Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 254 – The Mark (1)

“Hmph. See you again. Heavenly Demon.”

-Thud!

After the door closed, Mok Gyeong-un frowned.

Then, Cheong-ryeong asked with a puzzled expression.

-Heavenly Demon?… Why is the nine-tailed golden fox calling you that?

“…… Who knows?”

He remembered that the nine-tailed golden fox said she would call him that because he was the embodiment of a demon itself.

But as for why she added the character for “heaven” in front…

[How is it? The title ‘Demon’ sounds good, right? Just calling you ‘Demon’ is a bit dull, so should I add something like a surname in front of it? Falling from the sky…]

Suddenly, the words she had said flashed through Mok Gyeong-un’s mind.

Although he had interrupted her midway, she had abruptly mentioned something about falling from the sky.

What the hell did that mean?

-Throb!

At that moment, a strong pain was felt from the top of his head, the Baihui acupoint.

Mok Gyeong-un covered his head with his hand.

If it had been a mild headache, he would have ignored it and moved on, but it was an intense pain that momentarily turned his vision white and made it difficult to stand.

-Mortal!

As Mok Gyeong-un stumbled, Cheong-ryeong hurriedly approached to support him.

However, with her spirit body having become hazy, she couldn’t grab hold of Mok Gyeong-un of her own volition.

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un, who had brushed past her hand, knelt down on one knee.

-Mortal. Are you all right? Mortal.

At her worried voice, Mok Gyeong-un reached out his hand and said.

“I’m fine…”

-Throb!

Before he could finish his sentence, the pain intensified as if his pulse was throbbing.

At that moment, a scene he had never seen before suddenly flashed through Mok Gyeong-un’s mind.

It was…

-Swoosh!

The sight of himself falling from an extremely high altitude towards the ground.

The height was so great that even the mountains, no, the mountain ranges on the ground appeared small.

What the hell was this?

Why was a scene he had never experienced before appearing like a past memory?

That wasn’t the end of it.

-Throb!

As that scene disappeared, another scene appeared.

It was a scene of his deceased grandfather looking at him and bowing down as if he had felt some sort of thrill and was unable to hide his shock.

‘Why on earth?’

It was a face of his grandfather that he had never seen before.

Why was he prostrating himself towards him with that expression?

Just as he was puzzled…

-Mortal!

Cheong-ryeong’s voice rang in his ears, and the scenes of memories that had seemed to vividly unfold before his eyes were abruptly cut off.

At the same time, the headache that had felt like his head was about to burst also subsided.

“Ah……”

-Mortal? Why are you acting like this? Did you injure your head?

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been in a daze, raised his head and looked at Cheong-ryeong.

Her face, which was looking at him with worried eyes, had changed a lot since they first met.

If in the past, it felt like she was concerned about disappearing together with him if he died, now it felt like she genuinely cared about his well-being.

‘A different expression……’

A person cannot remain the same towards others.

That much was evident just by looking at his grandfather’s face in his memories.

What exactly was that just now?

Why did it suddenly feel like something he had never experienced before… no, was it really a memory he had never experienced?

‘Strange.’

Come to think of it, it felt like a part of his memory had been cut out, and he couldn’t remember anything prior to a certain point.

Then, could that just now have been a part of those missing memories?

As he was lost in thought, Cheong-ryeong’s voice was heard.

-Mortal. It seems to be because of the absorbed demonic energy. Perform breathing exercises right away.

“Breathing exercises?”

-Yes. No matter how strong you are, unassimilated demonic energy is no different from poison. So it would be better to assimilate the demonic energy first.

At Cheong-ryeong’s words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flickered with surprise.

She was also in a precarious state at the moment.

Her spiritual power was continuously dispersing, and at this rate, she could even vanish, but seeing her prioritize him first gave him a strange feeling.

Thus…

“Before that, let me give you the demonic energy first.”

-There’s no need for that. Right now, your condition is worse…

“No. Giving you the demonic energy won’t take that long, right?”

-Swish!

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un placed his palm towards Cheong-ryeong’s spirit body’s head.

And he sent a portion of the nine-tailed golden fox’s demonic energy that remained in his body.

The moment the demonic energy entered through her spirit body’s head, Cheong-ryeong’s pupils trembled.

-Ah!

She had been astonished by the high purity of the King Slayer’s demonic energy when she received it as well.

But this was incomparably superior to that.

The moment it entered, it felt as if her eyes were opening wide and she was undergoing an awakening.

This highly pure and vast demonic energy grasped her dispersing spirit body once again and made its translucency dense once more.

-You… should… do it first…

“Even if I assimilate the demonic energy, it will take quite some time. So let’s assimilate it together.”

-……

“And once we finish assimilating it, things will probably get quite busy.”

If the nine-tailed golden fox’s words were true, then among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, there was someone with that scar, the mark, that had been left on his deceased grandfather’s body.

That person would also possess some sort of clue, so they had to find them.

***

The next day, in the dark of night when everyone was asleep.

In one of the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ offices.

Someone with a covered face secretly entered the unlit place.

It was none other than Mong Mu-yak.

‘Just as the information said.’

Through the spies infiltrated in the imperial palace, he had learned that the Judicial Department‘s office would be empty around this time.

Thus, he had waited for an opportunity and sneaked in at night.

On the surface, it was an ordinary office with display shelves, bookshelves, and a desk.

However…

‘From the outside, this office should be slightly larger in size. That means there must be a hidden space.’

-Tap! Tap!

Mong Mu-yak touched the bookshelf attached to the wall here and there.

Then, the moment he pulled out a book…

-Click!

The bookshelf slightly shifted to the side.

‘Found it.’

Grabbing the gap that had opened up, Mong Mu-yak pushed the bookshelf, and it slid open like a door.

Along with it, the space hidden inside was revealed.

The enclosed dark room was dim, so Mong Mu-yak took a lantern from the desk and lit the candle inside.

‘Ah!’

The interior became visible under the lantern’s light.

There were hidden ledgers, numerous books, and a locked safe.

After quickly scanning through them, Mong Mu-yak approached the bookshelf.

There wasn’t much time, so he had to hurry before the night shift change occurred.

‘Let’s see.’

Mong Mu-yak pulled out the untitled books one by one and examined their contents.

‘These are secret ledgers.’

He had heard that there were quite a few rotten parts within the Embroidered Uniform Guards, but to think they had blatantly created secret ledgers like this.

They might think it’s better not to leave such things behind in the first place, but…

‘The more corrupt they are, the more meticulous they tend to be.’

Ledgers are necessary for future countermeasures.

Incompetent individuals tend to do things haphazardly, but those who prepare for contingencies diligently keep records and ledgers in case of unforeseen circumstances.

After carefully examining the secret ledgers, Mong Mu-yak clicked his tongue and pocketed them.

‘They might come in handy if need be.’

The item he was looking for wasn’t among the books on the shelf.

In that case, it seemed to be in the safe.

Mong Mu-yak took out a thin copper wire from his pocket and inserted it into the lock.

Then, he skillfully picked it.

-Click!

‘Done.’

-Creak!

When he opened the safe, there were quite a few items inside.

From valuable stolen goods to various other things, but he didn’t need any of them.

What he truly needed was only one thing.

Among the various books in the safe, it was…

‘Found it!’

The Underground Prison Registry.

He had previously used spies to identify the safe movement routes at different times to find this.

And finally, he had found what he wanted.

‘Now we can know the location.’

To accomplish the secret order they had received, they first needed to find out where that person was imprisoned in the underground prison.

The underground prison was so vast in scale and heavily guarded with traps and sentries that if they didn’t know the location and the prison’s routes beforehand, they might fail in the rescue attempt.

‘Let’s see.’

-Rustle!

The Underground Prison Registry listed the locations and names of the cell blocks where the prisoners were held.

As expected of a place known to hold only vicious and notorious prisoners, Mong Mu-yak, who was also from the Heaven and Earth Society, recognized quite a few names.

However, the name he was searching for was nowhere to be found.

‘…… This is troublesome. Could it be that he’s not imprisoned here?’

After flipping through for a while, he reached the registry of the lowest level of the underground prison, the Inescapable Prison.

According to the spies, the individuals imprisoned in the Inescapable Prison were those deemed the worst by the imperial palace, and even their identities were strictly managed.

Therefore, the security of the Inescapable Prison was said to be incomparable to the other levels.

‘This will be difficult.’

Clicking his tongue, Mong Mu-yak flipped through the Inescapable Prison’s registry.

-Rustle!

The number of pages wasn’t very large.

But the moment he turned the first page, Mong Mu-yak’s eyes widened.

‘The Red Turban Rebellion’s deputy leader is still alive?’

He had heard that about thirty years ago, a great famine occurred, and uprisings broke out in various parts of the country.

The ones leading it were the Red Turban Rebellion’s leader, Yi Jeok, and deputy leader, Yi Baek, and the number of government troops they had killed reached a staggering hundred thousand.

The leader, Yi Jeok, was known to have been captured at that time when the Left and Right Governors’ Armies were mobilized.

The price of rebellion was, of course, having one’s limbs torn apart in front of the people.

At that time, he thought the deputy leader, Yi Baek, had also died, but his name was brazenly listed here.

‘A big shot right from the first page.’

After flipping a few pages, astonishing names appeared in abundance.

Each and every one of them was the worst kind of prisoner, and it was impossible to know what would happen if they were released.

He didn’t understand why they kept such individuals alive.

If it were the Heaven and Earth Society, they would have killed them from the beginning to prevent future troubles.

‘Hmm.’

Mong Mu-yak, who had been continuously turning the pages, stopped midway.

In the latter half, there was a list of individuals labeled as martial artists.

‘There were martial artists too?’

Although there were occasional martial artists included in the registries of the first to third levels of the underground prison, he didn’t expect there to be martial artists in the Inescapable Prison as well.

Who could be imprisoned as a martial artist deemed the worst by the imperial palace?

Out of curiosity, Mong Mu-yak flipped through the list.

‘I’ve never heard of any of them before.’

Even he, a member of the Heaven and Earth Society’s leader’s direct information department, didn’t recognize most of the names.

Could it be because they were old and hardly any information remained about them?

Just as he was puzzled, Mong Mu-yak’s eyes widened.

‘!?’

[百二十六 – 舊血敎 – 六血星]

‘No. 126 – Old Blood Cult – Sixth Blood Saint

Seeing the entry, Mong Mu-yak couldn’t hide his astonishment.

Although it was an organization that no longer existed in the current martial arts world, it was notorious enough to be passed down through word of mouth, so he was also aware of it.

That was because the remnants of the Old Blood Sect, which was said to have been destroyed long ago, and some of the evil faction had gathered to establish the Four Evils Alliance, which was now considered the center of the evil faction.

‘To think there were traces of the Old Blood Sect remaining.’

But what was even more interesting here was the note written below.

Unlike the other entries that merely described the information, this person’s entry had a warning that seemed like an instruction, written in a fluttering manner.

‘Keep a distance of ten steps. When delivering meals through the prison’s mechanism, cover the eyes and ears.’

Mong Mu-yak frowned.

Why did they warn not to approach within ten steps even though he was imprisoned in the prison?

The next warning instruction was also strange.

Surely, if one was imprisoned in the prison, their martial arts would have been disabled or sealed, so why were they issuing such a strong warning?

Mong Mu-yak, who had been puzzled, flipped the page.

Although the warning itself was quite unsettling, it wasn’t the person they were looking for anyway, so it wasn’t his concern.

-Rustle!

After flipping a few pages, there were only two left.

With only three pages remaining, Mong Mu-yak became inwardly anxious.

If the name wasn’t even on these pages, it would be as if that person wasn’t in the underground prison, contrary to the information they had obtained.

-Rustle!

He turned another page like that, but…

‘Huh?’

The page before the last one was somewhat strange.

Usually, the entries listed the prison cell number, who was imprisoned there, and a brief description of that person’s identity.

However, the last entry only stated that it was Prisoner No. 129 and strictly warned not to approach within thirty steps of the prison cell.

‘Do not approach?’

It was farther than the person from the Old Blood Sect’s Six Blood Star.

Moreover, there was an even more incomprehensible strong warning written afterward.

‘If someone enters within thirty steps, never attempt a rescue? What the hell does this mean?’

Do not attempt a rescue?

What did this imply?

Mong Mu-yak, who couldn’t understand it at all, shook his head since this person was also irrelevant to them, and then turned the page towards the last one.

And seeing the name written on the registry, Mong Mu-yak’s eyes lit up with joy.

[百三十 – 拜火敎 – 聖火靈主]

‘No. 130 – Fire Faith Order – Holy Fire Spiritual Lord!’

He had finally found it.

The last page was particularly clean, indicating that this person had entered relatively recently.

However, unlike the previous individuals, instead of a warning, a completely different instruction was written in a sentence.

[Find the location of the Holy Fire Spirit Orb.]

‘…… What does this mean?’

Holy Fire Spirit Orb?

He couldn’t understand why it was written to find its location.

Just then…

-Hey. Hey. Why are you sleeping?

At the sound of a voice coming from outside the office along with the presence of people, Mong Mu-yak quickly closed the safe’s door.

If he didn’t withdraw, the secured movement route would be disrupted.

Fortunately, he had achieved his objective on time.

***

-Bong!

The bell signaling the Ox Hour was rung.

Within the imperial palace, a bell was rung every two hours to indicate the time.

-Swish!

Mong Mu-yak, who had accomplished his objective, left the office and headed towards the dormitory following the secured route.

Since all the shift changes took place centered around the Ox Hour, this was the optimal time to move when the handover occurred.

Mong Mu-yak, who was moving along the route while suppressing his presence, climbed over a wall.

-Tap!

Now, there was only one more wall to climb before reaching the dormitory.

Mong Mu-yak, who had been stealthily walking through the darkness, was just about to leap over the final wall at that moment.

-Thud!

At that instant, someone grabbed his ankle as he was about to jump.

Startled, Mong Mu-yak was taken aback and tried to kick the opponent who had grabbed his ankle using leg techniques.

-Thud!

However, the opponent lightly caught his leg technique.

Then, pulling on one of his legs, they quickly subdued his acupoints in an instant.

-Tap tap tap tap!

The unknown individual caught Mong Mu-yak’s body, which had stiffened and was about to fall.

And gently laid him on the ground.

Mong Mu-yak’s pupils dilated.

That was because the one who had subdued him was none other than a eunuch from the Western Depot.

He had barely managed to leave the office undetected, but he didn’t expect to be caught by a eunuch from the Western Depot just before reaching the dormitory.

‘Damn it!’

Judging by the attire, the eunuch seemed to hold a fairly high position.

At that moment, the eunuch from the Western Depot smiled and whispered while placing a finger on Mong Mu-yak’s lips.

“You’re doing a good job even without me.”

Upon hearing those words, Mong Mu-yak’s eyes widened.

The owner of this voice was none other than…

‘Lo-Lord?’

It was the voice of his lord, Mok Gyeong-un, who he had thought was killed at the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ hall.