Peace in Chengdu's Martial World
"Admit it?"
The faces of every Qingcheng Sect member present began to twitch.
Admit it, my ass! This goddamn lunatic...!
I Ja-un barely managed to swallow the curse that had risen all the way to his throat. The rest of Qingcheng's disciples were no different.
This demonic bastard sure knows how to spin a yarn!
Even if every word of that were true, does that justify butchering people so horrifically?!
They wanted to argue. But if they did, their heads would clearly go flying. Forced to keep listening to this absolute nonsense, the Qingcheng Sect felt as though they might follow the already-fainted U Gyeong straight into Qi Deviation.
"Sheesh..."
Do Gwang looked at them with an expression of pure pity.
"You can't even admit that."
He shook his head left and right. At that sight—
"You—you bastard...!"
I Ja-un finally could not hold it in.
"Do you think being strong makes you everything?! Do you not fear the heavens above?! How can you be so shameless?! You will surely receive heaven's punishment!"
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about."
Do Gwang tilted his head with a genuinely baffled look.
"Why would I get heaven's punishment? A kind person like me."
"Wh-what...? Who... is kind...?"
"Me. I'm talking about me!"
Do Gwang cheerfully pointed at himself. I Ja-un roared as if spitting blood.
"You truly are shameless!!!"
"No, aren't you lot the real shameless ones?"
"What did you just...?"
"Still don't get it? That I've been going easy on you this whole time?"
"Don't make me laugh! You're only keeping us alive for a moment so you can mock us further!"
"Then how about I just smash your heads?"
"....."
The moment Do Gwang's steel bat swung their way, I Ja-un's mouth snapped shut again.
Do Gwang snorted.
"Incredible. Truly incredible..."
He was sincerely impressed. In a situation like this, a normal person would either say everything they needed to say even if it killed them, or at least draw their sword. If you were going to clam up this pathetically, you shouldn't have opened your mouth in the first place.
"If I really hadn't been planning to go easy on you..."
Do Gwang raised his steel bat high again and pointed it in a particular direction as he continued.
"I'd have gone to your headquarters. Huh?"
"...What do you mean by that...!"
I Ja-un's face crumpled as he realized where Do Gwang was pointing. It was aimed squarely at Mount Qingcheng, home of the Qingcheng Sect's main compound.
"What do I mean, what. Are you actually that dense? You still don't know what happened to the Tang Clan that kept picking fights with me?"
"The Tang Clan...?"
Was he trying to say that he'd been going easy on them — that he'd been holding back from wiping them out? Daring to threaten the Great Qingcheng, one of the Nine Great Sects?
Having grasped Do Gwang's meaning, I Ja-un raised his voice, veins bulging in his neck.
"Don't make me laugh! Our Great Qingcheng is nothing like the Tang Clan—"
"Oh, shut the hell up. You don't even have a single one of the Twenty Heavenly Kings."
Do Gwang cut him off flat. I Ja-un could only groan, his words dying in his throat. As the bastard said, it was common knowledge throughout the martial world that the Qingcheng Sect did not have a single master of the Profound Realm.
Still, he could not back down like this. Gritting his teeth, he forced a rebuttal.
"Our Sect Leader will soon ascend to a higher realm! And aside from the Poison King, our Qingcheng is far more—"
"Oh, give me a break. Even without the Poison King, the Tang Clan is still better than you lot, you idiot. And your Sect Leader? That useless bastard? Just reaching Transcendent Peak was a miracle. Ascending further, my ass."
"You—you bastard...!"
"See? Just looking at you, I can tell. I've been openly insulting your Sect Leader and your entire sect this whole time..."
Do Gwang curled his lips into an even more unpleasant smirk and insulted I Ja-un to his face.
"At least the old men from the Tang Clan charged at me. But you? An elder, and all you can do is flap your gums without even drawing your sword?"
Do Gwang put on the most punchable expression he could possibly manage.
"Admit it?"
"Grrraaagh...!!"
I Ja-un's face flushed crimson with surging rage. And yet, to the very end, he still did not draw his sword and charge. It was truly remarkable. Not only the collapsed U Gyeong — even the late Master Jin Hoon had at least drawn his blade and properly lost his temper. How could someone who called himself an elder act like this?
"Tsk tsk... No wonder you're still stuck at the early Peak Realm at your age."
"Kuheeeerk...!"
At last, dark crimson blood erupted from I Ja-un's mouth like a fountain. Do Gwang's cutting remark, combined with the crushing self-loathing of realizing he truly was the coward the bastard described, finally drove him into a Heart Demon.
"Sheesh..."
Do Gwang let out a sigh. Then he looked down at the fallen U Gyeong with tender eyes.
"Our poor U Gyeong. He's stuck with these idiots, working himself to death trying to keep the Qingcheng Sect alive, and then they force him down the mountain on top of it all... How hard must that be..."
"........"
U Gyeong's body shuddered like an aspen leaf. Whether Do Gwang's words were boring into his ears even through unconsciousness, or whether he was facing the madman again in some nightmare, his body convulsed violently.
"Anyway..."
Do Gwang gave his steel bat a casual spin.
"No matter how much of a disaster the Qingcheng Sect is, Branch Manager ahjussi worked so hard to stop them that I don't think they'd come after me right away just to take me down."
He slowly shifted his gaze. From Qingcheng to Emei.
"Just a bunch of idiots like these..."
He beamed a bright, sunny smile.
"Right?"
At that, Su Seo-hwa's face went rigidly stiff. The madman's eyes were fixed squarely on her.
...I was truly a fool...
She squeezed her eyes shut. She had no choice.
This man... for some reason... he knows everything...
That was right. He knew it all. He knew that she was the one who had goaded those Qingcheng imbeciles into this.
Even if we combined all our disciples' strength with those fools...
They could never defeat him. And so, instead of drawing her sword and charging at Do Gwang, Su Seo-hwa simply abandoned her life.
"I am sorry, young hero. So please — end this with me alone."
She had to save at least the disciples who had followed this incompetent, foolish martial aunt of theirs.
"Oh..."
Do Gwang was impressed. Unlike a certain pathetic someone, here was a martial aunt resolutely offering herself to protect her disciples. Which made it all the more incomprehensible.
"No, how does someone with judgment this sharp end up doing something like this?"
".....I am sorry. Please, at least spare the children behind me..."
Su Seo-hwa bowed deeply at the waist, lowering her head.
"Elder Su?! Why are you suddenly doing this?!"
"What do you mean by that?! End it with you alone?!"
The Emei disciples cried out in horror. And then, the fear that had gripped them moments before vanished without a trace. With grim faces, they turned on Do Gwang and shouted.
"Mad Young Master! If you so much as touch Elder Su, I will never forgive you!"
"How can you be so cruel and merciless! You demonic bastard! Stop this at once!"
"Wow...."
Do Gwang was so flabbergasted he could barely speak.
This prideful old hag is bowing her head, and they're basically begging me to kill them?
In that case, killing them was only natural. Just as Do Gwang was about to raise his steel bat—
Others stepped forward first.
"Kyahaha~~"
"Hehe..."
Do Hwa and Dang Soryeong, smiling brightly and creepily respectively.
"Can I kill them?"
"How dare they raise their voices at Young Master. Shall I sew their mouths shut first?"
The Mad Girls had been ready to carve up the Emei disciples for quite some time. Representing the Emei disciples, Yeo Rin ground her teeth and stepped forward.
"Go ahead and try if you can! Do you think mere hangers-on hiding behind the Mad Young Master could manage it?"
Just as she steeled herself for death and reached for her sword—
"Stop!!!"
Su Seo-hwa roared, restraining them.
"Why must you act so foolishly!"
"Elder Su?"
"I understand how you feel, but please close your mouths! Do you all truly wish to die!"
"It doesn't matter! We would rather die than survive by sacrificing Elder Su!"
The other Emei disciples nodded, their resolve hardening. At that tear-jerking display—
"These crazy bitches are out of their minds."
Do Gwang let out a hollow laugh of pure disbelief. Yeo Rin glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
"What? Crazy bitches?"
"Yeah, you crazy bitch. What kind of melodrama are you putting on right now?"
"Melodrama?! You're the one threatening us with raw force!"
"What are you even saying. Are you actually that stupid?"
Do Gwang was sincerely impressed.
"You're the ones who came here planning to use force against me, you crazy bitch."
This wasn't just the pot calling the kettle black — this was so absurd it warranted a missing-person report for common sense itself.
"I even cleaned up your spies for you, and instead of saying thank you, you show up with these idiots to take me down together — and you've got this much to say?"
"Th-that... of course...!"
"Of course what."
"O-of course...."
There was nothing she could say. Because every word Do Gwang spoke was true.
"Hey, old hag. I genuinely don't understand, so let me ask..."
Do Gwang looked at Su Seo-hwa with a face of real curiosity.
"Don't tell me you tried to take me out and cover it up... for the sake of that precious honor of yours?"
"......."
Su Seo-hwa gave no answer, simply squeezing her eyes shut again. Silence that anyone could read as confirmation. Do Gwang marveled once more.
"Wow... fuck..."
He'd expected the Qingcheng idiots to come looking for trouble later. But the Emei Sect? He hadn't expected that. They were a mess of a sect full of people who strutted around acting superior — he hadn't hoped for gratitude, but he certainly hadn't imagined they'd come hunting him.
"Ugh... The Martial Alliance is so goddamn pitiful..."
Do Gwang cast a tender gaze toward the Sichuan Branch building.
"How is there not a single proper orthodox sect in all of Sichuan?"
He shifted his eyes back to the Emei female disciples.
"You refuse to support the Martial Alliance because you don't want to get involved with the secular world, you don't do any chivalrous deeds or charity work, and yet you happily pocket the donations..."
His eyes were filled with pure disgust and contempt.
"You heard you were visiting Chengdu and came down all dolled up, huh? Are you even a Buddhist sect?"
"...!!!"
"!!!!!!"
The Emei disciples trembled with shame at Do Gwang's words. Su Seo-hwa felt it even more keenly — because she had planned to use those very dressed-up disciples to manipulate the Qingcheng Sect.
"I think I've had enough of how shameless you are. Girls."
"Okay, Daddy! We can kill them all, right?"
"Hehe... Young Master, I've been waiting."
The moment Do Gwang called them, Do Hwa and Dang Soryeong's eyes lit up as if they'd been waiting for this exact moment. Just as blood was about to spray through the streets once more—
Snip—
The sound of something being cut, and then—
"Hui!!! What are you doing!"
"Stop, Hui!"
Screams of pure horror erupted. Then—
"This can't be! I was so distracted I didn't look properly...!"
"Isn't that Young Lady Ryeo Hui, one of the Three Flowers of Sichuan!"
The onlookers gasped and covered their mouths.
"But what is happening! How could one of the Three Flowers of Sichuan!!!"
"She's cutting off her own hair — a woman's very life!!!"
Everyone on the street drew a sharp breath. But Ryeo Hui, at the center of every gaze, paid no attention to her surroundings whatsoever.
"....."
Without a word, she cut her own hair without the slightest hesitation. Not a single strand left. Then, without a moment's pause, she dropped to her knees and prostrated herself.
"Great hero, every word you spoke is correct."
"We should have been expressing gratitude, and yet we shamelessly turned it around and blamed you."
"So of course you would be furious, and of course forgiveness would be difficult."
"But once more, shamelessly, I must make one request."
"In addition to Elder Su, I offer my own worthless life as well. Will you not show mercy to my martial sisters alone?"
Looking up at Do Gwang, Ryeo Hui's eyes held not a shred of anger or resentment. Only the resolve of a female monk determined to make amends, however belatedly.
"......."
This time, even Do Gwang was forced to shut his mouth. In the modern world, short haircuts and shaved heads on women were fairly common. But in this martial world, a woman shaving her own head completely with her own hands — not even a bob, but a full shave — was a truly shocking act. Even for the Emei Sect.
Huh, I didn't even know she was here...
The Emei disciples had been shielding her, and Ryeo Hui herself was short even among women, so Do Gwang hadn't noticed her presence at all.
She was another one suffering like U Gyeong.
Better than Qingcheng, sure, but still six of one, half a dozen of the other. She was a promising talent desperately trying to guide the Emei Sect properly — a sect that claimed to sever ties with the secular world while obsessing over it more than anyone.
And they'd dragged a key junior talent like her — a girl who barely had time for her own training — all the way here?
Well, knowing her personality, she probably insisted on coming herself...
But her purpose wouldn't have been to use these idiots to oppress Do Gwang. She would have come to confirm the truth.
In the game, she was pretty shocked and shaken when she found out her own elder was a spy...
So she should have just confirmed the truth. Why drag herself into a group suicide?
"Did the old hag actually go senile?"
Do Gwang looked at Su Seo-hwa again with a face of genuine incomprehension.
"If you were going to bring her down here too, you should have at least been careful. She's gone full-blown senile..."
"....I... I... have truly done wrong..."
Su Seo-hwa wept tears of blood in regret. She had finally realized that her own arrogance and foolishness had brought about such a catastrophic result. As the bastard said, she should never have brought Ryeo Hui, or at least sent her back to the main compound first. No — the other disciples were just as precious.
And so—
"Please... please... end this with me alone..."
Bang—!
Kwaang—!
Su Seo-hwa slammed her forehead into the ground again and again.
"Sheesh..."
Do Gwang let out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine. I'll end it with just the old hag."
"...Thank you."
"I'm really too kind for my own good..."
"...Yes. I think so as well..."
"Any last words?"
"May I take a little longer...?"
"Yeah, of course. Go ahead and say your goodbyes."
Do Gwang spoke as if he were doing them a real favor. At that, the Qingcheng Sect and the onlookers alike could only click their tongues in disbelief. And so Yeo Rin of the Emei Sect—
"You crazy bastard! Who the hell is kind?!"
—finally snapped and reached for her sword. But then—
"Martial sister, please stop..."
Ryeo Hui tightly gripped Yeo Rin's wrist.
"Hui...?"
"Do you intend to make Elder Su's sacrifice meaningless?"
"......"
In the end, Yeo Rin bit her lip until it bled and was forced to lower her sword.
"...I am sorry. This martial aunt of yours was truly foolish, and has wounded your hearts deeply..."
Su Seo-hwa looked at each of her disciples one by one with a devastated expression.
"Never hold a grudge against the Mad Young Master. Be grateful to him instead."
"......."
"......."
Yeo Rin and the other Emei female disciples sobbed, hanging their heads. No one could answer. How could they not hold a grudge? And to be grateful on top of that? How could such a thing be possible? Of course they could not simply nod and say they understood.
Only one person—
"Yes... Elder..."
—Ryeo Hui alone answered calmly, tears welling in her eyes.
"Please convey this well to the Sect Leader as well."
"Yes... Elder..."
"Hui... I am truly sorry..."
"No... Thank you for everything all this time..."
"...Yes."
After that brief but heavy final farewell, Su Seo-hwa slowly closed her eyes and offered her neck to Do Gwang.
"...Thank you for waiting."
"Don't mention it."
Do Gwang nodded calmly.
"Do Hwa. Lend me that for a second?"
"Okay!"
He took the dagger she handed him and gripped it lightly. Then—
Seogeok—!
—in a single clean stroke, he severed Su Seo-hwa's neck.
"Elder!!!"
Yeo Rin screamed and wailed as if vomiting blood. Then she glared at Do Gwang with murderous, hate-filled eyes. In response—
"Hey. Eyes down."
Do Gwang's gaze froze over in an instant, dropping to subzero.
"Still not getting it? There's a limit to how much I can put up with."
"Put up with... put up with...? After killing Elder Su? You devil who just kills people indiscriminately!"
"What is this crazy bitch even saying. You lot came to kill me first. And what? I kill people indiscriminately?"
Do Gwang let out a hollow laugh of pure disbelief. Then he turned toward the crowd.
"Hey, people of the neighborhood!!!"
At the sudden call—
"????"
"????"
—the onlookers flinched and fixed their eyes on Do Gwang's mouth.
"Just one question!"
Do Gwang asked the people with a face of genuine grievance.
"Am I a lunatic who smashes anyone's head without discrimination?"
"..........."
"..........."
Silence. Caught completely off guard by the question, people swallowed hard. But the silence did not last long.
"Ahem... He doesn't smash just anyone's head, no."
"Indeed, indeed... Everyone whose head got smashed picked a fight with the Mad Young Master first, didn't they?"
Just as the people were saying — Do Gwang didn't just grab random people and smash their heads.
"If anything, thanks to the Mad Young Master, the thugs have thinned out."
"Mm, quite so..."
No one went so far as to say Do Gwang wasn't a lunatic, or that life and business had gotten easier thanks to him. But they all spoke with one voice.
"As long as you don't pick a fight first, he leaves you alone."
Nod, nod. The crowd all nodded in unison, as if they'd rehearsed it. Not a single person in Chengdu denied it. This madman was safe as long as you didn't mess with him first. As long as you weren't the type of scum who bullied others or took things by force.
Do Gwang smiled with satisfaction. Then he jerked his chin toward the people and spoke to Yeo Rin.
"See? I'm not a lunatic who kills people indiscriminately."
"....."
"That old hag died because you lot picked a fight with me first. Got it?"
"....."
Yeo Rin bit her lip hard with rage. Whether she did or not, Do Gwang continued saying what he wanted to say.
"Out of respect for the old hag and that girl who shaved her own head, I even let you take the body intact. What more could you possibly complain about?"
"You."
"You really want to die?"
Do Gwang opened his eyes wide with a savage glare and issued a warning.
"One minute. Take the old hag and get the hell out."
"......"
Yeo Rin kept her mouth shut tight and did not move an inch. In the end, Ryeo Hui had no choice but to step forward first.
"Martial sisters, Yeo Rin is struggling, so let's handle this ourselves. Please hurry."
"Y-yeah... okay, Hui..."
The Emei female disciples hurriedly moved to collect Su Seo-hwa's body. But Yeo Rin continued glaring at Do Gwang to the very end, radiating killing intent.
I will never forgive this...
She had lost all reason, consumed by the thirst for revenge.
I'll kill him...!
Just as she reached for her sword hilt—
"This fucking bitch, seriously."
Do Gwang raised his steel bat without mercy.
PWOONG—!!!
A thunderous boom once again shook the street.
Thud—
Then the sound of chunks of flesh hitting the ground echoed through the street.
"........."
"........."
No one could even breathe properly. Su Seo-hwa's neck had been cleanly severed, leaving her body intact — but Yeo Rin had been reduced to an unrecognizable bloody pulp. The shock of watching a proud female disciple of the Emei Sect transform into a lump of meat in an instant was overwhelming.
But the one who broke the silence first was, unexpectedly—
"...Martial sisters, please hurry and collect everything, including martial sister Yeo Rin."
—Ryeo Hui. Not a trace of anger showed on her face. At that—
"Hui... how can you be like this...!"
An Emei disciple started to protest, but—
Slap—!
Ryeo Hui's palm cracked across her cheek with vicious force.
"Would you all just get a grip and hurry up! It's already been over a minute, you crazy bitches!!!"
Having shouted that, Ryeo Hui bit her lip until it bled. Only then did the Emei disciples understand. How could she possibly be fine? These were a martial aunt and martial sister she had shared joys and sorrows with for so long. And she was more tender-hearted than anyone. Of course she wasn't fine.
The reason she still showed no hostility toward Do Gwang was simple: her desperate will to save even one more person.
Having understood this, however belatedly, the Emei disciples—
"...Okay. Sorry..."
—hurriedly began collecting the bodies.
"Great hero, thank you. I will never forget today's grace."
Having finished the cleanup, Ryeo Hui bowed deeply to Do Gwang as their representative.
"Sheesh, well... you've got it rough too."
"...Not at all. Then we shall take our leave."
"Yeah, take care~"
Do Gwang casually waved them off as he sent Ryeo Hui's group on their way. Watching him see them off as calmly as if he were bidding farewell to a neighbor out for a stroll, the onlookers were left utterly dumbfounded. The Qingcheng Sect was no different. It was bizarre and deeply unsettling.
And most terrifying of all—
"Hm?"
—this madman's gaze had turned back toward them.
"Th-that..."
I Ja-un's lips trembled.
D-don't tell me... I also...
Would he have to beg for mercy like Su Seo-hwa?
B-but...
I don't want to die. Caught in that miserable conflict, I Ja-un's mouth simply would not open. At that—
Do Gwang snorted with laughter.
"Come on, what are you so scared for."
He pointed at himself and preened.
"I'm the Mad Young Master. The Mad Young Master."
"....???"
I Ja-un blinked stupidly. He simply could not understand. He already knew the man was a lunatic — so why was he proudly emphasizing that he was a lunatic?
But what a lunatic would do next was obvious, wasn't it?
Ah... so he's saying he's going to kill us after all...
I Ja-un squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to meet his end. However, contrary to his pessimistic expectations—
"Go on home."
Do Gwang waved them off in a lazy voice.
"....???"
"????"
I Ja-un and the disciples tilted their heads as if their souls had left their bodies. Do Gwang tilted his head right back at them.
"???"
"???"
"???"
They kept tilting their heads at each other, staring as if none of them could comprehend the situation. Then—
"Hey, what's the problem? Didn't you hear me?"
Do Gwang furrowed his brow first, looking exasperated.
"Y-you... are you truly just letting us go?"
I Ja-un asked with a face that could not believe it.
"Why, what's wrong. I told you, I'm the Mad Young Master."
"No, but..."
When a man calls himself a lunatic while saying this, of course you wouldn't believe him. But Do Gwang tilted his head even further, looking more confused than ever.
"What's the matter? You're not thinking of fighting me, are you?"
"N-no, of course not...!"
"Then take them and go. Don't pick fights again, got it?"
"Y-yes, understood!"
I Ja-un nodded his head furiously. Then he and the disciples fled like the wind. Watching their retreating backs, Do Gwang raised his steel bat high toward the sky.
"There's no one who contributes to the peace and development of Chengdu's martial world quite like me."
"????????"
"????????"
Question marks floated above the heads of every person who had watched from beginning to end. But whether others did or not—
Do Gwang continued, as if thoroughly pleased with himself.
"And sheesh... even if it is because of U Gyeong, I went and let them off again... I'm really too kind for my own good."
On top of the madman's nonsense—
"That's right! Our Daddy is so kind! Kyahaha~~"
"Hehe... Young Master's heart is truly like a still lake..."
—came the Mad Girls' praise as well.
"Cough... cough...!"
"Hup... hup...!"
Thud—!
Thud—!
In the end, several onlookers could not withstand their Heart Demons and collapsed on the spot.
Today, once again, Chengdu was far too peaceful.