“After all the trouble I took to side with the Second Young Master... this impostor refuses to play along and has killed the Second Young Master's guard. Now what am I to do.” '!?'
The moment he heard Mok Gyeong-un's words, Guard Gam's expression stiffened. The death of Jo Il-sang, the guard of the Second Young Master, Mok Eun-pyeong. He had considered that the least likely possibility.
The martial prowess of a martial artist on the verge of the first-rate realm could not be matched by mere strength alone.
'Impossible.'
Guard Gam stared at Mok Gyeong-un with trembling eyes. It was an impossible thing, yet he could not disbelieve it. The very fact that he knew Guard Gam had switched sides, and that he had told the Second Young Master Mok Eun-pyeong that Mok Gyeong-un had lost his martial arts, was proof enough.
“You...... really......”
“Yes. I killed him.”
“How could you possibly... a man nearing the first-rate realm...”
“I hung him upside down and cut his throat.”
“What?”
“He pitifully begged for his life. It seems he didn't want to die, master or not.”
Mok Gyeong-un said this with a faint smile. As his eyes met Mok Gyeong-un's, a chill ran down Guard Gam's spine. Mok Gyeong-un's menacing gaze felt as if it were constricting him.
'This bastard is truly...' A murderous demon. He was reminded once again that this impostor was a death row inmate who had killed countless people.
He himself had been an assassin who had killed many, but he had quit because he no longer took pleasure in killing and had grown weary of it. But this one was in a different realm from ordinary people. He reveled in being close to death.
'Damn it.'
For a moment, Guard Gam's mind became a complicated mess. The Second Young Master, Mok Eun-pyeong, had given him four hours. He had been told to find his guard, Jo Il-sang, within that time, but he was already dead.
In the end, his boast, for which he had wagered his arm, had become meaningless. It was the worst possible situation.
[If you fail to find him, you had best be prepared to give up not only your arm, but that pathetic life of yours as well.]
Mok Eun-pyeong's warning, filled with killing intent, echoed in his mind. 'And I went through all that trouble to switch sides.' Not even a full day had passed, and the line was already cut.
To think such a preposterous situation would occur. Guard Gam's mouth went dry. Then, suddenly, '...
Could it be that this bastard killed him on purpose?' Thinking back, it seemed so. This fellow was an impostor, so he had to be careful in all matters.
No matter how unpredictable he was, a cunning bastard like him couldn't possibly be unaware of his own situation. And yet, he had killed the Second Young Master's guard. 'He killed Mok Eun-pyeong's guard because I abandoned him and switched sides.
Ha...'
It was truly dumbfounding. How could anyone be so cunning? By killing Mok Eun-pyeong's guard, he had put him in a dilemma.
If it came to this, he could no longer switch sides to any of the other Young Masters. Who would trust him now? -Grip! Realizing the cunning bastard's intentions, he clenched his fist.
To think a murderous demon who hadn't even learned martial arts was pushing him into a corner like this. 'Because of this bastard, everything I've prepared until now...' ...has all gone to waste. He was furious.
“Your expressions are quite varied, aren't they? Seeing your face turn red, you must be angry.”
At Mok Gyeong-un's mocking voice, Guard Gam glared at him. He wanted to kill this bastard right this instant. Or should I just kill him?
Since Second Young Master Mok Eun-pyeong would be after his life anyway, there was effectively no point in remaining at the Lotuswood Sword Manor...
'Ah!'
In that moment, Guard Gam's gaze fell to his own chest. In his chest pocket were the cover and two pages of the Lotuswood Heart Transformation Technique. The moment he saw the contents, which were only two pages, Guard Gam realized.
This was the original. 'That bastard Go Chan kept his mouth shut to the end, but the fact that he had this...' ...meant that this bastard, Mok Gyeong-un, had obtained the secret manual. How in the world did he get the secret manual?
A question arose, but that was not the important thing. -Thrust! Guard Gam pressed a dagger to Mok Gyeong-un's ribs and whispered.
“The rest of the secret manual.....you have it, don't you?”
“The secret manual?” -Tap!
Tap!
Guard Gam tapped his own chest and said.
“This. This thing.”
“Ah. That?”
“Yes.”
“Of course I have it.”
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Guard Gam's face brightened for a moment. Indeed, there was always a way out, even when the heavens fell. 'This is it!
This is it!' The Manor Lord's life was hanging by a thread. Since a successor had not been named, the vassals' opinions were divided.
In a situation like this, possessing the secret manual that only the Manor Lord could learn, or being of the bloodline that had mastered its martial arts, would make one the closest to being the successor. 'It can be a substitute for my life.'
The Second Young Master, Mok Eun-pyeong, would also have no choice but to covet this secret manual. If he had this, it could offset the price of the dead guard, Jo Il-sang's, life. -Thrust! Guard Gam pressed the dagger even closer and said.
“I won't waste words. If you don't want to die, hand over the secret manual.”
“You seem to be in desperate need of the secret manual.”
“I have no time to play word games with you.”
“Are you in a rather regretful position?”
“You must be crazy to want to die.”
“Of course not. It's just that I don't think I'm the one in a regretful position, so I was wondering if it's alright for you to threaten me like this.”
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Guard Gam scoffed and said.
“Don't think of me as the same as Go Chan or Jo Il-sang. It would be nothing for me to kill you right here, without you even making a sound.”
He may have retired, but his original profession was an assassin. He knew dozens, no, hundreds of ways to kill. And he was a first-rate master.
The gap between one approaching the first-rate realm and a true first-rate master was clear. He could kill someone like Jo Il-sang with one hand.
“Do not provoke me any further.”
“How frightening...” -Stab!
Before he could even finish his words, the tip of the dagger dug slightly into the flesh between Mok Gyeong-un's ribs.
“I won't ask again. If you don't tell me about the secret manual, I will drive this dagger all the way in. If it pierces through here, it's instant death.”
“....... You'd be at a greater loss if I died here.”
As he said this, Mok Gyeong-un gestured with his eyes towards the workers in the Medicine Hall. His meaning was, could he really kill him while these people were watching. At this, Guard Gam let out a soft breath.
“Hoo.”
Then, soon after, -Fwoosh! He let go of Mok Gyeong-un and shot towards the workers in the Medicine Hall. His movements were so fast that he reached them in an instant, and with a gesture as swift as lightning, Guard Gam plunged his dagger into their vital points. -Shk!
Shk! Shk! Shk!
In an instant, the Medicine Hall workers were stabbed in their vital points and died. Even though the dagger was plunged into them, almost no blood came out, and there were no screams. It was a clean job, as expected of a former assassin.
'The Second Young Master should be able to handle three Medicine Hall workers.' He was sure that even if he couldn't, the Second Young Master could silence them. That was why Guard Gam was taking the risk.
“Are you still so sure I can't kill you?”
Guard Gam said as he approached Mok Gyeong-un. He thought that at this point, no matter who he was, the bastard would at least feel some tension.
However, -Pfft! 'He's laughing?'
Mok Gyeong-un laughed. Even though three Medicine Hall workers had just been killed in an instant. He saw that and still laughed?
“You really don't seem to grasp reality. It seems you'll only open your mouth once you feel the pain with your own body.” -Fwoosh!
Guard Gam used his light body technique, closing the distance in an instant. He then executed a grappling technique on Mok Gyeong-un. -Swish!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, Guard Gam seized one of Mok Gyeong-un's right-hand fingers, brought a dagger to it, and said.
“You seem to be quite tolerant of pain.”
Guard Gam recalled the first time he saw Mok Gyeong-un. Trapped behind wooden bars, being pelted with stones by onlookers, he hadn't uttered a single groan. Seeing that, he had thought him a tough bastard.
“But here's the thing. Even if you're a tough bastard, it doesn't mean you don't feel pain. And I know how to maximize that pain.” -Stab!
The dagger pierced the finger. Guard Gam smiled cruelly and said.
“I'll peel the flesh from your finger, strip by strip, like peeling fruit. It will be a pain you've never experienced in your life.”
“Is that so?”
“Let's see how long that composure of yours lasts.”
Guard Gam was about to slide the blade of the dagger upwards. Just then, Mok Gyeong-un spoke.
“There's something I'd like to say before you begin.”
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, the corners of Guard Gam's mouth crept up slightly. Just as I thought. No matter if he was a murderous demon, he was still only seventeen.
In a situation like this, no matter how composed he acted, he was bound to fall into fear of the impending pain.
“Speak.”
“I was wondering how to use it, but I'm truly grateful.”
“What?”
What kind of nonsense is this? Use what? '!?' In that moment, Guard Gam felt something strange.
The palm gripping Mok Gyeong-un's finger felt like something was sticking to it. Thinking he might be gripping it too tightly, he loosened his hold slightly, but, -Stick! His palm stuck to the finger.
'What is this...' Feeling that something was wrong, Guard Gam tried to pull his palm away by channeling his internal power to his hand.
But, -Whoosh!
The moment he did, he felt the internal energy he had concentrated in his palm draining away.
“Hah!”
Guard Gam couldn't help but be bewildered by the sudden phenomenon. His hand was stuck, and his internal energy was rapidly draining away. The flow of his energy circulation was also disrupted, making it difficult to pull his palm off.
A significant amount of his internal energy had already been sucked away. His left hand and arm, which were gripping the finger, were already losing strength. 'Where did this bastard learn such Demonic Arts?'
These were not the martial arts of the righteous path. Absorbing another's internal energy? A tenth of his internal energy was already gone.
If this continued, a real disaster might occur.
“Let go!”
Guard Gam, holding the dagger in a reverse grip, tried to strike Mok Gyeong-un's neck with his fist. It was to knock him unconscious. But Mok Gyeong-un twisted his neck, and the blow landed on his shoulder.
“Pfft!”
But a first-rate master was still first-rate. Impacted by the fist imbued with internal energy, Mok Gyeong-un coughed up blood. Even so, Mok Gyeong-un did not let go of the finger.
“Kughh! You bastard!” -Thwack!
Thwack!
Furious, Guard Gam repeatedly struck Mok Gyeong-un's neck and back. Even as he suffered from the blows imbued with internal energy, Mok Gyeong-un held on until the end. 'This stubborn bastard!'
At this, Guard Gam finally plunged the dagger between Mok Gyeong-un's ribs. -Stab!
“Heup!”
As the dagger drove halfway into his ribs, his breath caught, and the Binding technique broke. The moment the suction force vanished, Guard Gam kicked Mok Gyeong-un in the back, creating distance between them. -Thud! -Tatatak! Retreating about seven steps, Guard Gam stared at his own palm, his face pale.
He couldn't feel any internal energy in his left hand, which was trembling violently. He could restore it by performing energy circulation, but he had never felt such an unpleasant sensation before. Guard Gam glared at the staggering Mok Gyeong-un and said.
“What was that? What kind of Demonic Arts have you learned?”
“Huu....huu....”
Clutching the dagger embedded between his ribs, Mok Gyeong-un staggered before finally steadying himself.
“You're definitely......first-rate.”
“Speak. What was that just now?”
“It seems it'll be difficult to face you with just this.” -Grit!
Guard Gam gritted his teeth. Does this arrogant bastard think he can do something to me just because that Demonic Art worked for a moment? If so, he was gravely mistaken.
Guard Gam circulated his energy, pulled out the dagger, and took a ready stance. No more carelessness. 'Let's see if you can pull off tricks like that after I've cut off all your arms and legs.' -Fwoosh!
Guard Gam shot towards Mok Gyeong-un, who was barely holding his stance. As long as he was careful not to let his palms touch, he could handle him. -Thwack!
Thud!
One of the daggers Guard Gam threw lodged itself in Mok Gyeong-un's thigh. Mok Gyeong-un staggered. Not missing the opportunity, Guard Gam took out another dagger hidden in his wrist and was about to throw it at Mok Gyeong-un's shoulder.
It was at that moment.
“Demonic Monk.” -Shudder!
As soon as the words were spoken, Guard Gam felt a chilling sensation run through his entire body, and he sensed something from behind trying to grab his wrist. Startled, Guard Gam lowered his arm and threw himself sideways to avoid the eerie sensation. And he looked at that spot. '!?'
Guard Gam frowned. He had clearly felt a strange, chilling sensation from behind, but he saw nothing. 'What did this bastard do?'
It's not visible, so what is this strange feeling? Bewildered, Guard Gam moved his eyes to look at Mok Gyeong-un.
“What did you just do?”
“What are you referring to?”
“Don't play dumb. Something definitely tried to grab my wrist from behind.”
“Your senses are certainly sharp.”
“....... So you did do something.”
“Well, it wasn't me. This friend did it.”
“This friend?”
What does that mean? Could it be that he really has an ally? As Guard Gam heightened his spiritual sense and scanned his surroundings, Mok Gyeong-un spoke nonchalantly.
“Since you're curious, I'll show you. Demonic Monk.”
The moment those words ended. -Shimmer... '!!!!!!!!!' For a moment, Guard Gam doubted his own eyes. Right before his nose, a giant monk wearing a blood-soaked kasaya and Skull Prayer Beads appeared like a heat shimmer, looking down at him with a ghastly glint in his eyes.
'W-what in the world is this...' If his eyes weren't deceiving him, this was, no matter how he looked at it, not a living human. It was like a ghost.......
It was in that very moment of bewilderment. -Thud! In that instant, something passed through the monk and lodged itself in the center of his chest. It was a dagger.
"Now it's done." -Shimmer...
With those words, the monk's body blurred and vanished, revealing Mok Gyeong-un behind it, posed as if he had just thrown something.
"Th... this..."
Guard Gam looked down at the dagger embedded in his chest. He had been protecting his body with internal energy, but because of the internal energy imbued in the dagger, it was lodged deep inside. Guard Gam muttered with a look of disbelief.
"How?"
To him, Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly and said.
"Both the dagger and the internal energy are yours."