Book 20 Chapter 11

A Night to Spark Crime

-1 in 8 chance

Chirp.

"What about him, did he leave?"

Bi Ryuyeon asked, her mouth watering through the bars of her prison cell.

"I just dropped him off."

Jang Hong replied, removing the black blood robe he wore to hide his face.

"Great, now we just have to wait for the results."

Rubbing her hands together, she laughed.

"Are you sure it's today?"

Jang Hong asked, still sounding doubtful.

"Tsk, tsk, I heard the older you get, the more doubtful you become. Do you still have doubts, Big Tits?"

He shoots me a sarcastic look.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Jang Hong exclaimed, and Bi Ryuyeon clicked her tongue in pity and shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, no matter how bad you are, you can't stop the arrow of time. It's time to give up. And did I say 'mister' now? I just said you're getting older. Isn't that right? Mr. Hong, you're going to get stabbed."

"What, what, did you finish your sentence?"

Unable to control his frustration, Jang Hong's expression turned stern. However, Bi Ryuyeon's demeanor remained unchanged.

"It's been said, but the truth is eternal. Truth is a hard law, and accepting it takes courage. If you want to get younger, don't you first have to admit that you're old? How can you make any progress if you turn your back on yourself? Isn't that right, meow-ah, me?"

Jang Hong made a sickening sound as Bi Ryuyeon continued her rhetorical assault.

"Yeah, I can't believe I'm arguing with you, you're crazy, you're crazy, you're not going to win, let's not talk about that, let's get to the point."

"So you believe it?"

"Yeah, I believe you, I believe you, but even if you do, do you really think he can do it on his own?"

"It's okay, I have a plan."

Not to worry, replied Turo.

"You're going to live a long time!"

Tired of his nonchalance, Jang Hong grumbled to himself.

"Are you not worried at all, or have you already done your double and triple duty without realizing it, otherwise how could you be so relaxed, even if your heart is made of steel!

"Only the prepared can sit back and wait for the future to come, and it's much better for your mental health."

Eagerly teasing her chopsticks, Bi Ryuyeon said in a relaxed voice.

"Of course you should, but what are you eating?"

Jang Hong asked as he watched Bi Ryuyeon diligently tease his chopsticks, which had been in his hand ever since he arrived. It was a black lacquer bowl, containing rice and various side dishes. However, Jang Hong himself couldn't tell what exactly those side dishes were, not because he wasn't a culinary expert, but because their shapes were unclear.

"Oh, this. Sassy."

"Sasik, do you think there's poison in it?"

Jang Hong asked with a serious expression.

"Why? Nothing happened?"

"Why else would anyone put homemade food in your mouth? It must be poisoned. Cancer, that is."

Jang Hong said in a tone of almost certainty.

"Don't worry, I've got someone for that. By the way, this vegetable stir-fry, the cutting of the ingredients is nothing short of divine, but I think I failed to adjust the heat. Yum, yum, yum, yum!"

"I see you can eat that, too."

"Yes, that's because this lunchbox has love in it. It's made by someone you love, so of course it should be delicious, right?"

"My dear, who is that?"

As a man of common sense, Jang Hong couldn't believe that such a mysterious being existed in this powerhouse.

"There's only one person like that for me."

Why ask for the obvious?" asked Turo's Bi Ryuyeon.

"No, no, no… that can't be……."

No matter how much I tried to imagine it, I couldn't.

"That's exactly right, yum yum."

Wiping her mouth, Bi Ryuyeon replied dryly.

He takes another bite.

"Oh, no, no, no, you're not that Na Yerin Sojae, don't lie to me."

Jang Hong's eyes widened in horror. However, he had always believed that there was a limit to bluster, and that unrestrained bluster would never be persuasive.

"It's not a lie, it's a fact. Don't you realize that sometimes reality trumps imagination? There are realities that seem more fictional than fiction, and Yerin doesn't have to conform her behavior to the meager imagination of others, does she?"

"By the way… you were able to eat that precious thing and still talk like that. Yes. I can't believe it was made by me, Sojae. ……. Don't you realize that if it was made by Yerin Sojae, there would be a line of people who would happily eat it even if it was publicized that it contained poison. It's not something even the emperor can eat."

Once this is known, it will become a publicity stunt. It was obvious even without looking. Don't change their idols. Or, more accurately, don't pollute it. I don't want to see a goddess like that. To them, she was just a moon they couldn't catch.

The moon was never to descend to earth.

* * *

The moon, most of its body gnawed away by darkness, had been dragged down from the center of the sky to just above the horizon, leaving only a pale glimmer of light, like a half-wheel. The stars had long since drowned beneath the inky surface of the night sea. The fact that one's actions are invisible brings a strange sense of relief to those who want to do things that leave a bad taste in their mouths. With complete anonymity, it's easier than ever to turn a blind eye to their actions. It was a night that seemed to invite crime. It was a good night to rob, and a good night to be robbed. Shivering with a momentary chill, Namgungsang stepped quietly onto the courtyard. It certainly wasn't the night's chill.

"What kind of ridiculous ideas does he have?

I had an ominous feeling.

His theory was that the mind and thoughts are the power source for behavior. So far, so good. Very good. Nothing is wrong. Even brilliant. The problem was that he took it a little too far. The gap between his thoughts and his actions was so small that he was often prone to acting out his delusions, sometimes almost to the point of nihilism.

The biggest victims of the realized delusion were, of course, their masterminds, most notably himself. The fact that she was here now was not unrelated to that. He wanted to live a normal life, but that was a pipe dream when he was surrounded by his big brother, Bi Ryuyeon, who was spewing unhealthy food into his life every day. I pray that this tiresome relationship will end soon, but I don't hold out much hope. There are some things you just can't pray for.

"Prayer? That's ridiculous. You think you can just wish and something will fall out of the sky, do you? You think God is some kind of omnipotent god? That's about as good as it gets. Why don't you realize that's blasphemy? There are few things more blatant than wishing for something without doing anything about it. Cancer, rarely. You know what the greatest prayer is? It's for action! You know why we pray? It's to build up the will to put our thoughts into action."

It was clear that praying would not work against such a big brother. Instead, it was much more realistic to train himself and build up his skills to defeat the big brother.

"Is it really going to show up, or am I just wasting my time?"

Today was the day the godbrother was expected. Actually, there was no expectation. He had been doing things with a simple, repetitive regularity that even a fool could recognize. It was foolish. But it was actually beneficial to him.

"Don't skip a day! Be ready and prepared the day after they take the bait. If they're fast, they'll probably strike again the very next day, odds are good. But you can't rule out the possibility that they'll give you a day or two off, assuming they're a little sluggish."

"What if it doesn't show up?"

"Well, we can't do that, we have to raid again."

Namgung Sang looked at Bi Ryuyeon with a frown as she spoke the word raid too lightly.

"Again?"

"All right. Grab one of the big guys, any big guy, and deal with him, but don't skip a day. It's important to instill in them the confidence that you'll show up the next evening as well. You have to make them trust you, that's all. Do you understand?"

"Does it have to be that way… to people who have done nothing wrong……."

"I blame them for not being prepared for something this big. If they thought that misfortune would befall only one of them, I'll show them otherwise!"

"such as……."

Namgung Sang's mouth dropped open. He'd gotten tired of their casual nonchalance. He hadn't seen this before, and he hadn't gotten used to it.

"And be careful not to get caught by the patrols!"

Namgung Sang recalled Bi Ryuyeon's final warning to him before he died: Yes, he was dead, officially! It was a strange feeling to be a mere observer of what would happen after his death. When the inevitable day comes, decades later, will it be like this? Will it be a blessing or a curse to be able to steal a glimpse of this as if it were a rehearsal? It will never be the same. The present is constrained by the past, and the future, which will be decades in the future, will never be the same as it is now. Thinking about that, I felt a little depressed. She had an eerie premonition that she had already been branded as a criminal because of her karma for taking this human being, Bi Ryuyeon, as an ambassador. Will she ever be able to escape that shadow? Who could he blame for the weakness of his own will?

'Please show up today…….'

Namgungsang could only silently pray to himself. It's said that if you wish hard enough, it will come true. If his brother's words were true, and wishing meant not just hiding in an alcove and praying, but doing everything in his power to make it happen and waiting for the will of the heavens, then he had done enough. He had already died, and he didn't want to stay dead any longer. Besides, he couldn't wait to part ways with the young fellow from the Gong family who was following in his footsteps.

'령아…….'

Suddenly, I missed Jinyoung like crazy.

"Yeah, there's a lot of wishers in the sky, and it's faster to take matters into your own hands than to wait forever for a numbered ticket that you don't know when it's going to come back!

It would take the heavens to keep up with all of their complaints. Nangong Shang deployed the divine art of grassy flight and silently approached under the shadow of the wall on one side of the Zhongyang Pavilion, his footsteps treading only the grass and the rebound of his movement muffling any noise. The night watchman had passed through here a short while ago, so he wouldn't be coming for a while.

"Great!

Namgungsang was relieved and prepared to cross the wall. He let his guard down for a moment. But who says you can't let your guard down? A voice called out to him.

"If you're the head of a company, you have to do the big deeds, but how can you move like a thief's hoe?"

The woman's stern rebuke came from behind his back, and he whirled around in anger. A fully grown Qin Shaolin was standing there, arms crossed, looking at them with a stern glare. Even his sword was hanging from his waist, indicating that he had already prepared and was waiting for them.

"I think something similar happened yesterday, is this the second time this has happened?"

Yesterday he was caught trying to get in, today he was caught trying to get out, and he couldn't help but reflect on his inexperience with stealth. To be honest, his performance in the so-called nocturnal art of stealth was not very good compared to other subjects.

"Are we going to catch that raider of yours?"

"Yes… it is."

He didn't dare to lie, so he told the truth. Even if they objected, he had no intention of breaking their will. He had a good reason to go. He could only blame himself for not paying enough attention.

"I'll come with you."

Suddenly, Qin Xiaolong declared. With an attitude of not accepting no for an answer, she quickly got to the point.

"What? Ha, but……."

It was a very unexpected reaction. The unexpectedness of the situation had quickly overwhelmed his ability to handle it. It was so out of the ordinary that it was not within his expectations. All he could do was stammer and stutter. Refuse, no, he must refuse. That was his decision. There was no reason for Qin Shaolin to interfere in this.

"We can't. Please let us go alone."

"Why not, let's hear why?"

It was a quiet, calm response, but one that made it clear that if they weren't convinced, they would ignore it.

After a moment's hesitation, Namgungsang called out in an eager voice.

"I don't want to give you any trouble!"

Qin Xiaolong was not impressed, not at all!

"That's not convincing at all. How can you judge whether it's a nuisance to me or not? I thought that was entirely up to me, or have I been misinformed all this time?"

Qin Xiaoling, eager to hear all the strange things that were being said, replied. It's true, he wanted to decide for himself what he wanted to do, and he couldn't have a mere stranger telling him what to do.

"Well, it's… socially accepted that……."

The excuses left me speechless from the start.

"What if I reject that social norm?"

Qin Xiaoling asked.

"…of your own volition."

After being involved with Bi Ryuyeon for so long, Nan Gongsang had learned to recognize when to give up and when not to give up. This was definitely the former. It seemed that not even the might of the Ten Thousand Muscles could shake her resolve.

"So it's settled then?"

In fact, it was presumptuous of him to interfere with the will of others.

"Yes, it is."

Namgungsang bowed his head deeply and replied, but his tribulations were far from over.

"Wait, if Gene Sojae is going, I'm going."

It was Yoo Eun-sung, the first swordsman to appear, who spoke with a tone that said it was a very natural thing to do.

"What's up with that guy?

Namgungsang screamed twice inwardly, wishing he could wrap his hands around the throbbing goal, but he had no such luxury.

"Why no answer, is this a complaint?"

In a firm tone, Liu Eunsung asked again, his voice full of determination and unwillingness to take no for an answer. To him, it didn't matter if it was a southern palace, or if it was polite. All this man cared about was Qin Xiaoling.

"Well, that's……."

The Southern Palace's ability to handle the situation has been paralyzed. It's hard enough to deal with Qin Xiaoling alone, and now Yue Yunsheng, who is almost his equal, is following him. This is a job that requires stealthy maneuvers, and now there are too many of them.

"What, that gaunt face? You can't be……."

Yoo Eun-sung asked in a sharp tone, and Namgung-sang hastily threw up his hands.

"No, of course not, I have no complaints."

'Era, be what you will! I don't know.'

It was a hollow echo that echoed in the mind of Namgungsang at the time.

"I didn't want to inconvenience you two, but here we are."

Namgungsang said in a full, dead voice.

"Don't worry about it. This is my choice, not yours. I haven't accepted you as his replacement yet, but I'm sure he'd be sad if something happened to you, and I don't want to see him sad yet. Besides……."

"……?"

"Besides, if anything were to happen to you, who would I have to fight with, and would I not have no one to fight with?"

"Go, thank you, Auntie!"

Namgungsang replied in an emotional voice, and then Qin Xiaoling said, "I'm sorry.

"Wait! Don't call me by that name yet. You'll have to beat me in the promised fight before you can call me by that name. Do you understand?"

She was a woman who was sure to make and break ties.

"Understood, Qin Yeohyeop!"

Namgungsang replied in a stern voice. I couldn't help but chastise myself for being so flippant.

"Shall we go then, Yu Dae-hyeop?"

"Sure."

"But first……."

Qin Xiaolong paused for a moment. Then, without turning around, he spoke in a quiet voice.

"What are you doing, not coming out?"

The stern words were followed by a rustling in the corner of the room about three sheets away. I could feel the hesitation, even though I couldn't see it.

"Come out quickly. What are you waiting for, that I should drag you out myself?"

Two people stepped out from under the dark shadows. Yulan and Yu Yunbi, both of whom looked as if they had something on their minds. Their movements were also precarious and shuffling, like the gait of a prisoner being dragged to jail. Yoo Eun-sung, who was beside them, clicked her tongue in pity at the sight.

"What were you two men and women doing out there on a late night?"

"Nah, no way. We're just……."

Both men were stunned by the question, which could have been very erotic. They wanted to follow. They wanted to be part of it. Wanted to be a part of it, but neither of them was quite ready for their halflings to take the swordsmen with them.

"It's still too much for you guys. You two stay here!"

Qin Shaolin said in a firm tone. The heads of Yu Lan and Yu Yunfei, who were kneeling with their heads shaking, snapped up.

"Why? Please take us with you, Master."

Yulan begged. Liu Yunfei listened.

"Please. Please take us with you!"

Qin Xiaolong shook his head. Then he said in a slightly stern and sad voice.

"Do you really want to hear such a platitude from my lips once more? Do you really want to make me an incompetent master? Do not make me an incompetent master anymore."

"Well, that's……."

Yulan's head dropped downward. He realized it was to spare him the stigma of having an incompetent apprentice who couldn't reason for the most obvious of reasons.

"You are weak!

It's hard to imagine how she didn't recognize the underlying meaning behind the question, but there are some things we don't want to admit.

"As Gene Sojae said. This is too dangerous for you to meddle in. I want you to remember why you're here. You're not here to catch a murderer, you're here to join the Celestial Academy. Find out what you can do before you jump into something you can't do!"

I was summarily rejected. No wonder. I could have been seriously injured. They could even die. This wasn't a place to play; this was the real thing, where lives could be lost under the blaze of iron on iron.

"I think we're done arguing about this."