Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Wheel of Fate (4)
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Ahu burst into the tofu shop like a whirlwind, followed by a dull thwack, a startled yelp of "Ack!", and a cacophony of crashing sounds.
Thud. Thud.
Na Baek strolled in leisurely, inwardly impressed. Ahu had charged in alone, yet the sounds of blows landing came in rapid succession. If you heard it without knowing better, you'd swear at least two or three had rushed in together for a surprise attack. It was proof of just how swift and relentless Ahu's chain assaults were.
That was when admiration struck.
Someone came bolting out from the entrance Ahu had entered through. He must have been lurking by the doorway corner and panicked from the sudden assault, fleeing blindly. Spotting Na Baek walking in, the man froze for a split second before frantically reaching for the sword at his waist. But in his panic, he fumbled, unable to draw it cleanly from the scabbard.
In that instant, Na Baek's form flickered.
By the time his afterimage scattered like ripples on water, Na Baek had already passed the man who'd emerged from the tofu shop, standing there with his sword smoothly sheathed once more—drawn and replaced in a single fluid motion.
Click.
Na Baek didn't even glance back as he stepped inside the shop. The man left behind remained tilted over, still clutching the undrawn hilt.
Thud.
"What're you doing, exactly?"
The first sight to greet Na Baek inside was Ahu scooping up a chunk of steaming tofu with his bare hand and tearing into it. It wasn't so much confusion over his actions as sheer surprise at the unexpected scene that prompted the question.
Of course, as long as he handled the assigned task properly, what he did afterward didn't really matter.
But seeing him chowing down instead of the skillful display he'd hoped for left Na Baek feeling... absurd? Or maybe deflated? Either way, he'd asked.
"Job's done. Saw the tofu looked tasty and took a bite. These guys might suck with swords, but damn if they aren't decent at making tofu. Want one, boss?"
"Pass. So, all your handiwork?"
Crunch. Crunch.
Ahu nodded while munching, and Na Baek shook his head as he surveyed the room.
Three corpses lay scattered about.
Na Baek had figured Ahu could handle three on his own. They weren't even official members of the elite squad, after all. But their positions were too spread out, and he'd taken them down in one fell swoop, sparking curiosity.
The one sprawled near the entrance had a dagger buried in his forehead—the very weapon Ahu had drawn before charging in. Safe to assume he'd hurled it the moment he burst through the door.
Another lay sideways, wrist twisted unnaturally behind him, blood bubbling from his throat.
The last leaned against a pillar in the far corner, run through so deeply that his own sword had pierced clean through his gut and embedded into the wood behind.
'Ahu wasn't carrying a sword. So that blade must belong to one of them inside. Which means...'
Na Baek pieced it together.
The instant Ahu nailed one with the dagger, he dashed toward the next target.
The man with the twisted wrist, lying sideways.
That one had panicked and drawn his sword in response.
But the moment the blade cleared the scabbard, Ahu lunged in, snatched the sword hand with a golden claw grip, wrenched it, and slit the owner's throat with his own weapon.
Then Ahu hurled the snatched sword, finishing the last one in the corner.
All three moves executed in a single breath.
Na Baek himself could mimic it if he tried.
But this was an impromptu judgment made while charging into an unknown interior, using nothing but the single dagger in hand for the throws.
It took extraordinary confidence—and spoke volumes about his composure.
A remarkable master.
One honed in real combat, no doubt.
'He's about my age. Where the hell did a guy like that pop up from? Cocky, hot-blooded type... A hired expert from another province? What for?'
Na Baek grew curious about Ahu's true identity. Someone of that caliber wasn't just padding out the B-squad's ranks. But prying wouldn't get answers, and grilling him here wasn't feasible. He tabled it for later and focused on the matter at hand.
"That all of them? Dae-san said five."
"(Munch munch) Only four when I got here."
"One missing?"
"Ask that guy over there. Quicker."
Ahu crammed the last of the tofu in his mouth, brushed his hands, and spoke just as Dae-san entered through the back door. One hand gripped a blood-dripping flail; the other dragged a limp corpse by the collar, forehead smashed in.
Na Baek no longer needed to hunt for the fifth. Nor did he have anyone left to interrogate. They'd wrapped it up too fast for him to intervene—was this poor teamwork? Or perfect synchronicity?
Either way, awkward.
"Damn... Should've left one or two alive."
Na Baek clicked his tongue belatedly.
Ahu, retrieving his dagger, was wiping the blood on the forehead-pinned corpse's clothes. Hearing Na Baek, he mock-pressed his ear to the dead man's face.
"Huh? What'd you say?"
Late-joining Dae-san stared blankly at Ahu's antics and asked what the hell he was doing.
Ahu spread his palm, folded all but his index finger, and pressed it to his lips.
Hold on. Be quiet.
Then he resumed his one-sided chat with the corpse.
"For real? You're really Jin Pyeong?"
"…."
"Whoa~ Not a single lie in what you said?"
"…."
"Got it."
Ahu wrapped up his solo performance, stood, and reported to Na Baek.
"Boss, he claims he's Mok Jin-pyeong, the guy we've been chasing. Admits to the crimes too."
"Yeah?"
"Yep. Though he croaked mid-interrogation, so no verifying now."
"So what now?"
"Time to plant evidence backing his story. Shall we?"
"…."
And so the B-squad ransacked the tofu shop—not really searching, but scouting spots to plant their prepared props. All for show, eyes closed and piggybacking. Essential for aligning stories in any future probes.
Everyone half-assed it. Na Baek stuffed their props into a toolbox on a corner shelf, clearing his throat to yell, "Huh? What's this? All this stuff here?"
Ahem. Hem. Hem.
Unfamiliar with the theatrics, it came off awkward. But Dae-san beat him to it from the inner storeroom.
"Huh? What's this? All this here?"
'Wait, that's my line.'
Na Baek blinked in confusion when Dae-san urgently beckoned him.
"Boss! Get over here—you gotta see this!"
The storeroom hid a secret door, slightly ajar per Dae-san.
Descending stairs, the B-squad found a subterranean stone chamber with a middle-aged stranger bound to a chair, dead.
Broken fingers, burn marks from tongs—torture traces everywhere. Rigor mortis suggested less than half a day since death.
Who was he?
Identity unknown, but Na Baek guessed what intel they'd sought from him.
A simple table sat away from the corpse, littered with scribbled papers.
Torture-extracted info, jotted down on the fly.
Compiled and likely dispatched already to whoever needed it.
The papers uniformly detailed one family: residents, recent armed escorts, ties and rep with locals—all manner of intel. Even deployment maps dotted with tiny numbers.
What did it mean for some Jianghu group to investigate one clan so meticulously?
Not the Face Pursuit Squad's job, at least.
Unless that clan was Ghost Face's hideout...
But Na Baek had just heard of them—and knew the odds of them being Ghost Face's crew were slim to none.
More likely...
"Uh... Who's this Geum Yu-bong clan's lot from Zhangye in Gansu? Name pops up a lot. Know 'em?"
Jang Il-wook asked Na Baek while flipping papers.
"Not famous enough to reach Shaanxi here. Might be big locally, but Qilian Mountains are too damn far, no?"
"Qilian Mountains? That windy, sandy hellhole out west all year?"
"Yep. No surprise you don't know. Just remote frontier from the Central Plains' view. I only heard the name 'cause of Geum Yu-bong once—didn't even know the clan existed before."
"And who's he?"
"Zhao Family Manor's youngest disciple on Ye Mountain. Junior brother to Jin Ga-yong, who leads our Face Pursuit Unit Jeong."
"…!"
"Seven, eight years back, Zhao Manor and our Chongyang Sect were on good terms. Dead lord took a new disciple, spread the word to contacts. Overheard elders chatting about it."
"So this means..."
"Bingo. Looks like we know Ghost Face's next target. Move out."
Na Baek glanced at Ahu, who shrugged.
Even Hotae Ahu didn't know the full picture. Just told that joining the Face Pursuit B-squad meant crossing paths soon. He could guess, though—and anticipated it.
The intel from B-squad's raid threw the Face Pursuit Squad HQ into chaos.
The A-squad leader chasing Ghost Face was Ghost Face? And maybe the whole A-squad? No small matter.
Deputy Commander Yi Yang-jo, upon report, confined Na Baek and all B-squad to standby. He summoned every Unit Jeong member emergently and separately notified Zhao Family Manor on Ye Mountain.
He drafted a report for Acting Commander Gwak Nan-hoe's imminent return, meanwhile scraping every scrap of force the squad could muster.
The wheel of fate began to turn.