Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor

Episode 88:

A dark secret room without a single ray of sunlight.

Candles hung on the wall at regular intervals allowed us to roughly distinguish the surrounding objects.

A young girl was lying dead on the bed.

His age is estimated to be around twelve to thirteen.

A skinny body with cracked skin and lifeless eyes.

Even at a glance, I could see that it was not in good condition.

“Why are you putting the patient in such a confined space? “It must be stuffy.”

“I couldn’t help it. “After I started suffering from dysentery, or heart disease, I started having seizures whenever I was exposed to sunlight.”

“seizure?”

Lee Kang-hak said, pointing his index finger to his chest.

“Do you see this scar here? “It was a wound sustained in the process of trying to stop someone from harming themselves due to the pain.”

“…….”

There were so many scars that I couldn’t really tell them apart.

“It seems to be a side effect that occurs when you fall into mental energy while learning martial arts with a strong yin tendency.”

“…Are you sure that Yuna can be cured?”

“Are you still worried?”

“It looks like you didn’t even know what symptoms Yuna was suffering from.”

“How can you know something you’ve never seen? “I’m not even a god.”

“The demon cultist who came to see me knew.”

“Of course it is. “He must have come under orders from the person who wrote the military official record.”

I smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed and took the patient’s pulse.

Irregular pulsation, as if it would break at any moment.

I gently circulated her inner energy to cheer her up.

Meanwhile, a servant hired by the head of the household entered the secret room with a military official.

“Here it is.”

When I received the book and checked the outside, I found the words ‘Binghwagong (氷花功)’ written on it.

It matched the name in my memory.

Binggong (氷功) based on the energy of yin (陰).

In terms of its uniqueness, it was the Binghwagong that was even more special than the Red Fire Godkung that Hwadaerang had learned.

‘There is no need to periodically absorb the energy of the opposite pole to neutralize the energy like the fire technique learned by Lord Cheonak.’

Even so, it was a martial art that, if learned, would cause considerable inconvenience in daily life.

Because various side effects will occur.

For example, one’s senses become dull, one becomes completely indifferent to people other than oneself, or one instinctively turns on men.

A representative example was the Blood Witch of the Demonic Cult.

Having learned martial arts with an excessively biased nature, she would invite men to her residence whenever she had the chance.

The side effects of martial arts were resolved by extorting the energy of men.

‘Well, Binghwagong is not that extreme of a martial arts attack.’

I glanced sideways at Lee Kang-hak.

Even so, it was not a martial art worthy of being taught to a relative.

Lee Kang-hak frowned and asked.

“Why do you look at it like that?”

“Why did you allow it? “I don’t think you are the kind of person who would stand by and watch your granddaughter learn martial arts like this.”

“I wanted to support Yuna’s dream.”

“dream?”

“He said he wanted to become a beautiful and strong master like the Empress of the North Sea.”

“Are you saying that you tolerated such dangerous martial arts training just for that reason?”

“We have made sufficient preparations to resolve the side effects of martial arts. “There is also a gift of Hwari (火鯉) that I received for my merits while on active duty.”

“Hwari? Are you really talking about a lifetime of fire?”

“Yes.”

I moaned, ‘Gasp’.

It’s the inner altar of a thousand years old.

Isn’t it a treasure among treasures comparable to the Shaolin Temple’s summoning order?

As it is an elixir that contains an enormous amount of positive energy, it would be very effective for practitioners of Ice Ball.

I was jealous.

So much so that I even thought about stealing it.

‘No, that won’t work.’

I suppressed my greed and looked at the contents of the martial arts book.

It wasn’t that difficult to spot and correct the incorrect composition.

The problem was whether the patient would be able to breathe properly according to my guidance.

Cheon Ga-ryeong and Hwa Dae-rang, who were treated earlier, were people with deep martial arts knowledge.

On the other hand, at a glance, the young girl in front of me seemed to have only recently learned martial arts.

‘I don’t know. it will work out somehow.’

I raised the upper body of the girl who was breathing heavily and placed my hand on her famous acupuncture point.

Lee Kang-hak looked at that figure with nervous eyes.

* * *

“My granddaughter was very smart. “Honestly, I didn’t think they would follow along so well.”

“Did the treatment go well?”

“yes. In fact, there is nothing to call it treatment. I just taught him the correct way to play. From now on, it is a matter of your own capabilities and efforts. In order to overcome the mind-ma, you must constantly exert effort in the use of the mind-dharma.”

“The demon cultist who came before didn’t say anything like that. “The treatment was also carried out in a way that the patient’s energy was directly controlled.”

“I guess so. “Rather than revealing all of his cards from the beginning, he probably thought it would be more advantageous to gradually reveal them one by one.”

“…….”

“We will visit regularly from now on to help your granddaughter recover. “I will probably be able to get out of bed in about a month.”

“Thank you. “It puts my mind at ease when you say that.”

“Of course it’s not free. “I will put this into debt.”

“You mean this?”

“You will also have to pay the price for refusing to the end the helping hand I extended.”

“…I’m sorry about that. “I have nothing to say.”

“I understand your feelings to some extent. “It must have been difficult to make a rational decision because your granddaughter’s life was at stake.”

“…….”

“There is one thing I would like to ask of you.”

“I will gladly grant any request you make.”

“Please do not let the outside world know that I am visiting Igajang for my granddaughter’s treatment. Please speed up the recruitment of Gasols thoroughly. Also, even if my granddaughter gets out of her hospital bed, I hope you can hide that fact for a while.”

“The reason is?”

“In fact, the author of Binghwagong is the Heavenly Demon of his time. And the total number of official documents he wrote is five.”

“…!”

“So far, I have saved three of those who fell into despair due to the military documents he wrote.”

“It means there are two people left.”

“That’s right. “I want to make sure that the Demon Cultist doesn’t feel anything wrong until we save the other two people.”

“I know what you want to say.”

“It may be a little uncomfortable for your granddaughter, but it is a matter where people’s lives are at stake. Please persuade me well.”

“As you said, he is a smart child, so if I explain the situation, he will understand.”

“And could you tell me about Mine’s impressions that came to visit earlier?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“I told you earlier that the author of Binghwagong was Lord Ma.”

“yes.”

“Only the Master Ma himself and his disciples who have followed his progress can treat patients who have fallen into mental demons due to Binghwagong.”

“And what about you?”

“Of course, I am an exception.”

“That’s a vague answer.”

“That part is not important, so let’s skip it and this is the point. “Then what is the identity of the demon cultist who visited Igajang?”

“……no way.”

“It is impossible for the Demon Lord himself to have set foot in Honam, the territory of the Murim Alliance, so in all likelihood, one of the four disciples he taught was sent there.”

“I must catch it.”

“That’s why I’m asking. “If you want to catch him, you have to have a clue.”

“Are you planning on catching it yourself? “I think it would be better to report it to the authorities.”

“What do you plan to say to Meng Do, who was dispatched to inquire about the situation? You stumbled upon a disciple of a demonic cult while walking down the street? Or did you plot a conspiracy with him to cure his granddaughter?”

“…….”

“This must be handled as quietly as possible. As I said before, I want to prevent the religious leader from experiencing any changes. Stories about your granddaughter should never surface. For the same reason, you should not step forward and catch the demon cultist yourself.”

“I understand. But are you okay on your own? A disciple of the Demonic Cult would not be an easy opponent. “I know you have great skills beyond your age, but…”

“You don’t have to worry, because you are fully capable of protecting yourself. And you are not alone. “I have some people who can help me.”

“Umm… … . There wasn’t much that could be said to be special about it. He covered his body with a gray robe and wore a white mask on his face. His physique was ordinary, and his outward prayers were not that great. “He must not have been very familiar with transmutation, so his voice sounded like he was scratching metal with his fingernails, and he was accompanied by two subordinates who wore the same outfit.”

“…You hid it thoroughly.”

“Oh, by the way, I see that he took off his gloves for a moment while treating Yuna. “It had thick hands covered in scars, and there was a tattoo on the back of the hand that I couldn’t tell if it was a snake or a dragon.”

“Snake tattoo?”

“That’s not accurate. “I only saw it in passing…”

“No. That is enough.”

Snake tattoo on the back of the hand.

A crucial clue was given.

I was able to guess the identity of the demonic cultist.

Of the four disciples of Cheonma of the time, only one had a snake tattoo on the back of his hand.

‘It’s the third death sentence.’

I felt regretful.

If it had been the first execution, he would have been able to alleviate Dokgo Woo-jin’s worries, and if it had been the second or fourth execution, he would have been able to avenge his past life.

‘No, I’m just glad I did.’

Others may not have known, but if the person dispatched was Cheonakgun, I wouldn’t have even dared to touch him now.

Among the four disciples of the Demonic Cult Master, he was the only one who was said to be capable of being comparable to the Eight Great Demon Lords.

To catch him, you had to mobilize an absolute expert like Dokgo Woojin or Maehwashingeom.

“Please leave this matter to me. “I will come back soon with good news.”

“Be careful.”

After seeing off Lee Kang-hak, Lee went out to the family home.

I stretched and muttered.

“Let’s prepare for a great tiger hunt.”

* * *

As soon as I returned to my dorm, I called Damun.

Damun, who heard about what had happened, looked surprised.

“So, are you saying that there is a disciple of the Demonic Cultist somewhere in Honam right now?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you planning to go catch him from now on?”

“Not right away. “First, we need to find out the location and make a plan.”

“…….”

“No matter how much I am, I think it will be difficult to catch the master of fireworks on my own. So, I am thinking of borrowing the power of Qiunryong, who is famous for being a genius in fighting. Could you help me?”

“If you praise me that much, it would be a bit burdensome, even for me.”

“So are you going to help me or not?”

“There is no option to refuse in the first place.”

“I understand that you have agreed.”