Catching the Hidden Beast (2)
“So…… you accepted it?”
As Damak’s expression hardened slightly, Geun Yuhyeon followed suit, his face stiffening.
“Just in case, I said I’d check with you first, Military Strategist Dam. Did I make a mistake?”
“……No, it’s not that…… I was just surprised because I’m worried about you, Lord Geun. Don’t take it to heart.”
Damak shook his head, but Geun Yuhyeon still watched him cautiously.
“It feels like I stuck my nose in where it doesn’t belong. I thought it would naturally help you, so I gave permission……”
“No. It will help me. I was just worried that after this is over, you and your sect might face backlash.”
The power dynamics in the unorthodox martial world had shifted, but originally, Cheon-gwan Gate and Geun Yuhyeon were no different from benefactors to Damak.
If not for Geun Yuhyeon, Damak would have died in the bloodbath at Cheonghwa Academy just like his other comrades.
Not only that—he had lifted Damak from despair and cursing the world, and even tracked down the families of his missing academy friends.
Damak worried that such a benefactor of boundless grace might fall into trouble due to Jin Sowoon’s selfishness.
Geun Yuhyeon’s face relaxed, and he flashed his usual smile.
“Don’t worry about that. Cheon-gwan Gate may be weak, but we’re not so feeble that we have to grovel wherever we go.”
“…….”
As Geun Yuhyeon said, there seemed no cause for concern, but the reality was far different.
The Murim Alliance’s delegation was a thorn in their side. Even if they exposed the true culprit, Geun Yuhyeon could be labeled an internal whistleblower and face unknown repercussions.
If something happened to him…….
Damak was sinking into deep thought when—
“Oh, that reminds me……”
Geun Yuhyeon pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve.
“I found the family of one of your academy comrades, a man named Shin Ilseong.”
“R-Really?”
How long he had waited for this!
Damak cast aside his earlier worries and unfolded the paper to read.
But.
“…….”
With each word he read, Damak’s face twisted bit by bit.
Geun Yuhyeon’s calm voice rippled through the hushed air.
“My condolences.”
“…….”
Crunch.
Unknowingly, Damak gripped the paper so hard his knuckles turned white.
The news he had so desperately hoped for……
……was the one he absolutely never wanted to hear.
“He lost his livelihood and climbed the mountain to escape starvation. There, he was…… caught by bandits……”
“Stop, stop…… You don’t need to say more.”
Suppressing his emotions with effort, Damak closed his eyes tightly.
Geun Yuhyeon’s face, watching him, filled with concern.
“I’m starting to wonder if continuing this really helps you, Military Strategist Dam……”
At the sigh laced with doubt, Damak forced his expression back to normal and spoke casually.
“……Please keep searching for me. That’s truly what I want.”
Geun Yuhyeon nodded slowly.
“Understood.”
He glanced once more at Damak, who still couldn’t let go of the paper, then rose quietly.
Leaving Damak’s quarters, he stared blankly at the sky, beginning to count the stars.
As his fingers elegantly swept through the air, his worried face gradually relaxed, eventually blooming into a satisfied smile.
“The stars align well. It’ll wrap up nicely. Truly fortunate.”
He lowered his star-counting hand and resumed walking.
Geun Yuhyeon vanished into the darkness.
And as the stars faded, dawn broke.
Gal Munjeong, lord of Sa-ryong Gate, was found dead.
In the dim predawn before sunrise, Ilmyeong was preparing to head to the market.
“I’ll focus on non-perishables.”
After poison was found in food and water entering the hall, Yeom Gwi-bi had interrogated the servants one by one but failed to uncover the culprit.
Learning of the poison in the delegation’s food, Cha Seokdu was furious and ordered meals brought directly from the main kitchen.
But poison appeared again in some dishes, proving it wasn’t the servants.
“It’s not a strong poison, so it’s fine after antidote.”
Dang Seohui said this casually while eating the tainted food, but her poison resistance from the Sichuan Dang family wasn’t comparable to ordinary people’s.
With a patient among them, they had no choice but to procure food from outside under cover of night.
“Anything else you need?”
“These are for the Captain’s treatment.”
Dang Seohui handed over a list of herbs.
Ak Byeongbi had survived thanks to his tenacious vitality, but his condition remained poor.
If poison was slipping into food unnoticed, herbs were no longer safe either.
It was an inconvenient situation all around.
As Ilmyeong finished packing to leave, I handed him a bundle and the black plaque.
“Wear this on your waist and wander the market. Someone will ask who you are.”
“Even if I’m just standing there?”
I slipped the black plaque into his hand with a grin.
“Showing this plaque marks you as a visitor to a certain ‘place.’”
Ilmyeong tilted his head, puzzled.
I whispered in his ear.
“Haomen.”
“……!”
Ilmyeong’s eyes widened instantly.
“No way, Benefactor Jin…… you’re a guest of Haomen?!”
I nodded calmly.
“Yes.”
“…….”
Ilmyeong stared at me and the plaque in disbelief, alternating between us.
“You say it like it’s becoming a regular at the neighborhood noodle shop……!”
That’s not the point right now, baldy.
I calmed the excited Ilmyeong—his scalp flushing red—and added,
“Tell them my name and what you need; they’ll get it fast. And deliver this bundle.”
“What’s this?”
“The only key to solving this case.”
“Key……”
Ilmyeong stared at the bundle before tucking it deep into his bosom.
Finally calming down, I see.
I bowed slightly to him.
“Then off you go.”
As Ilmyeong opened the door to leave—
Thud.
A warrior in iron armor blocked the door and stepped in.
Despite being pushed back suddenly, Ilmyeong asked politely.
“Who are you?”
The man was none other than Hwang Bu-sik.
“…….”
Pushing Ilmyeong aside again to enter fully, Hwang Bu-sik stared at him by the door.
His eyes flashed fiercely, as if ready to bore through Ilmyeong’s scalp.
I stepped toward him.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
Hwang Bu-sik slowly turned his gaze to me.
His utterly emotionless eyes scanned me once, then shifted back to Ilmyeong.
“……Elder, was Ilmyeong here all last night?”
What?
What’s the intent behind that question?
No way…….
A bad premonition hit me as I glanced at Hyeol-tu.
Hyeol-tu tilted his head at the sudden query and answered.
“Yeah.”
But Hwang Bu-sik didn’t back down.
“……Are you sure?”
“Huh?”
Suspicion and distrust plain on Hwang Bu-sik’s face.
Hyeol-tu’s voice turned icy in an instant.
“Do I have to answer that question?”
“…….”
Hwang Bu-sik turned to Yeom Gwi-bi.
He said nothing, but anyone could tell he suspected her too.
“You bastard……!”
As Hyeol-tu’s face reddened with rage, Yeom Gwi-bi sighed softly.
“……Yeah. Ilmyeong didn’t move a step from here last night.”
She stepped toward Hwang Bu-sik with a smile.
“But, little brother…… care to explain why you’re being so rude?”
Seeing Yeom Gwi-bi’s smile masking anger, Hwang Bu-sik sighed and bowed his head.
“……My apologies.”
Shaking his head as if regaining composure, he slowly looked up.
“Last night, Sa-ryong Gate’s Lord Gal Munjeong was killed.”
“……!”
“Huh?”
He glared at Ilmyeong and continued.
“The corpse showed clear traces of Geumgang Ilji and Geumgang Fist.”
“What!”
“That’s……”
Everyone in the room knew.
Ilmyeong hadn’t done it.
But they all thought the same.
People would believe Ilmyeong did it.
I asked Hwang Bu-sik,
“Are you certain it’s Geumgang Ilji and Geumgang Fist traces?”
“……What do you mean?”
“I mean, are the traces definite? Not something mimicking Ak family spear techniques?”
Hwang Bu-sik bared his killing intent, grinding his teeth.
“Certain. I’ve been hit by Geumgang Ilji before.”
Hmm, is that so?
I nodded readily.
“Then it must be.”
“……What now? You missed your chance to run.”
Why’s he angry when we missed our escape chance?
What a clown.
I shrugged.
“More importantly, do me a favor.”
“Don’t ask me to open an escape route. I don’t want to be a Sa-heuk-ryeon hero……”
“No! Go to the market instead.”
“……Market?”
Hwang Bu-sik looked utterly baffled.
I explained to the dumbfounded man.
“With Ilmyeong Senior pegged as the assassin, he can’t wander freely without getting caught.”
“…….”
Sahyeokryeon’s atmosphere, once condensed like the calm before a storm, now resembled a thunderbolt on the verge of explosion.
Those drowning sorrows in drink, those awaiting orders from above—all grabbed weapons and headed to one hall.
A full day since Dobongsu’s death.
With the investigation not even started and the exact cause of death unclear, Gal Munjeong’s body discovery exhausted the unorthodox folk’s patience.
Moreover, the clear, vivid fist marks on Gal Munjeong’s corpse pointed straight to the delegation’s Ilmyeong, the rumor spreading.
It was natural to rage at the higher-ups’ inaction—not arresting the delegation, let alone investigating.
Forgetting even the call to unite against the Murim Alliance, they channeled boiling fury into stones, roof tiles.
Crash!Crash!Boom!
Some hurled spears and axes supplied by Sahyeokryeon.
A sign their anger had reached the boiling point.
“Murim Alliance, turn yourselves in and pay for your crimes!”
“How long will you keep up these cowardly acts!”
“What’s there to wait for? Let’s storm in and lop off those bastards’ heads!”
Despite mounting deaths, the higher-ups standing idle and Jin Sowoon strutting like he’d catch the culprit—it was intolerable.
“It all started with Cha Seokdu requesting the Murim Alliance delegation for Sahyeokryeon’s founding!”
“Cha Seokdu and some leaders are thick with the Black Flame Dragon. They’re using him to eliminate rivals!”
“Hang both the delegation and Cha Seokdu!”
The crowd’s fury flowed one way, no opposition.
To counter, other evidence was needed—but all pointed to the delegation.
Geun Yuhyeon, visiting our hall as promised, cautiously asked amid the chaos.
“Ar-Are you…… alright?”
“Thanks to those two absolute masters out there, we’re peaceful.”
Stones, spear tips, arrows, hand axes littered around Hyeol-tu and Yeom Gwi-bi, but Geun Yuhyeon’s expression didn’t ease.
Hmm, with the inside wrecked, do those outside know repairs will cost Sahyeokryeon’s money?
My nonchalance made Geun Yuhyeon fidget instead.
“This can’t go on. I’ll speak to Military Strategist Dam and request Sa-hwang-bong warriors at least.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I just stopped those two from going out to snap the rioters’ necks.”
“……Pardon?”
I rolled my shoulders and grinned at Geun Yuhyeon.
“I’m about to handle it, so no need to bother busy folks.”
“Handle…… it?”
“Yes.”
If only Gu Gye-ak and Dobongsu’s deaths, I might’ve struggled to find the culprit.
But with new info from investigating—and now the clear fist marks on Gal Munjeong’s body—I was certain.
“Who’s the culprit?”
Even the ever-composed Geun Yuhyeon asked carefully.
“Ah, that’s where I need your help, Lord Geun. Come with?”
Geun Yuhyeon knew info on us Murim Alliance folk and most Sahyeokryeon residents.
Plus, his quick calculations and sharp mind made him ideal company.
He looked hesitant at my proposal.
“……Do I have to go too?”
“Yes.”
He’d offered help, but joining this danger gave even him pause.
Smaller guts than I thought.
I patted his shoulder.
“Don’t worry. We have the best escort.”
Hyeol-tu, grimacing and stretching nearby, bellowed.
“Who’s an escort?!”
Geun Yuhyeon glanced at Hyeol-tu and whispered cautiously.
“Can you really catch the culprit?”
I was certain.
I could catch them.
I already suspected their identity.
Who’d have thought those bastards were here.
I figured they’d move after full war broke out.
Twin Shadow Vicious Demon Squadron.
Among Demonic Cult special forces, the most despicably cunning spy unit that ground my teeth.
These damn sons of bitches were pulling a proxy murder scheme in Sahyeokryeon.
Good thing, actually.
“I won’t just catch them.”
“Pardon? What do you……”
Not just this incident’s grudge.
Time to repay my past life’s grudge too.
“I’ll tear those bastards apart.”