My Eyes Can’t Be Deceived. (1)

Was it because Yu Jinsan’s words carried weight? The disciples of Taiyi Sect seemed inclined to accept what he said.

That is, except for one person.

“So you’re saying an insider murdered the Sect Leader? My fellow senior brothers would never do such a thing.”

One of the disciples pleaded his case, but it had no effect on Yu Jinsan.

“How can you be so sure? Are you saying your senior brothers are all saints?”

“Our family would never do such a thing. I absolutely cannot agree that this was the work of an insider.”

Yu Jinsan snorted at his confidence.

“How absurd. Whatever the matter, you check from the closest first; automatically shielding your own people isn’t wisdom. That’s how you get fooled by some blood-letter like that.”

“Do not insult us!”

As the tension threatened to boil over, Bang Yu-cheol grabbed his shoulder and murmured.

“Calm down, Jeong-hyun sajae.”

“Calm down? Which side is the sahyung taking now?”

“No — he’s saying he’ll verify the truth. Have you forgotten who these people are?”

“Huff……”

Their opponents were none other than the Yin Yang Twin Monster.

If they so wished, destroying Taiyi Sect would be easy. He judged it dangerous to let voices rise any further.

But Yu Jinsan hardly seemed concerned with his reaction.

“Whether this old man insulted you or not, we’ll find out from now on.”

“Is there a way?”

“Perpetrators always leave traces. Show me the corpse.”

Bang Yu-cheol hesitated for a moment.

The body had already been buried for ten days.

Exhuming the deceased was not something he could decide alone.

“May I consult internally for a moment? It’s a matter that requires a majority in the Elders’ Hall……”

“I suppose so. Do so.”

Bang Yu-cheol dashed toward the Elders’ Hall.

Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter also left the office; there was nothing more to verify inside.

“Grandpa, that man just said he’s the sahyung.”

“Indeed. He looked foolish, but surprisingly so.”

Bang Yu-cheol’s martial skill wasn’t among the top of the sahyung-sajaes.

He was only first class disciple, but among his disciples there were three who had reached the pinnacle.

Perhaps because of that, despite being the sahyung-sajaes, he wasn’t entirely respected within the sect.

“But who is the culprit? Why did they kill him?”

“Hmm. Every crime has a motive. Maybe they coveted something, or there was discord. There must be some reason.”

“Kill a kin over something like that? What a vile person.”

“Those in the Justice Faction who preach righteousness with their mouths are often the slyest inside.”

Yu Seol nodded in agreement.

“That’s why I prefer the Heterodox factions. I wonder if Ho County’s uncles are doing fine?”

It had already been many days since they had left the Defeating Blade Clan.

That Heterodox stronghold was like a hometown to the granddaughter.

“Looks like our Seol misses her uncles.”

“Yeah~ Hehe. The kids should be fine, right?”

She was referring to the elite of the Defeating Blade Clan, composed only of the most gifted youngsters.

By now they were likely growing into a fearsome force.

“No need to worry. That renegade monk is helping Uncle Baek Gyu guard that place, isn’t he?”

As long as the renegade monk Jeong Hye was there, there was nothing to worry about.

While they chatted, a commotion erupted from a pavilion that seemed to be the Elders’ Hall.

They appeared to be divided on whether to exhume the Sect Leader’s body.

“What did you say? You’re going to exhume the Sect Leader’s body just because you believe the Yin Yang Twin Monster, who might be enemies!?”

“Lower your voice, Elder Gwak! But we cannot simply refuse their demand either.”

“I think Elder Yeon’s words have merit. It is true the Sect Leader’s death is suspicious.”

“Now now, calm down. We’ll decide by majority vote.”

Yu Seol, listening to the elders’ conversation from outside, clapped her hands.

“Good. It seems three out of four are in favor.”

“It appears so. The elder who opposed should also be placed under suspicion.”

“Yes. I also suspect the man who shouted at Grandpa earlier.”

Among the disciples, aside from the elders, Jeong-hyun sajae was the strongest.

Yu Jinsan nodded with a faint smile.

“Who the culprit is will soon be revealed.”

After a while, Bang Yu-cheol returned from the Elders’ Hall and explained the situation.

“Thank you for waiting. We will move to proceed with the exhumation. Will you come with us?”

“We shall.”

So the consultation in the Elders’ Hall had finally concluded.

Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter followed him to the site of the exhumation.

A low hill behind the manor.

The disciples of Taiyi Sect gathered, conducted rites, and began to dig up the grave.

They were powerful martial artists, so the work did not take long.

It was around mid-afternoon.

“Preparations are complete!”

At last the coffin was revealed. Now they only needed to open the lid.

One of the elders gave the order.

“Open it.”

They all surrounded the pit and swallowed dryly.

Yu Seol, arms linked with her grandfather’s, held her breath and watched.

Rrrrrr-!

As the coffin lid opened, the interred body was revealed.

An old man in white robes had his hands neatly folded over his lower abdomen.

At the sight, Yu Jinsan’s expression darkened.

“Hmm……”

Bang Yu-cheol stepped closer and asked.

“What do you think?”

Yu Jinsan had seen countless corpses in his time — nothing like what the disciples of Taiyi Sect had seen.

Thus, unlike the others, he immediately noticed something odd.

The body looked far too intact.

“I suspected as much — he was poisoned.”

“How can someone poisoned die and yet remain so intact? We already checked with a silver needle — that doesn’t make sense.”

Yu Jinsan retorted with a look of disdain.

“Then does a corpse not decomposing after ten days make sense to you?”

“Th-that’s……”

Bang Yu-cheol couldn’t continue; it was clearly an incomprehensible situation.

“I’ve seen this before. There are poisons that even a silver needle cannot detect.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Yu Jinsan.

“What is it?”

“It’s arsenic powder. It can be used medicinally, but in excessive amounts, unless one is immune to all poisons, one cannot withstand it.”

It can be easily extracted from minerals, but it’s a substance forbidden for common people to handle.

If death occurs from arsenic, no obvious traces of poisoning remain on the corpse.

However, it delays decomposition, so it takes time before one notices.

There had been precedent where the royal court cracked down heavily after arsenic-related murders occurred.

“Th-that can’t be.”

“Who would dare poison……”

While everyone of Taiyi Sect was stunned, Yu Jinsan approached the corpse.

He folded back the clothing to look for traces of wounds.

A horizontal lacerating penetrating wound.

Yu Jinsan brought his Dragon Slaying Spear to the wound and said,

“Someone come here. We must check whether the wound matches our weapon.”

The disciples were too fearful to approach the Yang Monster and only watched nervously.

Reluctantly, Bang Yu-cheol stepped forward and compared the spear blade to the Sect Leader’s wound.

He then turned away and shook his head.

“There is definitely a difference from their weapons.”

At that moment, Yu Jinsan’s right hand darted toward Bang Yu-cheol’s waist like a lightning palm.

Tuh-eop-!

“…Hah!?”

It was a blinding strike one couldn’t even attempt to dodge.

By the time he realized, Yu Jinsan already had Taiyi Sect’s sword in his hand.

“Now then, let’s see if what this old man said is correct.”

Having said that, he compared the Taiyi Sect sword to the Sect Leader’s wound.

Coincidentally, the wound’s width matched the sword blade.

This alone wasn’t conclusive, but it increased the likelihood of an inside job.

“…How could this be.”

While he was astonished, Yu Jinsan lowered the sword, brushed his hands, and stood up.

Then he addressed the elders.

“Begin a search now. Check whether any of the Sect Leader’s belongings are missing, and look for anything that seems to be arsenic powder inside.”

The elders hesitated and glanced at one another.

They were debating whether to comply with the Yin Yang Twin Monster’s orders.

But Taiyi Sect had no power to refuse whatever he demanded.

“From now on, form teams of three and search everywhere thoroughly! No place is to be exempt!”

“Yes, Elder!”

The disciples set off in all directions under the orders.

All that remained was to wait for the investigation’s results.

The Taiyi Sect elders and the Yin Yang Twin Monster silently stood by the corpse.

The disciples who had run to the manor returned in a crowd only after half a watch had passed.

Because they moved in teams of three, no one knew who had found what.

So they only looked to each other for cues.

“What did you find?”

Most teams shook their heads.

Then everyone’s attention fixed on one particular team.

“Um, th-that is……”

One disciple began speaking with cold sweat, as if in trouble.

The elders pressed him.

“Speak quickly!”

“What did you discover?”

After hesitating, the disciple pulled a book from his bosom and held it out.

On the blue cover was the inscription ‘Taiyi Pleasant Sword Technique’.

“This was found under Elder Gwak Cheol-jung’s bedside.”

At that moment everyone was taken aback.

The other elders surrounded Gwak Cheol-jung and began to interrogate him.

“How does Elder Gwak possess the Sect Leader’s missing martial manual!?”

“Explain yourself, Elder Gwak!”

“Is that why you refused the exhumation?”

Elder Gwak, his face pale, was restless.

“I admit I took the manual briefly, but I only intended to look and return it! I never committed murder!”

But no one believed his excuse outright.

At last, three elders drew their swords simultaneously.

Shing-! Chaching-!!

The atmosphere chilled as a murderous intent hung in the air.

Just as the elders were about to strike, three disciples came running up, shouting.

“W-wait!”

“…?”

Everyone paused and turned their attention to them.

“We found it! We found arsenic powder!”

Cornered Elder Gwak hurriedly urged them on.

“Where on earth did you find it!?”

“It was found in Jeong-hyun sajae’s room!”

At that moment everyone was thrown into shock.

The Yin Yang Twin Monster also knew him well. He had vehemently denied that the culprit could be an insider in the Sect Leader’s office.

Jeong-hyun, the accused, blinked his surprised eyes repeatedly.

“Th-that can’t be! It’s not me! Never!”

Elder Gwak pointed his finger at him and cried out.

“Jeong-hyun, you wretch! We know you were severely scolded by the Sect Leader recently. Did you hold a grudge over that!?”

“N-no! Someone is framing me! I absolutely……”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly Elder Gwak lunged at Jeong-hyun.

Moving like an arrow, he swung his right hand as if to slap his face.

But it was no ordinary slap.

It was an attack imbued with internal energy — enough to break a neck if misjudged.

At that moment, a bright light flashed between them.

Tuh-eop-!

When the light faded, Yu Seol was blocking his palm.

And with just one finger.

Overwhelmed by force, Elder Gwak froze from head to toe.

“Wait a moment. There’s one more piece of evidence we’ve noticed beforehand.”

“E-evidence……”

Yu Seol crouched by the Sect Leader’s corpse and clenched her left hand.

“See here? The bloodstain under the fingernail and the skin.”

It was a very tiny trace, barely noticeable without close inspection.

But the Yin Monster’s superhuman vision missed nothing, not even the smallest detail.

“W-what does that prove?”

“When the abdomen was stabbed, the victim grabbed the wrist of the perpetrator who held the sword with his left hand. Like this.”

Tuh-eop-!

Before anyone knew it, Yu Seol was standing before Elder Gwak, twisting his wrist.

Her movement had been lightning-fast; no one had noticed her approach.

“Ugh!”

Startled, Elder Gwak tried to wrench his wrist free, but his sword hand was stuck as if wedged in a rock and couldn’t move.

“You struggled to pull away with force and that’s how the wound occurred.”

“L-let go of me!”

No one came to Elder Gwak’s defense; everyone wanted to ascertain the truth.

“Would there be a wound mark inside the sleeve~ or not~”

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

Yu Seol danced her fingers and slowly raised her left hand.

She hummed a tune as she toyed with his sleeve.

“Shall we check together now~ La la~ La la la~”

Elder Gwak continued to struggle to free his wrist, but it was futile.

“Ugh!”

Then his sleeve was forcibly flipped up with a ‘whoosh.’

In that instant Yu Seol’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“Huh?”