A master or a skilled assassin.
The one who killed Ma Yang-baek is a martial artist who can aim for the blood point and disguise a murder as drowning in one blow. I managed to uncover the meticulously disguised murder-suicide, but I have no more clues left.
There are neither witnesses nor evidence of the heinous act remaining.
There is only one thing to hope for.
It was Ojakin, who first investigated the corpse.
“Wow, Ho Pil is really here!”
“Did the Shadowless Thief show up too? What’s going on?”
“Wow! The famous Ho Pil!”
“Why did you pop up when I told you to work?”
“My daughter keeps asking lately if her dad hasn’t met the famous Ho Pil. I just wanted to see his face.”
“Stay put! They’re about to start questioning!”
While I awaited Ojakin, the courtyard of the government office grew busier with people.
“Updoo, you said you’d only call a few people, right?”
You said to wait a moment for those wanting to observe. It’s too crowded. I spoke to Updoo without hiding my bewilderment.
“Seems like Ho Pil has become quite famous lately. Rumors of questioning suspects spread and now even Pil and officials have come to watch.”
“It’s just a simple witness interrogation.”
It’s still only circumstantial evidence.
“Don’t feel pressured. The folks here are just here to catch a glimpse of the famous Ho Pil, Kang Yoon-ho!”
Even if someone spread a fan and played a story, there’s enough audience here for a week without worries about collections.
“I hear you’re looking for me. I’m Ojakin Yang-heo. What’s the matter?”
As I tried to ignore the intense gazes on me, the flustered Ojakin Yang-heo approached.
With his gaunt and pale face, he looked like he could summon a skeletal mage just by putting on a bone armor.
“I am Ho Pil, Kang Yoon-ho. I’ve arranged this meeting to discuss the death of my brother-in-law, Ma Yang-baek.”
As I introduced myself politely, Yang-heo’s eyes widened as he looked at me.
“If he’s the dark-haired Ho Pil, could it be?! Ma Yang-baek is the brother-in-law of Ho Pil?”
“The brother-in-law of the famous Ho Pil is dead? Things are getting exciting right from the start!”
“I sell caramel popcorn! There’s an onion flavor too!”
“What business do vendors have entering a government office?! How bold! Quick, give me one!”
“No, this isn’t a place for interrogating a serious criminal, it’s just…”
I hadn’t expected this either.
“I’ve heard you personally retrieved the corpse.”
When I began speaking, the crowd fell silent, curious about what I was saying.
“When I approached the lake upon hearing the screams, there was a corpse floating by the shore. Having seen a body more than once, I commanded the people to retrieve it and call for Ho Pil.”
“Since you personally retrieved the corpse, you must know its state at that time better than anyone.”
I asked, subtly testing him.
“Ha! What a thought! Are you doubting me? Do you think it wasn’t a suicide? Because it seems like it wasn’t?”
“My question stems from doubts about the condition of the body at that time.”
He came out too prickly from the start, but I simply answered without denying it.
“I’ve been an Ojakin long enough to see mountains change! A suicide is a suicide! A murder is a murder! Just looking at the corpse gives a clear estimate! Since people elevate me as the famous Ho Pil, are you now ignoring an Ojakin’s insights?”
Ojakin Yang-heo scoffed as if he found it ridiculous and asked me.
“Oh hey!”
I held back a smile as I saw Updoo trying to step in for me.
Updoo, please ease up on me for a moment. It seems you’ve heard something like that. It’s a bad situation to invoke now.
I could understand Ojakin’s reaction; it must feel like a medical doctor learning from a patient barely educated from the internet.
To gain their cooperation, I needed to prove it wasn’t hollow suspicion.
‘Shall I jump in with a strong opening?’
I had a good idea.
“I’m not doubting your expertise, but when you hurried to the scene right after having sundae soup and radish kimchi this morning, that’s not what I’m doubting.”
“Of course… wait?! How do you know my breakfast menu today?!”
I smiled faintly, pointing my chin towards Yang-heo’s right sleeve.
“The left sleeve of your old clothes got worn out more than the right, meaning you are left-handed, but due to bias, you eat with your right hand when dining with others. Your tendency to spill radish kimchi broth on your clothes shows you’re not accustomed to using chopsticks. And since there’s a sundae soup restaurant by the spot where the body was found, it’s easy to deduce your breakfast.”
“……”
Ojakin’s face froze in an instant.
“W-what just happened?”
“You can tell which hand a person uses and what their breakfast was just by looking at them…!”
“What kind of absurd observational skill is that! And you say it’s easy!!! Extraordinary! Ho Pil is extraordinary!”
The crowd started buzzing excitedly.
“Yang-heo? Is it true? Did you really have sundae soup with radish kimchi this morning?”
When Yang-heo nodded stiffly under Updoo’s scrutiny, applause and cheers erupted from somewhere.
They were way too impressed.
‘Why else would I be called the famous Ho Pil.’
To instantly gauge whether an opponent uses skills or basic attacks and getting hit by both. Perfect judgment that can distinguish between a legitimate wife and a concubine from just reading the initial chapters of the novel.
Such intuition is essential to be known as a detective in a mystery story.
‘But actually, it was a tip-off from the House of Hamo.’
The sundae soup restaurant where Yang-heo visited probably received enough information fees to take a week off.
“It seems you were busy checking a corpse of a drowned red-haired woman, so I won’t take up much more of your time.”
I said casually to the astonished Yang-heo, who was speechless.
“You mean you can tell the dead body I’ve seen too? Y-you are truly the famed Ho Pil…!”
On the way into the government office, I asked another Pil what they were doing.
It wasn’t necessary to say.
“Are you willing to answer my inquiries now?”
It was enough to just get him in a position for response.
———-
“What are the grounds for deeming this incident a drowning?”
“When discovered at dawn, the corpse was bloated, covered in copious white foam, and the hands were muddy. That’s typical evidence of drowning.”
Ojakin seemed to realize the person before him wasn’t ordinary and began explaining without a hitch, a bit tense.
“Were there any signs of murder?”
As I charged directly into the main point, Ojakin flinched.
“Not at all. The male corpse was lying face down. Indisputable evidence of drowning.”
That was incorrect knowledge. If a woman is floating with her chest bloated, it’s drowning, and the male lying face down is drowning. This was a widespread misconception.
I had many corrections to point out, but I didn’t intend to educate him on why this misconception is wrong.
“The bloating of the corpse seemed excessive for having taken in water. Is that normal?”
Starting with a light question, but mixing in the core of the inquiry.
“I don’t know how adept Ho Pil is at catching murderers, but it seems you don’t understand much about corpses. A corpse in water doesn’t decompose quickly, so the insides rot first. It’s perfectly natural for the belly to bloat.”
Anyone can tell whether the belly is filled with water or gas with just a touch. Such an excellent answer; I didn’t show my reaction and moved on to the next question.
“I heard dirt was found on the hands.”
“Tsk, tsk. So, this was just a wandering question! A person who jumped into the water, whether intending to drown or not, instinctively grabs at anything at the last moment. Naturally, that would result in dirt on the hands.”
“No. That’s not what I was asking.”
I shook my head.
“Then?”
“When the body was handed over, it had no dirt on the hands.”
The hands of the returned corpse were clean. This was a unanimous statement among the mansion’s servants.
“Hah! What nonsense! Would the family be glad to receive a dirty corpse? It’s customary to retrieve a drowned body cleanly.”
“You must’ve hurried over from breakfast, yet you had time to clean it?”
“I carry my gear wherever I go. I used my cloth to dab in the lake and clean it. That’s why there was no dirt on the hands.”
What a satisfying answer.
“What about the white foam around the mouth?”
“I wondered when you’d bring that up! The corpse was covered in white foam from its mouth and nose! Exclusive evidence only seen in drowning victims!”
“Nose and mouth, huh?”
“Exactly. The white foam was plastered all over the nose and mouth.”
“I was told that wasn’t visible when the body was handed over.”
“Who would prefer to see a corpse covered in white foam? Naturally, I would have cleaned it.”
Isn’t he supposed to be an Ojakin? He seems more like a mortician, responsible for everything from body examination to burial. I sense profit coming.
“That makes sense. That was enough of an answer.”
“Is that all?”
I nodded with satisfaction.
“What? Is this it?”
“I heard it was an interrogation of suspects, wasn’t it? Or was it just a witness hearing?”
“Nevertheless, it was a good show to watch! You could immediately grasp the person upon seeing them!”
“I’m busy, so I’ll be heading back now.”
I felt sorry for the busy audience, but the show wasn’t over yet.
“Updoo.”
I turned to glance at Updoo.
“Is it all finished?”
“It seems that the corpse of the red-haired woman studied by Ojakin Yang-heo should be examined by another Ojakin.”
“That’s not too much trouble. Why?”
“If I’m to repay the favor of troubling you, then I must assist. I’ve already completed half of the job, so I’ll handle the remaining half.”
As if I’ll let you do me a favor!
“No. I can’t examine corpses moving forward.”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
Ojakin Yang-heo’s response was incredibly satisfying.
Truly, who is the culprit? Who are the suspects?
Who killed Ma Yang-baek, who had been missing for a month?
There was no need to ponder anymore.
“I’ll be in prison starting tomorrow.”
How can a person who died from a fatal strike be said to have drowned?
Isn’t that right?
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