Episode 119

Yi-gang’s words were like a bolt out of the blue.

Among those killed by the fiend, there were martial artists mixed in. Especially in the case of the Three Virtues Sword Hero, the nephew of the governor was undoubtedly a master.

It was unbelievable that a commoner, who presumably never learned martial arts and whose face was similarly torn off, was in fact the fiend.

It was natural for the governor to burst into anger upon hearing this.

Yu Su-rin whispered into Jin Ri-yeon’s ear, “Senior Yi-gang must be crazy. Try to calm him down, Senior.”

“…Let’s wait and see for now.”

His companions were already scared, but it was too late to retract his declaration.

The governor’s fury, demanding an explanation, was unstoppable.

Yi-gang asked to accompany the governor to the scene to explain.

“I’ll explain everything once we get there.”

“…You.”

The governor asked, furrowing his white eyebrows, “How did you know I was here?”

“Well…”

First, Yi-gang began to explain what happened when he was brought here.

For a mere crime scene investigation, there were too many officers and strict security.

Officials, including the general, who were in charge of the inn, rode in an official-only carriage.

There were even officials belonging to the patrol department assisting the patrol commander.

But these high-ranking officials were unusually respectful towards an ordinary old man.

“…So, I took a chance and marked it.”

“Impudent fellow.”

“Even if I’m wrong, it’s just a little embarrassing.”

It was a reasonable deduction, after all.

The way the governor looked at Yi-gang changed slightly.

From seeing him as a mad youngster, to recognizing him as someone with a working mind.

“Why did Your Excellency come here?”

“What…?”

The governor didn’t expect to be questioned in return.

The governor was startled but soon composed himself and answered, “I can’t just stand by and watch the fiend run amok within Kaifeng City.”

“Why not just command the officers to deal with it?”

“They couldn’t catch him.”

“Then, why did you have to hide your identity…?”

“Even if the general or an associate doesn’t know, with me around, how can the officers perform their duties properly? Hence, I personally went out on patrol.”

“Indeed, the reputation of the Henan Province Governor taking personal care of his people is true.”

“You have a sharp tongue. If your explanation is lacking, I will not let it slide. Do you think I can’t do that?”

The governor showed a toothy grin.

Yi-gang understood what Henan’s Grand Coordinator, Jo Gyu-seo, was saying.

The governor knew Yi-gang’s name and identity.

“You used your paltry power to intimidate the head officer in Yanling County.”

“That pathetic man said that? I conducted my investigation diligently and was released because I was innocent. That head officer must be severely punished for lying even to the Governor.”

“Do you believe in that lineage, being his grandnephew?”

The governor growled, not backing down in his questioning of Yi-gang.

It couldn’t have been about the lineage of the Baek family.

Someone of the stature of Henan Province’s Grand Coordinator wouldn’t fear even the authority of the Baek Clan.

He must be referring to Yi-gang’s mother’s family, the maternal side.

But Yi-gang flatly denied it.

“How dare I entertain such thoughts. Please, go inside.”

“Ahem.”

The governor entered the room where the body was.

The sight of the corpse with its facial skin peeled off was horrifying. Yet, the governor’s expression did not change.

“Indeed, Myung-jong met the same fate as that man.”

“Myung-jong” likely referred to Oh Myung-jong, the Three Virtues Sword Hero who died.

Even when speaking of his nephew, no warmth or sorrow could be felt in the governor’s voice.

Perhaps he was hiding those emotions.

‘He doesn’t seem to care much for his nephew.’

However, Yi-gang had already heard about the Three Virtues Sword Hero’s involvement from Seo Saeng-won.

“So, explain how that man became a fiend and how he went about killing people.”

“Why would I delay explaining, given your order…”

Yi-gang shifted his gaze slightly and began to speak, “It might be better to send people away. I feel I should speak to you in private, Governor.”

“…You want to speak with me alone?”

The officers who had been silently listening were flustered.

The general, dressed in official robes, exclaimed decisively, “No! How can we leave that martial artist alone with the governor… It’s dangerous!”

“That’s right. Many martial artists are cruel and have ferocious temperaments. We cannot allow it.”

It was unthinkable to leave the high-ranking governor alone.

The governor did not nod, but he looked at Yi-gang, as if asking for an explanation.

“It might be related to Your Excellency’s honor…”

“Fine.”

The governor agreed too easily to Yi-gang’s words.

Despite the officials’ pleas, the decision was firm.

“Tsk tsk, foolish ones. This boy is not that kind of person. He wouldn’t dare tarnish his own family’s name with foolish actions.”

“Even so…”

“Do not let anyone in until I call.”

The governor’s command was absolute.

Everyone, except Yi-gang and the governor, formed a perimeter outside the room and waited.

Soon, tension flowed between the officers and the martial artists.

Flowing Cloud Flying Dragon asked with a fed-up expression, “What on earth is your senior doing?”

“How would I know?”

Yu Su-rin and the third-generation disciples had nothing to say.

“He’ll handle it somehow. It’s Senior Yi-gang, after all.”

“Right? He’s not someone who comes out at a loss.”

But they weren’t worrying that much.

They casually leaned against the railing and began to wait.

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon had once talked about “those who wielded influence.”

She had seen Yi-gang exert his authority a few times and commented, not exactly as praise, that “using it only when necessary is like a first-rate swordsman.”

Along with the explanation that there were people on the opposite end.

These people swung around their status and authority to commit evil deeds. Outwardly, they may have appeared prestigious, but they used their power for personal gain, exploiting others.

In this process, the powerless were inevitably exploited.

“It’s about the Three Virtues Sword Hero Oh Myung-jong.”

“…Yes.”

“He wasn’t as upright as people generally believe.”

The governor’s eyebrows twitched.

Yi-gang was examining the carcass of a pig. In the kitchen of this inn, there was a whole pig, not yet dissected by parts.

He asked the kitchen staff to bring the pig’s carcass into the room. The governor did not object.

“Though known for martial prowess, it seems people’s opinion of him wasn’t very good. He became impulsive when drinking.”

Yi-gang, who had never met the Three Virtues Sword Hero, learned this information after coming here.

It was gathered from Seo Saeng-won and Jin Ri-yeon’s collected data.

“Yes, even though he was my nephew, he brought shame to our family. That’s why he couldn’t even make a name in martial arts and learned whatever he could. …But he was still my blood.”

“That’s why the Governor personally came here.”

It was a fact known to the governor.

He guessed that Yi-gang’s request for a private meeting was about Oh Myung-jong.

“However, I was a bit shocked to hear that he was addicted to gambling and frequented gambling houses.”

Anyone hearing Yi-gang’s words would be greatly surprised.

That renowned master was actually addicted to gambling.

“Did you know he had a huge debt?”

“How could I not know? He was using my name to borrow at a high interest rate. He died while I was about to capture him and administer corporal punishment.”

Oh Myung-jong had formed connections with the Low Down Sect while frequenting gambling houses.

In the orthodox Murim, he even went so far as to call the Low Down Sect’s Kaifeng branch manager “brother” and acted close.

The Low Down Sect, having nothing to lose from their association with the high-ranking Oh Myung-jong, saw their connection deepen over time.

But as time passed, Oh Myung-jong gradually became a wastrel.

When his debts became insurmountable, a significant incident happened to Yeo Man-chung, the branch manager of the Kaifeng branch.

Seo Saeng-won had run away with a box engraved with the character for “Metal.”

In the chaos that ensued in the Kaifeng branch, coincidentally, Oh Myung-jong visited Yeo Man-chung to borrow money.

But Yeo Man-chung, unable to lend him the money, left the scene, and Oh Myung-jong ran away with another box that Yeo Man-chung cherished like a treasure, entrusted to him by the Low Down Sect Leader.

Even the Low Down Sect couldn’t stop a Peak-level martial artist determined to flee.

This was the last piece of information Yi-gang had heard from Seo Saeng-won.

He hadn’t heard what happened next, but Yi-gang pieced together the clues he had gathered to approach the truth.

“The one who killed Oh Myung-jong wasn’t the fiend.”

“What nonsense are you talking about now?”

“More precisely, it was an unintentional suicide. He opened a trap-laden box right in front of his face.”

Yi-gang mimed opening a transparent box in front of his face.

Having taken a box adorned with jewels, it was unlikely Oh Myung-jong hadn’t examined its contents.

Even a Peak-level martial artist would be doomed opening such a box unknowingly.

“A box with a trap, are you talking about hidden weapons?”

“Yes, calling them hidden weapons would be easier.”

“A hidden weapon that peels off facial skin. I knew martial artists made strange items, but this is preposterous!”

The governor spoke as if he found it hard to believe.

Yi-gang nodded in agreement.

The idea of a box with a fire cannon installed was surprising enough, let alone a hidden weapon that peeled off facial skin. It was an unbelievable story.

“It’s not exactly peeling off the skin.”

“Then what?”

“It melted it. Sprayed with acid poison.”

Yi-gang himself had not imagined it at first.

But all the clues pointed to it.

He became certain after hearing that another box was engraved with the character for water and examining the wounds of the inn owner.

“Acid poison?”

“You’ve heard of bone-melting acid, right? The deadly poison that melts a person down to their bones in an instant.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of it. It’s even used in the Eastern Depot.”

“A small amount of acid poison sprayed from the weapon would easily melt facial skin.”

Such poison actually existed in the martial world.

Dam Hyun mentioned that in the inn of Yanling County, they found a rat with wounds like water droplets.

Perhaps the rat was splashed with the poison when Lee Jeong-hyo opened the box.

“It’s hard to think that the faces of the corpses we’ve seen so far were cut with a knife, they were torn so roughly. I only saw two, but weren’t the others the same?”

“…Yes, it was the same in other cases.”

“It couldn’t have been for making a ‘human skin mask.’ It’s not like you can peel off facial skin with your hands.”

The governor looked over the body of the inn owner again.

Indeed, what he had thought was torn off, now looked more like it was pressed on.

“…Just a poison strong enough to melt facial skin wouldn’t have killed Myung-jong instantly, who was trained in martial arts.”

“That’s a sharp observation. But the cause of death wouldn’t be that.”

Yi-gang, without flinching, opened the corpse’s mouth.

Not only the tongue but even the throat was stripped red.

Seeing that, Yi-gang’s speculation grew more certain.

“The acid poison must have been inhaled, burning the airway.”

“…Huh!”

The governor looked utterly astonished.

When Yi-gang first mentioned the hidden weapon that sprayed acid poison upon opening the box, he had wanted to leave immediately.

But the more he listened to Yi-gang’s explanation, the more plausible this absurd claim seemed.

“Like a frog in a well watching the sky…” the governor muttered to himself quietly.

‘Looking at the sky from within a well,’ did it mean Yi-gang was just spouting nonsense?

Or, on the contrary, perhaps he was in awe of how Yi-gang deduced everything from such simple clues.

The governor forcibly hardened his expression.

“Let’s say Myung-jong did die that way. What about the others who died afterward? If the box didn’t have legs, why and how did they die?”

Yi-gang answered neatly to that question, “I don’t know that either. How could I know when I haven’t seen it myself?”

The governor looked dazed for a moment, then became visibly angry.

“You’re making a fool of me…”

“That’s not it. We don’t know about that. But I’m certain that this inn owner was the culprit and he took his own life,” Yi-gang interrupted boldly, but the governor couldn’t continue his anger.

He was too curious.

“How do you know that?”

“Look at this man. His lower right jaw is intact. He instinctively turned his face away as soon as he opened the box.”

“That seems plausible…”

“Even a Peak-level martial artist, Three Virtues Sword Hero, was caught off guard. How could such a person avoid the acid poison? He may have learned martial arts, but still.”

It meant that he instinctively tried to turn his face away in the act of suicide.

Yi-gang continued his explanation, “It wasn’t a night of thunder and lightning, and if there was another culprit who escaped through the window, there would have been witnesses.”

“There were no witnesses…”

“More importantly, this man died sitting down and fell backwards.”

The body was lying in front of the desk, along with a chair.

“If he hadn’t been sitting in the chair opening the box himself, he couldn’t have died in this position. Besides, the still damp brush and ink splattered on the desk. Here, it’s also on the edge of his hand.”

Yi-gang had meticulously examined every item in the room.

“It seems like he left a suicide note, as one would expect from someone taking their own life. Strangely, I haven’t heard any mention of a note. We’ll have to question this man’s nephew.”

“…”

With no response from the governor, Yi-gang turned to look at him.

Jo Gyu-seo, the governor of Henan Province, had forgotten his dignity and was gaping open-mouthed.

Only after noticing Yi-gang’s gaze did he close his mouth.

“Your every deduction…”

Then, with a voice much weaker than before, he said, “If you can’t prove the existence of that bizarre weapon that emits acid poison, which dissolves flesh and disperses instantly with the wind… it’s useless.”

“That means…”

Yi-gang’s voice was even more resolute.

“If I find that weapon, does it mean I’m right?”

“…”

“You said you would reward me greatly if I found the culprit. I think I can look forward to that.”

“If you find it, yes.”

If he didn’t, the implication was clear: punishment awaited.

Yi-gang had been waiting for the governor to say just that.

“The inn owner is suspicious. Have the officers search the room next door.”

“Hey, you there!”

“Tell them to thoroughly search places like under the bed or above the ceiling,” the governor instructed with a skeptical expression.

During the officers’ return, a tense silence lingered.

The governor glared at Yi-gang and muttered, “You seem to like gambling. It’s not a good habit.”

“One must take risks when necessary.”

“The naivety of youth should know when and where to show itself.”

“The end is near, isn’t it?”

But Yi-gang’s expression remained calm.

Of course, he never gambled if he was not sure of winning.

He only bet big when he was certain.

The officer returned in a hurry.

“Lord Governor! We found it!”

“What is it!”

What the officer brought was a small metal box.

Covered with jewels, it looked expensive enough for the Three Virtues Sword Hero to ignore his uncle’s will and for the inn owner to hide.

Engraved on the box was the character for water.

Then, from the wall Yi-gang was leaning on, the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon sprang out.

Unlike the Immortal Divine Sword, lacking spiritual energy, she couldn’t move as freely, but she managed to peek into the next room.

「They went straight to it.」

‘I told them to search under the bed too.’

Yi-gang had already asked the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon to search the adjacent room earlier.

They observed the astonished expression of the governor.

“How did you come to find this!”

“I’ve told you everything. It’s a logical deduction. Oh, and please don’t open the box.”

“O-of course.”

Yi-gang carefully took the box from the governor’s hands.

「What could the big reward be?」

‘I’m curious too.’

Saying this, Yi-gang opened the box towards the pork brought into the room.

Hiss—!

The acid poison spewed from the box began to burn the pigskin.

Just as Seo Saeng-won, who had never learned cannonry, had struck the Low Down Sect men with unerring accuracy, the acid poison from the box precisely hit the pig’s face area.

The acid that melted the facial skin soon evaporated and disappeared out the window.

“We’ve caught the fiend, the Face Plunderer. You might want to search for the will, just in case.”

“L-let’s do that,” the governor stepped back and replied.