<Episode 78: Entangled (5)>
Mok Gyeong-un who was puzzled by the nine-blooded six-blooded and six-blooded Dan Baek-ha suddenly showing courtesy asked.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
In response to that question Dambaek Ha raised his head and said to Mok Gyeong-un.
“Please forgive my rudeness so far. “Dambaekha a member of the six-blooded religion offers formal greetings to your disciple.”
It was a bit awkward but proper manners were observed.
But it wasn’t just her.
Six Heavenly Lake So Ye-rin who hesitated for a moment soon bowed with both hands together and bowed to Mo Kyung-un politely although not like Dambaek-ha.
-Sigh!
“Hmm. “I don’t understand at all.”
When Mok Gyeong-un looked puzzled Dambaekha answered.
“Even though our school values strong self-respect we cannot ignore that distribution.”
“Distribution?”
“yes. “If it was the elder himself who taught us martial arts rather than anyone else he would be the most famous person in our school.”
“Laughing?”
Hearing these words Mok Kyung-un tilted his head.
It’s not that he didn’t know about etiquette but Mok Gyeong-un didn’t know much about the rules or laws that were widely known in the rivers and lakes.
As a result this turned out to be very complicated contrary to Mok Gyeong-un’s intentions.
Just because he was a martial artist did not mean he did not know courtesy.
Regardless of political status the martial arts people also formed a group and inherited their martial arts so at times they placed more emphasis on etiquette.
This could be said to be such a case.
‘hmm.’
The old man holding a bamboo fishing rod in the heavy rain that Mo Kyung-un encountered.
Contrary to his shabby appearance everything starting with martial arts was unusual.
But how long has he been living and what is it that a person from Gumurim treats such an old man so respectfully?
Mok Gyeong-un asked this.
“Who is that old man you mentioned that makes you say that he is the most smiling adult to me?”
At his words the six-blooded Dambaekha asked back with a puzzled look.
“Are you sure you don’t know who the old man is?”
“It’s not that I don’t know it’s that they didn’t tell me. “Anything other than enlightenment.”
“ah….”
Hearing Mo Gyeong-un’s words Dam Baek-ha looked at So Ye-rin.
So Ye-rin made a strange expression as if she felt the same way and she quickly nodded her head.
Then Dambaekha turned his head again and said.
“Didn’t the old man tell you anything?”
“yes. “They didn’t tell me in the end.”
“okay. “If that’s what you mean I can’t tell you either.”
“yes?”
“It’s just like I said. “It must have meant a lot to you that you did not reveal your identity to Confucius.”
“Is there any reason not to announce it?”
Mo Kyung-un said as if he did not understand.
Then Dambaekha spoke carefully.
“The elder must have some intention in not revealing this to Confucius.”
“meaning? “Do you have any guesses?”
“You already left Gangho a long time ago.”
“Does leaving mean retirement?”
“yes. That would also mean something like that. The old man turned his back on Kang Ho for a really long time. That was when I was young and immature. “If that incident hadn’t happened he wouldn’t have shown up even more.”
“That incident?”
“…It is the day of the apocalypse.”
Mok Gyeong-un was curious about Dambaek-ha’s words so he asked.
“Now that I think about it when you two were talking earlier you said that the border of the martial arts world was divided on the day of the Great Disaster. Can you tell me what that is?”
“You mean the day of the great disaster…?”
“yes.”
In response to Mo Gyeong-un’s question Dam Baek-ha spoke with a sigh that was almost like a sigh.
“Well for Confucius’s generation and the martial arts people of Tanggeum it has become too much of the past. “The day of the apocalypse.”
“It must have been such a big event that it could be described as a catastrophe right?”
“Even those words are not enough. Because of that day many Jungwon people lost their lives and among them more than 80% of the Murim people died.”
“Would the martial arts people do it?”
It exceeds 80%.
It was literally said that most of the martial arts people had died.
What on earth happened that caused so many martial people to lose their lives?
Is it because of the dragon spirit that I talked about earlier which is either an imamangryang or a spirit creature?
“Did the spirit creature called the dragon ghost make it like that?”
“It’s not just the dragon ghost.”
“It sounds like there were other things that weren’t just dragon ghosts.”
“yes. “Because strange monsters and all kinds of spirits suddenly appeared all over the central plain and turned the entire central plain upside down.”
‘!?’
In one day at once countless monsters and all kinds of spirits turned the central plain upside down?
Mo Kyung-un frowned.
Is that possible?
That said
“It is said that even here in the Hwangdoin Gaebong a strange spirit creature called the Fire Kirin spewing lava-like flames appeared and massacred many people.”
In the middle So Ye-rin added helpfully.
“Fire giraffe? Did you catch that too?”
“I don’t know. I also looked at various records of the imperial palace and there was no record of the fire giraffe being caught or killed because it disappeared along the way. Anyway too many people died because of the apocalypse. Do you understand why the boundary between Gumurim and Hyeonmurim was created?”
Mok Gyeong-un said what he guessed from her words.
“Is it a matter of transmission?”
“yes. that’s right. As all the servants and masters of each sect died all the rewards were cut off. “There were not even people who could even read the whole sound so the basic martial arts system collapsed.”
“As you said as a result starting from the day of the great disaster the level of martial arts has deteriorated to the point where it cannot be compared to before. “It seems like I have recovered quite a bit while I was locked up here in the underground prison.”
Plain Ha clicked her tongue and said.
She was the only one who experienced the Nine Murim and its aftermath firsthand.
Then when she remembered that day she became even more upset.
Kyeong-un spoke to her stroking her chin.
“It’s strange. “Monsters and spirits that you may have seen at least once in your life suddenly came out from all over the central plains at once in one day and started a massacre… It deserves to be called a catastrophe but it was something….”
“Isn’t it strange?”
So Yerin intervened.
Mok Kyung-un nodded her head.
She was Mok Gyeong-un who had learned quite a bit about monsters by reading various books on magic including the Mountain Haegyeong.
Among the strange creatures that I came to know except for a very few there were virtually none that had group characteristics like humans or beasts.
However I did not understand why such monsters and spirits appeared in the world as if they had come together and caused such a catastrophe.
“like….”
“It seems intentional right?”
“…I see. It is known that the so-called imaemangryang do not have a group nature. Moreover I heard that it doesn’t deviate from the designated area very often.”
“Imaemangryang? I know that too… Ah!”
So Ye-rin who was puzzled by Mo Gyeong-un’s words suddenly remembered the battle from earlier.
This is the amazing smoke door created by Mok Gyeong-un.
It seemed that this man was not only skilled in martial arts but also in strange and mysterious magic.
So Ye-rin said as if everything went well.
“In fact the woodworker may be more expert in this area than us.”
“I learned just by scratching the surface.”
“It wasn’t the level of skill that could be dismissed as just scratching the surface. Anyway I wanted to ask someone who already knows a lot about monsters.”
Mok Kyung-un shrugged his shoulders at her words.
“I don’t know if I can give you an answer that will be of much help.”
“I’m just asking.”
“What is that?”
In response to Mok Gyeong-un’s question So Ye-rin opened her mouth with a meaningful look in her eyes.
“Confucius. Can such monsters and spirits called imaemangyang be artificially controlled and commit massacre?”
“…Because it was artificially controlled?”
“yes.”
Mokgyeongun’s eyes narrowed at her question.
Artificially controlling the so-called monsters of imaemangryang ultimately meant this.
‘Sikshin.’
The food spirit was a kite that could control these beings.
The stronger the ego the more difficult it is to control it but there were some swordsmen with excellent magical powers or magic skills who used monsters as food spirits.
Of course the higher its rank the stronger the monster’s ego becomes making it difficult to control it as a food spirit.
“If you look at the concept itself it is not impossible.”
“It’s not impossible?”
“yes. “If you just look at the concept.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s possible to manipulate but I don’t know if it’s possible to manipulate so many monsters at once like that.”
“?”
“In order to use a monster as a food spirit the continuous emission that is the caster’s main power must be at a certain level. The more power you have or the stronger your mental power the more likely you are to be able to subdue higher-ranked monsters but I know that it is usually difficult to subdue even one monster as a food spirit. In the first place a kite is like connecting soul to soul.”
“What do you mean?”
“Taking this into account it can be said that it is virtually impossible to artificially control the many strange creatures that have appeared throughout the central plains.”
“ah….”
A sigh flowed from So Ye-rin’s mouth at Mok Kyung-un’s conclusion.
She seemed disappointed perhaps because the answer was different from what she had expected.
Her neck guard raised her index finger and spoke to her.
“Well even so as So Yukcheonho said I can’t erase the feeling of artificiality.”
“But Confucius said you can’t control it?”
“There is a difference between controlling and creating a situation.”
“What does it mean to create a situation?”
“Even if you can’t control everything creating conditions that stimulate a monster and causing it to run wild seems to be a separate problem.”
Mok Gyeong-un had already seen it in the Cheonjihoe Sihyeolgok.
Although it is not a food spirit I have seen monsters handled through conditions.
It was the monster Galjeo (羯狙).
Originally when the sea turtles that live in the North Sea near Mt. Bukhosan were released into the mountains of Sihyeolgok they stirred up the place and killed numerous cadets.
“So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
“If you look at it that way there might be some possibility. Even more so since they said it happened almost simultaneously. but….”
“But what is it?”
“In order to unleash all kinds of strange monsters enough to encompass the entire central plain it would require a huge amount of manpower or practitioners who are well-versed in occult arts and strange things but considering that no clues have been found so far even after the great disaster occurred this is also very unlikely….. ..”
“Could this be a clue?”
At that time So Ye-rin interrupted Mo Gyeong-un.
Mo Gyeong-un looked puzzled and asked.
“proviso?”
“yes. “There is a clue that my father found.”
With those words So Ye-rin untied her golden belt and very carefully removed something attached to the inside.
It was a very old paper full of burn marks in various places.
She handed it over to Mo Kyung-un.
“This?”
“It’s a lot damaged but just straighten it out.”
At her words Mokgyeongun carefully unfolded the paper that seemed ready to crumble.
Mok Gyeong-un who was straightening his teeth had a strange look in his eyes.
As expected the burnt part had what looked like a red pattern drawn on it and underneath it
Think about it….
(Salary….)
The back part was burned.
‘…Rules.’
The front was lost only the stub was left and the pattern was at best only a part of the whole so it was unclear what kind of technique they were trying to use.
However this was definitely a magic spell.
“How did you find this?”
“It was my father who found it so I don’t know for sure. “The only place I found was Gaebong Imperial Capital.”
“The emperor?”
“yes. “My father said that he had been looking for clues and that he had found someone who had clues related to the Day of the Apocalypse.”
“Is this the clue?”
“yes.”
“okay. I’m sure this is a drinking method but most of the text is burnt out so I can’t tell exactly what it is. “Have you heard anything about this?”
“no. I think my father heard something from the person who gave him the clue. Maybe that’s why he said he would visit the governor in Gaebong and ask for advice.”
“iced coffee. “It seems like there were traces of magic even if it was just a little bit.”
“Yes but….”
“But?”
“My father was murdered that night when I visited the famous temple in Gaebong.”
‘!?’
“How could that happen!”
-Wow!
The six-blooded Danbaekha could not hold back his anger at her words.
It was anger that another of his blood descendants a peerless survivor lost his life in vain like this.
Mok Gyeong-un who was looking at So Ye-rin whose eyes were red as if she was remembering that day spoke in a dry voice.
“Did you find that radiation?”
“…no. I couldn’t find it. After my father was murdered I went there and found no one. Even all the radiation from the opening disappeared overnight.”
“All the warriors have disappeared?”
“yes.”
“Hmm.”
It was truly extraordinary.
Mok Gyeong-un looked at the burnt and damaged piece of paper that was the clue.
Then he asked:
“What happened to the person who gave this clue?”
“…I couldn’t find it.”
“yes?”
“At that time the only person I met who gave me a clue was my father. Because he didn’t know anything other than that he was in the ecliptic…”
“So he’s been looking for you this whole time?”
“that’s right.”
That was the reason why Yukcheonho So Yerin became the Geumwiwi.
This was a plan she came up with because if she became a gold rank she would have access to information on all residents in the ecliptic and Gaebong and would also have investigative powers.
She was trying her best to find clues.
‘Is this all?’
However Mok Gyeong-un who judged that this alone was not much of a clue seemed to have lost interest and tried to fold the clue paper that So Ye-rin had given him.
It was time to fold the paper once and then twice.
‘!?’
At that moment Mok Kyung-un stopped folding.
When I opened the paper there was something I couldn’t see because part of it was obscured.
There was something else engraved on the back of the damaged paper.
It’s none other than
‘Mark?’
A line in the middle of the two teeth was a mark that penetrated vertically.
