There Is Honor Among Wanderers
There is honor among wanderers. That was when Gyeong Damgan let out a bizarre laugh that sounded almost like a keuheuh sob.
A technique that turns the user's grip strength into something capable of crushing bones.
“But little girl? I heard a strange rumor. You used the Black Killing Demonic Palm, didn’t you? A righteous heroine from the orthodox faction learned one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts? Do those orthodox bastards even know about this?”
“Oh dear. I’ve been found out. Well, once your hands turn this black, it’s pretty hard to hide, isn’t it? Here, look. These are the pitch-black Black Hands of the Black Killing Demonic Palm.”
Cheong stretched out her pale, slender, and beautiful hand for him to see. Normally, mastering the Black Killing Demonic Palm would turn one’s hands into grotesque black limbs with a bark-like texture, hard and bumpy. So when she waved her pretty fingers around and proudly displayed them, it was essentially saying, If your eyes aren’t broken, does this look black to you?
“Ahem. The younger generation these days really lacks fundamentals. You should’ve just said you learned the Sosu Magong instead.”
Even Gyeong Damgan knew this made no sense. The idea that an orthodox heroine had learned a wicked demonic art—one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts that every martial artist in the world would recognize—was pure nonsense. But since multiple subordinates had testified to it simultaneously, he couldn’t ignore it and had thrown out a probe, only to end up thoroughly embarrassed.
“Ugh. Sosu Magong is a bit…”
Cheong flinched and shrank back. However, Gyeong Damgan didn’t suspect the Sosu Magong claim in the slightest. After all, the Sosu Demon Faction belonged to the Blood Sect. If they had taken on a disciple, there was no way he wouldn’t know about it.
“Anyway, just wait and see. You will pay the price for your insolent behavior.”
Always with the ‘just wait and see.’
Cheong snorted and prepared to start acting pitiful. But Gyeong Damgan simply let out a keuheuhk laugh and withdrew.
What the hell? That was anticlimactic.
With nothing better to do, Cheong sat in a lotus position and began circulating her internal energy. At least she wasn’t flopping around out of boredom anymore, so she finally looked somewhat like a proper Murim practitioner.
Hmm. My training points are only going up by a pathetic amount.
Expecting some grand achievement after only half a day of meditation was simply unrealistic. In truth, there was a reason Cheong had been lazy about practicing the internal energy methods through meditation.
Thanks to the combined effect of the Joyful True Qi and the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Art, she was in a state of automatic cultivation that ran twelve hours a day whether she was eating, sleeping, or awake. Come to think of it, the Joyful True Qi had already reached ten stars, and the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Art was at eleven stars with its training points nearly full. It wouldn’t be long before she received the special ability for reaching twelve-star completion.
It seemed the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Qi that had been chasing her around was more diligent than the Joyful True Qi that had been chasing it, and the difference in required training points between the golden and red colors had created quite a gap. The Blood Demon King Divine Art and the Purple Lightning Magic had both risen by two stages as well. So, excluding the side effects, one could say the Joyful True Qi had done a truly great service.
Meanwhile, the Blood Sect warrior assigned to daytime guard duty over the prison was utterly dumbfounded watching Cheong sit brazenly in the middle of the cell and meditate. Meditation was the moment when a martial artist focused their blood points and became completely defenseless. For an orthodox warrior locked in the Blood Sect’s secret prison to be meditating… It could only be because she was either extremely bold, had no sense of fear, was thoughtless, completely disregarded them, or some combination of all of the above.
It was absurd, infuriating, and damaging to his pride as a member of the Blood Sect, the very group that made the Central Plains tremble in terror.
In fact, the position of prison guard in the underground dungeon was a privilege reserved for higher-ranking members. It was because, as long as they didn’t directly touch the prisoners, they could torment them however they pleased. The morning guard who had blatantly stomped on Cheong’s rice ball hadn’t done so purely out of a terrible personality. It was simply something they could do—and had always done.
Others preferred verbal abuse, urinating on them, or poking and disturbing them while they slept. Each had their own tastes. The goal was to erode the prisoners’ minds and drive them to madness. That was Gyeong Damgan’s intention.
But after witnessing that shocking scene in the morning, the guard really didn’t feel like bothering her. Besides, simply watching the beautiful woman with her eyes closed was enough to make time fly by.
Fuck, she’s seriously, fucking, insanely pretty.
He spent the time swallowing his saliva while waiting for the day she would be disposed of, and before he knew it, he was hungry. It was right when the guard pulled out his lunch—a rice ball wrapped in bamboo leaves—and began unwrapping it.
Cheong’s eyes snapped open. Her narrowed, diamond-shaped pupils sparkled as she shot an intense, predatory gaze straight at the rice ball.
“Excuse me, warrior sir? What are the plans for this young lady’s meal?”
The guard, who had just peeled back the bamboo leaf and was about to take a big bite, frowned deeply. Does she think she’s at an inn or something?
“Meal? What meal?”
“What do you mean? No matter how much you hate someone, you still have to let them eat, don’t you?”
“Idiot. Did you really think we’d give even a single meal to an orthodox dog? There will be no meals for you from now on, so don’t spout that kind of stupid nonsense.”
“No meals? What are you saying? But this morning—”
“That was a personal favor prepared by Senior Ju. The previous guard. If you’re hungry, you’ll have to beg for our mercy. Whether through flattery or… hehehe.”
In other words, food was entirely up to the guard’s discretion. Cheong finally understood this malicious system.
The guard continued with a sneer.
“Hungry, are you? Then how about sucking this elder’s cock? If I like it, giving you one rice ball isn’t out of the question.”
“Haa. Men, I swear.”
Cheong let out a deep sigh. Men were inherently pitiful beasts, so in a system where they could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn’t touch the prisoner, there was no way they could hold back.
Move aside. I’ve got something to try.
“I guess there’s no choice. Could you come over here, please?”
“What? Really? That easily?”
The guard jumped up from his seat and hurriedly reached for his waistband, but his eyes suddenly landed on the red stain on the iron bars that vertically split the cell. A chill ran down his spine, and the excitement that had been rising instantly cooled off.
“You bitch, trying to lure me in.”
“Oh. You’re quite perceptive.”
Cheong smiled sweetly as she spoke. The guard’s legs went weak, and he collapsed heavily onto his chair.
“So, when exactly do you plan on giving me my meal? Just so you know, I hold quite a deep grudge when it comes to food. Let’s not create unnecessary resentment and just get along nicely, shall we?”
It was a threat: If you don’t want to die, give me food.
The guard seriously pondered for a moment. This was the woman who had rolled people up like dumplings inside iron bars. Was it truly wise to earn her grudge over something as trivial as a meal? Maybe it was better to just give her what she wanted and move on.
But that thought only lasted a second. After all, what could a locked-up woman possibly do? Her bravado wouldn’t last long. There wasn’t a single “ingredient” that hadn’t eventually cried and begged for mercy under the Deputy Leader’s methods. Especially if the ingredient was a woman. All he had to do was wait until she was scheduled for disposal.
“Stupid bitch. Know your place. Fine. Dance naked for me. If I find it satisfying, I might give you this much.”
The guard pinched off a piece of the rice ball about the size of a fingertip and held it up. Cheong let out another deep sigh.
Why are all these villains like this?
“Why is it that no one ever listens when I try to talk things out? We could resolve this peacefully through conversation, but you insist on making things difficult for everyone.”
“Hmph. And what are you going to do if I make things difficult? A woman stuck behind iron bars sure talks a lo—”
The guard suddenly stopped mid-sentence. It wasn’t a deliberate attempt to provoke her. He was simply stunned speechless at the sight of the iron bars spreading apart like a bead curtain at a shop entrance.
Cheong had pried the bars wide open. Steel was strong against pulling and pushing forces, but not nearly as resistant to bending. And Cheong’s strength far exceeded what ordinary steel could withstand.
She immediately leaped through the gap between the bent bars. The guard frantically reached for his blade, but how wide could a prison corridor possibly be? In an instant, his neck was seized, and his breath was cut off as he thrashed about.
But that only lasted a moment. Once blood flow to the brain was blocked, the difference between a master and a novice was simply how violently they resisted before passing out. The guard was at best a first-class warrior, so he couldn’t offer any meaningful resistance against an opponent who was crushing his neck with enough force to embed him into the wall.
Finally, the guard went limp.
“Who said I didn’t know how to get out? I tried being nice, but you just had to scratch my nerves. Seriously, some people only learn after getting beaten.”
Cheong grumbled as she picked up the rice ball with one hand and began munching on it, while her other hand grabbed the guard by the hair and dragged him back into the cell.
She stripped off his top, tied his arms tightly behind his back, pulled down his pants and used them to gag him thoroughly, then walked over to the bent bars and grabbed them.
Damn it. Bending them was easy, but straightening them is a pain.
After struggling and grunting with the bars for quite some time, Cheong finally restored the iron bars to a state where the damage was barely noticeable. She nodded in satisfaction.
Then, from the pouch at the guard’s waist, five more rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves appeared.
Well, if six rice balls were supposed to be lunch, I can see why he didn’t want to share.
Thinking that, Cheong happily began enjoying her lunch.
But why is it just plain rice with salt? Is the Blood Sect short on money? Who the hell eats rice with nothing but salt on it?
Still, the sticky rice infused with the fragrant aroma of bamboo leaves and a touch of salt was chewy and quite edible. After devouring all six large rice balls—which amounted to about three full bowls—she finally pressed her finger firmly into the guard’s shoulder.
Her pale, slender, and elegant finger sank in without any resistance. It was as if the man’s shoulder blade were made of tofu. The intrusion was unnaturally smooth.
For a moment, Cheong’s expression turned dreamy.
Wow… This feels way too good. I think I’m losing my mind.
The guard whose shoulder had been pierced, however, did not seem to share the sentiment. His eyes snapped open and he began to twitch.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
Since his mouth had been thoroughly stuffed with an entire pair of pants, almost no scream escaped.
“Shh. Quiet. See? If you had just given me the rice when I asked nicely, this wouldn’t have happened. Why did you have to make things so troublesome?”
“Mmmph, mmmphhh!”
“Alright. I’m going to remove the gag now. But if you make even a sound, you die here, okay? And even if people come running, do you think they’ll actually come in here to save you? Or will they just stomp their feet outside while watching you die miserably? If you understand, nod your head.”
The guard nodded his head violently. Having witnessed the scene that morning, he knew full well that shouting for his colleagues would be completely useless. After all, he himself had been one of those useless colleagues.
“Good. Anyway, since I got the rice, I’ll consider the grudge over food settled. However, you still need to pay the price for making things difficult for me. Out of your right arm, left arm, or neck, pick the one you value most. I’ll rip out the less important ones.”
It was a horrifically terrifying threat. In the end, it meant he would lose both arms.
“I-I was wrong. Please forgive—”
“Oh. You’re polite now? I’m glad we can communicate. There’s exactly one way for you to leave here with all your limbs intact. Want to hear it?”
“Y-yes. Please tell me.”
“If you tell me everything you know without lying, I won’t touch a single hair on your head. Ah, except for the shoulder. I already touched that one, so it doesn’t count. Anyway, if you answer me honestly, you’ll be able to walk out of here completely fine. How does that sound?”
“When you say everything…”
Cheong gave him a bright, refreshing smile.
“Everything. What this place is, who you people are, your colleagues’ martial arts, what you do here, information about the Blood Sect—every single thing you know.”