When I said the passing flies had told me, Gun Hye-rin blinked.
She clearly didn’t understand what I meant.
But the incident had already been resolved.
We should have just done it this way from the start.
Trying to solve it the dumb way had only wasted time and effort.
If we’d interrogated like this from the beginning, it could’ve been resolved quickly.
I spoke, slightly smug.
“It was a simple case. We should be able to identify the real culprit easily, so let’s reveal them three days from now at Mount Daeyo.”
The shrine maiden stared at me in surprise.
“Really!?”
“Yes.”
And as I answered firmly, she anxiously defended herself.
“I-It really wasn’t me. I swear on the landowner’s name.”
Because I didn’t outright say she was innocent but only said I’d identify the real culprit, she looked worried that I might think she was guilty.
I smiled gently and said,
“But you do have something to hide, don’t you?”
At that, her eyes trembled.
Unable to respond, she averted her gaze.
Leaving her behind, I headed back to my quarters.
In a few days, even if she didn’t want to speak, she’d have no choice.
“In a few days, everyone will have to talk whether they want to or not.”
***
When I returned, Gun Hye-rin couldn’t hold back her question.
“What was that about? Master, what’s that woman hiding? How dare she hide something from you. Should I just split her spine?”
The way she bared her fangs at the shrine maiden reminded me of a cat.
Always getting into annoying messes.
I’ve always raised calm, elegant insects, reptiles, and amphibians, so I couldn’t really relate, but in my past life, people who kept cats often said things like that.
That if cats weren’t cute, they’d already be extinct.
That they pulled so many ridiculous stunts, there were times you just wanted to smear them with soybean paste.
Of course, I didn’t mean that Gun Hye-rin was cute.
Just that she was a bit... absurd.
‘Now that I think about it, maybe Hwa-eun was right—she’s not that different from Gungbong?’
Their antics might be different in type, but they were cut from the same cloth.
I flinched, remembering what Hwa-eun had said.
That the three of us were similar.
‘Did I upset Hwa-eun somehow? Why did she say something so harsh? Don’t tell me I underperformed in bed?’
Why would she say something like that?
Had I been underwhelming lately?
As I started reflecting on whether my nighttime efforts had slipped, Gun Hye-rin’s grumbling continued.
“Forget that, let’s just drag her over and—”
“Leave her. She’ll talk in a few days anyway.”
“Tch. In the Heavenly Demon Cult, this would’ve been unthinkable... Still, if Moji and Soji had just treated her, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Nothing to be done. They refused.”
And then came the story of Moji and Soji.
Honestly, if we’d had them heal the warrior’s arm, that would’ve been the end of it.
But Moji and Soji had refused.
Before relocating, I had asked them:
—Myu-myu.
—Myuuu!
—Chrrrr. 『As expected, they said no. Something like that heals on its own. Treating small wounds just makes you hungrier.』
So, again, they refused.
Like they said before, they wouldn’t treat minor injuries.
Back when we fought the Five Venoms Sect, they had worked hard treating all the wounded.
There were so many injured that Gun Hye-rin had been drained for days.
After that, the two of them made a declaration.
As if they were emergency room doctors, they refused to treat minor wounds anymore.
Unless someone was dying, they said, heal yourself.
They said they’d still give special treatment to me and our family, but strangers would only be treated if they felt like it after checking their condition.
Sure, as Gun Hye-rin said, things got a bit more complicated, but this way was cleaner.
Even if we had treated them, those two would’ve just ended up fighting again until one of them died.
Since the matter was essentially resolved, I decided to report it to Hwa-eun.
She’d be worried.
『“Hwa-eun, you don’t have to worry about things on this end. It looks like it’ll be handled easily.”
“Really? That’s great news. I was just talking about it with Sister Seol. Once you wrap it up in a few days, you have to tell me everything.”
“Of course.”』
After I responded to Hwa-eun, I felt something off.
Why did something ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ feel wrong?
Then I realized—it was because Hwa-eun didn’t ask how I was going to solve the incident.
Normally, whenever I resolved something or discovered something, she would dig relentlessly for answers.
But this time, she was quiet.
As if she didn’t care.
I had to ask.
『“Hwa-eun, why didn’t you ask me how I’m going to solve it this time?”』
She answered like it was obvious.
『“Because you’d just say, ‘Se-cret~.’ So I decided to just wait and hear later.”』
‘Gasp!’
My heart sank. It felt like Hwa-eun had lost interest in me.
She’d always asked, always been curious—but now, she clearly wasn’t.
Had I teased her too often with secretive answers?
No—wait, this had to mean I’d messed up somehow.
‘What the hell did I do wrong? I don’t think I left her unsatisfied... wait, don’t tell me we’re already hitting a rut!’
A few days ago, I’d told her I’d be away for a while, so she should take what she wanted in advance, and when she did, I gave it my all.
But that was just my perspective.
For Hwa-eun, maybe it wasn’t enough—or maybe the routine had gotten stale.
Even good things can lose their spark if repeated too often.
Maybe we’d overdone it lately.
I seriously considered switching things up once I got back.
‘Cosplay? Blindfolds? Tied wrists? What does Hwa-eun like?’
Was this the universal concern of married men?
***
Three days later, we headed to Mount Daeyo with our group.
The shrine maiden glanced nervously at Yo-hwa, like a puppy with a guilty conscience.
With the spider spirit beast accompanying us to Mount Daeyo, she probably felt she couldn’t hide her secret any longer.
When we reached the mountain’s edge, the Red-Clad Yao people were already waiting.
As the name implied, they wore red.
Red tops with black skirts or trousers.
“Greetings. I am So-ryong of the Beast Palace.”
As I stepped forward and introduced myself, the Red Yao all tilted their heads the same way.
They were confused because I looked like someone from the Central Plains.
“A Central Plainsman?”
“Chief of the White-Trousered Yao, is he really from the Beast Palace? He looks like a typical Central Plainsman to me.”
Even though there had been a serious clash, the Red Yao didn’t show much hostility.
Still, an old man—clearly their chief—looked at our chief and questioned him.
“He is a Central Plainsman, but he’s indeed So-ryong of the Beast Palace. Haven’t you heard? The Palace Lord of the Beast Palace adopted a Central Plains son.”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it. You don’t expect us to believe this guy’s from the Beast Palace, do you? Just because the Central Plains martial world grew stronger doesn’t mean you can impersonate the Beast Palace. Do you not know the consequences?”
Despite the White-Trousered Chief introducing me as someone from the Beast Palace, the Red Yao still eyed me with suspicion.
They clearly hadn’t heard about my adoption.
Some were even accusing the chief of White Yao of trying to scam them.
“He doesn’t even have a beast with him. Doesn’t everyone from the Beast Palace travel with one?”
That comment from one of the Red Yao earned nods from the group.
Probably because I wasn’t wearing that ridiculous hat.
I pulled the hat over my head and summoned Yo-hwa from where she had been hiding behind me.
“Ahem. I am indeed So-ryong, the heir of the Beast Palace. This is the spirit beast I raise.”
“Gasp!”
“T-The landowner!”
“A giant landowner spirit beast?!”
“T-That hat is from the Beast Palace!”
I made a mental note to ask Father to redesign that hat once I got home.
“Well then, now that my identity as a Beast Palace member is clear, let’s head to the ancestral shrine.”
“A life-or-death duel? Let’s just do it here. Why move?”
“We’re not having a life-or-death duel today.”
“What? But I heard there was going to be one...”
When I said there wouldn’t be a duel, the Red Yao looked confused and flustered.
This was the time to start using my tongue.
I stepped forward and spoke with a determined expression.
“At first, I also agreed with resolving this matter through a life-or-death duel.
But upon reflection, a thought occurred to me.
Though I hail from the Central Plains and know little about the Yao people, aren’t the White-Trousered and Red-Clad Yao still one and the same? That makes you kin. And yet, why spill the blood of your own kin?
This is a matter that will be resolved the moment we find the real culprit. So let’s find the true killer and resolve it that way.”
At my words, the gathered people glanced at one another before nodding.
“Your words are very wise.”
“If the Beast Palace Young Lord says so...”
Finally, the Red Yao chieftain asked,
“But, Young Lord, how do you intend to catch the real culprit?”
I smiled as I replied.
“I have a way. For now, let us proceed to the ancestral shrine.”
“Understood.”
We led everyone to the place where the shrine was located.
The site lay halfway up the mountain, beside a stream, where two shrines stood side by side. Upon arrival, I immediately asked where the dog, Honghong, had been buried.
“That dog they raised here—Honghong, was it? Where was it buried?”
At that, everyone’s eyes turned to one woman—fierce-eyed, wearing a red top and black skirt.
“B-Buried in the back garden...”
I immediately gave an order to Gun Hye-rin.
“Lady Gun, take some people and retrieve the burial. Bring it here.”
“Understood!”
“W-What are you doing?! Digging up a buried dog?!”
The woman was flustered.
I smiled gently at her as I replied.
“I’ve heard that dogs are sacred to the Yao. And yet such a sacred creature was wrongfully killed. I only wish to find the true culprit and bring justice.
I am of the Beast Palace—no one knows animals better than I, and no one else can properly lay their grudges to rest.”
If the Yao revere dogs as sacred, then the Beast Palace cherishes and loves all animals.
Isn’t that why we’re like the eldest brother of all the minority tribes?
I gave a glance to the Red Yao chieftain, and he nodded.
“So be it. Bring it here, as the Beast Palace Young Lord commands.”
“Yes, Chief!”
Gun Hye-rin disappeared with a few Red Yao and returned shortly after, carrying a jar sealed with paper.
The jar was smeared with dirt—it had clearly been buried.
Setting it down, I asked both the Red-Clad and White-Trousered Yao priestesses a question.
“Let me ask you both.
First, the White-Trousered Yao priestess said she went to draw water by the stream at dawn, where she found Honghong dead. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
“No! That’s a lie! I woke up early, saw that Honghong was missing, and went to the stream to look for him—only to witness her twisting his neck and killing him!
A few days ago, Heukyi and Honghong fought, and our Honghong won. I’m sure she tried to kill him out of spite and made up that story because I caught her!”
I nodded.
“Then one of you is lying. And whoever that is—the killer.”
Both priestesses looked visibly tense at my words, so I tapped the jar and asked Gun Hye-rin for a favor.
“Gun Hye-rin, there should be plenty of flies—Ying—in here that have hatched. Can you check if they’re alive without opening the jar?”
“Got it, Master.”
She approached, placed her hand on the jar, and examined it.
“They’re still alive.”
I had thought the gases from decomposition might’ve killed them, but it seemed they’d survived.
I made another request.
“Can you kill all of them—without damaging their bodies?”
“Easy.”
Gun Hye-rin placed her hand on the jar and did something. Once she finished, I turned to the two priestesses.
“Determining which of you is lying is simple. I’ll give you one last chance to confess now.”
Neither woman responded.
So I turned to the Red Yao and gave the command.
“Pour out the contents of the jar.”
“Yes, sir!”
—Sssshk.
They tore off the seal and overturned the jar, spilling the contents: the dog’s corpse wrapped in cloth, along with maggots and dead flies tumbling out in heaps.
The stench of rot wafted through the air.
I stepped back and asked,
“Gun Hye-rin, what color are the flies that just spilled out?”
“Black, but with a faint blue sheen.”
Black with a faint blue sheen—those would be bluebottles.
Here’s a little-known fact: while many flies swarm to a corpse, they don’t all arrive at the same time.
Different species arrive depending on how much time has passed.
Bluebottles gather almost immediately—within minutes or the first hour after death.
The fact that they had time to hatch meant the body hadn’t been left unattended for long.
Which meant the White-Trousered priestess had lied.
But then Gun Hye-rin added,
“There are also shiny green ones.”
The shiny green ones—greenbottles.
Those arrive several hours after death.
Meaning the Red-Clad priestess had also lied.
“Are there any others?”
“None.”
I looked at the Red-Clad priestess and explained.
“You’re the one lying. When a corpse appears, flies swarm—but not all at once.
First, within one shichen—about two hours—black flies with a bluish hue arrive. Later, greenbottles with metallic shine follow. Meaning this dog died several hours ago.”
This was forensic entomology—figuring out the time of death using insects.
The Red-Clad priestess collapsed onto her knees.
“I-I did it because I hated that woman! Huuuu...”
“You two were like real sisters! How could you do this?!”
The Red Yao chieftain scolded her, but she clamped her mouth shut.
I turned my gaze to the White-Trousered priestess.
She immediately dropped to her knees and performed a full-body kowtow in front of Yo-hwa.
“I-I’m so sorry, Landowner! I committed an unforgivable sin! I sang with the Red Yao chieftain’s son!”
The men all widened their eyes in shock. What was that supposed to mean?
I mean... singing together wasn’t a crime, was it?
Were their customs that conservative? Like that saying: "Boys and girls above the age of seven must not sit together"?
But thinking about Sister Seol, that didn’t seem likely—these tribes weren’t that reserved.
Their clothing was light, and based on how Sister Seol had behaved toward me, I’d say they were anything but conservative.
Tribes may differ in detail, but the fundamentals weren’t that far off.
She was probably panicking and just confessing to whatever came to mind.
I said gently,
“Hey now, singing together is fine. Please calm down. That’s not what this is about...”
But then the White-Trousered chieftain cleared his throat beside me and whispered a clarification.
“Young Lord, um... among the Yao, once they reach marriageable age, they ascend the mountain. If they meet someone they like there, they sing together... and spend the night.”
“Oh. So singing all night together means... how wholesome.”
“Ahem... they don’t just sing, you see.”
“Ah...”
“What else do they do if they’re not singing?”
Gun Hye-rin still hadn’t picked up on it. But I had a feeling this “singing” was one of those harmonic tunes—ah, ha, mm... The same three-part vocalization Hwa-eun and I had been practicing lately.
Now I fully understood what kind of case this was.
It wasn’t just a murder.
It was a crime of passion.
No—more accurately, it was a crime of passion involving a dog
