The Grand Matriarch's Name
Do-eosa clutched the back of his neck. His thick neck looked ready to collapse with just a little more provocation, so Cheong was about to press harder when—
“That’s enough.”
Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa, who had been weighing the situation until then, cut in.
“Calm yourself, Lord Do-eosa. This is nothing more than the petty tricks of a green girl.”
But Cheong had no intention of stopping. In this kind of contest, the loudest voice always claimed victory. Just as she drew in a deep breath—
A bead of light rose silently above Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa’s hand before fading away. It was a Gang-hwan, the symbol, the pride, and the crystallization of the Harmonious Realm.
Cheong was a consistent sort of fellow. Faced with a superior, she did not stand tall—she shrank, as always.
What the hell. I thought I could at least handle someone at the Transcendent level by now, but here comes another Harmonious Realm bastard blocking the way. Where do all these experts keep popping up from?
Cheong did not know it, but it would have been stranger if Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa, third in the imperial palace’s martial ranking, were not at the Harmonious Realm. He was a master the imperial family had deliberately raised.
Cheong took a step back at the display of power. After having her fill of beating someone one-sidedly, she did not feel particularly disappointed. However, the one who had only been beaten did not share that sentiment.
“You wench! So this filthy slander and stinking lie is what you learned from your parents!”
It was a magnificent miss. Insults about parents no longer worked on Cheong. Her body had been born beneath someone’s legs; its origins were unknown. It might have been formed from gathered energy in a cave, or perhaps it had possessed an abandoned corpse. The only thing she knew was that during the spirit parasite invasion, no trace of another mind had been found, so she had not stolen the body of a living girl.
Cheong answered with a bright smile.
“This body really has no parents, you know? I never learned anything from them in the first place.”
Do-eosa quickly seized the opening.
“So you were an orphan! I knew it. Even I would have abandoned something as mad as you.”
“But wouldn’t it be better to abandon me than to raise a child of parents who rolled around with a pig? How could anyone live with their head held high while carrying the shame of pig-fucking parents? If it were me, I would have dunked my face in wash water—no, since it’s Do-eosa’s house, I would have buried my nose in pig slop and killed myself long ago.”
“You—!”
“Everyone! What do you all think? Would you rather live as the son of a woman who spread her legs for a pig, or live alone as a forsaken orphan!?”
In a way, Cheong’s attitude was the truest posture of a martial artist. At least she knew when to retreat upon realizing her skill was lacking and wait for the next opportunity. Do-eosa, unable to match her verbally, floundered without even recovering his original stake.
Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa stepped in again.
“I told you to stop.”
“No, when that pig—no, Dong Zhuo, no, Zhu Bajie, no, Do-eosa was running his mouth, you stayed quiet, but the moment I speak you lower your voice. Hehe, I’ll shut up.”
Cheong prettily closed her mouth before the Gang-hwan. Yet her expression remained bright and smiling, an attack aimed squarely at Do-eosa’s blood pressure.
“A young girl with such low cultivation, yet her venom is even more terrifying.”
“Hmm. Thank you for the compliment?”
“It is rather a pity. Had you not been born with the surname of that great traitor, you could surely have made a name for yourself across the Central Plains.”
“Ha. Who’s the great traitor? You’re accusing an innocent person without a shred of evidence. Your own parents must be so proud. ‘My son! Today you condemned another innocent to death again! How splendid!’ Even your ancestors in hell would be burning with pride.”
“……What did you just say?”
“What? Did you stuff a donkey’s cock in your ear? Or a dog’s? Since you’re siding with a pig, maybe a pig’s? Is your earhole blocked by a cock so you couldn’t hear? Everyone else heard it, but a Harmonious Realm master couldn’t?”
Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa’s eyebrows twitched.
“Ah. It would be better to throw your parents’ remains into a river or the sea instead of burying them in the ground. They’ll be burning eternally for the sin of raising such a vicious child, so soaking them in water might ease the heat a little.”
“You truly court death.”
Cheong snorted.
“All you can do is lower your voice when you’ve got nothing. A Harmonious Realm master? There’s only one Harmonious Realm idiot here with a cock stuffed in his earhole. A human butcher who would have drawn his sword and slaughtered everyone with words alone—why has he been holding back until now?”
“You will not die cleanly. You will beg for death before the end.”
“Wow!! Look at that! Lord Do-eosa! Did you see? When you were being insulted, it wasn’t his problem so he just lowered his voice and said ‘stop,’ but now that he’s the one being insulted, he gets angry?”
Do-eosa was still flushed red, but after hearing those words, his gaze toward Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa was no longer kind. After all, what she said was true.
Cheong took it one step further and stepped forward.
“If you’re upset, then come at me. Fair and square, one on one. Like a man. How about a life-and-death match?”
Dang Nan-a quickly grabbed Cheong’s wrist.
“Hey, you. What are you trying to do?”
“It’s fine. Just watch.”
Cheong’s face was full of confidence as she answered. She was the type who cherished her own life terribly and never moved on a whim. Since she could not tell Dang Nan-a that she had already prepared dirty tricks in advance, she simply tossed out a cool line.
“I can’t just stand by while my friend is insulted, can I?”
“You…… you……”
It was the very image of a man stepping into mortal danger to protect honor—the kind of back view women dreamed of. Even though Cheong was not a man.
Dang Nan-a’s eyes grew hazy. Cheong could not see it because of the veil. Regardless, Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa was utterly dumbfounded.
“A mere Peak-level girl dares to say what?”
“I said let’s have a match. How about it? One on one.”
Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa snorted through his nose, his lips splitting into a long, wicked grin that hid nothing of his malicious intent.
“Ha. So you’ve decided you truly want to die! Very well! You said a life-and-death match! Since the words have already left your mouth, you cannot blame my hand!”
“Good. Just don’t run away. If you try to flee, you’ll have to leave behind whatever’s stuck between your legs.”
At the same time, Cheong walked forward with light steps. Then, in an incongruous display of courtesy, she clasped her hands in a respectful salute and declared:
“This humble girl is called Cheong and has no other epithet. I have studied the Moon Maiden Sword and the Divine Maiden Divine Art, and have also learned various miscellaneous skills.”
She then drew her sword and demonstrated a few simple forms, even stirring the air with her hand several times to reveal a hint of her fist technique’s profundity. This was the so-called “presentation of skills”—showing one’s identity and briefly displaying one’s martial arts before a duel. Though its purpose was unclear, it was an ancient tradition of Murim.
For a moment, everyone in the garden fell silent. The girl who had been spewing horrific insults had suddenly behaved like a righteous heroine of Murim, her every gesture and footwork flawless in its refinement. Her beauty, previously overshadowed by her vicious tongue, finally revealed its presence.
Amid the silence, Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa also stepped forward and performed the presentation.
“This one is called Cho Gwak and has reached the realm with the Imperial Grace Subduing Demon Sword.”
He demonstrated a few simple forms. To anyone’s eyes, it was the Subduing Demon Sword Art of the Gongdong Sect. The government’s martial arts were, after all, offerings made when the Nine Great Sects had served as the government’s hunting dogs. Though they had been somewhat degraded, those degraded divine arts remained in the imperial armory, taught to the Jinyiwei, the masters raised by the imperial palace. They even added “Imperial Grace” to the names, claiming they had been improved by the Emperor’s benevolence.
The elders of the Tang Clan who knew the circumstances clicked their tongues, while Cheong, who did not, instead clicked her tongue in speech.
“Ah. By the way, my master is Seomun Su-rin, the Daemo, and the martial artists of Murim call her the Grand Matriarch or the Number One Woman Under Heaven.”
“……Wait, what did you say?”
“Haven’t you pulled the cock out of your earhole yet? I said my master is Seomun Su-rin, the Number One Woman Under Heaven.”
“No, no, I didn’t hear anything like that.”
“By the way, my master promised that if her disciple suffers harm while traveling the jianghu, she will repay it a hundredfold afterward. So if something happens to me, you’ll incur the wrath of the Number One Woman Under Heaven and your entire clan will be wiped out without exception.”
Cho Gwak, Wi Ji-hwi-cheom-sa, momentarily doubted his ears. Normally, one would say there would be no repercussions even if they killed her, or wonder if they had misheard. However, while Cheong enjoyed deceiving others, she was not particularly good at outright lying. Especially not when using her master’s name.
Seomun Su-rin had indeed joked—full of sincerity—that she would avenge her disciple a hundredfold even if they died, so they should not feel too wronged if something happened. In other words, if they touched her, the Grand Matriarch would not stay still.
It was a despicable threat made after requesting a life-and-death match and completing the presentation of skills. Cho Gwak’s mind truly spun.
“H-how could a disciple of the Goddess Sect involve herself in treason!”
“Involve myself? This humble girl was merely staying as a guest. Rather, did you not block the entrance to prevent everyone from leaving? I merely stepped forward because I could not endure you insulting my innocent friend’s honor. Please refrain from saying such dreadful things as treason.”
She then pointed at Choe Ri-ong with an outstretched hand.
“And the elder over there is the one who attends to my needs. He cherishes me like his own daughter. He is currently in poor health due to old age, so if any unfortunate incident occurs during the life-and-death match, I ask for your generous understanding.”
It was an open threat that Choe Ri-ong might launch a sneak attack.
“W-what kind of life-and-death match is this! How can you resort to such despicable and cowardly tricks!”
“Despicable and cowardly? A Harmonious Realm master accepts a Peak martial artist’s life-and-death challenge and calls it despicable and cowardly?”
Cheong spoke with a full sneer. Cho Gwak’s mouth opened and closed, unable to find words. At the same time, he realized he had fallen into a trap. Though it was called a life-and-death match, if he did not subdue Cheong gently, the consequences would fall not only on himself but on his entire family.
“Wait, this is invalid—”
“No more words! Here I come!”
Cheong cut off Cho Gwak’s words and charged forward, sword leading the way.