Na Manor (4)

Lady Min made her move the following morning, slightly later than Seonu Jin had expected.

It seemed she lacked the courage to act personally, so she had waited until the physician arrived.

Physician Yang, who had conspired with Lady Min to feed the Lord of Na Manor small doses of poison, could not help but be flustered by her sudden demand.

“You want me to make a poison that will kill the Manor Lord… right now?”

Lady Min, haggard from a sleepless night, hurriedly answered with sunken eyes.

“That’s right. Right now! We have to kill the Manor Lord immediately! If that wretch truly brings back the Living-Dead Eccentric, everything we’ve done might be exposed!”

“W-what?! She intends to bring the Living-Dead Eccentric?!”

That news struck Physician Yang like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

He also knew very well how exceptional a physician the Living-Dead Eccentric was, as well as how eccentric he could be.

His complexion instantly became as pale as Lady Min’s.

Even so, Physician Yang did not immediately agree to her demand.

“B-but if we administer a large dose of poison all at once, it will leave traces on the body. The color of the skin and the degree of decomposition….”

Lady Min snapped irritably, as though frustrated.

“Then we can bury him immediately! If we waste time over something like that and get discovered, will you take responsibility for everything, Physician Yang?!”

“Th-that is….”

In the end, Physician Yang had no choice but to prepare the poison as Lady Min demanded.

The two had already become bound to the same fate, so both were desperate.

Physician Yang mixed all the poison he carried into the medicinal decoction he had brought, then entered the Lord of Na Manor’s room with Lady Min.

Sweat poured down his pallid face.

The Lord of Na Manor, lying in bed with his illness clearly visible on his face, nevertheless welcomed him with a pleased smile.

“Physician Yang, you’ve come. Welcome.”

“G-greetings, Manor Lord. H-how have you b-been feeling? Has there been any i-improvement?”

“I have felt somewhat better over the past few days. It seems your medicine is finally taking effect, Physician Yang. Hahaha!”

“Ah, i-is that so?”

Physician Yang was stammering far too much over an entirely ordinary conversation.

Lady Min secretly frowned at his awkward behavior, and the Lord of Na Manor finally looked at Physician Yang strangely and asked.

“You seem especially pale today. You also appear to be sweating more than usual. Has something happened?”

“N-no, nothing. I-I’m merely feeling somewhat unwell….”

Physician Yang forced a smile as he made his excuse, and the Lord of Na Manor sighed before asking.

“My, then shouldn’t you be the one drinking my medicine today?”

It was truly a horrifying suggestion.

Physician Yang recoiled and asked in shock.

“W-what?!”

“Hm? Why are you so startled? My body does not feel particularly bad today, so I merely said that you could drink the medicine in my place.”

“Ah, ah, th-that is….”

Physician Yang’s face turned as white as a sheet, and he could not continue speaking.

Lady Min, who had been watching anxiously from behind, hurriedly intervened.

“Hohoho! Husband, what a fine joke! Why would you tell Physician Yang to drink your expensive medicine? They say everyone has a different constitution, so one must never carelessly drink medicine prescribed for another person. Wouldn’t something terrible happen?”

Physician Yang hurriedly nodded as well.

“Th-that’s right! Everyone has a different constitution, so one cannot recklessly drink another person’s medicine! Exactly!”

At their vehement reactions, the Lord of Na Manor nodded as though he understood.

“Hmm, is that so? Very well. Then give me the medicine.”

However, the two panicked conspirators failed to notice the sharp gleam in the eyes of the Lord of Na Manor as he spoke.

Through their reactions, the Lord of Na Manor became certain that the medicine brought today was indeed a deadly poison.

Na Seoyu had already explained everything to him, so he had merely pretended ignorance and tested the two of them.

Now, their excessive reactions had confirmed that the medicine was poison.

The same was true for Seonu Jin, who was watching while concealed.

Clinging like a bat to a corner of the room’s ceiling, Seonu Jin slowly prepared to move.

He intended to leap out and secure the evidence the moment Physician Yang handed the decoction to the Lord of Na Manor.

It was then.

Just as Physician Yang took out the medicine with trembling hands and began pouring it into a bowl, a loud voice suddenly rang out from outside.

“Manor Lord! Madam! Something terrible has happened!”

“Ah!”

Crash!

The timing could not have been worse.

Startled by the sudden shout from outside, Physician Yang spilled the medicinal decoction.

“N-no!”

“Th-this!”

Lady Min’s expression twisted at the sight.

He had said that he had poured all the poison he possessed into that medicine, yet he had spilled it….

However, she did not know that the expressions of both the Lord of Na Manor and the hidden Seonu Jin had also twisted.

“Manor Lord! Madam!”

Even then, the urgent voice continued outside.

Irritated, Lady Min flung the door open and shouted.

“What is all this commotion?!”

Two men stood outside. One was a warrior of Na Manor, while the other appeared to be unaffiliated with it.

Lady Min was about to berate them with an enraged expression when she suddenly saw the face of the outside warrior and stopped.

His face was so pale that not a trace of blood remained in it.

As Lady Min stared at him in confusion, the warrior of Na Manor hurriedly spoke first.

“Something terrible has happened, Madam! Everyone at Jo Manor and Gwak Manor has reportedly been slaughtered!”

Jo Manor was located at the southernmost edge of Heungui in Guizhou Province, while Gwak Manor lay slightly farther north. Both were small-to-medium-sized martial factions comparable in scale to Na Manor.

Gwak Manor was also located not far from Na Manor.

Lady Min frowned at the unexpected report and asked.

“What are you talking about? Why would those two perfectly healthy factions suddenly be massacred?”

This time, the outside warrior explained while trembling violently.

“They were m-monsters. At dawn, a warrior from Jo Manor suddenly arrived at our Gwak Manor….”

According to the explanation he gave with a dazed expression, two warriors from Jo Manor had arrived at Gwak Manor at dawn and desperately requested aid.

Trembling with fear, they claimed that three monster-like people had suddenly come to Jo Manor and slaughtered everyone.

However, the people of Gwak Manor had been unable to believe their story completely.

Since it was still dawn, they had told the two men to calm themselves and wait while they discussed the matter at leisure. Yet not long afterward, those creatures had also arrived at Gwak Manor.

The monster-like group consisted of two men and one woman….

The warrior from Gwak Manor began trembling again as he recalled the scene and spoke almost in a sob.

“Those evil-ghost-like bastards tore people apart like beasts and drank their blood. Women and children alike, they spared no one. They… Uuuugh….”

Unable to finish speaking, the Gwak Manor warrior broke down sobbing.

Lady Min stared at him with a frown for a moment before speaking.

“I cannot understand what you are saying at all. How could merely three people annihilate Jo Manor and Gwak Manor? And how could people who are not beasts tear others apart and drink their blood? It seems your mind may be somewhat….”

It was then.

Suddenly, screams began ringing out from the direction of Na Manor’s front gate.

“Aaaaaagh!”

“W-who are you?! Aaaaaagh!”

“Y-you bastard! Aaaagh!”

The sobbing Gwak Manor warrior abruptly raised his head and shouted in terror.

“Th-they’re here! They followed me!”

He then sprinted away and began climbing Na Manor’s wall like a madman.

It appeared he intended to escape over it.

“W-we have to run! We have to get away!”

Lady Min could not help but panic at the sudden situation.

“Wh-what is happening…?”

Even then, the screams did not cease.

“Aaaaaagh!”

“Aaaaaagh!”

The screams were so desperate that it was impossible to tell what was happening.

Lady Min hurriedly shouted at the warrior of Na Manor.

“What are you doing?! Go see what is happening and report back to me!”

“Y-yes! Understood, Madam!”

At that moment, Lady Min suddenly recalled what the warrior from Gwak Manor had said.

‘Only three of them slaughtered everyone at Jo Manor and Gwak Manor? They tore people apart and drank their blood?’

She unconsciously swallowed.

If that story was true, this was no time for her to remain there.

There was no reason those who had annihilated Jo Manor and Gwak Manor could not annihilate Na Manor as well.

Only one thought surfaced in her mind.

‘I need to run. I have to escape quickly.’

Then she suddenly remembered her son lying in bed.

“My son. My son, Seohwang….”

Lady Min hurriedly ran toward her son’s room.

She did not care in the slightest what happened to the Lord of Na Manor or Physician Yang in the room.

Meanwhile, Seonu Jin, who had been concealed inside the room, and Na Seoyu, who had been concealed on the roof, both released their concealment and rushed out.

Physician Yang screamed in terror at Seonu Jin’s sudden appearance.

“Aaaaaagh!”

However, there was no time to pay attention to him.

Na Seoyu hurriedly shouted to Seonu Jin.

“Young Master Seonu, could it be?!”

Seonu Jin nodded with a grim expression.

“It seems so. Of all times….”

He bit his lip in frustration.

On the first day he arrived at Na Manor, Seonu Jin had confirmed that the Iron Fiends had not yet appeared. He had then immediately visited the nearby Hao Clan to ask whether Hwagolsan could be obtained.

The Hao Clan had said they did not currently have any, but that they could obtain it if he paid enough, so Seonu Jin had paid the price and placed an order.

They had told him it would be available by today and instructed him to collect it in the afternoon….

Yet the creatures had appeared before he could retrieve it.

It was truly an unbearably unfortunate situation.

However, Seonu Jin soon abandoned his attachment to the Hwagolsan. Regretting what he did not currently possess would accomplish nothing.

He immediately assessed the situation and spoke to Na Seoyu.

“Lady Na, take your father and evacuate somewhere else for now. I will hold them off.”

Na Seoyu shouted in alarm.

“What?! B-but those creatures!”

Na Seoyu knew very well that they were monsters unaffected even by Sword Aura.

She naturally understood that if Seonu Jin went alone, he would merely die a meaningless death.

However, Seonu Jin smiled confidently.

“Do not worry, Lady Na. Judging by the screams, not all of them have arrived yet. It appears only one came ahead.”

The screams were not erupting simultaneously, but one person at a time.

From that, Seonu Jin was certain that only one creature was currently present.

“If there is only one, it can never defeat me. I may not be able to kill it, but it will not be able to kill me either. If things become truly dangerous, I can simply flee. Surely you do not doubt my speed? So do not worry about me. Please move the Manor Lord somewhere safe.”

Na Seoyu looked at Seonu Jin’s confident expression for a moment before eventually nodding.

In her judgment, that did indeed seem like the best course of action.

“I understand. Then I leave it to you, Young Master Seonu. And… please be careful.”

Seonu Jin smiled and nodded before immediately launching himself toward the front gate, while Na Seoyu returned to the room.

She carefully approached the Lord of Na Manor and spoke.

“Father, it seems the Demonic Humans of the Blood Cult have attacked. You need to evacuate from here for now.”

However, the Lord of Na Manor laughed weakly and shook his head.

“How could I, the Manor Lord, abandon this place and flee? Seoyu, you should escape quickly.”

Na Seoyu sighed.

She had expected her father to say exactly that, given his personality.

However, she could not obey him.

Na Seoyu lowered her head and apologized.

“Father, please forgive me.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Tap!

“Ugh!”

Na Seoyu immediately approached him and, without hesitation, struck his sleep acupoint, putting him to sleep.

She then turned to Physician Yang, who stood nearby at a loss, and asked.

“I intend to move Father outside now. What do you think, Physician?”

Physician Yang shook his head and answered.

“Ah, that cannot be done. The Manor Lord is in a condition where he absolutely must rest. If you move him recklessly, his condition could worsen….”

Na Seoyu interrupted him and asked.

“Because of the poison you gave him?”

“W-what?!”

Physician Yang felt as though his heart would fall from his chest. How could she possibly know?

However, when he looked into Na Seoyu’s eyes in shock, he was even more terrified.

Her eyes were staring at him while emitting a chilling murderous gleam.

Na Seoyu spoke to Physician Yang while pouring out waves of killing intent.

“If anything at all happens to Father, you will regret not taking your own life. I will make certain that you remain alive long enough to witness hell.”

Physician Yang’s body trembled like an aspen before the dense, clinging killing intent and Na Seoyu’s terrifying gaze.

A coward like him could never endure the killing intent of a peak first-class martial artist.

Just as Physician Yang turned blue, unable even to breathe properly and on the verge of fainting, Na Seoyu withdrew her killing intent and spoke again.

“Now, I am going to move Father outside. What must I do?”

Physician Yang reflexively shouted.

“A stretcher! You must make a stretcher! Then you can move him carefully!”

Na Seoyu coldly ordered him.

“Then make one.”

“Y-yes! Lady Na! Understood!”