The Matriarch of the Goddess Sect
Seomun Cheong muttered, “So you finally show up.” Her tone suggested they were far too late.
“Did you know I would come here?”
“A woman whose eyes shine with clear spirit could never be a cruel villain. In that case, this was the only place you could bring the child.”
Her stroke of fortune had come full circle and smacked her in the back of the head. Those sparkling eyes, restored by the pure strike from the Wudang Sect, had caused this mess.
A-Cheong took a wary step back. Yang Chae-mu spoke up.
“Come forward. It’s already too late to run.”
“Liar. I don’t believe you. Last time you had a bunch of those pitch-black bastards lying in wait and lied through your teeth. There’s no one this time, right? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…?”
“I have never deceived you even once.”
That much was true. A-Cheong had simply bolted on her own the moment she saw an opening. He had never prepared a heavenly net nor claimed he had.
“So what? Shall we settle this here and now?”
“If you hand over the child even now, I will let everything be as if it never happened. You seem like a good person, so I have no particular reason to harm you.”
“Hah, I’m pretty good at this too, you know? Fine. Let’s settle it. You think I can’t? I’m a master too! A master!”
This time, the black-robed man stepped forward. Light gathered on the sword he drew. It wasn’t something as crude as visible sword qi. It was a chilling whisper that pierced the eyes, a starlight that did not blind but instead embedded itself in place and shone. It was sword gang.
“Uh, what the… This guy’s a super peak master. Isn’t it a bit much to bring a super peak expert just to catch one measly peak-level nobody…?”
A-Cheong’s stomach twisted into knots. Back in her ignorant days, right after reaching peak level and fearing nothing, she had once watched a super peak master fight in the ronin market. The blades of the opponents had been sliced apart with clean, crisp cuts. Even though she wasn’t the one fighting, her legs had gone weak. That was the true dignity of a master.
“Unni?”
“Even for me, a super peak expert is a bit… One hit from that and the three of us will be split neatly in half and sent straight down the Yellow Springs together.”
“It’s fine. If we go, we go together.”
“Well, I’m not fine with it.”
A-Cheong let out a deep sigh.
“Excuse me, can’t you at least give me one sword out of basic human decency? Telling a swordswoman to fight a super peak master without even giving her a sword is seriously unfair.”
Neither Yang Chae-mu nor the black-robed man answered. How stingy—they clearly didn’t want to hand over even a single blade. A super peak expert really was too much. She would have to watch for an opening and run. First, she needed to lure them into letting their guard down.
A-Cheong deliberately shouted loudly.
“Hah. Can’t be helped. Myungmyung! Secret ultimate technique, activate!”
She grabbed the baby wrap and spun it forward. Her chest got in the way and made it a little awkward, but the end result was that Jangmyeong, who had been on her back, spun around once and ended up hanging in front of her.
A-Cheong cried out triumphantly, “This is the hostage defense technique! You can’t attack, but I can! I am invincible and the baby is a god! I am invincible and the baby is a god!”
After all, these people were after Jin Jangmyeong. And the child had a frail body. They wouldn’t dare touch her recklessly. It was truly an invincible armor.
It was an utterly petty idea and method. They had already agreed beforehand that she would do this in an emergency, but Jangmyeong still felt embarrassed and hung her head low.
Yang Chae-mu spoke, dumbfounded. “Do you truly intend to resort to such a cowardly trick? Wasn’t your goal to save that child?”
“Cowardly? What nonsense! You bastards swarm in like a mob just to snatch one tiny little kid and cause a huge ruckus, and now you’re lecturing me about cowardice?!”
A-Cheong continued in a booming voice, full of momentum.
“And besides, does our baby have to just stand there blankly watching like it’s someone else’s business?! If you’re going to put your whole life in someone else’s hands and just cheer for our side to win, why not ask them to live your entire life for you while they’re at it! Don’t you dare look down on our Jangmyeong, you punks!”
An unexpected reply came.
“Your words are truly splendid!”
A woman approached, clapping her hands. She was a middle-aged woman who could only be described as beautiful. Though the traces of time were evident, her face was lovely and overflowing with grace.
“Last night the constellations were ominous, so I came out for a walk, and before I knew it I had stepped beyond the mountain gate. I intended to overlook it as a matter of the mundane world, but that child spoke such truly lovely words. Child, what is your name?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You, child.”
“I’m called A-Cheong…”
“A-Cheong! What a lovely name. But my goodness, what is this appearance? Even a piglet wouldn’t go around looking like this. Your little sister too. How can sisters both look so barbaric? Answer me. Are you a human or a piglet?”
She was a woman with a strange air of authority. She gave off the impression of a chaebol household’s madam.
“I’m a human…” A-Cheong answered, shrinking her neck.
“Then you should act like one. Moreover, what is this state you’re in? A girl who doesn’t even know how to cherish her own body. You look no better than a rag.”
“Um, ma’am, thank you for your concern, but this place is dangerous, so it would be better if you stepped back… Those guys with the sword and the spear are very bad people…”
“You’re in that state and you dare worry about me? Should I really be receiving concern from a half-witted idiot who can’t even take care of her own body? Hah. My insides are bursting. Absolutely bursting.”
“Uh…”
What kind of situation was this now? And why was she getting scolded again?
A-Cheong’s eyes darted around. The madam then turned to the other side.
“And as for you two, if there was even the slightest bit of intelligence in those heads of yours, you would never have dared threaten a woman in front of the mountain gate of Wushan. Must I rebuke you for possessing intelligence truly inferior to that of vermin?”
The faces of the two men turned deathly pale. A-Cheong didn’t know it, but the aura the woman emitted had already shaken their insides and made them nauseous. The two immediately recognized her identity.
If someone asked who the strongest martial artist in the world currently was, the debate could last ten nights. In fact, it was the most common type of argument that broke out anywhere in the Central Plains. However, if the question was who among the women was the strongest, there was only one answer.
The greatest among women, the Grand Matriarch, Seomun Su-rin.
Yang Chae-mu, his face bloodless, offered a fist salute. “Grand Matriarch, I—”
“Enough. You know who I am. If you believe your excuse would not be honorable, it would be better to keep your mouth shut.”
Yang Chae-mu closed his mouth. No matter how desperate he was, there was no reason for him to hang himself. The moment he mentioned Pure Yin Blood in front of the Grand Matriarch, his life would come to an end here. It was common sense.
“Ugh, get lost. I don’t even want to look at you.”
You have successfully protected Jin Jangmyeong from her pursuers.
The Grand Matriarch of the Goddess Sect, Seomun Su-rin, has taken an interest in you.
It was an unfamiliar ceiling. A faint, pleasant fragrance gently seeped into her lungs.
A-Cheong sat up. The room was neatly organized. The moment she arrived at the Sinnyeo Sect following the madam, women with expressions as if they had seen the most horrific thing in the world had swarmed her and thrown her into a bath.
A-Cheong finally understood why cats desperately resisted baths. If left alone, they would clean themselves properly. But if you suddenly dunked them in a tub, lathered them with soap, and scrubbed them raw, of course they would freak out. On top of that, countless hands belonging to women whose names she didn’t even know had violated her entire body.
The only thing A-Cheong could do was squeeze her eyes shut and pray for the time to pass quickly.
Afterward, she received treatment from a female physician. They kept applying ointments, wrapping bandages, and sticking plasters all over her until she was practically naked. Then she drank some warm broth and fell asleep. Now she had woken up.
Once she looked like a proper person again, the accumulated fatigue pressed down heavily on her entire body. A-Cheong staggered out the door.
And there, on the veranda, drinking tea, was Seomun Su-rin.
That madam was apparently the greatest among women. The strongest woman in the Central Plains. As expected, one must become a master. Without even drawing a sword, just by standing there with style and saying ‘Get lost,’ the enemy would immediately flee.
“Child. You’re awake?”
“Yes. Thanks to you. Thank you.”
A-Cheong subtly observed her. Probing ability, activate.
“I heard the whole story from the little one. Well done. Truly admirable. How could you have done something so lovely?”
“It was nothing. It was just something I had to do.”
“There are plenty of people in this world who cannot even do what is natural. How could I possibly withhold my praise?”
Seomun Su-rin chuckled softly and continued.
“Still, I have encountered something truly astonishing. A child born with the Heaven-Slaying Star, yet raised so upright and proper.”
“Ah.”
“You ask how I knew? Did I not say last night that the constellations were ominous? A dreadful and sinister star was shining right before my eyes. I could not stay still and looked around.”
“You can tell that just by looking at the stars?”
“It is not something one can know from the stars alone. Now, would you extend your hand for a moment? Let me check your pulse.”
A-Cheong obediently held out her hand.
Then—slap!
Seomun Su-rin’s finger struck A-Cheong’s wrist. Wait, why did her finger hurt so much? It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. A-Cheong clutched her wrist.
Seomun Su-rin clicked her tongue. “Tsk tsk. Foolish child. A martial artist offering their pulse so obediently? How did I know? The star was close by, and when I took your pulse, I felt the killing aura within it.”
“You can tell from a pulse?”
What was this? Was she a master who also happened to be a great physician?
“At my level, one comes to know many things.”
As expected, one must become a master! Once you’re a master, you can do anything!
“Therefore, you must be even more careful. I can see that your nature is upright and proper, so I will let it pass, but others will try to kill you without question the moment they learn you were born with the Heaven-Slaying Star.”
“Ah…”
It was genuinely useful information. She had nearly gotten into a knife fight without even knowing why. Important note: Do not carelessly offer your pulse. Star it. Double star it.
“By the way, just in case—would you consider joining the Sinnyeo Sect?”
“Thank you for the offer, but I have no plans to join any sect yet.”
“I thought as much. Heaven-Slaying Lone Star. One who walks a path of slaughter ahead and a life of wandering behind is not fated to put down roots anywhere.”
It hadn’t been decided with such grand meaning. She had simply chosen it after reading a strategy guide. She hadn’t known it was a death flag if discovered.
Even after hearing such harsh words, A-Cheong simply stared blankly as if listening to someone else’s business. The greatest among women smiled faintly and asked again.
“Then, would you consider becoming my disciple?”