“Are you really going to dig up Master Yang-baek’s grave?”
The last place I visited was the mansion of Jang Nan-ok, the eldest daughter of Man Geum-jeon.
“I wish to conduct a reexamination. Please grant me permission.”
I humbly bowed to Jang Nan-ok, wanting to open the grave for a reexamination.
“Isn’t the culprit already identified?! You want to open the coffin of my child who has barely found peace?!”
“I realize my shortcomings, but I have come to understand that there was a significant conspiracy surrounding Master Yang-baek’s death.”
“Conspiracy? You’re not saying you came here because you were unjustly accused, are you?”
That part is true, but I couldn’t help but frown at the unexpected sharpness of her words.
“Aunt Nan-ok, do you think Yoon-ho would come here out of selfish motives?”
“Indeed. That’s right. Master Kang seems to have picked up on something…”
“Be quiet!!!”
Even though Miss Zhuge and Gil-san defended me, it was insufficient to quell Jang Nan-ok’s fury.
“Okay, I’ll keep quiet!”
“I-I’m really sorry!”
“Big Aunt.”
I cautiously stepped forward once more.
“Congratulations on becoming your father’s successor. As the eldest daughter of my family, I support you too.”
“Thank you.”
“I understand you are anxious. But a reexamination! What more can be unveiled in a case where the culprit has already been identified! I’ve heard enough. If you’ve received the Head of Guards’ support, I will help you fend off my siblings’ grievances. So, don’t think strangely and return. Go back to Man Geum Battlefield and announce that you are the new successor. Isn’t that the priority?”
Asking for permission to dig up the grave of a child who has already found peace was understandable for a mother’s wrath. Even in such a situation, I was grateful for her declaration of support.
If I turn around now, I can easily take over Man Geum Battlefield.
However.
“Aunt, if you wish, you can refuse. I’ll just feel uneasy if we leave it at that. Perhaps I could be wrong. But…”
I had no intention of giving up. I must open it, no matter what.
I knelt and looked up at Jang Nan-ok’s enraged face.
What should I do? It’s not about my doubts. It’s not for my sake. I must pacify my big aunt’s anger while asserting my claim.
Right. In situations like this, there’s a cowardly yet effective way.
“But? Is there something you’d like to say!”
“If I give up, and my thoughts are correct, Master Yang-baek may forever wander in grievance!”
“……!”
As I touched on Jang Nan-ok’s weakness, her eyes trembled.
“You can curse me! You can blame me! Even if I incur your wrath, I implore you to allow the reexamination.”
Everything was for Master Yang-baek.
I shot a glance at Jang Nan-ok, conveying that I wasn’t here to solve my doubts, but to resolve Master Yang-baek’s grievance, no matter the scorn I may face.
For a while, my big aunt silently gazed at me.
“Is Master Yang-baek’s death linked to your father’s collapse?”
“If we can’t unveil the truth today, it won’t end with Master Yang-baek.”
I answered immediately, my voice laced with conviction.
What will you do?
Jang Nan-ok closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly in deep thought, then answered with trembling eyebrows.
“……Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Really?!”
“Your willingness to face my hatred means you must have a strong belief. Open it.”
“Big Aunt.”
“I will trust you, known as the great Ho Pil. I don’t want to witness my son’s funeral after losing him. If even a trace of grievance remains with my son, let’s confirm it.”
Her expression was a mix of a mother grieving the loss of her child and a daughter burdened with a sick father.
“Thank you very much.”
I will prove this is not in vain. I held my big aunt’s hand and stood up.
————
The grave of Ma Yang-baek was located on a mountain not far from the mansion.
It was a burial site not part of the family’s ancestral land. A small temple was nearby. The son, infamous for bad rumors, was a family disgrace; thus, he couldn’t be buried in the ancestral grounds. Yet, the mother wished for her child to rest peacefully.
A location good for a mother unable to blame her child while being pointed at by others.
“I see the coffin! Should we just open it?!”
It didn’t take long to dig up Ma Yang-baek’s mound.
“Everyone, good work. Just stop here and go back. From here on out, it’s family business.”
At my words, the servants from the mansion stepped back from the grave.
“Ugh.”
“W-Wait! I’ll step back too.”
Jang Nan-ok seemed unable to bear witnessing the opening of the coffin and stepped back for quite a while.
“Gil-san. Bring the knife.”
“Eh?! W-Wha?”
Gil-san looked pale. For someone who calls himself a young master, he’s truly weak around corpses.
“Hey! Kang Yoon-ho! Are you trying to stab someone with that?!”
“Just bring it.”
“Must it really be this way?”
“Miss Zhuge, would you please bring me a knife?”
“Y-Yes! Yes, of course!”
Miss Zhuge didn’t seem too pleased with the current situation either, quickly hurrying down as if ready to topple over.
“Hey! Kang Yoon-ho! Could you at least explain this reasonably?! How long are you going to keep silent?!”
Gil-san came down with a frown, taking the dagger Miss Zhuge was going to hand me.
“I-I’m curious too!”
In the opened grave, standing before the coffin, the two of them were now eagerly demanding an explanation from me.
I had originally intended to check and explain.
Right. We’re in the same boat now. It’s time to explain.
“The Blue Robe Swordsman died two months ago in Homan Province.”
Let’s start from the end of everything.
“Are you talking about the one who attempted the assassination? He’s dead?”
“Yep. He vanished between Homan Province and Wuhan. If he hadn’t died, we should have found his trail. The Hwamun put in all their effort to search for him but found no eyewitness accounts. Not until he suddenly appeared in Wuhan a month ago.”
“He appeared suddenly?”
“He vanished after trying to assassinate me. Avoiding the eyes of Man Geum Battlefield and Hwamun.”
He completely disappeared, avoiding the influence of Man Geum Battlefield and Hwamun. It was something even assassins would find nearly impossible.
“I’d say that’s too tough of a task.”
“So is it to argue. With Man Geum Battlefield and Hwamun watching closely, he vanished. Even the best assassins find it hard to go unnoticed twice in succession.”
“And how is that related to the current situation?”
“How many organizations in this Martial Arts World could manage to evade the eyes of the assassins?”
“Uh-oh?”
Miss Zhuge seemed to catch on to something, looking at me.
Right. Let’s narrow down the answers. Someone is pulling the strings from Wuhan. This opponent is likely not an individual but an organization.
“That Blue Robe Swordsman’s first encounter in Wuhan was with Ma Yang-baek.”
Gil-san pointed the dagger at the coffin.
“What?”
“That Blue Robe Swordsman, after appearing after months, was pushing for Ma Yang-baek’s death with the Odd Walls. Why would he do that? Why kill Ma Yang-baek, who didn’t pass the first trial?”
“How do you know that?”
I stepped forward and opened Ma Yang-baek’s coffin.
“Ugh….”
Fortunately, it seems the body is still well-preserved. The decomposition isn’t too advanced, perhaps due to a proper burial.
“The answer lies with Heo Song.”
“Heo Song?”
“How did Heo Song die?”
“How? His face was half-skinned…wait.”
“Exactly. His face.”
I suddenly thrust the knife into the face.
“Huh?!”
“Wha?”
Touching a corpse with a blade is an immense taboo. How could one defile the body of the deceased? Such acts are fit only for barbaric outsiders. Hence, even those inspecting corpses would never use a blade on them.
With my fingers, I pried open the gaps in the torn facial skin.
Tearing facial skin.
No.
“What…what is this?!”
“It’s a human skin mask.”
A mask made from human facial skin.
The mask that deceived the Murong Family and hid officials of Joseon was now in my hands.
“What is this?!”
The identity of the person buried wasn’t Ma Yang-baek. Miss Zhuge and Gil-san’s eyes widened in shock.
“Ma Yang-baek wasn’t murdered. He was disposed of because he was of no use.”
“Who did this?!”
I thought I was solving a puzzle.
Leading the board. If I could just work out the issue, it would all end well. Suddenly, an unknown black stone was placed on the board, changing the game.
The unseen fog of the game. Now, don’t I only need to see the ending? It’s not necessary to explore every little detail, right? It may feel off, but let’s just move on.
Yet my instincts rang alarm bells. Don’t just let it slide.
Taking a step toward the unknown fog. The mist recedes. I gazed keenly at the one buried within Ma Yang-baek’s coffin.
I wasn’t casually solving a puzzle.
“I was playing a game of Go.”
Unbeknownst to me, someone had been sitting across from me. Someone unqualified was aiming for the wealth of the richest man in Hubei Province.
Who could he be?
I know.
He puts others to sleep and disguises corpses with human skin masks. The method I once used to escape a crisis was not my own invention.
Stealing the identities of others, disguising deaths, and manipulating the Martial Arts World.
I know who he is.
The villain of a martial arts dating sim.
The pawn of the Demonic Cult.
“Baek Myeon-ho-ri…!”
The alias of the one seated across from me, playing the game of Go.
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