Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 168 – Variables (4)

-You can’t mean…?

“Yes. We had sex.”

‘!!!!!!’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s blunt expression, Cheong-ryeong’s face stiffened.

She thought this guy was a stone-like fellow who had no interest in such relationships between men and women, but she never expected such words to come out of his mouth.

Although she had become a wandering soul, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

But when she suddenly thought of it, Cheong-ryeong’s face turned red, and her expression distorted.

‘…Wait, that mortal wench resembles me.’

At this, Cheong-ryeong couldn’t hide her perplexity.

Although their auras were different, if one only looked at their appearances, she and Wi So-yeon resembled each other so much that they could be mistaken for sisters or twins.

Yet, knowing that, he still had sex with her?

For a moment, Cheong-ryeong imagined herself in Wi So-yeon’s place.

Because of that,

-You! You! You’re really going off the rails.

“What?”

-That mortal wench resembles me…

Cheong-ryeong couldn’t finish her sentence.

She wanted to confront him, asking if he had relations with her knowing she resembled herself, but she became too embarrassed to continue.

‘This, this guy is really…’

Was he asking because he didn’t know why she was acting like this?

It would have been fine if she didn’t resemble her.

But seeing that mortal wench reminded her of herself, and the fact that he had relations with her made her feel not only embarrassed but also icky and strange.

Could it be that this guy was thinking of her while sleeping with that wench?

She thought to herself.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un spoke.

“Hmm. I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but there doesn’t seem to be any particular problem. If there is, it would be better to handle it beforehand.”

-…

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Cheong-ryeong furrowed her brows.

Was she making a fuss all by herself?

Judging from his attitude, he seemed as cold as usual, no different from any other matter.

Did that mean he truly had no feelings or ulterior motives when he slept with that mortal wench Wi So-yeon, who resembled her?

‘…Is it even stranger to expect such emotions from him in the first place?’

Come to think of it, Mok Gyeong-un rarely expressed any emotions other than the murderous obsession to find the culprit who killed his grandfather.

Even his smiling face was merely a false emotion to make others feel at ease and let their guard down.

The only time he showed a genuine smile was when he saw blood.

Considering that, he must have had relations with her for a purpose, nothing more, nothing less.

In the first place, it was questionable whether he had any desire for the opposite sex.

‘Well, if that’s the case, I don’t need to…’

No, it still bothers me.

It keeps nagging at me.

After becoming a wandering soul, she thought all emotions except the desire to resolve her grudge had disappeared, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Rather than not knowing, it was inevitable to feel bothered and icky once she found out.

However, since he was nonchalant about it, she felt awkward bringing it up further, fearing that she would look strange if she made a fuss alone.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un approached her and pointed at something, saying,

“But what is that?”

-That?

“Yes. No matter how I look at it, the portrait painted on that scroll looks like you, Cheong-ryeong.”

-…

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Cheong-ryeong closed her mouth.

She had a feeling he would ask about herself in that scroll anyway.

‘I should have torn it apart.’

She had considered doing that, fearing that he would become curious.

However, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

That was the last trace of herself left in this world, and that person…

Then, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said,

“Wearing a red and elegant bridal dress with a golden crown, you look just like a blooming peony flower. Did you have a wedding ceremony or something?”

‘!?’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Cheong-ryeong’s eyes trembled.

[You look like a single red peony flower.]

A voice rippling through her mind.

That voice, which had become faint as a hundred years had passed, came to mind.

She slowly looked at Mok Gyeong-un.

What a coincidence.

To think she would hear those words again through this mortal fellow.

It was so nostalgic that it felt truly distant.

‘Hm?’

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes twinkled with interest.

He couldn’t help but be puzzled by Cheong-ryeong’s distant expression, which he had never seen before.

Could there be a story related to this scroll painting?

Seeing her make such a face, he couldn’t ask any more about the portrait of her wearing a bridal dress.

But then, something caught Mok Gyeong-un’s eye.

‘!?’

It was the incense burner in front of the old altar.

The shrine was covered in dust and filled with cobwebs, looking like a place no one visited.

However, the only clean things inside the shrine were that scroll portrait and this incense burner.

The traces of incense sticks in the incense burner.

And only the floor in front of it was not covered in dust.

‘Is someone visiting this place regularly?’

Otherwise, there was no way only that spot would be like that.

In this old shrine, there was a scroll portrait presumed to be of Cheong-ryeong, and someone was visiting it regularly…

Could they be Cheong-ryeong’s blood relatives or acquaintances?

It was at that very moment.

-Startled!

Mok Gyeong-un looked in a certain direction.

Then, he quickly took out the wooden puppet from his bosom and sent a hurried telepathic message to Cheong-ryeong.

-Cheong-ryeong!

-I sensed it too.

She had sensed it almost at the same time as Mok Gyeong-un.

Although it was a very faint energy, it was almost identical to the vibration of that curse power.

That meant the owner of this curse power had come very close.

Mok Gyeong-un formed a hand seal and chanted a small incantation.

Then, Cheong-ryeong’s body transformed into smoke and seeped into the wooden puppet Mok Gyeong-un was holding.

-Sizzle!

After sealing Cheong-ryeong inside the wooden puppet, Mok Gyeong-un put it back into his bosom.

Then, he hesitated as he was about to go outside.

He sensed that the faint curse power was felt outside the shrine’s door.

‘Fast.’

So, he tried to hide his presence by using his movement technique to fly to the ceiling.

It was at that very moment.

-Whoosh!

Suddenly, the surroundings were engulfed in dark shadows, and Mok Gyeong-un’s figure, who was about to kick off the ground, froze in that state.

‘!?’

What the hell was this?

It was such a strange phenomenon.

His body was frozen in this posture, trying to leap up, and wouldn’t move.

His entire body felt as if it were paralyzed, and he couldn’t feel any sensations at all, which was something he had never experienced before.

He had to hide his presence right away, but what was going on?

As he was puzzled,

-Creak!

The door opened, and someone entered.

Although the shrine was shrouded in darkness, Mok Gyeong-un could see clearly.

It was a man who appeared to be in his early to mid-forties, wearing a gray martial arts uniform with a yin-yang symbol.

Despite his somewhat ordinary-looking appearance, Mok Gyeong-un could tell that he was from the Primal Killing Pavilion due to the diviner attire he was wearing.

‘Exorcism technique?’

Then, was his body freezing also due to an exorcism technique?

If that was the case, it was truly astonishing.

What kind of exorcism technique was this?

All five senses and sensations were completely numb, and only his consciousness was intact.

-Mortal? Mortal? What’s wrong with you?

Cheong-ryeong also urgently asked about the strange phenomenon that had befallen Mok Gyeong-un.

However, even though his consciousness was intact, he couldn’t move his entire body, so Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t respond to her words.

Why the hell couldn’t he move his body?

-Thump thump!

The sound of footsteps approached along with the diviner.

Seeing the diviner like this, Mok Gyeong-un thought that this technique, whatever it was, was more dangerous than anything he had known before.

A technique that could stop everything except consciousness, what kind of absurd technique was this?

Wasn’t it a method that could kill anyone if one wanted to?

-Mortal! Mortal!

Cheong-ryeong’s voice rang out loudly.

Thinking that Mok Gyeong-un’s condition was dangerous, she was contemplating whether to break the wooden puppet and come out right away.

-Damn it!

As the diviner approached within ten steps, she finally decided to break the wooden puppet and come out.

At this rate, they would be caught with their eyes open.

-Crack!

As Cheong-ryeong unleashed her demonic power to break the wooden puppet, it cracked.

It was at that very moment.

-Stop!

-Huh? You?

Cheong-ryeong, who was about to break the wooden puppet and come out, stopped.

-Mortal, are you alright?

-Yes. Suddenly, all my senses have returned.

For some reason, the moment Cheong-ryeong cracked the wooden puppet to come out, all the sensations in his body returned.

But then, an even stranger thing happened.

The moment his senses returned, the approaching diviner disappeared.

It wasn’t in the sense that he ‘moved quickly.’

He suddenly vanished from sight as if he had never been there in the first place.

It was as if he ‘became unrecognizable.’

-What?

-…What the hell is this?

He had clearly sensed the curse power beyond the shrine door.

And didn’t he walk right up to him?

But he suddenly disappeared.

Since his senses had been frozen, it was difficult to even grasp the presence or absence of energy as he disappeared without a trace right in front of him.

-We need to get out of here for now.

-I agree. Hurry.

Whether it was a technique or something else, if they couldn’t accurately comprehend it, there was no way to confront it.

The only answer was to unconditionally leave this place.

-Pat!

Mok Gyeong-un immediately flew out.

***

At the same time.

-Drip!

Blood flowed down the forehead of Cho Tae-cheong, who was sitting on the roof of a high tower, forming a sword finger seal.

At the same time, Cho Tae-cheong furrowed his brows with an incredulous look.

What the hell was going on?

The Time-Space All Deception Technique, an advanced forbidden technique that wouldn’t be undone unless the caster released it, suddenly broke apart, despite having some limitations.

Fortunately, since he hadn’t touched anything alive during the technique, the repercussions were minor.

However, this was an unexpected variable.

‘That guy… What the hell is he?’

This was the first time… No, it wasn’t the first time a forbidden technique had broken midway, but the situation was completely different from back then.

That monster had transcended the realm of humans, making it possible.

But the boy who was in the darkness that he had seen through the Time-Space All Deception Technique just now.

It was too dark to see clearly even from ten steps away, but at a glance, he was a young lad who hadn’t even reached adulthood, around 17-18 years old.

There was no way such a young lad could have done anything.

In the first place, from the moment he was caught in the Time-Space All Deception Technique, he couldn’t do anything.

Then, Cho Tae-cheong’s expression distorted, and his face changed.

Then, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Don’t be overconfident just because it’s a forbidden technique. There is no perfect technique in this world.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Cho Tae-cheong’s face returned to normal.

Then,

“I know that much. But this technique doesn’t include living beings as subjects of recognition. You know that too, don’t you? Wait a minute… Could it be?”

-Crack! Crack!

Cho Tae-cheong, who distorted his expression again, spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Kehehehe. You found the answer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Cho Tae-cheong’s face returned to its original state, and the corners of his mouth curled up bitterly.

“I see.”

The high-level wandering soul that had been sweeping through the inner city of the Heaven and Earth Society.

The location he had predicted while estimating the path of the spiritual power that had shaken off the two servant spirit was none other than that old shrine.

He was already curious about what it was trying to hide.

But with this, it seemed he had found the answer.

***

Meanwhile, Mok Gyeong-un was heading somewhere quickly.

Cheong-ryeong asked him,

-Where are you going? For now, let’s return to Shadow Clan and…

-No. We need to hurry before that.

-What do you mean? That diviner fellow who used that strange and unknown technique will be desperate to find you and me, so we should lay low until we come up with a countermeasure…

-That’s why I think we need to hurry even more.

-What?

-I also saw his face, but he briefly saw my face too. It won’t take him long to find me.

-You can’t mean…?

-If I can kill him, I should.

Murderous intent flickered in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes as he spoke those words.

The place Mok Gyeong-un was heading to was none other than the vicinity of the high tower where the Primal Killing Pavilion’s estate was located.