Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 23
>Chapter Title: Blood River Valley Lord (4)
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Mok Kyung-un had caught on to his intentions, and Cheongryeong inwardly clicked her tongue.
What kind of guy is this?
The Lee family had upheld their loyalty to her across generations for over a century.
Watching him try to snatch that loyalty in this manner made her anger boil.
She felt like smashing the wooden doll sealing her and bursting out to bash the brat's head in with her staff.
But that rage didn't last long.
'What are you trying to achieve, brat?'
Instead, she grew curious about Mok Kyung-un's intentions.
He could have borrowed the Lee family's power through her, so why go to the trouble of hijacking it like this midway?
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un spoke up.
"You know I'm him and he's me, so why are you just standing there?"
"That's..."
Those words made Blood River Valley Lord Yi Ji-yeom pause for a moment.
He knew exactly what possession meant.
It was being taken over by a ghost, plain and simple.
'His possession body?'
Did that mean he should consider Mok Kyung-un the master of the Moon Vein?
He had consulted with the Heaven-Earth Society's diviners, but he placed little trust in such eccentric matters, which made him hesitate.
Something felt off, strangely nagging at him.
Mok Kyung-un then said,
"You've seen the spirit form with your own eyes, yet you still can't believe it?"
*The atmosphere's completely different—do you really expect anyone to buy that sudden possession claim?*
Cheongryeong clicked her tongue and interjected.
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly and replied,
"I was certain you'd maintained your loyalty across generations, which is why I revealed this secret. How disappointing."
"I— no, it's not that I'm doubting..."
"Then if you uphold the promise from back then, will you believe?"
"Back then?"
"The Crimson Flame Sword Method."
"No way?"
Yi Ji-yeom's pupils trembled.
His grandfather's words from when he learned the Crimson Flame Sword Method came to mind.
[The Awaiting Flame Merit was originally created together with that lord and this old man as a breathing technique. It was meant to be the heart technique that best complemented the Crimson Flame Sword Method. But tragedy struck before we could complete it.]
Mok Kyung-un recalled Cheongryeong's words in the same vein.
[Once, this seat made a promise with the head of the Lee family—this brat's grandfather, a man named Yi Hwamun. To complete the unfinished Awaiting Flame Merit together.]
But that promise had not been fulfilled in life.
It was achieved after death.
Over long years as a vengeful spirit, her realm had elevated, restoring her reason and allowing her to comprehend things she hadn't in life.
One of those was the Awaiting Flame Merit for the Crimson Flame Sword Method.
Mok Kyung-un extended his hand to Yi Ji-yeom with a smile.
"Even returning as a vengeful spirit full of resentment like this, if the Lee family follows me once more, I'll share the completed breathing technique I realized only in death."
'Damn brat!'
Cheongryeong's irritation surged at Mok Kyung-un's words.
She had just told him what was wrong with the technique and how to fix it.
An ordinary person might hear it once and forget, but
'This bastard memorized it, didn't he?'
Mok Kyung-un's memory transcended the norm.
Furious, she had decided to watch how he'd persuade without her help.
Yet it looked like he was actually stealing the loyalty.
'The completed breathing technique...'
Yi Ji-yeom's eyes trembled even more at Mok Kyung-un's words.
Three generations—from his grandfather to him—had tried and failed to complete it.
In truth, it was inherently difficult to perfect.
It required directly sending blazing yang energy through the meridians, bearing immense risk—one misstep could cost your life.
[If we'd been together with that lord, we might have completed it.]
'Grandfather...'
[But you can do it.]
Thinking of his grandfather again made Yi Ji-yeom's chest ache.
He looked at Mok Kyung-un's face, pounded his throbbing chest, and dropped to one knee.
"This kneel is not for the sake of completing the technique."
"Then for what?"
"Because you haven't forgotten the promise with my grandfather—no, with our family. That's why I pledge my loyalty once more."
"The promise..."
"How could I, your servant, dare doubt you, who returned even as a vengeful spirit to fulfill my grandfather's and our Lee family's long-held wish?"
*-Thud!*
Yi Ji-yeom then prostrated himself fully on the ground.
"As head of the Lee family and Blood River Valley Lord Yi Ji-yeom, I pledge my loyalty once more to the Moon Vein's master. Please accept this bow!"
With that, he knocked his forehead against the floor three times, performing the rite of loyalty.
Looking down at him, Mok Kyung-un lifted the corner of his mouth in satisfaction.
Then Cheongryeong's voice rang in his ear.
*-You crazy brat. Stealing loyalty—what the hell are you doing?*
"..."
*-He's dead anyway, and I'm not dragging him around forever. He's basically my last disciple now, so if you'd just waited, the loyalty would've passed to you naturally. Does snatching it by force feel that good?*
She must be pretty pissed.
It was the first time he'd seen Cheongryeong talk this much.
Of course, separate from her grudge, snatching a loyal retainer who'd waited a hundred years for her—anyone would be mad.
She probably saw him as trash.
But,
'I get the sentiment, but my goal isn't to be at Cheongryeong's mercy.'
There was only one reason Mok Kyung-un came here.
Revenge against those who killed his grandfather.
And to find the man called Ghost Sword, who might be connected.
If Cheongryeong took the forefront, mobilizing her old subordinates and wielding that power, things would flow only in her desired direction.
Mok Kyung-un didn't want the situation shaped that way.
'It's merely secondary to me.'
Fulfilling Cheongryeong's grudge was never his priority.
She wasn't even a familiar spirit; she'd been a vengeful ghost ready to devour him.
Now bound by the absolute master-disciple bond through the contract, but at his core, Mok Kyung-un trusted no one.
Thus, he had no intention of handing the reins to Cheongryeong.
* * *
"Is this... the technique our lord completed?"
Blood River Valley Lord Yi Ji-yeom received the breathing technique Mok Kyung-un had written down with trembling hands.
It was a family wish spanning three generations, so he couldn't hide his excitement.
As he read down the technique, an exclamation escaped Yi Ji-yeom's lips.
"Ah!"
How could anyone approach the circulation method this way?
Yi Ji-yeom said in astonishment,
"This is truly remarkable. I never imagined circulating blazing yang energy directly from realm condensation to yang strength. But if this works, it should allow control when entering the ninth star. To devise it so simply..."
*-Simply? I only realized it after dying and gaining ghost sight.*
Cheongryeong grumbled angrily, her irritation not yet faded.
Heart techniques like the Awaiting Flame Merit, which directly handled blazing yang energy, were inherently perilous, requiring countless trials, errors, and sacrifices to perfect.
From Yi Ji-yeom's perspective, it was no different from stumbling upon a heavenly opportunity.
As he read on, Yi Ji-yeom furrowed his brow.
He cautiously said to Mok Kyung-un,
"However, my lord, it seems you've not written the full technique."
"You're right."
"Yes?"
"I only wrote half."
Yi Ji-yeom nearly asked why but closed his mouth.
Seeing Mok Kyung-un's smiling face, he could guess the intent.
"...You did it on purpose?"
"Yes."
"Why..."
"I've completed the technique, but caution is needed. I wouldn't want you rushing and getting hurt again, Valley Lord."
"Ah..."
Yi Ji-yeom let out a soft exclamation at Mok Kyung-un's words.
He was concerned about him forcing the completed technique and being overwhelmed by the blazing yang energy.
He had thought perhaps he wasn't fully trusted yet.
Cheongryeong snorted derisively.
*-After taking a loyalty oath, and you still don't trust him much.*
She knew Mok Kyung-un well.
She was certain the reason wasn't concern for Yi Ji-yeom.
'Correct.'
Of course, she was spot on.
Even after the loyalty oath, Mok Kyung-un didn't fully trust Yi Ji-yeom.
So he'd provided just enough bait.
*-Distrust him appropriately. I guarantee it—the Lees are trustworthy.*
Mok Kyung-un gave a faint smile at her words.
Trust in old loyal retainers was her prerogative.
Not his.
He planned to keep a healthy wariness until certainty set in.
Then Yi Ji-yeom tucked the paper with the technique into his bosom and spoke.
"However, my lord, if it's not impertinent, might this servant ask what happened at the Hweryeong Great War that day a century ago?"
'Hweryeong Great War?'
What's that?
Mok Kyung-un's eyes narrowed at the question.
He hadn't expected Blood River Valley Lord Yi Ji-yeom to suddenly ask about something from Cheongryeong's past that he didn't know.
Cheongryeong sneered in his mind.
*-Handle it well. Anything involving the Lees, I won't help or advise you, brat.*
Having stolen the Lee family's loyalty, she had no intention of sharing information.
It was a call to face proper hardship.
'Hweryeong Great War.'
It was an unforgettable memory for her.
That memory had fueled her transformation into a vengeful spirit.
She hadn't planned to tell the brat right away anyway—perfect.
It was then.
Mok Kyung-un casually replied,
"You want to know that?"
Cheongryeong was dumbfounded.
What could he possibly know when he knew nothing?
Yi Ji-yeom answered,
"Yes. My servant—no, my grandfather trusted our lord to the end, but due to that day's incident, he was demoted from king to valley lord, and our main house was expelled from the castle, confined here in Blood River Valley for three generations."
'Ahhh.'
Cheongryeong writhed inwardly at Yi Ji-yeom's words.
The Lees, founders of the Heaven-Earth Society, subjected to such humiliation.
How far would they go to defile her and destroy the Heaven-Earth Society?
She truly could never forgive them.
Mok Kyung-un then said,
"How does the Valley Lord know what happened at the Hweryeong Great War that day? I'm curious what you and the Society know."
'Hah!?'
Cheongryeong inwardly stuck out her tongue at Mok Kyung-un's question.
This guy always found a breakthrough somehow.
She hadn't predicted he'd counter-question like this.
Or was it that he lied so effortlessly he could fabricate anything?
'You really are...'
As she was at a loss, Valley Lord Yi Ji-yeom cautiously said,
"...Forgive me, but may I speak of it directly?"
"It's fine. Tell me exactly as it is—that way, I can tell you what happened at the Hweryeong Great War that day."
Mok Kyung-un spoke nonchalantly.
As he did, he glanced toward the wooden doll in his bosom and twitched his lips.
*'Why not just advise me?'*
Then he wouldn't have been led like this.
But through this, could he learn Cheongryeong's ties to the Heaven-Earth Society and her secrets?