The Bailiff - 2
"Why won't you let us go outside?!"
"A murder is under investigation. Wait here until the bailiff arrives."
The constable said this as he planted himself squarely in front of the gate of the mansion where the murder had taken place.
"The Shadowless Divine Thief killed a man, and you're telling us to wait?!"
"We do as we're ordered. If you have complaints, take them up with someone else. Being dragged off to the yamen would count as 'outside' too, I suppose."
Already saddled with an irritating duty, the constable replied with a surly glare that warned against making his day any worse.
"N-no, that's not what I— F-fine, I'll go back inside."
"What a way to start the morning."
Unable to get so much as a wink of sleep, the constable turned to his colleague with a face steeped in exhaustion and irritation.
"Tell me about it. The whole area's on alert to catch a thief that even the most vaunted guards couldn't lay a finger on, and now the thief's gone and turned murderer. This is shaping up to be a far bigger headache."
"Any bailiff who takes this case is guaranteed to get chewed up and spat out. No wonder everyone's steering clea—"
After all, who would willingly take charge of an unsolvable case and shoulder the blame for it? Just as the constable moved to change the subject, a carriage rolled to a stop before the mansion's gate.
"My lord, we've arrived!"
"What? What carriage is that?!"
Had some high minister or noble lord come to call? At the appearance of a carriage that was luxurious even at a glance, the constables at the gate tensed.
"Heh. Someone's as good as married off already."
"I really don't think you need to worry about that."
"Wh-what's that supposed to mea-a-an?!"
"Wh-what if word gets back to my fami-i-ily?!"
"I've already sworn everyone to silence, so it won't."
Young voices, a man's and a woman's, bantered idly from inside the carriage. So no dignitary after all, then? Bewildered, the constable fixed his gaze on the person stepping down from the open carriage door.
"A black-haired barbarian?"
"A barbarian, riding a carriage fit for a high minister?"
Weren't barbarians good for nothing but the lowliest labor? And yet one of them was alighting from a carriage the likes of which they would never ride in their entire lives.
While the constables failed utterly to place the man, two women descended side by side, wearing myeongni—wide bamboo hats with long veils of silk gauze—and plain cloaks that concealed their figures.
Could he be a black-haired barbarian who had seduced some rich family's daughter with charms no Central Plains man possessed? The same thought flashed through both constables' minds.
"Is this the residence where the incident occurred last night?"
"Turn back. We are receiving no outsiders."
He had busted his ass guarding this gate all night while someone else had presumably rolled around in a warm bed till dawn—the very thought made his blood boil. Grimacing, the constable warned Kang Yunho off.
"Well, if you ask m—... Ah! Constable Jeong! There you are."
Did the barbarian think constables living off the state's rice were pushovers? When the barbarian kept advancing despite their warnings, one of the constables gripped his club.
"You deaf, you barbarian bastard? Get lost before I—Urk!"
"You idiot!"
Faster than the constable could swing his club at Kang Yunho, Constable Jeong's fist slammed into the man's face.
"Brother Jeong? Wh-what was that for?!"
"You idiot! His belt! Look at his belt!"
Constable Jeong's brow knotted as he jabbed a finger at Kang Yunho's waist.
"What's a barbarian got on his belt, huh?!"
Both constables' eyes went wide.
The yopae. The badge of a bailiff hung from his belt.
"Y-you're a bailiff?!"
"I am Kang Yunho, newly appointed bailiff, granted full authority over the Shadowless Divine Thief case by the Chief Constable."
Kang Yunho introduced himself with a formal fist-and-palm salute.
"A black-haired... bailiff...?"
Their bewilderment was only natural. It had been less than a day since Kang Yunho received his commission from the Chief Constable and crossed the river into the south of Wuhan.
"Wait—Kang Yunho? The brilliant bailiff from the ghost ship case?!"
Black hair. Bailiff. The moment one constable connected the two words, he recalled a story he'd heard somewhere before.
"Ah! The Nokcheong Escort Agency!"
The case that had set the entire yamen abuzz. Only now did the constable remember the rumor that someone was to be appointed to the Shadowless Divine Thief affair.
"Might we go inside?"
"F-forgive us, sir! Please, go right in!"
Please, just walk through that gate. Don't turn around and start asking for our names. Terrified of earning the bailiff's displeasure, the constables bowed their heads over and over as they opened it.
Contrary to their fears, Kang Yunho simply proceeded into the mansion with the women who had come with him. The constables heaved sighs of relief and cautiously lifted their heads—straight into the glare of a thoroughly furious Constable Jeong.
"Hey. You two. Follow me in a moment."
Bracing for the dressing-down to come, the constables screwed their eyes shut.
"The murder took place in the room where the homeowner kept his safe. Solid iron door and window, and the room is well soundproofed—apparently no one realized a commotion was unfolding inside."
Reciting the findings of the constables' overnight investigation, Constable Jeong led us to the scene of the crime.
"Surely at least one person heard screaming?"
"The homeowner had a rather... eccentric temperament after dark, so it seems they mistook it for more of the same."
Seems the husband had quite the fiery pastime.
"Going by your account alone, this sounds like an ordinary burglary. Why is it being called the work of the Shadowless Divine Thief?"
"A black paper crane was discovered at the scene. Ah, here we are. Let me open the door to the safe room for you."
A copycat crime, then? As Constable Jeong opened the safe room, a body lying near the entrance came into view.
"Hnk."
"Hghh!"
Was that simply the mettle of murim folk? Both Lady Hayeon and Lady Jegal winced briefly at the sight of the corpse, then quickly recovered their composure and began surveying the room.
"Where is the evidence?"
"I have it here. See for yourself."
Constable Jeong drew from a small box the object claimed to be the Shadowless Divine Thief's paper crane and handed it to me.
Huh? Wh-wha—?!
Hold on just a moment.
"I'll hold my post outside. Call if you need anything."
I couldn't find my voice to answer Constable Jeong as he withdrew.
Because the black paper crane before my eyes...
"Young Master Ka-a-ang?"
"You—this is...?"
Because it was, without question, a crane I had folded with my own two hands.
Why was a paper crane I had folded lying at a murder scene?
Surely I hadn't risen in my sleep to become an artist, taking to the streets to unleash the violence within me.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Let's not panic. Examine the scene first. Safes are usually kept in the owner's bedchamber—this is unusual."
I spoke with feigned composure, lest the two women waver.
"He was a man of means, after all. Build a sturdy iron door with a lock, put a safe behind it as well, and you start believing nothing in the world can be stolen from you."
Lim Hayeon toyed with the lock on the door, an air of amusement about her.
"Let's take a look ar—"
Why on earth was my crane sitting in a room stained with blood? Just as I moved—suddenly facing the prospect of becoming an accessory to murder—a clamor erupted behind us.
"Madam, you mustn't go in there!"
"Out of my way! The body must be washed and dressed and the funeral held! How long do you intend to leave him lying on this cold floor!"
The victim's wife, presumably. I offered a fist-and-palm salute to the woman bearing down on us, her face contorted with rage.
"Greetings. I am Kang Yunho, entrusted with full authority over this case by the Chief Constable."
"You failed to catch that thief, the Shadowless Divine Thief, and this is what came of it! And now a barbarian comes to turn our household upside down!"
"What did you just say?!"
"Stand down."
Lady Hayeon, I appreciate the outrage, but properly speaking, the body ought to be briefly examined the moment it is found, and only then prepared for burial.
Only in the modern era, with its advanced forensic science, could such a thing be understood; by the customs of this world, what we were doing was unmistakably a discourtesy to the dead.
"Madam, you have my condolences for your husband. I understand your wish to lay him peacefully to rest. But I ask that you place your trust, just this once, in the man the authorities have charged with the investigation of the Shadowless Divine Thief, and grant me time to examine the scene."
Before any question of state authority, this was a matter of courtesy to the victim's family. I made my plea with a softened bearing.
"..."
What's she going to do, just keep glaring? She has no wish to defy the authorities, yet she's furious and feels wronged.
Well, then. There's a way.
"Madam. Your late husband was, I gather, rather... vigorous in his nighttime entertainments."
Time to make her trust me.
"Did some constable tell you of my husband's... failings?"
How did I know, you ask?
The wife glared at me with open displeasure. I gave a small shake of my head and spoke as though I had never heard a word of it.
"On my way in, I happened to pass one of the household's concubines. On the nape of her neck were marks much like yours, Madam."
Step one: showcase my powers of observation.
"What of it?!"
The wife feigned composure, but her hand crept up to cover her nape in embarrassment.
"In the dead of night, a disturbance broke out near your husband's chamber, yet no one in the household stirred. Set that beside the marks on your neck, and the conclusion writes itself: the people of this house had good reason to consider such things a matter of daily routine."
Cast myself as a man of uncanny deductive brilliance, built upon keen observation.
"You can read all that from a single mark?"
"Then take a look around the room."
Dress up what I already knew in the trappings of deduction, and stitch it to the scene of the crime.
"What about the room?!"
"There are bloodstains at the entrance, yet none near the safe. That means your husband sensed something amiss and came to the safe room only belatedly—and it was there that the deed was done."
I indicated the blood pooled near the entrance.
"..."
"A struggle ensued. He took the first blow, but it was not a mortal one. He had a chance to flee, but too little time to seize it. Wounded, he tried to force that heavy iron door open once more—and in doing so, handed the thief a second opportunity."
"So that's what the blood on the inner door meant!"
At my observations, the constables nearby murmured in admiration.
"Now look at the footprints before the body. A single set of prints paces back and forth over the same ground. The killer lost their composure. They had not planned to kill—or at the very least, this was something they never anticipated."
"Woooow..."
Lady Jegal stared up at me, mouth agape.
"And that is everything I gathered in the instant that door was opened."
"H-how could you possibly..."
The wife asked, eyes wide with astonishment.
A well-placed secret never fails to make a man mysterious. I let one corner of my mouth curl upward, speaking as though some unspeakable truth lay hidden behind my words.
"The voice of the deceased? You don't mean to say you possess some supernatural pow—... power, do you?"
"A crime scene is left behind crowded with voices."
The celebrated bailiff Kang Yunho knows it all. Deduction, investigative technique—there was no need to explain every little step.
I regarded the wife calmly.
"..."
"I will hear every voice the deceased has left behind, so that no injustice is done in this matter."
I would honor the dead as befits a bailiff's way—so please, bear with us a little longer. Thus I asked, with all due courtesy.
The wife studied me for a long moment. Then she bowed her head with sudden formality.
"...Bailiff Kang. Forgive me—I was beside myself with grief. If there is anything you need, you need only say the word."
"I would ask that you see to a meal for the constables who kept watch over your estate all night."
"Y-young Master Kang, that was incredi-i-ible!"
"H-how did you know all that? Was it true—what they said about you being Seolrok Heomju?"
No sooner had the wife and constables withdrawn than Lady Hayeon and Lady Jegal descended on me, fluttering with excitement.
"Hahaha. I simply fitted the pieces together as I went. The room was stacked to the rafters with evidence I could spin however I pleased."
What I had done was not deduction.
Even a crudely thrown bowl, under a practiced merchant's patter, can pass for a teacup once used by the First Emperor of Qin.
As a man who had enjoyed his share of detective manga and police procedurals, I simply knew how to package a crime scene so it rang true.
"I think you're better at this than the elders of my own fami-i-ily."
"She's right. After the Nokcheong Escort Agency affair too—maybe being a bailiff suits you better than you'd think?"
What was I, some master detective who glances at a man's hands and declares, 'A fisherman—and out of work for years, I see'? I wasn't pulling instant deductions out of thin air, so how could it possibly suit me?
"At the moment, I'd say a binding rope suits me better than a bailiff's badge."
Right now, tracing the origin of that paper crane came first. I said it with a shrug.
"But why on earth is the black crane here?"
"First, let's find whatever can serve as evidence at the scene. I'll need you two to put in some work."
"Leave it to me."
"Let's go in together, Hayeon Eonni-i-i."
The two women nodded and turned away.
One was the next Shadowless Divine Thief; the other, a daughter of the Jegal Clan renowned since childhood for her martial arts and her medicine. There was no need for me to trail after them and get underfoot.
I stood outside the door, quietly watching the two women comb the room.
So long as that crane is genuine, I must produce evidence that the Shadowless Divine Thief is a fake.
I could not allow the Shadowless Divine Thief to be remembered as a bandit rather than a righteous thief.
Why the crane was here was a question to untangle later. First, I needed decisive evidence to neutralize the genuine article.
"There are no traces of entry through the window."
"He was stabbed in the abdomen, but the fatal wound is at the throa-a-at."
"The footprints fall in uneven strides. This is not the step of a martial artist trained in lightness techniques."
Fortunately, there was more to be learned from the scene than I had expected.
Even if the Chief Constable refuses to believe it, once we find the evidence, I can spread word through Haomen that the thief is an impostor.
"Th-the weapon was a short blade. The killer seems to have panicked and stabbed at the abdomen again and again. Not the handiwork of anyone trained in the martial arts."
"Whoever it was moved far too carelessly while trying to make off with the room's valuables. As a thief, they don't know the first thing."
If there truly is a fake Shadowless Divine Thief, catching them outright would be impossible. Somehow, I would have to—... Huh?
Wait just a moment.
"You're telling me this person knows no martial arts and is a rank amateur of a thief?"
Had I misheard? The fake Shadowless Divine Thief?
"Hayeon Eonnii-i."
"I believe so."
Jegal Hyang and Lim Hayeon nodded to each other.
"What do you mean?"