Bargaining (2)
-Bang!
Madam Seok, the matriarch, stormed back into her residence, Hyehwa Hall, and violently kicked a chair.
With the force of her internal energy behind the kick, the chair shattered into pieces.
Her face flushed red with anger, she panted heavily.
"How dare he!"
When she had been at the Medicine Hall, she had barely managed to suppress her rage.
But now that things had come to this, it was almost impossible to hold it back.
"My lady, please calm yourself."
Her bodyguard, Hoaeng, cautiously tried to stop her.
In response, she snapped irritably.
"Calm? How can I possibly be calm right now? I went to all the trouble of finding a famous exorcist, and yet, the damned seal ended up in the hands of that ridiculous brat—argh!"
"My lady!"
Madam Seok clutched the back of her neck.
Feeling her blood pressure spike, she closed her eyes against the dizziness.
In truth, among the Mok family's children, she had always been wary of the cunning second son and the beloved youngest child, but she had completely disregarded the third son, Mok Kyung-un.
He had no real talent for martial arts, and his mother's side of the family had long since fallen into ruin.
There was no reason to pay him any mind.
Who could have predicted that the one she had dismissed would turn out to be such a hidden threat?
-Grit!
Madam Seok ground her teeth.
She had never imagined that he would use the clan leader's seal to strike a bargain.
She had thought that a little intimidation would be enough to make him hand it over.
'...Was he always like this?'
The Mok Kyung-un she had known had never shown such cunning.
If anything, he had been cowardly and timid.
There were many stories to that effect.
'Was he hiding his true nature all this time?'
Come to think of it, before his mother died, there had been talk that he was actually quite sharp-witted, if not exceptionally talented.
'Maybe after that, he acted weak to protect himself.'
If that was the case, he might actually be even more dangerous now.
He had drawn a clear line, claiming he wasn't interested in the clan leader's seat, but those who knew how to hide their true selves and had great patience were often the most terrifying.
'And that power...'
That strange power still gnawed at her mind.
The image of Sohwa, the maid, flashed across her memory—her veins bulging as if about to burst, right before she collapsed.
It had reminded her of Myoshin, the exorcist, when he died.
Their conditions had been eerily similar.
Which meant—
"…Mok Kyung-un must have been the one who killed Myoshin."
"You mean that brat, Mok Kyung-un?" asked Hoaeng.
"Yes."
It fit together too perfectly.
There was no way a renowned exorcist like Myoshin could have been possessed and gone berserk on his own.
It had to be Mok Kyung-un's doing.
Fueled by Madam Seok's certainty, Hoaeng became furious.
"How dare he kill someone summoned by you, my lady? Please leave this to me. Before he can use any of his sorcery, I'll make sure he disappears without a trace—"
"Enough."
"But, my lady—"
"If something were to go wrong and the clan leader's seal ended up in the hands of Second Young Master Mok Eun-pyeong or the youngest, Mok Yoo-cheon, then my son would have to bear the consequences."
"But to let him lead us by the nose like this..."
"Who said anything about being led?"
"...Pardon?"
Madam Seok went over to a display cabinet and retrieved something.
It was a small jade bead, carved with intricate patterns.
She handed it to Hoaeng.
"This is...?"
"Take this to the Ghost Shadow Pavilion of Mongseong and inform the pavilion master that Exorcist Myoshin was murdered."
"Ah!"
Realizing her intention, Hoaeng nodded deeply.
The Ghost Shadow Pavilion (Gwiyeonggak)—
It was the organization to which the late Myoshin had belonged.
-Slap!
Guard Captain Gam struck Guard Kochan across the face, turning his head sharply to the side.
Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Captain Gam stared at him.
"Tsk, tsk. Was it really that hard to keep an eye on one brat?"
"I... I'm sorry."
"I even said you could use force if necessary. And yet you brought him into the main hall? Are you out of your mind?"
Unable to respond to the scolding, Kochan lowered his head.
Honestly, he wanted to spill everything about what had happened while he was away.
At first, he intended to do just that.
But now, he hesitated.
'...Why do I feel so uneasy about this?'
If it were purely based on martial arts, his senior could easily take care of that brat whenever he wanted.
But after experiencing the fake Mok Kyung-un, fear had taken root.
It wasn't just the poison in his blood or his bizarre sorcery that unsettled them—what was more disturbing was that he didn't even feel human.
It seemed obvious that making an enemy of him would lead to a disastrous end.
'Damn it.'
How had it come to this?
At first, when they found someone suitable to act as Mok Kyung-un's stand-in, it had seemed like good news.
Now, they were stuck having to do whatever that impostor ordered.
[I trust you to keep your mouth shut.]
'...'
Those words weighed heavily on him.
Even though the brat should have been too far away outside the Medicine Hall to hear them, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
It was a strange, eerie sensation.
Why did it feel this way?
While he was caught up in this odd feeling, Guard Captain Gam clicked his tongue and said,
"If that brat roams around sniffing into things one more time, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."
"...His thigh was pierced through. It'll be hard for him to walk around for a while anyway."
"Whether it's his thigh or whatever, just make sure he doesn't attract attention."
"Understood."
"At least you're sure the Matriarch didn't catch on?"
"Yes, absolutely. I was right beside him the whole time. But... the Matriarch's mood soured because he dropped by the main hall."
'To be more precise, it was because he held a bargaining chip over her.'
Kochan's mouth went dry.
He wasn't even sure whose side he was on anymore.
Imagine having to hide half the truth from the very senior he was supposed to report to.
"Tsk, tsk."
Guard Captain Gam shook his head.
That brat was clearly not suitable for a stand-in.
He had realized it when they killed the real Mok Kyung-un, but the longer time went on, the more uncontrollable the fake would become.
'I'll have to act quickly.'
If the fake was already this hard to control even after a warning, things could spiral out of control later.
He needed to make a swift decision on who to switch to.
"Don't take your eyes off him, not even for a second."
"Won't you personally warn him?"
"There are too many eyes around."
Inside the Medicine Hall, there were pharmacists and servants.
Though they were mere servants, as guards, they couldn't arbitrarily meddle or command them.
Even if he was a fake, they couldn't scold him recklessly in front of others.
Besides—
'He's clever. There's no benefit in exchanging too many words with him.'
It was better to keep him in the dark about how things were moving.
That way, if they needed to replace him later, it would be much easier.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the conversation happening outside, Mok Kyung-un leaned back comfortably, flipping through a book.
The book was Jaejaryak (A Summary of the Hundred Schools), specifically the Original Text of the Yin-Yang School.
As he flipped through the pages, a certain passage caught his eye.
"When the dead become vengeful spirits and turn into monsters, their 'grade' varies depending on several conditions."
The Original Text of the Yin-Yang School contained surprisingly detailed information about monsters.
According to it, the Magician Monk (Maseung) could be classified as a kind of vengeful ghost or spirit that had turned into a monster.
"A low-grade and weak spirit remains a jibakryeong (earthbound spirit), able to only slightly stimulate the sixth sense of the living."
Hmph.
According to the book, spirits were divided into seven grades.
Putting aside the specific conditions, the simple grade divisions were:
First, Chilly Spirit (Cheokryeong )... an earthbound spirit that only causes goosebumps or a slight chill in living beings.
Second, Red Spirit (Juryung )... one that can possess a person, making their body feel heavy or causing them to fall ill with something like a severe cold.
Third, Yellow Spirit (Hwangryeong )... from this level onward, spirits are dangerous enough to warrant exorcism.
At the Yellow Spirit grade, the spirit's influence could escalate from merely weakening a person to actually leading them to death.
'...By grade, that would make the Magician Monk a Yellow Spirit.'
Even within the Yellow Spirit category, there were three sub-levels based on danger:
Lower level: able to manifest and directly instill fear in humans.
Middle level: able to inflict direct physical pain on the living.
Upper level: able to kill the possessed host.
-Ssshhh...!
At that moment, like smoke slipping through the wall near the entrance of the Medicine Hall, someone appeared.
It was the Magician Monk.
Mok Kyung-un hadn't realized it before, but it seemed the Magician Monk was quite a high-grade monster.
'So that's what it means to influence the living.'
Now he understood why the Magician Monk hadn't been able to touch the corpse of Exorcist Myoshin.
It was because the body was already dead.
Since a dead body ultimately had no life, it couldn't be affected.
'I see.'
But there were things he learned that weren't written in the Original Text of the Yin-Yang School.
He had used Ma Seung to target the Grand Madam, Lady Seok.
Yet Lady Seok had immediately sensed Ma Seung's slightest touch and pushed herself away.
'They said that woman was a first-class master, right?'
In contrast, the Grand Madam's maid hadn't even noticed when Ma Seung directly threatened her life and was helplessly attacked.
What accounted for the difference between them?
Was it simply because the maid hadn't learned martial arts?
'Could it be that monsters can't affect those who have trained in martial arts?'
There was no mention of that point in the Original Text of the Yin-Yang School.
-Creak!
At that moment, Guard Kochan opened the door and stepped into the Medicine Hall.
Seeing him, Mok Kyung-un quietly curled up the corners of his lips and muttered,
"A perfect test subject."
"Huh?"
Kochan questioned, unsure if he had heard right.
"Oh, I wasn't talking to you, Guard Kochan. Now, could you raise your arm lightly?"
"What are you—?"
It was at that moment.
-Flinch!
Kochan suddenly felt a chilling sensation run over his entire body.
It wasn't something that could be explained by the five senses—it was something stranger, beyond normal physical perception.
-Thud!
"W-what?"
Kochan's arm suddenly started lifting against his will.
'What the—!?'
Startled, Kochan circulated his internal energy to resist.
Though he trembled, struggling to hold his arm down, he couldn't last long; his arm was forcefully raised against his will.
'What is this...?'
Kochan was utterly bewildered.
But he quickly realized what was causing it.
"Y-Young Master?"
At that, Mok Kyung-un lightly waved his hand.
As if someone had released their grip, Kochan's forcibly raised arm dropped back down.
Though the arm was now lowered, Kochan, still badly shaken, turned to Mok Kyung-un and demanded,
"What... What on earth did you just do?"
"I just needed to confirm something."
"Confirm something?"
"Yes."
"Then why use me—"
"You were just perfect for it. Aren't you considered a second-rate martial artist, Guard Kochan?"
"That's correct, but... What exactly were you trying to confirm—"
"You don't need to know."
"..."
Of course, there was no way this brat would explain things nicely.
With a deeply unsettled expression, Kochan stood stiffly in front of the bed.
'Damn bastard.'
For a moment, he even considered whether it would've been better to confess everything to Senior Guard Gam.
Meanwhile, Mok Kyung-un, as if satisfied with his findings, nodded to himself.
'It works on someone of Kochan's level.'
When Ma Seung had grabbed Kochan's wrist, Kochan immediately sensed it.
Thanks to his training in internal energy, his senses were sharper than ordinary people's.
He had resisted a little but ultimately couldn't overcome Ma Seung's power.
'So... Ma Seung can affect ordinary people and even second-rate warriors quite reliably.'
That was the stable standard.
Although it wasn't fully verified yet, it was possible that Ma Seung's power, as a Yellow Spirit-level monster, wouldn't have much effect on a first-rate master.
If that were true, it would be a little disappointing.
'Well, even so, it's still very useful.'
Ma Seung, as a monster, was highly versatile.
He could be used for surveillance at close range—as he had just now, by eavesdropping on Kochan and Guard Gam's conversation—or sent ahead to scout out blocked or inaccessible areas.
How useful he was!
As Mok Kyung-un continued reading the next passages of the Original Text of the Yin-Yang School, that thought crossed his mind.
'It might not be a bad idea to acquire an even stronger monster.'
The fourth level was Green Spirit (Nokryeong )... Extremely dangerous. Exorcism is absolutely necessary.
Spirits that have existed for decades could affect surrounding objects and create hallucinations, confusing the living.