A Bright Idea
"So-hyang!! Your husband has arrived, yet you do not come to greet him? Where are you hiding?!"
The leader of the black-faction thugs, a bald man, roared as he smashed through the door of the inn. The lackeys who followed him inside swept their eyes over the seated guests with menacing glares. Perhaps because they were infamous in the vicinity of this village, no one dared to stop them. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say they could not. The commoners, who were not martial artists, abandoned their food and fled the inn the moment the bald man appeared. At most, the few martial artists who carried swords at their waists simply watched the situation, keeping their heads down and continuing to eat.
The bald man glared at the remaining martial artists as if displeased, but he did not pick any unnecessary fights. He was afraid of clashing with other martial artists. He sat down and called for the waiter.
"Brother-in-law. Come here."
"Y-yes! Great Hero... What would you like to order?"
"You little brat... have you grown a bit taller?"
The bald man said this with a smile, tapping the waiter’s face roughly. "Are you living a bit too comfortably these days? You're even letting my words go in one ear and out the other."
"H-haha... It’s all thanks to you, Great Hero."
"Right. The only reason you lot can walk around with such peace of mind is because of my help, protecting you all..."
The tapping on the waiter's face grew increasingly violent until, suddenly, he slapped the waiter across the cheek.
"But why! Why can't you understand my words, huh?!"
The waiter, struck, collapsed to the floor.
"Are you deaf? I told you to bring So-hyang. So-hyang!"
"...Th-that is..."
"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, brother-in-law... Why are you so stupid, huh? Why are you so dense, huh? Just do as you're told. Just do what I say. Is your sister So-hyang not here?"
The waiter couldn't bring himself to speak, his eyes darting toward the martial artists in the inn with a desperate look. But not a single person answered his pleading gaze. The waiter looked at the bald man before him with a face frozen in terror. I'm scared. Will he kill me? I feel like I'm going to go mad with fear. In this small village, news of who was hurt or who died traveled fast. If this keeps up, will I end up like Old Man Bang, whom that bald monster killed? The waiter’s body trembled uncontrollably.
At that moment, a single idea flashed through the waiter's mind—a way to escape this situation safely.
'I... I must have lost my mind. To think of selling out my own sister...'
His heart wanted to say, "I'll bring my sister out, just wait a moment." But he couldn't bring himself to say it. To hand his sister over to that vicious beast... he wouldn't be able to live with himself. 'Please... anyone...!' Help me. The martial artists who called themselves "Great Heroes" or "Knights-Errant" ignored his desperate pleas, watching his plight as if they were enjoying an interesting play. Was there not a single person who would stand up and shout, "You evil scoundrel! Take your hands off him right now!"?
The waiter prayed desperately. Even though he knew that, unlike in fairy tales, no one would appear to punish the vicious bald man. Even if someone had the skill, they would fear the retaliation of the bald man—or the retaliation of his sect. There wasn't a single idiot here who would make an enemy of a whole sect just to save a mere waiter and a pretty girl. Even he would have done the same.
'Still... please...'
And so, the waiter's wish was answered. Someone emerged from the back of the inn to save him from this horrific dilemma. However, it was not in the form the waiter had hoped for. The beautiful woman who emerged from the back, the waiter's sister So-hyang, said with teary eyes:
"Stop... Great Hero, please, stop."
"Oh-ho... So-hyang. If you say that, won't the people here misunderstand us? You make us look like bad guys."
The waiter could not stop his sister, who had stepped forward to save him, and So-hyang, though trembling, forced a smile.
"Y-yes. I... I have committed a rudeness."
"Hahahaha. Finally, So-hyang is starting to listen to me. Why don't you come here, closer?"
It was the moment So-hyang was about to enter the bald man's embrace.
Creak.
From the most secluded table in the inn, which no one had been paying attention to, a woman wearing a deep bang-gat (bamboo hat) that obscured her face kicked her chair back and stood up. Everyone’s gaze turned toward her. The woman in the hat said:
"You stupid bald pig. Can't you even see the look on her face, which clearly shows she doesn't want to be held by an ugly bastard like you?"
Seo-ah watched the black-faction thugs who had suddenly descended upon the inn. She asked the Left Guardian beside her, "Isn't this your hometown? Aren't you going to stop them?"
"Haha... what strength does this old man have?"
Seo-ah looked at the Left Guardian with an expression of disbelief. What strength, indeed. If he had reached the position of Left Guardian in the Demonic Cult, which followed the law of the strong, he should at least be a master of the Transcendent Realm, a step above the terrifying Absolute Peak masters. Yet, despite Seo-ah's incredulous look, the Left Guardian didn't budge. He truly looked like an ordinary, harmless old man.
Seo-ah turned her gaze back to the black-faction thugs. Seeing the waiter get slapped and roll on the floor reminded her of the past. It brought back the memory of when a black-faction thug had torn through her own village. Even though it wasn't her business anymore—even though Seo-ah was now strong enough that even a swarm of third-class martial artists wouldn't be a problem—the old memory still made her spine chill.
Then, a woman watching the scene from the kitchen couldn't hold back and ran out. It seemed she was So-hyang. 'She is pretty.' Not as pretty as herself, but in these Central Plains, she was certainly beautiful enough to be called a beauty. This was why, in these harsh Central Plains, lacking strength was a sin. If you lacked power, you never knew when or how you might suffer a terrible fate. That was the reason she had strived so hard to climb higher.
Seo-ah watched So-hyang, who was trembling as she tried to embrace the bald man. 'Disgusting.'
Seo-ah looked at the Left Guardian again. He just shrugged his shoulders, meeting her gaze. It meant he wanted her to handle it herself.
Seo-ah kicked her chair back, stood up, and said to the bald man, "You stupid bald pig. Can't you even see the look on her face, which clearly shows she doesn't want to be held by an ugly bastard like you?"
"What did you say?"
The bald man, perhaps aware that he was forcing himself on So-hyang, glared at Seo-ah with a face turning beet red. "You bitch... do you think I'll tuck my tail and run just because you're acting like a master hiding your face?"
He was talking to her, as her face was hidden by the deep brim of her hat. Seo-ah threw the hat aside without hesitation. As soon as they saw her beauty, everyone’s jaws dropped. In the Central Plains, such an untainted, beautiful face was something you wouldn't find even in the most famous brothels. For a moment, everyone stared at her, mesmerized, as if trying to pierce through her. Seo-ah’s body trembled slightly. It was her first time receiving this kind of attention. '...Maybe it's not so bad?'
She felt a bit embarrassed and shy, but she finally understood why martial artists took it upon themselves to act as knights-errant and intervene in such disputes. It was slightly different, but wasn't the essence similar?
The bald man and his lackeys, thinking her trembling was fear, let out vulgar laughs. "Hehehe... You, you have the most exquisite beauty I have ever seen."
"She must be jealous of So-hyang. She realizes she's a better match for our boss."
"Haa... Boss. Do you see how smooth her skin is?"
The bald man left So-hyang behind and approached her, reaching out his hand. Seo-ah smiled faintly and grabbed the wrist of the reaching man.
"Hehehe... Why didn't you just stay still? If you hadn't tried to play the knight, you could have avoided a rough time."
Seo-ah ignored him, keeping a smile on her beautiful face as she delivered a stinging remark. "The idiot wasn't the waiter; it was you. You should have known to be careful when a beautiful woman and a seemingly insignificant old man are traveling together."
"What?"
The moment the boss tried to answer—
Crack!
With the sound of bones shattering, the bald man screamed and collapsed to the floor. "Gyaaaah!"
The lackeys watching the scene, rather than being intimidated by Seo-ah’s martial prowess, shrieked and rushed at her. "You bitch, how dare you! Our boss!"
"She's just one girl!"
"W-wait!"
The bald man realized too late that the situation had taken a turn for the worse and tried to stop his subordinates, but it was already too late. The lackeys, who had never had the chance to see real martial artists, were already rushing at Seo-ah to save their boss. It was only possible because, on the surface, Seo-ah looked like a delicate, insignificant young girl.
***
Seo-ah shattered the arms of the black-faction thugs rushing at her. She chased down those who felt something was wrong halfway through and tried to flee, shattering their legs. She rounded up the half-crippled men in a corner and looked at the Left Guardian.
"What should I do?"
"What kind of subordinate would dare give orders to the one they serve?"
It meant she should do as she pleased. The bald man, who had been acting like a king who owned the world just moments ago, prostrated himself at her feet and began to beg. "I... I didn't recognize your greatness... I have committed a grave rudeness... P-please, spare my life..."
Seo-ah looked down at those trembling at her feet with a hardened expression. She thought of the thug who had hidden in the bushes and ravaged her village. "Hmm... I have a bright idea."
Seo-ah smiled brightly and approached the two siblings, who were looking at her with expressions of disbelief. Remembering their wish to punish the black-faction thugs with their own hands, Seo-ah asked, "What do you want to do with them?"
"...Y-yes?"
"Do you think it would be better to kill them? Or should I let them live?"
The bald man’s face hardened as if he had just received a death sentence, unable to believe the situation. However, he quickly regained his senses to survive, prostrating himself even more fervently at the siblings' feet than he had before her. He looked ready to lick their feet if it meant survival. He seemed to think that since she was playing the role of a knight-errant, she would spare his life, but the siblings, who held a grudge, would likely demand he be executed.
The two siblings looked at each other. The waiter hung his head as if he had nothing to say, and it was the girl, So-hyang, who opened her mouth.
"I... I..."