The Demonic Monk bowed respectfully, filled with fear and awe. Seeing this vengeful spirit, this anomaly, display such an unexpected side, Mok Gyeong-un gazed at the book inside the wooden box with a puzzled look. A strange book made from human skin.
Why was the Demonic Monk reacting this way upon seeing the book wrapped in skull prayer beads? Mok Gyeong-un unconsciously reached for the book inside the wooden box. And the moment his fingertips touched it, Thump!
‘!?’
Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.
‘…A pulse?’
An instant.
In that fleeting instant, he felt a pulse. It was as clear as a beating heart. But paradoxically, this pulse was not a sign of life.
It was closer to death.
Thump! Thump!
The pulse seemed to grow stronger.
‘…’
Mok Gyeong-un, who had been staring at the book, finally closed the lid of the wooden box. A strong attraction arose within him. He wanted to remove the skull prayer beads and see what was inside, but it seemed difficult to do right now.
The reason the Demonic Monk had appeared was because someone had intruded upon the Medicine Hall.
‘An intruder.’
Mok Gyeong-un licked his upper lip as if disappointed. And he turned his gaze upward.
Thud! Thud!
A man in a black mask was moving across the roof tiles of the building. The masked man spotted Guard Go Chan guarding the pavilion on the only path to the Medicine Hall and suppressed his presence even further.
‘Hmm.’
A peculiar light flashed in the masked man's eyes. It made sense, as Mok Gyeong-un had two guards. One of them could no longer be considered Mok Gyeong-un's man, so it was no exaggeration to say he effectively had only one guard left.
‘But why isn’t he staying by his side?’
Normally, a guard would stay right beside their master. But he was standing guard on the path, away from the Medicine Hall?
‘It’s one of two things.’
First, the master he’s protecting is sensitive and doesn’t allow him nearby. But that didn't seem right. It made no sense to guard a master with a pierced thigh from a distance.
Then it must be the second option. That is, ‘Is he standing watch?’ He must have received his master’s order to watch the surroundings for anyone approaching.
There was no other reason for him to be so far away. The masked man stroked his chin.
‘Standing watch without sleeping in the early dawn, at the end of the hour of the rat…’
This was getting more interesting than he thought. His name was Jo Il-sang. He was one of the three guards of the second young master, Mok Eun-pyeong.
[Just in case, you should check. See if it’s a Strategy of Self-Harm or not.]
The order he received from Mok Eun-pyeong was simple. To find out whether Mok Gyeong-un had truly lost his martial arts or not. If he hadn't lost them, it would mean Guard Gam's plea was a lie.
If he truly couldn't use martial arts, then the plea would be real.
[Should I just confirm?]
[That would be no fun. If he really has lost his martial arts, give him a good scare. Tell him not to get any funny ideas.]
[Hehehe. Understood.]
And so, of the three guards, he had come. Jo Il-sang's martial prowess could be described as somewhere between a second-rate martial artist and a first-rate master. He had come because he was a cut above Go Chan.
Ssh! Thud!
Jo Il-sang avoided Go Chan's line of sight, moved in another direction, and jumped over the wall. Having crossed the wall, Jo Il-sang climbed onto the roof of the Medicine Hall and slipped through a gap in the tiles.
‘What could an injured man be doing that requires a lookout?’
Was his injury a lie? Or was the information that he lost his martial arts false? Whatever it was, there had to be something going on.
‘Let’s see what you’re hiding.’
Thus, Jo Il-sang slipped through the gap in the tiles and infiltrated the Medicine Hall. Holding his breath, he clung silently to the ceiling and peered down. One of his eyebrows shot up.
‘What’s this?’
The scene below was different from what he had expected. In Jo Il-sang's disappointed eyes, he saw Mok Gyeong-un, with a single lamp lit, sitting up in bed and reading a book.
‘He’s just reading a book?’
Jo Il-sang scanned the surroundings with suspicious eyes. But there was no one else in the Medicine Hall besides Mok Gyeong-un.
‘Strange.’
He hadn't come through the door, and his only guard, Go Chan, was standing watch outside, so he couldn't possibly have noticed. He wondered if someone had alerted him, but that didn't seem to be the case either. In that case…
‘Could the secret be in that book?’
He couldn't rule out that possibility. In any case, he had to make contact to check if he had martial arts or not. Jo Il-sang carefully suppressed his presence and moved along the ceiling toward Mok Gyeong-un's bed.
And then, Thud! He dropped down. At the same time, as fast as lightning, Jo Il-sang snatched the book Mok Gyeong-un was reading.
Swish!
Having snatched the book, Jo Il-sang fully expected Mok Gyeong-un to be startled or to counterattack. But contrary to his expectations, Mok Gyeong-un neither counterattacked nor showed any sign of surprise. Instead, he was looking at him nonchalantly.
“Who…”
Ssh!
As Mok Gyeong-un started to say something, Jo Il-sang pressed a dagger to his throat and whispered.
“Be quiet if you don’t want to die.”
“…”
Mok Gyeong-un closed his mouth. Things seemed to be going smoothly, but Jo Il-sang didn't feel that way.
‘This fellow…’
A masked man suddenly appears, snatches his book, and threatens him with a dagger to his throat. Normally, anyone would be flustered. No, they should show fear or tension.
But Mok Gyeong-un was looking at him with a blank face, showing no change in emotion, as if this were a daily occurrence.
‘Judging by his reaction…’
He looks like someone who knew I was coming. But that couldn't be. To be this calm, one would need to possess martial prowess great enough to protect their own life.
‘!?’
Jo Il-sang's eyes narrowed. Come to think of it, regardless of whether one had martial arts or not, a person's body would have a conditioned reflex to move in some way when startled. But Mok Gyeong-un hadn't moved at all.
‘Could the information that this guy lost his martial arts be false?’
Glance!
Jo Il-sang shifted his gaze to the book he had snatched. But when he saw the title of the book, Jo Il-sang's eyes trembled wildly.
‘!!!!!!!’
It was none other than, [Lotuswood Sword Formation Art]. There was no one in the Lotuswood Sword Manor who didn't know the name of this Sword Art. This was the Sword Art that symbolized the Lotuswood Sword Manor.
The reason was that this martial art contained profound principles that only the Manor Lord of the Lotuswood Sword Manor could learn.
‘Hah…’
Jo Il-sang’s next move in his shock was unplanned. Jo Il-sang used a grappling technique to grab Mok Gyeong-un's shoulder, pressing down and pulling him forward. At the same time, with the hand holding the dagger, he struck a vital point on the back of his head.
Thwack!
Struck there, Mok Gyeong-un's head slumped forward. Jo Il-sang’s heart pounded, and he let out a ragged breath.
“Haa…”
In that moment, shocked by the secret manual of the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art, he had struck the fellow's vital point on the back of his head and knocked him out.
‘Was this the reason he posted a lookout?’
Jo Il-sang placed his hand on a vital point of the unconscious Mok Gyeong-un. He had almost forgotten, but he also had to check if Mok Gyeong-un had lost his martial arts or not.
Ssh!
Placing his hand on the vital point, Jo Il-sang sent his true energy into the body.
‘Ah!’
There was no need for a long check. If there was even a little internal energy, there would be a rebound or some kind of rejection as soon as another's true energy entered. But Mok Gyeong-un had nothing of the sort.
Press! Press!
Jo Il-sang pressed on Mok Gyeong-un's abdomen, near his dantian.
‘Nothing.’
His dantian was truly gone. The corners of Jo Il-sang's mouth curled up. After checking Mok Gyeong-un's martial arts, the second young master Mok Eun-pyeong's order to scare him had already vanished from his mind.
Jo Il-sang opened the secret manual of the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art and flipped through the pages.
“Heh!”
After flipping through a few pages, Jo Il-sang's lips twitched. He almost laughed without realizing it. He wondered if it might be a fake, but these were undoubtedly the genuine sword forms of the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art.
From the very beginning, the sword forms were extraordinary.
‘Calm down.’
He never dreamed that Mok Gyeong-un would have this in his possession. The Manor Lord was already critically ill, on the verge of death, and the Manor Lord's seal and the secret manual for the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art—both crucial for the succession—were missing, a situation that deeply concerned the vassals.
But now, the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art was in his hands.
‘This is it.’
Obtaining the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art was a stroke of sheer luck. If his lord, Mok Eun-pyeong, learned the Lotuswood Sword Formation Art, the martial art exclusive to the Manor Lord, then even if the current Manor Lord died, the position of the next Manor Lord would belong to his master.
‘This gives us the upper hand.’
No matter how much the Manor Lord doted on the youngest, Mok Yu-cheon, or that the first son, Mok Yeong-ho, existed, as long as this was a martial arts family, the vassals would ultimately have no choice but to support his master. Just as he was rejoicing, Flinch! a sudden, intense chill ran through his entire body, giving him goosebumps.
Along with it, something pressed down on his shoulder.
‘What is this?’
Startled, Jo Il-sang hurriedly tried to draw up his internal energy. It was at that very moment.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Someone punched him in the dantian. It was Mok Gyeong-un, the very person he believed he had knocked unconscious.
‘W-what kind of strength?’
This is the strength of someone without internal energy? It was at least at the second-rate level or higher.
Shudder!
Caught off guard and struck in the dantian before he could even raise his internal energy, Jo Il-sang's body stiffened for a brief moment. But that brief opening worked very much against him.
“Gah!”
Throb! Throb!
His veins bulged. A bizarre sensation pierced through his crushed shoulder. This sensation was so agonizing and tormenting it made him shudder.
In response, Jo Il-sang gritted his teeth and tried to push away this strange sensation with his true energy.
However, Pow!
Not missing the opening, Mok Gyeong-un simultaneously slammed his fist into his jaw and delivered a barrage of punches to his abdomen.
Th-th-th-th-thwack!
Normally, such an attack would not have worked on Jo Il-sang, who was on the verge of the first-rate realm. But there was that sliver of carelessness from having obtained the secret manual. And with the chill-inducing sensation pressing down on his shoulder, he couldn't withstand the punches that relentlessly targeted his dantian.
“Kghhh! You, you bastard…”
“You’re sturdy. Then.”
Bam!
Mok Gyeong-un grabbed the back of his head with both hands, pulled it down, and smashed his knee into his face.
Crack!
“Guh!”
The sound of a nose bone and teeth breaking was heard. Despite that, Mok Gyeong-un continued to punch the face of Jo Il-sang, who was staggering backward.
Thwack! Thwack!
Even as blood soaked his fists, Mok Gyeong-un did not stop.
‘V… Vicious…’
And just like that, Jo Il-sang quickly lost consciousness.
How long had it been? Regaining consciousness, Jo Il-sang struggled to open his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he felt like his head was about to explode.
‘What… on earth?’
Having just woken up, he couldn't properly remember what had happened. Then it came back to him. Mok Gyeong-un, with a blank face, madly striking his face.
‘Damn it…’
He had been completely careless. No, should it be called carelessness? The first blow was due to his carelessness after confirming the fellow's dantian was gone, but what came after was not.
‘What was that sensation?’
He couldn't forget that spine-chilling sensation. Because of that sensation, his body had stiffened, and he tried to endure it with his internal energy, but Mok Gyeong-un had relentlessly struck his dantian and vital points, causing him to lose consciousness. In fact, it wouldn't have been strange if he had died.
‘…What in the world is he?’
Jo Il-sang was puzzled. He had clearly confirmed that Mok Gyeong-un had no internal energy. And yet, the power behind those strikes was no exaggeration to say was almost on par with his own.
‘Dammit.’
“Haa… haa…”
But for now, that wasn't the important thing. Jo Il-sang struggled to open his crusty, blood-caked eyes and looked around.
‘!?’
As he scanned his surroundings, Jo Il-sang frowned. This was not the Medicine Hall. Come to think of it, he had been feeling a strange coolness and dampness.
It seemed to be some kind of cave.
Drip! Drip!
‘Huh?’
Jo Il-sang noticed that what he thought were drops of sweat or blood from his body were floating up into the air. He wondered what kind of phenomenon this was, but it was, ‘Don't tell me… am I hanging upside down right now?’ Now he understood why his face felt like it was about to burst.
He had thought it was because his face hurt from being hit so much, but it was because he was hanging upside down, and the blood was rushing to his head.
“Haa… haa…”
Jo Il-sang's breathing became ragged. He didn't know where he was, but something felt unsettling. He felt he had to get out of here quickly.
“Huu.”
Jo Il-sang focused his breathing and tried to draw out the energy from his dantian.
But, ‘Wh-what?’
But he couldn't put any strength into his entire body. He wanted to concentrate, but it felt as if all sensation in his body, except for his face, was gone.
“W-what’s happening to me?”
The flustered words escaped his lips.
Ssh!
Just then, he heard someone's presence.
“Looks like you’re awake.”
He looked toward the source of the sound and saw Mok Gyeong-un walking upside down on the ceiling. Of course, it only looked that way because of his inverted vision. Panicked by the paralyzed sensation in his entire body, Jo Il-sang shouted.
“You, what on earth did you do?”
At his question, the corners of Mok Gyeong-un's mouth stretched up as if they would tear to his ears.
“Well now. What do you think I did?”
Shudder!
Unlike his smile, his eyes held nothing but sinister evil. For the first time in his life, Jo Il-sang felt a terrifying chill.