All the attendees of the event could not do anything but wait until the North Swords allowed them to leave. The North Swords proceeded with their investigation, identifying those who had unclear whereabouts from late at night right up until that very moment. There was a total of 237 of them. And, of course, Pa Chun was among that number. The North Swords investigators seemed both aggravated and surprised by the unexpectedly high count. They had expected just a few people here and there to have emptied their seats at one point but, it turned out, more than half had either left their seat or ended up not even showing up to the banquet during the night. The 237 were corralled into one locations where the official investigation then took place.
“We just need to know where you were at that time, what you were doing, and if you have an eyewitness who can vouch as an alibi.”
Hwa Do In, one of the 12 officials, was the one interrogating Pachun, and it was very clear that he was being very careful with his choice of words and actions. Not only was Pachun already very well known by everyone, but he was also known for his considerable skills.
“Me? You mean me? I don’t feel like answering…. If you’re so curious, call on the host or a soldier to maybe force me? Better yet, why don’t you just call on the Ulryeon Daeju.”
Confidence in his attitude was an understatement.
“Sir, please participate! That is the only way we can quickly clear you. If you refuse to cooperate, we will not be able to clear you from any suspicion.”
“Do as you please. I don’t know why you are doing this but I have nothing to hide so I have nothing to be afraid of.”
Unable to resume with his interrogation, Hwa Do In rose from his seat and made his exit.
‘I don’t know who they will send next, but do whatever you want. You won’t be able to do anything to me without any concrete evidence…’
-What are you trying to do here? You can’t answer any of their questions with anything real either. Just run away.
[That’s nonsense. That’s no different than accepting and claiming guilt.]
-So, why did you come back? You should have just kept away…
[Wait! Nothing’s going to happen. They may have a hunch, but they can’t do anything to me without evidence.]
**
“What! Sir Moon is among them?”
“Yes, it seems so, Sir. What should we do? He was being so uncooperative that his interrogator had to ultimately leave without getting anywhere.”
“He’s a prominent figure. We must be careful in how we treat him. Should we do anything rash without concrete evidence, it will only serve to backfire on us.”
At these words, the reporting soldier made a slight frown.
“That is why he is all the more suspicious. Wasn’t there another incident where he had disappeared two nights ago and caused a commotion? And not only that, but of the 200 or so suspected men, he is the most skilled of them all – someone who can pull off such a feat. I feel it is worth suspecting him.”
“No. It is not him. He has no reason to do such a thing. In fact, he doesn’t even know who Lady Sul Lan is. He had only met her once briefly yesterday to exchange hellos. There is no way she would willingly follow a complete stranger of her own accord. And what use would Sir Moon have for such a girl. I’ve gone to great lengths to bring him over to our side. It cannot be him.”
“Is that so, sir? Then it is safe to assume the culprit has already escaped and left the grounds. There is no one else skilled enough among the rest of them.”
“There’s no more we can do but to let everyone go and continue to thoroughly investigate the area nearby. If he had already flown the Gaebongbu area, then it is a lost cause…Come to think of it, if he left in the wee hours of the night, he is probably already long gone. Go to sir Moon and apologize before we let him go. Nevermind, I should be the one to do it personally.”
