The Locked-Room Murder at Cheongpung Geommun
Jegalmugeom slowly opened his mouth.
"Even the Mu-rim-meng couldn't crack this bizarre case. The sect leader of the Cheongpung Geommun, a minor sect near Nakyang, was murdered in his own office. The problem... is that it was a perfect locked room."
As Jegalmugeom's explanation continued, the 'cliché detector' in my head started spinning wildly.
The case summary went like this.
The victim was Jo Seung-gi, leader of the Cheongpung Geommun. He was notorious for having many enemies, but his martial prowess was near first-rate. Yet there he was, discovered as a corpse in his office at dead of night, with the thick wooden bar firmly latched from inside. All windows were locked from within, and the only entrance—the door—had its heavy bar in place. No signs of intrusion from outside. Not poison, not suicide. Just a single sharp stab wound to the chest, his body gone cold.
"The Mu-rim-meng investigators pored over it for three days but couldn't even figure out how the culprit escaped. Master Yeon... does nothing come to mind upon hearing this?"
Jegalmugeom fixed his gaze on me intently.
His question wasn't mere solicitation for help.
...It's a test.
I saw through it instantly. This was a test disguised as a request. To verify if the uncanny insight and 'mastermind overlord' aura I'd shown in Yodong were real, or just the bluff of a lucky con artist. The Mu-rim-meng's validation phase.
If I fumbled here or gave a mundane answer, they'd treat me as a disposable pawn to use and discard. Worst case, they'd deem my bravado a lie and squeeze me with wild suspicions born of their imaginations.
But if I delivered an answer transcending their expectations?
I could elevate from mere collaborator to an untouchable 'strategic partner' even the Mu-rim-meng couldn't handle lightly.
"Not bad."
I deliberately flashed an arrogant smile.
"Brother Jegal. For a puzzle that stumped you all for three days... it's far too clichéd."
"...Clichéd?"
Jegalmugeom's brow twitched. To a scion of the almighty Jegal family, my words must have felt like an insult.
"I'll head to the Mu-rim-meng tomorrow. I need to see the scene myself for certainty. But let me say this upfront: A locked room isn't a prison the culprit created—it's one forged by your preconceptions."
I set down my teacup and rose.
"Little boss, come see me."
I felt Jegalmugeom's bewildered stare boring into my back as I left without a backward glance. Leaving him behind, Danche Ryeong quietly followed me out.
The next morning, I arrived at the Mu-rim-meng's main gate with Hwangbo Suyeon and Seol Muyeong in tow. Towering marble halls and stern guards—an atmosphere that might cow ordinary warriors. But I puffed out my chest instead. After all, the world's top fanatics(?) flanked me.
Jegalmugeom awaited at the gate, perhaps to judge personally. He led us straight to the Cheongpung Geommun.
The crime scene office had been preserved intact by the Mu-rim-meng. Investigators dispatched for the case and a few renowned elders were already deep in heated debate.
"It has to be the 'Wall-Piercing Divine Object' technique! Sending qi through the wall to bar the door and slip out!"
"Nonsense! There's a hidden passage under the floor—I searched every inch yesterday, but..."
Listening made me sigh inwardly. True to the wuxia world, they sought answers in martial arts or mystical artifacts. Like modern detectives blaming unsolved cases on aliens.
"Step aside. The real expert has arrived."
Hwangbo Suyeon coolly shoved past the blocking warriors with her icy voice. Cowed by her piercing blue gaze, the investigators parted.
I strolled leisurely to the room's center.
It matched Jegalmugeom's description: thick wooden door, sturdy bar, latched windows. The body was gone, but bloodstains marred the floor vividly.
I circled the room, then tapped the door's bar with a finger.
Yes, this is it. Classic fair-play mystery, chapter one.
Conan, Kindaichi, countless detective novels' tricks flashed through my mind. The Mu-rim-meng fools believed martial arts solved everything, but the world brimmed with cunning, childish tricks beyond mere gong.
"Master Yeon. Find anything?"
Jegalmugeom, following behind, asked. Mockery and anticipation laced his tone.
I ignored him, inspecting the window frame, door seams, bar angle, corner candlestick. All as predicted.
"Brother Jegal. There are three ways the culprit could escape this room."
All eyes locked on me. The sneering investigators' faces stiffened.
"First: martial arts. As someone mentioned, peak 'Threaded Void Grasp' or 'Remote Manipulation' could bar the door from outside. But a master of that caliber wouldn't bother. They'd smash in and slaughter everyone."
I swept a glance over the investigators.
"Second: physical trickery. Fishing line or silk thread to slide the bar remotely. But this door's design leaves no gap to retrieve it."
I pointed at the door.
"So only the third remains. The culprit never left this room."
"What nonsense! We've watched and searched this place for two days—claiming the killer stayed?!"
An investigator bellowed.
I pitied him with my gaze.
"Not leaving spatially. Temporally."
I lifted the bar.
"This wasn't barred from inside. Nor outside. It was... already down from the start."
"...What?"
Jegalmugeom's eyes widened.
"Look at the door hinges, everyone. Finely carved, right? But check closely—faint wear marks. Proof the culprit didn't open the door. They lifted the entire panel off its hinges, slipped out, then reinserted and secured it from outside."
I tapped the hinge pins.
"Gong to loosen just the pins allows removing the door even barred. Then, to hide the pin scratches..."
I shifted the decorative flowerpot by the frame. Tiny metal shavings glittered beneath.
"They moved this to divert eyes. Your brilliant Mu-rim-meng sleuths fixated on 'locked room,' never doubting the door's structure itself."
Silence. Not a breath in the room.
Jegalmugeom stared blankly at the hinges I'd indicated.
"But... even then, soundlessly reattaching in moments requires..."
"That's why the culprit is someone you know well."
I drove the nail home confidently.
"Cheongpung Geommun's deputy leader, Jang Cheol-woong. You, right?"
A middle-aged warrior in the corner flinched. Fury twisted his face.
"W-what absurdity! Why would I kill our sect leader?!"
I smirked.
"Didn't you wail loudest at the body yesterday?"
Jang Cheol-woong looked puzzled at the non sequitur. My deduction veering off-track, eh?
"Everyone assumed it natural. As sworn brothers with the leader, you'd grieve deeply."
Jegalmugeom looked baffled too.
"In my studies of criminal profiling, there's a fascinating red flag: the loudest griever is most suspect. Not always true, but tailing that suspicion uncovered shocking facts."
Learned from comics and dramas? Whatever. I just needed to corner this Jang punk.
The unfamiliar terms and 'background check' furrowed his brow deeply.
"What's your relation to the leader's wife, Lady Jo?"
Glared at in rage, he paled at her mention.
Amateur. Face changing like a drama...
"Love affairs... seem trivial, but entanglements like this are headaches. Digging your background led to hers too. My subordinates are competent—dug it up overnight."
Now his limbs shook visibly. I sealed the case.
"Lady Jo's pregnant, right?"
"No way..."
Jegalmugeom glared, grasping the motive.
"She and the leader slept separately over a year. So how'd she get pregnant?"
"Damn you!"
He bolted, but Seol Muyeong's icy sword qi kissed his throat.
"...Master, is it solved?"
I brushed my collar nonchalantly.
"Solved? Too basic a trick and crime. Pathetic the Mu-rim-meng fell for it."
Jegalmugeom fell silent long.
As the culprit was hauled away and investigators whispered, eyeing me like a monster, he stared piercingly. Emotions swirled in his eyes.
Success.
I inwardly cheered. My standing in the Mu-rim-meng just skyrocketed. From mere novelist to 'giant of wisdom,' piercing all causality and deceit at a glance. Their view of me perfected.
"Brother Yeon."
Finally, Jegalmugeom cupped fists and bowed deeply. Highest courtesy from the Mu-rim-meng's strategist to a lowly scholar.
"We underestimated you gravely. This grace—we won't forget. Your insight is truly astonishing."
I nodded lightly, no words. Arrogance and poise—a perfect 'protagonist' pose.
But I knew. This was just the start. Gaining Mu-rim-meng trust meant plunging into deadlier, grander maelstroms.
The case closed. Nakyang's night peaceful, my pouch heavy with their golden reward.
Yet on my desk back at the inn lay another sealed missive, secretly slipped by Jegalmugeom before I left the Mu-rim-meng.
It reeked of danger a hundredfold the Cheongpung affair.
My pupils quivered faintly as I tore it open.