Mercenary Black Mamba

The scientific knowledge coming out of Priest Daeu's mouth was college-lecture-level. It was not strange. A monk was also a human. Some fake monks defiled temples, had an affair with a female Buddhist, were obsessed with accumulating wealth, or were obsessed with academic or artistic endeavors. Priest Daeu was quite knowledgeable in worldly knowledge. Despite his age, he subscribed to reputable scientific journals from overseas through Mussang.

"I get it!"

The metaphor of a rail gun helped Mussang understand. The explosive, rough dark energy of sm epimedium. and the pure, natural energy, Resonance Wave, were opposites and could never mix even though they shared the same blood vessels and nerves. If an ordinary human was bestowed with the two energies at the same time, they would not be born but end up as a miscarriage. If the monk Priest Daeu mentioned could use Finger Wind, he was likely also an epimedium.

"It is like the shockwave the snapping shrimp uses. It stuns a fish with a single blow."

"Was there such an organism in nature? If only it could be enlarged, it would be able to break apart the planet. Use it again."

Priest Daeu firmly closed his eyes. He was seeing through his spiritual eye.

"I will."

Resonance Wave charged through like a reservoir whose bank collapsed. The dormant dark energy in Mussang was awakened. The two energies rivaled each other, each increasing their intensity. Mussang unleashed Resonance Wave. In the stacked layers of the energies, Priest Daeu could see the forces of attraction and repulsion.

When the air kept being compressed over and over again, his willpower let go of the force of attraction. Resonance Wave was unleashed. A hole was made in the rock, as thick as a wrist. The secret of the terrible destructive momentum was super-compressed energy, the repulsion between two opposite energies, velocity, and the collaboration of all three.

"Whoa!"

Priest Daeu marveled. The super-compressed energy, approaching the density of solid metal, surpassed the speed of sound. The incredible momentum made him puff.

"You are quite monstrous! I am in awe of your body that can withstand such a process. If an ordinary person ever used such an ability, their body would shatter like glass, unable to withstand the repulsive shockwave. Only a being like you could stomach it. Hahaha!"

There was a sad touch to Priest Daeu's laughter. As time passed, his student turned more and more monstrous. He intentionally refrained from teaching Mussang the offensive abilities but he learned it elsewhere anyway. What could be done? An asura learned on their own...

"I cannot use it often. When I use it, I am exhausted for a few seconds. Choe Dosik escaped, taking advantage of that momentary lapse."

Mussang never mentioned that he was reluctant to dive into literally shitty water.

"You are expending your entire energy reserves. Finger Wind is akin to the atomic warheads numerously manufactured by the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s. It can serve as a decisive strike but your body is also harmed in repulse. Even if you seem to be made of literal metal, you will still be affected by accumulated fatigue. Until you can handle it by dispersing the energies, spare the ability."

"I will put that to mind."

"Your body seems to be sufficiently strong. But what about your mind?"

Priest Daeu grinned and touched his student's weakness. Mussang, dumbstruck, murmured. He had caused more than 40 souls to be buried but felt barely any reluctance. He felt as though he had just gone to a restaurant for a meal. He could never tell Teacher that killing people felt no different from killing ants.

"These days, I realized that I am only myself and I shall not rely upon any external object. Am I headed in the wrong direction?"

Mussang asked in a gentle, mawkish tone.

"No. Is Garuda evil for devouring dragons? Are the Buddhist kings evil for banishing the ghosts? No. It is just what happens. You cannot blame a tiger for eating a lovely rabbit. The conflict and strife between humans is also a matter of course. The path you walk is neither good nor bad. It is just the will of the vast universe and your own. Even when you call a rose a lump of shit, it doesn't become that. Even when you call a lump of shit a rose, it doesn't bear scent. You are you and nothing else."

"Ah!"

Mussang felt tremendously relieved. The will of the universe and his own. It was so. The good and evil were also just intents. There was only essence. All else was constantly changing.

"Can Choe Dosik ever threaten your family?"

"I have Kkamdung protecting them."

"Yeah. His detection skill and teleport ability are quite something. The evil being can never approach your family. I am not in a position to say this as a sloppy monk but if you have a good gun, you do not need to make your fist toil. Avoid fistfighting and handle him from a distance. Your soul is like an ocean but your essence is opposite to the Buddha's. You can embrace clouded and muddy souls but not someone like Choe Dosik, who abandoned his humanity altogether."

"I shall put that to mind."

"Yeah. Be on your way."

"I seek to spend a night with you in the temple. It has been such a long time. I can scratch your back too!"

"Read the air! A fine female fellow has just appeared. You just don't want me to hoard her presence. Hell awaits you!"

"Teacher! Lower your voice. She may hear us."

Mussang, startled, glanced back.

"Silence. Don't ever pretend you want to sleep with a smelly old man. Before I hit you again, go and make some children."

Priest Daeu held up the half-broken large woodblock.

"I am on my way!"

Mussang waved away and stood. Priest Daeu grinned. Had he never crossed paths with Mussang, he must be quite lonely now. He may have already left the world. A grin flowered across Mussang's face too. Had he never met a Teacher, his life would have been quite boring.

"Don't worry about Ms. Yang. There is no finer place for her to calm her disturbed soul. Send me some money. The minister in Jinpyeong District opened an orphanage but he is quite clumsy at managing it unlike you. He is driven through. The whole thing is quite a mess. I shall feed the children and school them."

"Aye."

Mussang bowed and left the temple. No one ever truly figures out the connections. Gim Gitaek, when he exercised mercy upon young Mussang, saved himself in the future. The connection between Yang Misuk and Mussang led Yang Mija to Priest Daeu. It also led Mussang to the orphanage in Jinpyeong District.

The freak monk who enjoys his Harley frequented an orphanage. Yang Mija could tend to her hurt heart thanks to her new connection to a great monk. Yeonghui who came to see her mother a few days later, had all of her mental turmoil fixed with one touch of Priest Daeu's Spirit Cleansing. Mussang thus saved Lee Sanghan and Gim Gitaek and paid back the favors they lent him.

There were barracks mere 50 meters away from the building of Pungguk Capital. It was used by the Japanese in the past than by the American soldiers during the Korean War. The legal owner was U Beomseok but it was de facto owned by Choe Dosik's people.

The facilities had an ambiance that was as shadowy as Korea's history. In contrast to the heap of concrete lit by searchlights, thick darkness surrounded the area. The space surrounded by tall walls and a black steel door felt as shady as if haunted by ghosts.

The building near the front gate was the office and room for the special unit members. The special unit, led by U Beomseok, was the lackeys for the Hamon clan. Half of the 20 members of the special units were from a yakuza made of Koreans living in Japan.

With the office at the center, barracks were situated to its left and right. The right building was used by the Pungguk syndicate as a waiting space and the left building was a sickbay. It was only called that and the exact use was known to no one. The strikers led by Jang Yeongpal only handed the debtors who signed the oath of renouncement of bodily rights to the office there and couldn't enter the building itself.

Slightly past early evening, in the waiting space, a shrill scream and a low grumble of threat were heard.

"Who are you to hit me?"

A teenage girl screamed shrilly.

"You poor thing. You violated the rules."

The man with a baseball cap pushed down to his head didn't budge.

"What rules? I only came here to participate in a clinical trial, not be hit by a baseball bat. Give me the compensation for the three days I was here. I am going home."

"You spout quite some nonsense. Have you been living in the fourth dimension?"

The eyes of Baseball Cap glinted with sadistic pleasure. The woman flinched but it was already too late. The black bat slashed the air. It was made by winding rubber rope around a plastic pipe. A sound akin to a face being slapped was heard.

"I am in a foul mood today. You shouldn't have screamed, bitch."

Baseball Cap kicked the woman sprawled on the floor, unconscious. The woman squirmed but couldn't scream anymore. The merit of such a bat was that it could make for a quite gruesome visual display without really inflicting lethal injuries. A dozen men and women gasped at the horrible sight.

"No!"

A young girl, overcome with fear, broke into sobs.

"Shush!"

A middle-aged woman covered the child's mouth but it was already too late. Baseball Cap's face was soaked with cold-bloodedness and cruelty.

"Who was that?"

He yelled and wielded the bat. Someone blocked the bat in its path.

"I told you that the child is of utmost importance."

The man wearing thick sunglasses held the bat and threatened Baseball Cap.

"I am sorry."

"Move them quickly. We shall have some drink then. This is some ridiculous hassle."

When Sunglasses left, Baseball Cap wielded the bat threateningly.

"Before I eviscerate you, go down now!"

The dozen men and women, overcome with extreme fear, ran down the stairs.

"Lord, please protect your child!"

The middle-aged woman tottered, holding the hand of the young girl.

The indoor space was about 99 square meters wide. On the tea table, beer bottles and various snacks were laden. The faces of the three men sitting on a sofa were as heavy as a rock. The man in his mid-30s, with a Mohawk, was Murai from the Hamon clan. The square-faced man with a rocky build, sitting next to Murai, was U Beomseok, the head of the special unit. The man sitting across them in a suit was unnamed.

Of the six beer bottle on the table, four were still capped. The beer poured in tall glasses had their bubbles disappear long ago. The three men, shone by the fluorescent light, looked as yellow as the beer itself.

"Mr. Murai, we need to export the donors within 12 hours."

Three deep wrinkles appeared on Murai's forehead. He had heard the same words three times from the suited man. He didn't bother to respond now. Murai looked back at U Beomseok.

"No. We have forestalled it but it is quite a huge incident. The ANSP advised that there may be armed North Korean spies related to the explosion in the mountain. South Korea is in a truce, not in peace. It means a great deal for armed spies to appear in the country. The ANSP and police are operating in emergency and soldiers are everywhere. If we ever attempted to escape with the girl, we will get caught at the checkpoint. In our current circumstances, the bribed officers cannot be of much use.

U Beomseok exercised the most patience he could muster and explained the situation to the suited man. To be honest, he wanted to smack him but he was one of their most important clients. He didn't dare face the consequences.

"Dumbass!"

The suited man grasped his hair with both hands. How could he be this unlucky? He acquired the perfect donor but the circumstances didn't allow for her utilization.

"Murai, the client doesn't need to consider your specific circumstances. We paid a sufficient price. You are now obligated to deliver. Thirty million yen is not an ordinary amount. We are ready to proceed."

"How much time do we have left? Surely you wouldn't have opened her stomach yet."

Murai's words took on an irritated tone.

"Language, please."

The suited man glared at Murai. His boss was not to be mentioned by a meager shaman.

"I apologize. We are routinely informed by the bribed officers in the prosecutor's office and police. We have intel that the ANSP and the prosecutors will search this place tomorrow. We will begin after we handle that."

"Great. The donor should be out of here tomorrow. If you deliver her to the port in Busan, we will handle the rest."

The suited man dabbed at his eyes. If he didn't bring the donor to Kyoto in four days, his own life was at peril. Physical fatigue compounded with mental fatigue made his eyeballs sting.

"I see. Get some sleep in the resting room. We will do our job."

"Please do."

The suited man nagged for the last time and exited the office.

Murai emptied the beer without bubbles and frowned.

"Korean beer is trash."

U Beomseok said nothing and smiled.

"This is not beer but urine."

Murai complained again and with some frustration and angst, put down the glass on the table. The tails of U Beomseok's eyes moved at the sound. With the suited man gone, Murai was acting up again.