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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“There’s nothing wrong?”
The bearded man frowned at Im Seo-ryeon. Im Seo-ryeon felt that his action, which she had thought was terrifying before, now seemed like a wild animal that was threatening her to protect its food. It was strange.
“Does that even make sense? Huh? I sent you to investigate because there was proof, and you’re saying there are no problems in the documents? You should have created them even if they weren’t there! Huh? If you do this, what would happen to the face of Master Gold Fortune who gave us valuable information, and how would I, who entrusted you with this work, save face?”
When she had been suffering from the obsession that she shouldn’t be pushed out from the Martial Alliance as a member of the Hengsan Sect, she had seen those eyes as if they were that of a tiger or a wolf, but now that she was looking at it, it was no more threatening than a neighborhood dog.
She didn’t understand herself. Had she truly been living while trembling at something so trivial? Had she been trembling at such an insignificant man?
“Inspector Im Seo-ryeon! Answer me if you have a mouth! Are you not even ashamed of the nickname ‘Hengsan Sect’s Kirin’! If you fail again this time…”
“It’s because I am the Kirin that I did this.”
Im Seo-ryeon’s words seemed like nonsense to the man. He furrowed his brows even deeper and raised his voice at Im Seo-ryeon.
“Are you trying to have some kind of philosophical discussion with me? How are you going to take responsibility for this…”
Im Seo-ryeon didn’t listen to the rest of his words. She cut him off sharply as if wielding a sword.
“How can I call myself the Kirin and continue to uphold the teachings of the Hengsan Sect if I was to force a crime onto an innocent man?”
“Wh, what?”
“You asked how I would take responsibility. I’ll resign. I intend to return to Hengsan, so do whatever you want if you want to send a letter to my master.”
“Y-you bitch!”
Im Seo-ryeon turned around in front of the man. The sound of the door closing echoed loudly. Although the man, who was left alone, was fuming, there was nothing that he could do. It was because she had been clinging onto her investigator position that he was able to use her.
The moment she tossed away that small authority, the man could do nothing to Im Seo-ryeon.
The man looked down at the documents.
[After investigating the Hongryun Sect’s ledgers, we could not find any discrepancies, and we’ve determined that Master Gold Fortune’s information was false.]
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”
The man’s face flushed red as he tossed the documents away.
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“Yeong-ha. It’s been a while.”
The lieutenant of Im Seo-ryeon. The youngest of the Jegal Clan. Jegal Yeong-ha. He was sitting in the market in front of the branch with a deep frown. The sight of a somewhat handsome man rubbing his chin in thought was enough to draw attention, and a man who had recognized him waved and gave a greeting.
He was a man who had started working for the Martial Alliance around the same time as him. Yeong-ha bowed to the man and said,
“Dae-hyeong. It has been a while.”
The man put his arm around Yeong-ha’s shoulders and said with a smile,
“Yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, how about going to the brothel together? I heard that your eldest brother is also at the brothel right now. We should go and greet him. It’s on me. I heard rumors that new girls had come to the brothel, and they are quite pretty.”
Yeong-ha gave a wry smile and shook his head, before saying,
“Thank you for the offer, Dae-hyeong, but I’m okay.”
The man insisted after Yeong-ha refused,
“Oh my, how often do we even get the chance to see each other like this? You are busy following the inspector, and I’m stuck here and busy as well. Now that we both have some time to spare, isn’t it good for us to have a drink together?”
“If that’s the case, then how about we go to the inn here for a drink instead of the brothel?”
It was a place where a plump hostess gave a warm greeting as she was inviting customers. The man nodded at Yeong-ha’s words and said,
“Okay, it’s not bad to just have a simple meal and then go our separate ways. But still, how’s it going with that inspector lately? That woman called the Hengsan Sect’s Kirin. Unlike her name, the rumors say that she’s really bad at her job.”
Yeong-ha gave a wry smile.
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“She’s a woman without answers.”
“You’re telling me. To be working like that, just because she’s in a high position now… Since she gave us the documents that said that the results of the investigation showed no problems, it’s now awkward to send another inspector there.”
A bearded elderly man frowned while speaking and a middle-aged man nodded his head. It was clear that they were both having a headache due to the incident that Im Seo-ryeon had caused. He had a teacup in his hand and said,
“There’s no way to continue investigating now. We have no cause, right? If the word gets out that we’re going to keep sending inspectors until the results we want are obtained, then who would even accept our investigations? Master Gold Fortune had wanted to take care of it quietly, but the matter’s become complicated.”
“There are many ways to turn this around. It’s too soon to give up.”
“What kind of method is there?”
The elderly man stroked his beard and said,
“Even if that man who had taken the Hongryun Sect is very arrogant, he’s at most third-rate. We could ask the Tang Clan to quietly deal with him, without anyone realizing.”
The middle-aged man was hesitant.
“I heard that he’s a third-rate, or at most a second-rate martial artist, do we really have to contact even the Tang Clan to take care of someone like him? And the timing is also not good. Since the results of the investigation are out and he was declared innocent, there would be bad rumors if he suddenly dies.”
“Then, what should we do?”
“We kill him with an ‘accident’. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve done it.”
The elderly man tilted his head at the mention of an ‘accident’. But he seemed to have thought of something and started stroking his beard with a happy smile.
“Uhuhu! I understand what you mean. Yeah. With that method, Master Gold Fortune, and also us, can be satisfied.”
“That’s right. We get rid of that troublesome man and forget about it. Hahaha!”
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“I’m sorry to be saying this, but she’s a troublesome woman. She apparently even resigned from her inspector position, so what’s going to happen to you, Yeong-ha?”
Yeong-ha nodded and smiled at the man’s words. But his smile was full of worries.
“I was thinking about it because I felt a bit uneasy. I came here to bring honor to my family, but isn’t it a bit embarrassing to return now?”
“Right? You don’t need to follow such an irresponsible woman, right? You’re still a man with a promising future ahead of you.
“You flatter me, Dae-hyeong. I am still lacking.”
The man looked around and lowered his voice.
“I was thinking, since it would be awkward for you to just return to your family like this, wouldn’t it be good to be entrusted with some kind of work from the Martial Alliance so you can go back with pride?”
Yeong-ha widened his eyes.
“Is there something?”
The man said with a proud smile,
“Since they failed to kill the leader of the Hongryun Sect, it looks like the higher-ups are making other plans. It’s not good for Master Gold Fortune to just back down, so they intend to quietly take care of the matter in another way.”
Yeong-ha’s expression shifted in confusion before quickly changing. And then after looking around, he lowered his body and said,
“Could you tell me a bit more in detail?”
The man looked satisfied at his response.
“I like your enthusiasm.”
Yeong-ha seemed briefly flustered before smiling and saying,
“All beginners are like this, aren’t they?”
“Of course. It would be good for us as long as you cooperate. So, listen closely. It’s about a duel competition. We hold a duel competition, and when he participates, we kill him off with an ‘accident’. It’s a frequent occurrence, so there won’t be any suspicion, and the opponent is planning on inserting a man from the Demonic Sects, so we won’t be the ones facing any consequences either.”
“But what if the leader doesn’t participate?”
“That is not that simple. No one knows how he was able to defeat the leader of the Hongryun Sect. I heard that a really agonizing scream could be heard after he had entered the leader’s quarters, so is there even a way to know whether he ambushed the leader or fought fairly?”
“There’s no one other than him who would know.”
“That’s right. So, we’re going to hold onto that point. A rumor has been circulating that he had stealthily attacked the leader from behind and had unfairly taken his position. He has to come and prove his skill in the duel competition to prove the rumor wrong.”
“So, it’s a plan where we catch the leader with that as an excuse if he doesn’t participate, and kill him off in an accident if he does.
“That’s it. That’s the plan. It’s a plan without any holes.”
“So, what do I have to do?”
The man showed a roguish smile.
Yeong-ha’s gaze slowly and calmly settled down while looking at the man.
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A woman was standing in the corner of an alleyway with her arms crossed, waiting for someone. She was fidgeting her fingers as if she was keeping track of time. Her face, which had been hidden behind boxes and junk, raised her head as she caught the sounds of hurried footsteps rushing towards her.
For a moment, Yeong-ha, the lieutenant’s, face went past her. He acted as if he didn’t know that Im Seo-ryeon was beside him.
Im Seo-ryeon looked at the alley he had passed through. She saw a small note that had fallen in the corner.
Im Seo-ryeon picked it up and hurried on her way.
The note had the following written on it.
[I need to prepare for the duel competition. I’ve received orders to make the preparations meticulously since there might be an accident.]
“…Small things first. Right.”
That information was enough.
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