Chapter 88

“If you’re a man, there’s some grand task you have to accomplish, no matter what kind of humiliation you have to endure.”

What Seolga mentioned about excessive humiliation was exactly like the tale of Han Xin.

When Han Xin was young, he was quite the show-off, always strutting around with a big sword, acting tough.

Annoyed by this, a local thug blocked his path, spreading his legs and sticking out his belly, saying,

“If you know how to use that sword, why don’t you slice my belly open? But if you’re just flaunting it, I’ll let you crawl between my legs.”

Han Xin was ready to blow his top. But if he crossed the line and committed murder, he’d never get anywhere in his official career.

In the end, the tale goes that Han Xin, unable to give up on his dream of becoming an official, crawled between the thug’s legs.

And then there’s the story of Gu Cheon and Gubun.

This refers to the Gu Cheon of the State of Yue, the very one that Moon Lady helped.

After losing a war against the King of Wu, Fu Chai, Gu Cheon became his prisoner.

While gnashing his teeth, Gu Cheon pretended to be a servile and obedient slave.

Not only that, when Fu Chai fell ill, he even ate the king’s poop, claiming it tasted fine and that it wasn’t a serious illness!

(Surprisingly, eating poop is considered proper medicine in this context.)

Moved by this, Fu Chai let Gu Cheon go.

Or perhaps he just didn’t want to keep such a disgusting guy around.

Later, Gu Cheon met with the Moon Lady, armed his troops with her fabled Moon Lady Sword, and wiped out the Kingdom of Wu.

And here, there was another beautiful man-woman who had to endure such humiliation.

Her name was Seomun Qing, a seasoned female martial artist.

Han Xin crawling, Gu Cheon eating poop, all of that was nothing compared to the humiliation Qing was about to face.

I… I…!

Qing looked down at the weapon in her hands.

With a long handle and sleek nose, plus a beautifully crafted heavy blade etched with blood patterns.

And a single-edged blade.

Qing trembled in embarrassment.

How could I be using a stick sword…?!

Exactly.

Qing was wielding a stick sword.

But it was a sacrifice for a greater cause.

It was a sacrifice of Qing’s dignity, trivial thirst for revenge, and a noble sacrifice for the sake of fun.

Aside from providing a little peace for the Martial World from the demonic sect’s heinous clutches, she honestly didn’t care much about that either.

They promised a lot of freedom training points as compensation…

That was Seolga’s opinion.

It would get boring if only the Supreme Demoness stirred up trouble.

Why not pin some crimes on the Demon King’s faction, one of the three external factions?

Qing glanced down at the stick sword.

Hmm, though, maybe a little? It doesn’t sound too bad.

Qing’s pure strength had surpassed the limits of a human thanks to her extensive martial arts training.

She was probably the strongest person across the Central Plains, all five oceans, and six continents.

For someone like her, the sword felt almost too light.

The Blood Storm Blade Technique especially utilized a big sword.

Such a weapon was rare in the Central Plains.

No matter how much “Non-Interference by Officials” was a thing, walking around with such a large weapon was just asking for trouble.

The national law prohibited private weapon carry.

And, honestly, it was inconvenient.

The sword alone weighed twenty Korean pounds.

Imagine lugging something huge and heavy around all the time; talk about a hassle!

But for Qing, the weight felt just right, as if it was weighing on her heart.

She looked down at the fallen member of the Taepyeongdan.

This unfortunate villain would never rise again due to their laziness while on the patrol, sprawled on their mat.

Of course, the fact they were wielding a big sword was the biggest red flag.

“Hey, nice weapon you got there! Don’t worry, I’ll use it well tonight and return it to you,” she said.

The Taepyeongdan member didn’t respond.

Dead folks don’t talk.

Qing estimated the west direction.

The main Taepyeongdan building should be a blue-roofed structure over there.

—-

The Taepyeongdan under the Heavenly Demon Sect was responsible for maintaining the public order of Cheonsanshin City and also handled firefighting, tax collection, and loan-related products.

However, opinions arose questioning the necessity of the Taepyeongdan since Cheonsanshin City’s security was already too perfect.

After all, there hadn’t been any major crimes in the city for several hundred years.

By the way, robbery, murder, and human trafficking weren’t considered serious crimes in Cheonsanshin City. Instead, the victims were viewed as fools and inattentive idiots.

Thus, it’s a clear fact that Cheonsanshin City is free from terrible crimes and is a paradise on earth.

Seolga was ultimately an outsider who drifted in.

So the strategy was to set the security squad on fire and throw the town into chaos – an idea that would make any sect member scoff.

What good is burning someone who doesn’t do anything, anyway?

They’d probably just do a little robbing, murder, and trafficking while nervously watching each other.

If you were a fool from the Central Plains, you’d call that chaos, but to the sect members? Well, let’s see.

For this reason, the Taepyeongdan remained quite peaceful.

In fact, no one in Taepyeongdan had even thought someone would come barging in.

The patrollers were all just friends who could easily bond over a night of fun that only cost about the same as their little night out.

Even with sudden night shifts, everyone was disoriented, and all sorts of illnesses were going around, so everyone was telling each other that it was hard to get to work at Taepyeongdong.

Thus, in this crass town, a certain woman was moving through the Taepyeongdan’s security.

To the left of the main entrance, a five-story building.

This was the dormitory of the Taepyeongdan warriors.

The sentry guarding in front of the dorm noticed a figure dragging a large sword behind them.

Fully clad in black from head to toe.

It was a type of clothing known as nightwear in the Central Plains.

The sentry was startled but relaxed after recognizing the big sword.

In fact, nobody in the city didn’t recognize it.

The enormous sword adorned with red tassels was a weapon used by direct disciples of the Demon King’s faction.

If the one walking around at this hour was from the Demon King’s faction, then—

The sentry half-heartedly greeted,

“Master, you’re back already? You should at least pretend to be out on patrol. If you return early like this, the entrance gets complicated.”

Then the Black Robed Man replied,

“Cry. Prove your purity by crying.”

The sudden line puzzled the sentry.

“What? Master, did you drink? Why would I cry? A man should be strong!”

“Who asked you to cry?”

Qing shot back before continuing,

“Cry, Hell’s Demon Blade.”

The Hell’s Demon Blade drew a round arc like the full moon.

Blood Storm Blade Technique’s first move, Blood Full Moon.

Simply thrusting the blade, lifting it vertically, and swinging down like lightning.

But when combined with the Blood Demon King’s blood magic, it created a scene where a blood-colored full moon appeared in the sky.

The blade pierced the crown of the head, shooting straight through and exiting between the legs.

The hot, sizzling sensation transmitted through the hand.

The delicious thrill of forcibly cutting and tearing apart with a weapon was a brand new experience.

“Ah… It feels amazing…”

Not slicing, but tearing; it’s quite a delicacy.

Shivering with excitement, Qing swiftly moved.

It was the moment when the Flesh Demons entered Taepyeongdong.

—-

Meanwhile, the upper-level investigator of Taepyeongdan, Seok Heum Heum, was engaged in his lonely battle once again.

Because the wicked Supreme Demoness had hidden herself in Cheonsan City.

Seok Heum Heum, realizing the seriousness of the situation, requested the dispatch of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Warrior Combat Unit while simultaneously proposing the special night shift for the Taepyeongdan.

However, it seemed the higher-ups had a slightly different perspective, permitting the night shift but instructing to capture the Supreme Demoness if spotted, or else encircle her and buy time.

They were after her Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat skills.

Seok Heum Heum, as the remaining conscience of Taepyeongdan, was furious but knew he had no choice.

So again, he spent the night awake, deducing the hiding place of the Supreme Demoness from the victims connected on the map of Cheonsan City.

“Supreme Demoness. Where are you hiding? You must surely be somewhere in the East District…”

He was making some progress.

It was clear the Demoness was in the East District.

When talking about the East District, it must be somewhere in the red-light district, hiding among the courtesans.

And then, a commotion erupted as his subordinates rushed in, flailing about in panic.

“Emergency! Fire! There’s a fire!”

Seok Heum Heum looked at his subordinate with disdain.

“Fire control is also the job of Taepyeongdan. Even if it’s been a while since we’ve dealt with a blaze, seeing you all in such a fluster makes me think we need to reschedule the firefighting training.”

“No, it’s not that!”

“Not what? Get moving! Wake the warriors in Taepyeongdong and grab the firefighting equipment!”

“No, it’s a fire in Taepyeongdong!”

Seok Heum Heum’s face dropped.

“What? Damn! Ring the bell and gather all nearby warriors! What are the rest of the crew doing? Tell them to grab firefighting gear and assemble in Taepyeongdong now!”

That’s when the night at Taepyeongdan was awakened.

All those on night duty gathered, bringing sand and oil to help put out the fire in Taepyeongdong.

Civilians wandering around curiously in the dead of night were also caught up in the chaos, sweating as they carried water buckets.

As Seok Heum Heum was directing the chaos, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.

There was a fire, but why was nobody coming out? Normally, when there’s a fire, people would jump out no matter how deep the drop is. But the entire building was engulfed in flames, and yet… not a single sign of life?

—-

At that moment, Qing was inside the Taepyeongdan’s Grand Encyclopedia.

This was the center place for all major operations, including official transactions and reports.

-Handling the sleeping warriors in Taepyeongdong shouldn’t be a problem. After all, these guys have no military discipline whatsoever. Once everyone’s attention is focused on the fire, I’ll just set the records on fire. What? Where’s the records? I wouldn’t know that either. Figure that out yourself.

So Qing handled it herself.

She caught one, yanked out their teeth, grabbed an ear, and asked about the last remaining one.

And then, that guy turned into a very gracious guide.

As a reward for the guiding, Qing made sure to personally escort him to the afterlife.

Qing, the kind soul, returned the favor with a gesture of hospitality.

She tossed the self-allocated poison bottle Seolga had given her.

With a splash, the oil mixed with resin splattered joyfully between the ceramic shards.

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