Chapter 153: Chapter 153
“…Mmm, so you mean you want to check his corpse. Certainly, if you want to find some other trace, starting there would be right. But…”
Seom Ji-young tilted her head with a skeptical expression.
“It has already been over three months since Clan Master Je Gung-wol passed away. Coming now to open that coffin lid and inspect the corpse, could you really find traces from three months ago? Of course, I heard patrol inspectors can tell what a corpse ate and did before dying just by looking at it, but…”
“We must start there. Because if he truly fell into qi deviation due to his own mistake, there would be no need to continue the investigation in the first place. Do not worry about whether traces can be identified or not.”
Jang Geon spoke calmly as he thought. Qi deviation did not merely refer to the rampage of internal energy. As in the case of the Shaolin monk who had gone mad in the past, it also referred to the process of becoming a demonic practitioner when one’s mind suffered a massive shock, causing internal energy to depart from normal principles and admitting demon mystery into qi and blood.
Of course, simply sustaining injuries from being unable to handle one’s own internal energy was also called qi deviation. This case often occurred when an external shock was delivered during qi regulation.
From the time he first learned internal energy until now, Jang Geon had experimented with various internal energy operations on his own and injured himself. In his childhood, the scale was so small that he was not severely injured, and after becoming an adult, the solid foundation laid back then supported him firmly underneath, so even turbulent internal energy movements caused no great strain. That background was why he could learn Samadhi True Fire or Primordial Lightning relatively easily and immediately apply them in real combat.
Therefore, Jang Geon believed he could at least distinguish between falling into qi deviation alone versus falling into qi deviation from an external shock. The problem was the state of the corpse, which had rotted for three months as Seom Ji-young said, but in the end, that was something he could only know by going to see it directly.
During his brief thought, Seom Ji-young spoke with a somewhat troubled expression.
“The coffin itself is already enshrined in the family shrine, so we would just need to go there and open it… There is a caretaker, but it is not a place with very strict security.”
“Family shrine?”
When Jang Geon asked back, Seom Ji-young crossed her arms and continued.
“There is a small hill behind the clan manor. On it stands the Je Clan’s sanctuary built with stone and mortar. I heard that when they migrated from the Central Plains, they reburied all their ancestors’ coffins and enshrined them there. So Clan Master Je Gung-wol, as well as his father and grandfather, were all interred there. Also, because they had to enshrine many ancestors, I was told the underground is broader than it looks from the outside.”
In short, it was a clan sanctuary and simultaneously an actual tomb. The Central Plains method of placing ancestor tombs on ancestral mountains and enshrining spirit tablets in sanctuaries seemed to have subtly changed upon crossing to the New Continent.
Hearing the story, Jang Geon read a subtle atmosphere in Seom Ji-young’s tone.
“Have you never been there yourself?”
Seom Ji-young nodded.
“Only direct line members and elders of the Je Clan enter the sanctuary tomb. After I marry Brother Sang-cheon later, I will also have to enter and conduct ancestral rites, but I haven’t entered yet.”
“What about the security not being strict?”
“That’s because it is literally just a tomb. In the old Central Plains imperial days, they built massive mounds and buried all kinds of grave goods together, but now it is nothing more than a sanctuary and basement where cold stone coffins and a few ceremonial vessels are placed. And unless someone wishes to mock the Je Clan, there is no reason to disturb those who rest there.”
“Then inspecting the corpse will not be difficult.”
Seom Ji-young parted her lips briefly at Jang Geon’s resolute tone.
“However, neither of us knows what the interior is like… nor which stone coffin enshrines the clan master…”
“There is someone who should know.”
“Pardon?”
Leaving Seom Ji-young in the room, Jang Geon immediately went and brought Jin Gyeon. Having obediently entered the room upon being asked to follow briefly, Jin Gyeon flinched upon discovering Seom Ji-young inside.
“Benefactor Seom? No, how are you here…?”
He looked back and forth between Jang Geon and Seom Ji-young with anxious eyes. Unbefitting his profession as a monk, he could be seen harboring sinister imaginations.
“Don’t entertain strange thoughts. She is the person who entrusted the job to me.”
“Job? Then that means…”
Jin Gyeon’s expression sank in an instant. He quietly pressed his palms together, recited a chant, and asked Seom Ji-young.
“…Amitabha, then does Benefactor Seom truly believe Clan Master Je Gung-wol fell victim to some conspiracy?”
Likewise somewhat flustered upon seeing Jin Gyeon open the door and enter, Seom Ji-young suppressed that emotion and answered.
“I hired this person because I want to bring that to light.”
“Mmm…”
Jin Gyeon toyed with the thick prayer beads with his opposite hand. Perhaps due to the long robe, kasaya, and the prayer beads rolling in his hand, Jin Gyeon looked like a monk who had attained high cultivation. He was certainly different from his past appearance wearing worn martial robes.
Jang Geon, who was having useless thoughts, spoke first.
“Since you came to oversee the clan master’s funeral, you must have entered that sanctuary.”
“…Namo Amitabha. You intend to inspect the corpse.”
“Did you see the corpse?”
Jin Gyeon shook his head.
“Young Master Je Sang-cheon called me to oversee Clan Master Je Gung-wol’s funeral, but in truth, I arrived in New Sichuan only a few days ago. Clan Master Je Gung-wol had already completed shroud preparation and been interred in the tomb. Thus, rather than overseeing the funeral, I merely offered condolences and comforted the chief mourner. That was why I thought Young Master Je Sang-cheon called me for the inauguration congratulatory address rather than the funeral…”
He let his words trail off and kept rolling his prayer beads. Then, closing both eyes this time, he continued speaking.
“Identifying Clan Master Je Gung-wol’s stone coffin will not be difficult. Among the five stone coffins on the first underground level, there is one that looks noticeably new. That one is Clan Master Je Gung-wol’s. Also, while there is a caretaker, I understand he only patrols the vicinity of the sanctuary at night. As long as you avoid his eyes when entering, there will be no major obstacles.”
Jin Gyeon spoke like that, having immediately grasped what Jang Geon wanted to know upon hearing his question. He was telling them that if they truly intended to inspect Je Gung-wol’s corpse, they should make use of the dead of night. He spoke up to that point and turned his body right away. And before stepping out the door, he stopped and said.
“…This poor monk is merely a plain monk from a small temple across the ocean. Therefore, until the truth is revealed to some extent, I cannot step in any further. I am sorry, Warrior Jang. Just a moment ago I said I would help with anything.”
“What you told me just now is plenty.”
Jin Gyeon turned his head and showed a small smile to Jang Geon. Afterward, he quietly recited a chant and left the room.
After he left and the room door closed, Jang Geon said.
“Since the sun is still bright, we should wait a bit. We will visit the sanctuary tomb after the clan members have all fallen asleep. By tomorrow morning, we will know whether he was truly assassinated or not.”
“…Are you going to visit alone?”
Jang Geon, who was looking at the door, met her gaze.
“Then?”
“What do you mean, then? Naturally I should accompany you. Who knows where and how you might cause commotion while slipping out of and into the clan? And you need directions to the sanctuary tomb as well.”
At her words spoken with hands firmly resting on both hips, Jang Geon smiled softly.
“Hmm. Is it alright for you to climb over walls with another man at night, leaving your fiancé behind? If caught, it seems like a big trouble.”
At Jang Geon’s slightly slick tone, Seom Ji-young snorted lightly. Then, striding toward the door, she spoke.
“I’ll come back later. Be prepared.”
When the door opened, the maid waiting outside greeted her. Seom Ji-young once again became a maid of the clan alongside her and left Birak Court. Looking down at them receding through the window, Jang Geon scratched his cheek. Indeed, having a guide was good. Though it didn’t necessarily have to be her.
* * *
Over the sky of the Je Clan, which had been quietly yet strangely clamorous, a dark blue night sky and a sea of sparkling stars descended. As the world grew dark and the density of shadows became indistinguishable, people went to sleep, and the Je Clan Manor fell silent. It was a quiet accompanied by the coolness of the night, different from the solemnity of the day.
Jang Geon, who had brought a chair to the window and watched the manor without lighting a single candle, quietly stood up and took off his outer coat. To climb over walls, it was better to remove flowing outer garments. Around the time he adjusted his sleeves and pant hems and tied Azure Dragon across his back, a faint shadow gathered at the window. It was the contrast created by the now-bright moon and stars.
Before Seom Ji-young could knock on the window, Jang Geon opened it first. Dressed in pitch-black night garb and clinging to the wall, she froze with her hand raised as if about to knock.
“Come in.”
Seeing that, he spoke in a calm tone devoid of jokes. Thanks to that, Seom Ji-young felt somewhat awkward as she stepped inside the window. Standing in the room, she lowered the mask she was wearing and said.
“During the day and now, your senses are sharp. I thought I was fairly quiet.”
“You were quiet enough. It was simply that I was waiting for you, so I could feel it.”
Seom Ji-young thought that was much the same thing, but she did not voice it aloud. In any case, it seemed clear that Jang Geon was a master worthy of his recently surging fame.
Leaving Seom Ji-young behind, Jang Geon used a suitable cloth to cover his face. Unlike Seom Ji-young, who was decked in black and looked professional, Jang Geon, roughly dressed, looked simply like a bandit.
“…Are you going like that?”
“Did you prepare night garb for me too?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
“Then let’s just go.”
Confirming that the face mask clung well to his face, Jang Geon immediately opened the window and jumped down. At that unhesitating action, Seom Ji-young felt flustered once again and followed behind him. Of course, unlike Jang Geon who leapt down at once, she had to grip the window sill and catch hold of wall protrusions in between to descend.
While she descended, Jang Geon straightened his collar and Azure Dragon’s shoulder strap, and seeing her finish coming down, he spoke lightly.
“Then guide the way.”
Seom Ji-young took the lead, wondering if volunteering to be the guide had been a mistake.
She lightly bounded between buildings, between low fence walls and fence walls. Moving like that while constantly checking the surroundings and verifying buildings, she seemed to have memorized all the manor’s night patrol routes.
In fact, though they could see torches and warriors walking far off, they encountered no one head-on.
Moving like that for a short while, Seom Ji-young leapt over the Je Clan’s outer fence and landed on the ground. Slowly raising her body and letting out a sigh, she soon realized that Jang Geon’s presence could not be felt. Thinking ah, did I move too fast, she turned around, only to find Jang Geon standing right behind her back.
Seeing her turn around, Jang Geon whispered softly.
“What’s wrong?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Afterward, following Seom Ji-young’s guidance, Jang Geon moved toward the low hill behind the manor. Before long, a place with a long fence made of iron bars came into view.
“Duck.”
Just then, Jang Geon grabbed Seom Ji-young and prone on the ground just like that. Proning naturally without even resisting, Seom Ji-young blinked both eyes, unable to understand why she had been dragged and prone so helplessly.
However, before she could carry that thought further, someone holding a lantern could be seen moving up ahead. It was a middle-aged man carrying a club at his waist. He appeared to be the caretaker Jin Gyeon had mentioned.
Jang Geon and Seom Ji-young lay prone like that for a moment, waiting for him to move farther away.
“…How do you know Monk Jin Gyeon?”
Once the caretaker grew somewhat distant, Seom Ji-young whispered and asked. Jang Geon knew she was subtly tense right now, which was why she asked something slightly out of place. So he answered obediently.
“His junior martial brother died at my hands. We formed a connection back then.”
Seom Ji-young stared at Jang Geon with her mouth agape wide enough to be visible even over her mask. From what Jang Geon said just now, it seemed more accurate to call it a mortal enmity rather than a connection.
“It seems he has moved far enough. Let’s go.”
However, Jang Geon stood up without resolving her doubt any further. Seom Ji-young had no choice but to quickly follow behind him.
Reaching the iron-bar fence, Jang Geon spoke again.
“Can you jump over in one go?”
“…No.”
Jang Geon nodded, placed his back against the wall, and looked at her. Seeing his posture, Seom Ji-young realized he meant to support her from below so she could jump over. And that implied he had the confidence to leap over on his own.
Internally her pride was wounded, but without wasting time, she immediately stepped on Jang Geon’s hand support and leapt over the bars. Landing on the ground, when she quickly turned around, Jang Geon had already jumped up and was landing beside her.
“…You truly are a high-level master. Not just an inspector.”
“Isn’t that why you hired me? Move.”
Beyond the iron-bar fence was an open space covered in grass lower than ankle height, and a sanctuary standing solemnly right in its center. It was not a sanctuary built with wood and tiles like general sanctuaries. It had a unique shape, with pillars, walls, and roof raised out of stone and mortar.
Entering inside, a space enshrining the spirit tablets of the Je Clan masters down through generations appeared. Not a single candle was lit, so the interior was extremely dark. Jang Geon immediately picked up a candle in front of the spirit tablets and lit it.
“That…”
“Now we must descend underground. It will not be visible from outside.”
Replying briefly as Seom Ji-young seemed surprised, Jang Geon soon discovered the stairs leading underground. Perhaps because it was a sanctuary made of stone, or perhaps because the yin energy of the dead flowed out, a strange chill was swirling there. A faint breath misted as they drew near.
Holding the candle, Jang Geon took the lead down the stairs. The curving staircase was not very long. A new underground space appeared right away. It was the first underground level Jin Gyeon had mentioned.
“…It seems to be that one.”
Jang Geon and Seom Ji-young immediately spotted a stone coffin of a noticeably pale color compared to the other stone coffins. Entrusting the candle to Seom Ji-young, Jang Geon pushed the upper part of that stone coffin with both hands. The stone coffin slid sideways with a grunting sound and fell with a thud. And inside it, there was a coffin crafted from wood.
“Mmm.”
Whether decay had progressed over time, an unpleasant odor stung their noses. However, the hands of Jang Geon opening the coffin lid did not stop.
When even the wooden coffin opened with a cracking sound, inside lay a middle-aged man with a face as pale as marble.
“…Clan Master.”
Confirming that face by the light of a single small candle, Seom Ji-young muttered to herself unconsciously. However, the dead man showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Now I shall examine him.”
Jang Geon sought permission from Seom Ji-young out of formality and unbuttoned the corpse’s clothes. Seom Ji-young ended up turning her head away at the sight of the corpse revealed beneath those clothes.
Thus Jang Geon held the corpse and fidgeted for a short moment. Jang Geon’s hand abruptly stopped. Seeing that, Seom Ji-young, who was biting her lip, quickly asked.
“Did you discover something?”
“No.”
Jang Geon withdrew his hand from the coffin and slowly straightened his body. And turning toward the stairs they had descended, he spoke.
“It seems we have a guest other than ourselves.”
Startled, Seom Ji-young quickly thrust the candle toward that direction.
Standing there was a strange figure wearing black night garb like hers and a white mask over his face. His hand was gripping the hilt of a sword over his shoulder.