Myst, Might, Mahem

Note: Sorry, I had IRL stuff to do. So, the chapter is releasing basically at the end of the day. But here it is. Also, I feel like the name of the chapter should be 'crazy guy' or 'insane fellow' lmao.

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"Ahh!"

The middle-aged man with a scar under his left eye, sitting on the floor and holding a snack in his mouth, sighed and looked toward the pavilion leading to the main building. The part of the palace where the guard warriors would normally be located was empty.

'Is this really okay?'

His name was Jang Myeongin. At Yeonmok Sword Hall, he was in charge of guards, who were responsible for overall security of the main building.

When he was young, he was a renowned Taoist swordsman near Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. 19 years ago, during the subjugation of pirates in the Sea Salt region, he became associated with Jangju and became a Yeonmok guardsman.

'Jangju…'

In his youth, Jangju was truly a hero. He admired him and thought everything about him was perfect.

'But how did this happen?

…

"Lord Jangju… You really don't want that lowly wh*re's son to become the successor to the Great Yeonmok Lord, do you?"

"That…"

"Think carefully about what is the right thing to do for Yeonmok Sword Hall~"

…

'At first I didn't want to get involved. However, I could not help but be swayed by the words of the great lady Seok.'

Even if his martial talent was overwhelmingly outstanding, if the youngest young master, Mok Yucheon, who has no foundation and no allies in the family, succeeds the family, it will eventually lead to the division of the Yeonmok Sword Hall.

'Yes… this is the right thing to do.'

Even if the eldest son; Mok Yeongho, was somewhat vicious, he was after all, the eldest son. It was not Jang Myeongin's house where he could make the decisions, but the Yeonmok Sword Hall! Just supporting from the side-lines was all he could do. In many ways, it was right for Mok Yeongho, the eldest son, to become the successor. The only thing that bothered him was…

…

"The doctor couldn't do anything, so how could a shaman do anything…?"

"It won't take long. All you have to do is pretend not to notice for about an hour."

"…"

"The goal is getting the official seal. If we can get it, there will be no conflict between the second son; Mok Eunpyeong and the retainers~"

…

'Jangju's official seal… If they have it, they can nominate a successor. The division of vassals can also be prevented! Is it truly possible?'

'However, I couldn't erase a bit of doubt. How can a master who only uses shamanism be able to find out where the official seal is from the mouth of lord Jangju; who is on the verge of losing his life?

'I also felt like I was wasting my time doing something pointless. The Shaman would be using shamanism, but could he not be using special potions and poisons to force the answer out of an almost dead Jangju?!

'No matter how much the first young master Mok Yeongho, wanted to become the successor, I cannot allow that! It is an insult to the lord, to who I swore loyalty to!'

Power went into Jang Myeongin's hands.

'Yeah, that's not true. They told me to leave the area empty for about an hour, but I'll have to check just in case. They said I shouldn't interfere, so if I just look, there won't be any major problems, right?

…

*Sigh*

Mok Gyeongwoon placed his hand on the neck of Shaman Myoshin, where the veins were protruding. Myoshin's pulse stopped beating as he had stopped breathing. After confirming this, Mok Gyeongwoon pulled his hand back with a blank expression.

It didn't feel like he died at the hands of any person. A mysterious death.

*Srurr*

At that time, a large, bloodless monk appeared above the dead Myosin. Around his neck hung prayer beads made of crackling skulls.

Mok Gyeongwoon stretched out his hand and touched it.

"You wear something interesting around your neck."

Then, the monk's ghostly white eyes, emitting an eerie glow, shook. The reason was simple. It was because he could directly contact a spirit.

Mok Gyeongwoon asked while fiddling with the skull prayer beads, "You said you would be a faithful slave, what should I call you?"

In response to Mok Gyeongwoon's question, the large monk, who was still, muttered something, but no sound actually came out.

It looks like he just keeps his mouth shut.

"…"

This was not something that human hearing could hear. But to Mok Gyeongwoon's ears, it sounded normal.

"Demon Monk? It seems like a title, not a name. It doesn't matter because all you have to do is do whatever I say."

The monster called himself a demon monk. Mok Gyeongwoon, who looked at the Demon Monk and laughed, soon turned his head and looked at Jangju, who was unconscious with his arm cut off.

Mok Gyeongwoon stroked his chin.

"Hmm,' he thought, 'Would it be better to kill Jangju or keep him alive?'

It didn't take long to think though. If he had to kill Jangju right away, he would be in a difficult position. Therefore, it was better to keep him alive.

"Then I guess I'll have to change the composition a bit. Demon Monk~ Can you move that person to Lord Jang?"

Hearing Mok Gyeongwoon's words, Demon Monk, who had been quiet, shook his head. At this, Mok Gyeongwoon muttered as if he was slightly disappointed.

"Are you sure you can't do it?"

"…"

'I thought it would be possible for Demon Monk to exert physical force because he had killed Shaman Myoshin. Unfortunately, I had no idea that such simple physical force would not be possible. Or is he intentionally acting like he can't do it?'

'Srurr'

The moment the part of the spirit's body that was materialized was touched by sunlight, it disappeared like a haze. The phenomenon was similar to a shadow disappearing into light.

'This is a difficult topic to completely understand; interesting, but still difficult to understand.'

Mok Gyeongwoon's gaze turned to the endorsement box of the dead Shaman Myoshin.

There were many books related to magic there. If he read those, wouldn't he be able to understand a little more about this strange spirit?

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

At that time, he heard the sound of footsteps on the floor outside the door. Soon, Guard Go Chan's voice was heard from outside the room.

"Is it done yet?"

"Come on in."

At these words, Guard Go Chan opened the door and came in. Go Chan's eyes widened as he opened the door.

"What is this…" What surprised Go Chan was the dead Shaman Myoshin.

'I thought he was practicing magic, but it turns out he went ahead and lost his life instead?'

But what was surprising was that the guard, Go Chan, did not seem to be able to see Demon Monk.

Mok Gyeongwoon asked, pointing to the left with his head, "What do you see here?"

"Yes?"

"I guess I can't see it…"

"…"

"Ah… Is that so?"

"Yes?"

"No. I wasn't talking to you."

'!?' Go Chan frowned at those words, 'So does that mean you were just talking to yourself?'

While he was wondering, Mok Gyeongwoon looked to his left and said something unintelligible.

"No. I don't think you need to show yourself."

"… Young Master? What are you saying?"

Mok Gyeongwoon smiled at the confused Go Chan, "Never mind. Rather, would you please move the person there, to be in front of Lord Jang?"

"No. More importantly, why on earth is Young Master emitting spiritual energy?"

The appearance of Shaman Myoshin was extremely bizarre. The veins all over his face were bulging and protruding in a grotesque way, and his expression was full of pain, astonishment, and fear.

'How on earth was he murdered….is this what murder looks like? Is it poison? It's too strange to even call it poison. It is beyond bizarre. Isn't this guy the one who killed him?'

'Even if his blood was poisonous, this situation seems too strange. But it doesn't seem like he was killed in a physical way, so what the hell?'

While he was not understanding the situation, Mok Gyeongwoon spoke with a sharpness to his voice that made Go Chan subconsciously reply and follow, "Could you please move it without looking at it?"

"Yes, yes."

Go Chan must have noticed that he said the same thing twice, so he hurriedly moved the dead Shaman Myosin in front of Jangju.

Then Mok Gyeongwoon said, "Please knock him down in front of him as naturally as possible. Like he went crazy alone and died."

'What? How do I make it so that it looks like he went crazy and died alone?'

Go Chan, who was flustered, just casually knocked down Myoshin's body.

'I did as I was told, but what was my intention? Could it be that Shaman Myoshin was trying to blame him for doing all of this?'

It may seem that way if you look at the messed up state of the room. The one fortunate thing was that Jangju was still alive. Even though my arm was cut off, it was better than dying.

"Young Master…what are you going to do now?"

"Ah, I forgot something important."

In response to Go Chan's question, Mok Gyeongwoon picked up the sword that had fallen on the floor.

Mok Gyeongwoon, holding the sword, approached the bed where Jangju was and swung it back and forth.

*Swish*

"Let's do it like this. The doctor who was trying to treat Jangju with magic was possessed by the evil spirit, so we stopped him from cutting off Jangju's arm and killing him."

"…"

At those words, Guard Go Chan clicked his tongue inwardly. In the midst of all this, he had created a plausible excuse to escape the repercussions. Certainly, if you saw Shaman Myoshin dead, it seemed like he died in a strange way, as if he was possessed by something.

'Is it convincing enough thought? The great lady is a petty woman…'

Go Chan, who was thinking about, soon spoke cautiously, "Young Master… if you try to deceive someone clumsily, you might arouse suspicion."

"Are you clumsy?"

"It was truly a coincidence, but if we say that we showed up at the perfect moment and saved Master Jangju, there is no way the Great Lady would easily be convinced. Moreover, this Shaman was hired by her, making it even less likely…"

"Okay. It should look more plausible then!"

*Sigh*

At that time, Mok Gyeongwoon grabbed the sword soldier upside down.

While Go Chan was wondering what he was going to do, he suddenly brought the tip of the sword to his thigh.

"Oh? Young Master? What are you going to do now?"

"It has to look plausible. This should be enough."

"Now…wait…"

Before Go Chan could even stop him.

*Poof*

The sharp sword pierced Mok Gyeongwoon's thigh.

'!!!!!'

Go Chan's expression hardened at this sight. Not just pinching, but stabbing one's own thigh with the sword, without the slightest hesitation? What was even more absurd was that it must have been painful, but he didn't even groan.

No, there was no change in facial expression.

Even Go Chan would have gritted his teeth and frowned if he wanted to endure the pain. But this guy's expression showed little change, as if he wasn't feeling any pain.

'What an crazy guy… I really have no choice but to hold my tongue. He stabbed his own thigh… just to avoid suspicion! Truly an insane fellow!'

"There's no need to go this far…"

"Because this is the most effective."

"I will stop the bleeding!"

"No. I need to lose a little more blood to make my complexion look a little pale."

"…"

'I'm getting more and more scared of this guy. You should never make an enemy of this crazy guy…'

*Bang*

At that moment, the door burst open and someone came inside. Go Chan was startled when he saw him.

"Head of the guards?"

The middle-aged man with the scar under his left eye was none other than Jang Myeongin; the head guard.

Actually, it wasn't surprising. Since he was in charge of the security of the main building, he was supposed to be stationed here from the beginning. Rather, the fact that he was away should have been even more strange.

*Vissor*

At that time, the Head Guard, Jang Myeongin, pulled a sword from his belt and pointed it at them.

"What have you done?"

Guard Go Chan waved his hand at his words.

"My lord. It's a misunderstanding. Young Master and I…"

It was before he could even make an excuse.

"Well…Before that, Lord Jangju…."

*Thud*

'!?'

Mok Gyeongwoon leaned and fell down next to him. Guard Go Chan, looking at that scene, was momentarily at a loss for words.

'Are you really pretending to faint just now? You also said it as if you were asking Jang Myeongin to take care of Jangju before your own safety? Truly a crazy guy.'