Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 211 – On the Boat (2)

Whoosh!

The rain was still a downpour itself.

Before boarding the boat, three men were gathered together.

They were Seop Chun, the Third Captain Commander of the Heaven and Earth Society’s main branch, Mong Mu-yak, the Deputy Commander and son of the Vice-Leader, and Ja Geum-jeong, the exiled monk and Demon Subduing Fist Master of Shaolin.

These three had gathered for a single reason.

And that was,

“I’ll be honest. Ja Geum-jeong. I can’t trust your oath of loyalty.”

It was because of the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong’s oath of loyalty.

The reason Mong Mu-yak was expressing his disapproval was simple.

It was due to Ja Geum-jeong’s background and notoriety.

He was a former monk of Shaolin, considered the root of the righteous martial world, and after becoming an exiled monk, he committed eccentric acts like a madman, regardless of right or wrong.

Could such a person really be trusted?

At Mong Mu-yak’s attitude, Ja Geum-jeong snorted and said,

“I don’t care if you bastards believe me or not.”

“What?”

“Even in a fucked-up situation, I always keep my word.”

At his words, Seop Chun clutched his stomach and laughed.

“Hahahaha! A fucked-up situation, you say. Are you saying swearing loyalty to our Lord is fucked up?”

“Did you think this drunkard would say he’s happy about it?”

Ja Geum-jeong was someone who never hid his own emotions.

At his words, Mong Mu-yak became even more wary, but on the other hand, Seop Chun, who originally had a hearty personality, rather liked it.

“You wouldn’t be happy, of course. You were caught in the Lord’s scheme and swore loyalty, so how could you feel good about it?”

“Hmph, you’re stating the obvious.”

“But Ja Geum-jeong, you’re also a man of honor, so whether you like it or not, I believe you’ll keep the oath you made yourself.”

“Stop emphasizing what this drunkard has said over and over. Even without you bastards nagging, I’ll protect that damn fellow until I die.”

Ja Geum-jeong had a temperament of not looking back once he decided on something.

So although he couldn’t contain his anger and lashed out at that moment, he was ultimately pressured by Mok Gyeong-un’s oppressive aura and swore loyalty.

In fact, there was a sentiment he couldn’t reveal even to them.

‘…It’s for Mun-hae, Master, and Shaolin.’

It was truly strange.

Ja Geum-jeong felt an odd fear from a fellow who hadn’t even reached his prime.

Even if not right now, if that bastard made up his mind, it seemed he would bring great harm not only to his friend, the monk Imun-hae, but also to Shaolin.

This was a premonition stemming from pure instinct.

Caught in this premonition, Ja Geum-jeong swore loyalty after receiving an agreement from Mok Gyeong-un that he would never touch them.

That moment was truly disheartening.

‘Did I leave Shaolin and live just to end up like this?’

That was the moment he thought so.

He was suddenly gripped by this thought.

‘…Lived to end up like this… Huh?’

There was something his master and Sutra Pavilion Master, Grand Monk Gong-jeon, always taught.

He said that everything has cause and effect and a natural course, and no matter how much one tries to escape it, one can only flow according to that natural course in the end.

Perhaps even him having these eyes and becoming an exiled monk was to face this moment.

‘Natural course.’

When he considered all of this to be the natural course, the afflictions in his heart disappeared.

Since he had already made up his mind to do it, regret and lingering attachment were all useless, and he just thought that if this was also the path he had to take, he would do his best.

Then Mong Mu-yak said to him,

“I’ll be watching.”

“No. This drunkard said he’ll do it, so who are you to say this and that…”

“Aaah. Please calm down. This friend originally talks like that.”

Seop Chun grinned and stopped Ja Geum-jeong.

At first, he was wary of him, who was called one of the Three Madmen, but after actually getting to know him, he thought he was honest rather than crazy and got along well with him.

Ja Geum-jeong also seemed to feel the same way, as he said,

“Still, you’re the only one who can be reasoned with.”

“Instead of ‘you, you,’ since it’s come to this, how about we introduce ourselves? My name is Seop Chun, and I’m twenty-nine years old. As you can see, I mainly use a sword. Mong Mu-yak, you do it too.”

“Introducing myself so embarrassingly…”

“We’ll have to be together to serve the Lord anyway, so are you going to act like that?”

At Seop Chun’s words, Mong Mu-yak shook his head and said briefly,

“Mong Mu-yak. Twenty-six years old, a swordsman.”

“There! Our introductions are roughly like this, so will you do it too?”

At these words, Ja Geum-jeong stared intently at Seop Chun.

In fact, he also didn’t particularly like introducing himself like this.

But since he had decided to serve Mok Gyeong-un as his lord and might have to be with them for life, it was awkward to just let it pass.

“Ahem, as you know, my name is Ja Geum-jeong, and I prefer the Strong Fist technique.”

“Why don’t you mention your age? Are you skipping it because you’re much older than us?”

At those words, Ja Geum-jeong frowned.

He had never told anyone his age since leaving Shaolin.

So he hesitated, wondering if he really had to say it, but eventually spoke.

“My age is… twenty-six.”

‘!!!!!!!!!’

As soon as those words ended, both Mong Mu-yak and Seop Chun were dumbfounded.

Based on his fierce face and the atmosphere he exuded alone, Ja Geum-jeong looked to be in his mid-forties.

But he’s in his twenties?

‘This kind of face is the same age as me?’

Mong Mu-yak made a dumbfounded expression.

Was he the only one who couldn’t fight the ravages of time and had his face wither away?

This kind of old face was the first he had ever seen.

The exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong glared at Mong Mu-yak and said,

“You bastard, I really don’t like the look in your eyes. Should I send you to Buddha’s side today?”

He was ready to strike him at any moment.

Seop Chun had to hurriedly stop him.

***

Rumble rumble rumble!

Through the rollers made of dozens of wooden pillars, the boat reached right in front of the river.

Originally, it would need to move a bit more to float the boat on the river, but since the water had been overflowing due to the downpour for a long time, it didn’t take that long to move it.

Everyone who needed to board the boat had already boarded.

“Slowly! It needs to move more slowly!”

“Yes!!!”

At the command of the resentful soul Ha-yoon, who was possessing the body of the captain Woo In-yeom, the retired naval soldiers moved in unison, and the bow of the boat entered the river.

Splash!

Certainly, because the boat was large, when the bow entered, the water surged upward.

But along with that, the boat that was moving forward started to tilt sideways with a creaking sound.

This was due to the tremendous current of the river swollen by the downpour.

“…Is this really possible to cross?”

Seop Chun, who had been watching this with excitement while standing at the front of the bow, grabbed the deck and clicked his tongue.

If this was the case with just the head of the boat entering, it was worrisome that the boat would be swept away and capsized as soon as the entire boat entered.

Then, as if the bow suddenly received strength, the tilted part started to straighten up.

“Huh?”

What was going on?

The current was still rough, but the boat was straightening up on its own.

That was because,

“Those things are…”

“Those things? Geum-jeong, what do you see?”

In Ja Geum-jeong’s eyes, numerous resentful souls were clinging to the side of the boat’s bow.

They were supporting the boat that was about to be swept away by the current.

It was a truly amazing sight.

With the boat’s performance itself and the help of this many resentful souls, it seemed there was a sufficient possibility of crossing the river.

After some time, the hull was completely in the water.

Creak! Creak!

The boat was rocking in the tremendous current, and it was a mess.

Everyone in Mok Gyeong-un’s party had learned martial arts, so they didn’t easily fall over, but they couldn’t help their bodies swaying.

It wouldn’t be strange if the boat capsized at any moment.

However, fortunately, numerous resentful souls were supporting this boat.

Wooooo!

Huuuuu!

Before boarding the boat, they had completely destroyed the main hall of the estate and held a memorial service for the resentful souls, so it might have been a kind of repayment for that.

Thanks to that, despite the rough current, the boat didn’t capsize and slowly moved forward.

Of course, to be precise, it was moving diagonally to match the current.

The resentful soul Ha-yoon, who was possessing the body of Woo In-yeom, tapped his head and said to Mok Gyeong-un,

“According to the experience and knowledge in this person’s head, it will take time to cross the river, but if we move like this, we can somehow cross it.”

“I see. Thank you for your efforts.”

“…”

Mok Gyeong-un smiled and bowed with his hands clasped to the resentful soul Ha-yoon.

There was a glint in Ha-yoon’s eyes as he watched that sight.

That was understandable because, in the first place, although they had fought, they had reached an agreement, so there was no need to argue, but this human was truly unique.

He was a resentful soul.

Even monks were afraid of or wary of someone like him, but this human was treating him normally.

Was it to look good because they had to safely cross the river?

‘No, no. It’s different.’

This person had no difference in the way he looked at the dead or the living.

It was as if he was looking directly at the existence itself.

A truly strange human indeed.

Was it because of this aspect that a high-ranking existence like her followed this human?

While he was lost in thought, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“If it’s not rude, may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Apart from your ill fate with the Woo family, reaching the Blue Spirit rank means you held a grudge lasting over a hundred years, so may I ask what that is?”

“…”

It was a question that was sufficiently rude.

If he was with a high-ranking resentful soul and had such excellent monastic technique skills, he should know well what a grudge meant to a resentful soul.

However, Mok Gyeong-un was staring intently as if he was genuinely curious.

As if it was pure curiosity.

“…”

He could have just ignored it, but since there was no point in making an enemy with someone like this anyway, the resentful soul Ha-yoon finally opened his mouth.

“I couldn’t protect.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t protect?”

“I couldn’t protect the one I had to protect at all costs.”

“Ah…”

Mok Gyeong-un looked at the resentful soul Ha-yoon with a puzzled expression.

Since most grudges stemmed from lamentation and the desire for revenge, he had thought Ha-yoon would talk about some object of resentment.

But the grudge of the resentful soul Ha-yoon unexpectedly stemmed from loyalty.

He couldn’t leave this world for a long time because of his self-blame for not being able to protect someone.

“He was more upright than he looks.”

Cheong-ryeong also seemed to view the resentful soul Ha-yoon differently, as she evaluated him like that.

However, Mok Gyeong-un didn’t have as much of an impression as her.

He just thought that the resentful soul Ha-yoon had held a grudge for a long time for this reason.

“I see. Thank you for your answer.”

With these words, Mok Gyeong-un left the bow with a smile.

Everyone had gathered at the bow to watch the boat move, but he was heading to the stern where no one was.

“He’s absurd.”

“What is?”

“I thought the mortal bastard was considering that fellow as a divine spirit when he asked what kind of grudge he held.”

“His rank is high, so it’s tempting, but there are no vacant positions now.”

“That’s true.”

The number of servant spirits Mok Gyeong-un could currently take was limited.

If it were possible, he would have taken every resentful soul he met as a servant spirit and exploited them.

Mok Gyeong-un had asked out of pure curiosity about the resentful soul Ha-yoon being followed by resentful souls that were mere evil spirits, regardless of their rank.

Walking leisurely like that, Mok Gyeong-un stopped halfway to the stern.

“Why are you doing that?”

“…Will you say you can’t see it this time too?”

“What? What are you…”

Cheong-ryeong discovered something.

That something was a person sitting on the deck at the rear of the boat, holding a curved long bamboo fishing rod.

Just by looking at the back of the white hair, one could tell that he was an old man.

“How did that old mortal board the boat?”

“…That’s what I want to ask.”

When they were launching the boat, he wasn’t visible anywhere nearby.

But how did he get on the boat?

The puzzled Mok Gyeong-un asked Cheong-ryeong,

“First of all, you can see him, right?”

“Yes.”

Then Mok Gyeong-un opened the demonic power he had obtained from his right Samgan eye.

First, he was curious about the identity of that person.

Judging by the bamboo raincoat he was wearing, he didn’t seem to be a spiritual body like a resentful soul or a monster-like existence.

But it was extremely strange that there was no sign or indication of his presence at all.

However,

Throb!

The moment he opened the power of the Third eye, strong pressure and red blood vessels surged in Mok Gyeong-un’s right eye,

Splatter!

Then, bloody tears flowed from his right eye.

The startled Cheong-ryeong shouted,

“Mortal!”

Pak!

Mok Gyeong-un, feeling the intraocular pressure that seemed like it would burst, hurriedly closed the power again.

And then he grabbed his right eye, which was shedding bloody tears.

It was to disperse the residual true energy that had raised the intraocular pressure by inducing death energy.

Sss!

Fortunately, Mok Gyeong-un’s judgment was correct.

As the energy dispersed, the intraocular pressure quickly subsided as well.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I can’t read his energy.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean it literally.”

When he opened the power of the Third eye, he could examine the flow of energy in detail with his right eye.

He could even read the traces of primordial energy, demonic energy, and spiritual energy, regardless of what they were.

But the moment he opened it, his vision turned pure white.

He couldn’t understand why, but he tried to read the energy while enduring the white light, but the intraocular pressure rose, and he couldn’t open his eyes properly due to the pain.

‘Why is my eye filled with white light? Unless the entire surroundings are filled with energy… !?’

For a moment, Mok Gyeong-un’s left eye narrowed.

It was hard to believe.

‘…Could it be?’

Right then,

“Mortal! Behind you!”

At Cheong-ryeong’s cry, Mok Gyeong-un looked at the deck where the old man in the bamboo raincoat holding the bamboo fishing rod had been sitting.

There was no one there.

That meant, as Cheong-ryeong shouted, someone was behind him, but,

‘I can’t even sense his presence.’

This was a separate issue from the heavy rain pouring down.

The opponent was a monster who could completely conceal his presence.

In a split second, while he was contemplating what to do, a voice came from behind.

“It wasn’t mere coincidence that you saw this old man earlier.”

‘!?’