Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 11
>Chapter Title: A Dangerous Visit (2)
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“I need the head of the young master you serve, sir.”
‘!?’
At those words from Bloodless Gate Leader Ha Chae-rin, Escort Go Chan found himself momentarily speechless.
He had wondered what her purpose was for entering Timber Sword Manor, but this was utterly bewildering.
“Wh-what do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said. I’m here to take the head of a man named Mok Kyung-un.”
Go Chan’s mind reeled.
Assassins had certain rules.
One of them was that, as members of the sect, they were forbidden from killing without a commission.
This applied even to the leader.
Go Chan swallowed dryly and asked,
“.......Have you received a commission?”
“No.”
“What?”
Go Chan frowned at her swift reply.
She hadn’t received a commission, yet she was here for Mok Kyung-un’s head? What was this about?
To his puzzled expression, Ha Chae-rin twirled a lock of her hair and said,
“Someone from Timber Sword Manor gave me a tip.”
“A tip?”
“Mid-level assassin number twenty-nine.”
-Thump!
Go Chan’s heart pounded fiercely in that instant.
Mid-level assassin number twenty-nine.
‘Senior Brother Gam.’
It was the assassin number of his senior brother, Gam I-cheong.
Ha Chae-rin fiddled with Go Chan’s jaw as his face hardened and continued,
“Number twenty-nine—no, Uncle Gam was killed by Timber Sword Manor’s third young master, Mok Kyung-un, wasn’t he?”
“.........”
“It was surprising. For the third young master of the Mok family, who’s barely third-rate, to kill a first-rate expert who was once a mid-level assassin from Bloodless Gate with a solid record.”
“.........”
“But there’s more that’s suspicious. As far as I know, Uncle Go’s master was Uncle Gam....... So why are you still by Mok Kyung-un’s side?”
“.........”
Go Chan was at a loss for words at her question.
He had no idea how to respond without digging himself deeper.
If he admitted to submitting to that monster, she’d tear him apart for ignoring the death of a fellow sect member, even if he was retired. But staying silent would put him in a bad spot too.
‘Damn it.’
After a moment’s agonized deliberation, Go Chan finally parted his lips.
“.......I had no choice but to bide my time.”
“Bide your time?”
“It’s been quite a while since I retired, so with my skills, I couldn’t take down the Mok kid who killed my senior brother right away.”
At Go Chan’s words, Ha Chae-rin, who had eyed him suspiciously, grinned.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and said,
“As expected of Uncle Go. I knew it. Even retired, a Bloodless Gate assassin wouldn’t ignore his master’s death and submit to the enemy.”
It felt like a dagger piercing his chest.
But Go Chan knew this was the only way to escape the situation for now.
She might be young, but having become leader and inherited the title of Bloodless Wanderer, her martial prowess had to be at least at the pinnacle realm or higher.
If he couldn’t flee, he had to use his wits.
“Of course not. You know how much my senior brother cherished me.”
Cherished him by torturing him to the bone out of suspicion, cutting off two fingers—such affection.
So he felt no particular vengeance or longing even after his death.
But these words seemed effective, as Ha Chae-rin nodded, then—
-Pluck! Pluck! Pluck!
—she removed the needles embedded in his chest.
As the needles came out, his stiffened body loosened, and his half-blocked breathing normalized.
“Haa.......”
“Don’t take it too personally. I had to check if you’d truly submitted to the Mok young master or if there was some other circumstance.”
“.........”
Go Chan silently regulated his breathing before asking her,
“.......But, young..... no, Leader.”
“Yes?”
“For something like this, you didn’t need to come out personally. Why?”
“Why?”
“Yes?”
“Is there some reason I can’t handle it myself?”
“N-no, of course not.”
There was no such reason.
It was just odd for someone who’d inherited the title of Bloodless Wanderer—one of the Four Great Assassins—to step in personally for something involving a retired assassin, not even a top-priority commission.
Of course, given her temperament, it could just be a whim.
Ha Chae-rin grinned at Go Chan and said,
“As the saying goes, better to rip off the horn while it’s short. Let’s head to Timber Sword Manor, then.”
Go Chan’s expression darkened at her eager demeanor.
‘I have to let that guy know somehow.’
Otherwise, his life might truly be in jeopardy.
* * *
-Pak! Papapapak!
Mok Kyung-un had been practicing the basic footwork of lightness skill for nearly three hours.
It had only been four days since he’d begun proper martial arts training, but his form looked as precise as if he’d trained for years.
Cheong-ryeong watched him, clicking her tongue in amazement.
‘What kind of guy is this?’
He was self-teaching martial arts all on his own.
She’d thought he’d ask for her help at some point, but he hadn’t.
And yet, he’d already mastered it to this degree.
‘.......Unbelievable.’
Even in life, she’d seen countless martial prodigies.
But this type was a first.
Typically, when starting martial arts, one drills the basic forms.
Forms are a type of stance, and linking them creates a technique.
Thus, mastering forms is crucial.
‘The reason for repeating the same stance is to ingrain it into the body.’
In the martial world, life-or-death duels are common.
In those moments, victory is often decided in an instant.
In that instant, there’s no time for calculations, so how well it’s ingrained in the body determines the outcome.
That’s why martial artists repeat stances endlessly during practice.
However,
‘.......Aside from the first time he took the stance, he hasn’t made a single mistake since.’
Mok Kyung-un’s stances had zero errors.
He repeated the stance dozens of times over three hours without the slightest deviation.
This was possible due to two conditions.
‘Insane memory, and a body that perfectly embodies that memory.’
It was nothing short of miraculous.
Remembering with the mind is one thing; manifesting it perfectly with the body is another.
Yet this guy could do it.
He could move his body exactly as he’d learned or intended, with virtually no margin for error.
Some movements required repeated adaptation because the necessary muscles weren’t developed yet, but otherwise, long-term practice would be pointless.
-Fwooo.
Smoke filled the air.
He kept lighting cigarettes from his pipe.
Watching this guy made her want to teach him everything she knew.
But she suppressed the urge.
Her techniques were only for those who qualified.
Besides, he’d already obtained the supreme enlightenment of the Eight Forms of Breaking Thought.
That alone was tremendous fortune.
-Papak!
Mok Kyung-un, stepping through the lightness skill forms, soon straightened his posture and regulated his breath.
“Fuu.”
-How long do you plan to keep this up?
Cheong-ryeong spoke to him.
The sun, once high in the sky, was now setting.
“Is that so?”
After dealing with Escort Gam and having Demon Monk possess Outer Hall Leader Sang Ung-baek, Mok Kyung-un’s movements had become somewhat freer. Having obtained Timber Sword Manor’s basic manual, he’d devoted the last four days to training.
His goal here had always been martial arts, so he was focused on that.
‘The conditions are perfect.’
No interruptions—ideal.
Of course, Mok Kyung-un knew this wouldn’t last forever.
The moment the Clan Head drew his last breath, a string of annoyances would follow.
‘Leaving at the right time wouldn’t be bad.’
He’d already acquired the martial arts, after all.
No need to stay longer.
His sole purpose remained one.
-Crack!
To make a wine cup from the skull of the bastard who killed Grandfather and offer it at his grave.
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly and said,
“Shall we head in for a meal, then?”
At his words, the corners of Cheong-ryeong’s mouth twitched upward as if she’d been waiting.
* * *
-Munch! Munch!
Across from Mok Kyung-un, who held a book, sat a female servant engrossed in her meal.
The servant ate braised pork, then downed a cup of liquor with a blissful expression.
“Kuh. This is the taste.”
Mok Kyung-un chuckled at the sight.
In response, the servant refilled her cup and said,
“What’s so funny?”
“You look so happy.”
“One of the three joys of the living is eating. Even rolling in dog shit, this world is better—you’ll realize that someday too, you brat.”
The servant was none other than Cheong-ryeong in possession.
She entered the body of the servant who brought meals each time.
For the past four days, this had been her pleasure.
-Thud! Thud!
The problem was it never lasted long.
Cheong-ryeong, in the servant’s body, looked at the back of her hand holding the cup and clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk.”
Veins were bulging black.
An ordinary body couldn’t withstand her soul, now at the level of Immeasurable Radiance.
Four days ago, she’d picked a pretty female servant on a whim, but the girl nearly died.
“She can’t even last fifteen minutes.”
“Just bear with it a bit. Until a suitable body comes along.”
“Hurry up and find me one.”
Mok Kyung-un smiled at her words.
Truth be told, he had no intention of finding her a body just yet.
With her high level and constant presence, Cheong-ryeong was his trump card.
“Don’t split.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“By the way, you’re too interested in sorcery.”
“It’s intriguing.”
The book Mok Kyung-un was reading was the sorcery tome Sixfold Spirit Summoning Technique that the dead Sorcerer Sak had possessed.
Mok Kyung-un had asked for all of Sak’s items.
He’d gained more useful things than from Sorcerer Myo-sin.
Including quite a few talisman spells and related talismans.
They piqued his interest sufficiently.
“There are some fascinating spells here. For instance, for the dead......”
-Flinch!
Mok Kyung-un frowned and turned his head to the side.
Seeing his reaction, Cheong-ryeong’s eyes gleamed as she said,
“You’ve gotten really sensitive.”
Mok Kyung-un closed the book and stood.
* * *
Half an hour earlier, in Escort Go Chan’s room.
Go Chan handed Ha Chae-rin a set of clothes.
“It’s what the female servants wear.”
She picked up the clothes, examined them briefly, and muttered with a smirk,
“Dowdy. A courtesan outfit would be better.”
Go Chan glanced at her.
He had to inform Mok Kyung-un somehow, but she hadn’t given him an opening.
In desperation, he’d thought of servant clothes.
While she changed, he’d sneak off to warn Mok Kyung-un.
Go Chan bowed slightly and said,
“Leader, I’ll step out while you change.”
“Don’t you want to watch?”
“N-no, of course not.”
“Chances to see a body like mine bare aren’t common.”
With that, she teasingly revealed her cleavage.
“Ahem.”
Still as mischievous as ever.
For her to have inherited the leader position despite this, the previous leader must have been remarkable.
Go Chan bowed and waved his hands as he tried to leave.
Ha Chae-rin smiled at him and said,
“Uncle Go. Thanks. You made it easy to get in here.”
Go Chan felt bitter inside.
He’d been half-forced into bringing her, so thanks were out of place.
“No, no. Then I’ll step out....”
Before he could finish—
-Pfufufufuk!
‘!?’
Needles pierced his pressure points.
They were shadow needles.
Go Chan looked at her in shock.
Ha Chae-rin smirked, lowering her right hand with its sleeve arrow.
She approached and said,
“No need for that.”
“Wh-what is this?”
“Your role ends here, Uncle.”
“What?”
“I said here.”
“L-Leader?”
“Did you think I’d buy that naive excuse of yours? Ha.”
‘Oh no.’
Go Chan bit his lip hard.
She hadn’t believed him from the start.
She’d just used him to slip past Timber Sword Manor’s defenses.
“Sticking by him after your master died obviously means you submitted. A worthless retired prodigy failure babbling about enduring for revenge? Pfft.”
Ha Chae-rin mocked Go Chan.
He ground his teeth at her laugh.
Her personality disorder hadn’t changed a bit, making his teeth ache.
How had someone like this passed the Hundred Days Hundred Kills to become Bloodless Gate Leader?
‘!?’
Suddenly, Go Chan frowned and asked,
“Could it be....... you’re in the midst of Hundred Days Hundred Kills?”
The rite of passage to become Bloodless Gate Leader.
It required passing the trial called Hundred Days Hundred Kills.
At his question, Ha Chae-rin silently lifted the corner of her mouth.
Affirmation.
‘Ha.’
That explained the oddity.
It was strange for the leader to handle this personally.
Unless she was undergoing Hundred Days Hundred Kills, she wouldn’t.
Smiling with her lip curled, Ha Chae-rin said,
“Not completely brainless after all. Right. The sixtieth sacrifice in my Hundred Days Hundred Kills is Timber Sword Manor’s third young master, Mok Kyung-un.”
“.........”
Go Chan despaired at his own powerlessness.
When had things gone so wrong?
Ever since that fake Mok Kyung-un appeared, everything fell apart.
Or was it because he was so weak, unable to escape second-rate even at his age, that he was tossed around like this?
Then Ha Chae-rin drew the dagger from Go Chan’s waist.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
She sneered and said,
“You killed the young master you served for Uncle Gam’s revenge and then took your own life. Got it?”
“Fr-from the start.....”
-Tatatatatak!
Ha Chae-rin sealed even his mute points.
She pressed her index finger to her lips and whispered,
“Shh. Be quiet. I’m letting a retired Bloodless Gate member keep his honor—aren’t you grateful?”
With that, Ha Chae-rin moved to slit Go Chan’s throat.
At that exact moment—
-Pat! Whirrlik!
The dagger flew from her hand, piercing the paper window.
‘!?’
-Pak!
Through the torn window, someone appeared holding the dagger.
Ha Chae-rin’s eyes widened.
‘Wha....... Object Manipulation?’
-Bang!
As she marveled, the figure kicked the door open and revealed himself.
It was Mok Kyung-un.
“Escort Go Chan. In a bind?”
For the first time, Go Chan thought this devilish bastard looked cool.
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