Chapter 32 – The Innocent Schemer

Chapter 32 – The Innocent Schemer

‘…Torong?’

At the incomprehensible words, the black figure's gaze momentarily turned backward.

And a pair of red eyes glowing in the darkness he faced.

Grrr.

It did not take much time for his doubt to turn into shock.

“……!!!”

Just what on earth was that……

The fear of a creature he had never seen before in his life instantly paralyzed his reason.

A body covered in large scales reinforced with bony plates.

A long, protruding snout and sharp, densely packed teeth.

Vertical slit pupils emitted a red light.

Grrrrr!

As a scratching sound that vibrated from the back of its throat echoed chillingly, the figure quickly kicked off the ground.

…No, he tried to kick off.

Crunch!

The sound of skin tearing came before the terrible pain of flesh being gouged. The moment his foot was about to leave the ground, a finger-sized tooth sank into his leg.

“…Aaaargh!!”

Pain that could not be overcome even with fear immediately assaulted his lower body.

As the snout, as hard as iron armor, tightly bit his right leg and shook it, the figure had no choice but to collapse onto the ground.

Pant, pant.

His panting breath, which sounded as if he was about to pass out, seemed to show his agony.

“Oh dear, that must hurt.”

“……?!”

Rather than the sharp teeth sinking into his shinbone, the voice he heard was even more unbelievable.

A voice as calm as if looking at a child who had stumbled over a stone.

Unable to move, the figure could not help but stare at the person walking toward him. Thump, thump. His heart beat wildly. Was he even breathing properly right now? He could not even tell. All of these discrepancies were simply bizarre. The situation unfolding before him alongside the unfamiliar beast biting his leg.

When the owner of the voice finally approached right in front of the figure.

The black figure ended up facing the most bizarre thing.

“So it was the Chief Steward.”

Someone who should not be in this place.

It was none other than Tang San-ho, the Young Master of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

“……You…!!”

Murong Tak, the Chief Steward of the Murong Clan whose identity had been exposed, drew his sword. Quickly scanning the surroundings, there seemed to be no other figures.

Crunch.

“Uuugh!!”

However, at the same time he drew his sword, the teeth embedded in his leg dug even deeper inside with a gruesome sound. Murong Tak clenched his teeth and let out a crushed groan.

His leg, which was not enveloped in Body-Protecting Qi, poured blood just like a lump of meat.

“It's fine, let go now.”

At that moment, as San-ho stepped forward and lightly tapped the beast biting his leg, the deeply embedded teeth finally slipped out. Hot blood welled up in each of the empty spaces where the teeth had been.

Growl.

It was bizarre that San-ho treated the beast as if they could communicate, but right now, he was in no position to worry about such things.

“A young brat, acting so fearlessly…”

While clenching his teeth in pain, the gaze in his eyes as he stood upright instantly changed.

Quickly pressing his acupoints to stop the bleeding, Murong Tak thrust his sword forward, channeling his internal energy.

“How dare you!”

“Ah, seriously……”

However, without even taking a defensive stance, San-ho, who simply placed his hands on his waist, spoke first.

“What, you want to fight? Right now?”

Since his aura was so confident, Murong Tak had no choice but to stop and ask back.

“……What?”

“No, think about it. You failed even just running away… do you think you could win if you fight now?”

“………”

“Instead of doing that, if you tell me why you are looking for the secret manual, I will just let you go.”

His eyes naturally widened at the completely unexpected proposal.

Murong Tak momentarily doubted his ears, wondering if he had heard correctly.

“…Are you saying you will let me go if you hear the reason?”

“Uh-huh, of course. I'm empty-handed right now, aren't I?”

As if to prove his innocence, San-ho raised both hands to shoulder height, showing his empty palms.

Murong Tak furrowed his brow and struggled to understand this incomprehensible situation. Knowing that he had poisoned the Young Clan Leader and framed him, he would let him go just for an answer?

'Is this young brat truly mad? What on earth is he trying to do?'

However, San-ho only tilted his head as if curious.

“Because no matter how much I think about it, I don't understand. If it were a secret manual of some supreme divine martial art, maybe, but I heard it's not even a complete version? What more would learning that do besides causing Qi Deviation. So I'm curious why you are looking for it to that extent.”

“No matter what you say, my mouth will not open. After cutting you down…”

“Well, I figured you'd say that.”

Shrugging his shoulders, San-ho cut off Murong Tak's words.

“…?”

“Still, after framing the Young Master of the Tang Clan, who repays kindness twofold and grudges tenfold… if a loud noise is made here, will the Chief Steward really be able to safely escape the Tang Clan Castle? …I'm not so sure…”

“………”

As San-ho spoke in a falsely concerned voice, Murong Tak frowned.

'I should not have given him time to wag his tongue from the beginning.'

Because the beast, opening its blood-stained snout and ready to tear him apart at any moment, was glaring at him, he could not act rashly. It was the same for San-ho's attitude, which was incredibly confident even though he stood before a warrior holding a sword.

After hesitating for a moment, Murong Tak finally decided to resolve the situation quietly and leave this place.

“What do you want?”

“Why you wanted to find that secret manual so badly.”

Letting out a low sigh, Murong Tak crumpled the secret manual he held in his hand and spoke.

“……To destroy it.”

“No, I mean, why……”

“Because that is my Heaven's Mandate.”

What was that? At Murong Tak's words, this time, San-ho's expression crumpled fiercely.

'It's baffling that he says something so nonsensical so seriously.'

San-ho spoke to the Chief Steward, who attributed the reason for his actions to heaven.

“So… what the Chief Steward is saying is that heaven ordered you to kill the Young Clan Leader of your family and destroy that secret manual? Heaven did?”

“How could someone like you dare to comprehend that lofty will?”

“How did you know then, Chief Steward?”

“I received a revelation.”

“……Ah, yes………”

I see…

Could it be that there was no grand reason behind a madman's crazy actions?

It was not even some grand divine martial art, just an incomplete secret manual at best. Since he had even tried to kill the Young Clan Leader of his own family for such a thing, he had wondered what grand reason there could be.

“Let me ask one thing as well. How are you here?”

Murong Tak, who had clearly seen San-ho leaving with the Murong warriors, asked in bewilderment.

“It's the same as the Chief Steward, really. Since the warriors of Murong and the Tang Clan are confronting each other, wouldn't it be easy to slip away using the commotion?”

“………You ran into me by chance?”

“Ahaha! Where in the world is there such a thing as chance. A coincidence… is merely a plan that isn't visible to the eye.”

“What does that mean?”

“Because I knew the Chief Steward would come here. So that means it wasn't a coincidence.”

At those words, Murong Tak widened his eyes.

“……You knew I would come? Then, did you know that I was the real culprit?”

“Not that. I just knew that whoever the real culprit was, they would come.”

“Ha… a young brat sure has guts. I will highly evaluate your courage at least. But it is an arrogant illusion to think that the world's affairs flow according to plans. Even now, if I had not come, you would not have known in the end, would you?”

Clicking his tongue, Murong Tak said as he looked down at San-ho, who was a span shorter than him.

“Is that what you think? I don't think so.”

“Do you think your thoughts matter? If I had made a different choice, we would have never crossed paths in the end.”

Hmm. After hesitating briefly, San-ho continued speaking.

“Do you still think you chose to come here of your own free will to find the secret manual, Chief Steward?”

“What?”

“You didn't choose anything, Chief Steward. As I told you earlier, a coincidence is merely a plan that hasn't been revealed.”

“Ha! How could someone like you plan a coincidence. You were just lucky.”

San-ho lightly shook his head and replied.

“As long as three conditions were met, you were bound to show up in this spot today, Chief Steward.”

“……Conditions?”

Nodding his head, San-ho held up three fingers.

“First is the deadline.

If Murong had possessed the secret manual, they could have aimed for the next opportunity in Liaoning. But what if it was stolen by the Young Master of the Tang Clan? The deadline would be limited to the duration of the assembly inside the Tang Clan Castle.”

“………”

“Second is the situation.

Using poison to attack the Young Clan Leader of Murong was a calculated action to avoid suspicion. So, it means the Chief Steward is cautious enough to think about the aftermath. Since the other families suffered the same damage, you thought that even if a big commotion broke out, they would support Murong, didn't you?”

“…Huh…”

Had he read his mind?

Murong Tak felt a sudden cold chill run down the back of his neck.

“Lastly, third is the location.

Having heard the rumors, you must have known that I was the thief. But what if I happened to leave the annex empty at that very moment? Where could there be an easier opportunity than this. It's just raiding an unattended storehouse.”

“………!!”

And he finally realized.

That the child in front of him, with an innocent face, was actually a more meticulous strategist than anyone else.

“If you limit the deadline, create the desired situation, and lure them to the appropriate location…… Ta-da, the Chief Steward arrives in accordance with the place and time I want like this. Pretty simple, right?”

“Then, don't tell me even that rumor…!!”

Dyed in shock, Murong Tak could only open and close his mouth, unable to say another word.

'Is this… possible by common sense?'

A mere sixteen-year-old child had played with him like a piece on a Janggi board.

No, it was not just that.

A foolproof plan .

Everything was a thoroughly planned trap.

The child in front of him had calculated even how each and every one of his actions would appear, setting up the most advantageous board.

Going in and out of the clan's guest hall every single day was also to spread the rumor just as he wanted……

In an instant, he felt a dizzying sensation of falling to the floor. Unable to believe it, even the corners of his eyes trembled.

“Ha… Murong has suffered a setback twice due to groundless rumors.”

Someone who far exceeded his common sense.

It was only natural for a human to be flustered when facing something that deviated from their expectations.

If the Head of the Tang Clan or those whose movements he had been watching had laid the trap, Murong Tak would not have been this surprised. But the opponent was a child whose beard had not even grown properly, was he not?

The bizarre feeling arising from that gap was enough to give him goosebumps.

“……I admit it. I should not have underestimated you for being young.”

Therefore, this was even less the time for this.

Murong Tak decided to escape this place, leaving behind the unpleasant sensation that felt like bugs crawling all over his body.

“A man's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold . You will keep the words you spoke, right?”

To him who pulled his body back a step, San-ho shrugged his shoulders again and replied, "Of course."

There was no more time to hesitate.

Murong Tak thought of an excuse to make up after escaping the annex like this and roughly treating the wound on his leg.

As if intending to keep the words he spoke, San-ho stood right there in his place. Even waving his hand lightly. Murong Tak felt an unknown foreboding from that sight, but soon erased the thought and carefully pushed open the gate.

The old wood creaked out of alignment, a small sound echoing.

At that moment.

“……Chief Steward.”

A familiar face was revealed through the gap of the open gate.

“F-Family Head!”

Outside the annex, Murong Seol-ju was looking at him with a truly devastated expression.