Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: 18. Trap (3)
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Haomen.
Haomen was a faction that appeared in wuxia novels.
Its members consisted of thieves, pickpockets, gamblers, errand boys, and other dregs of society.
It didn't have any signature martial arts, but it was an organization that never failed to show up in wuxia stories.
As you could tell from its members, it was obviously not a righteous sect but an unorthodox one.
Well, until now, I'd thought the agency name didn't really matter...
"I understand. We'll go with Haomen."
When I quickly agreed, the Heavenly Demon looked surprised instead.
"What's this? Since when do you accept this seat's lame jokes?"
...It was a joke?
But the Heavenly Demon's idea to name the agency Haomen was pretty useful.
For screwing over the CEO, that is.
"Heavenly Demon, what's the CEO's agency name?"
"Isn't it Kichi?"
"Right. The CEO named his own agency Kichi. For someone obsessed with wuxia concepts, 'Kichi' is something of a blemish."
"A blemish, huh?"
"Don't underestimate concept fanatics. But I'm starting with 'Haomen.' I could even introduce myself as the Haomen Lord. That'd really get under the CEO's skin, right?"
"Oh ho. You've got some agro skills yourself."
"Haomen Lord sounds badass. Should I call you Bro Sect Leader?"
It took less than a few seconds for the Heavenly Demon to be impressed and Jaha to jump on board.
I always think this, but Jaha's adaptability is on another level.
I turned my gaze to the Pamon disciples.
"You guys okay with this? Joining 'Haomen'... even if I become the sect leader."
"As long as we can screw over the CEO, we don't care."
The Pamon disciples had faces that said they'd do anything if it pissed off the CEO.
"And if Bro Ox is the leader, we're reassured."
"It might sound calculating, but... we can tell Bro Ox is someone who can't just abandon us."
Not wrong.
That's exactly why we're here.
"Then... as your representative, I have a few questions."
I stared at them quietly, organizing my thoughts, then spoke.
"About Sintaeul. What do you think?"
At the question, the Pamon disciples' expressions changed.
From their reactions, they seemed aware that the body found in the Han River might be Sintaeul.
But since no one spoke up rashly, I had to ask again.
"When did Sintaeul stop coming back?"
The answer to this came quickly, thankfully.
"From the fan meeting day."
Fan meeting.
Something definitely happened that day.
But the fan meeting was already about a month ago.
Why was Sintaeul, who vanished that day, only now turning up as a body? That remained a mystery.
"However..."
Then Moon Sail carefully spoke up.
"Taeul said something strange before going to the fan meeting."
"Strange words?"
"That if he went to the fan meeting, he'd die... no."
Moon Sail paused, glancing at the other Pamon disciples, then added softly.
"He said he had to die."
Had to... die?
'If he said that...'
From that statement, it was clear Sintaeul had foreseen his own death.
And yet, knowing he would die, he still went to the fan meeting.
There's only one way to interpret it.
'Sintaeul intended to die.'
That's why he said he had to die.
But why?
Why go that far?
I thought about what Sintaeul could gain from dying.
But if it was to get my cooperation, we'd already tacitly agreed to work together at the Yongsan sauna.
Sintaeul was still alive back then.
At least at the fan meeting site that day, Sintaeul got out safely.
So the incident must have happened after we parted at the Yongsan sauna...
"Did Sintaeul really say that?"
Jaha asked with a confused look.
"Had to die... why would he say something like that?"
"...Who knows."
Moon Sail hesitated for a moment before dodging the answer.
Ironically, Moon Sail dodging the answer let me figure out what Sintaeul was trying to do.
The reason that kid wanted to die.
'Taeul knew.'
That Jaha wouldn't trust us unless something major happened...
That Jaha wouldn't betray the CEO.
So.
He created an incident where he died to give Jaha a reason to betray.
'Jaha must never know this.'
Did Sintaeul think I couldn't convince Jaha?
Having watched Jaha closest since trainee days, he'd know how blindly Jaha trusted the CEO.
'All that's left is to pray Sintaeul only faked his death.'
To convince Jaha, did Sintaeul really die?
Jaha already carried guilt toward Sintaeul while doing idol activities.
To pull Jaha in, sacrificing his own life?
I didn't think he'd do that.
...No, at least if Sintaeul saw Jaha as a friend, he shouldn't.
"We..."
In the endless silence, I spoke up.
"We'll proceed on the premise that the body isn't Sintaeul."
"The 'premise' that it's not Sintaeul?"
"Until they find the head, it's not Sintaeul."
"That's..."
To the Pamon disciples who couldn't easily accept it, I revealed what was presumed to be Sintaeul's last whereabouts.
"Sintaeul infiltrated the CEO's secret location right before the body was found in the Han River."
"Secret location?"
"A while ago, I discovered the CEO had built a massive summoning circle on the 6th floor below the dorm."
"Wha?! Below our dorm?!"
Unlike startled Jaha, the Pamon disciples stayed relatively calm.
"So that's why Heavenly Demon mentioned formations earlier."
"Yeah. And Sintaeul seems to have taken something important from there."
"Something important?"
"Yeah. I don't know exactly what, but that place felt oddly empty. Even after the body was found, the item didn't return, so Sintaeul must've faked his death to hide it."
"...We didn't know about that place, so if someone stole the CEO's item, it has to be Sintaeul."
Sintaeul must've been the action-oriented one among the Pamon disciples.
Well, when we ran into him at the restaurant, he was alone.
Yoo Ami and Yuk Jongnam showed up late and just took him away.
"Then... we need to find that item."
Moon Sail said after a moment's thought.
"And that's why you wanted to meet us?"
"Exactly. Now you have things to do."
"What is it?"
"Two things."
"Two things?"
"Yeah. Two."
One was finding the item Sintaeul took.
But they looked puzzled about the other.
And rightly so.
What I was about to task the Pamon disciples with was definitely not ordinary.
"One is tracking down the item Sintaeul took. The other is."
I trailed off and looked at the Heavenly Demon.
With a haughty motion, the Heavenly Demon pulled a manual from his sleeve.
"From now on, this seat will forcibly implant the Namgung family's secret manual, Emperor Sword Form, into you lot."
* * *
Meanwhile.
Dang Sacheon's bulletproof vest had elicited enthusiastic reactions from the two protectors...
"What is thaaat!! A bulletproof vest!!"
"It looks super strong!!"
"And it sparkles like craaaazy!!"
"It's blinding-!!"
But the Masked Expert muttered as if they were idiots.
"...Aren't they morons?"
The Masked Expert seemed startled after blurting it out, quickly clamping their mouth shut.
Dang Sacheon caught the mutter but.
It was a muffled voice from under the mask, and he hadn't spent enough time with them to distinguish between First Sword and Baek Nahan's voices yet, so he couldn't pinpoint who.
'Neither are big talkers anyway.'
But Baek Nahan probably wouldn't speak up rashly, no matter how absurd.
Dang Sacheon didn't hesitate and asked the Masked Expert directly.
"You, First Sword?"
At Dang Sacheon's bold question, the Masked Expert just tilted their head slightly, no sign of panic.
'Can't tell from the reaction...'
Baek Nahan hid emotions well anyway.
And First Sword's acting skills were already proven.
Instead of probing more, Dang Sacheon shrugged.
"Whatever... doesn't matter if you don't answer. By now, Yi Taegeuk should've opened the dorm door and checked the remaining people."
He'd revealed their plan perfectly.
If the Masked Expert, hearing this, rushed back to the dorm in panic, he'd tail them.
Dang Sacheon had zero intention of fighting the Masked Expert fair and square 1v1.
But the Masked Expert listened and maintained a strangely relaxed demeanor.
Feeling off about it, Dang Sacheon frowned, when giggles came from the two protectors.
"The young master doesn't know his own master well."
"Yeah. Doesn't know. Knows nothing."
"That Wudang punk probably passed out before crossing the threshold."
"Passed out for sure."
"How scary is the young master."
"Scary. Scary young master."
"Even the big master doesn't know how scary the young master is."
"Doesn't know, nope."
As the two traded lines, Dang Sacheon furrowed his brow slightly.
"What did you do to Yi Taegeuk?"
"......"
No reply came.
But since the Masked Expert gripped their sword and assumed a stance instead of heading back to the dorm, Dang Sacheon intuited something had happened to Yi Taegeuk.
'Trouble.'
The reason Dang Sacheon volunteered to hold the Masked Expert.
Back in trainee days, he was a bit of an oddball.
So he wasn't close with the Pamon disciples and had stepped aside.
But ultimately, it was to unmask the Masked Expert and prove his worth to Jeomsoui.
'I need to rack up merits to get recognized by Bro Ox!'
He knew he'd been treated like a runt by Jeomsoui lately.
Even at the Namman Beast Palace Masked Dance, he came up with the idea but did zilch on the day!
Dealing with those goblin-like weird protectors was Zhu Jaha.
Taking the Pamon disciples' calls was Heavenly Demon and Bro Ox.
While others did their jobs, all Dang Sacheon managed was killing some citizens at night.
"This won't do..."
Dang Sacheon muttered, voice trembling faintly.
"If Dang Sacheon, right-hand man of Bro Ox, can't rack up merits, it's a problem!"
"Were you the right protector too, Dang Clan?"
"Who's the left protector?"
"This clan head is both right and left protector."
"Greedy much! Pick one!"
"Dang Clan, can you even tell left from right?"
"If Bro Ox says right, it's right; left, it's left."
"...Dang Clan folks are weird."
"Poison messed up their brains."
"Hey! Shut up!"
Yelling like a lame extra villain, Dang Sacheon raised his sword tip toward the Masked Expert.
"Hey, Masked Expert. Heavenly Demon said that while you're a tough opponent..."
The Masked Expert tilted their head the other way, as if eager to hear what came next.
Dang Sacheon smirked crookedly and continued.
"It's because of the Soul-Sucking Divine Art. That art only works on Heavenly Demon. Pure internal energy clash? This clan head won't lose."
"......"
The Masked Expert swung their sword lightly, tracing a graceful arc with the tip.
"Really?"
Still a muffled voice from the mask.
Dang Sacheon chuckled.
"You'll see."
He dipped his sword tip invitingly, and the Masked Expert kicked off, closing the distance.
Dang Sacheon momentarily lost track of the Masked Expert's movement but anticipated they'd come straight at him.
He'd deliberately provoked them vilely to make them commit head-on.
'End it in one blow.'
Even if internal energy was even, the Masked Expert was more physically trained.
Under the bright white lights, the blade gleamed.
If it'd aimed for his neck, he'd have dodged back, but baited with the bulletproof vest, it targeted his chest.
Dang Sacheon feigned a swing, then let go entirely.
More precisely, hurled it sideways at the Masked Expert's face.
"？!"
As the Masked Expert faltered.
Dang Sacheon whipped out "that" from his bosom like he'd been waiting.
Through the mask slit, the Masked Expert's eyes widened at the sight.
One-Strike Kill
Jeomsui Secret
Absolute Brain Strike
Hidden in Bosom
Bosom Chu
Infused with Dang Sacheon's internal energy.
The supercharged electric shock device surged toward the Masked Expert's sword.