Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Gwiyeong and the Gale Blade (6)
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Gwiyeong, who had been deep in thought in her office, finally came to a rough conclusion about what to do next.
Now that things had come to this, she decided to first absorb the White Serpent Gang Leader's forces and wealth, then prepare to deal with the Black Dragon Society's leader and his disciples.
It was a flimsy plan, but she had no other choice and no time to spare.
Having made up her mind, she headed to the bath to wash off the blood and dust.
A leader of her stature would normally have a maidservant to assist with her bath, but it seemed she had none.
Before stepping into the bath, Gwiyeong began to slowly undress.
With the Gale Blade placed right beside her.
The sight was shocking enough to make one wonder what was happening. As she finished removing her top and started on her bottoms, the Gale Blade, who had been watching silently, spoke with a hint of disbelief.
[Are you trying to show off your body to me right now?]
"…!"
Startled, Gwiyeong stopped undressing and whipped her head around to look at the Gale Blade.
[Just a moment ago, you were calling me a pervert. Seems the real one was someone else.]
Speechless for a moment, her face slowly turned beet red. She tried her best to act unfazed as she spoke.
"…A martial artist always keeps their weapon by their side. It was… a simple mistake, born of habit."
She was so flustered that her speech was unusually clipped and halting.
She hastily put her clothes back on, then quietly picked up the Gale Blade and placed it inside a wardrobe.
After the door closed, there was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of something breaking outside the wardrobe.
*CRASH!*
It sounded like she had slammed something down hard, but the Gale Blade decided not to be petty and tease her further about it.
It definitely wasn't because he was worried she would call him a pervert again.
But Gwiyeong, unable to calm her anger, continued to break things.
*CRASH! CRASH!*
But the Gale Blade wasn't good-natured enough to keep holding back.
[Can't contain your embarrassment?]
Hearing that, Gwiyeong immediately fled into the bathroom.
In the dark wardrobe, the Gale Blade's eye seemed more gleeful than ever.
*Splash.*
Soaking in the hot water, Gwiyeong whispered to herself in a small voice.
"It was a mistake. A minor mistake a martial artist would make."
She didn't need to brainwash herself with these murmurs, but she couldn't bear it otherwise.
"It's just a weapon. Right. This isn't embarrassing at all. This is definitely not humiliating…"
Continuing to mutter to herself, Gwiyeong finally plunged her face into the water.
Her already flushed face seemed to cook in the warm water.
Bubbles rose furiously in the water before she shot her head up, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a shout and a scream.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Having never shown such a disgraceful side to anyone, she seemed mortified beyond belief.
Her cry was clearly heard by the Gale Blade, who was outside the bathroom in the wardrobe.
[…Just how much are you trying to amuse me?]
If he had a mouth, the Gale Blade would have wanted to grin from ear to ear.
He knew exactly how to tease her to make her lose her mind.
A short while later, Gwiyeong emerged, having washed herself clean. She dressed and took a deep breath.
*'Hoo, right. Just act like nothing happened.'*
The moment Gwiyeong flung open the wardrobe door, the Gale Blade spoke, its eye curving into a crescent.
[Done screaming? You must have been incredibly embarrassed. You shameless woman.]
*SLAM!*
The instant she heard him, Gwiyeong reflexively slammed the wardrobe door shut.
She had never expected such a blatant insult, which made the shock even greater.
But the Gale Blade's hellish mouth knew no limits.
[And you call yourself a martial artist? Getting this embarrassed over something so trivial. Though, doing something like that in the first place is the real problem.]
"Sh-Shut up! Don't you know when to stop?! To keep teasing me over something so childish. You're too low-class for me to even engage with!"
For some reason, she seemed even more agitated than when the White Serpent Gang Leader had taunted her.
[The one who's low-class isn't me, but your disgraceful behavior—]
At that moment, Gwiyeong threw the wardrobe door open again, breathing heavily as she glared at the Gale Blade.
Her face was flushed red and contorted, a clear sign of her immense humiliation.
"You, you…! If you spout any more nonsense, I'll gouge that eye out of you!!!"
Her threat was so fierce that the Gale Blade actually paused for a moment.
But only for a moment.
After a single blink, the Gale Blade started running its mouth again.
[Alright, you pervert. I'll be careful from now on—]
Gwiyeong snatched the Gale Blade and threw it to the floor.
*CRACK.*
She threw it with such force that it left a large gash in the wooden floor.
[Why take it out on the innocent floor? You're the one who acted like a pervert—]
"Shut up! Just shut up!!! If you'd just keep your damn mouth shut, I wouldn't have to do this!!!"
[And I wouldn't have to do this if you hadn't displayed such perverted behavior.]
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
Finally reaching her breaking point, Gwiyeong threw a wet towel over the Gale Blade and began to stomp on it mercilessly.
"Shut up! Shut up, you piece of trash!!"
For the Gale Blade, who felt no pain, this action was rather meaningless, but a question suddenly occurred to him.
[Hmm, but isn't this the towel you just used?]
"Shut up—what?"
Gwiyeong's body froze.
She had been worried about hurting her feet by stomping on the weapon bare, so she had just grabbed the nearest thing to throw down first. She never imagined it would turn out like this.
[Did you just throw the towel you wiped your body with on me and start stomping? You truly are a disgusting, vulgar, and utterly repulsive pervert. A pervert of the highest order, one I can't even stand to associate with.]
"N-No! This, this is just…!"
[Don't make excuses, you filthy thing. It feels like you're making me stink, so get this towel off me already.]
In this era, it was customary to use separate towels for the upper and lower body, so no matter which it was, this was an incredibly humiliating situation for Gwiyeong.
[A brute without the slightest shred of dignity as a woman. That's what you are.]
The Gale Blade delivered the final blow to her already crumbling psyche.
She couldn't take it anymore.
Gwiyeong wordlessly picked up the Gale Blade and went back into the bathroom.
[What are you trying to do now?]
She didn't answer him. Instead, she walked over to the wooden tub filled with warm water and spoke in an eerie voice.
"You petty, despicable bastard. Stay in there and pay the price."
*SPLASH.*
She shoved the Gale Blade into the water and turned to leave.
She thought it would finally be quiet underwater, and if by some chance it was uncomfortable for him, she would be satisfied.
For a normal weapon, contact with water would be very bad, but the Gale Blade was no ordinary weapon, so it was fine.
However, the Gale Blade's method of communication was akin to telepathy, so dunking it in water wouldn't solve the problem.
[Isn't this the water you bathed in? So now you're not even trying to hide it, just choosing to do filthy things.]
Gwiyeong stopped. Now that she thought about it, he was right.
The water she'd used for her so-called water torture was her own bathwater.
It was something she would never normally do, a mistake born from her frazzled state of mind.
But with one mistake compounding another, Gwiyeong's spirit finally broke.
A fire of rage boiled within her.
She no longer had the energy to be angry, nor any face left to save.
Gwiyeong gave up on taking any further action and simply walked out.
[Do I have to stay in this filthy water? Get me out of here.]
Gwiyeong left without a word.
It seemed her pride was well and truly wounded.
And so, the Gale Blade was left in the water, only to be discovered and retrieved an hour later by a maidservant cleaning the tub.
***
With the Gale Blade, now tightly wrapped in a white cloth, at her side, Gwiyeong finished her preparations and led her subordinates straight to the White Serpent Gang's headquarters.
[Are you still sulking?]
"…"
[I apologize for teasing you earlier. I never expected you to engage in such filthy, perverted acts.]
Veins bulged on the back of Gwiyeong's hand.
She clenched her fist so tightly that her lips and eyes twitched involuntarily.
Not wanting to exchange another word, Gwiyeong quickened her pace and stormed into the White Serpent Gang's base.
*BANG!*
As the door was violently thrown open, the White Serpent Gang members inside shouted in alarm.
"What's this!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Do you know where you are—!"
Just then, a Black Ghost Guild executive at the front tossed the White Serpent Gang Leader's severed head onto the floor.
"Your leader is dead. From now on, the Black Ghost Guild is taking over the White Serpent Gang."
Seeing the severed head, the gang members cried out in disbelief.
"N-No way! The Gang Leader was defeated?!"
"You think we'll believe your bullshit, Black Ghost Guild?!"
"You bastards! How dare you mock us!"
Seeing their reaction, Gwiyeong took out the White Serpent Gang Leader's white snake mask and spoke coldly.
"It seems you still don't understand what this mask means. Fools aren't even qualified to be my subordinates."
As she finished speaking, the Black Ghost Guild members drew their weapons menacingly.
In an instant, the fighting spirit of the White Serpent Gang members was broken.
"Th-That's…"
"The Gang Leader… was really defeated?"
"Impossible…"
Looking at them, Gwiyeong slowly opened her mouth.
"Now that you've seen the truth, make your choice. Submission, or death."
Faced with Gwiyeong's gaze, which seemed to dare even one of them to step forward, the White Serpent Gang members couldn't help but lower their eyes.