The Villainess Eats Malatang

The situation had escalated to the point where a single warrior from the Tang Clan could no longer handle it. Naturally, someone higher up had no choice but to rush out.

Cheong watched with eyes like a hawk as a man practically rolled across the floor using a frantic movement technique to make his appearance. In truth, she was starting to get bored of this whole affair anyway. No matter how you sliced it, the warriors of the Sichuan Tang Clan weren’t exactly villains. They had acted arrogantly, throwing their weight around like they owned the place, and now they’d been thoroughly humiliated. Surely they’d at least pretend to restrain themselves from now on.

Back in her old world, whenever someone got caught abusing their power, they’d at least act like they were reflecting for a while. So if this guy offered a polite apology right about now, Cheong was willing to play the magnanimous adult and forgive them.

However, the Tang Clan had reigned as the undisputed kings of Sichuan ever since the time of the Mucheon Daeje. When someone’s nose was stuck that high in the air, no matter how much they lowered their gaze, they still couldn’t see the ground.

The man hurled something with a flick of his wrist.

Thud.

A heavy object landed right in front of Cheong. It was a solid gold ingot, a full guan of pure gold.

“This should be enough to settle the disturbance. That ought to be sufficient compensation for your grievance.”

Cheong stared at the gleaming yellow gold bar. She’d already given them plenty of humiliation. At this point, wouldn’t it be foolish not to take the practical benefits too?

Still lying on the ground, she slyly reached out and picked up the ingot. Gold was inherently a heavy metal. The substantial weight in her arms made her anger melt away like snow. Indeed, one guan of pure gold conveyed true sincerity far better than a hundred empty apologies.

At this rate, the whole commotion should have ended peacefully right there.

If only the man had kept his mouth shut.

“Just look at her! In the end, it was all a scheme to squeeze some money out of us. Even after suffering such humiliation, the Tang Clan still bestowed gold upon her. So I ask you—who is the truly wronged party in this affair?”

It was a calculated move to win over public sentiment. He had transformed Cheong from an aggrieved victim into a shameless fraudster who had staged her own injury to extort money.

Of course Cheong felt wronged. She had staged the injury, but she hadn’t even thought about demanding gold.

Still, people always envied their cousin’s new land. The moment the crowd learned that causing a mere ruckus had earned her an entire guan of gold, their gazes turned ice-cold in an instant.

“Consider yourself lucky. If it weren’t for the presence of our esteemed guest, we would have made you bleed. Otherwise, you would have melted into a handful of poisonous water. When you get home, be sure to bow and give thanks to your ancestors.”

He didn’t forget to issue a warning either. Showing weakness now would only invite a second or third Cheong to appear.

The man’s response was rather clean and admirable. He had painted the victim as an extortionist, generously offered a guan of gold to win favor, and even prevented future incidents with a stern warning.

The only problem was that it was now that person’s turn to step forward.

Once again, as the even greater grandson had once said: no matter how wise the plan, if you don’t know your enemy, it becomes nothing but a stupid mistake.

These bastards. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was trying to let it slide nicely, but they just had to cross the line, huh?

Cheong poked Choe-ri-ong in the side with her elbow.

A voice thick with fury immediately stopped the man who had already turned to leave.

“Melt into a handful of poisonous water, you say? Very well. Go ahead and try it. So the so-called prestigious righteous factions and one of the Five Great Clans run wild without even knowing shame under the heavens. Is this how the Tang family does things?”

The man froze in place.

“Hey, old man. Your spirit is commendable, but you should pick your opponents and locations more carefully. To dare speak like this in the very heart of Chengdu—”

“Even a mere low-ranking grunt is this arrogant. I don’t even need to see what the rest of you Tang bastards look like.”

At this point, it was basically a declaration of war.

The man understood the implication perfectly.

“I tried to handle this with words, but it seems that won’t work. If you’re such an idiot that you need to see blood before you come to your senses…”

The man couldn’t finish his sentence.

Because Choe-ri-ong had raised his palm, floating above it a sphere crafted from gathered starlight.

It was the supreme martial art that every martial artist in the Murim dreamed of.

Its name was Gang Hwan—the Energy Orb.

Of course, it wasn’t an incredibly rare technique. Any master at the Harmonious Realm or above could use it.

Only then did Cheong reach out as if to stop him.

“Grandpa, that’s enough. You’re going too far. Are you planning to massacre everyone here?”

“Then are you saying I should just let those insolent words slide?”

“Still, killing them all would be too pitiful.”

Choe-ri-ong slowly withdrew the Energy Orb.

“Hmph, hmph. With a heart this soft, how will you ever survive the ruthless Murim? Hmph. You there. Consider yourself lucky.”

In reality, even with the Energy Orb, Choe-ri-ong’s internal energy was barely at the first-class level. After using it once, he would have nothing left.

The man had gone deathly pale, his face completely drained of color. He had been too arrogant to look properly before, but now he could see the profound light in the old man’s eyes. There was no doubt—this was a great senior from either the Buddhist or Daoist sects.

“T-this junior failed to recognize a great senior…”

“Enough of that. I’m dying of curiosity here. Just how high and mighty must this person be that they not only kicked over our old man’s rice bowl but even tried to chase us out of the restaurant?”

“That is…”

“What are you waiting for? After causing this whole mess, are you just going to go back inside and happily stuff your face?”

“P-please wait just a moment!”

The man frantically dashed back into the restaurant.

Among the Five Flowers of the Central Plains, the one known as the Understanding Poison Flower was a blooming flower of the Tang Clan and Sichuan’s greatest beauty—Dang Nan-a. She was currently in the middle of a very important moment.

She had been busy fawning over her future sister-in-law. In the Central Plains, they called it trying to win over one’s dae-go.

Paeng Cho-ryeo was famous in many ways. She was a muscle-obsessed training fanatic, the strange habit of calling herself Dae-do-ryeo because she claimed to have married the Great Saber, her unusually tall stature and highly developed physique, and so on. Her bold personality and easygoing nature were also well-known.

However, none of that mattered much to the women of the Central Plains. What mattered to them was that Paeng Cho-ryeo was a comfortable older ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sister who could never become a romantic rival. And above all else—she was the older sister of the Jade Qilin!

When discussing family marriages, the eldest sister’s opinion carried truly tremendous weight.

That was why Dang Nan-a felt grateful to that nameless impersonator of the Female Xiang Yu. Paeng Cho-ryeo had come all the way to Sichuan after hearing rumors about her impersonator and wanting to see the face for herself. It was the perfect opportunity to win over her future sister-in-law’s heart.

“Hehe, Sister. This place is apparently famous for its gourmet food? I’m sure it will suit your taste ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as well.”

“Hmm. To build muscle, one must eat muscle. Can’t I just tear into some meat? Ah. Did you order a lot of meat?”

“Y-yes, I specially requested they add plenty…”

Under the table, Dang Nan-a frantically waved her hand. Fortunately, one of the Tang warriors standing guard inside quickly ran toward the kitchen.

“Really? Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“Hehe. It’s nothing. It’s food for you, after all, Sister.”

“Hmm.”

However, it was never easy for people with completely different tastes and hobbies to keep a conversation going.

“Oh my, Sister, your skin is so beautiful. Do you apply any special jade powder or cream?”

“I don’t use any of that. It’s annoying. And it gets sticky when you sweat.”

“Ah, I see…”

“……”

“…Ah! Sister, when I visited the workshop last time, I saw a new artisan! He handles gold and silver with incredible skill. Would you be interested?”

“What use is an artisan who handles gold and silver? Gold and silver are too soft to be used for weapons.”

“Ah, I see…”

“……”

She continued trying to butter her up (with zero success) when a urgent transmission suddenly pierced into Dang Nan-a’s ear.

-You foolish girl, this is no time to be leisurely scooping up soup. A huge disaster has occurred. Didn’t I tell you it would be impossible to bring a Harmonious Realm master to the banquet?

“Ah, Sister. Would it be alright if I step away for a moment?”

“Hm? Sure.”

“Hehe, I’m sorry! I’ll be right back!”

Dang Nan-a hurriedly headed toward a private room on the side.

“Uncle, what’s going on? What could possibly be more important than my marriage prospects?”

“One of the guests who arrived today is a Harmonious Realm senior. He’s extremely angry right now.”

“Of all days… Who is it? If it’s some kind of demonic practitioner—”

“At a glance, he’s clearly a senior from the Buddhist or Daoist sects. He’s demanding to see the face of whoever cleared away his rice bowl and tried to kick him out.”

“Aigoo, seriously. Why today of all days?”

Dang Nan-a stamped her feet in frustration.

While the great clans claimed to be free from the hierarchical rankings of the Nine Great Schools, that hierarchy was a tradition of the Nine Schools. The great clans, being family organizations with deep roots, had little connection to it. But did that mean they truly ignored seniority? Of course not.

Offending a high-ranking senior of a sect was no different from offending the entire sect.

The reason Paeng Daesan and Namgung Sinjae could act so casually around Cheong was because, despite her high seniority, they were of the same generation. As long as one wasn’t rude, they could remain friends.

That was why only Changbin, who was technically their senior but tangled up in a ridiculous generational knot as Cheong’s disciple’s disciple’s disciple, suffered alone.

“We cannot keep him waiting long. Hurry.”

“I know that, okay? Ugh, talk about bad luck.”

“How do you plan to resolve this?”

A vicious, poisonous glint flashed in Dang Nan-a’s eyes.

“How else? We handle it the way we always do.”

---

“Friend, just who are you really? And what kind of great senior is that old man?”

“Me? Seomun Cheong. The old man? He’s the old man who takes care of me.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What does it matter? You didn’t approach me because you knew the old man was a master, right? You weren’t rude either. Now that you know, does anything change?”

“Oh…”

Jayu couldn’t hide his admiration.

To see people simply as people, free from their backgrounds and abilities, and to judge them only by their fundamental character—this was what she meant. So she wasn’t just an eccentric masked lady, but a quirky Daoist sage?

In truth, Cheong had said it without much thought, simply telling him not to worry about it. The guy had approached her out of boredom, and since he seemed like a rich young master, she figured she could get him to pay for her friend fees. That was the only reason she had gone along with it.

Of course, she only accepted the friend fee after seeing that he had accumulated over four hundred good deeds.

Wasn’t this how people normally became friends? It didn’t require some grand, dramatic story to form a bond. If you hung out for a while and then parted ways, it was just a short connection. If you kept in touch, it could become a long one.

It was at that moment.

A figure came sprinting out from the entrance of the inn like a bolt of lightning. Dressed in fluttering red silk, the person immediately dropped to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their knees and bowed in a motion as smooth as flowing water.

Cheong was impressed by the elegant apology. This was clearly not someone’s first rodeo. Had this person been eating meals and apologizing for a living? It was a display of skill worthy of being called a professional apologizer.

“Esteemed Senior, this humble girl feels nothing but remorse for her discourtesy. In my desire to serve such honored guests, I let my wicked greed take over and… sob… hic… Oh dear, hic, I’m so sorry, ugh, sob…”

And then, with a beautiful face, she began shedding large, chicken-droplet-like tears.

Cheong was impressed once again.

Wow! Preemptive strike with tears! These tears are the very definition of remorse!