149. When the Arm Bends Too Inward? (2)
At Seol-hwa's appearance, Hwang Bo-gyeon-u smirked.
He had anticipated the basis for Han Bin's counterargument.
Clearly, he would claim innocence through his own maidservant.
With Han Bin's counter leading to the dismissal of the Huangbo family's—that is, his side's—maidservant's claim.
There was no need to accept the sudden testimony from Han Bin's maidservant. No matter the reason, Hwang Bo-gyeon-u decided he would dismiss this new maidservant's words.
Like a honeybee drawn to the scent of flowers, Hwang Bo-gyeon-u eagerly awaited Han Bin's retaliation.
Of course, everyone else felt the same.
How could one maidservant overturn Song Gyeong-un's claim? It was beyond comprehension.
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon tilted her head.
Han Bin's subordinates looked far too composed.
With their master's arm on the verge of being severed, there wasn't a trace of anxiety in their eyes.
Unconsciously, Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon scanned each member of the Aekhyeolmaengho-dae.
What is this?
After staring for a long while, Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon realized her judgment had been off.
They weren't just free of anxiety—they were gazing at Han Bin with eyes brimming with anticipation.
It was boundless trust that transcended the master-servant bond.
As everyone watched Han Bin from their own perspectives,
Han Bin stepped forward casually.
His destination was right in front of Song Gyeong-un.
In the blink of an eye, Han Bin stood before Song Gyeong-un and asked nonchalantly,
"Warrior Song, surely I'm not the only one wearing a red martial robe now, right?"
Han Bin nodded toward Seol-hwa.
Everyone tilted their heads.
There was red, sure, but it was distinctly different from the fully red martial robe Han Bin wore.
It wasn't some multicolored outfit you couldn't make out from afar.
Yet Song Gyeong-un's response defied all expectations.
"It's the same shade of red, yes. But the builds are different, aren't they? How could the young master's build match that of a maidservant? It's obvious even from a distance."
"Right? Same red, but different builds."
"Yes, exactly."
"So you're distinguishing by build, which means the color of Seol-hwa's clothes matches mine?"
"Yes, that's right. Why keep asking the obvious?"
Song Gyeong-un tilted his head.
Han Bin grinned and turned around.
"Isn't this strange, Law Enforcer?"
"……."
Law Enforcer Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon just blinked.
She had no idea what was happening, but it was utterly absurd.
There was no way Seol-hwa's colorful light attire matched Han Bin's red martial robe.
Yet Song Gyeong-un kept nodding along to Han Bin's claim that the colors were the same.
How should this be interpreted?
There was only one explanation.
At that moment, Han Bin snapped his fingers again.
Snap!
Though a small sound, Han Bin's snaps oddly tensed everyone up.
They all tilted their heads, wondering what would happen next.
In sync with the snap, Jang Ja-myeong emerged from hiding among the Aekhyeolmaengho-dae.
Carrying his load on his back, Jang Ja-myeong walked cautiously and stopped between Han Bin and Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon.
He waited silently, as if awaiting Han Bin's instructions.
Han Bin looked at Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon and spoke.
"Law Enforcer, this is Jang Ja-myeong, the physician known as Hebei's greatest divine healer."
At Han Bin's nod, Jang Ja-myeong bowed shyly.
"Greetings. I'm Jang Ja-myeong, a man who makes his living through medicine. The title of divine healer that Young Master Han mentioned is too grand for me."
"Yes, hello, Physician Jang."
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon's expression softened slightly at the introduction.
Jang Ja-myeong continued, looking a bit relieved.
"What I'm about to explain is a condition known only to a select few physicians, including myself."
This was half a lie.
Jang Ja-myeong himself hadn't known of it until Han Bin told him.
"A disease?"
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon stared piercingly at Jang Ja-myeong, mildly surprised.
Jang Ja-myeong waved his hand.
"No need to worry. It's definitely not contagious."
"What does this disease have to do with the current situation?"
"The disease I'm describing is one where a person cannot distinguish colors."
"Cannot distinguish colors? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Especially red and green—they often can't tell them apart."
Jang Ja-myeong pulled out several scrolls from his pack.
He laid them out on the ground and picked one up.
Then he continued cautiously.
"Ordinary people can easily read the characters here, but those with color blindness cannot. Oh, and color blindness is a term I coined temporarily."
"Color blindness……."
As Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon trailed off, Jang Ja-myeong unfurled the scroll toward Song Gyeong-un.
Shhh.
With the scroll open, Jang Ja-myeong asked calmly,
"Warrior Song, what characters do you see written on this scroll?"
At Jang Ja-myeong's question, everyone's gaze turned to Song Gyeong-un.
Before him was a scroll with a peculiar pattern.
It was dotted entirely with red and green points.
Dizzying to look at, but not impossible to discern.
The red and green were clearly separated, forming a character.
But no one voiced what the character was.
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon's glare was too intimidating.
Song Gyeong-un was going mad.
He finally grasped how the situation was unfolding.
The problem was that he himself couldn't make that basic judgment.
How had Han Bin figured out that he couldn't distinguish red from green?
This was something even his master, Hwang Bo-gyeon-u, didn't know.
Song Gyeong-un had simply followed orders, unable to tell if Han Bin's robe was red or green.
Since only Han Bin wore a red robe, the plan was for him to point at Han Bin based on that.
Now that foundation was crumbling in an instant.
Then,
a transmission sounded in his ear.
—Heaven One!
Song Gyeong-un tilted his head, and the transmission came again.
—It's me, Hwang Bo-yeong-u.
Song Gyeong-un glanced around, but Second Young Master Hwang Bo-yeong-u was nowhere.
Uncertain if the transmission was genuine, he had to trust it if it was really Hwang Bo-yeong-u.
But amid the endless reversals, he doubted whether to believe it.
What if Hebei Paeng Family's Fourth Young Master could even fake transmissions?
Come to think of it, was Hwang Bo-yeong-u's skill high enough for transmissions?
Song Gyeong-un's twitching lips froze.
One wrong word here, and his master's arm—Hwang Bo-gyeon-u's—would be gone.
And if his master's arm went?
His own head would follow.
Sweat beaded on Song Gyeong-un's forehead.
Drops slid down his jaw and fell onto the grass.
Drip. Drip.
Panicking, Song Gyeong-un looked around.
Everyone was tilting their heads, staring at him.
"What? So Hebei Paeng Family's Fourth Young Master was telling the truth?"
"Never heard of such a disease in my life……."
"Are there not plenty of eccentrics in the martial world? What's so special about some disease?"
"That's hearsay, but seeing someone with it right in front of us is fascinating."
The murmurs stimulated Song Gyeong-un.
Sweat now soaked his back.
Then he caught sight of Hwang Bo-gyeon-u in his vision.
The young master nodded ever so slightly.
Resolved, Song Gyeong-un shouted,
"Heaven One!"
The hall erupted in an instant.
Huangbo family members cried out excitedly.
"He got it right!"
"Yes, correct!"
"So Hebei Paeng Family's Fourth Young Master's arm gets severed?"
As if Song Gyeong-un had aced an imperial exam in the past, the hall buzzed.
Hwang Bo-gyeon-u gazed at Han Bin with a triumphant expression, as if he now held the knife.
At that gaze, Han Bin snapped his fingers again.
Snap!
The murmurs ceased at the sound.
They anticipated another reversal with a new figure.
As everyone looked around, Han Bin spoke in a low voice.
"Please erect a barrier, Law Enforcer."
Han Bin gestured around himself, Jang Ja-myeong, and Song Gyeong-un.
"……."
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon stared at Han Bin wordlessly.
This persistence was too much.
It was as if he had foreseen the opponent's moves and prepared counters in advance.
How could a Paeng family junior devise such schemes?
And how had he known he would be framed?
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon now faced a choice.
Uphold the justice of the martial world?
Or protect the family?
She decided to find a compromise.
Quietly, she emanated her qi.
Enveloping herself, Han Bin, and Song Gyeong-un.
But she left a slight gap.
If someone outside helped, they could relay the character.
Then she could negotiate a compromise while holding the knife.
Punishing Hwang Bo-gyeon-u could come later.
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon said in a low voice,
"The barrier is up. Continue."
"Thank you, Law Enforcer."
Han Bin bowed slightly and signaled Jang Ja-myeong.
As Jang Ja-myeong unfurled the scroll, Han Bin shifted position.
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon narrowed her eyes at the sight.
An absurd situation unfolded.
She had barely made a gap in the barrier, and Han Bin had moved right into it.
Of erecting a solid barrier or creating a gap—which required higher skill? Anyone would say the latter.
Leaving just one space open while erecting a barrier?
It demanded impossible concentration.
Inside Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon, who had made that slight gap, her qi churned wildly.
Pushing further here risked internal injury.
Song Gyeong-un's pupils trembled slightly at the scroll Jang Ja-myeong held.
Another image filled with dots.
But to his eyes, they didn't distinguish.
Song Gyeong-un strained to glance around and confirm the character.
Unknowingly, he let out a sigh.
"Hoo……."
"Are you alright, Warrior Song Gyeong-un?"
Han Bin gestured amiably, and Seol-hwa beside him handed over a towel.
Taking the towel, Song Gyeong-un wiped his sweat and stared at the scroll.
To him, it was just dots—no characters.
At that, Han Bin said,
"Please dispel the barrier now."
"Understood, Young Master Paeng."
Sweat beaded on Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon's nape as she nodded.
Han Bin took the scroll from Jang Ja-myeong with an amiable smile.
He turned and unfurled it for all to see, continuing,
"Anyone who knows what this character says gets a reward of one nyang of silver!"
Hands shot up here and there at Han Bin's words.
Han Bin nodded at one, who shouted,
"Arm!"
Everyone nodded.
Anyone could see it was "arm."
Han Bin smiled amiably.
"Correct."
Nodding, Han Bin flicked a silver coin with Baekbal Baekjung precision.
Whoosh!
The coin flew fiercely but landed safely in the warrior's embrace. Han Bin continued,
"Everyone, isn't this strange? Someone who can't distinguish red from green saw my robe's color and pegged me as the culprit. There could have been someone my build wearing green clothes as the real perpetrator. What gives?"
"……."
Hwang Bo-seo-hyeon and all the Huangbo retainers couldn't answer Han Bin's question.
Then Han Bin pressed on.
"The maidservant lied to frame me too. Why is that?"
"……."
The surroundings fell deathly silent.
At that moment,
Hwang Bo-gyeon-u spoke to Han Bin.
"Wait a moment, Young Master Paeng."
"What now?"
Han Bin shot back, tilting his head. Hwang Bo-gyeon-u shouted,
"I have irrefutable evidence!"
At those words, Han Bin replied amiably,
"One arm's already mine, so what's next? The other arm? An eye? A leg? If you can't stake those, maybe a pillar of the Huangbo family?"
Han Bin stared expressionlessly at Hwang Bo-gyeon-u.
But Hwang Bo-gyeon-u smirked, as if he had one final card left.