Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 25

“The dagger and internal energy are yours.”

‘!?’

Guard Gam’s eyes trembled at Mok Gyeong-un’s words.

The dagger embedded in the center of his chest.

The internal energy contained within the dagger was his own?

Then, did this fellow forcibly take his internal energy and utilize it?

‘…… Impossible.’

Internal energy has its own unique properties.

Even if one takes another’s internal energy, transformed by various schools and sects, it would practically be poison.

Even if internal energy is passed down between master and disciple of the same sect, there is no way to directly utilize it without refining it into one’s own through breathing techniques.

Yet, he used it?

‘Just what is this bastard’s true identity?’

He was definitely not an ordinary civilian.

Guard Gam thought he could control him since he was a death row inmate and not a martial artist.

However, that was a miscalculation.

This fellow possessed strange abilities that he was unaware of.

He even manipulated the bizarre[1].

‘A mistake.’

It was wrong to bring this fellow here.

How foolish to think he could be controlled since he hadn’t learned martial arts.

The truly frightening aspect of this fellow might be that very point.

Using the bizarre to draw his gaze, then throwing a dagger imbued with absorbed internal energy to inflict a fatal wound—he possessed an extraordinary mind capable of such feats.

“Huu…… Huu……”

Guard Gam barely caught his breath.

It was difficult to breathe with the dagger stuck in his chest.

His body temperature was dropping, centered around his chest.

The location was too critical.

The moment he pulled it out, the bleeding might worsen, making it difficult to survive.

-Ssk!

Guard Gam raised his head and glared at Mok Gyeong-un.

In any case, he and this fellow could never go together.

They had to settle this somehow.

Although he was in the same situation, with daggers stuck between his ribs and thigh, moving would be just as difficult for the fellow……

‘!?’

Guard Gam furrowed his brows.

The dagger the fellow had thrown was the one that had been stuck in his own thigh.

However, why was the bleeding so minimal?

In that location, not only the thigh area but also the pants below should have been soaked with blood by now.

Yet, aside from that area, it seemed like blood wasn’t flowing.

‘There’s no way he controlled the bleeding or acupoints.’

He had never seen such a sight before.

Then, what was it?

Guard Gam, who had been staring at Mok Gyeong-un as if looking at a monster, bit his lip.

He had no idea how he ended up making an enemy out of such a bizarre fellow.

However, he still had a secret weapon.

Hadn’t he refrained from administering it for this very moment?

“…….You….. forgot about…… the poison pill……”

That was none other than the poison pill.

He had fed him the poison pill in advance to prevent him from acting on his own or trying to escape if he broke free from control.

At Guard Gam’s words, Mok Gyeong-un parted his lips.

“Ah? The poison pill?”

“That’s right.”

“I had forgotten about it.”

“Ha.”

Guard Gam was dumbfounded by Mok Gyeong-un’s words.

How could he forget that his life was at stake?

Regardless of what he was thinking, it didn’t matter.

That cunning fellow couldn’t have forgotten about it.

“Haa….. Haa….. Let’s make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Stop fighting like this and just hand over the secret manual. Then, I’ll let you go.”

“Let me go?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted? Staying here is just a fake life anyway, and you’ll have to bear the risk of being exposed at any moment.”

Mok Gyeong-un nodded at these words.

“Well. That’s true.”

“…….So, I’ll give you the method to create the antidote and some money. Any decent physicians should be able to make it, and with the money, you can start anew. Cough, cough.”

As his speech grew longer, Guard Gam’s voice became hoarse.

If he didn’t receive emergency treatment and perform breathing exercises soon, it would become dangerous.

There was a limit to enduring with internal energy.

“Choose. Fighting like this will only harm both of us anyway.”

“There’s definitely some truth to that.”

Mok Gyeong-un showed a positive response.

Seeing Mok Gyeong-un’s reaction, Guard Gam tried to let out a sigh of relief.

After putting out the urgent fire, it wouldn’t be too late to eliminate him later.

For now, he had to reassure the fellow.

“I’ll give you the tranquilizer first. Each of us will get treatment…… Cough……”

At that moment, Guard Gam coughed.

It was a cough mixed with blood.

Since he was injured, it could happen, but here, Guard Gam felt a sense of discomfort.

‘The blood…….’

There was a foul smell coming from the blood.

Startled, Guard Gam tried to open his chest.

However, his hands trembled severely, unable to move.

‘Why are my hands…..’

-Thud!

That wasn’t the end of it.

Soon, Guard Gam’s legs lost strength, and he fell to one knee on the ground.

Then,

“Blegh!”

Guard Gam vomited a handful of black blood.

He had been trying to protect his chest and organs with internal energy, but something was rapidly spreading to his internal organs, causing damage.

‘Could it be?’

Guard Gam’s eyes widened.

These symptoms were undoubtedly poison.

Something was strange.

This fellow didn’t use poison, so why was he poisoned?

As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un staggered and slowly approached him, who was suffering.

“Phew. Having this dagger stuck here is quite painful.”

“You…… what…… did you do?”

“Ah, I forgot to mention something earlier.”

“What?”

“I also gave you my blood, in addition to the dagger and internal energy.”

“Blood?”

“Yes. There wasn’t enough time to wipe the blood off the dagger that was stuck in my thigh and give it to you. Although it was intentional.”

“what the …. are you talking about……”

Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said to the confused Guard Gam.

“Of course, you wouldn’t understand. I only told Guard Go Chan about it.”

“Go Chan?”

“Yes. It’s nothing special. It’s just that since I ate a lot of poisonous herbs from a young age, my blood has toxic properties.”

‘!?’

Guard Gam was dumbfounded by these words.

Toxic blood? What kind of nonsense is this?

Then, is this fellow saying he’s like a poison-bringer of the Sichuan Tang Clan?

‘This bastard, just……ha!’

It was absurd.

Just how much has this bastard been hiding?

However, that wasn’t the important thing.

He had to somehow use his internal energy to block the poison from spreading, not just around his chest.

He didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but it was so fierce that it felt burning.

“Cough, cough…….”

“It’s painful, isn’t it?”

“You…… You think…… you’ll be safe……”

“Rushfoil, Betel nut, Monkshood, Greed Dragon……”

‘!?’

Guard Gam’s eyes shook wildly at the medicinal herbs coming out of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.

They were all ingredients used in the poison pill.

“Pokeween, Fly Mushroom, Love Parsley.”

“You….. You….. How?”

“Well. I can roughly tell what they are just by lightly touching them with my tongue, can’t I?”

He can tell by tasting them?

Just what is this bastard’s true identity?

Mok Gyeong-un approached the dumbfounded Guard Gam, bent his knees, and met his gaze, saying,

“Actually, I don’t need an antidote or anything.”

“You…… deceived…… me…… Cough, cough…… to play with me?”

In response to that question, Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head slightly and stared intently at Guard Gam’s face.

His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with fear and terror.

Seeing his appearance, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,

“Whether they are martial artists or top-tier masters, they are not much different from other people in the face of pain and death.”

-Creepy!

The moment he heard those words, Guard Gam felt chills running down his spine.

How could someone wearing a human skin say such things and have such dead eyes?

It didn’t feel like he was facing a human being at all.

This fellow was a demon.

-Tremble, tremble, tremble!

Guard Gam couldn’t stop trembling.

His breathing became rough, and it became difficult to breathe due to fear.

The human heart was indeed cunning.

Just a moment ago, he still thought he had the upper hand over his opponent, so he looked down on him without any tension.

However, now it was completely different.

“You’re trembling.”

“Sa…… Spare my life.”

Guard Gam threw away his pride and begged for his life.

He couldn’t die like this.

He had dreamed of a stable life after leaving that cruel world of assassins where he could die at any moment.

However, losing his life like this was too unfair.

Mok Gyeong-un stroked his own chin.

“Spare your life, you say.”

“I swear…… I swear loyalty. No. I will swear loyalty. Please….. Please spare my life.”

Seeing him pleading, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,

“Now, your attitude is to my liking.”

“Oh, I will live only for you, young master.”

“Then, I would be grateful.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Guard Gam’s expression was about to brighten.

However,

-Stab!

“Kuh-urk!”

Just when he thought he was going to spare his life, Mok Gyeong-un pressed the dagger stuck in his chest so hard that even the hilt was embedded.

Mok Gyeong-un whispered into the ear of the suffering Guard Gam.

“Someone who easily switches sides according to their needs, what kind of loyalty are you talking about?”

“Ugh…….”

“It seems it would be more helpful if you just die.”

-Ssk!

“Uwaaah!”

With those words, he covered the mouth and nose of the gasping Guard Gam with his hand.

Guard Gam, with bloodshot eyes, flailed his arms and legs in agony, but Mok Gyeong-un watched him with an expressionless face.

It didn’t last long.

The twitching of his whole body soon ceased.

Guard Gam, who had taken his last breath with bloodshot eyes filled with terror.

Mok Gyeong-un stared at him as if he had lost interest, then removed his palm that had been covering his nose and mouth.

‘I handled it faster than I thought. Am I lucky?’

From the beginning, he had planned to kill Guard Gam one way or another.

There was no point in keeping someone alive who knew he was a fake, as it would only become bothersome.

Mok Gyeong-un was contemplating.

‘Should I kill Guard Go Chan too?’

If he got rid of Guard Go Chan as well, there would be no one left who knew the truth.

However, Mok Gyeong-un soon shook his head.

‘Nah, I’ll let him live.’

Go Chan was still useful.

It was convenient to have him handle various aftermath tasks.

Moreover,

‘He seems to be quite tight-lipped too.’

He was impressed by the fact that he kept his mouth shut until the end, even under torture.

Mok Gyeong-un didn’t care whether it was out of fear or because of the poison.

As long as he didn’t backstab him, he was willing to make use of him as much as possible.

-Sting!

Mok Gyeong-un looked at the dagger stuck between his ribs.

No matter how extraordinarily strong his recovery ability was, it was still painful to have this stuck in him.

However, he couldn’t pull it out now.

He had to maintain a plausible appearance.

‘I wish someone would come quickly.’

It was cumbersome.

“Ah!”

He almost forgot.

Mok Gyeong-un placed his palm on the danjeon area of the dead Guard Gam.

Then, he activated the Ritual of Binding.

It was to confirm one thing.

The internal energy dispersing from the dead man’s danjeon was sucked into Mok Gyeong-un’s body through the Ritual of Binding.

It was incomparable to the amount from Jo Il-sang.

‘A pipe dream.’

However, this was internal energy that would have dissipated and disappeared anyway.

What he was curious about was something else.

It didn’t take long for the influx of internal energy to stop.

The reaction he had been expecting didn’t occur.

‘Is it not?’

Just as he thought that,

At that moment, a chilling and ominous energy of death flowed in from Guard Gam’s abdominal area.

It was clearly similar to the energy he had absorbed from Jo Il-sang.

No, the quantity was even greater.

‘Aaah!’

There it was.

The energy of death from the dead Guard Gam’s body gathered below his navel in the abdominal area.

And it gradually took shape.

Although he didn’t know exactly what it was, Mok Gyeong-un was increasingly fond of this chilling energy.

-Phew.

A pair of red eyes watched Mok Gyeong-un with interest, as if he was fascinating.

It was Cheong-ryeong, holding a long pipe in her mouth amidst the thick smoke.

Cheong-ryeong whispered softly to Demonic Monk beside her.

-Rebel monk. I think I know why you are swayed by that mortal.

That fellow was not an ordinary human being.

She, too, could instinctively sense it.