Ryeong
“Hand over everything you—what the hell?”
“What’s it look like? I got caught in the trap you set.”
The bandit, Daeyeong, took a moment to process the absurd spectacle before him. A woman was tangled in the netting. Had she been the daughter of a wealthy, noble house, he would have cheered at reeling in a prize catch. Instead, she was an ordinary—well, dubious—beggar draped in nothing but a tattered straw mat. Worse, she possessed a baffling degree of audacity. Even after realizing she was caught in a snare, she showed neither tension nor the slightest inclination to struggle free.
Flustered, Daeyeong shook his head. After weighing his options, he decided to simply cut her loose.
“What gives? Why are you letting me go? Aren’t you supposed to drag me back to your stronghold?”
“Listen here. Just because we’re bandits doesn’t mean we’re utter scum. What could I possibly gain from someone who clearly doesn’t have a copper to her name?”
“Huh? Every bandit I’ve ever known wouldn’t just pass up a body like this.”
“W-What?!”
Playfully, Ryeong shifted the straw mat just enough to tease the swell of her cleavage. Daeyeong turned bright red and clamped his hands over his eyes.
What a naive fool.
Since she was stuck in a woman’s body anyway, she had intended to test out a few things, but she had run straight into an oddly principled bandit. Of course, the word ‘bandit’ was inherently dishonest, but she was willing to overlook that irony. Looking closer, however, Daeyeong hadn’t shut out his vision entirely; his fingers were parted ever so slightly, proving he couldn’t completely block out his baser instincts.
As if stung by her gaze, he raised his voice defensively.
“Are you trying to paint me as some sort of scoundrel?!”
“For someone protesting so loudly, the gaps between your fingers are wide open.”
“Gasp!”
At Ryeong’s mocking sneer, Daeyeong whipped around entirely. He had been thoroughly played by a lone woman, yet he hadn’t turned to banditry to indulge in that sort of degeneracy.
“Just go back. I have no taste for laying hands on a frail woman.”
“Haha, you’re hilarious. Come on, don’t be like that. Why not just take me to your stronghold?”
“I told you to go—”
“Take me with you, you bastard.”
“...!?”
In the span of a single breath, Ryeong moved. A slender, sharply whittled branch—nothing more than a twig, really—rested flush against Daeyeong’s throat. It was over before he could blink. Unable to mount the slightest resistance, Daeyeong found himself utterly subdued.
A master!
Only then did the realization hit him. This woman could have easily avoided the trap from the very beginning. She had been playing him for a fool all along; otherwise, the blinding speed she had just displayed defied all reason.
“Lead the way.”
“What are you after in our stronghold? Why would a master of your caliber go around wearing nothing but straw matting?”
“I need some damn clothes. Wandering around draped in straw isn’t exactly a walk in the park.”
“What...?”
“Are you deaf? I said give me normal clothes. Something tailored to fit my body.”
Daeyeong blinked repeatedly in disbelief. He felt as though he had crossed paths with a certified lunatic. Getting caught in a bandit snare and holding someone hostage at knifepoint, all just to steal a set of clothes?
Wait, no. If anyone else had found her instead of me...
She would have been dragged straight back to the stronghold just as she had planned. She wasn’t crazy at all; this was the product of cold, meticulous calculation.
Meanwhile, cold sweat traced a path down Ryeong’s spine.
Damn old geezer. So this is what you meant by not being able to kill?
Her hand trembled faintly, and it took every ounce of her willpower to keep it steady. When Hyeok had reincarnated her into a woman’s body, he had laid down a single non-negotiable rule: do not kill anyone. Unless she sensed genuine murderous intent directed at her first, she would never be able to take a life.
She hadn’t imagined it would manifest like this. Her flesh and bone literally revolted against the act of murder. Even though a simple twitch of her fingers could pierce the man’s carotid artery, her hand refused to advance an inch further, no matter how fiercely her mind commanded it. She had anticipated internal injuries or a draining of her inner arts as a penalty, not an absolute, physical impossibility. Her thoughts kept plunging the makeshift spike forward, yet her arm remained frozen in place.
In that case, I have to test the boundaries.
In truth, Ryeong had allowed herself to be snared for two reasons. First, to rid herself of this miserable straw matting. Second, to test the bizarre restriction the old bastard had placed upon her.
The initial result was clear: without perceiving murderous intent, she could strike or threaten, but taking a life was utterly impossible. The remaining question was whether she could truly kill someone who harbored murderous intent toward her. That was something she intended to verify once they reached the stronghold.
“Lead me to your stronghold if you don’t want a fresh hole through your neck.”
“...Young lady.”
“Young lady my ass. Move.”
Ryeong jerked her chin forward in an unmistakable gesture, leaving Daeyeong with no choice but to turn back toward the mountains. Bringing an armed stranger home would earn him a merciless beating and an endless torrent of curses, but fleeing was out of the question. Her footwork had overwhelmed him—a first-rate martial artist—with effortless ease. This woman was at least a peak-tier master, perhaps even a transcendent one. Though why a transcendent expert would run around acting like a mad beggar in the woods was a mystery beyond his comprehension.
“I’ll guide you. But... my comrades aren’t the friendliest bunch.”
“Don’t care. Just get moving. You understand me?”
In the end, Daeyeong surrendered and led the way. The outpost he belonged to was the Yellow Tiger Stronghold, a bottom-feeder among the Green Forest Seventy-Two Strongholds. Even their stronghold leader was merely at the lower rungs of the first-rate realm; a raid by a peak-tier master would wipe them out entirely. The only reason the Yellow Tiger Stronghold had survived this long was that they knew precisely which lines never to cross. The problem was that the person walking right behind him seemed to possess no lines whatsoever.
Stronghold Leader, forgive me. This is entirely beyond my control.
While Daeyeong trudged dejectedly toward their lair, Ryeong steadily circulated the Heaven-Killing Art through her meridians. Her physical frame was substantially smaller and more compact than in her previous life; growing accustomed to it would take considerable time. After walking for about an hour, they reached the entrance of the Yellow Tiger Stronghold. Ryeong leaned in and whispered into Daeyeong’s ear.
“Tell them you dragged me in because I have a pretty face. Make it sound natural, or else... you know what happens, right?”
“U-Understood.”
Pale and haggard, Daeyeong approached the sentries at the gate and exchanged a few hushed words with his fellow bandits. Though they spoke quietly, Ryeong caught every syllable. His companion looked suspicious at first but eventually unbarred the wooden gate. Listening to their banter, it was evident that Daeyeong had never kidnapped anyone under such pretenses before. Yet just as they were about to step through into the encampment—
“Heheh, nice and ripe.”
“...”
The sentry reached out and boldly grabbed Ryeong’s backside. Draped only in a ragged straw mat and ostensibly dragged in as captive prey by Daeyeong, she looked utterly helpless to him. Daeyeong lunged forward in panic to stop him, but it was already too late.
Squelch!
“Where do you think your hands are going?”
“Ghk... krrrgh!”
“Ah-Min! You crazy bitch, how dare you—!”
“Bullshit, all of it.”
Enraged by his comrade’s sudden demise, the other sentry drew his blade and charged. Ryeong greeted him with a beaming, radiant smile.
So it doesn’t have to be murderous intent—foul lust triggers the exception just fine!
The sentry whose throat now gushed blood had harbored vile sexual desire toward her. Curious whether that counted under the restriction, Ryeong hadn’t hesitated for a fraction of a heartbeat to drive the sharpened branch straight into his carotid artery. The experiment had been an overwhelming success. The man collapsed as a fountain of crimson erupted from his neck, his breath cutting short within seconds.
Daeyeong froze in horror while the second guard lunged in a fury. Daeyeong scrambled to shout a warning, but—
Splaaash!
“Ke-hekk!”
“What in the world is—!”
“They came at me first, so it’s self-defense. Wouldn’t you say?”
Daeyeong’s face turned completely ashen. Just when he thought they had slipped past peacefully, she had kicked off a catastrophic disaster at the very threshold. Slaughtering both sentries guarding the gate! It was tantamount to an outright declaration of war against the Yellow Tiger Stronghold.
She’s a lunatic! A genuine, certifiable lunatic!
Just look at the grin plastered across her face after butchering a man. If that wasn’t a demon incarnate, what was? Yet misfortune, as was its custom, never arrived alone. At that very moment, the stronghold leader and his entourage stepped into view, having prepared to ride out on a hunt.
“What is the meaning of this, Daeyeong?!”
“S-Stronghold Leader! You see, the thing is—”
“Daeyeong! Have you lost your mind, coveting my seat? Bringing such an expert to overthrow the stronghold?!”
“No, that’s not—”
Daeyeong felt like tearing his own hair out. The timing was so absurdly damning that no denial sounded convincing, and there was no way the red-eyed stronghold leader would listen to reason now.
“My, my. It’s a gold mine.”
“Would you please shut your mouth, Young Lady?! You’re making things worse!”
“You want to die too?”
“Aaargh! Dammit all!”
Just as Daeyeong’s frayed temper was about to boil over after enduring to his absolute limit—
BOOOOOM!
A deafening blast tore through the rear entrance.
“Annihilate the Yellow Tiger Stronghold!!”
“Woooooah!”
Roughly twenty martial artists bearing banners emblazoned with the character for ‘Alliance’ stormed into the compound. The stronghold leader’s jaw dropped in horror, his frantic gaze darting between Ryeong and the incoming Murim Alliance unit.
“Daeyeoooong!! Did you collude with the Murim Alliance as well?! Do you possess not an ounce of bandit honor?!”
“No! It wasn’t me, Leader!! I didn’t do anything! I don’t know a damn thing about treachery or the Murim Alliance!”
“Shut up, you traitor!”
Daeyeong was on the verge of madness. Of all the godforsaken moments, why did a squad from the Murim Alliance have to raid them now?! Not even a trashy novel would dare string together plot twists this absurd! Yet even as Daeyeong screamed inwardly, someone present welcomed the chaos more warmly than anyone else.
“Figures. Those guys look a lot more entertaining than a bunch of mountain bandits.”
Snap!
Ryeong broke the shaft of a spear she had plucked from the dead sentry, shortening it into a manageable weapon before settling into a stance. The Qingcheng Sect was deeply entangled in the events that had reduced her to this state. And the Qingcheng Sect was one of the Nine Great Sects, a pillar of the Orthodox Factions, and an influential member of the Murim Alliance. In other words, her highest-priority targets.
“Hey, bandits. Just sit back and watch.”
Ryeong unleashed her qi with a chilling smile, instantly checking the momentum of the charging Alliance forces. Even they couldn’t ignore the menacing pressure radiating from a peak-tier master.
“A-A master! There’s an expert among them!”
“Form a battle array and engage!”
“You really think that’ll help?”
With those parting words, Ryeong vanished into thin air. Neither the Murim Alliance warriors nor the bandits could track her presence. With effortless footwork alone, she had completely erased her aura.
“She’s fast! Guard each other’s backs—ghk!”
“That’s one.”
Slipping seamlessly into the midst of the Alliance formation, Ryeong swept her makeshift blade. The severed head of a young warrior flew high into the air. His comrades recoiled in horror at the instantaneous carnage. Wiping away the warm blood spattered across her cheek, Ryeong smiled.
“Run away, and I won’t go easy on you.”
“...!?”
“...!?”
A light, casual warning tossed out without care. Yet the Alliance warriors bearing the full brunt of her murderous aura could only shudder in raw dread. The bloodlust pouring from that diminutive woman was unlike anything they had ever encountered. It felt as if they were standing directly before the Grim Reaper.