The Inn Waiter Discusses Salvation
"I... I..."
Perhaps it was because she still couldn't believe the situation, or perhaps it was due to the fear that had built up within her over so long—So-hyang trembled, unable to speak immediately. In a way, it was only natural. Even if you suddenly asked an ordinary person, not a martial artist, what they wanted to do with someone who had been tormenting and oppressing them, the initial reaction would be nothing but bewilderment. Even if she had thought in her heart, "I wish they were torn limb from limb," or "I wish someone would cut off their manhood," actually saying it out loud was a different matter entirely.
Seo-ah decided to give So-hyang a very gentle push on the back to make the decision easier.
"Don't worry too much."
"B-but..."
"It's okay. Do you see the old man sitting over there?"
Seo-ah pointed to Jwasa. Not just So-hyang, but the eyes of everyone in the inn turned to look at Jwasa, who wore a benevolent expression as if he knew nothing of the world.
"That old man, contrary to his appearance, is a very, very high-ranking person. With just one word from him, there isn't a single person in Qinghai who would dare point a sword at you, so don't worry."
Jwasa nodded, wearing a kind smile. Perhaps comforted by Seo-ah's words that she didn't need to worry, So-hyang, who had only been shivering, opened and closed her mouth several times as if gathering her resolve. Various requests were swirling in So-hyang's mind.
'I want you to cut off the head of the person who has tormented my brother and me until now and hang it on a pole.'
'Just... I'm too tired. If they would just apologize... I would forgive them.'
And so on. Between requests that spanned from one extreme to the other and the various worries in between, So-hyang uttered a wise answer that sat somewhere between reality and idealism—a request that wouldn't provoke the bald man's sect while still allowing them to maintain a peaceful daily life. So-hyang stepped forward and spoke confidently to the bald man, who was groveling at her feet.
"F-from now on... I want you to never appear before my brother and me again. Of course, no more bullying, either."
At those words, the expressions of the bald man and his subordinates brightened noticeably.
"We shall! We certainly shall!"
Seo-ah asked So-hyang, "Are you really okay with just that?"
"Yes... I'm fine with that."
"Are you afraid of retaliation? Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
"That's true, but..."
"But?"
"It's just... it's been so hard all this time... I just want to treat it as if it never happened and go back to how things were as soon as possible."
Seo-ah nodded. If that was the siblings' request, then even if it felt a little weak... Seo-ah decided to respect their decision.
'However, I can't leave it at this.'
The moment Seo-ah left, they would surely change their tune and take their anger out on the siblings, not on Seo-ah, who had humiliated them. One might say, "Would they really do that?" but at least all the members of the underworld that Seo-ah had seen and heard of were exactly like that. Therefore, she had to have a minimum amount of insurance.
'In the way of the Murim.'
Seo-ah drew the sword at her waist with a cold expression. A chilling metallic sound filled the inn. The faces of the underworld thugs, who had been rejoicing at having saved their lives just moments ago, turned deathly pale. The bald man shouted.
"G-Great Hero! You clearly said So-hyang would let us live!"
"Who said I was going to kill you?"
Seo-ah kicked the bald man's lower abdomen with all her might. Naturally, the bald man, who was barely a third-class martial artist—if that—could not even react to Seo-ah's kick and took the blow directly to his dantian.
"Kuh-huck!"
As his dantian shattered, the bald man vomited blood on the spot. Seo-ah then began to cut the arms of the lackeys who didn't even have a dantian.
"S-save me!"
"Ahhhhh!! My arm!"
"You said you'd spare us! You vicious woman!"
Seo-ah silently continued the work she had to do, ignoring their pleas, curses, and screams. Eventually, when everyone except the bald man with the shattered dantian had become armless cripples, Seo-ah muttered in an infinitely cold voice.
"I am Seo-ah, the head disciple of the Sun Moon Demonic Cult's Sword Saint. If you dare to break that child's request today, I will not let you off, I swear it on my master's name."
At those words, the underworld thugs rolling on the floor in pain, the martial artists watching this tragedy, and the villagers peeking in from outside the door—everyone swallowed their breath at Seo-ah's declaration. It meant that the name of the Sun Moon Demonic Cult, the name of the Ten Great Sages, was established as a symbol of terror in the Central Plains. The underworld thugs, who had been looking at Seo-ah with resentment, did not dare to lift their heads, all looking at the floor and trembling in unison. They would live from now on, comforted by the fact that a figure of the Demonic Path had not taken their lives, and never even imagining they could do anything foolish.
Seo-ah watched them and nodded with satisfaction. 'This should be enough.'
Now, the bald man with the shattered dantian would live a life weaker than an ordinary person, and those who had become armless cripples would also be abandoned by their sect along with him. Whether it was because they were useless or because the underworld, which moved only by profit and loss, had no reason to care for cripples—or perhaps because they were terrified of the name of the Sun Moon Demonic Cult. From now on, their life or death would be determined by their past conduct. Those with deep evil deeds would likely find it hard to keep their heads attached to their bodies while half-crippled, and those with shallow evil deeds would be able to live somehow after taking a few stones and insults.
Seo-ah looked at the underworld thugs who didn't dare to meet her eyes. "Now, get lost."
Were they such insignificant people? Seo-ah sneered at herself, whose spine had momentarily chilled as she was caught in the past. Seeing that sneer, the hesitant underworld thugs, as if some ominous thought had occurred to them, pushed each other and hurried out of the inn.
At the mention of the Sun Moon Demonic Cult, the martial artists in the inn also left one by one, reading the room. Thus, only Seo-ah, Jwasa, and the two siblings remained in the empty inn. The siblings welled up with tears, then burst into sobs as they conveyed their thanks to me.
"Truly... truly... thank you."
The inn waiter, in particular, cried very sorrowfully. "Really... no one helped us... if you hadn't saved us, Great Hero... what would have happened... thank you so much..."
It was the moment Seo-ah was about to say it was nothing, so not to worry about it. Jwasa, who had risen from his seat at some point, patted the sobbing waiter and said, "In the end, just as the previous generation did for me back then, you, Divine Maiden, have bestowed salvation upon a lowly inn waiter."
"Salvation? I didn't do anything worth such a grand term."
As Seo-ah shook her head, the waiter raised his voice, saying that wasn't the case. "No! For us, the Great Hero's help is, more than any other help, so..."
As the waiter, who had spoken boldly, began to stutter, Jwasa received the words with a faint smile. "Is salvation something special? When one is more desperate than ever, extending a helping hand—that is salvation."
The waiter and So-hyang nodded vigorously at Jwasa's words. Seo-ah sighed and told the siblings to stop crying now. Today, the inn waiter discussed salvation with me.
The next day. Early morning. Before Seo-ah could even wake up. In the early morning, before the sun had even fully risen. Jwasa, who had been sleeping in the carriage for several days without opening his eyes, woke up earlier than Seo-ah for the first time and shook her awake.
"We must ascend Mount Kunlun today."
Seo-ah suppressed the urge to say, "Just half a gak more," and rose from her seat. Seeing Jwasa, who usually only slept, wake her up like this, she realized that time was not exactly abundant. Seo-ah fumbled to put on her clothes and quietly left the inn with Jwasa, worried that she might wake the siblings.
As Seo-ah and Jwasa left the inn, the waiter immediately ran out. "G-Great Hero!"
Seo-ah turned around. The waiter blushed and handed her a small lunchbox. "I was worried you might be hungry... so I prepared this. Once again, thank you so much for yesterday..."
Seo-ah nodded silently and received the lunchbox with a subtle expression. As Seo-ah accepted the lunchbox, the waiter's expression, which had been stiff with the fear of being rejected, improved significantly.
"By the way, what is your name?"
"Yes? My name?"
"I can't keep calling you 'inn waiter' and remember you that way, can I?"
"It's... So-gwang! Great Hero!"
"Yes, So-gwang. Let's meet again."
Seo-ah left a greeting for So-gwang and continued her steps with Jwasa. Suddenly, Jwasa said, "Did you see that child's eyes?"
"Eyes?"
"If it weren't for his sister, those eyes looked like he would have followed you, Divine Maiden, right away."
Seo-ah kept her mouth shut. How could she not know? So-gwang's gaze reminded her of someone she knew very well. 'Maybe about 0.3 So-yul's worth...'
Although his eyes lacked madness, Seo-ah definitely felt a kind of faith? Madness? Dependency? Something in those eyes, just as Jwasa had said. Jwasa continued, "Those siblings will likely never forget what happened today for the rest of their lives. They will keep ruminating on today, the day they were saved by you, Divine Maiden. Just like I, who was once an inn waiter... just like those children who follow you, Seo-ah..."
Seo-ah, who hadn't told Jwasa anything about the children, asked him, "Can I see that 'Heavenly Secret' thing like you, Jwasa?"
"As I said before, you are already seeing it."
"No. A bit more clearly, like you."
"Of course. As your realm rises and your communication with Heaven and Earth deepens, you will become a Divine Maiden no less than the previous one."
Seo-ah nodded and threw out a single remark. "I told you, I'm not a Divine Maiden yet."
"Yes. My apologies, Seo-ah."
At the remark Seo-ah had tossed out thoughtlessly, a smile filled the lips of Jwasa as he spoke. Seo-ah likely couldn't guess the reason. Jwasa was someone who smiled easily, after all. Thus, at some point, Seo-ah and Jwasa arrived in front of Mount Kunlun. Jwasa handed Seo-ah the necklace he had in his bosom and said, "Seo-ah. Before we enter Mount Kunlun, there is something I must ask of you."