Chapter 244: Even Vagabonds Have Their Own Code Of Honor. (17)

She couldn’t help but scream as her still-bruised chest was squeezed again. The pain was even worse than before since it hadn’t healed yet.

Murong Juhui growled in a choked, underwater-like voice:

“I’m grateful you saved me. But when I think of what you did, I can never, ever forgive you. You’re the most terrible woman in the world, a monster, you’re a monster.”

“Agh, hand, hand.”

Qing grabbed Murong Juhui’s hands squeezing her chest and whimpered.

She couldn’t use force to remove them, and when she tried to pry off the fingers one by one with both hands, Murong Juhui’s other hand would help, squeezing one when one was removed.

“It hurts, it hurts! It really hurts!”

“So, so you know what pain is too?”

“Just let go-“

Squeeze.

“Ugh.”

When it really hurts, screams aren’t loud.

Lightning struck in Qing’s mind.

Watching Qing who couldn’t even make loud sounds as her inhaling breath and outgoing voice collided with kuk ugh ugh, Murong Juhui smiled while shedding tears.

“Right, this kind of thing. It’s just a weakness anyway. Ha! You can’t even endure this. This kind of thing, this kind of thing, I don’t need it anymore.”

“Let, let go, really, it hurts too much, ugh!”

At this point, even Qing gets angry.

This bitch was even using inner force, really intending to burst it.

So, Qing had no choice but to use her last resort.

Qing firmly squeezed Murong Juhui’s wrists.

It was Qing’s grip strength that could crush steel.

Kyaaak!! A shrill scream burst out and Murong Juhui’s hands fell away limply.

Murong Juhui, her wrists grabbed, screamed:

“Am I, am I funny to you!? Did you think I’d act like an idiot trembling when you showed me teeth!? What is it. Right! I’m the stupid bitch who got caught and had her teeth pulled out! Should I put them in if any of these fit! I was just starting to forget!”

Ah. The strength drained from Qing’s hands.

It was a gift she had given with good intentions without much thought.

But she realized she had not just touched but thoroughly ripped open the wound etched in Murong Juhui’s mind and sprinkled salt on it.

“I, I’m sorry. That was absolutely not my intention. I just hoped it would comfort you.”

“Comfort! How is that comforting! You were strange from the start! You, what you made me do, when I close my eyes I still, urp.”

Murong Juhui covered her mouth, unable to continue speaking as reflux rose up.

That time still vivid when she closed her eyes.

The sensation of cutting living flesh and severing muscles. The terrible screams of the dying person I squeezed with my own hands, overcome by the brutish force forcibly guiding me. That horrible sound between sobbing and screaming.

The sensations of death that rushed in when they finally stopped breathing, like a thin thread snapping, like an ornament falling off.

“Why, why did you do that? That, that shouldn’t have been done, no matter how, no matter how bad those guys were, I, ugh, I shouldn’t have done that. Right? Why, why, I, but, do you know what’s even worse!?”

Pain makes people sick.

Murong Juhui was in a thoroughly sick state.

Qing’s prescription was revenge.

Of course, if it hadn’t been so extreme, it might have been a great help.

But it was Qing with the Heavenly Slaughter Star rampaging for once.

Even Buddhist teachings don’t particularly stop the Heavenly Slaughter Star before evil people, because martial arts harm others, so it’s not compassion but a Buddha image that embraces the world’s killing karma to save the world.

But Qing just tilted her head.

What? What shouldn’t be done? What’s wrong with torturing and killing Blood Cult bastards? Why not?

They deserved to suffer enough.

“Um. Miss Murong. Those guys deserved to suffer. Unlike the innocent Miss Murong. Miss Murong did nothing wrong, but the Blood Cult bastards were different.”

“What is that. Why, why does it work like that?”

“If I thought they’d pay for their sins in hellfire after death by simply cutting off their breath, I would have done that. But that’s not the case, right? Death is just an irresponsible end.”

Murong Juhui’s body trembled.

To Murong Juhui, it was just a terrible thing.

“You, you enjoyed it! You just, because there were bad guys, because there were guys you could be cruel to, you grinned while cutting people up! Drop that excuse about paying for sins!”

Qing scratched her cheek.

“Hmm. I don’t really understand what the problem is. Then, if I had inflicted pain forcibly while crying, would there have been no problem? Even so, the result is the same, didn’t guys who deserved to suffer die suffering? Does it become wrong because I filled my own pleasure a bit in the process?”

Murong Juhui looked at Qing as if looking at the most terrible thing in the world.

“You, you. You’re a monster. Like that, you’re just a bloodthirsty murderous ghost.”

“I won’t deny the murderous ghost part. But isn’t monster a bit harsh? I’ve never once done anything I’m not proud of mysel- Haah. No.”

Qing sighed deeply.

She’s mentally ill.

Rational conversation won’t work.

Is this that thing where hostages side with their kidnappers? Or is she projecting onto anyone in pain because she’s in so much pain herself?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know Miss Murong would be in so much pain. I made things hard for you, I had no such intention at all in giving the teeth as a gift, I’m sorry. Hmm. Well then, rest.”

Qing said this and stood up.

Well, what can you do if she doesn’t like it.

Anyway, all Qing lost was a sore chest, and it’s not like Jun and the Patriarch don’t know, so this should be enough to wrap things up.

That’s when:

“W-wait!”

Murong Juhui called out urgently.

“What is it?”

“Where, where are you going?”

“It seems I’m just making things harder for you. Um, I won’t come by again. Don’t worry and just rest-“

“W-wait. Wait.”

“Do you have something to say…?”

“It’s not that, it’s just.”

“Then I’ll be going. I think my presence will only make Miss Murong more anxious.”

“Wait! That’s not it.”

Murong Juhui grabbed Qing’s wrist.

Qing looked down thinking “What’s with her now, is she planning to squeeze my wrist this time?”, when a small, clear voice like a mosquito came from Murong Juhui with her head bowed low.

“…Stay for a moment.”

“What?”

“Because of you, yes! Because of you! The terrible memories came flooding back, so I need you here now, I, I can’t be alone right now. It’s because of you so take responsibility, right, you take responsibility. Stay by my side.”

A faint trembling was transmitted through the wrist Murong Juhui was holding.

Qing answered with a bitter expression:

“Won’t they keep coming up if I’m here? Hmm. I’ll call Nanah for you-“

“I said it’s because of you! So you have to stay by my side. It can’t be anyone else. Stay by my side, just stay until I fall asleep.”

“But won’t you keep thinking about it if I’m here? And don’t you hate me, Miss?”

“No!”

Murong Juhui changed her expression and pleaded:

“I don’t hate you that much. It’s just terrible, a little terrible, you know, I don’t hate you. How could I hate you? It’s just when I see you, I keep thinking about that time. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you. But you did that to me. I didn’t want to kill people like that, but you! You!”

“Miss Murong?”

“No no no. I’m fine. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I said too much, didn’t I? I didn’t mean it. Don’t leave me alone. Please, please, I’m begging you like this…”

Ah. The child was having a fit.

Qing held back another rising sigh and sat down on Murong Juhui’s bed.

Then the trembling transmitted through her wrist gradually subsided. Soon after, breathing that dug deeper and deeper.

On the vast bed of the best guest room, the space Murong Juhui occupied was just a small space curled up and shrunk.

Qing looked down at Murong Juhui sleeping crumpled as if still in a box and thought:

It seems I’ve become something like a trigger button for her fits. Hearing this, I guess full-scale anatomy was too early for a beginner.

Honestly, I’m comforting her saying it hurts, but at this rate, she’s going to be very, no, extremely troublesome.

So I shouldn’t show my face to her carelessly, she thought.

– Or so she thought. Hmm.

“What’s that? Why is she going around like that?”

Tang Nanah raised her eyebrows. At the end of her gaze was Murong Juhui, hugging her knees with her head buried.

She had limped all the way to the training ground on her uncomfortable feet, but when greeted she pushed them away saying not to act friendly. But she wasn’t going anywhere either, just sitting crouched pitifully at a distance with her head buried.

“I don’t know either. She must have had a hard time because of the Blood Cult. She seems mentally ill.”

“No. The picture is getting weird. It’s like we’re bullying and ostracizing her.”

“I don’t know. How could I know what’s going on inside her…”

She had been like that since the day after the hospital visit, and it had already been three days.

She would sit in the corner of the training ground with her head buried, and when they couldn’t just leave her alone at mealtimes and asked her to eat together, she’d say not to act friendly again.

It was uncomfortable to just ignore her when she was being so pitiful, but they really didn’t know why she was acting like this.

As this slightly uncomfortable spectator attended the Half-Sword Double-Saber Association’s training ground every day, time passed and suddenly the semi-final match was tomorrow.

Cheon Yuhak’s return was that very night.

“Oh my, because my disciple is careless, the master has to suffer. Oh my, girl, massage my shoulders a bit. Oh my, they’re so stiff.”

“No, what is this, suddenly disappearing?”

Qing grumbled but obediently massaged his shoulders firmly.

“Your hands are quite skilled. This is why I raise a disciple. Kuhehe.”

“And why did you send the message collect on delivery? Do I have to pay five silver taels to deliver ten characters?”

“You fool. If I gave the money in advance, would they deliver the message? You have to tell them to receive it after delivering so they don’t leak it elsewhere and go straight to deliver the message. And it has to be five silver taels for their eyes to bulge and rush to deliver it.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing it, it made sense.

Since he sent regards saying not to worry, it’s awkward to ask for five silver taels now.

So Qing just changed the subject.

“So, what were you doing? Suddenly being away for ten days.”

“Kuhehe. There’s a human head in that box over there, don’t be surprised. It’s none other than the Blood Cult’s Demonic Adept called the Blood Wheel Demon.”

“Oh? Why is he coming out of there?”

“You fool. After rushing in all together like that, you didn’t even know he escaped through the roof? Even if you don’t know much about parasites, you have to catch the controller from far away, so I chased him all the way to Henan Province and killed him, that’s what.”

“Wow, you went far.”

“Now. Tell those vagabond bastards they can remove the parasites they’re holding now that the real Divine Thief has appeared and brought the head.”

“Hmm. Teacher. The parasite issue has already been resolved. You’re really late.”

“What? I caught the Blood Wheel Demon?”

“I caught all the rest. The parasites have all been removed too.”

Qing relayed what had happened while Cheon Yuhak was away.

“What, then did I suffer for nothing? I really…”

“Come on, how is that suffering for nothing? You’re amazing. Didn’t they say the Blood Wheel Demon was an Unrestrained Realm master? Did you catch him one-on-one?”

“Now, listen. I…”

Cheon Yuhak boasted and told his story.

It was a very grand afterthought, but thanks to it, it was also a very clean wrap-up.

And at that time, Ximen Surin experienced the feeling of her common sense escaping again.

“These bastards. Even if they didn’t know last time…”

Because the vagabonds who had returned to the Hyeonkaekdang asked to invite Ximen Surin again.