Chapter 211
Chapter 211
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 59
>Chapter Title: On the Ship (1)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the able-bodied men in the manor were retired soldiers from the naval outpost at Cheonho Fortress.
They moved in perfect unison, placing wooden pillars to serve as rollers and shifting the boat fixed in place not far from the manor.
What was astonishing here was that these dozen or so soldiers were possessed by resentful spirits.
Watching them, someone clicked their tongue.
“I’ve lived a long life, but this is a first.”
He was the sorcerer Yi Mun-hae.
Originally, the reason he had come here was to rescue the manor lord Woo In-yeom.
However, with his skills limited to mere tomb divining among the Divine Sun Moon Mysterious Arts, he couldn’t subdue the high-grade resentful spirits at the Blue Spirit level. Instead, he ended up possessed by one, losing control of his own body.
But now, the resentful spirit had left his body, and through the defrocked monk Ja Geum-jeong, he had learned everything that had transpired up to this point.
“The outcome is truly bitter, isn’t it?”
“Tsk tsk. Who could have known? It’s all just karma catching up.”
With that, Defrocked Monk Ja Geum-jeong gulped down the liquor from the gourd flask.
At first, he had simply regarded the resentful spirits as the culprits.
But once he learned the true cause, he could no longer defend the Woo family and their retainers.
“Ugh. The booze tastes especially bitter today.”
“You always say it’s sweet, but now it feels bitter all of a sudden?”
“Listen, Mun-hae. No, Sorcerer. Do you know what this monk has come to realize lately?”
“What’s that?”
“In the end, there’s no real right or wrong in just living life.”
“Right and wrong... Yeah, you’re right. Isn’t the whole world like that?”
“When I was holed up in the mountain temple, I thought the sutras held all truth, and that everyone was just on a path to realizing truth, goodness, and beauty.”
He truly believed that.
But Ja Geum-jeong, cast out into the world after being defrocked, saw and experienced much that shattered those notions.
The world was far more complex and driven by emotions than he had imagined.
Wasn’t that the case right now?
It wasn’t the living who deserved pity, but the dead whose circumstances were truly lamentable.
“Truth, goodness, and beauty my ass.”
The world was no different from rough, churning waves.
Everyone was just swept along, tossed this way and that.
[Go see and experience the world for yourself. Hearing from others or reading books is no different from covering your eyes and plugging your ears.]
‘Master, you were right.’
He recalled the words of the one he could no longer call master.
Shaking his head slowly, Ja Geum-jeong took another swig of liquor before asking,
“Anyway, how’s your body holding up?”
“I’m fine. But tell me... was I really hurt that badly?”
“...”
Ja Geum-jeong stared intently at Yi Mun-hae as he asked again.
His body was indeed unharmed.
Originally, his elbow bone had been shattered, and even his shin bone broken.
But that kid, who was like a foul old courtesan, had ordered the possessing resentful spirit to heal his body before leaving—and it actually had.
‘This bastard knew and went all out on purpose.’
Otherwise, there was no way he’d injure someone so severely while claiming to save the possessed.
Whatever the case, since Yi Mun-hae was unharmed, there was no point in blaming him.
Yi Mun-hae spoke to Ja Geum-jeong, who was clicking his tongue.
“But are you going to be okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you’d grant that guy any request because of me?”
“No need to worry.”
“How could I not? If you get in trouble on my account...”
“Enough. Consider it settling the debt I owe you.”
“What debt do I owe you?”
At that, Ja Geum-jeong bared his yellowed teeth in a fierce grin.
“A lot. Yeah, a whole lot.”
Ja Geum-jeong had always been grateful to Yi Mun-hae.
Without him, he might have truly gone mad by now.
He believed it was only because Yi Mun-hae had recognized his cursed eyes that he could still function as a human.
“Damn, you’re embarrassing me for no reason.”
*Clap clap!*
Ja Geum-jeong patted his shoulder and said,
“That’s why I said it. Anyway, don’t worry. You think this monk can’t take care of himself?”
“You treat yourself too roughly, that’s why.”
“I said don’t worry. Heh heh heh. Anyway, time to go pay off my debt to that foul old courtesan of a kid.”
With that, Ja Geum-jeong crossed his arms and headed toward Mok Kyung-un, who stood atop the hill.
As he approached from behind, Mok Kyung-un spoke as if he’d been waiting.
“Is your friend alright?”
“Yeah. Just as you said—perfectly fine.”
“He probably used a bit of vital energy for the recovery, but he should be okay. So, shall we settle the promised price?”
“Of course. Naturally. Tell me what you want.”
Having confirmed that Yi Mun-hae, his one true friend, was unharmed, he intended to honor their prior agreement without question.
Mok Kyung-un turned his head and said,
“Then let’s have the incantation for the Supreme Great Ability.”
“What?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ja Geum-jeong’s expression hardened.
He had worried what the request might be.
But he never imagined Mok Kyung-un would ask for something like the Supreme Great Ability, of all things.
“You...”
“You said you’d grant anything as long as it wasn’t my life, right?”
“...”
Mok Kyung-un’s words left Ja Geum-jeong speechless.
He had said that, yes.
But how could he have foreseen that a supreme expert capable of techniques like Vacuum Palm would demand something as taboo in the martial world as this?
Flustered, he finally spoke.
“...The Supreme Great Ability belongs to Shaolin.”
“But you learned it.”
“I’m a defrocked monk. You know what that means.”
“Yes. That’s why I’m asking you to teach me the Supreme Great Ability.”
“Haa...”
“You’re not going to break your promise, are you?”
“It’s not about breaking it. It’s just... difficult.”
Ja Geum-jeong sighed.
Mok Kyung-un tilted his head and asked,
“What’s so difficult about it?”
“Two things.”
“Two things?”
“Yeah.”
“What are they?”
“First, even as a defrocked monk, I was once a Shaolin disciple. I can’t reveal Shaolin secrets to the outside world. Most sects would do the same, Shaolin or not.”
Mok Kyung-un smirked at his words.
Then he asked,
“That makes me curious about something.”
“What?”
“Being defrocked means being expelled from the sect, so why did they leave your martial arts intact?”
“That’s...”
There were circumstances he couldn’t reveal.
They involved his master, the Elder of the Scripture Pavilion, Great Master Gong-jeon.
As Mok Kyung-un said, Shaolin normally severs the meridians or destroys the dantian of martial monks who are defrocked.
But Great Master Gong-jeon had secretly sent him out of Shaolin five days before the scheduled defrocking ceremony.
As he sent him away, Great Master Gong-jeon had earnestly instructed him.
[If anyone asks about the circulation method you learned, say it’s the Supreme Great Ability.]
[What? This is just...]
[Yes. It’s an enlightenment you gained from traces on the wall during your seclusion in the Dharma Cave. But call it the Supreme Great Ability.]
[Why?]
[That way, your life will be preserved intact.]
‘!?‘
[If a layman—no, if you, Geum-jeong, claim to have learned the Supreme Great Ability, which even Shaolin hasn’t restored yet, not even Shaolin will touch you easily. The abbot will see to that.]
[...Master.]
Ja Geum-jeong had no strong attachment to martial arts.
He was being expelled anyway—what difference would losing them make?
But he couldn’t help being moved by his master’s consideration.
[Don’t grieve too much over those eyes you have. Everything has its reason. So live steadfastly and freely, as much as it pains you.]
That was their last conversation with Master Gong-jeon.
Afterward, as Ja Geum-jeong roamed the martial world, whenever someone questioned if his skills were the Supreme Great Ability, he neither denied nor confirmed it.
He wanted to honor his master’s request without slandering his sect with lies.
‘I thought staying silent was enough.’
He never expected an outsider with no ties to Shaolin to demand the Supreme Great Ability.
Who would dare covet a core Shaolin technique like that?
It was a truly audacious demand.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un said,
“No answer? So the rumors are true?”
“Rumors?”
“Yes. They say Shaolin can’t restore the Supreme Great Ability, so they won’t touch you.”
“...”
Ja Geum-jeong gave no reply.
It was half right, half wrong, but he couldn’t reveal it to keep his promise to his master.
“You’re not denying it. So what’s the second difficulty?”
“That’s...”
“That’s?”
“There is no incantation for the Supreme Great Ability.”
“What?”
Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow.
How could someone who learned an internal art not know its incantation?
But it was the truth.
‘I realized it from traces on the cliff in the Dharma Cave’s wall-gazing chamber. But no one else could see those traces but me.’
It was truly bizarre.
Even his master, Elder Gong-jeon of the Scripture Pavilion, was the same.
He had shown the cliff to Great Master Gong-jeon to share his enlightenment, but even he couldn’t see the traces.
[Are you sure there are traces visible?]
[Yes, truly.]
“Hmm... Amitabha. What a strange thing.”
Through that, Ja Geum-jeong realized only he could see them.
‘I can’t reveal it’s not the Supreme Great Ability, but if they know there’s no incantation, they won’t press further.’
It didn’t matter if they didn’t believe him.
He wasn’t lying, after all.
As expected, Mok Kyung-un eyed him suspiciously.
Ja Geum-jeong met his gaze steadily.
After staring for a long while, Mok Kyung-un said,
“How did you learn it without an incantation?”
“...I don’t know. I just suddenly comprehended it from the traces left on the wall.”
“Suddenly comprehended it?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
“I can’t help it if you don’t believe me. I swear on heaven it’s true.”
Mok Kyung-un softly clicked his tongue at his solemn vow.
He didn’t believe in oaths sworn to heaven.
But Ja Geum-jeong’s unwavering gaze without flinching made it seem like no lie.
“Comprehending an internal art without seeing the incantation...”
“Not just because of the first issue, but the second reason makes it even harder to teach. I hope you understand.”
“Understand...”
“Yeah.”
“What if I don’t?”
“What?”
“I really want to learn it from you.”
“...How can I teach something I don’t even have an incantation for? And I already said I can’t give you Shaolin’s arts.”
“Even if it means killing that sorcerer Yi Mun-hae?”
‘You bastard!’
No sooner had he spoken than Ja Geum-jeong’s face twisted in fury.
Anyone else, maybe—but he would never forgive anyone touching his master Great Master Gong-jeon or his sole friend Yi Mun-hae.
“Then one of us dies here today.”
Mok Kyung-un smirked and replied,
“Will it be you?”
His eyes gleamed with thick killing intent, belying his smile.
Feeling it, Ja Geum-jeong’s limbs trembled faintly.
How could someone not even at the prime of life exude such overwhelming pressure?
“...Even if this monk dies, I won’t forgive you if you touch Mun-hae.”
His resolve was firm.
If he valued his life, he would have spilled everything already.
Watching Ja Geum-jeong’s reaction closely, Mok Kyung-un shrugged and said,
“Guess it’s real.”
‘Huh?’
Ja Geum-jeong, who had been gathering qi in his fists ready for battle, couldn’t hide his puzzlement.
Mok Kyung-un said to him,
“Someone who cherishes that sorcerer’s life so much wouldn’t just see fighting to the death as the only answer if he were bluffing.”
“Ha! You were testing this monk?”
“If it was a test, then yes. I don’t believe in empty words like swearing on heaven.”
“...”
So that’s why he probed.
Ja Geum-jeong clicked his tongue.
But if this made Mok Kyung-un drop the demand for the Supreme Great Ability, he didn’t mind.
“The test pissed me off, but it’s my inability to meet your demand that caused it, so I won’t blame you. Instead, name another request.”
“If you keep making excuses, there’s no point in naming one.”
“Damn it! This isn’t me refusing on purpose—it’s truly impossible.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure. So if you refuse this time too, maybe I’ll just shove a resentful spirit back into that guy’s body.”
“What?”
“Wasn’t that the deal? If you can’t fulfill it, we revert to the original state.”
*Grind!*
Ja Geum-jeong ground his teeth at Mok Kyung-un’s words.
It wasn’t wrong, but the blackmail infuriated him.
So Ja Geum-jeong thumped his thick chest with his fist.
*Thump thump!*
“Fine. Then I’ll swear properly.”
“Swear?”
“Yeah. Anything except demands for my life, the Supreme Great Ability, or harm to Shaolin or Yi Mun-hae—I’ll grant it. If I fail, I’ll end my own life right here.”
“Ho. For real?”
“A man doesn’t go back on his word.”
At his firm vow, Mok Kyung-un casually said,
“Good. Then kneel here and swear loyalty to me.”
‘!?‘
Caught off guard by the unexpected demand, Ja Geum-jeong was at a loss for words.
Seeing his reaction, the corners of Mok Kyung-un’s mouth curled slyly.
If there was no incantation, he could just keep him close and study him slowly.
Plus, he’d gain a useful slave in the bargain.