Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 15
>Chapter Title: Proposal (1)
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‘How?’
Surprisingly, Mok Kyung-un was moving about unscathed, and not only that—he had even freed himself from the ropes binding him.
How the hell had this guy undone the acupoint strike?
As he wondered, Mok Kyung-un lightly struck the area near his chest with a pressure point hit.
-Tatata tatatak!
Soon after, as if his dumb acupoint had been released, his voice began to emerge.
“You...”
Mok Kyung-un whispered to him then.
“Shh.”
Mok Yu-cheon lowered his voice to a whisper in response.
“......How exactly did you undo the acupoint strike?”
Mok Kyung-un did not answer his question.
That was because he had never truly been struck by it in the first place.
Well, it had held for a brief moment, but Son Yun’s—the Life-Death King’s—true energy had quickly dispersed due to his own yin deathly aura.
Mok Kyung-un had simply observed the situation calmly.
“You don’t need to know that.”
Mok Yu-cheon frowned at the evasion.
“You’re not thinking of escaping... are you?”
Mok Kyung-un smiled wordlessly.
It was an affirmation.
Mok Yu-cheon asked incredulously.
“With what means? The Heaven-Earth Society warriors are guarding every direction.”
“Now’s our chance. The Life-Death King and almost everyone else has left, leaving just four guarding the carriage exterior and six more keeping watch nearby.”
‘!?’
For a moment, Mok Yu-cheon felt doubt.
His own eyes had been blindfolded just like Mok Yu-cheon’s, and his acupoints sealed too—how could he possibly know this?
Moreover, this guy was merely third-rate; sensing presences even a few paces away should have been difficult for him.
Mok Kyung-un spoke to the skeptical Mok Yu-cheon.
“I’ll tell you one thing, and in return, I’ll let you escape too.”
“What?”
“That’s why I only released your dumb acupoint.”
‘Huh?’
Come to think of it, he still had no sensation in his body.
It wasn’t because the ropes were still on—it was because his麻穴 paralysis acupoint remained sealed.
“What did you do? If you’re releasing me, do it properly...”
“Sorry, but I don’t need to humor you all the way outside. Just answer my question.”
A subtle murderous intent emanated from his voice.
And from his expressionless face and indifferent gaze came a bizarre aura.
It felt utterly different from his usual self.
“You, exactly...”
“Who is the Ghost Sword?”
“What?”
“Who is the Ghost Sword?”
Mok Yu-cheon furrowed his brow at Mok Kyung-un’s question.
Was he really asking because he didn’t know who the Ghost Sword was?
No one in the martial world was ignorant of that man’s infamy.
“.......Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
“You’re messing with me right now...”
“Just answer the question.”
He added nothing else, yet Mok Kyung-un exuded a pressure as if he would kill him for not answering.
He had found it odd before, but was this really that cowardly Mok Kyung-un?
“Will you answer or not?”
“........He’s one of the Six Heavens Eight Stars.”
“Six Heavens Eight Stars?”
“You......what the hell are you?”
Mok Yu-cheon couldn’t comprehend his reaction, as if he truly knew nothing.
There were six grandmasters called the pinnacle of the current martial world.
Their martial prowess was said to be heaven beyond heaven, so the Central Plains martial artists dubbed them the Six Heavens.
Though they fell short of those, there were also eight masters who had reached the highest realms.
They were the Eight Stars.
“How could you not know the Six Heavens and Eight Stars...”
“I don’t know about any Eight Stars or whatever—where is the Ghost Sword?”
At Mok Kyung-un’s question, Mok Yu-cheon stared straight into his eyes before sighing and replying.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“How would I know someone who vanished seventeen years ago?”
“Vanished?”
“Yeah. And no one has ever uncovered the Ghost Sword’s true identity.”
“No one knows?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Hmm.”
Mok Kyung-un stroked his chin as if troubled by Mok Yu-cheon’s words.
The scar left on his dead grandfather’s body and the one on the Timber Sword Manor Clan Head’s side were strikingly similar.
Thus, this Ghost Sword was the most likely culprit.
But if no one knew his identity, it was tricky figuring out where to start investigating anew.
Yet one question lingered here.
‘He vanished seventeen years ago......Why would he target Grandfather?’
If the scars indicated the same perpetrator, it had to be the Ghost Sword.
But why would someone who had vanished suddenly target his grandfather?
As he pondered this, Mok Yu-cheon spoke up.
“Maybe you could find out if you go to the Heaven-Earth Society.”
“What?”
“I’ve heard rumors that everyone the Ghost Sword targeted were renowned masters from the righteous sects, so he might be from the Heaven-Earth Society or the imperial court.”
“Heaven-Earth Society or the imperial court?”
“Yeah. Not sure why you’re so curious, though.”
Mok Kyung-un’s eyes sharpened at those words.
That meant the enemy who killed his grandfather might be in the Heaven-Earth Society or the imperial court.
Then, a voice whispered in his ear.
-Mortal. Hurry.
It was Qing Ling’s voice.
Mok Kyung-un replied.
“I’ll keep my promise.”
With that, he reached out to release the other acupoint strikes.
But then,
“I appreciate you releasing the acupoint, but don’t do anything unnecessary.”
“......Unnecessary?”
“If we escape now, Timber Sword Manor will be in danger.”
“In danger.”
“We’re hostages. You know what that means. What do you think they’ll do to Timber Sword Manor if we disappear?”
Mok Kyung-un let out a scoffing laugh at Mok Yu-cheon’s words.
Mok Yu-cheon frowned.
What kind of reaction was this? As he wondered, Mok Kyung-un spoke in a cold voice.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“What?”
“Then stay here.”
“You!”
-Puk!
Struck on the back of the neck with a palm, Mok Yu-cheon fainted on the spot.
Under normal circumstances, with his skill, he never would have allowed Mok Kyung-un a single strike, but with his acupoints sealed, he couldn’t circulate his internal energy and was helpless.
-Sruk!
Mok Kyung-un carefully laid the unconscious Mok Yu-cheon on the floor.
He might be furious from his perspective, but it truly had nothing to do with him.
Whether Timber Sword Manor fell or they all died—it wasn’t his concern.
It was the real Mok Kyung-un’s problem.
And,
‘I was planning to use him as bait, what a shame.’
That was why he had intended to release Mok Yu-cheon’s acupoints.
‘Heaven-Earth Society.’
Mok Kyung-un thought as he looked down at him.
If the Ghost Sword really was there, as he said, this could be an opportunity.
But the risk was considerable.
They were interested in the manual inside his head.
So once they learned it, they might kill him without mercy.
‘Better to prepare thoroughly before approaching.’
That was the rational choice.
With his current skill, rushing in recklessly could get him caught instead.
Well then, time to go.
Mok Kyung-un cautiously approached the baggage carriage door.
The four masked men guarding the area had been temporarily knocked unconscious by Qing Ling, so he could just pass through.
-Kkiiiii!
Mok Kyung-un opened the door.
But then,
-Hmm!
The instant he opened it, he felt something off, if only for a fleeting moment.
As he paused, Qing Ling appeared and said,
-Head northwest. Don’t stop. I’ll handle the watchers.
“Got it.”
-Pat!
With that, Mok Kyung-un shot forward.
He had trained his lightness skill for four days, but this was his first time deploying it properly.
Lightness skills were generally divided into footwork and qinggong.
Qinggong was a running technique for swiftly covering long distances or closing gaps.
-Papapapapak!
As deathly aura flowed through his Yongcheon acupoint into his body, he surged forward at tremendous speed.
It was incomparable to his normal running pace.
The scenery around him blurred by rapidly.
In just half an incense stick’s time, he had covered a considerable distance.
But then,
-Mortal, why that expression?
“It’s the same.”
-Same?
“It keeps repeating.”
-Repeating?
-Tak!
Mok Kyung-un halted his qinggong and pointed at a vine-entwined tree.
“This must be the fourth time I’ve seen that tree.”
Qing Ling, who had been right beside him, furrowed her brow at his words.
Then she said,
-Aren’t you mistaken?
“No way.”
-If it were some barrier art or sorcery, I would have noticed.
“......True.”
-It could be tension playing tricks. Hurry.
With that, Qing Ling moved ahead.
But Mok Kyung-un did not budge from the spot.
Qing Ling snapped irritably.
-What now? If you don’t hurry, we won’t escape this place.
At her words, Mok Kyung-un stared at her intently and spoke.
“Who......are you?”
-What?
“I asked who you are.”
She looked incredulous as she replied.
-Mortal, have you lost your mind? Asking who I—
-Sruk!
Before she could finish, Mok Kyung-un thrust out his hand.
It was the Grasping Form.
Her body was forcibly pulled toward him, her neck suddenly pressed against his palm.
-Guk! Wh-what is this...
“You picked the wrong one to imitate. Or if you were going to, do it right.”
The real Qing Ling never would have overlooked his mention of the identical tree.
No, a being of her caliber wouldn’t be ensnared so easily to begin with.
-Whoooong!
Then, something bizarre happened.
Qing Ling’s body rippled and dispersed, revealing a wooden doll in his palm.
A talisman labeled “Wood-Seizing Curse” was attached to the wooden doll.
-Hwarrrruk!
The talisman in his palm burst into flames and turned to ash.
-Papak!
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un clasped his hands, forming the Immovable Heart Seal.
He closed his eyes and chanted the incantation.
“Heaven’s Purity, Earth’s Purity, Sun and Moon’s Purity, Heaven and Earth Unite in Purity, Sun and Moon Unite in Radiance, Spirits Unite in Form, Twenty Harmonized Minds, Minds Unite as One, Heaven’s Heart, Myriad Hearts, Myriad Myriad Hearts, Intent Harmonizes Minds, Supreme Lord Lao, Hasten and Obey My Command!”
The scattering ashes flew off somewhere.
They swirled rapidly around the vine-entwined tree,
-Sruruk!
Then were sucked into it.
Seeing this, Mok Kyung-un launched himself toward it.
-Pat!
He charged at the vine-entwined tree, and the moment he collided,
-Srururuk!
His vision shifted, revealing a bonfire and a middle-aged, eyepatched man in coarse robes lounging against a large boulder.
Ash dusted the man’s upper garments. Jo Bang-sa brushed it off, then smirked.
‘Ha......look at this guy.’
Jo Bang-sa was genuinely impressed.
He had confirmed the boy’s extraordinary talent back at Timber Sword Manor.
But deeming it unlikely for a martial clan heir to self-study sorcery reliably, he had tested Mok Kyung-un this time with the Willow Spirit Training Method and formation arts.
Willow Spirit Training Method (柳靈修煉法)
It was a technique to transform into someone the target trusted or held dear, using a willow doll.
A high-level method that deceived the target’s five senses, making them perceive the willow doll as that imagined person—perfect for lulling them into revealing information.
Yet this kid had not only seen through the fake in half an incense stick’s time but escaped the formation as well.
‘To find the escape route like this......’
There were standard ways to find a formation’s exit.
But Mok Kyung-un had forcibly broken the Willow Spirit Training Method, then used the fleeting remnants of the talisman to trace the Life Gate and his position with the Summoning Harmony Unification Method.
‘His adaptability is no joke.’
Such prodigious talent was truly rare.
He was incomparable to the disciples Jo Bang-sa had taken before.
Raising the corner of his mouth, Jo Bang-sa said to Mok Kyung-un,
“You......become my disciple.”
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