After parting with the Demon Army Lord, I went to the medical hall.
Seo Daeryong, who had arrived there before me, was startled.
“Huh? What brings the Second Young Master here?”
It seemed he hadn’t expected me to come.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“No, it’s nothing. I simply didn’t think the Second Young Master would come all the way to the medical hall.”
“I’m more surprised to find you here.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say your colleagues hated you?”
“That’s why I’m trying to make up for it.”
Despite what he said, he didn’t seem particularly out of place among the colleagues with him.
“How is the injured man?”
“The Demon Physician is treating him now. Thank you for calling the venerable Demon Physician.”
“Of course I had to call him. It may only be a temporary assignment, but he’s still a colleague working with us.”
I had said it without much thought, but Seo Daeryong and the Huangcheon Pavilion investigators beside him looked slightly moved.
A moment later, the Demon Physician came out of the treatment room.
In our cult, he was the Divine Physician, the one with the greatest medical skill, but the Orthodox Faction called him the Demon Physician. The Divine Physician liked being called that, so we called him the Demon Physician as well.
“How is his condition?”
“Fortunately, his life is not in danger. However, he will need to recuperate for some time before he can return to duty.”
“Please use the very best medicine.”
“I will.”
The Huangcheon Pavilion investigators who heard our exchange came over and expressed their gratitude. Even if they were injured during a mission, they would never normally have the chance to be treated personally by the Demon Physician.
On the way back to our quarters, Seo Daeryong asked,
“What did the Demon Army Lord say?”
“He wanted us to stop here and go back.”
“What about the death of the First Unit Leader?”
“He wants to make that man the mastermind behind this matter.”
Seo Daeryong was shocked.
“Even though his most cherished subordinate died?”
“Not his most cherished subordinate. The subordinate he found most useful. Someone else will soon fill that gap. What exactly did you expect from the Demon Army Lord?”
“I thought he would go berserk to avenge his subordinate.”
“That’s a misconception. You think wicked men are more prone to flying into rages?”
“Aren’t they?”
“That only applies to street thugs and wastrels. Truly wicked men don’t get worked up easily. Rather, it’s pure and good people who do. Their emotions well up quickly.”
Of course, the Demon Army Lord must have harbored great malice toward me. If ever the chance came, he would drive a sword into my heart and savor the humiliation of today.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“I’ve thrown out the bait, so let’s see how he bites.”
“Bait?”
“I’ll tell you if he takes it.”
Since I had said we needed evidence to cover up the incident, now was the time to see how the Demon Army Lord would act.
“Then what should I do now?”
“Drink with me.”
At that, Seo Daeryong turned in another direction.
“Where are you going?”
“To buy liquor. Is there any liquor you like?”
“Buy whatever you want to drink. Here, take this money.”
When I tried to take out some money, Seo Daeryong strode off.
“I’ll buy the drinks today.”
I drank with Seo Daeryong from broad daylight.
The liquor he bought was sweet and pleasant to drink, but the drawback was that it easily led to overdrinking.
“I like sweet liquor.”
“Didn’t you say you don’t really care for eating?”
“I drink now and then.”
After a few cups, Seo Daeryong revealed what was on his mind.
“Previously, you called me a power-oriented person, didn’t you?”
“Adding the word person at the end makes it sound too heartless. Let’s just say you have power-oriented tendencies.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It’s not necessarily bad. It’s better than being listless, isn’t it?”
Apart from his gloomy appearance, Seo Daeryong had big dreams. Someone without dreams would not speak of “change.”
“To be honest, I want to get ahead. I don’t have even this much desire to grandly prevent corruption in our cult and realize justice. It’s hard enough for me to feed myself.”
I should have brought Ian here. This was precisely the mindset Ian needed.
“If you’re living diligently for yourself, why are you acting so cowed? Raise your head!”
Seo Daeryong raised his head.
“How old are you?”
“I’m thirty-two.”
“Wow! You’re older than you look.”
I was surprised. I had thought he was around twenty-three or twenty-four. Then again, no matter how smart he was, becoming a special investigator would have required more than ten years of experience after joining the Pavilion.
“Why did you become an investigator?”
“To be honest, I didn’t have confidence I could succeed through martial arts. I didn’t learn martial arts that could make me a peak master, and because I’m short, I don’t have a physique suited for martial arts either…”
By its nature, the Huangcheon Pavilion was not an organization meant for combat. It was a place that upheld discipline within the cult through absolute authority.
Thus, Huangcheon Pavilion investigators were chosen not for strong martial arts, but for intelligence, excellent judgment, and the ability to handle those they investigated.
“It may sound pathetic, but I chose to become an investigator because I had no confidence in martial arts.”
“Seeing how you keep emphasizing that, it seems you still have lingering attachment to martial arts.”
“Who wouldn’t? If they entered the martial world.”
“It’s still not too late.”
“It is too late.”
“Now that sounds a bit pathetic.”
Seo Daeryong lifted his head from the cup he had been staring down at and looked at me.
“You can’t do it because it’s too late? You can’t because the martial arts you learned are weak? Was it because you’re short? Do you really think that’s why?”
Unable to offer any excuse, Seo Daeryong drank the liquor in his hand.
“It’s been a while since I was beaten with the truth, and it hurts down to the bone.”
“Later on, your bones will ache even if you sit still. You should move before you get old.”
“You’re younger than me, yet you say such things so easily.”
I laughed and emptied my cup.
Just then, a Huangcheon Pavilion investigator came and handed something over.
“The Demon Army side brought this.”
It was a booklet and promissory notes worth several thousand nyang.
“He took the bait.”
The booklet was a Contract Killing Ledger. It was an account book of contracts in which members of the First Unit Demon Army were mobilized to kill people and receive payment.
“They say this was found at the house of Godang, the First Unit Leader.”
The ledger detailed which warriors of the First Unit had been mobilized for each contract, how much they received, and whom they killed. Coincidentally, the Demon Army men listed in the contract ledger were those who had died by my hand earlier.
It seemed they had extracted only the sections involving those men and created a new contract ledger. Their intention was to use the already dead to wrap up this incident. On top of that, they had reduced the number of cases to only three or four, treating it as no more than the deviation of Godang and a few Demon Army men. They had minimized the Demon Army Lord’s own responsibility.
I handed the booklet to Seo Daeryong.
“Dunk your face in cold water and sober up!”
“Yes. I’ll investigate the promissory notes first.”
“No use. They’ll be impossible to trace. Investigate something else instead.”
“Please tell me.”
“Find out who the smartest man among the First Unit Demon Army is. There’s bound to be one oddly well-educated and clever fellow stuck among them.”
“Understood.”
“I should go meet the Demon Army Lord again.”
“Why him?”
“I need to buy some time.”
We hurried out of the room and moved to handle our respective tasks.
When I met the Demon Army Lord again, his expression was far more at ease.
“Evidence came out of First Unit Leader Godang’s house.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“This lets us breathe a little easier.”
“Haha, we should drink a toast to this. I’ll make a reservation, so let’s meet later at the same place as yesterday.”
“However, there is one problem.”
“Again? What is it this time?”
“The Demon Army side brought this. Our side should have been the ones to find it.”
Annoyance flickered across his face. He was wondering why I was nitpicking every little thing.
“Is the source so important?”
“It is important. The Chief Strategist is no ordinary man. If it’s revealed that we received this information from the Demon Army side, he will immediately suspect both the investigation process and the results. If it comes out later, I’ll be in danger too.”
“Then what do you propose?”
“I think we need to at least pretend to investigate for a while. We’ll conduct a large-scale investigation for just one day, so please cooperate. Do you think I want to stay here forever?”
There was one decisive point to persuade him.
“We will not rummage through confidential documents. Ordinary records will be enough. It’s only a formal investigation anyway.”
Only then did the Demon Army Lord nod and grant permission.
“Very well. I’ll tell my subordinates to cooperate.”
With the Demon Army Lord’s permission, a large-scale search and seizure began.
The Demon Army’s account books and documents were moved to the investigation room, and the investigation began.
I did not request any confidential documents that would trouble the Demon Army Lord.
There was no need anyway. That was not what I needed. What I was looking for were the applications they had written when they first applied to join the Demon Army, and the wills they had left behind before departing on dangerous missions.
I secretly summoned the best handwriting expert in the cult.
And through the materials we had brought, I had him identify who had written the contract ledger.
When Seo Daeryong returned after finishing his investigation, I pretended to be a fortune-teller.
“Shall I guess who the smartest warrior in the First Unit is?”
To him, who looked doubtful, I gave a single name.
“Liang Jiu, right?”
“Huh! How did you know?”
The handwriting comparison had revealed that the one who wrote the contract ledger was none other than Liang Jiu.
Now we had found out who had been managing the Demon Army Lord’s affairs. On top of that, through the handwriting comparison, we had secured solid evidence.
“What do we do now?”
“What else? We move on to the next step. Bring Liang Jiu to the tavern in Maga Village without anyone else knowing. Can you do it?”
“I’ll try to use my head.”
“I believe in you, top recruit!”
One shichen later, Seo Daeryong splendidly completed his mission.
He had brought Liang Jiu to a tavern in Maga Village, the appointed location.
The one who brought him was Cao Xiang, a beautiful investigator of the Huangcheon Pavilion.
“The food here suits my taste.”
“I like the cooking here as well.”
Liang Jiu was lost in the expectation that perhaps he might spend an ecstatic night with this woman today.
“Why are there so few customers? This place is usually busy.”
Liang Jiu looked around with a puzzled expression.
“Isn’t it nice and cozy?”
“It seems even the heavens are welcoming our first meal together.”
Cao Xiang smiled and played along with him as he grandly dragged the heavens into it.
“This is the first time I’ve learned that there truly are fated meetings where one falls in love at first sight.”
“The mood is good, so let’s have a drink.”
“Gladly.”
Liang Jiu shouted toward the kitchen.
“Bring out your finest liquor and dishes.”
At that, Seo Daeryong and I, who had been waiting in the kitchen, came out.
“Unfortunately, I think you’ll have to drink another time.”
Liang Jiu was startled by my appearance.
“Second Young Master?”
As he rolled his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on, he glared fiercely at Cao Xiang.
“You damned bitch! You tricked me!”
Crack.
The next instant, Liang Jiu’s jaw snapped aside and he rolled across the floor. Seo Daeryong had rushed at him like lightning and struck him once.
“You are not worthy of insulting her.”
Seo Daeryong imitated me. Showing the sole of his foot to the man’s face, he said menacingly,
“Shall I smash your head open like your Unit Leader’s?”
Liang Jiu shook his head madly.
“No! I was wrong.”
Seo Daeryong was not at all afraid of Liang Jiu, who was twice his size. It was less because he trusted me and more for another reason.
While the other investigators who had been waiting came in, subdued Liang Jiu, and took him out through the back door, Seo Daeryong approached Cao Xiang.
“You worked hard.”
“I only did as you advised. I said I heard he was the smartest man in the Demon Army and that I wanted to have a meal with him. I didn’t expect him to follow me out so easily, though.”
“If it were you, he would have come even if you glared at him while asking him to eat.”
For a moment, Cao Xiang smiled strangely.
“That was a compliment, wasn’t it?”
Seo Daeryong gave no answer.
After greeting me and Seo Daeryong, Cao Xiang left.
When only the two of us remained, I said to Seo Daeryong,
“You’re a man. A real manly man.”
“Pardon?”
“You like that girl from earlier, don’t you?”
“No.”
“That denial would be more convincing if you hadn’t been so forceful.”
The fellow who had been gloomy in front of me had shone in front of Cao Xiang.
“She’s just my junior.”
Seo Daeryong, his face reddening, quickly changed the subject.
“What happens now?”
“We should slowly wrap things up. So mobilize the investigators and enforcement warriors, everyone you can.”
“Yes!”
“Call that junior you like too!”
“I said that’s not it!”
Raising his voice for no reason, Seo Daeryong hurried out.
“With him being that obvious…”
I went to the kitchen, brought out a bottle of liquor, and sat on the tavern railing.
“Come on out!”
At that, Ian walked out from beside the building, her head hanging low.
“You foolish bear. Is it that impossible for you to spend time by yourself?”
“I was just curious whether you were doing well.”
“Come here. Since you’re here, let’s have a drink.”
“I’ll bring a cup.”
“No need.”
After drinking straight from the bottle, I handed it to her.
“Drink and give it back.”
“How could I dare?”
“Why? Is it dirty because I drank from it?”
“No, of course not. I’m simply ashamed to dare put my mouth to it. I’ll drink, I’ll drink.”
She drank the liquor. Trying to drink without putting her mouth to it as much as possible, she spilled it all at once and ruined her clothes.
“I’m sorry, Young Master.”
“Ian.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“…Yes.”
“Even if everyone else in the world does, you don’t have to.”
I took the bottle from her again and drank.
“Still, after not seeing you for a few days, it’s good to see you. I’m glad.”
Ian smiled bashfully, and her eyes were buried in her flesh. When someone smiles out of genuine happiness, it shows.
“Is your martial arts training going well?”
“Yes, I am doing my best, but…”
“You need more than that. Even villains do their best.”
“When you say things like this to me, I find strength without even realizing it. Your advice is addictive, Young Master.”
“You’ll hate it if you hear it too often.”
“I don’t think I will.”
I handed her the bottle.
“Drink down your worries about me with that liquor, then go back and wait.”
And I added an excellent side dish for Ian.
“This matter will be wrapped up today.”