My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 62
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
62.
“Let’s eat first!”
When Seol Mantong tried to go to the restaurant across the street, Seol Ryeoseon grabbed the back of his neck.
“There’s a restaurant if we go to Heungwha Inn.”
“You saw that too?”
“When we passed by there, an amazing smell of five-spice braised pork was wafting out.”
The two-quarter distance at a slow walk took less than one quarter with their quick steps.
The three-story Heungwha Inn was the largest and most splendid inn Seol Mujin and the triplets had ever seen.
Seol Changho, who raised his head high, said.
“The Third Prince knows how to treat guests.”
Seol Mujin entered Heungwha Inn and showed the red paper to a woman who greeted them with ‘Welcome!’
Fortunately, the woman knew the meaning of that paper.
“Oh my! An honored guest has arrived!”
The woman guided them to a luxurious room on the third floor without any procedures.
The enormous bed that could fit ten people lying down was admirably comfortable, and the paintings and decorations on the walls were all expensive items.
There was even a bathhouse inside the room.
A room like this would easily cost more than Jeom Soi’s monthly salary for one night’s stay.
“Money really needs to be seen to be believed.”
Seol Mujin asked the woman who had guided them.
“Could we have a meal?”
“If you order with me, I’ll have it prepared at the first floor restaurant.”
Seol Mujin and the triplets eagerly named various dishes.
When their food order exceeded ten items, an expression of ‘Are these people or pigs?’ appeared on the woman’s face.
After satisfyingly finishing their dinner, they laid their tired bodies on the bed.
Less than half a quarter passed before the triplets’ soft snoring could be heard, but Seol Mujin couldn’t easily fall asleep.
He quietly got up and opened the window, and the cold night air rushed in.
The street was still filled with the noise of people enjoying the nightlife.
As he leaned against the window railing lost in thought, he heard rustling behind him and Seol Changho got up.
“Sleep more, why did you get up?”
Seol Changho also came to the window and sat on the windowsill.
“Hyung, do you have worries?”
“What worries.”
“You have that look on your face.”
Sharp kid.
Seol Mujin looked at the street with an unfocused gaze and said.
“Do you think meeting you guys was really like fate?”
“Are you taking my words that seriously to heart?”
“I thought it was coincidence. Like getting hit by a stone thrown by a passing child.”
Seol Changho frowned.
“Was meeting us that bad of an incident?”
“A twelve-year-old picking up three newborns isn’t exactly something to be grateful for.”
“But hyung, you took us in. You raised us this well.”
“That’s why I think it’s fate like you said. If it was simply coincidence, could we have overcome all those difficulties?”
“If it’s fate?”
Seol Mujin’s gaze turned toward the sky.
“The paths before us must be countless like those stars, but which path will fate lead us down?”
“The path we take will be our fate.”
That was somehow a very Seol Changho-like answer.
“Then which path should we take?”
Seol Changho, who had been staring at Seol Mujin, asked.
“Hyung, are you feeling a sense of responsibility?”
“Huh?”
“A sense of responsibility that you should make the world a better place.”
“Someone like me, what could I…”
“It’s because of the villages we saw on the way here, right? People who died swept up in the world’s turmoil.”
Seol Mujin’s face darkened like the night.
“If it had been a better world, those people would still be alive now.”
“That’s not hyung’s fault though.”
“Someone once said that those with power have responsibility proportional to it.”
“There are far more people who only fill their own greed with that power.”
“I’m just one of those many people too.”
“Hyung isn’t. Hyung is… a good person.”
Seol Mujin chuckled.
It was self-deprecating.
“I’m just a podoo who extorts money from the Black Society.”
“I know hyung isn’t someone who falls into simple self-deprecation and thinks foolish thoughts.”
Seol Mujin asked with a serious face.
“What if I tried to make the world a better place?”
“What’s the better world that hyung envisions?”
“A world where innocent people don’t have to die.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Couldn’t we prevent a hundred deaths by reducing them to fifty?”
“How?”
“By eliminating the bad guys. I can’t think of any better method than that.”
“Confucius tried to solve that problem through education, but…”
Seol Changho shrugged.
“That’s also a hopeless task. Maybe hyung’s method is the best. That’s why chivalrous heroes are revered in Murim too.”
“I have no intention of becoming a chivalrous hero.”
“What else could hyung be thinking of besides a chivalrous hero?”
“If I walk that path, my sword won’t have the mercy that chivalrous heroes possess.”
Seol Changho looked down at the people filling the street and said.
“The evil people in the world are probably a thousand times more numerous than the people on that street. No matter how hard hyung tries, could the evil you eliminate even amount to one percent?”
“That’s why I’m thinking of meeting the Third Prince.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Wouldn’t a world ruled by a sage king be somewhat better?”
“Are you saying you’d serve under the Third Prince if he has the qualities of a sage king?”
“I could become his sword.”
“What if the Third Prince turns out to be trash?”
“Then I’d have to meet other people who have the possibility of becoming emperor.”
“Hyung, there probably isn’t an emperor in the world who would satisfy you. The Imperial Family are basically bastards. Wouldn’t it be better if hyung became emperor instead?”
“That’s not only impossible, but I don’t want to either.”
“How about emperor of Murim?”
“Huh?”
“To achieve what hyung wants, you’ll need the strongest power in the world. An organized power that hyung could never achieve alone. That’s why you want to meet the Third Prince, right?”
Seol Mujin, who had uttered the four characters ‘Murim Emperor,’ chuckled.
“There’s no way I could become that kind of person.”
“Hyung can do it.”
When Seol Mujin was about to say something, Seol Changho raised his hand to stop him.
“Don’t say you can’t do it right now, just think about it carefully. Whatever hyung thinks, I believe you can do it.”
***
The next day, after eating a late breakfast and thinking ‘Should I go sightseeing around Beijing?’, someone came to visit.
It was a man in his late forties with a neatly groomed beard.
“I’m Yeon Daebang.”
“I’m Seol Mujin.”
“Minister of Justice.”
“I’m a constable.”
“I said I’m the Minister of Justice.”
Seol Mujin made an expression that said ‘So what?’, and Yeon Daebang couldn’t help but chuckle.
Meeting a high-ranking official of the second rank and showing such an indifferent expression – he’s either a fool or someone with no ambition for advancement.
“I came on behalf of His Highness the Third Prince.”
“I believe all my business is finished.”
“Looking at the letter sent by the Namgung Family, they devoted considerable space to praising you.”
“That’s gratifying.”
“They said you’re not only excellent in martial arts but also the best constable in Jinan.”
“You flatter me.”
“Do you have any secrets to conducting investigations well?”
“I’m no different from any other constable.”
“Arrest anyone suspicious and torture them until they confess, something like that?”
“Well, if you’re trying to create a criminal rather than catch one, that method might work. But I’ve never caught a criminal that way.”
“What are the methods of ordinary constables you mentioned?”
“Looking, touching, asking, listening, and thinking. What else could there be?”
As Minister of Justice, Yeon Daebang couldn’t think of what else there might be.
“They said you’ve never failed to arrest a criminal – is that also true?”
“The Namgung Family wrote down every trivial detail.”
“That shows how highly they regard you.”
“It’s true that I’ve never let a criminal escape, but why do you keep asking about such things?”
Yeon Daebang’s upper body leaned toward Seol Mujin.
“I’m thinking of entrusting you with a case.”
“A case?”
“A murder case.”
“There must be many constables and officers in Beijing who are better than me?”
“Those excellent officials have already caught the criminal.”
Seol Mujin waited for Yeon Daebang’s next words in silence.
“But we think he’s not the criminal.”
“Does that ‘we’ include His Highness the Third Prince?”
“Think of it however you’re comfortable.”
“If it were just an ordinary murderer, His Highness the Third Prince could easily have him released with his power, but since he can’t, it means the victim’s status is also extraordinary.”
“It’s Ibu Sirang’s daughter.”
After thinking for a moment, Seol Mujin asked.
“The evidence that this person killed the victim must be solid.”
“Why do you think so?”
“If it’s a charge against someone who has caught the attention of not only Minister Yeon Daebang but also His Highness the Third Prince, the evidence must be too solid.”
Yeon Daebang liked Seol Mujin.
Because he didn’t need to give various explanations – if he just casually threw out a hint, Seol Mujin would figure it out accurately on his own.
It’s an ability that can’t be displayed without considerable intelligence.
Yeon Daebang told him about Dong Muhyeok’s case from beginning to end.
Seol Mujin, who listened to the entire story without questions, summarized the case once more.
“So the scene shows the door was locked with no signs of intrusion, but Ibu Sirang’s daughter was stabbed to death with a knife, and Geumeuiwi Commander Dong Muhyeok, who was sleeping with her, was holding that knife. The two may or may not have been lovers. Dong Muhyeok claims he was dating Ibu Sirang’s daughter, while Ibu Sirang’s side says Dong Muhyeok stalked her, then kidnapped and murdered her.”
“That’s right.”
“As a Geumeuiwi Commander, Dong Muhyeok must have learned martial arts?”
“Not particularly high level. Actually, the Geumeuiwi don’t have much occasion to fight.”
“Even so, he didn’t wake up when the woman sleeping with him was being killed?”
“They said the two were drinking in the room.”
Just looking at the outline of this case, even Seol Mujin would have thought Dong Muhyeok was the murderer.
“Why do you think Dong Muhyeok is not the criminal, Minister?”
“I’ve known Commander Dong for over ten years, but he’s absolutely not the type to commit such an act.”
“Even while drunk?”
Yeon Daebang shook his head firmly.
Seol Mujin asked.
“But can I investigate this case? From what I see, the case seems to have been transferred to the Geumeuiwi?”
The Geumeuiwi is a place with power so great that even birds would fall from the sky.
Since it’s a place that can arrest at will and impose punishments without trial, even high-ranking officials become cautious before the Geumeuiwi.
“I’ll give you a position as a Geumeuiwi Inspector.”
“What? I’m to become a member of the Geumeuiwi?”
“You’ll have authority regarding the investigation, so don’t worry about that.”
“Let me decide whether to take the case after meeting Dong Muhyeok.”
“Is there really a need to meet him?”
“Because I need to judge whether he’s the real criminal or not.”
“It’s not something you can know just by meeting Commander Dong, is it? Well, if you really want to meet him, go ahead.”
***
Ju Cheonmyeong was staring intently at the wine bottle placed on his desk.
It was a gift sent along with a letter from the Namgung Family.
“What are you pondering so much? Are you worried there might be poison in the wine?”
At Yeon Daebang’s question, Ju Cheonmyeong answered without taking his eyes off the wine bottle.
“I’m wondering if it’s okay to drink during the day when there’s so much work to do. More than that…”
Ju Cheonmyeong’s gaze shifted to Yeon Daebang.
“Why did you entrust Dong Muhyeok’s case to that constable named Seol Mujin?”
“I was in a mood to grasp at straws. Dong Muhyeok is an essential person for controlling the Geumeuiwi, but he’s about to slip away.”
“Even straws vary in quality…”
“After meeting him, he seemed to be more like a tree branch than a straw.”
Ju Cheonmyeong showed a surprised expression.
“You seem to have taken a liking to him?”
“He was quite clever. Also remarkably composed for his age.”
“Oh, it seems the Minister has expectations?”
“He seems worth giving a chance. That’s why I gave him a position in the Geumeuiwi. Temporary, though.”
“And if he solves it to our satisfaction?”
“Your Highness should meet him. After all, isn’t talent the most important thing in great endeavors?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
