Myst, Might, Mahem

TL: RuinsTranslator

The assailant couldn't hide his astonishment. Even those who had trained in inner qi would fall into a deep sleep when exposed to the sleeping fragrance, completely defenceless. Let alone an ordinary person who hasn't trained in martial arts; they would fall asleep almost instantly upon smelling it.

Yet, something unexpected happened. While everyone in the government office was asleep, this guy was wide awake.

'What the hell is this guy?'

With a hint of curiosity, he placed his hand on the boy's abdomen. Then, he infused Qi to check if the boy had trained even a bit of inner qi, a repulsive force would have been generated.

'There's no repulsion! He hadn't trained in inner qi at all.'

Then, as he heard from the official during the day, the boy must indeed be an ordinary person. But why didn't the sleeping fragrance work on him?

'…This guy?'

Moreover, he wasn't afraid of the situation. It was one thing to resist the sleeping fragrance, but to be immobilised by acupoint sealing technique by a stranger who intruded into the prison below the government office, and yet, he was looking at him with steady eyes, as if observing.

'There is something different about him,' the man had heard that the boy was a prisoner, but something about him was different from ordinary boys of his age.

'Should I say he felt ominous?' the assailant momentarily pondered.

That was when a voice came from behind, "Haven't you found it yet?"

Someone walked in from behind the government office. Like him, this person also wore a mask but was not very tall. With a somewhat small stature, it was evident he wasn't a fully grown adult.

The assailant spoke quietly, "Young master. I asked you to wait outside and watch…"

"Is it that guy?" before the assailant could finish speaking, the masked youth pointed with his finger and asked. It was the dishevelled prisoner boy who couldn't move due to the acupoint sealing technique.

The assailant nodded. "Yes."

"Can't see his face well. Prop him up and lift his hair."

It seemed he wanted to check the face. Hesitating for a moment, the assailant then lifted the hair of the boy, whose body was stiffened from the acupoint sealing technique. A gasp escaped the lips of the masked young assailant.

"Ah…" The masked youth genuinely couldn't hide his astonishment.

Unable to understand why, the dishevelled prisoner boy was puzzled by this reaction.

'Why would this assailant and the other react like this?'

Then, the masked youth took off his mask.

'!?' the boy's eyes wavered. The face of the youth under the mask, it resembled his own as if looking at a mirror.

It was astonishingly similar, enough to believe they were twins. From the way his hair was arranged to the slight differences in their faces, if dressed similarly, even those who had seen him for a long time might not be able to tell them apart.

"Do we look alike?"

"…Almost identical," the masked assailant replied.

"Really… amazing."

"I was also shocked when I first saw this guy."

"I can see why."

What were the odds of two completely unrelated people having such similar faces? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was nearly impossible. Yet, the prisoner boy and the boy without the mask had faces too similar to each other.

 As they continued to marvel at this for a while, the unmasked boy approached the prisoner boy and asked, "You. You're a death row inmate, right?"

"…" with his mute point sealed, it was impossible for him to respond. The boy signalled the assailant with his eyes. Following that, the assailant tapped an acupoint on the prisoner boy's chest.

*Tatatatatatak*

After the acupoint was tapped, the boy spoke, "Now you should be able to answer. You're a death row inmate, right?"

The prisoner boy was silent for a moment before responding. "…Yes, I am."

The boy smiled slightly at the polite answer. "You seem to understand your situation well."

After all, even if he was a death row inmate, he was just an ordinary person. In front of a martial artist, he was no different from a cat in front of a tiger, so it was not strange that he acted humbly.

 The boy crossed his arms and said in an arrogant voice, "I hear your execution is set for the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"What would you do if you were given a chance to live a bit longer?"

"…I want to live."

"Hahaha. Of course, you would."

The boy couldn't hide his satisfaction. For a death row inmate with no choices left, clinging to the slightest hope of survival was natural.

Teasingly, the boy said, "Such opportunities don't come easily. For a death row inmate, you're quite lucky."

"…Are you offering me an opportunity?"

"Yes. A very big opportunity."

"What is it?"

"It's rare for someone like you to have the chance to live as Mok Gyeongwoon, the third son of the Great Mok Sword Manor, even if it's only for five days."

'Great Mok Sword Manor?' he hadn't heard of it before. From what he understood, it seemed to be a significant martial clan.

Though the boy wasn't aware, the Great Mok Sword Manor was a prestigious martial family in the northern part of Anhui Province. But one thing was clear, "You want me to be a stand-in?"

The lips of Mok Gyeongwoon curled up at the prisoner boy's question. "You're not stupid. Yes. What else would I need a death row inmate for? What I need is your face."

The reason for finding someone with an identical face was solely to have a stand-in, "…So, I just need to act as a stand-in?"

"You expected something grand for just five days? All you need to do is quietly stay cooped up in the clan's villa pretending to be the real young master."

"I see."

"To enjoy the life of a young master of a prestigious family for five days and in return, you get to save your life. What a great opportunity, isn't it?"

It was a valid point. Though the boy wasn't foolish. Originally, being a stand-in meant taking on the risks in place of the real person. There must be hidden dangers lurking.

'A stand-in…'

But he had no such opportunity before. He had been contemplating how to escape from the government office's prison. Doing nothing would mean facing a brutal execution. There was no need to think further.

"Please give me this opportunity."

"Hmph," Mok Gyeongwoon smirked and gestured. Then, the masked assailant pulled out something resembling a small pouch from his bosom.

Curious, the boy asked, "What is that?"

"Eat it."

Wondering what he meant, the masked assailant took out a black pill from the pouch. An offensive smell wafted through the air, clearly indicating it had nothing to do with medicine. The assailant brought the pill to the boy's mouth.

"…Is this poison?"

Mok Gyeongwoon scoffed and said, "Did you really think I would trust someone who is merely a death row inmate?"

"....."

"If you successfully complete your role as a stand-in, I'll give you the antidote. Hahaha~"

It was clear he intended to eliminate any chance of treachery from the start. The assailant pressed the pill against his lips, saying, "Open your mouth."

He had no choice. Looking at Mok Gyeongwoon, who was sneering vilely, the boy slowly opened his mouth and accepted the poison pill. The assailant's eyes lit up as he watched the boy chew nonchalantly.

Normally, knowing it was poison, one would make a disgusted face and show signs of discomfort, but he was chewing and swallowing it as if it was nothing. Not just swallowing it whole.

'This guy really is different,' though he had the same face as the young master, he was a tough nut to crack. It must be how he killed many people without learning martial arts and ended up as a death row inmate, 'It was a good idea to prepare the poison pill in advance. Now that he's ingested it, if he wants to live, he wouldn't dare try something foolish like escaping.'

The boy stopped chewing and opened his mouth wide. "I've swallowed it, young master."

It was clear there was nothing left in his mouth. The size of the poison pill was too big to pretend to swallow and hide in the mouth.

Once confirmed, Mok Gyeongwoon ordered, "Now, untie him."

"Understood."

The masked assailant found the key from a bunch he had prepared earlier and unlocked the wooden restraints binding the boy's hands and feet.

'Phew,' feeling his hands and feet released, the boy felt like he could live again. Though called wooden restraints, the inside was made of iron, pressing down on the wrists and exceedingly heavy.

The masked assailant quietly approached the entrance of the cell and said, "I will lead the way. Stick behind me. Young master, please follow behind him."

"Got it," Having ingested the poison pill, the boy couldn't run away, but it was a precaution just in case.

If he was leading and the young master was monitoring from behind, how could the boy possibly escape? Compared to those who had learned martial arts, a death row inmate was nothing but a child.

 "Please follow," just as they were about to open the door and leave.

"You! Ugh!"

*Crunch*

*Thump*

Startled by the noise from behind, the masked assailant turned his head. But he was met with an unbelievable sight. Mok Gyeongwoon, with his neck completely twisted, lay on the ground with a look of horror on his face.

'!!!' the event happened so swiftly that the assailant was momentarily lost for words.

To this, the boy nonchalantly said, "What do we do now? The death row inmate supposed to stand-in for me has died?"