A Craving for Blood
The two stalker gamblers were undoubtedly strong for first-rate experts. They had good reason to brazenly break into a Peak realm master's room.
If Namgoong Juhee had been an ordinary Peak expert with her body in even worse shape, it could have been dangerous.
Thwack!
"Guhk!"
But was Namgoong Juhee your average Peak?
A master who, at just twenty, had captured a whirlwind demon and a steel warrior. These days, she possessed the kind of skill that put her in the ranks of true legends, not just some late-stage talent.
"Fuck. Thanks. Really... I have no idea why I'm like this, but I just wanted to see some blood. No... it's not just that I wanted blood. If it was, I'd have buried my face in those rags piled up over there. Get what I'm saying?"
Namgoong Juhee muttered nonsense to herself as she laid out the two first-rate experts before her.
Her skills were top-notch, but her mind was as unstable as they come. No wonder she thought of herself as a game character.
She was a pro at escaping reality. Though even that was useless against her period.
"You fucking bastard!"
One of the first-rate guys spat curses, oblivious to the gravity of the situation even as his friend went flying from a kick beside him.
Watching him, Namgoong Juhee paused to think. In some cultures, they cut out the tongue of anyone who swore. Where was that again?
"Mmmph!"
"Can't... remember. Might as well forget my memories from when I was a guy too, while I'm at it."
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"Ah, shut up. There... nice and quiet now?"
"Keh... kehuk. Uwaaaah! Aha! Agh!"
Namgoong Juhee pried open the man's mouth and yanked his tongue. It came off easily.
She let him suffer enough pain, then grabbed the hair of the other guy who'd taken the kick.
"Gu... guh..."
"Shut up and come here."
She dragged him by the hair across the floor and tossed him next to the tongueless one.
Then she took a moment to admire the sight.
Her verdict?
"Disgusting."
Namgoong Juhee's eyes went ice-cold.
Right now, she fully recognized that these two men in front of her weren't NPCs—they were real people. So no more desecrating corpses like old times.
Just kill them.
"W-Wait!"
"Th-This bi—!"
Slash! Slash! Two slicing sounds rang out, followed by two heads hitting the floor.
The shock of her first kill rippled through Namgoong Juhee's body. Adrenaline surged, bringing intense awakening.
Her whole frame shuddered.
"Hng... hngh..."
Then she shed a few tears and clutched her stomach again.
She layered countless cloth scraps like a diaper, spilling more blood over and over.
Once somewhat calmed, she rummaged through the two men's corpses.
"Weird."
No matter how much they'd lost gambling, breaking into a Peak expert's room made no sense.
It was like someone who could waltz into a megacorp robbing a bank over a bad Bitcoin bet. The math just didn't add up.
Normally, Namgoong Juhee would've chalked it up to a game event, but not now.
She searched the bodies and soon spotted a familiar mark.
"...This is Eonha Merchant Group stuff."
She'd spent the last few days glued to Yi Hayeon, seeing their goods ad nauseam. She knew the symbol too: three shooting stars from the sky.
For a barbarian backwater like the Central Plains, it was surprisingly intricate—enough to stick in even Namgoong Juhee's usually empty head.
But the mark on these first-rate guys' items showed four shooting stars.
Yi Hayeon had said that was only on main branch items.
"Tch, no wonder it felt off. Mind your own business."
Namgoong Juhee instantly realized this tied into the power struggle at Eonha Merchant Group.
It was obvious if you thought about it.
The steel warrior had attacked Yi Hayeon on the merchant lord's orders from the start.
After that, Hayeon hadn't taken any real countermeasures—she'd been too busy trailing Namgoong Juhee.
No fool, the merchant lord would've seized full control by now.
All that was left was killing Yi Hayeon to end the war.
If Yi Hayeon could read Namgoong Juhee's mind, she'd be shocked.
Is this really my Hee? The Hee I know isn't this smart.
Rude as hell, but Namgoong Juhee wouldn't argue. She knew her usual self was a total mess.
Heck, she'd just thrashed around under the covers in embarrassment moments ago.
"...Whew, perfect timing."
When your head's a mess, you gotta step out for some fresh air.
Thwarting the Eonha Merchant Group lord's goal? Solid stroll material.
Bonus: repay the debt to Hayeon for all the trouble.
"Hng... cha."
Namgoong Juhee buckled on her Noksu sword and slowly stood.
Three days left until her period ended.
. . .
Two hours after Namgoong Juhee set off alone to hunt the Eonha Merchant Group lord.
Yi Hayeon and Hwangbo Un, fresh off victories at the Hobuk Branch, raced toward her faster than anyone.
Hayeon's side pulled ahead, after crushing Hwangbo Un's spirit with a "How dare a man barge into a lady's room?"
Hayeon was lewder in truth, but hey, he was a guy—he felt hard done by.
Rare sight in the male-chauvinist barbarian Central Plains.
"Hee! Your girl's here! Feeling any bett—huh?"
But what greeted the early arrival was a pair of cold corpses.
Not Namgoong Juhee's—some random men's. Two of them.
"What the... insane! What kind of inn security is this?!"
"What happened?"
"Come see for yourself!"
Hwangbo Un entered at her call and took in the grim scene.
...Normally, you'd worry more about the dead bodies than inn security, but he kept quiet.
No need to rile Yi Hayeon, and that wasn't the priority now.
"Corpses. Any guess who?"
"What's to guess? Bugs after Hee's beauty, obviously."
"Possible, but... if so, Namgung Sojeo would've alerted the hosts and cleared the room ages ago."
"Hm... true. Bodies are cold—dead at least two hours."
Yi Hayeon said that, then calmly inspected the corpses.
Necks, clothes, and a certain mark.
She circled them in disbelief, her calm turning to horror.
"...Father."
"What?"
"Hee...! Hee's in danger!"
"Danger how? Be specific!"
"Ugh...! Just listen!"
Her explanation: One of the merchant lord's sick hobbies was tormenting fish already hooked.
Thrashing for life? Hilarious, apparently.
Even Yi Hayeon, who'd call herself second in creepiness, recoiled at that.
And right now, she was the hooked fish.
Even after declaring no interest in the throne, the lord wouldn't let her be.
Eliminating future threats? Or just venting? Didn't matter.
What did: he'd kill Yi Hayeon, and Namgoong Juhee got dragged in.
"We gotta find Hee now!"
"...She might already be hurt."
"How do you know?"
"See that trail of blood? Dried just like from these bodies... Ow! Why hit me?!"
Instead of arguing, Yi Hayeon punched him a few more times.
Period blood wasn't from injury, after all.
Already worried sick about Namgoong Juhee, and this guy yapping nonsense? Fists flew.
"Quit babbling and follow."
"Follow?"
"Knew something like this might happen, so I put tracking scent on Hee."
"...?"
"What, staring like an idiot? You coming or not?"
Tracking scent marks someone for pursuit by smell.
Modern GPS makes it obsolete, but in murim, it's rare, hard to make, and pricey.
Slathering it on someone for no reason?
If Namgoong Juhee knew, she'd shudder: That's straight-up stalker shit.
"Got it. Let's go."
"Smart choice."
But those present were one stalker and one wannabe.
No objections raised—they chased Namgoong Juhee's trail at once.
Way too late, though.