Chapter 33 - Investigation Aboard

Following Do Heo-ok, Dong Bongsu realized the inevitable had come. In truth, however, merely asking questions would never uncover who he was. And thanks to yesterday’s Great Reformation Ritual, his body now had pressure points, even if only temporarily. Unless Do Heo-ok seized him and conducted a thorough examination, he would never discover his Body of No Meridians.

Dong Bongsu looked at Do Heo-ok and gave the briefest answer he could: a single “Yes.”

Do Heo-ok laughed heartily, then left him alone at the bow and went belowdecks.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll be right back with some fantastic wine.”

As Do Heo-ok disappeared belowdecks, Spirit Eye reported his increasing distance.

[5, 6, 7, 8, ...]

Even in that brief interval, Dong Bongsu never stopped thinking about Do Heo-ok.

He still had no idea who the man really was. Nor was that particularly important right now. What mattered was why Do Heo-ok had infiltrated the Namgung Clan in that guise.

For now, he had no way of knowing that either. One thing was certain, though: someone in Do Heo-ok’s position could undertake something quite significant within the Namgung Clan. That was how much importance the man currently held there.

He kept thinking.

When, then, would that “something significant” begin?

Without knowing why, it was difficult to say. But at least he could be certain it would not be now. Having gone to such lengths to infiltrate the Namgung Clan, Do Heo-ok had no reason to act during an outing like this.

Yet there was another fact just as certain.

Do Heo-ok would not have come on this outing for no reason. Namgung Hye had clearly said earlier that this excursion had been planned all along.

Judging by what he had learned today, Do Heo-ok was much like himself: the sort of person who did nothing unnecessary. Namgung Hye was already firmly in his grasp. There was no reason to take such an “unnecessary” nighttime outing merely to win more of her affection.

People like him and Do Heo-ok were even busier at night, just as predators were generally nocturnal. He could not imagine squandering such valuable nighttime hours on a mere pleasure outing.

'What was Do Heo-ok planning to accomplish out here?'

Probing him was merely a sideline. There was something else, something important. Definitely.

What was it?

Dong Bongsu wanted to find out.

He kept thinking, searching for the answer.

Carefully, one step at a time.

First, they had come out on a boat. Why? What purpose did the boat serve?

To transport something? Assuming that was the case...

What?

He could not tell. Even guessing was difficult, because he still knew neither the scale of Do Heo-ok’s scheme nor what it was meant to achieve.

He had to narrow it down.

Something major. A major incident.

Something that could only be accomplished by penetrating deep into the Namgung Clan.

Something worth creating the fictitious yet flawless “character” of Do Heo-ok to accomplish.

Dong Bongsu soon arrived at several possibilities.

First, a rival force or the Unorthodox Faction had planted Do Heo-ok in the Namgung Clan as a spy. It would take considerable time, but if he secured a key position while living with the clan as their son-in-law, he could serve as the ideal agent.

Second, a rival force or the Unorthodox Faction had sent Do Heo-ok to infiltrate the Namgung Clan in order to destroy it completely. Though the process had been quite complicated, it was certainly efficient. They would strike from outside while Do Heo-ok supported them from within.

Third, Do Heo-ok had infiltrated the Namgung Clan independently. His motive might be revenge, or stealing their martial arts.

Fourth, he had genuinely fallen in love with Namgung Hye.

There might be other reasons he had not thought of. Broadly speaking, however, he judged that they would fall within these categories.

Of these, the first, third, and fourth would have no effect on Dong Bongsu himself.

The problem was...

The second.

If Do Heo-ok really had come here to destroy the Namgung Clan, he would have prepared just as thoroughly. It would also mean he belonged to a force powerful enough to bring the clan down.

That could prove fatal.

Dong Bongsu was already in a position where he could neither kill Do Heo-ok nor avoid him. Deception was his only means of dealing with this enemy.

But what if, in these circumstances, an unexpected, powerful force suddenly attacked? What if the Namgung Clan could not stop them at all?

In that case, even if Dong Bongsu deceived Do Heo-ok perfectly now, he would have to consider his chances of survival nonexistent.

When there were many possibilities, one had to prepare for the worst. All the more so when one’s life was at stake.

And strangely, Dong Bongsu’s sixth sense kept whispering that the worst case seemed likely. If it was right, Do Heo-ok would surely act on his wedding day. Dong Bongsu did not know the precise significance, but the man must have arranged everything for some symbolic or practical advantage the occasion offered.

Dong Bongsu had fitted together only a few pieces of the puzzle, yet he felt he could vaguely make out its overall shape.

Putting his sixth sense together with all these suppositions...

Who?

Do Heo-ok and the force behind him.

When?

The day of the coming full moon.

Where?

Here.

What was the target?

The Namgung Clan.

What would they do?

Attack.

Why?

He did not know yet.

If all these ominous premonitions and deductions were correct, he would inevitably become another predator’s prey here.

Dong Bongsu’s eyes darkened.

He was thinking of a way out.

Just as his mind began racing behind those shadowed eyes—

[10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.]

Spirit Eye urgently warned him of an approaching enemy.

Dong Bongsu had been watching the entrance leading belowdecks the entire time. He needed to react appropriately whenever Do Heo-ok appeared. But Do Heo-ok had clearly not yet come back on deck.

And yet an unidentified high-level enemy was drawing closer.

Was Do Heo-ok moving around below?

The enemy’s distance reported by Spirit Eye stopped at five meters.

If it was Do Heo-ok, that distance would increase again, then decrease once he came up on deck.

“Ah, my apologies. The wine was in an odd place, so it took a little searching. Hahaha.”

Do Heo-ok finally came up on deck.

But the enemy’s distance reported by Spirit Eye remained fixed at five meters.

'It isn’t Do Heo-ok!'

At a rough visual estimate, the boat was twenty-five meters long, ten meters wide, and five to six meters high.

The enemy Spirit Eye had detected was at the fir planking on the bottom of the hull.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

Spirit Eye’s numbers only began dropping when Do Heo-ok came within five meters.

There was no room for doubt now.

Another enemy besides Do Heo-ok had appeared here!

“It’s quite all right.”

Dong Bongsu gave the most innocuous reply possible to Do Heo-ok’s apology. All the while, his mind never stopped working.

'Was this it? The reason for tonight’s boat outing?'

Fetching wine had probably been an excuse. Do Heo-ok must have gone belowdecks and sent a prearranged signal telling the enemy now clinging to the hull’s bottom planking to come aboard.

Their boat was not the only one on Soho Lake. Wealthy residents of Hefei and drinkers were also out on boats, admiring the moon.

People aboard one of those pleasure boats must have seen Do Heo-ok’s signal and slipped onto this vessel. An expert no less skilled than Do Heo-ok—or perhaps several such experts.

This was Do Heo-ok’s primary purpose in coming out on the lake tonight, and it appeared he had already achieved it.

“Here, take a cup from me. This is Geumaju. It’s a little strong, but very precious. I first tasted it after coming here myself, and honestly, this wine alone made me resolve to stay with the Namgung Clan. Haha.”

Do Heo-ok spoke as he handed Dong Bongsu one of the cups he held in one hand.

Ever since Do Heo-ok had gone below to fetch the wine, Dong Bongsu had been considering how best to handle him and dispel his suspicions.

But that was no longer the important issue.

What mattered now was finding out just how many people had infiltrated this boat. Frankly, simply reciting “Sosam’s” life story would clear up much of what Do Heo-ok questioned about him. His special connection with Tang Wu amounted to a single day. He had spent his entire life as a stable hand, and then there had been just that one day. However meticulous Do Heo-ok might be, he surely would not make an issue of a mere day. Besides, there were several people—the members of the Danri Family—who could corroborate it.

Just one day.

Given Do Heo-ok’s disposition, that day would merely...

Leave him a little “uneasy.”

“Ah, forgive me, but my stomach has actually been troubling me for a while. May I go relieve myself?”

Dong Bongsu lightly clutched his stomach and gave a slight grimace.

“Ah, of course. Come to think of it, you wouldn’t have had a chance since arriving here. Go below the deck planking—the deck—and ask the boatmen. They’ll tell you what to do.”

Do Heo-ok had not noticed Dong Bongsu’s act at all. It was too lifelike to seem like acting, and as far as he could see, Dong Bongsu had no reason to put on an act for him.

Dong Bongsu thanked Do Heo-ok and headed straight toward the towerlike cabin in the middle of the boat. His eyes briefly met Tang Hwa’s as she chatted happily with Namgung Hye while admiring the moon. Tang Hwa immediately frowned and turned her head away.

It was the sort of look one might give a filthy insect.

But Dong Bongsu paid her look no mind at all. Things that did not matter had not the slightest effect on him.

He focused solely on Spirit Eye.