The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 229: Volume 3 Release - 1

It’s not easy for a real thief to rob Daseogak.

A proper thief needs to slip in and out light as air—but books? Books are bulky and heavy.

Sure, in the martial arts world, a single secret manual or a rare sword technique can spark bloody mayhem, but if Daseogak had books like that, I’d have sold the building off ages ago to pay off our long-term debt.

If someone really wanted to make a profit by stealing from Daseogak, they’d have to haul off boxes of books. Just the thought of it is exhausting.

Anyone who’s ever hoarded books will understand.

When it’s time to move, and you’re hauling one box... then another... then another... box after endless box of books, there comes a day when you suddenly realize the true meaning of non-attachment.

It’s time to let you all go. The weight I carried wasn’t knowledge, or even entertainment—it was pure greed. These useless desires, I must now cast aside...

Before you know it, you’ve reached full Buddhist enlightenment.

“A thief broke in. Please inform the merchant guild.”

I never seriously worried about real thieves targeting a bookstore, but one actually came.

I rushed to the neighboring merchant and delivered the news. I could’ve gone straight to the authorities, but since I needed to stay on-site, alerting the guild was faster.

“Thieves at Daseogak? Understood!”

I returned to the store and stood before the smashed lock in the center of the printing room.

“They really took it.”

The box that should’ve held books was empty.

Unbelievable. I was only worried about the preview leak for Shadowless Phantom Thief, not an actual break-in.

I looked over at the unconscious thief, tied up and sprawled on the floor. He’d been knocked out cold by Im Ha-yeon’s pressure point technique and still wasn’t waking up, even when I nudged him.

Should I wake him up for interrogation? If we can’t catch the ones who ran, this could become a huge hassle.

BANG!

While I was thinking, the door to Daseogak flew open with a loud slam.

And in walked a woman dragging two people by the scruff of their necks.

“Got ‘em all!”

It was Im Ha-yeon—the furious reader.

----------

“Where are you from? I haven’t seen you around Daseogak or this part of town.”

I lowered my voice to sound intimidating as I questioned the bound thieves.

“......”

“You think staying quiet’s going to help? Move aside.”

Im Ha-yeon stepped forward with fire in her eyes.

“Do you know how to interrogate people?”

“There’s a technique in the martial arts I learned that extracts information.”

“Go ahead.”

I guess even thievery has its own methods of mental extraction. Either way, I was about to witness the rare sight of a thief being interrogated by another criminal.

I stepped aside with a nod.

“You bastards! How did you find out Volume 3 was being printed?! Spit it out!”

“Aaaaghhhh!”

Oh. She’s hitting pressure points to inflict pain and force answers. Classic wuxia interrogation.

There’s a famous torture method called Bone-Twisting Dislocation, where you break joints and snap bones. But it seemed like Im Ha-yeon was using a much gentler technique, just disrupting their qi.

“Miss Ha-yeon. It helps to start with simple yes-or-no questions. Makes it easier to break them down.”

Her technique was solid, so I decided to offer some modern interrogation advice.

“Good idea.”

She nodded, then turned to face the thieves.

“Uuuugh...”

Start with easy questions—name, hometown—break down their psychological defenses with simple stuff. That’s the modern way.

What would Im Ha-yeon ask?

“Tell me! Does Du Eung-hyang appear in Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 3?!”

...What?

“Don’t tell me the author just skipped her completely?! Not even a single mention of our rightful main wife, Du Eung-hyang?!”

She jabbed pressure points, eyes filled with desperation.

“Uuugh!”

“Is it just Gu Suk-jeong again?! I absolutely won’t accept that! If that mistress gets mentioned, then of course Du Eung-hyang deserves two, three times the screen time!”

“Mmrrgh!”

“Answer me! Yes or no! Are you that greedy? Planning to hoard all of Volume 3’s content for yourself?! Scum like you deserve a beating! Manager! Bring me a club!”

“Miss Ha-yeon.”

“What, Manager Kang? Are you one of those bleeding hearts who thinks even thieves shouldn’t be beaten?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what?!”

“You need to remove the gag if you want them to talk.”

“Oh...”

Looking flustered, Im Ha-yeon awkwardly pulled the gags from their mouths.

“Sob sob... We didn’t read the book. We’re sorry. We just tried to steal it...”

“We were only following orders! Please spare us!”

Seems their interrogation resistance finally broke. They started spilling.

“Who sent you?”

“That is...”

“Shut up!”

The oldest-looking thief barked at the others in fear. So, you’re the ringleader.

“Tell the truth. Otherwise, the constables will drag you in for torture. You might never walk again.”

I went full intimidation mode.

“Big bro!”

“Shut up. They’ll let us go once we slip them some cash outside.”

Bribery, huh? So someone really did send them.

“You bastards! Manager, step aside!”

Still seething, Im Ha-yeon stormed forward again. Alright, that’s enough.

“You’re refusing to talk?”

I looked directly at the ringleader.

“You think we stole gold or jewels? No—we just nabbed a book! If it were a secret manual or a legendary technique, maybe I’d get worried. But over a damn novel? Gimme a break!”

“Hahaha. You really think that?”

“What, the black-haired barbarian’s gone nuts? He’s asking rhetorical questions now?”

I stared at him with a sneer.

So what—you’ve got someone outside ready to grease the right palms. You think it’s just a dumb book, so the cops won’t care. You’ll be out in no time.

And me? I’m just a black-haired barbarian.

Back in the day, I once reported a robbery to the magistrate and got punched for having the nerve to show my “barbarian face” in a government office.

In most places, you’d be right.

But here? This is Daseogak, Yichang.

“Is it true someone broke into Daseogak?!”

The front doors flew open—and in stormed a crowd.

“Head Constable! And the merchant guild reps!”

The men entering were Yichang’s law enforcement—head constable, constables, and several members of the merchant guild.

“I saw the Head Constable walking by after work and rushed over with him.”

“The Yichang Head Constable? Why he here?!”

The thieves stared in shock, jaws slack.

Why’s he here?

Why do you think?

“I’ve been too swamped with official duties to stop by Daseogak lately. You’ve been well, I hope?”

“During your time in Sichuan, we missed your hearty laughter in the Daseogak Literary Society. It’s shameful to reunite under such disgraceful circumstances.”

The Head Constable of Yichang... is a Daseogak fan.

“You rascal! What’s there to be ashamed of?! The shame belongs to these bastards! Are these the thieves?!”

“Y-You know the barbarian bookstore owner?!”

“Because of these people, Volume 3 of Storm of the Tang Clan almost never saw the light of day!”

I sighed deeply, like a man who nearly lost everything.

“What?! Because of them, Volume 3—?!”

“They say someone else ordered them to do it, but they won’t talk. I’m terrified someone might try again before the release.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure they never steal anything again! I’ll track down the mastermind’s in-laws, third cousins—everyone! Mark my words!”

“I leave it to your capable hands. Please make an example of them.”

“This... This is insane.”

“They said it’d be fine—it’s just some barbarian’s bookstore!”

The thieves' faces crumpled. Their last shred of hope, crushed.

“P-Please have mercy! We were just following orders! It was his idea!”

And now we’re getting somewhere.

The thieves finally began to confess who sent them.

----------

“I’ve already sent out constables and guards. You can keep your business running without worry!”

The culprit turned out to be a merchant from another city.

Apparently, he overheard something I said while making rounds about printing issues earlier today, assumed there was money to be made, and made a move.

“Good work.”

After seeing off the head constable and the merchant guild, I turned to Im Ha-yeon, who looked a little drained.

“You too, Manager Kang.”

“I thought I had the security locked down... didn’t expect someone to break in so boldly.”

I muttered with a half-exasperated sigh, glancing at the shattered window.

“From the outside, that window probably looked loose. It must’ve seemed like an easy entry point. Of course, they didn’t know it was rigged to trigger both an alarm and throwing knives the moment it opened.”

Im Ha-yeon said that while staring at the broken window, sounding like the CEO of a security company.

“So looking loose was the problem.”

Seems like I missed a few things during the months I was away. There were corners I hadn’t checked as thoroughly as I should’ve.

“Yeah. To amateurs, appearances matter most. Daseogak’s security actually isn’t that soft. You need to carefully open the third window on the second floor using an elevation technique—only then can you slip in without setting off an alert.”

“Miss Ha-yeon?”

How do you know that?

Noticing the suspicion in my voice, Im Ha-yeon quickly averted her eyes, looking flustered.

“Ah... th-that was... I-I only came in to get my dinner. I never even thought about going near the printing room...”

“Hungry?”

“Huh?”

I gave her a casual smile as she fumbled for words, clearly caught off guard.

Let’s be real—I already knew that if Shadowless Phantom Thief came at me properly, I wouldn’t be able to stop her.

If anything, I wanted to commend Im Ha-yeon for having both the means to steal and the desire to read the next volume, yet still holding back.

Besides, it was because she returned for her dinner that we were able to catch all the thieves in one go.

“Ah... well...”

She clutched her stomach, and for the first time, she seemed to remember she was starving. Her gaze dropped, a little embarrassed.

Perfect timing.

Let’s test the waters for a management promotion.

She’d caught a thief. She was a die-hard fan of Storm of the Tang Clan. And with this level of self-restraint? It was worth floating the idea.

“Let’s go out.”

First, I’ll buy her a good dinner—and see how she reacts.