“Hey, Mister, is there anything I can help you with?”
Assistance, huh.
I looked squarely at Hye-ryeong, whose face was brimming with enthusiasm, and opened my mouth.
“…I’ll be going on an investigation with Meng Podu, so while I’m gone, whenever you’re eating at the inn, make sure to mention to others in a way they can overhear, that the scripture stolen by the thief was a fake and the real scripture has been hidden securely by Lord Jang.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Thank you.”
I don’t know how well Hye-ryeong will act, but it shouldn’t be completely ineffective, right?
After all, isn’t she the one who’s often called Hainan’s Tale?
Men can’t help but be interested when they hear gossip from a pretty woman.
So the rumors spread through Hye-ryeong’s mouth should spread faster.
Of course, many will probably dismiss it as false information, but originally, the more interesting the rumor, the more it circulates among people.
First, spread the rumor and then provoke that older brother.
He likely already realized the scripture was fake if he had spent his entire life fixated on the Martial Shadow Technique manual, so he’ll probably try to find the real scripture again.
I don’t know how much risk he’s willing to take… but for now, we’ll spread the rumors and wait for him to fall into the trap.
It’s a very simple yet effective trap.
After all, as long as the item is in our possession, he’ll have no choice but to come to us, and all we need to do is catch him the moment he tries to steal it.
We’ll figure out how he learned about the Pursuit Scent Powder, and what exactly it was that clung to my body from the Pursuit Scent Powder.
I’m sure we’ll find out when we catch him.
Also, the lies Lord Jang told us.
“Take care while you’re gone, Mister~”
“Stay safe and don’t cause any trouble.”
“Yes!”
Even though Hye-ryeong isn’t the type to cause trouble wherever she goes, I still can’t help but worry. Pretty flowers naturally attract bugs, after all.
Of course, as long as the Hainan Sword Sect is around, they wouldn’t let anyone approach her so easily…
Well, worrying too much is a problem in itself, so for now, I need to get going and deal with my own tasks.
With that, I left the inn.
—————————-
“Ah, you’re here.”
“Did the investigation make any progress?”
“I did find traces of Pursuit Scent Powder in a few more places. There were people, like yourself, who had Pursuit Scent Powder stuck to their bodies. It seems that… the culprit deliberately left traces of the powder on other people to confuse the investigation.”
Leaving deliberate traces on other people, huh?
It’s a smart method, I’ll give him that, but when exactly could he have done it? I didn’t see him approach anyone at all.
“The powder wasn’t applied directly but through a specific object with Pursuit Scent Powder stuck to it.”
“He’s complicating things unnecessarily.”
He could have just wiped his tracks and run.
All he needed to do was escape the city, which would have been clean and simple.
He was fast enough for others not to be able to track him that night.
Why, then, is this case becoming so convoluted?
To start with, the information was never fully obtained, his eyes went hazy and he ended up stealing a copy, and now he’s spreading Pursuit Scent Powder around, headaches for all.
“Meng Podu, is Pursuit Scent Powder something that requires special training to detect?”
“Yes, it does. Only those trained like the martial artists of the Dang family here can distinguish the smell.”
“Then how could that alleged disciple of the Martial Shadow Technique distinguish the scent?”
At my belated realization, Meng Podu also gave me a surprised look, clearly having not thought of this before. I felt somewhat frustrated.
Hadn’t he already risen to the rank of Podu? Shouldn’t he have figured out this much?
Though I myself only thought of it after some time… nonetheless, a new question arose.
“Meng Podu, you mentioned the Pursuit Scent Powder stuck to me, right? Where exactly was it?”
“…On the sleeve.”
…On the sleeve?
If it’s on the sleeve, there’s plenty of time to apply it while passing by.
I then turned my gaze to a martial artist of the Sichuan Dang family standing behind Meng Podu.
Uninterested in our affairs, the Dang family martial artist was daydreaming, but upon sensing my gaze, he turned to look at me.
“The sleeve is correct.”
“Which one?”
“…The right one.”
…Hye-ryeong was definitely not tainted with the scent.
My head was getting more complicated.
“As you say, we need to figure out how that thief recognized the Pursuit Scent Powder.”
“All will be revealed once we capture the thief.”
“I’m already aware. However… there are too many unsatisfactory portions.”
“Have you, Podu, also realized that Lord Jang is lying?”
“I’ve known for a while. It didn’t seem like he intended to tell the truth anyway, so I didn’t press for more details… but the task at hand is clear.”
“Background check.”
Satisfied with my response, he nodded.
“However, it won’t be an easy task. Given that we’ve approached things this way, they’ll attempt to cover all traces. They probably won’t directly confront us, but…”
“We don’t have much time, do we?”
He nodded with a complicated expression. Just as he had confirmed, we didn’t have much time. Catching the older brother and uncovering Lord Jang’s secrets.
“The most critical task is capturing that older brother. If the scripture Lord Jang spoke of is truly the Martial Shadow Technique scripture and the past events are as he claims, then that person will inevitably appear.”
“But obvious bait won’t work.”
Obvious traps are easily exposed; at the very least, they need to be subtle enough not to be noticed.
To set traps that seem to appear and disappear and wait until the prey arrives. That is what we shall do.
“Then, we should see Lord Jang again.”
Meng Podu stood up, gathered his things, and we exited the barracks. My mind was on explaining the plan and securing necessary funds from Lord Jang.
And thus, we initiated our operation to capture the thief who had stolen the scripture in the bustling night city.
—————————-
“Hmm.”
Lord Jang exhaled with a sound of discomfort as he stared at the warehouse.
Regardless, we had evenly sprinkled powder in the warehouse.
The fake paralyzing powder masquerading as Thousand-Mile Pursuit Scent Powder.
This warehouse is rarely visited unless it’s under special circumstances.
Anyone who isn’t a thief won’t bother visiting this warehouse, so any intruder who inhales the paralyzing powder pretending to be Pursuit Scent Powder will quickly lose their ability to move.
Sprinkling all the paralyzing powder, we turned around to look at Lord Jang.
“Are there any guards who recently quit or whose behavior is suspicious?”
“No.”
…So, it’s likely not one of the guards.
But whoever’s inside this mansion must be able to get their hands on Pursuit Scent Powder and have heard information about the scripture.
We don’t yet know if they’re the main culprit or just an accomplice, but capturing them would surely lead us to the information we didn’t know about.
“All we need to do now is wait.”
“Will they fall for such an obvious trap?”
What do you want me to do? They can either fall for it or not—it doesn’t matter either way. Most importantly, we need to see who tries to access this warehouse.
“Let’s wait and see.”
“…I’ll stay out. Do your job well.”
Lord Jang turned his back and left the warehouse. It was as if he was showing no special interest in the scripture. Of course, this was justified since the scripture hidden in the middle of the warehouse was fake.
The real scripture is…
“Let’s go, Meng Podu.”
We left the warehouse and headed toward the inn. We didn’t know how long we’d have to wait, but for now, we had to stay in hiding, unseen.
I adjusted the large hood hanging loosely on my back. My hair was too conspicuous, making this necessary.
“How long do you think it’ll take for them to come?”
“If Lord Jang’s words are correct, there will definitely be a reaction within a week.”
Which side that reaction will come from, we still don’t know.
“Are we talking about a whole week of hiding?”
“We just need to sit and wait. Unless someone is immune to all toxins, it’s hard to inhale paralyzing powder and remain unaffected, isn’t it? And this isn’t even our primary concern, so let’s just follow our planned strategy.”
I’ve never personally experienced it, but at the very least, their movements should slow down.
“In that case, let’s head to our room. How does the food in this large mansion taste?”
It should be better than the inn at least. They mentioned there’s a personal chef.
With anticipation, I headed toward the room assigned to us.
After all, what we need to guard is not this place.
That way, the stealth operation began.
