Chapter 18

## Chapter 18. Did you find the will?

"Can't you hear me?! Bring the old woman here right now!"

As we went downstairs, a drunk man was causing a scene, throwing anything he could get his hands on.

Beside him, a group of ruffians, who looked like they had "neighborhood troublemakers" written on their foreheads, were leering and harassing the women.

"Hey, hey, Manager Zhang. If you keep this up, we'll be in trouble."

The man causing the trouble was named Hueri.

He was the son of the deceased Mr. Xu.

The middle-aged, short man cowering in front of him was the manager of Jihuarou.

Hueri grinned and looked at Manager Zhang.

"Manager Zhang. How long have you been working here?"

"Over twenty years. Haven't I been working here since you first came in?"

Hueri looked to be in his late thirties at most.

In other words, he had been frequenting brothels since he was about sixteen.

I had a pretty good idea of what kind of person he was.

"Right. So, who do you think will inherit the old man's vast fortune? Who do you think will own this brothel? Huh?"

"......"

Hueri pressed his fingers into Manager Zhang's forehead and laughed wickedly.

"Kid. If you want to keep working here, you better know your place. Got it?"

"I can't take it anymore!"

Lady Sun, who had come down with us, stepped forward and shouted angrily.

"Look at this, look at this. Old woman. You were here all along, why did you pretend not to be?"

"......If you came here to drink, just drink quietly. Why are you causing trouble?"

"Hehe. What's the problem with me having a good time in my own brothel?"

"My brothel? How dare you...... Jihuarou is mine!"

"Pfft. That was when the old man was alive. Still don't get the situation?"

"......If I find Manager Zhang...... What will you do! Chase this guy out right now!"

Lady Sun looked around and shouted.

The brothel wasn't defenseless, but they couldn't do anything to Hueri and the ruffians.

Most brothels hire strong men trained in martial arts.

But everyone was just watching, unable to act.

"Who's chasing who? You guys are chasing me? Servants chasing their master?"

It was because Hueri was the only son of the deceased Mr. Xu.

Although the inheritance issue wasn't resolved yet, the authorities were likely to give the property to the only son.

Hueri was so confident because he knew this.

He grabbed a woman by the waist and pulled her into his arms.

"Hehe. Pretty girl. Come here."

"Please, don't. I'm not a prostitute who sells her body......"

"Would you still say that if I stripped you naked and chased you out?"

"......"

Seeing his despicable behavior, I clicked my tongue.

'If this guy runs the brothel, it won't last long.'

The deceased Mr. Xu was a notorious usurer, but his son was even worse, the kind of trash even a usurer would disown.

The ruffians who came with Hueri were getting more and more out of control.

They were eating food meant for other customers, harassing women, and even pulling out knives to threaten them.

"Constable."

Turning to the cold voice, I saw Akyunho looking at Qingtian Constable with burning eyes.

"Are you just going to watch this happen?"

"......It's a family matter, and it doesn't seem like something the authorities should get involved in."

"But......!"

"However."

Qingtian Constable looked at the knives Hueri and the ruffians had at their waists.

"If a martial artist can't stand injustice, it could easily lead to a fight."

"Really?"

Unlike Akyunho, who didn't understand, I immediately grasped what he meant.

"Official business is not to be interfered with. Martial artists usually don't get involved in each other's disputes. But since these guys have knives, they must be martial artists too, right?"

"That seems to be the case."

Qingtian Constable nodded stiffly, his face showing no emotion.

It was a kind of permission, so I smiled and turned to Akyunho.

"Yunho. Did you hear that? As members of the righteous martial world, can we just stand by and watch these ruffians bully defenseless women and civilians?"

"Absolutely not."

At this point, there was no way he couldn't understand.

Akyunho nodded vigorously and joined the fray.

"You're all dead, you bastards!"

Whack!

Akyunho's flying kick hit one of the ruffians in the jaw.

What followed was a one-sided beating.

His every move was incredibly satisfying.

"Who the hell is this guy?"

"Why......!"

"Please, spare me......"

Before long, Hueri and all the ruffians were kneeling before us, humbly.

"Hey."

I squatted in front of Hueri and pressed my fingers into his forehead.

"Who are you......?"

Hueri, whose face was swollen like a steamed bun, asked fearfully.

He seemed to have sobered up a bit from the beating.

"Did you kill Mr. Xu?"

"W-What are you talking about! Who the hell would say such nonsense!"

Looking straight at the flustered Hueri, I smiled coldly.

"You're the one who benefits the most from Mr. Xu's death. Just from what you did today, it's clear."

"That's ridiculous! He was going to die in a few years anyway, why would I kill him!"

"Feeling resentful after being disowned and having your money cut off, you might have made that choice. After all...... you did kill him, didn't you?"

"I really didn't kill him!"

"Hey. It's better for you to confess now."

"I, I really didn't!"

I deliberately created a fearful atmosphere and pressured him to observe his reaction.

I had seen countless liars during my long career as an instructor in the Blood Sect.

From the movement of their eyes, their hand gestures, to the changes in their tone and voice.

While some could consciously control their physical reactions, Hueri was at best a third-rate liar.

I could tell he was lying.

'Something's off......'

It was subtle.

If he had directly killed his father or hired someone to do it, his reaction should have been more definitive.

Hueri seemed genuinely wronged, insisting he had never killed Mr. Xu.

"And you think the old man only had one son?!"

"More children? I thought you were the only one."

Hueri snorted at my question.

His tone was filled with hatred for his deceased father.

"Besides the ones registered. The old man had countless illegitimate children with the courtesans."

"You! How can you talk about your own father like that......"

Lady Sun, enraged, trembled, and Qingtian Constable's usually expressionless face hardened.

Needless to say, Akyunho was furious.

If I hadn't signaled him to stop, Hueri would have been seriously hurt.

"What! You've seen plenty of old women, haven't you? Illegitimate children coming to ask for money, it's not like it only happened once or twice!"

"Shut up, will you!"

"Shut up, old woman!"

My voice cut through their bickering.

"Both of you, shut up."

"......"

They both clamped their mouths shut at my words.

I sighed, looking alternately at the two who were fuming.

"I'll leave it at this for today. Neither of you should go far; stay at home."

"Who the hell are you......"

Smack!

Hueri, who had been slapped by me, fell to the side.

Honestly, I had wanted to hit him for a while.

"None of your business, kid."

Turning around, I saw Qingtian Constable looking at me with a bewildered expression and Akyunho looking at the unconscious Hueri as if he were a bug.

"I think we've heard everything we need to here. Let's go. Lady Sun. I'll be back, so don't go far."

"......"

Leaving the pale-faced Lady Sun behind, we left Jihuarou.

Akyunho clenched his teeth and said.

"How can a son talk about his father like that?"

"It's all about money."

Most of the problems people face in life ultimately boil down to money.

Parents sell their children for money,

Children kill their parents for money.

Decades of friendship can turn into enmity over money,

And couples who vowed eternal love can become desperate to devour each other when faced with poverty.

So, if you don't want to live such a miserable life, you need to have a lot of money.

"Why do you come to such a conclusion? You just need to find a woman who loves you for who you are, not for your money."

"Naive. Where are you going to find such a woman?"

"There is! Definitely!"

"Sure. Try your best to find one."

Anyway, to make money, I need to pass the Qinglong Academy entrance exam.

To do that, I need to catch the culprit in this case and secure a definite bonus point for the interview.

Sigh.

With a light sigh, I walked down the streets of the city, now dark with night.

"Shall we go meet the last suspect?"

* * *

"I didn't kill him."

The bodyguard of the deceased Mr. Xu was a tall, middle-aged man with a fierce appearance, and a particularly noticeable eye patch over his left eye.

'He must have killed dozens of people in his life.'

His bronze-colored skin bore several scars, indicative of a life filled with struggles.

While you shouldn't judge a person by their appearance, he looked like the most likely suspect just by his face.

'And he seems to be the strongest in martial arts among the three.'

He was the only first-rate expert among the suspects.

Noticing my suspicious gaze, the one-eyed bodyguard said uncomfortably.

"Don't judge a person by their face."

"Mr. Bumanchun. I heard you had a colorful past as a wandering swordsman."

Wandering swordsmen were martial artists who roamed around, selling their martial skills for money. They could be considered armed ruffians at worst, or romantic wanderers with a penchant for adventure at best.

Most of them were not very skilled. Bumanchun was a considerable expert among wandering swordsmen.

"......It's true that I roamed as a wandering swordsman in the past."

Due to the nature of their work, wandering swordsmen often got involved in crimes and all sorts of dirty business.

As a result, they were often suspected when crimes occurred.

"But a few years ago, I got married and settled down here. Now, I've reformed and live a honest life every day."

"Reformed? As a usurer's henchman?"

I deliberately taunted him to see his reaction, but the seasoned wandering swordsman nodded indifferently.

"I know this isn't the most honest job. But as you can see, with this face and at this age, it's not easy to find a decent job. I even tried manual labor before, but the other workers were scared of me, so I got chased away quickly."

"......"

"The person who offered me the bodyguard position was Mr. Xu. He was my benefactor. How could I kill my benefactor?"

That's hard to say.

There was no guarantee that everything he told us was the truth.

But if my judgment of people was correct, Bumanchun was the most honest among the three.

"I swear, I've never done anything to be ashamed of in front of my wife and children."

"Where were you at the time of the incident?"

"I was at home after work. The contract only required me to guard him when he went out......"

"Who else knows that you were at home besides your family?"

I asked Bumanchun a few more questions, and he answered diligently.

"However......"

One of his stories caught my interest.

"The culprit is one thing, but did you find the will? It's said that the old man left all his fortune to the person named in it."