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“Escaping Demon Banwon, a survivor of the annihilated Heavenly Poison Grove. Heavenly Poison Grove… There are too many odd points for simple revenge. If it were vengeance for their sect’s destruction, he should have targeted only the No-Poison Sect. There was no need to kill unrelated people. The Ten Thousand Sounds Pavilion seems to have learned only his identity and not where he vanished to… Do I have to visit the Eastern Depot again to pull other threads?”
The surest way to confirm the truth was to gather information from multiple places. For all he knew, even the identity of the fugitive servant called Escaping Demon Banwon could be a fabrication.
“First, I’ll meet No-Poison Sect Lord Cheon Jang-myeong. If it concerns the Heavenly Poison Grove, he should know best.”
After ordering his thoughts, Neung Je-gang stepped outside.
No one had apparently come looking for him yet; Majil still sat outside the door, practicing the forging of his Fire Blade. Even at a glance, he seemed close to succeeding.
“Chief, where are you going?”
“No one came by?”
“One did. That guy named Cheong Yeon.”
Majil scowled as he spoke.
“You seem to be forgetting something: I’m the one who caught you. Why all the grudge at Cheong Yeon?”
“Chief, he’s the one who wrecked my dantian.”
“And you’re stronger now than before it was wrecked, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“Then what’s with all the complaints? Anyway—go fetch one of the staff here, anyone.”
“Got it.”
Majil dashed off and soon returned with a man.
“W-what do you require, sir?”
“Do you know where the No-Poison Sect Lord is staying?”
“I do, but…?”
“Please guide us there now.”
“Understood. This way, please.”
Perhaps because they were lodged in the Bincheong reserved for honored guests, the man readily agreed to guide them.
“Chief, what about me?”
“Come along!”
“Hehe!”
Majil hurried after Neung Je-gang.
“This is where the No-Poison Sect Lord resides.”
It was a building far larger than the Pavilion’s own hall.
“Thank you for your trouble.”
Dismissing the guide, Neung Je-gang stepped into the hall.
“Who goes there?”
Two guards at the entrance barred his way.
“I’ve come to see the Sect Lord.”
“The Sect Lord? Where do you come from?”
One could not treat lightly a man who came specifically to meet a sect lord.
“Tell him Secret Shadow has come.”
“Please wait a moment.”
One man dashed inside and, shortly after, reappeared.
“This way.”
Led upstairs, Neung Je-gang met the No-Poison Sect Lord.
“Welcome.”
The Sect Lord greeted him with an expressionless face.
“I’ve come to ask something.”
As attendants served tea, Neung Je-gang went straight to the point. He was not fond of empty courtesies.
“Do you know a man called Escaping Demon Banwon?”
“Escaping Demon Banwon?”
Cheon Jang-myeong thought for a long while, then shook his head.
“Sorry, the name doesn’t ring a bell. Who is he?”
“The true identity of the missing servant.”
“Oh? You learned that already? Not even a day has passed. ‘Secret Shadow’ is no empty title—impressive.”
Cheon Jang-myeong looked genuinely surprised; it did not seem put on. Which meant he truly hadn’t known.
“He is also a survivor of the Heavenly Poison Grove, which the No-Poison Sect annihilated.”
At Neung Je-gang’s words, a terrible fury flared from Cheon Jang-myeong’s entire body.
“How dare the likes of the Heavenly Poison Grove rear their heads again? I’ll—!”
Cheon Jang-myeong sprang up, ready to mobilize warriors at once and destroy the Heavenly Poison Grove anew.
“Please restrain yourself.”
“Restrain myself? Is this a time for restraint?”
“Do you know where the remnants of the Heavenly Poison Grove—no, where Escaping Demon Banwon—is?”
“…!”
Cheon Jang-myeong calmed and sat. For all his cool exterior, his chest held a blaze.
“There is something I need your help with.”
“What is it?”
“You know where the Heavenly Poison Grove was based, yes?”
“Of course. Their lair was on Aenoe Mountain in Yunnan Province. I’ve never seen a more treacherous mountain.”
The drive to dash out at once faded as Cheon Jang-myeong recalled the location; the very thought made him shudder.
Neung Je-gang noted “Aenoe Mountain in Yunnan Province,” then laid out the doubts that had struck him.
“I cannot be certain since I did not examine the bodies myself, but the three heirs were not killed by the Alliance Lord’s disciples.”
“What?”
“I heard it from a woman imprisoned in the dungeon beneath the Ten Thousand Sounds Pavilion. She said all four men, intoxicated by a narcotic, suddenly turned savage and assaulted them.”
“Then someone drugged the four with Minor Soul Yin Essence and killed three of them?”
“That is the most likely scenario. I also heard there was an old servant outside the room where they gathered. I suspect that was Escaping Demon Banwon…”
“In that case…?”
“Then he orchestrated it all. He is from the Heavenly Poison Grove, and the drug used was their secret formula: Minor Soul Yin Essence. Having served as a menial for years, he could have stolen and learned Black Steel Hand for the killings. Circumstances and evidence point squarely at him.”
“I see. That wretch—!”
Cheon Jang-myeong’s hand trembled.
“Yet questions remain.”
“Mm?”
“If he sought revenge, there was no need to kill all four. The Heavenly Poison Grove’s grievance is with the No-Poison Sect alone. Moreover, by this act, he has made himself the enemy of the entire Black Alliance. If he wanted the Heavenly Poison Grove reborn, this is the last thing he should have done.”
“True. Then he wants something else?”
“Yes. The first possibility is the Black Alliance’s division. I hear the three Sect Lords are already suspicious of one another.”
“Hrmm! Hmph!”
“The split has already begun. And only one faction would rejoice most if the Black Alliance fractures.”
“Which is?”
“The Necromancer Cult. They were the very cause for the founding of both the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance, were they not?”
“Hm…!”
“That is how it seems to me. Escaping Demon Banwon likely has some tie to the Necromancer Cult.”
“We did not neglect to suspect the Necromancer Cult. But no evidence has surfaced. Thus the three sects could only suspect one another.”
“I heard traces of Black Steel Hand were found on the corpses. Why, then, is the Alliance Lord not suspected?”
“He was, at first. But the suspicion had to be dropped.”
“Why?”
“Because it was revealed that the disciple suspected as the culprit is actually the Alliance Lord’s biological son. Like us, he lost a child. How could we suspect him?”
“Ah, I see. But if the three sects also lost heirs, why do they suspect one another?”
That truly was strange. If they all lost sons, why suspect everyone but the Alliance Lord?
“In truth, the real heirs of the three sects are different. The ones who died were the public faces, while each sect had others secretly being raised to vie for the future seat of the Black Alliance Lord. We know, too, that we each have the ruthlessness to sacrifice even our children for ambition. So suspicion is inevitable. All three are cut from the same cloth.”
Indeed, they were. They had hidden true heirs from the world and, for that very reason, now suspected one another.
“Understood. Thank you. This will greatly aid the investigation.”
Neung Je-gang drained his cooled tea and stood.
“Please find this Banwon. I trust you will discover why he did it.”
Cheon Jang-myeong rose as well and urged him.
“As I said yesterday, I can only do my best. Ah—and what we discussed here must remain absolutely secret. Especially from the Pavilion Lord.”
“The Pavilion Lord? He is a dependable man—why…?”
“The place most prone to leaks is, in truth, the place that handles information. If anyone watches the Black Alliance, their eyes and ears will cluster around the Ten Thousand Sounds Pavilion. And if our enemy is the Necromancer Cult, we cannot be certain the Alliance is free of spies. Moreover, he has concealed many facts. He already knew the Alliance Lord’s disciple was not the culprit—and he knows about Escaping Demon Banwon as well.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. My instincts tell me not to trust him. Facts may later prove otherwise, but for now, I must keep him in suspicion.”
“Ah… it can’t be…! Very well. I will keep today’s talk strictly secret.”
“Then I shall see you again later.”
Bidding farewell, Neung Je-gang returned to the quarters with Majil, who had been waiting outside.
“You’re back?”
When they reached the Bincheong, a man from the Pavilion awaited them.
“What is it?”
“The women we detained are dead. It seems they took their own lives, and the Pavilion Lord requests your presence.”
Neung Je-gang showed nothing outwardly, but inside he sighed. He had planned to save them if he found a chance—now it was too late.
“Perhaps death is peace for them.”
Rather than endure that hellish pain day after day, death might indeed be their rest.
“Let’s go.”
“If they did not take their own lives, if someone killed them, I will avenge that grievance.”
Neung Je-gang vowed to release the resentment of women dragged in without guilt, tortured, and slain.
“I’m coming too.”
Go So-jeong emerged from her room, shouting.
“Why are you so angry?”
“Why? Because you two ran around and left me behind!”
She was livid that Neung Je-gang and Majil had moved without her.
“Didn’t you chase after me saying you wanted to learn?”
“Yes.”
“Then the learner should keep up. I can’t hold your hand and tell you every little lesson.”
“W-well, that’s true.”
“Then stop grumbling and come along. Learn—or don’t. Your choice.”
Neung Je-gang followed the Pavilion warrior, while Majil smirked at Go So-jeong’s expression and trailed behind.
“Hmph, you villain! You’re infuriating.”
With no choice, Go So-jeong followed, muttering under her breath.
The dungeon they returned to felt markedly different. The prisoners who had been visible that morning were nowhere to be seen, and the dead women were not hanging naked from the walls; instead, they lay on the floor in clothing sufficient to cover the wounds of their torture, blood trickling from their mouths.
As Neung Je-gang arrived, the watchers stepped aside.
He examined the mouths of the corpses. At first glance, it certainly looked like death by biting through the tongue.
He looked carefully at the heads and under the jaws. If someone had forced the bite, there would be faint bruises there.
Producing a dagger, he pried open one victim’s mouth. The tongue had been severed clean through—bitten with tremendous force at the moment of death.
“Hm…!”
He could not help but let out a low sound.
After examining all four bodies, his conclusion was that it was not suicide.
“What do you think?”
At some point, the Pavilion Lord had come up behind him. Neung Je-gang did not start; a wary man never ignored who stood behind or beside him.
“It seems you tortured them harshly.”
“Tortured? What do you mean?”
The Pavilion Lord feigned ignorance.
“You tried to hide it, but you did not hide it completely.”
With only that, Neung Je-gang rose and headed upstairs. Majil and Go So-jeong followed in a line.
“Did they kill themselves?”
Go So-jeong asked quietly from behind.
“No. They were killed.”
“Not suicide? But they bit their tongues.”
“Lady Go.”
“Yes?”
“Stick your tongue out as far as you can.”
“Eh? Why?”
“To explain why it wasn’t suicide. If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“Tch.”
Go So-jeong stuck her tongue out long.
“Bite down hard.”
“…Huh? I can’t bite through?”
Curious, she flicked her tongue a few times and tried.
“Among people who die by biting through their tongues, the severed length doesn’t vary much. If you stick it out too far, you can’t apply force. To cut it cleanly in one go, the tongue must be extended only so much. But these women’s tongues were cut unusually long.”
“Ah—so someone yanked them and forced the cut.”
“Exactly. Their acupoints were struck and their bodies forced. As proof, there were faint bruises on their heads and under their jaws. Human skin bruises even from severe pressure. You don’t have to strike it to bruise.”
“Ah…!”
Go So-jeong nodded.
While she learned another lesson from Neung Je-gang, Majil stared at her face as if nothing else existed. She had grown used to his gaze and paid it no mind.
“But why did the Pavilion Lord bother showing us those corpses?”
“Perhaps to prove he wasn’t the one who killed them.”
“Then you mean the Ten Thousand Sounds Pavilion killed them? Why would they do that?”
Go So-jeong looked incredulous. She had the bias that a man with such a mild face could not order such a deed.
“If he doesn’t want me to interrogate them personally, what else can he do? Only the dead keep their mouths shut.”
“Why stop you from questioning them? We came to solve this for their sake.”
“Some men are proud—too proud to let outsiders resolve the Black Alliance’s affairs. The Pavilion Lord may be such a man. In any case, it’s best to consider him not on our side for now.”
“Got it. But why does my father seem like a man with no pride at all?”
“Did your father ever have pride? I don’t recall. Hahaha!”
Laughing heartily, Neung Je-gang didn’t notice Go So-jeong glowering daggers.
Majil shook his head as he followed.
“The Chief really doesn’t understand a woman’s heart. Teasing her like that… tch tch!”
Under Majil’s worried gaze, the party returned to the Bincheong.
“After dinner, let’s go to Guilin.”
“Why?”
“I’m thinking of changing lodgings. Staying here feels like being trapped—it’s stifling. And whether you realize it or not, eyes watching us are everywhere.”
“Gasp! Really?”
“Yes. Not only the Pavilion, but the three sects are watching us. Perhaps to learn first whatever we discover—but it’s unpleasant.”
“They’ll still watch us if we lodge in Guilin.”
She was right. Wherever they went, the surveillance would not stop. Outside the Black Alliance’s grounds, the eyes might even be more numerous.
“That’s why we should go out. Here, I can’t catch and thrash them. Outside, I can.”
Smiling at Go So-jeong, Neung Je-gang spoke lightly.
Thump-thump.
“Why does my heart do this? I know it’s a false face—so why?”
The instant she saw him smile, Go So-jeong jerked her head away.
“Then I’ll rest until then.”
She rushed back to her room and threw herself on the bed.
“It’s fake, it’s fake. Get a grip, So-jeong.”
She tapped her own head with her hand, chanting as if to exorcise herself.
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