The Pursuit Squad's Secret (4)
Cheon Ri Hyeong burst into booming laughter at Seo Baek's words.
"Revenge? Hahaha… Kuhahaha!"
But he suddenly cut off his laughter, his voice turning savage.
"This is Iron Palm Gang business! Does it make any sense to elevate that worthless deputy leader's brat to gang leader? On top of that, the little shit stole our sacred relic and secret manual before running off!"
Cheon Ri Hyeong's words carried a certain logic.
In the murim, nothing was more vital than martial prowess—except a righteous cause.
A sect's sacred relic was proof of its legitimacy in the martial world, its most prized treasure. That's why intrigue over such items never ceased.
But Seo Baek responded with a cold sneer.
"That doesn't match what I heard. The former leader named the deputy leader's son as his successor."
"You believe that fabricated lie? The leader and deputy are both dead—who's going to prove it now?"
To Ja-chung's surprise, Seo Baek nodded.
"The dead can't speak, after all."
"You get it."
"So when the leader and deputy were swept up by the revenant horde, you abandoned them and fled?"
"What? Where do you get that nonsense…?"
"Then how did you escape that day?"
"How? I ran for my life."
"Or did you deliberately lure the horde to kill them? Without those two, the Iron Palm Gang falls right into your hands."
"Shut your damn mouth!"
Cheon Ri Hyeong's face twisted, his composure shattered.
Ja-chung watched him closely, finding Seo Baek's words all too plausible.
Cheon Ri Hyeong had clashed endlessly with his father, the gang leader.
No one survived a horde of thousands—tens of thousands—of revenants sweeping the Central Plains unscathed. If surrounded, protocol demanded the gang disciples hold the rear while the leader escaped first.
Yet Cheon Ri Hyeong had returned alone…
He'd undoubtedly abandoned his father to die. It fit his character perfectly.
Perhaps that's why the leader had chosen Son Il Seo as successor.
He might have foreseen his son's betrayal and planned to hand the gang to his deputy and the deputy's son.
"There are two more suspicious points."
"What?"
"The fugitives you're chasing—a mere sword-for-hire, a woman ignorant of martial arts, and a child. Twelve pursuers followed them all the way to this gorge. What were they doing that they couldn't catch three people?"
"The bastards know the mountain paths like eels—they slipped away slickly."
"The woman stepped in a hunting trap, but she knows the paths?"
"That's not my problem."
Cheon Ri Hyeong shrugged, but Seo Baek pressed on.
"One more. You suspected their escape route, yet split the pursuit into three teams of four."
"When you don't know where they'll bolt, spreading out to form an encirclement is basic tactics, no? Hahaha."
Regaining his leisure, Cheon Ri Hyeong chuckled.
But Ja-chung, listening to Seo Baek, felt a chill.
It was odd.
More than a few in the Iron Palm Gang favored elevating Son Il Seo over the thug Cheon Ri Hyeong. They stayed silent only because Cheon Ri Hyeong's loyalists were superior in skill.
Those men had clearly aided Son Il Seo's escape.
But even so, it was just one warrior, a woman, and a child. A timely pursuit should have caught them in half a day.
The issue was Cheon Ri Hyeong dawdling over breakfast.
That delay let the fugitives reach this hideout of a gorge, forcing an overnight camp in the cold night dew.
Ja-chung had chalked it up to Cheon Ri Hyeong's personality.
Deliberately dragging it out turned a life-or-death gamble into double the thrill of the hunt…
Or so he'd thought.
Was there another reason?
Seo Baek continued, as if answering Ja-chung's doubts.
"You dragged out the time and led the pursuit to this remote gorge to deceive your own gang disciples."
"I deceived my disciples?"
"Few eyes around. A place to spend the night and execute your plan in secret. Split into small groups in case it leaked. All tricks to fool the disciples."
"What nonsense. I'm to be the Iron Palm Gang's leader—why deceive my own men? Hahaha!"
Cheon Ri Hyeong laughed heartily, and Ja-chung and Bang-do joined in.
But Seo Baek didn't smile.
"There are two kinds of revenants: blood ghosts without souls, and those that act just like living people. Blood ghosts attack the living indiscriminately, but revenants hide among humans, biding their time."
"Why bring up revenants all of a sudden…?"
"Allies aren't just among the living. Do you know why revenants don't devour each other? They recognize one another as comrades."
"…"
"Here's my theory. When the leader and deputy died to the horde, you died with them. But not as a blood ghost—you became a revenant."
"…"
"You hid your true nature and returned to the gang. But turning all the disciples at once? Too many, too many eyes."
"…"
"Then the fugitives appeared. You handpicked your confidants for the pursuit and left Iron Palm Mountain."
"…"
"Splitting into groups of four in this gorge made it easy to turn them into fellow revenants at night."
"…"
"Everything was a scheme to make your disciples comrades—revenants like you."
"…"
Despite Seo Baek's long explanation, Cheon Ri Hyeong said nothing.
"The four from the gorge team—we beheaded them, but they weren't revenants. But the three who stuck with you? You've surely turned them."
Seo Baek turned to Ja-chung and Bang-do.
"You're just unaware, but you're already dead."
"…!"
Ja-chung and Bang-do swallowed hard, falling silent.
Then Bang-do erupted in laughter.
"Wahaha! That's the craziest bullshit I've heard in thirty years! Got any proof…?"
But his laughter died at Seo Baek's next words.
"I do."
Seo Baek raised his thumb and mimed slicing across his throat.
"If my theory's right, you'll have sword scars on your necks."
"Our necks are fine—what scars…?"
Bang-do chuckled and glanced at Ja-chung—then froze. Ja-chung was staring at Bang-do's neck.
"Brother, why the weird look? You don't buy this kid's crap, right?"
"…"
"Brother?"
Then Bang-do paled, seeing it: a thin red line encircling Ja-chung's neck.
The scar was so fine—from a well-honed blade—that it was nearly invisible unless you looked closely. Without