Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Incident Investigation
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Nangong Hyun expressed reluctance at my request.
“Sorry, but we cannot grant such authority to an outsider not affiliated with the family. Besides, the investigation is already over.”
“Don’t be like that. Think of it as repaying the favor you mentioned earlier. Just help us out a little.”
“Umm...”
Seeing Nangong Hyun lost in thought, I immediately drove in the wedge.
“Everyone already knows that Tyrant Heaven Fortress is behind this incident. They simply haven’t found the evidence yet, but there must be clues left somewhere.”
Convinced by my words filled with certainty, Nangong Hyun finally nodded.
“Very well. I’ve been frustrated myself at being so helpless. Better to take action than sit idly by.”
“I’ll help too, Nangong Young Master.”
At Nangong Hyun’s resolve, Seol Sojeo stepped forward, offering to join as well.
Nangong Hyun gave her a warm smile and clasped her hand.
“Thank you, Ice Beauty.”
Don’t be jealous. Jealousy means defeat.
In any case, with the young master’s permission, we decided to reinvestigate the unfortunate incident that occurred in the Nangong Family.
“Strike while the iron is hot—shall we go now?”
“Where do you plan to start?”
I had already heard about the incidents in the Nangong Family before the family head returned.
The starting point would be one of the two most recent cases.
“Let’s investigate the chief steward’s suicide first.”
*
Prior to beginning the investigation, Hwa-ryeon suggested that it would be inefficient for the entire group to swarm each site together, so we should split up and handle different cases separately.
We accepted this, assigning Nangong Hyun and me to the chief steward’s suicide;
Hwa-ryeon and Seol Sojeo to the warehouse fire;
and Master and Seol-i to the failed patrol.
“Is this the chief steward’s house?”
“Yes, though Chief Steward Dam was not of the direct Nangong line, his mother was from a branch family, so he resided near the family estate.”
Nangong Hyun and I arrived at the chief steward’s house, right next to the family’s main compound.
I hadn’t realized it before, but all the houses built around the Nangong Family estate were occupied by branch family members.
Wow, so this whole area is full of relatives?
It saved us a long trip, but just how many are there?
Even a rough count of the visible houses showed dozens.
At this scale, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say a Nangong clan village had formed within Hefei.
“Alright, let’s go in.”
After a moment of distraction, I cautiously stepped inside at Nangong Hyun’s urging.
And there, I met the chief steward’s wife, immersed in grief after losing her husband overnight.
“You’re reinvestigating my husband’s case?”
“Yes, there are several suspicious aspects to it.”
The chief steward’s wife’s face crumpled at Nangong Hyun’s words.
“Thank you... Please uncover the truth. My husband was not the type to do such a thing. Nor would he abandon his family and take his own life. I beg you...”
“Don’t worry. We will definitely reveal what happened.”
Nangong Hyun nodded with a resolute expression.
He had hesitated so much earlier, yet now he seemed even more enthusiastic than I was.
Amused by his passionate demeanor, I was chuckling inwardly when Nangong Hyun suddenly grabbed me and said,
“This is the person I brought to reinvestigate the matter. He will surely uncover the truth.”
...So it wasn’t enthusiasm—he trusted me all along?
Suppressing a slight sense of exasperation, I whispered quietly to Nangong Hyun.
“...What makes you so certain?”
“Ice Beauty praised you highly. She called you a man of astonishing abilities. Ice Beauty has an eye for people as keen as her beauty, so I’ll trust in your skills as well.”
No, the ‘astonishing abilities’ she meant were probably your martial arts. What does that have to do with investigating cases?
And ‘keen eye for people’... Is that self-praise?
I wanted to question him right away, but it didn’t seem right to chatter excitedly in front of a widow who had lost her husband just days ago, so I kept my mouth shut.
Then, looking at the chief steward’s wife, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“I’m not yet fully aware of the details of this incident, so could you explain what happened? I know it’s painful memories, but I must ask.”
“...Yes.”
The chief steward’s wife held back her tears and explained the events.
According to her, Chief Steward Dam Jin-bo was a diligent man who cared only for his work and family.
That held true even on the day he died.
Her husband had returned late at night and gone straight to his room, saying he had more work to do, and hadn’t emerged all night.
“The next morning, when I went to his room, my husband was hanging by his neck...!”
Unable to bear recalling that horrific scene, the chief steward’s wife burst into tears.
She steadied herself with effort, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and continued.
“And on the table was my husband’s suicide note, laid out openly.”
“Could I possibly see that suicide note...?”
At my question, the chief steward’s wife rose, fetched the note, and returned.
I unfolded the neatly folded suicide note and checked its contents.
It stated that he had been addicted to gambling for years, embezzled the family’s wealth, accumulated insurmountable debts, and thus took his own life.
“...Gambling?”
“My husband would never! He only knew home and the family affairs...!”
The chief steward’s wife reacted almost hysterically to my mutter.
After barely calming her, I turned to Nangong Hyun.
“It says he embezzled the family’s wealth—has that been verified?”
“There’s no way to confirm it.”
“No way... Ah, you don’t mean?”
Nangong Hyun nodded at my words.
“Yes. If the chief steward embezzled, the easiest method would be siphoning funds from the warehouse...”
“And right then, the warehouse fire happened.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
Wow, even so, this is too blatant.
I didn’t know who orchestrated it, but they clearly weren’t the sharpest.
Leaving everything so obvious for anyone to guess...
“...No.”
I quickly corrected my thinking.
This was about ousting the Nangong Family, a local powerhouse long established in Hefei.
Handling such a critical matter sloppily didn’t mean the culprit was stupid—it meant they had the luxury to be careless.
For example, having an enormous backer like the Branch Lord.
—Father has gone to the Branch Lord regarding family matters for the time being.
“......”
Indeed, what had the Branch Lord said to summon the Nangong family head?
Had Nangong Hyun heard something?
I wanted to ask right away, but this wasn’t the place with the chief steward’s wife present.
I decided to inquire separately later and continue the investigation for now.
Well, there was only one thing left to do here.
“I’ve got the general picture. Finally... could I examine your husband’s body?”
“...Yes. Follow me.”
Nangong Hyun and I followed the chief steward’s wife to where the body was kept.
*
The chief steward’s body was already dressed in burial robes.
It pained her to see her dead husband, so without a word from us, the chief steward’s wife said she would wait outside and left the room.
Thanks to that, I examined the body at ease and soon couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Hah.”
“What is it? Did you find something suspicious?”
“Yes, the evidence of obvious murder is right there in plain sight.”
Nangong Hyun’s eyes widened as if they might tear.
“Wh-what is it?”
With a small sigh, I pointed to the ligature mark on the body’s neck.
“Do you see this?”
“Isn’t that a mark from strangulation? What about it?”
“Here, look closely.”
I carefully lifted the body’s upper torso and showed Nangong Hyun the nape.
More precisely, the ligature mark encircling the entire neck.
“The ligature mark wraps fully around the neck, right?”
“Yes. But what’s the problem with that?”
Nangong Hyun didn’t immediately grasp the anomaly.
Well, it’s natural if one lacks knowledge in this area.
I explained in detail.
“Think about it. The chief steward supposedly hanged himself, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“In a hanging suicide, your body weight presses the front of the neck against the noose. So a mark forms on the front, as expected. But on the nape...”
“...There shouldn’t be one!”
Fortunately, he caught on quickly with a bit of explanation.
The ligature mark encircling the entire neck was clear proof that someone else had strangled the chief steward with a rope—undeniable evidence of murder.
Having heard this far, Nangong Hyun looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
“You’re incredible. Even the coroner missed it, and you spotted it right away...!”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
“...Problem? What else is there?”
I nodded at Nangong Hyun’s question.
He was a coroner, after all.
Yet he overlooked such an blatant sign of murder?
There were two possible reasons.
The coroner was so utterly incompetent that he truly didn’t notice.
Or he was pressured to falsify his findings.
“We need to speak with the coroner who examined the body.”
“Eh, you mean go see him in person?”
“No. There are probably eyes on him. I think we should summon the coroner here...”
The excuse... Claim the enshrouding was done improperly?
“Young Master, a moment...”
“Yes? What is it...?”
Before that, time to give our Young Master some vocal practice.