Ruffians: Jongchil 5
All eyes, including Ban Se-gun's, turned toward the voice. There stood a lone ronin woman wearing a bamboo hat and a tattered cloak, with no companions in sight.
What the hell is she? That's no ordinary presence!
In the Central Plains martial world, nothing was more dangerous than a mysterious passerby appearing out of nowhere. In a realm teeming with hidden masters like grains of sand on a beach, picking the wrong opponent meant a one-way trip to the afterlife.
Ban Se-gun swallowed hard. He couldn't read the man in front of him, but this sudden woman was undoubtedly a superior expert.
"Looks like you've witnessed the bandits up to their usual mischief. You there—stand down."
The ronin woman drew her sword toward Ban Se-gun. As the blade, brimming with murderous intent, pointed at him, he flinched and stepped back.
One-on-one, he'd lose for sure. With his men piling on, he might have a slim chance. But he had this freak whose power level he couldn't even gauge standing right there.
If we fight here and screw up, we're done for.
Ban Se-gun made a snap judgment.
"W-We retreat for now! But we bandits won't give up on this spot!"
When things went south, cut your losses without hesitation. It was one of the iron rules bandits lived by.
The woman in the bamboo hat stood rooted like a statue until Ban Se-gun and his gang vanished from sight. Jongchil scratched the back of his head with a troubled look.
Damn. I was gonna turn the tables, raid their hideout, and snag that treasure. Who the hell is she?
He couldn't help questioning the sudden appearance of this female expert. She didn't even look like an original character. Plenty of folks wandered the jianghu in ragged cloaks like that in the source material.
To learn her identity, Jongchil approached the expert and cupped his fists in salute.
"Thanks for the save. I'm Jongchil, an escort of the Lily Escort Agency. May I have the honor of your name?"
"Honor? No need for that. I'm Hong Mi. Just a wandering ronin relying on my single sword."
Hong Mi... Hong Mi... No way, Iron-Breaking Nine Swords Hong Mi? Wasn't she a Huashan Sect character?
Jongchil racked his brain for details on Hong Mi.
Iron-Breaking Nine Swords Hong Mi
One of the mid-story characters. Her role was below supporting, above extra.
Like most female characters in Extreme Sword Heavenly Line, she boasted stunning beauty. A freeloader at the Huashan Sect, she popped up sporadically for about three volumes before vanishing.
Not much info on her. She wasn't a major player in the original.
What role Hong Mi played in the original didn't matter. What caught Jongchil's eye was her considerable beauty.
Her face was hidden by the hat, but according to canon, she turned heads wherever she went. Most women in Extreme Sword Heavenly Line were gorgeous—that was one reason he chose this world.
"Lady Hong, what brings you alone over Mount Jibuk on this late night? Not that I have room to talk after getting jumped by those bandits, but it's dangerous for a woman traveling solo."
"Haha, don't worry. I've got the skills to protect myself, looks notwithstanding."
Hong Mi cutely raised her arm as she spoke. True to her word, an extraordinary aura prickled from her body.
"I'm heading to Henan on Murim Alliance business. Gotta make the deadline, so night marching it is. Time-sensitive stuff."
"Oh? Hope I didn't hold you up."
"Not at all. For an upright sect member, what could be more important than aiding the helpless? Safe travels!"
Hong Mi returned the salute and dashed off down the path. Her lightness skill looked anything but ordinary.
So she's with the Murim Alliance now? Original didn't cover her backstory. Hmm... hate to let her slip away like this.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck Jongchil.
"Lady Cheonhwa~! Mind giving me a hand!?"
"Tch! Talk about shitty luck!"
Ban Se-gun spat curses as he bolted until the mysterious female expert was out of sight. Thought it was a goldmine, ended up with squat. How infuriating was that?
"Damn! A passing hidden master, of all things. At least we kept our heads—should I count that as a blessing?"
Considering how many buddies had crossed the wrong person and ended up in hell, surviving was heavenly luck.
"Urgh! If only I could've used that, I'd have steamed those bastards without breaking a sweat!"
Ban Se-gun vented by kicking a nearby tree. His men sighed behind him, whispering among themselves. Luckily, he cooled off alone when pissed.
"Not far. Lucky for us."
Suddenly, the voice of that man from earlier rang out. Ban Se-gun's hair stood on end.
He's tracked us?
A young man emerged from the bushes. As inferred from the voice, it was the guy they'd ambushed earlier. A brilliantly iridescent python coiled tightly around his arm.
Beast tamer?
Beast handlers were rare even in the Central Plains. Most specialized in birds, but he'd heard of snake charmers among Western cults.
Ban Se-gun swallowed nervously, tensing up. Unusual abilities always hit from unexpected angles.
The man grinned at Ban Se-gun and spoke.
"Got business with you. Or more precisely, with that treasure you've got."
"!?"
At the mention of "treasure," Ban Se-gun instinctively dropped into attack stance.
How did this guy know he had it? Just a lucky guess?
"Hand it over nicely. The Gu-gung Jin-gi."
Not a guess. The bastard knew the treasure's exact name. Where'd the info leak?
"You son of a bitch! Don't know how you found out, but you're dead now!"
"Figures a thieving mountain rat like you won't listen to reason."
Darkness coalesced in the man's right hand, shaping into a sword.
"Darkness Saber."
The man with the shadow blade moved. Ban Se-gun gripped his axe, ready to counter. But the opponent was too fast.
W-What!?
Are there any groups in wuxia with character as distinct as bandits? Maybe the Beggar Clan aside—you don't see many others. At best, the Waterways might count as relatives?
These scoundrels who claim entire mountains as their home, extorting tolls from passersby, have such vivid personalities. Yet they almost never star as protagonists. Even in villain-lead novels, demonic cults pop up way more than bandits.
One reason's obvious: these guys are weak.
Bandits are weak. You might ask how weaklings pull off banditry, but strength is relative. What matters to bandits is spotting marks—not absolute power. As long as they've got enough blade work to swing a weapon, they're set.
If they had real martial prowess, they wouldn't scrape by as mountain thugs getting chased everywhere. They'd make a name as wild independents or freeload at some famous clan or sect. Places calling for muscle are everywhere in the jianghu.
At best, leaders of the Seventy-Two Bandit Strongholds hit first-rate level. That's their ceiling.
Danyuha rated my current skill at minimum peak upper-grade. No way a bandit chief matches that.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ban Se-gun's clumsy axe swings got deflected every which way as I whipped my Dark Saber. He wasn't resisting—he was barely clinging to life.
I could send trash like him to hell anytime. Holding back was to break him completely. Nothing crushes submission like proving the power gap.
"My god! The chief's getting manhandled...!"
"That guy's a monster! Peak realm at least!"
"We're dead meat!"
"Run! Dilly-dally and we're headless!"
Predictably, no bandit loyalty whatsoever. Things turned sour, his men ditched him and fled.
Ban Se-gun had no time to watch them go. Slack off for a chick's tear, and his own head rolls.
"Gah! You were hiding your power, bastard!?"
"Never hid shit. Your blind ass just couldn't see it."
"Kuh!"
I smacked his axe aside.
Thud!
The massive axe he'd clung to like his lifeline spun counterclockwise through the air. Cumulative wrist shock had him grimacing darkly, rubbing his right wrist with his left. No fight left in his eyes. Total victory.
Heh. Power rules the jianghu, after all.
I approached the kneeling bastard slowly. Realizing flight was futile, he just stared up at me.
Perfect despair in his eyes. He'd be compliant now.
"Treasure's precious, sure, but not more than your life, right? Lead me to the Gu-gung Jin-gi."
Per the original novel, he'd stashed it secretly in his hideout. Even his men didn't know, so how treasured it was went without saying.
"P-Please... spare the Gu-gung Jin-gi... I'll give you all the money I've saved."
Stab!
I plunged the Dark Saber into the ground right by his knee. A thin cut grazed his cheek. A few inches over, and his skull would've been pierced.
"I don't like repeating myself. Last chance. Is it worth more than your neck?"
"Heh...! F-Fine, you can have it."
Villains cherish their hides like nothing else. Ban Se-gun rose limply.
"The Gu-gung Jin-gi's in my hideout. Follow me."