Reaper of the Drifting Moon Chapter 413
Reaper of the Drifting Moon Chapter 413

Type- Light Novel, Web Novel
Manhwa- N/A
Translation-MTL

At its peak, the Celestial Demon Troupe comprised of the Grand Palace, the Imperial Palace, the Three Temples, the Four Pavilions, and the Five Pagodas.
.
These were just the visible ones, and when you add in the other secretive organizations, there were over a dozen different factions working together under the name of the Celestial Demon Troupe.

It was not unusual for each organization to create secret spaces or operational strategies..

The Celestial Demon Troupe had long been extinct, and their territories had turned into ruins. However, there were still secret spaces here and there that they had used.

The place where Jang Sacheon and his subordinates had entered was one of them.

Jang Sacheon muttered as he looked at the signboard lying on the floor.

"Blood Heaven Temple......."

They were in the grounds of one of the three temples.

Jang Sacheon did not know much about the Blood Heaven Temple.

The past or structure of an already extinct force was not of his concern. If he hadn't received an order, he wouldn't have even entered this remote underground ruin.

After briefly looking around, Jang Sacheon knocked on one of the underground walls.

Two long taps, three short taps, and the entire wall moved.

With a heavy sound, the wall retreated, revealing a dark space. Another secret space was hidden in the underground area.

Jang Sacheon frowned at the foul smell coming from the inside.

He had been there several times, but he couldn't get used to the stench that came from inside.

Then, a sullen voice came from within.

"What are you waiting for? Come in."

"Yes! We're coming in. Damn it!"

Jang Sacheon answered and gestured to his subordinates. They carried their loads and entered the secret space.

As Jang Sacheon entered, the wall closed again.

As they walked further into the underground space, a dim light illuminated the darkness. 

Night Crystals were embedded in the ceiling.

Thanks to the precious night crystals, they didn't need to adjust to the darkness separately.

As they entered, a spacious area appeared before their eyes.

Inside, there were dozens of stone beds lined up. People who had lost consciousness lay on each bed, and an old man wandered around them alone.

The old man didn't even glance at Jang Sacheon and his party when they arrived, instead he continued to check on the condition of the person lying on the bed.

Like a Hedgehog, hundreds of silver needles were densely stuck into the body of the person lying on the bed.

Jang Sacheon and his subordinates watched the old man silently, holding their breath.

They knew from their previous visits how sensitive the old man was at this moment.
 
Anyone who offended him would be met with a venomous rant that bordered on a curse.

If someone else made such a noise, they would be immediately executed, but unfortunately, they couldn't do that to the old man.

If they showed even a hint of discomfort, they would end up lying on a stone bed like the people there now.

The old man had that kind of ability.

The demonic doctor, Gwak Nosaeng.

That was the old man's name.

It wasn't widely known, but anyone who knew even a little about Gwak Nosaeng was afraid of him.

If one fell into Gwak Nosaeng's hands, they would neither die nor live, like those lying on the beds now.

The people lying on the beds were still breathing. But if you asked them if they were alive, would they be able to answer? Jang Sacheon thought not.

'They are just breathing, not truly living.'

They were not merely unconscious.

Gwak Nosaeng had used some kind of technique to separate their consciousness and body. 

Their minds were awake, but their bodies were asleep.

Although they were lying down with their eyes closed, they could hear and distinguish all the sounds coming from outside.

'It's like imprisoning the mind in a physical prison.'

It was a heinous act beyond imagination.

Jang Sacheon had committed evil deeds all through his life, but compared to Gwak Nosaeng, he was like a child.

That's when it happened.

"What are you doing? If you're here, put down your luggage quickly."

Gwak Nosaeng raised his head and looked at Jang Sacheon.

The So-called dark spots were scattered all over the old man's face. His eyes were murky, and he had only a few teeth left, which made him look even more grotesque.

Jang Sacheon greeted Gwak Nosaeng with a bow.

"Have you been well?"

"Stop talking nonsense and put down the stuff. You've brought everything I asked for, right?"

"Yes! I checked three times."

"You know you'll be on this stone bed if anything is missing, right?"

"There won't be any such thing."

As Jang Sacheon replied, he signaled to his subordinates. Then, they quickly unloaded the luggage they had brought.

Gwak Nosaeng rummaged through the load and asked,

"Did you bring the Fire Heart Herb as well? That's the most important."

"Yes! We've scraped it all together, so you don't have to worry."

"Hmph! I'll have to check it with my own eyes."

Gwak Nosaeng sneered and opened the bundle containing the Fire Heart Herb. The bundle was full of red flowers.

A foul smell flowed from the flowers, each made of seven red petals.

"Right! You've brought good quality ones."

"I paid special attention to it."

"Are the other items correct too?"

"Of course. I've checked them all myself."

"Good! You do your job quite well. Even if you make a mistake, I won't turn you into a living Jiangshi."(Jiangshi are dead bodies that can move, you can google it)

"Thank you, Sir Demonic Doctor."

Jang Sacheon bowed his head with a bow.

'Crazy bastard! Is that what you call a conversation?'

His face was full of contempt.

What Gwak Nosaeng was making right now was a living Jiangshi.

Turning a living person into a state where they can neither die nor live, making them a living Jiangshi.

Turning a living person into a living corpse was taboo even in the martial world. If this fact were to be known, they would be hunted down and exterminated by the martial world.

Gwak Nosaeng knew this fact, so he hid and came to this distant place.

This was the only place that could satisfy his bizarre desire for research.

He conducted his research here to his heart's content.

For him, this place was no different from heaven.

It was almost infinitely funded and had little interference.

So far, he has dissected the brains of hundreds of people. By observing the brains of the living, and studying their reactions, he learned how to create a living Jiangshi that was the stuff of legends.

"Hehe! The day of completing the fresh living Jiangshi is not far away. Once the living jiangshi is completed, that monster created by sorcery won't stand a chance."

"You mean the ghost... king?"

"That's right. With sorcery, you can only create one ghost king in decades, but with my medical skills, I can create dozens of living Jiangshi at once. Which one is more efficient?"

"Of course, it's your medical skills, sir."

"That's right. There's no comparison in terms of efficiency. If I have my living Jiangshi, I don't have to fear the ghost king. They have no fear, and they can still remember their martial arts skills when they were human. On top of that, they follow any command without question, making them much more efficient than the troublesome ghost king."

"Is it true that the living Jiangshi is almost complete?"

"It's practically complete. All that's left is to reinforce it with the  Fire Heart Herb and the herbal medicine you guys brought, and then the invincible living Jiangshi army will be born."

"Oh! The boss will be happy to hear that."

"Hehe! I've already informed the boss. All that's left is to complete the living Jiangshi and send it to him."

Gwak Nosaeng smiled a triumphant smile.
 
In the face of Gwak Nosaeng's madness-filled smile,Jang Sacheon felt a chilling fear, as if his whole body was freezing,

He thought he was insane, but in front of a truly insane person, he felt utterly insignificant.

He had seen many people, but never someone as genuinely insane as Gwak Nosaeng.

'What on earth is the lord thinking, letting someone like him do this crazy thing?'

For the first time, he felt resentment towards the lord he had revered like the sky.

＊＊＊

Pyo Wol and Yong Seol-ran entered the ruins where Jang Sacheon and his subordinates had disappeared.

The interior of the ruins was also empty.

It was not difficult for Pyo Wol to find the entrance to the underground area.

Yong Seol-ran asked.

"Are we going in?"

"We can't just turn back after coming this far."

"Yeah, but......"

Seeing Yong Seol-ran hesitating, Pyo Wol said.

"You can go back."

"What?"

"You wanted to leave the martial world and settle down in that village, right? If you get involved any further, you'll be swept up in the martial world's affairs again. So go back. This is your last chance."

At Pyo Wol's words, Yong Seol-ran bit her lip slightly.

After hesitating for a moment, she shook her head.

"I can't do that after coming this far."

She didn't want to be swept up in the martial world's affairs again, but she couldn't give up on avenging the village people either.

She had to retaliate against at least the three people who had directly harmed her.

Seeing Yong Seol-ran's determination, Pyo Wol said.

"Suit yourself."

"I won't be a burden."
 
She picked up a fallen branch from the ground.

Just by holding the branch, her atmosphere changed.

She had returned to being the female swordsman from the Emei Sect.

Pyo Wol watched her for a moment before entering the underground passage, followed by Yong Seol-ran.

Once they arrived in the underground space, it was also completely empty. However, Pyo Wol didn't panic. He quickly found a passage that connected to another place.

'It seems that there are many underground spaces like this here.'

This was the Celestial Demon Troupe that was comparable to a giant city.

It wasn't strange that there were countless secret underground spaces.

It was the perfect space for someone to plot a conspiracy.

It was completely out of the public eye, and there were tons of useful spaces to utilize.

Pyo Wol didn't open the door right away.

It was urgent to find out what was going on here, and if he provoked them, they would hide the evidence and disappear again.

Having already experienced such opponents, Pyo Wol proceeded cautiously.

'There must be a ventilation duct somewhere.'

Even the most well-constructed underground facility needed vents. No matter how well constructed an underground facility was, it needed vents to bring in fresh air from the outside so that the people inside could breathe.

There were no exceptions in any underground facility.

After searching for a while, Pyo Wol found a hidden ventilation duct behind a cabinet.

He and Yong Seol-ran crawled into the ventilation duct.

The ventilation duct was narrow enough for their shoulders to fit tightly.

Ordinary people would have been stuck and unable to move as soon as they entered the duct. 

However, both of them were far from ordinary.

Pyo Wol could move as freely as a snake, and Yong Seol-ran had a slim, flexible body.

They managed to reach the hidden underground space's ceiling through the narrow ventilation duct.

The scene in the underground space was visible through the dense iron bars.

Dozens of stone beds and people lying on them,and a busy, old, and grotesque man moving between them.

As soon as Yong Seol-ran saw the people lying on the stone beds, she felt an indescribable creepy sensation.

Her whole body's hair stood on end, and she felt goosebumps as if her pores were wide open.

"Ugh!"

Although she couldn't tell exactly what was happening inside, her body instinctively knew that something unusual was going on.

Unlike Yong Seol-ran, Pyo Wol looked at the underground space with a calm expression.

Even at a glance, he could sense that something strange was happening.

The figures lying on the stone beds all had excellent physiques.

It was a physique that ordinary people could hardly possess.

Only those who had trained in martial arts could have such a trained body.

Dozens of them were lying unconscious.

It was impossible for an individual to abduct so many people. It could only be done with the backing of a huge force.

That's when it happened.

Suddenly, the demonic doctor Gwak Nosaeng raised his head and looked at the ventilation duct.

"Who's there?"

Even though they made no noise, Gwak Nosaeng seemed to know that there were intruders in his space like a ghost.

As Gwak Nosaeng stared at the ventilation duct with a frightening gaze, Jang Sacheon and his subordinates gathered around him.

"What's going on?"

"Some guy has snuck in."

"Huh? What's that?"

"It seems like you guys have brought some tails with you."

Gwak Nosaeng looked at Jang Sacheon and his subordinates with a disdainful expression.


Important updates from my mtl novel translations


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