Ch. 33 Murim Psychopath Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Scouting by Boat

Dong Bong-su followed behind Do Heo-ok, realizing that the moment he had expected had finally come. But in truth, it was impossible to learn anything about him merely by asking a few questions.

Furthermore, thanks to the Open Crown Grand Technique performed yesterday, acupoints had temporarily formed in his body. Unless Do Heo-ok seized him and conducted a thorough examination, there was no way he could discover his Body of No Acupoints.

“Yes.”

Dong Bong-su answered while looking at Do Heo-ok. It was the least he could say. A single word.

“Yes.”

At that, Do Heo-ok let out a hearty laugh, left Dong Bong-su alone at the bow, and headed below deck.

“Wait here a moment. I'll be right back with an excellent liquor.”

As Do Heo-ok disappeared below deck, the Spirit Eye informed him that the distance between them was increasing.

[5, 6, 7, 8…….]

Even during that brief moment, Dong Bong-su never stopped thinking about Do Heo-ok.

Just as before, he still had no idea who Do Heo-ok really was. At the moment, however, that was not what mattered. What mattered was why someone like Do Heo-ok had infiltrated the Namgung Family under such a guise.

There was still no way to know.

What was certain, however, was that a person of Do Heo-ok's caliber could accomplish something significant within the Namgung Family. That alone showed how important his current position within the Namgung Family had become.

He continued thinking.

Then when would he begin that ‘major undertaking’?

Without an answer to ‘why,’ it was difficult to figure out. But at the very least, he was certain it would not be now. After going through all the trouble of infiltrating the Namgung Family, there was no reason to cause trouble during an outing like this.

However, there was another fact just as certain.

Do Heo-ok would not have come on this outing without a reason.

Namgung Hye had clearly said earlier.

That this outing had been planned ‘from the very beginning.’

Judging by everything he had observed today, Do Heo-ok was the same kind of person as himself, someone who never did anything unnecessary.

Namgung Hye was already completely wrapped around his finger, so there was no need to take her on such an ‘unnecessary’ nighttime outing merely to win more of her affection.

People like himself and Do Heo-ok were busiest at night. Just as ordinary predators were nocturnal.

Even so, the idea of spending such an important night on nothing more than a pleasure outing was unimaginable.

‘What exactly had Do Heo-ok intended to do by coming out tonight?’

Trying to probe him was merely incidental.

There was something more important.

Without question.

‘What is it?’

He wanted to find out.

Dong Bong-su kept thinking about it as he searched for the answer.

One piece at a time.

Step by step.

First, they had boarded a boat.

Why?

What was a boat for?

Transporting something?

Assuming that was the case……

‘Transporting what?’

He had no idea.

It was difficult even to speculate, because he still had no clue how large Do Heo-ok's plan was, nor what direction it was headed.

He had to narrow it down.

A major undertaking.

A major incident.

Something that could only be accomplished after infiltrating deep into the Namgung Family.

Something worth creating a completely flawless fabricated ‘character’ like Do Heo-ok to achieve.

Several possibilities quickly came to mind.

The first was that a rival force or the Unorthodox Faction had planted Do Heo-ok inside the Namgung Family as a spy. It would require a great deal of time, but if Do Heo-ok became the live-in son-in-law and eventually occupied an important position within the Namgung Family, he would make the perfect infiltrator.

The second was that a rival force or the Unorthodox Faction had sent Do Heo-ok to completely destroy the Namgung Family. Although the process had been extremely complicated, it was undoubtedly an efficient method. They would attack from the outside while Do Heo-ok acted from within.

The third was that Do Heo-ok had infiltrated the Namgung Family entirely on his own, perhaps for revenge or to steal martial arts.

The fourth was that he had genuinely fallen in love with Namgung Hye.

There might also be reasons Dong Bong-su had not even imagined.

But broadly speaking, they would not fall outside these categories.

Among them, the first, third, and fourth possibilities would have no effect on Dong Bong-su whatsoever.

The problem was.

‘The second one.’

If Do Heo-ok had truly come here to destroy the Namgung Family, then he would have prepared thoroughly and belonged to a force powerful enough to accomplish exactly that.

If that were the case, it could be fatal.

At this point, Dong Bong-su could neither kill Do Heo-ok nor avoid him. The only way he could deal with Do Heo-ok now was to deceive him.

‘In a situation like this, what if an unexpectedly powerful force suddenly attacks this place? And on top of that, what if the Namgung Family is completely incapable of stopping them?’

If that happened, then even if Dong Bong-su managed to deceive Do Heo-ok perfectly, there would be no chance of surviving.

When there were too many possibilities, one had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Especially when one's life was at stake.

More than anything else, Dong Bong-su's instincts kept whispering that this worst-case scenario was exactly what would happen. It was as though the instincts he had honed over decades were shouting at him through deep abdominal breathing.

If that worst-case scenario proved true, then Do Heo-ok's operation would undoubtedly take place on the day of his wedding. He did not know exactly what would happen, but whatever it was, it had certainly been planned with both symbolic meaning and practical purpose.

Dong Bong-su had assembled only a few pieces of the puzzle.

Yet somehow, he felt as though he could vaguely make out the outline of the entire picture.

Combining his instincts with all these assumptions……

Who?

Do Heo-ok and the force backing him.

When?

On the night of the coming full moon.

Where?

Here.

What?

The Namgung Family.

How?

Attack.

Why?

He still did not know.

If all these ominous premonitions and deductions were correct, then he would inevitably become prey for another predator.

Dong Bong-su's eyes darkened.

‘How do I get out of this?’

Just as the gears in the depths of his mind began spinning rapidly!

[10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.]

The Spirit Eye urgently warned him that an enemy was approaching.

“……!”

Dong Bong-su had been watching the entrance leading below deck the entire time. He needed to respond the instant Do Heo-ok appeared.

Yet Do Heo-ok had clearly not come back up.

Even so, a high-level enemy of unknown identity was drawing closer.

Was Do Heo-ok moving around beneath the boat?

The Spirit Eye reported that the enemy stopped at a distance of five meters.

If it were Do Heo-ok, the distance should have increased again before decreasing once he emerged onto the deck.

But.

“Ah, my apologies. The liquor was in such an odd place that it took me a while to find it. Hahaha.”

Do Heo-ok finally came back up onto the deck.

However, the distance reported by the Spirit Eye remained fixed at five meters.

‘It's not Do Heo-ok?’

Judging by eye, the boat was roughly twenty-five meters long, ten meters wide, and five to six meters tall.

The enemy detected by the Spirit Eye was located beneath the hull, clinging to the cedar planks.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1.]

The numbers only began decreasing because Do Heo-ok himself had approached within five meters.

There was no room for doubt.

An enemy other than Do Heo-ok had appeared here!

“It's alright.”

Dong Bong-su gave the safest possible reply to Do Heo-ok's apology.

Even then, his mind never stopped working.

‘Was this it? The real reason he came out boating tonight?’

Fetching the liquor had probably been nothing more than an excuse. Do Heo-ok had almost certainly gone below deck to send a prearranged signal to the enemy clinging beneath the boat, telling them to board.

At present, there were many other pleasure boats on Lake Chaohu besides the one carrying Dong Bong-su's group. Wealthy men from Hefei and groups of drinkers had also come out to admire the moon.

The people hiding aboard one of those pleasure boats must have seen Do Heo-ok's signal before infiltrating this vessel.

And they were probably masters equal to Do Heo-ok, or perhaps several such masters.

This had been Do Heo-ok's true objective in coming out boating tonight.

And it appeared he had already accomplished it.

“Here, take this cup. This is Apple Bud Wine. It's rather strong, but it's an exceptionally rare liquor. I tasted it for the first time after coming here, and it was so good that it alone made me decide to remain with the Namgung Family. Haha.”

Do Heo-ok handed one of the cups he was holding to Dong Bong-su.

Originally, ever since Do Heo-ok had gone to fetch the liquor, Dong Bong-su had been considering how to deal with him naturally enough to dispel any suspicions.

But that was no longer the important issue.

What mattered most now was determining exactly ‘how many’ people had infiltrated this boat.

Frankly speaking, most of Do Heo-ok's doubts could be resolved simply by recounting Sosam's life story. His special encounter with Tang Wu had lasted only a single day. He had spent his entire life as a Horse Stable Hireling.

Just one day.

No matter how meticulous Do Heo-ok was, it was obvious he would not make an issue out of that single day.

Besides, there were plenty of people who could verify those facts, the members of the Danri Family.

Just one day.

Given Do Heo-ok's personality, that single day would merely be……

A little ‘unsettling.’

“Ah, my apologies, but my stomach hasn't been feeling very well for a while now. Would it be alright if I stepped away for a moment?”

Dong Bong-su lightly grabbed the side of the boat while slightly frowning.

“Ah, of course. Come to think of it, you haven't really had a chance to relieve yourself since arriving here. Go below the deck and ask the boatmen. They'll tell you what to do.”

Do Heo-ok failed to notice the act in the slightest. It was so convincing that it hardly resembled acting at all. Besides, from his perspective, there was no reason for Dong Bong-su to deceive him.

After thanking Do Heo-ok, Dong Bong-su immediately headed toward the cabin in the middle of the boat.

At that moment, Tang Hwa, who had been happily chatting with Namgung Hye while admiring the moon, briefly met his eyes.

She immediately frowned and turned her head away.

It was the sort of look one gave after seeing a filthy insect.

Dong Bong-su paid it no attention whatsoever.

There was neither any reason nor any need to be affected by something so insignificant.

He focused solely on the Spirit Eye.

The Spirit Eye only targeted the ‘single closest person’ whose level exceeded his by at least ten. If one person was within ten meters while another was only five meters away, then the Spirit Eye would detect only the one standing five meters away.

Thanks to that characteristic, he had been able to detect the appearance of an enemy other than Do Heo-ok with complete accuracy.

[……12, 13, 14.]

Even as Dong Bong-su descended the stairs beneath the cabin toward the lower deck, the distance reported by the Spirit Eye continued increasing.

The lower cabin was larger than expected. Various supplies were scattered about, while the Namgung Family's boat hirelings were sleeping here and there.

Whenever members of the family decided to come out at such late hours, these hirelings were inevitably summoned without regard for time. It was simply the unavoidable fate of hirelings.

That was why they snatched sleep whenever they had the opportunity.

Had Dong Bong-su still been a Horse Stable Hireling, then at least on the surface he would still have been living much the same life as they were.

Even so, his true nature would never have changed.

“Where can I relieve myself?”

He woke one of the boat hirelings sleeping beside the cabin stairs and asked where the toilet was.

It was merely a formality.

His true purpose was not to use the toilet.

He had other ‘business.’

“Do you see that partition over in the corner? There should be a chamber pot inside. If you don't care for that, you can use the oar port beside it. Unless we're sailing a long distance, we always leave the oar out. To be honest, all us boatmen use that spot.”

Although Dong Bong-su had interrupted his blissful nap, the boat hireling answered diligently without showing any displeasure.

Regardless of Dong Bong-su's appearance, to the hireling he was an honored guest of the Namgung Family.

Important enough to be riding this pleasure boat alongside Namgung Hye.

As nothing more than a boat hireling, he had no way of knowing that Dong Bong-su himself had been a Horse Stable Hireling until only yesterday.

Dong Bong-su looked toward where the man pointed.

It was near the stern.

Sure enough, there were two upright wooden partitions, one on each side.

Each partition was exactly tall enough to completely fill the space between the upper deck and the lower deck without leaving any gaps.

Between them, in the middle of the boat, was a narrow passage.

Because of that arrangement, it was impossible to see inside the partitioned area from this side.

If the hireling was correct, then there was probably an oar port behind each of those wooden partitions.

Following the directions, Dong Bong-su walked toward the partition.

Even then, the Spirit Eye's warning continued to stimulate his nerves.

When he had first obtained the Spirit Eye, the constant noise had been so irritating that it nearly gave him a headache.

Now, however, hearing it instead sharpened his concentration.

It felt as though it pushed his mind into its highest state of alertness.

From a gaming perspective, what had once been a nerf had now become a buff.

Tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

By the time he reached the area beneath the cabin, the distance reported by the Spirit Eye had continued increasing until it reached fourteen meters.

That had been the distance to the first newly discovered enemy.

But.

[14, 13, 11, 10…….]

The closer he drew to the partition, the smaller the numbers became.

Do Heo-ok and the newly discovered enemy had clearly been near the bow.

Meanwhile, Dong Bong-su was walking toward the stern.

Normally, the distance should have continued increasing until the Spirit Eye's warning eventually disappeared altogether.

Instead, after reaching fourteen meters, it began decreasing again.

That revealed one undeniable fact.

‘There's another one!’

The enemies who had infiltrated this boat definitely weren't just one person.