Chapter 287

Great Warrior Bak Sal, occasionally known as the Black Wind Three Cursed Ones.

When it comes to supreme martial artists, they’re not the kind of people holed up in a small mountain stronghold.

But Gamsan Stronghold is no small mountain shack.

Gamsan serves as the inland base for the Green Forest.

With rivers flowing above and below Gamsan, there’s hardly any passersby.

After all, causing trouble in Hanan lands only gets you pinched between the Shaolin Temple on the left and Hwasan Faction on the right.

So, Gamsan wasn’t originally meant to be just a hideout for bandit activities.

Instead, it strategically placed itself in Hanan, right at the heart of the region, specifically in the western part of Hanan.

Not to mention, it starts the mountain ranges that stretch out into the western provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hubei in that order.

Thus, it became an essential site connecting the headquarters with the west, a geographical hotspot where reserve troops, patrollers from the Green Forest, and dispatch personnel would frequently pass through.

Gamsan wasn’t known for its bandit business — it wasn’t even a prime hideout. You couldn’t leave it to others, so it was just some makeshift middle-ground with a rough numbering system.

It wasn’t just an ordinary hideout since even a supreme martial artist was running a branch office, not a main business.

But Qing wasn’t really skilled or interested in something as high-level as collecting clues and drawing conclusions.

What do I care?

I got here, and there are two supreme martial artists?

Wow, there sure are a lot of them around.

In fact, it’s quite common to see supreme martial artists.

In any city of a significant size, there’s always at least one.

With proper martial arts and a dedication to training, anyone with the skills to live long enough should reach that level before kicking the bucket.

This is realistically the highest they can get if they lack talent, connections, and magical skills.

Because the overall level of martial arts is always on the rise — it keeps climbing up over time.

So, if eventually, society advances to a level like Qing’s hometown, who knows, high school students might be casually becoming supreme martial artists while looking to continue their education.

Anyway, after the expert I held in such high regard met their end, the morale of the bandits plunged, so low it might as well have shattered the ground beneath them.

Most importantly, from the perspective of the bandits, staring down the barrel of that grim technique where they all got stabbed and cut, they had already lost their fighting spirit.

I mean, if someone who’s been shot and hit with an axe is just standing there smiling, they stop looking human to a bandit.

“Monster…!”

A monster appeared!

Qing let out a giggle and pulled out the Moonlight Sword.

According to her doctrine, the sword should go out in a different direction, and now equipped with Sword Aura, she could cut through got in any direction, piercing the heart while exiting through the crown of the head—

Wow, this actually works!

As the horrifying sight of someone’s innards getting chopped off unfolded, the bandits freaked out and immediately turned tail.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

A hairpin flew, but the bandits scattered like cockroaches in every direction, and with only two hands, Qing couldn’t handle them all.

Ugh. You’re lucky today.

Qing hurriedly walked around and started finishing off the guys who got knocked out by hairpins.

She stomped on their spines, stabbed through their necks to let blood gush into their lungs, or sliced open their guts to expose their insides.

In commonality, they didn’t die immediately, but they were left with fatal injuries that would hurt a lot and ultimately lead to death.

By this point, Qing was being extraordinarily merciful compared to her usual self. It was entertaining, but not heart-pounding or electric.

What’s with this? My mind is clear, but it feels nice.

Thus, Qing finally approached the Young Master crawling on the ground.

Tap! Tap!

Even on solid ground, I don’t know how that footstep sounds on the dirt.

But as the Young Master desperately crawled away, Qing leisurely followed behind him, tapping one footstep at a time.

“Hmm. Young Master? Are you going to keep running?”

“Do you know who I am!”

“I don’t.”

“I am—”

“Shh. Young Master. If I hear that, I’ll have to regretfully make the big decision to kill you with tears in my eyes. Should you really reveal your true identity?”

“Eek. Sa-save me… What do you want? If you let me go, I’ll give you all the wealth and women—”

“Hmm. How about showing a bit of courtesy first? Who do you think you are, speaking so casually? Can’t you grasp the situation? You should be begging for your life politely here.”

“Please spare me!”

“Just keep running for now. Let’s see how far you can go, and if your efforts are commendable, I might consider it.”

With that, the Young Master crawled on desperately.

Qing followed along, tap, tap.

Whether it was a stable or a roofed resting place, as the Young Master crawled, he finally got out from under the roof’s protection.

The heavy rain came pouring down cruelly, soaking his body instantly and mixing with the red blood seeping from his visibly broken calf into the muddy ground.

And over there—

“Eh.”

Qing frowned.

She caught sight of Seoliri, being dragged along by her hair.

Back in the day, Great Master Mucheondae journeyed through the Martial World to perfect his legendary sword.

Among those was the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and Great Master Mucheondae had commented on experiencing their notable skills.

Such pretty trash.

Though the rain maximizes the power, the extreme cold of the Ice White Divine Skill could lead to frostbite, leaving serious aftereffects.

Of course, the aftereffects are no joke. It can take at least six months to heal, and if not treated quickly, parts might rot and need to be amputated, causing permanent damage.

However, just because one’s flesh is frozen doesn’t mean the enemy is paralyzed.

In fact, according to Western medicine, during a life-and-death struggle, a natural combat stimulant synthesizes, which dulls pain, speeds up the heartbeat, and greatly boosts physical response time.

After the battle, they could end up a complete fool, but in the midst of combat, their lethality may fall short.

By Qing’s hometown standards, this is the disgusting type of opponent in combat and utterly useless as a companion.

At first, the bandits cowered beneath the visual stimulation of the two Ice Dragons, but after taking a few hits, they thought, huh, this feels nice and refreshing?

Is this… all?

Plus, the Fan Master, a pinnacle expert, was firmly planted.

“It looks flashy but doesn’t kill! Young Master must endure; don’t leave any cuts!”

The Young Master was currently crawling on the ground.

However, since Qing threw a hairpin at the fleeing bandits toward the Young Master, their ability to counterattack was effectively cut off.

Thus, no news of the main force being overwhelmed made the rounds.

Carried away by a new wave of courage, the bandits charged in unison, dodging like they were gliding on ice as they suddenly got walloped hard in the back with a long staff, staggering.

Then came the kicks, staff swings, and countless requests for a “handshake” from axes and everything else.

So one of the martial artists, now a ragged mess, was dragged back through the muddy ground by his hair.

“Y-Young Master!”

Qing quickly rushed over and lifted him by the hair.

She grabbed his hair with his hair. It’s like a kind of mirror therapy.

At that moment, the Young Master started flailing and resisting.

Qing simply squeezed that insignificant resistance into a pulp with one hand.

It was kind of funny, watching his arms droop like a willow branch.

Oh, doesn’t that feel somewhat like a praying mantis?

As Qing thought to herself, she shouted immediately.

“Return Seoliri! If not, the Young Master’s life is forfeit!”

The Fan Master paused for a second.

Taking hostages is a bandit’s specialty.

Yet he still let his focus slip.

That’s just shameful for a bandit.

“Yes, if you dare lay a finger on the Young Master, your life is forfeit!”

“Oh no. Please don’t!”

“Ha ha ha. Hand over the Young Master, drop your weapons, and kneel on the ground! Or wait, what are you doing…!”

The Fan Master froze in fear.

Upon seeing a finger detached and thrown right in front of him, one couldn’t help but freak out.

“I have delivered one of ten fingers back. Will you return Seoliri? Is that good enough? One finger missing, maybe two more to complete the deal—”

“Stop! Stop it! I’m telling you to stop!”

“Oh, you should have said that earlier. I only have ten, so I find this quite wasteful. Here, since I’ve already separated it, I’ll let it go. Here’s another one.”

One finger arcs through the air and plops down in front of the Fan Master.

And it landed so accurately that bloodied water pooled around two white fingers that were already spilled on the muddy ground.

“See, Young Master? They clearly don’t value you that much. They’re just casually taking hostages and such. If you keep this up, it’ll really end in death, don’t you have words for that?”

“Let me go! You little dogs, let me go!”

“But Young Master…!”

“Do as I say! They’ve already been taken down by Aunty Hoo and Bak Sal!”

Chh, Qing laughed.

Bak Sal really went down in style. Guess his name held up, huh? Or did I let it happen?

With that, the bandits’ shoulders slumped.

The Fan Master and the main team’s top experts were done for?

By that little girl?

“Alright, you seem to lack desperation. Can’t be helped. Today, I’ll show immense generosity.”

As Qing grabbed another finger, the Young Master screamed loudly, “Aaah!” and began to panic.

The Fan Master yelled furiously.

“Enough! Enough! I’ll let you go! I’ll let you go, just stop! Please!”

“Okay. Then send Seoliri over here.”

“Simultaneously, simultaneously exchange, or rather, return the hostage—no.”

Being a dumb bandit, he likely got stuck trying to use polite speech.

Qing nodded.

“True, mutual trust is extremely important in hostage exchanges. We can’t really go trusting one another, can we? Hmm. Let’s do this.”

“How?”

“I’ll count down and remove one finger each time, once I’ve removed all of them, I’ll just give you my palm, wrist, and forearm bit by bit for you to assemble and treat later, alright? I’ll keep counting until Seoliri is back in my arms?”

“Let me go! Give her back! Aaah!”

“One.”

A finger flies in an arc.

The Fan Master finally grasped the situation.

That girl’s gone completely mad!

With insights that couldn’t be reconciled with that of a bandit, he nailed the essence of the situation.

Had Qing known, she’d probably be recognized as the most intelligent among the bandits.

“Stop! Stop! Here! See? I’ve let go! I’ve let go!”

Qing’s unique hostage situation was masterfully executed.

Qing was feeling pretty proud.

Wait, was I actually talented in hostage scenarios?

“Hmm, I won’t count maliciously until Seoliri is all huddled in my arms. Seoliri? Are you okay? Can you come here?”

Struggling, Seoliri finally managed to rise from the mud, repeatedly stumbling and collapsing until, realizing she couldn’t do it, she crawled on all fours, swaying and falling over and over.

Qing stepped forward and grabbed Seoliri to hug her tightly.

Look at her, running back only to end up like this.

Honestly, she’s hardly worth the trouble at all.

Fortunately, her face is intact.

Had her face gotten damaged, she might’ve lost all meaning for existence.

“Can’t be helped. I’ll take the Young Master with me.”

Qing said that and swept up Seoliri before heading back toward the shelter.

Carefully, she lowered Seoliri down under the roof.

“Seoliri? Just wait a moment. Hmm, do you need revenge? Should I bring a few of them alive for you?”

“Yes… I’ll ask you. Please.”

It was Seoliri’s request!

Once more, her first request after having none, not eating if there was no food, or getting wet if there was no shelter, seemed so filled with anger and resentment.

Alright. If you’re not ruthless, you’re not a martial artist.

Seems like there’s something nice about more than just the face.

Qing dashed back out.

Luckily, they hadn’t left just yet.

You might think, weren’t they foolish to not run straight away? But, considering the young master’s current state…

His calf was showing bone, both his arms were drooping weakly from the middle, and he was missing three fingers.

Blood continued to flow, and he looked pale as hell.

Thus, the Fan Master was frantically trying to suppress the bleeding and rally the remaining subordinates for whatever gear they could manage.

Most importantly, they never dreamed Qing would actually bargain with them.

The common sense that “since they returned the hostage, they wouldn’t touch him until they left” is what they frankly assumed.

But Qing has no such common sense.

More specifically, she had no common sense whatsoever.

With that, Qing reappeared—fuming and shouting loudly!

“How dare you turn Seoliri into a miserable rag! She was already useless to begin with! And now you turned her into a patient hardly worth caring over! This will not stand!”

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