Killing with a Borrowed Knife
For whom does the sound of the hammer toll? There is a saying: chadosal-in. It means to kill a man with a borrowed blade, or in other words, to achieve a wicked scheme by borrowing another's strength.
The old man had known full well that lighting the furnace would summon the Nammenpa warriors who had been keeping watch, yet he had said nothing. Shamelessly, he snorted.
"Hmph. What choice did I have? How was some country woman who knew nothing of martial arts supposed to deal with those bastards?"
"You're awfully bold about it."
"You lot were the ones who drew your swords. Even if no blood had been spilled, it wouldn't have mattered, would it?"
He was saying they had killed without even being asked. Seomun Cheong spoke, half in disbelief.
"Well, because we're masters—though calling me a master is a bit much for someone who's just here to eat. Anyway, we're stronger, so those scum hesitated. If we weren't, they'd have caused a ruckus the moment they saw pretty women, wouldn't they?"
"A giant, a peerless beauty, another great beauty, and one extra tagalong wandering around without a speck of dust on their clothes? Anyone would assume they were no ordinary experts."
The old man said this while looking at Jegal Ihyeon, Dang Nan-a, and Gyeon Po-hui in turn. His gaze finally landed on Seomun Cheong.
"Oh? What's this? Why am I the tagalong?"
"If a woman covers her face, there's usually a reason she doesn't want it seen."
By the common sense of the jianghu, covering one's face meant one had a countenance unfit for others to behold. Or else she was a noble lady who could not show her face freely, but such women did not carry swords in a manner so lacking in dignity.
"Anyway, I got to see a satisfying sight before I die, so I'll fit the needles properly. It'll be done soon, so take them and go. Three of them died, so the poison will be in full effect and they'll come swarming."
"What about you, old man?"
"An old fool like me staying alive would only mean getting dragged into that wretched grandson's mess. If I don't want to see that, I might as well hang myself. No other way. Looks like this needle will be my final work."
The words were grim, yet spoken calmly. Seomun Cheong frowned.
"What is this? Trying to guilt-trip me?"
"I never planned on asking for help in the first place, so don't concern yourselves with whether some old man hangs himself or drinks molten iron. I was only still breathing because you lot hadn't arrived yet. I was waiting for a chance to grab one of them and escape."
Seomun Cheong recalled the old man's cold gaze as he had sat quietly in the shadows of the iron room, watching. It seemed the vicious old man really had intended to snatch one and flee.
"Why die without even asking for help?"
"Hmph. From whom? Even if it were another sect, they're all in league. The authorities take bribes and side with them. Where am I supposed to go and beg for help?"
"Why? There are the righteous sects too. They even use the character for 'righteous' in their name."
"Hmph. Righteous sect or unorthodox, they're all martial artists in the end. Just armed murderers. Isn't that exactly what you people do? If you want something, you take it, threaten, and if that fails, you vent your anger. So what can be done? If you have no martial arts and you're weak, you just die."
Dang Nan-a flared up at that.
"What did you just say, you old geezer—?!"
"Enough. He didn't say anything wrong. Let it go."
When Seomun Cheong held Dang Nan-a back, Old Man Ban gave a crooked smile. It was the look of someone asking, And how are you any different?
After all, there were no righteous sects in the city. If the only martial artists one had met in a lifetime were the villains of the unorthodox path, then one would see no difference between any of them. In fact, just as people say a meddling sister-in-law is more hateful, the righteous sects that claimed to be proper yet never lifted a finger might have been even more detestable.
"That was a childish provocation, but I'll let it slide this once. I'll go look for your grandson, so don't die and just wait."
"Help me? Hmph. Bestowing favor like some act of charity won't make me forge a sword."
"Who asked you to forge a sword? Don't make me laugh. A sword is something you use until it breaks and then throw away. Why would I treasure one just because it's a good blade and go easy on the swordplay?"
Seomun Cheong used weapons without restraint. The way she named them proved it. The sword was simply Wolgwang-geom, the half-sword was Jiokchammado. The Boksinjeok was no different. If an afterlife existed, the late Ban Chi would probably be shedding bloody tears in the underworld, turning into a jiangshi-Ban Chi to return for revenge, given how she abused the Boksinjeok. If she obtained another short staff later, it would become Boksinjeok (No. 2).
"Instead, if I can't handle it, I'll run away too. So if someone causes trouble and I have to flee because I'm outmatched, then hang yourself or stick your nose in molten iron and die."
After saying that, Seomun Cheong turned around. As she crossed the front yard of the iron room, a corner of her vision flashed and flickered, the quest window screaming to be opened. Cheong summoned the quest window, then dismissed it without even checking. It was bound to be some sudden quest, and the content was obvious. Help the old man, commit robbery, or wipe out the Cheonsalseong or something of the sort.
"Elder Sister, please calm yourself first."
At that moment, Jegal Ihyeon grabbed Seomun Cheong. Only then did she realize her mistake. In times like this, she always caused a scene alone, forgetting that she had companions.
"Right. I'll go have some fun and come back, so you all head to Kaifeng first. Don't worry about me. If it doesn't work out, I'll just run away."
"Come to think of it, you did the same in Luoyang. However, Elder Sister, do you know how disappointed Brother Paeng was?"
"Huh? Why?"
"If you had asked for help even once, Brother Paeng, or I, or even Brother Hwangbo could have handled something as trivial as one unorthodox sect. But you simply left without a word."
Seomun Cheong waved her hand dismissively. "Well, you all have your own circumstances. And back then, it was my problem."
"I could overlook it because it was the first time I met you, but Brother Paeng ground his teeth. I wondered why, and now I understand. Elder Sister, you call us your younger siblings, yet when it truly matters, you draw a line and say we're not family."
"Well, we aren't family. Just because we're close doesn't mean you can drag everyone into it. I'm responsible for my own decisions. Strictly speaking, I'm not even affiliated with the Sinnyeo Sect, and my master told me not to hold back because of her."
Jegal Ihyeon visibly looked hurt.
"If you truly consider us close, you should at least give us the chance to be asked. Instead of declaring, 'I'll handle my own affairs, so let's part ways here.'"
Hmm. Was that really something to be hurt over? Seomun Cheong tilted her head.
"But I'm already a supreme expert at running away. My master said that if I set my mind to fleeing, no one in the world could catch me. So there's no real danger for me, but if you come along, you might get hurt."
"This time, the responsibility lies with you, Elder Sister."
"What?"
"If Elder Sister asks and we decide to join, then as you said, it becomes our individual responsibility. In that case, there would be no need for you to worry."
"Does that even make sense? Because of me—"
"Haa. Never mind. I will simply follow behind you as I please. Whatever happens will be entirely my decision."
"No, why—"
While Seomun Cheong wore a sour expression, Dang Nan-a seized the moment to butt in.
"That's right. If Cheong's going, I'm going too. If things go wrong, I have this."
Dang Nan-a pulled out a round object the size of a fist from somewhere and proudly held it up. Jegal Ihyeon's face turned pale.
"That… you've been carrying a poison pellet around with you all this time?"
"Ah. It's fine, don't worry. It won't explode just like that."
For reference, that was the absolute most common line among the last words of people who died from explosives. "It's fine, it won't explode." And then—BOOM!
----
The group crossed Jumadian with bold strides. The good thing about having Jegal Ihyeon was that asking for directions just once was enough to map out the route perfectly.
"We turn left up ahead. After that, it's the first major avenue on the right at the large plaza."
"Hmm. Are there any speed traps around here?"
"Pardon?"
"Just saying. Don't mind me."
It was nonsense to Jegal Ihyeon. Joke aside, Seomun Cheong's confidence was so grand and natural that her chin was practically tilted upward.
"By the way, do you have a plan?"
"Of course. I always have a plan."
"May I hear your esteemed opinion?"
"Hmm. Go there and tell them to hand over Old Man Ban's son? Grandson?"
"……? Would they hand him over willingly? And it was his grandson, not his son."
"Son or grandson, same difference. And if they don't hand him over, we attack. Block the main gate, me in front, you lot in the back. If the enemy doesn't come out, have Nan-a throw hidden weapons like a coward to lure them out."
"……?"
"If a Transcendent master appears, the Peak-exceeding Seomun Cheong will settle it. The end."
"I see."
After Jegal Ihyeon nodded, he spoke.
"Could we still back out now?"
"I don't stop people who want to leave."
"Couldn't you at least pretend to stop us…?"
The usual Jegal Ihyeon would have dissuaded them here and turned back. But having already experienced Seomun Cheong, he knew full well that no matter how detailed an ambush plan he suggested, she was the type to say "Then I'll go alone" and charge in anyway. Moreover, her momentum was so full of confidence that he couldn't help but wonder if she had some other trick up her sleeve.
Dang Nan-a had no particular thoughts. Just that they were going to crush some bad guys. It was the sort of thinking a chick fresh out of the jianghu would have. At this point, one had to suspect whether some kind of stupidity aura was emanating from Seomun Cheong.
However, Gyeon Po-hui remained unaffected. Because she had no thoughts to begin with.
And so, at last, the main gate bearing the Nammenpa signboard came into view up ahead. Seomun Cheong did not stop and continued striding forward. The guards at the main gate spotted the group—particularly Dang Nan-a's face—and their mouths fell open in a daze. Seeing them approach so boldly without any hesitation, they assumed they must be guests from somewhere.
Watching this, Seomun Cheong thought it was incomprehensible why unorthodox sect members always seemed desperate to show their crooked, nasty sides starting from the gatekeepers.
"What is your business?"
"Old Man Ban from the iron room's son? Grandson? I'm here to fetch him. If you hand him over quietly, there won't be any bloodshed."
"What?"
"Go tell them. As a favor, I'm giving them a chance."
Seomun Cheong stomped her right foot hard, and with the subtlety of Wolnyeo Mountain Step, she shot forward like a cannonball. She came to a sudden stop right in front of the Nammenpa warriors by stomping her right foot again. One of them had his left arm still extended, so she grabbed him by the collar and swung him around. The man's body floated up, cleared the wall, failed to make it over, crashed into the roof instead, sent tiles clattering down, and then fell in a heap.
Seomun Cheong spoke with a sour expression.
"Sorry. I didn't have enough strength. If I'd used both hands, he would've gone over."