Chapter 17 - Villains Do Not Lose Their Cool

After parting with the Demon Army commander, I went to the infirmary.

Seo Daeryong, who was already there, looked startled to see me.

"Oh? What brings you here, Second Young Master?"

Apparently, he hadn't expected me to come.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"It's nothing. I didn't think you would come all the way to the infirmary."

"I'm more surprised to find you here."

"Pardon?"

"Didn't you say your colleagues disliked you?"

"That's why I'm trying to make up for it."

Despite his words, he didn't seem particularly out of place among the colleagues with him.

"How is our injured friend?"

"The Demon Physician is treating him now. Thank you for calling the esteemed physician."

"Of course I called him. This may only be a temporary assignment, but we're still colleagues working together."

I'd said it without much thought, but both Seo Daeryong and the Yellow Springs Pavilion investigators beside him looked a little moved.

A short while later, the Demon Physician emerged from the treatment room.

He was the Divine Physician, the finest medical practitioner in the Cult, but the orthodox factions called him the Demon Physician. He liked that name, so we called him that too.

"How is he?"

"Fortunately, his life isn't in danger. But he'll need to recuperate for some time before he can return to duty."

"Please use the very best medicine."

"I will."

After hearing our conversation, the Yellow Springs Pavilion investigators came over to thank me. Even when injured on duty, they never had an opportunity like this to receive treatment from the Demon Physician himself.

On our way back to our quarters, Seo Daeryong asked,

"What did the Demon Army commander say?"

"He wanted us to leave things here and go home."

"What about the First Squad Leader's death?"

"He suggested making him the mastermind behind this whole affair."

Seo Daeryong was shocked.

"But his most cherished subordinate is dead."

"Not his most cherished subordinate. His most useful one. Someone else will fill the vacancy soon enough. What exactly did you expect from the commander?"

"I thought he'd go berserk trying to avenge his subordinate."

"You're mistaken. You think villains are more prone to losing their cool, don't you?"

"Aren't they?"

"Only the thugs. True villains don't lose their cool easily. If anything, it's the innocent, kindhearted people who do. Their emotions quickly get the better of them."

Of course, the commander must have harbored deep malice toward me. Given the chance, he'd drive a sword into my heart while savoring the memory of today's humiliation.

"What will you do now?"

"I've laid out the bait. Let's see how he responds."

"Bait?"

"I'll tell you when he bites."

I'd told him we needed evidence to close the case. Now it was time to watch what he did.

"Then what should I do now?"

"Have a drink with me."

Seo Daeryong immediately turned in another direction.

"Where are you going?"

"To buy liquor. Is there a kind you like?"

"Buy whatever you want to drink. Here, take some money."

As I reached for my money, Seo Daeryong strode away.

"Today's drinks are on me."

Seo Daeryong and I started drinking in broad daylight.

The liquor he'd bought was sweet and went down easily, but that also made it all too easy to drink too much.

"I like sweet liquor."

"I thought you weren't particularly interested in food and drink."

"I do drink from time to time."

After a few cups, Seo Daeryong began to reveal his true feelings.

"The other day, you called me a power-seeking individual, didn't you?"

"Putting 'individual' at the end makes it sound so cold. Let's just say you have power-seeking tendencies."

"That's the same thing."

"It's not necessarily bad. Better than being apathetic, isn't it?"

Despite his gloomy appearance, Seo Daeryong had big dreams. Someone without dreams wouldn't talk about 'change.'

"Honestly, I want to get ahead. I don't have the slightest desire to do something grand like root out corruption in the Cult and bring about justice. Just keeping myself fed is hard enough."

I should have brought Yi An along. This was exactly the attitude she needed.

"Why are you shrinking into yourself while telling me you're working hard for your own sake? Lift your head!"

Seo Daeryong raised his head.

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-two."

"Wow! You're older than you look."

I was genuinely surprised. I'd thought he was about twenty-three or twenty-four. Then again, however clever he was, he must have needed at least ten years of experience in the Pavilion to become a special investigator.

"Why did you become an investigator?"

"To be honest, I wasn't confident I could succeed through martial arts. I hadn't learned an art that could take me to the Peak Realm, and I'm short, so my build isn't suited to martial arts either..."

By its very nature, Yellow Springs Pavilion wasn't an organization meant for combat. It upheld discipline within the Cult through its absolute authority.

Thus, rather than choosing powerful martial artists as investigators, it selected intelligent people with sound judgment who could handle the subjects of their investigations well.

"You may think it's pathetic, but I chose to become an investigator because I lacked confidence in my martial arts."

"You keep emphasizing that. It sounds like you still have regrets about martial arts."

"Who wouldn't, if they'd entered Murim?"

"It's still not too late."

"It is too late."

"Now that does sound a little pathetic."

Seo Daeryong lifted his gaze from his cup and looked at me.

"You can't do it because it's too late? Because the martial arts you've learned are weak? Or did you say it was because you're short? Do you really think that's why?"

Unable to offer any excuse, Seo Daeryong drank the liquor in his hand.

"It's been a while since someone beat me with the truth. My bones hurt."

"Later on, your bones will ache even when you sit still. Get moving before you grow old."

"You're younger than I am, yet you say that so easily."

I smiled and emptied my cup.

Just then, a Yellow Springs Pavilion investigator arrived and handed me something.

"The Demon Army brought these over."

It was a booklet and bank drafts worth several thousand taels.

"He took the bait."

The booklet was a Contract Killing Ledger—a record of payments received for murders carried out using First Squad soldiers.

"They say they found these in First Squad Leader Go Dang's house."

The ledger detailed which First Squad martial artists had been assigned to each contract, how much they'd been paid, and whom they'd killed. Coincidentally, the soldiers listed were the ones I'd killed earlier.

Apparently, they'd compiled a new ledger using only the entries involving those men. The idea was to use the dead to wrap up the case. They'd even reduced the number of jobs to three or four, framing it as misconduct by Go Dang and a handful of soldiers. The commander had minimized his own responsibility.

I handed the booklet to Seo Daeryong.

"Dunk your face in cold water and sober up!"

"Yes. I'll investigate the bank drafts first."

"There's no point. They'll be untraceable. Look into something else instead."

"Please tell me."

"Find out who's the smartest man in the First Squad. There'll definitely be someone tucked away in there who's unusually well educated and clever for that crowd."

"Understood."

"I need to see the commander again."

"Why him?"

"I need to buy us some time."

We hurried out of the room and went about our respective tasks.

When I met the commander again, he looked considerably more at ease.

"Evidence has turned up at First Squad Leader Go Dang's house."

"Oh, excellent."

"That gives me some breathing room."

"Haha! We must drink to celebrate. I'll make a reservation. Meet me later at the place we went yesterday."

"There is one problem, though."

"Again? What is it this time?"

"The Demon Army brought us this evidence. We should have found it ourselves."

Irritation flickered across his face. Why was I quibbling over every little detail?

"Does the source matter that much?"

"It does. The chief strategist is no ordinary man. If he learns that the information came from the Demon Army, he'll immediately question both the investigation and its findings. If he finds out later, even I'll be in danger."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"We'll need to at least pretend to investigate for a little while. We'll conduct a thorough investigation for just one day, so please cooperate. Do you think I want to stay here any longer?"

Then came the one decisive point that would persuade him.

"We won't search through confidential documents. Ordinary paperwork will be enough. It's only a formality, after all."

Only then did the commander nod and give his permission.

"Very well. I'll tell my subordinates to cooperate."

With the commander's permission, a sweeping search and seizure began.

The Demon Army's ledgers and documents were brought to the investigation room, and we began examining them.

We didn't request any confidential documents that might put the commander in a difficult position.

We didn't need them anyway. They weren't what I was after. What I sought were the applications the soldiers had submitted when first joining the Demon Army, and the final letters they'd left before dangerous missions.

I secretly summoned the Cult's most skilled handwriting expert.

Then I had the expert use the documents we'd collected to identify who had written the Contract Killing Ledger.

When Seo Daeryong returned from his investigation, I played the fortune-teller.

"Shall I guess who's the smartest martial artist in the First Squad?"

He looked skeptical, and I gave him a name.

"Yang Gu, right?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

The handwriting comparison had identified Yang Gu as the man who'd written the ledger.

Now I knew who managed the commander's affairs. And the handwriting comparison had given me solid evidence.

"What do we do now?"

"What else? Move on to the next step. Bring Yang Gu to a tavern in Demon Family Village without anyone else finding out. Can you do that?"

"I'll put my brains to work."

"I'm counting on you, top recruit!"

One double-hour later, Seo Daeryong had carried out his task admirably.

Yang Gu had been brought to the tavern in Demon Family Village we'd chosen as our meeting place.

The person who brought him was Jo Hyang, a beautiful investigator from Yellow Springs Pavilion.

"The food here really suits my tastes."

"I like the cooking here too."

Yang Gu was lost in the hopeful thought that he might enjoy an ecstatic night in bed with this woman.

"Why are there so few customers? This place is usually busy."

Yang Gu looked around in puzzlement.

"Isn't it nice and intimate?"

"Even heaven seems to welcome our first meal together."

Jo Hyang smiled and played along with his grandiose invocation of heaven.

"I never knew until now that people really could fall in love at first sight."

"The atmosphere is lovely. Let's have a drink."

"I'd like that."

Yang Gu called toward the kitchen.

"Bring out your finest liquor and food!"

Seo Daeryong and I, who had been waiting in the kitchen, stepped out.

"Unfortunately, that drink will have to wait."

Yang Gu was startled by my appearance.

"Second Young Master?"

His eyes darted about as he tried to make sense of the situation. Then he glared fiercely at Jo Hyang.

"You fucking bitch! You tricked me!"

WHACK!

The next instant, Yang Gu's jaw snapped sideways and he went tumbling across the floor. Seo Daeryong had rushed him like lightning and landed a punch.

"She's not someone the likes of you gets to insult."

Seo Daeryong imitated me. Showing Yang Gu the sole of his foot, he spoke menacingly.

"Want me to burst your fucking skull like your squad leader's?"

Yang Gu shook his head frantically.

"No! I was wrong!"

Seo Daeryong showed no fear of Yang Gu, who was twice his size. It wasn't so much because he trusted me. There was another reason.

While the other investigators waiting nearby came over, restrained Yang Gu, and took him out through the back door, Seo Daeryong approached Jo Hyang.

"Good work."

"I just followed your advice. I told him I'd heard he was the cleverest man in the Demon Army and wanted to have a meal with him. Though I didn't expect him to follow me so readily."

"For you, he'd have come even if you'd glared at him and demanded he eat with you."

Jo Hyang gave him a teasing smile.

"That was a compliment, wasn't it?"

Seo Daeryong didn't answer.

Jo Hyang said goodbye to Seo Daeryong and me, then left.

Once we were alone, I said to him,

"What a man. A real man's man."

"Pardon?"

"You like her, don't you?"

"I don't."

"You were awfully forceful back there for someone who doesn't."

The fellow who was so drab around me positively shone in front of Jo Hyang.

"She's just a junior colleague."

His face reddening, Seo Daeryong hurriedly changed the subject.

"What happens now?"

"It's about time to wrap things up. Mobilize as many investigators and enforcement martial artists as you can."

"Yes!"

"Call that junior colleague you like, too!"

"I told you I don't!"

Raising his voice unnecessarily, Seo Daeryong hurried out.

"Could he be any more obvious...?"

I went to the kitchen, fetched a bottle of liquor, and perched on the tavern's railing.

"Come out here!"

Yi An emerged from beside the building, her head bowed low.

"You silly bear. Is keeping yourself occupied really that hard?"

"I just wanted to know if you were doing well."

"Come here. Since you're here, let's have a drink."

"I'll get some cups."

"No need."

I drank straight from the bottle, then handed it to her.

"Have a drink and pass it back."

"How could I dare?"

"Why? Is it dirty because I drank from it?"

"No, of course not. I just feel presumptuous putting my lips to it. I'll drink. I will."

She drank. Trying to keep her lips from touching the bottle, she spilled a gush of liquor and soaked her clothes.

"I'm sorry, Young Master."

"Yi An."

"Yes?"

"You don't have to do that."

"... Yes."

"Even if everyone else in the world does, you don't have to."

I took the bottle back from her and drank.

"Still, it's good to see you. It's only been a few days, but I've missed you."

Yi An smiled softly, her eyes disappearing into the flesh of her cheeks. It was easy to tell when she was smiling out of genuine happiness.

"Is your martial training going well?"

"Yes. I'm doing my best, at least."

"You need more than that. Villains do their best too."

"When you say things like that, I find myself feeling encouraged. Your advice is addictive, Young Master."

"You'll get sick of it if you keep hearing it."

"I don't think I will."

I handed her the bottle.

"Drink down your worries about me with that liquor, then go back and wait."

And I gave Yi An a splendid morsel to go with her drink.

"This business will be finished today."