Chapter 341
Chapter 341
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 91
>Chapter Title: Offer (1)
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“Now, allow me.”
The one pressing down on the back of Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae’s head, who was twitching with his face smashed into the ground, was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
At his words, Yu Mu-jin nodded and stepped back.
He had already lost all trust in Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae, so he had no desire to continue the conversation anyway.
And,
‘I need to stabilize it.’
Even though Mok Kyung-un had controlled the demonic energy, the strange demonic essence remaining in his heart continued to hinder his recovery. The wound in his heart hadn’t healed yet, stinging every time he breathed.
It seemed he needed to expel that demonic essence from his body as soon as possible.
As Yu Mu-jin withdrew, Mok Kyung-un, who had been pinning his head, gave a glance to someone.
It was Seop Chun.
Quick-witted Seop Chun understood his intent from the glance alone.
-Kkiiik!
Seop Chun approached the carriage Dang In-hae had been riding and opened the door. His eyes lit up.
Inside the carriage, amid wooden boxes containing various weapons, hidden weapons, and poison tools, lay a woman with a simple, refined appearance and tied-up hair, asleep.
-Swsh!
‘Not asleep?’
Seop Chun checked her pulse and realized her acupoints had been sealed.
He considered releasing them right away but first picked her up and brought her out.
“My lord. There are weapons, poison tools, and this woman.”
“I see.”
“I don’t know who she is. But since her acupoints were sealed to knock her out, they don’t seem on friendly terms.”
“Acupoint strike...”
-Pak!
Mok Kyung-un soon released his foot from the head he had been pressing.
Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae, who had been wriggling desperately, lifted his head.
His face was covered in blood with countless sand shards embedded in it. He ground his teeth and tried to twist his body.
However,
-Pak!
“Kuhk!”
As Mok Kyung-un kicked his shoulder and pressed down, the attempt failed.
To him, who couldn’t move a muscle, Mok Kyung-un said,
“From what I heard earlier, you seem to have a rough idea of who I am, so we can skip the introductions.”
“........”
At the calm voice, Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae’s mind grew chaotic.
Just where had things gone wrong?
He had deliberated long and hard, so there were no flaws in the plan.
There were no interfering factors either, so why was this bastard still alive?
He couldn’t comprehend it.
Then Mok Kyung-un asked him,
“Who is she?”
“........”
“The woman you sealed the acupoints on to take away.”
“........”
“Keeping your mouth shut isn’t going to be a wise choice. There’s no one left to protect you anymore.”
‘Protect?’
-Grind!
At Mok Kyung-un’s words, Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae ground his teeth.
How had he ended up needing protection?
It was utterly humiliating for him, one of the Eight Stars called the supreme master of the martial world and head of a clan, to suffer such an insult.
If he could, he wanted to tear this bastard who trampled his pride limb from limb.
But he clamped down harder on his rage.
Lashing out here wouldn’t solve anything.
He needed to stay as calm as possible to create an opportunity.
And,
‘I still have that.’
The Formless Poison, symbol of the Sacheon Dang Clan and called their most perfect venom.
Not much remained, but enough to use his secret technique.
Moreover, this bastard had clashed palms with him and been exposed to the Formless Poison.
His profound inner energy had only prevented direct poisoning so far, but soon he would learn the true terror of the Formless Poison.
‘The old man Jang Moon-no who raised you died in agony too.’
You won’t be any different.
Soon, you’ll be crawling on the ground, begging for your life.
Of course, there was no antidote.
The Formless Poison had no cure; once poisoned, it was over.
Then Mok Kyung-un spoke.
“Right. It would’ve been disappointing if you surrendered too easily.”
“........”
“I need to hear all sorts of nonsense from that mouth of yours to have any face left with Grandfather.”
-Swsh!
Mok Kyung-un turned his head and gave a glance to Ja-geum-jeong, the Broken Precept Monk sitting in the driver’s seat of the carriage they had arrived in.
“Kekeke.”
Ja-geum-jeong took a swig from his gourd and then opened the carriage door.
Someone stepped out from inside.
It was an old woman—none other than the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord.
‘!?’
At the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord’s appearance, Dang In-hae’s eyes shook, though his mouth remained tightly shut.
How was that woman here?
He had heard the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord was imprisoned in the imperial palace’s Golden Prison.
So why was she with them?
As he puzzled over it,
“Song-a, my Song-a!”
The Sacred Flame Spirit Lord spotted Ye Song-a in Seop Chun’s arms and cried out with teary eyes.
Throughout the journey here, she had thought only of her granddaughter.
Seeing her granddaughter unconscious filled her with dread, and she tried to rush over.
However,
“Stay put, you old hag.”
Broken Precept Monk Ja-geum-jeong blocked her path.
This was because Mok Kyung-un had shaken his head.
Raising her voice, the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord shouted,
“M-Mok young master! Why is my granddaughter like that? Don’t tell me...”
“Her acupoints are sealed, so calm down.”
“Acupoints?”
“Think of it as having been knocked out.”
Seop Chun informed her that her granddaughter was unharmed.
At those words, the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord turned to Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae with an incredulous expression and said,
“Dang Clan Head. What in the world is going on?”
To her question, Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae clamped his jaw shut without answering.
He had heard that as a key figure in the Baihua Cult, she would never be released from the Golden Prison, even in death. For them to have rescued her too—this bastard was truly committed.
To him, Mok Kyung-un said,
“I suspected, but she really is the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord’s granddaughter.”
“........”
“You’re quite the unique one. The moment I appeared, you abandoned your retainers and tried to flee, yet you insisted on taking the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord’s granddaughter with you.”
“.......”
“There must be some special reason you valued her enough to take her along no matter what. I wonder what it is.”
“.......”
“Well, of course you won’t tell me. And...”
As he looked at the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord, she averted her trembling eyes, avoiding his gaze.
At their attitudes, the corner of Mok Kyung-un’s mouth twitched.
It was a simple reaction, but from it, Mok Kyung-un could infer one fact.
“I already thought the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord was hiding more from me. I was wondering what it was, and now I have the answer.”
At Mok Kyung-un’s words, the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord grew restless.
Could he have figured that out? Anxiety gripped her.
Then Mok Kyung-un said,
“I don’t know if it’s bloodline or some other reason, but the prophetic ability you lost... it seems your granddaughter inherited it.”
‘!!!!!’
At those words, the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord could no longer hide her shock and dismay.
This was something she had desperately kept secret above all else.
In fact, not even among the Baihua Cult members did anyone know she had lost her ability and that it had transferred to her granddaughter.
She had hidden it to the end, knowing her granddaughter would become a target if it were revealed.
Yet this man was terrifying.
His insight was too sharp, deducing the truth from mere circumstances.
“Mok young master. There’s no such...”
“Shh. Stay quiet.”
-Tight!
“Eup!”
Mok Kyung-un pressed harder on Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae’s back and said,
“You abandoned all your retainers, but you had to take the one with prophetic abilities no matter what, huh? She must be that precious.”
“.......”
“Impressive.”
‘What?’
“I’ve met quite a few people while leaving the mountain to find the true culprit, but you’re the first with greed this exceptional.”
“.......”
“I was thinking of peeling the skin from your retainers one by one in front of you and the Sacred Flame Spirit Lord, trimming the flesh neatly, then grinding their bones piece by piece...”
-Chill!
“Y-You bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?!”
Dang In-hae, who had been trying to keep his mouth shut to the end, couldn’t help but open it in sheer disbelief.
How could such a gruesome thing come from a human mouth?
Even if he was the enemy who killed the grandfather who raised him, it was hard to endure.
“Ah... I thought your greed was too selfish for that to be worth the time, but apparently not. That should be plenty to torment you with.”
“You mad bastard? How can you say something even beasts wouldn’t...”
-Grind!
“Keoook!”
Before he could finish, the sound of breaking bone rang out, and a scream burst from Dang In-hae’s mouth.
It seemed the right vertebrae under Mok Kyung-un’s foot had snapped.
As he writhed in pain, Mok Kyung-un lifted his foot from his back.
At that, a glint entered Dang In-hae’s eyes.
‘What?’
Why had he removed his foot from his back?
It was a major acupoint, and though the overwhelming pressure from his energy had pinned him, he had endured it deliberately, waiting for the Formless Poison to spread.
-Pak!
“Guhp!”
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un kicked him, forcing his body upright against his will.
Clutching the area near his broken vertebrae, Dang In-hae straightened and glared at Mok Kyung-un.
‘Ha?’
Mok Kyung-un stood arrogantly with hands behind his back.
Like he was looking down at a lowly worm crawling on the ground.
As disgust welled up, Mok Kyung-un spoke.
“Go ahead.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t pressing that hard, but you endured it forcibly, biding your time. Consider this my final mercy.”
“Mercy?”
-Grind!
At the word mercy, Dang In-hae’s face twisted horribly.
He was furious.
No matter how his power rivaled the Six Heavens, to humiliate him like this...
Especially in front of that old hag Gu Yang-su, his rival among the Eight Poison Stars.
-Step! Whoooosh!
Unable to endure any longer, Dang In-hae assumed a stance and drew up the poisonous energy of his Formless Poison Art.
He would die from the Formless Poison soon anyway, but he had changed his mind.
He would hasten that moment.
At that time, Gu Yang-su, masked in human skin, shouted toward Mok Kyung-un.
“Mok young master! You mustn’t clash with him! There’s no antidote for the Formless Poison, so keep your distance and...”
“Too late!”
-Pat!
Dang Clan Head Dang In-hae launched his body forward.
It seemed he believed simply widening the distance wasn’t the answer to the Formless Poison Art; naturally, he had secret techniques for distant foes as well.
One of them was the Circular Dense Poison Formation...
-Slash!
‘!?’
It was then.
Dang In-hae’s body pitched forward uncontrollably.
Even as he tried to steady himself, he couldn’t,
-Pshuk!
Because his thighs split open, severing both legs from his body.
Pitching forward from the severed legs, Dang In-hae looked at Mok Kyung-un in pain and disbelief.
He had talked of granting a final chance to fight and even pricked his pride, so what was this?
But then Dang In-hae’s expression hardened.
In his vision, Mok Kyung-un grinned with a chilling face.
“Y-You bastard?”
“Ah. Sorry. Your dumbfounded look made me laugh.”
“You clearly gave me a chance...”
“A chance?”
“Yes. Yet you do this...”
“Cut your legs off suddenly? Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
“What?”
Mok Kyung-un stopped laughing and spoke in a cold voice.
“I’m just playing with you right now.”
End of Chapter 91: Offer (1)