Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 202
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Chapter 202. Don’t Do It.
Kaifeng.
Subcommander Cheon Yangji returned to the Magistrate’s office in Kaifeng, but he didn’t go directly to see Magistrate Sa Yeonhui. He had entangled things with his excessive zeal and needed time to sort out his thoughts.
As dusk began to fall, he stood up. He wanted to report to the Magistrate before the end of the day. His heavy heart was reflected in his dragging steps. Among the lively officials preparing to head home, his face was the only one dark and somber.
“So, how was your visit to Huashang Village?” Sa Yeonhui stared intently at Cheon Yangji. Seeing his gloomy expression, it seemed things hadn’t gone well.
After a pause, Cheon Yangji spoke with determination.
“I spoke with the people at the inn and investigated what happened yesterday.”
Sa Yeonhui’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had sent Cheon Yangji to find out who the attackers were, but it seemed he was veering off-topic. Despite knowing that his superior was displeased, Cheon Yangji decided to address the issue head-on. There was no way to avoid it with tricks in this situation.
“Your son harassed the granddaughter of the innkeeper, then put a hair in his soup and complained that it was dirty. At that moment, young master Yeon and his group entered, and Old Shim intervened.”
“My son was attacked, and you suggest it was his fault?”
“I’m sorry. It’s true that Old Shim was overly violent, but the initial provocation came from your son.”
“You told me that you helped Yeon Jeokha become a co-owner of the inn, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, all the witnesses are people of Yeon Jeokha. Am I wrong?”
“…No, you’re not wrong.”
Cheon Yangji felt a pain in his stomach. He knew where Sa Yeonhui was going with this.
“Can’t we trust the victim’s testimony? You know as well as I do that those people won’t testify against their co-owner.”
A bitter smile appeared on Cheon Yangji’s face. Under normal circumstances, he could have manipulated the facts to switch the victim and the aggressor, but with Yeon Jeokha, it was different. He had no interest in secular power. He had made it clear that unless the Magistrate came to apologize, he would hit him in the face.
“Magistrate, under normal circumstances, we could resolve this with your son’s testimony. But Yeon Jeokha is the second-in-command of Nokrim. If he decides to make this an issue, it will be unmanageable.”
Cheon Yangji wanted to say “it’s already unmanageable,” but he held back. Revealing everything at once would only make the Magistrate more resistant.
Surprisingly, Sa Yeonhui hesitated in the face of Cheon Yangji’s firmness. There was a silence between the two, and it was Sa Yeonhui who spoke first.
“Even if we accept that Nokrim’s testimony is true, don’t you think it was too extreme? What kind of harassment would justify such a beating? Can you explain what exactly he did?”
“After some verbal harassment, he finally touched her backside.”
“So, touching a woman’s backside at an inn justifies breaking both his arms, teeth, and nose? And why did they steal his money?”
At that point, even Cheon Yangji had no answer. He knew that Old Shim’s violent behavior could be understood due to his background in Nokrim, but stealing money was inexplicable.
“So, you want me to ignore all this because my son survived the encounter with Nokrim?”
Cheon Yangji studied Sa Yeonhui’s expression. He couldn’t discern whether he really meant it or was being sarcastic. The Magistrate’s face revealed nothing.
“I’m sorry.”
Cheon Yangji decided to take some time before revealing everything that had happened. He wasn’t ready to tell the Magistrate that Yeon Jeokha had demanded an apology. Suddenly, he remembered that Nam Su-gyeong was a friend of Yeon Jeokha. Maybe that would help smooth things over.
“Magistrate, the woman your son harassed is a friend of Yeon Jeokha. That probably explains why Old Shim reacted so violently.”
“Tell me more about this woman.”
“She is the granddaughter of Nam Cho-gyeol, co-owner of the inn. Recently, she has been harassed by a subordinate of the Sambo Clan.”
“The subordinate of the Sambo Clan harassing someone so important?”
Sa Yeonhui hinted at his displeasure. Cheon Yangji understood that the Magistrate didn’t want to leave things as they were.
“That was before she became friends with Yeon Jeokha. After the harassment, Yeon Jeokha decided to protect her.”
“What do you mean by protect her?”
“Yeon Jeokha has been protecting her during his time there.”
“This is getting more and more interesting.”
“Yeon Jeokha and Old Shim don’t act conventionally. Especially Yeon Jeokha…”
Cheon Yangji shook his head. He couldn’t predict the actions of someone who could change from one moment to the next.
“So, all of this happened because my son touched Yeon Jeokha’s friend.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’ve said ‘I’m sorry’ twice already.”
“…”
Sa Yeonhui stared at Cheon Yangji, who lowered his gaze.
After observing Cheon Yangji for a moment, Sa Yeonhui spoke with irony.
“As angry and resentful as I am, I suppose I have to accept this. After all, even if I brought Kaifeng’s troops, they couldn’t face him. Isn’t that right?”
Cheon Yangji, who was about to apologize again, let out a long sigh. He had overcome one obstacle, but a bigger one remained. Yeon Jeokha had demanded an apology from the Magistrate.
As Cheon Yangji hesitated, Sa Yeonhui’s voice broke the silence.
“I want to be alone. You may leave.”
“Magistrate, there is actually one more thing.”
“What is it? I hope it’s something good.”
Cheon Yangji recounted what had happened between him, Yeon Jeokha, and the Magistrate.
“…The Magistrate must apologize within three days.”
“How arrogant. He acts as if he were the emperor.”
To Cheon Yangji’s surprise, Sa Yeonhui remained calm. He seemed to have accepted something that had been troubling him.
“Recommending that he apologize was the right thing to do. Any sensible person would have done so.”
“…”
Cheon Yangji couldn’t believe the Magistrate’s response. Was he being praised?
“I’m sorry for messing things up…”
“Stop apologizing! That was the only good thing you did.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“That man crossed the line. He underestimated the power of the administration.”
“Could it be…?”
Cheon Yangji looked at the Magistrate in surprise.
“Tomorrow, I’ll see the provincial commander.”
“Are you sure this won’t affect your son’s reputation?”
Sa Yeonhui smiled. Crabs always help each other. The provincial commander, Yeomuyang, wouldn’t care about the Magistrate’s son’s reputation. Even if it incurred a political debt, it wouldn’t matter.
“Touching a woman’s backside at an inn isn’t a big deal. The real problem is that Yeon Jeokha didn’t come to apologize.”
“…”
At the mention of the provincial commander, Cheon Yangji decided to remain silent. The matter was already out of his hands.
“Ye Da-in values his reputation highly. He won’t let a Magistrate be humiliated by a thief. Even if he eventually asks me for something in return.”
“With the provincial commander’s help, neither Yeon Jeokha nor Old Shim will have an escape.”
The provincial commander had thousands of soldiers at his disposal. Under the pretext of eliminating the Nokrim bandits, the emperor wouldn’t oppose it. Everything would be resolved as the Magistrate wanted.
Two days later.
Early in the morning, Won Sangcho, a commander of a thousand troops (jeong-o-pum), was busy. A thousand soldiers had gathered on the outskirts of Kaifeng. The number had risen to one thousand one hundred.
Won Sangcho awaited orders from the provincial commander in a tent. Although he had gathered the troops, he needed an official order to advance.
The unusual movement of troops caused a great stir in Kaifeng. Some said it was for the Nokrim bandits, others to quell riots, but no one knew the truth.
Curious, several officials went to the office of the provincial commander, Yeomuyang. Mobilizing troops in the middle of winter was a serious matter.
After the subordinates withdrew, an aide entered.
“Commander, an agent of the Yoomyung Cult requests an audience.”
“From the Yoomyung Cult? Why would they be here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Go ahead, let them in.”
Though his rank was superior, Yeomuyang chose his words carefully. The Yoomyung Cult was feared among officials. Anyone taken by them rarely returned alive.
Shortly after, a man in his forties, wearing a uniform embroidered with a red dragon, entered.
“I am Dong Yusu, from the Yoomyung Cult in Kaifeng.”
“Did you come because of the troop mobilization?”
“Yes.”
Yeomuyang sighed. Nothing could be hidden from the Yoomyung Cult, not even attempting to.
After a brief pause, Yeomuyang spoke frankly.
“I am going to capture the Nokrim bandits. I cannot allow them to continue causing trouble in Kaifeng. They even injured the Magistrate’s son.”
“Are you aware of the current situation in Murim?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with it? Is it because of Yeon Jeokha, the second-in-command of Nokrim? What does that have to do with the sects’ conflicts?”
“We have been ordered not to interfere in sect affairs.”
The mention of “we have been ordered” made Yeomuyang frown. It wasn’t clear whether he was referring to the emperor or his commander, Mo Yang.
“Who gave the order exactly?”
“I cannot say. But you must postpone the capture of Yeon Jeokha.”
“How can a bandit influence the world’s situation? He has left the Magistrate’s son half-dead.”
“Even if he had killed the Magistrate’s son, now is not the time.”
“Damn it!”
Yeomuyang slammed the table in frustration, but Dong Yusu didn’t blink.
“Do you expect a Magistrate to apologize to a bandit who left his son half-dead?”
Dong Yusu responded with a cold stare.
“That’s right.”
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