The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

“Seeing a ghost’s voice on a ghost ship? Is the protagonist some kind of shaman?”

Elder Oh, intrigued by the incident that was about to unfold, still couldn’t shake off his curiosity about the protagonist.

His question was understandable. After all, it was his first time reading a mystery genre. He was simply following the protagonist’s abilities and antics as if spellbound.

“I. Zhuge Seol-rok. And Officer Jung.” A strange atmosphere reigned in the carriage. Doubt. Excitement. Anxiety. No need to ask who was doubtful, who was excited, and who was anxious.

“Officer Jung cast a slightly irritated glance at me and spoke.”

[Detective. That kid has nothing to do with this, right?]

[He’s a skilled physician. He could be of help to me.]

[A kid who doesn’t even look like he’s of age is a skilled physician?]

[Haven’t I told you before? Don’t think while looking; think while seeing. I still have time until we reach the docks, so I think it’s right to give Dr. Kang a chance to hear about the case.]

“What kind of person is the landlord? What is the relationship between the two? The only thing I could discern inside the carriage was that someone of considerable stature was asking the landlord for help.”

[No matter what, to such a kid… No. It’s I who am seeking help. Yes, explain it. A ghost ship has appeared on the Yangtze River.]

[A ghost ship? Are you saying a ghost moved the boat?]

[You’re quick to understand.]

[I served in the south for three years.]

[You were a military doctor?! No wonder you’re a capable physician. I didn’t recognize it. My apologies.]

[It’s fine. I will continue to listen.]

“It was a familiar reaction. Whenever I introduced myself as a military doctor, even the stiff-necked nobles on the battlefield would treat me warmly. After all, you never know when someone might save your life.”

[A large ship was found in the deserted dock today. A large ship that certainly wasn’t there the night before. When the dock manager approached it, he felt no signs of life. Who would tie up a ship with such difficulty on a night when the moon doesn’t rise? When the manager boarded to awaken anyone, he witnessed a horrifying scene.]

[What kind of scene?]

[The deck was covered in blood.]

[Huh?]

[What happened? When he looked for someone, he found no one on the ship. No, it wasn’t just people—there were no corpses either.]

[Not even a corpse? Didn’t anyone disembark from the ship overnight?]

[There were no footprints leaving the ship. Several people checked, but no one found anything.]

[The ship docked, yet no one left? Are you saying a ghost flew away into the sky?]

[That’s why I came looking for a detective.]

“Detective? Is that Zhuge Seol-rok’s pseudonym? Quite an unusual pseudonym.”

Though Elder Oh had been part of the Martial Arts World for decades, he had never heard of a detective as a title.

As his doubt blossomed, a small expectation began to rise. Those with unique titles often had significant reasons behind them.

[We’re almost there. Let’s disembark.]

————

“We arrived at a quiet dock where the sound of rushing water could be heard most loudly.”

“Among countless ships, which one would be the ghost ship? There was no need to ponder. Aside from a small fishing boat, only one ship looked like a proper vessel.”

[What’s going on?]

“What could it be? Zhuge Seol-rok did not board the ship with Officer Jung; instead, he took his time surveying the surroundings.”

[Mhm. Is that so.]

[What?]

[It’s fine. Let’s board the ship.]

“As soon as I stepped onto the ship, I could smell a very familiar scent. A thick stench of blood—one that could only be perceived when many had bled. Anyone else would gag or faint at the sight before me, except perhaps someone like me, who had rolled around in the battlefield for three years.”

[Ha! This is the scene!]

“Correction. There was one more person. Zhuge Seol-rok. He was there. Unless he engaged in his usual antics, he often looked bored, but now his eyes sparkled with interest and zeal unlike any other time.”

[This vessel is currently under the jurisdiction of the government office. If you’re not related to the ship, you should disembark!]

“As we boarded, a man named Ho Pil, who looked ready to swing a six-sided club at the first sign of trouble, approached us.”

[Ho Pil. I brought him along.]

[Officer Jung?]

[It seems to be a peculiar incident, so I brought someone for help.]

“The expression in Ho Pil’s eyes was one of a subordinate who sees their superior getting into a troublesome situation. Officer Jung was a fresh recruit who just passed the military exam, while Ho Pil was at least ten years experienced in his field. Seemingly the same judgment about newcomers was made in both the battlefield and Wuhan. I couldn’t help but chuckle inside.”

[No need to look further. It was the bandits who did it.]

[The bandits?]

[We found claw marks used by the bandits to board the ship and green hair. They were totally taken out by the bandits.]

[Then how did the ship dock? Didn’t you say there are no footprints?]

[It was likely pushed ashore by the current rather than docked. No doubt about it.]

“Green hair and bandits. They said it was a ghost ship, but was it just bandits doing the raid?”

Elder Oh nodded at Ho Pil’s explanation. It was indeed an unusual occurrence, but if the bandits had been annihilated, then it was easy to understand.

[To speak so confidently about an obvious mistake.]

“What?!”

Elder Oh’s thoughts were immediately denied by Zhuge Seol-rok.

[What did you just say?!]

Officer Jung blocked the agitated Ho Pil, looking accustomed to the scene, and turned to Zhuge Seol-rok.

[Stay calm. Do you need time to investigate?]

[I’m already investigating.]

[Understood. Let me handle the crowd.]

————

[You seem to have a lot you want to know.]

“After thoroughly exploring the ship, Zhuge Seol-rok looked at me with a satisfied expression and spoke.”

[What on earth is going on here? And Officer Jung, what relationship do you have with this junior military officer in charge of security in Wuhan?]

“As I burst forth with the curiosity I had been holding back, Zhuge Seol-rok, still fixated on the ship, answered.”

[When Officer Jung encounters a case he can’t solve, he seeks my help.]

[Help? Was it Ho Pil? Or a government post?]

[It’s a distant story for someone like me with black eyes, but I’ve heard occasionally there are honorary posts that only stay at home. Could Zhuge Seol-rok be one of those?]

[Neither of those.]

[Then what exactly is your role?]

[When I introduce myself to those who need me, I say this.]

[What do you say?]

[Seol-rok. Zhuge Seol-rok. Detective.]

“Only then did Zhuge Seol-rok turn to look at me, confidently introducing himself. However, my questions were only multiplied.”

[What on earth is this detective thing? I’ve heard of spies but never of detectives.]

[It’s someone who sees the voice of a ghost.]

[Huh?]

[It’s also someone who deduces and observes. Someone who gets closer to the truth through contemplation.]

[I have no idea what you’re talking about.]

“I feel you.”

Elder Oh nodded in agreement with Kang Jun’s feelings.

No matter how many questions were asked, Zhuge Seol-rok’s mysterious nature only grew, and with a slight smile, he turned away from the increasingly frustrated Kang Jun.

[It’s better to see for yourself. Let’s go to the deck.]

———

[It wasn’t the bandits.]

Zhuge Seol-rok’s words to Officer Jung and Ho Pil waiting on the deck were succinct.

[Huh! So you’re saying it was a ghost that did it!]

[The claw marks are old. They may have been attacked by the bandits, but it was quite a while ago. The green hair was scattered where it shouldn’t have been. The one who did this likely believes that the incompetent fools will assume the bandits did it and close the case.]

[What?! Are you talking about me?!]

[Empty wagons make the most noise.]

Zhuge Seol-rok muttered with a frown.

[What?! How dare you say that to Ho Pil!]

It looked like a six-sided club would swing any moment, but thankfully someone was there to stop it.

[Let’s listen to the story.]

[Officer!]

Ho Pil looked extremely angry, but Zhuge Seol-rok seemed unconcerned as he raised a confident finger.

[Look at the bloodstains.]

[Bloodstains?]

[If we assume, as that empty cart said, that the bandits invaded, there should have been a fight on the ship.]

Zhuge Seol-rok pointed to the bloody scene.

[That much is obvious! Aren’t the decks covered in blood?!]

[Sigh. How much longer must we listen to this empty wagon?]

[This guy!]

[Ho Pil, stand back.]

[Officer!]

“Watching this unfold, Elder Oh chuckled to himself, continuing to read on.”

“If these two kept clashing, they might end up spilling new blood on the ship. I stepped forward with a sense of urgency and spoke to Zhuge Seol-rok.”

[If it wasn’t the bandits, did you see something different from the bloodstains?]

“Unlike Ho Pil, my question seemed to satisfy him, as Zhuge Seol-rok raised one corner of his mouth and replied gallantly.”

[Very basic deduction. Dr. Kang.]

[I’ll listen carefully.]

“Deduction? That wasn’t the ability I saw when I first met him. Naturally, he had my full attention.”

[If a fight had broken out on the deck, where do you think it would have started?]

[Given that it’s a kind of siege on the ship, it would likely be at the edges.]

[As expected of a military doctor.]

[Zhuge Seol-rok was satisfied with my answer, but there were others who looked displeased with the conversation.]

[Ha! And what of that? Aren’t there signs of blood on the deck? Isn’t that evidence of a fight?]

[There are no battle stains. Officer Jung, if that empty cart keeps talking, I will disembark.]

[What?!]

[Be quiet. What’s this about battle stains?]

[Officer Jung…!]

[When a sword is swung, naturally blood on the sword will scatter. If the fight occurred at the edge of the ship, there should be traces of a fierce battle both outside and inside the ship, yet there’s nothing.]

“Huh?!”

[If limbs were severed, there should be spurting blood and traces of blood scattering from the blade everywhere.]

“Huh?! You can distinguish all of that just by looking at blood stains?”

Elder Oh’s eyes widened.

[On the other hand, there are no scattered traces on the other side.]

[The other side?]

[Look at the mast inside. Don’t you see the scattered blood?]

[Indeed…….]

[If blood was flowing from the inner mast, it means whoever was bleeding was facing the mast. Then where was this person looking at?]

[The cabin?!]

[There were no particular bloodstains in the cabin!]

[Of course. They wished to disguise it as an invasion by bandits. Follow me.]

Zhuge Seol-rok led the others to the cabin and took out a small vial from his pockets.

[What’s that?]

[A special blood reagent I created. If I spray it where the blood originally flowed, I can reveal traces of where blood had been spilled.]

“The beds in the cabin, lacking any bedding. As Zhuge Seol-rok sprayed the reagent, an astonishing phenomenon occurred.”

[This is……!]

“A red flower bloomed. Anyone could bloom it, but it could only be bloomed once in a lifetime.”

[A large amount of blood was discovered on the beds at once. Those who were sleeping were simultaneously attacked without a doubt.]

[I, having rolled in the battlefield for three years, immediately understood the meaning of those words.]

[An uprising on the ship…!]

“A thunderous shock hit my head.”

「This is pig blood. I wanted human blood, but it’s hard to get this much. I’m just planning to swing it around while it’s on the blade.」

「Sometimes someone may suffer for a significant achievement! Success! This is it!」

「A truly important sword waits patiently to be wielded just once.」

“What he usually did. What he was preparing for. Why he said he sees the ghost’s voice instead of hearing it.”

“No way?! Was that it?!”

Elder Oh was left speechless.

“I could only look at Zhuge Seol-rok with a face that barely grasped the revelation.”

[How about it, Dr. Kang? Can you see the voice of the ghost now?]

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