Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 13
>Chapter Title: Ambush (3)
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The battle between Timber Sword Manor's warriors and the masked men came to a temporary halt at the shout of Son Yun, one of the Five Kings of the Heaven-Earth Society, the Illustrious Sword King.
However, it was still not a situation where they could let their guard down.
The Heaven-Earth Society was still a force harboring ambitions of unifying the Central Plains, so if the Illustrious Sword King Son Yun changed his mind midway, the fight would resume.
“........This is trouble.”
Great Madam Seok whispered to her escort warrior Ho-ang.
From what she had overheard, they seemed to be after some secret manual that the Clan Head had found somewhere, and it was said to be in a hidden space in the outer hall.
-Swish!
She glanced at Mok Kyung-un, who was still in meditation.
That boy..... It seemed he had found the exclusive secret manual the Clan Head had hidden, right there in the outer hall.
Otherwise, how could he have come to her with it without stepping a single foot outside the outer hall?
At this, Escort Warrior Ho-ang said to her.
“Madam...... Shouldn't we inform the Clan Head?”
“We should......”
Great Madam Seok's eyes took on a strange glint.
If she informed him now, thinking of Timber Sword Manor's future, the Clan Head could hurriedly take care of it.
But a clever idea popped into Great Madam Seok's mind.
‘That boy sent me only two chapters of the Timber Forming Sword Art, which I only have two of, saying the rest were all in his head.’
Given that cunning kid's personality, there was a high chance he had memorized it and destroyed the manual.
She was certain that was the case.
In that case, there was no need to tell him right now.
If someone had memorized a secret manual precious enough for the Heaven-Earth Society to call it a treasure, how would they react?
“It seems we can inform him a little later.”
The corner of Great Madam Seok's mouth curved up slightly.
If things went well, she might be able to remove this troublesome wart right here.
Just then, Mok Kyung-un, who had been deep in meditative trance circulating his qi to let the situation unfold this far, finally opened his eyes.
“Young Master!”
Go Chan, who had been standing guard beside him, called out in a low voice.
Mok Kyung-un glanced at him once, then scanned the surroundings.
Seeing the standoff frozen in place, Mok Kyung-un smacked his lips in disappointment.
‘No wonder it felt like my luck had been cut off midway.’
That was because the fight had stopped.
Mok Kyung-un was actually disappointed that no more people were dying.
But for now, grasping the situation took priority.
“What happened?”
And come to think of it, what about the Demon Monk? Why was he in his ghost soul state, leaving the outer hall leader's body behind?
“That is.....”
To the puzzled Mok Kyung-un, Go Chan whispered an explanation of what had transpired.
Mok Yu-cheon glanced at Mok Kyung-un with eyes full of envy.
‘When did that punk get such an escort?’
He had never seen him before, and he couldn't hide his surprise upon learning Go Chan was Mok Kyung-un's escort.
Not only was his appearance striking, but his martial prowess had especially shocked him.
Regardless, once Mok Kyung-un had a grasp of the situation, he stroked his chin and let out a small groan.
“Hmm.”
‘What are we going to do about this?’
Go Chan looked at Mok Kyung-un with a troubled expression.
It was truly a dilemma, advance or retreat both fraught with peril.
Soon, the Heaven-Earth Society's masked man who had gone to search the outer hall's secret space would return.
If that happened, disaster could strike.
“Young Master..... The Heaven-Earth Society is truly a dangerous organization. If we're not careful......”
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
As Go Chan looked puzzled, Mok Kyung-un approached Clan Head Mok In-dan, who was waiting with an anxious expression.
Clan Head Mok In-dan admonished him in a low voice.
“If you're injured, just rest quietly. Right now.....”
“May I ask who inflicted that wound on your side?”
“What?”
Clan Head Mok In-dan furrowed his brow at Mok Kyung-un's sudden question.
In this already uncertain situation, why was this kid doing this?
Clan Head let out a sigh and said.
“Now's not the time to talk about that.....”
“There is nothing in the outer hall's basement.”
At those words, the Clan Head nearly blurted something out in panic but barely held it back, rolling his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.
Illustrious Sword King Son Yun was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching him.
Mindful of him, the Clan Head whispered even lower.
“What do you mean by that? Nothing in the outer hall basement, what.....”
“Exactly as I said. So, if you tell me where you got that side wound, from whom and how, I'll take responsibility for this situation.”
At Mok Kyung-un's words, Clan Head Mok In-dan's eyes sharpened.
Mok In-dan glared at Mok Kyung-un and said.
“Did you go down there, by any chance?”
“Yes.”
“How did you...... Ha!”
For a moment, he felt like clutching the back of his neck.
How on earth did this kid find out about that place and go there?
And he couldn't understand why he was so fixated on this wound of his.
But that wasn't important right now.
“You didn't touch it, did you?”
“Tell me first.”
“You!”
Timber Sword Manor was in a life-or-death crisis, what kind of behavior was this?
In rising fury, Clan Head Mok In-dan grabbed Mok Kyung-un's wrist.
And squeezing hard, he said.
-Crush!
“Where is it? Tell me right now. This concerns the future of this clan. I can't tolerate your antics right now......”
“Does it seem like a prank?”
‘!?’
Clan Head Mok In-dan frowned.
Was this really the same kid he knew?
Even with his wrist gripped this tightly and being intimidated, he wasn't avoiding his eyes at all, not even showing a hint of fear.
“You.......”
It was right then.
-Tatata tatak!
A masked man was seen rushing over hurriedly.
Seeing this, Clan Head Mok In-dan's expression hardened.
It was the masked man he had sent to the outer hall.
Illustrious Sword King Son Yun, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened up and said.
“Did you find it?”
“It is here.”
The masked man knelt on one knee and reverently offered a wooden box plastered with worn talismans.
Son Yun received the wooden box with both hands, unable to hide his excitement.
“It returns to this association's hands once more.”
Seeing this, Clan Head Mok In-dan asked Mok Kyung-un.
“You...... You lied to your father?”
Otherwise, the wooden box wouldn't be sitting there intact.
Mok In-dan, who had been worried about a major disaster, suddenly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
If they took that and left, there would be no more damage......
-Click!
At that moment, Illustrious Sword King Son Yun raised one eyebrow and opened the lid of the wooden box.
As if to check if the item was inside.
However,
-Shwaaaaa!
In that instant, an immense killing intent poured out from Illustrious Sword King Son Yun.
The aura was so intense that both Timber Sword Manor's people and the masked men flinched involuntarily.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
Clan Head Mok In-dan, who had been relieved, was baffled.
Mok In-dan looked at Mok Kyung-un.
Could it be empty inside?
“I told you, didn't I?”
At Mok Kyung-un's words, Mok In-dan went beyond anger to utter disbelief.
Was this punk really sane?
But unlike him, there was one person who welcomed this situation.
Great Madam Seok.
‘Good!’
She had thought Mok Kyung-un hadn't touched the wooden box.
But judging by that man's reaction, it seemed otherwise.
Now was the chance.
Great Madam Seok stepped forward one step.
And as she was about to open her mouth, Illustrious Sword King Son Yun pulled something out of the wooden box with tongs.
It was,
‘An earring?’
A flashy earring made of jade and silver.
Only one side, but no matter how she looked, it was something women wore.
‘!!!!!!!’
Great Madam Seok couldn't hide her shock upon seeing it.
That was because that belonged in her jade plaque box.
But why was it in there?
It was enough to make ghosts wail.
‘Wait, could it be?’
Startled, Great Madam Seok looked toward Mok Kyung-un.
She tried to look at Mok Kyung-un, but her eyes first met Clan Head Mok In-dan beside him.
Mok In-dan had an expression asking what on earth was going on.
And rightly so,
‘Of all things, that one......’
That was one of the ornaments the Clan Head had gifted her.
It was natural for Mok In-dan to show suspicion.
As she panicked, she saw Mok Kyung-un next to her smirking and shrugging his shoulders.
‘You!’
Only then did she become certain it was Mok Kyung-un's doing.
He was the only one who had gone to that place.
At that moment, Illustrious Sword King Son Yun held up the earring toward Clan Head Mok In-dan, blatantly radiating killing intent as he said.
“Clan Head Mok. What is this?”
At the question, Clan Head Mok In-dan was speechless.
The secret manual not being in the incense bead wrapper was already a problem, and he couldn't very well say that earring was his wife's.
“You've chosen punishment after all.”
-Shing!
Illustrious Sword King Son Yun drew the sword strapped to his back.
The masked men did the same.
As those who had sheathed their weapons drew their swords again, Timber Sword Manor's warriors also gripped their weapons with tense faces.
It was a powder-keg situation.
That's when Mok Kyung-un shouted.
“Great Aunt! With the Clan Head in danger, do you plan to keep your mouth shut and stand by? Isn't that earring yours, Great Aunt?”
‘!?’
Great Madam Seok couldn't hide her shock for a moment.
She already knew it was her earring and was at a loss, but she never expected him to throw her under the bus like this.
“You! Wh-what are you......”
“Hoh. So this earring belongs to the Clan Head's wife?”
Illustrious Sword King Son Yun glared at Great Madam Seok along with those words.
Terrified by his sharp gaze and aura, Great Madam Seok staggered back.
Waving her hands, she said.
“H-Hero Son. I think there's a misunderstanding here. This is......”
“Great Aunt! We can end this without bloodshed, why are you like this? If you have the secret manual, hand it over quickly.”
‘This punk!’
At Mok Kyung-un's shout, she felt like she was going mad.
She wanted to tear Mok Kyung-un's mouth right then, but with the monstrous Heaven-Earth Society expert, whom even the Clan Head couldn't handle, glaring at her murderously, her lips wouldn't move.
-Crush!
Clan Head Mok In-dan gripped Mok Kyung-un's wrist and scolded him in a low voice.
“Stop it!”
“Yes?”
“What do you think you're doing? Even if she's not your birth mother, how could you......”
“You're more naive than you seem.”
“What?”
“That woman called in the Sorcerer to pry out of you where the Clan Head's exclusive secret manual was, then tried to kill you. And you think of protecting her?”
‘!?’
At those words, Mok In-dan's expression hardened.
What was this supposed to mean?
To the bewildered man, Mok Kyung-un twitched his lips and whispered.
“So don't feel too guilty. If you're lucky and sacrificing that one woman saves everyone, isn't that a good thing in its own way?”
A whisper like the temptation of a devil.
At this, Clan Head Mok In-dan suddenly felt chills all over his body.
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