Chapter 88: The Severed Knot
The disciple of the Open Faction had died, and Nam Sogyun of the Cheongseong Sect—the prime suspect—had vanished. As the Cheongseong Sect's position grew ever more precarious, with everyone pressuring Jemyeongseon Jangno and the few remaining sects by their side, Yi Jinpyeong's somewhat out-of-left-field remark sparked massive curiosity among the assembly.
Pung Yeon-jinin asked, “Young master Yi. What did you just say?”
Yi Jinpyeong repeated himself. “I said it seems we've found another suspect. Excluding the first suspect, Cheongseong's later-generation disciple Nam Sogyun, and the second suspect—me, Yi Jinpyeong.”
Silence blanketed the interior of Agyangnu.
Bang Jangno opened his mouth, his face stiff and rigid. “Young master Yi. This is no time for it. Not for spouting nonsense.”
Jemyeongseon Jangno, cornered until now, widened his eyes as if he'd spotted a ray of light in the thick darkness. “Who do you mean! Did you find something on the body?”
Pung Yeon-jinin cut in firmly. “We've already examined the body thoroughly. Aside from the brutal gash ripping open the abdomen, nothing else that could serve as evidence turned up.”
“Are you so sure? Can you swear nothing was overlooked?”
“...Are you treating me like some fool who spouts drivel?”
A chill laced Pung Yeon-jinin's retort. The elders from the other sects scowled and spat harsh words.
“This brat! We called him here to testify, and he's babbling rubbish!”
“I've never seen that kid sit still. He's clearly got a bad case of main character syndrome!”
“Get him out!”
“No. He's a prime suspect too, so we should comb through Yi Gajang as well. Who knows if he's in cahoots with Nam Sogyun?”
Voices rose, the atmosphere turning savage.
With grim expressions, Jingang and Jinun stood shoulder-to-shoulder beside Yi Jinpyeong, as if shielding their youngest brother from them.
But the combined pressure from the gathered masters representing the Nine Great Sects and the Open Faction was no small thing—even if the two brothers had grown tremendously as of late, it was hard to bear.
Their faces paled, but only when they felt Jinpyeong's hand resting calmly on their backs did their breathing steady.
Yi Jinpyeong infused his brothers with qi to steady them. It might look a bit comical, the way they clung to him without letting go, but it was a good thing. Especially now, when anything could happen.
Risky, but necessary. Otherwise, everything would play out exactly as they intended.
“Let me touch the body. I'll show you who this other suspect is.”
At Yi Jinpyeong's words, the Open Faction dodus erupted.
“What!”
“Absolutely not!”
“What nonsense are you trying to pull?!”
Pung Yeon-jinin frowned and asked, “What do you intend to do?”
“Uncover the truth. It'll only take a moment.”
Yi Jinpyeong turned his gaze to Bang Jangno. “Bang Jangno. You're not thinking of refusing a chance to clear your dead disciple's name, are you?”
The initial examination of the body was already complete. With suspects narrowed down to a degree of certainty, Yi Jinpyeong now wanted to touch his deceased disciple's corpse again.
Bang Jangno hesitated briefly before nodding. “If it's just a moment.”
“Yes.”
“Young master Yi. We're all watching. Best not try any tricks.”
Yi Jinpyeong laughed heartily—a clear, bright sound wildly out of place. “Why's everyone so suspicious?”
The Open Faction dodus blocking access to the corpse stepped aside.
Yi Jinpyeong took a step closer to the huddled body. The corpse of a youth not yet twenty lay curled like a shrimp. His frozen face bore the agony of his final moments, veins bulging unevenly at his temples until death, now sunken dark. Eyes stared blankly wide. Teeth clenched as if to endure the torment, shattered in the bite... His jaw twisted entirely in desperate resistance to unbearable pain, locked crooked.
Yi Jinpyeong placed a hand on the corpse's wrist. As if consoling its departed soul, he infused a warm, singular qi.
The onlookers murmured at the sight.
- What the hell is he doing? Infusing qi into a rigid corpse?
- He's lost his mind.
- We never should've let a punk like that in here.
Ignoring the whispers, Yi Jinpyeong continued channeling Gwi Hwa Yeon Cheon Gong's wood qi—the vital energy of growth and vitality—into the body.
A faint green glow spread from his fingertips.
The stiffened muscles loosened. Dan-bi-no's shrimp-curled form began to unfurl.
“....!!!!”
Curled fingers straightened. Knees unbent, shoulders and back uncurled, reclaiming their natural shape.
Dan-bi-no, the Open Faction disciple—robust and healthy in life—seemed to revert to how he'd been.
Even the face twisted in pain and resentment began to relax.
Astonishment lit the eyes of the watchers.
Sorim monks struck their wooden fish and chanted sutras. The beggar elders of the Open Faction wept hot tears at their brother's return to peace.
But it wasn't power to revive the dead Dan-bi-no. Merely softening the rigor mortis.
Yi Jinpyeong released the wrist and shifted position.
As every soul in the room tracked his every move—
Yi Jinpyeong slowly gripped Dan-bi-no's jaw. The clenched teeth parted.
Finding what he sought, Yi Jinpyeong smirked inwardly.
As expected.
Yi Jinpyeong slowly, deliberately lifted high what he'd found inside Open Faction disciple Dan-bi-no's mouth.
The crowd stared blankly at it.
Hadn't the seasoned elders and masters of the Nine Great Sects and Open Faction dissected the corpse together?
Death by sharp sword. Seemed the work of someone with a grudge. Considering the skin's water-bloating and the time the body surfaced in Dongjeong Lake, the crime occurred just past midnight.
All thoroughly cross-verified by the masses, conclusions drawn.
Yet no one had thought to loosen the rigor and peer inside the tightly clenched mouth.
They'd dismissed it as mere agony-twisted death, unrelated to the cause.
“What is that?”
Jemyeongseon Jangno asked, face dumbstruck. Pitiful, unable to recognize the decisive evidence that could save his disciple and sect from crisis.
“A... rope?”
“From now on!!!”
A sudden roar exploded.
From Yi Jinpyeong. Loud enough to shake all of Agyangnu.
“From now on, no one moves. Twitch a finger, and you're the killer.”
Yi Jinpyeong declared, as if lord of the place.
“Especially you Open Faction dodus with knots at your waists.”
“!!!!!”
Only then did realization dawn; the crowd recoiled in horror.
Two finger-widths long, but unmistakably a rope fragment.
“Impossible!”
“No way! How can you pin it on an Open Faction dodu just because it's rope?!”
“This isn't ordinary rope. It's the hemp-twisted knot Open Faction dodus wear to denote rank.”
“.....!!!!”
The Open Faction dodus in the hall wore stunned expressions.
“You saying... an Open Faction dodu killed Dan-bi-no?”
“Could be his own.”
Yi Jinpyeong pointed to Dan-bi-no's knot. Intact, flawless.
Silence fell.
No one dared move rashly, eyes dropping to their own waist knots.
Relief after checking their own, then wary glances at comrades' knots.
Gazes darted, but fortunately, no severed ropes.
Except one.
One gripping his knot's end tightly.
“Bang Cheonpyo Jangno.”
Yi Jinpyeong shook the rope fragment. “Care to open that hand? Let's play a little puzzle.”
Bang Cheonpyo glared at Yi Jinpyeong with murderous eyes.
Bang Cheonpyo Jangno, who'd glared at Yi Jinpyeong with fierce eyes.
But only for an instant.
Regaining composure, Bang Jangno opened his palm.
Indeed, the end of his knot was slightly torn.
Could Bang Cheonpyo Jangno himself—Dan-bi-no's master—have killed his own disciple? The absurdity left the crowd speechless.
“How... how did this...”
“I haven't the foggiest.”
Bang Cheonpyo Jangno said. “No idea when it got torn. We're beggars. We don't fuss over clothes like other sects, so a knot fraying anytime isn't odd. If someone brings a common rope scrap and claims it's mine, that's the real oddity.”
“No need to overthink. Let's just match it.”
Yi Jinpyeong shrugged.
“Looks gnawed off by teeth, all ragged at the end. Dan-bi-no must've summoned his last strength in agony, madness, rage at death's door. Tucked deep in his mouth—deep-seated grudge.”
All held their breath, eyes on Bang Cheonpyo Jangno.
But he wouldn't yield his knot. Just clutched the end tight.
“Bang Jangno?”
An Open Faction dodu called cautiously.
“Speculation.”
Bang Jangno muttered.
Speculation. Words Jemyeongseon Jangno had repeated endlessly moments ago.
“Speculation. Forced fit. Someone's framing me with tricks. Yes! They tampered with my knot beforehand, shoved the scrap in while killing my disciple!”
Yi Jinpyeong's voice rang firm. “Bang Jangno. Last night, your knot was fine. Even when you grabbed my sleeve inviting me for a drink. Yours looked cleaner, sharper than mine—a beggar's garb—so I eyed it closely. I remember clear.”
“....!!!!”
Confused faces everywhere.
Bang Jangno's face blanched, then flushed, repeating.
He bellowed, “You! What grudge against us makes you frame me like this?! What scheme?!”
“What nonsense? You summoned us here. Otherwise, I'd be snoring in some cheap inn.”
“Th-this doesn't add up.”
Bang Jangno trembled.
“Of course! It's weird! Why would I kill my own disciple?!”
True enough. Who could imagine a master slaying his disciple?
Had Bang Cheonpyo met the rope accusation with bold confidence, they might've dismissed it as odd.
Even harboring deep suspicion.
But his reaction was undeniably off.
All eyes in Agyangnu fixed on one man: Bang Jangno.
Pung Yeon-jinin stepped forward. “Bang Jangno. No one's saying you killed your disciple.”
“R-right? Exactly?”
“But show us the knot. To avoid further misunderstanding.”
Realizing he couldn't dodge, Bang Jangno extended his trembling hand with the knot.
Pung Yeon-jinin took the rope scrap from Yi Jinpyeong and aligned it.
Hardened from long in Dan-bi-no's mouth, but the cut's size, shape—unmistakably Bang Jangno's.
Pung Yeon-jinin, momentarily speechless, finally spoke.
“This is definitely—”
In that instant, Bang Jangno's form flickered.