I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 91

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 91
Seonwu shared the situation immediately.
“In that case, senior, shouldn’t we also apprehend the courtesan from Aewolru?”
“Hmm, if just the two of us head over right now, it might end up beating the grass to startle the snake. I think it would be better to make her come to us instead.”
“Let us do that.”
Absolute Shadow immediately backed Seonwu’s plan.
“It shouldn’t be difficult to induce them to bring her in as a witness.”
All it took was telling the Prefect to summon her.
Having the power to pull the Prefect’s strings from behind the scenes was incredibly convenient.
If they were ordinary chivalrous Xia, this would have been a major obstacle from the start.
If the Prefect claimed he was summoning her to ask if the Young Master of Wolyeop Sect—who was suspected of being a Demonic Practitioner—had shown any strange behavior at the courtesan house, what could they possibly do?
‘Of course, if they realized it was a death trap, they’d flee, but they can’t run when it looks like a routine witness inquiry.’
Fleeing would be tantamount to advertising that they had something to hide.
They wouldn’t ruin a plan that was progressing so smoothly in that manner.
“Go to the Prefect and tell him it would be best to summon everyone as witnesses.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and explain the general situation to him as well. Let him know what kind of conspiracy is unfolding.”
“Understood.”
Absolute Shadow set off at once.
Of course, he did not actually speak to him face-to-face.
[It would be wise to gather everyone from Aewolru tomorrow as witnesses. Some of them are undoubtedly Demonic Practitioners.]
[I shall do so.]
As the Prefect, it was impossible to reject a proposal made by a Golden Dragon Guard who had come down from the central government for an ‘inspection.’
[I will also explain the current situation.]
As Absolute Shadow continued, the Prefect’s head began to spin.
He had grumbled that calling him out for a mere case involving Demonic Practitioners was a bit excessive, but he had no choice but to come.
Then, Zhuge Jun of the Zhuge Clan began firmly reinforcing the county office’s formation, leaving him wondering what was going on.
As it turned out, the Young Master of Wolyeop Sect wasn’t a Demonic Practitioner; rather, Patriarch Huangbo and the Demonic Practitioners had colluded to frame him.
This was a massive incident.
No, it was a colossal disaster.
Once the whole truth came to light, Patriarch Huangbo wouldn’t be able to keep his life.
And that wasn’t all.
How much damage would the Huangbo Clan suffer?
‘Heavens, what a mess.’
Demonic Practitioners, the Huangbo Clan, the Wolyeop Sect, and even the Golden Dragon Guard.
Though no one but himself knew that the Golden Dragon Guard was entangled in this mess.
‘Those two brothers from the Eunhak Sect have been making quite a name for themselves lately, but to think they were actually guards of the Golden Dragon Guard.’
No wonder they boasted martial arts at the Peak Realm despite their youth.
The Golden Dragon Guard must have nurtured them with great care to inspect the Wulin.
What could he do?
He just had to dance to their tune.
Fortunately, on the surface, this was a position where he could claim credit for solving a major case.
Doing as he was told wouldn’t expose any of his weaknesses, and if he executed the Demonic Practitioners and uncovered the Huangbo Clan’s conspiracy, his official rank would surely rise in the future.
He might even move beyond being a Prefect and receive an official post in Jiangxi Province.
‘I’m riding a tiger. Since things have turned out this way, I might as well do a good job and claim the reward.’
In the midst of that, clashing with Patriarch Huangbo was terrifying, but…
‘Surely the Patriarch wouldn’t be crazy enough to attack me, the Prefect.’
If he did that, he would truly face the tragedy of family extermination.
Still, if he decided to silence witnesses…
‘Hmm, can I trust the Zhuge Clan’s formation and the martial arts of the Golden Dragon Guard?’
He could only pray to emerge unscathed.
* * *
Dawn broke.
The Young Master of Wolyeop Sect barely regained consciousness, but groaning in pain, he was forced onto his knees in the center of the courtroom, bound in chains with his acupoints sealed.
The Huangbo Clan stood guard with an air of absolute dominance, and while the Chief Constable and constables walked on eggshells, they weren’t entirely cowed.
No matter how superior their martial arts were, would a Wulin martial artist really strike an official seal under so many watchful eyes?
Furthermore, several local elites had arrived upon invitation to witness the trial now that the culprit had been caught.
Finally, the masters of the Wolyeop Sect, including the Sect Leader of Wolyeop, gathered on one side with deathly pale faces.
“Make way for the Prefect!”
Ji Hyun stood to one side like a decorative screen, and the Prefect took his seat in the central chair of the office.
“Before we begin the trial, I see we are lacking witnesses.”
“My Lord, who else must we bring?”
“I hear that the accused frequented a courtesan house called Aewolru. He might have carelessly let slip some suspicious behavior there in his relaxed state. Bring everyone who works there, whether they be courtesans or servants, without exception.”
Patriarch Huangbo was slightly flustered, wondering what this was about.
Of course, he didn’t show it at all.
‘Hmm, the Demonic Practitioners who dealt with me should be lying low among them.’
He knew for a fact that the courtesan this fellow had been fooling around with held a fairly high rank among the Demonic Practitioners.
She was also the one who had planted the demonic Qi inside that brat’s body.
‘Isn’t it excessive to call everyone as witnesses like this?’
However, it would look strange if he stepped forward to stop it.
Particularly since Maehyang was a crucial witness, she wouldn’t be able to escape anyway.
‘The Prefect must be eager to make the trial grand and spectacular out of greed for credit.’
It wasn’t entirely welcome, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either.
‘If things went awry, calling Maehyang to testify that the Young Master had behaved strangely was a card I kept in reserve anyway.’
It was a card he preferred not to use unless necessary, but it was an option he had already considered.
This conspiracy had been designed with multiple layers to ensure a flawless frame-up.
Even if the Prefect summoned her to testify, it would only serve as a more perfect noose.
The constables rushed toward Aewolru in a swarm.
Seonwu joined them.
“In case the culprit’s accomplices are there and cause a riot, I shall go along. Would it be possible for the Huangbo Clan to detach a few men as well?”
“Hmm, that is a fair point. Very well.”
Since it was an awkward request to refuse, Patriarch Huangbo ultimately sent five of his retainers with Seonwu.
Absolute Shadow followed Seonwu, and the constables quickly surrounded Aewolru, shouting at the top of their lungs.
“The Prefect has summoned you all as witnesses! Come out, every single one of you!”
Given the circumstances, there wasn’t a single customer inside Aewolru.
The staff poured out in a crowd.
‘Let’s see. The two servants who kidnapped the Young Master have come out quietly too.’
The courtesan girls were all out as well.
Still, someone might be hiding until the very end.
“Has everyone come out without exception?”
“Of course, officer.”
“I shall verify that myself.”
Seonwu stepped inside Aewolru.
Absolute Shadow followed close behind.
“There might be someone hiding or a secret compartment. Search thoroughly.”
“Yes.”
The constables thought the two from the Eunhak Sect were over-searching, but they couldn’t voice their complaints.
Seonwu opened his senses fully, spreading his Qi sense wide to search for any suspicious spaces.
And inside the Pavilion Master’s room, he located a secret safe.
“Oho, here it is.”
When he boldly broke it open, objects that would serve as clear evidence of what this place truly was emerged from within.
‘Let’s see. This is a demonic cultivation manual. And this is the financial ledger for the branch office. Hmm, the majority of Aewolru’s staff believe it’s just an ordinary courtesan house and work here blindly, while the actual Demonic Practitioners are just the Pavilion Master, the courtesan named Maehyang, and two Demonic Practitioners disguised as servants. Exactly four of them.’
It was no different from the operating method of the Feilong Sect’s secret branch office.
After all, filling all the servants, maids, and courtesans with Demonic Practitioners would be a waste of manpower and drastically increase the risk of exposure.
Hiding four trees amidst a forest was more than enough.
‘This means even the Pavilion Master is being summoned, so all the Demonic Practitioners are gathering at the county office.’
Perfect.
They would be wiped out in one fell swoop.
‘And these suspicious medicines…’
Some seemed to be spiritual medicine for demonic cultivation, while others were likely aphrodisiacs or something similar.
Well, he couldn’t know for certain right now, but there was no reason he needed to.
If he handed them over to the Golden Dragon Guard or the Yuelongwei later, they would figure it out.
There was also a considerable amount of gold and silver taels.
It was likely the operating funds for the pavilion.
‘I’ll confiscate all of this… and is this an order directive?’
Regrettably, they had only kept a few recent ones and discarded the older ones, so there were only a handful.
Even so, the directives regarding this current incident were present.
‘The contents match perfectly.’
The mastermind behind this entire affair seemed to be the Scholar he had already killed.
And while the branch leader of this Aewolru and the Scholar held the same rank, the Scholar was slightly ahead in seniority.
‘Well, I’ll send the branch leader after him soon enough.’
Since he had verified everything necessary, Seonwu stowed the evidence inside his ring and called out to Absolute Shadow as he emerged.
“I have searched the interior, and it seems no one is hiding! The Prefect is waiting, so let us hurry!”
The four Demonic Practitioners of Aewolru glared at Seonwu with uneasy minds.
‘He couldn’t have found something related to us while searching the pavilion, could he?’
‘He’s so calm, there’s no way he found anything.’
‘Besides, he wasn’t inside for that long.’
They failed to guess that Seonwu, being in the Transcendence Realm, possessed an extraordinary Qi sense, and that his ability to find secret safes was superb thanks to his brief study of formations.
Since they couldn’t risk revealing their true colors here and ruining everything, they all gathered at the county office.
‘Now, a clean sweep is possible.’
* * *
The Prefect spoke.
To be precise, he spoke exactly as Absolute Shadow instructed via sound transmission.
“We shall now begin the trial. Before that, to prevent any accomplices of the culprit from causing a riot or attempting an escape, we shall activate a formation to seal off the county office.”
“Pardon? But…”
“Silence, this is state business.”
The Prefect looked at Zhuge Jun.
“Activate the formation.”
“Yes. Everyone, do not worry overmuch. It is not a dangerous formation. It is merely a precautionary measure in case of emergencies.”
‘Of course, if we activate the next phase during an emergency, it turns into a lethal formation.’
Because it took time to activate instantly, they were raising it to the preliminary stage in advance.
Ultimately, the formation was deployed.
The interior and exterior of the county office were severed.
Now, escaping was impossible without breaking the formation.
Jun sent a sound transmission to Seonwu.
[I’ll activate the next phase immediately if an emergency arises.]
[Right.]
[However, since it was rushed, it won’t fully stop someone at the Transcendence Realm. It’ll only hold them down for a moment.]
[Which means if that many Peak Realm martial artists batter it, it will eventually break.]
[Most likely. But if it comes to that…]
[Yeah, just separate them temporarily. Absolute Shadow and I will handle them one by one.]
Fighting five times in a one-on-one setup was entirely different from fighting five people all at once.
Jun’s formation lacked the power to obliterate the Huangbo Clan and the Demonic Practitioners in an instant.
But separating them for a brief moment was enough.
He would subdue Patriarch Huangbo, and Absolute Shadow would deal with the Demonic Practitioners.
As for the remaining Huangbo Clan martial artists?
‘If they are wise, they will bow their heads…’
If they joined the villainy out of loyalty to their Patriarch…
Seonwu caressed his sword.
He had no desire to see any more blood, but he wouldn’t show mercy either.
The trial commenced.
The Prefect spoke first.
“Patriarch Huangbo, from this point forward, this is state business, so I shall speak accordingly.”
“Yes, how could I not know? Please proceed.”
Having secured his agreement, the Prefect continued.
“I understand that the Huangbo Clan accused that man of being a Demonic Practitioner. State the reason for your belief once more before everyone present.”
“Yes, My Lord. First, I witnessed the scene firsthand and subdued him. The accused was assaulting the final victim, and because he was finishing his energy circulation, he failed to flee in time, allowing me to subdue him easily. My own eyes are the first proof.”
The Sect Leader of Wolyeop closed his eyes tightly.
“Does the accused have anything to say?”
“No. That is absolutely not true.”
His internal injuries were severe, but knowing he would die if he remained silent, the Young Master protested.
“Are you claiming the Patriarch is lying?”
“It is not that, but rather, I was simply drinking and playing with Maehyang at the courtesan house before falling asleep. Yet when I opened my eyes, I found myself on top of the corpse, and Patriarch Huangbo struck me immediately after. It was not me.”
The Prefect looked toward Seonwu.
“Seonyeong of the Eunhak Sect, you stated that you were present at the scene alongside the Patriarch. Is that correct?”
“Yes, I also witnessed the Young Master in close contact with the corpse. However, rather than finishing his energy circulation, it looked more as though he had been put to sleep via acupressure points…”
“Are you still harping on about that! I told you that you misheard!”
When Patriarch Huangbo threatened him, Seonwu scratched his head.
“That could be the case. I am simply stating how it appeared to my eyes.”
The real trial was only just beginning.
It wouldn’t do for his blood pressure to rise already.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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