Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 3
>Chapter Title: The Bizarre (2)
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Mok Kyung-un's pupils remained utterly still, like those of a corpse.
It was the first time Sorcerer Myo-sin had seen a living person with such eyes, and for a moment, he couldn't tear his gaze away from them.
*How could a human possess such ghostly...*
But then, a voice snapped him back to reality.
"What? What in the world?"
It was Go Chan the guard.
Go Chan, who had been escorting Mok Kyung-un, stared in bewilderment at the Clan Head's room, filled to the brim with red threads strung through silver coins.
He had already found it odd that there was no one around the main hall.
But who was this person, and why was he engaging in such bizarre antics?
"You there. Who are you, doing something like this in here...?"
"Definitely not a physician, that's for sure."
Mok Kyung-un said as he scanned the room.
Sorcerer Myo-sin waved his hands frantically in his urgency.
"I don't know who you are, but you clearly haven't received Great Madam's message. This is a crucial moment—leave at once."
"Great Madam?"
"You mustn't interfere right now."
It truly was a critical juncture.
In the midst of suppressing the monstrosity burrowing into the Clan Head's heart, killing intent had interfered due to the flesh.
If that happened, the killing aura would only amplify the monstrosity's power.
"Get out—now!"
There was no time for this.
Go Chan frowned at Myo-sin's urging and muttered.
"A sorcerer, perhaps?"
"Hoo. Yes, that's right, so hurry..."
"Why is that guy doing something like that?"
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un nodded toward the bed and asked.
Sorcerer Myo-sin turned his head.
"Hack! Hack!"
There, someone was doubled over like a drawn bow, coughing and retching.
"C-Clan Head?"
*Clan Head?*
Mok Kyung-un looked puzzled.
The first sight of the Clan Head was utterly grotesque.
His back was arched, chest facing upward, while his throat bulged and convulsed in what appeared to be excruciating pain.
"No. Why is the Clan Head like that?"
"Out! I said get out!"
Myo-sin bellowed and tried to shove Mok Kyung-un and Go Chan out the door.
It was right then.
*Gulp!*
A loud gulping sound emanated from the Clan Head, audible to everyone.
Looking at him, his waist was still bowed like a bow, but the bulging in his throat had subsided.
The agonized expression on the Clan Head's face eased.
Then, suddenly, the Clan Head's eyes snapped wide open.
"Eh? Clan Head?"
Had the Clan Head regained his senses?
Myo-sin let out a low, guttural curse.
"Damn it!"
He hurriedly pulled a red-inked talisman marked "壓" from the pouch at his waist and rushed toward the seemingly awakened Clan Head.
But then, the Clan Head's head twisted unnaturally to the side.
*Crack!*
'!?'
Go Chan's eyes went wide.
The Clan Head's eyes were bloodshot to the extreme—everything but the pupils dyed crimson, sending chills down the spine.
With his waist still bent and only his head turned like that, it was downright eerie.
Sorcerer Myo-sin formed a one-handed seal with his left hand and began chanting a spell.
"One Peak Pierces Heaven, One Arrow Ghost Nerve, Supreme Transformation Three Pure—hasten to act by imperial decree!"
*Snap!*
The yellow talisman on Myo-sin's right index finger unfurled stiffly.
He tried to slap the opened talisman onto the Clan Head's twisted forehead.
But then,
"Kraaak!"
The Clan Head let out a hideous roar.
"Ugh!"
The thunderous bellow echoed like a reverberation, forcing Myo-sin to stagger backward.
He wasn't the only one affected.
Go Chan clutched his ears against the sudden pain piercing his eardrums.
*Infused with internal energy.*
The Clan Head was a peak master with profound internal energy.
His shout naturally carried that power, the shockwave inflicting agony on all who heard it.
Go Chan, hands over his ears, glanced at Mok Kyung-un.
But,
*This guy hasn't even cultivated internal energy, yet he's fine?*
Mok Kyung-un merely furrowed his brow slightly.
Had he simply endured the pain?
Before Go Chan could puzzle it out further, the shouting Clan Head turned his head and tried to straighten his waist, rising from the bed.
However,
*Pop!*
The red threads binding his wrists and ankles grew taut, preventing him from standing fully, leaving him in an awkward half-crouch.
*Sizzle!*
Faint wisps of smoke rose from where the red threads bound him, accompanied by a acrid stench.
"Kaaaaah!"
The bloodshot-eyed Clan Head bellowed like a beast, inhuman.
Then, he yanked his right hand with all his might.
*Boom!*
The open door was ripped from its hinges as the red thread snapped.
"Damn it!"
Myo-sin, still reeling from the shout, couldn't hide his dismay.
He had secured the red threads firmly, but these intruders opening the door had ruined everything.
*Bulge! Bulge!*
Black veins protruded across the Clan Head's bloodshot forehead and face.
*Seized by the monstrosity.*
This was what people meant by "possessed."
At this point, extracting the Clan Head's seal and manual as per Great Madam Seok's request was out of the question.
*Clang! Clang! Kraaack!*
As Myo-sin reeled in shock, the Clan Head began snapping all the red threads strung with silver coins.
"Urk!"
This was no time to worry about the commission.
Sorcerer Myo-sin charged at the Clan Head again, trying to affix the talisman to his forehead.
But,
*Smack!*
"Ugh!"
The Clan Head's casual swing sent Myo-sin tumbling across the floor.
*Wh-what strength...*
Myo-sin was utterly flabbergasted.
Those possessed by monstrosities grew stronger than ordinary people, but this was on another level—beyond comparison.
There was no way to restrain the Clan Head.
*Creak!*
The red thread on the Clan Head's left wrist strained on the verge of snapping.
Myo-sin shouted at Mok Kyung-un and Go Chan.
"Y-You two, help! Hold him so he can't break the threads!"
"Hold him, you say?"
Go Chan didn't understand, but he grasped the gravity of the situation.
No time for second thoughts.
Go Chan hurriedly rushed toward the Clan Head.
Mok Kyung-un followed suit.
"Just holding him is enough?"
"Don't meet his eyes no matter what, and if his hand feels cold or you get chills down your spine while holding him, let go immediately!"
It was vague advice, open to interpretation.
Regardless, if they didn't restrain the Clan Head now, disaster loomed, so Go Chan grabbed the Clan Head's freed right arm without further questions.
*Grip!*
He wanted to grab the still-bound left hand, but couldn't ask Mok Kyung-un to do it.
But a problem arose.
Even weakened, the Clan Head was a peak master who could overwhelm even elite guards like Gam Escort.
His strength was too much even for Go Chan.
*Snap!*
The Clan Head easily shook off Go Chan's grip and seized his wrist instead.
"Huh?"
*Crunch!*
The grip was so fierce it felt like his wrist would shatter any second.
In his panic, Go Chan instinctively tried to twist the Clan Head's wrist using Capturing Hand techniques.
*Crack!*
In that instant, the strength in the Clan Head's grasping hand weakened.
"Huh?"
Wondering why, Go Chan saw that Myo-sin had somehow affixed the talisman to the Clan Head's forehead.
Myo-sin formed a hand seal and chanted another spell.
"Beiji comes to me with talisman to punish evil spirits, spreading the divine writ; those who dare not obey shall be confined to Fengdu City. Hasten to act at once!"
*(Beiji grants me the talisman to smite evil spirits; spreading the divine writ, any who dare not heed shall be imprisoned in Fengdu City. Obey the command forthwith.)*
*Shudder! Shudder!*
With the talisman attached, the Clan Head's body convulsed violently.
Seizing the moment, Go Chan tried to pry loose the hand gripping his wrist.
But as he did, the grip tightened again.
*Crack!*
Go Chan's wrist snapped outright.
Bone pierced through flesh.
"Arrrgh!"
A scream tore from Go Chan's mouth.
Not just broken, but protruding—it was a miracle he stayed conscious.
Then, the blood from the torn flesh touched the Clan Head's hand,
*Creak creak!*
The monstrosity, centered at the heart, surged like a torrent along the Clan Head's right arm toward the wrist.
"Eek!"
As it raced toward his wrist at terrifying speed, Go Chan panicked.
Myo-sin chanted the spell even more forcefully.
"Beiji comes to me with talisman to punish evil spirits, spreading the divine writ; those who dare not obey shall be confined to Fengdu City. Hasten to act at once!"
The monstrosity writhed back and forth between wrist and elbow, causing intense convulsions.
Go Chan desperately tried to free his hand while pleading.
"P-Please, do something!"
"Killing intent has mingled, making the impurity too strong. Just hold on a bit longer. If the monstrosity transfers to you, you'll be in danger too."
"You could've said that earlier—"
*Creep!*
The back-and-forth monstrosity surged toward the wrist again.
"Gasp!"
Startled, Go Chan twisted the Clan Head's hand with Capturing Hand to escape, refusing to let go.
*Shing! Slash!*
Then, something unforeseen happened.
The Clan Head's wrist gripping Go Chan's was severed clean off.
'!?’
It was Mok Kyung-un who had sliced it.
In Mok Kyung-un's hand was a sharp blade, one of the items hanging on the wall.
Go Chan was beyond stunned.
Dangerous as the eerie phenomenon was, he never imagined someone would sever the Clan Head's wrist.
Sorcerer Myo-sin was equally shocked.
*Sever the Clan Head's wrist? What is this guy?*
The Clan Head was the leader of Timber Sword Manor—yet not a hint of hesitation.
*Creep!*
With the wrist severed, the monstrosity that had climbed up tried to retreat back into the Clan Head's body.
*Perfect!*
Another chance.
If the monstrosity targeted the heart again, he could suppress the rampaging energy mingled with killing aura using talisman arts.
But,
*Slash!*
Just as the monstrosity passed the elbow toward the shoulder.
Before it could climb further, Mok Kyung-un gripped the sword and cleaved off the arm below the shoulder.
Sorcerer Myo-sin went from shocked to outraged and yelled.
"You! You!"
He wanted to say something, but was too appalled to speak.
To him, Mok Kyung-un casually replied.
"Isn't this better than sending it back into the body the hard way?"
*Thud! Thud!*
From the severed arm on the floor, black veins erupted wildly, flopping and thrashing like a fish out of water.
Meanwhile, color was gradually returning to the Clan Head's pallid face.
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