First Target: "As Expected?"
Wi Eokgi, who had been watching the princess and Yujin bickering, had a pretty good idea why the man was stepping up so boldly. From what he'd observed so far, it surely wasn't just pure chivalry or righteousness driving him.
There was that time before when he'd blasted the Black Sand Gang's thugs' hideout with his cannon and got dragged to the magistrate's office.
Sure, the actual damage had been to the martial artists, but digging into the truth revealed they weren't exactly innocent victims.
These murim scum, relying on their personal strength, had been terrorizing common folk for ages—especially the weaker ones among them, who were the worst offenders.
From what he'd heard of the full story, these lowlifes—worse than street thugs with their bad reputations—had been harassing a married woman in the market to their liking. Yujin witnessed it, smashed one in the back of the head on the spot, and that's how the fight kicked off.
When they ignored his warning, he marched right to their lair and put an iron shot through their roof. That was the whole incident.
Indifferent to common crimes like theft, but hypersensitive to acts like adultery or betrayal—reacts with extreme aggression upon witnessing them.
As the reports had indicated, he couldn't tolerate infidelity or betrayal. The moment he spotted even a hint of it, his eyes went bloodshot.
So Wi Eokgi couldn't say exactly how he'd figured it out, but Yujin clearly knew about Jo Unhyeon's repulsive backside.
The bastard might've silenced the victims somehow, but he couldn't fool Wi Eokgi's informants.
The rumors that had reached him painted a picture of scum whose hobby was crushing and stealing other men's women with his power and money—even groping his subordinates' wives without a second thought. Filthy tales about the Nanjing governor.
And if those proved true, the moment Yujin crossed paths with the governor or his grandfather, he'd dive straight into retribution. It was plain as day.
...Of course, whether that benefited or harmed their side would depend on the justification for his actions.
Whatever his motives, as long as the outcome flowed favorably for the empire and the princess, it was fine. If Yujin played the role of her loyal hound faithfully, Wi Eokgi was ready to back him up with everything he had.
"Tell the truth!"
"I... can't... tell... lies!"
"Out with it!"
Like a father-in-law goading his son-in-law, the princess clung to his nape, shaking his body wildly. It seemed that was the only attack her slight frame could muster. Even a sturdy man's neck would ache under that persistent torque, but Yujin refused to yield, sticking to his guns—and that only made her shake him harder.
"This guy, this guy!"
Despite her words, the princess was surely grateful deep down for his proactive attitude.
She'd grant permission at the right moment.
Wi Eokgi smirked faintly and decided to stay one step ahead, preparing accordingly. So he could smoothly handle the fallout if Yujin caused a major ruckus.
Even as the commotion at the magistrate's dragged on, he quietly began scribbling on a small slip of paper, out of sight.
Jo Unhyeon—those three characters brought back one of the major in-game events from that place. The game Hongsim Yeonhwa had as many dogshit categories as it did shitty systems.
One in particular: the 'Appraisal Meeting'.
It wasn't just a straight NTR game where Moyong Shin groped every woman in sight. There was this contrived setup—the friendly organization he belonged to, the 'Cliffside Flower Plucking Society'.
Literal translation: a gathering of those who pluck flowers on cliffsides. Bluntly put: a club for stealing other men's women.
What kind of bullshit setup was that? Imagining those assholes huddled together, bragging like heroes, made his blood boil just thinking about it.
I'll kill them.
I'll kill them. Kill them all. I'll drag every last one out and tear them apart.
Anyway, the Appraisal Meeting system was where the men in that crew evaluated the women they'd stolen, scoring who did it best. People weren't objects, but some bet gold or rare items like it was gambling over whose trophy scored highest.
Why bring it up? Because the Jiangsu arc featured the Appraisal Meeting. Jiangsu's governor, Jo Unhyeon.
Like some Jo clan perverts' club. The mad bastard loved snatching wives so much, his infamy even included ruining his subordinate's family by lusting after her—technically not direct, but still a piece of shit.
In the 'Cliffside Flower Plucking Society', Moyong Shin bets against Jo Unhyeon in a showdown. Mid-boss vibes in the scenario, but not direct combat—more like a rivalry?
Fancy word for it, but it was just scum producing NTR victims left and right.
And among the story characters, the main victim who suffered at Jo Unhyeon's hands over that bet was none other than Bijong—another casualty of the game's shitty setup, just like Yujin. After losing his fiancée to the governor's tyranny, he tossed aside his warrior's pride and honor, throwing himself into banditry.
Green forest my ass—it was the same as the pirates and brigands he'd hated. A tragic tale.
His joining supercharged the bandits, growing them to threaten the officials, ravage the countryside, and halve the grain harvest in the Yangtze basin—the empire's breadbasket. That snowballed into one of the key factors choking the empire later.
This was probably before that happened. Yeah, still time to stop it. Better minimize the damage while he could. Jo Unhyeon was scum who needed crushing anyway, so he'd help out while he was at it.
—I've had enough of this fucked-up world for myself alone.
'Gonna need a new weapon.'
He'd been feeling the limitations lately. Raw firepower worked fine against dumb monsters, but against people? Not so much.
After the uninhabited island, he'd figured he was strong enough to smack down low-tier Sapa thugs easily. But real combat proved otherwise. Those Sapa martial artists in Hangzhou market.
Black Sand Gang, right? No need to memorize trash faction names, but it stuck anyway. One groped a married woman, so wham—back of the head shot started the fight.
And the result? Bolted. "You filthy cowards, fight one-on-one if you're men!" "This guy's fucking insane!" "Grab him! Beat his ass!"
He'd scrapped a bit at first, but numbers forced retreat.
Narrow streets, civilians around—no cannon shots possible.
"Dirty cheating bastards!"
Didn't lose, but ganging up? Tch, tch. Couldn't hold the rage, tracked their lair, iron shot through the roof—that was the incident.
...Landed him the magistrate gig, but his grudge lingered!
General later booted them from Zhejiang, but he hadn't punished them personally.
Point was, even in-game, they were just mob trash. Struggling against them? Unacceptable.
Who knew when he'd clash with shadows like Moyong Shin—leagues beyond these small fries. Quick feedback and adaptation were key.
Right now, his playbook was: create distance, seize first strike, fire 1-2 cannon shots. Miss the window, close in? Smash to push back, tank with iron armor—nothing else.
He needed something to block melee while reloading. Ideal: a buddy tanking upfront. But prepare for worst-case.
'Yeah, that's it.'
Combining his strengths, weaknesses, skills—only one idea surfaced. Nodding at the crystallized thought, he bolted to his quarters at a brisk pace.