Show Your Face and Go Away (2)
Dang Rim furrowed his brow.
"This matter is treated with the utmost seriousness even within the Dang Clan. It must never leak outside. But... the situation is urgent, so I have no choice."
Baek Wontae turned his head and answered with a sneer. "I'm not interested in other people's family business."
Dang Rim went on as if he hadn't heard him. "The Dang Clan's wanted man was accused of murdering an elder of the Elders' Hall twenty years ago, because he opposed the old man's wishes. He was a prime suspect, though we were still searching for solid proof, and in the end the punishment was not execution but expulsion from the main gate. Still, he fled surveillance with his wife, son, and daughter. I suppose he was afraid the evidence would surface and he would be put to death."
His fists clenched tight. "After that, a wanted order was issued to every disciple of the Dang Clan. Searching for a few people across all of Sichuan is like looking for a needle in a haystack... but the Dang Clan never lets anyone who has humiliated it live freely beneath the heavens. Even after more than ten years, that warrant remains in effect."
His voice hardened. "A man who killed an elder just because he disagreed with him may one day threaten the people of Sichuan. Protecting Sichuan is a duty the Dang Clan has inherited since ancient times. I am simply trying to fulfill that duty."
At last, he laid bare his real intention. "To be frank, I suspect your wife is that man's daughter. I have never heard of any blood relative of the Dang Clan living in Hamwon."
Dang Rim drew a breath, trying to steady himself.
He felt uneasy, but he had no choice but to rely on the Dang Clan's authority and prestige.
I'm sorry, but this man will surely understand where I'm coming from.
This is absolutely not a threat.
He continued, "So... as a member of the Dang Clan, I am asking you for a 'favor.' Please show me her face just once. If she truly has nothing to do with the Dang Clan, we will send you on your way with proper compensation."
Silence.
Something felt deeply wrong beside him.
Dang Ihwa gripped the hem of her robe so tightly it looked like it might tear.
A face she had never seen before.
Vessels stood out around her eyes, and her teeth ground together so hard it seemed they might shatter.
Baek Wontae flicked a glance at Ihwa.
Then he turned and walked over to Dang Rim.
"...Oh, were you perhaps a government officer?"
"Pardon?"
Dang Rim asked back, flustered.
"No, I said I was a member of the Dang Clan...."
"Then on what authority do you, who aren't even a government officer, think you can go around investigating other people as you please?"
"As a member of the Dang Clan, I'm investigating a murder committed by the Dang Clan—"
Baek Wontae cut him off.
He lifted a hand toward the exit.
"Fine. Then let's go to the magistrate's office."
"Pardon?"
"Let's report it together."
Baek Wontae pointed a finger outside the inn.
"A murder happened in the Dang Clan, and you're saying the suspect has been on the run for that long? What, has the Sichuan magistracy collapsed? Why wasn't such a vicious criminal reported to the state?"
Dang Rim was momentarily speechless.
Jung-su bu-reom-ha-su.
It was an unwritten rule between the courts and the martial world.
And yet this man wanted to hand the matter over to the authorities?
Besides, the Dang Clan's relationship with the government could hardly be called good.
Because of its family traditions, its conduct, and the nature of its martial arts, it always hovered on the uneasy border between righteous and unorthodox.
As a result, it was recognized as a powerful family, yes.
But it was also constantly watched and treated as a potential problem.
If this murder case were reported to the authorities...
Best case, they would say, "Handle it yourselves."
Worst case, it would become an excuse to say, "The Dang Clan can't even control its own affairs."
And that would lead to government interference, and eventually meddling with the Dang Clan's autonomy.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"N-no, no, even if the Dang Clan is close to the secular world, it's still a major family of the martial world. How could we possibly hand this over to the government?"
Baek Wontae tilted his head.
"Isn't the Dang Clan made up of subjects of His Imperial Majesty?"
"...Pardon?"
"You, the suspect, the victim, the Dang Clan—you're all subjects living under the Emperor's rule. So why would you try to handle such a serious matter privately instead of relying on the law of the land?"
The air turned cold at his words.
"Are you saying the Dang Clan can't trust the Emperor's law? That the great Emperor... couldn't handle even a murder case in the provinces?"
A chill shot down Dang Rim's spine.
"D-don't say such things! If someone hears you, we'll be in serious trouble...!"
"You were the one who brought it up first."
Baek Wontae gave a mocking laugh.
"If government troops had asked for cooperation, I would have complied. I pay taxes to the country, after all, and I'm a citizen who deserves life and security in return."
He took another step closer.
"If the Dang Clan had legal authority, I would have cooperated. But as far as my limited understanding goes, the Dang Clan is just a prominent family in Sichuan, not an institution with the power to enforce state law."
His gaze pierced like a blade.
"Right?"
Dang Rim's tongue felt frozen.
He had no way to rebut that.
"...Th-that's... correct."
"And yet you dare try to tie my wife to a murder investigation?"
Baek Wontae's voice dropped lower and lower.
"Honestly, you're remarkably good at making people sick to their stomach. I don't know about folks in distant Seongdo, but we don't owe the Dang Clan anything, and the Dang Clan has no right to order us around."
With a smile, he looked up into Dang Rim's eyes.
"You want me to refrain from insulting the Dang Clan? You grab me first thing in the morning, force me to do something my wife clearly doesn't want, drag her into a murder case, and even carry out your own private investigation. And I'm supposed to not hate the Dang Clan? Sure, of course."
He turned away and said, "That's enough. A lot of time's passed."
Without giving them another glance, he headed for the door.
"If you have even a shred of shame left, let us go now."
Then he looked at Ihwa.
"Let's go."
The two of them began to move farther and farther away.
Dang Rim's eyes twitched.
Compared to what he wanted to do, his grounds were pitifully thin.
A fleeting glimpse of eyes that looked like the Dang Clan's, and a rumor that she kept her face hidden because she was ashamed to show it.
Anyone would find that suspicious.
But that still didn't mean he could rip off her robe by force.
As that man had said, the Dang Clan was, after all, merely one of the martial families.
Before the law, it was nothing more than a common household.
It had no investigative authority.
All it had was the weight of the Dang Clan name among the people of Sichuan.
It could only use that fear and reverence to ask for cooperation.
Usually, people complied obediently.
They were afraid of being marked by the Dang Clan.
But that man was different.
He invoked the law and destroyed the unwritten rule of the martial world that everyone in the jianghu had always observed.
Dang Rim knew that the man was right.
And that made it even more painful.
Should I chase after them?
It was possible.
But... what was he supposed to do about his duty escorting the elder of the merchant caravan?
This assignment had already been something he'd begged and clawed his way into, pleading until his hands and feet felt worn out—"Please, give me one more chance"—all because his reputation had been shattered.
He absolutely, under no circumstances, could afford to mess this up.
Then... should I request more investigators from the Dang Clan to come to Hamwon?
The moment that thought appeared, he swallowed a bitter laugh.
His basis was nothing more than this:
"I think I saw a woman with the Dang Clan's eyes."
Seems like?
He'd be lucky if he didn't get smacked for saying that.
Maybe someone else could have gotten away with it, but he knew for certain that at least his own words would be ignored.
He knew it himself.
He lacked skill, and his judgment was clumsy compared to others.
How many mistakes had he made because of that?
Because of it, he was always dismissed as someone not worth trusting.
No one would believe him if he said he'd found evidence in the Dang Clan murder case.
No—if anything, they'd laugh and say he was imagining things.
His sister's voice seemed to ring in his ears.
"You idiot. Want me to tell you why you always end up looking like that? It's because you're weak. You never make a decision, never do anything, so how could anything possibly go right? And that means I always have to clean up your messes. You're wasting that Dang surname, you lanky fool."
It stung, but not a single word of it was wrong.
Her scolding had always landed with perfect, painful accuracy.
Then he needed to change.
If he was a Dang Clan man...
What would his sister have done?
She would not have hesitated.
For the greater good of the Dang Clan, she always acted.
Acted.
Yes, she would have acted.
What was needed now wasn't long deliberation but a swift decision.
He couldn't let himself be stopped by mere etiquette and propriety.
This was for the Dang Clan!
For the realization of justice and the restoration of honor!
Strength filled the tips of Dang Rim's fingers.
He drew a rough breath, and the veins on the backs of his hands bulged.
At last, he decided.
Step, step—
One step.
Then another.
He moved forward.
Before those two could cross the threshold.
"I'm sorry. Forgive this injustice."
His hand shot toward the robe like lightning.
Grab!
His five fingers clamped onto the fabric.
Ihwa flinched in shock.
So this bastard really was trying to tear off her robe.
If her face was exposed like this, he would immediately start pressing her for answers.
Even if it were only a suspicion, inquiries would spread through the Hamwon area.
There were many people here who knew Ihwa's face.
And if that happened, Yi-hyeon would inevitably be exposed too.
In the end, the trail would reach Heokryeonhyang.
That could not happen.
Absolutely not.
Her hand clutched at the robe by instinct.
The hand gripping the fabric trembled violently.
Dang Rim had come this far, only to hesitate at the very end.
He had seized it, but he couldn't strip it away right away.
Clenching his teeth, he shut out his conscience.
Just as he was about to yank the robe aside—
Grip—
A hand seized Dang Rim's wrist.
It was Baek Wontae.
"Don't put your hands on my woman."
He glared at Dang Rim with murderous intent.
"You son of a bitch."