episode_0058

The central city of Sichuan Province, Chengdu.

This place, which was once the capital of Shu Han, has long been known as the ‘Land of Abundance’ due to its fertile soil.

Surrounded on all four sides by mountains, it formed a natural fortress, yet its interior featured vast plains, making it rich in resources.

It was a kind of coincidence that the Haomun Sect established its main base here.

Chengdu was a strategic transportation hub connecting all directions, so naturally, people from all walks of life gathered there, didn’t they?

Imagine you are living at the very bottom of society.

If you have to choose a place to live for the rest of your life, wouldn’t a bustling city overflowing with people be better than a remote mountain village where no one lives?

More people mean more individuals in similar circumstances, and thus, more opportunities.

Even begging has a higher chance of success where there are many people, and working odd jobs means more work to make a living.

Above all, the more people there are, the easier it is to blend in among them.

Hence, waiters, general store owners, porters, courtesans, and so on.

Those living at the bottom of society naturally gravitated towards Chengdu.

The Haomun Sect also grew its influence based on such people, thus beginning to establish itself with Chengdu as its center.

However, at this moment, a man intruded upon the Haomun headquarters.

“You scoundrel!”

The indignant guards immediately drew their swords.

This was because Cheongun’s appearance was utterly shabby.

“Get down immediately! How dare such an arrogant fellow come to a place like this…!”

Before he could finish his sentence.

Cheongun idly twitched his hand.

Instantly, the swords the guards had drawn floated up, breaking free from their hands.

And a moment later, the floating swords suddenly shot away with a whoosh, piercing directly into the opposite wall.

Cheongun had casually hurled away others’ swords using a technique of air manipulation.

The guards who had lost their swords in an instant were dumbfounded.

When Cheongun gestured again, this time the other guards’ swords flew towards the wall.

Bang! Crash! Thud!

They stared at Cheongun with bewildered expressions.

Threats required weapons, but with just a few gestures from a mere boy, all of them were left empty-handed.

To send swords flying from afar with just a gesture?

It was truly an unseen and unheard-of level of skill.

While the guards hesitated with empty hands, only then did the disciples of the Haomun Sect belatedly appear.

One of the courtesans among them stepped forward and asked Cheongun.

“Young Master! What in the world are you doing!”

“I am not a Young Master.”

“…Then a Great Master?”

“Nor a Great Master.”

“……”

The courtesan was momentarily flustered by Cheongun’s attitude.

Typically, martial arts masters in the Murim are called either Young Master or Great Master.

These are the most widely known titles in the Central Plains, the easiest way for a martial artist to show respect to another.

It’s no wonder even masters of the Demonic Faction prefer to be called Great Master rather than titles like Demonic Leader.

‘Is he playing word games?’

To the courtesan who had frozen, Cheongun, as if annoyed, extended a token once more.

“See this? The Justice Alliance insignia here.”

“Ah, I see it.”

“It’s a token proving the Chief Inspector’s identity. This very person is the face representing the Justice Alliance. The Alliance Leader personally appointed me as Chief Inspector.”

“……”

The courtesan broke out in a cold sweat.

Mad Heaven No Sword being the Chief Inspector of the Justice Alliance was completely new information.

It was only natural.

Cheongun had raided the Haomun Sect immediately upon receiving the Chief Inspector’s token, so they had no time for the information to reach them.

“…May I inspect the token for a moment?”

“It’ll wear out. Look at it from over there.”

“……”

She swallowed an insult internally, took a few steps back, and squinted her eyes to examine the token.

Is the Chief Inspector just any ordinary position?

She couldn’t believe such a position had been handed over to that madman without a whisper.

But what was this?

Just in case, she checked it repeatedly, but seeing the craftsmanship and finish, it was unmistakably genuine from every angle.

“No, how?!”

“I just stayed still, and they gave it to me. Why, are you jealous?”

“How can that be? What kind of position is the Chief Inspector’s?!”

“What kind of position?”

“It’s a position that represents the Justice Alliance, touring the Jianghu. It’s a crucial responsibility with the authority to act on behalf of the Alliance Leader! It’s been vacant for several years due to a lack of suitable talent! No, can it be true that the Chief Inspector doesn’t even know what position he holds? Did the Alliance Leader really appoint you personally? How can they handle things so thoughtlessly…!”

“I didn’t ask. You’re noisy. Shut up.”

“……”

He asked the question himself, and then complained about her being noisy.

The courtesan gritted her teeth and let out a sigh.

“Chief Inspector of the Justice Alliance, why have you come all the way here?”

At her words, Cheongun dragged a chair from the corner and sat down.

“Bring the Haomun Sect Leader.”

She blinked her eyes.

“The Sect Leader?”

“Yes.”

She fell into thought for a moment.

“What if we refuse?”

“Are you a martial artist?”

“No. I’m a courtesan.”

Cheongun clicked his tongue.

This was the problem with the Haomun Sect.

Most of its disciples were not martial artists, so he couldn’t act recklessly.

While the Haomun Sect itself belonged to the Demonic Faction, not everyone in it was evil.

Some had simply drifted there, exhausted by their lives at the bottom of society and seeking a place to rely on, while others had unintentionally become villains, swept away by their circumstances.

This was why Cheongun had left the sword-drawing guards unharmed.

However, even if his opponents were civilians, he had no intention of backing down.

Because it was bothersome and annoying.

Thus, Cheongun, having finished his thought, said calmly.

“If you refuse, I’ll make you bald.”

“Please follow me.”

“You give up quickly.”

At his words, the courtesan smiled brightly.

“Well, my hair is more important than the Sect Leader, you see?”

That’s right. Hair is a serious matter.

Cheongun nodded and followed behind the courtesan.

****

Cheongun hummed a tune as he walked.

Normally, all sorts of people would have popped out, calling him an intruder and so on, and he’d have to subdue each one individually, and since he couldn’t kill them all, he’d even have to control his strength.

But for all that process to be skipped just by showing a single token?

Is this the sweetness of power?

For Cheongun, who had lived a life far removed from power both before and after his transmigration, it was an unfamiliar experience in many ways.

The courtesan, walking ahead, turned right and spoke.

“This way.”

“You know the way well.”

“Because I was born and raised here my whole life.”

“Is that so? Your parents?”

“They’re gone. They were here, but they all passed away.”

“Why did they pass away?”

“You ask a lot of questions. Well, the tiresome stories of lives at the bottom are all pretty much the same. They starved for several days trying to feed just me, and then died.”

As Cheongun nodded at her words, the courtesan, walking ahead, asked curtly.

“Why that reaction?”

“Why, should I give you sympathy?”

At his words, the courtesan clicked her tongue.

“Ha, never mind. Getting pity from someone who grew up in a wealthy family and clearly doesn’t know what hardship is, would only make me feel worse.”

“Funny talk. You’re just a woman born without parents, yet relying on your outstanding looks, you entered the Haomun Sect and lived comfortably as a courtesan, enjoying good food and shelter, and still have many complaints.”

“…Are you done talking?”

“My parents were torn apart alive by a bear as big as a mountain right before my eyes while they were gathering herbs. Unlike you, I was a boy, and being extremely poor, I couldn’t eat properly, so I was frail and couldn’t even exert proper strength. Who would hire a boy who was about to die? Unlike you, who lived comfortably serving drinks, I caught and ate mice and begged on the streets for over ten years.”

“……”

Of course, they weren’t his real parents, but they were still the parents of this body, so physiologically, they were his parents.

Moreover, because he had suddenly transmigrated, he was essentially in a position where he would never see his parents from his original world again.

The courtesan, who had been rattling off her laments about her misfortunes, fell silent.

Seeing her expression, Cheongun said with a wistful look.

“I won.”

“……”

Never losing an argument.

That was indeed the virtue of a Chief Inspector.

Cheongun, who had successfully upheld the prestige of the Justice Alliance today, nodded contentedly.

The courtesan, who had been miserably defeated in the misfortune battle, kept her mouth shut and walked inside.

Occasionally, she glanced back at Cheongun, but soon turned her head and quickened her pace.

Cheongun followed her in and saw a room at the end of a long corridor.

Four martial artists stood in front of the door, and upon sensing their aura, they were all masters who had reached the pinnacle realm.

Upon seeing the courtesan’s face, they bowed their heads and moved aside.

Upon entering, a red silk curtain was draped, and through its gap, a woman’s bare leg was faintly visible.

“We’re here.”

As the courtesan pushed aside the curtain and entered, a woman with long black hair sat there.

Her red eyes were striking, and her attire of black clothes with a red sash was quite alluringly curvaceous and imposing.

Cheongun blinked his eyes.

“Who are you?”

The woman looked Cheongun up and down, then snorted.

“What a ridiculous fellow. You came all this way yourself, and now you’re asking who I am?”

Cheongun still tilted his head.

“Where is the Haomun Sect Leader?”

“What a dull-witted fellow. Am I not right here before your eyes?”

She exhaled slowly and curved her lips into a smile.

“This mistress is the Haomun Sect Leader you seek.”

Cheongun blinked his eyes.

…She’s the Haomun Sect Leader?

What? The Haomun Sect Leader in the original work was supposed to be an old woman with wrinkles all over her face, wasn’t she?

The only thing she had in common with the woman in front of him was her gender.

Cheongun fell into thought.

It didn’t seem like she had undergone the Rejuvenation Reversion technique either.

There were no traces of a disguise technique visible either.

No, could this be?

It’s possible. There are some mods that completely change the appearance of male characters or unattractive female characters.

…Wait.

Could the mod I applied be one of those?

“……”

“……”

At that moment, the Haomun Sect Leader, who had been staring directly into Cheongun’s eyes, spoke.

“State your business, outsider.”

To her question, Cheongun slowly replied.

“……Haomun Sect Leader, you pass.”

“Ha!”

The Haomun Sect Leader let out a snicker.

She had vaguely guessed from the moment he started eyeing her intently a while ago, but to suddenly say ‘you pass’ with such a blank expression? He was truly a funny fellow.

She subtly bent forward, bringing her face closer.

“You’re an interesting fellow. Does this mistress’s face please you that much?”

To her words, Cheongun replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Funny fellow. Didn’t you just say ‘you pass’ with your own mouth?”

Cheongun nodded.

Then he pulled out the token again and held it out to her.

“I passed. Not you, but me.”

“……What?”

“From now on, I am the Haomun Sect Leader. If you have any complaints, take them up with the Justice Alliance.”

“……”