episode_0061

Jang Il’s abilities had improved to an incomparable level compared to the beginning.

Just as Mu In became stronger through real-life experience, Jang Il had become more skilled and powerful by hypnotizing dozens of women as his subjects.

If a woman with weak inner strength or skills looked into Jang Il’s opened eyes, she would immediately fall into a state of confusion.

So, even if the opponent was a man or a woman with higher inner strength, there was no need for suspicion even if they were not affected.

If someone were to say something strange just by looking at them, it would be the other person who would receive strange treatment.

Gulp.

Bang So Woon swallowed nervously.

What kind of situation would unfold?

His entire focus was on the hand holding his throat.

The hand that was choking him.

If his mind became confused, he would lose strength in that hand and drop the grip on his throat.

A moment felt like an eternity.

And then.

Thud!

His throat fell to the ground.

“Done!”

Bang So Woon couldn’t contain his excitement and stood up without realizing it.

Cheon Woon had chosen them.

Goe Yi was a woman.

With this, he had obtained a decisive means to gain favor.

Not to mention the immeasurable value of Goe Yi herself.

The best Hwabaek and the best doctor.

Would Geumryongjeonjang obtain both at once?

But.

“Stay calm.”

Bang So Woon quickly suppressed his excitement.

The game was set, but nothing had been won yet.

He needed to remain calm.

For now, it was a race against time.

If it dragged on too long, there was a risk of suspicion or someone entering.

That’s why he had planned from the beginning when the hypnosis was applied.

Bang So Woon quickly moved towards the door to check the situation outside.

If he sensed someone approaching, he would immediately inform Jang Il.

Of course, the most crucial task lay on Jang Il’s shoulders.

“Please, Jang Il.”

***

“…forty… forty-one… forty-two… forty-three….”

The voice of a weakened woman counted numbers.

Goe Yi’s voice.

Her neutral voice had been deliberately disguised.

“Yes, good. The more you count, the deeper your consciousness falls. Right now, you can keep falling as far as the limit allows. Keep going. Keep going.”

Jang Il continued to guide Goe Yi’s consciousness deeper under hypnosis.

And then.

“…forty-nine… fifty….”

Exactly at fifty, Goe Yi’s voice stopped.

That was the limit of the depth of hypnosis she could reach.

“Hmm. Your mental strength is quite impressive.”

Jang Il muttered.

As someone who had lived their life as they pleased without caring what others said, Goe Yi seemed to possess exceptional mental strength.

To push her into a deeper state of hypnosis, another method would be needed.

But it seemed that Jang Il had judged that there was no time for that.

“For now, let’s finish the preparations for the next step.”

“Do as you see fit.”

Bang So Woon said.

After all, Jang Il was the expert.

It was best to trust and leave it to him.

“What state are you in right now?”

“…hypnotized… state….”

“In that state, what happens to you?”

“…pleasant… comfortable sleep… not thinking about anything… just focusing on the voice that comes through….”

“Yes. This voice is the only voice you should focus on and follow. The more you follow this voice, the more a sense of comfort envelops your entire body.”

Jang Il explained.

“But what happens if you don’t follow it?”

“…heavy… painful….”

Goe Yi’s voice became heavy.

“Yes, keep that in mind. That your body will become very heavy and painful.”

Jang Il commanded with force.

“Remove the black mask.”

“….”

Goe Yi remained silent, not moving.

She was resisting.

Removing the mask that revealed her true identity was a strong psychological defense mechanism.

However, Jang-il knew this and intentionally gave such orders.

He thought that breaking through that level of defense mechanism was the deepest level of hypnosis.

And in order to implant the post-hypnotic suggestion, the subject needed to be in a state where they could accept such low-level commands.

“Take off the Heukmyo mask.”

Jang-il commanded strongly once again.

“Uh…”

A painful groan escaped from Goeui’s lips.

Although her expression couldn’t be seen because of the mask, it was clear that her face must be contorted with agony.

Because if she didn’t follow Jang-il’s orders, a heavy sense of suffering would weigh down her entire body.

“Take off the Heukmyo mask.”

The third repeated command.

Trembling hands from the agony.

Finally, those hands began to move slowly.

They pulled the strings of the mask.

Soon, the Heukmyo mask fell to the ground weakly.

Thud!

Banso-un and Jang-il’s gazes focused on the exposed face.

That face…

“Oh.”

“Better than expected, isn’t it?”

A positive reaction unexpectedly popped out from those who were always critical.

The middle-aged beauty exuded a firm and upright personality from her face.

As the disciple of the deceased former leader, she was expected to be of a certain age.

Perhaps even older than Naewonju Ihwarin.

But her appearance was much better.

Due to living with a mask on and receiving minimal sunlight, her skin was extremely pale, with hardly any wrinkles for her age.

Her features were sharp and her face was small.

The term “middle-aged beauty” was fitting for a woman like her.

“Yes, she seems quite appetizing.”

Banso-un agreed.

“Haha, a high-quality woman is always a good choice.”

Jang-il smiled as if pleased.

“Then let’s finish up quickly.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

Quite some time had passed, so it seemed like it would be good to stop here for today and continue tomorrow.

Jang-il gently touched Goeui’s exposed cheek, then opened his mouth.

“How do you feel? Following the voice commands must be very pleasant and comfortable, right?”

“…pleasant… comfortable…”

Goeui’s face was relaxed.

Her slightly parted lips seemed to be smiling.

“Good. Listen well. I will give you another command that will make you feel good.”

“…pleasant… command…”

“[Obedient Goeui], when you hear these words, you will immediately enter the same hypnotic state no matter where or when you are.”

“…obedient… Goeui… hear… anytime… anywhere… hypnotic state…”

“If you understand, nod your head once.”

Goeui’s head slowly nodded up and down.

“Good. Keep listening to these words.”

***

“…three… two… one…”

As Goeui counted one with a vacant voice, the light returned to her unfocused eyes.

“Hmm, well done.”

Goeui returned her gaze to Jang-il.

There was no hint of anything strange in her expression.

The memory manipulation had been successfully implanted.

Not only that.

Even though she was without the Heukmyo mask, she didn’t feel any sense of strangeness.

Her voice was also not artificially neutral but her original voice.

The hypnotic suggestion to manipulate her perception was also working very well.

It was indeed Jang-il’s doing.

“I’m glad it worked out. So, what do you say? Will you accept my proposal?”

Banso-un asked.

It seemed out of the blue, but it was all part of the memory manipulation and connected development.

It was a premeditated plan.

“Hmm.”

Goeui hesitated.

Then, after a moment, she spoke.

“Alright. I will accept it.”

Instead of receiving the acupuncture treatment for her vision, she received the hallucinogenic potion of the former leader.

That was the proposal embedded in Goeui’s mind.

Banso-un smiled slyly.

“Very well. But it seems like it won’t be over in just one day.”

“It will probably take three days. I will arrange a room for you to stay in at Unjunggak until then.”

“Thank you.”

Everything was flowing according to the plan.

First, perfectly obtain the guwi.

And through the guwi that became a puppet, enter the Hwaseon’s operation.

That should do it.

“Come here at this time tomorrow…”

“[Guwi, obey].”

“Ah…”

At Jangil’s words, the guwi quickly fell back into a trance.

“Put on the mask again, change your voice back to normal, and come to me.”

“…Put on the mask… Change my voice…”

The guwi once again put on the Heukmyo mask on his face.

“Good, well done. When you hear the sound of the door closing, wake up from the trance. The conversation will be over, and we will go back.”

“…The sound of the door closing… Wake up from the trance…”

Thud.

Bansoun and Jangil left.

Thud.

The door closed.

The guwi’s expression returned to normal.

“…To think that I would come into contact with the belongings of a master I didn’t know. Is this also the will of heaven.”

***

First day of the ritual.

“Name.”

“…I am Un Jungseon…”

“Gender.”

“…I am female…”

“Age.”

“…I was born as an orphan… I don’t know exactly…”

The guwi smoothly answered questions about his lifelong secret identity.

Above all, his speech had changed to honorifics.

It meant that the depth of the trance had deepened even further.

The emotionless eyes became even more vacant, and the body became even more relaxed.

“Even your name is neutral.”

Bansoun muttered as if amused.

“Now that I think about it, Un Junggak was taken from your name, huh.”

“That’s right. By the way, your figure is quite nice.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

The guwi, Un Jungseon, wore a wide outer garment over his inner court attire.

This revealed his figure.

A figure that was slim yet curvaceous in all the right places.

The hidden breasts and hips under the wide outer garment were quite splendid.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be able to see the hidden place down there, right?”

Bansoun threw a hopeful look.

“Haha, of course. You should get ready to enjoy it.”

Jangil confidently said.

No matter what kind of mental strength a woman had, once she fell into a trance, breaking her was only a matter of time.

And that time was more than enough for him.

“Oh, since we’re doing the ritual, shall we try acupuncture?”

As if he had a good idea, Jangil chuckled and picked up a small needle.

Stab.

First, he inserted the needle from below into both nostrils.

Due to the bed of needles hanging below the nostrils, Un Jungseon’s face quickly turned comical.

“Haha.”

Bansoun couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

It was rare to see such a funny and comical sight, even with the needles he usually handled.

“Haha… General, you’re a general. But are you okay?”

“Since the Tongsok is not normal, this slight sting is not a problem.”

Moreover, it was not a Jangchim or Jungchim, but the shortest and thinnest Sochim, so there was even less of a problem.

This time, Jangil simply grabbed a bunch of needles.

“This looks good too.”

He densely inserted the needles into the philtrum between the nose and lips, making it look like a mustache.

“You should have a beard too.”

Jangil unhesitatingly inserted needles around the chin area.

The inserted needles felt like a sharp beard on the man’s pointed chin.

A completely ruined, comical face.

“Hahaha.”

Bansoun held his stomach and laughed.

It was a very entertaining scene where he could freely ruin the face of Un Jungguwi, the most unbreakable being in the world.

“Now, spend the day like this. Since you’re wearing a mask, you won’t be caught.”

Jangil let out a satisfied laugh.

Now all that’s left is to manipulate the perception that this is natural.

It may be seriously uncomfortable, but with the manipulated perception that this is natural, there’s no choice but to live uncomfortably.

“You’re quite remarkable too.”

Bang Soo-woon raised his thumb.

“Haha, this is just the beginning. Look forward to tomorrow as well.”

Jang Il’s laughter seemed to foreshadow the fate of Unjoong-sun.