Chapter 256 – The Mark (3)
“I was going to wait for a mont, but there was no need to wait. Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon.”
‘This voice is?’
The unique way of speaking and the familiar voice.
The mont he heard it, Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon with piercing eyes imdiately recognized whose voice it was.
“You… could it be Mok Gyeong-un?”
“Oh-ho. You have a good mory for voices?”
‘!!!!!’
Ma Ra-hyeon couldn’t hide his surprise at the response he heard.
The man with a smiling face that resembled the Western Depot’s commander Eunuch Ho.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
“…… So you were alive?”
As the investigative branch, the Sixth Office of Selection, he had been unable to hide his dismay upon believing that Mok Gyeong-un had been killed.
Since he had been attacked while in a critical condition after clashing with his teacher and the leader of the Sixth Office of Selection, Pacification Commissioner So Yerin, he hadn’t doubted that Mok Gyeong-un would naturally survive.
But seeing him alive like this, he couldn’t help but be astonished.
Ma Ra-hyeon’s eyes narrowed through the gaps in his mask as he looked at the face wearing Mok Gyeong-un’s human skin mask.
“Ha…… What exactly is that face?”
“Didn’t you just call Eunuch Ho a mont ago?”
“I did say that, but how did you get that face……”
Ma Ra-hyeon couldn’t finish his sentence.
The Western Depot’s leader, Chief Eunuch Ho, was not only a eunuch with a high position but also a confidant of Prince Gyeongjin, one of the country’s influential figures.
Wearing the human skin mask of such a person and wandering around was extrely dangerous.
If he were to be exposed, it could turn the imperial palace upside down.
“Are you worried that it might cause problems?”
“Not just problems, but you know I still have sothing to receive from you, don’t you?”
“Ah. That’s true.”
Ma Ra-hyeon had made a deal with Mok Gyeong-un.
He agreed to provide information related to the underground prison and offer assistance when necessary.
Of course, the price was the removal of the Gu poison in his body.
“Let’s just say there are so circumstances regarding this face. But don’t worry, it won’t cause any problems.”
“…….”
“Besides, from what I saw, it seed like you were being blackmailed by the person here, weren’t you?”
The person Mok Gyeong-un pointed at with his finger was the unconscious bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had been hiding his presence after coming to make a request and encountering this person, revealed himself upon learning that Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon had Gu poison in his stomach.
Inwardly, Ma Ra-hyeon felt refreshed seeing him collapse, but he quickly concealed that emotion and said.
“…… Even so, it was a rash action.”
“Rash?”
“What are you going to do about the aftermath when he wakes up?”
“Are you worried about the aftermath?”
“……”
How could he not be worried?
This person was a confidant of “that person” and knew about the Gu poison inside him.
If this person were to wake up, his plan to pretend to obediently follow him while sohow seeking a reversal would obviously be disrupted.
Thus, Ma Ra-hyeon said to Mok Gyeong-un.
“…… You might lose your life if you are suspected.”
“Hmm. Has it escalated to that extent?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s nonchalant words, Ma Ra-hyeon gritted his teeth.
Was he acting recklessly because it wasn’t his own matter?
If the person behind this man had even the slightest suspicion and decided to eliminate him, they could activate the Gu poison and kill him in an instant.
“I don’t think you understand how serious this matter is……”
“It must be serious for you. After all, you’re in a situation where you can’t do anything because of what’s inside your stomach.”
“Even though you know that……”
“Calm down. More importantly, I ca because I have an urgent matter to request from you.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Ma Ra-hyeon looked at him with disbelieving eyes.
Right now, the one in a hurry was actually himself.
He had touched soone he shouldn’t have and was now trying to resolve his own matter first?
Thus, Ma Ra-hyeon lowered his voice and spoke, his mood turning unpleasant.
“You have the nerve to ask to help you when my life is hanging by a thread.”
“You seem quite anxious, don’t you?”
“Then keep your promise so that I won’t be anxious.”
Ma Ra-hyeon stated what he wanted from Mok Gyeong-un.
The only way to overco the current situation was for Mok Gyeong-un to remove the Gu poison in his stomach as promised.
“That’s going to be difficult.”
“What do you an?”
“I can’t do that until my work is finished. If you, without your weakness, were to insist on fulfilling your duties as an Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would hinder my work.”
-Crunch!
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Ma Ra-hyeon gritted his teeth.
From his perspective, it was definitely a valid point, but he was furious at this reality where everyone, no matter who they were, was trying to exploit his weakness.
He wanted to overturn this situation, whether he lived or died.
-Grip!
Strength entered his fist.
But the reality that he couldn’t do so was frustrating.
He hadn’t repaid his debt of gratitude to his teacher, and he hadn’t found “that person” either.
Therefore, he had to endure with a heart of sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall.
Seeing Ma Ra-hyeon barely suppressing his anger, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled.
At this, Ma Ra-hyeon reacted irritably.
“Are you mocking ?”
“No. You just seem very angry.”
“Knowing that, are you provoking on purpose?”
“It’s not on purpose. But if I’m going to make a request, I suppose I should clean up the situation to so extent for you.”
“What?”
What did that an?
As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un bent down and rummaged through the body of the unconscious bearded Thousand-n Commander.
“Stop! What are you doing now? Are you trying to make the situation more complicated?”
Ma Ra-hyeon found it increasingly difficult to contain his anger.
He wasn’t even going to remove the Gu poison, yet he was trying to escalate the situation further.
anwhile, Mok Gyeong-un, ignoring him, pulled out a book-sized wooden box from the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s pocket.
Seeing this, Ma Ra-hyeon frowned.
‘This is?’
That was because this wooden box was none other than a storage case for human skin masks.
The reason he knew this was that he had received this case containing special dicines from a craftsman.
Mok Gyeong-un held it up and said.
“This looks like a case for human skin masks, doesn’t it?”
“…….”
“Why did he bring this?”
Mok Gyeong-un opened the human skin mask case.
Inside, a human skin mask subrged in dicine was revealed.
But the mont he saw this face, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flickered with surprise.
That was because the face on the human skin mask was very familiar to him.
It was…
“…… It resembles the face of the Eastern Depot’s Junior Eunuch Jang.”
Junior Eunuch Jang, the eunuch of the Eastern Depot.
He was a confidant of Imperial Consort Seo, serving her.
Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head and then looked at Ma Ra-hyeon, saying.
“Why does this person have the face, no, the human skin mask of Junior Eunuch Jang from the Eastern Depot?”
At that question, Ma Ra-hyeon sighed and muttered.
“Ah……. So he was planning to use as well.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s the human skin mask I received from the craftsman.”
“You, Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon?”
“It wasn’t who ordered it……”
Ma Ra-hyeon cautiously pointed at his own abdon with his eyes.
It was to convey the fact that the person who had implanted the Gu poison in him had ordered the item.
Of course, Mok Gyeong-un imdiately understood.
“I see. The person who implanted the Gu poison in you was trying to do sothing with this.”
“Seeing that this person brought it, it seems he intended to make wear it.”
Ma Ra-hyeon instinctively sensed it.
Otherwise, why would he bring back the human skin mask case that he had delivered?
“Is that so? Can you also guess what he was trying to make you do after wearing the human skin mask? Well, I can roughly guess, but.”
He could understand that it was to cause chaos.
However, he couldn’t know exactly how he intended to cause chaos.
At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Ma Ra-hyeon shook his head.
“I don’t know the details either. If you hadn’t knocked this person unconscious, I probably would have known the reason by now.”
“So it’s my fault, you an.”
“…….”
“In that case, there’s no choice. Let’s wake him up and ask him.”
What the hell was he talking about?
Waking this person up now would make the situation even more difficult to handle.
Thus, Ma Ra-hyeon extended his hand to Mok Gyeong-un and said.
“Stop it. You’re not even going to help , so why do you keep trying to escalate the situation?”
“I’m not trying to escalate it. I’m trying to help you.”
“What?”
“I said I’m trying to help you.”
At those words, Ma Ra-hyeon furrowed his brows.
What was this sudden talk about?
As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed the inside of the unconscious bearded Thousand-n Commander’s collarbone and said.
“It seems like you won’t be able to properly carry out my request if you’re being manipulated by these people. I have no other intentions, so just watch.”
-Grip!
As soon as those words ended, Mok Gyeong-un applied force to his fingers.
At that mont, the unconscious bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander woke up due to the pain.
“Aaaah… mmph!”
Mok Gyeong-un covered his mouth with his other hand as he tried to scream.
Then, he smiled at the awakened bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander and said.
“Are you awake?”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s greeting, the bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander’s eyes widened.
That was because Mok Gyeong-un’s face currently resembled Eunuch Ho, the confidant of Prince Gyeongjin and the supervisor of the Western Depot.
Among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, there was no one who didn’t know this face.
‘Eunuch Ho? How is he?’
The bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander showed an expression of incomprehension.
Why was the eunuch from the Western Depot in the office of the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ Sixth Office of Selection?
As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un continued.
“I controlled the surrounding sounds with my true energy. I just covered your mouth because I didn’t want to hear your screams. I’ll take my hand off.”
-Swish!
As he removed his hand from the mouth, the bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander rolled his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.
Then, he spotted Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon behind Mok Gyeong-un.
Seeing this, his eyes sharpened.
“Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon, what’s going on? Just in case, I’m saying this, but to Lord Eunuch Ho……”
-Slap!
Before he could finish his sentence, the bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander’s head turned to the side.
The reason his head turned was simple.
It was because Mok Gyeong-un had slapped him.
The bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander slowly turned his head and opened his mouth with anger rising to the top of his head.
“Eunuch Ho. What is the aning of this? How dare you be here……”
-Slap!
Before he could finish speaking, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s head turned to the side again as another slap flew in.
It seed like a simple slap, but his face hurt as if it was burning.
The bearded Thousand-n Commander barely endured it and said.
“Haa…… Eunuch Ho. This is an act of overstepping your authority. I don’t know why you, an eunuch from the Western Depot, are here, but……”
-Slap!
Once again, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s face turned to the side.
After receiving the third slap, not only did the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s left cheek swell up, but blood vessels in his left eye burst, turning it red.
At this, the bearded Thousand-n Commander abruptly turned his head and glared at Mok Gyeong-un.
Then, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said.
“You’re a bit quieter now.”
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the bearded Thousand-n Commander found it absurd.
Did he slap him just to make him quiet?
Even if he wasthe supervisor of the Western Depot, he couldn’t humiliate and hit him, an Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-n Commander from a different affiliation, like this.
However…
“Then shall we have a little talk now?”
‘What’s going on?’
The bearded Thousand-n Commander suddenly found it strange.
That was because, although he had no reason to converse with Eunuch Ho, he had heard his voice a couple of tis in passing since he was a confidant of Prince Gyeongjin.
As an eunuch, he had a quite shrill voice, but this voice was different.
‘Could it be?’
The bearded Thousand-n Commander rolled his eyes and looked at the back of Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.
Seeing the back of his hand, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s eyes narrowed.
As far as he knew, even though Eunuch Ho appeared to be middle-aged due to his profound internal energy and makeup, he was aware that he had reached the age of sixty.
At that age, there should have been wrinkles on the back of his hand, but there were none at all.
With this, the bearded Thousand-n Commander was certain.
‘He’s a fake.’
The person in front of him was definitely not Eunuch Ho, the supervisor of the Western Depot.
Thus…
“Who are you……”
-Slap!
Before the question could be finished, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s head turned to the side.
Not only did the slapped bearded Thousand-n Commander’s cheek turn a bluish color, but blood also flowed from his mouth.
Beyond the numbness caused by the pain in his cheek, his head was spinning.
To him, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said.
“Just answer the questions I ask.”
“…….”
To the quieted man, Mok Gyeong-un held out the human skin mask case and said.
“What were you trying to do with this?”
‘!?’
Seeing the human skin mask case, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s eyes wavered.
He didn’t know the identity of this bastard, but one thing was certain: sothing had gone wrong.
Thus, the bearded Thousand-n Commander hurriedly racked his brain.
What should he do to escape this situation?
Then, he glanced at Ma Ra-hyeon, who was watching from behind Mok Gyeong-un as if observing.
‘I don’t know the identity of this damn bastard, but he must be related to that son of a bitch Ma Ra-hyeon. In that case…..’
The bearded Thousand-n Commander urgently shouted.
“If you touch , Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon will also die!”
He thought that the only answer was to recap the situation.
Although Ma Ra-hyeon wouldn’t have disclosed the existence of the Gu poison under a taboo, if it was certain that this man was helping Ma Ra-hyeon, he would realize that he couldn’t touch him recklessly…
-Slap!
The bearded Thousand-n Commander’s head turned to the side.
Blood flowed from his reddened left eye as his head turned.
His left eye was not visible.
Moreover, a ringing sound of “beep-” echoed in his left ear, and he seed to have lost both his hearing and vision on one side.
Amidst the pain, the bearded Thousand-n Commander, driven by spite, shouted.
“No. It’s fine even if that bastard Ma Ra-hyeon dies…”
“I don’t know how soone without the Gu of Command in their body can threaten to kill Thousand-n Commander Ma Ra-hyeon.”
‘!?’
At those words, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s right pupil trembled as if an earthquake had occurred.
He knew about the existence of Gu poison, so he was aware of what the Gu of Command was.
The Gu of Command was the female Gu that could control the parasitic Gu poison as a pair.
‘H-How the hell does this bastard know that?’
The bewildered bearded Thousand-n Commander looked at Ma Ra-hyeon.
Sothing had gone wrong.
The bastard was definitely under a taboo, unable to disclose the existence of the Gu poison through his own mouth or any other ans.
The mont he disclosed it, the Gu poison would rampage, and he would lose his life.
But how did this person, who had the face of Eunuch Ho,the supervisor of the Western Depot, know about that fact?
‘Damn it!’
Realizing that sothing had gone wrong, the bearded Thousand-n Commander’s breathing beca rough.
-Grip!
Watching him from behind Mok Gyeong-un, Ma Ra-hyeon’s clenched fist tightened.
Due to the weakness of the Gu poison, he had been unable to rebel and had to endure humiliation by doing as he was told.
But seeing the bearded Embroidered Uniform Guard in such a state, looking bewildered, he couldn’t help but feel ecstatic, regardless of the consequences.
Reviews
All reviews (0)