The Perfect Bait
"The tribute is pathetic."
"It was like this last time, too."
"Hmm, have we been too nice? They've lost all sincerity."
"And the time before that!"
"Sigh, this is why they say you should never raise black-haired beasts. Why is it that mortals never learn when you treat them kindly?"
"They'll probably do it next time, too."
"Fine. We've been far too lenient. I suppose it's time to teach them a lesson. Master will surely approve."
"Let's punish them! Let's punish them!"
Inside the office of the Pyeong Clan in Giyang County.
A white-haired boy and girl sat in the seats of honor.
Both wore blue robes and black headbands patterned with gold over their hair.
From their appearance to their attire, the boy and girl exuded an extraordinary, mysterious aura.
Before them, a middle-aged man lay prostrated like a criminal, trembling violently before finally managing to speak.
"M-My son, who was in charge of preparing the tribute, suddenly went missing, which delayed our supply by a few days. But if you could grant us just ten days! We will have the full tribute ready. I beg the Immortals to show mercy and understand!"
Pyeong Mun-hwa, the Patriarch of the Pyeong Clan, pleaded desperately with a terror-stricken face, but the boy and girl remained unimpressed.
"Are you seriously asking us to wait ten days? Do we look like we have nothing better to do?"
"Nothing better to do?"
Whenever the girl spoke, the expressionless boy repeated her words like a parrot.
When the girl scowled, the boy scowled right along with her.
To an outsider, it might have looked cute.
Yet, for some reason, Pyeong Mun-hwa was completely frozen in fear as he stammered on.
"W-We have deployed all our clan's warriors to quickly gather one hundred young boys and girls. We've already secured nearly half, so in ten days, we can easily fill the rest. So please, just a little more time..."
"No. No more time. You already broke your promise."
"Broke it!"
With those words, the girl pulled a small bell from her sleeve.
At the sight of it, stark terror painted Pyeong Mun-hwa's face.
"Immortal! Please, mercy!"
"Pyeong Mun-hwa, Patriarch of the Pyeong Clan. It is time to take back what we gave you."
"You cannot! I truly did my best! Even now, the entire clan is mobilized to gather the children!"
"Enough. Save your excuses."
The girl scoffed, lightly ringing the bell in her hand.
Ting—
"By order of the Mansi Sect's Deputy Law Enforcement Emissary..."
"Return to your true form."
"No!"
The bell rang once more.
Pyeong Mun-hwa, who had been desperately reaching out from his prostrate position, froze mid-motion.
As if his soul had been violently vacuumed out, his eyes turned a dull, lifeless gray, and his body temperature plummeted rapidly.
In an instant, he had been turned into a jiangshi.
"Si-woo."
"Yes, Sister!"
"Here's a toy. But he's old, so he might break easily. You have to play with him gently, okay?"
"I will!"
The expressionless, white-haired boy clapped his hands and hopped up and down in excitement.
Watching her younger brother, the white-haired girl patted his head and smiled warmly.
"I'll turn the others into toys when they return to the estate later, so let's wait a bit more."
"Okay!"
Just like that, the white-haired boy and girl dispatched from the Mansi Sect had turned most of the Pyeong Clan's experts into jiangshis.
This entire tragedy had unfolded in a mere half-day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ilyang was in an exceptionally good mood after successfully forming his 1st Circle around his heart.
There's a certain charm to starting over.
Though he was retracing a path he had walked long ago, it was far from tedious. In fact, it was surprisingly fun.
Moreover, now that the 1st Circle was established, reaching the 3rd Circle would be a breeze.
With a face brimming with confidence, Ilyang made his way to the Nangin Association.
And there, something caught his eye.
"A child abduction case..."
Ilyang narrowed his eyes as he scanned the request board.
The abduction of young boys and girls.
This was the very incident he had heard the jeomsoi gossiping about yesterday.
He had brushed it off at the time, but seeing it officially posted on the Nangin Association's board meant the scale of the case was considerable.
Even the reward was substantial.
A request worth five hundred taels of silver?
That was an astonishing amount of money.
Furthermore, there were no rank restrictions, making it an open bounty that even wooden-plaque vagabonds could accept.
What was truly surprising, however, was that the client was none other than the County Magistrate of Giyang County.
In any world, government officials were notoriously slow to act.
For such an official to step forward publicly and post a request meant there was undoubtedly some unspeakable circumstance behind the scenes.
"I heard over a hundred children have gone missing so far."
"Heavens, I heard that too. And they only kidnap kids around ten years old?"
"Word is they're kidnapping them for human sacrifice somewhere."
"Really? But I heard the Magistrate's hidden bastard son was also kidnapped. Is that true?"
"Ha! The son he had with his mistress? No wonder that old geezer is spending such a fortune for once."
As Ilyang listened to the vagabonds whispering among themselves, someone was watching him intently from a corner of the hall.
"Is that the kid?"
"Yes, Master Hak."
"A bit strange. Judging by his clothes, he looks like a young master. Why is he acting as a vagabond?"
"Brother Hak, we don't need to know all that. As long as we get paid, what does it matter?"
"...True enough."
There were four vagabonds sitting in the corner, each dressed in different attire.
Among them, a clean-cut but fierce-looking vagabond in blue silk robes nodded repeatedly as he sized Ilyang up from head to toe.
"He fits the criteria perfectly."
"Then are we going ahead with the plan, Brother Hak?"
"Yes."
"But I heard that kid managed to get a completion stamp from that lunatic Pyeong So-byeok. He seems to have more guts than he looks. Do you think Scholar Yu can persuade him?"
At that, a middle-aged man dressed in scholar's robes, who had been quietly sipping his tea in the corner, scratched his cheek and replied.
"What choice do we have? I'll just have to go and convince him."
The vagabond they called Scholar Yu was a man of small stature wearing a black scholar's hat.
He adjusted his sleeves awkwardly, took a deep breath, and stood up.
Then, he began walking slowly toward Ilyang.
Ilyang had already overheard their quiet exchange.
However, pretending to be completely oblivious, he kept his eyes fixed on the request board.
The middle-aged scholar approached him cautiously and spoke.
"Ahem. Young hero. Are you busy at the moment?"
"Hmm?"
The scholar-dressed vagabond seemed incredibly socially awkward. He avoided eye contact entirely, staring off into space as he tried to converse.
"How can I help you?"
When Ilyang questioned him, the vagabond offered an awkward smile.
"Ah, well... My name is Yu Jeong-ui."
"Ah, Master Yu. I am Ilyang. What brings you to me?"
"Young Hero Ilyang. If you have some time, would you care to join us for a cup of tea over there?"
Yu Jeong-ui spoke with a hesitant, self-conscious air, clearly unused to such interactions.
When Ilyang looked in the direction he pointed, he saw the other vagabonds, who were watching them with equally awkward expressions.
"Actually, we are planning to take on a joint request, and we were wondering if you would be interested in discussing it with us..."
Throughout the conversation, Yu Jeong-ui maintained an overly cautious attitude.
Ilyang couldn't tell if the man was just incredibly shy or if he had ulterior motives.
Regardless, the man spoke in a quiet voice and refused to meet his eyes, which naturally made him seem untrustworthy.
However...
"Well, talking doesn't cost anything. Shall we head over there?"
"Ah, yes! This way."
Ilyang followed Yu Jeong-ui to the table where his companions sat.
And then...
Ah. Now I see why they sent him as their representative.
Once Ilyang sat down, he immediately understood why the painfully shy Yu Jeong-ui had been chosen to approach him.
Excluding Yu Jeong-ui, the other three were terrifying.
The man in the blue silk robes sitting in the seat of honor was missing an eye.
The man next to him, who looked like a mountain bandit in red robes, was missing several fingers on his left hand.
The last one had a long sword scar running across his face and was missing his left ear.
Every single one of them has some sort of defect.
Furthermore, all three possessed incredibly menacing countenances.
As Ilyang's gaze swept over them, the one-eyed man in the blue silk robes spoke first.
"I am Hak In-bo, a bronze-plaque vagabond."
"Nice to meet you. I am Ilyang."
As Ilyang sat in an empty chair and introduced himself, the man missing an ear smiled and chimed in.
"I'm Go An-jeok, also a bronze-plaque vagabond. Good to meet you."
"Yes, pleased to meet you, Master Go."
Finally, the large, bandit-like man missing his fingers spoke up.
"I'm Gyeong Hap-gi. A bronze-plaque vagabond, just like them."
It was only after sitting down that Ilyang realized the shy scholar, Yu Jeong-ui, was also a bronze-plaque vagabond.
All four of them are bronze-plaque vagabonds?
As far as Ilyang knew, bronze-plaque vagabonds were all first-class experts. In this world, a first-class expert was powerful enough to walk with their head held high anywhere they went.
"We've gathered to solve the child abduction case."
Hak In-bo, the one-eyed leader, got straight to the point, just as Ilyang had suspected.
They had banded together to claim the massive five-hundred-tael bounty.
But...
"And how can I be of help?"
With four first-class experts, there was virtually no request they couldn't handle on their own in a remote region like this. Why did they need him?
Yu Jeong-ui, who had been quietly sipping his tea, offered a gentle explanation to the puzzled boy.
"Actually, your role is the most critical part of this request, Young Hero."
"...Excuse me?"
For a brief moment, Ilyang was startled.
The most critical part?
That was highly suspicious.
I made sure to completely hide the fact that I'm a mage.
There was no way to discern a mage's true strength from their outward appearance. How could they possibly know?
As Ilyang's eyes narrowed, the one-eyed Hak In-bo spoke.
"We need bait to lure the kidnappers out. We figured you'd be perfect for the job."
"Ah."
Bait.
Ilyang nodded in immediate understanding, a smirk playing on his lips.
Clever.
A ten-year-old kid to act as bait, but one who was also a registered vagabond and therefore capable of defending himself to some degree. From their perspective, he was indeed the perfect candidate.
"I assume the reward will be split fairly?"
"Of course. We plan to split it exactly five ways."
Five hundred taels of silver divided by five meant one hundred taels each. It was an incredibly large sum for a single job.
"I assume you have a concrete plan? Let's hear it."
Seeing Ilyang's enthusiastic response, Hak In-bo scanned the noisy association hall with his single eye before speaking in a low, hushed tone.
"Let's move to a quieter place first."