Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 257 – The Mark (4)

Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon’s heart felt refreshed.

At this moment, he was filled with more ecstasy than anyone else.

However, he soon returned to reality.

It was because Mok Gyeong-un, wearing the human skin mask of Eunuch Ho,the supervisor of the Western Depot, was pushing his opponent into a corner without leaving any room for escape, and he wondered how exactly he planned to handle the situation.

‘If he pushes like this, that person behind this man might kill me with the Gu poison.’

This was as clear as day.

He wasn’t even going to immediately remove the Gu poison in his body, so what was he planning to do?

As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un said.

“If you don’t want to lose your remaining eye and ear, you should start giving the answers I want.”

“…….”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-men Commander hesitated with trembling eyes.

He couldn’t tell if the person in front of him was the real supervisor of the Western Depot or not.

However, one thing was certain: he was stronger than him and seemed to know a lot.

‘What should I do?’

In fact, there was one predetermined guideline in this situation.

[Thousand-men Commander Woo. What should you do if you get caught in an unexpected situation?]

[I won’t create a situation for you to worry about. I’m much more tight-lipped than I look.]

[Anyone can say that. But this old man wants something definite.]

[……. What does Your Excellency want me to do?]

[It’s nothing much. I’d like you to always keep this between your teeth.]

[What’s that?]

The bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-men Commander had a small poison pill in his upper right molar.

This poison pill contained a very small but vicious type of acid that could instantly burn the tongue, throat, and esophagus, and was strong enough to melt all the internal organs.

It was safe to say that the moment it touched the tongue, one would lose their life before counting to ten.

-Tremble tremble!

The bearded Thousand-men Commander’s hand trembled violently.

He had to follow the guidelines, but how many people could end their own lives without hesitation?

No matter how much training one received, it was bound to be frightening.

“Huu…. huu…. huu….”

‘I have to do it. I must do it.’

Otherwise, he would continue to be tortured by this person.

Just as he was trying to control his mind as his breathing became increasingly rough…

“Your breathing is out of control, and your pupils keep trembling, as if you’re about to make an important decision. Moreover, in the midst of that, your tongue in your mouth keeps moving towards your upper left molar, enough to feel uncomfortable.”

“What?”

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un brought his face close to his mouth.

Then, he sniffed and raised the corners of his mouth coldly.

Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon, who was watching from behind, wondered why he was doing that, but…

“To contain a strong acidic poison, you need an extremely tough stomach lining and special medicinal treatment. That smell is coming from your mouth. Hmm. I’ve heard of the method of putting a poison pill between the teeth like that, but it’s my first time seeing it.”

‘!?’

At those words, the bearded Thousand-men Commander’s right eye widened.

What the hell was this bastard?

He was already filled with fear, unable to go through with it, but now that the existence of the poison pill had been discovered, he couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

-Swish!

At that moment, Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon’s figure blurred and suddenly appeared behind the bearded Thousand-men Commander.

-Thud!

“Urgh.”

The Ma Ra-hyeon who appeared behind him grabbed his cheeks with his hands, pulled his lower jaw, and made him tilt his head back.

Seeing his mouth forced open, Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes widened.

There really was something that looked like a poison pill in his upper right molar.

‘Meticulous.’

Ma Ra-hyeon inwardly clicked his tongue.

He had thought this person was a close confidant of that person, but even such a person had taken measures to be killed or die at any time.

As he was clicking his tongue like that, Ma Ra-hyeon tried to put his finger inside the mouth.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un stopped him.

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“Just leave him be.”

“……. Leave him be? What if he bites the poison pill and kills himself while doing that?”

Then they wouldn’t be able to find out anything, and if he died here in the Sixth Office of Selection, it would become even more difficult to handle the situation.

However, Mok Gyeong-un nonchalantly said.

“If he does, then so be it.”

“No. How can you say that……”

“First, take your hands off. How can he speak if you’re holding his jaw like that?”

“…….”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes showed that he couldn’t understand at all.

If he had a poison pill between his teeth, he would definitely kill himself.

But Mok Gyeong-un’s attitude was as if it didn’t matter at all.

He wanted to remove the poison pill right away, but Ma Ra-hyeon eventually let go of his jaw and stepped back.

The bearded Thousand-men Commander’s mind became complicated as his jaw was open and drool was dripping.

Inwardly, he had a strong desire for them to forcibly remove the poison pill.

‘Damn it.’

Then at least he would have had the excuse that it wasn’t his own will, but he felt even more regretful.

However, apart from this, he felt a glimmer of hope.

Since they had seen that he had a poison pill, he thought they wouldn’t continue to torture him and strongly push him into a corner.

Meanwhile, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said.

“Now, bite the poison pill and die.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

Instantly, the bearded Thousand-men Commander’s expression froze.

“Wasn’t that what you had in your mouth in case you needed to kill yourself?”

“…….”

It was a valid point, but he was dumbfounded that his opponent was urging him to die without even extracting any information.

Meanwhile, Mok Gyeong-un continued.

“Since someone with such strong determination that they even have a poison pill in their mouth won’t answer my questions, I need to shorten the time. Hurry up and kill yourself.”

‘Huh?’

The bearded Thousand-men Commander was at a loss for words.

This wasn’t what he expected.

It was going in a completely different direction than what he had anticipated.

As he was feeling bewildered, Mok Gyeong-un, as if not minding it at all, whispered into his ear with a smiling face.

“If you kill yourself, I’ll make one promise to you. If I find your relatives, blood kin, and those related to you, I’ll send them to your side without leaving a single one behind.”

‘!!!!!!!!’

As soon as those words ended, the bearded Thousand-men Commander’s face turned deathly pale.

With the face of Eunuch Ho,the supervisor of the Western Depot, he was smiling as if he was excited just thinking about it, his mouth stretched to his ears, and he couldn’t bear the goosebumps all over his body.

***

A moment later.

The bearded Thousand-men Commander was unconscious, and in Mok Gyeong-un’s hand was the poison pill pouch that had been in his molar.

Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon, who was looking at this, inwardly clicked his tongue.

As an investigative department, he had also interrogated opponents in numerous ways.

But this bastard Mok Gyeong-un had driven his opponent to the edge of a cliff in a completely unexpected direction.

It was as if he knew exactly what would make his opponent terrified.

“So Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon was to become the trigger for a conflict between the Second Prince and Imperial Consort Seo.”

“……. Yes.”

The order the bearded Thousand-men Commander had received was that.

Ma Ra-hyeon was to wear the human skin mask of Junior Eunuch Jang, an eunuch from the Eastern Depot who could be considered a close associate of Imperial Consort Seo, and target the life of the Second Prince, Prince Jong.

It wasn’t to actually kill him but to trigger a war between them.

“With the Gu poison in your stomach, it must be frustrating to just suffer.”

“Just suffer?”

“Isn’t that so?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Ma Ra-hyeon snorted and went somewhere inside the office.

Then, he opened the door of a safe with his name on it and took something out.

It was none other than another human skin mask case.

Ma Ra-hyeon opened its lid.

-Click!

“Oh-ho.”

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flickered with surprise.

That was because inside was a face identical to the human skin mask the bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-men Commander had brought, the face of Junior Eunuch Jang, the eunuch from the Eastern Depot.

“You had your own plan.”

“It’s not the best plan. Because it requires me to risk my life.”

“Well, that’s true.”

The additional human skin mask he had made would serve as another piece of evidence in case the person who had orchestrated this removed the human skin mask used in the incident.

However, the moment he presented this as evidence, that person would end Ma Ra-hyeon’s life with the Gu poison.

In the end, the human skin mask Ma Ra-hyeon had prepared was a move of mutual destruction.

Ma Ra-hyeon, who was looking at Mok Gyeong-un, cautiously opened his lips.

“If I didn’t have a weakness, I could file a request for confinement to the Sixth Office of Selection with just this person’s status and the evidence.”

“And?”

“I have no intention of interfering with your work or betraying you. If you tell me to sign and write a document, I can do it and even swear an oath.”

“So you’re asking me to remove the Gu poison, right?”

“…….. Yes.”

“But what should we do? I’m a bit timid and cautious.”

“You!”

Ma Ra-hyeon raised his voice but suppressed it.

What did he mean by being timid?

Wasn’t it simply because he couldn’t fully trust him?

Ma Ra-hyeon spoke to Mok Gyeong-un in a barely suppressed voice.

“Then what are you planning to do? Even if you continue to detain this person, his confidant, that person will become suspicious, and if you let him go, the result is obvious. Do you want me to die like this?”

“How could that be?”

“Then do you have any plan?”

“You’re asking as if I have a bundle of solutions.”

“Haa…….”

Ma Ra-hyeon let out a sigh.

Since he was in a disadvantageous position, it was difficult for him to even get angry when Mok Gyeong-un spoke like this.

If it came to this, it might be better to engage in mutual destruction with the bastard before the situation became uncontrollable.

Just as he was having such extreme thoughts…

Mok Gyeong-un suddenly got up from his seat and handed the poison pill he was holding to Ma Ra-hyeon.

“Why this?”

“Keep it with you. I’m going, so.”

“Going? You’re just going to leave after causing this mess……”

“I never said I was just leaving.”

“What?”

“I’m going to meet the person who caused trouble for you and have a talk with him.”

‘!?’

At those words, Ma Ra-hyeon, who was about to grab Mok Gyeong-un, hesitated.

Sang Ik-seo, the 4th-rank Embroidered Uniform Guard Associate Military Commissioner.

If the two Norther and Southern Pacification Commissioners, were the pinnacle in charge of the actual affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, above them were the Associate Military Commissioner, Deputy Military Commissioner and the Military Commissioner, who held command authority.

Here, Sang Ik-seo, who held the position of Associate Military Commissioner, was the third-highest figure in the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the very person who had implanted the parasitic Gu poison into Ma Ra-hyeon’s stomach.

‘What the hell is this bastard thinking?’

He suddenly said he was going to meet Associate Military Commissioner Sang Ik-seo, so it was difficult to discern Mok Gyeong-un’s intentions.

Thus, he was about to ask the reason for it, but…

“What are you going to do by meeting him……”

-Swish!

But before he could even ask, Mok Gyeong-un’s figure blurred and disappeared.

“Damn it!”

He was truly doing as he pleased.

At this, Ma Ra-hyeon couldn’t hide his predicament.

It was clear that Mok Gyeong-un wasn’t just going to meet that person, but intended to do something.

However, there was a huge problem here.

Although he knew Mok Gyeong-un’s martial arts were exceptional, beside Associate Military Commissioner Sang Ik-seo was a master of unknown identity who had defeated him in just a few moves.