Chapter 7
I hate those Righteous Faction bastards.
I hate their hypocrisy, their empty formalities.
*And the Murim Alliance is utterly rotten, too.*
I just hate them, period.
Honestly, whenever I get the chance, all I can think about is how to screw those bastards over.
Yu Somyung was no different.
When I first met her, who was disguised as a Woodcutter, I immediately recognized her as a Rising Star of the Righteous Faction.
So, I lured her in, messed with her, and tormented her.
Teasing and making fools of those Righteous Faction bastards was one of my nasty hobbies.
“H-hey!”
“?”
As soon as I dropped Young Master Yu Jinmyeong off at the Medical Hall, he cried out to me.
Curious why he was calling so urgently while on the verge of death, I turned around.
“S-Somyung...”
“...”
“Please... save Somyung...”
Even with his eyes half-rolled back in pain, Yu Jinmyeong was worried about his sister.
Amazing.
Having experienced internal injuries myself, I know that the pain of one's insides tearing and bleeding is truly beyond imagination. Your mind goes blank, and you lose all reason.
Even if they were blood relatives, they were still separate individuals, and I couldn't understand his enduring such agony just to ask me to save his sister.
“Haa...”
I hate the Righteous Faction.
And I hate these overly good-natured fools in front of me even more than those rotten Righteous Faction bastards.
“...You”re a Bandit! What do you expect to gain by interfering in a fight between Martial Artists—!’
Those who worry more about others' well-being than their own.
Those who choose to suffer losses themselves rather than harm others.
Those who cannot stand by when they see injustice.
I hate those kinds of people.
As for me, already black to the core and cowardly from the bottom of my soul...
Knowing I could never be like them...
I hate them.
But...
“Don’t worry, Young Master.”
“Ah...”
“I do hate those Righteous Faction bastards, but...”
If my dislike for those Righteous Faction bastards is enough to make them frown...
“I hate those Demonic Cult *bastards* even more.”
My hatred for those Demonic Cult *bastards* is so intense that I won't be satisfied until I kill them on sight.
I went to the mountains because I hated both the Righteous Faction and the Demonic Cult...
But since things have come to this, I suppose I'll just follow my instincts.
**
I’ve seen quite a few Righteous Martial Artists in my life.
Righteous Martial Artists diligently cultivate their Internal Energy through orthodox methods and consistently practice their Martial Arts, so their stability and solidity are beyond compare.
However... the biggest flaw I noticed in them was...
Their weakness is in improvisation.
Bodies accustomed to sparring and friendly duels could never be accustomed to life-or-death struggles.
This was especially true for young Rising Stars who lacked experience.
So, they sometimes fell for their opponents' shallow tricks and easily lost battles.
Yu Somyung was no exception.
She seemed to have fought quite well, but... by the time I arrived, she was already defeated and collapsed.
It was perfect timing. If I'd been even a moment later, I might have let the novel's Heroine die so meaninglessly.
I inwardly thought, *Thank goodness*...
*Clang—!*
I blocked the Demonic Cultist Wi Yongmyeong’s attack with my old Saber.
“Why are you crying, Young Lady?”
“...H-huh, you...”
“Protection fee, octuple. Okay?”
“...”
Yu Somyung, tears streaming down her face, spoke in a soft voice.
“...I don’t understand what you’ve been saying since before.”
“Just nod your head. Then...”
“Then...?”
“I’ll save you.”
“...!”
The protection fee I initially proposed to her was 10 Gold Gwan.
“Octuple” meant eight times that, so now it was 80 Gold Gwan.
No matter how precious life was, 80 Gold Gwan was a considerably excessive amount, but...
*Nod.*
Perhaps she didn't understand what "octuple" meant, or perhaps she truly believed she could be saved, but she nodded desperately.
“Okay, that’s enough.”
Having received Yu Somyung’s permission, I pushed away the Saber that was blocking Wi Yongmyeong’s fist, then used the hilt to strike his temple.
*Thwack—!*
“Kuaaak—!”
In pain, the bastard clutched his forehead and stumbled backward.
“You...!”
Even in this urgent situation, he seemed to be trying to gauge my level. Well, that would be impossible.
“I’ve been wondering since earlier... who are you?”
“Ah, old man. Just shut up for a moment. I need to assess the situation.”
“...What?”
The current situation wasn't going to end just by killing the old Demonic Cultist in front of me. Skirmishes were breaking out all over the Shanxi Yu Clan mansion between the treacherous Martial Artists and those who remained loyal.
I ignored Wi Yongmyeong’s dumbfounded expression and looked, listened, and felt my surroundings.
Those emitting faint demonic energy were... overwhelming those who weren't.
Eventually, they would be pushed back by numerical superiority.
“Damn it... this is annoying.”
“It looks like what happened just now was a fluke, and you’re just all talk. Fine, then I’ll come to you.”
*Whoosh—.*
Elder Wi’s demonic energy began to gather in his fist again. The ominous aura surrounding his fist gradually turned crimson-black.
He lunged at me with that menacing appearance.
Anyone could see it was a very dangerous and urgent situation, but...
“Young Lady Yu.”
“You...! This isn’t the time, look ahead—!”
I turned my back and looked at Yu Somyung behind me.
“I think I need to retract what I said earlier.”
*Crash—!*
*At that moment, the bastard’s dark strike enveloped me.*
The impact raised a cloud of dust, and the ground cracked. The accompanying roar echoed so loudly it seemed to shake heaven and earth.
Elder Wi, seemingly satisfied with the strike, retracted his sword and flashed a vile smile.
“To lose focus during a fight... you fool...! ! ! !”
However...
“After assessing the situation, I don’t think octuple will be enough. Let’s just make it sixteen times the original. Nod if you agree.”
Even at that moment, money was still more important to me.
Opportunities to earn money don't come often for a Bandit. Seizing a big score when the chance arose was more important to me than my life. Indeed.
Yu Somyung stared blankly at me, who was holding up my Saber with one hand to block the bastard’s strike, and nodded.
And only after seeing that, did I...
“Okay, no backing out. If you back out, you marry me.”
...move my body properly.
**
Yu Somyung believed the reason she was captured by the Bandit gang today was due to their underhanded tricks.
Naturally, she had no doubt she could defeat mere bandits in a proper sword fight.
Bandits, Water Bandits, Assassins, and so on... all the Unorthodox Faction members she had seen in her life were pathetic.
They were people too embarrassing to even call Martial Artists. They were just slightly more skilled than ordinary people.
That was how all Unorthodox Faction members were treated in the Jianghu, and Yu Somyung thought no differently.
But the scene before her eyes now...
*Clang—! Clang—!!*
...What in the world was this?
Wi Yongmyeong.
He was one of the Elders of the Shanxi Yu Clan, and one of the top five Strong Experts in the clan.
With him wielding a sword and fists imbued with demonic energy, Yu Somyung had no way to contend with him.
*Whoosh—! Crash.*
Even now, all his attacks were threatening. Each one felt fatal...
But...
“Ugh...! ! ! !”
“You need to try harder, don’t you think?”
The Bandit was facing Wi Yongmyeong with a relaxed demeanor, as if watching a child’s sparring match.
He wasn’t pushing Wi Yongmyeong to the brink of death. But... he was effortlessly blocking every single one of Wi Yongmyeong’s Powerful Fists.
And he was doing it with a single, old Saber that had lost all its teeth...
“Are you mocking me—!!”
Wi Yongmyeong, thinking he was being ignored and feeling enraged, increased the speed of his fist strikes.
But the Bandit, matching his movements, moved his Saber and body even more smoothly... even faster.
Yu Somyung looked at him and thought he was like...
*“Wind.”*
...Yes, wind.
She thought he was like the wind.
**
Why?
Why couldn’t his fists land?
Although Wi Yongmyeong had wielded a sword as an Elder of the Shanxi Yu Clan, he was actually more confident with his fists. Moreover, he had even boosted his Internal Energy with Demonic Arts personally taught by the Heavenly Demon Cult, so why...
*Clang—!*
Of course, his fists weren't failing to reach the bastard. But...
*Clang—!*
Again, the bastard was turning his Saber sideways, using the broad side to parry his fists and deflect the attacks.
Even...
*Clang—!*
“Young Lady Yu. Look, when an opponent’s fist comes at you, you parry it and deflect it to the side with the Profound Principle of Grasping. Guys who use their fists absolutely *love* it when you do this.”
“Eeeek—!!”
He explained each point to Yu Somyung as if giving a lesson.
Even when Wi Yongmyeong, enraged, increased his speed and pressed him...
*Clang—!!*
The bastard calmly parried the attacks, matching his speed.
The complete lack of counterattacks only infuriated Wi Yongmyeong further.
“Aaaargh—!! Are you ignoring me again—! Again—!!”
And that escalation of emotion...
*Twitch.*
...caused the demonic energy growing within him to grow even stronger.
Hatred and resentment.
Those were the nutrients that fed the demonic energy.
*Shhh... Whoosh—!!*
“Kuaaaaaaah—!!”
Finally, Wi Yongmyeong’s demonic energy swelled beyond what his own body could contain, and his body became massive and crimson-black, as if no longer human.
“N-no...”
“What is that...?”
The sight was astonishing to everyone around.
Demonic Bloom (Demonic Bloom).
It was not something easily witnessed unless one was fighting on the front lines against the Heavenly Demon Cult.
However...
“Ha, finally. This old geezer is just too damn slow.”
The Bandit remained unfazed by the astonishing sight.
No, rather, as if he had been waiting for this, he simply walked forward with his saber towards the Demonic Bloomed Wi Yongmyeong.