Chapter 152
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: 42. Winds Settle, Waves Subside (1)
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Up until now, Flying Tiger had run around like a dog sweating bullets just to have some intimate alone time with Jin Ga-yong. So he intended to squeeze every last bit of information out of him right here.
And so the interrogation began.
'Why did you kill Daoist Ma Yeop?'
Jin Ga-yong started to make some excuse at the first question, but he caught Flying Tiger's icy glare and sighed instead.
"It's a misunderstanding."
"Who's misunderstanding who? Are you saying Daoist Ma Yeop misunderstood you, the Zhao overseer, as having cultivated a demonic art? And that made you angry?"
"Ah..."
Only then did Jin Ga-yong realize that Flying Tiger's suspicions were far more specific and deep-rooted than he'd thought.
"How much do you know about what happened between Daoist Ma Yeop and me?"
"I'm the one asking the questions."
Flying Tiger twisted the dagger embedded in Jin Ga-yong's chest ever so slightly. Carefully, so it wouldn't cause any real harm. Even so, having a cold blade fidget right next to his heart had to be a novel experience.
It was a warning.
Jin Ga-yong furrowed his brow for a moment but showed no other outward sign. He asked again in a calm voice, as if to say, Go ahead and stab me if you want—I'm saying what I have to say.
A bold attitude.
"Could it be you're suspicious because of that time at the Zhao Family Manor when Daoist Ma Yeop and I raised our voices? Do you really know the full story before acting like this?"
"Brother Ma said the overseer seemed suspicious. He couldn't be sure, but he sensed faint traces of demonic energy in your eyes. Your junior brother said the same. He accused his own senior brother of being a demonic cultivator—what kind of lunatic does that? Isn't that why you two fought?"
"Junior Brother Go? Did he talk to you?"
"Yes."
"How's Junior Brother Go? Is he alright?"
Flying Tiger sensed the conversation veering off track. But he felt Jin Ga-yong's genuine affection for his junior brother and couldn't bring himself to brush it aside coldly.
"Your junior brother was badly hurt, but he was lucky. If he rests well for a few months, he'll be able to wield a sword again."
"That's a relief. But... does that mean I owe you thanks for something related to this as well?"
"Who knows. But skip the thanks—I'd prefer something more substantial if you really want to repay me."
"......"
"If things between you and me end badly, what good are any of these details? So please, just answer."
Jin Ga-yong seemed more at ease now, his expression softening as he explained the story of his argument with Ma Yeop.
The reason Jin Ga-yong had gotten angry at Ma Yeop was something else entirely.
As it turned out, Ma Yeop's master, Wall-Eyed Monk, and Jin Ga-yong's master, Zhao Ban-san, had been old friends. So even though Ma Yeop and Jin Ga-yong had never met before, they knew of each other through their masters.
Strangers, but not quite like strangers.
And that was the problem.
While Ma Yeop roamed the jianghu pursuing the Eight Villains of Sichuan for his master's vengeance, he heard some rumors near Shaanxi Province that sparked the trouble.
Around that time, Jin Ga-yong was a staple drinking topic in Shaanxi's martial circles. Everyone was chewing him up.
The reason? He'd hidden away while his master and senior brother fought to the death, only to become a loyal dog to their enemies less than half a year after they died.
This was about Jin Ga-yong not participating in the duel at Yeonman Plains and then taking the overseer position in the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong under the Martial Qin Alliance.
Ma Yeop heard this and flew into a rage, viewing Jin Ga-yong as human trash.
Then fate forced him to team up with that trash for his master's revenge. How do you think someone already twisted by vengeance felt about that?
That was why Ma Yeop had looked at Jin Ga-yong like a bug ever since joining the unit.
And that became the spark.
After completing his revenge, Ma Yeop stayed at the Zhao Family Manor with Flying Tiger, and his warped mindset eased somewhat.
He even showed a fairly monk-like demeanor.
So in a private meeting with Jin Ga-yong, he brought up the rumors in the spirit of, 'Live straight.' Instead of drawing his sword like his old temper would've demanded, he advised him verbally like a gentleman.
But how could Jin Ga-yong accept that advice the same way?
He took the rudeness as an outright insult. With a sneer, he shot back:
"Hmph. I thought you'd gone quiet for a few days, but the madness has returned?"
"What?"
"After all I've fed and housed you, this is how you talk to the master of the house... Tsk. Not even an animal."
"Heh heh heh. Say that again. Animal?"
......
Their emotions boiled over, their voices rising so loud they carried beyond the walls. That was the story.
Flying Tiger tilted his head after hearing it.
"If that's why you two fought, what about the traces of demonic arts Daoist Ma Yeop claimed to see in your eyes?"
"He did say something like that during our argument. Seeing how sharp his tongue was, I figured he'd been possessed by a demon."
"Pardon?"
"At the time, I thought he was just lashing out because I called him crazy. Shamefully, I was pretty heated myself. But hearing what you've said, it seems the Daoist really saw something in me back then."
"Ah... So the story your junior brother heard..."
"Who knows. I never discussed it with him or anyone else. It's not something to spread around. But if I had to guess, we were both angry and shouting loud enough for some passerby to overhear snippets and spread rumors based on that."
"Hmm."
Flying Tiger could picture it.
Most likely, everything Jin Ga-yong had said was true.
Why?
There was evidence.
Flying Tiger had been observing Jin Ga-yong closely. He'd thrown sudden questions, pressed hard, and eased up at times.
In particular, he'd been monitoring Jin Ga-yong's heartbeat—its frequency and intensity.
How? Through the dagger.
Stabbing it next to his heart wasn't just for restraint.
Of course, reactions varied by person. By innate temperament, situation, or topic.
But in broad strokes, they were similar. Because they were human. Plus, this interrogation method was unfamiliar in the Central Plains, making it hard even for skilled liars to cope. You have to know something to guard against it.
Meanwhile, Flying Tiger was still gathering data. Watching how Jin Ga-yong's heart reacted to words spoken or heard, tracking the patterns.
In other words, he was analyzing him.
To discern truth from lie when he asked the questions he really wanted answered.
Weighing Jin Ga-yong's words, Flying Tiger felt Ma Yeop might have crossed a line. But he also understood why Ma Yeop had been so rude.
'The Zhao Family Manor's upheaval wouldn't have felt like someone else's problem. Seeing Jin Ga-yong, in a similar spot, choose that path must've been even more distasteful. Brother Ma's mind was pretty twisted back then anyway. But... huh?'
Flying Tiger suddenly caught a peculiar point in Jin Ga-yong's words and pointed it out.
"Hold on. Didn't you just say it seemed Daoist Ma Yeop really saw something? What was it?"
"Traces of demonic energy, I think?"
"......"
Jin Ga-yong slowly raised his left hand and extended it. A sign he had no intent to attack.
But why?
Jin Ga-yong said,
"Feel my pulse at the wrist."
Flying Tiger gripped Jin Ga-yong's wrist. It was thinner and more resilient than expected. Feeling someone's heartbeat and pulse at once felt strangely intimate.
Thump thump.
But... wait, what?
Flying Tiger looked up in surprise to see Jin Ga-yong smiling wryly.
"What is this?"
"I'm more surprised, actually. Do you recognize it?"
"Don't tell me you're..."
Flying Tiger almost blurted out something wrong in his shock but covered it up. Jin Ga-yong's calm expression and tone told him it wasn't relevant to what he wanted to ask.
Then what?
"No. But... could it be you really fell into qi deviation, and the internal injuries haven't fully healed?"
Flying Tiger panicked visibly before asking uncertainly.
He'd rechecked the pulse and felt the qi and blood circulation sluggish and obstructed.
But he couldn't be sure.
Flying Tiger wasn't a physician, and his knowledge there was shallow. He'd just recalled what Go Dan-o said in the warehouse last night.
Jin Ga-yong watched him, then withdrew his wrist from Flying Tiger's grasp with a strangely cold smile.
"Something like that. But I suppose presenting evidence that I haven't cultivated demonic arts would be more convincing to you."
And what came from Jin Ga-yong's mouth next shocked Flying Tiger once more.
If the previous shock was like lightning striking his mind, this felt like a heavy club to the back of the head.
"The mere fact that I'm still alive is proof."
"...?"
"Go ask the real experts from the Martial Qin Alliance who clashed with our Zhao Family Manor back then. Ask if this Jin seems like someone who'd cultivate demonic arts. Small fry might not know, but they'd have shared intel among themselves."
"...!"
"They were dying to kill me on any pretext. If there'd been even a hint of suspicion that I'd learned demonic arts, do you think the victors would have left me alive all this time?"
Jin Ga-yong's final words were laced with self-mockery.
And they implied many things.
Flying Tiger's face twisted. He'd planned to extract all the info, but he hadn't expected unrelated incidents to keep popping up like pulling sweet potato vines.
Wasn't there a saying that hanging around a tough guy gets you struck by lightning? In that sense, Jin Ga-yong was a walking bomb. No, a powder keg.
He'd gotten tangled with the wrong guy!
The jianghu folk had pointed fingers at Honest Sword Jin Ga-yong, calling him a coward.
Because he'd never made a name in the clashes between the Martial Qin Alliance and the Anti-Martial Qin side, they figured he'd hidden away somewhere.
But picking apart Jin Ga-yong's words, he'd fought fiercely. Famous enough among the ranked warriors in the Martial Qin Alliance. They must've ground their teeth wanting to kill him.
So why didn't the public—or even the Martial Qin warriors Flying Tiger had met—know this?
Either deliberately hidden, or fought in the shadows.
It made sense. Wars were all-out struggles for a sect's survival. No way they'd waste a talent like that.
So whatever Jin Ga-yong had done, the victors wanted it erased from memory, and the losers knew better than to speak up for their own good.
And Flying Tiger had gone and learned it anyway.