Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Gu Jinha's Trap
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Cheon Yeoseol had stuffed herself full of food and come out to the garden to bask in the sun.
But she wasn't the only one enjoying the sunshine.
A tri-colored cat dozing atop the Moonlight Gate, butterflies and bees flitting busily toward the flowers, and even a bird pecking at an earthworm that had ventured up from the soil for once.
All sorts of living creatures were gathering in the sun-warmed spots.
Cheon Yeoseol stared blankly at the sight until the creatures suddenly scattered, prompting her to turn her head.
A strange man was stepping into the garden.
The cat on the Moonlight Gate lifted its head, tensing slightly at the intruder's arrival.
The stranger glanced at Cheon Yeoseol before addressing Eunbi as she passed by.
"Hey! Isn't there a scholar named Cheon Taesan here?"
"Yes, he is."
"Where is he?"
"He's out on an errand."
"Where'd he go?"
"I don't know."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Damn, they say even dung has its uses, but now it's gone. Where the hell did he go?"
Gu Jinha had planned to drag Scholar Cheon into this mess.
It was the only way to drag Cheon Taesan down into the pits.
Irritated and grumbling, Gu Jinha spotted a girl in the garden of Scholar Cheon's residence and blurted out,
"Hey, you! Do you know where Cheon Taesan went?"
"No!"
"No?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah?"
"What's your name?"
"Why do you ask my name without giving yours first?"
Cheon Yeoseol stood up and continued.
"I've been learning etiquette lately, and they taught me that it's proper manners to introduce yourself before asking someone else's name."
Cheon Yeoseol's eyes turned icy cold.
"And they said you don't talk down to people just because they're young or whatever. What was it? They said rude brats who weren't raised right do that. Were you raised wrong?"
"Whoa, look at this cheeky little brat."
"Whoa, look at this shabby ugly bastard."
"You learned that in etiquette class too?"
"No, that was from learning about the ways of the world. They taught me to hit back with the same insults if someone curses at you. They said there are guys out there who think you're a pushover if you stay polite."
"Who taught you etiquette?"
"Yeah."
"What's their name?"
"What do you want it for?"
"Whoa, look at this ill-mannered bitch."
"You're the one saying things that deserve getting looked down on."
Eunbi watched Gu Jinha get rebuked and slipped away with a stifled giggle.
No one in the household had ever won an argument with Cheon Yeoseol.
The more Gu Jinha spoke, the angrier he got, and his hand rose on its own.
"You need to get smacked once to learn how scary the world is. Just like this!"
"You're right about that."
He paused with his hand raised.
"About what?"
"They said it's best to avoid rabid dogs that can't control their temper and just bark like mad. You avoid shit because it's dirty, not because it's scary."
"Get over here. You're really asking for a smack."
Gu Jinha was so fed up with the girl that he genuinely wanted to slap her.
Yet Cheon Yeoseol kept chattering away with that little mouth of hers.
"My teacher said that personality shows on your face, lifestyle in your build, consideration in how you eat, and humanity in how you treat the weak. With a face full of irritation and trying to hit a young, fragile girl like me, you're definitely no upright martial artist from the righteous sects. You're a demonic bastard, aren't you? A vicious demon at that. So how did a demon scum like you get into the Nangong Family?"
Outright insulted to his face, Gu Jinha approached with a mind to slap her silly and raised his hand high.
"What do you think you're doing!"
An elegant middle-aged woman approached and quietly scolded him.
"Who are you to lay a hand on this child?"
"The child has no manners, so I was just planning to discipline her properly."
Gu Jinha declared confidently.
He had always beaten kids if they irked him, so he saw no issue.
"Do you even know who this child is?"
Cheon Yeoseol often wore Eunbi's clothes when hers got dirty and she had nothing clean.
So Gu Jinha had assumed she was just a young servant girl.
A noble child wouldn't wear such shabby attire.
"Whoever she is, if she needs discipline, then a beating is in order."
Jeon Ian was dumbfounded that a stranger had barged into the inner gardens and was acting like this.
"You mean to beat a child of the Nangong Family?"
"A child of the Nangong Family?"
"Yes."
Gu Jinha eyed the middle-aged beauty with disdain.
"And who might you be, madam?"
Gu Jinha hadn't even dreamed that the Nangong Family's leadership would visit Scholar Cheon's residence.
He knew full well how martial families viewed scholars.
Especially one of the Five Great Families—they'd look down on him even more than the Murim Alliance warriors did.
Then a deep voice rumbled from behind.
"She's my wife. Got a problem with that?"
Gu Jinha whipped around at the familiar voice and jumped in shock.
"Pardon? Your wife... the Family Matriarch?"
Realizing his blunder, Gu Jinha prostrated himself on the ground.
"Forgive me. I didn't recognize you."
Jeon Ian glared at him murderously, her anger unappeased.
"Dear, why are you so furious?"
"This fool was about to hit Yeoseol, so I stopped him."
"What?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than killing intent radiated from Nangong Hak.
In that instant, Gu Jinha felt like a fly caught in a spider's web.
"How dare you! You tried to hit Yeoseol!"
Even his respectful tone vanished.
Gu Jinha hallucinated his body being sliced into dozens of pieces.
Cold sweat poured from him, but he couldn't muster a defense.
"I've shown you respect as the Murim Alliance Inspection Unit's Vice Inspector, yet you barge into our home and try to use violence. On a child I cherish, no less."
Gu Jinha's mind went blank.
"Get out. Now. And never set foot in our home again. Disobey, and you'd best prepare to pay the price."
He hadn't been struck, but it felt like he'd been thoroughly beaten.
"Family Head..."
"Enough! I don't even want to hear your voice. Just leave."
Gu Jinha slunk away without daring to lift his head.
Jeon Ian turned to Cheon Yeoseol.
"Yeoseol, were you scared?"
"No. A passing stray dog isn't scary."
Cheon Yeoseol smiled brightly and spoke politely, so Jeon Ian stroked her head.
"Oh, how can you be so adorable? I should just make you our granddaughter."
Cheon Yeoseol shook her head.
"Big brother said that'd mess up the family tree and it'd be bad."
"What? Hahaha. The way you talk."
Cheon Yeoseol now knew how to use polite speech. But only with those two.
Once Nangong Hak and Jeon Ian left, Cheon Yeoseol gazed at the flowerbed and muttered,
"That ugly guy nearly died but lived. I'm fine, so go home."
At her words, a triangular viper's head poked out from between the flowers, flicked its tongue, and vanished back into the blooms.
Gu Jinha's pride had been shattered and his self-esteem crushed; even after leaving the Nangong Family gates, his feet wouldn't move.
'Every time I come here, I suffer all sorts of humiliations.'
Focus sharpened in Gu Jinha's eyes.
His murderous gaze fixed on the Nangong Family's gate plaque.
Before departing, Gu Jinha approached the guard at the gate.
"Who is that little girl at Scholar Cheon's residence?"
The guard eyed him sourly in response.
He knew damn well who Gu Jinha was from his comings and goings, yet that attitude irked him.
'Now even the gate guards look down on me? The Nangong Family's power truly reaches the heavens.'
Another guard chimed in.
"We call him Scholar Cheon."
Gu Jinha was dumbfounded.
'They want me to call him Scholar Cheon? What the hell has Cheon Taesan done here for the Nangong guards to act like this?'
The guard respected Scholar Cheon ever since he'd treated his sprained ankle with acupuncture during training.
Gu Jinha ground his teeth at the guard.
"Fine, who is that little girl at Scholar Cheon's place?"
He asked as politely as he could.
"She's Scholar Cheon's younger sister."
There was no reason to hide it, so he answered plainly.
"Huh? I know Scholar Cheon well, and I don't recall him having a little sister like that."
"His cousin sister."
"What's her name?"
"That's all we're telling you. We're only saying this much because you're from the Murim Alliance."
Seeing even the guards so stiff-necked, Gu Jinha let out a hollow laugh and turned away.
'Cousin sister? Ridiculous. I investigated every inch around that guy. To find dirt and throw him in prison. And I wouldn't know his cousin sister? With the Family Head and Matriarch doting on her like that, something's up. Maybe... that kid's his secret daughter.'
Gu Jinha snorted, convinced he'd uncovered a crucial secret.
Moments later, upon returning to the safehouse and hearing Cheon Taesan was there, the humiliations from the Nangong Family flashed in his mind, twisting his lips into a sinister grin.
'If I'd come straight to the safehouse, I might've avoided the humiliation, but then I wouldn't have found Cheon Taesan's weakness.'
Gu Jinha saw Cheon Yeoseol as his weakness.
He couldn't act on it now, but someday, those weaknesses would gather into a dagger for his heart.
With that thought, even facing the detestable Scholar Cheon's face brought a smile to his lips.
Seeing Gu Jinha grinning at me set my nerves on edge.
"If I'd known Scholar Cheon was here, I wouldn't have wasted a trip."
For someone claiming a wasted trip, his tone was awfully cheerful.
"So what brings Scholar Cheon here? Did someone summon you?"
Gu Jinha had called in another inspector to hear the full story.
"Hmm, I see."
Gu Jinha eyed me like he had something to say.
"Anyway, I sought out Scholar Cheon for your help."
He'd been deferential around the Family Head at the Nangong Family, but here in the safehouse, he treated me like a subordinate.
"What could I possibly help you with?"
I spoke to him plainly as well.
"Huh? I let it slide in front of the Family Head, but even here?"
"I told you. I'm on rotation duty. The moment you leave the Murim Alliance, you're not an inspector anymore. That's the rule. They made it because inspectors were abusing their power outside. So don't try to pull rank on me."
He couldn't argue; it was true.
So he changed the subject.
"The son of the Jeongnyongmun Sect Leader has been reported and shows signs of colluding with the Demonic Cult. You were good at spotting scoundrels back at the Murim Alliance. And with your medical knowledge, you read temperaments well too. Can't Scholar Cheon distinguish a scoundrel's nature from demonic energy?"
His words reeked of a shady plot.
'This is what comes after he's already rigged things beforehand.'
Asking me to diagnose and distinguish scoundrel traits from demonic qi meant he'd prepared in advance.
Especially since I, unintentionally at odds with the elders' faction, confirming demonic qi would seal it.
'If I say no, he'll shove evidence in my face and drag me down too. He's dug all sorts of traps here.'
But the conspiracy was so obvious it almost made me scoff.
Wang Cheong listened and looked somewhat worried.
He sensed the hidden snare too.