Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Zhuge's Lone Sword
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From the minstrel Gong, Hwa-ryeon and I had heard all about last night's events.
Now that we'd heard everything we needed to, it was our turn to speak.
"By the way, I've heard the name Ye-ryeong somewhere before..."
"Oh, come to think of it, we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet. My name is Gong Ye-ryeong."
Gong Ye-ryeong bowed politely as she stated her name.
After hesitating for a moment, I finally opened my mouth.
"Lady Gong, would it be possible to ask a difficult favor of you?"
"If not for my benefactor, I would have lost my chastity. Please, say anything."
Even her considerate words only made my heart feel heavier.
And for good reason—because of my request, there was now a high risk that word of her kidnapping by the lecher would spread throughout the world.
In this Ming Dynasty, a woman's chastity was an extremely important virtue.
No matter the circumstances, any woman who lost hers was looked down upon by all.
The other victims whose bodies had been defiled by that lecherous bastard had completely shut themselves away from the world, aside from cooperating with the constables' requests. That said it all.
Of course, the Gong Ye-ryeong standing before me hadn't actually lost her chastity, but in a situation like this, would anyone care about the truth?
They'd all gossip behind her back that she was just pretending after already having been taken.
Yet when I brought this up, Gong Ye-ryeong let out a small laugh.
"Heh, hehehe..."
"Why... are you laughing?"
"Oh, my apologies. I never imagined you'd worry about something like that."
Ceasing her laughter, Gong Ye-ryeong opened her mouth with eyes somehow even more tender than before.
"I'm truly grateful for your concern, benefactor, but you needn't worry about it. By nature, minstrels—and female minstrels in particular—tend to have... those kinds of rumors following them around."
"Ah."
Her words reminded me that the profession of minstrel was considered fairly lowly in the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, that didn't make it right to suffer from malicious gossip.
"If anything, ignoring the grace you've shown me because of such rumors would be something I could never forgive myself for."
She had said her piece so firmly that continuing to hesitate would be rude.
In the end, I nodded and spoke.
"Would you come with us to the Zhuge Clan?"
"The Zhuge Clan... you mean?"
"Yes. We're cooperating with the Zhuge Clan to capture the Jade-Faced Witch. That's why I'd like to ask for your testimony about what happened last night."
This had been discussed at last night's meeting.
The items I'd brought from that house, and Gong Ye-ryeong's testimony.
Using those two things, we would reveal that the Jade-Faced Witch was a sorceress and demonstrate that we had the ability to cooperate.
That was the first step in our plan to hunt down the lecher.
*
Gong Ye-ryeong readily nodded to my request to come along to the Zhuge Clan, and we headed straight to their branch.
Unlike the others, it was my first time at the Zhuge Clan branch, and I couldn't help but marvel at its enormous scale, incomparable to the Eternal Sky Merchant House.
"Wow."
Judging roughly by its exterior size, it was on par with the Nangong Clan estate in Hefei.
And this was just a branch, not even the main house.
"It's a branch established to exert influence over the Three Powers of Wuhan. Though it's unconfirmed, there are even rumors that it's larger than the main house."
Nodding at Hwa-ryeon's explanation, we approached the main gate.
The gatekeeper, recognizing Hwa-ryeon as she grabbed his collar, immediately ushered us inside.
As we looked around the estate—which seemed even grander from within—we soon arrived at the branch chief's office.
Opening the door and entering, a man seated at the table greeted us with a faint smile.
That must be the branch chief, Zhuge Geun-yeong.
"Welcome. I didn't expect you'd return so soon after just one day. How did things go with your companions?"
"Fortunately, they were released quickly."
As Hwa-ryeon glanced at me while speaking, he must have realized I was the one who'd been detained.
Zhuge Geun-yeong politely cupped his hands toward me.
"I am Zhuge Geun-yeong, branch chief of the Zhuge Clan's Wuhan branch. I suspected as much from the rumors of your arrest by the constables, but you truly are a remarkably handsome young master."
"In Wuhan these days, such praise feels more complicated than complimentary. I'm Goon Ja-seong."
Returning the salute with my own cupped hands, Zhuge Geun-yeong's gaze now shifted to my left, toward Gong Ye-ryeong who'd come along.
"If it isn't Gong Ye-ryeong of Heavenly Flower Tower. An unexpected pairing—may I ask how you came to travel together?"
Oh? He recognized her right away?
I'd never imagined Zhuge Geun-yeong would know Gong Ye-ryeong, so I was fairly surprised.
Come to think of it, plenty of people had visited the tavern from midday just to see her perform.
If even a branch chief of one of the Five Great Clans recognized her...
She must have been far more famous than I'd realized.
As I looked at her with newfound respect, Gong Ye-ryeong smiled, offered a silent bow, and spoke.
"It's been a long time, Great Hero Zhuge. In fact, last night I fell victim to misfortune, and received aid from this Young Hero Goon here."
"...Misfortune?"
Zhuge Geun-yeong's face stiffened.
He seemed to grasp exactly what kind of misfortune it was.
Well, given the current situation in Wuhan, "misfortune" would naturally bring the lecher to mind first.
"...Might I hear the details?"
Once we were seated, I displayed the items I'd brought from the lecher's hideout and explained what had happened last night.
Zhuge Geun-yeong listened silently to my account, then examined the Jade-Faced Witch's belongings this way and that, letting out a groan.
"These are certainly items a sorceress would use. And you found them in the Jade-Faced Witch's hideout?"
"Yes. If you'd like, I can guide you there myself."
Stroking his chin in thought at my words, Zhuge Geun-yeong eventually tilted his head.
"However, there's one thing I don't understand. If the Jade-Faced Witch truly is a sorceress, how on earth did she repel two squads of the Roaring Heaven Squad all by herself?"
That was a question I shared.
From my direct encounter with her, the Jade-Faced Witch's own martial prowess was utterly abysmal.
They'd said the entire Roaring Heaven Squad numbered just over forty, so half would be around twenty men.
I'd stake my master's beard on the fact that the Jade-Faced Witch could never handle twenty warriors.
So she probably hadn't faced the Roaring Heaven Squad directly.
"Since she seems fond of illusions, I suspect she used those, but... what do the Roaring Heaven Squad members who clashed with the Jade-Faced Witch have to say?"
According to Branch Chief Jo, the two Roaring Heaven Squads that fought her had only injuries, no fatalities.
The lack of deaths had actually led to an overestimation of the Jade-Faced Witch's martial arts, but it also meant we could hear from the warriors who'd fought her directly.
"Ah, well..."
But at my question, Zhuge Geun-yeong made a troubled expression.
I tilted my head at that look.
What was this reaction?
Something felt off.
"Is there some problem?"
"As shameful as it is to admit, yes. In truth, I haven't yet heard from the Roaring Heaven Squad warriors."
"Were their injuries that severe?"
Zhuge Geun-yeong silently shook his head at Hwa-ryeon's question.
No, if their injuries weren't severe, then why haven't you heard their accounts?
The moment puzzlement arose from this inconsistency—
-BAM!
"Zhuge Geun-yeong! How dare you blab about the clan's internal affairs, have you lost your mind?!"
A door bursting open as if it might shatter, accompanied by a shout that assaulted the ears.
Turning my head, I saw a fairly burly man.
At this sudden and rude intrusion, Zhuge Geun-yeong's face hardened as he rose from his seat.
"You're the mad one, Roaring Heaven Squad Leader. How can you be so rude in front of guests!"
From the voice of the usually refined and courteous Zhuge Geun-yeong came an irrepressible anger.
What could it be? It felt like something long suppressed had finally exploded.
It seemed he didn't have a good relationship with that middle-aged man.
But Roaring Heaven Squad Leader?
Was that man the head of the Roaring Heaven Squad?
"Hmph! Guests? You mean con artists. Suddenly showing up claiming the Jade-Faced Witch is a sorceress? Even a stray dog would laugh at that."
Hwa-ryeon's face turned icy at the blatant insult, and Gong Ye-ryeong's stiffened as well.
I, too, stared at the man with a look of what the hell is this guy doing.
No matter what he thought of us, we were guests received by the branch chief himself, the top authority here.
Openly calling such people con artists was as good as smearing mud on the Zhuge Clan's face.
Moreover, even if he was the leader of the clan's elite force, speaking to the branch chief like "have you gone mad?" was utterly disrespectful.
As these thoughts ran through my mind, the Roaring Heaven Squad Leader's rudeness continued unabated.
"The Jade-Faced Witch, whom our Roaring Heaven Squad and the Zhuge Clan's warriors scoured all of Wuhan for in vain. And you're saying some no-name punk nearly caught her? You actually believe that nonsense?"
"It's too premature to dismiss it as impossible—the details align quite well. And since he's offered to guide us to her hideout, we could investigate it ourselves...!"
Even in his anger, Zhuge Geun-yeong argued logically point by point.
In contrast, the Roaring Heaven Squad Leader didn't even pretend to listen.
"All nonsense! That lecher is ours to catch. You think we're going to let outsiders stick their noses in?!"
"Watch your words. We even have a victim here who nearly fell prey to the lecher for real."
At Zhuge Geun-yeong's words, the Roaring Heaven Squad Leader's gaze turned to Gong Ye-ryeong.
Then, twisting his lips in a vile sneer, he asked,
"Who knows? Maybe she got tangled with some random guy and is now latching onto the Jade-Faced Witch. Wouldn't it be better to come clean now, before you embarrass yourself later?"
At these words that crossed every line, Gong Ye-ryeong's face paled, her hands trembling with rage beneath the table.
Hah, he's finally crossed the line.
I slowly rose from my seat.