"Cough, cough… So, Junior Sister fell for me only because she saw through the strength I had kept hidden. Ah, it seems I was blind to it all along."Lying sprawled on the grass, Wu Seisaku let out a bitter smile.
Beside him, Hokuto was grimacing as he pulled the needles out of his body, and at the same time lecturing Wu Seisaku about what love truly was. In the end, he even finished with a timeless proverb.
"Brother Wu, the world is vast, and there's no shortage of fragrant blossoms."
"The world is vast, and there's no shortage of fragrant blossoms…? The world is vast, and there's no shortage of fragrant blossoms! What a fine line!"
Wu Seisaku laughed heartily three times, then forced himself up from the ground. He clasped his hands respectfully toward Hokuto and declared:"Seisaku has truly learned from Brother's wisdom today—utterly admirable!"
He went on to apologize repeatedly for his rashness, promising he was willing to do anything to make up for his offense.
Seeing that the little lamb had found his way back to the right path, Hokuto felt quite relieved. He patted Wu Seisaku's shoulder and said warmly:"It was just a spar between brothers, nothing worth calling an offense. But there is one thing I must ask of you—don't spread word of today's events. Let it remain a secret between us."
Hokuto had already realized that the system wouldn't always hand him choices that allowed him to retreat unscathed. He needed to be more discreet. The malice of this world toward him was far too great.
"As expected, Brother's magnanimity is as vast as the seas. Seisaku understands."
Wu Seisaku then swore a solemn oath, vowing he would never speak of this to anyone else.
"Good. Now lie back down, I'll drive out the poison and tend your wounds."
"Brother, you know medicine too!?" Wu Seisaku was utterly shocked.
"I know a little, just a little," Hokuto replied modestly as he opened a small leather pouch and took out a golden needle.
But just as he found the right acupuncture point and was about to pierce it in, Wu Seisaku suddenly cried out in alarm:
"Brother, watch out!"
The next instant Hokuto felt himself yanked violently downward, followed by a sharp pain stabbing into his chest.
"Brother!? Brother! Hold on!"
"Cowardly villain! If you have the guts, come out and fight me three hundred rounds face-to-face!"
That was the last thing Hokuto heard before darkness swallowed him.
When he regained consciousness, Hokuto found himself lying inside a room filled with the fragrance of medicinal herbs. Before long, he pieced together what had happened.
First, the arrow he had been struck with earlier had been poisoned. If Wu Seisaku hadn't rushed him to the Seishin Hall, he likely would have died.
Second, the Disciplinary Hall had already dispatched people to investigate the matter. They told him that the truth would be uncovered soon.
But Hokuto knew better. "The truth will soon be uncovered" was nothing more than empty consolation. Though he had only been at the Kishin Sect for a year, he had already heard of more than a dozen cases of disciples being ambushed in secret. And those were just the ones he happened to hear about.
There was no helping it. In an age without fingerprints, surveillance, or a Detective Conan to solve cases, the cost of crime was simply too low.
While Hokuto was still turning over in his mind who could have been behind the attack, the system suddenly popped up a new Yellow-rank Low-tier Mission. On it appeared the names:
[Wu Seisaku (√)][Hayashi Kyoka (√)]
With only a little thought, Hokuto understood—the check marks meant he had successfully erased these two people's hostility toward him. Which left only one suspect: Ō An.
'So it really is true—you can know a person's face, but not their heart!'
He had to admit, Ō An had left a strong impression on him before. He seemed the very picture of a refined young gentleman. His father was a local official beloved by the people, so his upbringing should have been excellent. Add to that the way he blushed shyly whenever he spoke…
With all those "halos" surrounding him, he appeared utterly harmless.
If not for the system's prompt, Hokuto would have first suspected Hayashi Kyoka—thinking that perhaps her public show of friendliness was just a cover for a secret knife in the dark.
'The one who seems least like the culprit is usually the culprit. How could I forget such a classic trap?'
Hokuto sighed in frustration, scolding himself for still being too young.
He also realized that while his strength had indeed grown since those hellish months in the mines, the system adjusted the difficulty and rewards based on his current power. Which meant that even one slip could still cost him his life.
After some hard reflection, Hokuto began to plan his counterattack. The tables had turned—he now held the advantage.
Because of the system's warning, Ō An's act as a "pure-hearted innocent youth" was already wasted. But Ō An himself didn't know he had been exposed. His guard would inevitably be lowered. Hokuto was sure he already had the next stage of his performance prepared.
'Next time, I'll lure him into a deserted corner and cut him down with one strike.'
After the hellish life in the mines, Hokuto had long since shed any softness of heart. Against someone who wanted him dead, he would never hesitate.
'The only problem is… what if his father comes after me?'
Ō An's father was no ordinary man but a county constable responsible for law and order. If he threw his full weight into hunting his son's killer, that would be a very different matter from an ordinary constable's investigation.
'So that's why this Yellow-rank Mid-tier Mission is such a difficult one…'
For the next half-month, Hokuto lay in bed recovering, all the while racking his brain with strategies for his battle of wits with Ō An once he was healed.
He thought so hard his hair was practically falling out.
But then, one noon, the system prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes—
Mission Failed.
'Failed!? What!?'
Hokuto froze, dumbfounded. He had been in the middle of planning how to destroy the body with the least chance of discovery. How had he failed already!?
His last two missions had ended in failure too, but at least he had known why. This time he hadn't even faced Ō An yet—how could he have lost!?
Two days later, Wu Seisaku came to visit him and finally gave him the answer.
Ō An was dead. He had died on the road home. Cause unknown.
'Dead!? How could he just die like that!?'
In an instant, Hokuto's heart collapsed.
He had worked so hard to win over Wu Seisaku and Hayashi Kyoka, only to be ambushed and left bedridden for half a month. Master Zō at Seishin Hall had even warned him—the poison in his body was extremely difficult to remove completely. For the next three months, he couldn't cultivate or exert himself too strenuously, or it might leave behind permanent damage.
And after paying such a heavy price, Hokuto had been determined to finish the mission and claim that Yellow-rank Mid-tier reward.
And this was the result? This!?
Beside him, Wu Seisaku looked at Hokuto's expression—his grief so deep it was nearly unbearable, yet still restrained from showing outwardly. He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
'So it's true… Brother Hokuto is a man of profound loyalty and sentiment. Even though he only shared one iron-bonded mission with Brother Ō, upon hearing of his death he is stricken with such sorrow. Truly… the perfect senior brother in my heart!'
(End of Chapter)