Unlike vengeful spirits, which have no spirit body and thus cannot be touched or perceived, some evil spirit monsters are fierce beasts with physical forms. Having a physical form literally meant it could be touched. However, the spirit body of evil spirit monsters, being a mass of yin demonic energy, was a demonic poison harmful to living humans.
Even a trained Occultist would find it difficult to touch one with their bare hands. Yet, surprisingly, Mok Gyeong-un had caught the Guyeo with his bare hands.
‘Is he alright?’
As the Occultist Sak, who commanded the Guyeo as her Spirit Guardian, she couldn't help but be bewildered.
Why?
Touching demonic poison was agony itself. But Mok Gyeong-un showed no such signs. -Kakkak!
‘Damn it!’
The bewildered Sak snapped back to her senses at the sound of the Guyeo's pained cries. Sak quickly pulled a talisman from her robes. It was a talisman of the Imperial Ink Incantation. -Chak chak chak!
Swiftly forming a hand seal with her left hand, she chanted the incantation.
“Okjeyuchik shinmukjaja hyeongyeounmu saryeongguseong shinmukgyeongma byeokryeokgyuhona geupgeupyeoyullyeong!”
(By the Jade Emperor's command, I apply the divine ink, like clouds and mist, and the nine stars align. The divine ink moves lightly, striking the chaotic world with lightning. Act with haste as the law commands.)
The moment the incantation ended. -Pachichichichi!
“Ugh!”
Blue sparks flew from the hand holding the Guyeo, and a powerful spasm wracked Mok Gyeong-un’s body. A small amount of lightning power flows within every human body. The talisman arts of the Imperial Ink Incantation temporarily increased this lightning power, paralyzing the target’s nerves and causing muscle spasms.
“Guyeo!”
Believing Mok Gyeong-un would be unable to move from the electric shock, Sak tried to retrieve her Spirit Guardian, the Guyeo. But, -Gwak! -Kakakakakak! The Guyeo cried out in even greater agony.
What was happening?
‘The Imperial Ink Incantation didn’t work. Could it be because he’s learned martial arts?’
Ordinarily, occult arts worked well on most people, unless they had a peculiar constitution. However, martial artists, who knew how to handle qi, were often immune to talisman arts or occult arts. Sak naturally assumed this was because Mok Gyeong-un, coming from a martial family, had learned internal energy.
Of course, contrary to her assumption, Mok Gyeong-un had not withstood it with the power of internal energy.
‘How fortunate.’
It was not intentional. For a brief moment, Mok Gyeong-un had been unable to move due to the electric shock. However, even in that moment of shock, he had been deploying the Binding technique, and the lightning power that had temporarily surged in his body gathered in his right hand.
Not missing that brief moment, Mok Gyeong-un instead discharged the gathered lightning energy into the Guyeo. -Kakakakakak! That was why the Guyeo had cried out in pain.
‘Guyeo!’
As her Spirit Guardian suffered even more, her heart grew anxious, and she prepared to cast another spell. Sak pushed up the sleeves of both her arms. On her wrists were the Heaven-Ox Talisman and the Earth-Ox Talisman. -Chwarak!
Sak pulled a talisman from her waist. It was a talisman with the words Dipper-Ox Talisman written on it. She placed the end of this talisman in her mouth and formed the Seal of Pure Sky Commandment. -Chak!
‘Noodle Ox Divine Power Borrowing Technique.’
This was a method to temporarily multiply one’s own strength by chanting the Noodle Ox Divine Power Borrowing Incantation. This technique was devised by skilled Occultists to contend with anomalies or evil spirit monsters. Using it allowed one to exert tremendous strength for about a quarter of an hour.
“Bongcheong bukdu daeryeoksan cheonujuduuugun yukjeongyukgapsaryeongsin jo-odaeryeok jingeon-gon geuncheongsimman jaedaeryeok isandohae mugung ibohyeong.....”
“Demonic Monk!”
“Huh?” -Papak!
As she was chanting the spell, she hastily threw her body backward. The Demonic Monk, who had appeared out of nowhere, had swung his Skull Prayer Beads at her head like a weapon. Dodging the attack, she bit her lip hard.
‘Yellow Spirit.... When?’
She had been so focused on Mok Gyeong-un that she had completely forgotten. No, his condition had been so poor that she hadn't thought he would be much of a hindrance. -Sreureureuk! But looking at him now, his condition seemed to have improved greatly.
The wounds on his body had almost vanished.
‘Strange.’
Even for a vengeful spirit without a physical body, recovering this quickly was not possible. She was puzzled, but for now, snatching her Spirit Guardian from Mok Gyeong-un’s hand was the priority..... It was at that very moment. -Kakakakakak!
It was the Guyeo’s scream. Startled, she whipped her head around to look at the captured Guyeo. The Guyeo, which had seemed fine just moments ago, was now considerably gaunt.
Seeing this, Sak realized something was wrong.
‘Guyeo? Wh-what is this?’
He was just holding it by the neck, so why was the Guyeo, an evil spirit monster, reacting like this? But it was gradually growing more emaciated. Her heart racing, she pulled out a wooden dagger affixed with a talisman from her waist and prepared to throw it at Mok Gyeong-un.
However, -Sreureureuk!
The Demonic Monk blocked her path. At this, Sak dashed to the side, forming a hand seal with one hand and chanting an incantation.
“Ilwolyuryang yeogwidonghaeng ojisogu mubulyeoui.....”
But before she could even finish chanting.
“Heok!”
An immense pain shot through her, and Sak clutched her chest. Instantly realizing where the pain originated, she looked at Mok Gyeong-un and the Guyeo.
“Gu-Guyeo!”
Sak’s pupils trembled uncontrollably. The Guyeo, an evil spirit monster, was not just gaunt; it was almost completely shriveled. It was only letting out groans of agony, as if on the verge of its last breath. -Kak....... kak........
She simply could not understand the situation. It was bizarre enough for an ordinary human to catch one of the evil spirit monsters with his bare hands, but why was this happening when he wasn’t even casting any occult arts or spells?
“St-stop!” she shouted hastily.
Mok Gyeong-un, who was clutching the neck of the withering Guyeo, paid her no heed. On the contrary, his face looked as if he were engrossed in something. Only the Blue Spirit could guess why Mok Gyeong-un was acting this way. -Ha!
Her two eyes saw it clearly. The Guyeo’s energy was being absorbed by the Binding technique. The demonic energy that constituted the Guyeo was a yin energy, the opposite of life-nurturing energy, and thus contained the aura of death.
‘Far more.’
It had merely been a means to capture the Guyeo. But once he began absorbing its energy with the Binding technique, Mok Gyeong-un realized it at once. This evil spirit monster contained a far greater amount of death energy than what he could get from killing a single human.
With this much, he might be able to secure enough in one go to form his dantian. That was why he continued to drain the Guyeo’s energy. Although it could control insects, the Guyeo was otherwise physically unremarkable for one of the evil spirit monsters, and it had no way of escaping the Binding technique. -Uyeoeoeo.......
And so, the Guyeo, having all its energy absorbed, was on the verge of death. It was then. -Kung! Sak fell to her knees on the ground and cried out to Mok Gyeong-un in a desperate voice.
“Please, let that child go.”
The Guyeo was a precious Spirit Guardian to her. She couldn’t bear to lose a Spirit Guardian that had been like family to her for four years.
Sak shouted.
“If you let it go, I’ll give up on the request!”
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un paused the Binding technique and turned his head toward her. He then looked at Sak with an interested gaze. 'She's giving up for something like this?'
It was unexpected. It wasn't even human, but one of the evil spirit monsters. He hadn't thought she would go so far as to kneel just to save a mere Spirit Guardian.
'Hmm.'
Was this bird-beak really that precious? Mok Gyeong-un smirked, then looked at her and opened his mouth.
“A request, you said?”
“That’s right.”
“Whose request is it?”
‘Ah!’
In that moment, she realized her mistake. In her haste, she had blurted out that she would abandon the request. The most important rule in this line of work was to maintain absolute secrecy about the client.
But she had made a mistake.
“I’ll ask again. Whose request is it?”
“That is......”
Trust was crucial in this business. To violate it meant........
“It seems you don’t particularly want to save this thing. In that case.....”
As Mok Gyeong-un prepared to use the Binding technique again, the hesitant Sak finally answered.
“Madam Seok....... The great madam of this Lotuswood Sword Manor made the request.”
At her words, Mok Gyeong-un smirked. It was obvious who had made the request, so he had already guessed. He had only asked for confirmation.
“Just as I expected.”
“..........”
Sak’s expression darkened, perhaps feeling a sense of self-loathing for revealing the client. Mok Gyeong-un asked her again.
“Do you know an Occultist by the name of Myo Shin?”
“.........” -Kak!
At that, the Guyeo, which had been barely hanging on to life, cried out in pain again. Startled by this, Sak said.
“Ye-yes!”
“Your answer was a bit slow. From now on, if there’s no answer, I’ll just dispose of this thing.” -Eudeuk!
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Sak gritted her teeth. Though young, she had a long career as an Occultist, and this was the first time she had ever experienced something like this. Being blackmailed with her Spirit Guardian.
If the pavilion master or the other Occultists were to find out, they would surely mock her, but to her, who had no family, the Guyeo and money were her entire life.
“I’ll answer..... I’ll answer properly, so please don’t do that.”
“We’ll see. Then I’ll continue asking questions, so please answer. If you received the request, did you get paid?”
“Yes.”
“How much did you receive?”
“A thousand silver coins.”
“You received quite a lot.”
“........”
“What were the exact details of the request?”
“That the third young master, Mok Gyeong-un, was possessed by an anomaly and had killed people, and that I was to forcibly exorcise him.”
“That doesn’t sound like all of it.”
“She said it didn’t matter if I lost my life during the exorcism. And...... she asked me to retrieve a secret manual from you.”
“Aha.”
Mok Gyeong-un let out a smirk. So that was it. Since she had seen him command a Spirit Guardian, she must have thought it was some unknown power and decided not to take any chances, likely hiring another Occultist.
Mok Gyeong-un stared at her intently. Then he asked.
“Do you have any companions?”
After a moment's hesitation at the question, Sak finally answered.
“...... I do.”
She had considered saying no, but she answered because she thought that if Mok Gyeong-un knew there were other Occultists besides herself, he wouldn’t act rashly. Was her assumption correct?
“Hmm. So you have companions..... Do your companions also know what you are doing right now?”
“Everyone knows.”
Thinking it was for the best, she told him immediately. She thought that knowing she was part of a group would make Mok Gyeong-un more cautious. And her prediction seemed to be somewhat correct.
“This has become quite troublesome.”
The fact that she had companions and they all knew what she was doing made Mok Gyeong-un consider the situation quite a hassle. After he killed Myo Shin, this other Occultist had come. If she died, there was a high probability another Occultist would come looking.
“Do they also know that I am the target of the request?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Seeing Mok Gyeong-un's reaction, Sak thought things might turn out well. Although she had promised to give up the request, this man was extremely dangerous. Her white eye was injured, so she couldn’t assess him accurately, but it seemed this man wasn’t possessed by a vengeful spirit but was actually controlling it.
‘....... Is he really commanding it as a Spirit Guardian.’
Commanding a vengeful spirit as a Spirit Guardian was something truly unheard of. She would have to discuss what to do next with the pavilion master, but for now, she could only hope that this man, fearing future trouble, would let her and her Spirit Guardian Guyeo go.
Just then, Mok Gyeong-un, who was stroking his chin with his hand, opened his mouth.
“Well, there’s no helping it.”
‘Haa.’
At those words, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. What a relief...... -Gwaaak! -Kakakakak! In that instant, the Guyeo screamed and writhed in agony.
Sak shouted in panic.
“I-I answered you, so why are you doing this?”
“Ah...... no matter how I think about it, whether I let you go or not, other Occultists will come one way or another. Am I wrong?”
“..........”
At this question, Sak could not bring herself to answer. She wanted to deceive him, but this man was too cunning to be fooled.
“Your silence tells me I’m right.”
Mok Gyeong-un said with a grin.
“Then say your farewells to this bird-beak.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un prepared to use the Binding technique to absorb the Guyeo’s remaining energy. At that moment, Sak’s eyes reddened as she shouted.
“Stop! Stop! I’ll do anything, so please don’t kill that child!”
At her plea, a sly smile crept up the corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.
The front courtyard of Radiant Blossoms Hall. Madam Seok waited endlessly with her hands clasped behind her back. This time, the matter had to be handled for certain.
If that insolent brat Mok Gyeong-un really sided with the second son, Mok Eun-pyeong, and handed over the secret manual, the situation could be reversed. For that reason, she hoped that the Occultist named Sak would resolve the matter well.
“Madam. The wind outside is chilly. Why don’t you wait inside?”
One of her maids, So-hwa, said to her. Madam Seok shook her head in response.
“How can I do that when I don’t know how things will turn out.”
She intended to clean up the mess immediately if the unexpected happened. If it couldn't be done, then shouldn’t she make it so that no one could have it? It was at that moment.
“Madam. The Occultist is coming over there.”
The Guard Ho-aeng pointed toward the pavilion entrance leading into Radiant Blossoms Hall. There, the Occultist Sak could be seen.
“Ah!”
Seeing her unharmed, Madam Seok’s face brightened. It seemed she had succeeded in her request.
"Congratulations, Madam."
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
She decided that as soon as Sak reached the front courtyard of Radiant Blossoms Hall, she would have her come inside and quickly ask how she had completed the task, and if she had obtained the secret manual. But after passing through the pavilion entrance, she stopped midway. Madam Seok found this odd.
As she watched, wondering what was going on, she saw the Occultist Sak take out something like a talisman from her robes.
‘What is she doing?’
Finally, unable to bear the frustration, she gestured for her to come closer and said.
“What are you doing over there? Come here and talk.....”
Before she could finish her sentence, the Occultist Sak shouted in a loud voice.
“Great Madam. Our Ghost Shadow Pavilion cannot kill Young Master Mok Gyeong-un as you requested!”
‘!!!!!!’
She shouted so loudly that Madam Seok, the Guard Ho-aeng, and the maids could not hide their bewilderment. What in the world was this? 'This wench has lost her mind.'
But it didn’t end there.
“Young Master Mok Gyeong-un is not possessed by an anomaly! Therefore, do not make such a request to our Pavilion again! If you do......”
With those words, the Occultist Sak formed a hand seal and chanted some kind of incantation.
"Oryeongyeoroe ihaengyeojeon hoheummanri chulmolsahae ijisohyang....."
Sensing something was wrong, the Guard Ho-aeng urgently tried to fly forward to seize the Occultist Sak. It was at that very moment.
“Heok!”
“Hak!”
The two maids Madam Seok had brought from her family home clutched their chests in agony. Their faces turned dark red, and the veins on their foreheads bulged as if they would burst.