The Sweet Middle-aged Man of the Namgung Family
"Over there!"
"Huh?"
Stepping out of the hut, Baek Seol waved her front paws toward the tree above. "There!"
I stroked the fluffy bundle in my arms, and the ultra-high-performance fluffball rolled over to show its belly.
—Click, click.
"Huuu— Stop hiding like a rat and come out already."
I waited, but it stayed silent. Seemed like it had no intention of showing itself. Even looking where Baek Seol pointed, I saw nothing.
"Baek Seol."
"Eung!"
When I opened my pocket, Baek Seol scurried inside. No need for words anymore—she understood perfectly by now.
"Huuu—"
Tick.
The cigarette ember I flicked landed on the damp soil and quickly died out.
"Ugh, quit with the shady stuff. You coming out or not?"
Bang—!
The moment I stomped the ground, the tree Baek Seol had pointed at rushed closer. Crack. Just as my fist was about to connect with the trunk, a man in dark crimson robes dropped from the branches and thrust his arm toward my punch.
My fist met his open palm.
—Kwaaang!!
When the shockwave cleared, the man's hand—wreathed in blue haze—was completely twisted.
"What the—? Who are you?"
"Young lady, we are… Kuhek!"
Dark crimson blood, the same color as his clothes, gushed from the man's mouth.
"That's why you shouldn't suddenly pop out like that."
Ping! The moment the man spat blood, more figures dropped silently from the sky, drawing their swords.
Thwack!
"Kuaaaaagh!!"
In an instant, their eyes rolled back as they spewed bloody tears.
"W-wait!"
The man's face turned pale at the sight.
"What? You drew your swords, so you gotta die."
"Young lady! We're not your enemies!"
"Kuaaaagh!!! Just stop!!"
The subordinates clutched their eyes and rolled on the ground. Total chaos.
"Please stop. We are not enemies."
"Hmm."
The calm way he spoke even in this mess almost made me trust him a little.
Thwack!
"You should've talked faster."
"Kek!"
The subordinates who had been thrashing about let out short screams and collapsed in a heap.
***
Crack!
"……"
He didn't even groan while I set his bones without anesthesia.
"Aren't you supposed to be some martial arts master? Why'd you just take the punch like that?"
"……Young lady's fist was so ab—Kuaaaagh!!"
"Abnormal? Want me to reattach your neck backwards?"
"Your graceful form left me momentarily entranced. I thought I was witnessing the incarnation of a Vajra warrior."
'How did he know?'
This guy was dangerous to let your guard down around.
"What about those guys? They're martial masters too, right?"
The answer came from the man beside him, who was blinking rapidly as he tried to realign his eyeballs.
"If we had known the young lady wielded such terrifying sorcery, we would have protected ourselves with internal energy."
"Terrifying? Sorcery? While you're at it, protect your balls too."
"Huk."
Every man nearby instinctively covered his crotch.
"Repeat after me. 'Seonsul.'"
"S-s-seo……"
They couldn't bring themselves to say it.
"Want me to attach your leader's arm to his asshole with sorcery?"
"Seonsul! It's seonsul. Haha. Right?"
The man I'd been talking to elbowed his colleague and pushed the blame.
"R-right. Haha, seonsul!"
Crack!
While we talked, I finished setting the leader's bones using massage techniques.
"Heal."
Light from my hand seeped into his arm, restoring it instantly.
"Try moving it. I set the bones properly."
The leader clenched and opened his fist, then nodded.
"To heal a crushed and twisted arm in an instant… even Hua Tuo would weep at such medical skill."
"Hua Tuo's old-school stuff. My treatment is MG-grade."
The leader's expression twisted strangely.
"D-don't tell me MG means Mad Doctor? You even fixed their rolled-back eyes……"
"Want me to break your arm again?"
"A slip of the tongue. Divine Physician."
—Click, click.
"Huuu— So, you guys were sent by Grandma?"
"Indeed. Lady Hyangno said the young lady had just entered the martial world, so she was worried and told us to watch over you."
Calling Baek Seol a spiritual beast or whatever already seemed suspicious, but seeing these people following me made me even more curious about my identity.
"Then you should've hidden properly. Why get caught and suffer like this?"
"……We're just as dumbfounded. The concealment arts of the Heavenly Blood Pavilion are supposed to be the best under heaven. The other martial artists would laugh if they knew."
"So the best under heaven in this neighborhood means getting caught in the blink of an eye?"
He averted his gaze, having nothing to say.
"Huuu— I don't need you, so if you're done, go away."
"We cannot do that."
"I said I don't want you. What's with the 'cannot'?"
"Then kill us. We've failed our mission, so there's no value in living."
The leader spouted nonsense and stretched out his neck.
"I get the life-is-cheap attitude around here, so if you wanna die, go to that hill and borrow a wolf's teeth or something."
"Kill us."
"Agh, damn it. I'm not even swatting flies, why do you keep asking to die?"
The men standing guard around the leader stretched their necks out too.
"Oh? Want me to twist your balls off and kill you?"
"W-we want a death befitting warriors."
"You're all insane."
Still, these guys gave me chills. If they weren't people sent by that grandma, they'd be terrifying. Their movements made no sound, and without Baek Seol, I wouldn't have even known they existed. I really need to get stronger.
Tick.
—Click, click.
"Huuu—"
Thanks to their nonsense, my cigarette was burning down fast.
"Here."
I stuck the cigarette I'd been smoking into the leader's mouth, and he started puffing away.
I still had no idea what kind of people they were.
"Such smooth tobacco……"
"Give it back."
The leader stared blankly at my hand.
"What would you like?"
"Money."
"Money?"
"Gold, silver, whatever you've got. Hand it over."
"Were you part of the Green Forest bandits?"
The leader rummaged through his robes and handed over a small pouch.
"I never thought I'd be robbed by a bandit. I don't have much. If you want, I'll bring more after we return."
Opening the pouch revealed a bunch of crude coins.
"How much is this worth?"
"……Where exactly are you from, young lady?"
"Just tell me."
The leader, still puffing on the cigarette, gave me an incredulous look at the coins in my hand.
"Two coins can buy a bowl of noodles."
When I put the coins into my inventory space, my money display went up by a thousand won.
"What about this?"
"One nyang of silver is a month's wage for a waiter carrying noodles. That's assuming a well-paying inn."
When I put the silver coin in, a million won appeared this time.
So one silver coin was worth about a thousand copper coins. The value of silver felt off—maybe inflation was insane here.
"And this?"
"One gold coin equals twenty silver coins."
Putting the gold coin in added twenty million won.
The pouch contained one gold coin, ten silver coins, and ten copper coins—about thirty million and ten thousand won total.
"Is this neighborhood Zimbabwe, or are you just loaded?"
"I can't reveal everything, but as the leader of a unit, my salary is on the higher side."
If a popular ramen shop part-timer earned a million won a month, this guy had to be something else. Carrying thirty million won in a black plastic bag like it was nothing? Either he was crazy or some high-ranking noble.
"Aren't there boat-shaped ones besides the round coins?"
"If you mean wonbo, one gold wonbo equals fifty gold coins."
Fifty times twenty million—that's a billion won per gold boat.
"I read in a book that someone trashed an inn and paid with a gold boat for the table."
"What kind of lunatic wrote that book? Even the emperor on his throne wouldn't do that."
Yeah, throwing a billion won for a meal didn't seem likely.
—Click, click.
"Huuu— Here."
"S-spatial magic!"
"It's seonsul or whatever, so just take it and be surprised later."
His face lit up the moment I handed him a pack of cigarettes. He really liked the ones I'd given him. On the other hand, I was starting to doubt if he was really the guy who'd just been robbed of thirty million won.
"Um, the others……"
The men on guard tried to act indifferent, but I could feel them glancing over. This world seemed strict about hierarchy. If I gave the subordinates the same amount as their leader, they'd definitely sulk.
"Leader gets one more pack. Everyone else gets one pack each."
After teaching them how to open the packs, they all started moving their hands busily. Their expressions had softened into cheerful smiles as they each took out a cigarette.
"The transparent wrapping is surprising enough, but wrapping it again in expensive paper and even wrapping the tobacco in paper……"
Given how they called it smooth despite smoking strong stuff, the local cigarettes must be extremely harsh. This country probably wasn't advanced enough to make filters.
"Huuu— Man, that's smooth."
"Hehe, Leader. I want missions like this from now on."
Hard to believe these were the same people whose eyes I'd just fixed.
"Looks like we're done here, so I'm heading out. If you're following, be careful."
As I turned to leave, the leader hurried after me.
"Young lady, if you're going to the village, you'd better wear a veil."
"Veil? Like a mask?"
"I don't know what a mask is, but cover your face."
"Why?"
"Are you asking because you don't know? With your outstanding beauty, every wolf in the martial world will come running. It's obvious."
"Oh, come on."
When I scratched my head, the leader's expression turned strange.
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'm used to it, so it's fine."
"Haa, excessive beauty is poison in the martial world. Also, I don't know where your clothes are from, but your outfit stands out too much."
***
"Photo. Inconvenient."
—Crack!
"Kuek!"
I slapped the guy who was acting up, and he foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
"B-big brother! How dare you hit our big brother……!"
When the guy hugging the big brother tried to stand with a desperate look, the leader suddenly flew in.
Bang!
With an invisible-speed swing, the remaining two men were sent flying far away.
"Miss Han, I told you. This is the martial world where everything runs on the logic of power."
The moment we entered the village, trouble started everywhere, so he must've come out because he couldn't stand it.
"That's why I like it here."
"What do you like about it?"
The leader gave me a genuinely puzzled look.
—Click, click.
"Huuu— Hey, if you don't wanna die, hand over everything you've got."
"That guy already passed out……"
"What?"
The leader's eyes instantly turned cold.
"Mister, what's that over there?"
"Hm?"
Following my hand, the leader nodded. I'd been curious about the commotion ever since we entered the village.
"That's the martial tournament. More precisely, an arena using the tournament's name."
"Ooh! Let's go."
As I moved toward the noise, the leader shook his head and followed.
"Heavenly Sword First Form — Heavenly Tiger Slash!"
Chaeng!
Someone shouted loudly and swung their sword at the opponent.
"What's that?"
"The third son of the Namgung Family, one of the Five Great Clans that controls Anhui Province. Before making his debut in the martial world, the Namgung Family's unique……"
"No, why's he barking so loudly?"
"B-barking…… Ahem."
The leader glanced around cautiously before leaning close to my ear.
"Miss Han, you must be careful with your words in Hefei. And that barking—no, shouting—is because the match isn't meant to kill the opponent, but to compete for the sake of improving one's skills."
"Aha. So they're telling each other what attacks they're going to use?"
"You understood correctly."
"What an idiotic way to fight."
The leader coughed loudly, worried someone might hear.
"Ahem! Miss Han, please."
Ting!
While we talked, one sword flew off and the match ended quickly.
"I've learned much."
The man holding the thick sword bowed to his opponent. Placing a fist on an open palm seemed to be the greeting.
—Waaah!!
When the match ended, the spectators crowded around cheered loudly.
"Haha, anyone who wishes to test their hand, step forward!"
The spectators glanced at each other, as if saying "you go."
"Heh! I'll wager my Nokpyeong Jahwangdan!"
"Ooh! Is that good for the body?"
The murmuring grew louder, but no one stepped up.
"Heh, to think the spirit of the martial world has fallen so low. Then I'll wager the Cheonsim Yongyeondan that the family head gave me! Still no one!?"
The murmuring exploded. That was definitely something good.
"Miss, that is……"
"Me! Me! Me!!"
—Waaah!!
The spectators' cheers erupted again. Pushing through the crowd to the center, the man holding the massive sword met my gaze.
"Ah…… So the phrase 'heavenly beauty' was made for you, young lady."
"Ah, thanks."
"I am Namgung Myeong of the great Namgung Family. Might I ask for the beautiful young lady's name?"
My teeth felt like they were rotting. Who raised this sweet middle-aged man of the Namgung Family like this?
"What if I win?"
"Haha! So be it. You are truly delightful, young lady."
He looked at me with a beaming smile.
"I'll give you ten seconds. If it were up to me, I'd yield my entire life, but given the situation, it can't be helped. Please don't hate me for it."
'Ten seconds? He means he'll let me hit him for ten seconds?'
Namgung Myeong's eyes darted restlessly over my body.
"Wow, what a gentleman."
"Kahaha, that's the great Namgung Family called the Heaven Beyond Heaven, isn't it?"
They said calling out technique names was polite here, but since I only threw punches all the time, I didn't really have any techniques.
"Hmm……"
Ding! Ding! Ding!……
At this point, I had something worth shouting.
"Shall I go?"
"Anytime is fine."
"The basics of fighting are restricting your opponent's movement, right?"
"Indeed! Excellent."
Namgung Myeong nodded vigorously.
"Yah! Binding Magic! No, Binding Seonsul! Don't let him move his legs!"
"Hahat, how can a martial art name be so cute……"
Low Kick
"……Huh?"