Chapter 656
Silence fell all around.
The warriors who had been collecting the corpses, and the tribal chiefs who had just arrived—it was clear that no one was an exception. Everyone from the Western Yao Tribe had frozen in place, staring in this direction.
No—what they were all looking at wasn’t this place. It was me.
And then, in the next moment—
“The sinner walks out on his own.”
A chilling voice shattered the silence.
The instant my eyes met Baek Sang’s sunken gaze, a hollow laugh escaped me without realizing it.
“Ha.”
It struck me like lightning—an instant realization. There was no longer any need to think about how this situation had developed.
Everything had already been laid bare in the one sentence Baek Sang used instead of a greeting.
‘A sinner, huh.’
I had forgotten, even for a moment, that I too met every condition to be labeled a criminal.
I should have looked under my feet before trying to shine a light into the distance.
“Uncle Baek, what do you mean by that—?”
Yal Mok looked at Baek Sang with a puzzled expression, but upon realizing something, shut his mouth. Nam Ho, who had likely understood the situation even faster than I did, sighed softly.
“Heh, I’ve gotten old. To fall for such a cheap trick.”
Nam Ho was only half right.
This was indeed a shallow trap—but the pit dug beneath it was deep. Once a foot was set inside, escaping wouldn’t be so easy.
‘Damn it.’
It felt like being stuck in a swamp. My chest tightened, and my mouth felt rough, as if filled with sand.
I closed my eyes briefly and opened them again. The scene before me now felt unmistakably like a courtroom.
“Did you hear what Great Chief Baek Sang just said?”
“Sinner? Then don’t tell me that Han… that Han outsider is—?”
Whispers spread among the warriors who stood as mere spectators.
“I knew this would happen. That’s why I said from the start we should drive the Han people out!”
“Hmm. Still, it’s too soon to jump to conclusions.”
“Too soon? You can still say that in this situation? The only one capable of such a massacre is Jin Taekyung, that fiend!”
Unlike the whispering warriors, the tribal chiefs who raised their voices in accusation were the jurors.
And as for the judge of this cursed trial—
“So confident. As if you’ve done nothing wrong.”
Baek Sang.
Facing the crowd, he spoke calmly.
I met his indifferent gaze and opened my mouth.
“Of course I’m confident. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
At this point, discussing manners would only be ridiculous.
One of the tribal chiefs flared up at my curt reply.
“How dare you—!”
“How dare I what?”
Swoosh—
As soon as I spoke, a wave of energy shot toward the tribal chief. His face went pale, drained of all color.
“Ugh.”
I was already standing on the edge of a cliff.
One wrong step, and I would fall.
If I yielded the initiative now, that would be the end.
I exhaled slowly, releasing a silent but overwhelming burst of energy.
“This isn’t a place for just anyone to bark. Stay quiet.”
Gulp.
And just as someone’s throat bobbed in fear—
“It’s getting noisy.”
A deep, weighty voice spread through the air.
Every head turned reflexively.
At the end of their gaze, crossing through the main gates of the Western Yao Tribe, was someone everyone recognized.
The Beast King.
With fierce eyes like a tiger’s and a massive, mountain-like frame, the Beast King’s mere presence radiated pressure. The gathered warriors dropped to one knee in unison.
“We pay our respects to the Lord!”
Their voices merged into a single roar of reverence.
Amid that overwhelming atmosphere, the Beast King, flanked by other tribal chiefs, walked forward at an unhurried pace and spoke.
“Tell me, am I one of those dogs or cattle you just mentioned?”
The intent behind the question was clear.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Then I’ll ask you one thing.”
The Beast King’s low voice pressed against my ears.
“Jin Taekyung of the Taewon Jin Clan. What connection do you have to the massacre that took place here today?”
He wasn’t asking to accuse me. He was asking to help.
I knew that better than anyone, so I answered without hesitation.
“I have no connection whatsoever.”
My immediate reply caused murmurs to ripple through the crowd.
Then someone who had been bowing silently to the Beast King rose to his feet.
“Last year, a fire broke out in the western forest. It was caused by the drunken carelessness of our Baek Tribe warriors, burning two hundred livestock and thirty homes.”
Baek Sang’s dry voice continued.
“When one sins, punishment is due. I personally executed seven of my own kin. When I told them to leave their final words, they all said the same thing.”
His unreadable eyes turned to me, but his words were directed toward the Beast King.
‘I am innocent. I wasn’t drunk. I didn’t start the fire.’
“And now, two of the Great Chiefs are gone, and over a hundred warriors were slaughtered inside the Inner Palace. This isn’t something that can be brushed off with a mere excuse.”
The Beast King closed his eyes, and I stared at Baek Sang as I replied.
“Listening to this, it almost sounds like I’m already the culprit.”
“If you truly are innocent, then prove it.”
“Prove it?”
“Yes. The simplest and easiest way. Show us evidence that you’re not the culprit, and this matter will be settled.”
Before I could respond, Baek Sang turned, his voice echoing across the hall.
“I, Great Chief Baek Sang of the Baek Tribe, will first prove my own innocence before questioning the sinner! The heavens, the earth, and the fifteen tribal chiefs and hundred warriors who were with me shall all bear witness!”
‘Damn it. So this was his plan all along?’
I had expected him to prepare an alibi, but not that he would unveil it with such perfect timing.
As if waiting for this very moment, the chiefs who followed Baek Sang raised their voices.
“We report to the Lord! Great Chief Baek Sang speaks the truth! He was with us in the Southern Baek Tribe right after the banquet ended!”
“Chief of the Gyeongpa Tribe speaks truth! The Lahu Tribe swears the same before the heavens!”
“The Wa Tribe also vouches for Great Chief Baek Sang! We were all in a meeting for tomorrow’s council when the incident occurred!”
As their voices rose, Nam Ho, standing behind me, let out a quiet sigh. The Beast King’s expression grew heavy.
Nearly half of the chiefs had just publicly revealed their allegiance to one faction—but in this moment, no one, not even the Beast King, could call them out for it.
The Southern Barbarian Palace—its Inner Palace, no less—had lost two Great Chiefs and a hundred warriors in one night.
This was a catastrophe. A matter too grave for factional politics to even be considered.
And then, finally, the inevitable question came.
“Jin Taekyung of the Taewon Jin Clan. Then tell me—where were you at that time?”
A question I could not avoid.
A truth I could not refuse.
I could feel Baek Sang’s question, and the people’s gazes tightening like an invisible noose around me.
Then, at that moment, I felt a hand brush against my waist.
Tap.
I didn’t turn to look. There was no need.
I already knew whose hand it was—Nam Ho, standing right behind me all this time.
‘But why?’
There had to be a reason for this gesture.
Keeping my senses sharp, I focused on the faint movement of his fingers.
It was brief—barely the brushing of cloth—but I understood what he meant.
‘Silent.’
He had written it. Two small characters, but with a clear message.
Nam Ho was telling me not to speak. Or perhaps, to think twice before I did.
That was how dangerous this situation had become.
‘If I tell them the truth about meeting the Black Bear King…’
Would anyone believe me?
No, more likely, Baek Sang and his allies would use it against me.
The Black Bear King had left unnoticed, even disguising himself with the Bone-Shrinking Technique.
‘In other words, I can’t prove it.’
Unless the Black Bear King himself appeared here, or the severed hand he left behind could testify for me, proving my alibi was impossible.
But saying I left my quarters without reason would be digging my own grave.
So in the end, my answer was already decided.
“My quarters.”
Countless thoughts flashed through my head, but only a short time had passed.
Without much delay, I took a deep breath and continued.
“After the banquet, I returned to my quarters. Then I was attacked.”
“Attacked?”
Most of those gathered hadn’t yet heard that news.
As murmurs spread, the Beast King spoke with a grim face.
“What Jin Taekyung says is true. I received reports that unknown assassins attacked them.”
Trying to remain calm, Yal Mok stepped forward to add, “Yes. Some of us from the Inner Palace guard arrived at the scene half an hour later. We confirmed the deaths of several patrolling warriors.”
With both the Beast King and Yal Mok supporting my words, the hall grew even noisier.
Yet as I kept my gaze fixed on Baek Sang, I realized again—something was wrong.
“I’ve heard of another tragedy in the Inner Palace,” Baek Sang said coldly, his tone detached.
He turned to Yal Mok.
“But to so easily infiltrate the Inner Palace and slay the patrolling warriors… Those unknown assassins must have been quite skilled, weren’t they?”
Before anyone could stop him, Yal Mok replied instinctively, “Yes. There were around thirty of them, and each one was as strong as a trained warrior—”
He didn’t finish. He couldn’t.
Because Baek Sang’s next words pierced through the air.
“Strong enough to kill a supreme master who inherited the Flame King’s legacy?”
The room froze.
“If this clumsy assassination attempt was meant merely to restrain Jin Taekyung, that would be one thing. But to deliberately provoke attention by attacking someone who was staying quietly in his quarters—doesn’t that strike you as strange?”
The air trembled. Dozens of eyes glared at me, burning holes in my skin.
But instead of fear, I felt oddly calm.
Not because I was confident of escape—
but because I had already accepted it.
This trap was vast and deep—far beyond anything I had imagined.
‘When did this all begin? How far back does this plan go?’
Fixing my eyes on Baek Sang, I finally spoke.
“So this isn’t over yet, is it?”
Baek Sang understood immediately and nodded.
“You catch on quickly.”
“Do you have more to say?”
“No. But I do have something to show.”
Snap.
With a flick of his fingers, faint footsteps echoed from the half-destroyed gate of the Western Yao Tribe.
Step… step…
Slow, uneven, and heavy.
Like someone ill. Or perhaps—
‘An old man?’
Recognizing the strangely familiar presence, I closed my eyes for a moment.
When I opened them again at the sound of a weary old voice—
“I, Baek Tribe’s Uturi, have come at the Great Chief’s summons.”
Standing at the gate was none other than the elderly owner of the noodle shop.