Seven strands of hair tied to the Subjugating Doll suddenly snapped.
‘What the hell…?’
This had never happened before.
No, it had. Just once—when the very first person he ever controlled, his own wife, broke free.
One day, she discovered Nok Il’s secret and tried to run away.
Enraged, Nok Il chased her down and killed her.
It was then that her hair severed from the Subjugating Doll.
As far as he knew, unless the target died or the master of the Subjugating Doll himself cut the hair, there was no way to break free.
And he certainly hadn’t done the latter.
‘Something’s really off here.’
While Nok Il was glaring at the Subjugating Doll in confusion, a subordinate’s voice came from outside.
“Merchant Lord.”
“Come in.”
The subordinate stepped inside the room.
“The Eunhae Merchant Group still hasn’t left.”
“Fools… Clinging on like that. They should’ve just scurried back home instead of wasting their own money staying here.”
“Exactly.”
The subordinate continued.
“Ah, what should we do about the old man?”
“Who?”
“The tea maker.”
This time, he’d been bold enough to cross the line.
He had kidnapped a retired dark tea artisan, forced him to make pressed brick tea, and threatened him into cooperating.
But if that old man testified, everything would fall apart.
He couldn’t just let him go.
“What else? If he talks, it’s trouble. Kill him.”
“Understood.”
It wasn’t his hands doing the dirty work anyway, so he ordered it without hesitation.
Right then.
“Arrest them all!”
“Yes, sir!”
Out of nowhere, constables stormed in, surrounding the entire Nokgeum Merchant Group.
Nok Il froze in disbelief.
The constables barged into his office, bound him and his subordinate with ropes.
He glared at them.
“What’s the meaning of this? What crime have we committed?!”
“Your crimes are clear. We know you’re the Shaanxi Scorpion!”
I was at the magistrate’s office.
The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the courtyard where a group of people knelt.
Among them was Nok Il.
That man was the Shaanxi Scorpion.
In my past life, when he died, he was middle-aged. But right now, he was still young.
Which meant he had spent all these years scamming countless people.
And enslaving just as many courtesans.
“Magistrate! I swear I’m innocent!”
“Hah! Silence, criminal! Look how many witnesses have come to testify against your vile deeds!”
Standing to the side were the witnesses—the courtesans.
Honestly, when they offered to come and testify, I was surprised.
I hadn’t expected that.
Even though they were forced into it, testifying could still result in punishment for them.
“I will testify.”
Wine Moon stepped forward.
“Ten days ago, he asked me to make Clerk Hwang fall asleep and take a mold of his face.”
“Did you do it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you receive payment?”
“No. But I had no choice. Some strange power forced me.”
“You’re saying you were under curse?”
I stepped forward.
That was my cue.
“Yes. These courtesans were under the influence of a curse.”
At my words, Nok Il—no, the Shaanxi Scorpion—visibly flinched.
Of course he did.
I’d figured out it was curse.
“And how did you manage to break the curse?”
“In truth, I’ve trained in martial arts that can break such techniques.”
“As expected.”
Right then, the guards from the Eunpoong Division and the constables approached.
“Just as you said, we found these.”
What they brought out were facial disguise masks.
The courtesans had told us where they were hidden, and the guards had recovered them.
Naturally, Nok Il hadn’t hidden them in the Nokgeum Merchant Group.
He had hidden them in a secluded, abandoned house—completely unexpected.
The courtesans explained that it was his meeting place.
Since he believed they were still under his control, he told them everything without hesitation.
“We also found someone being held captive.”
Following them was an old man, gaunt and frail.
The magistrate, Ji Hyeon, spoke.
“Bring him a chair.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once the old man sat, Ji Hyeon asked.
“Old man, why were you being held captive?”
The old man glanced at Nok Il, then spoke.
“I was kidnapped. They told me… if I didn’t make pressed brick tea for them… they would kill my grandson.”
I figured out who this old man was.
Clerk Shim, who examined the fake tea, said it had the craftsmanship of the ‘Oh family’s tea plantation.’
Nok Il jumped to his feet.
“That’s a lie! This senile fool is making things up! I’ve never even seen him before!”
“Hah! Silence!”
So, he was planning to deny everything to the end.
Honestly, none of the evidence we had yet was decisive. Skilled liars could worm their way out with nothing but clever words.
But… if evidence came out that even his silver tongue couldn’t talk his way around, what would the Shaanxi Scorpion do then?
“Merciful and wise Magistrate Ji, if I may speak.”
“Go ahead.”
“The thing is… when Clerk Eom from the Eunhae Merchant Group visited Clerk Hwang to discuss the tea trade, he was supposed to be served Tieguanyin tea… but he was accidentally served something else.”
“Something else?”
“Aconite. Since Clerk Eom suffers from arthritis, someone had brewed a medicinal decoction.”
Aconite, a flower shaped like a helmet, was often used for arthritis treatment.
“But they were worried because he drank quite a bit of it. In large doses, it becomes poisonous.”
“Poisonous?”
“Yes. First, it causes indigestion, nausea, and acid reflux… then, starting from the second day, the skin becomes cold, breathing weakens, the heartbeat slows…”
I paused dramatically, then continued.
“Then… death follows.”
I glanced at the Shaanxi Scorpion, putting on a worried face.
“That’s why we’re concerned. He drank enough to cause fatal poisoning.”
“…”
The Shaanxi Scorpion’s eyes trembled.
In reality, symptoms like indigestion, nausea, and acid reflux were chronic issues for the people of Shaanxi.
Because their staple food was wheat.
But since he didn’t know that, hearing me frame it as aconite poisoning must’ve scared him senseless.
“The reason I’m trying to catch the criminal… is precisely because of that. Even if he’s a con artist, if he dies because of our mistake, we have to stop that, don’t we?”
“That’s true.”
“Of course, the antidote is simple. Just boil licorice and black beans, or eat some sugar…”
I glanced at Magistrate Ji Hyeon and continued.
“Since this man claims he’s not the criminal, then surely he didn’t drink the aconite. What a relief.”
“Indeed. That’s fortunate for us too. Disposing of a corpse is a troublesome task.”
Magistrate Ji nodded.
“We’ll end the interrogation here for today. Lock them in the jail!”
“Yes, sir!”
That night.
I was inside the Nokgeum Merchant Group.
The constables were stationed all around, but thanks to the No-Trace Step, none of them noticed I was here.
The reason I came… was because there was something I absolutely had to find.
The artifact used to control the courtesans.
Where could it be?
When hiding tools related to his scams, he usually stashed them somewhere unrelated to himself.
But the artifact used to control people—would that really be somewhere like that?
No.
It was likely he kept it close at hand.
The report said he was in his room when he was arrested.
I entered Nok Il’s room.
I pictured the scene when Nok Il was captured.
If he had it in his hands then… No. His subordinate was with him. He probably hid it right before.
Someplace close… someplace quick to hide.
As I scanned the room, a wave of nausea suddenly hit me.
The same sensation I’d felt back at the Water Jade Pavilion when I first saw Wine Moon.
That meant… it was nearby.
I quickly checked the area and peeked under the desk.
A grin spread across my face.
There was a hidden drawer beneath the desk.
I pulled it open immediately.
There it was—a Subjugating Doll.
Just looking at it made my stomach churn.
This was the artifact used to control the courtesans.
I grabbed it and headed toward a secluded area.
After making sure no one was around, I pulled the Subjugating Doll from my sleeve.
In my past life, when the Shaanxi Scorpion was captured, the truth about the Subjugating Doll became known.
The Emperor ordered it to be burned… but it vanished without a trace.
When it resurfaced, it was in the hands of the palace mistress of the Heavenly Pleasure Palace (天僖歡樂宮).
As a member of the Unorthodox Sect, she used it to control countless men she shared intimacy with.
And that led to unspeakable tragedies.
Fathers and sons… brothers… turned their swords on each other.
I stared down at the Subjugating Doll and let out a cold chuckle.
I chose to burn it.
Because the more it’s used, the stronger its side effects become.
The worst one… is the loss of emotion.
That’s why the Shaanxi Scorpion could scam people without a shred of guilt. That’s how the mistress of the Heavenly Pleasure Palace trampled men and caused rivers of blood without blinking.
Humans are human because they have emotions.
I want to stay human.
More importantly, what’s the point of my life now if I can’t even feel the joy of revenge when I succeed?
If the rage I carried from the moment I died fades… then what meaning does this revenge hold?
The second reason I’m burning it… is because to use the Subjugating Doll, you must form a relationship of intimacy.
What am I, some lust-driven fool? Am I supposed to toss away my own integrity just to use this thing?
Absolutely not.
And the third reason.
This Subjugating Doll was created by someone from the Unorthodox Sect, filled with deep-seated hatred.
The fact that it’s a doll at all symbolizes a curse upon the world.
I bet it was made by someone who’d been betrayed by a lover.
That’s why it controls those bound by intimacy.
No matter how I look at it… the longer this thing exists, the more harm it does to the world.
Of course, even as an artifact, it couldn’t be burned by normal means.
I pulled out a dagger and nicked my left ring finger.
“Damn… hurts like hell.”
With my blood, I drew the character 解 on the Subjugating Doll’s chest.
This was the same method a Daoist from the Mosan Sect used when destroying the Subjugating Doll I’d confiscated from the Heavenly Pleasure Palace mistress in my past life.
I placed it on the ground, poured oil over it…
Then lit a firestick and touched it to the Subjugating Doll.
Fwoooosh—!
Soaked in oil, the Subjugating Doll instantly ignited.
The vile Qi that had made me nauseous vanished, and my stomach settled.
The cursed artifact… was gone.
Ah, my finger stings.
I should ask Palgap to put some ointment on it.
Now… time to visit the Shaanxi Scorpion.
There’s quite the show waiting.
Nok Il sat locked in the jail.
His wrists and ankles were secured in wooden stocks, preventing any movement.
At least, he was lucky enough to be separated from his subordinates.
If he sold them out, he might just walk free.
The problem was… that tea he drank during the negotiation.
It was poison.
‘Damn it! No wonder the tea tasted weird!’
That tea… was from the Eunhae Merchant Group itself.
Since it hadn’t been released to the market yet, he had no choice but to believe Eun Seo-ho’s claim that it was poison.
He shivered. His body was definitely getting colder.
‘Am I… really gonna die?’
Just then.
“My lord, are you alright?”
“You…?”
Thankfully, it was one of his subordinates.
This one hadn’t been caught because he was away on an errand.
“How’d you get in?”
“Bribed a few people. More importantly, here—eat this.”
The subordinate pulled a pouch from his sleeve.
“It’s sugar.”
Nok Il’s eyes widened.
“They said the tea was poisoned. This sugar… it’s the antidote.”
“You really are the best!”
“How the hell did you end up drinking poison?”
Nok Il shook his head fiercely.
“I didn’t know it was poison! That bastard Clerk Eom said it was good tea, so I believed him! Wait… where’d you get this sugar?”
“I skimmed a little off the batch we sold.”
“Oh, that’s it!”
Nok Il hurriedly opened the pouch and crammed the sugar into his mouth.
“Whew… I’ll survive n—huh?!”
A strange feeling prickled through him. He turned his head…
And froze in horror.
There stood Magistrate Ji Hyeon and the constables… all glaring at him.
–TL Notes–
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