Baek Myeon-ho-ri (百面狐狸).
The one who wears the mask of a fox. Both in literal action and as a saying, it suits him well.
Using demonic cultivation and the Impeachment Gate, he is someone capable of transforming into others with near perfection.
One of his specialties is disguising the death of others by using the Impeachment Gate on corpses, a feat difficult for even renowned figures of the Martial Arts World to notice, considering that it’s a taboo to touch the dead with a blade in this era.
He moves for the Demonic Cult, causing numerous conflicts and internal strife in the Martial Arts World, plunging the realm into a whirlwind of chaos.
That was the identity of my current opponent.
“Baek Myeon-ho-ri? How on earth did this happen?”
As soon as we returned to my aunt’s mansion, Gil-san asked me what was going on.
“It’s a Demonic Cult member. He steals others’ identities using the Impeachment Gate.”
“A, a Demonic Cult member?”
Miss Zhuge, being a martial artist herself, asked back with wide eyes at the cursed name which had been mentioned.
“The Demonic Cult member disguised himself as Yi-baek Hyung? Why would he do such a thing?”
“He must be after the fortune of Man Geum Battlefield.”
With a thud, I sat down while looking at Ma Yang-baek’s Impeachment Gate. The mysterious death of Heo Song, the death of Ma Yang-baek, the elixir that the sect saved, and the disappearance of the Blue Robe Swordsman and the controversy surrounding him — all the puzzling events happening around me felt like they were finally aligning.
“So you’re saying the Demonic Cult member was trying to become the successor of Man Geum Battlefield?”
“Jang Noya had no successor. Now it’s time for me to think about the future. So, who would generally become the successor?”
“No way…?”
“Right. Jang Noya’s eldest grandson. It would be Ma Yang-baek.”
If there were no disqualifications, it made sense for Ma Yang-baek to inherit Man Geum Battlefield, provided Jang Noya had not held a test to choose a successor.
“So, you’re telling me that this Baek Myeon-ho-ri was disguising himself as Yi-baek Hyung? Since when?”
“I don’t know exactly when, but I’m sure he was definitely Baek Myeon-ho-ri right before the test.”
“You sound quite sure?”
I didn’t know exactly when Baek Myeon-ho-ri killed Ma Yang-baek and took his identity. But if someone asked me when he became clearly Baek Myeon-ho-ri, I could answer confidently that it was before the test.
“Aunt even said that as soon as the test started, the child seemed to have suddenly regained his sanity. What if that wasn’t him regaining his sanity?”
“……!”
If someone suddenly said our mischievous young master appeared different, we should worry about possession and the Impeachment Gate in a world like this.
“G, Master Kang. If that’s true, there’s something strange about it.”
Maybe she sensed a logical flaw. Miss Zhuge cautiously watched my expression and asked.
“You’re talking about Heo Song.”
“Yes.”
Miss Zhuge nodded subtly.
“Right. Why did Heo Song die during the first trial?”
In a situation where Baek Myeon-ho-ri had transformed into Ma Yang-baek, why would he target Heo Song? Considering the circumstances at the time, it was surprisingly simple.
“Just because you can wear the skin of a top scholar doesn’t mean you can have their head.”
“Ah! He failed the first trial.”
“Aha. He was probably trying to switch to a better candidate since Heo Song was doing so well in business?”
Mimicking someone perfectly and running a successful business are entirely different fields. Even the infamous Baek Myeon-ho-ri likely realized that his plans could go awry once he started his business.
“If Heo Song had continued running the Da Seo Gak business, he would have been overwhelmingly ranked number one among the grandchildren.”
That is, if we didn’t count me.
“Then why was he found as a corpse?”
Why did Baek Myeon-ho-ri have no choice but to give up on Heo Song? Why did he abandon the enticing business of the fake Da Seo Gak?
Thinking of the circumstances back then, it was easy.
“When everything was flowing smoothly, the Demonic Cult faced an unexpected first variable.”
“Me?”
I nodded with a smile.
“I wouldn’t just sit back and let that fake Da Seo Gak business continue.”
“You met Master Kang then.”
What kind of shameless guy could mimic me? I got mad and went to find him, only to meet a beautiful person with silver hair and blue eyes, panicking and not knowing what to do.
Hearing the circumstances, I quickly escaped with Miss Zhuge, disabling Heo Song’s plans in an instant.
“So Heo Song, that guy, was found with half his face peeled off…”
“He must have heard about my movements in between, so he probably hurriedly salvaged the corpse.”
I had unintentionally thwarted the Demonic Cult’s plans.
“Oh gosh! That’s chilling! I nearly had a big problem!”
Gil-san shivered at my words, suddenly rubbing his arms.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Listening to you, I felt like I might have had my face peeled off too if it went wrong!”
“You?”
What on earth was he talking about?
“Why? The Yungi Inn business — I was supposed to take it over, remember? If it had gone according to my plan…”
Right. That guy, Gil-san, had come to me as soon as the food delivery business started in Wuhan. Now that I thought about it, there was another thing.
“True. I was going to recruit Ho Pil the author. I could completely take over instead of Heo Song.”
“Ugh…”
Gil-san’s contemplative expression as he moaned was quite amusing.
“You owe your life to me.”
I hit him on the back playfully.
“What are you saying! It’s all my foresight. I’ve been good at knowing when to charge ahead and when to pull back because of my excellent judgment.”
“Seems like you mostly retreated.”
“Brother-in-law. Are you really going to act like this?”
The nerve of him—he might sulk if I’m not careful.
“Hmph.”
An unintentional blame to the person who stopped the Demonic Cult’s plot and saved my life. It was a serious situation, but it was nice to change the mood with a little laughter.
———
“If what you’re saying is true, wouldn’t it have been better to wait until after the test to target the successor? Why stir up trouble?”
After having a cup of tea, I dove back into the Baek Myeon-ho-ri story.
“If you become the successor, it would be hard for even Baek Myeon-ho-ri to approach. Right at the third test, when I was attacked, the entire Man Geum Battlefield stepped in.”
“The weight of a candidate and a successor is different.”
“Yes, exactly.”
Miss Zhuge was right. While disguising myself as a mischievous young master is easy, swapping the succession of someone who’s the focus of attention is a whole different challenge.
“The Demonic Cult is targeting Man Geum Battlefield. Alright. I understand the situation. But there’s one really important question.”
“Uh?”
Gil-san suddenly looked serious. Did he have something to say?
“How do you know about Baek Myeon-ho-ri?”
“About the Demonic Cult member?”
“Yeah. You said it was a Demonic Cult member. How come you know about someone whose identity is hardly known? Are you… perhaps…?”
Gil-san looked at me with a ‘surely not’ expression.
“Are you doubting me right now?”
What on earth was this? I chuckled in response.
“I’m going to support you to the end. Even if you were a former Demonic Cult member, I’ll take it to the grave with me. Spill it out.”
Gil-san said seriously, tapping his chest as if to earn my trust.
“……”
I never thought he would say something like this.
To be honest, I’d like to share what I knew with him.
How could I say that I had read the future moves of Baek Myeon-ho-ri? I couldn’t claim to have read some prophecy.
“G, Master Kang?”
Did he find it strange that I hesitated to reply? I sensed Miss Zhuge’s eyes trembling slightly, who had been looking at me with trust.
“That guy comes from the border area with Joseon.”
I hastily pulled out the excuse I had prepared in advance.
“What?”
“Despite the two renowned figures pursuing him to the end, he managed to escape beyond the border. Still, I was able to read a lot of case records.”
Renowned figure Ho Pil Kang Yoon-ho trained under the two renowned figures of Joseon from a young age. In this situation, I had to use the settings I created.
“What Demonic Cult member is in Yodong Province?”
Gil-san, you may not believe it, but it’s crawling with them. Thanks to that, there’s a Martial Arts World’s most beautiful lady going through hard times.
“I didn’t expect to meet this guy here. Even after seeing circumstantial evidence, I couldn’t believe it till the end.”
“So that’s how it was.”
“If it weren’t for you, no one would have noticed. Really. Phew. That’s a relief.”
Miss Zhuge seemed relieved, her chest swelling a bit. Her sigh was unexpectedly adorable.
“Yes. If I hadn’t pieced all the pieces together, I would have fallen into it.”
Baek Myeon-ho-ri was undoubtedly a thorough guy.
He had set up Heo Song, Ha Omun, the sect, Ma Yang-baek, the Blue Robe Swordsman, and even attempted poisoning. He had slipped bits of evidence, but no one thought of them as pieces of a puzzle.
If nobody knew how the completed puzzle looked and if no one had interrupted his plans in confusion, everything would be going according to his designs.
Only I could identify his true identity.
“What are you thinking about?”
As I sat there in disbelief, Miss Zhuge approached me carefully and asked.
“Since a person who has no right to be sitting opposite me is here, I must think about how to teach him a lesson.”
“Yes?”
Now that I’d fit all the pieces together, I had no notion of letting it slide. I didn’t plan to play a game of Go with my opponent.
“A person who sits here without any qualification is now preparing to be placed on my board.”
How to set up my opponent on the board I had prepared?
Now, it was my turn.
