Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 260 – The Mark (7)

It looked like writing, yet it wasn’t.

It was a mark with a single line vertically penetrating the center of the character 二 (two).

As it didn’t exist as a written character, it was closer to a kind of symbol.

Mok Gyeong-un had spent a long time searching for this scar-like mark that had been left on his deceased grandfather’s body.

And the first time he found someone with an identical mark was the scar on the side of Mok In-dan, the leader of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

Leader Mok In-dan had said that the one who left this scar was Ghost Blade, one of the Eight Stars.

Since Ghost Blade had left this mark on the leader, Mok Gyeong-un was convinced that he was either the same person who killed his grandfather or was related to him, so he had been searching for clues about him.

And now, another trace had finally been discovered.

It was different from before.

That was because…

‘It wasn’t a scar, but deliberately engraved.’

This was semantically different.

The marks left on his grandfather and Yeon Mok Sword Manor’s leader Mok In-dan were scars forcibly carved by someone else.

However, the mark engraved on the tip of the scabbard wasn’t a trace of being subjected to something.

It was nothing more than a mark meant to be seen.

“Ugh…”

Mok Gyeong-un pulled back even harder on the hair of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Hundred-men Commander Gyeom-chang, whose face was completely torn and suffering, and said:

“You have no idea how long I’ve been searching.”

“Whaa… aaa… yuu… uugh.”

Gyeom-chang’s pronunciation was slurred as all his teeth were broken.

In fact, not just his teeth or face, but with his right wrist cut off and his left arm severed up to the shoulder, it wouldn’t be strange if his life ended at any moment.

-Tap tap tap!

As if aware of this condition, Mok Gyeong-un pressed the acupuncture point on his left shoulder to stop the bleeding.

Then the gushing blood quickly ceased.

Of course, even so, he had already lost so much blood that his complexion was beyond pale and extremely serious.

“Uuugh.”

“I got a bit rough without realizing it. But it’s okay. You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

-Tremble tremble!

As he nonchalantly said those chilling words with a smile, Gyeom-chang convulsed.

Although his vision was dyed red and he could barely see due to the wooden splinters and fragments embedded in his eyes, he could definitely feel the malice in Mok Gyeong-un’s voice.

Amidst the pain, Gyeom-chang’s mind became confused.

Who the hell was he?

He had clearly reacted after seeing the mark engraved on his scabbard.

At this point, it was safe to say that almost no one could recognize this mark…

“St- stop.”

At that moment, someone shouted at Mok Gyeong-un.

It was none other than the Embroidered Uniform Guard Associate Military Commissioner Sang Ik-seo.

With a tense expression, he had called out to Mok Gyeong-un with a certain determination.

However, Mok Gyeong-un didn’t even turn his head, as if he had no interest.

‘Tsk.’

Did he not even care about him?

So Sang Ik-seo placed a palm on his abdomen and said:

“If you try to kill that person, I will also eliminate the Command Gu in my belly.”

-Shwip!

Only then did Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze turn towards him.

Seeing this, Sang Ik-seo hoped that his gamble would work.

Although he had attacked Gyeom-chang as if it didn’t matter, there was no way it was actually fine.

The reason that guy had come here was definitely related to the Command Gu inside his body.

If not, there would be no reason for him to come.

“You’ll eliminate the Command Gu?”

“That’s right. I don’t know what your true identity is or what you really want, but you can’t deny that one of your purposes for coming here is related to Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon, right?”

“So?”

“…I won’t say it again. Release that person right now. And leave.”

“If I don’t leave, you’ll eliminate the Command Gu?”

“That’s right.”

At his words, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled.

“Do as you wish.”

‘!?’

Sang Ik-seo furrowed his brows at those words.

What kind of reaction was this?

Do as he wished?

“You don’t care what happens to Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon?”

“No. So do as you wish. Instead, since you threatened me, I’ll make sure you pay the price for it.”

-Shiver!

Those words sent shivers down Sang Ik-seo’s entire body.

No, he made eye contact with Mok Gyeong-un, who was staring at him with an expressionless face, and in that moment, he even saw a hallucination of his entire body being sliced and torn apart.

‘D- damn it…’

In an instant, Sang Ik-seo’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat.

He had tried to create an opportunity for negotiation, but nothing worked.

He was at a loss for what to do, but…

-Shwip!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un’s figure disappeared before his eyes.

‘Huh? No way?’

But then…

-Tap tap tap tap! Thud!

Feeling the blood splatter from behind, Sang Ik-seo immediately lost consciousness.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had knocked him out by striking his blood acupoints, snorted and looked at his abdomen as he lay there.

“Well, a promise is a promise.”

Through Mok Gyeong-un’s right eye, which had activated the power of the Third Eye, it was visible.

The female Gu Poison Command Gu, curled up in a corner of Sang Ik-seo’s abdomen, lying still as if dead.

-Shwip!

Mok Gyeong-un slightly cut his index finger with his energy.

Then a drop of blood started to form on his finger.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un brought his finger with the blood droplet towards the location of the female Gu Poison Command Gu.

And then…

-Stab!

He inserted his finger, penetrating Sang Ik-seo’s abdomen.

Although unconscious, as if his body instinctively sensed that something had entered it, his body twitched.

Regardless, Mok Gyeong-un slightly moved the tip of his inserted finger.

Then…

-Pak!

Something was felt sticking to the wound on his finger.

In sync with this, Mok Gyeong-un pulled out the finger he had penetrated.

Then, a grotesque insect was seen wriggling and sticking to the wound on his finger.

‘Simple.’

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled.

Those who didn’t know much about Gu Poisons would agonize over how to remove it, using drugs or devising ways to eliminate it from inside the body.

However, surprisingly, if one utilized the nature of Gu Poisons, it was possible to easily extract it.

That was because Gu Poisons were drawn to stronger poisons.

Since it was born from the combination of numerous poison bugs, poison plants, and things related to poison, Gu Poisons were keenly responsive to new poisons.

-Slurp slurp!

Mok Gyeong-un’s blood was nothing short of a deadly poison.

Thus, the Gu Poison was naturally drawn to it and was desperate to consume it.

‘What the hell is that…’

Seeing this with his faintly remaining vision, Gyeom-chang’s expression stiffened.

If carelessly extracted, the Command Gu would burst and die on its own.

Yet it was sticking to that person’s finger, refusing to let go.

What the hell was going on?

As he was puzzled, at that moment, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth and tossed the Gu Poison hanging from his finger into his mouth.

‘Huh?’

And with that, Mok Gyeong-un chewed on the female Gu Poison Command Gu as it was.

-Crunch!

-Squeal squeal squeal!

Although he had closed his mouth and was chewing, the sound of the Command Gu screaming inside could be heard.

‘!!!!!!’

Seeing this, Gyeom-chang was flabbergasted.

Although born as a pair, the Command Gu itself was as deadly as the parasitic type.

Yet he was directly chewing and eating this lump of deadly poison?

Putting aside disgust, it was a truly insane act.

‘Is he trying to kill himself?’

But eventually, after chewing for a while, Mok Gyeong-un gulped it down.

Having eaten the female Gu Poison Command Gu as it was, Mok Gyeong-un pressed the acupuncture point on the Associate Military Commissioner’s punctured abdomen to stop the bleeding and walked back to Gyeom-chang.

Seeing this, Gyeom-chang couldn’t understand.

‘Why is he unharmed?’

The poison of the Gu Poison was so toxic that the esophagus should have melted.

Yet Mok Gyeong-un was perfectly fine.

As he was puzzled with a dumbfounded face, Mok Gyeong-un smiled nonchalantly and said:

“You must be wondering why I’m unharmed, right?”

“Hoo… juss… how…”

“It’s because the poison in my body is stronger than the Gu Poison’s poison, so I’m fine, right?”

‘Poison in his body? Could it be… a Poison Master?’

Gyeom-chang couldn’t help but be inwardly shocked at those words.

As far as he knew, in all of the Central Plains and beyond, there were only two people who had reached the level of a Poison Master.

It was only Guyang Sa-oh, the Head of the Guyang Family, who guarded the entrance to the Western Depot and wielded the Eight Poison Snake Staff, and Dang Inhae, the Head of the Sichuan Dang Family, one of the Seven Great Families, who possessed the Thousand Poison Hands.

But was this person saying he was a Poison Master?

‘Is he one of those two?’

It was highly likely.

However, he definitely wasn’t Guyang Sa-oh of the Eight Poison Snake Staff.

No, in the first place, he couldn’t even be here and wouldn’t interfere with their affairs.

Then that meant…

‘The Thousand Poison Hands?’

If it wasn’t him who had reached the level of a Poison Master, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the Gu Poison.

Convinced that Mok Gyeong-un was Dang Inhae, the Head of the Sichuan Dang Family and the Thousand Poison Hands, Gyeom-chang spoke in an uncomprehending tone:

“Withstanng… the poosn… tha’s one thing… buh… why… did yoo… eat it? If the Spiwit Dwum… dies… the othew… paiw… of Pawasitic Poosn also…”

“It seems you surprisingly don’t know much about Gu Poisons.”

“Huh?”

“Gu Poisons aren’t simply made by gathering poison bugs and selecting the most toxic ones. In the first place, the fact that a pair is made to influence each other also contains a kind of sorcerous power.”

“Sowcewy?”

“If a being that has overcome all poisons and become a commander is defeated by another poison and consumed, what would happen to the hierarchy?”

‘!?’

At those words, Gyeom-chang’s eyes, reddened with wounds, trembled.

It was because he understood what Mok Gyeong-un had said.

‘Is that really possible?’

It was a part he had theoretically understood but doubted if it was actually possible.

If the Command Gu was eaten by a poison bug with a stronger poison, it was possible for that poison bug to become the new Command Gu.

However, it was unknown whether it would be possible if it was a Poison Master, not a poison bug.

As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un approached, grabbed his hair, and said:

-Grab!

“Well… if Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon is alive, I would have become the Command Gu, and if not, it was just bad luck.”

At those words, Gyeom-chang inwardly clicked his tongue.

Didn’t that mean he had gambled on something he himself couldn’t be certain of?

As he was dumbfounded by this…

-Bam!

“Ugh!”

Mok Gyeong-un slammed his face onto the floor and said:

“Rather than that, wouldn’t it be better for you to focus on your own situation? From now on, I’m going to count how many times the words ‘please kill me’ come out of your mouth.”