Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 8
>Chapter Title: Aura of Death (4)
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Great Madam Seok’s residence, Hyehwa Hall.
She sat with her chin elegantly propped on the back of her interlaced hands, gazing suspiciously at a certain woman.
The woman exuded a strangely eerie aura.
Even being generous, she looked no older than twenty-two or twenty-three—remarkably young.
Yet, with one eye turned pure white, she carried a heavy air that made her seem unapproachable.
‘If not for that unsettling white eye, she’d have bewitched plenty of men.’
The white eye was deeply off-putting.
Her bodyguard, Ho-ang, seemed to feel the same, her brows slightly furrowed.
It was that distinctive.
But what in the world was on her shoulder?
She wore a claw perch woven from cowhide and oak branches.
Normally, such things were for trained falcons or hawks to rest their talons.
But she had no bird.
Not even a scent.
As they puzzled over it, the woman stroked the empty perch with her hand and murmured to herself.
“It’s all right. We’ll be leaving soon.”
Great Madam Seok inwardly clicked her tongue at the sight.
‘Hard to find a proper human among these sorcerers.’
Why did this one inspire even less trust than that sorcerer Myo-sin from last time?
She had informed them of Myo-sin’s death, expecting the Ghost Shadow Pavilion— the sorcerer group of Mongseong—to send someone superior. How disappointing.
Yet she kept her displeasure hidden and spoke.
“Sak, was it?”
“Yes.”
“........If it’s not rude, may I ask your age? You look even younger than you seem.”
“Age doesn’t matter.”
“Very well. You can’t disclose it, I see.”
“Nineteen.”
“Pardon?”
She was even younger than expected.
Not even twenty yet.
Upon learning Sak’s youth, the bodyguard Ho-ang cautiously interjected.
“Shall we request someone else from Ghost Shadow Pavilion?”
At those words, Sak silently rose from her seat.
She extended her hand and said.
Ho-ang frowned and asked.
“What’s with the hand?”
“You owe me travel expenses.”
“........What for? What have you even done to deserve travel expenses?”
“You’re the ones canceling, not us.”
“This isn’t a cancellation.”
“It’s a replacement sorcerer, so I’m waiving the penalty fee and just asking for travel expenses.”
“........”
It wasn’t just her vibe that grated.
Great Madam Seok snorted in disbelief and said.
“We’ve maintained good ties with your pavilion through my family, but this is unacceptable. Sending a mere youth not even twenty for a matter as grave as your dispatched sorcerer’s bizarre death.......”
“Sorcerer Myo-sin was my junior fellow disciple.”
“Pardon?”
Great Madam Seok furrowed her brow at Sak’s words.
Myo-sin had appeared to be a middle-aged man who had honed sorcery for decades.
Yet this Sak was barely nineteen.
And Myo-sin was her junior?
As doubts swirled, Sak explained.
“Sorcerers receive one of six titles based on skill, from highest: God, Sun, Moon, Skill, Mystery, Loss. Junior Myo-sin had just reached five years and held the lowest, Loss Sorcerer.”
“The lowest rank?”
As far as Great Madam Seok knew, Sorcerer Myo-sin was quite renowned in Mongseong.
Yet he was the bottom tier?
“And you?”
“Skill Sorcerer.”
Fourth of the six titles, two ranks above Myo-sin.
Great Madam Seok eyed her for a moment.
The youthful look and oddly brazen attitude still irked her, but if true, Sak was at least Myo-sin’s equal, if not better.
“Madam. Let me go request—”
Whoosh!
Great Madam Seok raised her hand, cutting off Ho-ang, and said.
“Very well. I’ll entrust the task to you.”
“Madam?”
“If this sorcerer claims such skill, let’s see it.”
She resolved to proceed.
If it failed, she’d pocket the silver like with Myo-sin.
And gain grounds to protest Ghost Shadow Pavilion.
Great Madam Seok rose.
“I have something to show you. Follow me.”
She led them outside to a warehouse-like structure behind Hyehwa Hall.
Inside was another door; a waiting servant opened it and lit a lantern.
Fwoosh!
As they entered, Great Madam Seok covered her nose with her sleeve.
The stench was overpowering.
She pointed to a corpse covered in straw matting, only its feet exposed.
“This is Sorcerer Myo-sin’s body.”
The corpse was none other than the deceased Myo-sin.
She had disguised it as burned and hidden it to show another sorcerer.
Step, step.
Sak approached the body of dead Myo-sin.
She pulled off the straw.
“Junior.”
Sak stared at Myo-sin’s face with trembling eyes.
Sorcerers weren’t known for deep bonds, but the death of an acquaintance was still unpleasant.
Great Madam Seok asked her.
“How do you think he died?”
A direct question.
Sak replied in a low tone.
“I don’t judge by what’s visible. I only listen to the dead.”
Swish!
She brought her hand to dead Myo-sin’s face.
Great Madam Seok and bodyguard Ho-ang grimaced and turned their heads slightly.
They lacked the confidence to touch a reeking corpse barehanded.
Sak touched Myo-sin’s face and closed her eyes.
Then,
Click! Click!
She formed a mudra with her left hand.
‘All! Fight! Forward!’
Outsider, Outer Lion, and continuing Soldier seal.
Having formed the Nine Characters Activation Method’s mudra, Sak chanted softly.
“Three Souls Naming Method. The Northern Emperor grants me authority. Reveal all that transpired. Urgent Subjugation Command.”
The atmosphere grew ominous.
The air thickened heavily.
What was she doing?
Great Madam Seok and Ho-ang held their breath, watching intently.
Soon, a bizarre sight unfolded before them.
Tremble, tremble!
‘!?’
Dead Myo-sin’s entire body began shaking on its own.
‘The, the corpse is moving by itself?’
So startled, Ho-ang covered her mouth and unwittingly stepped back.
Great Madam Seok merely frowned at the scene, unperturbed.
Rather, she focused intently on the sorcery process unfolding close by.
“Reveal everything. Urgent Subjugation......”
Crunch!
Sak bit her lip hard, her face twisting in pain for an instant.
‘As expected.’
Her hunch was correct.
As Sak pulled back her left hand maintaining the mudra, dead Myo-sin’s mouth gaped wide then snapped shut.
It stilled afterward.
Sak opened her eyes slightly and released the mudra.
“What happened?”
Sak said nothing to the question.
Then she fully opened her eyes, withdrew her hand, and spoke.
“I asked my junior.”
“Asked? As if a dead man could answer.......”
“Unlikely. Unless a hundred souls remain, they don’t speak directly.”
“..........”
Was this wordplay?
Hadn’t she just said she asked?
As if reading her thoughts, Sak continued.
“All dead leave traces.”
“Traces?”
“The souls of corpses less than forty-nine days dead retain spiritual imprints. Awakening them reveals how the soul’s owner met death.”
“Did you see who did it?”
“No.”
“What do you mean? Just now you said within forty-nine days.......”
“Death by killing leaves only final fragments. Even skilled sorcerers can’t discern exact details.”
‘Terror.......’
The fragment Sak saw of Sorcerer Myo-sin was utter terror.
That’s why she bit her lip.
Nothing special there.
But would a sorcerer fear a killing to that degree?
A Yellow Spirit-grade vengeful spirit might overwhelm a mere Loss Sorcerer, so plausible.
Great Madam Seok asked.
“........So we learn nothing?”
“Not quite.”
“What then?”
“Killed by killing means death by the bizarre. The veins bulging so grotesquely indicate no ordinary vengeful spirit.”
Great Madam Seok’s eyes sharpened.
This was precisely her suspicion.
“This death was by the bizarre, correct?”
“Yes. A very powerful vengeful spirit.”
“Just as I thought. That child did it. Aaaah.”
The answer she sought.
Thus, Mok Kyung-un used the bizarre to kill Sorcerer Myo-sin and even threaten his maid So-hwa’s life.
With everything confirmed, rage quivered through her.
What manner of wretch commanded even such a vengeful spirit?
Great Madam Seok demanded sharply, fury lacing her voice.
“You can resolve it, right?”
Sak countered.
“If you promise one thing, yes.”
“What?”
“Not all bizarre are equal. Vengeful spirits oppose life force; they can’t be tamed as familiars. Possession is the only way.”
“And?”
“If your request holds, Young Master Mok Kyung-un may already have lost his soul to the bizarre, soul supplanted. During exorcism......”
Great Madam Seok cut through the complex explanation.
“Get to the point.”
“.......High chance of death. Acceptable?”
Sak’s words curled Great Madam Seok’s lips upward.
Just what she hoped.
“No issue.”
Seeing this, Sak sneered inwardly.
How laughable—families preying on kin for succession.
Not her concern.
From her leather belt, she drew a wooden dagger.
“What are you doing?”
“First, return the killing to weaken the vengeful spirit and host.”
“How?”
“Reverse Killing means agony like craving death. Watch.”
Swish!
Sak drew a talisman from her bosom.
On it, in red ink:
[Reverse]
She wrapped it around the wooden dagger and unhesitatingly plunged it into dead Sorcerer Myo-sin’s chest.
Stab!
“Northern Emperor grants me the talisman to smite evil spirits—obey the urgent subjugation command!”
Crunch, crunch!
In that instant, dead Sorcerer Myo-sin’s corpse convulsed.
* * *
Hoo. Damnable mortals.
Smoke trailed from Blue Spirit’s red lips.
She glared at Mok Kyung-un with displeasure while circulating energy.
What was this guy’s true nature?
Reversing energy flow should cause qi deviation, crippling, or death.
Yet death qi—an aura of death—was gathering.
Only the dead, like her fellow vengeful spirits, could sense or be affected by death qi.
But Mok Kyung-un was a living human.
Was this possible?
........A living human gathering death qi.
Unprecedented.
Still uncertain.
Unknown territory for living humans; gathering death qi didn’t guarantee circulating or wielding it like life force.
Handling death qi meant entering the realm of the dead.
Hoo.
Curiosity flickered in her bloodshot gaze amid the thick smoke.
Could a living human truly gather and control death qi?
Intriguing, intensely stimulating.
But then,
Squirm!
Blue Spirit’s brow arched as she watched Mok Kyung-un.
This?
She stared northeast.
Demon Monk startled, looked northeast, then positioned himself before Mok Kyung-un like a guardian dharma protector, gathering death qi.
Tension filled Demon Monk’s eyes.
At that moment,
Thwack!
Demon Monk clutched his chest and was shoved backward.
Rrrumble!
Under immense pressure, he crossed his arms, face contorted.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!
Wounds erupted across Demon Monk’s massive frame.
Even veins bulged hideously.
Mok Kyung-un’s closed eyelids trembled amid his reversed energy circulation.
He’d take a hit like this.
Blue Spirit’s bloodshot gaze darkened.
To dare, a lowly mortal.
Rustle!
Blue Spirit descended lightly from the ceiling like fluttering wings.
She swung her pipe toward the incoming reverse killing and parted her red lips.
Begone.
Shwoooo!
No sooner said, the gray smoke from Demon Monk’s wounds converged and surged northeast.
* * *
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Sak stabbed the corpse furiously with the wooden dagger wrapped in talisman, left hand in mudra.
Great Madam Seok shivered, deriving strange thrill from the sight.
Imagining Mok Kyung-un—that devilish brat—tormented brought unrelenting excitement.
‘More! More! Suffer!’
Stab! Stab!
Stabbing the corpse vented her spleen.
Having riddled the body, Sak now raised the dagger to pierce dead Myo-sin’s brow.
That instant,
Boom!
Sak’s body flew back, slamming into the warehouse wall.
Crash!
“Argh!”
Sak groaned, dropping the dagger upon impact.
Gazing at her palm, it blazed as if burned in the dagger’s shape.
Drip.
Black blood soon poured from her mouth.
“Sak the sorcerer!”
Shocked, Great Madam Seok supported her.
What sudden mishap was this?
“What’s wrong?”
..........
Sak couldn’t answer.
The abrupt shock was too great; her organs twisted in agony.
‘Reverse killing......returned......’
Sak’s mismatched eyes quivered.
Wholly unexpected.
Midway, something chillingly malevolent and powerful intervened.
.......Beyond Yellow Spirit grade.
A far higher vengeful spirit.
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