Chapter 227

“Qing Ah? Where are you going?”

“I just left something for a second…”

I may not know much about the Blood Sect, but I know they’re bad news. Everyone was gritting their teeth like Qing was involved somehow.

So, with her tired body, Qing made her way back to the bathhouse.

As she entered, she spotted Cheon Yu-hak filling a bucket with the leftover bathwater that’s lost its medicinal effects.

“What are you doing? Wasn’t that for recycling?”

“No way.”

“Then why are you collecting it separately? It looks like a lot. Are you planning to pour it all out?”

Buckets were already scattered around Cheon Yu-hak, enough to fill the bath completely and then some.

“Just forget about it. You must be tired, why aren’t you asleep?”

“About that Parasitic Sect… Turns out, when I checked, they were using that gruesome blood item.”

“Do you think I don’t know what that is?”

Cheon Yu-hak scratched the back of his head roughly, his irritation palpable.

“Ugh, this is gross. Some fake merchant sprinkled a human drug on the rest. Someone’s been trying to cover others in filth.”

“How about asking the independent warriors? I have a feeling that the Dorai-man might be cooperative.”

“For now, just go get some sleep. You still have to recover. I only noticed you were here because I’m exhausted myself.”

Cheon Yu-hak’s eyes were darkened; he clearly looked drained.

Qing didn’t look much better. Although she wasn’t mentally weary, her body felt ragged, and if it weren’t for the effects of the potent medicine, she would have already fainted.

“Still, the situation seems a bit serious…”

“Hmph, with half the top masters in the world gathered here, what could be such a big deal? It looks like the Blood Sect is just trying to humiliate us during the Martial World Tournament. Absolutely ridiculous.”

Cheon Yu-hak’s tired expression looked even more worn out.

“Let’s just sleep. Even if it’s urgent, we can’t do anything like this, and it’s not that pressing. Tomorrow… well, the merchant business should be handled among merchants. Just don’t go around blabbing.”

“Do you think I’m a child who can’t tell when to speak up? You need your sleep too, so go on.”

“Alright.”

With that, Qing returned to Muchen Pavilion.

Then it hit her, what’s with all those buckets? She completely forgot to ask about them while discussing the Parasitic Sect.

—-

The independent warriors were staying at the Martial Alliance’s guest hall, so Qing didn’t need to wander around looking for them.

“By the way, how can you come and go freely at the Martial Alliance? Did you come as a guest?”

“Hmph, a plain outfit that servants wear makes it easy to blend in anywhere. If you get a simple outfit like that, the entire manor can be your domain.”

It’s said that the larger the manor, the less suspicion there is if you dress like a servant. It’s not that the identities weren’t clear in the primitive Central Plain, but rather, people had a habit of treating appearances as the truth.

In Qing’s hometown, just wearing a reflective vest wouldn’t raise eyebrows either.

Since they were so closely associated, it looked like Qing was simply accompanied by a personal servant.

So, there was no one curious about who Cheon Yu-hak was.

At the guest hall…

The guest hall was more mid-tier among the Martial Alliance’s guest halls, so when compared to the Muchen Pavilion where Qing stayed, it was practically heaven and hell.

“Is Dorai-man inside?”

Asking a servant of the guest hall, she found that the room wasn’t private but shared between two people.

The narrow room had two beds against the walls, and was about four times smaller than the room Qing was in at the Muchen Pavilion.

“Young Lady Seomun? What brings you here?”

“I came to talk about yesterday’s events, and this gentleman here was using the dignitary’s authority…”

“That’s Ma Yeong-jeon.”

Since it was a shared room, aside from Dorai-man, another person was Ma Yeong-jeon, the one holding the dignitary’s authority.

Ma Yeong-jeon wore a peculiar smile as he looked between Qing and Dorai-man and spoke.

“It seems you two have something to discuss. I should make myself scarce, huh? Didn’t expect the Dorai-man to have such skills.”

“No, Ma-hyung, that’s not it. Um. You don’t have to leave, though. Young Lady Seomun said she has something to discuss with you about yesterday.”

When Ma Yeong-jeon’s expression hardened, Qing noticed it immediately.

“What? Do not speak so casually about it. I know nothing, so I’ll leave now.”

He tried to slip away, but Qing knew he had a guilty conscience.

Independent warriors had been accumulating bad karma, and it was safe to assume Ma Yeong-jeon was part of it, given the events.

Since they were turning people into food, it was quite natural for them to accumulate bad karma.

Whether they knew about the Parasitic Sect or not didn’t matter. Just because they consumed it without knowing doesn’t mean the poison will just let them off.

“Ma-hyung, would you be willing to share? Yesterday, a girl received a Parasitic Sect item from the Dorai-man, and when we investigated, turned out it was made using that foul blood.”

“Blood…?”

Dorai-man muttered instead of shouting. His face turned pale, looking queasy.

“I had no idea it was such a thing.”

“It’s not about blaming anyone. It’s just that it’s not good news, and we want to find out who’s distributing those items. Can you provide any evidence?”

“I… I don’t know anything about a Parasitic Sect made from that blood, Dorai-man, I had no idea.”

Qing’s eyes narrowed.

“If I were to go around asking previous opponents about your strange speed and strength, will you submit willingly?”

“Warriors have to keep some of their skills hidden-”

“Everyone knows. Just hand it over.”

Qing interrupted Ma Yeong-jeon’s words and extended her hand.

Ma Yeong-jeon stared at her fair, delicate hand with trembling eyes, and after swallowing hard, seemed to have made his decision.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

He was obviously intent on feigning ignorance.

It was clear that if he continued this way, Qing wouldn’t be able to press him any further.

Without clear evidence or just suspicion alone, questioning him wouldn’t lead anywhere, especially if it was indeed a cursed item made from blood.

Besides, claiming that they could see someone’s karma wouldn’t fly at all.

With a deep sigh, Qing gave in.

She had no other choice.

She gave another deep sigh before suddenly stretching her legs and jumping up.

At the same time, *crack!!!*

“Aaaah!”

Ma Yeong-jeon clutched his head and rolled around on the ground of the guest hall.

This was too powerful a show of force, far too disastrous for the world before the divine artillery was fully ready.

“Why don’t you ever listen to reason? Did I look so easy to mess with? If you treat me like a pushover, you won’t see it coming!”

“Y-Young Lady Seomun?”

“Did I not mention it? I’m a Ronin.”

“Ah, I see.”

Dorai-man nodded, looking uncomfortable.

It’s rare to find female Ronin, but even if there are, they don’t usually speak so freely, considering their survival instincts.

“Ma-hyung? Enough whining. Are you going to hand over that evidence willingly, or am I going to have to beat it out of you like a dog?”

“Gah, what is this madness?”

“What? Are you out of your mind? Should we wager our reputations and have a life-and-death match? Let’s see if we can dig up that fine red Parasitic Sect from a corpse!”

With that, Qing pulled out her Magic Flute and unleashed her True Energy in a spectacular fashion.

All the excited Qi from her outing rushed forth, charging into the weapons with lightning speed through a highway of bloodlines.

However, instead of her Magic Flute, it was the Qing’s Sword that sprang forth from the place the Magic Flute had been.

Thanks to that, a sheer blue blade shot out, spiraling like thunder.

“Let’s see how strong you really are. By the way, if I get my hands on a supreme martial artist, they die. Not even supreme martial artists can survive against me! Do you know about the Cannibal Demon? He thought he could mess with me and sent his regards to the Buddha, you know? Have you ever heard that there’s no order in death? Maybe you’d like a taste of that sweet red Parasitic Sect before you go?”

Not only did her words scream confidence, but her display of sheer strength made Ma Yeong-jeon shrink back.

Unlike his performance in the tournament, this fierce young lady was the real deal!

She was not just powerful, but a master of True Qi, definitely a formidable martial artist.

Particularly, even the thick saber-like sword was unforgiving when extended like a snake, wrapping around the True Energy and surging forth.

“Um… I’ll give it!”

“You should have done that earlier.”

As Qing put her Magic Flute back into her pocket, she lightly pricked her finger to check, and it was indeed too sharp for the Qing’s Sword.

Since it was Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, even if the edge just grazed, it would still be a serious injury.

“Oh my! What’s this little dagger? When can I get my Magic Flute back?”

“Ahem.”

Cheon Yu-hak, who had been watching Qing’s antics, cleared his throat in discomfort.

He had completely forgotten just how fierce Qing could be.

Thinking back, she once kicked a guy so hard he flew ten feet in the air.

In the territory of the Blood Sect, she had knocked down traders left and right, and meeting her again, he had cleanly forgotten that side of her.

Qing dusted off her hands and said, “Well, this is perfect. I should call over the martial artists in the guest rooms. Could you help me with that, Ma-hyung, since you know them?”

“Uh, what about the Dorai-man…?”

“Isn’t it better to surrender while there’s still time? Surely you know that if you’re honest now, you will find light in the end? Why don’t you just relax?”

At this, Dorai-man looked increasingly uncomfortable, wrestling with whether this was harassment or some serious threat.

Qing clenched her fist and gently caressed the protruding bone at her wrist.

“Now, Ma-hyung, are we going to take a nice stroll, or are you going to feel the gentle caress of my fist on your forehead?”