If A-Qing had majored in engineering or fine arts, she would've gone insane, tormented by homicidal urges and guilt. But because A-Qing was a humanities major, she was currently alive and kicking, all thanks to her liberal arts education!
However, if she'd majored in medicine or law, she wouldn't even have had time for gaming as a hobby.
There wouldn't have been any reason to suffer this much from the sta-
No, forget it. Anyway, this was why people should learn.
Francis Bacon's words, "Knowledge is power," were exactly this principle.
"Bad guys aren't people, so there's no need to treat them as such. Mencius said so. So come at me, you bastard. Hunters only have fun when beasts come clawing."
Nogal swallowed a sigh.
I've truly fallen into the hands of a madwoman!
It was exactly the kind of twisted logic a homicidal maniac would have.
Nogal's mind raced, figuring out how to survive.
Escape was hopeless.
His opponent possessed peerless footwork and could strike distant targets with her Air palm.
Even if he managed to escape, it would still be a problem. If a guard abandoned his charge, he'd be hunted until his dying breath. The Black Shadow Society Leader would never forgive a guard who deserted his daughter. His wife and ten-year-old son would also suffer a tragic fate.
So, he either had to defeat her or rely on her mercy.
In moments of mortal danger, the brain displayed unprecedented concentration. This was why martial artists often broke through walls and advanced to higher realms during life-or-death battles.
Finally, Nogal's mind discovered the most rational path among countless possibilities.
Masters often showed strange leniency. "Oh, your loyalty is truly admirable!" Something like that. Of course, the chances of that happening were one in ten thousand.
But if he was going to die anyway, he had to save his wife and son. Though the Black Shadow Society Leader was from the unorthodox path, he was still the kind of person who would take good care of the surviving family of a guard who sacrificed his life for his daughter.
Nogal steeled himself with a grim determination.
"I shall offer my life to atone for my sins to you, Exalted Lady. Please, could you end this grudge with just me?"
Unfortunately, A-Qing had already crossed the threshold of her thirst. It had been too peaceful for too long, and fighting clumsily without her sword had caused her bloodthirsty nature to explode.
"Nah, don't wanna."
Her hand moved on its own.
Her long, slender fingers slashed Nogal's throat from right to left.
The soft skin of his neck tearing, the squelch as it sunk into muscle with resistance.
A rubber-band-like blood vessel wrapping around her finger joints, adding more taut resistance.
And then, the hard touch of the laryngeal cartilage.
She squeezed deeper, as if scooping sand from the Adam's apple.
collarbone, passing his shoulder, before finally snapping with a thwack, unable to withstand the tension.
Only then did the slowed-down time return to normal.
Splurt! The torn artery violently gushed blood.
Finally, the fragrant, warm blood splashed onto her face. And simultaneously, the world erupted in white flames.
A sticky lightning bolt, surging from her spine to her fingers, toes, and the crown of her head.
A silent cosmos where a sea of lights whispered majestically.
206 bones, tendons, muscles, and 250,000 li of blood vessels swirling and coalescing into one.
A flower garden blooming languidly in blazing inferno.
Her heart rising to her head, pulsating with her brain and eardrums.
A chorus of ten thousand voices harmonizing in falsetto.
Salty and sour. A spicy sigh. A single sweet tear.
...…
...
…
And then, it was like waking from a deep sleep.
A natural awakening of consciousness, realizing she was awake at some point.
It was the first time she felt such exhilaration in this world.
The refreshing feeling of waking up well-rested, without a hint of regret for sleep.
A sense of fulfillment, like after watching a movie with a happy ending, filled her being.
However, despite her unusually healthy mind, her body felt terrible.
Her limbs were trembling, and it was clear she'd be sore all over after a good night's sleep.
On top of that, what in the world was this?
Her hand felt heavy, and when she raised it, she saw a clump of hair clutched in her grasp, and a woman's severed head dangling from it.
"Ah, Lady, when did you become just a head? How pitiful."
She must have lost her mind for a bit. She had no idea how much of a mess she'd made. Every single part of her body ached.
A-Qing quickly checked her good karma. Fortunately, it seemed she had only killed this one young lady before regaining her senses, as her good karma had increased only slightly.
A-Qing tossed the head away, scratched her head vigorously, and said,
"Phew, was it because it's been a while..."
Anyway, all's well that ends well.
Her good karma accumulated, and her mood was significantly good, so wasn't that enough?
.........
Returning to the teahouse, there was a commotion everywhere.
The three young masters were also making a fuss, so A-Qing explained simply.
"I couldn't help it. They said they'd kidnap me, cut off my limbs, and throw me into a brothel. I couldn't exactly say, 'Go ahead,' could I?"
Her tone was as casual as if she were talking about what she'd had for breakfast. The grim content made the listeners' expressions harden.
Moreover, she was completely covered in blood, with droplets dripping from her chin.
"It's fine, it's not my blood."
"Elder Sister, you should wash your face first. Innkeeper, I apologize, but could you prepare some wash water?"
The innkeeper just wanted them to leave. But he lacked the courage to defy a blood-soaked woman and a giant with bulging muscles all over his body.
"Just wipe it off."
Peng Daesan offered a handkerchief.
She'd intentionally gotten herself drenched, so one handkerchief wouldn't be enough. It would completely ruin the handkerchief, but seeing him readily offer it made her feel grateful and even a little touched.
"Ah, put it away. I'll just wipe it off roughly. There's plenty over there."
A-Qing went outside the teahouse, picked up a discarded handkerchief, and wiped her face. She wiped her face, wrung her hair, and kept picking up, using, and discarding handkerchiefs until the dampness lessened.
When she returned to her seat, the water was ready, and she splashed it vigorously and heartily onto her face.
"…So, now, let's talk."
"About what?"
"You said you were going to the outhouse, and you show up looking like that. And now, you have the audacity to ask 'about what'?"
"What? Why? Why are you suddenly angry?"
"Ha, who? Me?"
Peng Daesan's reaction was rather sharp.
A-Qing didn't hold back after entering the Jianghu.
But right now, she was in a very good mood and didn't want to argue and upset herself.
"Wait! Stop getting angry!"
"You're not going to get away with—"
"You too, old man over there! If you go there now and get involved, it's not my responsibility, is it? Curiosity is what? Curiosity kills what?"
A-Qing shouted towards the back door. The man who had been subtly heading towards the back door suddenly had a look of realization and turned back.
A-Qing refocused on the table.
"No, I really don't get it. Calm down. It was just a normal argument, and I won, that's all. I guess they underestimated me since I left my sword behind."
"Is that something you say so casually?"
"What's so special about it? It happens all the time."
It happens all the time. Peng Daesan felt like he'd been punched.
A-Qing was a young peak realm master.
Young masters didn't just appear out of nowhere.
Basically, a person born with talent also needed to be in the right environment to become a young master. For example, the support their family could provide.
Otherwise, it would be a continuous series of life-or-death battles.
While Peng Daesan was lost in thought, A-Qing snapped her fingers, changing the subject.
"Ah, right. Hey Zhugie, you know martial arts well since you're a Zhuge, right?"
Actually, they weren't well acquainted yet, and being a man and a woman, they were cousins who had been observing each other cautiously, unable to casually interject. Zhuge Yi-hyeon responded to her call.
"Martial arts, Elder Sister?"
"Yeah. What's the strongest bare-handed technique?"
A-Qing recalled the moment she took Nogal's neck.
That sensation in her hand. It was the best. In that instant, a lightning-bolt realization struck her.
Ah. I need to learn a bare-handed technique.
It was an unexpected question, but Zhuge Yi-hyeon, who basically couldn't hold back from explaining and couldn't stop once he started, answered.
"Older Sister, normally, if you ask what the strongest martial art is, I can't answer immediately."
"Why?"
"Because for thousands of years in the Jianghu, people have continuously argued about it. Frankly, whenever two or more men gather, the topic of the strongest martial art inevitably comes up."
"Then, in your opinion, Zhuge?"
"In my opinion, bare-handed techniques aren't particularly good martial arts."
"Why?"
"Well, bare-handed techniques are inherently very cruel. If someone dislikes the sensation of harming an opponent even with a sword, imagine a martial art that involves tearing flesh, clawing, and cutting with bare hands?"
So, isn't that a good thing? A-Qing cocked her head. It seemed it was a generational difference after all.
"Are you going to keep changing the subject? I asked what the strongest is."
"That, indeed. Fortunately, when it comes to bare-handed techniques, all Jianghu practitioners will agree on the strongest martial art. That is—"
Zhuge Yi-Hyeon, with the air of a seasoned talker, paused and was about to take a sip of tea. Then he flinched, seeing Peng Daesan's piercing gaze from beside him. It was a look that said, "I have something to say, so finish up quickly." Zhuge Yi-Hyeon hastily concluded.
"The strongest bare-handed technique is the 'Pale Hand Demonic Arts'."
"Pale Hand Demonic Arts?"
"Ah! I'm suddenly so thirsty!"
Zhuge Yi-hyeon feigned distraction. A-Qing, knowing the cause, switched her target.
"Why are you discouraging our Zhuge like that?"
"Is this really the time to be talking about martial arts? In that state you're in?"
"Well, because I don't think I'll get another chance?"
"…What does that mean?"
A-Qing might not hold back, but she had no intention of acting like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. She knew that even a Late Peak Realm master, a master or whatever, couldn't take on an entire sect alone. She'd been chased a few times before.
"The Black Shadow Society, that's a pretty big sect, right?"
"…Were those guys from the Black Shadow Society?"
"Unless they were impersonating them."
Peng Daesan ran a hand down his face. There were three major powers in Luoyang: The Cai family, the Zhugui Sect, and the Black Shadow Society. The Cai family was a prestigious lineage that had served as great generals for generations, while the Zhugui Sect and the Black Shadow Society were unorthodox sects.
Even with the government's power weakened, the Cai family wielded the General's Sword and commanded military authority. They were the de facto local magistrate, holding most of Luoyang's interests.
The Zhugui Sect and the Black Shadow Society carved up the illicit interests that the Cai family, due to the Great General's dignity, didn't touch.
"They were openly attempting human trafficking in broad daylight, so… I figured they weren't ordinary folks."
"You knew that and still provoked them? No, even with your skill, was it really necessary to get into a fight?"
The Black Shadow Society wouldn't be crazy enough to try to kidnap a Late Peak Realm martial artist. It meant she had chosen to resolve the situation with bloodshed, even though simply demonstrating her martial prowess would have sufficed. And A-Qing boldly asserted,
"I don't avoid fights. And if a bad guy picks a fight, even more so. A real man doesn't run away."
Is she truly crazy? A thought flashed through Peng Daesan's mind. Damn it, I told her to hit me, and she actually did.
"Can't you think, even just a little? How do you plan to deal with the aftermath…?"
"Gotta bail, I guess."
She meant she was going to run away. Just a moment ago, she was talking about a "man" not running away. Ah. A "man." Peng Daesan felt his energy drain.
"You're going to run away?"
"The sight of someone's back! Leaving with conviction! Because they know when they must depart! How beautiful is that! Like falling leaves lying scattered!"
"That nonsense again! Can't you be serious for once?!"
Peng Daesan raised his voice. A-Qing, instead, smiled gently. This kid, he's grown fond of me, making such a fuss.
"My bad, was it the Pavilion of Diao Chan? Next time we meet, I'll treat you there."
"If you had just held back a little in the first place—"
"Well, we're not gonna live together for a thousand years, are we? So, what, a fortnight? We're just parting ways a bit early. If fate allows, we'll see each other again later."
At A-Qing's words, Peng Daesan was speechless.
Come to think of it, she was right. They had only joined the escort mission to Yongseong, and if they departed the day after tomorrow, they would part ways around that time anyway.
Thinking about it, there was no reason to stop her, was there?
Peng Daesan leaned back in his chair.
A-Qing stood up and said, "Oh, my luggage is all with the escort agency. Right, tell Escort Leader Sang I'm sorry for ditching. Young Hero, and Zhuge, see you later."
"Young Lady, take care of yourself."
"Yes, Older Sister. See you later."
A-Qing stepped out of the teahouse.
She didn't really have anywhere to go. But she hadn't come to the Murim with anywhere to go either. Just a life of wandering aimlessly.
She could catch some bandits, take down some mountain brigands, and she even had a new goal: the 'Pale Hand Demonic Arts'.
A-Qing pushed off the ground and ran.