Chapter 84

“Captain, this is Suzhou.”

“I know.”

“Have you ever been to Suzhou?”

“Isn’t there a saying: ‘Heaven above; on earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou’?”

“Ah, that’s right. It seems you’ve been here before.”

“This is my first time.”

“?”

In truth, I had been here before.

He meant the first time in this life.

When Yeon Mujin had been a wanderer…….

Damn, it had been so long he could barely remember how long.

Long ago he had lived as a wanderer in Guangdong.

Suzhou, Taeho, Hongtaek…… the cities of Guangdong were always full of work for men like him.

That meant inns were everywhere, and courtesans and wine overflowed the streets.

Suzhou boasted gambling dens, card tables, swindlers, and prostitutes.

This was Suzhou: streets that never darkened, men living by the point of a blade, thinly clad women picking those men’s purses, watered-down liquor and red lanterns everywhere.

Yes, my impression of Suzhou after a long absence was……

“It’s doglike.”

And it was still like that.

“We arrived earlier than expected. For now, let’s head to Brahmacharya Clan. This way.”

Before Seo Nak-il could respond, Yeon Mujin was already moving.

“Oh, Captain? That’s the entertainment district. Brahmacharya Clan is this way.”

“Nak-il.”

“Yes?”

“You’re a rookie. What do you think barging into Brahmacharya Clan will accomplish? Wasn’t everything already written in that letter?”

Whether the master of Brahmacharya Clan had molested a woman or been involved in a gambling den wasn’t the point.

What mattered was the sentiment of the people of Suzhou. It was that popular will that could topple a clan.

“Nak-il, do you know what an officer does first when investigating a case?”

“Officer? I don’t know.”

“First, they question the nearby households. Who did what wrong, which bastard deserves to be beaten to death—those aren’t decided by officials or victims but by the people’s sentiment. If you meet the master of Brahmacharya Clan now, his words will be predictable: ‘It’s all a conspiracy. I’m innocent. I never did such a thing…’ Whether true or not, that’s useless talk. What’s important isn’t what the master actually did, but what people think he did. Do you understand?”

Seo Nak-il started at Yeon Mujin’s words. He hurried to catch up and asked, “Captain, were you previously an officer?”

“Do you think so?”

“Then how do you know so much?”

“When you’ve lived and experienced many things, you naturally learn them.”

Yeon Mujin had truly done almost everything back when he wandered Guangdong.

Back then it had been about surviving day to day, but over time many of those lessons proved useful—just like now.

“Though I have taken tonsure, I know my father well. He is absolutely not that sort of man.”

“Time can change a person.”

“No. My father cares about honor. He would never disgrace the family or the name of Shaolin.”

“Nak-il, if the wind doesn’t blow, waves won’t form.”

“That could never be.”

Smack!

“Ack!”

Seo Nak-il felt pain sting his forehead.

“Why is this bastard lecturing me? What do you want me to do? Aren’t we on the way to find that out right now?”

“Y-yes……”

“If you truly want to prove the master of Brahmacharya Clan’s innocence, don’t believe whatever you want—look at the facts. Don’t doubt because you don’t know; doubt in order to believe. Understand?”

“……I understand.”

But what if the master of Brahmacharya Clan really had caused the problem? What if the family’s honor was ruined because of my father?

Seo Nak-il had no confidence he could accept that.

As they walked, Yeon Mujin’s gaze fixed on one place.

“Nak-il.”

“Yes, Captain.”

He pointed at a quiet inn with no customers.

“Let’s start here first.”

“Brahmacharya Clan? Why are you looking there?”

“I’m a native of Suzhou; I came back to my hometown after a long time to visit the courtesans, but people tried to stop me.”

“Yes, visits to courtesans there have dropped off recently.”

“Everyone hushes up when asked and won’t say why. Do you know the reason?”

The innkeeper didn’t answer; instead he scanned Yeon Mujin’s table.

Understanding the hint, Yeon Mujin pulled out a purse and said at once, “Squirrel Fish.”

“…Only the dish?”

“Also one bottle of Copper Net Wine.”

It was an expensive liquor, a hidden fine spirit only locals of Suzhou would know.

“One squirrel fish and one Copper Net Wine here!”

The lively innkeeper sat at the next table and spoke.

“You know Suzhou has many private gardens, right? Brahmacharya Clan used to have close ties with several of those gardens. If a garden needed force, they hired Brahmacharya men, and Brahmacharya fed off the seed money from those gardens.”

A ‘private garden’ was basically a retreat built by retired wealthy patrons. Suzhou had an unusually large number of retired scholars, wealthy merchants, and literati.

“But the Master of Brahmacharya Clan, they say, laid hands on a garden lord’s daughter. She was a blooming maiden, not yet married. The heartbroken girl hanged herself, and the enraged leader of a rival clan told others about Brahmacharya’s deeds, and the rumor spread everywhere.”

“That’s nonsense!” Seo Nak-il snapped, springing up in righteous anger.

Carrying a great spear, he drew attention wherever he went. When such a man stood and shouted, the innkeeper’s chatter snapped shut like a steamed bun.

—Sit.

At Yeon Mujin’s command, Seo Nak-il calmed and sat again, though the anger still burned. His face flushed bright red as if about to burst.

“Sorry. This friend of mine has a temper; upon hearing that a woman was touched, he couldn’t hold back.”

“Oh, is that why? I wondered what was going on.”

The innkeeper prattled on, ignorant of Seo Nak-il’s inner fury, claiming the master had done the same in other gardens and long made advances toward pretty courtesans.

Seo Nak-il’s thigh burned from clenching his fists so hard. If he could, he wanted to shove a spear into the old innkeeper’s mouth.

“I heard well. I can’t believe Brahmacharya Clan, once favored by the people, has come to this.”

“Indeed.”

“But one thing I’m curious about.”

“Uh-huh, what is it?”

“Which garden did the daughter come from?”

The innkeeper scratched his chin and furrowed his brows.

“I don’t know that. There are more than a few gardens in Suzhou.”

“I see. Here’s payment for the food.”

“Huh? The food hasn’t even come out yet.”

“Consider it eaten. But take this instead.”

Yeon Mujin shook the Copper Net Wine bottle and tucked it into his robe.

“Nak-il, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

The innkeeper watched them leave without regret and tilted his head.

“What strange customers.”

“One Cherry Pork and one bottle of Peach Source Wine, please.”

“Two bowls of Red Soup Noodles and one bottle of Ogung Old Wine!”

“Do you have Hundred Flowers Soup? Bring any duck dish as well.”

Wherever Yeon Mujin went, he ordered food and drink—and didn’t touch a single thing.

They left before the food arrived, taking bottles without drinking a drop.

Seo Nak-il had no complaint; he, too, didn’t feel like eating.

“The Captain of Brahmacharya Clan? That lecherous old man.”

“They say the daughter who suffered at his hands threw herself into Taeho.”

“They say she stabbed her own chest with a dagger.”

“They say she bit out her tongue and took her own life. Tsk, how tragic.”

Seo Nak-il first denied it, then grew angry, baffled, and finally depressed.

Everyone was united in condemning Brahmacharya Clan.

Yeon Mujin said to him, “Time can change a person.”

Perhaps he was right. Was there not a closest example—Seo Nak-il himself? After becoming deputy commander of the External Protection Troops, he had changed a lot.

If even he changed with time, perhaps his father might not be the same either.

—If the wind doesn’t blow, waves won’t form. Don’t believe whatever you want; look closely at the facts.

Seo Nak-il had left home as the eldest son, but he had always respected his father.

His father, unlike him, was a strong warrior, a devout Buddhist and a gentleman whose conduct left nothing to be ashamed of for a lifetime.

But the gentleman in his heart died today—not by spear or blade, but by words and the sharp gaze of people.

That fact made Seo Nak-il miserable.

“……”

He had been hurrying along with Yeon Mujin when he suddenly stopped.

The noisier his surroundings, the calmer his mind became; the brighter the sun, the darker his inner gloom.

With such feelings, he had no confidence to face his father.

What would he say when he met him? Why did you do that? Aren’t you ashamed? …Was Brahmacharya Clan all your father was worth?

He had left home to walk a different path.

He was not a devout Buddhist, not a great warrior, nor a gentleman.

But he hadn’t left merely to return and see this.

For the first time, Seo Nak-il felt ashamed of his family.

“Captain.”

At his call, Yeon Mujin turned his head and looked at him.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Let’s return to Flying Swallow Manor.”

“……”

“Hearing the people’s words, I understand. I hoped there might be some misunderstanding, that someone spread absurd rumors. But now I see. It seems my father did indeed commit the wrongdoing. I have no face to go to Brahmacharya Clan and see him like this. Would my father even have the face to look at me? Let’s just bury this and return. I’m sorry to have brought you all this way. I have no excuse.”

Bowing his head deeply, Seo Nak-il spoke without meeting anyone’s eyes.

In one word, it was humiliating.

He just wanted to go back to Flying Swallow Manor and pretend he had seen and heard nothing.

If the guilt was clear, Brahmacharya Clan would close its doors. Even if the family fortune fell, it often took three generations; the family wouldn’t be thrown into the street overnight.

After time and the shame lessened, he planned to return alone and ask his father why he had committed such a transgression.

But…….

“Why?” Yeon Mujin asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Why? Didn’t you hear it yourself, Captain? Brahmacharya Clan’s honor is ruined. Don’t people all say the same thing—that the master is a sinner? What more is there to investigate?”

“Oh?”

Yeon Mujin scratched his cheek, casual even now.

“I don’t think so.”

“……Yes?”

“I don’t think it was the deed of the master of Brahmacharya Clan. Nak-il, didn’t I tell you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you to doubt in order to believe. If you’re going to doubt, do it thoroughly. Don’t look at the person; look at the facts, didn’t I say that?”

“So we’ve been walking Suzhou’s streets all day listening! Every single person, without exception, condemns Brahmacharya Clan—what more do you need to see?!” Seo Nak-il shouted, drawing startled glances from passersby.

“Kid, you’ve got a loud voice. But you’re wrong.”

“What else could you possibly mean…”

“You didn’t hear me properly, did you? If you’re swayed by one or two words from people, you’d best go back. If you’re going to doubt, doubt properly, won’t you?”

Seo Nak-il stared at Yeon Mujin, eyes reddened like sunset, still unable to fully grasp him.

“None of the people we talked to today could answer which garden the supposed dead daughter belonged to. Claims of biting out her tongue, throwing herself into the water, stabbing herself—none of it lines up. Yet everyone condemns Brahmacharya Clan with one voice. Do you think this is normal? Do you think I’m saying this to comfort you?”

“What are you…”

“Don’t trust the foolish you; trust me. To me, all the monstrous rumors about the master of Brahmacharya Clan look like deliberate false accusations spread by someone.”