The Proper Spectating Etiquette of a Great Heroine
Our travel speed was much slower than I had anticipated.
Up until now, I had been darting through the air at the drop of a hat, practically flying around thanks to my lightness skills.
But now, dragging a luggage cart loaded with wounded people along a bumpy, unpaved medieval highway, the sheer frustration of it hit me like a physical blow.
Sigh... No wonder people in the old days took days or even months just to go anywhere.
Every time the cartwheels rattled against a rock, a deep sigh escaped my lips.
Because we were crawling at a snail's pace, by the time the sun began to set, we hadn't even gotten close to Kaifeng. Instead, we barely managed to reach a tiny relay station village along the highway.
We decided to call it a day and rest at an inn that looked reasonably decent.
Creeeeak.
"Welcome! ...Oh, my goodness."
As we pushed open the door and stepped inside, the proprietress, who had been busy clicking away on an abacus, stared at us with wide eyes.
"How is it that such beautiful young ladies are traveling all by themselves? In times as dangerous as these, traveling the roads at night without any guards is incredibly risky."
Just women?
At her words, I instinctively glanced at Seomun Jin, who was standing beside me with his head bowed.
Dressed in loose-fitting women's clothing with a sorrowful expression on his face, he looked every bit the part of a peerless beauty to anyone who didn't know any better.
"Thank you for your concern, but we are quite confident in our martial arts, so you need not worry. We have a large group, so we would like to secure plenty of rooms. Please prepare some hot water and meals as well."
Before I could even finish speaking, a single silver liang flicked from my fingertips and landed with a cheerful clink right in front of the proprietress.
Instantly, a genuine smile of pure capitalism bloomed across her face.
"Oh, of course, of course! We have plenty of rooms! You lazy brat, Sosam! Stop slacking off and get out here right now to take these young ladies' luggage!"
As the proprietress shrieked, a plain-looking waiter named Sosam shuffled out, grumbling with a towel draped over his shoulder.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming... Huh?"
The moment his grumbling gaze landed on Seomun Jin and me, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
"...Gasp!"
Sosam's eyes popped out like a frog's. His jaw dropped, and he began to drool, completely spellbound.
"Heh, hehe... F-Fairies...?"
Smack!
"You useless idiot! Take their bags and show them to the best rooms upstairs immediately!"
Sosam shrieked and jumped as the proprietress delivered a stinging smack to his back.
Yet, he couldn't wipe the goofy grin off his face as he bowed repeatedly, clearly thrilled by what he was seeing.
"Hehe, ladies! This humble Sosam will show you to the most spectacular rooms we have!"
Ah, the burdens of being this beautiful.
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I made my way up to the second floor of the inn.
As we climbed the stairs, I noticed the waiter's eyes repeatedly darting toward Seomun Jin's backside.
Well, he certainly has an eye for quality. Too bad he's targeting that guy of all people.
I shook my head, amused by the sheer absurdity of it.
In the end, we rented three rooms.
One for Soso and me. One for the four rescued women. And the last one was shared by Seomun Jin and the remaining two women.
I mean, who could possibly guess that a monstrous club is hidden beneath those demure skirts?
Well, even if there were a few unsettling details, we just needed to get through tonight without any trouble.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I looked down at Soso, who was busy organizing our spoils on the floor, and casually threw out a question.
"Hey, Soso. Since we're on the road anyway, how would you like to learn some proper martial arts from me?"
The moment those words left my mouth—
Thud!
Soso threw down the bundle of stolen goods she was holding and prostrated herself flat on the floor in a full-body bow.
"Sect Leader!! I, Soso, am ready to dedicate my entire life to you! Please, accept me as a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect!"
"Whoa, whoa! Absolutely not."
I recoiled in horror.
"Why not?! I might have started out as a petty thief, but I have strong bones and a pretty decent physical constitution!" Soso whined, sounding deeply offended.
No, you dummy! Our sect is a hellish, forced-feminization cult that only accepts robust men! If a real woman like you joined, who knows what kind of disaster would happen!
Unable to voice that terrifying truth, I cleared my throat and made up a quick excuse.
"Ahem! You're... what was it, a member of that petty thief gang called the Heaven-Astonishing Society? Even if it's just playing house, you should at least show some loyalty to your crew."
"Oh, that's totally fine! If I tell them I'm joining the Divine Maiden Sect, the other kids will completely understand! In fact, they'll probably be super jealous!"
Soso replied with a bright, oblivious grin, prompting me to ruthlessly flick her forehead.
Flick!
"Ow!"
"Stop talking nonsense and turn around. I'll help you circulate your Qi first."
I placed both hands on Soso's back as she turned around, pouting.
"I'm warning you in advance, this is going to hurt a bit."
"A-A bit? How much is 'a bit'?"
"Tolerable."
"That is literally the least reassuring thing you could say..." Soso muttered under her breath.
I pretended not to hear her and pressed my palms firmly against her back.
Inhale.
Drawing up my true Qi from my dantian, I slowly channeled it toward my fingertips.
The moment my internal energy seeped into Soso's body, her shoulders jolted violently.
"Eek!"
"Stay still. Don't panic, just match your breathing to my guidance."
I carefully traced Soso's eight extraordinary meridians, locating and clearing her blocked acupoints one by one.
Since Soso had never formally trained in martial arts, the pathways for her internal energy were severely congested, and her breathing was incredibly unrefined.
But on the bright side, it meant she was a blank slate with plenty of potential.
For a long while, I slowly pushed my true Qi through her Conception and Governing Vessels, clearing the blockages in her vital channels.
After a few trial-and-error attempts, a clumsy yet distinct flow of energy finally connected within Soso's body, successfully completing a Microcosmic Orbit.
"Whew. Now, even after I let go, remember this flow and keep circulating your Qi."
A faint wisp of white steam rose from the crown of Soso's head as she cleared her mind of distractions and sank into a deep meditative state.
Man, all that hard work made me hungry. Maybe I should head downstairs and grab a late-night snack.
Rolling my stiff neck, I stepped out into the hallway, only to spot someone crouching suspiciously in front of the room where Seomun Jin and the women were staying.
It was Sosam, the waiter who had been drooling downstairs. He was currently busy blowing smoke into the room through a bamboo tube pressed against a hole in the paper window.
Is this bastard insane?
Silently gliding forward, I crept up right behind him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Heeek?!"
Startled out of his wits, Sosam tried to leap back, but I swiftly reached out and struck his acupoints.
Thwap!
"Mmph!"
Looking down at Sosam, who had frozen stiff and collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud, I flashed a chilling smile.
"If you make a sound, I will snap your neck on the spot. Just answer my questions quietly, got it?"
I slightly released the seal on his mute acupoint.
"M-Miss...! I-I was just burning some incense..."
Before he could spin any more excuses, I sealed his mute acupoint again and delivered a sharp blow straight to his solar plexus.
Thud!
"Mmmph!!"
Releasing his mute acupoint once more, I asked coldly,
"Do you want to take a few more hits before talking, or are you going to spill everything right now?"
"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Terrified, the words spilled out of him in a frantic rush.
"T-That... it's an incense I got from a friend. It's supposed to... make women feel hot and bothered... so..."
"And?"
"I just... wanted to try it out..."
"But why this room of all places?"
When I pressed him, he flinched, his eyes darting around nervously.
Logically, he would target the room with the pretty girls, but something about this rubbed me the wrong way.
Wait a minute. Objectively speaking, I am by far the more stunning beauty here. So why target that room instead of mine?
This wasn't a matter of pride, but pure curiosity. As I glared at him with a displeased frown, the waiter broke into a cold sweat and stammered,
"W-Well... you, Miss... you're just so, so beautiful... I didn't even dare to dream of touching you..."
"..."
"I felt like someone like me wouldn't even register in your eyes... and you're kind of scary..."
Hearing that, I found myself strangely convinced.
Ah.
So it was one of those cases where someone is so gorgeous they feel completely unreal and unapproachable.
Like a being from an entirely different realm, far beyond his reach.
Well, I can't deny that I am exceptionally beautiful.
Nodding in agreement, I immediately dismissed the thought.
Just because I was out of his league didn't give him a free pass to pump aphrodisiacs into someone else's room.
"Right. At least you know your place."
"Hehe, y-yes, of course. So please, spare my life..."
"But a crime is still a crime."
Crack!
Without hesitation, I delivered a clean punch straight to his jaw. Sosam's eyes rolled back, and he instantly blacked out.
After kicking the unconscious waiter into a dark corner of the hallway, I stood in front of Seomun Jin's door with my arms crossed, pacing back and forth.
Now, then... I wonder what's going on inside.
A brief moment of hesitation crossed my mind.
When I encountered the Moyong siblings on my first day in the Jianghu, they were already engaged in their own twisted incestuous affair, so I had no qualms about watching the show. But the women in this room were different.
Weren't they victims who had almost suffered a horrific fate at the hands of bandits just yesterday?
Right. As a fellow woman—nominally speaking—it would violate my moral code to let them be forced into something against their will under the influence of an aphrodisiac. Should I go in and use my internal energy to detoxify them?
Just as I was about to reach for the doorknob with the noble, benevolent mindset of a great heroine—
"Young Master Seomun. Please... take us in."
A deeply sorrowful and earnest female voice drifted out from inside the room.
Huh? They haven't started yet?
Slowly pulling my hand away from the doorknob, I leaned in and pressed my eye against the hole Sosam had poked in the paper window.
The scene inside was entirely different from what I had expected.
Two women were kneeling before Seomun Jin, bowing their heads in desperate supplication.
"Please, do not do this. Have I not already promised to help you both return home safely and re-establish yourselves?"
A flustered Seomun Jin tried to help them up, but the woman leading the plea remained steadfast.
She was none other than Chaeryeong, the daughter of the Cheongil Merchant Group's chief.
Kneeling beside her was Soyun, the assistant chief of the merchant group.
Though their merchant group wasn't a massive empire that ruled the continent, they were daughters of a highly reputable and financially stable enterprise in the Henan region.
"Our merchant group has been destroyed, and we no longer have any power to protect ourselves. Even if we return home like this, we will only become targets for beastly men once again," Chaeryeong said, looking up at Seomun Jin with tear-rimmed eyes.
She continued, her voice trembling with emotion.
"We are well aware that your heart belongs to Miss Yeonhwa, who saved our lives. However... we do not mind if we are not your primary wives. If you would only take us in as concubines, the remaining trade routes and information networks of the Cheongil Merchant Group will serve as a powerful asset to the Seomun Clan, and to you, Young Master."
Oho.
Eavesdropping from outside, I mentally slapped my knee.
I should have known something was up the moment they insisted on sharing a room with Seomun Jin instead of staying with the other four women.
I guess that level of quick wit and calculation is a basic survival skill in the Jianghu.
"T-That is out of the question...! How could I dare keep other women by my side when I have yet to face my savior!"
Seomun Jin waved his hands frantically in refusal, but his voice had grown noticeably warmer and strained.
"Haa, ah... It's so... hot. Why is my body suddenly feeling like..."
Beads of sweat began to form on Seomun Jin's pale forehead. As the aphrodisiac took hold, an undeniable and monstrous transformation began to occur.
The center of Seomun Jin's skirt, which had been draped demurely over his knees, began to rise stiffly, pitching a massive tent.
"Ah...!"
Chaeryeong and Soyun, their faces flushed bright red, gasped for air as they stared blankly at the unrealistically swelling, massive presence rising before them.
The drug melted away the women's reason, igniting the desperate desires they had been trying so hard to suppress.
"Haa... Young Master..."
As if her mind was made up, Chaeryeong looked at Seomun Jin with moist, trembling eyes and slowly began to untie her bodice.
Beside her, Soyun also panted heavily, shedding her skirt.
The pale, jade-like naked bodies of the two women cast a dizzying, alluring glow in the dimly lit room.
"M-Misses! Haa... You mustn't, ah... Please don't do this...!"
Though his mouth uttered protests, Seomun Jin's monstrous, aphrodisiac-fueled cock was already swelling ferociously, threatening to tear right through his skirt.
Watching this breathtaking spectacle through the peephole, the corners of my mouth curled upward as I clasped my hands behind my back.
Well, look at that. The mood is actually quite serious and touching.
They were desperately offering a transaction, risking their family's survival and future. If I suddenly barged in to "detoxify" them and ruined the moment, wouldn't that make me incredibly tactless?
Indeed, it would.
Barging in now would only ruin these women's noble resolve.
Having convinced myself with this shamelessly brilliant logic, I swallowed a dry cough and pressed my eye back against the peephole.
Yes. When the atmosphere is this solemn, spectating quietly is the proper etiquette of a true heroine.
But watching with just my bare eyes felt a bit... lacking.
Wait a second. Soso is currently busy circulating her Qi in our room, so she won't notice if I slip back inside for a moment, right?
Struck by this brilliant idea, I dashed back to our room, retrieved the Purple Star Blood Jade dildo I had carefully tucked away in my bundle, and slipped back out.
