A 170 km/h Right-Handed Sea Dragon
This is bad.
Rin's face twisted into a grimace.
The ribs that had been subjected to CPR were still far from fully healed.
As a martial artist, her bones knitted quickly, but she was still a long way from peak condition.
Searching this entire place for my sword is out of the question. I guess this is all I have to work with for now.
Letting out a sigh, Rin picked up her senior's severed arm and the broken sword he had held onto even in death.
It was only half a sword, but fighting solely with hand-to-hand techniques while her ribs were fractured was out of the question.
She needed whatever weapon she could get.
And...
That woman, Hae Sua. She's definitely a Murim Gallery user, right?
Rin was already halfway—no, eighty percent sure that Hae Sua was the user known as ApexPredator.
There was simply too much circumstantial evidence.
Besides, most Murim Gallery users retained the moral standards of an average modern person.
Just look at how she saved me. At the very least, I can trust her for now.
Someone with modern morals wouldn't suddenly drive an axe into her back for no reason.
Having spent several years in Murim while desperately clinging to her own modern values, Rin found Hae Sua's presence deeply reassuring.
She wanted to keep her close and continue searching the area together.
"Isn't this getting pretty dangerous?"
Seeing Hae Sua draw the hand axe from her waist with wide, alert eyes, Rin felt her suspicions confirmed.
Being moral alone wasn't enough to survive here, but Hae Sua clearly understood that she had to fight to protect herself.
She had to bring her along.
Both for her own safety while injured...
...and to fulfill her duty as a member of the Murim Alliance to investigate the government's involvement with the Janggang Water Sect.
"Yes, it is. That's why I want to ask you a favor. Will you keep coming with me?"
"Hmm..."
But in the end, if Hae Sua refused, it was all for nothing.
Is she going to refuse? Really? Well, refusing would be the logical choice, but...
Rin was the one in a tight spot. Her eyelids trembled slightly as she anxiously read Hae Sua's expression.
"Well, fine. Let's do that."
"Really?"
"Hey, it's not like I'm doing this for free. As long as you can compensate me properly, I'll help you. Saving your life was just out of goodwill, but this is putting my own life on the line, isn't it?"
Hae Sua laid out her terms logically. She made it crystal clear that while she was willing to help, risking her neck required proper compensation.
"I'll give you a month's worth of my salary."
"How much is a month's salary? I don't really know the currency here."
Hae Sua asked, playing dumb at the offer. In truth, she really didn't know. She had no grasp of the local cost of living.
"The salary of a regular Murim Alliance investigator is equivalent to that of a low-ranking central government official. The Alliance basically recruits talent from various sects and noble families, so the pay is quite high."
"Ah, so they lure people in with money?"
"Yes, exactly. A month of my salary is enough to stay comfortably at a decent inn for two or three months, meals included."
"Deal! I'm absolutely in!"
Realizing from this brief exchange that it was a significant sum, Hae Sua nodded eagerly, sealing the deal.
No matter how much I think about it, she has to be ApexPredator.
Rin was now almost entirely convinced that Hae Sua was a fellow transmigrator.
"Well, if we get good results, I'll throw in a bonus. I'm pretty good at saving, so I have plenty of cash."
"Sweet!"
Honestly, even if she wasn't, it didn't really matter. Rin could just use her savings to corrupt this dirt-poor Sea Dragon with the sweet taste of capitalism.
If I estimate the cost of a cheap motel and basic meals back home, it'd be at least a hundred thousand won a day. So a sum that covers two to three months of room and board must be worth at least six million won.
I can earn that kind of money just by tagging along with Rin.
Six million won is no joke. For someone like me who doesn't have a single penny, just using it to buy basic necessities and clothes will make my life in Murim a whole lot easier.
Man, I want to trade stocks.
How great would it be if I could dump this cash into the stock market? If I put it into leveraged tech stocks and held for just a week, I'd be printing money.
It was a shame that no such investment options existed here, but going from zero to six million won was a massive win in itself. I should count my blessings for now.
"Rin."
"Yes, go ahead."
"If I keep following you like this, there's a high chance I'll end up killing someone, right?"
"Probably. If we run into the person who killed my senior, it's guaranteed that someone will die. Either I'll die fighting them, or I'll kill them."
There was something Hae Sua wanted to ask her.
"Actually, I've killed someone before."
"...And?"
"What do you mean, 'and'? The thing is, I didn't really feel any guilt after doing it. So I'm wondering if it's okay for me to keep putting myself in situations where I might have to kill again. Sure, I need the money, but I don't want to lose my humanity."
"Ah, I think I get what you mean."
"Are there people like that in the Murim Alliance? As vigilantes protecting this world, you must have to kill just as often as you save, like right now."
Honestly, I had planned to just ignore the fact that I felt no guilt after my first kill.
I was planning to live quietly in my nest anyway, and even if I didn't, the chances of me getting involved in killing again were slim.
But now, neither of those plans held true. I wanted to ask Rin, who had shattered all my assumptions, if I was going to be okay.
"If you strive to be a good person, Lady Hae, wouldn't it be fine even if you have to kill?"
"If I strive to be good?"
"Yes. Think of it as the opposite of how you saved me from drowning for no reason at all."
"The opposite?"
"Only kill when there is a reason. At this stage, isn't that enough to keep you grounded? I'm not just saying this because I need your help right now. Many martial artists actually live by this standard."
"Hmm..."
As expected, it was a difficult question. Rin couldn't give me a definitive answer, but she at least provided a clear guideline for my actions.
"Saving a life requires no reason, but taking one does."
I thought it was a pretty decent rule of thumb.
"Thanks, Rin. That helps clear my head a bit."
"Don't mention it. I'm the one who should be thanking you for saving my life."
We exchanged thanks, and then I naturally followed Rin as she led the way along the riverbank.
"If only we could at least find his body..."
Despite her calm advice moments ago, Rin was clearly growing anxious. Finding only the severed arm and broken sword of the senior she had worked with was taking a toll on her.
I need to keep my head straight, even if she can't.
I gripped the hand axe tighter, resolving to find a reason to fight.
Since Rin had helped soothe my mind, I figured I should return the favor. With that thought, we searched the banks of the Yangtze River for a while longer.
"Blood! It's blood!"
"This collar... it's definitely his. It's identical to the uniform my senior was wearing."
We had finally found a new clue. We immediately set off to follow it.
After his sword broke and he lost his arm, Rin's senior must have fled.
He probably used some martial art to suppress the bleeding, escaping while leaving as few traces as possible.
But at some point, the technique concealing his trail must have given out.
From then on, he had bled profusely as he ran. He ran, and kept running.
And then...
Rin saw him. Her senior—a martial artist in his thirties or forties, missing an arm—was draped over an unnamed tree by the riverbank like laundry hung out to dry.
"Ugh..."
To be frank, it was a gruesome sight.
Rin's senior hung limply over the branches, his body drained of life.
Blood must have poured continuously from his severed arm. Having lost almost all his bodily fluids along with his blood, the corpse looked...
Looking at the shriveled, mummy-like corpse made bile rise in my throat.
"I'm going to retrieve the body. Please help me."
"Right, got it."
Yet, Rin—who had spent far more time with the deceased—remained remarkably calm.
It would be pathetic of me to make a fuss when she was keeping it together. I decided to follow her lead and help her out.
Rustle!
In that instant, I sensed a presence.
In a place like this, where a murder had just occurred... a place ordinary people avoided out of fear of pirates...
The chances of an "innocent bystander" just "happening" to wander by were practically zero.
Especially at the exact moment we arrived.
My mind made the calculation in a split second.
"Who's there?!"
I shouted, hurling the hand axe I had brought for self-defense.
Thwack!
The axe hit its mark with a solid, heavy thud.
It sounded remarkably like the noise made when I chopped off a fish's head to clean it.
But...
Rustle.
Rustle.
The presence paused for only a brief second before continuing to advance toward us.
"Get back. I'll handle this."
Rin told me to step behind her, but I couldn't.
I felt like if I took my eyes off whatever was lurking in the shadows, something terrible would happen.