Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 58
>Chapter Title: Karma (6)
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[Chapter 58: Karma (6)]
Ha Yun, the resentful spirit, had already lost all will to fight within Blue Spirit's ghost domain, which ignored and completely overwhelmed even his own inherent domain.
Even though he had reached the level of a Blue Spirit, he had thought that since this was his territory, he might at least be able to drive her away, if not harm her.
However, that had been nothing more than a faint hope.
Blue Spirit curled the corner of her mouth slyly toward the resentful spirit Ha Yun, who wore a hollow expression.
"You fool. If this seat willed it, driving out you and all the stray spirits in this region would be a trifling matter."
"......Indeed."
"So, I shall give you one last chance."
"......"
"Return that body to its rightful owner and leave this area. Then neither this seat nor these mortals will interfere further and shall depart."
Blue Spirit extended one final act of mercy.
After all, her goal was not to annihilate or expel the resentful spirits of this region.
She simply wished to snap the manor lord—the owner of the ship—out of his daze so that Mok Kyung-un and his group could cross the river.
At that moment, the resentful spirit Ha Yun spoke up.
"Why does a great resentful spirit of such high caliber as yourself serve a mere human?"
"A mere human?"
"Yes. That is what intrigues me."
The resentful spirit Ha Yun had already accepted that he could not win against Blue Spirit through force alone.
Thus, he decided to change tactics.
From what he could see, this high-caliber Blue Spirit-level resentful spirit was following that human.
Yet in all his time as a resentful spirit, he had never seen one of such elevated stature—regardless of their deep grudge—bound to a human.
After all, it was precisely because of that grudge that they maintained their ethereal form and lingered in the mortal world.
With this in mind, the resentful spirit Ha Yun sought to provoke Blue Spirit's pride and sow discord in their relationship.
Blue Spirit took a long drag from her pipe and exhaled slowly.
"Hoo."
Then,
*Boom!*
In an instant, she appeared before the resentful spirit Ha Yun possessing the manor lord's body, seized his throat, and slammed him against a wooden pillar.
*Thud!*
"Ugh!"
"I offered you mercy, and yet here you are, scheming with petty tricks."
*Crunch!*
As Blue Spirit intensified her spectral energy, Ha Yun groaned in agony.
"Kughhhh."
"This seat showed you mercy because I understood the deep grudge you must harbor after lingering in this world for so long. But if you persist in these futile antics, things will be different."
"H-How......"
"Do you think extinguishing a wretch like you would be any trouble for this seat?"
"Ughhh."
"I shall obliterate you right here."
Bloody vapors shimmered from Blue Spirit's hand gripping Ha Yun's throat.
She truly intended to erase him with overwhelming spectral power.
Feeling the crisis of annihilation, the resentful spirit Ha Yun gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Fine. If that's how you want it, then I shall perish alongside this soul!"
"What?"
Blue Spirit furrowed her brow at his words.
Mok Kyung-un, puzzled, asked,
"Why the fuss?"
"He's attempting mutual destruction."
Mutual destruction.
It meant perishing together.
"Hmm. What a bother. Can't we eliminate him before that?"
"A resentful spirit of this caliber, dead set on fusing with the body's original soul to cause harm, will affect it no matter what."
"For example?"
"Even if death is avoided, the soul could be damaged, leaving him a vegetative shell, breathing but lifeless for the rest of his days."
Mok Kyung-un clicked his tongue at her words.
If he was doomed to dissipate anyway, he intended to take the body's owner with him—that was the implication.
Their goal had been the manor lord from the start.
As the owner of the large ship and the one who could operate it, they were desperate to save him, but this development posed a serious problem.
Mok Kyung-un clicked his tongue again, then sent a mental message to Blue Spirit.
"Buy me some time. At this point, I'll use a sealing art to bind him and prevent the soul fusion."
A spirit of this level forcibly possessing a body was hard to extract even with a sealing art.
Temporarily restraining it, however, was another matter.
If she could just hold him in place briefly, Blue Spirit could then dissipate him.
Without betraying the mental message, Blue Spirit lowered her spectral energy and said,
"Why are you so obsessed with these people that you'd risk self-destruction?"
"......"
"Isn't this unrelated to the root grudge that birthed you?"
The root grudge—the true reason for this being's existence as a resentful spirit.
At Blue Spirit's words, the resentful spirit Ha Yun replied.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Understand what?"
"How immense the karma these people have accrued."
"You keep mentioning karma—what grudge do these U clansmen hold against you or the other spirits?"
To Blue Spirit's question, Ha Yun glanced around with his eyes and said,
"Do you think this place became my domain for no reason?"
"......Isn't this region tied to your grudge, or perhaps where you lost your body?"
"Correct."
"But if the entirety of this area is your domain, doesn't that mean not just the U clan, but the villagers nearby have intruded upon it as well?"
"They are different."
"Different how?"
"The villagers have long maintained my tomb and shrine, which had been neglected for generations, and erected an altar here to honor the souls of the dead."
"Is that so? Commendable folk."
Even those who became resentful spirits due to deep grudges find solace when someone honors their memory.
Such solace does not fundamentally resolve the grudge, but rituals gradually ease it.
"Then what exactly is the problem? What did these people do to enrage you to this extent?"
At that question, the resentful spirit Ha Yun trembled fiercely, his eyes blazing as he replied.
"Over a hundred years ago, they demolished my shrine that had stood on this hill, exhumed my tomb, and built their manor atop it."
"What?"
Blue Spirit furrowed her brow.
She had only asked to buy time.
Yet hearing this left her dumbfounded.
"So this manor's very location was the site of your shrine and tomb where they offered you rites?"
"Yes."
"Ha!"
Blue Spirit was incredulous.
She now understood why Ha Yun was willing to risk his own dissipation for vengeance against this clan.
But that was not the end of it.
"And that's not all."
"Not all? What else is there?"
"Indeed. The lord of this manor was an officer of the Cheonho Barracks under the Naval Command Post not far from here."
At those words, Mok Kyung-un, who had been silently chanting an incantation in his mind, narrowed his eyes.
Just as Blue Spirit had suspected, the manor lord was indeed a military officer.
Moreover, from the navy.
"Did you see the commendation plaque at the gate?"
"Yes. It read 'Fourth-Class Merit for Pacifying the Rebellion,' did it not?"
"You think that merit came from subduing rebels who started a revolt?"
"What do you mean?"
Puzzled, Blue Spirit listened as Ha Yun pointed to himself and continued.
"A few years ago, famine ravaged the land, with people starving to death everywhere. Soon after, plague began to spread."
"Plague?"
"There was once a county nearby with thousands of inhabitants."
"And?"
"When the plague broke out among some of them, the Cheonho Barracks of the local Naval Command were mobilized to prevent its spread."
"Mobilized—you don't mean..."
"Exactly as you suspect."
"......"
"The government troops mercilessly slaughtered the villagers."
"......"
"And this body, U In-yeom, herded thousands of fleeing innocents here and drowned them all in the river. Even though most were not infected."
"!!!!!!!"
At Ha Yun's words, not only Blue Spirit but also Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak, and even the Arhat-breaking monk Ja Geum-jeong, who had been listening, were left utterly speechless.
They had assumed the spirits had been provoked by some misdeed, but this exceeded all expectations.
It was then.
"L-Lies! Lord U Cheonho would never do such a thing!"
He was the sturdy man supporting U In-yeom's fainted daughter, U Hyang.
The man's face paled as he shouted.
"Lies?"
"Are you guests believing this evil ghost? Lord U Cheonho is a hero who slew rebels and stopped the plague! This ghost is slandering him to deceive you!"
No sooner had he finished than,
The resentful spirit Ha Yun burst into mad laughter.
"Hahahahahahahahaha! Not content with committing an outrage that would incense heaven and earth, they demolished the altar honoring the drowned villagers and blocked further rites—and now this drivel? Hahahahahaha!"
He laughed, but it was no true laughter.
It was fury bordering on lamentation.
As Ha Yun's laughter echoed everywhere, soon after, wails like funeral dirges rose from the surroundings.
"Wuuuuu!"
"Huuuuuuu!"
It was as if the other resentful spirits were responding to his rage.
Despite being suppressed and driven back by Blue Spirit's immense spectral power, they continued to gather.
Just like Ha Yun, prepared for dissipation.
Seeing this, Blue Spirit sighed and glanced subtly at Mok Kyung-un.
She had engaged in conversation to buy time for him to complete his incantation, but now she understood why they called it karma and sought vengeance against the U clan.
"Haa."
Frankly, she had no desire to interfere with their retribution.
This was karma incarnate.
They had to bear the consequences of their deeds.
However,
"The ship......"
Right now, Mok Kyung-un and his group needed to cross this river.
Though veiled by the ghost domain, the torrential rain and flooding made it nearly impossible for the foreseeable future.
If they failed to meet the deadline and Mok Kyung-un could not complete his confidential mission, it might hinder her own grudge's resolution.
A moment of conflicting understandings.
"But would this guy waver over something like that?"
Having traveled with him for so long, Blue Spirit knew Mok Kyung-un better than anyone.
Others might differ, but Mok Kyung-un—with his unique way of thinking—never let others' tales or sentiments sway him from his goals.
No matter how sympathetic their grudge...
It was then.
"What a tragic tale."
"!?"
Unexpected words came from Mok Kyung-un's mouth.
Was this emotionless fellow actually empathizing with their grudge?
At Mok Kyung-un's words, Ha Yun pleaded earnestly.
"Mortal with ties to a high-caliber resentful spirit—if you truly understand even a fraction of our plight and that of the unjustly slain, can you not withdraw now?"
"Apologies, but that's not possible."
"What?"
"No matter how many died, that's your affair."
*Pak! Pak! Pak!*
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un formed hand seals and swiftly pressed a talisman to the forehead of the manor lord U In-yeom, possessed by Ha Yun, like a bolt of lightning.
Then,
"Th-This is......"
"Stay put like that for a moment. It'll be over soon."
Mok Kyung-un curled his mouth slyly.
Seeing this, Blue Spirit spoke in a somewhat disapproving tone.
"Will you truly dissipate him?"
"Yes. Their story has nothing to do with me."
"......"
"We need to hurry across the river. If their tale delays us and causes mission failure, that fourth disciple spot will slip away too, won't it?"
"Hoo."
Blue Spirit shook her head with a sigh.
As expected, this guy was unshaken by such things.
If there existed a human devoid of compassion, it was surely him.
No helping it.
"Resent me if you must."
Blue Spirit began to raise her spectral energy.
The sturdy man, who had been tensely watching while supporting U Hyang, sighed in relief.
He had feared they might side with the spirits.
"Dead things are dead. Does it make sense for Lord Cheonho and the young lady to die because of these plague-ridden pests that harmed the nation?"
Anything threatening the living was an evil ghost.
The man expressed gratitude to Mok Kyung-un.
"My deepest thanks. If you guests eliminate these damned spirits, Lord Cheonho will reward you handsomely."
"I'm not doing this for your sake, so no need for thanks. Just aligns with my interests."
"......"
The man inwardly clicked his tongue at Mok Kyung-un's curt dismissal.
Insolent, despite needing Lord Cheonho's aid.
It was then.
"Ah! Blue Spirit, hold on."
"What is it?"
Blue Spirit paused her spectral surge, halting the dissipation of Ha Yun.
Mok Kyung-un then said,
"Upon second thought, it might not be necessary after all."
"Not necessary? What do you mean?"
"Ha Yun, was it?"
At Mok Kyung-un's question, Ha Yun glared silently.
A natural reaction.
Undeterred, Mok Kyung-un continued.
"Since you can read the memories of the body you're possessing, you should be able to operate the ship with it, right?"
"!?"
Ha Yun's fury-clouded expression shifted at Mok Kyung-un's words.
He instantly grasped the implication.
But he was not the only one to understand.
The relieved sturdy man panicked and shouted.
"H-Hey! What are you saying? Surely you're not asking that evil ghost to pilot Lord Cheonho's ship?"
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly in response.
"You catch on quick."
Incredulous, the man protested.
"No. How could you entrust to such a vile ghost what you'd hesitate to ask a living man..."
"It is possible."
Then Ha Yun spoke.
Desperate, the man tried to dissuade him.
"Don't fall for the ghost's words! How could it possibly pilot Lord Cheonho's ship? Please, guests, just eliminate this evil..."
"Can you ferry us across the river right now?"
But Mok Kyung-un ignored the man entirely.
To his question, Ha Yun replied.
"Though the storm rages, if the resentful spirits unite our power, we can safely convey the ship across."
"Ho. Is that so?"
Enraged that Mok Kyung-un ignored him to converse with the spirit, the man yelled.
"How can you believe that foul ghost? If you were sane, you'd never..."
"Ah, so noisy. Seop Chun."
"Yes, my lord."
"Cut him down."
"!?"
The man's eyes widened at Mok Kyung-un's words.
What did this man just say?
It was then.
"Yes, sir!"
No sooner had he spoken than,
*Shing!*
Seop Chun's longsword drew, slicing through the pouring rain, and in one fluid motion,
*Slash!*
"Gah!"
Severed the man's throat in a single stroke.
As the severed head hit the floor,
*Splash!*
Mok Kyung-un smiled at Ha Yun.
"There was a bit of friction due to differing positions, but we've found common ground. Consider this my small gesture of sincerity."
End of [Chapter 58: Karma (6)]