Chapter 24: The Method Of Attachment (3)

"Damn it. At this rate, I won't make it out alive," muttered Go-chan, the guard, as he headed towards Lady Seok's residence.

He couldn't sleep at all. How could anyone sleep after hearing such news? Go chan didn't confront Mok Gyeong-un directly about his actions, but he was at a loss for what to do next.

"That madman. I told him to just let him go," Go chan thought to himself.

He never imagined that Mok Gyeong-un would actually kill Jo Il-sang, the guard of the second young master. He had expected at least some discretion from him. What could he be thinking?

"If Mok Eun-pyeong finds out that his own guard was killed, all hell will break loose."

And that wouldn't be the end of it. Given his temperament, Eun-pyeong might seek immediate revenge against Gyeong-un. Although he couldn't kill him while the clan leader was still alive, he might try to break his limbs or kill one of his guards in retaliation.

"This is insane," Go chan thought, feeling a headache coming on.

Why did he have to kill that man and escalate the situation like this?

"What about the body?" Go chan had asked. "I took care of it, so don't worry," Gyeong-un had replied.

But how exactly did he dispose of it? Did he hide it in some secret location where he found the martial arts manual? Even if he did, how long could he keep it hidden?

Jo Il-sang was sent with a specific purpose. His disappearance would inevitably raise suspicions.

"What am I going to do?" Go chan wondered.

Now that the guard was dead, the idea of handing over this empty martial arts manual to the second young master felt more unsettling than ever. Once again, he regretted his decision. He should have told Gam everything from the start.

But that opportunity had already passed. He had lied to Gam too many times out of fear of Mok Gyeong-un. If he were to reveal everything now, Gam would never trust him again. Gam was already sensitive and distrustful of others.

"He was even worse during his active years," Go chan recalled.

The disparity between Gam's current demeanor and his past self was truly remarkable. He had been merciless, especially towards traitors.

"Yet, how strange," Go chan mused. Despite remembering Gam's ruthlessness, why did he fear Mok Gyeong-un more? He couldn't understand how things had come to this.

"Sigh," Gochan exhaled.

Come to think of it, where had Gam gone? He usually never left Mok Gyeong-un's side except for shift changes or dire emergencies. Yet yesterday, he had been absent for nearly half a day.

"What's going on?" Go chan wondered. Could Gam be proceeding with some plan without his knowledge? His eyes narrowed at the thought.

At the same time, in the residence of the second young master, Mok Eun-pyeong...

Mok Eun-pyeong sat on the desk, arms crossed, glaring at Guard Gam with cold eyes. Gam, having been suddenly summoned without knowing why, found it difficult to gauge the situation. One thing was clear: Mok Eun-pyeong was extremely angry.

Gam cautiously spoke, "Young Master, what seems to be the matter?"

"That's what I'd like to ask you," Eun-pyeong retorted.

"Pardon?"

"It's quite a coincidence. I tested something on a hunch, and every time that small sense of foreboding proves correct, I find it very unpleasant."

What could he mean? Gam slightly furrowed his brow.

"Could he have noticed it's a fake?" Gam thought. But the tone didn't quite match that assumption.

Mok Eun-pyeong's manner of speaking clearly revealed overt hostility towards him.

Thud!

Gam knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said, "Young Master, I don't understand what you're saying. If you could explain..."

"Explain? Ha!" Mok Eun-pyeong threw the inkstone from the desk.

Gam could have easily dodged it, but knowing he had to bear Eun-pyeong's anger, he took the hit.

Thwack!

Blood trickled down Gam's forehead.

It hurt because he hadn't protected himself with his inner energy, but having learned to endure pain through breathing techniques, Gam did his best not to show it.

Glaring at Gam, Mok Eun-pyeong said, "I sent one of my guards to confirm if Mok Gyeong-un had lost his martial arts."

"I see," Gam thought. So there was a reason. But something seemed off.

"If that's all, there's no reason for him to be this angry," Gam realized. The fake Mok Gyeong-un hadn't learned martial arts. If he confirmed that, Eun-pyeong should have let go of his suspicions. So why this hostility?

Mok Eun-pyeong continued, "But that guard hasn't returned."

"What?" Gam raised his head in bewilderment. What did that mean?

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? The guard I sent to check whether he had lost his martial arts or not has vanished without a trace," Eun-pyeong clarified.

"That's impossible!" Gam thought.

He moved his eyes to look at the guards in the room. One of the three was missing.

"Jo Il-sang," Gam realized. He was on the verge of becoming a first-class warrior. Gochan, who was currently guarding, could never handle him based on skill alone.

So how could he have disappeared?

Gam spoke, "That's impossible."

"What?"

"I would never lie to you. That guy... I mean, Young Master Mok Gyeong-un is in no condition to use martial arts. And Go chan, who's guarding Mok Gyeong-un, is only a second-rate warrior at best. He couldn't possibly handle Guard Jo Il-sang."

Gam could say this with certainty. However, there wasn't a shred of trust in Mok Eun-pyeong's eyes. He hadn't built any trust to begin with, and with the guard not returning, his suspicions had only grown.

"Do you think I'd believe you?" Eun-pyeong sneered.

"It's true. If you don't believe me, I'm willing to stake my arm on it," Gam said, rolling up the sleeve of his right arm.

For a warrior to stake their arm was not much different from staking everything.

Sneering at Gam's strong stance, Mok Eun-pyeong said, "You'd stake your arm? Fine. Then prove your words are true."

"Prove it? How?"

"If what you say is true, there's no way Jo could have been defeated by such weaklings. I'll give you about two hours. Find Jo."

"...Understood," Gam's voice sank.

It felt like something had gone terribly wrong. He needed to confirm what was happening himself.

Mok Eun-pyeong warned him with a voice full of killing intent, "If you can't find him, you'd better be prepared to give up not just your arm, but your pathetic life as well."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Guard Gam left the residence of the second young master, Mok Eun-pyeong, with a terrifyingly stern face. Suppressing his emotions, he hurriedly made his way towards the medicine hall.

On the way, he encountered someone.

"Huh? Senior Gam?"

"You!"

It was Guard Go chan.

Go chan couldn't hide his bewilderment. He never expected to run into Gam like this, especially when he was secretly carrying out Mok Gyeong-un's orders.

Gam, seeing Gochan, lowered his voice angrily and said, "Why are you here? I clearly told you not to leave his side for even a moment."

"Well, you see..."

Seeing Go chan's inability to answer straight, Gam's eyes sharpened.

Gam put his fingers on the dagger hidden in his wrist and said, "You didn't conspire with him to do something, did you?"

"C-conspire? What do you mean?"

"Then why are you disobeying my orders?"

"It's not like that..."

Go chan's mind went blank, and he didn't know how to respond. He couldn't tell Gam about the empty martial arts manual he had hidden in his clothes to give to Mok Eun-pyeong.

"Damn it," Go chan thought.

He had no choice. Gochan finally lied, "Actually, the Inner Hall Master called me. He said he had something to ask about yesterday's incident in the main hall..."

"What? The Inner Hall Master?"

Gam frowned.

The path they were on indeed led to the Inner Hall Master's office. And although they were guard warriors, they were also members of the Yeonmok Sword Clan, so they had to move if the Inner Hall Master summoned them.

But...

"This guy?"

Gam noticed Go chan's eyes trembling slightly.

Most people wouldn't be able to detect it, but Gam, being trained, could. Gochan was clearly nervous.

If the Inner Hall Master had called him, there was no reason for him to be this nervous, even if he had left his post despite Gam's orders.

Gam moved his eyes, scanning the surroundings. There were some presences a bit far off, but no one noticeable or close by.

After confirming this, Gam pressed one of Go chan's vital points on his neck and pushed him against the wall.

Thud! Bang!

"Ugh!"

"You must have a death wish."

"S-Senior?"

"Tell me. What are you hiding?"

"Hiding? I'm really not..."

Swish!

Gam aimed his dagger near Go chan's heart and said, "One of the second young master Mok Eun-pyeong's guards has disappeared."

"..."

"The target he went after was that fake. Are you still going to pretend you don't know anything?"

"D-damn it..."

The situation he had worried about had unfolded sooner than expected.

Or was this even the situation he had worried about?

How did Senior Gam, who wasn't even there last night, know about this?

"Wait a moment. How do you know about this... Did you already make contact with the second young master's side?"

Go chan already knew that Gam was planning to switch sides.

But he hadn't decided on anyone yet.

The fact that Gam knew about the second young master's situation meant he had already switched sides.

"Why did you do this without any discussion..."

Squeeze!

"Huk!"

As Gam tightened his grip on the vital point on Go chan's neck, Gochan couldn't finish his sentence.

Gam said to the suffering Go chan, "Am I in a position where I need to discuss and report every little thing to you? And are you in any position to question me about this?"

"This... please..."

Go chan pleaded as the pain intensified.

Gam loosened his grip and whispered in Go chan's ear, "What are you hiding? Tell me the truth. If not..."

Stab!

The tip of the dagger pierced Go chan's chest.

As the dagger went in, Gam frowned at the unusual feeling.

He had intended to just prick the flesh slightly, but it felt different.

Gam reached into Gochan's clothes.

"W-wait..."

Squeeze!

"Kek!"

Eventually, Gam's hand revealed the secret manual of the Yeonmok Transformation Heart Technique, which only had two pages left.

Seeing this, Gam's eyes widened.

"What's this?"

"It's over," Go chan thought, squeezing his eyes shut.

Bang!

The door of the medicine hall burst open, and Gam entered with a fearsome expression. There were three workers in the medicine hall, but Gam paid no attention to them as he strode towards Mok Gyeong-un, who was sitting up on the bed reading a book with only his upper body clothed.

Approaching right in front of Mok Gyeong-un, Gam spoke in a low voice that only Mok Gyeong-un could hear.

"What have you done?"

To this, Mok Gyeong-un replied without taking his eyes off the book, "What are you talking about?"

"Huu..."

Gam let out a deep sigh.

Then he discreetly showed a book from inside his clothes.

[Yeonmok Transformation Heart Technique]

It was the secret manual of the Yeonmok Transformation Heart Technique.

Gam spoke with an irritated voice, "How did you get this?"

Mok Gyeong-un turned his head slightly to look at the secret manual and chuckled.

"You're laughing?"

"It seems Guard Go chan was unlucky."

"What?"

"The fact that you're holding that means you took it from Guard Go chan, right?"

"..."

Gam was momentarily dumbfounded by Mok Gyeong-un's composure, not losing his calm at all.

His insight was impressive, but this guy always maintained his composure.

Even though he had been caught planning something by Gam, he maintained this attitude.

Well, with such audacity, he probably killed the real Mok Gyeong-un too.

However, Gam couldn't forgive him for backstabbing like this.

Swish!

Gam took out his dagger at an angle where no one could see and aimed it at Mok Gyeong-un's left ribcage.

Then he spoke in a low voice, "What exactly did you do to Go chan?"

"What do you mean?"

"You must have done something for him to keep his mouth shut so tightly."

Before coming to find Mok Gyeong-un, Gam had taken Go chan to his quarters and interrogated him.

He had tortured him and even cut off two of his fingers.

But still, Go chan didn't open his mouth.

"Speak."

"..."

"I said speak!"

"..."

Gam was genuinely puzzled by this behavior.

Although this guy was different from ordinary people, Go chan shouldn't have been so afraid of him.

He wanted to torture him all day to find out the reason.

But he didn't have time.

"I'll give you about two hours."

"Damn it!"

The second young master, Mok Eun-pyeong, had only given him two hours.

He had to find his guard, Jo Il-sang, within that time.

If not, Mok Eun-pyeong would surely try to kill him.

So he had to leave Go chan behind and rush here to Mok Gyeong-un, the person directly involved.

But...

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

Mok Gyeong-un continued to play dumb.

His shrugging gesture made Gam's anger rise.

Clench!

Gam gritted his teeth and then changed his question.

"Fine. I'll find out later what you did to Gochan. Now tell me. Have you seen Jo Il-sang, Guard of Young Master Mok Eun-pyeong?"

Jo Il-sang, the guard of the second young master, Mok Eun-pyeong.

He was a master on the verge of becoming first-class, so there was no way Mok Gyeong-un, who hadn't learned martial arts, and Go chan, who was only second-rate, could handle him.

It should have been clear, but why did he feel so uneasy?

Then Mok Gyeong-un spoke.

"Ah, you mean the person who came to see me last night wearing a mask?"

"...Yes, that's the one."

"I saw him."

At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Gam took a deep breath and asked,

"You didn't do anything to him, did you?"

"Come on, what could I have done? What power do I have?"

Mok Gyeong-un waved his hand dismissively.

At these words, Gam thought that perhaps he hadn't harmed Jo Il-sang after all. But then...

"How could someone who has lost their martial arts due to a damaged dantian do anything to such a person?" Mok Gyeong-un added.

"!?"

Gam frowned. What was this about?

For this guy to talk about losing his martial arts... did it mean he knew?

"You..."

Mok Gyeong-un leaned close to Gam's ear and said in a low, amused voice:

"You went to all the trouble of switching sides to the second young master... but this fake guy didn't cooperate and ended up killing the second young master's guard. What a predicament you're in now."

"!!!!!!"

Gam's expression instantly froze.

Mok Gyeong-un continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "It seems you've made quite a mess. Switching allegiances, only to have your plans ruined by an uncooperative impostor. What will you do now, I wonder?"

Gam's mind raced. How did this impostor know about his plans to switch sides? And more importantly, what exactly happened to Jo Il-sang?

"You... what have you done?" Gam hissed, pressing the dagger closer.

Mok Gyeong-un remained unnervingly calm. "I've done nothing that wasn't necessary. Your friend Jo Il-sang, however, made some unfortunate choices."

"Speak clearly," Gam demanded, his patience wearing thin.

"Very well," Mok Gyeong-un sighed. "Your associate came to confirm my lack of martial arts. He found more than he bargained for. Now he's no longer a concern."

Gam's blood ran cold. "You killed him? How? You're supposed to be powerless!"

Mok Gyeong-un chuckled softly. "Appearances can be deceiving, my friend. Just as your loyalty seems to be."

Gam's mind whirled. He had to think fast. His plan to switch sides was in ruins, and now he had a murderer on his hands - one who was far more dangerous than he'd anticipated.

"What do you want?" Gam asked, trying to regain control of the situation.

"Want? I want what I've always wanted. To survive, to thrive. Your schemes are merely... inconvenient obstacles."

Gam realized he was in far over his head. This impostor was not just a pawn, but a player in his own right. And now, Gam was caught between him and Mok Eun-pyeong.

"You realize I can't let this stand," Gam said, his voice low and dangerous.

Mok Gyeong-un's eyes glinted. "And what will you do? Kill me? Expose me? Consider your position carefully, Gam. Your options are more limited than you think."

Gam's grip on the dagger tightened. He had decisions to make, and quickly. The fate of more than just himself hung in the balance.

A/N:

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