Chapter 12 (3)
Chapter 12 (3)
'What is up with that guy?'
The masked woman, named Muhee (Martial Maiden) by her mother with the intent that she grow up strong as a woman, felt puzzled by the sight of Jincheon, who stood his ground firmly, unlike the others who fled at the name Sura-hyeol-gung.
Furthermore, he was humming something to himself, his gaze fixed toward Dongting Lake, looking as if he didn't have a single shred of tension.
"Young Miss, to that guy......."
Surely, if he had ears, he would have heard the name Sura-hyeol-gung. One of the guards, thinking he was being ignored because he was so nonchalant, spoke up quietly.
"Stop. We are not a group of blood-crazed murderers. If we were to act like thugs just because someone didn't cower after hearing our name, how would we be any different from the men who live and die by their reputation?"
"S-sorry, Young Miss."
Running wild because one feels ignored is a foolish act committed only by men obsessed with fame and honor.
She had no intention whatsoever of following such foolish behavior.
Thinking that, she slightly lifted her face veil to begin her meal, but honestly, she too was feeling puzzled.
'But not running away after hearing the name Sura-hyeol-gung... that must mean he has that much confidence.......'
Although Sura-hyeol-gung was insular, it didn't mean they lacked information about the Murim world.
On the contrary, because they held extreme ideologies and personalities, they had many enemies, so they absolutely had to keep informed about the Murim world.
Among all that, she had never heard of such a young, rising expert.
'He must be so relaxed because he doesn't know the terror of Sura-hyeol-gung. And we have no reason to pay attention to every single man like that.'
Muhee, who had come to Agyang for a certain purpose, stopped caring about Jincheon and finished the rest of her meal.
A while later, having finished her meal, Muhee left the Gakjangru with her guards, thinking she would never see Jincheon again.
"Uuuuum~!"
Udeudeuk! Ppyudeudeuk!
"Huhaaaam~~~"
As expected, a morning stretch is only refreshing if your bones crack.
Having mostly woken up from my sleep, I looked around.
A high-class bed, wardrobe, and table caught my eye.
I did a light Sojucheon to wake up from my sleep, then put the spout of the kettle on the table into my mouth.
"Puha~ It's worth the money. Comfortable and cozy."
Having slept comfortably in a room that could only be rented using silver ingots, I stepped out of the room.
"Did you sleep well, Sohyeop!"
Since the inn was also providing meals, as I went outside, I could see the innkeeper's greeting along with the sight of people eating breakfast.
"Where do I wash?"
"We have prepared water behind the inn."
"Hmm."
I picked up my bundle and headed to the place the innkeeper mentioned.
When I opened the back door, there was water that seemed to have been drawn from a well inside a jar.
That reminds me, I'm the only one washing besides me.
Anyway, I'll give it to those damn Chinese bastards, they sure know how to be filthy.
The reason the Chinese don't wash is partly because this continent is dry and dusty, so even if you wash, it becomes the same again quickly.
On top of that, there is the issue that in the medicine of this era, they think that washing away bodily waste too often destroys the body's balance.
Of course, there is also the fact that water is more precious in the Chinese continent than it looks.
In the modern era, you'd connect the plumbing, but in this era, there's no such system, so it's hard to get water, and naturally, people don't wash well.
This place, Agyang, has Dongting Lake right next to it, so water resources are abundant, which makes that problem a bit less severe.
But anyway, even if you have the luxury, not washing is not washing.
At least I set the settings so that women wash well, and thankfully, in this world, thanks to that setting, the women are quite clean.
"Enough with the random thoughts, let's wash."
I placed the dried and ground fruit of the soapberry tree from my bag onto my palm.
The fruit of the soapberry tree is used as natural soap, and thanks to it being widely grown in China's Taoism as a sacred tree that chases away evil spirits, I could find them growing wild even deep in the mountains.
When I was learning the martial arts of the Fire Artisan and the blacksmithing arts, and when I was learning martial arts from the Shadowless Divine Thief's secret storehouse, I collected soapberry fruits from the nearby forest as much as I could, dried them, and made them into powder.
I added water to make enough foam and washed my face and hair.
Umm~ It feels refreshing to get all the grease out.
Later, when I build my harem and retire, I'll have to plant soapberry trees on a large scale.
It would be a huge turn-off if my women smelled dirty.
Kkoreureuk-
I get hungry after washing.
Especially since this muscular body demands a huge amount of nutrients.
I chose a menu at the inn, filled my stomach, and returned to my room.
Now, all that's left is to loosen up my stiff body and wait for the moment when the experts sent by Haomun attack the human trafficking ring's base to launch a pincer attack.
The operation time was set to start at O-si (noon).
It'll be perfect to have a nice meal after finishing the request.
I focused on building my internal energy by performing Sojucheon until the time came.
As I observed my interior, I could feel a massive internal energy overflowing with hot Yang energy.
Honestly speaking, if I used lightfoot techniques without worrying about fatigue, it would be close to impossible to use up all this internal energy even if I ran for a month.
Truly a vast energy like the ocean.
But having a lot of internal energy isn't everything.
No matter how much water there is, if the hole the water flows through is narrow, its power weakens.
Therefore, I focused on stimulating my meridians while doing Sojucheon, expanding the area where the internal energy flows, little by little.
Is it not enough as it is?
No, my goal is not just this level, but to be the strongest in the world.
The world's strongest, whom no one can touch.
"Huuuu."
Having finished the Sojucheon, I checked through the window without glass that it was about to be O-si, and then gathered my energy.
After finishing the gathering, I went out of the inn and headed toward the slums located to the east of Agyang.
The destination was a large house with a yard located inside the slums.
Since Eunnang had explained it verbally, I carefully grasped the location while remembering her words.
A while later, I found the house with a large gate and high walls, guarded by two sentries holding weapons.
I hid my presence and concealed myself inside an alleyway, then closed my eyes and carefully spread my sensory perception.
This was to check if there were any enemies guarding the surroundings.
There was no one on the street, but I felt a presence as if someone was hiding their presence inside the building.
Let's stay quiet so I don't get detected for no reason.
Looking at the height of the sun, it's about time for the Haomun kids to show themselves.
Some time passed like that.
I feel a presence.
Is it Haomun?
They aren't even thinking about hiding their presence, do they even know the meaning of a surprise attack... huh?
What I witnessed after poking my head over the alley was not the warriors of Haomun, but the women I saw at Gakjangru yesterday.
The woman wearing a bamboo hat that was one with her face veil, and the guards made up of women.
Why are they here?
Was the person Haomun was sending actually the people from Sura-hyeol-gung?
"Hey, this is private property. It's a dead end with no side paths."
"I know."
Seuseok!
"Kkeureup!?"
"Kkeueok!!"
As soon as the veiled woman's words ended, the guards swung their soft swords and took care of the sentries.
Kwajik!
And as they kicked open the door and entered, commotion began to rise as they started fighting with someone.
They said it was a place found after investigation by Haomun, and the timing is perfect.
Why would a person from Sura-hyeol-gung come and attack at the time Haomun's operation is executed?
I judged that they were the people sent by Haomun.
However, rather than stepping out immediately, I climbed up to a building roof that was reasonably far away, quietly and secretly, so as not to be caught by the sentries hiding inside the building.
Having confirmed the space over the wall, I discovered the women from Sura-hyeol-gung killing the men.
If they are human traffickers, they wouldn't run away from just this level of attack.
Certainly, each attack was sharp and cruel, living up to the name Sura-hyeol-gung, but the enemies were probably checking right now whether there were follow-up troops or not.
I took a seat on the ^ shaped roof of the tiled house, lay my body down on the roof to avoid the enemies' gaze, untied my bundle, and started assembling my bow.
Unfolding the foldable bow and attaching the string, I made the bow in one go and took out all the arrows in my bag.
Why use a bow instead of fighting together?
I'm not good at team play to begin with.
To be precise, I'm good at team play where I take the lead, but I can't do it when it's under someone else's lead because it's frustrating.
So it's better to provide support fire from afar.
Wara wara wara.
Those four are all there are from Sura-hyeol-gung.
The testing is over, so come out already, you human traffickers.
Before long, five warriors appeared from inside the building.
Looking at their movements, they are experts.
I watched that scene carefully and decided to wait quietly until they focused on Sura-hyeol-gung and couldn't feel my presence.
"Hmph, how dare the hags of Sura-hyeol-gung interfere with our business?"
"Keuk-keuk-keuk, if they're hags from Sura-hyeol-gung, they must be full of vitality."
The five warriors, all of them, spread an intense momentum and surrounded the warriors of Sura-hyeol-gung widely.
However, the women of Sura-hyeol-gung, known for being vicious, didn't show a hint of fear.
"I warn you. Hand over Bangi, the person from Sura-hyeol-gung captured here, right now. Otherwise, I will raze this place to the ground."
The veiled woman, Muhee, stated their purpose without a hint of fear despite the appearance of the warriors surrounding them.
Their purpose was the woman named Bangi from Sura-hyeol-gung who had been suddenly kidnapped in Agyang.
"Ah, come to think of it, there was a spirited woman who threatened us saying her Young Miss was coming. Is that bitch the one named Bangi?"
"Doesn't matter. Either way, women from Sura-hyeol-gung will make good ingredients."
"Ingredients?"
Muhee realized that these guys were not ordinary kidnappers.
Unless it was slang, those who trafficked humans wouldn't call them 'ingredients'.
"Keuhahaha! And the flesh was chewy too."
"I'm looking forward to how her crotch tastes."
"She kept crying out 'Young Miss~ Young Miss~', let's put that Young Miss next to her and enjoy them together!"
"That's a great idea! Heuhahaha!"
'Is this what men are?'
Muhee frowned behind her veil at the sight of the human traffickers who proudly spoke of having raped Bangi and openly revealed their lust, saying they would rape them too.
'Mother was right. Men are trash! They were beings that must be managed by women!'
Her mother had always trained her under strict discipline and corporal punishment, not acknowledging even the slightest mistake in learning martial arts, saying she had to become stronger than men.
However, as Muhee grew older and was able to think for herself, she asked why she had to hate and be wary of men, but her mother did not give any discipline or corporal punishment to that bold question.
She only asked where she wanted to go, Agyang or Hangzhou.
Having grown up only seeing the same faces inside Sura-hyeol-gung for a long time, she said she would go to Agyang, which was closer, out of the joy of being able to go to a place with many people.
Having arrived in Agyang with her guards like that, she was initially fascinated by the city full of vitality due to the countless people, but the problem was what happened after that.
Men committed all sorts of rude acts, saying they wanted to see the face of her, who wore a veil, and some who had learned martial arts only thought of taking off her veil by force even though she said she didn't want to.
Tired of the behavior of men who did as they pleased without caring about a woman's circumstances, she learned that Bangi, who had gone out to get the snacks she usually enjoyed to make her happy, had gone missing.
Fortunately in misfortune, because Bangi was a martial artist and had received Sura-hyeol-gung's training, she had desperately left traces, so although it took some time, they had found the headquarters of the human trafficking ring.
"You guys."
Uljjil!
The moment Muhee lifted the whip coiled in the shape of a snail hanging at her waist and spread her momentum, the expressions of the warriors who had been soaked in lust changed in an instant.
"Are not worth living."
Chwarak!
"Heueup!"
One of the warriors who encountered Muhee's attack, which swung the whip at a speed that created afterimages, hurriedly set up his sword blade to cut the whip.
Chwakak!
"...Huh?"
What the warrior holding the sword saw last was his own broken blade and his head being crushed, his eyeballs twisting in a strange direction, and his perspective changing in a bizarre way.
Teolseok!
Seeing the corpse of his colleague who died instantly as his head was crushed into a 凹 shape and vomited blood from his nose and mouth, one of the other warriors hurriedly opened his mouth.
"Don't give that bitch distance!"
"Heuaat!"
"I'll kill you!"
As soon as that warrior's voice spread, the warriors shouted battle cries and rushed toward Muhee's group.
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