Chapter 245
Chapter 245
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 68
>Chapter Title: The Mirror Prince (1)
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“Ahhh, this is why quick-witted people are such a pain.”
‘!?’
The young voice coming from the mouth of Beom Sogam, the eunuch of the Western Depot.
The moment they heard it, Prince Mirror and the other eunuchs of the Western Depot, including Ho Gonggong, had wariness flash in their eyes.
Having spent a long time with Beom Sogam, they could naturally distinguish him just by his voice.
Eunuch Ho Gonggong, with his soft sword aimed, opened his mouth.
“You… just who the hell are you?”
“Indeed, there are limits to fooling someone just with a face.”
“What?”
“It seems my luck held out there.”
The corner of Beom Sogam’s mouth twitched.
Beom Sogam—no, the true identity beneath that facial skin—was Mok Kyung-un.
From the moment he entered Prince Mirror’s palace, Mok Kyung-un had never thought he absolutely had to avoid detection. Through them, he had come to realize the weaknesses of the human skin face mask.
Even simply disguising one’s face wasn’t enough against experts with keen energy senses like Ho Gonggong. Hiding one’s energy was incredibly difficult.
‘If I had internal energy, it might be different, but with demonic energy, it’s tough.’
If he could wield internal energy, the yang energy type, he could have mimicked the unique aura that Supervisor Beom exuded.
But Mok Kyung-un’s energy was on a completely different trajectory, making it impossible.
Beyond that, his voice was distinctly different, and fooling those who had known this face from the human skin mask for a long time was practically impossible.
Considering all that, he had been lucky at Timber Sword Manor.
The real Mok Kyung-un had such a poor reputation that his half-brothers, let alone the retainers, had no interactions with him.
In conclusion,
‘A human skin face mask isn’t a card to play like this.’
It was hard to fool those who knew the face or were close to the person.
That didn’t mean it was a useless card, however.
Change the method, and he could create fun situations like before as much as he wanted.
‘It all depends on how you think about it…’
It was right then.
-Shwick!
Eunuch Ho Gonggong’s soft sword of the Western Depot thrust toward his brow.
In an instant, Mok Kyung-un subtly tilted his head back, narrowly dodging the tip of the soft sword.
-Swish!
‘He dodged that?’
It looked like a light strike, but it was an incredibly swift thrust that even absolute peak experts would struggle to evade easily.
Yet he dodged it effortlessly, leaving Ho Gonggong inwardly shocked.
‘This guy’s no ordinary fellow.’
With His Highness Prince Mirror present, he had thrust intending to subdue him quickly.
From his energy sense, he had barely detected any energy, making it hard to gauge his level. But this one move made it clear.
‘A supreme expert on par with me.’
An expert of that caliber could gauge an opponent’s skill from a single exchange.
Ho Gonggong subtly bent and straightened the wrist gripping his soft sword.
The soft sword then twisted like a living serpent, aiming at Mok Kyung-un from an eerie angle.
-Swish!
However, Mok Kyung-un merely stepped back half a pace, evading the soft sword’s trajectory.
As if he had anticipated the dodge, Ho Gonggong shouted.
“You there! An intruder!”
It was a shout infused with energy.
Outside were the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the eunuchs of the Western Depot.
He wasn’t calling for help to defeat this man but to evacuate His Highness.
Yet,
-Intruder! Intruder! Intruder!
At that moment, Ho Gonggong’s voice echoed through the room like a reverberation.
It wasn’t just any voice—it was laced with energy, ringing so loudly that Prince Mirror grimaced and hurriedly covered his ears.
“Ugh.”
‘Damn it!’
Ho Gonggong’s expression darkened.
In this confined space, the echo meant his shout had bounced off something.
Through this, Ho Gonggong realized.
‘He’s enveloped the entire room in energy barriers.’
Even absolute peak experts could cover a certain space with their energy field to block sound.
Naturally, an expert of this level could do the same.
-Pat pat pat!
Ho Gonggong executed a bizarre, rapid footwork technique to put distance between him and Mok Kyung-un, then swiftly positioned himself in front of Prince Mirror.
It was to protect him.
Ho Gonggong secretly sent a sound transmission to convey his intent.
-Your Highness. This one is no ordinary expert. Even I cannot subdue him easily, so when an opportunity arises, shatter a window and escape this place, no matter what.
At these words, a glint appeared in Prince Mirror’s eyes.
Eunuch Ho Gonggong of the Western Depot was a martial arts supreme whose equal was hard to find across the entire imperial palace.
It was the first time he had seen such a cautious demeanor from him.
That meant the mysterious figure wearing Beom Sogam’s face was that dangerous—and an outstanding expert?
‘In that case…’
Prince Mirror addressed Mok Kyung-un, who wore Beom Sogam’s face.
“You there. Who sent you?”
‘Your Highness?’
Seeing this, Eunuch Ho Gonggong inwardly clicked his tongue.
It was no different from an assassin infiltrating, yet in this situation, to even converse with such a person—bold as his lord was, this was too much.
But there was no way such a person would meekly answer His Highness’s questions…
“Who knows? Who might have sent me?”
‘!?’
Ho Gonggong furrowed his brow and glared at Mok Kyung-un.
What the hell was this guy?
If he had come to assassinate His Highness, he wouldn’t bother answering such questions one by one.
Puzzled, Prince Mirror calmly spoke.
“For someone of your caliber, enough to make even Ho Gonggong here wary, only three people come to mind.”
They were the real powers of the palace, excluding himself.
He suspected one of the Three Dukes—the Grand Preceptor and Chancellor of the Central Commandery, who also served as Admiral Hang Yunpa; the emperor’s second son, Prince Zong; or one of the Western Noble Consorts.
“Sending you with the face of Beom Sogam, whom one might call my close aide, shows they were quite determined.”
Even by his own reckoning, it was an excellent scheme.
If he were said to have been killed by Beom Sogam, it would inevitably be concluded as internal strife.
Someone would order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate, but eliminating the real Beom Sogam would end it neatly.
Prince Mirror clicked his tongue and said.
“You must have killed Beom Sogam already, of course. Or not?”
“For someone so high and mighty, you’re quite sharp.”
“If that’s praise, I thank you.”
Mok Kyung-un found Prince Mirror’s calm tone intriguing inwardly.
It was amusing how he was misunderstanding parts of the situation and guessing, but he was undeniably different from ordinary folk, as befitted the bloodline ruling a nation.
He remained composed even under tension, trying to navigate the situation calmly.
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly and said.
“Then you must know further talk is pointless.”
With those words, Mok Kyung-un gripped his sword formula.
A sharp sword intent flowed out, and the air grew heavy with killing intent.
Even Prince Mirror, who had not cultivated martial arts, could feel it.
‘It’s suffocating.’
Faced with Mok Kyung-un’s sharp aura, Ho Gonggong gripped his soft sword and assumed a battle stance.
-Your Highness, you must escape at all costs while I hold this one off.
Reiterating this, Eunuch Ho Gonggong was about to launch himself at Mok Kyung-un.
Right then, Prince Mirror stopped him.
“Hold!”
At his command, Ho Gonggong couldn’t hide his distress.
If he released his stance first here, protecting Prince Mirror would become difficult.
Yet Prince Mirror stubbornly insisted.
“…Your Highness, no. This one is truly dangerous.”
“It’s fine. Stand down.”
“Your Highness!”
“Didn’t I say it’s fine? I trust you. And if today is my last day, then even without you blocking, it’s fated, isn’t it?”
At Prince Mirror’s words, Eunuch Ho Gonggong bit his lip hard and released his stance.
The opponent was an expert he couldn’t afford to underestimate, so he was reluctant to drop his guard, but he couldn’t defy His Highness’s order.
Seeing this, Mok Kyung-un said puzzledly.
“That doesn’t seem like a wise choice.”
In response, Prince Mirror clasped his hands toward Mok Kyung-un in salute.
A glint appeared in Mok Kyung-un’s eyes at the gesture.
What was this sudden action?
Prince Mirror bowed his head and said.
“I am one who cherishes talent and shows due respect to those strong enough to deserve it.”
“Respect for the strong?”
“Indeed. For what I wish to accomplish, I need heroes like you in abundance.”
‘Ahhh…’
At Prince Mirror’s words, Eunuch Ho Gonggong of the Western Depot looked troubled.
His Highness’s virtues—or bad habits—had emerged.
If he took a shine to talent, whether enemy or otherwise, he would extend a hand first.
It could work out well or not.
Especially against someone aiming for his life.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un spoke.
“You’re an unusual one.”
At the intrigued tone, Prince Mirror inwardly felt a measure of relief.
If, despite his utmost courtesy, there was no reaction at all, there would be no way to deal with him.
But this response meant there was an opening to exploit.
“You may call it unusual or foolish, but I have a great greed for talent.”
“So it seems.”
“Given the situation, I’ll be direct. I don’t know who commissioned or ordered you, but using a splendid talent like you for dirty work like assassination is no different from wasting Chu talent on Jin chores.”
Wasting Chu talent on Jin chores.
It meant employing a talent from Chu in Jin without recognizing its true value, squandering it in worthless tasks.
“Thus, with the earnest love for talent like the shade of the sweet pear tree, I wish to invite you to become my man. I don’t know what reward they offered you, but I am prepared to give more, so please become a pillar of the state for this one.”
Pillar of the state.
It referred to vital talent worthy of bearing the beams or pillars—someone capable of handling major affairs for a household or nation.
Prince Mirror’s persuasive eloquence was as smooth as flowing water.
A man of deep learning, he had won over countless talents with such rhetoric.
‘As the saying goes, people bow to those who recognize their worth. Whoever you serve, none can match my treatment.’
The Western Noble Consort, whose only asset was her body as a weapon; the arrogant minister Hang Yunpa; the cruel prince Zong, who believed his position stolen.
Who among them could match his magnanimity?
-Rattle rattle rattle!
Then Mok Kyung-un bowed his head, covered his mouth with his palm, and his face trembled slightly.
It looked as if emotions had welled up.
Seeing this, the corner of Prince Mirror’s mouth curved up faintly.
It seemed his gamble born of greed for talent had paid off.
Prince Mirror approached Mok Kyung-un.
“Your Highness!”
Prince Mirror shook his head.
“It’s fine. This one understands my intent.”
With that, he approached Mok Kyung-un again, placed a hand on his right shoulder, and laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! It must be my virtue. To gain such an outstanding warrior, a bulwark of the state, like this…”
Suddenly, Prince Mirror trailed off.
Lifting his head, Mok Kyung-un’s face wasn’t one moved by his eloquence but closer to boredom, as if stifling a yawn.
“You…”
“Ah, my apologies. It seemed rude to yawn during your fervent speech, so I tried to hold it back, but it was too obvious.”
Prince Mirror was dumbfounded.
He had spoken with such courtesy and flattery, and the reaction was just holding back a yawn?
This was tantamount to insulting him, a royal prince.
Thus, though deeply offended inwardly, Mok Kyung-un was too close, so Prince Mirror suppressed it and spoke softly.
“My words must have dragged on too long. Then, simply: please become my man.”
With that, he clasped his hands and bowed his head once more in salute.
He, a prince, had humbled himself this far.
Having gone this much, you should show sufficient sincerity in return…
-Pfuk!
In that instant, something sharp pierced Prince Mirror’s left eyeball.
More startled than pained by the sudden needle, Prince Mirror tried to shove Mok Kyung-un away.
-Grip!
But Mok Kyung-un seized his wrist, preventing the push.
“You bastard!”
At this sight, the enraged Eunuch Ho Gonggong of the Western Depot rushed to rescue Prince Mirror.
However,
“If you don’t want to see His Highness die, it’d be best to stay put.”
“You fiend!”
Eunuch Ho Gonggong froze in place.
He gritted his teeth.
Even though His Highness said it was fine, he should have somehow prevented him from getting so close.
Meanwhile, Prince Mirror, squinting his left eye, said to Mok Kyung-un in an incredulous tone.
“Wh-why do this? I offered you even greater honors with full courtesy…”
“Ah. Why did I do that all of a sudden?”
“…Yes.”
“Because you talk too much.”
‘!?’