Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Deceiving the Tiger and Wolf
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The duel had ended.
The result was, astonishingly, Geun-yeong's victory.
The loser lay sprawled on the duel platform's floor, while the winner held his sword to the loser's throat.
"Admit your defeat."
At the winner Geun-yeong's words, forcing him to face the cruel reality, the loser Je-gal Soon slowly raised his twitching eyelids.
The sight that met his eyes once more was, naturally, no different from when they had been closed.
His entire body paralyzed, face-down on the duel platform.
Confirming his pathetic state once again, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
'...I lost.'
He had been defeated by Geun-yeong.
A perfect defeat, with no room for excuses.
The gap in their skills had been clear, something that couldn't be bridged in just one day.
Yet Geun-yeong had seized victory from him in a single day.
It was a miracle, plain and simple.
"...I lost."
At the quiet admission, Geun-yeong sheathed his sword.
He carefully set down Je-gal Soon's sword and reached out to release his pressure points.
"There, you should be able to move now."
"...!"
Confirming his body could move again, he looked up at Geun-yeong in surprise, flexing his limbs this way and that.
"What in the world is this...?"
Striking pressure points with his fingers to paralyze—it was a technique he'd never heard of anywhere.
Je-gal Soon asked Geun-yeong about it, but the answer came from someone else.
"It's called pressure point striking. A method of injecting qi into another's acupoints to render them powerless."
The one who answered was Ja-seong, who had picked up Geun-yeong's sword from where it was stuck in the ground and climbed onto the platform.
Geun-yeong smiled back at him, grinning as if celebrating his victory, and accepted the sword before sheathing it.
Je-gal Soon, looking back and forth between the two who had wrought this miracle, opened his mouth weakly.
"...May I ask what happened last night?"
*
After all the twists and turns, with Geun-yeong claiming victory, I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
To be honest, when that sword suddenly flew at me and embedded itself in front of me, I didn't show it, but for a brief moment, I thought, 'Is he really going to lose?'
Of course, it was only for a very brief moment.
Did I believe in Geun-yeong?
Anyway, after the duel, the Je-gal Chief Inspector admitted defeat quite readily.
Geun-yeong then released the Chief Inspector's pressure points.
It was probably his first time properly using the pressure point technique, but he handled it quite skillfully.
I nodded in satisfaction, thinking I'd taught him well, when the now-unparalyzed Chief Inspector muttered in astonishment.
"What in the world is this...?"
I pulled Geun-yeong's sword from the ground and climbed onto the platform to answer his question.
"It's called pressure point striking. A method of injecting qi into another's acupoints to render them powerless."
As I handed the sword back to its owner, the old swordsman, looking back and forth between us, asked again in a voice like a sigh.
"...May I ask what happened last night?"
It was a similar question to the one during the duel just now.
But the emotions on the old swordsman's wrinkled face were entirely different.
Unlike the mere suspicion from before, it was a hollow expression tinged with regret.
Taunting him as I looked at the face of a man whose life had been denied.
"What, you think something big happened? We trained, and it paid off."
"Young Hero Goon."
Had I teased him too much?
I shrugged at Geun-yeong's call, which was thick with reproach.
With all the crap these guys had pulled, it was hard to say anything nice.
Not that I needed to, anyway.
I extended my hand toward the Je-gal Chief Inspector.
"Anyway, a promise is a promise. Hand over the ledger."
"......"
At my demand, the Je-gal Chief Inspector silently pulled a thick ledger from his bosom and handed it over.
I took it and immediately passed it to Geun-yeong.
He promptly checked its contents and nodded.
"...It's correct. It records all the livestock purchases over time."
"We finally have the double ledger in hand."
We called it a double ledger, but the livestock purchases were real.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a double ledger.
But since we couldn't prove those animals were used as fodder for demonic arts cultivators, it effectively became a double ledger for embezzlement.
In simple terms, an ace up our sleeve that they couldn't counter even knowing it was fake.
"Now we're all set."
"...Yes."
Geun-yeong nodded with a hardened face at my words.
He was steeling himself now that the final battle was approaching.
I turned my gaze from him, who was gathering his resolve, back to the Je-gal Chief Inspector.
He still showed no sign of getting up.
Moreover, his strangely vacant, soul-drained face made him look suddenly years older.
Of course, that didn't mean I pitied him.
I asked in a businesslike tone.
"You've handed over the ledger, so can we consider you on our side for now?"
"...Yes. I'll accept whatever disposition comes after."
"Chief Inspector..."
But unlike me, Geun-yeong seemed genuinely sorry for the Je-gal Chief Inspector's state.
I cut him off sharply at the faint pity in his voice.
"Don't pity him."
"...!"
Geun-yeong started at my firm words.
I met his eyes straight on and continued.
"Don't think that handing over the ledger to us makes him one of us now. He hasn't changed his heart—he's just submitted to force."
"...!"
The old man trembled.
I glanced sidelong at him.
If the Je-gal Chief Inspector had truly changed his heart, he would have handed over the ledger before this duel.
In other words, nothing had changed—he'd just bowed to superior strength.
He was still the same trash, researching demonic arts and rationalizing the sacrifice of his blood kin.
"......"
The Je-gal Chief Inspector fell silent, unable to say a word.
Geun-yeong, looking back and forth between him and me, unsure what to do, finally let out a deep sigh.
"...For now, shall we head back to Young Hero Goon's guest hall?"
"Yes, let's."
I agreed without protest.
We needed to finalize the plan before entering the decisive battle.
*
The first to greet us upon returning to the guest hall were two burly figures loitering in the courtyard.
"...Brother Im?"
One of the burly men's states was downright odd.
He was squatting in one corner of the guest hall, mumbling, "I'm trash...."
I had a feeling I knew why, so I scratched my head as I looked at Im Chun-il standing beside him and asked.
"...As expected?"
"Yeah, got cussed out like hell and kicked out. Sister-in-law's got a sharp tongue, that's for sure."
It seemed confessing his heartfelt sincerity to his wife had brought the massive backlash Hwarryeon predicted.
Im Chun-sam looked ready to burst into loud sobs if poked even a little.
I patted his strangely shrunken shoulders consolingly as we entered, and finally, the group welcomed us.
"You're back? How'd it go...?"
"No need to ask."
I pointed confidently at the thick ledger in Geun-yeong's hand.
The group visibly sighed in relief, but soon their faces hardened.
They'd spotted the Je-gal Chief Inspector following behind us.
"No, why is he...?"
"We've got a lot to ask him about."
The group nodded reluctantly, faces uneasy at my nonchalant response.
We sat in a circle around the Je-gal Chief Inspector and began the interrogation.
"First things first: when are you planning to administer the Blood Jade to Je-gal Cheon-sang?"
"...You already know everything."
Muttering bitterly, the Je-gal Chief Inspector shook his head and began explaining.
"The Blood Jade isn't like a regular spiritual pill that you just swallow. A grand ritual is needed to properly absorb it into the consumer's body."
"Grand ritual? Then when is this ritual...?"
"It's already begun."
"...!"
Everyone was shocked by the Je-gal Chief Inspector's words.
Geun-yeong even half-rose from his seat.
"Then it's already too late?!"
I raised a hand to calm him at his shout full of dismay.
"Calm down, Branch Head. It started, but that doesn't mean it's finished yet."
"Th-that's right...."
Realizing he'd jumped to conclusions too hastily, he slunk back into his seat.
The Je-gal Chief Inspector nodded as if confirming my words and continued.
"Yes, the grand ritual doesn't end in a day or two. It continues for at least four days. And tomorrow is the fourth day."
Tomorrow.
A hundred times better than it being over already, but still an incredibly tight timeline.
"Th-then we need to hurry, right? We should move right now...!"
It was natural for Seol-i to ask that.
I wanted to do the same, but I had to shake my head.
"Not yet. The family's armed forces are still intact."
"Ah...!"
Seol-i let out a belated exclamation.
And right then, a booming voice rang out from outside, perfectly timed.
-Is Ja-seong there!?
...When did he start calling my name so casually?
Pushing aside the trivial thought, I stood and opened the door, where Hyeok Ri-gwang came into view.
"Come in, Hero Hyeok Ri."
"Were you in a meeting?"
"Yes. We were just discussing matters related to the armed forces."
Hyeok Ri-gwang strode in without hesitation and widened his eyes at the sight of the Je-gal Chief Inspector.
"Huh? Isn't that the Inner Chief Inspector? What's he doing here...?"
"He's defected to our side."
"Defected...?"
Defected meant he had originally been our enemy.
Hyeok Ri-gwang's eyes narrowed instinctively.
"...Is that okay?"
"We subdued a man obsessed with power through superior power, so yes. It'll be fine."
Hyeok Ri-gwang nodded at my answer and took a seat before immediately asking about progress.
"How's it going?"
"Smoothly. Word's already spread throughout all of Yangyang. The magistrate's office should request the family's cooperation by tonight."
I nodded at the satisfactory report, while the rest of the group looked baffled.
"No way, it's actually working...?"
What did I tell you? It'd work.
I grinned smugly at the group.