Chapter 565: Your Beloved Husband is the One Who Raped and Murdered Them.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 565: Your Beloved Husband is the One Who Raped and Murdered Them.
"W-what did you say!?"
"What on earth do you mean!?"
Upon hearing Tang Jin-seol's words, Lee Jae-won's wives stared at her, their faces masks of pure horror.
It was because the words Tang Jin-seol had just uttered were utterly nonsensical.
To claim that the culprit who massacred the Gu Clan was none other than their husband and the Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won—how could she spout such an absurdity?
"……Tang Jin-seol."
Joo So-yang spoke, her eyes fixed on Tang Jin-seol with a gaze that had turned deathly cold.
"Do you realize what you just said?"
Her eyes were filled with a chill sharper than the bitter cold northern wind.
"I wonder?"
Tang Jin-seol replied with a feigned look of ignorance.
"Your statement shakes the very foundation of the Alliance. Can you truly take responsibility for such words?"
Lee Jae-won was the founder and the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance.
For the Alliance Leader—the one who should be the most upright and incorruptible—to be the true culprit behind a murder case so gruesome it defied description...
If such a fact were to be revealed, the very foundation of the Alliance would inevitably crumble.
"I have simply stated the truth. Why should I be unable to take responsibility for it?"
Tang Jin-seol continued in a calm, steady tone.
"And your proof?"
"As for proof, didn't Madam Paeng already tell you everything?"
Tang Jin-seol turned her gaze toward Paeng Ga-ryeon, who stood in a corner with a grave expression.
"A man who has reached the Profound Realm and holds a grudge against the Yellow Turban Party Leader, Gu Ja-yeop."
Tang Jin-seol let out a seductive smile as she continued.
"No matter how you think about it, it has to be the Alliance Leader, doesn't it?"
"That is mere speculation. You cannot frame the Alliance Leader as a criminal based solely on circumstantial evidence."
Joo So-yang countered, her gaze remaining icy.
While the Alliance Leader was a strong suspect based on the circumstances, that was all it was—circumstances.
It could not serve as physical evidence.
They needed a witness or tangible proof. Proof that the Alliance Leader had committed such a foul deed.
"Present actual evidence, Tang Jin-seol," Joo So-yang demanded, her eyes flashing.
"Hmm… actual evidence, you say…"
Tang Jin-seol spoke as if deep in thought.
"Surely you didn't conclude he was the culprit based on a mere hunch?" Joo So-yang pressed, glaring sharply.
"Of course not."
Tang Jin-seol smiled softly and asked, "Do any of you happen to know that a very specific scent emanates from the Alliance Leader's body?"
"A scent?"
"What do you mean, a scent?"
The wives tilted their heads in confusion. What kind of scent could possibly be coming from his body?
"I suppose calling it a 'scent' makes it difficult to understand. Then, have you ever felt strangely euphoric or hazy for some reason whenever you were held in his arms?"
She scanned the wives as she spoke.
Nod.
Nod.
The wives began to nod in agreement.
They weren't sure about the 'scent' she first mentioned, but they certainly remembered feeling strangely elated and lightheaded whenever they were in his embrace.
"……I have indeed felt such a sensation when held by him. But what of it?"
Joo So-yang spoke, reaching back into her memories of being held by him decades ago.
She couldn't remember the details clearly, but it felt as though that had indeed been the case.
"Why do you think you felt that way?"
Tang Jin-seol looked at Joo So-yang with an amused expression.
"……Was it not because of my affection for him?"
Joo So-yang thought it over and quickly reached a conclusion.
To her, that strange, inexplicable feeling could only be explained by her boundless love for him. Of course, now she felt hundreds, thousands of times better with her Master and expert trainer, Jang Sun-woo.
"Unfortunately, you're wrong."
Tang Jin-seol slowly shook her head.
"What!?"
"It's because of a scent. A unique body fragrance that the Alliance Leader secretes."
Tang Jin-seol looked at her with eyes full of certainty.
"What are you talking about?" Joo So-yang asked, her face clouded with doubt.
"When the Alliance Leader engages in intercourse, his body releases a specific scent. And women who inhale that scent experience a stimulating sense of euphoria and arousal. In other words, it's a natural aphrodisiac."
Tang Jin-seol continued with a playful glint in her eyes.
"That's a lie! If such a scent existed, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed it!"
Joo So-yang raised her voice in denial. She found the claim utterly ridiculous.
She was a master of the Transcendent Realm, specifically the Upper Stage.
There was no way someone of her caliber would fail to notice Lee Jae-won's body scent. Her five senses had been heightened to an extreme degree along with her martial realm.
"No, you wouldn't have known. The scent he emits is so subtle that it's hard to recognize it as a 'scent' unless you are consciously looking for it."
Tang Jin-seol shook her head as she explained.
"Then how were you able to smell it, Tang Jin-seol? Are you saying your senses are sharper than mine, despite being only at the Super-Peak Realm?"
Joo So-yang asked, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Tang Jin-seol was merely at the Super-Peak Realm. It was hard to believe that she could detect a scent that even a Transcendent Realm master had missed.
"I told you. It's not about the senses; it's about recognition."
"And how were you able to recognize it as a scent?"
"Hehe, who do you think I am?"
Tang Jin-seol let out a faint laugh at Joo So-yang's question.
"I am a direct bloodline of the Tang Clan, trained since childhood to develop a transcendent sense of smell by identifying hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of different fragrances. I am naturally more sensitive to scents than anyone else."
Tang Jin-seol continued with a playful wink.
"That is why I could smell it. That erotic body scent emanating from the Alliance Leader."
"…………"
Joo So-yang looked bewildered. She couldn't tell if the woman was telling the truth or lying.
"Fine. Let's say such a scent exists. What does that have to do with the Alliance Leader being the culprit?"
Joo So-yang glared at her with sharp eyes.
"On the day of the investigation, at the request of the Law Enforcement Hall Master, I attended the autopsies of the victims," Tang Jin-seol began calmly.
"It was to prepare for any corpse poison that might have remained in the bodies."
"Corpse poison?"
"Yes. When a person dies, they release toxins. If one isn't careful, the coroner can be poisoned. I was invited to the autopsy site to prevent such an occurrence."
Tang Jin-seol continued with a small smile playing on her lips.
"And at that autopsy site, I smelled it."
Her eyes gleamed.
"The same pungent body scent the Alliance Leader emits. The moment I smelled it, I knew. The true culprit who massacred the Gu Clan is the supreme ruler of the Cheonmu Alliance and our beloved husband, Lee Jae-won."
Tang Jin-seol spoke with absolute conviction.
"……T-that's…"
"It can't be…"
"How could such a thing…"
The wives looked on in disbelief.
They had to. Even if they had grown distant, he was still their husband and the father of their beloved children. How could they believe he had committed such a horrific crime?
"Wait a moment. It's true that Madam Tang visited the autopsy room, but the Alliance Leader had been there before her. It's possible the scent was simply left behind then."
Paeng Ga-ryeon spoke up, her eyes sharp.
Lee Jae-won had indeed visited the autopsy room before Tang Jin-seol. The scent could have simply rubbed off during his visit.
"No. The Alliance Leader's scent was left at the scene of the crime. I am certain of this."
Tang Jin-seol slowly shook her head, refuting Paeng Ga-ryeon's point.
"How can you be so sure?"
Paeng Ga-ryeon immediately countered. How could she be so certain?
"Didn't I tell you? The Alliance Leader's scent is only released during sexual intercourse. Is it not highly unlikely that such a specific scent would be left behind just by visiting an autopsy room?"
Tang Jin-seol spoke with a mocking expression.
"The place where the scent was most concentrated was on the body of Gu Ja-yeop's daughter, Gu Ha-rin. It was lingering there, thick and heavy."
Tang Jin-seol's voice remained calm.
"Lies! It's all a pack of lies!!!!"
Zhuge Ju-kyung, who had been listening in silence, suddenly screamed. Her face was flushed with rage.
She was convinced Tang Jin-seol was lying.
Lee Jae-won was the only man she had ever chosen and loved. To think that such a man had committed such a foul deed was impossible to believe.
To her, Lee Jae-won was a hero. A hero who had risked his life to save the Central Plains Murim.
And now, this woman was labeling that hero a disgusting murderer.
How could she believe it? How could she not be angry?
It had to be a lie. This was undoubtedly a fabrication cooked up by Tang Jin-seol.
"Madam Zhuge, your trust in the Alliance Leader is quite deep."
Tang Jin-seol let out a small smile.
"Of course it is! He is the hero who saved the Murim and my one and only husband! He is also the only father to our Gyu-a and Jin-ah. If I don't believe in him, who will?"
Zhuge Ju-kyung stared at Tang Jin-seol with eyes full of determined resolve. Her gaze was brimming with trust for Lee Jae-won.
"Haaaaaa……"
Facing that gaze, Tang Jin-seol let out a soft sigh.
Seeing those upright eyes filled with trust triggered a base, vulgar desire within her. A desire to fill those trusting eyes with the light of despair.
"Madam Zhuge, did you know?"
"Know what!?"
"This isn't the first time the Alliance Leader's scent has been found on a woman's corpse."
Tang Jin-seol's smile deepened.
"W-what!?"
Zhuge Ju-kyung's eyes widened in shock. This wasn't the first time? What on earth did that mean? She couldn't understand.
"Was it about fifteen years ago? In the Cheonmu Alliance, there was a man named the Plum Blossom Sword Emperor, Yoon Je-gyeom, whose martial arts were so formidable they rivaled even the Sword Emperor Yang Tae-san. Yoon Je-gyeom had a beautiful granddaughter, and one day, she was found brutally raped and murdered, discarded in a brothel."
Tang Jin-seol looked at Zhuge Ju-kyung with cold eyes.
"At that time, I was also invited to the autopsy to neutralize the corpse poison. And I smelled it then, too. The Alliance Leader's sickeningly thick body scent."
Tang Jin-seol's gaze was incredibly serious.
"It wasn't just the Sword Emperor's granddaughter. The youngest daughter of the Songgeom Sect Leader, the only daughter of the Geumjeop Sect Leader, the fiancée of Hero Cheol-hwan—every single woman who has been raped and murdered in the Cheonmu Alliance until now! All of them carried Lee Jae-won's scent!"
Tang Jin-seol spoke with a fervor that bordered on madness.
"What do you think that means?" she asked Zhuge Ju-kyung.
"……S-surely…… all those…… women……?"
Zhuge Ju-kyung's voice trembled violently.
"That's right. Every single one of them…… was raped and murdered by your beloved husband."
Tang Jin-seol gave a bright smile.
"For decades, without a shred of remorse."
"No!!!!!! That can't be true!!!!! It's impossible!!!!!!"
Zhuge Ju-kyung vehemently denied it. It couldn't be. The husband she knew was not that kind of person.
"It's speculation! It's all a frame-up!!!!!!"
She glared at Tang Jin-seol. It had to be a frame-up. It was all a plot by this venomous woman.
"Madam Zhuge, didn't you ever find it strange?"
Tang Jin-seol's expression became deathly serious.
"What are you talking about!?"
Zhuge Ju-kyung glared back with hostile, venomous eyes.
"The fact that the Cheonmu Alliance, where the greatest powers of the Murim are gathered, hasn't been able to catch a single serial rapist for decades. Even though Hall Masters of the Transcendent Realm and an Alliance Leader of the Profound Realm reside there."
"T-that's…… because the killer…… moved so…… secretly……"
"While evading the eyes of Transcendent Realm masters, who are said to be at the limit of humanity, and a Profound Realm master, who is said to be on the path to becoming an immortal?"
Tang Jin-seol snorted at Zhuge Ju-kyung's words.
Seeing a woman who was just as smart as her—perhaps even smarter—spouting logic no better than a child's because she was blinded by love, Tang Jin-seol couldn't help but laugh.
"…………"
Zhuge Ju-kyung couldn't say a word. She had no logical counter-argument.
"The reason the killer was never caught was simple. Because the identity of the culprit who had been committing these crimes for decades was the highest-ranking master of the Cheonmu Alliance and the man called the World's Greatest Martial Artist—Lee Jae-won."
Tang Jin-seol stared at Zhuge Ju-kyung with eyes full of certainty.
"…………"
Zhuge Ju-kyung's face turned pale. The trust in her eyes began to be replaced by despair and disappointment.
She had been convinced by Tang Jin-seol's logic.
Smirk.
Seeing this, a deep, dark smile began to spread across Tang Jin-seol's lips.