ESTC Chapter 7

Three days after Clan Head Tang recovered.

We were continuing our inquiries, visiting villages around the abandoned temple as our base.

All to find the hideout of the Blood Hand Rakshasa Tak Unyang.

Clan Head Tang had explained that since practicing the Blood-Thinning Poison Claw required human blood and bone marrow, we could quickly pinpoint the area around his hideout by checking for missing persons reports in the surrounding villages.

My role would come after that.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, elder. While one or two people go missing in the jungle each year, there haven’t been any periodic disappearances or large groups disappearing at once. And those who go missing are usually found quickly unless it’s a special case.”

“Thank you for your words, Village Chief.”

“Not at all. It’s my honor to help the famous Sichuan Tang Clan Head.”

“Well then, we’ll take our leave.”

The last village within a day’s travel from the abandoned temple.

We came out after checking with the village chief about missing persons information in this newly visited village.

Without any particular results.

We were asking about cases of mass disappearances, but while people occasionally went missing after entering the dense jungle, there were no cases of mass disappearances – the same answer continued at every village we visited.

“Nothing unusual in this village either?”

“This is strange, young hero. Seeing how he revealed himself after discovering us, I thought he must be nearby…”

He’d thought the man’s base must be near our abandoned temple since he had appeared after discovering the Tang clan warriors, but after searching all villages within a day’s travel of our temple, there was no trace of him.

Someone who knew him, or at least someone who had seen him, should have appeared, but there was no trace of him.

Strange, isn’t it?

Though I also thought Clan Head Tang’s reasoning made sense and was participating in his search, having no traces like this.

It seemed odd.

So as we left the last village, I tried to recall what the man had said when he appeared.

After all, people often unknowingly let slip information about themselves.

What did that bastard say… Ah!

When I concentrated briefly to recall the previous events, his first words came to mind.

I remembered the first words he said while gripping my nape.

「Having heard Tang clan members had entered Hainan, I came to find the Ten Thousand Poisons Divine Sovereign’s son alone and injured.」

Something occurred to me from his words upon appearing, and I quickly asked Clan Head Tang:

“Ah! Elder, do you remember what he said when he appeared?”

“What he said when he appeared? Well, I don’t remember clearly, but do you remember?”

Oops, the old man was slammed into the steps and out of it.

Everyone has dark history, and it should be kept secret.

If he didn’t remember, there was no need to remind him, so I nodded and answered:

“Ah… You don’t remember? I just recalled that he said ‘Having heard Tang clan members had entered Hainan…'”

“And?”

Clan Head Tang couldn’t catch on, as if he’d never read a detective novel.

Suppressing my frustration, I answered:

“Now, listen carefully. Didn’t he say ‘Having heard Tang clan members had entered Hainan’?”

“Yes?”

“In other words, he heard from someone that Tang clan members had entered Hainan. If we check the places the Tang clan passed through, couldn’t we find the person who told him that Tang clan members had entered Hainan?

We could check using facial composites – I mean, descriptions. Or we could describe his appearance and ask if anyone had seen such a person.”

“Oh! That’s right! Young hero, I thought you only knew about venomous creatures, but you’re wise in many ways? How did you figure that out? It’s like seeing someone from the Zhuge clan.”

Well, if you frequent escape room cafes and do a lot of deduction game collabs with other YouTubers, you end up like this.

So our inquiries began again.

Fortunately, when the Tang clan members arrived in Hainan, they had headed from the northern port to a village with an herb gatherer, and then their destination was near my abandoned temple, so we were finally able to hear about him at the port.

“Ah! You mean that person with red hands?”

“Oh! Yes! You know him?”

“Yes. He appears regularly once a month to buy grain. He must live inland on the island, since he says it takes three days to come here? When he comes, he buys enough for forty days.”

“Ohhh! Thank you.”

Valuable information confirmed at the grain shop in the market.

Information that he bought rice from the rice shop once a month.

“Then should we check the villages within three days’ travel?”

I thought we should check villages within three days’ travel since he had let slip approximately where he lived, but Clan Head Tang shook his head.

“No. After pondering your words carefully, I don’t think we should think so simply.”

“Simply?”

The old man’s words seemed to be dissing me.

I deducted one point from his reverse interview score while asking again.

Personality that could put down employees? Interview -10 points.

“Then what?”

“He’s a martial artist – it shouldn’t be three days’ walking distance, but three days by lightness skill. He buys grain once a month, but why would he buy forty days’ worth? Considering the travel time and his martial arts level, it must be seven days’ distance. That seems clear.”

“Ah, indeed…”

At the mention of lightness skill, I recalled the thrill of riding on the old man’s back.

Each step had sent us flying several meters.

Lightness skill was definitely amazing. That’s worth +10 interview points.

“And, he probably doesn’t have any disciples.”

“Ah, right. Since he only buys forty days’ worth of grain?”

“Exactly.”

Clan Head Tang understood ten things when taught one.

In my past life, he could have rivaled escape room cafe masters.

***

“Strange.”

Ten days later in western Hainan.

Clan Head Tang gripped his chin with an uncomprehending expression after hearing the same story as before at the village we’d just visited.

Hainan Island was as large as Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces combined.

Therefore, pinpointing the location was important since Clan Head Tang and his three warriors couldn’t cover everything, but we couldn’t find any trace of him near the location we’d specified.

“If it’s seven days’ distance, it must be to the west, but this is strange.”

“Clan Head, since you said his martial arts were similar to Patriarch Tang, the Ten Thousand Poisons Divine Sovereign, should we search further west near the coast?”

“No. Even so, he wouldn’t have used his full power while going to buy rice. This area must be right…”

Seven days from the port meant east and south were sea, north was the port.

So only the west remained.

We’d thought it was almost certain, but there were no missing persons here either.

As we were all pondering at the village entrance.

The village chief’s voice came again as he ran out breathlessly.

“Huff huff! Oh thank goodness you’re still here! Elder!”

“Hm? Why such hurry? Did you remember something?”

The village chief nodded at Clan Head Tang’s question.

After catching his breath for a while, he answered with a strained voice:

“Y-you should check the Li tribe (여족(黎族)) village. Huff huff… I forgot, but I remember hearing about some strange deaths in the coastal Li tribe village…”

“Strange deaths? Li tribe?”

Strange deaths could be related to what we were looking for.

Clan Head Tang looked at me with an expression asking what the Li tribe was.

Since he apparently didn’t know much about Hainan, I explained carefully.

“Besides the Han people, there are two tribes living in Hainan, called the Li tribe and the Miao tribe. The Li tribe isn’t friendly toward Han people, but the Miao tribe, though each village’s attitude varies somewhat, is generally friendly.”

The Li and Miao minority tribes living in Hainan.

Unlike the Li tribe who wouldn’t even let you enter their villages, the Miao were quite friendly to Han people – they were an approachable tribe who would even serve food to visitors.

I had a good impression of them since they’d helped me when I got lost in the jungle while catching snakes.

“Is that so? Then we should visit there. Thank you, Village Chief. Say, do you know where this village with strange deaths is?”

“Yes, it’s about a day’s journey northwest from here.”

“Thank you!”

After half a day riding on Clan Head Tang’s back.

When we’d cut through the jungle to reach the coast and moved along the coastline for a while.

Smoke rising in the distance.

Roofs sprouting like mushrooms between the jungle trees on the coastal mountain ridge came into view.

“That must be it!”

“If we go to the village entrance, the Miao people will welcome us as guests.”

“I see. Let’s find the entrance then.”

At the base of the mountain ridge, after searching the coastal area briefly, we found what looked like a palisade gate entrance, and when we arrived, people began pouring out.

People wearing black clothes embroidered with red thread.

These were the Miao people, with metal ornaments jingling on their chests, black high socks, and short skirts worn by both men and women.

“What business do Han people have at a Miao village?”

Among the gathered people, an old man appeared with two or three village youths.

He seemed to be the village chief or tribal chief.

“Ah, I am Tang Cheolsan, Clan Head of the Tang clan in Sichuan. The reason we’ve come here is…”

While Clan Head Tang began conversing with the Miao tribal chief, I observed the people who had appeared at the village entrance.

Something about the atmosphere had felt strange from the moment we arrived.

The village atmosphere felt extremely gloomy.

How to put it? Like the village had no vitality?

There were almost no children playing or women’s voices to be heard, and even the birds’ chirping seemed quiet.

Moreover, while people in Hainan generally lack energy in the midday heat like this, there was something uniformly strange about the Miao people who appeared at the village entrance.

Over half of them had unfocused eyes, and they all wore expressions of extreme lethargy.

What’s this? They all look like they’re on drugs.

They seemed intoxicated by something drug-like.

As I was feeling unsettled by this sight, the tribal chief’s firm voice came:

“We know nothing about disappearances, and there’s nothing unusual in our village. Now leave.”

“But there are so few people compared to the houses… And what about this strange illness…”

“This is not Han people’s business!”

Usually when guests visit a Miao village, the women would rush out to welcome them and guide them inside – this was a strange situation.

Looking toward the sound, I saw Clan Head Tang giving me an expression suggesting my explanation about them being friendly seemed somewhat wrong.

Hey, I said it varies case by case…

And at that moment.

Thud.

There was a sound of something collapsing, and one of the villagers watching us fell to the ground.

A child?

As one person collapsed, the crowd parted.

What was revealed in the parted crowd was a collapsed young girl, and I could see her labored breathing and chest rising and falling rapidly.

Then the chief ran like mad to hold the child in his arms and cried out:

“Kuhuk. M-Meijin! N-no! You’re my only blood relative left, how can you too fall to this plague!”

The old man wailed while holding the child.

Clan Head Tang quickly ran forward and made an offer to the old man.

That he knew medicine and would take a look.

“Elder, I’ve studied medicine, so let me examine the child.”

“M-medicine? You studied Central Plains medicine!?”

“Yes. Though I’m not quite a doctor, I know medical texts and techniques, so let me examine the child.”

Though they’d been about to drive us from the village, the atmosphere reversed when Clan Head Tang said he knew medicine.

We’d gone from unwelcome guests to the entourage of the revered one.

The Medicine God.

“P-please! P-please save my Meijin! A p-plague is sweeping through the village, children are dying and even healthy adults are wasting away! We tried to invite Han doctors, but none would come this far!”

“I understand. Let’s take the child inside first.”

“A-alright! Wh-what are you all doing! Quickly escort the doctor and his party to my house!”

It seemed medicine gods were respected regardless of era.

And at Clan Head Tang’s words about studying medicine, I was seeing the Sichuan Tang clan in a slightly different light.

I’d been wary since they were a clan that cultivated martial arts through poison, but a medicine god was different.

Medicine gods get pretty high points.