Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 71
>Chapter Title: The Mark (1)
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“Hmph. Let’s see you again, Heavenly Demon.”
-Thud!
After the door closed, Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow.
Cheongryeong asked him with a puzzled expression.
“Heavenly Demon?.....Why is the Golden Fur Nine-Tailed Fox calling you that?”
“.......Beats me.”
He remembered her saying she called him “Demon” because she saw him as the embodiment of a demon.
But why had she prefixed it with “Heavenly”?
[How about it? The title “Demon” is pretty good, right? Just “Demon” feels too plain, so maybe add something fancy like a surname in front? Fallen from the hea—]
Suddenly, Mok Kyung-un recalled her words echoing in his mind.
He had cut her off midway, but she had abruptly mentioned falling from the sky.
What the hell did that mean?
-Ow!
At that moment, a sharp pain stabbed at the top of his head, right at the Baihui acupoint.
Mok Kyung-un clutched his head with his hand.
A mild headache he could have ignored, but this was so intense that his vision flashed white and he could barely stand.
“Young Master!”
As Mok Kyung-un staggered, Cheongryeong hurriedly approached to support him.
But with her spirit body flickering faintly, she couldn’t grasp him on her own.
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un brushed past her hand and dropped to one knee.
“Young Master, are you all right? Young Master.”
At her worried voice, Mok Kyung-un held out a hand and said.
“I’m fine.....”
-Ow!
Before he could finish, the pain surged like a pulsing vein.
In that instant, a scene he had never seen before flashed into Mok Kyung-un’s mind.
It was,
-Whoooosh!
A view of himself plummeting from an incredibly high sky toward the ground.
The height was so vast that mountains—no, entire mountain ranges on the earth looked tiny.
What the hell is this?
Why was a scene he had never experienced before surfacing like an old memory?
And it didn’t end there.
-Ow!
Soon, that scene faded, replaced by another.
It was his deceased Grandfather staring at him, overcome with awe as if struck by a chill, prostrating himself in reverence.
‘Why?’
It was Grandfather’s face, one he had never seen.
Why was he prostrating like that?
Just as he puzzled over it.
“Young Master!”
Cheongryeong’s voice rang in his ears, and the vivid memory scenes snapped away as if severed.
At the same time, the headache that felt like his skull was splitting finally stopped.
“Ah......”
“Young Master? What’s wrong? Did you hurt your head?”
Mok Kyung-un, who had been dazed, lifted his head to look at Cheongryeong.
Her face, gazing at him with genuine concern, was very different from when they first met.
Back then, it seemed like worry over her own dissipation if he died, but now it felt truly sincere about his well-being.
‘A different expression......’
People can’t always be consistent with others.
He could tell just from Grandfather’s face in that memory.
What exactly was that just now?
Why had something he’d never experienced...... No, was it really a memory he’d never had?
‘This is weird.’
Come to think of it, it was as if a chunk of his memory had been carved out—there was a point before which he couldn’t remember.
So was what he just saw a fragment of that lost memory?
As he sank into doubt, Cheongryeong’s voice came.
“Young Master. It seems like it’s because of the absorbed demonic energy. Circulate your energy and meditate right away.”
“Meditate?”
“Yes. Even for you, unassimilated demonic energy is no different from poison. So it’s best to assimilate it first.”
At Cheongryeong’s words, a light gleamed in Mok Kyung-un’s eyes.
She was in just as precarious a state right now.
Her spiritual power was steadily dissipating, and if it continued, she might vanish—yet here she was prioritizing him, which stirred an odd feeling.
So,
“Before that, let me give you some demonic energy first.”
“No need. Your condition is worse right no—”
“No. Transferring demonic energy doesn’t take long.”
-Swish!
With those words, Mok Kyung-un placed his palm toward Cheongryeong’s spirit body’s head.
He sent a portion of the Golden Fur Nine-Tailed Fox’s demonic energy remaining in his body.
The moment the demonic energy entered through her spirit head, Cheongryeong’s pupils trembled.
“Ah!”
Even when she received the Sea Destroyer King’s demonic energy, she had been shocked by its high purity.
But this was incomparable—beyond comparison.
The instant it flowed in, her eyes snapped wide as if enlightened.
This pure, vast demonic energy seized her dissipating spirit body, restoring its opacity and solidity.
“You..... told you to do yours..... first......”
“Assimilating the demonic energy will take quite some time anyway. Let’s do it together.”
“........”
“And after assimilation, things are going to get pretty busy.”
If the Golden Fur Nine-Tailed Fox was telling the truth, then among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, there was someone bearing the scar— the mark—left by his late Grandfather.
That person likely held some clue, so he had to find them.
* * *
The next day, in the dark of night when everyone was asleep.
One of the Embroidered Uniform Guard offices.
Someone with their face covered slipped secretly into the darkened room.
It was none other than Mong Muyak.
‘Just as the intel said.’
Through spies infiltrating the imperial palace, he had learned that around this time, the Execution Department office would be empty.
Seizing the opportunity, he had snuck in at night.
At first glance, it was an utterly ordinary office with display cases, bookshelves, and a desk.
However,
‘From outside, the office should look a bit larger in floor space. That means there’s definitely a secret room.’
-Tap! Tap!
Mong Muyak felt along the wall-mounted bookshelf.
The moment he pulled out one book,
-Rumble!
The bookshelf shifted slightly to the side.
‘Found it.’
Grabbing the opened gap, Mong Muyak pushed the bookshelf aside like a door.
A hidden space inside revealed itself.
The sealed secret room was dark, so Mong Muyak took a lamp from the desk, lit the candle, and entered.
‘Ah!’
In the lamplight, the interior came into view.
There were hidden ledgers, numerous books, and a safe with a lock.
Mong Muyak quickly scanned them and approached the bookshelf.
Time was short—he had to finish before the night shift change.
‘Let’s see.’
He pulled out books without titles one by one, checking their contents.
‘This is a secret ledger.’
They said corruption ran deep in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but to think they kept such blatant secret ledgers.
Some might think you shouldn’t leave records like this in the first place, but,
‘The more corruption, the more meticulous they are.’
You need ledgers to prepare defenses later.
The sloppy ones do things half-heartedly, but the cautious ones keep detailed accounts and ledgers for potential contingencies.
Mong Muyak clicked his tongue as he examined the secret ledger closely, then tucked it into his bosom.
‘Might come in handy if things go south.’
None of the books on the shelf held what he sought.
That meant it had to be in the safe.
Mong Muyak pulled a thin copper wire from his bosom and inserted it into the lock.
With practiced ease, he picked it.
-Click!
‘Got it.’
-Creak!
Opening the safe revealed quite a haul.
Valuable stolen goods and all sorts of items, but none of that mattered.
He needed only one thing.
Among the various books inside the safe,
‘There it is!’
The Golden Prison roster.
He had mapped out safe routes through spies over multiple timings just to find this.
And finally, he had it.
‘Now I know the location.’
To fulfill their secret orders, they first needed to pinpoint where in the underground Golden Prison the target was held.
The underground Golden Prison was vast, riddled with traps and heavily guarded—without knowing the position and routes in advance, extraction could fail.
‘Let’s see.’
-Swish!
The Golden Prison roster listed prisoners’ cell locations and names.
As expected of a place said to hold only the most vicious and infamous criminals, even Mong Muyak from the Heaven-Earth Society recognized quite a few names.
But the name he sought wasn’t there.
‘.......Trouble. Could they really be here?’
After flipping through for a while, he reached the roster for the deepest level, the Endless Prison.
According to his spies, those in the Endless Prison were deemed the worst by the palace, their profiles under strictest secrecy.
Thus, its security was incomparable to the upper levels.
‘This’ll be tough.’
Clicking his tongue, Mong Muyak flipped past the Endless Prison roster.
-Swish!
The roster wasn’t very long.
But the moment he turned the first page, Mong Muyak’s eyes widened.
‘The Red Scarf Rebels’ deputy leader is still alive?’
Over thirty years ago, during the great famine, uprisings erupted across the land.
Leading them were the Red Scarf Rebels’ leader Yi Jeok and deputy Yi Baek, who alone slaughtered ten thousand imperial troops.
He knew Leader Yi Jeok had been captured alive by the Left and Right Commanderies and suffered limb-tearing execution before the masses.
He thought Deputy Yi Baek had died then too, yet here he was, plainly listed.
‘A big fish right on the first page.’
A few more pages revealed a slew of shocking names.
Each one, if released, could unleash unknown chaos—the worst of the worst.
No idea why they kept such people alive.
The Heaven-Earth Society would have killed them outright to eliminate future threats.
‘Hm.’
As Mong Muyak kept flipping, he paused midway.
Toward the latter half, there was a list marked “martial artist.”
‘Martial artists here too?’
The upper levels from first to third basement had occasional martial artists, but he hadn’t expected any in the Endless Prison.
Who could be the martial artist criminal the palace deemed the worst?
Curious, Mong Muyak turned the page.
‘All unfamiliar names.’
Even he, from the Heaven-Earth Society Leader’s direct intelligence unit, didn’t know them.
Maybe they were so old that records had all but vanished?
As he wondered, Mong Muyak’s eyes widened.
‘!?’
[126 - Old Blood Cult - Sixth Blood Star]
‘Old Blood Cult’s Sixth Blood Star.’
Mong Muyak couldn’t hide his shock at the roster.
The group no longer existed in the current martial world, but its infamy was so legendary through oral tales that even he knew of it.
After all, the remnants of the long-destroyed Old Blood Cult and some evil faction forces had banded together to form the Evil Alliance, now the heart of the evil factions.
‘Traces of the Old Blood Cult remain.’
But what was even more intriguing was the note attached below.
While others had only basic info, this one had what looked like directives scrawled emphatically underneath.
‘Keep ten paces distance. Block eyes and ears when delivering meals via prison mechanisms.’
Mong Muyak frowned.
Locked in the Golden Prison, yet warned not to approach within ten paces?
The following warnings were odd too.
Surely anyone confined here had their martial arts crippled or sealed—why such extreme cautions?
Puzzled, Mong Muyak turned the page.
The warnings felt ominous, but since it wasn’t their target, it didn’t matter.
-Swish!
A few pages later, only two remained.
With just three pages left, Mong Muyak grew inwardly anxious.
If the target wasn’t listed, contrary to their intel, it’d be as good as not being in the underground Golden Prison.
-Swish!
He turned one,
‘Huh?’
The penultimate page felt off.
Normal entries listed cell numbers, prisoner names, and brief profiles.
But this one only said Prisoner 129, with a warning: Absolutely do not approach within thirty paces of the cell.
‘Do not approach?’
Even farther than the Old Blood Cult’s Sixth Blood Star.
And the warning after was even harder to grasp.
‘If anyone enters within thirty paces, do not attempt rescue under any circumstances? What does this even mean?’
Do not attempt rescue?
What could that imply?
Unable to comprehend, but since it wasn’t relevant, Mong Muyak shook his head and turned to the final page.
Seeing the name listed there, his pupils filled with ecstasy.
[130 - Fire Worship Cult - Sacred Flame Spirit Lord]
‘Fire Worship Cult’s Sacred Flame Spirit Lord!’
He had found it at last.
As a relatively recent inmate, the final page was exceptionally clean.
Unlike the others, though, instead of warnings, it had entirely different instructions in text.
[Locate the Sacred Flame Spirit’s bead.]
‘.......What’s this about?’
Sacred Flame Spirit?
No clue why it demanded locating this “bead.”
It was then.
“Hey. Hey. Why are you sleeping?”
At the voice from outside the office, accompanied by footsteps, Mong Muyak quickly shut the safe door.
If he didn’t withdraw now, his secured route would be compromised.
Fortunately, he had achieved his objective on time.
* * *
-Dong!
The bell signaling the Chou hour rang out.
In the imperial palace, bells tolled every hour to mark time.
-Swish!
Having succeeded, Mong Muyak exited the office and followed his secured route back to his quarters.
Shifts changed around the Chou hour, making handover time ideal for movement.
Killing his presence along the route, Mong Muyak vaulted a wall.
-Thud!
One more wall, and he’d reach his quarters.
Creeping through the darkness, just as he leaped for the final wall,
-Pak!
Someone grabbed his ankle mid-jump.
Startled, Mong Muyak flinched and tried to kick the foe with a leg technique,
-Pak!
But the opponent lightly caught his kick.
Then yanked his leg, instantly sealing his acupoints in a flash.
-Tat tat tat tak!
As his rigid body toppled, the unknown figure caught him.
And gently laid him on the ground.
Mong Muyak’s pupils dilated.
The one who subdued him was none other than an eunuch from the Western Depot.
He had slipped out of the office undetected, only to be caught by a Western Depot eunuch right before quarters.
‘Damn it!’
From his attire, he seemed a high-ranking eunuch.
Then, the Western Depot eunuch smiled faintly, pressed a finger to Mong Muyak’s lips, and whispered.
“You’re handling things well even without me.”
At those words, Mong Muyak’s eyes went wide.
The voice belonged to none other than,
‘M-my lord?’
Mok Kyung-un, whom he thought had been killed at the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s medical office.
[Chapter 71: The Mark (1)] End