Chapter 31
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Crimson Slaughter (1)
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Upon returning to the Seok Family, Zhuge Ji went straight to find Elder Zhuge Seo.
"I'm planning to head back to the main house the morning after tomorrow, so keep that in mind."
Sitting face-to-face with Zhuge Ji, Zhuge Seo expressed his intention to return to the Zhuge Family.
"I was thinking of going back later, Elder."
"What do you mean by that? Later?"
Zhuge Seo asked, puzzled.
Zhuge Ji pulled a scroll from her sleeve and offered it up respectfully.
"Please take a look."
Zhuge Seo unrolled the scroll she presented without much thought.
But soon, his hands trembled violently as he held it open.
"Where... where did you get this?"
So great was the shock that he couldn't control his emotions, his voice quivering too.
Yet Zhuge Ji's voice remained calm.
"I got it here in the village."
"Which... which family had this? I must go see them right away. Lead the way."
In his haste, Zhuge Seo rose to head out the door.
"Calm down, Elder. I didn't get that formation from a family—it was from an individual. And if you go looking for them, that person will never hand over the other half of the formation."
"Who the hell is this person?"
Zhuge Ji took a moment to steady her breath before continuing.
"Please don't take offense and hear me out, Elder. I promised that person secrecy about this matter. If I tell you who it is, the family will send others sniffing around for sure. Even the Family Head would come. And then we'd never get the other half."
"What if we offer tens of thousands of silver taels as payment for the rest?"
Zhuge Ji shook her head.
"They'd just get angry."
This was someone who possessed such profound martial arts yet chose to live in obscurity.
A person like that wouldn't waver for any amount of money.
"If we send family experts to threaten them, even the one you mentioned would have no choice but to hand over the full formation."
"Elder, you absolutely cannot do that. Absolutely not."
Zhuge Ji firmly rejected Zhuge Seo's suggestion.
Zhuge Seo was no fool.
Even if it was only half, this was a special formation that even the main house didn't possess.
He didn't know what wondrous power it held, but half alone was enough to inspire great expectations.
"I won't tell the family, so just tell me. Who is this person?"
"If I fail, then I'll tell you."
With Zhuge Ji going this far, Zhuge Seo had no choice but to relent.
"I'll speak to Seok Family Head separately, so stay without worry. I'll leave five family experts here to protect you."
"Thank you, Elder."
"No need. It's all for the family, after all."
Si Ju-pyeong paced the room anxiously, unable to settle.
The women from the Zhuge, Namgung, and Peng Families were still alive, while Ilbi-sal Jo Gu had vanished without a trace.
He'd sent out his family's men to search for the missing Jo Gu, but they didn't even know who they were looking for.
If word of this reached the Seok Family's ears, it would spell disaster beyond his control.
Si Wang-saeng, who had been patrolling the village, spoke up in a heavy voice.
"Father. No matter how much I searched the village, Jo Gu is nowhere to be found."
"What the hell are we going to do? For Ilbi-sal to disappear like this..."
Si Ju-pyeong's face had drained of all color, pale as a ghost.
But Si Wang-saeng was different from his father.
"It has to be those bitches' doing."
"Bitches? You mean the women from the three great families?"
"Yes. Ilbi-sal went out to kill one of them and vanished, so the culprits are those women. They must have killed him and hidden the body."
Even amid his anxiety, Si Ju-pyeong couldn't fully trust Si Wang-saeng's conviction.
"If those three great families' women killed Jo Gu, the Seok Family would be in an uproar by now. But there's no sign of that, is there?"
"Of course. Jo Gu was from the Henan Jo Clan, so even the five great families wouldn't want a fight. He was masked, so they realized who he was only after killing him."
It sounded plausible enough that Si Ju-pyeong quickly asked,
"Then what should I do? If we stay like this, not only the Ma Clan but the Jo Clan too will come after our family. We need a way to survive."
"At this point, Father, there's only one option left. Frame Seok Yang-ho as the culprit and inform the Ma Clan and Jo Clan directly. The Ma Clan can't move freely because of the Zhuge Family, but if the Jo Clan acts, the Ma Clan will have no choice but to cooperate."
"Will they believe it? No matter how skilled Seok Yang-ho is, he's no match for Jo Gu."
A sinister smile crept across Si Wang-saeng's lips.
"That's why we'll say the Zhuge Family helped him. But even the Jo Clan would hesitate to attack the Zhuge Family outright, so we'll use the Seok Family as the scapegoat instead."
Si Ju-pyeong, whose face had been pale with worry, suddenly beamed with excitement.
"Y-you rascal, thanks to you, our Si Family will become the top martial house in Huanin County."
"Father, I'm not satisfied with this little village. I'll make us the foremost clan in Hubei, beyond even Yangyang. I'll go to the Jo and Ma Clans myself."
"I'd like to withdraw the commission."
A young man's voice came from beyond the wall.
Gong-ssi, sitting in the darkness, knew exactly who it belonged to.
'What trick is this now? He was so desperate to kill Seok Yang-ho, and now he's withdrawing it himself...'
The troublesome commission was being canceled, which should have pleased him, but Gong-ssi felt otherwise deep down.
Pretending ignorance, Gong-ssi cautiously asked,
"Which commission do you mean?"
"The one on Seok Yang-ho."
Gong-ssi worked hard to calm his racing heart.
"We've never withdrawn a commission midway. The assassins have likely already left the base."
"Stop them."
"Impossible."
It was possible.
But Gong-ssi wanted to know the Si Family's scheme.
The voice of Si Wang-saeng beyond the wall grew rough.
"If the assassins had done their job properly, I wouldn't be withdrawing. Now it doesn't matter if there are assassins or not—cancel the commission."
After a pause, Gong-ssi spoke.
"Al... alright, I'll see what I can do. But of the four thousand silver taels advanced, I can only return three thousand."
"Do it."
Gong-ssi returned three thousand silver taels through the small hole.
Once Si Wang-saeng's presence vanished beyond the wall, another voice emerged from the darkness.
"What do you think is the reason that fool withdrew the commission?"
The voice was so low and quiet it was like the chirp of crickets in the dead of night.
As the voice flowed from the darkness, Gong-ssi bowed until his nose nearly touched the floor.
"Si Family Head Si Ju-pyeong and Si Wang-saeng are tenacious and cruel. They won't back down until Seok Yang-ho is dead."
"So they have another plan to kill Seok Yang-ho. A surefire one."
"That's what I think too."
Silence fell for a moment, then the voice came again from the darkness.
"You said the ones who killed my rival are living by the river?"
"Yes. Young hunters—one's a massive brute, the other smaller but still taller and bulkier than most."
"I should meet them."
Startled, Gong-ssi hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"It's dangerous. You mustn't meet them."
"I'm not going as an assassin, so it'll be fine."
A diminutive old man in his fifties slung a bamboo fishing rod over his shoulder and strolled along the riverbank.
After scouting spots, he settled by the river near a house on the hillside and cast his line.
As he waited for fish with his line in the water, the old man's expression suddenly soured.
The hulking man had just jumped into the river from right above.
Splash!
"Brother! Get in quick!"
"Hey, you bastard! Can't you see I'm fishing right below?"
"Oh? Sorry about that."
The massive man swam out, bowed his head to the fishing old man, and dashed up the hill.
The old man, who had watched them while fishing, let his gaze deepen.
'Far more impressive builds than the rumors. These are the ones who killed the Black Moon's master.'
Yet at a glance, the hunters showed no signs of martial training.
Ping!
The line connected to his rod went taut.
'I need to figure out exactly what kind of people they are to decide how to deal with them. Whether to go through with the assassination or abandon it.'
Fish were more sensitive to killing intent than people.
That's why he'd spent countless patient days hiding his aura while fishing.
"Whoa! A big one!"
The old man reeled in an arm-thick carp, followed by three or four more large fish.
Skewering the carp on a branch, he headed toward the hunters' house.
"Anyone home?"
At the gate, announcing himself brought a young voice from inside.
"The door's open. Come in."
The old man entered and saw a young man sitting on the porch.
"First time meeting. I'm just an old river angler passing time with the years. I plan to fish here a few days but have no place to sleep. If you have an empty room, could I borrow it for four or five days?"
A strange man had come.
Like hidden in clouds, like concealed in shadows, fishing with no presence at all.
The aura he deliberately revealed now and then to seem ordinary only hinted at his true nature as he stepped through the gate.
'Kill him? Or not?'
As he pondered, the two silver taels the man offered caught his eye prominently.
"Brother, what's up? Visitor?"
Gwang-u, who had been working in the kitchen, came out and sized up the stranger.
Sniff sniff sniff.
Gwang-u sniffed toward the stranger, then tilted his head.
"Brother, he's suspicious. Gives me the creeps."
I gave a faint smile at Gwang-u's low whisper in my ear.
As expected of a rare martial bone in the world—this guy didn't sense enemies by presence, but by smell.
"Stay as long as you like."
Knowing Gwang-u could tell this guy was different from ordinary folk, there was no danger.
"Gwang-u, show him to an empty room."
I pocketed the two silver taels and had Gwang-u guide the guest.
Gwang-u led the unfamiliar old man to the room, scratching his head the whole way.
'Did he come to ambush us...? Or maybe not.'
Gwang-u returned after escorting the stranger and asked,
"Brother, what's that guy's deal?"
"Seems like one of those assassin types from before."
Startled, Gwang-u glanced between me and the empty room.
"Then why not kill him right away? Why let him live, Brother?"
"Killing him would just bring more assassins. They're no real threat, but it'd be a hassle—digging graves and all. Let's watch for now."
I hadn't realized living apart from the martial world would be this exhausting.
"Gotta stay alert all the time. Never know when he'll strike."
"Man, what a pain."
Mid-conversation with Gwang-u, I turned toward the wall.
Far beyond the wall, two women approached—both familiar faces.
One was Seok Su-a, daughter of the Seok Family.
"What day is it today? So many visitors all of a sudden."