Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: How About This?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“So, you just came back?”
“Yeah.”
“I can picture the Wang family head’s flustered face.”
Rimon wore a bored expression as he looked at Li Chingwei’s wry smile.
“Why? Is it that strange that I just gave a bit of advice and came back?”
“Yes.”
“...I felt this with that Wang bastard too, but seriously, how do you all see me that you find this so surprising?”
“To put it bluntly, aren’t you the good-for-nothing son-in-law who doesn’t lift a finger for work but only stirs up trouble?”
“Isn’t that something you shouldn’t say?”
Rimon was at a loss for words.
To begin with, it was Li Chingwei who had proposed to him first—and who had even set up Guardian, an organization perfect for openly wreaking havoc.
In response, Li Chingwei calmly replied,
“I was merely voicing the general opinion of our clan.”
“Is my reputation that bad?”
“Yes. Especially after dumping the entire investigation of the assault on the Wang family head onto him, which only added to the disappointment.”
In any case, Guardian currently handled security for the Black Dragon Clan’s affiliates, and Rimon was Guardian’s CEO.
Yet despite that, not only had he refused to lead the incident resolution himself, but he’d also washed his hands of the responsibility and stepped back entirely. It was the perfect recipe for getting flak.
“Still, it’s nothing to lose sleep over. Your reputation as the Sword Duke was already so poor to begin with that it couldn’t really get much worse.”
Was this meant to be consolation?
Or just teasing?
Rimon shot her a sour look at Li Chingwei’s impassive face, impossible to read.
“For someone who says that, you don’t seem too worried. I figured if my reputation tanked, more people would start trash-talking you for proposing to me.”
“Thanks to all the ‘bastard’ labels you’ve taken on the chin, I’m actually getting some sympathy votes.”
“...Well, at least there’s some payoff to playing the unwanted eunuch in my ill-fated life.”
Rimon swallowed a sigh.
Damn, why does everything keep going sideways?
Back when he’d first agreed to become the Black Dragon Clan’s live-in son-in-law, Rimon had a solid plan.
Take control of the Black Dragon Clan as quickly as possible, secure their backing, and use that as a springboard to swallow up the other families in the Seven Dragon Society.
But he’d gotten sidetracked with training, delaying the plan—and now his reputation had plummeted past rock bottom to utter irredeemability.
I don’t need a great reputation, but... if this keeps up, I won’t just be an unwanted eunuch—I’ll end up a full-on palace eunuch.
Rimon lamented the tangled mess of his situation.
Li Chingwei suddenly asked him,
“By the way, Sword Duke. Was it really necessary to turn down the Wang family head’s offer? Their support could’ve been a huge boost for you right now.”
“Boost my ass. It’d just be a shiny paper tiger at best.”
“Are you saying the Wang family head had no real intention of supporting you?”
“Even if he was sincere, it wouldn’t have helped in any practical way.”
Rimon replied flatly to Li Chingwei’s surprised expression.
“To start with, you can’t say I bear zero responsibility for what happened. After all, it was because of me that he was out of position.”
He might look like a sleazy villain straight out of a drama, but Wang Jin-eung was still the head of the Shanghai Wang family.
If he hadn’t been away recuperating, there was a chance the Black Dragon Construction employees might’ve avoided total annihilation.
“And yet, in the midst of all that, I swoop in, grab a promise of support as ‘payment’ for not getting involved. What would the Wang family think of me then?”
“Hmm... A highway robber who poisons you then steals the antidote money? Or maybe a corrupt official.”
“Exactly. And you think sincere support would magically appear after that?”
The meddling sister-in-law who holds you back is always more hated than the mother-in-law who strikes.
Especially when family deaths are involved—profiting off that could easily breed misplaced grudges.
“Better to let the horse roam free than drag it kicking and screaming to water when it’s not even thirsty.”
“At least that way, you won’t get kicked by its hind legs.”
Li Chingwei gave Rimon a peculiar look as he shrugged.
“Ouch, that hits close to home.”
“What does?”
“I’ve done my share of hind-leg-kick-worthy deeds too.”
Rimon chuckled at Li Chingwei, who seemed embarrassed recounting her own achievements: protecting world peace by toppling him, then sealing the marriage deal.
“That’s different. The horse went to water on its own.”
“Is that so?”
“You can’t equate forcing a saddled horse to drink with hopping on a bucking wild stallion.”
“That’s a sharp one.”
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
She knew there’d have been no proposal at all if she’d harbored even a shred of doubt about her feelings.
She could read between the lines: Rimon was subtly reassuring her.
“Still, it’s a shame. Even just on the surface, securing the Shanghai Wang family’s support would’ve opened up so many uses.”
“You definitely would’ve milked it for all it was worth.”
Rimon readily agreed.
She had the savvy to manipulate even the elders—if she’d had even a sliver of pretext, she’d have found plenty of ways to leverage it.
“But turning down that offer was still the right call.”
“Why’s that?”
“Accepting that deal now would make it hard to back out later if things change.”
Li Chingwei’s expression turned peculiar.
She grasped exactly what he meant by “things change.”
“...You think the Wang family head won’t catch the culprit?”
“Normally, they would. You’re the Seven Dragon Society, after all.”
Whether as an ancient organization with deep history...
Or as one of the world’s top conglomerates...
The Seven Dragon Society wielded influence no ordinary police force could touch.
The massacre was so massive that not only had the cops stayed out of it, but it hadn’t even hit the news once—all thanks to that power.
If they got serious, they could track down most perps in no time.
“But these guys don’t feel like your run-of-the-mill type.”
“A Sword Master’s intuition?”
“If you want to call it that, sure. But more like my old PAB agent senses.”
Rimon furrowed his brow and continued.
“Plenty of insane players out there, but ones this systematically deranged don’t go down easy.”
“Can someone even go insane in a systematic way?”
“Your Seven Dragon Society’s the poster child.”
“Ah, that makes perfect sense.”
Li Chingwei nodded readily.
If faith was a form of madness, then the Seven Dragon Society was a more organized pack of lunatics than any cult of priests.
Considering their past atrocities, the Black Dragon Construction slaughter was practically tame.
“So, unlike what the tracers say, this might not be random terrorism—could be something with a clearer purpose.”
“Or maybe they were bored, spotted Black Dragon Construction on the way, and went on a spree.”
“Just a matter of possibilities, then.”
“Who knows what’s in crazy bastards’ heads.”
That was why Rimon had only shared the more solid clues from the scene with Wang Jin-eung.
Jumping the gun and fingering the perp could muddy the investigation more than helping.
Though the tracers seem dead sure it’s random terror.
‘Crime Psychology Insight.’
‘Ace Detective Reasoning.’
‘Stellar Q&A.’
He recalled the chorus from various investigation- and tracking-specialized tracers.
The perp was a psychopathic spree killer; the Black Dragon Construction massacre was clearly an impulsive crime, not planned.
Rimon smirked.
I wonder if they even realize there’s nothing less trustworthy than ‘random’ in this world.
As a former PAB agent...
As a Sword Master...
Rimon had faced countless criminals and villains. He knew even seemingly random crimes had their own logic to the perp.
It was just a matter of whether that logic was sane or insane.
And given the scene—meticulous enough to leave no evidence, yet execution dripping with madness—these perps blended both perfectly.
Enough for Rimon to dub them ‘systematically insane.’
If that Wang idiot isn’t a total moron, he’s already narrowed the suspect pool with my clues.
Military-linked criminal.
Slaughter-loving psycho.
High-level player.
Put those together, and an obvious suspect floated up. Rimon clicked his tongue.
Still speculation for now, but if his hunch was right, their rampage was far from over.
Whatever they’re after, if the Black Dragon Clan’s the target...
Lost in thought, Rimon suddenly turned to Li Chingwei.
“Princess, what’s your clan’s alert status right now?”
“We’ve bumped everything to Level 2 alert for now.”
“Level 2.”
He recalled the massacre site he’d inspected himself.
Especially Wang Jin-eung’s traces of resistance. After mulling calculations, Rimon frowned.
“Can’t you raise that to top-level alert?”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
“...You mean all our domestic affiliates?”
“Yep.”
Totally out of left field.
Li Chingwei’s eyes widened at Rimon’s abrupt demand, but her face quickly turned grave.
“You think the perp’s gonna hit our affiliates again?”
“I know it sounds like an old man’s paranoia, but what’s happened once can happen twice.”
If it were another family...
They’d dismiss it as a senile geezer’s needless worry.
They’d only succeeded because of the lack of defenses.
Raiding a prepared Black Dragon Clan affiliate? Even a clan lord wouldn’t do that in their right mind.
“That’s... troubling.”
But Li Chingwei didn’t discount an old master’s experience or a Sword Master’s instincts.
Hence her distress.
“Too tough, huh?”
“Top-level alert means deploying armed forces. Two or three spots, maybe—but guarding every affiliate? We’re way short on manpower.”
Fallen or not, the Black Dragon Clan was still part of the Seven Dragon Group.
They had countless affiliates.
Detaching forces to each one was flat-out impossible.
Even with the Seven Dragon Society’s numbers, elite warriors were finite. Spreading them thin just invited divide-and-conquer.
“Hmm, so it boils down to not enough hands.”
He pondered ways to protect all affiliates from the beast, stroking his chin.
Then Rimon’s eyes lit up.
“How about this?”