The Villainess Eats Malatang
In the heart of Sichuan Province lay its central city, Chengdu. Famous as the capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom, it had long been a thriving metropolis and the undisputed center of the region. Nestled within a vast basin ringed by mountains, it boasted the most fertile soil and the most blessed natural landscapes. To call it a location blessed by the heavens would not be an exaggeration.
Among its districts, the western area known as Chongzhou County had flourished along the banks of the Min River. With its gentle, slow-moving waters, the river was the perfect place to launch boats adorned with lanterns. And where such docks developed, it was only natural that all manner of entertainment venues would spring up—restaurants, teahouses, red and blue brothels, and gambling dens catering to pleasure-seeking travelers.
Suppose a tourist arrived in Chengdu. On the first day, they would weep from the numbing spice of Sichuan cuisine, only to realize afterward that this was the true joy of mala—the ecstasy of heat. Though they might suffer a bit that night. On the second day, they would visit Mount Qingcheng. The front of the mountain was home to the renowned Qingcheng Sect, while the gentler rear slopes, with their harmonious mix of lush vegetation, were praised as the most profound scenery in the world. With luck, they might even spot a giant panda! Despite the name “great bear-cat,” it was actually a species of bear. If Cheong had seen this adorable creature, she would have been unable to contain her excitement and shouted, “Whoa, a panda! You guys know about pandas!”
After spending the third and fourth days enjoying sights like Dujiangyan, the Wuhou Shrine, and the Manjushri Temple, visitors might find themselves at a loss for what to do next. That was when they should head to Chongzhou County. They could float boats on the Min River, drink, gamble, and indulge in wild, passionate revelry. And just when the fun started to wear thin, a suspicious-looking man would sidle up.
“Hey, buddy. Looks like you’ve been enjoying yourself. Wanna see something really hot?”
With a mix of curiosity and suspicion, if one followed the man, they would descend a staircase into the underground, traverse a long passage, and arrive at a vast subterranean arena with a massive stage at its center. This was the famous underground death match arena of Sichuan, known to all who knew—Jiha-saengsa-bak.
Betting on cockfights was called tugye. Betting on human fights was called tugi. And this place was the pinnacle of such death-match gambling, where life-and-death battles unfolded every single day.
Today, too, Jiha-saengsa-bak was burning hot. The blue stone floor was soaked with blood and littered with human remains, enough to let one imagine the feverish atmosphere.
The emcee, with his smooth tongue, captivated the audience.
“At last, our challenger has thrown down the gauntlet against the Four Heavenly Kings! For ten full days, one opponent per day, he has slain ten Peak-level warriors without fail! A challenger from Hainan! Everyone, raise your voices and give him a warm welcome!”
The iron gate beneath the stands opened. A man strode out with firm steps.
“The Ghostly Left-Handed Sword! The Sword Demon from Hainan, Nangyacha Yeok Tae-gang!”
The crowd responded with a roar of heated cheers.
The emcee continued at a volume that made one fear for his throat.
“And who among the Four Heavenly Kings of Jiha-saengsa-bak has accepted his challenge? Here he comes!”
The iron gate on the opposite side opened, and a figure completely wrapped in bandages appeared. Only the eye holes were open, and even those were covered by a fine mesh veil, making the face invisible. For a woman, she was quite tall. She dragged a massive greatsword—something an ordinary strong man could barely lift—behind her as she approached.
“The third-ranked of the Four Heavenly Kings of Jiha-saengsa-bak, the great expert Yeo Hang-jeok, has answered the challenge! A mysterious woman whose face no one in this world knows, the reincarnation of the warlord Xiang Yu! Yeo! Hang! Jeok!”
“——!!!”
An overwhelmingly massive reaction erupted, far beyond anything before. It was practically collective hysteria. Yeo Hang-jeok responded to the frenzied support by raising both hands high in a lighthearted, almost frivolous manner that contrasted sharply with her heavy entrance, waving them around.
Anyone who knew Cheong would have asked why she bothered covering her entire body like that.
Finally, the two stood facing each other on the blood- and gore-stained arena floor.
“Yeo Hang-jeok? What a ridiculous name for a woman.”
It was the usual light provocation thrown before a death match. However, if it came to a battle of words, Cheong had already transcended the Peak realm, ascended to immortality, and reached the level where she would have to face actual gods.
Yeo Hang-jeok’s sharp tongue was already famous among the spectators. She was also notorious for being extremely picky about her opponents.
“Ugh, this guy’s nothing special… Let’s just finish this quickly.”
Cheong wiggled her fingers in a beckoning gesture. Yeok Tae-gang’s eyebrows twitched.
“Hah. Fine. They call you Yeo Hang-jeok. Let’s see just how great your strength is to justify such an arrogant name——”
Yeok Tae-gang’s words trailed off.
Whoosh! Whooooosh!
The sound of something heavy slicing through the air was chilling. The blade was five feet long with a width of one foot. It looked like it easily weighed over forty pounds. Yet she held this massive weapon in one hand and swung it as lightly as if it were a tree branch. Just the sound was enough to make one’s legs go weak. For the faint-hearted, it was a sight that would have brought them to their knees. Beyond the question of martial skill, this was simply not something a human should be capable of.
“Heh, your raw power certainly lives up to the name Yeo Hang-jeok. But martial arts exist to overcome such differences. A true martial artist uses technique to determine superiority——”
Yeok Tae-gang’s words trailed off again.
A thick layer of sword Qi rose from the massive blade. Wait, was that even sword Qi? Was the Yellow River flowing out of that sword?
Cheong’s internal energy, in terms of pure quantity, sat at the very edge of the Harmonious Realm. Lacking the necessary enlightenment to compress it into Sword Gang, she could only release it with brute output. The result was a thick blade of internal energy rising a full inch from the sword.
Yeok Tae-gang shouted with a righteous tone.
“Please wait! This humble one, Yeok, has greatly realized today that he was nothing but a frog in a well! As the saying goes, one should retreat when one recognizes their own shortcomings. Would you permit this one to withdraw?!”
The audience immediately erupted into a storm of curses and mockery.
The challenger surrendered without a single clash.
——
The vice-manager of Jiha-saengsa-bak, Cheok Bal-seong, wore a very displeased expression. Naturally, today’s marquee match had ended without any excitement whatsoever.
“You didn’t kill him today?”
Cheong answered.
“What? Mister Cheok. If someone heard you, they’d think I was some demonic head who kills people every day. I’m a very benevolent person, you know. I’m a righteous heroine from the Orthodox Faction, okay?”
“……? You always claim that, but…”
Cheok Bal-seong could only blink in confusion.
The spectators of Jiha-saengsa-bak tended to grow more frenzied and obsessed the more cruel and brutal the fighter was. And Yeo Hang-jeok was the arena’s most popular combatant. In Yeo Hang-jeok’s matches, the very nature of the betting changed. The question became: how many pieces would the opponent be sliced into?
Although Yeo Hang-jeok was indeed at the late stage of Peak, she had been placed in the Peak division. But with her overwhelmingly superior skill, betting on victory or defeat had lost all appeal. So the real money came from side bets—how many pieces, how many exchanges the opponent could last.
However, there were occasional days like today when she sent the opponent away without even touching them. Today had been one of those days, and Cheok Bal-seong was currently suffering the complaints from the disgruntled guests.
“Anyway, this kind of thing is problematic. We’re digging a hole in the ground to run a business here. So from the next match onward, we’re moving you up to the Transcendent division.”
“What? I’m Peak. Why would I fight in the Transcendent matches? I might as well just quit.”
Cheok Bal-seong rubbed his palms together ingratiatingly.
“Come on, don’t be like that. We’ll match you against someone who just entered Transcendent. With your natural strength and that massive weapon, you should be able to win easily.”
“Hmm. You think so?”
Cheong gently stroked the area around her chin beneath the mask. Her realm still hadn’t risen. Perhaps she really did need to face someone above the early stage of Transcendent rather than weak opponents.
Originally, the biggest problem when facing Transcendent opponents was Sword Gang, which could not be opposed with mere Sword Qi. That had been the common wisdom. But after blocking the old man’s Gang Qi a few times, she realized that insufficient enlightenment could be compensated for with brute internal energy output.
Of course, the exchange rate was terrible. If using Gang Qi cost 10 units of internal energy, then simply spewing out Sword Qi with brute force required 50 or 60. This was precisely why the wall between Peak and Transcendent had always been considered so important. Not only was the exchange rate awful, but Transcendent practitioners also possessed far greater reserves of true energy. Unless one had devoured spiritual medicine like a madman or possessed special circumstances like Cheong, the internal energy levels of Peak experts were all roughly similar.
Besides, Cheong’s physical strength had now far surpassed that of ordinary humans. No matter how excellent one’s internal cultivation, they could not ignore such an overwhelming difference in raw power.
“Alright. I’ll fight an early-stage Transcendent next time.”
“Good decision. Here, today’s fight money.”
Cheok Bal-seong tossed over a rather heavy-looking pouch.
——
When Cheong first arrived in Sichuan, she had a plan. She would stop by Chengdu to confirm that Seomun Hee was safe, leave her with Choe-ri-ong for a while, and then visit the Emei Sect.
However, although she had left a message at the fifth-largest brothel, no matter how many brothels in the city she searched, there was no news. When she explained the situation to a questioning Choe-ri-ong, he clicked his tongue and said,
“According to what you said, didn’t you leave the sect first? And then you ran straight from the Cheonma Tomb to Sichuan. No matter how fast they are, there’s no way they could have arrived in Chengdu before you.”
Indeed. Cheong had arrived first.
But she couldn’t head to Emei right away. Choe-ri-ong was currently in an extremely frail state. He had scattered sixty years of internal energy and was replacing it with a new heart technique.
Therefore, she had no choice but to stay in Chengdu. It wasn’t because the Sichuan cuisine was exceptionally delicious or because lazing around was too enjoyable. It was absolutely, without question, because of Choe-ri-ong.
However, the cost of living in Chengdu was ridiculously high. The prices at famous tourist destinations were always expensive, especially for outsiders. In the Central Plains, overcharging foreigners was such common sense that it was taken for granted. Merchants considered it natural, and even the victims accepted it as normal. When Cheong got angry about being ripped off, Choe-ri-ong would only give her a sullen reply asking what the problem was.
With no money and no way to make any, she had been worrying about how to sustain this idle lifestyle when she learned about Jiha-saengsa-bak. That was already a month and a half ago.
When Cheong returned, Choe-ri-ong clicked his tongue again.
“Tsk. So you went to that vulgar place and swung your sword again, did you?”
From Choe-ri-ong’s perspective, it was only natural to disapprove of swinging a blade in such a suspicious fighting arena. Cheong frowned deeply.
Who do you think I’m doing this hard work for every night?
Of course, since most of the fighters were villains, she gained both good karma points and training points from the fights. The satisfaction of killing villains and the cheers that answered her strikes made for maximum job satisfaction. Still, no matter how fun and beneficial it was, labor was labor.
“I heard that all jobs are equal, you know?”
“……? What kind of nonsense is that? How can jobs not have nobility and baseness?”
“Ah. Right, that was a thing here. I got confused.”
This was primitive, ancient, uncivilized China. It was a world where the nobility and baseness of occupations were clearly organized into charts.
“Anyway, old man. Hurry, hurry. I told you to get ready in advance. I said we’d leave as soon as I got back.”
“We can go like this. But is eating really that important to you?”
“It’s the ultimate malatang! The ultimate! How can I possibly hold back from the ultimate?”
Yes. This was the day Cheong had made a reservation. The dish one absolutely had to eat upon coming to Chengdu. The dish one must try before dying. The dish so legendary that one would cross the entire Central Plains just to have a bowl. The ultimate malatang made by Baek Chang-ja, the greatest chef under heaven, was waiting for her!