Chapter 287: Journey to Zhongnan (10)

Great Hero Park Sal, Gan Hokju of the Black Wind Three Section Division.

At the Transcendent Realm, they are widely known masters not usually found gathered in a small mountain stronghold.

However, Gamsan Stronghold is not a small stronghold.

Gamsan Stronghold is the Green Forest’s inland base.

Since waterways flow above and below Gamsan, there’s no particular merchant traffic passing through.

Anyway, causing trouble in Henan land risks being jointly attacked by Shaolin to the north and Mount Hua Sect to the south.

So Gamsan Stronghold was not originally a stronghold for bandits’ main purpose of robbery activities.

Instead, Gamsan is located in western Henan, about the center of the world.

Moreover, it’s the starting point of mountain ranges extending to western Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hubei provinces in order of north, west, and south.

So it was an important strategic point geographically where reserve forces scheduled to rotate as an important base connecting headquarters and the west, as well as Green Forest patrols and dispatched agents, stopped by.

With almost no bandit business it couldn’t be one of the Eighteen Strongholds, but it couldn’t be entrusted to others either, so it was a middle base roughly numbered.

From the start it wasn’t an ordinary stronghold, with a Transcendent Realm martial artist serving as branch manager of a franchise that wasn’t even directly managed.

However, Qing was in no state for such high-level thinking, drawing conclusions by gathering clues.

What do I need to know?

I came and there are two Transcendent Realms?

There are truly so many Transcendent Realms in the world.

In fact, Transcendent Realms are common.

Don’t cities of medium size or larger always have at least one occupying a position?

It’s a realm that can be reached before death if one has proper martial arts, diligence to train steadily, and the ability to live long.

You could say it’s the realistic peak that martial artists without particular talent, backing or divine arts can reach.

Because the overall level of martial arts is always rising, continuously going up as time passes.

So if society later becomes as advanced as Qing’s homeland, they might hit Transcendent Realm in regular high school classes before going on to higher education.

Anyway, after the masters they believed in like the heavens suffered a string of deaths, the bandits’ morale dropped, dropping to the point of piercing the floor.

Above all, they had already lost their fighting spirit from that vicious technique of extending swords while getting hit all over, which looked the same to the bandits.

When someone who’s been chopped by big swords and axes stands there fine with a slight smile, they no longer look human to the bandits.

“M-monster…!”

A monster appeared!

Qing giggled and drew the Moonlight Sword (No. 8).

Of course, according to Qing’s theory, a sword that enters must exit in a different direction, and now that she had sword force she could cleanly make a path up and down too, so the sword that pierced the heart came out through the crown-

Wow. This works!

At the terrifying sight of half of half a person being cut away from the inside, the bandits turned around in terror.

“Where are you going!”

Hairpins flew but the bandits scattered in all directions like cockroaches, and Qing only has two hands and a limited number of hairpins.

Ugh. Know you’re lucky.

Qing busily went around cleaning up the ones who fell from hairpins at least.

She trampled spines, made holes in necks to guide blood to flow copiously into lungs, or split open bellies to expose innards.

In common, she went around inflicting fatal wounds that didn’t kill immediately, but were very painful and resulted in death.

This could be called extremely merciful for Qing, as it was fun but her heart wasn’t pounding and electricity wasn’t rising tinglingly.

Why am I like this? It’s good to have a clear mind but.

So Qing finally approached the young master crawling on the ground.

Clop! Clop!

I’m not sure how that footstep sound is made on dirt even if it’s firmly packed ground.

But the young master desperately crawled away at that sound, so Qing leisurely and slowly followed one step at a time, clop, clop again.

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

“D-do you know who I am!”

“I don’t know.”

“I am-“

“Shh. Young master. If I hear that, I’ll really have no choice but to make a big picture judgment with tears in my eyes and kill you. Do you really need to reveal your identity?”

“Heek. S-save me… What do you want? If you spare me, wealth, women, everything-“

“Hmm. First, why don’t you show some manners? Where does a little bean like you get off speaking informally. Still can’t read the situation? You should be begging politely and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“Please save me!”

“For now, keep running away. Let’s see how far you go, if your effort is admirable I might think about it.”

At this, the young master crawled desperately.

Qing followed him clop, clop again.

Whether it was a stable or a roofed shelter, the young master crawling like that finally left the protection of the roof.

In the disgustingly pouring rain his body was instantly soaked, and bright red blood from his exposed shinbone mixed with muddy water and spread.

And over there-

“Huh?”

Qing frowned hard.

She saw Seol Iri being dragged by her hair.

In the past, the Celestial Martial Emperor wandered the entire martial arts world to complete the Nine Swords of Solitude.

That included the Ice Palace, and the Celestial Martial Emperor who saw the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s severe divine arts gave his impression.

Pretty trash.

Though its power is maximized in the rain, the extreme cold of the Snow White Divine Palm was a martial art that caused frostbite injuries and left serious aftereffects.

Of course, the aftereffects are no joke, taking at least half a year to heal, and if frozen properly and not treated quickly it causes permanent damage requiring amputation of limbs, so it’s an extremely vicious level.

However, just because flesh freezes doesn’t mean the enemy is immediately incapacitated.

Moreover, according to Western medicine, the best combat stimulant is naturally synthesized and gushes forth during life-or-death battles, making one forget pain, making the heart beat faster, and greatly activating the body’s reaction speed.

It can make someone completely crippled after battle, but during battle its lethality is quite lacking.

By Qing’s homeland’s standards, it would be called a dirty type only when facing enemies, and useless as an ally.

The bandits who initially cowered under the visual stimulus of the Snow White Divine Arts descending with two ice dragons, after getting hit a few times, thought what’s this, it’s hot and refreshing?

Is this… all?

On top of that, the Peak Realm master Fan Branch Leader was firmly in position.

“It just looks flashy but you don’t die when hit! Subdue without leaving sword marks since the young master must embrace her!”

That young master was crawling on the ground now.

But since Qing prioritized throwing hairpins at those fleeing towards the young master, the reverse charge of defeated troops in this direction was completely blocked off.

So news of the main force’s fall hadn’t been conveyed either.

At this, the bandits who regained courage all rushed in at once, and as she was slipping away with Northern Sea movement techniques, for an instant she took a big whack! on the back with a staff and staggered.

And then countless evil handshake requests flew in with kicks, staffs, axe handles and more.

So one of the Five Flowers of Murim who had been beaten to rags was being dragged along the muddy ground by her hair.

“Y-young master!”

At this, Qing hurriedly moved clop clop and grabbed the young master’s hair and lifted him up.

Hair for hair. It could be called a kind of mirror therapy.

Then the guy who’s just a young master flailed his arms and resisted.

Qing just crushed that pathetic resistance by squeezing with one hand.

The sight of his forearm drooping limply from the middle like a willow branch was a bit funny.

Oh, doesn’t it feel a bit like a praying mantis?

Qing immediately shouted while doing this:

“Return Miss Seol! If not, the young master’s life is forfeit!”

The Fan Branch Leader was dumbfounded for a moment.

Hostage-taking is a robber’s specialty.

Yet he lost the initiative.

It’s a matter of pride as a bandit.

“Y-you bitch, if you lay even a finger on the young master, this woman’s life is forfeit!”

“Ah. No!”

“Kuhehe. Hand over the young master, throw down your weapons and kneel on the ground. If not, wait what are you doing…!”

The Fan Branch Leader was terrified.

Well, seeing a woman casually tear off and throw a person’s finger in front of you, you can’t help but be terrified.

“I returned one finger for now. Will you return Miss Seol now? Is one finger not enough? Then I’ll add one more-“

“Stop! Stop! I said stop!”

“Ah. You should have said so earlier. There are only ten, it’s a waste. Here. I was generous since I separated it. I’ll give you the other one too.”

A finger traces an arc and falls with a thud in front of the Fan Branch Leader.

How accurate, two white fingers in the puddle of bloody rainwater matching the already fallen finger.

“Young master. It seems you’re not very precious to them. They’re staging a hostage drama and all. I was thinking about maybe letting you go if you tried a little harder, but like this I have no choice but to kill you, right? Nothing to say?”

“Let me go! You bastards, let me go!”

“But young master…!”

“Do everything they say! Uncle Hokju and that Sal bastard are all smashed!”

Kuhup. Qing burst out laughing.

Sal got smashed. He lived up to his name.

Or did I make him live up to it?

At this, the bandits’ shoulders drooped greatly.

The branch leader and headquarters’ master were taken out?

By that young girl?

“Come on. It still seems you lack desperation. Can’t be helped. I’ll be very generous today.”

As Qing grabbed another finger, the young master screamed aaak and had a seizure even though it hadn’t been torn off yet.

At this, the Fan Branch Leader shouted angrily:

“Stop! Stop! I’ll let her go! I’ll let her go so stop! Please!”

“Good. Send Miss Seol over here.”

“At the same time, simultaneously exchange, no return, no give back the hostage, no.”

Being an ignorant bandit, he seemed to get tangled up badly trying to use honorific speech.

Qing nodded.

“Right. Mutual trust is very important in hostage exchanges. We’re not exactly in a relationship to trust each other, are we? Hmm. Then let’s do this.”

“How?”

“I’ll tear off one finger each time I count, and when they’re all off I’ll divide up the palm, wrist, forearm bit by bit and send them over, so you can assemble and treat them later, right? I’ll keep counting until Miss Seol returns to my arms, okay?”

“Let go! Give her back! Aak!”

“One.”

A finger traced an arc.

The Fan Branch Leader finally grasped the situation.

That bitch has completely lost it!

It could be said he pierced through to the essence with unbelievable insight for a bandit.

If Qing knew, she would have acknowledged it as sharp insight worthy of recognition as the highest intellect among bandits.

“Stop, stop! Here, I let her go! I said I let her go!”

Qing’s new concept hostage drama worked splendidly.

Qing became smug.

Did I have talent for hostage dramas too?

“Hmm. I won’t be petty and keep counting until she’s in my arms. Miss Seol? Are you okay? Can you come here?”

Seol Iri who had been dumped in the mud struggled to get up, flailing pitifully and falling face-first several times, then unable to do that she barely crawled on all fours, staggering and collapsing repeatedly even while doing so.

Qing strode over and grabbed Seol Iri’s body and hugged her.

This one ran away but got caught and ended up like this.

She really has no use to be found anywhere.

Fortunately her face is fine.

If her face was damaged too she would have almost lost all meaning for existing.

“Can’t be helped. Let’s take the young master.”

Qing said this and lifted Seol Iri, heading back under the roof.

She carefully set her down under the roof and:

“Miss Seol? Wait a moment. Hmm. Do you need revenge? Should I catch a few alive and bring them to you?”

“Yes… Please, I beg you. Please.”

It was Seol Iri’s request!

The first request from Seol Iri who goes without if there’s nothing, doesn’t eat if there’s no food, sleeps in the rain if there’s no room.

She must have gotten so angry that resentment seeped in.

Right. You’re not a martial artist if you’re not vicious.

Who knew she had a likable aspect besides her face.

Qing quickly rushed out again.

Fortunately, they were still there in that spot.

You could say they were stupid for not running away immediately, but the young master’s condition was bad.

His shinbone was exposed on his calf, both forearms hung limply from halfway down, and three fingers were missing.

He kept bleeding so his complexion was pale.

So the Fan Branch Leader was busy urgently stopping the bleeding by sealing acupoints and scolding the remaining subordinates to make a stretcher.

Above all, it was because they didn’t think Qing would come back changing her words.

They thought there was some implicit promise included that she wouldn’t touch them until they left since they returned the hostage, according to common sense in the martial arts world.

However, Qing has no common sense.

To be precise, she doesn’t even have common sense.

So Qing who reappeared shouted angrily in a loud voice!

“How dare you turn Miss Seol into a rag! Miss Seol was originally useless! You even made her a patient I have to take care of despite being useless! I absolutely cannot forgive this!”