Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: When Fame Rises
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“Huh? Scholar Cheon! The Scholarly Divine Sword, Scholar Cheon!”
Suddenly, Dang Jiin shouted Scholar Cheon’s epithet and name like he was cheering.
“Hey! Do you all know who this is? It’s the Scholarly Divine Sword himself. He’s also my writing tutor. The one who specializes in reforming scoundrels like me!”
The drunken Dang Jiin pointed at Seop Hyeonrok.
“Scholar Cheon, there’s an even bigger scoundrel than me over there. Reform that bastard too. Just like you killed that Demonic Cult Fourteenth Commander, O Ju-hyang.”
At those words, Seop Hyeonrok’s face flushed red.
It was as good as asking to be killed—no one could tolerate that kind of talk.
“Fuck! Keep talking like that, why not just hire an assassin while you’re at it!”
“Why would I hire some lowlife killer? I could just poison him or hit him with hidden weapons. You think I can’t do it?”
Dang Jiin approached Seop Hyeonrok, barking at him, and Seop Hyeonrok’s guards immediately stepped forward, shoving Dang Jiin back.
“These punks shoving me? You wanna taste the Tang Clan’s shitty poison?”
Dang Jiin’s hand dipped into his robe and came out, scattering something into the air.
A white powder like flour filled the room, and screams erupted.
“Crazy bastard! He released poison! Stop breathing!”
The courtesans and guards in the room panicked.
No one had expected him to release poison right there in the room.
It was the act of a true scoundrel.
Even a tiny whiff made heads spin.
The guards held their positions to protect Seop Hyeonrok, even as dizziness set in.
“Urk!”
Seop Hyeonrok vomited and collapsed to the floor.
“The young master’s been poisoned.”
“Open the windows.”
At Scholar Cheon’s command, one guard threw open the room’s window. Scholar Cheon pulled a folding fan from his waist and waved it.
A few flicks of the fan sent the white powder flying out.
“Hand over the antidote.”
One of Seop Hyeonrok’s guards demanded.
Dang Jiin slurred in response.
“Why should I? Not giving it. Gonna kill you all.”
Scholar Cheon drew the sword from the guard’s belt and pointed it at Dang Jiin’s throat.
The people in the room gulped as Scholar Cheon aimed the blade at Dang Jiin.
Dang Jiin looked furious but pulled a jade vial from his robe and tossed it to Scholar Cheon.
“That’s the antidote.”
Scholar Cheon opened the vial and took out a pill.
He held it out to the guard.
“Try it.”
The guard understood the implication and grimaced.
It might be poison, so eat it first to test.
With no choice, the guard took the pill and swallowed it.
“My qi is flowing again. The nausea’s gone.”
“It’s the real antidote.”
Scholar Cheon distributed the antidote pills to the guards one by one, then to the courtesans in the room.
As the guards swallowed theirs, Scholar Cheon palmed one extra pill.
And he had secretly slipped another pill from his own robe into his hand—no one noticed.
Who’d have thought the pill I took from Gu Jin-ha would come in so handy.
“The poison’s neutralized, so take Young Master Seop and go.”
The guards hoisted Seop Hyeonrok and left.
I grabbed Dang Jiin like I was dragging him and left the brothel.
Once we were away from the brothel, Dang Jiin, who’d been staggering, started walking straight.
“I did as Scholar Cheon ordered, but I don’t get why we had to put on this show.”
Scholar Cheon patted Dang Jiin’s shoulder.
“Isn’t there an engagement ceremony next month between Seop Hyeonrok and the Tang young lady?”
“Yes.”
“Before that, Seop Hyeonrok will fall from grace. Just wait patiently.”
“That’s what I don’t get...”
“Time will sort it out now. A month is plenty.”
Dang Jiin got a bit annoyed at the secrecy but burst out laughing.
“You’re not telling me because it’s better if I don’t know, right? I’ll trust Scholar Cheon and wait.”
“Just trust me completely. Now, spend the next month under my tutelage and show some change.”
Whether because he trusted Scholar Cheon or not, Dang Jiin didn’t ask further about what he’d done to Seop Hyeonrok.
Unexpectedly, the clash between the Demonic Cult and the orthodox martial world in Sichuan had entered a lull.
The Demonic Cult had shifted from offense to defense, but I sensed it was the calm before the storm.
A Demonic Cult stronger than ever won’t back down like this.
I could feel it without even checking their movements.
So I spent a day or two quietly in the VIP quarters, playing with Yeoseol.
Yeoseol was thrilled that I was giving her my full attention without other distractions—more than ever.
She still needed that human touch.
Then a man in official robes arrived at the VIP quarters.
“Who might you be?”
“Are you the Scholarly Divine Sword?”
“...Yes, that’s me.”
By now, hearing “Scholarly Divine Sword” so often had worn away most of the embarrassment.
Shame fades with repetition, it seems.
“Ah, I’ve come to the right place. I’m Min Bok, clerk of the county office in Yinchang County.”
The clerk handled accounting in the county office.
Yinchang was a fairly large county even in Chengdu.
“I see. What brings the clerk to me?”
I eyed him, wondering what business the county office had with me.
“The magistrate urgently requests the Scholarly Divine Sword. There’s a tricky case we need help judging.”
I tilted my head.
“How could a mere wanderer meddle in official affairs?”
The clerk glanced at me.
“It’s widely known that the scholar has close ties to the authorities. Plus, the magistrate consulted the magistrate of Gojang County directly before sending me.”
“Hmm.”
The gold ingot case in Gojang had already become a staple tale among the storytellers.
They know I’m the Silver Inspectorate Commissioner. Back then, it was obvious, so I stepped in. But now...
I saw no need to insert myself into official business on purpose.
“You’re a master of mind-reading, so we thought you could help identify the culprit.”
“Heh.”
I hadn’t expected this reputation to hassle me like this.
“Sounds fun. I was getting bored cooped up in the room anyway. Let’s go check it out. Big brother can read minds with a glance. Why else would they call for him? If they mess up, an innocent person could get framed.”
The clerk nodded vigorously at Yeoseol’s words, then looked at me.
I chuckled at Yeoseol’s sparkling eyes after days of boredom.
Yeah, keeping Yeoseol locked in the room isn’t right.
I told the clerk,
“Wait a moment. I’ll freshen up my robes and come out.”
“Of course. The carriage is waiting, so take your time.”
He’d even brought a carriage—nothing more to say.
As we entered the county office, a crowd had gathered.
Usually, so many people only showed up for major executions or when relief grain was distributed.
“What’s going on?”
The clerk asked a commoner up ahead while escorting me.
The man replied,
“You didn’t hear? The famous Scholarly Divine Sword is coming for this trial. They say he reads minds and catches liars. People gathered to watch.”
How much had the storytellers spread my tales for crowds to show up just to see me?
My exploits were the kind the common folk loved, truthfully.
Handing land to slash-and-burn farmers, wielding the sword for justice—not as some brute swordsman, but a learned scholar. It made for a perfect heroic saga.
That’s how princes, old masters, and even Guan Yu became gods.
What if they build a shrine for me at this rate?
I followed the clerk with that absurd thought.
I told Yeoseol,
“Yeoseol, you’ll have to stay apart from me for a bit. Go up to that second-floor railing.”
I asked the clerk to have her escorted to the second-floor railing, away from the crowd.
“Understood.”
The clerk had an official guide Yeoseol upstairs.
Seeing her wave from the railing, I followed the clerk to the courtroom.
“Hey! It’s the Scholarly Divine Sword!”
Someone shouted.
Turning, I saw a beggar.
Since he recognized me, he was probably one who’d fought the Demonic Cult alongside us.
The crowd buzzed at his words.
A matron yelled,
“Scholar, you’re so handsome!”
“Wahahaha!”
The crowd roared with laughter.
I greeted the magistrate seated on the courtroom bench.
The magistrate looked at me.
“Thank you for honoring my request. I’m in a real bind, so I hoped to borrow the Scholarly Divine Sword’s talents. First, may I see your credentials?”
He wanted to verify my identity before letting just anyone judge.
I showed him my Silver Inspectorate Commissioner’s badge.
“Indeed, it’s genuine. The Gojang magistrate is an old friend of mine. When I complained about this case, he mentioned you, Scholar Cheon. So I swallowed my pride and invited you.”
If I’d known the gold ingot judgment in Gojang would snowball like this, I wouldn’t have gotten involved.
Since I was already in, I planned to hear the story quick and bow out.
“What troubles the magistrate so?”
The magistrate outlined the case.
To sum it up:
The head of the wealthy Hong Clan in Chengdu—famous by name alone—had been poisoned to death.
The investigation pointed to six suspects: the eldest son, second son, third son, illegitimate daughter, and two guards. All denied killing the patriarch.
The two guards, who’d always protected him closely, were trusted more than his own children.
With so many suspects, the case was deadlocked.
“No other potential suspects?”
“Everyone the patriarch met in the half hour before death was these six.”
“Did they at least pay respects?”
“Yes. Excluding the guards, these four paid respects, then he died.”
“You’ve questioned the four, surely.”
“They all deny it, and we’ve no way to tell truth from lie.”
“What poison killed him?”
“Hadon poison.”
Hadon meant pufferfish—its toxin was inescapable once it hit.
All suspects were summoned to the courtroom.
The magistrate re-questioned the four about the respects paid, then asked the two guards if anything seemed suspicious.
After the brief interrogation, the magistrate looked at me.
“Found anything?”
He truly believed I could read minds.
Why else ask me right after the questioning?
With things as they were, I played along.
“Yes. I’ve identified the culprit.”
The magistrate shot to his feet at my words.
He wasn’t unaware of the martial world’s rising star, the Scholarly Divine Sword.
As a frequenter of taverns and brothels, he’d heard the storytellers’ tales.
Still, part of him doubted such things existed.
If I failed to name the culprit here, he’d have to pin it on someone.
The illegitimate daughter would be the least troublesome choice.
The late patriarch doted on her, breeding jealousy among the sons.
While the magistrate questioned them, Cheon Taesan circulated three streams of qi to probe their blood flows.
And discovered something unexpected.
When the third son answered, the blood flows of three people showed the pattern of lies.
Even the coldest liar feels unconscious guilt—the heart races, blood flow turns erratic.
The two guards’ blood flows lied when the third son was questioned. Not for the other two sons. Proof these three conspired.
Declaring conspiracy outright would make him seem like a true mind-reader.
Worse, rumors of supernatural insight like “penetrating minds” from Buddhist lore might spread.
So Cheon Taesan opted to find flaws in their statements first.
Point out the three, pressure them into confessing.
“Magistrate, there are three culprits.”
“Three?”
The suspects jolted at Cheon Taesan’s words.
Three children as killers—they were shocked.
“Who exactly?”
As the startled magistrate asked, Cheon Taesan pointed at the third son.
“The third son is the killer. The two guards are accomplices.”
The third son stared at Cheon Taesan, mouth opening, then shuddered.
He blanked out for a moment, then dropped his head.
Cheon Taesan watched closely—something was off.
His gaze was fixed on empty space.
Cheon Taesan followed his line of sight, turned, and startled at where the dazed eyes lingered.