Chapter 170. I Am Won Seung, Joo Neung's Best Friend
Attempted murder was a grave crime that couldn't just be swept under the rug once formally reported.
Hwang Chung-hyeon's gaze shifted to Dang So-so. She was stunningly beautiful, no doubt about it, but...
She looks vicious as hell.
Poison seemed to drip from her icy expression. It was like she might hurl a poisoned dart at any moment.
Definitely fits the profile of an attempted murderer.
Hwang Chung-hyeon cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.
"Ahem. Did you really try to kill that man?"
"......"
Dang So-so was mortified just standing there. She had no intention of saying a word. She whipped her head away and clamped her mouth shut like a clam.
Pung Jin-saeng stepped forward in her place to explain.
"It's a misunderstanding. She only threw a dart at the table because he kept provoking her."
"Let the person in question speak for herself."
Hwang Chung-hyeon's tone was polite only toward Pung Jin-saeng.
"I'm her fiancé. I have the right to speak on her behalf."
Ugh.
If he was her fiancé, that made him part of the Sichuan Pung Family already. The Pung Family—one of the Five Great Clans since the founding of the nation... It was awkward to cross them, given their immense influence even now.
Pung Jin-saeng's face was as hard as stone. He was a direct descendant of the Sichuan Pung Family. It didn't make sense for him to be wandering around without escorts. A single word from him could summon swarms of high-ranking officials. Yet here he was, traveling incognito—all to accommodate Dang So-so.
She was ashamed of her eccentric personality and wanted to move quietly whenever possible. Besides, as a master of both poison arts and martial prowess, she didn't need protection anyway.
But who could've foreseen something like this?
His status was lofty, but he couldn't wield the Pung Family's power here. Sure, he might dodge the hassle for now... but calling in favors for something like this could come back to bite him later.
So he wanted to settle it quietly.
"I'll compensate the Hwangmunwon for the damages."
It was a proposal to wrap things up amicably.
But could this really be resolved with mere compensation? The people injured while fleeing the fire were big shots who strutted around the imperial capital with their noses in the air. They wanted punishment, not money.
Hwang Chung-hyeon smacked his lips and glared at Won Seung.
It'd be great if this punk got pinned for it.
His eyes burned with sharp intensity—this was no pushover.
"Either way, you're the one who started the fire..."
At that moment, a group of people burst in.
Hwang Chung-hyeon scowled and rose from his seat. They were from the Ministry of Justice's outer office: Eun Bang-seo, Mu Gi-an, and the constables Yu-seon and Hyo-gan. After Won Seung left, Mu Gi-an had finally memorized the entire penal code and taken Yu-seon and Hyo-gan under his wing as constables.
"Brother Joo! What the hell happened?"
Mu Gi-an rushed toward Won Seung.
Won Seung bowed solemnly and replied.
"It's nothing. Some wild jianghu types picked a fight, and a minor mishap occurred while I dealt with them."
The corners of Dang So-so's, Jegal Seung-seon's, and Seung-hye's eyes twitched upward.
Calling people from the Five Great Clans "wild jianghu types"?
They were direct descendants of the martial world's Five Great Clans—practically royalty out in the jianghu. But to officials? Outlaws, plain and simple.
The bureaucrats of the capital viewed martial artists as... well, riffraff was another word for it.
To Eun Bang-seo especially—the prickly sort who'd passed the exam with top marks— they were lawless scum committing blatant crimes. In his eyes, they were murderers who slaughtered freely under the pretense of "settling disputes," despite the clear laws of the state.
Eun Bang-seo was the chief investigator of the Ministry of Justice's outer office Six Divisions, which handled cases outside the city walls. But someone of his rank was well-known even to the outer constables.
"What brings Chief Investigator Eun here?"
Hwang Chung-hyeon bowed from the dais.
"I heard a former Ministry investigator had been hauled in by the outer constabulary."
Ministry investigators were selected primarily from top exam performers, so they had strong pride and stuck together like glue. Even if Won Seung had been imposed from above, they couldn't just stand by while he was dragged in for questioning.
"A Ministry investigator...? So that guy is...?"
"Didn't you know? He was a highly capable one. He had no choice but to resign after being poisoned by an assassin..."
"Ah..."
Hwang Chung-hyeon gaped. Who the hell was he supposed to arrest now? Judging by Eun Bang-seo's demeanor, he'd side with this Joo Neung fellow...
Eun Bang-seo outranked Hwang Chung-hyeon by one grade. Officials lived and died by their ranks.
"Constable Hwang, what exactly possessed you to arrest a former Ministry investigator?"
As Eun Bang-seo glared, Hwang Chung-hyeon explained.
"He set fire to the Hwangmunwon..."
Won Seung cut in.
"Be precise. It wasn't arson—it was trying to stop the fight that caused the lamp to fall and start the blaze."
Won Seung laid out the situation in detail.
Of course, in a way that favored him.
According to him, he'd been having dinner with a friend when Dang So-so picked a fight and tried to kill him. Hwa Yeo-wol intervened. Then, while trying to break up their scuffle, a lamp tipped over and caught fire.
"The fire was an accident. The root cause was that woman picking the fight. She even threw a dart to kill me—a clear case of attempted murder."
At Won Seung's words, Eun Bang-seo turned a cold glare on Dang So-so.
To him, the Five Great Clans or her beauty meant nothing. Only guilt or innocence mattered. Throwing a dart was a blatant murder attempt.
Having heard Won Seung out, Eun Bang-seo fixed his icy stare on Hwang Chung-hyeon.
"Constable Hwang, why haven't you put that woman in shackles? Isn't she a clear-cut attempted murderer?"
He pointed at Won Seung.
"Investigator Joo nearly died from the Dang Family's poison. He's only clinging to life temporarily... and now they're trying to finish him off. We need to uncover why the Dang Family wants a Ministry investigator dead and hold them accountable."
He'd already sent men to Chengdu to investigate Dang Dok-su anyway. And since Dang So-so was the Dang Family head's only daughter, Eun Bang-seo immediately grilled her on the poisoning case.
"That Dang In-pyo said Dang Dok-su ordered it. I hear Dang Dok-su is a Dang Family member running the Sichuan Merchant Guild."
Dang Dok-su, head of the Sichuan Merchant Guild, was a collateral branch of the Dang Family. Martial folk even called it the Dang Merchant Guild outright. So Eun Bang-seo holding the Dang Family responsible wasn't entirely off-base.
However...
Pung Jin-saeng stepped up again in place of his fiancée to clarify.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. From what we've heard, this Investigator Joo faked the whole thing. He wasn't poisoned at all."
"Faked it?"
Eun Bang-seo, Joo Neung, Mu Gi-an, Yu-seon, and Hyo-gan all echoed the question in unison. That must be why they called Ministry investigators "the hive mind."
Pung Jin-saeng relayed what he'd heard from the Sichuan Escort Agency.
"What nonsense!"
Constable Yu-seon shot back.
"The poisoning was confirmed by the capital's medical office. We can summon the physician right now."
"This investigator got a temporary antidote..."
Mu Gi-an explained how hard he'd worked to obtain it.
Dang So-so snorted derisively.
"Sam-o-dan-sim-san's poison warps the blood vessels. Even with a temporary antidote, no one could be up and about so lively."
"Ahem. I've said it a dozen times already, but you won't believe me. I've already detoxed the Sam-o-dan-sim-san."
Won Seung pulled a vial from his bosom.
"This vial has one antidote pill for Sam-o-dan-sim-san. I got two just in case they tried poisoning me again."
All eyes converged on the vial.
Dang So-so's shock was palpable. That was the antidote? Sam-o-dan-sim-san had an antidote, sure. But the Dang Family guarded their poisons and antidotes fiercely—how could it end up in an outsider's hands?
"That's the antidote?"
"Check it yourself."
Won Seung tossed her the vial. Everyone gasped at the boldness. Dang So-so opened it, took out the pill, scraped a bit of powder from the surface, and tasted it. It was genuine Sam-o-dan-sim-san antidote. Her eyes widened.
"Where did you get this?"
"Do I owe you an explanation?"
Won Seung snorted and held out his hand for the vial. She tossed it back and demanded,
"Why did Dang In-pyo poison you?"
"You wanna know? You'll regret it."
"Spit it out."
"You'll regret it, though..."
Won Seung glanced at the clerks diligently recording beside Hwang the constable.
Joo Neung, you'll owe me your whole life. New identity, job, and now I'm even avenging you.
The Imperial Guard's secret agents only cared about the emperor and buried Joo Neung's backstory. But this was the outer constabulary. Plus, there was Eun Bang-seo, the walking penal code infamous for his nitpicking. And since Won Seung had nearly been assassinated, the case had ballooned.
Coincidentally, Dang So-so and Pung Jin-saeng—key figures from the involved families—were right here.
Won Seung opened his mouth.
"Joo Neung was originally the senior disciple of the secular Sichuan Fuhogwan branch of the Kunlun Sect."
He spoke as if he weren't Joo Neung himself, puzzling everyone, but they focused on the content.
"Fuhogwan is in Joryeon, a bit outside Chengdu, on prime real estate in the market district. The Sichuan Pung Family coveted the land and pressured the Fuhogwan master to sell. When he refused, they sicced Dang Dok-su of the Sichuan Merchant Guild on him."
Why's our family coming up?
Pung Jin-saeng's composure flickered as his clan was mentioned.
"Dang Dok-su pressured him, but the master held firm. So they used mudfish poison to assassinate him."
"Lies!"
Pung Jin-saeng and Dang So-so shouted in unison.
Won Seung retorted,
"Hah! Lies? Anyone in the know understands. It's all in the spring issue of Sichuan Castle Rumors!"
He continued gravely.
"Joo Neung vowed revenge and decided to dig into the truth. He infiltrated the Sichuan Merchant Guild pretending to know nothing. Then Dang Dok-su sent the rookie escort on a caravan all the way to the distant capital."
Won Seung eyed the furiously scribbling clerks. Not as lofty as the Ministry or procuratorate, but the capital outer constabulary couldn't be ignored. Those records were indelible.
"Dang Dok-su sent Joo Neung to the capital to kill him en route and fake it as a caravan accident."
"......"
Everyone shuddered at Dang Dok-su's viciousness. Dang So-so's lips quivered, but with testimony underway, she couldn't interrupt.
"Sure enough, Joo Neung was ambushed by black dao thugs under Dang Dok-su's orders. Remember the mysterious deaths of two black dao fixers near the Sichuan Escort Agency last winter? Those were the ones. Joo Neung was gravely wounded but barely took them out."
And pin the murders on Joo Neung.
That's a risk worth taking, right?
"......"
With even circumstantial evidence, it all sounded plausible.
"Feeling the threat to his life, Joo Neung turned to his best friend for help."
Doubt flickered in Hwang Chung-hyeon's eyes. Why talk about himself like a stranger?
"You're speaking as if it's someone else's business."
"Exactly. I'm not Joo Neung."
Won Seung nodded, stunning everyone.
"What? Then who the hell are you?"
"I am Won Seung, Joo Neung's best friend."