The Half-Scroll Trap
“You really do run your mouth without thinking, don’t you?”
“You’re not denying it, so I take it there is a connection?”
I knew it. The moment I saw that look on his face, I had a feeling.
If Chief Zhang had any ties to the Shadowless Divine Thief, then everything finally clicked into place. At the very least, I now knew how he’d gotten his hands on the secret manual. And if I could dig out the rest of his secrets, I’d have a solid lead on locating the treasure as well.
“Look here, young hero Wei…”
“Constable Meng. I know what you’re about to say, but we’ve already come this far. There’s no backing out now. Isn’t that right, Chief Zhang?”
“Hah… where did this brazen little bastard come from…”
He stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.
I simply crossed my arms and waited for his answer.
He could always call in his subordinates and have us thrown out, but doing so would be as good as admitting he had something to hide. So his choices were simple: either come clean about the truth he’d been concealing, or settle this right here and now with blood.
Of course, I had no intention of going down easily. If he wanted a fight, he’d have to risk his own neck too.
I hadn’t brought my sword precisely to avoid looking like I was making threats, but subduing a few half-baked guards with nothing but my bare hands would be more than enough.
“…Chief Zhang. Please speak,” Constable Meng added, lending weight to my demand.
By now, even he must have realized that since I’d stirred things up this much, there was no peaceful way out. If he couldn’t read a situation like this, he wouldn’t deserve to be a constable in the first place.
As the two of us began applying real pressure, Chief Zhang’s face twisted in clear irritation.
“…Do you really think I’d flinch at a little intimidation like this?”
“Anyone listening might think I’m the one doing the threatening.”
For someone supposedly so cunning, his mind didn’t seem all that deep. Come to think of it, I’d never actually heard how Chief Zhang had risen from nothing to build his fortune. I knew the story that he’d suddenly appeared one day, founded a trading company, and made a killing, but founding a company required starting capital.
Where had that capital come from?
Could it have been the treasures stolen by the Shadowless Divine Thief?
“Chief. Just tell us everything. What difference does it make if you speak to us?”
“…All you had to do was follow orders and do your jobs properly.”
“So, are you going to talk or not?”
Stop wasting time and let’s get this over with.
Chief Zhang glared at me for a long moment before finally letting out a deep sigh and leaning back in his chair. The look in his eyes was that of a man seriously debating whether to kill us and bury the evidence. The second I sensed any killing intent, I’d be ready to strike first.
“…I am a disciple of the Shadowless Divine Thief.”
"I am a disciple of the Shadowless Divine Thief."
“A disciple of the Shadowless Divine Thief…”
Constable Meng muttered in a stunned voice. He seemed genuinely shocked by the unexpected confession. I simply nodded with a calm expression, accepting the information.
I’d suspected as much.
I never thought Chief Zhang was the Shadowless Divine Thief himself. A man who’d stolen so many times wouldn’t leave his defenses so sloppy. No one understood the importance of security better than a career thief.
From the beginning, the fact that the secret manual had been displayed so carelessly was clearly a deliberate lure.
For example…
“Though I was only ever a half-baked one, at best.”
His voice carried an unmistakable trace of deep regret.
It looked like there was quite the tragic backstory here.
“My senior brother was the only one who actually learned proper martial arts. I never had the talent for it. One day while I was doing chores and cleaning the house as usual, my senior brother killed our master… and then tried to kill me too. It’s a good thing I noticed in time, grabbed the manual and a few treasures, and ran. Otherwise I wouldn’t be alive today.”
“What does that have to do with deliberately displaying the manual so carelessly?”
I still couldn’t see any connection between his past and why he’d put the manual on display.
“What I took was only half of the manual.”
Half?
“Half… you say?”
“Master left behind two volumes. I took one. The other… my senior brother must still have it.”
“…So you deliberately displayed the manual to find the other half?”
“It’s not the real thing. Just a copy I made to look as similar as possible.”
Ah. So that was it.
He’d intentionally spread rumors to lure his senior brother out. And the reason his senior brother would come was almost certainly the manual.
“Why are you looking for it now, after all this time?”
“…I suppose I still have lingering attachments to what I could never learn.”
There seemed to be more to it than that, but I didn’t bother digging deeper. From my perspective, I just needed to finish the job and collect my pay. Besides…
Once we found this so-called senior brother, I’d probably hear the rest of the story without much effort.
But how exactly were we supposed to find him?
“Well, I understand now. In the end, Chief Zhang simply wants to complete the Shadowless Divine Thief’s manual, correct?”
“…That’s right.”
He nodded with clear reluctance. It seemed he didn’t like having to admit it out loud.
Then maybe he shouldn’t have lied from the start. Either way, now that I knew his true intention, it was time to negotiate.
“How about we make a deal? I’ll help you find that senior brother of yours.”
“A deal… how audacious. Don’t you realize I could simply kill you both and erase all traces right here?”
Now he was resorting to threats. I sharpened my senses and immediately detected multiple presences around the room. They must be his guards. It looked like he was prepared to have our throats slit and our bodies disposed of if necessary. He probably believed his power and influence could suppress any complaints.
Since we hadn’t brought weapons, the old man was likely thinking of killing us quietly, burying us in some remote spot, or framing us for a crime. It might have been nothing more than paranoia, but I’d seen such tactics more times than I could count on the battlefield.
The so-called holy warriors who came to the crusades were far too fond of their political games…
“That would be a very poor choice.”
“…”
I had no reason to fear the killing intent coming from people who’d never even experienced real war. To someone who’d showered in blood and guts until he was sick of it, this was almost calming.
“Because if that happens, your manual will remain forever incomplete.”
Chief Zhang’s eyes narrowed.
He must have been confused, unable to understand where my confidence came from. From the looks of it, he hadn’t properly learned martial arts himself, so he probably couldn’t accurately gauge my level. Besides… almost no information about me had spread through the Central Plains.
The old man before me had no way of predicting what I might do. If I acted this boldly in such a situation, he would naturally assume I had some kind of hidden card up my sleeve.
That was exactly why I moved with such daring.
“What are you so worried about? Do you think I’m going to run around the neighborhood spreading rumors? This all happened decades ago. There’s no need to hide it anymore.”
“…Hm.”
“Besides, you wouldn’t have given him a perfect copy, so if his goal is the manual, wouldn’t he eventually come to this mansion looking for it?”
“Hah.”
“You couldn’t catch him even with the tracking incense, which means ordinary methods won’t work. So why not leave it to me and Constable Meng? We’ll catch that senior brother of yours cleanly and deliver him to you.”
“What do you want?”
Chief Zhang’s question pierced straight into my ears. At that exact moment, the killing intent surrounding us began to fade.
About halfway convinced, then.
I immediately laid out my demands.
“Give me time and a budget, and I’ll bring you your senior brother. Also… I heard you’ve collected several lightness skill manuals. I want a decent one.”
“…If you truly can capture him, I will consider it.”
“Of course.”
“…Get out.”
Looking as if his head was aching, he pressed a hand to his forehead and ordered us to leave.
Constable Meng and I cupped our fists in respect, turned around, and left the room.
“Just what were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?”
“What, did you expect me to cower and beg for mercy back there?”
If I had, my head would’ve been flying off my shoulders.
Constable Meng let out a long sigh, looking utterly exasperated.
“Hah… you really have nerves of steel. If Chief Zhang had decided to kill us and bury us in some remote place, no one would ever find us. He has more than enough wealth and power to make it happen.”
“He doesn’t know how strong I am, so it wouldn’t have been easy for him. People who have a lot to lose tend to be wary of even the smallest crack in their plans.”
Burying me without a second thought had never been a good option to begin with. I could have killed Chief Zhang the moment things turned ugly, and even if his guards tried to stop me, if they all ended up dead, the only one who’d be in real trouble was the chief himself.
…If he really wanted to silence us, he shouldn’t have let me inside in the first place.
Well, the guards probably just assumed I was one of Constable Meng’s subordinates and didn’t think much of it.
“You sound surprisingly well-educated.”
“I’ve picked up a bit of scholarly scent in my time.”
“Hah.”
“Anyway, we’ll be hearing from the chief soon. That’s when we’ll need to set the trap.”
“A trap, huh…”
“If that senior brother’s goal is the manual, he’ll react the moment we dangle the bait. Then we just need to yank the line hard…”
“And the case will be solved.”
“Exactly.”
…Of course, this was all based on the assumption that Chief Zhang’s story was entirely true. The fragmented information he’d given us hadn’t cleared up all my doubts.
I still couldn’t figure out the true nature of the tracking incense clinging to my body, either.
“So let’s go eat. Constable Meng. Take me to an inn with excellent cooking. And of course, you’re paying.”
“…Hah. Fine. I know a decent place. Let’s go there.”
Nothing beats a free meal.
I followed Constable Meng toward one of the city’s best restaurants.