Chapter 25
Namgung Hui-myeong peered warily into the empty house and grabbed the man again, asking, "Any idea what killed him?"
"Cause of death? No clue. I heard he was cut up real bad, though. That's all I got."
After the man left, everything went quiet.
'I could deal with bad intel and a dead end, but his death wasn't in the cards.'
It sucks that I can't read Namgung Jeok-myeong's face right now.
Seeming to echo her unease, Namgung Hui-myeong spoke in a serious voice, "Who do you think it was, Brother?"
"………………"
"I have no idea what's happening. Sigh... I guess it's not that weird that we were ambushed on the way here."
"………………"
"But the homeowner's dead? Seriously?! Who the hell even knows who Soyo is related to, let alone would jump the gun like this?"
Just as Namgung Hui-myeong was about to blow a gasket and Chang-a worriedly grabbed Yeo-il's hand, Namgung Jeok-myeong calmly answered, "We can't exactly raise the dead to get the details, so we're better off digging up some information first."
Everyone agreed. They split up into twos and threes and hit up the neighbors and local inns for information.
But they had no luck. They came up empty.
'It's not just nothing; it's like everyone's avoiding the subject like the plague.'
All they could gather was that the guy was a loner, kept to himself, hardly ever left the house, and basically gave nobody a reason to kill him.
Namgung Hui-myeong, growing antsy, threw out another idea. "Let's just sneak in tonight, Brother. Me, Soyo, and that servant can handle it, right?"
It was then.
"Hey, you guys."
An unfamiliar old man called out to them.
"Are you the ones? The outsiders poking around about the guy who lived here?"
The old man jerked his chin toward the empty house, looking very uneasy. In response, Namgung Jeok-myeong restrained Namgung Hui-myeong, who was about to step forward reflexively, and bowed his head himself.
"We apologize if we stirred things up, Elder. We didn't mean to cause any trouble. We just had some personal business to look into."
"Business? What kind of business?"
Yeo-il stepped forward to answer that question.
"He's family. I came to ask about my mother, but... I heard he died."
"Hmm? Family, huh?"
The old man looked at Yeo-il with disbelieving eyes and then let out a short sigh.
"Huh! So the guy had family after all? And they're actually showing up."
This guy knows something about the homeowner.
Yeo-il asked the old man politely, "Would you mind telling us a little about him?"
"Story? What's there to tell? I don't know anything about the guy."
"We came a long way. Anything you can tell us would be greatly appreciated."
After a moment of silence, the old man opened his mouth in a noticeably lowered voice.
"He was a real strange guy. Showed up alone ten years ago, settled down, but barely talked to anyone. I heard he was supposed to be a scholar, but there wasn't a single book in the place... Nobody came to see him, nobody looked for him."
"………………"
"Everyone figured he was a crook on the run. But he was quiet, didn't bother anyone, so we just took him in and let it go. Then, three days ago, bam... we found him dead as a doornail. Blood all over the place, couldn't miss it. It looked like he'd tried to make a run for it."
He lived quietly for 10 years without interacting with neighbors, as if he didn't exist. He practically lived in hiding.
'How the heck did Namgung Jeok-myeong find a guy like that?'
The old man, leaning on his cane and slowly approaching, pushed open the tightly closed door.
"I'm sorry to break the news to family who's come all this way. I can't let you stay long, so wrap it up quickly."
"Thank you, Elder."
As soon as the old man left, Namgung Hui-myeong, who was the first to step into the house, gestured to Seol-yeong.
"Hey, servant boy. You and the girl wait by the door. And keep your eyes peeled, just in case."
Seol-yeong wore a very dissatisfied expression but obediently nodded. After Namgung Hui-myeong took a hit for him while blocking Pal-gwi, Seol-yeong started acting a little less snotty.
The house was eerily quiet.
Yeo-il and the Namgung brothers first entered what appeared to be the homeowner's bedroom.
"Let's start by looking for anything family-related. Hui-myeong, you take the right side."
"Sure. It's kinda creepy going through a dead guy's stuff, though, Brother."
"If there's anything suspicious, let me know immediately."
"Right. Hey, Soyo, you... just hang tight here."
While Yeo-il sat quietly on a chair in front of the paper door, the Namgung brothers began to thoroughly search the room.
She focused her hearing, and in the pitch blackness, she could start to pick up on the two men's movements.
Namgung Hui-myeong was cautious.
Whenever he found neatly arranged clothes or worn-out sundries inside the drawers, he checked their condition with careful movements.
Namgung Jeok-myeong, on the other hand, was much less careful. It was more like he was confirming something, not just looking—like he already knew what he was after.
"I think I'm done here. I'll check the next room."
As Namgung Hui-myeong left, Namgung Jeok-myeong began to re-examine the items that the third brother had looked at.
Yeo-il cautiously asked, "What are you digging for so intently?"
Namgung Jeok-myeong's movements slowed slightly.
"Tell me, and I'll help. I might be blind, but I've got hands and feet. I can pitch in."
The answer came a little late.
"You talk as if you can see exactly what I'm doing."
"I can hear it, so I bet you could see it plain as day. Maybe Hui-myeong took off to give you some space, Jeok-myeong."
"You and Hui-myeong have gotten pretty tight lately."
"Hui-myeong's a straight shooter, so it's easy to be around him."
"Haha. Hui-myeong's definitely the most honest and innocent of us brothers... But Soyo,"
Along with the sound of a drawer opening, Namgung Jeok-myeong called her name softly.
"Do you remember there was a catch to letting you go to Hubei?"
"Of course. Wasn't it that I had to travel in secret, by carriage, with no guards?"
"Nope. That was just for your own good, not my condition."
It was as expected, but it was truly a petty attitude.
"Huh. I figured you were sending me here as, like, collateral, Jeok-myeong."
"Collateral? That's a funny way to put it. Anyone listening would think you and I were enemies pretending to be family, Soyo. Wouldn't you say?"
Following the chilling question, Namgung Jeok-myeong's movements suddenly stopped.
"I understand why you're saying that..."
The opponent, who had leisurely risen and approached, stopped walking in front of her.
Yeo-il focused all her attention and sharpened her senses.
Especially near his waist, where his sword was.
