Chapter 657
Something big was coming.
The instinct that flashed through my mind wasn’t wrong. The old owner of the noodle shop—the same man I had just been sitting with alongside the Black Bear King—had appeared.
‘Shit.’
A real big one this time.
I cursed inwardly as I stared at the old man.
But I wasn’t the only one looking. In an instant, countless eyes turned toward him, and a trembling voice came from between his spotted lips.
“I–I am Uturi of the Baek Tribe. I came at the Great Chief’s summons.”
The Beast King spoke with a hardened expression.
“A face I haven’t seen before. Who is he?”
At Baek Sang’s signal, the old man answered promptly.
“I sell noodles near the western gate of the Outer Palace, my lord. It’s been my trade for over half a lifetime.”
From his words and behavior, I learned several new things.
First—his name was Uturi, and he was of the Baek Tribe.
Second—unlike when I’d seen him at the noodle shop, Uturi spoke clearly and heard well. The man was lively and sharp for his age. If there was a mighty child warrior Uturi in Jirisan, then in the Southern Barbarian Region there was a noodle-seller Uturi.
Third—this spry old man had surely told Baek Sang everything he had seen and heard.
And fourth—
I was completely screwed.
‘You have to understand, the old man’s over ninety and half-deaf,’ that damned Black Bear King had said.
Black Bear bastard.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
‘Deaf, my ass.’
The only thing that went deaf was my future.
The supposedly ninety-year-old man had hearing sharp enough to catch the Beast King’s voice ten paces away.
“Uturi, I called you here to confirm one thing. Do you recognize anyone present?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Without hesitation, Uturi nodded. And I realized I needed to add one more fact to my growing list.
Fifth—Uturi didn’t just have good hearing; he had excellent eyesight and memory.
That much was clear from the way his gaze had flickered toward me ever since I first stepped into the Western Yao Tribe’s domain.
“That young man standing there. The tall one, with a large build.”
When he had set down his noodle bowl earlier, his hands had been trembling like aspen leaves. But now—they didn’t shake at all.
‘You old bastard.’
I said nothing as his finger pointed straight at me. The hall stirred with unrest, and Baek Sang’s well-written script drove straight toward its finale.
“Are you certain? There can’t be even a shred of falsehood.”
Swallowing dryly, the old man nodded.
“Y–Yes, I’m certain. I may be old, but I’m not so far gone that I can’t recognize a customer standing before me. He was large and wore a tiger mask. Hard to forget.”
“There are many masked men in the Outer Palace these days. Did you accuse him merely for that?”
“N–No, my lord. It was just… he lingered about before sitting down to eat noodles, and something about him felt off.”
“Off? In what way?”
“Well, that would be…”
Uturi glanced at me cautiously before continuing.
“It was the mask, my lord.”
“The mask?”
“Yes. Even while eating noodles, he never took it off. As if showing his face would be disastrous.”
“Go on.”
“But when he drank the broth, he seemed uncomfortable, so he lifted it slightly. That was when I saw his face—for the first and last time.”
So it was then.
I hadn’t wanted to expose my face in case they realized I was Han, but leaving the mask on the whole time would’ve looked suspicious.
So I’d lifted it just below the nose to eat and then, at the very end, just a little higher—
and this old man had caught it.
‘Who would’ve thought a near-death old man would remember that.’
My excessive caution had sparked suspicion, and my neglect of him afterward had led to this disaster.
Baek Sang’s calm tone put the final nail in.
“Was he alone?”
“No, my lord. He was with a middle-aged man.”
“Another middle-aged man. And after that?”
“They left almost at the same time and headed toward the main road near the western gate.”
“You remember his face?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve lived in the Outer Palace my whole life, and I’d never seen that man before. He was a stranger. Same for that young man.”
“Then they must be outsiders who crossed into the palace for the assembly. If we make a sketch of their faces, it’ll be easy to confirm. When did they leave?”
“It was around the hour of the Tiger, my lord. They stayed for roughly one daegyeong before leaving. The Outer Palace launches fireworks at set times, so I remember it clearly.”
There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in Uturi’s words. His tone was full of conviction.
And after hearing exactly what he wanted, Baek Sang nodded slightly.
“Thank you for your cooperation. You may go. I’ll see that you’re rewarded.”
“Th–Thank you, Great Chief! Thank you!”
Uturi bowed repeatedly and withdrew.
He would likely receive a handsome reward. His small stall that barely seated four would turn into a fine inn, and those wrinkled hands that boiled noodles would soon be counting silver.
But the opportunity that old man seized in his twilight years had become my worst crisis.
“How peculiar,” Baek Sang said. “A man who should have remained in the Inner Palace sneaks out to meet a stranger—and immediately after, this tragedy unfolds.”
“You’ve already been caught lying, but in remembrance of the matter at Mount Aino, I’ll give you one last chance. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
His calm voice pierced my ears. A thousand thoughts flashed through my head.
The Western Yao Tribe’s hall had fallen into suffocating silence. Every gaze was fixed on me.
That was when I felt it—
Nam Ho’s finger brushing against my back once again.
Scratch.
A single character. Escape.
Just one word, but it conveyed everything.
‘Leave now and plan later.’
If Nam Ho had internal energy, he could have sent that as a voice transmission. If I were in his position, I would have done the same.
‘Would things have been better if I’d told the truth from the start?’
I already knew the answer. No.
Maybe it would have been slightly better, but Baek Sang had prepared too thoroughly. One way or another, he would have cornered me here.
I could claim the old noodle-seller was lying, sure—but would Baek Sang, of all people, fall for that? Not a chance.
‘Besides, someone like Baek Sang could tell from the wounds on those assassins that most weren’t my doing.’
Without the Black Bear King here to prove my words, I would still be the villain no matter what I said.
‘Still, being branded a liar would’ve been even worse.’
Either way, I was trapped. There was no escape.
And now the situation was spiraling toward the edge.
Rustle.
A faint noise pierced the silence.
Grains of blood-soaked sand crunched under boots as the flutter of dozens of garments brushed the garden’s flowers.
A formation surrounded me in an instant—Baek Sang stood at its head.
“I’ll ask again. Do you wish to defend yourself?”
Defend myself?
I thought for a moment and answered.
“It’s too filthy to bother. Screw this.”
…
That must not have been the answer he expected.
Baek Sang looked at me with surprise, then nodded slowly.
“So you admit your guilt?”
“I’ll admit one thing—that I was stupid enough to lie.”
“So you’ll keep denying it until the end.”
“Would you confess if you were me? There’s nothing to confess anyway. I’ve done nothing wrong. I just stepped into an unavoidable trap—and that’s the only damned thing I regret.”
“If you’re truly innocent, then surrender. We’ll investigate and judge fairly.”
“Yeah right, you sanctimonious bastard.”
At my derisive reply, Baek Sang’s eyes sank coldly.
“Then there’s no other choice.”
At once—
Srrng! Shhhk!
A blinding flash burst from his drawn sword, radiating dazzling light. The blade pulsed with sword energy as Baek Sang stepped forward.
“Warriors of the Southern Barbarian Palace, hear me! You are to capture the sinner Jin Taekyung with all your strength! No mistakes will be tolerated—”
But before he could finish, a roar like thunder ripped through the hall.
“Baek Sang!”
Only one person in all of the Southern Barbarian Region could dare call the Great Chief of the Baek Tribe by name.
“Stop this, all of you!”
Boom!
A tremendous wave of energy swept through the hall, halting the tightening formation in an instant.
The Beast King’s blazing eyes locked onto Baek Sang.
“What are you doing?”
Everyone trembled beneath the pressure—everyone except Baek Sang, who replied in an even tone.
“Exactly as you see, my lord. I am restraining the sinner Jin Taekyung.”
“Have you forgotten? He is a pavillion leader of the Murim Alliance, and a member of the Blazing Fire Sect—our long-standing ally.”
“And are you, the Lord of the Southern Barbarian Palace, protecting a murderer for that reason alone?”
“Nonsense! He’s no murderer! Have you already forgotten the battle at Mount Aino? He has neither the motive nor the reason for such a crime!”
“But we have witnesses and clear evidence.”
“That’s—”
“Everyone here remembers what happened at Mount Aino, myself included. That’s why we must act now to restrain him. Of course, if he resists, the order will be to kill on sight.”
“Baek Sang!”
“It’s not over yet.”
Baek Sang’s chilling voice continued.
“If Jin Taekyung escapes by force, the entire Southern Barbarian Region will deploy a Heaven’s Net to hunt him down with full power. And before that, the other Han people under his command will serve as examples.”
It was an implicit declaration—he was willing to wage war against the Central Plains if he had to.
The Beast King’s eyes widened in fury, and Yal Mok shouted, his face twisted.
“Uncle!”
“This is a matter between tribal chiefs, not a discussion between ruler and vassal. Step aside, young lord. You have no authority here.”
“But how could you—how could you make such a unilateral decision!”
“Unilateral?”
Baek Sang muttered softly, then lifted his head to the sky.
The thick darkness blanketing the land began to scatter, and light from the west gradually brightened the horizon.
“Do you see? It’s already dawn. The hour of the Rabbit has come.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What if we begin the second day of the Great Assembly right now? With a new agenda, of course…”
Baek Sang’s sword flared, radiating an even stronger light.
“The life and death of the Han man, Jin Taekyung.”
And at that moment—
A sound only I could hear echoed in my ears.
Ding.
– A sudden quest has been generated: [Choice Between Two Paths].