Chapter 33

The moment was chaotic outside, and then the door swung open.

A familiar face that Qing recognized stood at the threshold.

The very one who acted like they understood, only to trap me here!

Qing’s guard shot up.

They seemed trustworthy, but look where that got me!

Meanwhile, Pabonmu, with a serious face, had to say what was on his mind.

“Young Lady Un, I’m sorry, but I need your help.”

“So it’s come to this, huh? Didn’t I warn you clearly enough?”

“I feel terrible about this. If my earlier proposal is still on the table…”

“Let’s just go!”

Qing’s eyes sparkled. They were taking that crazy woman along!

This was the perfect chance to escape this dreadful prison.

Hurry up and get out of here! I need to find my freedom.

But that mad, anti-social, high-class killer wasn’t going to make it easy.

“And it’s fine if Young Lady Seomun comes with us, right?”

“No, why should I? I’ll just stay here. You two go have fun! I’ll guard the house, I guess.”

“If that’s the case, it won’t work. Master Dai, this is fine, right?”

“If Young Lady Un insists, then what can I do? But why?”

“Well, personal reasons?”

Unyeonjeong pulled on Qing’s arm, crossing it with hers.

Qing’s expression soured.

With one arm held hostage, Qing was helplessly dragged up onto the deck.

And, oh my goodness!

The deck was a bloodbath.

Severed arms and legs were scattered everywhere.

Parts of creatures lay around like some twisted display.

They must have been having a grand party without me.

Those despicable bastards.

I can pull off some limb tearing too, you know!

I want to show off my skills too!

Qing gritted their teeth.

“Oh dear, Young Lady Seomun, are you getting angry? With such brutal martial arts under your belt, could you actually be a righteous heroine? Oh my…?”

“What are you rambling on about?”

Unyeonjeong misunderstood in a big way, but at this moment, Qing was just repulsed. Exactly as their words suggested. What are you talking about?

Suddenly, when the grip on their arm tightened, Qing’s waist awkwardly bent. A whisper from the madwoman echoed right in their ear.

“By the way, how could I know I was a bad person? That’s a secret, you know?”

“Mrs. Nam.”

“How cruel of you…”

Unyeonjeong trailed off as if feeling hurt. Meanwhile, Qing had zero sympathy for this villain.

Qing came to a halt at the center of the deck.

People had gathered around something with serious faces, and when Pabonmu arrived, they subtly made room for him.

And right in the middle was a young man, all tied up.

The ropes were wrapped around him so tightly that only his head poked out.

He was trying to speak, but the thick bit in his mouth muffled his words—all he could manage was a pitiful mumble.

“It’s a Jiangshi.”

“Can he be treated?”

“Unfortunately, more than half of the original cloth is damaged. Even if we break the Dantian to release his pressure, he’ll only have about twenty years left.”

“Is that really the only way?”

Unyeonjeong stared at Bokhaun without replying.

Bokhaun answered with a troubled expression.

“If the Young Master says so, then I suppose that’s it. What else is needed?”

“Thankfully, I have most of what’s necessary. My belongings, two fresh hens, and a bundle of eggs… and could you get a throat prepared?”

Unyeonjeong clung tightly to the bundle of ropes.

She placed her fingers on the young man’s forehead and began chanting incantations.

Surprisingly, she seemed quite convincing for a Daoist.

Taking the opportunity, Qing turned to Pabonmu.

“So, what’s the deal with that woman?”

“Didn’t you hear? She’s from the Jinju clan.”

“I heard, but so what? What kind of clan is that to produce someone like her? She seems totally nuts.”

“Young Lady, I’m saying this for your sake—no matter how prestigious the orthodox sect, calling the Martial Alliance’s Grand Inspector that way could—no, it’s not our place to say. If I had known this would happen…”

Pabonmu’s expression was complicated.

What the hell, you’re offering a person to a mad killer?

Qing ignored it and pushed for answers.

“So what’s the deal?”

“The Jinju clan…”

The Jinju were the foremost embalmers in the Central Plain.

Embalmers were Daoists who cared for corpses and prayed for their souls.

While monks or Daoists could do it too, embalmers had a unique supernatural ability.

They could manipulate the timing of a corpse to make it move on its own.

Such self-moving corpses were called Jiangshi.

“Wait, Jiangshi?”

“You do know about Jiangshi, huh?”

“Like this, bouncing around?”

Qing stretched out their arms, mimicking a Jiangshi.

Pabonmu clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk. Just childish nonsense.”

“Then just think of me as a kid. So, what’s going on? What’s a Grand Inspector anyway? What’s the Martial Alliance? Is that woman part of the Martial Alliance?”

The Martial Alliance was a gathering of orthodox sects. Why is someone like her involved?

Qing glanced over at Unyeonjeong, who was using chicken blood for talismans.

Seems like she’s piling on the bad karma, huh?

Am I misunderstanding something?

Is the Jiangshi the problem? Playing with dead bodies?

No, still, there’s a sense of propriety.

Plus, she confessed herself to be a bad woman.

While Qing was in deep thought, Pabonmu began explaining. This guy surprisingly didn’t hold back.

Even if he regretted it, Pabonmu had initially taken Qing for an eloping girl from a prestigious sect, so spilling the beans was just letting her know what she would probably end up learning anyway.

“About ten days ago, the Martial Alliance Grand Inspector showed up at the Jiang River ferry.

And suddenly dropped a bomb that a couple of Blood Jiangshi were found nearby at a secret den.

To create one Jiangshi, a whopping one hundred lives are sacrificed.

The Alliance suspected these were people missing from the Eastern Sea, concluding they had been transferred along the river to Dongjing Lake.

And the only group capable of such heinous smuggling on the Yangtze River was none other than the Jiang River ferry.

However, given Bokhaun’s character, the Alliance believed he wouldn’t be the one to commit such acts.

And it was indeed true.

Therefore, they judged something else must be afoot and sent out the Grand Inspector to investigate and report back.

“But things aren’t adding up. You locked me in a solitary cell.”

“That was unavoidable.”

Pabonmu fell silent.

From here on out, it was a matter for the ferry’s business.

—-

The Jiang River ferry had changed.

No longer just a band of boat robbers; it had transformed into a proper sect with a thriving business.

A toll to cross?

Initially, even the orthodox sects collected protection fees within their territories.

If the heroes guarding the Yangtze were collecting some small tolls, that was quite good compared to what those folks did.

However, not everyone was satisfied with these changes.

First of all, there was the Green Forest.

Given their longstanding rivalry with the Jiang River ferry, they were not pleased with this evolution.

So, the bandits kept chirping away.

Those shameful bastards didn’t even know their place.

Don’t dare call yourselves heroes while living off the government’s scraps.

If it were me, I’d rather cut off my genitals and become a nun than stoop to eating off the government’s plate and so on…

From Bokhaun’s perspective, it didn’t matter what those bandits were yapping about.

The real problem was that those from the ferry were siding with them.

They were the traditional faction primarily comprised of old-school demons.

Scum that couldn’t forget the taste of pillaging, rape, and cannibalism. And the wannabe scum joining the ferry were looking to cash in on that.

Recently, they had clearly been cooking up some conspiracy, so the moment they heard “Blood Jiangshi,” panic started to overwhelm them.

The traditional faction wasn’t just up to any ordinary scheme.

If things went wrong, the entire ferry could get destroyed.

This was something that needed to be handled without external help!

It was a time to show we stopped something dangerous, saying, “We managed to handle this!”

That’s why they’d called in the Martial Alliance’s Grand Inspector for “protection”.

The Lord of the ferry, Bokhaun, thought while looking at his son.

“But maybe I should’ve accepted the Martial Alliance’s help, knowing the repercussions. If I had, that kid might…”

It was at that moment.

“Huff…”

Unyeonjeong wiped her sweat and sighed deeply.

“How did it go? Is he…?”

“Fortunately, he’s fine. He’ll regain consciousness soon.”

Bokhaun let out a deep breath.

Even if his lifespan had shortened, it was better than dying.

“You said around twenty years?”

“Thanks to the treatment, he might live a bit longer than that.”

That was enough, Bokhaun thought.

Maybe now he could quickly arrange a wedding for him.

Bokhaun sincerely clasped his hands together in gratitude.

“Thank you, benefactor.”

“Benefactor? I wouldn’t say that.”

“No, you saved my child’s life, so where else can I find a greater benefactor than this.”

“Really, that’s not it…”

Unyeonjeong answered with a strange smile.

It was definitely an unsettling grin.

But Bokhaun was in a rush.

A burning anxiety spread through.

For now, they managed to save his son.

But the situation was graver than it initially looked.

The arm of the Bureau Chief had been severed, and the fallen officer was none other than the son of the Lord of the Jiang River ferry, Bokheumcheok.

Moreover, people were bellowing that this assault had been ordered by Bokhaun himself. There was no one among the fleeing imperial guards who didn’t hear that.

‘What am I supposed to do…’

At that moment, Bokheumcheok woke up.

“Ugh… My head…”

He suddenly trembled, pressing his head.

With a look of surprise, Bokheumcheok glanced around, then urgently shouted toward his father.

“Father! This is bad, really bad! In the main building, those damned monsters are all over the place! The Jiang River ferry’s people!”

Qing stared blankly at the scene.

It looked really serious.

Suddenly there were cries to turn the ship around and go rescue the main building, everyone was scrambling about.

In the chaos, Qing stood there all alone.

Then it hit her.

This isn’t the time for spectating.

I should bail before that woman sticks to me again.

“Oh dear, where are you going?”

A chill ran down Qing’s spine.

Unyeonjeong appeared beside her without a sound.

Damn it, this horrible, crazy woman.

Qing truly shuddered at the sight of her and turned serious.

Regardless of how Qing felt, Unyeonjeong leaned in close.

Whispering softly into her ear.

“Soon, it will all begin. Just stay calm; I’ll protect you. You’re too weak and insignificant, after all.”

Qing frowned.

It wasn’t out of pride that a high-class master was saying she was weak; that was just plain true.

Compared to that demon, she was weak.

It just reminded her of that unwanted task again.

Seriously, damn it! So freaking damn it!

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