Chapter 512: Harboring Suspicion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 512: Harboring Suspicion
Slurp.
Sluuuurp.
Sluuuurp.
With a look of utter misery on her face, Paeng Ga-ryeon began to suck on Jang Sam’s balls and the shaft of his dick.
She did so with meticulous care, as if handling something incredibly precious.
"Hmm... Good. You’re sucking well."
Pat, pat.
Jang Sam gently stroked her hair as if praising her, treating her like a remarkably well-behaved pet.
Wiggle, wiggle.
Perhaps encouraged by his praise, she began to sway her large, seductive hips back and forth, sucking on his dick with even more fervor.
Sluuuuuuurp.
Sluuuuuuurp.
'How refreshing.'
Jang Sam watched her quietly.
His haughty, noble aunt—the wicked woman who had plunged him into a pit of suffering—had been reduced to a sow, getting worked up while sucking his dick.
The culprit who had twisted his life had become a bitch, losing even her basic human dignity.
He couldn't help but feel refreshed. This was the revenge he had endured so much to achieve.
'Anyway, what should I do about Lee Gi-yeon?'
Jang Sam shifted his gaze toward the bed.
There, he saw Lee Gi-yeon, her body still trembling. It seemed the afterglow of her climax hadn't faded yet.
Seeing her, Jang Sam fell into thought. He was debating how to handle her.
The easiest way was to kill her quietly. If she were gone, everything would be resolved smoothly.
But soon, Jang Sam slowly shook his head. He decided he couldn't do that.
Other than the misfortune of being Paeng Ga-ryeon’s daughter, she had done nothing wrong. If anything, she was merely a victim who had been used as a tool for revenge.
How could he kill her just because her utility had run out?
If he did that, he would be no different from the likes of Paeng Ga-ryeon or Lee Jae-won.
"Hey, stop sucking."
Jang Sam spoke indifferently to Paeng Ga-ryeon.
Pop.
Paeng Ga-ryeon’s pretty mouth slid off him.
"I understand."
Having pulled his dick out of her mouth, she nodded with a dazed expression.
Step, step.
Once she was finished, Jang Sam walked over to the bed where Lee Gi-yeon lay.
Thud.
He lay down beside her as she continued to shiver. Then, he reached out and slid his arm under her neck, pulling her toward him.
Her fragile body was drawn right into his embrace.
Pat, pat, pat.
Jang Sam began to slowly pat her back, like a mother bird comforting a trembling hatchling.
Tremble, tremble.
After some time had passed, her incessant shaking gradually began to subside. She was calming down.
"Are you feeling better?" Jang Sam asked, looking down at her.
"............Yes."
"You heard everything, didn't you?"
"..........Yes."
"What do you think?"
"....I'm... so sorry... and so ashamed... toward you, Brother."
She spoke with a mournful expression. Though she had been overwhelmed by the afterglow of pleasure, she wasn't deaf. She had heard the entire conversation between Jang Sam and Paeng Ga-ryeon and had learned the truth of the incident.
A wave of guilt crashed over her.
Her mother had cast Jang Sam—whom she had vowed to treat like her own child—into the abyss just for the sake of a succession struggle.
Her father had framed his only disciple and declared him a Public Enemy of the Murim, making him a scapegoat to suppress public outcry.
And poor Jang Sam had suffered all of it despite being completely innocent.
How could she not feel guilty?
She couldn't understand it. What was power, exactly, that it could make humans so hideous?
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry..."
She apologized to Jang Sam, her face on the verge of tears.
Of course, she hadn't done anything wrong to him. She was a victim herself. Yet, she apologized anyway, feeling the weight of her parents' heinous sins as their child.
"No... You did nothing wrong."
Pat, pat.
Jang Sam began to comfort Lee Gi-yeon with a soft voice. There was no way she was at fault. What sin could she have committed when she was merely used as a tool for revenge?
"So, don't cry."
Jang Sam gently wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"Ugh... hic... sob... waaaah..."
But eventually, she burst into tears. She couldn't bear the fact that such foul, disgusting blood flowed through her veins.
Pat, pat.
Jang Sam continued to pat her until she stopped crying, his touch incredibly gentle.
After a long while, Lee Gi-yeon finally stopped sobbing and looked up at him.
"I will spend the rest of my life atoning."
"The rest of your life?"
"Yes...... I'll stay by your side with Mother and live every day making amends..."
"There's no need for that. You aren't at fault, remember? Just forget everything and live your own life."
"No...... I... I want to do this... If I don't, I think I'll go crazy.... Brother."
She looked up at Jang Sam with sorrowful eyes.
'........What should I do?'
Jang Sam looked troubled. This was a development he hadn't expected at all. He had only intended to comfort her and keep her quiet, but things had taken an unforeseen turn.
Her parents were the ones who sinned; why should the daughter atone for them?
'Why are you so kind....... Yeon-ah?'
Jang Sam looked at Lee Gi-yeon with complicated eyes. She was an innocent victim who had been put through a terrible ordeal by his own hand. Yet, without a single thought for her own plight, she was drowning in guilt for her parents' crimes.
She was kind. Too kind.
So kind that his heart, once burning with vengeance, softened just a little.
He wanted to protect her. He wanted to warmly embrace this woman who was like a lost lamb.
"You don't have to atone."
Jang Sam spoke with a firm expression.
"..........."
Seeing his stern face, Lee Gi-yeon’s expression immediately crumpled. Thinking she had been rejected, tears welled up in her eyes again.
"Instead, live with me."
".....Huh?"
"I'm saying let's live together. Not to atone, but to love each other."
".......What do you mean by....."
"Do you dislike me?"
"....It's not... that, but.."
Startled by his sudden words, Lee Gi-yeon began to stammer.
"I.... I don't have the right.."
She looked at him with tearful eyes.
"I don't have the right to like you or love you, Brother."
She truly believed that. She felt she had no right to love him.
"You are different from Paeng Ga-ryeon. Don't equate yourself with that woman."
".........Brother."
Wriggle, wriggle.
Lee Gi-yeon began to burrow deeper into Jang Sam’s embrace. He didn't push her away. He simply accepted her gently.
'......Ah.'
Paeng Ga-ryeon could only watch the two of them with an envious gaze.
*
"Hey."
After soothing Lee Gi-yeon and letting her fall asleep, Jang Sam called out to Paeng Ga-ryeon.
"Yes."
Paeng Ga-ryeon hurried over to him.
"Watch closely."
Crack, crunch, snap.
As she approached, Jang Sam began to readjust the bones of his face and body using the Zhu-Rong Art. He shifted back into the form he was most familiar with, the one he had used the longest.
Creeeeeak.
After his bones finished shifting, Jang Sam had transformed into a completely different person. The slender, scholar-like appearance was gone, replaced by the face of a handsome, rugged martial artist.
"That... that... appearance is..."
Paeng Ga-ryeon stammered in shock. It was a face she had seen before, even if only from a distance.
"You recognize this face, don't you?"
Sun-woo asked her with a smirk.
"Ha......"
A hollow laugh escaped her lips. She realized she had been played this entire time.
She had obsessed over Kang Myeong and given him everything just to keep Jang Sun-woo in check. But as it turned out, Jang Sun-woo and Kang Myeong were the same person.
How could she not laugh?
'I was nothing more than a toy dancing in the palm of his hand.'
She stared blankly, her mind reeling from the shock.
Slap!
Sun-woo struck Paeng Ga-ryeon across the cheek.
"Aaah!"
A short scream escaped her.
"Who told you to space out?"
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry."
She immediately apologized, looking utterly contrite.
"Anyway, just answer what I ask."
"......Yes."
"The serial rape and murder cases that happened in the Cheonmu Alliance."
Sun-woo looked at her as he spoke.
"......Yes."
"How many cases have there been so far?"
"Officially, there have been about sixty-five."
"Sixty-five cases over twenty years........"
Sun-woo stroked his chin. It was more than he had imagined. Sixty-five cases? That meant a serial rape and murder occurred roughly three times a year.
"With that many incidents happening inside the Cheonmu Alliance... why couldn't you catch him?"
"We couldn't find any clues."
"Clues?"
"Yes.. We couldn't identify who the culprit was, what their motive was, or where and how they were doing it."
"Couldn't you just estimate the time of death and narrow down the suspects by checking who was absent?"
"....We estimated the time of death and identified those who were away, but no one fit the criteria."
She shook her head.
"Really? No one?"
"........Really."
"Are you sure you didn't leave anyone out? You're the kind of piece of shit who conducts investigations however you please."
"I didn't leave anyone out..... I... I know I'm a piece of shit...... but for those cases...... I really worked hard....... Please believe me."
Paeng Ga-ryeon pleaded with tearful eyes, as if it were incredibly unfair to be questioned on this.
Slap!
Sun-woo slapped her cheek again.
"Don't cry. It's disgusting."
".....Yes."
Sniff, sniff.
She began to rub her eyes roughly, determined to follow his command.
"Anyway, think carefully. There must be someone you left out without realizing it. For example, Lee Jae-won, or the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, or the World's Greatest Martial Artist... or that husband of yours."
Sun-woo watched her with a suggestive gaze.
"Are you... are you suspecting my husband right now!?"
Paeng Ga-ryeon asked back in shock. She was horrified by the completely unexpected suggestion.
Slap!
"My ears are ringing!"
Sun-woo slapped her again.
"Aaah!"
Another groan escaped her.
"Speak quietly. Are you going to take responsibility if the kid wakes up?"
Sun-woo gestured with his chin toward the sleeping Lee Gi-yeon.
"..I'm... I'm sorry."
She bowed her head deeply and apologized, looking as if she had committed a grave sin.
"Anyway, tell me. Did you exclude Lee Jae-won from the suspect list or not?"
".............I excluded him."
"Then you probably didn't even ask him what he was doing at the estimated times of death."
"...........No."
"Doesn't it seem like we've found our culprit?"
"That... that's impossible... My husband would never.."
Paeng Ga-ryeon shook her head. Though he was a cold husband who had neglected her for decades, he was no murderer. How could the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance be a serial killer who raped and murdered female martial artists?
"Think about it. Sixty-five victims over twenty years. And all of it happened inside the Cheonmu Alliance. You're telling me a master who reached the Profound Realm missed that? Not once, but sixty-five times?"
"A master of the Profound Realm isn't... a god."
"Oh? Are you talking back to me now?"
Sun-woo frowned.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Paeng Ga-ryeon apologized repeatedly, terrified he might hit her again.
"Anyway, if a master of Lee Jae-won’s caliber intentionally spreads his senses, covering the entire Cheonmu Alliance is child's play. It's impossible for him to have missed sixty-five abductions."
Sun-woo looked at her with a face full of conviction.
"And he's also someone who can't provide an alibi for what he was doing at the times of death."
Sun-woo’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Paeng Ga-ryeon.
"Isn't he worth suspecting?"
".........."
Paeng Ga-ryeon remained silent, her mouth shut tight. She couldn't deny his logic.
Though she was now reduced to Sun-woo’s sow, she was still the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, the one in charge of criminal investigations. She understood better than anyone how plausible Sun-woo’s deduction was.