Deception (1)
"It has been quite some time since contact with the Commander was lost, and you still haven't found a single trace of him?"
Zhuge Yeong-yu wore a rare expression of agitation. Biting his nails, eyes darting about, his face conveyed the full gravity of the situation. In this crisis, the role of Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Je Gang was truly critical. If Zhuge Yeong-yu's role was to help the Imperial Household walk the righteous path based on gathered intelligence, then the Embroidered Uniform Guard's role was to gather intelligence from across the entire continent into one place.
Just as a lovebird cannot fly alone, the decisiveness of the Zhuge Family required the Embroidered Uniform Guard's intelligence, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard's intelligence required a loyal advisor like Zhuge Yeong-yu.
The disappearance of the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard meant that the very foundation of the Imperial Household's great undertaking was trembling. Under Zhuge Yeong-yu's sharp questioning, the Embroidered Uniform Guard agent bowed his head.
"I apologize."
"Where on earth has the man who said he was only visiting Sichuan gone?"
Zhuge Yeong-yu's face contorted. He was recalling the times Je Gang had reported to him.
[Great Hero Yeong-yu, have you heard that something major happened in Sichuan this time?]
[Ah, regarding that matter, I have heard. The Sichuan Tang Clan declared a sealing of the clan, correct?]
[Yes. I intend to visit Sichuan to assess the situation regarding that incident.]
He should have stopped him then. Je Gang had hidden many things from Yeong-yu at that time. He did not mention that he was going alone, nor did he say that he had intentionally moved other Embroidered Uniform Guard agents outside of Chengdu. He also failed to mention that he had hired three unorthodox faction masters for the journey to Sichuan.
What on earth had he been aiming for? This was not just a move to investigate the Tang Clan in Sichuan. This was the kind of move one made when conducting shady business, kept secret from the Zhuge Family and the Imperial Household.
"What was he after, not reporting in and even pulling back other Embroidered Uniform Guard agents?"
Of course, the missing man could not answer. That was why Yeong-yu's face was colored with frustration.
"A letter has arrived from Great Hero Docheol."
Startled, Zhuge Yeong-yu took the letter. After Je Gang went missing, Docheol was one of the figures Je Gang was highly likely to have met in Sichuan. Therefore, once Je Gang's contact was cut off, Zhuge Yeong-yu immediately sent a letter to Docheol.
Yeong-yu's hands trembled as he read the letter. The Embroidered Uniform Guard investigator cautiously posed a question to Yeong-yu.
"What did the great hero say in reply?"
"...He says they met, but did not have any particularly special conversation. He says he asked if Je Gang knew anything about the Sichuan Tang Clan's sealing, but as it had little to do with the Sichuan incident, he couldn't provide any helpful information...."
Zhuge Yeong-yu's face clouded over. For Je Gang, investigating the Tang Clan was merely a pretext. He had hired masters and headed to Sichuan for another purpose. But Docheol stated that Je Gang had visited Sichuan to investigate the Tang Clan.
What did this mean? What did it signify that Je Gang, who hated exposing himself so much that he pushed away agents in Chengdu, met and conversed with Docheol? Did it not mean Je Gang's purpose was tied to Docheol?
What on earth was the matter that required hiring masters and meeting Docheol in secret from him and the Imperial Household? And why had Je Gang gone missing after this conversation, while Docheol replied as if it were nothing?
Zhuge Yeong-yu gnawed at his fingernails. The worst assumptions kept circling in his head.
******
Docheol was leisurely drinking tea. Watching the leaves fall as he cultivated and savoring the ambiance had become the joy of his life lately.
"The fragrance is lovely. Don't you agree?"
Sitting across the small dining table was a man with an expression as stiff as a mask. It was the Hao Sect Leader. He had come all the way from Chengdu to Shaanxi to report on the results of the recent work.
"...The corpse was handled well. As you said, we took measures to ensure it couldn't be traced back to Chengdu."
"Specifically, how?"
Later, it would be troublesome if testimonies regarding this matter did not align. The Zhuge Family were not fools who could be deceived by clumsy lies. The Hao Sect Leader nodded at my question and answered. His gaze was also directed at the falling leaves.
"First, we had someone with a similar build disguise themselves and head toward Hebei Province."
"Hebei Province? You sent him quite far. Then what did you do with the corpse?"
"After embalming it, we sold it to the Jinju Eon Family."
A method even more inhumane than I had imagined emerged, and I shut my mouth. At the same time, I was also puzzled. Wasn't the Jinju Eon Family a clan in Hebei Province? How on earth did he sell it there, when it was so far from Chengdu in Sichuan?
"...Can a corpse endure all the way to Hebei Province? It would have decayed beyond proper use long before that."
"If the embalming is done well, it won't be a problem. In the first place, the Jiangshi art that utilizes corpses only uses embalmed bodies."
"Then Je Gang will also become a Jiangshi at the Jinju Eon Family."
"Since he possesses rare martial bones, he will certainly be used that way. You need not worry about the possibility of the trail being discovered. We are experts in this kind of corpse disposal. The boatmen who transported the coffin, the rickshaw pullers, and the innkeepers were all from our Hao Sect. They never even saw the coffin or the corpse, and in a few days, they will have forgotten such a thing ever happened."
"So, to summarize, Je Gang, who went to Sichuan, suddenly changed course to Hebei Province and went missing there, and right now the Jinju Eon Family is turning Je Gang's body into a Jiangshi."
A certain flow was piecing itself together in my head. The Hao Sect Leader was nodding. For him, who had performed far better than I'd expected, I silently poured him a cup of tea. The Hao Sect Leader accepted the tea I poured and nodded, saying,
"The fragrance is indeed lovely."
"As it happens, I was at a loss because a letter arrived from the Zhuge Family asking if I had met Je Gang. But thanks to you, I can get through this safely."
I had killed a key figure of the faction I was cooperating with.
This was not a matter that could be dismissed with a single excuse.
To cover up the incident, it had to be buried under a larger lie and another incident. If the flow of events wasn't redirected, the Zhuge Family would surely find the flaws in my story and dig into them. And before long, they would reach the truth and be forced to make an unavoidable choice.
Thus, Je Gang's sacrifice was inevitable.
Come to think of it, I wasn't the one who attacked first, nor was I the one who betrayed first.
Je Gang had arbitrarily become suspicious and concluded on his own to kill me.
Retribution.
Evil men meet an evil end.
"The weather is fine."
The weather was truly clear.
******
Zhuge Yeong-yu was restless. It was because reason and emotion kept clashing within his heart. Reason was posing this question:
Didn't Docheol kill Je Gang? Had their opinions not clashed for some reason, or had Je Gang discovered some secret of Docheol's, leading to a dispute? Could the fact that Je Gang's contact was cut off after he met Docheol in Sichuan mean anything else?
But emotion was shouting this at Yeong-yu:
I hope Docheol didn't do it.
Reason was a logical conclusion, and emotion was Yeong-yu's wish. Je Gang's death was a major incident for both the Imperial Household and himself. Yeong-yu wanted to avoid casting Docheol out amid the vortex of this great incident.
So Yeong-yu postponed his conclusion and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard members to conduct further investigations.
Je Gang's reports had stopped in Sichuan. But that did not necessarily mean he had died or gone missing in Sichuan. He might have been too busy tracking some matter he couldn't report to find the time.
That was the evasive reasoning Yeong-yu settled on. He felt himself that he was not acting like his usual self. But since it was a matter concerning the alliance, he thought he had to be more cautious this time. There had to be another clue.
Je Gang was surely alive.
Perhaps he would suddenly appear and brazenly apologize for being unable to contact him, acting chummy about it.
Indulging in such childish fantasies, Yeong-yu nibbled on his nails.
"I will report the findings of the investigation."
And when an Embroidered Uniform Guard investigator appeared before Zhuge Yeong-yu, he felt his heart pounding. As if he knew—or didn't—that his heart was about to burst, the investigator also read the report with a trembling voice.
"There is an eyewitness account of a man matching the Commander's description leaving Sichuan and staying at a certain inn. The date is after his visit to Chengdu."
Zhuge Yeong-yu felt the tension drain out of him instantly.
Docheol was not the culprit.
Je Gang might still be alive.
But the report that followed gave Yeong-yu a complicated feeling.
"After compiling the eyewitness accounts, it appears the Commander's contact was lost in Hebei Province. We cannot understand why he went all the way to Hebei, so further investigation seems necessary regarding this matter."
Je Gang had disappeared in Hebei Province.
What on earth did this mean?
Yeong-yu felt his head grow even more tangled.