Chapter 16

The poor kid grows up fast.

So does the sick child.

And Jin Jangmyung was both sick and poor.

She wasn’t even poor from the start.

When the fever broke and her hazy mind returned, the decorations in the house were gone, and the number of servants had dwindled.

That sprawling manor with a yard had shrunk down to a damp corner with a creaking door.

Dad, who went out to fetch medicine, never came back.

Instead, only the medicine returned.

It should have been the other way around.

Mom couldn’t even mourn properly.

During sleepless nights pretending to sleep, I heard her stifled sobs, trying not to be heard.

It wasn’t long before I left the house.

It was all my fault.

So Jin Jangmyung had to be a brat.

She had to be an immature child.

At a young age, she grew up too fast, realizing that her adult-like demeanor only pained her mother.

And then she saw that woman.

A foolish woman with a beaming smile, serving elaborate dishes and looking incredibly happy.

A dark feeling boiled inside Jin Jangmyung.

Then she got a taste of the food.

She fell for the provocation and ended up gorging herself till her stomach hurt.

The food was delicious, though.

But she couldn’t stand it when her mother expressed her humble gratitude.

It shouldn’t be like that.

It was just a shallow kindness from a simpleton, who thought the world was all sunshine and rainbows.

Light, cheap goodwill.

—-

Inside the slowly rolling carriage.

Carriages are meant to roll slowly.

Just a bit more speed, and it turns from a mode of transport into a torturous device squeezing the passenger’s behind.

Inside, A-Qing was having a tough time.

“Mom, is this really okay?”

“The kid can be a bit spoiled… Myung, you’re making the Great Hero uncomfortable.”

“…This is comfy.”

Comfort in the end depends on how scientific the cushioning is.

The shock absorption of the carriage leaned entirely on the materials used.

So it meant the elasticity of the wood was everything.

For that reason, Jin Jangmyung wasn’t wrong.

A-Qing’s thigh, cushioned with flesh and muscle, was way comfier than a pillow stuffed with cotton.

Plus, it was good for leaning back on.

Since the night’s attack, Jin Jangmyung had changed.

She stuck close to A-Qing like glue, unwilling to separate.

Instead, A-Qing felt uncomfortable.

If Jin Jangmyung were just a tiny 10-year-old, it’d be cute to scoop her up and ruffle her hair.

But when it’s a petite 16-year-old girl?

Just sitting her on one’s lap meant risking social death!

Especially since her mother was sitting across!

So A-Qing had to stay stiff as a board.

But isn’t 16 too old for some on-the-lap action and pouting?

Or is that how girls roll?

Truth is, Jin Jangmyung was enjoying A-Qing’s awkwardness with her sickly sensitivity.

For some unknown reason, she noticed that A-Qing felt pretty uncomfortable with the closeness.

Jin Jangmyung pressed on.

She grabbed A-Qing’s left and right hands, laid them right on her own thighs.

A-Qing went stiff as a board.

This is so gonna screw me over.

From others’ perspective, it might look like a mysterious woman embracing her nephew, but not for A-Qing.

The soul matters when the outside doesn’t!

A-Qing was hiding her feelings.

Is this a green light? No.

Oh. A-Qing is… A-Qing is.

When things get tough or anxious, she usually thinks about meme phrases from modern times, but this time, nothing came to mind.

Just yesterday you were a whirlwind of puberty.

When did we even become “we”?

Somehow, A-Qing was swallowing her confusion.

“Great Hero.”

A-Qing jolted at the irritated voice.

The stiff face of Yang Sowol appeared.

“I’m innocent! As you saw, this is not my intention,”

“Somehow, I think we picked the wrong coachman.”

Luckily, it wasn’t an interrogation about child molestation.

But what’s up with the coachman?

Oh, the coachman is terrible at driving the carriage.

How did it feel like I was glued to the ground?

It was like I could feel every grain of sand on the road through my butt!

I once went on a drive with a friend who had just bought their first car.

We didn’t even last thirty minutes before I got car sick.

The driver makes all the difference in ride comfort.

“The carriage is slowing down.”

Yang Sowol picked up her sword.

A-Qing was startled.

No matter how bad the coachman was, that was a bit much, don’t you think?

Or is that the norm in the Martial World?

Maybe they have a custom of beheading coaches who can’t drive in the Martial World.

Yikes, what a harsh industry!

But then, where do rookie coachmen get their experience?

While A-Qing was still confused, Yang Sowol shouted.

“Now!”

There was no time to stop her.

Yang Sowol kicked the door open and leaped out.

It wasn’t a suggestion to watch; she meant to follow!

A-Qing jumped out after Jin Jangmyung.

“Damn it! She figured it out!”

“Hit them! Just keep the kid safe!”

A crowd of unexpected guests rushed in.

A-Qing finally grasped the situation.

These punks haven’t thrown in the towel yet.

A-Qing’s hands instinctively fumbled in her robe and drew something to launch.

One charging enemy grabbed their face, howling out in pain.

A-A-Aah! A scream that sounded like a neck was being torn apart.

But anyone would scream like that if a pair of chopsticks were rammed into their eyes.

After the night’s attack, A-Qing reflected a lot.

Gaining confidence as a master has made her too relaxed.

If her inner strength had been just a little lacking, she wouldn’t be breathing right now.

So she put some training points into her skills.

She had around thirty white-bordered martial arts techniques, among which two were the Inner Strength Meditation Technique, leveled up to 10 stars.

Though it didn’t have the great mastery level of 12 stars like the lowest-level martial art should, it still saw about a 20% total boost.

And she leveled up one stealth technique to 10 stars.

“One Stick, Three Sparrows.”

A throw technique referring to catching three sparrows with just one chopstick, easy to find but not highly regarded in terms of power.

However, Western Master Jon Mo once wiped out an entire gang with just one pencil, his fame skyrocketing.

Even third-rate techniques become lethal in the hands of a master.

“One Stick, Three Sparrows” uses a stick easily found, so its base power is low.

That’s where its charm lies, catching an enemy off guard.

The chopsticks flew toward their eyes one after another.

One enemy was already half-blind and sitting on the ground.

The attackers had anticipated that. They raised their arms to block at any moment.

But then a low line slipped right through their legs.

The second victim didn’t even get to scream.

Instead, they grasped their groin area, bubbles foaming at the mouth.

A vicious attack severing their manhood.

The attackers felt a chilling fear creeping in.

“Such viciousness!”

“Witch, witch! There’s a witch here!”

A-Qing felt a tinge of regret.

But in this unforgiving game of life and death, can one really afford to pick and choose methods?

Taking down two with just chopsticks was worth every training point.

A-Qing drew her sword, the blade’s sharpness gleaming.

“Peak Master!”

“What the hell? I didn’t say peak!”

Their resolve wavered.

A-Qing lunged forward, but her foot only made contact with nothing but air.

Surprised enemies retreated quickly.

A-Qing hesitated.

Can I take her and still get some blood on my hands?

Having learned practical combat from a pile of training dummies last night, it seemed like there wasn’t a master around, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

But what if I leave a big scar on this delicate spirit?

That’s when Yang Sowol came swooping in.

“Great Hero, get Myung!”

“I had faith in you!”

A-Qing shouted, delighted.

Her hands were free now. Everything was going smoothly.

The two thugs who followed Yang Sowol were split in half by her sword.

As their upper bodies detached, their insides spilled out.

Enemies around Yang Sowol fled in panic.

That was when it happened.

“Stop!”

A man, with an imposing air, stepped forward.

A-Qing recognized that face.

“You! From yesterday!”

It was the dude who threw the rain and ran away yesterday.

Thanks to that guy, A-Qing had the delightful experience of being forcibly thrust to the ground.

The shine faded from A-Qing’s eyes.

I said I would definitely kill that jerk.

But the guy looked oddly motivated even in front of death.

Displaying a clear, round thing in his hand with pride, he raised it high.

“Stop! Can’t you see this? If you don’t want to die together, let go of that kid immediately—”

But A-Qing was already seeing red.

She obviously didn’t care.

Bang! The bell of Buddha’s Physical Body rang out.

The man’s wrist vanished without a trace.

And that dark, round thing went flying far away…

Its sound turned into a shockwave that shook the forest.

The trees swayed, dry leaves floated down, and the grass lay flat. Birds took to the sky.

A tremor moved through the ground beneath her feet.

The Thunderbolt Bullet.

A secret weapon of the government office, the worst nightmare of the Martial World.

For defense, all one can do is rely on the Qi of defense.

Even a peak warrior would vanish without a trace in such an explosion.

But A-Qing didn’t know any of that.

A-Qing was already gripping that guy’s neck.

“You son of a bitch. Did I say I would kill you?”

“Cough, I didn’t, didn’t say that.”

“I definitely did. In my heart. Desperately.”

“That’s…”

Pressing down on the carotid artery means even the worst of amateurs won’t survive.

The man slumped unconscious.

This guy isn’t to be killed easily.

Now, how do I kill him in a way that earns me some fame?

But before that…

A-Qing’s head snapped around.

Her radiant smile and dead-eyed gaze were locked onto the attackers.

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