Chapter 315

Gasp, the crowd collectively inhaled.

Tears from a woman really are a powerful weapon.

But even such powerful tears have their means to be defeated, like teary eyes from the same woman or a fierce slap or two, you know.

Tears aren’t really Qing’s thing, and honestly, I didn’t even want to bend down for this witch, so I just kicked her in the face with my foot.

Yeah. Yeah. That felt pretty good, not gonna lie.

Feeling satisfied, Qing raised her voice so everyone could hear.

“Excuse me! Why are you telling such a ridiculous lie that no one would believe? Do these martial artists look weak to you? They’re not some foolish bandits! You dare underestimate the daughter of the South Province’s top association and say the carpenters secretly ate it?!”

Of course, Qing was fully focused and using her brain power to turn villains into fools.

Even so, quite a sharp deduction popped out; those who know Qing might find it surprisingly impressive.

But the reality was a bit different.

Qing already had a guilty party in mind from the start, so her deductions were just the process of concluding that this woman was the criminal.

Once you know the answer, it’s pretty easy to work backwards on the problem, so you could say Qing just took the easy way out.

There’s no need to be amazed that she finally managed to look smart.

“Ugh…!”

The young lady rolled on the ground.

“Hae-a!”

Seeing this, the leader rushed to hug the girl rolling on the floor.

That’s when Qing realized she didn’t even know the name of the Zhangxing Company’s young lady.

But wait? Do I really need to know her name?

“What’s going on here! What did this child do wrong…!”

“Do you want me to remind you of what she did wrong?”

“It’s not even proven that my daughter did anything wrong!”

“Really think so? Honestly, you didn’t know what type of girl your daughter is until now?”

“There’s no law that allows this! There’s no evidence that Hae-a intentionally did anything!”

“Are those things not evidence? Or are you claiming they can’t be?”

“They’re just trying to lie to survive—”

Bam! Qing lightly stomped the ground, interrupting the old man.

“Enough. I’m quite curious about how you raised your daughter. I bet you didn’t teach her to be honest or righteous. You’ve probably told her to swindle and deceive, making the poor guy who got scammed the fool. And, well, look where you’re at now?”

Of course, this wasn’t some miraculous insight Qing had about the family ethics of the Nammun household.

Back in Qing’s hometown, this kind of advice was common from the chairman to their kids.

“I’d just think ‘Oh well, this is what punishment looks like.’ If a life was eaten 3,000 times like that, I’m sure I’d rather get struck by lightning than that!”

As Qing said that, she roughly pulled apart the tangled pair of father and daughter.

It seemed the old man treasured his one daughter despite his many wrongdoings, causing chaos over merely being separated.

“Let go, let go!”

“Dad!”

They were being quite sentimental for something below human standards.

But no matter how tightly the two common folk clung to each other, there was no way they could withstand the strength of Qing, a supreme martial artist, or even if not, one who surpassed human limits.

In the end, the old man was thrown aside, and the daughter was dragged along by her hair.

In all this, Qing had a great realization.

She wondered why everyone grabs hair and realized first-hand that it’s the best handle one could use.

“Ugh! Let go! Let go! Aah!”

“I’m already in pain and tired; what are you talking about? Those Nagnyang folks would probably roast you alive if they called you an enemy. Or worse might happen. If you get a clean death, that’d be fortunate. I feel sorry for you being a woman, but… well, you probably accepted that much for your business, right?”

At this, the young lady struggled even harder.

But what could she do?

Eventually, an extremely aggrieved scream burst forth.

“Why is it only me? Everyone does this! If you get business from the government, it’s only natural to take a cut! If not, you’re a fool!”

That was a pure, heartfelt cry of injustice.

The crowd’s angry murmurs spread.

It was practically an open confession.

The young lady wasn’t being dumb; it was simply the last stand of a villain.

“Am I the only bad guy? There are worse guys out there, so why is it just me? Everyone lives like this; why is it so harsh on me?”

What’s shocking is that what they’re yelling is something they truly believe.

You could call it the natural trait of a dog-person.

“So what? Let’s say everyone does it. Sure, they might, but should they be held responsible if the result is that people die?”

“I didn’t know! I didn’t know! Who would predict the rainstorm would come out of nowhere?”

“Just because you didn’t know, does that erase the crime? Just think of it as divine punishment and die—”

“What gives you the right to talk about divine punishment!”

Qing paused for a moment and then sighed.

Well, sure. It’s not exactly divine punishment.

If you had to call it anything, maybe it’s Qing punishment.

Ugh. Suddenly feeling so tired…

“Enough. If you have the energy to scream, shouldn’t you be preparing your excuses for those Nagnyang folks? Yelling at me isn’t going to magically change my mind and let you go.”

“No! Save me! Please, I…”

Anger, denial — what comes next is begging.

What was it? The five stages of death?

Did denial come before anger?

But who knows…

Qing, with one hand gripping the young lady’s hair, shouted.

“Alright, everyone. This sinner will be sent to Nagnyang to face judgment from those she wronged, to at least ease her grievances a little.”

Qing gave a polite bow.

Okay! It’s done. Caught the young lady, and the old man probably won’t be around for long anyway.

But why is everyone staring at me like that, all blankly?

It doesn’t feel like this story is wrapping up at all, with credits rolling and all.

Hmm. Should I end with some fancy words?

After a moment’s thought, Qing, prioritizing her own opinion, decided to spit it out.

“Everyone! Did you hear what that old guy was saying? He dared! How could he say such things to you? What kind of precious being does that merchant think he is! Is that old, crumpled merchant your master or our master?”

“No!”

“Absolutely not!”

“When business is good, he smiles at guests and flatters them, but when profit rolls in, he totally flips the script and treats you beggar folks like dirt! Isn’t that right?”

“Correct!”

“That’s true!”

“Who do you think built this massive manor of the South Province’s trade association? That crumpled old dog over there? Absolutely not! It’s all thanks to you, the martial artists of Jang An! The glittering gold you’ve bundled together has made this grand manor a reality, hasn’t it!”

At that, the crowd’s eyes grew wide.

It was an innovative idea they’d never heard before.

This was a worldview reversal typical of the legendary heroes from the West, known to turn the earth and sky upside down!

Because in the primitive, ancient Central Plain, the idea of the common people hadn’t really been introduced yet.

Sure, there were early thoughts about it, but they barely escaped the level of revolutionary ideas.

If the ruling party acts like beasts, then let’s wipe them out, that’s as far as it goes.

Because fundamentally, in the Central Plain, the expression “common people” suggests they’re just weeds—useless and numerous but of no real value.

When you talk about an individual from the primitive Central Plain, it means they’re foolish, selfish, dumb, and wicked—a literal dog-fool.

If these fools fill the world, it’s no surprise that all you get is a hellscape of blood and tears.

That’s why a ruler is sent from the heavens; the Emperor is the only one among these fools qualified to rule.

In other words, the emperor of the Central Plain ‘bestows’ governance as the most precious grace in the world upon the common people.

The state does not exist for the common people.

The state exists for greater values, for the order of the world.

And the common people are just useless parts that, at any moment, will create chaos.

In such a Central Plain, commoners are always powerless.

Yet, who do those merchants boldly rely on to get strong?

It’s all because of your money that they’ve gained their wealth!

Thus, the reaction from the crowd was sheer shock.

“Wait? Is that a point? That makes sense…?”

“Now that you mention it?”

“Thirty years ago, Zhangxing Company was just a tiny fabric shop in the corner. Back then, the shopkeeper was humble and quality was good, so all the locals trusted him! Yeah! Thirty years down the line, and those once-customers now think they’re better than him!”

If it had just stopped there, it would have been great, but Qing decided to cruelly add more wicked provocation.

“So if such oppressions happen in the future, not just me, but all of you, the righteous martial artists, should step in! No business can survive without customers! If it’s goods from an evil merchant, don’t buy them, don’t even mention them, and cut all trade! What can those scoundrels do then!”

Once again, a wave of shock surged through the crowd.

What? That kind of method?

And then—shouting burst forth.

A huge roar erupted from the crowd in response to this time-transcending noble thought.

However, Qing had no clue what she just said.

She considered it common sense that should be taken for granted back in her hometown.

Of course, “You have the right to interfere!” in radical boycotts isn’t exactly common sense, but just Qing being a little rough around the edges.

But even the powerful merchants of this era aren’t exactly good people when you get down to it, so you could cut them some slack.

Originally, the law itself is a product of one man’s mind, and doing well gets you treated like a fool.

Though Qing has now spent five years in the Central Plain and feels rooted here, she’s yet to truly shed that hometown perspective.

Thanks to that, in a place once known as the world’s center, and which still is, the authority of the consumer suddenly appeared.

It could easily become a terrible fire that might burn the era if not handled right.

Moreover, that’s something coming directly from the palace, like a golden decree from a princess of the skies herself.

But Qing doesn’t get it.

She wasn’t trying to enlighten the common folk or anything noble.

She just felt it would be awkward to end without saying something since everyone seemed to be expecting her to say something.

So, she thought, “Wow, what a great wrap-up.”

And with a big grin, she continued to grip the hair of the blushing young lady whose face had puffed up like a hotteok.

Just so you know, in the Central Plain, hotteok are fried doughs with a hollow inside; in Qing’s hometown, they’re called gonggalbong.

The hotteok Qing is thinking of isn’t the same as the sweet mungbean pancake they also have in her hometown.

Now, she felt it.

Hmm. Suddenly, I really want to eat hotteok. Hotteok and gonggalbong both!

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