A Seed of Evil (1)
Ma Seung bowed respectfully, filled with fear and reverence.
Seeing such an unexpected reaction from a vengeful spirit and monster, Mok Gyeong-un turned his curious gaze back to the book inside the wooden box.
A bizarre book, bound with human skin.
Why was Ma Seung reacting like this just by looking at the book surrounded by prayer beads?
Without thinking, Mok Gyeong-un reached out toward the book in the box.
And the moment his fingertips touched it—
-Thump!
'!?'
Mok Gyeong-un's eyes narrowed sharply.
'...A heartbeat?'
For a fleeting instant, he had felt it.
It was clear, like the beating of a heart.
But paradoxically, this heartbeat wasn't something alive.
Rather, it was closer to death.
-Thump! Thump!
The pulse seemed to grow stronger.
'...'
Staring intently at the book, Mok Gyeong-un eventually closed the lid of the wooden box.
A powerful sense of attraction had risen within him.
He wanted to peel away the prayer beads and see what lay inside, but it didn't seem like the right time.
The reason Ma Seung had appeared was because someone had invaded the medicine hall.
'An intruder.'
Mok Gyeong-un licked his upper lip with a trace of regret.
Then he lifted his gaze upward.
-Tap! Tap!
A figure in a black mask moved swiftly across the roof tiles.
Spotting Go Chan, the guard stationed near the only approach to the medicine hall, the masked figure suppressed even the faintest trace of his presence.
'Hmm.'
A flash of interest passed through the masked man's eyes.
It made sense. Mok Gyeong-un had two guards.
But realistically, only one still truly served him; the other was no longer loyal.
'But why isn't he by his master's side?'
Normally, a guard would stay close to their charge.
Yet here, Go Chan was stationed away from the medicine hall, guarding the path.
'It can only be one of two reasons.'
The first possibility: the master was too sensitive and didn't want anyone nearby.
But that didn't seem right.
No one would have their wounded master protected from a distance.
Then it had to be the second reason.
Which was—
'He's keeping watch.'
He was ordered to watch for intruders approaching from the surroundings.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to be stationed so far away.
The masked man stroked his chin.
'Standing guard at the end of the Hour of the Rat without sleep...'
This was becoming more interesting than expected.
His name was Jo Ilsang.
He was one of the three guards serving the second son, Mok Eun-pyeong.
[Just to be safe, I should check. See if it's all just a ruse or not.]
The order he had received from Mok Eun-pyeong was simple:
To verify whether Mok Gyeong-un had truly lost his martial arts or not.
If he hadn't lost them, then the captured guard's claim would be false.
But if Mok Gyeong-un genuinely couldn't use martial arts, then the claim would be true.
[Just check?]
[That wouldn't be any fun. If he really has lost his martial arts, scare him a little. Teach him not to get cocky.]
[Heh heh. Understood.]
Thus, Jo Ilsang had come himself among the three guards.
Jo Ilsang's martial prowess lay somewhere between a second-rate warrior and a first-rate master.
He was stronger than Go Chan, which is why he was chosen for the task.
-Slip! Tap!
Avoiding Go Chan's line of sight, Jo Ilsang shifted directions and vaulted over a wall.
Scaling over, he reached the roof of the medicine hall and slithered through a gap between the roof tiles.
[What's that crippled boy doing, setting up a watch even while wounded?]
Was the injury fake?
Or was the information about his loss of martial arts fake?
Either way, something was definitely being hidden.
[Let's find out what he's hiding.]
Jo Ilsang infiltrated the medicine hall through the gap in the tiles.
Suppressing even the sound of his breathing, he silently clung to the ceiling and peered downward.
One of his eyebrows twitched upward.
[What the...?]
What he saw was different from what he had expected.
In Jo Ilsang's disappointed eyes, he saw Mok Gyeong-un sitting up in bed, reading a book by the light of a lantern.
[He's just reading a book?]
Jo Ilsang scanned the surroundings with suspicious eyes.
But aside from Mok Gyeong-un, there was no one else inside the medicine hall.
[Strange.]
Mok Gyeong-un hadn't entered through the door, and his only loyal guard, Go Chan, was outside keeping watch.
No one had alerted him.
It didn't seem like anyone had signaled him either.
Which meant—
[Could there be some secret in that book?]
The possibility couldn't be ruled out.
Either way, he had to make contact to confirm whether Mok Gyeong-un still had martial arts or not.
Jo Ilsang carefully suppressed all traces of his presence and moved along the ceiling toward Mok Gyeong-un's bed.
And then—
-Tap!
He jumped down.
At the same time, Jo Ilsang snatched the book Mok Gyeong-un was reading with lightning speed.
-Whoosh!
Jo Ilsang fully expected Mok Gyeong-un to either be startled or retaliate.
But contrary to his expectations, Mok Gyeong-un neither reacted nor seemed surprised.
Instead, he calmly gazed at Jo Ilsang without any change in expression.
"Who are—"
-Swish!
As Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth to speak, Jo Ilsang swiftly pointed a dagger at his throat and whispered,
"Stay quiet if you want to live."
"..."
Mok Gyeong-un closed his mouth.
Everything seemed to be going well, but Jo Ilsang couldn't shake an uneasy feeling.
'This guy…'
Someone had suddenly appeared in a mask, snatched his book, and was threatening him with a dagger to his throat.
Any normal person would have shown panic.
At the very least, some fear or tension should have been visible.
Yet Mok Gyeong-un simply stared back at him with an emotionless face, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
'Judging from his reaction…'
It almost felt like Mok Gyeong-un had known he was coming.
But that couldn't be possible.
And to react so calmly, he would have to possess a level of martial prowess sufficient to protect his own life.
'!?'
Jo Ilsang's eyes narrowed.
Come to think of it, regardless of whether someone had martial arts or not, a human's body should react reflexively when startled.
But Mok Gyeong-un hadn't moved a muscle.
'Was the information that he lost his martial arts… fake?'
-Glance!
Jo Ilsang shifted his eyes toward the book he had seized.
And when he saw the title, his pupils trembled wildly.
'!!!!!!!'
The title was—
[Yeonmok Seonggeomgyeol (然木成劍訣)]
("Secret Sword Art of Yeonmok").
There wasn't a single person from Yeonmok Sword Manor who wouldn't recognize that name.
It was the sword technique that symbolized the Yeonmok Sword Manor.
The reason was simple: it contained profound techniques that only the head of the manor was allowed to learn.
'Hah...'
Jo Ilsang's next action wasn't something he had planned.
He grabbed Mok Gyeong-un's shoulder using a locking technique and yanked him forward while simultaneously striking a vital point at the back of his head with the hand holding the dagger.
-Thud!
Hit squarely, Mok Gyeong-un's head drooped down.
Jo Ilsang exhaled roughly, his heart pounding wildly.
"Haah…"
Startled by the sight of the Yeonmok Seonggeomgyeol, he had instinctively struck Mok Gyeong-un unconscious.
'Was this why they set up the guard?'
Jo Ilsang placed his hand on Mok Gyeong-un's vital point.
He almost forgot — he still needed to check whether Mok Gyeong-un really had lost his martial arts.
-Slide!
Jo Ilsang poured a stream of internal energy into Mok Gyeong-un's body through the vital point.
'Ah!'
It didn't take long.
If Mok Gyeong-un had any internal energy, the moment foreign qi entered his body, it should have caused a backlash or some resistance.
But there was none.
-Press, press!
Jo Ilsang pressed against Mok Gyeong-un's abdomen, where the energy center (dantian) should be.
'Nothing.'
There truly was no dantian.
Jo Ilsang's lips curled upward.
The matter of checking Mok Gyeong-un's martial arts — and even the second son Mok Eun-pyeong's order to intimidate him — were all blown from his mind.
Jo Ilsang opened the stolen book, flipping through its pages.
"Khuh!"
As he turned a few pages, Jo Ilsang's lips twitched uncontrollably.
He nearly laughed out loud without meaning to.
At first, he worried it might be a fake, but it was undoubtedly the real Yeonmok Seonggeomgyeol sword techniques.
Even from the very beginning, the sword forms were no ordinary techniques.
'Calm down.'
He would never have imagined that Mok Gyeong-un would be in possession of this.
The current manor head was already critically ill, nearing death's door.
Meanwhile, the vital treasures for succession — the Manor Head's Seal and the exclusive martial arts manual — had gone missing, causing great concern among the retainers.
And yet, here it was — the Yeonmok Seonggeomgyeol — in his hands.
'Perfect.'
Getting hold of the Yeonmok Seonggeomgyeol was pure luck.
If his master, Mok Eun-pyeong, could master this technique, even if the current manor head died, the next manor head would undoubtedly be Mok Eun-pyeong.
'A favorable position.'
No matter how much the dying manor head favored the youngest son Mok Yucheon, or even with the presence of the eldest son Mok Yeongho, in a martial world ruled by power, the retainers would inevitably side with Mok Eun-pyeong.
Just as Jo Ilsang was rejoicing—
-Startled!
In an instant, a shiver so intense it raised goosebumps all over his body surged through him.
At the same time, something pressed down heavily on his shoulder.
'What the hell is this?'
Startled, Jo Ilsang hurriedly tried to gather his inner energy.
But at that exact moment—
-Thud!
"Guh!"
Someone struck him right in the dantian (energy center).
It was Mok Gyeong-un — the very person Jo Ilsang had believed he had knocked unconscious.
'W-what strength is this?'
Was this the strength of someone without any martial arts?
At minimum, it was at the level of a second-rate expert or higher.
-Shudder!
Struck in the dantian before he could even properly summon his inner energy, Jo Ilsang's body stiffened for a brief moment.
But that brief opening proved disastrous for him.
"Urgh!"
-Drip, drip!
The blood vessels under his skin throbbed.
A chilling, unnatural sensation crawled down from his shoulder into his body.
It was such a horrific, painful feeling that it made his skin crawl and his whole body convulse.
Gritting his teeth, Jo Ilsang tried to forcefully expel the sensation with his inner energy.
However—
-Thud!
Seizing the moment, Mok Gyeong-un smashed a fist into Jo Ilsang's jaw while simultaneously pounding his abdomen with rapid punches.
-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Normally, such crude attacks wouldn't work against someone like Jo Ilsang, who was nearing first-rate martial prowess.
But the false sense of security from having seized the secret manual—
Combined with the paralyzing sensation pressing down on his body—
And the relentless blows targeting his dantian and pressure points—
It was too much, even for him.
"Y-you bastard…!"
"You're pretty tough. Well then..."
-Smack!
Mok Gyeong-un grabbed the back of Jo Ilsang's head with both hands and pulled it forward—driving his knee straight into Jo Ilsang's face.
-Crack!
"Ugh!"
There was the sound of a nose and teeth shattering.
Even so, Mok Gyeong-un didn't stop.
He kept raining punches onto Jo Ilsang's bloody, staggering face.
-Thud! Thud!
Blood splattered, soaking Mok Gyeong-un's fists, yet he did not stop.
'T-this… is brutal…'
Jo Ilsang's consciousness faded rapidly.
How much time had passed?
Jo Ilsang slowly regained consciousness, struggling to open his eyes.
As he did, it felt like his head was about to burst.
'What the hell…?'
He couldn't immediately recall what had happened.
Then it hit him.
Mok Gyeong-un's blank-faced figure, relentlessly pounding his face.
'Damn it…'
He had completely let his guard down.
No, calling it "letting his guard down" didn't even feel accurate anymore.
The initial slip-up came after confirming Mok Gyeong-un had no inner energy — but after that, it had been something else entirely.
'What was that sensation?'
That chilling, paralyzing feeling... he couldn't forget it.
It had frozen his body in place, and though he tried to resist with his qi, Mok Gyeong-un had relentlessly battered his dantian and vital points until he blacked out.
Honestly, it was a miracle he was still alive.
'…What the hell is he?'
Jo Ilsang was baffled.
He had confirmed with his own hands that Mok Gyeong-un had no inner energy.
And yet, the force behind those strikes — it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it rivaled his own strength.
'Damn it.'
"Huff... huff…"
But right now, that wasn't even the main concern.
Jo Ilsang struggled to open his blood-crusted eyes and looked around.
'!?'
He frowned deeply.
This wasn't the medicinal room.
Now that he noticed, the air felt strangely cold and damp.
It looked more like a cave.
-Drip, drip...
'Huh?'
Jo Ilsang noticed drops of what he thought was either sweat or blood from his body floating upward.
What was happening?
And then it hit him—
'Wait... am I hanging upside down?'
Now he understood why his head felt like it was about to explode.
It wasn't just from the beating—being suspended upside down had caused the blood to rush to his head.
"Huff... huff..."
Jo Ilsang's breathing grew ragged.
He didn't know where he was, but a deep sense of unease gnawed at him.
He needed to get out of here. Fast.
"Fuu..."
Jo Ilsang focused, trying to draw energy into his dantian.
But—
'W-what the—?!'
He couldn't gather any strength at all.
No matter how hard he tried, it felt as if every part of his body — except his face — was numb and unresponsive.
"W-why can't I move?!"
Panic broke out in his voice.
-Swish!
Then, he heard footsteps.
"Looks like you're awake."
Turning toward the sound, Jo Ilsang saw Mok Gyeong-un approaching, walking upside down along the ceiling.
Of course, it only looked that way because Jo Ilsang himself was upside down.
Seeing him, Jo Ilsang shouted in panic,
"W-what the hell did you do to me?!"
Mok Gyeong-un's lips curled into a chilling smile that stretched up to his ears.
"Who knows? What do you think?"
-Chill!-
Despite the smile, the malice gleaming in Mok Gyeong-un's eyes was bone-chilling.
For the first time in his life, Jo Ilsang felt true fear.