Chapter 164

The Dog of Disaster was simultaneously the Dog Fool and had even sold the guests, so even if Qing let him go, he wouldn’t last long anyway.

Scarred Wang knew this fact too, but in the end, the crisis at hand was the most crucial thing.

Thus, Qing intentionally acted even more cruelly.

After all, if he was already a dead man, she might as well hint at giving him a far more horrific end.

“That young man is—”

“Stop! You fool, trying to leak customer information while being a Blackspot member! Guh!”

Someone attempted to silence Wang’s mouth.

Qing saw the evil deed and threw her hairpin.

The top-tier martial artist of the Black Market fell to the ground clutching his neck.

The “Straight Throw” technique was an amateur assassination skill that simply threw straight without any fancy tricks.

But combined with her otherworldly strength and the inner power of her throw, a mere human body couldn’t withstand it.

“Is there anyone else who wants to talk? If you’ve got eyes, can you count how many hairs are left on my head?”

It wasn’t uncommon for women to use iron hairpins as weapons.

However, to have that hairpin pierce all the way through the neck rather than just getting stuck was a story I had never heard of in my life.

Two peak masters among the Black Market martial artists exchanged glances, and one spoke up.

“…Is there still business to attend to with the Black Market?”

“No. If she hadn’t stopped me, I would have finished my business and left ages ago.”

Qing pointed at the fallen Black Market martial artist.

The Black Market warrior then lowered his voice dangerously.

“The Blackspot will remember this. With a bounty of a thousand, even the assassins of the world, no, not even the assassins will go crazy. I’ll be watching how long you can last. Unyeonjeong, huh? It looks like the connection with the ruined Pearl Girl will be cut off.”

With that, he said to depart, and the other Black Market warriors followed with visibly relieved expressions on their faces.

They had no confidence in winning anyway, and it seemed pointless to argue with someone who wouldn’t listen.

Even if they did win, since the Black Market wasn’t a warlike group, each master was a precious asset; participating in the fight would bring more losses than gains.

So if they weren’t going to fight anyway, it seemed much more plausible to leave behind a stern warning than to watch the fool make a scene.

After that, they learned the location of the Ban family rights, recovered the hairpin, and then Gyeon Pohee rushed over.

“Uncle, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“So what now? With a bounty of a thousand…”

“Well, if we kill some assassins, they’ll realize their lives are worth something and quiet down. But just in case, you’d better head back to the Seolga Association, Uncle.”

“Can’t I stay with you? I’m a peak master now too.”

“Well, what about the old man’s grandchild? You should meet someone from either side and let them know I got it at the Daebyeolsan Daebyeolmuyo. Tsk, those Zhengpai folks are just buying slaves. Still, being Zhengpai probably means they aren’t suffering too much.”

It seemed that since she could work with iron, they were just raising her to use as a tool for the sect.

And now, they were planning to visit either the Zhuge family or the Tang family, so there wouldn’t be any problems going forward.

“So, what about you, Uncle?”

“I’ll just lay low for a couple of months and aim to go to the Martial World Tournament. I should tell Master about what happened. Could you do me a favor?”

“I’m too weak to help, so…”

Qing chuckled.

“This is help! What more do you want? Do we need to break through bloodlines together to call it help? If my junior sister isn’t here in the morning, I’d have to dress and wash myself alone. Ugh, just thinking about it is a pain.”

“Yeah…”

Qing kept her smile and extended her hand.

Gyeon Pohee, looking ready to cry, took her hand.

“Wait, why are you holding my hand? I need a veil. A veil.”

“Oh, right.”

With the veil in hand, Qing leaped into action.

With her Moon Lady’s Step, she jumped onto the poles that set up the temporary market stalls, flying swiftly away with her extraordinary speed.

It was so fast that even seasoned martial artists would have a hard time catching up.

Even Seomun Sulin recognized that escape speed.

If she really intended to flee, there would be hardly anyone in the world capable of keeping up.

However, they had said it would be few in number.

Not that there were none.

“What kind of fierce woman runs this fast? Hold on, that looks like a heavenly flight technique. Oh my, this quick-footed lady is already excelling above the mundane martial arts! If only she had some dexterity, she’d be perfect!”

—-

The previous dark market was heated by the Black Heaven Society’s departure.

The Black Heaven Society was a notorious human trafficking group.

They executed kidnappings across the Central Plains with real skills, even reaching the western regions to collect rare red-haired female slaves.

But suddenly, they started ranting about living decently and left the scene.

The problem was that they killed all the brokers, warehouse keepers, teachers, and associated operators they’d worked with before leaving.

Not only did they kill the associated workers, but they also slaughtered their families and hung their corpses in the market, marking them as human traffickers.

Nobody grieved for them; they all spat and threw stones, saying they died well.

Many were closing down their businesses due to the tragic fate, and there were no new entrants to replace them.

Thus, the Blackspot took a blow.

The Blackspot was not merely a group that opened up the Black Market and collected commissions.

If there was a deal considered taboo in the Central Plains, it went through the Blackspot, and the Black Market was just a part of it. All kinds of underground dealers in every city constituted the Blackspot’s organization.

Therefore, with the family members of the slave trade workers being slaughtered, it meant a loss of life for all Blackspot members.

The previous Blackspot leader raged, but in the end, he couldn’t grasp the tail of the Black Heaven Society.

What remained were almost certain suspicions that it was a cover for the Evil Sect’s business operations.

But with just suspicion, they couldn’t touch the Evil Sect.

In the world where everyone called them dogs, the notion that “the dying dog died well” meant any complaints from them would be in vain.

It would just lead to comments like “Look at that Evil Sect doing some good!”

Moreover, if they poked the Evil Sect, the Blackspot would be destroyed.

During the four phases of the Righteous and Demonic Wars, even if they only suffered losses, they had left deep scars on the orthodox Martial World.

A war between the Evil Sect and the secretive underground merchant alliance just wasn’t feasible in the first place.

No matter how much financial power they had, who would fight the Evil Sect for money? Shout it all you want, who would respond?

Ultimately, they could only swallow their anger internally without being able to express it.

But then, a problem arose.

The Black Market’s Hunan branch had been brutally murdered in the open.

To be precise, it wasn’t merely murder; it was more like an event that left them in a state worse than death.

The Blackspot head, Jang Eunchae, gripped his head.

“Why! Why! Why are you doing this to me!”

“The complaints of the merchants are stacking up. The merchants are even organizing to protect themselves, and while we did catch and kill the instigator, if things continue like this, it’s only a matter of time until the merchants leave.”

“Damn… The Black Heaven Society messed up so badly, and I can’t even clean it up.”

“We will definitely set a bounty. But if the person who touched the Blackspot isn’t made an example of—”

“Five hundred coins.”

Jang Eunchae interrupted the chief’s words. The chief frowned.

“Huh? Just five hundred coins? In that case—”

“Was it Unyeonjeong? She’ll receive five hundred if you bring her corpse, and if you manage to bring her back alive, you’ll get ten thousand coins. Each limb will lose two thousand coins, so if possible, bring them all intact.”

Jang Eunchae’s gaze was nothing short of chilling.

“This time, I’ll make sure everyone in the world knows what happens when someone touches the Blackspot. The human pig should not be solely the property of the Empress Dowager.”

The Conqueror, known as one of the Four Great Evildoers of China, got high marks for her cruel nature and creative torture, ensuring her position in the rankings.

The human pig had been banned throughout the long history of the Central Plains as a horrific act, and it was a vicious grudge aimed at making that happen alive.

They feared touching the Evil Sect and had been burning with rage when they got slapped in the face like this, leaving them with no further avenue for their anger to flow.

“Isn’t it time the Blackspot showed some effort to appease the merchants? In a way, this could be seen as a good thing.”

Jang Eunchae smiled coldly.

But would it truly go as intended?

—-

The Blackspot placed a bounty on Unyeonjeong.

Blackspot Special Bounty: Unyeonjeong.

Five hundred gold coins on the neck.

Ten thousand for capture alive. Two thousand deducted for each limb.

Characteristics: A beauty known at a glance.

Many had seen Qing in the Black Market.

So when they were asked how she looked, they all dumbly answered that she was pretty, very pretty, truly pretty.

“No, I’m asking what her eyes, nose, and mouth look like!”

“Uh. Her eyes are big and clear, beautiful, her nose is high, flawless, and her mouth is dainty and red…”

“Pretty, huh?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Damn it. Next!”

But they all had the same responses.

If asked to describe her eyes, nose, and mouth separately, they would say she’s pretty, if asked for her characteristics, they’d answer pretty, and if asked about her impression, again, just pretty.

It was to the point where everyone was curious how this beauty really looked.

Thus, the Black Market mobilized all the painters to draw her portrait, but everyone was complaining that the paintings couldn’t match up.

Even in Qing’s hometown, the credibility of the portrayal made without video was significantly low, so how would it be in the Central Plains?

Eventually, they ended up with something that was somewhat similar, but it was akin to tracing a hellish drawing.

Of course, there was a printing method, but…

The Central Plains was the birthplace of printing technology in humanity!

How could it be that the man named Pilseung was the first to commercialize clay printing, and since then, the Central Plains boasted its esteem as the printing technology’s leader?

There was reason to suspect that they had created the first metal typefaces, but due to the dual attacks of the Cultural Revolution and the Tofu Legal Affair, there remained not even a single shred of evidence to confirm it.

Thanks to that, the honor of the first metal typeface invention shifted to the Han people.

Surprisingly, both the Cultural Revolution and the Tofu Legal Affair were achievements brought forth by a single human, hence being regarded as the most respected figure among the Chinese nation to this day.

The “Number One” was always a living power, so the dead couldn’t infringe, which made him virtually the true “Number One”.

In any case, even with the Central Plains’ excellent printing technology, it was still too rudimentary compared to modern standards to be able to produce detailed portraits for this purpose.

They were hastily drawing them and spreading them as they got completed, but the numbers were just cripplingly insufficient.

Moreover, bounty hunters and assassins hoarded the portraits, hoping to keep them for themselves.

So ultimately, the only thing widely circulated was the bounty notice.

“An incredibly beautiful Central Plains-grade girl, Unyeonjeong (her virginity status remains undisclosed), captured alive 10,000 coins!”

And so, the outcome was…

“Oh wow. It smells bitter and pungent from the tea? Shenpai, did you have a grudge against me?”

Unyeonjeong commented as she sipped her tea.

The old woman poised to make her next move on the Go board hesitated, pulling her delicate hand back.

“…What?”

Unyeonjeong swirled her tongue around, savoring the tea before swallowing.

“Mmm, this flavor is the Aroma of Dreaming, isn’t it? My goodness, am I to be treated as someone important? It wouldn’t be enough to sleep for fifty years!”

In the Central Plains, they called an elephant “object.”

Shenpai, the righteous boasting a tremendous status even among the Midnight Elites, felt anger rising.

“Which woman dares to…!”

They gathered all the servants of the manor and had a serious discussion about who the culprit might be.

Water and fire always knew the answer, so it didn’t take long before the culprit confessed.

“I, I committed a grave sin. I was blinded by money and…”

“Money? Did someone hire you to assassinate?”

“They put out a bounty from the Blackspot, offering a whopping ten thousand coins for me…”

Shenpai turned to Unyeonjeong.

“You, what kind of tricks did you pull on the Blackspot?”

“Tricks? There’re just too many events, so I’m not sure. Did I underestimate the Blackspot too much? Those insignificant creatures managed to guess my identity. Excuse me, assassin wannabe? Am I being straightforward?”

“It’s Unyeonjeong of the Beautiful Pearl, and the description is a beauty known at a glance…”

Shenpai snorted.

“Hmph. Sounds certain. They say if your tail is long, you get caught easily, huh? I’ve told you countless times to hide your identity.”

“Oh dear. Even if I’m wearing a human disguise, what difference does adding another layer make? It seems I may have underestimated the Blackspot’s pitiful intelligence too much.”

“Then, what now?”

“Since it’s easy to gather materials, I spared you. It would be bothersome to leave you buzzing like an annoying fly. Oh dear, this is quite troublesome.”

Unyeonjeong continued with her uniquely gentle and refined smile.

“For a warning, let’s clean up everything visible. Would you lend me a hand, Shenpai? It’s about time you enjoy your hobbies too, isn’t it?”

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