The Hunt ✓

👑4| Taunts

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I hoped my eyes were not playing a prank on me. A little boy was dead lying in the middle of the town square with tattered clothes.

Not only is he dead, there are suspicious points covering his death. It is obvious to spot bite marks across his lower neck. Usually, even if a person was attacked by an animal, he would at least leave blood traces.

But the corpse was clear of blood almost as if he died of complete draining of blood. His body lays stiff and shows signs of early decomposition. From the state of his body, he seems to have died probably two days from now.

His eyes stare into the sky motionless and ripped of total life. My lips can not help but fold from curiosity. This is also the first time a dead body popped out of nowhere in five years.

You heard right... five years. It's been five years the town witnesses something like this.

 It's no surprise everyone reacts surprised but not too amazed.

 "Poor boy, I heard he was killed by a bear," a young woman exclaims with a sorrowful sigh as she talks to another woman. She squabbles and moves backwards to walk away with her companion.

The other townspeople start to disperse while more settles at the centre to check our what is going on. I spot a few guards patrolling and taking their strolls from the palace entrance. Not wanting them to find me, I hesitate to stand by watching. But as I take a step back, I can't help myself from looking back again.

 My eyes fall over the corpse for the second time. This time, my eyes widen even more. I notice his clothes are only tattered from the neck.

Scars from a sharp grasp on his body are also located only over his neck and hands. His legs and lower chest are free from these scars. Moreover, thinking about what that elderly woman said. It clearly doesn't match with his death at all.

 Killed by a bear? Why would a bear kill a human for blood only and leave his body intact after moving it here in the first place?

 It is almost as if it was covered by the actual murderer. But these are my insinuations after all. No one would even believe me as these townspeople don't like me in the first place.

 One major question I had is the reason why this happened only after five years? Does this mean it was going to happen again?

 Bo Mi pulls me from the crowd when she also spots the guards walking towards the crowd.

Scared that I might get caught by them, she quickly grasps me by my shoulder and pulls me towards the other side of the crowd. My eyes look up after she drags me along in a long run.

As I am hesitant to walk away from the murder case, I turn back on several occasions to watch the crowd. My eyes begin to flicker when I find a familiar young guy hiding behind the scene with three men standing beside him. Their black hanboks are quite exquisite and different from the town folks.

It was quite easy to tell they are not part of the townspeople at all. As the young man lifts his head, I finally recognize his face. He is the same guy I bumped into while running away from the guard yesterday. Breathing in heavy pants, I watch him walking away with the three men.

"Wait," I yelp after resting my hands on my knees panting for a brief moment.

My heart was thumping quickly in my chest making me unable to adjust my scrutinizing eyes. The young man disappears into the crowd by the time I look back towards his direction.

My chest wanted to explode from anxiety. "If he was killed by a bear, how did he land up here. Who left his body?" I attempt to put the puzzle together, but I end up confused the more as I twist my eyebrows.