Myst, Might, Mahem

Note: I spent the last 1.5 hours editing this chapter. I don't know if my brain is becoming smarter to be able to translate this garbage… or smoother to be able to translate this garbage… Return of the smooth Brains…? By the end of this… my brains will taste like chicken to zombies instead of walnuts… Sigh… there go my plans for a zombie apocalypse…

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'Unbelievable...'

Doctor Noh, who was taking a pulse, could not help but be surprised. Even just in the morning, it seemed as if his pulse would stop at any moment. In just a few hours…

'His complexion has also improved! All symptoms whose cause was unknown have disappeared!'

Although he was a bit weak because he had been lying unconscious in a the bed for a long time, there was a high possibility that he would improve sufficiently if he took good care of himself.

'The problem is consciousness.'

Jangju was unconscious for quite some time. Because he was unable to come to his senses, the Yeonmok Sword Hall was boiling over the succession issue.

Since he was recovering, there was a good chance he would wake up, but he wasn't sure when that would be.

'If you get harmed before then…'

At that time, a sharp woman's voice reached his ears.

"How is he?"

Doctor Noh slowly raised his head. The owner of the voice was Mrs. Seok, the great lady. Her expression is different from usual. Even when he saw her in the morning, her eyes were filled with arrogance and determination. Doctor Noh felt something ominous about this.

'There is something wrong.'

Doctor Noh felt that the situation was unusual. When they rushed here, Jangju's arm was cut off, and the area was full of traces of occult practices, such as amulets and red thread. However, the person who performed the magic trick was found dead. And the third young master was involved in the process.

'What on earth is going on?'

Doctor Noh looked carefully into Mrs. Seok's eyes. Her eyes were strangely trembling. It was the kind of reaction you would expect when something goes wrong.

'Things didn't work out right?'

Although his arm was cut off, Jangju's complexion improved considerably. Mrs. Seok was also a martial artist, so she knew how to pay attention to some details.

'She may have already noticed that Jangju's condition was getting better in the morning. But the fact that she is not happy at all… Could it be that they were not trying to treat through shamanism, but were planning something sinister with shamanism?'

It seemed plausible enough not to say no. Everyone knew that Jangju was considering the youngest young master, Mok Yucheon, as his successor. In fact, from the position of the great lady, she would rather not want the lord to wake up.

"Has his condition improved?"

Doctor Noh thought for a moment when Mrs. Seok asked her question again.

It was just him and her in this place. If he said that Jangju would wake up soon, he somehow thought that Mrs. Seok might do something drastic…

Doctor Noh, who was worried, spoke carefully, "…Jangju's complexion has brightened and the pulse has improved, but the situation is still poor. This is because the illness has been prolonged. I think it would be better to think of it as a coma."

"Oh no~"

Doctor Noh was inwardly appalled. Although she cried as if she was sorry, Mrs. Seok's expression and eyes were close to relief.

'It must have been because she didn't want Jangju to recover.'

Doctor Noh looked at Jangju and said to himself, 'Jangju...I don't have time. You need to wake up. Otherwise, there is no telling what Mrs. Seok will do.'

…

The Great Lady Seok, came out and returned with her usual arrogant expression. When she came out of the floor, the head of the guards, Jang Myeongin, as well as a one-eyed female warrior named Hoang and two maids who were guarding her, were waiting for her.

Mrs. Seok came to the side of the head of the guards, Jang Myeongin, and opened her mouth, "Are you sure about the cause of death?"

To that question, the head of the guards, Jang Myeongin, nodded his head and answered quietly, "I'm sure. He was not killed by physical shock. I've seen countless corpses for a long time, but nothing like that…"

Where Jang Myeongin pointed with his eyes, there was the body of the dead Shaman Myoshin. It was covered with a mat, but the skin was exposed and the veins were bulging and sticking out in an odd way.

It was her first time seeing a body like that. Mrs. Seok turned her head away from the body and asked in a low voice.

"What did he say?"

"The guard said his young master had come to visit Jangju to know about his health."

"Visit…"

"Yes. Then Shaman Myoshin went crazy like someone possessed by something and cut off Jangju's arm and tried to kill him."

"…It's a mess…"

"I'm sorry. I should have been at least guarding the entrance to the pavilion…" Jang Myeongin bowed and apologized.

She shook her head at this, "What can you do about something that has already happened? But do you really think that's the case?"

"What does that mean?"

"Are you really saying that the child discovered it by accident while visiting the hospital?"

"…Looking at the condition of the body and the circumstances, it seems to be so."

"Does it seem right?"

"Young master Mok Gyeongwoon even suffered an injury where his thigh was pierced by the sword Shaman Myoshin used. The bleeding was so severe that it could have been dangerous."

That was how Jang Myeongin saw it. It was difficult to sustain an injury of that magnitude on one's own. If it was a slight cut or a small amount of bleeding that was not dangerous, then there might have been reason for suspicion. But there was no doubt about it.

"…"

After hearing these words, she still did not let go of her doubts.

Seeing this, Jang Myeongin thought, 'This must be because she disapproved of all the young master except the first young master.

Then she asked, "Where is the child now?"

"Yes?"

"I mean that kid Mok Gyeongwoon."

"I see. Third Young Master… I quickly stopped the bleeding, but sent him to the pharmacy for treatment."

"The Pharmacy?"

"Yes."

Her gaze turned towards the medicine hall located on the west side of the main building. Soon, her gaze followed her footsteps.

…

'What a pleasant smell~' Mok Gyeongwoon sniffed and smiled.

After coming down the mountain, he felt nostalgic as he smelled various medicinal herbs for the first time in a long time. Memories of picking up herbs with his grandfather played in his head. As he recalled that fresh and beautiful memory, conflicting emotions rose up in a corner of his heart again.

'…'

There was a strange look in the Demon Monk's pure white pupils. It was influenced by a deep murderous intent. Ordinary murderous intents would have much of an effect on an evil spirit, but the one emanating from Mok Gyeongwoon was different.

It is so strong that even an evil spirit like Demon Monk felt uncomfortable. It was a darkness qualitatively different from the sorrow created by the environment.

It was almost like a primal emotion.

At that time, Mok Gyeongwoon asked in a low voice, "Okay. Have you checked?"

"…" Demon Monk nodded to that question.

"Where is it?"

Demon Monk pointed with his finger at a wall filled with medicine cabinets stacked like drawers. At first glance, the entire wall looked just like any normal medicine storage drawer.

But Demon Monk pointed to that place. The medicine drawer that Demon Monk pointed to had Oyang (梧凉) written on it. If the bark of the paulownia tree was dried in a shady place for a long time, it would become a medicine called Oyang, but it was not commonly used.

'That seems possible~'

He deliberately targeted the medicine drawer that others rarely used.

The reason Mok Gyeongwoon had Demon Monk confirm this was because of the words that came out of Jangju's mouth.

"About…Dang…Underground…Jeong Seok…Moon…Inside…"

However, there was actually no entrance to the basement inside the pharmacy. Of course, he assumed that would be the case. If it was something precious enough for a woman called the Great Lady to aim for, there was no way it would be visible to everyone.

'I'll find out when you check.'

Mok Gyeongwoon looked around. Now, it is full of people working in pharmacies. It seemed difficult to confirm Demon Monk's words because there were so many watching eyes and listening ears.

'It seems like I will have to wait for an opportunity late at night.'

*Klick*

The door was opened. The person who opened the door to the pharmacy and came in was none other than Go Chan, the guard. Go Chan came inside and approached Mok Gyeongwoon .

Mok Gyeongwoon said to him, "Are you a little late?"

Go Chan almost frowned for a moment at those words. The task Mok Gyeongwoon ordered was not as simple as fetching water.

'It's really unfair to say that it's late when you haven't been asked to do something that can be done in an instant.'

"Where is it?"

In response to Mok Gyeongwoon 's question, Go Chan took out two books from his pocket.

"There are only two books?"

Go Chan grumbled and said, hearing Mok Gyeongwoon 's tone of disappointment, "This was also secretly stolen by me before it was burned."

"Before you burn it?"

"Yes. The guards guarding the main building are burning the endorsement box and all the items the Shaman brought with him."

"Oh? is it so?" At those words, Mok Gyeongwoon licked his lips as if he felt regretful.

'I was interested in the art of shamanism, so I sent go Chan to retrieve the books. But the only thing I got was two books out of all those books.'

[The Book of Yin-Yang Family] [Book of Discipleship]

'A strange first book?'

Still, it was a great compliment to steal two of the thickest books he had seen. As disappointing as it was, Mok Gyeongwoon felt like he would have to be satisfied with this.

"Thank you for your effort."

"But Young Master…what are you doing with the books that the Shaman had-" Go Chan stopped mid-speech. Then, he quickly put the book he had tried to hand over to Mok Gyeongwoon back into his arms.

Mok Gyeongwoon looked at him, wondering why he was doing this.

But eventually he found out the reason.

"Stand back for a while."

"Yes!"

As new people approached from the outside of the medicine hall and said something, the guard warriors guarding the entrance left.

*Klick*

The door opened and someone appeared. She was a middle-aged woman dressed in flashy clothes adorned with precious metals. Go Chan bowed his head in greeting with a surprised expression.

"A pleasure to meet you Madam."

'Madam?'

She was none other than Lady Seok, the great lady of Yeonmok Sword Hall. A strange look appeared in Mok Gyeongwoon's eyes. It was the woman written on the information sheet given by Guard Kam.

It was said that Lady Seok, the great lady, was more dangerous and needed to be more careful than the first young master, Mok Yeongho.

It was written that she was from a martial arts family; Sword Manor Seokgajang, so she was quite skilled in martial arts and was a clever woman.

'This…' Go Chan was equally flustered by her appearance.

Mok Gyeongwoon 's appearance was so similar that it was indistinguishable from the real thing, but in order to avoid an unexpected situation, Guard Kam had advised Go Chan to prevent him from meeting people from the Mok family as much as possible.

"In the name of the Madam, everyone is to leave and stay out," at the command of Hoang, the one-eyed female bodyguard next to Mrs. Seok, all the people in the pharmacy went outside.

*Rumble*

As she sent everyone out, Guard Go Chan felt something was wrong.

'I had never directly encountered her before, so I have no idea what this means.

While he was wondering.

Mrs. Seok approached Mok Gyeongwoon, who was only raising his upper body on the bed.

At this, Go Chan hurriedly winked, 'Greet her! Greet her!'

Mok Gyeongwoon, who understood this, put his hands together and bowed his head in courtesy, "Please understand that I cannot stand up because my legs are injured."

The greeting was better than Go Chan had expected. But the important part of the conversation started here.

'The stark difference between the fake and the real thing was the voice and way of speaking. Fortunately, this fake Mok Gyeongwoon had a similar voice to the real dead Mok Gyeongwoon, so it sounded more similar than when we practiced. I was worried about nothing.'

'Except for the eldest Young Master, other Young Masters rarely encounter Lady Seok in person. So, it should have been fine. Still, Great Lady Seok is more sensitive and suspicious than most. If I got caught here, the worst could happen!'

At that moment, Mrs. Seok, who had come right in front of Mok Gyeongwoon, opened her mouth, "I didn't come just to say hello."

'Ha...'

For a moment, Go Chan almost breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Mrs. Seok didn't seem to notice.

'It seems like the two are more indistinguishable than I thought. We are still on thin ice, but as long as you don't make any mistakes, you'll get through this unharmed!'

'!?'

Go Chan's eyes widened. That was because Mrs. Seok suddenly pressed down on Mok Gyeongwoon's thigh wound.

At this, Mok Gyeongwoon lowered his head and groaned as if he was in pain, "Off!"

'What in the world! Damn it!'

Go Chan couldn't help but feel flustered at that sight. It didn't seem to matter whether it was really fake. Judging from her attitude, she was doubting whether Mok Gyeongwoon was really injured or not.

"What did you see and hear there?"

"Ouch! Stop!"

Mrs. Seok ignored him as she pressed harder on Mok Gyeongwoon's high wound.

Seeing that, Go Chan became restless. There was no way that crazy guy couldn't bear the pain. However, if he make a mistake with his words in this situation, he will not only arouse the great lady's suspicions, but he would also make her an enemy.

"Lady! You misunderstood something…"

*Sreung*

Go Chan stepped forward to try to stop her, but Lady Seok's bodyguard, Hoang, drew her sword and aimed it at his neck.

"Don't intervene."

'F*cking bitch!' Go Chan was at a loss as to what to do about this.

If Mok Gyeongwoon was not allowed to speak, he would have to deal with this situation alone. Now, the only way to get out of the situation was to hope Mok Gyeongwoon would not make a mess of things.

Mrs. Seok's bodyguard, Hoang, was glaring at him, so he could no longer make a move or open his mouth.

At that time, Mrs. Seok pressed Mok Gyeongwoon's thigh even harder and urged him.

"I don't know about you, but it's rare for a master with that level of skill to die from being possessed by a ghost while practicing shamanism. But the Shaman was caught by you and you stopped him from cutting Jangju's other hand and harming him further? Did you think it would be easy for me to believe that…?"

*Pisik*

Mrs. Seok frowned at the sound that came out of Mok Gyeongwoon 's mouth, 'This guy was in pain just a moment ago. But did you just laugh at me? Unless I heard wrong, you were indeed laughing?'

"You… can't believe it…?"

At that time, Mok Gyeongwoon slowly raised his head. Mrs. Seok was momentarily dumbfounded at the sight of Mok Gyeongwoon smiling with the corners of his mouth raised.

'Has this guy gone crazy now?'

'What are you doing now?' The same was true for Guard Go Chan, who was flustered, 'What are you doing now, when you're under suspicion. Even bowing and submitting completely will not be enough?

Sure enough, Mrs. Seok opened her mouth in an angry voice.

"You really are…"

"Let's not waste each other's time over fruitless activities."

"What?"

"Don't you need the lord's seal?"

'!?'