Master Detective Dokgo Mu-jin

I followed the men dressed in clothes blacker than the night sky along a mountain path in the middle of the night.

I passed the time productively as we walked, singing songs, composing a poem, and occasionally tossing out some pointless jokes. Before long, the black-clad men started ignoring me.

‘Heartless bastards.’

It wasn’t as though thinking hard would tell me much anyway. If I were that smart, I would’ve become good friends with the Demonic Gentleman and gotten along with him just fine.

After walking for quite some time, we reached the middle of the mountain……where black walls stretching far to either side flaunted their ominous identity.

Beyond them stood an enormous building that appeared to be the Black Serpent Gate’s headquarters. No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t resemble the home of a Black Path sect.

It looked almost like a secluded villa belonging to the king of some small country, or the sort of luxurious mansion an obscenely rich man might use as a vacation home.

Whether it was the Sword Hero Gate Master or these bastards, why did people who committed evil always seem to live and eat so well?

Being reminded of the world’s unfairness for the first time in a while made the corners of my mouth keep twisting.

The young man who seemed to lead the messengers guiding me walked ahead and thumped on the pitch-black gate.

A rough voice came from beyond the gate.

“……Who is it?”

The messenger replied.

“I’ve brought an honored guest. It is the Sect Master of the Dokgo Gate, whom our Sect Master ordered us to invite.”

Kiiiiiiik…….

As the enormous gates opened to either side, the messenger gestured for me to enter.

“Please come in. Our Sect Master is waiting inside.”

Feeling somewhat uneasy about the whole thing, I stepped inside.

The mansion’s exterior was gloomier than I’d expected.

Dark brown and black dominated the entire structure, giving it the impression of a fortress built for battle rather than anything extravagant.

For a moment, I wondered why the money-crazed Black Serpent Gate bastards lived somewhere so dreary, but considering their reclusive tendencies, it wasn’t all that strange.

But the moment the doors to what appeared to be the main hall opened, my opinion went right back to where it had started.

‘Wow……what the hell is this?’

The main hall came into view, decorated so extravagantly that it bordered on excessive.

Most of the decorations were made of gold, making the entire room seem to glitter with golden light. The contrast with the gloomy exterior was so extreme that it felt strangely surreal.

Was this really the main hall of some rural sect? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it a banquet hall where they threw drinking parties every night?

Sure enough, an enormous feast of food and alcohol had been laid out across the long table in the center of the hall.

Naturally, it made me uncomfortable. I was a man far removed from anything flashy or expensive.

That aside, the atmosphere was surprisingly lively.

Middle-aged men sat on both sides of the long table, laughing and talking among themselves. Judging by their flushed faces, they’d already had a drink or two.

And at the end of the table, in the most lavishly decorated seat of honor, sat a handsome man who looked to be in his thirties and exceptionally devious. He wore a black robe with strangely long sleeves, and nothing underneath it, leaving his bare chest plainly exposed.

‘What the hell is wrong with this bastard?’

The bastard had a fucking bizarre air about him.

You could call him a perfectly balanced pervert, with his deviousness and perverted air blending together like the two halves of the Taiji.

Amid the noisy atmosphere, the messenger called out to the men who were too busy talking among themselves to notice me.

“My apologies for interrupting your good time. Sect Master, Gang Leaders, I have brought the Sect Master of the Dokgo Gate.”

Only then did the commotion cease, and every man’s gaze turned toward me.

At that moment, the man who appeared to be the Black Serpent Gate Master suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Gang Leaders, what did I tell you? Didn’t I say Sect Master Dokgo would come?”

The men addressed as Gang Leaders finally recovered their smiles as well.

“Indeed, Sect Master.”
“Sect Master Dokgo? You’re much younger than I expected. I’m the Dragon Serpent Gang Leader.”
“And I’m the Insect Serpent Gang Leader. A pleasure to meet you.”

Greetings from the serpent bastards came pouring in from all around, but I didn’t feel the least bit pleased to see them.

As I stood there looking displeased, the Black Serpent Gate Master, who had welcomed me first, pointed to the empty chair across from him.

“Why don’t you sit down? We can finish discussing the details over a drink. All of this was prepared to welcome you, Sect Master, so make yourself comfortable. Please.”

Even as he spoke, the Black Serpent Gate Master laughed heartily with an amiable smile and traded jokes with the Gang Leaders.

The whole thing felt pretty damn shitty, but I sat down for the time being.

The Black Serpent Gate Master made some kind of gesture, and women emerged from a shadowed corner to sit on either side of me.

They were quite beautiful, but wore far too much powder for my taste.

The woman on my right took the bottle in both hands as though preparing to serve me, so I obediently held out my cup.

As a stream of fine white liquor filled it, I took the cup and held it out to the woman on my left.

“You drink it first.”
“Pardon?”
“I said drink it.”

The woman looked back and forth between me and the Black Serpent Gate Master in bewilderment before finally drinking the cup.

The Black Serpent Gate Master’s remarkably casual voice reached me.

“Come now, this is a pleasant occasion. Let’s simply drink. I’m not such a petty man. It’s true that our relationship began on bad terms, but I’d rather we put that aside while we’re here.”

This time, the woman on my right smiled sweetly and pressed herself against me.

“That’s right, Sect Master. Let’s drink and enjoy ourselves together.”

I equipped a gentle smile and looked at the delicate young woman.

“Hahaha. Get off me before I break your wrist.”
“…….”

I turned my head toward the Black Serpent Gate Master.

The atmosphere had become rather awkward.

But I hadn’t come here to sit face-to-face with these bastards and share a friendly drink, so I strategically committed the Black Serpent Gate Master’s features, appearance, speech, habits, and everything else to memory.

Was naming sects after their Sect Master’s appearance some kind of trend these days? His entire aura was no different from that of a damn snake.

The Black Serpent Gate Master took a sip from his cup as he looked at me.

“……Sect Master, I heard you’ve recently had some trouble with people on our side.”
“That’s true.”
“Allow me to apologize on their behalf. As Sect Master, I failed to recognize the wrongdoing of the leaders beneath me, so I bear responsibility as well. In fact, I already reprimanded the Gang Leaders gathered here earlier. That was the best I could do.”
“…….”

When I remained silent without answering, one of the Gang Leaders rose with his cup as though desperately trying to lighten the mood.

“Come now, enough of this. Let’s drink. What kind of atmosphere is this for such a fine evening?”

I filled my own cup and lightly swirled it. A laugh escaped me. Sometimes, when another person’s intentions were so transparent that I could see straight through them, I couldn’t help but laugh. This was exactly one of those times.

Just how much of an idiot did these bastards think I was……? When I started laughing to myself like a lunatic, the Black Serpent Gate Master stared at me.

“……Sect Master, why are you laughing? Let us in on the joke.”
“Black Serpent Gate Master. I have a question.”
“A question? Ask whatever you like.”

I stared straight at the Black Serpent Gate Master as he was about to pick up a piece of food.

“……Was sending an assassin from the Bloodland Assassin Guild after me part of that ‘best’ too?”
“…….”

In an instant, the noisy drinking party turned as cold as ice.

As the sudden silence settled over the room, I turned my head and studied the faces of the Gang Leaders and the Black Serpent Gate Master.

‘……Of course.’

Their faces were clearly flushed from alcohol, yet to my eyes they suddenly looked endlessly cold.

As everyone stared into empty space with cold, expressionless faces, the Black Serpent Gate Master finally spoke.

“……Sect Master, that…….”
“Shut up. I just came up with an interesting theory. Listen.”

I rolled the liquor bottle around in my hand and continued my rambling deductions, feeling like some constable solving a case. You could call me Master Detective Dokgo Mu-jin.

“You never received word that the Bloodland Assassin Guild’s assassin failed. No, you probably thought the Bloodland Assassin Guild hadn’t even made its move yet, so you tried to get ahead of them.”
“…….”
“Otherwise, none of this makes sense. You sent an assassin after me, then suddenly started showering me with goodwill. Who wouldn’t find that suspicious? No matter how much of an idiot you thought I was, the pieces still wouldn’t fit. Therefore…….”

Crack!

I shattered the liquor bottle in my bare hand, then lowered my hand toward the floor and shook it out.

With a pattering sound, blood, shards of the bottle, and liquor mingled together and dirtied the floor…….

I looked down at the pitiful remains of the liquor bottle scattered across the floor, then turned to the Black Serpent Gate Master, whose expression was changing before my very eyes.

“Here’s my conclusion. Your plan failed. Whatever you were trying to do, you should’ve gotten your information straight first. Stupid bastards. You’ve stepped right into your own graves.”

Apparently, they had never imagined I would survive the Bloodland Assassin Guild’s assassin.

I crossed my arms and glared at the Black Serpent Gate Master. After studying my gaze for a moment, he lowered his head and began to laugh.

“…….”

How was I supposed to describe this? The bastard already looked devious enough, but watching him laugh with his head bowed somehow made him seem twice as devious.

At that moment, the Black Serpent Gate Master finally raised his head after laughing as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“……Sect Master, that’s a bit of a stretch…….”

Suddenly, the Black Serpent Gate Master shot to his feet, both arms whipping through bizarre trajectories at incredible speed.

“Deh!”

Chwarrrrrrrk!

Something came hurtling from both of the Black Serpent Gate Master’s arms too quickly for the eye to follow, but I reflexively thrust out both palms and managed to defend myself.

For a martial artist of the Kangho whose hands moved faster than his eyes, even a dagger flying straight toward his chest was nothing to worry about.

‘This bastard underestimated me.’

Even as the force of the palm exchange sent me flying backward, I kept my eyes forward to identify the Black Serpent Gate Master’s weapons.

Some sort of short saber? A dagger? Maybe a pair of longswords? Bullshit. Instead, a pitch-black meteor hammer and chain sickle, neither of which I’d expected, were smashing apart the feast laden with expensive food and wreaking havoc in every direction.

“……This bastard doesn’t know how precious food is…….”

I’d thought the sleeves of his robe were strangely long. Apparently, he’d been hiding long chains inside them.

Gongson Han’s assessment that the bastard was devious had been spot-on.

I went flying backward as though sliding across the ground……until a tremendous pain slammed into my back with a heavy Thud!

‘……What?’

I’d expected my body to smash straight through the wooden doors of the main hall and send me flying outside, but something solid had stopped me.

I craned my head around and found that the flimsy wooden doors had somehow been replaced with iron plates.

‘When the hell did they install this bullshit?’

Seriously……this was why there wasn’t a single normal bastard on the Black Path.