A Savory Death 5
At my question, the woman answered as if merely speaking the name took every ounce of strength she had left, her jaw and hands trembling violently.
“Tae, Taehwa Sect’s third son… Jin Dae-seung. That’s what he said.”
“Taehwa Sect’s third son? Now that I know who the bastard is, I’ll drag him in this instant and—”
I was in the middle of confirming the scum’s identity and reassuring the woman that we would tear him apart so thoroughly she need not worry—after all, our Tang Clan specialized in precisely this sort of work—when startled cries erupted from either side of me.
“Taehwa Sect!?”
“You’re certain it’s the third son of Taehwa Sect!?”
I glanced left and right at their shouts. Commander Gu Pae and Big Sister both wore expressions of utter shock.
Disbelief, mixed with a clear measure of awkwardness.
What’s this? The atmosphere just turned weird…
Something about the mood felt distinctly off.
As I looked back and forth between their faces, Big Sister’s telepathic voice immediately reached me.
[They’re a fellow righteous sect. And after our Tang Clan, Emei, and Qingcheng, they’re the next largest power in Sichuan.
There’s an important problem, though—I’ll explain it shortly.]
From everything Big Sister and Grandfather Mandok Singun had taught me, the strongest forces in Sichuan were Emei Sect, Qingcheng Sect, and our Sichuan Tang Clan. Everything below them was second-rate and could be learned about later. Yet the place this bastard belonged to sat right beneath us.
Sensing the shift in our atmosphere, the woman asked anxiously,
“W-why? I-is there some problem?”
Commander Gu Pae exchanged a look with Big Sister, then quickly stepped forward to soothe her.
“No. It’s simply a more unexpected identity than we anticipated.
Now that we know his name, we’ll first confirm his movements and the like. Miss, we’ll assign some maids to you—bathe in clean water, change into fresh clothes, and rest comfortably.
Eat well, sleep deeply, and good news will reach you soon. As for the gambling den’s owner, we’ll handle that matter ourselves.”
The moment Commander Gu Pae finished speaking, the woman slammed her forehead to the ground again and again in thanks.
—Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Th-thank you, Elder! Thank you, Young Lady! Thank you, Young Master!”
She bashed her head so hard that her forehead split open and blood began to flow. Alarmed, Big Sister had to summon a physician from the Tang-run clinic at the alley entrance just to examine her.
After the woman received brief treatment and followed the maids away, and once her figure had completely vanished from sight, Commander Gu Pae let out a low hum.
“Hmm… This is going to be more complicated than I expected.”
“Yes. I think we’ll have to speak with Grandfather and Father about it.”
Big Sister cupped her chin and nodded at the commander’s words.
I asked her why both of them looked so grave, and what exactly that “important problem” she had mentioned earlier truly was.
“Hwa-eun, you clearly said there was an important problem. What is it? Is it because the bastard’s family is some great house?”
At my question Big Sister’s brows knit slightly.
Yet contrary to her expression, the answer that followed was pure Sichuan Tang Clan—cool and confident that a third son from some second-rate house was nothing to worry about.
“If what he did is true, the family itself isn’t the issue. We can simply handle it quietly.”
“Then what?”
What came next, however, was far from satisfying.
“But in the murim, oaths and pacts are taken extremely seriously. Especially any vow sworn upon one’s own martial arts, one’s family name, or one’s epithet—those must be kept without fail.”
Ohho. So the murim is a credit society, huh?
While I was nodding along at the unexpected revelation that a world that seemed to run on fists first was actually a society of trust, Big Sister continued her explanation.
“And our family happens to have a pact with Taehwa Sect.”
“A pact? With Taehwa Sect?”
“Great-grandfather—Grandfather’s father—once received tremendous aid from Taehwa Sect. Because of that, he vowed that even if Taehwa Sect committed a grave wrong or a capital crime, we would yield or forgive them once without condition.”
“What!?”
A-a free pass! A criticism immunity card!
In my previous life there had been this baseball and internet culture thing called a “kka-bang-kwon”—if someone had previously achieved far greater merits or was making efforts that could cover their mistakes, people would forgive them once or twice. In other words, Big Sister was saying Taehwa Sect possessed a permanent get-out-of-jail-free card thanks to their previous generation’s achievements.
Why does everything always have to go this way?
I understood the meaning well enough. After asking Commander Gu Pae to look after the woman, I immediately boarded a carriage bound for the Tang estate.
Big Sister’s opinion was that we needed to consult the family’s elders.
After all, even a free pass had its limits—this was something no permanent immunity card could cover.
Upon arriving at the Tang Clan, we summoned Grandfather Mandok Singun, who had been about to retire for the night, along with Father-in-law and Mother-in-law to the Clan Head’s Hall and explained everything that had happened today.
“…And that is what occurred. We’re troubled over what to do, Grandfather.”
When Big Sister’s long account ended, enraged shouts burst from Grandfather Mandok Singun and Father-in-law. Soft-hearted Mother-in-law’s eyes even brimmed with tears at the woman’s tale.
“Taehwa Sect is a prestigious house of Sichuan, and its master is a righteous man—yet a dog of a son has been born under a tiger father!”
“Isn’t it far too cruel?”
“That a monster wearing human skin is roaming Sichuan! So the woman is currently within the Sichuan Tang Clan of Chengdu?”
“Yes, Father. I’ve already instructed the family physicians to treat her body.”
Once the outbursts of fury subsided, Grandfather and Father-in-law—already understanding why we had come to them in the middle of the night—asked with grave faces,
“You promised to help the woman avenge herself, yet you’ve come because of the pact the previous generation sealed with Taehwa Sect, haven’t you?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Father-in-law and Grandfather looked at each other and sank into deep thought.
Though Grandfather was the senior, clan affairs were decided by the Clan Head—Father-in-law. After a moment’s contemplation, Father-in-law regarded Big Sister and me with a solemn voice.
“A pact of the previous generation is bound to the honor of the Tang Clan. If we make an exception simply because the woman’s circumstances are pitiable, how will anyone ever trust a pact with the Tang Clan or place faith in us? Though her plight is heartbreaking, I forbid any poison of the Tang Clan or any blood of the Tang Clan from aiding this woman!”
“Father-in-law! Grandfather! Please reconsider just once—”
Was this the principle that even a bad law is still law?
For all that I had praised the credit society, I never expected them to cut it off so cleanly with a single stroke.
Of course I had to ask them to look into it again—but at my cry, Big Sister tightly clasped my hand and sent a telepathic message.
[Just say you understand and withdraw. Things have actually gone well.]
“?”
“I shall obey the command of Clan Head Dang Hwa-eun of the Tang Clan.”
Big Sister offered a formal fist-and-palm salute to Father-in-law, even bowing her head as she answered, then dragged my still-bewildered self outside amid the telepathy and the unfolding situation.
She pulled me once more toward where the carriage waited and spoke.
“Hurry. If we’re going to help that pitiful young lady, it seems we have a great deal to do.”
Big Sister claimed there was much work if we meant to aid the woman, yet Father-in-law had forbidden us from helping her. I questioned her again.
“Hold on, Hwa-eun—didn’t Father-in-law clearly forbid us from aiding the woman?”
Big Sister simply smiled brightly and replied,
“Father forbade the poisons of the Tang Clan and the blood of the Tang Clan from aiding her. But So-ryong isn’t Tang blood, is he?
As long as you don’t use any Tang poisons that might implicate the family, if So-ryong helps her, that is permitted. The previous generation’s pact was probably worded that way—that Tang blood would yield one step in matters concerning Taehwa Sect.”
“!”
They called it a credit society, yet here they were exploiting a contractual loophole with this filthy bit of legal trickery?
But then again, when others do it it’s filthy, yet when we do it it’s reassuring.
Wasn’t the highest praise in games always “Damn, you play dirty”?
I was growing fonder and fonder of our Sichuan Tang Clan.
Still, the part about me being the one to help left me a little conflicted.
Now that I’m family, is this their way of telling me to go knock one out to prove I belong?
After all, the golden rule of any initiation into an organization was to take someone out.
The next morning, once the day had brightened, I summoned Commander Gu Pae and explained the outcome of yesterday’s discussion with Grandfather Mandok Singun and Father-in-law.
“…And that is how it went.”
Commander Gu Pae nodded.
“You’ve obtained permission, but the absolute condition will be that the family must never be exposed. Our room to maneuver has shrunk considerably.”
“Still, at least a path to help her has opened. That’s fortunate.”
“True enough. In that case, I’ll begin by investigating the bastard’s movements through the Beggars’ Guild.”
“Yes, Commander Gu Pae. I’ll leave it to you.”
The very first step was to confirm the bastard’s past activities and the patterns of his movements.
Commander Gu Pae had once served in the Poison Blood Squad himself and insisted that information gathering always came first in these affairs.
I was a bit uneasy about entrusting the investigation to what sounded like some beggars’ union, though.
What kind of intelligence work do you leave to beggars?
That afternoon, while Commander Gu Pae was out commissioning the investigation from the so-called Beggars’ Guild, I summoned the woman and shared tea to check on her condition.
“Did you rest well yesterday?”
“Yes… thanks to everyone’s care…”
Bathed, dressed in clean clothes, her hair neatly combed—she looked far better than the day before. With no crickets chirping during the day, her mind was clear as well.
The red burn scars still mottled her face here and there, of course. Though quite some time had passed since she arrived at the Tang Clan, they had promised to provide excellent ointments for burns, so we would have to monitor her recovery going forward. Surprisingly, she was in decent shape overall.
While Big Sister and I examined her and asked when she had first begun raising crickets and similar questions, Commander Gu Pae’s voice carried in from outside—the same man who had gone to verify information with the Beggars’ Guild.
“Ah, Young Lady. A guest has… arrived…”
“A guest? Please, come in.”
When I granted permission to enter, Commander Gu Pae stepped into the reception hall not alone, but escorting a filthy, ragged old beggar. His entire body was rigid with tension.
Why does he look like a private standing next to a division commander?
He had gone to check information with beggars, yet instead of information he had brought back an actual beggar.
I wore a puzzled expression at his extreme tension—until something even more astonishing happened: Big Sister shot to her feet and offered a respectful salute to the beggar elder.
“Dang Hwa-eun of the Sichuan Tang Clan greets Elder Geolhwang, the Beggar King. What brings Your Excellency to Sichuan…?”
“Beggar Grandfather?”
The woman seemed to recognize the beggar as well—perhaps he was the very beggar from the story she had told yesterday.
As my gaze shifted among the beggar, Big Sister, and the woman, Big Sister’s urgent telepathy rang in my ears.
[So-ryong, pay your respects! He is Elder Geolhwang of the Three Emperors, equal in standing to Elder Gwonhwang, the Fist Emperor and Alliance Leader of the Murim. He is one of the three strongest people in the entire murim.]
Not just the king of beggars—the Emperor of Beggars?
I was surprised that a beggar stood on the same level as the Murim Alliance Leader, but I followed Big Sister’s instruction and offered a proper greeting. After all, he was supposedly one of the strongest in the world.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Wi So-ryong.”
Geolhwang nodded, regarding me with open curiosity.
“Keheheh. I heard that Gwonhwang—who swore he would never take a disciple—had passed down his martial arts, so I came out of curiosity. You’re a truly strange one. Walking around with those ghastly things wrapped around your body.”
Just like the Murim Alliance Leader, the old man knew about the centipedes coiled around my body. When I showed surprise that he also mentioned matters known only to the Alliance Leader, myself, the Alliance’s strategist, and our family, the old man burst into hearty laughter.
“Kekeke. They said you hadn’t set foot in the murim for long—looks like it’s true. Let your fiancée explain who I am.”
[Elder Geolhwang is the previous generation’s chief of the Beggars’ Guild, and a man said to know every affair and rumor under heaven.]
Big Sister’s telepathy arrived again with the old man’s words.
I had been a little skeptical about asking beggars for information, but a reputation like that—and the fact that he already knew every detail of my own affairs—actually made some trust well up inside me.
“Do you know why I have come?”
Geolhwang’s next question followed.
“Could it be about the Taehwa Sect matter?”
The beggar elder nodded at my answer. He settled himself into an empty seat and spoke in a mischievous, boyish tone.
“That’s right. I’ve come because of that.”
“Surely you haven’t come to stop us?”
At Big Sister’s question the old man shook his head.
“Hardly. I lack clear proof, so I couldn’t act myself—but knowing that child’s pitiful plight, how could I stop you? Since you intend to practice righteousness and chivalry, I’ve come to help.”
“Pardon?”
Big Sister and I both blinked at the sudden offer of aid. Geolhwang tapped his own head with a finger.
—Tap. Tap.
“Don’t you need information? Besides, I’m curious to see how the successor of Gwonhwang will handle this.”
So he’s here to watch the show.
We had to handle this quietly, yet Commander Gu Pae had brought back a spectator. When I looked at him, the commander scratched his head apologetically.
The sudden appearance of a spectator left me a little flustered, but he proved genuinely useful.
“Twice more in Chuga Village on the outskirts of Chengdu and in the slums of the city itself. Cases where I personally suspected the bastard number around five.”
“That many?”
“After I found this child in Sichuan and grew curious about her circumstances, I had our children dig back several years to piece it together. Lately he’s gone quiet, so his trail has stayed cold.”
We learned that the bastard was even filthier than we had imagined—and we also gained a complete grasp of his movements.
“So aside from visiting the gambling den roughly once every three days, he never leaves the Taehwa Sect?”
“Exactly. Ever since the Songga Village incident, for reasons I can’t fully pin down, he’s been keeping a low profile. That’s why I advised the child to use poison.”
“I see.”
If that was the case, then dealing with him inside the gambling den was indeed the correct approach.
That meant we would also have to use poison inside the den—yet a problem remained.
Inside the gambling house they served free liquor and food so customers would stay longer after losing their money. Obtaining poison that wasn’t Tang Clan poison wouldn’t be hard, but how were we supposed to target only the bastard’s cup or dish among so many people?
If I approached him and personally handed him a cup, I would be the first suspect the moment he collapsed from the poison.
After mulling it over, I asked Miss Na-ok.
She had clearly worked in the kitchen—so how had she managed to poison only his food?
“Miss, how did you put the poison—or what you thought was poison—into the bastard’s food? I heard you worked in the kitchen.”
When I questioned Miss Na-ok, who already had one failed attempt under her belt, she nodded and answered.
“He’s considered a rather important customer, so every time he comes he makes picky demands. When that happens, a notice is sent to the kitchen.”
“Picky demands?”
“He asks them to remove anything with crab or shrimp. So I put the poison into that dish.”
“Crab and shrimp? He dislikes them?”
I thought he simply had a finicky palate—until Geolhwang answered from the side.
“That bastard claimed that if crab or shrimp so much as touched his mouth, something would break out all over his body.”
“Ah… that…!”
Got you, you son of a bitch!
Geolhwang’s words meant the bastard had a crustacean allergy.
A murder plan flashed through my mind like lightning.
Looks like I’ve fully become a Tang Clan man…
Feeling a bitter twist inside, I made a request of Commander Gu Pae.
“Gu Pae, would you go to the Tang Clan right now and bring me what I describe?”
“Young Master So-ryong, didn’t the family forbid the use of Tang poisons?”
Commander Gu Pae flinched, assuming I meant for him to fetch poison. I smiled at him and answered,
“No. Go and bring me mealworms.”
“Mealworms, you say?”
“That’s right. I intend to kill that bastard in a very savory way.”
“?”
At my reply, everyone blinked in incomprehension.