Murder at Simhyangru
People gathered around the maid. They were the ones who worked at Simhyangru.
They had come over wondering what was going on, only to see the corpse and widen their eyes in shock.
The murmuring grew louder, but no one came over to ask what had happened. There was someone else for that.
A middle-aged escort pushed quickly through the crowd.
“What happened?”
“I was on my way to the quarters to have a late-night meal when I heard a scream. When I came over to check, I found it like this.”
I slipped a little to the side, leaving the scene as if to the escort, and explained exactly what I’d seen.
Under the bright moonlight, the escort saw the corpse lying in its own blood and flinched.
“That’s... Bang Jo-in, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
As if he couldn’t believe that a colleague had suddenly died, the escort froze in shock.
“...You heard a scream?”
When he pointed at the maid, who was sitting on the ground, the escort turned around.
I’d been keeping an eye on the maid ever since, just in case she vanished somehow, but from the look of her there was no need.
She was completely out of it, trembling all over, barely able to answer properly when the escort questioned her.
In the middle of it all, I was reminded once again how far removed I was from ordinary people.
Seeing a horrific corpse stabbed to death should make a normal person so shocked that their legs give out beneath them.
The people gathered around were also too shaken and uneasy to leave easily.
And me?
The moment I saw the corpse, I instinctively drew my blade to guard my surroundings, then touched the body and searched its clothes without the slightest hesitation.
That was only possible because I was a martial artist.
Martial artists carried swords and blades because they had use for them. So wherever they went, it was one of two things.
They either made corpses, or they became corpses.
I was fortunate not to be the corpse, though that didn’t make looking at someone else’s body any more pleasant.
After hearing the maid’s answer, the escort ran off to the quarters.
A little later, Jo Gyeong-jik came with a group of escorts.
Without me needing to do anything, the same escort from before took the lead and guided them to the scene.
“My God. It really is Bang Jo-in?”
“How the hell did that man end up...”
The escorts buzzed in alarm.
It was only natural that they were shaken; one moment, a colleague who had been perfectly fine had been murdered at work.
Still, they didn’t seem so stunned that they’d forgotten how to wear an escort uniform. No one screamed or pissed themselves in terror.
Jo Gyeong-jik knelt on one knee and examined the corpse.
When he saw the words Yongcheon stained with blood, he tore the shirt open. The stab wound in the heart, now fully exposed, was larger than expected.
After confirming the cause of death, Jo Gyeong-jik covered the body back up and stood. The vacant haze in his eyes had vanished, replaced by sharp focus.
He glared at the escorts, his eyes bloodshot, and barked orders.
“What are you all standing there for? Chun-dae! Im-gu! Move Bang Jo-in to the quarters. Noksu! Call every off-duty escort back here, now. The rest of you pair up and guard the area around the main building. Jo-yeon! Find the patrol team on duty right now and bring them here at once. Choi Sang-gwon!”
“Yes!”
“Run to the escort agency immediately, report the situation to Chief Escort Du Ja-ryeom, and request reinforcements. We need stronger security and a search, so bring as many men as you can. Move! Before the guests in the main hall start panicking and break up the drinking tables.”
The escorts given orders rushed into motion.
Apparently having been informed of the situation, the proprietor of the brothel came out. After speaking with Jo Gyeong-jik, he silenced the servants and sent everyone back inside the building.
From the maid’s scream to the crowd gathering and dispersing, and then to Bang Jo-in’s body being moved, barely two gyeok had passed.
The courtesans were handling things smoothly enough that music and hearty laughter still spilled out from the main hall without interruption.
The escorts sealed off the main building in a wide perimeter and kept a strict watch on the area.
No one knew where the murderer who had killed Bang Jo-in had gone. He might have escaped over the wall, or he might still be hiding near the side annexes.
Jo Gyeong-jik’s decision to stop searching the surrounding grounds and focus on guarding the main building was a cold, realistic judgment.
If the guests here were harmed by the culprit, even by a little, the consequences would be unbearable.
Every one of the patrons here was some heavyweight with real influence in the government or the merchant world.
If any of them died or were injured, the responsibility would fall not only on the security chief, but on the escort agency master as well.
Since I’d received no instructions, I could only stand to one side and watch the situation unfold in silence.
After adjusting the escorts’ positions and giving them a long list of instructions, Jo Gyeong-jik finally called for me.
“Come with me. We need to talk.”
It was the second time I’d ever stepped into his office.
In an atmosphere far more serious than the first day, the explanation of events and the questions went back and forth.
“Looks like that bastard came into some easy money lately. Do you know where it came from? Or have even the slightest idea?”
It was obvious enough. A gambling addict known to every escort in the agency had suddenly taken a leave of absence. Jo Gyeong-jik seemed to suspect that the source of that money was tied to why Bang Jo-in had died.
“I don’t know. He talked a lot, but he never said much about money. Though it does seem like he spent all last night playing golpae.”
Jo Gyeong-jik let out a heavy sigh, his face grim.
“I knew he was beyond saving, but I never thought it would end like this. I won’t know how to face his father when I go to the afterlife...”
Jo Gyeong-jik, who had unconsciously mentioned a private connection with Bang Jo-in, let his words trail off. He shook his head bitterly, then extended a hand toward me.
“Let me see your sword.”
Since I’d expected that, I unsheathed my willow-leaf saber without a word and set it on the table with the scabbard still on.
Jo Gyeong-jik drew the blade, held it up to the lamp, and narrowed his eyes as he examined the edge.
“It’s new. When did you buy it?”
“At a smithy before I came to the escort agency. My old saber had cracked.”
“Which smithy?”
“Dojeong Ironworks.”
“Ah. That one.”
He understood at once. There was only one place in Seochon that made swords and blades, so he couldn’t have failed to know it.
Jo Gyeong-jik brought the blade close to his nose, checking whether it smelled of blood, then nodded and returned it to the scabbard.
He didn’t seem to distrust me in particular, but when dawn came, he’d probably send someone to the smithy to confirm that I really had bought it there.
“Any other weapons?”
Without a word, I bent down and removed the dagger strapped to my ankle.
Jo Gyeong-jik carefully inspected the blade and even checked its smell before handing it back.
“For now, your shift ends here. Stay in the quarters until further notice. Chief Escort Du Ja-ryeom may want to see you when he arrives, so don’t go anywhere. As long as you don’t do anything to invite suspicion, you won’t have any trouble.”
And just like that, I was left alone in the large quarters.
With everyone available pulled into security, even the dining room attached to the quarters sat empty.
The chief escort arrived at Simhyangru in less than an hour.
I was in the middle of eating thin pancakes and dumplings when I was called over, and I repeated the same story I’d told Jo Gyeong-jik.
Chief Escort Du Ja-ryeom didn’t suspect me.
There was a witness who could testify to my innocence, and, conveniently enough, my willow-leaf saber was brand new and had never been stained with blood.
I also cleaned and oiled my dagger every time I used it.
There was no way he could pin the murder on me.
“If anything comes to mind about who might have killed Bang Jo-in, tell me freely.”
At once, Yi Yun-jae flashed through my mind. Without even thinking it through, I shook my head.
It would have been reckless in the extreme to put the promising scholar, one of the district magistrate’s favored men, on the list of murder suspects.
“I don’t know.”
“Not even the slightest suspicion?”
Du Ja-ryeom was persistent. To get out of this room, I’d probably have to throw him something.
After thinking it over, I found something suitable.
“Bang’s body was found on the back path leading to the annexes.”
“Yes.”
“I was told there are martial artists staying in the annexes. Guests of Simhyangru.”
“Did Bang Jo-in tell you that?”
“Yes. He said he’d once passed through that area and had a rough encounter there.”
“Hmm.”
Du Ja-ryeom let out a low, serious hum.
The wall around Simhyangru was high. The only place outsiders could enter was the front gate. The escorts also made internal patrols on a set schedule.
It was more likely that the culprit had come from inside than from outside.
Bang Jo-in was a gambler, and recently he’d even skipped work to sit around a gambling den playing golpae. It was enough to guess he’d somehow come into a large sum of money.
When the money ran out, he returned to the wall near the place where he’d struck it rich among the annexes, and while trying to steal silver on the way out, he was tracked down and killed.
That explanation matched the circumstances well enough.
If the culprit fled before recovering the silver because the maid happened to appear, that would still make sense.
I’d had no chance to verify his skill, but Bang Jo-in was a martial artist who carried a blade.
That he had died from a single stab to the heart meant he hadn’t even had time to resist.
The culprit was clearly a highly skilled martial artist with plenty of experience in killing.
Even with a definite suspect, the chief escort couldn’t easily speak his mind.
It wasn’t because he hadn’t thought that far ahead, but because if this turned out to be true, the fallout would be enough to shake the entire escort agency.
If the guest of Simhyangru had killed a Yongcheon Escort Agency escort, and it could be framed as the execution of a thief, then that wouldn’t be much of a problem.
In fact, the real issue would be that an escort hired to guard the place had been stealing.
The proprietor of the brothel might even terminate the security contract, losing all trust in Yongcheon Escort Agency.
They would lose a major client, and the escort agency’s dignity and reputation would be stained beyond repair.
But if they simply covered it up after one of their escorts had been killed, that would also damage the escort agency’s face.
Whichever way you looked at it, it was a miserable situation.
After a long silence, the chief escort finally brought up something entirely different.
“Have you heard that three black-clad men were killed together at the Black Night Gang headquarters last night?”
I felt slightly caught off guard by the abrupt change of subject, but I nodded.
“It would be hard not to. The rumor’s everywhere out there.”
“Then does it seem like a mere coincidence that an escort was murdered the next night at Simhyangru, which Yongcheon Escort Agency is guarding?”
I tilted my head and watched Du Ja-ryeom’s expression.
What exactly was he trying to say?
If it wasn’t a coincidence...
“Are you saying the culprit who attacked the Black Night Gang yesterday slipped over the wall at Simhyangru today?”
“What do you think?”
When I stayed silent, Du Ja-ryeom took a sip of tea and continued.
“There have been a few unsavory incidents during the two years Yongcheon Escort Agency has been handling security at Simhyangru. But never once has anyone died or been seriously injured. There’s never been a serious conflict between the guests in the annexes and the escorts, either. The culprit must have infiltrated from outside. Most importantly...”
As if to give his words more weight, Du Ja-ryeom lowered his voice.
“You saw it too, Escort Jeong. The culprit ignored the throat and other vital points and instead stabbed straight into the words Yongcheon on the left side of the escort uniform, killing Bang Jo-in in a single blow. That’s a provocation and a challenge to Yongcheon Escort Agency if I’ve ever seen one. Yesterday, the Black Night Gang. Today, Yongcheon Escort Agency. Some unknown master is picking a fight with the two forces that divide up Seochon.”
“Well...”
He had aimed for the heart, and by chance the escort agency’s name happened to be written there. Or he might have struck from behind.
Just because of that, imagining some mysterious expert targeting Seochon was an enormous leap, far too much speculation.
I was about to bring up the obvious objection, but an unease I couldn’t ignore left my sentence hanging.
What was this...?
Du Ja-ryeom’s serious face. Calm and dignified, yes, but there was also a deliberate stiffness to it.
Looking more closely, I was certain of it. I hadn’t misread him.
It was the expression of someone concealing his true thoughts and aiming at something.
Men who looked calm while holding a gambling hand, as though they’d already won the table. Martial artists who blustered as if they still had a hidden move left, even when their cards were already exposed.
Du Ja-ryeom was making a face much like theirs.
He knew it too. He knew how little sense he was making.
And yet there was no choice but to say it this way because there was no better solution.
If Bang Jo-in had died while stealing, then just like when he was alive, he was only a nuisance to the escort agency.
But if he died at the hands of the culprit who attacked the Black Night Gang, then he became an innocent and noble victim.
The culprit was skilled enough to quietly take care of three Black Night Gang members.
It would not be easy to prevent such a master from scaling the wall, slipping past the escort agency’s security, and infiltrating Simhyangru.
That naturally gives them a convenient excuse for a security failure.
Truthful or not, it didn’t matter.
If they could smooth things over by making everyone believe that and talking their way through it, then the immediate crisis would be over.
Even if the hidden truth came out later, by then everything would already be settled.
And given that the killer had vanished after murdering Bang Jo-in, he probably wouldn’t step forward again to claim responsibility either.
So that was how they planned to cover it up...
From the time they were informed of the incident until they got here, less than an hour had passed.
And in that short span, he’d come up with a solution this elaborate by tying it to last night’s incident at the Black Night Gang.
For all his clean, monk-like bearing, Du Ja-ryeom’s schemes were no ordinary thing.
It also seemed that Jo Gyeong-jik had rushed to find the chief escort not merely because he was his superior.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, then realized the real point hadn’t even started yet.
Why was the chief escort having this conversation with me?
In this precious time when he should have been hunting the culprit and stabilizing the situation...
“Is there something you want from me?”
Apparently deciding there was no need to keep pretending, a smile spread over Du Ja-ryeom’s lips.
“Just as Escort Feng said, you’re quick on the uptake. People who are quick, whether in a duel or in conversation, are always useful.”
He looked at me with a satisfied expression for a moment longer, then finally got to the point.
“The black-clad masked man. When you heard the scream, ran over, and found Bang Jo-in’s body, tell them you thought you caught a glimpse of a black-clad masked man fleeing over the wall. Toward the wall behind the servants’ quarters storage shed, not the annexes.”
“And who exactly am I supposed to tell this to?”
The smile vanished from Du Ja-ryeom’s face. He toyed with his teacup with a troubled look, then answered.
“The brothel proprietor. The proprietor will be looking for you soon enough. When that time comes, just tell them that.”