A Scolding That Never Came
When Mom went to the island shade to slit some throats, it had only been a few days before two of the three major Sapa factions in Gwangju lay in ruins. The fall of the Geumjeokbang, the first to go, was shocking but could be explained with clear, logical, and empirical reasons. It was a curse. The curse of the Jin family members who had been unjustly slaughtered. The entire Geumjeokbang had been massacred in a single night. There were no witnesses, only vague reports that screams had echoed through the darkness. Therefore, the logical conclusion was that no human hand had done this. It had to be the work of a ghost—a particularly powerful one at that.
The people of Gwangju felt less shock than something closer to joy and delight. Serves those bastards right for dying!So there really is such a thing as heavenly retribution!Good riddance!It's the regret of a lifetime that I couldn't watch them die with my own eyes!
The collapse of the Gwangju Sunbang, however, hit differently. The Hangwoo Jangs a had descended in fury, possessing the body of a shaman and descending to earth. He had stormed in alone, ripped down their signboard, stained it with blood, and made the villains' miserable end known to the entire world. Justice had been carried out from dawn till dusk. The citizens of Gwangju had seen it with their own eyes. Many, driven by long-held grudges, joined in the looting or personally dealt with the enemies who crawled like insects. By the afternoon, ordinary people bearing resentment toward the Gwangju Sunbang would light up at the sight of the Tomok Seonnyeo and eagerly volunteer as guides. They fought over who would lead the way to their own enemies first, grabbing each other by the collar in their rush to strike before the bastards could flee.
So what was the mood among the people of Gwangju? "Hey, the Civil Engineering Fairy—" "What do you mean, Civil Engineering Fairy? She's the Goddess! Call her Goddess-nim!"
Regardless, by the time Cheong finished her grueling but rewarding labor and collapsed into bed, it was already dawn. She had barely closed her eyes and taken a few breaths before a knock on the door and a voice calling her name dragged her back to consciousness.
"Aigoo, who the hell is knocking at the crack of—" Of course, it wasn't the crack of dawn. It was just before noon, with the sun already high in the sky. Cheong had closed her eyes, taken two breaths, and immediately begun snoring.
"Who is it?"
The reply came at once. "G-Goddess-nim? It's me, Jin Seol."
---
Younger disciples in the righteous sects caused incidents all the time. The reason was simple: they were young. As members of the righteous Murim, they were taught over and over that they must pursue justice, protect the weak, and never stay silent in the face of evil. These were children raised on heroic tales of their sect's respected seniors.
Yet these incidents rarely escalated into true disasters because the martial prowess of later-generation disciples ultimately stayed within the bounds of later-generation disciples. The best talents from prestigious sects were usually first-class, while the true geniuses (or promising seedlings who consumed elixirs like rice) reached early peak level. But in the current Murim, peak-level experts were so common you could practically kick them in the street. Martial arts had long been systematized as a discipline; even the world's slowest learner could reach the peak if they simply lived long enough and trained consistently.
Besides, the Kangho had enjoyed a long period of peace. With so many long-lived martial artists, there were plenty of peak experts, and even small cities tended to have at least one super peak master watching over them. This meant that even if hot-blooded young disciples caused trouble, there were always people capable of stopping them.
Through the process, these young disciples learned about the real Kangho. The endless chain of grudges, cutting and being cut in an infinite cycle. They didn't fully understand it, of course—just gained a vague, tactile sense of its shape. They also realized their own strength wasn't actually all that impressive. And when they saw how the chain of responsibility extended all the way to their sect elders, they began to see themselves as members of a group rather than lone individuals. That was how the children of the righteous factions grew into adults.
That was why Jin Ja-gang was reflecting so deeply. So that child Seomun Cheong was also a later-generation disciple after all. Come to think of it, she had only just turned twenty-one. It hadn't even been two months since her birthday.
He simply hadn't considered her age because of how mature she seemed—how deeply she understood people's hearts and knew how to comfort them. The problem was her martial prowess. When a young disciple from the righteous path caused trouble, it was like a child swinging a wooden sword. At worst they might cut down a few low-level Sapa underlings, something the Sapa could dismiss as simple bad luck.
The truly dangerous opponents were those even a young disciple could provoke, but whom the righteous sects usually just beat and sent away to preserve the balance of power. Of course, there were times when righteous martial artists died on their first journey into the Kangho, many losing their lives to youthful impulsiveness.
But what Cheong held wasn't a wooden sword. She wielded a real blade—one of the finest, gleaming with lethal sharpness. And the result was what they saw now.
"Hmm."
Jin Ja-gang chose his words carefully. He had called her in and seated her, but opening his mouth proved surprisingly difficult.
Had Cheong done something wrong? No. That was where Jin Ja-gang began.
"First, I must thank you—and apologize. This was something the Jin family should have handled ourselves, yet we ended up leaving it all to the Cheonhwa-geom."
"No, that's not true. The Jin family has many difficult circumstances right now..."
Once the words left her mouth, Cheong realized how inappropriate they sounded and trailed off. Jin Ja-gang gave a bitter smile. What kind of family head would feel hearing a guest say his household was in difficult circumstances?
"No. If it's something the Cheonhwa-geom could do, I could have done it as well. However, I could not have acted that way. I have a family to protect. One could say I neglected those people for the sake of self-preservation."
"No, that's only natural."
"Hmm."
As Jin Ja-gang carefully chose his next words, he realized he had been saddled with a rather unpleasant role. In truth, he should be praising her, saying she had done well, that it felt incredibly refreshing, and that she had performed magnificently. But he could not.
Although Cheong herself claimed to have surpassed super peak, the realm beyond super peak was simply the Harmonious Realm. Of course, given her complete lack of mercy, the outcome might have differed, but would he really have stood by and done nothing if he couldn't even destroy a single faction like the Gwangju Sunbang?
If Jin Ja-gang had stepped forward, the Sapa Alliance could not have remained silent. A master of comparable strength would have declared revenge, and for the sake of face they would surely have sent someone capable of defeating the Jin family head. They might issue a life-or-death challenge and then either vanish into the countryside or simply tell him to fight and die.
As a member of the Ten Great Families, it was a challenge he could not avoid. And after that, would the family have remained safe?
In truth, Jin Ja-gang had known about the Gwangju Sunbang's evil deeds for a long time. He had never intended to simply let them continue as they pleased. Once the Jin family regained its former strength, he had planned to crush those mere boatmen and put an end to their atrocities.
But what about the common people suffering in the meantime?
Therefore, the role Jin Ja-gang now played was that of the elder telling a child that sometimes one must be cowardly, that the world sometimes forced you to do dirty, disgusting things.
"The Cheonhwa-geom is not merely one person. She is the representative of the later-generation disciples as the Divine Dragon of the righteous path. She is the direct disciple of the Great Mother senior, acting on her behalf. She is also a disciple of the Sinnyeo Sect. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes."
"Even if you understand, hear it once more. Everything the Cheonhwa-geom does can become the will and responsibility of the groups she belongs to."
"Yes."
Cheong's eyebrows drooped. She was not young enough to protest that it wasn't so. Because she wasn't young. An individual belonging to a group could represent that group, even if only one person. The excuse that it was "only a part" was far lighter than the responsibility of failing to self-regulate, rendering it an unconvincing defense.
Cheong's expression was honest. Seeing that, Jin Ja-gang smiled gently. If she already understood her responsibility, further lecturing was unnecessary.
"Still, it's fortunate that the one who acted was the Tomok Seonnyeo while possessed by the Hangwoo Jangs a, rather than the Cheonhwa-geom herself."
"Pardon?"
"The Tomok Seonnyeo should depart soon. We can say she took a carriage from Hwado and vanished. It has nothing to do with the Cheonhwa-geom."
She should visit the northern city of Hwado dressed as the Tomok Seonnyeo, purchase a carriage, send it off somewhere, then secretly return. The Cheonhwa-geom staying at the Jin family had known nothing and had simply been resting as a guest.
Cheong asked back with a dumbfounded look. "Uh... will that really work?"
"Who could possibly know where the elusive Tomok Seonnyeo has gone?"
"But what if they pick a fight with the Jin family over it? That Sapa Alliance or whatever?"
"We'll simply say we'll accept it if they have evidence."
In other words, they would simply insist on their story. Wasn't this exactly the method her master used—insisting that if demonic arts were discovered, they simply weren't demonic arts?
What is this? Is this how the elders of the righteous factions operate?
"Let me say it again. The Cheonhwa-geom merely did what needed to be done. It was somewhat extreme, but they were villains whose evil deeds had reached the heavens because the Jin family could not suppress them. Rather, we should express our gratitude."
With that, the Jin family head bowed deeply. It was not a sight one should show to a young junior who was merely a later-generation disciple.
This was the second time she had received such profound gratitude.
Yet as Cheong left the family head's hall, her expression remained far from refreshed. It was awkward and unsettled. Because it wasn't the scolding she had expected.
The scolding Cheong had wanted to hear was something like: if you act rashly, the consequences could spread to the people around you. That while slaying evil was good, she should remember this and learn to be a little cowardly sometimes. The value of life? Salvation rather than elimination? Turning hearts rather than silencing mouths? Or that the karma of killing would eventually harm her, so she should restrain herself a bit?
Instead of any of that, she had only heard "I should have been the one to kill them—thank you for doing it in my place." So the evil-slaying itself had been done well.
But... was this right?
The Gwangju Sunbang guys too. Weren't they people who truly deserved to die? Shouldn't there have been some backstory, some tragic element, some moral dilemma?
Yet everyone was happy they were dead, shouting "long live the destruction of the Gwangju Sunbang." Something about it felt... off. Why did she feel so uneasy?
If sounds could emerge from the dantian, a bone-chilling, resentment-filled scream should be pouring out of Cheong's right now.
The true qi that protected the Daoist and Buddhist minds were sweating profusely as they raced through the meridians without rest. At the lead was the Great Righteous True Qi wearing an inverted bhikkhu's kasaya. Behind it came the Main Yang True Qi in red fairy robes and the Muscle Changing Marrow Washing Qi in an unconventional Shaolin kasaya with one breast exposed, followed by the Dragon Elephant Prajna True Qi riding a palanquin borne by dragons and elephants.
When the Daoist true qi climbed the governing vessel all the way to the Baihui at the crown of her head, the floor of the upper dantian was packed with writhing evil thoughts that scattered malevolence in every direction. Though the Daoist divine arts trampled and burst them apart, the repulsively rising malevolence showed no sign of subsiding.
This bitch was doing fine these past few days, so why is she suddenly throwing a tantrum?
True qi had to flow and could not stagnate, so it could not stop. It had no choice but to make a full circuit at the top and return to the dantian. Then the demonic qi would laugh serves you right and mock as if the situation were hilarious.
Normally the Joyful True Qi would glare and enforce discipline, but right now the busiest one—the one hardest to even catch a glimpse of—was the Joyful True Qi.
And the Pacheonmagi stuck in the corner like mold was, as always, kuk kuk.
It was then.
BAM!
The Joyful True Qi, having completed her circuit and opened the dantian gate, appeared. She dashed toward the wall, transparent na-sam fluttering behind her.
The Joyful True Qi's heretical side kick!
She fiercely slammed her foot into the side of the Pacheonmagi, who had been squatting against the wall. Then she kicked the gate open again and raced back toward the Baihui.
So busy, so busy. The Joyful True Qi had no time to spare as she worked to convert killing intent into lust.
The Daoist and Buddhist true qi let out a great sigh and rushed off once more to clean up the malevolence. The demonic qi, who had flinched at the Joyful True Qi's appearance, now turned their gaze to the Pacheonmagi who had been sent rolling.
The Pacheonmagi lay on the ground clutching its side, trembling, before crawling back to squat against the wall. Kuk kuk... keuheuk...
The Pacheonmagi was laughing.
And the Moon Maiden True Qi quietly watched that sight. Without any expression at all.