monk (3)
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‘This can’t be...’
The elderly physician taking the pulse couldn’t hide his astonishment.
Just that morning, the Clan Head’s pulse had seemed on the verge of stopping at any moment.
Yet now, vitality had returned to his beating pulse.
In just a few hours.
‘His complexion has improved too.’
The inexplicable symptoms had all vanished.
Though prolonged unconsciousness and bedrest had weakened him somewhat, with proper rest, recovery seemed highly likely.
However,
‘The issue is his consciousness.’
The Clan Head had been unconscious for quite some time.
His failure to regain awareness was why Timber Sword Manor was now abuzz with succession disputes.
His improving condition raised the odds of him waking, but no one could say exactly when.
If something happened to him before then...
‘...’
At that moment, a sharp woman’s voice rang in his ear.
“How is he?”
The elderly physician cautiously lifted his head.
The voice belonged to Great Madam Seok.
Her expression was different from usual.
That morning, she had exuded arrogance laced with resolute determination.
That had given him an ominous feeling.
‘Something’s up.’
The physician sensed the situation was far from normal.
When he had rushed here, the Clan Head’s arm had been severed, and the room was littered with traces of sorcery—talismans and red threads everywhere.
Yet the sorcerer who performed it had been found dead.
And the Third Young Master was implicated in the process.
‘What in the world happened?’
The physician carefully studied Great Madam Seok’s eyes.
They trembled strangely.
The reaction of someone whose plans had gone awry.
‘Things didn’t go as planned.’
Though his arm was severed, the Clan Head’s complexion had greatly improved.
As a martial artist herself, Great Madam Seok would know enough to discern details.
She must have realized the situation had improved since morning.
Yet she showed no joy at all...
‘Could it be she wasn’t trying to heal him through the sorcerer, but scheming something with sorcery?’
It was plausible enough to dismiss.
Everyone knew the Clan Head favored the youngest son, Mok Yu-cheon, as successor.
From her position as Great Madam, she likely didn’t want him to wake.
“Has his condition improved at all?”
Faced with her repeated question, the physician hesitated for a split second.
Only she and he were present.
Telling her the Clan Head would wake soon felt risky—she might do something drastic.
After agonizing, the physician spoke cautiously.
“...His complexion has brightened and his pulse strengthened, but his condition remains dire. The long illness is the cause. Best view it as a final flicker of light.”
“Aaah...”
Return of the light.
A metaphor for the brief resurgence of vitality before death, like the sky brightening just before sunset.
It wasn’t true, but he said it deliberately.
Yet,
‘Ha.’
The physician inwardly marveled at the absurdity.
She let out a moan of feigned regret, but her face and eyes betrayed relief.
No doubt because she didn’t want the Clan Head to recover.
Gazing at the Clan Head, the physician thought,
‘Clan Head... time is running out. You must wake.’
Otherwise, who knew what Great Madam Seok might do.
* * *
Emerging outside, Great Madam Seok reverted to her usual arrogant expression.
Stepping onto the veranda, she found Inner Hall Leader Jang Myeong-in waiting, along with her one-eyed female guard Ho-ang and two maids.
Approaching Jang Myeong-in, Great Madam Seok spoke.
“Is the cause of death confirmed?”
He nodded quietly in response.
“Certain. Not from physical trauma. In all my years seeing countless corpses, I’ve never encountered anything like it...”
His gaze pointed to Sorcerer Myo-sin’s body.
Covered in straw matting, the exposed skin bulged grotesquely with protruding veins.
Even she had never seen such a corpse.
Turning from the body, she asked in a low voice.
“What did he say?”
“The escort claimed he came to visit the patient.”
“To visit...”
“Yes. Then the sorcerer went mad, as if possessed, tried to chop off the Clan Head’s arm and kill him.”
“...What a mess.”
“My apologies. I should have stationed guards at the entrance...”
Jang Myeong-in bowed in atonement.
She shook her head.
“What can be done about what’s already happened? But do you really think that’s what occurred?”
“What do you mean?”
“That the boy truly came to visit and just happened to stumble upon it?”
“...The body’s state and circumstances point that way.”
“They do?”
“Young Master Mok Kyung-un even suffered a thigh wound pierced by a sword. Heavy bleeding—it could have been fatal.”
That was Jang Myeong-in’s view.
Self-inflicted wounds of that severity were improbable.
A light graze or minimal bleeding might be suspicious, but this left no doubt.
“...”
Still, she didn’t drop her suspicious glare.
Jang Myeong-in accepted it as par for the course.
She viewed all sons except the eldest with disdain.
Then she asked.
“Where is that boy now?”
“Pardon?”
“Mok Kyung-un.”
“Ah. I stopped the bleeding on the Third Young Master urgently, then sent him to the pharmacy for treatment.”
“The pharmacy?”
“Yes.”
Her gaze turned toward the pharmacy on the western side of the main hall.
Soon, her footsteps followed.
* * *
‘A pleasant scent.’
Mok Kyung-un sniffed the air and smiled.
Nostalgic from the herbal aromas he hadn’t smelled since descending the mountain.
Memories of foraging for herbs with Grandfather.
Recalling those fresh, beautiful times stirred conflicting emotions in a corner of his heart once more.
-........
The Demon Monk’s white-pupiled eyes gleamed.
Influenced by the thick killing intent.
Ordinary killing intent barely affected grudge spirits, but this from Mok Kyung-un was different.
Dense enough to unsettle even a grudge spirit.
Pain born of circumstance—a qualitatively distinct darkness.
Almost primal.
-..........
Then Mok Kyung-un asked in a low voice.
“Did you confirm it?”
-........
The Demon Monk nodded.
“Where?”
The Demon Monk pointed to a wall lined with drawers full of herbs.
At a glance, the entire wall looked like herb storage drawers.
Yet that was where he pointed.
The drawer indicated was labeled “Wu Liang.”
Dried bark of the paulownia tree in shade becomes Wu Liang, a rarely used herb.
‘Plausible.’
Targeting an obscure drawer.
Mok Kyung-un had the Demon Monk check because of the Clan Head’s words.
[Phar...macy...under...ground...Ding stone...door...]
Yet no underground entrance inside the pharmacy.
Predictable, really.
If it was valuable enough for Great Madam to target, it wouldn’t be out in the open.
‘Well, checking will tell.’
Mok Kyung-un scanned the surroundings.
The pharmacy bustled with workers including the herbalist.
Too many eyes and ears to check now.
Better aim for late night.
That was when it happened.
-Creak!
Entering through the pharmacy door was none other than Escort Gam.
Approaching Mok Kyung-un, he was greeted with,
“You’re late.”
Gam nearly scowled at the words.
Mok Kyung-un’s task wasn’t mere water-fetching.
Nor something done in a snap—being called late felt unfair.
“Where is it?”
From his bosom, Gam produced two books.
“Only two?”
Gam grumbled at Mok Kyung-un’s disappointed tone.
“These were smuggled out before they could be burned.”
“Before burning?”
“Yes. The escorts guarding the main hall are burning all the sorcerer’s satchel and items.”
“Oh? Really?”
Mok Kyung-un smacked his lips in regret.
Interested in the sorcery, he wanted to examine the books.
Yet only two salvaged from the lot.
‘Various Thinkers Summary, Yin-Yang Basics? Strange Phenomena Primer?’
The two books’ titles.
Still, Gam had grabbed the thickest two he’d seen.
Have to settle for these.
“Good work.”
“But Young Master... why take the sorcerer’s books...”
Gam trailed off mid-sentence.
Then he pocketed the books he’d meant to hand over.
Mok Kyung-un eyed him curiously—what gives?
Soon, the reason became clear.
-Step aside for now.
-Yes.
New footsteps approached outside the pharmacy, voices speaking, and the entrance guards withdrew.
-Creeeak!
The door opened, revealing someone.
A middle-aged lady adorned in lavish jewelry and finery.
Gam bowed in shocked greeting.
“I greet Great Madam.”
‘Great Madam?’
She was Timber Sword Manor’s Great Madam Seok.
Intrigue lit Mok Kyung-un’s eyes.
The woman from Gam Escort’s intel sheet.
More dangerous than even First Young Master Mok Young-ho—requiring utmost caution.
From the martial Golden Flower Seok Clan, skilled in martial arts and cunning.
‘Oh dear...’
Gam was equally flustered by her arrival.
Though Mok Kyung-un’s appearance fooled even close scrutiny, Gam Escort had warned against encountering Mok family members to avoid mishaps.
“By Great Madam’s order. Everyone out.”
At the command of Ho-ang, the one-eyed female guard beside Great Madam Seok, everyone in the pharmacy filed outside.
-Rumble!
Seeing them all expelled, Escort Gam sensed trouble.
He’d never clashed with her directly—what was this about?
As he puzzled,
Great Madam Seok approached Mok Kyung-un, propped up on the bed.
Gam urgently signaled with his eyes.
‘Bow. Bow.’
Understanding, Mok Kyung-un clasped hands, bowed his head in courtesy.
“Please forgive that my leg prevents me from standing.”
The greeting was surprisingly proper.
But the real test began now.
The stark difference between fake and real lay in voice and speech.
Fortunately, this fake Mok Kyung-un’s voice resembled the dead original’s—practice had sounded convincing—but would it hold?
‘The other young masters rarely meet Great Madam directly, save the eldest...’
Yet she was sharper and more suspicious than expected.
Discovery here could spell disaster.
Great Madam Seok, now right before him, spoke.
“I didn’t come just for greetings.”
‘Phew...’
Gam nearly sighed in relief.
She hadn’t noticed, thankfully.
Indistinguishable from the real one, it seemed.
Still walking on thin ice, but no mistakes and they might pass this...
-Grip!
‘!?’
Gam’s eyes widened.
Great Madam Seok had suddenly pressed down on Mok Kyung-un’s thigh wound.
Mok Kyung-un groaned, head bowed in pain.
“Guhhh!”
‘Damn it all!’
Gam was mortified.
It wasn’t about spotting a fake anymore.
Her demeanor suggested she doubted if the injury was genuine.
“What did you see? What did you hear?”
-Squeeze!
“Urk!”
Pressing harder on the wound, Great Madam Seok demanded.
Gam fidgeted anxiously.
That madwoman wouldn’t hold back her screams.
A slip of the tongue now would turn suspicion into enmity.
“Madam! There must be some misunderstanding...”
-Shing!
As Gam intervened, Ho-ang drew her sword to his throat.
“Don’t interfere.”
‘Damn wench!’
Gam was at a loss.
Silencing him left Mok Kyung-un to navigate alone.
Endure and stay low to escape this.
With Ho-ang glaring, no more signals or lip cues possible.
-Grip!
Great Madam Seok pressed the thigh harder, berating.
“You wouldn’t know, but a sorcerer of that skill dying possessed by his own ritual is rare. Yet he claims a possessed sorcerer trying to sever the Clan Head’s wrist and harm him was stopped? You expect me to buy that ea—”
-Pfft!
Great Madam Seok furrowed her brow at the sound from Mok Kyung-un’s mouth.
Writhing in agony moments ago.
Now sneering?
No mistake—it was a scoff.
“You... surely not...”
Then Mok Kyung-un slowly raised his head.
Smirking, corner of his mouth upturned—Great Madam Seok was stunned.
Had the brat lost his mind?
‘What the hell is he doing?’
Escort Gam panicked too.
Under suspicion, he should cower— what was this?
As expected, Great Madam Seok snarled in fury.
“You insolent...”
“No point wasting energy.”
“What?”
“Don’t you need the Clan Head’s seal?”
‘!?’