Chapter 710: Your Husband Was Not a Collaborator
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 710: Your Husband Was Not a Collaborator
"A foul stench fills the air."
The incomparably elegant noblewoman spoke slowly.
"The stench of parasites sucking the lifeblood out of the weak."
A frost-like aura radiated from her as she spoke.
Flinch.
Those caught in her pressure trembled instinctively. An indescribable, overwhelming weight bore down on them.
'A master!'
The grim-looking man realized it instantly. The beautiful woman before him was a powerful martial artist, someone so formidable he could barely even look her in the eye.
'...I mustn't provoke her.'
The man quickly began to pull up his pants. He felt a primal urge telling him that he should not agitate this woman.
"......May I ask... who you are, Great Heroine?"
Having fixed his clothes, the man spoke with a forced politeness.
"I have no name to give to trash like you."
The woman glared at him with eyes full of contempt.
"Hahaha... Haha... Trash? It seems there has been some misunderstanding, Great Heroine."
Despite her sharp response, the man maintained a fawning smile.
"We are simply performing a legitimate service to collect a debt."
"Is violating a woman a 'legitimate service'?" the woman asked, her gaze piercing.
"I was only doing that to scare her. I had no intention of actually going through with it."
The man continued with a brazen expression. To any observer, it was a scene on the verge of rape, but he didn't care. In his mind, since no penetration had occurred, it was merely an attempted act.
"You take me for a fool."
The woman’s expression turned as cold as the bitter northern wind.
Whoosh.
She lightly waved her hand through the air.
Slice.
The sound of something being severed echoed through the house.
Thud.
Immediately following it was the sound of something hitting the floor.
Shiver.
The man felt an involuntary shudder run down his spine. The sound was so clear and eerie that an inexplicable sense of dread welled up within him.
"B-Boss! Your... your arm!"
The subordinate who had been holding the woman’s legs apart screamed in a panicked voice.
"My arm?"
The grim-looking man slowly turned his gaze to the side. There, he saw it—the empty space where his shoulder used to be.
"Uh... what?"
He stared blankly at the surreal sight. His mind struggled to process the reality of the situation. He lowered his gaze further. There, lying on the ground, was his severed arm.
"Ah... ah..."
Only then did the realization hit him. His arm had been cut off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"
The man erupted into a pain-filled scream. The moment he recognized the loss, an unimaginable agony flooded his senses. It hurt. It hurt far too much.
"She is a widow who lost her husband. She is also a mother raising a child alone. Did you truly have to suck the lifeblood out of such a pitiful woman so mercilessly?"
The woman spoke as she looked down at the man screaming in agony.
"Guh... Argh... It was... really... just to collect a debt..."
"Hwang Sam had no debts. He had no interest in gambling and was a diligent man who always came home early to his family. How could he possibly owe you money?"
"......He borrowed it... in secret..... Please believe me..."
Despite losing an arm, the man did not stop lying. He knew that if his forged promissory note were discovered, he wouldn't be allowed a peaceful death.
"It seems you still haven't come to your senses, even after losing an arm."
Joo So-yang glared at him with cold eyes. Every detail about Hwang Sam had been personally investigated by the Law Enforcement Hall of the Cheonmu Alliance. Yet, this man continued to weave lies. How foolish could one be?
"It seems you have no need for your other arm either."
Without hesitation, she raised her hand again.
Whoosh.
She made another swift motion.
Slice.
"KIIIIAAAAAAAGH!"
In an instant, the man’s other arm was severed. He had lost both limbs.
Thud.
The man collapsed to the floor, unable to maintain his balance without his arms.
Click. Click. Click.
The woman walked slowly toward him.
Crunch.
She placed her foot on the back of his head and began to apply pressure.
"AAAAAGH!"
The man screamed as he felt the immense weight on his skull.
"Keep talking. Did Hwang Sam really borrow money from you?"
The woman looked down and asked again. If he uttered another lie, she intended to crush his head then and there.
"No! It was all a lie! I've never even seen Hwang Sam's face!"
Fearing for his life, the man desperately confessed the truth. In reality, far from lending him money, he had never even met the man. He had simply swooped in to scavenge whatever assets Hwang Sam had left behind. He had even planned to sell off the widow and the child as a bonus.
"You piece of trash."
The woman furrowed her fine brows. She had already suspected as much, but hearing it from his own mouth made her blood boil. How many people had been exploited in this manner?
"You're right...... I'm trash.... I'll repent... Please... please.... spare me.. please.."
The man begged and begged. He was desperate to live. Even without his arms, he wanted to survive. He didn't want to die.
"I refuse."
Joo So-yang spoke with cold finality.
Press.
Crack!
She increased the pressure, crushing his head. Brain matter splattered in every direction.
"Trash is trash."
Tap. Tap.
She shook her foot a couple of times to clear the brain fluid from her shoe. She had never intended to let him live from the start.
Daze.
Meanwhile, the men who had been holding Hwang Sam’s wife stood frozen. They were stunned by the surreal and sudden violence. Their boss, whom they had followed like a god, had just had his head popped like a grape. How could they remain sane?
"How long do you plan on holding her?"
The woman who had just crushed a skull turned her gaze toward them. Startled, the men quickly released Lady Gam.
Flop.
"Please spare us! We only did what we were told!"
"Please! It was all that guy's idea!"
They fell to their knees and began to beg, terrified of meeting the same fate.
"I would like nothing more than to kill you all right now, but I have a task for you."
The woman’s voice remained icy.
"Anything! Just tell us!"
"We'll do whatever you say!"
Finding a glimmer of hope, the men responded frantically.
"I am seizing all of that man's assets. Bring everything here."
Nudge.
Joo So-yang lightly kicked the headless corpse as she spoke.
"Our boss's... assets?"
"Consider it compensation for mental distress."
The woman spoke matter-of-factly.
"..............."
The men hesitated. They weren't sure whether to follow her orders or simply try to run.
"I wouldn't recommend trying to run. No matter how fast you think you are, you cannot escape the eyes of the Cheonmu Alliance."
"A-Are you with the Cheonmu Alliance!?"
The men asked, their eyes wide with shock.
"I am Joo So-yang. The world calls me the Heavenly Sword Empress."
The elegant noblewoman revealed her identity. It was a measure to ensure they wouldn't dare flee.
"Joo So-yang?!"
"The Best Among Women!?"
The men’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads. They were horrified to realize they were standing before a figure of such immense power.
"If you harbor any other thoughts, I will hunt you to the ends of hell."
Joo So-yang gave them a polite warning.
"U-Understood!"
"We'll get everything ready and bring it right away!"
The men scrambled out of the house, fully intending to carry out her orders.
"Are you alright?"
Once they were gone, Joo So-yang turned to Hwang Sam’s wife.
"Sniff... sob... Th-thank you.. sob..."
Lady Gam expressed her gratitude through her tears. She was overwhelmed with emotion for the woman who had saved her.
"I only did what was right."
Joo So-yang spoke calmly. To a practitioner of chivalry, helping the weak and punishing the wicked was only natural.
"Waaaaah... h-hic... sob..."
Hearing those words, Lady Gam finally broke down into heavy sobs. The tension that had been holding her together snapped, and her pent-up sorrow came pouring out. The house was filled with the sound of her weeping. Joo So-yang quietly comforted her, staying by her side until the worst of the sorrow had passed.
*
"I've made a fool of myself. I'm so sorry."
Lady Gam, the widow of Hwang Sam, spoke with an expression full of apology.
"A fool? After what you almost went through... it's only natural."
".....Thank you.."
Lady Gam’s eyes grew moist again. The warm words of comfort gave her a sense of security she hadn't felt in a long time.
"Do men like that come by often?"
".......Since my husband died...... they come quite frequently."
Lady Gam’s expression darkened. There were many who used ridiculous excuses to demand money. Even excluding those thugs, people came knocking several times a day.
"Vultures, the lot of them."
Joo So-yang’s eyes flashed. It seemed there were more parasites sucking the lifeblood of the vulnerable than she had thought.
"Have you tried requesting protection from the Alliance or the local authorities?"
"......It was useless..... Once it became known that my husband helped a Public Enemy of the Murim..... no one would help us."
She had asked for help many times. But no one reached out. All because her late husband was accused of aiding a Public Enemy.
"I really..... don't know how it came to this......"
Lady Gam spoke with a face on the verge of tears.
"Everyone is mistaken...... My husband... he would never do that.... He... he wasn't that kind of person."
Lady Gam spoke out of a sense of deep injustice.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. My husband...... he had no greed for martial arts..... He was satisfied with just enough to protect himself.... Why would such a man make such a dangerous choice just to steal the Cheonmu Alliance Leader's techniques?"
Hwang Sam was fundamentally a man without ambition for martial power. He had learned what he knew just to make a living, and he had no desire for fame or glory. How could such a man conspire with a Public Enemy to steal secret manuals? It made no sense.
"But they say... the manual for the first half of the Great Void One-Qi Art was found on his person......."
"It was a frame-up...... I'm sure of it. The night before it happened, he told me he had found a chance to make a lot of money.... If they had found a stack of promissory notes on him, I might have believed it. But a martial arts manual out of nowhere? It's impossible."
"He said he had a chance to make a lot of money the night before?"
Joo So-yang’s eyes sharpened.
".....Yes..... He said a chance to make big money had come along.... That with that money, he could send Seo-ah to school..... and I wouldn't have to do needlework for other houses anymore....... That's what he said, and then... sob.."
Lady Gam began to cry again. The memory of her husband smiling like a child, promising they would live well, flashed through her mind.
'A chance to make big money?'
Meanwhile, Joo So-yang’s face filled with suspicion. This fact was completely at odds with the testimony that he had been after secret manuals. Officially, he was a collaborator who had conspired with a Public Enemy to steal the Alliance Leader's techniques. But he was bragging about making money? It was highly suspicious.
"Did your husband ever mention specifically what kind of work it was?"
"No...... He said it required secrecy... He never gave me any details."
She shook her head. She had asked, but her husband had only beamed with joy and refused to answer.
"Then, was there any other change? Did he act differently, or perhaps start coming home late?"
"....Nothing... in particular....."
Lady Gam trailed off, unable to think of anything. Nothing seemed to have changed.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Lady Gam let out a small gasp as something occurred to her.
"Did you remember something?" Joo So-yang asked curiously.
"Now that I think about it, there was one thing."
"What was it?"
"After he mentioned the chance to make money, I think I saw him muttering to himself while writing something down."
"He was writing something?"
"Yes...."
"Do you happen to know where that paper is?"
".....I'm... not sure..... He always kept it in his pocket. "
Lady Gam shook her head.
"Can you bring me all of your husband's clothes?"
"My husband's clothes?!"
She looked at Joo So-yang in confusion. She couldn't understand why the woman suddenly wanted her husband's laundry.
"The accusation that he collaborated with a Public Enemy might be a false charge."
"A false charge!?"
"Yes. So please, bring the clothes. I need that paper!"
"Y-Yes!"
Lady Gam hurried away. Before long, she returned with a few sets of clothes.
"Here they are."
"Is this all of them?"
Joo So-yang looked at the pile. It wasn't much.
"...Yes.... We usually mended and reused things rather than buying new ones.."
"I see."
Joo So-yang nodded. She immediately took the clothes from Lady Gam. She began to search through the pockets, unfolding the fabric roughly. She prayed that the paper was still there. After searching for a while...
'Found it.'
Joo So-yang felt something in her hand. She pulled it out immediately. A neatly folded piece of paper revealed itself. She slowly unfolded it. Inside, messy handwriting filled the page. Joo So-yang began to read the words with a grim expression, making sure not to miss a single character. After reading for some time...
"You were right," Joo So-yang said, her voice incredibly grave.
"P-Pardon?!"
"Your husband was not a collaborator."
Joo So-yang spoke with absolute conviction. Hearing those words, Lady Gam’s face filled with bewilderment. She wondered what could possibly be written on that paper to make the Heavenly Sword Empress say such a thing.