Training...?(15)
Fwuk.
“Keurk… gulp… keuruk…”
Eon Ju-won couldn’t even scream from the pain that had exceeded his limits. He just gurgled, foam bubbling at his mouth.
“Ah.”
Realizing my mistake, I quickly pulled out my sword and this time stabbed precisely into his dantian.
“Kek…”
With one final gasp, Eon Ju-won passed out cold.
…Was this his own fault for thrashing around and taking a hit to the groin instead of the dantian? Anyway, it didn’t seem like my fault!
Considering what the bastard had tried to do, I didn’t feel all that sorry. If anything, it felt downright satisfying deep down.
Whether because Eon Ju-won had fainted or his dantian was shattered, the jiangshi stopped moving. Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso, who’d been in the thick of battling them, sensed something off and turned toward me. Spotting Eon Ju-won twitching on the ground, they finally dropped their combat stances.
Hong Yeonhwa came skipping over with a beaming smile, like something wonderful had happened. Paeng Soso, on the other hand, trudged up with a complicated expression.
Hong Yeonhwa arrived first and stood on tiptoe to pat my head. Usually, I was the one doing the patting, so it always felt a bit strange when she did it.
“You took him down far quicker than this lady expected. Splendid, it is.”
“The guy got careless, took a solid hit right at the start.”
“Think this lady wouldn’t have accounted for that much?”
Come to think of it, she’d said Eon Ju-won would underestimate me and try to handle me himself instead of using the jiangshi. Hearing her words, I replayed the fight from moments ago—which had gone surprisingly smoothly—and belatedly realized the truth.
The first strike made sense, but there had been a few moments mid-fight where I’d nearly been in real danger. Like when he deflected all my sword strikes and countered, or the bell’s ring at the end, followed by his killing blow.
That couldn’t be helped. Aside from the talent gap, the difference in our martial arts was huge. Someone who’d learned advanced techniques versus basic third-rate ones would always have an edge, even at the same realm.
Yet I’d handled all his attacks. His counters bent at weird angles with bizarre trajectories, but their speed and power were manageable. The bell’s sound shook my Muryeong Singong for a moment, but I recovered quickly. And that final strike, dangerous as it was, I’d minimized the damage somehow.
…Who’d have thought the day would come when I could beat a direct descendant of the Jinju Eon family without much trouble? And not by relying on a momentary burst from Muryeong Singong like with Cheok An Geum Gwi, but through the results of my training so far.
It really hit me then. Had I… gotten stronger?
Lost in a hazy, fuzzy mood and blinking vacantly, Hong Yeonhwa smiled at me with that knowing, benevolent look.
“You shall one day stand by this lady’s side with such strength. Did this lady not say she would make it so?”
“…Yeah. You did.”
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I pinched her nose. “Kyeeeng!” I raised my sword.
Time to finish this. I lightly pushed aside the flailing Hong Yeonhwa, who was making sniveling noises. Blood splatter would be a pain to clean off my clothes—laundry was work too, after all. Just as I was about to sever his neck in one stroke…
“Wait a second!”
Paeng Soso, arriving late, grabbed my arm to stop me.
“Miss Paeng? Just so you know, I’d prefer not to leave any loose ends if possible.”
“Huh? Oh, no! I’m not saying to let him live. I mean, we can’t just kill him recklessly.”
Wasn’t that the same thing? Besides, he’d ambushed us here because he was confident he could bury any bodies quietly. Killing him would be easy to cover up too.
Paeng Soso shook her head as she pressed acupoints to staunch Eon Ju-won’s wounds.
“You have a point, benefactor, but the issue is that this guy’s from the Jinju Eon family.”
“What, like they’ll investigate endlessly if a famed family’s kid goes missing?”
“That too. Even if the authorities drop it, the family will keep digging on their own. But the Jinju Eon are special. There are plenty of ways to forcibly extract info from humans, right?”
According to Paeng Soso’s explanation—common knowledge among those in the know—the Jinju Eon branded their direct descendants who learned jiangshi arts with special drugs and spells from childhood, imposing restrictions to prevent leaks.
What a brutal family.
“Among them is something called a life plaque, linked to one’s life force. The moment you cut his throat, his plaque shatters. Then the Eon family sends investigators to comb every road from their home to the Murim Alliance.”
They could track the unique aura the escort jiangshi had leaked all the way here, so it wouldn’t take long.
“…Then can’t we just explain what happened?”
“Even if I testify, they won’t buy it easily. They might even accuse you all of killing an innocent Eon kid and lying.”
That did sound plausible. This wasn’t a light matter. It went beyond mere loss of face for the Jinju Eon—they could lose imperial favor. If they could bury it quietly, they would.
Hong Yeonhwa, having heard that far, frowned and prodded Eon Ju-won’s side with her foot.
“The righteous-evil great war draws near, does it?”
“Where’d you pick that up?”
Hearing the Heavenly Demon say that made it sound less like a joke. Alarmed, I asked, and Hong Yeonhwa tilted her head like I’d said something weird.
“From you, of course. You mutter now and then about wanting nose-paste after peeking at this lady’s breasts. …But what does ‘nose-paste’ even mean?”
I sheathed my sword first and pulled Hong Yeonhwa close. Tickling her nape with my finger to distract her, I cleared my throat and changed the subject as she went “Nyueeng…”
“Ahem. I get what you’re worried about, Miss Paeng. But leaving him alive worries me given his personality.”
Paeng Soso, witnessing the sudden affection, replied with a subtle expression.
“Ah, yeah. Don’t worry about that. I wasn’t saying to just let him go like this.”
“Then?”
“From his words and actions, he’s probably assaulted multiple women and turned them into jiangshi by now. Even if not, he prepared something nearby to turn us into jiangshi on the spot.”
“Ah.”
Jiangshi creation was strictly controlled by the imperial court. Only with proper compensation and prior consent from the living, or select death-row inmates. Turning us into them was a major crime, obviously.
“Let’s extract decisive evidence and hand him to the authorities. That’s the cleanest way.”
“…You’re right. I was too short-sighted.”
Not only had he threatened my life, but he’d gone after Hong Yeonhwa too. All I could think was to kill him somehow.
“But what happens if we hand him to the authorities?”
“It’ll take time for formal procedures, but… execution’s certain. Might even become a jiangshi after death.”
“In that state, he wouldn’t be very useful even as one…”
Paeng Soso gave a bitter smile, glancing at his severed arm.
“Jiangshi aren’t always for fighting. He’ll probably be displayed as a warning. It’s rare, but there’s precedent.”
Fair enough. The Jinju Eon’s history surely had more than one rule-breaker like him. I was disappointed not to kill him myself, but it was an acceptable outcome.
Hong Yeonhwa straightened her softened expression and slipped from my arms.
“Seems we’ve set our course. The question is how to extract the info… Why not leave it to this lady?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
He wouldn’t spill easily with words alone. Torture was inevitable. Problem was, I didn’t know how to do it, and Paeng Soso—my childhood friend—didn’t seem the type. That left Hong Yeonhwa.
…Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about leaving it to her either. I didn’t know about her past, but these days, she lived sweetly with me. She seemed fine with it, but I preferred her soft, usual smile over that sharp look.
With no better option, I decided to at least watch the process—
“No. I’ll do it.”
Paeng Soso, looking more resolute than before, bowed her head like she’d made up her mind.
“Let me handle it. Please.”
“Aaaahhh!!”
I’d gone to the trouble of waking him from his faint, only for Eon Ju-won to pass out again. Third time now.
Was this that muscle-splitting bone extraction technique? Watching from a distance, just a few finger prods caused more agony than when his arm got severed. Unrealistically painful.
In the meantime, I poked Hong Yeonhwa’s side as she resumed our interrupted meal. Omnomnom…? She curled up, hiding her half-eaten dumpling.
I wasn’t even asking for a bite. Silently stroking her back to ease her wariness, a pang of hurt hit me. Really? Stingy with a dumpling for me? I mentally added “eat sweets alone in front of Hong Yeonhwa” to my bucket list and spoke up.
“How much does that hurt to make him scream like that?”
Gulp.
“Mm, from what subordinates who’ve experienced it say, it feels like your skin and insides swap places.”
“Oof…”
For some reason, a human anatomy model from my past life popped into my head—that bright red thing showing muscles and organs clearly. Just imagining it gave me chills.
For whatever reason, Paeng Soso had insisted on interrogating him herself. At first, there’d been some back-and-forth talk, but now she just pressed acupoints with a half-tearful expression.
At least the interrogation was going smoothly. She kept knocking him out not knowing where to stop, but once muscle-splitting bone extraction started, he spilled everything.
By the time Hong Yeonhwa polished off all the dumplings without sharing a bite…
“It’s done now.”
Paeng Soso said, utterly exhausted.