Chapter 153
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Winds Calm, Waves Still (2)
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While the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong was returning after clashing with the Yellow Worm Group, they had stayed overnight in a small village called Mideok-hyeon to regroup. It was then that Flying Tiger had a private meeting with Jin Ga-yong. During their conversation, he had asked what the "Ghost Shell" was.
Jin Ga-yong had countered by asking if he could handle knowing. He had warned that once he heard it, others around might make trouble for him.
In other words, ignorance is bliss.
Back then, Flying Tiger hadn't understood. But now, he had a pretty good idea.
Flying Tiger let out a deep sigh.
"The Lion Hall Leader must have recommended Squad Leader Jin assuming he hadn't cultivated any demonic arts, right?"
"He must have figured it all worked out somehow."
"......"
Somehow?
That implied he knew full well there'd be an uproar from those around them!
Yet pushing forward anyway went beyond just personally valuing Jin Ga-yong's talents. It was a political decision made fully aware it would provoke backlash from the start.
Probably a warning to his fellow alliance members.
I'm the king here, so it's my call.
Got a problem with that?
And if there were those who dared defy him despite that—like some secret organization such as the Dawn Warriors...
'This is his chance to weed them out. With the common enemy crushed, it's time for internal cleanup or reorganization. And conveniently, he stepped away... Hmm, did he lay out the board on purpose so they could play their hand? Yeah, maybe he even encouraged this Dawn Warriors secret group to act up.'
As Flying Tiger's thoughts reached that point, he started seeing all sorts of things. The kind of messes that could get you killed in droves if you got tangled up in them—things you absolutely had to steer clear of.
Jin Ga-yong looked different now, too.
He hadn't shown it at all, so Flying Tiger had been clueless, but how many burning coals must the man have carried in his chest all this time?
Then Flying Tiger chuckled to himself. Unaware of all that, he'd gone and stabbed a knife right into the man's heart to poke around and see what was there.
But what could he do about it now?
He'd just have to finish what he'd started.
Flying Tiger accepted it cleanly.
"Understood. I'll take it that Ma Yeop the Taoist misunderstood Squad Leader Jin. But here's the thing. It might sound a bit forced, but couldn't that misunderstanding have bred a grudge in Squad Leader Jin? So when Ma Yeop the Taoist and I left Zhao Family Manor, maybe you secretly followed us."
"You're saying I tailed you two?"
"Isn't that right?"
Jin Ga-yong stared quietly at Flying Tiger before asking back.
"How did you know?"
"You just told me."
That night at Go-seok Mountain Manor, where the masked killer Ghost Face had slaughtered all the warriors and retainers—including Ma Yeop the Taoist.
Flying Tiger had arrived late and searched desperately through the corpses for Ma Yeop. Then he caught a faint presence and followed it, only to find Ma Yeop's body.
It had been pouring rain, and the spot was so remote he never would have thought to look there. Without that presence, he might not have found it at all.
But in his rage, Flying Tiger had chased after the fiends without a second thought. He'd simply assumed it was a trace they had left behind.
Looking back later, though, he wondered if it really had been the fiends'. Maybe a third party, hiding and watching as he wandered the wrong way searching for Ma Yeop, had guided him there on purpose.
And wouldn't you know it, a perfect suspect was right here.
For some reason, Jin Ga-yong had seemed to know Flying Tiger had gone to Go-seok Mountain Manor that day. During the witness questioning at Face Pursuit headquarters over Ma Yeop's death, Flying Tiger had casually probed, and Jin Ga-yong's reaction had fit the bill.
That's why Flying Tiger had suspected him as the culprit for a while.
But after everything that happened since, he'd concluded on his own that Jin Ga-yong at least wasn't the Ghost Face terrorizing the area lately.
Therefore, he wasn't the fiend who killed Ma Yeop either.
Even so, the moment he'd subdued Jin Ga-yong, Flying Tiger's first question had been why he'd killed Ma Yeop.
It was to gauge his heart's reaction in various scenarios. Also a setup for his next move.
After a brief silence, Jin Ga-yong spoke.
"You know I've poured my heart into hunting the serial killer called Ghost Face, right? That was part of why I was given the Face Pursuit Squad Leader position. But disappointingly, the trail went cold. So I even asked you to help me search for clues."
"And you kept pursuing it on your own after that?"
"That's right."
"So secretly following the two of us that day was part of that hunt? Ghost Face wouldn't target me... You figured they'd go after Ma Yeop the Taoist. Why?"
"Why, indeed?"
"...Got it. That's obvious enough, so let's skip it. So you were already at the scene that day... Did you successfully track them down? Get any crucial evidence?"
Flying Tiger asked with a voice thick with killing intent, laden with eager anticipation.
"You're really set on avenging Ma Yeop the Taoist, huh. No matter who the enemy is?"
"Heh heh heh. I can't rest easy unless I repay what's owed me. But I'm not reckless. I don't cling to impossible causes. That said... as you've seen, Squad Leader, I'm pretty capable when it counts."
Jin Ga-yong glanced down at the flying dagger embedded in his heart and gave a wry smile.
He'd reduced the man to this state, proving his ability in spades. He'd always rated Flying Tiger highly, but this exceeded expectations.
Soon, Jin Ga-yong shook his head and spoke in a calm voice.
"But I'm sorry. That day, I failed the pursuit and only managed to grab one tiny clue."
"What? How come?"
"I was alone. Never dreamed you'd split up midway. Had to choose, and I picked you over Ma Yeop the Taoist."
"Ah... No, why?"
"At the time, I suspected the guests who came for you might be Ghost Face's crew. Hard to believe two separate groups targeted you both at the exact same moment, right?"
"Hm."
"So I realized too late they weren't Ghost Face's men and rushed after Ma Yeop the Taoist, who'd left earlier. But by the time I reached the manor, it was already over. I searched for survivors or anything useful as evidence. About two hours later, you showed up."
Flying Tiger pressed him reproachfully, full of regret.
"Why go alone? Plenty of skilled guests staying at Zhao Family Manor."
"Huh? You think Zhao Family Manor's guests are my personal soldiers or something?"
"Well, not exactly soldiers, but people who share your cause..."
"Hmph, that's offensive. Besides, do you think this Jin needs a crowd to handle one little thing?"
"......"
Flying Tiger realized Jin Ga-yong had a point. Why would an expert like him need backup? Especially for something requiring stealth—going solo made perfect sense.
He calmed his agitated mind and thought it over.
'Two hours earlier? Judging by the bodies' rigor mortis then, Squad Leader Jin might've actually seen Ghost Face's crew—or just barely missed them. But he grabbed one small clue, so he must've spotted something. Good. If I dig a little more... Ugh, but maybe it's best to stop here?'
Flying Tiger felt the regret, but it was time to wrap up the interrogation. The setting and situation weren't right.
This was the guy he'd stabbed with a dagger and was threatening, after all. Unless it was a dead end, it was time to start considering an exit.
With a sigh, Flying Tiger eased the grip on the flying dagger's hilt. Then he asked,
"Got it. You're saying you didn't harm Ma Yeop the Taoist? In fact, you want to catch that serial killer just as badly as I do."
"Exactly."
"Still some unresolved bits, but... I'll believe you for now. But first, you have to clear this up. It has to match up with everything else."
"What?"
Flying Tiger's eyes gleamed as he asked,
"Ghost Face—one of Shaanxi's Three Great Treasures. Where's that thing now?"
"That's..."
"Oh, and don't say it's gone or you don't know. Same with the serial killer crew—they're after that from Zhao Family Manor, right? No one's an idiot. They've got solid reasons to obsess over it. Isn't that so?"
Thump thump.
After all the circling, here was the real question.
But there was a slight hitch.
No matter how sweetly persuaded or harshly pressed, Jin Ga-yong's answer to this would always be the same.
It's gone.
I don't know.
How could he say anything else when the truth could engulf his entire sect in flames, regardless of whether it was real or not?
Jin Ga-yong wasn't spineless; physical pain wouldn't loosen his tongue.
Even threatening his fellow disciples would just earn resentment—he couldn't open up. Why? Their lives hung in the balance too.
So Flying Tiger chose another way to uncover the truth.
As mentioned before, judging if Jin Ga-yong's answers were true or false. By now, he'd finished analyzing the man, and this was the question he posed.
The answer itself didn't matter here. It was the heartbeat when he gave it.
"It's gone."
"Pardon?"
"No one will ever lay eyes on that cursed thing again."
True, true... and true?
By Flying Tiger's analysis, the first two were clearly true, but the third felt off somehow.
First, Ghost Face had indeed been destroyed.
Second, it was a cursed item—Jin Ga-yong believed that, at least.
But on the third: "No one will ever lay eyes on it again." Midway through, something negative had flashed in his mind.
Flying Tiger pondered it briefly and hit on one fact.
"So Squad Leader Jin knows what Ghost Face is? You sound certain it's gone."
"I did."
True again.
Past tense?
"You thought you knew, but looking back, now you're not so sure?"
"......"
Jin Ga-yong eyed Flying Tiger strangely. He'd nailed his inner thoughts too well.
And through that, Flying Tiger guessed what had crossed his mind on the third statement.
"Like that Ghost Shell you mentioned before, maybe Ghost Face has copies or fakes out there?"
"Huh?"
"So even if the original's gone, if it's vanished too perfectly with no proof... a fake could be hailed as the real deal. Then 'no one will ever see it' becomes a lie. Something like that?"
"You really are..."
Jin Ga-yong stared at him in shock. His eyes pierced so intently that Flying Tiger guiltily averted his gaze a bit before asking,
"Any basis for thinking that?"
"Isn't one still rampaging through Shaanxi right now? Looks like you're tangled up in it too."
"Aha!"