Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 53
>Chapter Title: Submission (3)
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“Can you subdue her?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
“If you can’t control her, let me know. On second thought, it might be fine to use her body instead of Gyo So-ha’s.”
‘Gyo So-ha?’
Who’s that?
Go Chan, possessing Jang Nung-ak’s body, couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Mok Kyung-un’s words.
Pondering it over, the remark about using a body instead seemed to imply there were more vengeful spirits like them.
As if confirming his suspicion, Mok Kyung-un smiled and nodded.
“You’re right. There are more.”
Gyo So-ha.
He was a vengeful spirit raised with gu poison at the base of the Blood River Valley cliffs.
He had become Mok Kyung-un’s servant spirit and was now possessing Yang Moo-won, the report keeper of Blood River Valley, guarding the place on orders.
Originally, the gu poison hadn’t fully matured, leaving him at the green spirit level, but after absorbing the residual yokai energy from the raccoon spirit beast Sihae-wang Gu Hwan-cheon that Mok Kyung-un had taken in, he had advanced to the blue spirit rank.
-If that stubborn guy who insists he’s a man meets this one, it’ll be quite amusing.
-Indeed.
Mok Kyung-un agreed with the blue spirit’s words.
No matter how you looked at it, Gyo So-ha, who appeared utterly feminine, had stubbornly claimed to be a man despite the blue spirit’s constant teasing.
-It’s about time to bring him here.
With his elevated rank, Gyo So-ha had become a vengeful spirit capable of facing even peak experts.
It wasn’t right to keep such a being as a mere report keeper forever.
-Is there someone to replace him?
The blue spirit asked curiously.
Excluding her, most of the servant spirits had their assigned roles.
The Demon Monk was possessing Wall Guard, a confidant of the Dark Sect Leader, to monitor him and gather intelligence, leaving no one to rotate in.
-Those with strong loyalty, will to live, or thirst for revenge seem more likely to be reborn as vengeful spirits.
-...What are you thinking?
-I sense spirit energy there just in time.
Mok Kyung-un glanced in that direction.
It was the eastern side of the garden where Ha-seok’s martial artists had retreated.
Those Ha-seok martial artists who had withdrawn had been slain by Demon Fox Heum-won and Wi Maeng-cheon.
-You don’t mean...?
-Yes.
After consuming the Three-Eyed Demon’s eyeballs, Mok Kyung-un’s curse power had grown tremendously, allowing him to clearly sense the nascent spirit energy.
Newly born vengeful spirits were barely comparable to even ground-bound spirits, their will fading over time until they dissipated entirely.
However,
‘A little help would change that.’
If he could elevate it to the red spirit level, suitable for possession, it would work.
Mok Kyung-un moved to step forward.
Then, Go Chan, possessing Jang Nung-ak, spoke up.
“Master?”
With his eyes, Go Chan indicated Ha Chae-rin, who was bristling like a cornered wildcat, radiating both fear and wariness.
Mok Kyung-un replied indifferently.
“Ah, handle it yourself.”
Ha Chae-rin was now under Go Chan’s charge.
Leaving her to Go Chan, Mok Kyung-un moved on, passing through the garden pavilion toward the source of the spirit energy.
There, the shrunken Demon Fox Heum-won was flitting about, and on the ground lay the cold corpses of Ha-seok’s martial artists.
Among them was the newly born vengeful spirit.
-Found it.
The corner of Mok Kyung-un’s mouth curved up.
* * *
Go Chan approached the tense Ha Chae-rin.
Startled, she whipped around, aiming her spirit silver needle at him.
“Don’t come any closer!”
She had been trained as an assassin to remain composed in any situation, so she didn’t usually falter like this.
But the current circumstances were different.
Moving her body felt strangely disconnected, as if she’d awakened from a long sleep, and she couldn’t grasp what was happening at all.
She had clearly been at Timber Sword Manor aiming for Mok Kyung-un’s life—what was going on?
Go Chan said to her,
“Hey.”
At his call, Ha Chae-rin eyed him warily.
Seeing her reaction, Go Chan felt a twisted thrill inside.
Until just before her death, she had treated him like a worthless low-rank assassin.
Yet now, she was properly on guard against him.
‘Heh.’
What an ironic twist.
After switching bodies, she seemed pathetically weak.
Of course, that was partly because Jang Nung-ak’s body, the Second Disciple of the Leader, was so powerful.
Emboldened, Go Chan warned her.
“You’d better stay put.”
“Damn it. Where the hell is this place, and who the hell are you?”
He clicked his tongue at her crude speech.
He’d forgotten for a while, but her mouth was as foul as ever.
Her true nature hadn’t changed.
“Keep acting up, and your life’s in danger. That one shows no mercy.”
“That one? You mean Mok Kyung-un?”
“Yes.”
Ha Chae-rin furrowed her brow at Go Chan’s words.
Mok Kyung-un was already muddling her mind enough.
He was supposed to be the final sacrifice for the Hundred Days Hundred Kills ritual to earn recognition as the Bi-sa-mun Leader.
But something had gone terribly wrong somewhere.
The Mok Kyung-un of Timber Sword Manor she knew was nothing but a cowardly good-for-nothing without even talent in martial arts.
Yet when she’d closed and opened her eyes, his overwhelming presence and qi control had marked him as an absolute peak master.
‘What the hell? What happened?’
How could a monster like that be selected as the final sacrifice for Hundred Days Hundred Kills?
The ritual targeted those whose death wouldn’t cause much trouble.
But he wasn’t someone you couldn’t kill.
Go Chan stared piercingly at the confused woman.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
[Handle her yourself.]
Mok Kyung-un had entrusted Ha Chae-rin to him.
That meant her life and death were now in his hands.
[That old man served the young master for Gam old man’s revenge and then took his own life. Got it?]
[From the start...]
[Shh. Quiet. Even in retirement, I’m giving you a way to preserve your honor as a Bi-sa-mun member—don’t be ungrateful.]
Memories of how she’d treated him flooded back.
She’d treated him like utter trash.
And because of her, he’d even died.
Yet fate had handed him this chance to pay her back with his own hands?
His twitching lips curled into a sinister grin.
Soon, Go Chan approached her.
Then,
-Pfshk!
No sooner had he drawn near than Ha Chae-rin flung a spirit silver needle at him.
However,
-Pak!
‘!?’
The needle didn’t pierce Go Chan; it was caught between his index and middle fingers.
‘I see it. I see everything!’
Go Chan inwardly cheered.
Even the infamous spirit silver needle, symbol of the Secret Assassins, was useless against him now.
He could probably catch it blindfolded just by the sound.
Stunned by this, Ha Chae-rin demanded,
“W-What are you?”
“My identity? I am...”
[I never thought I’d see a retiree like this. Go Chan, old man. Or should I call you former Low-Rank Assassin Number 83?]
Her words from back then flashed in his mind.
He wanted to snap back, ‘I’m Low-Rank Assassin Number 83!’ but from the moment of possession, he had to stay in character.
Thus,
“I... no, this Young Master is Jang Nung-ak.”
“Jang Nung-ak?”
‘Jang Nung-ak...? Jang Nung-ak? That name rings a bell... Jang Nung-ak... Jang Nung-ak... Jang...!’
Ha Chae-rin’s eyes widened in an instant.
And for good reason—there was only one Jang Nung-ak she knew.
The Second Disciple of the Heavenly Alliance Leader, who dominated the current martial world alongside two other great powers.
Shocked, she floundered in bewilderment before denying reality.
“No way! You... Jang Nung-ak? Impossible! Why would the Heavenly Alliance Leader’s Second Disciple be at Timber Sword Manor...?”
“Does this look like Timber Sword Manor to you?”
“What?”
“This is the Heavenly Alliance inner fortress, my personal estate.”
‘!?’
Her expression hardened at his words.
No, did this even make sense?
Just before opening her eyes, she’d been at Timber Sword Manor—how was she now in the Heavenly Alliance?
Go Chan called her name, straining his voice.
“Ha Chae-rin.”
She looked up at him.
How did this guy know her name?
From that bastard Mok Kyung-un?
While she puzzled, Go Chan continued.
“Nineteen years old. Only daughter of a Secret Assassin who retired at eighty, heir to the elite assassin group Bi-sa-mun.”
‘!?’
“Due to your impulsive, hot-tempered nature unfit for an assassin, you were forcibly secluded in Bi-sa Cave, and upon release, to become successor, you undertook Hundred Days Hundred Kills... Ah! But you failed to kill your final target, Mok Kyung-un, so hardly successor material now.”
“W-What are you?”
Ha Chae-rin’s pupils trembled.
Human psychology was like that.
When you know little about the opponent, but they know everything about you.
The unease and fear were indescribable.
It felt like all her secrets were laid bare.
Go Chan closed in right up to her, lowering his voice.
“You and your ‘you’ this, ‘you’ that—it’s grating. For a mere assassin group heir, you’re awfully arrogant.”
“T-That’s...”
At his words, Ha Chae-rin faltered, unsure.
If he truly was the Heavenly Alliance Leader’s Second Disciple, he wasn’t someone to trifle with.
If the Alliance set its mind to it, wiping out Bi-sa-mun overnight would be child’s play.
Even with her personality flaws, she could discern that much.
“Young Master, there must be some misunderstanding. I don’t know why I’m here, but...”
“Shut up and kneel.”
“Pardon?”
“Kneel, I said.”
She hesitated for a moment at his command.
Even if he was the Leader’s Second Disciple, wasn’t this too much for a first meeting?
What had she even done to deserve this...?
-Slap!
In that instant, her head snapped to the side.
Her cheek burned.
Go Chan, who had slapped her, sneered.
“Kneel.”
Normally, one would submit by now, but she had a temper that even the cool-headed assassins despaired over.
Biting her lip hard, Ha Chae-rin said,
“Young Master, I don’t know what that Mok Kyung-un told you, but this is that guy’s...”
-Slap!
“Ak!”
Her cheek snapped the other way.
This time, the force was incomparable, infused with internal energy. Her mouth tore, blood trickling out.
Blood vessels burst in her eyes.
“This is too much.”
“Insolent wench. Who are you slandering? That one is whom I serve.”
“Pardon?”
She couldn’t hide her shock at Go Chan’s words.
What was this from a figure like the Heavenly Alliance Leader’s Second Disciple?
Whom he served?
She’d suspected some connection, but this was shocking.
Why would the Leader’s disciple serve the son of a righteous clan?
It made no sense.
Then,
-Bam!
Go Chan slapped her cheek again.
The force was stronger, her head whipping further, a bruise blooming on her face.
“G...”
-Bam!
Before she could speak, he slapped the other cheek.
Her head snapped back.
“Haa... haa...”
-Drip! Drip!
Blood dripped from her shaking head onto the floor.
Each slap carried more internal energy, leaving her in agony and dizziness.
As Go Chan raised his hand once more,
-Thud!
Before he could, Ha Chae-rin’s knees hit the ground.
Raised as the elite assassin group’s heir and hailed as a peak expert, she was utterly powerless in this moment.
Go Chan tapped her forehead with his finger.
“That’s right. That’s the level of your eyes to mine.”
She bit her lip so hard her eyes welled with tears.
This humiliation was a first.
Worse, the reality of being unable to resist made her feel even more wretched.
Go Chan relished her suffering with a sneer.
‘Heh heh heh.’
This was just the beginning.
The thought of breaking her down to the depths excited him beyond measure.
Wi Maeng-cheon, possessing Ho Jong-hyeok’s body, watched Go Chan’s madness-filled glee and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Is this why he spared him?’
He’d thought him just a pervert, but he was far more vicious than expected.
* * *
The personal estate of Wi So-yeon, the Heavenly Alliance Leader’s youngest disciple.
The main hall meeting room’s atmosphere was somewhat subdued.
They had fainted and only awakened much later, too ashamed to face their lord, Wi So-yeon.
A single person had knocked out all her confidants.
No one had foreseen this catastrophe.
As all kept silent, one man rose and knelt on the floor.
-Thud!
“U Deputy Leader?”
“Brother U!”
Yang Il, sub-leader of the Tidal Sword Squad, and Gi Ok-ryeon, eldest daughter of Yang Am Valley Leader, called out in dismay, trying to stop him.
Yet U Ho-rang bowed his head in apology.
“...I’m sorry. It’s all because of me.”
Regaining his senses, U Ho-rang blamed himself entirely.
It seemed to stem from his uncontrollable infatuation, challenging Mok Kyung-un to a duel.
‘I never thought he’d go this far.’
He’d assumed it would end as their private matter.
Never did he predict Mok Kyung-un would invade the estate of the Leader’s youngest disciple, Wi So-yeon, and take down all her confidants.
-Grind!
‘Mok Kyung-un...’
Thinking of him made his teeth chatter.
But for now, he had to take responsibility for the mess he caused.
-Swish!
U Ho-rang drew a dagger from his bosom and placed it before him.
Extending his left hand, he said,
“I’ve damaged the young lady’s face, so first, I’ll repay with my left hand.”
“Brother! No!”
“Deputy Leader!”
The other confidants tried to stop him.
Determined to follow through, U Ho-rang gripped the dagger to sever his left wrist.
At that exact moment,
-Clang!
Before it touched his wrist, the dagger flew from his hand and embedded in the wall.
A decorative bead ornament fell to the floor right before him.
U Ho-rang looked up toward where the bead had come from.
“Young lady...”
It was none other than Wi So-yeon who had thrown it.
Wi So-yeon stared at U Ho-rang with cold eyes.
“I won’t forgive you taking responsibility like this.”
“But...”
“Enough!”
At her sharp rebuke, U Ho-rang fell silent.
Sensing her anger, the other confidants also shut their mouths quietly.
They’d never seen her this furious before.
They couldn’t help feeling awkward.
Then Wi So-yeon spoke.
“This incident made me realize how poorly I’ve managed the hierarchy.”
“No, young lady, how could you...”
“Be quiet.”
Gi Ok-ryeon clamped her mouth shut in panic.
Usually, she boosted her subordinates’ morale by treating them well in group settings.
But this firm stance was unprecedented.
“Having realized an organization without hierarchy has no future, I’ll straighten things out from now on. Understand?”
“...”
“No answer?”
-Shwaaaa!
As her words fell, a chilling aura emanated from Wi So-yeon.
So cold was the energy that frost filled the room in an instant, breath visible from everyone’s mouths.
Yang Il, sub-leader of Tidal Sword Squad, dropped to one knee, hands clasped, and shouted.
“We’ll keep it in mind!”
The others followed suit, echoing.
“We’ll keep it in mind!”
“Hmph.”
Wi So-yeon snorted softly down at them and withdrew her aura.
As she did, U Ho-rang looked at her with slight surprise.
‘Freely wielding yin energy to this degree?’
What was this?
He knew she had a special constitution with vast qi.
But her energy felt far more stable and powerful than before.
Had she attained some enlightenment in the meantime?
Looking closely, her face glowed with vitality, more beautiful than ever.
While puzzled, Wi So-yeon declared,
“And here, I make two proclamations. No one may object to these decisions.”
“We’ll keep it in mind!”
All responded in unison.
Drawing a clear line indeed had an effect.
As he said, she hadn’t fulfilled her role as lord properly, indulging them too much.
This incident solidified her resolve to change.
Steeling her heart, Wi So-yeon spoke.
“First, regarding Mok Kyung-un.”
‘Ah...’
At her words, all eyes lit with fire.
They already saw him as the culprit behind this mess.
Naturally, they expected her not to let it slide.
To her faction, he was no different from an enemy now.
‘I’ll pay him back.’
U Ho-rang inwardly awaited her command.
He was ready to challenge Mok Kyung-un again anytime she ordered.
However,
“From now on, treat Mok Kyung-un with the same respect as me.”
‘!?’
At the unexpected order from Wi So-yeon’s lips, all stared at her in shock.