Chapter 27: The front of the Yangtze's waves goes blah blah blah

Sortie!...Or so she planned, but Jin Jangmyeong clung to her like a leech.

Sortie temporarily on hold.

"Unni, don't go."

"I'm not leaving forever, you know? When you act like that, it makes me feel like I'm someone who won't come back."

"What are you talking about? You were coming back?"

"I'll come and go. Where would I go, leaving behind the first house I've ever owned?"

Qing thought of her small hut.

A single room, a single wooden floor, and a furnace outside.

But it was 'my house'.

The echo had a great impact that pierced the heart of modern people.

"You'll come back? Really?"

"Yes."

"Really really?"

"Don't keep adding to that, really really. Just because you've become a little cuter doesn't mean you can act cute, okay?"

"Hmph."

"I'm thinking about whether I'll come back in the winter. It's a bit iffy to travel around when it's cold. Anyway, keep practicing diligently."

"I think I'll be at Transcendent Realm by then."

"Yeah Okay, Sure, the next first-rate nobody."

At the words that she would return, Jin Jangmyeong let go of her hand.

"Grand-Junior Elder! You must come back!"

"Grand-Junior Elder! Be careful!"

"Grand-Junior Elder! Bring delicious food when you come back!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

The disciples who came out to see her off made a noisy fuss.

Ximen Surin did not come out.

But in fact, it was after Qing had cried and bowed deeply.

Come to think of it, it wasn't necessary, but she got caught up in the atmosphere.

It was just that kind of atmosphere.

Like the K-melodrama, 'Now, cry!' That kind of feeling.

Anyway, she received a new sword as payment for her tears.

Moonlight Sword (No. 8), you've returned![^She lost No.7 trying to escape. Chapter 20]

Anyway, just like that, Ximen Qing, heading off!

Qing stepped out of the mountain gate with dignity.

And immediately opened the Righteous Rewards System.

While she still had this sense of belonging and regret, there was something she had to do quickly.

Bringing Jin Jangmyeong had given her a lot of karma, so she currently had over a thousand karma points.

And one more exchange at a thousand points.

Because of her master, a super-skilled master of Traditional Korean Medicine who could pinpoint her pulse and know everything, she couldn't add any new techniques, so now was the perfect opportunity.

Qing still remembered the fear of facing a master's sword aura without a sword.

So she needed a technique that could be used without a sword.

A very powerful technique.

Fortunately, she had already heard of one.

White Hand Demonic Arts.

It's said that if you master it, your arm below the elbow becomes invulnerable.

A rocket punch that blocks even sword aura!

The dazzling purple border will guarantee its power.

Qing immediately claimed her reward.

The secrets of the White Hand Demonic Arts entered her mind.

No matter how many times she experienced it, it was a dirty brainwashing memorization method.

However, she didn't have enough cultivation points left to max out a purple technique.

Qing raised the realm of the White Hand Demonic Arts to 6-stars.

It was a frugal investment.

Strangely, techniques tended to become significantly stronger at 6-stars.

Anyway, if you use a technique, cultivation points accumulate and you move on to the next level.

There was no need to overinvest precious free cultivation points.

There were some free cultivation points left over awkwardly.

She raised the Tathagata Palm, which was at 2-stars, to 6-stars.

Where should she use the rest?

Ah, nothing’s as fun as crafting the perfect character bui—

Character build?

“STOP THE GAMING ADDICTION! REALITY IS LOVE! LOVE LOVE LOVE REALITY!”

Qing shouted in a panic.

She let her guard down for just a second, and now look at this mess.

Her hands trembled.

She had just gone through an emotional and deeply human farewell.

And the moment she stepped outside? Boom. Back to this nonsense.

Qing immediately attempted mental fortification techniques.

This, folks, is why gaming brain is a serious problem.

She forcibly shut down all thought processes.

…But of course, that only applies if you’re judging by the standards of those who have actually experienced the original story.

Dear customer, this was an independent choice, and we do not consider it a loss.

Defeat is fine. What truly matters is an unbreakable spirit.

Yes!

The most important thing was an unbreakable spirit!

Thank you, Deft-sensei.[^Leauge of Legends player, Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu]

…Wait, but didn’t they say you never actually said that?

"Whew..."

Qing let out a deep sigh.

This wasn’t working.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

And there was only one thing she could do at this moment.

Qing turned around.

It couldn’t be helped.

Jin Jangmyeong's childhood was Comfortable.

Looking back now, it was a memory that could only bring a bitter smile.

She was told it was money stolen from the sect.

Still, Jin Jangmyeong’s parents had hired a renowned scholar—an old magistrate who had retired to the countryside—to tutor their sickly child.

The scholar constantly emphasized the power of words.

"Words are more precious than gold. Sometimes, they alone can save a person’s life."

Jin Jangmyeong completely disagreed.

"If words could save people, then why the hell am I like this? He doesn’t know a damn thing about my life, but he’s got plenty of wise words to spare."

By that time, Jin Jangmyeong was already well aware of how serious her illness was.

The writing tutor was fired soon after, and she learned the reason later by listening to her parents' conversation.

Apparently, the guy had gotten blackout drunk, turned into a complete beast, and hurled insults at a government inspector without realizing who he was.

So he was fired from his official position.

What the writing tutor said was not just empty words.

It was his true feelings pouring out.

If a word can save a person's life.

A word could also kill a person.

The writing tutor must have said it with that feeling.

It was a very long time ago. It was something she didn't even need to remember.

But suddenly, the memory of that time came back to her in that cold and dark dugout.

It's not your fault at all.

What can you do about being born that way?

You should just say you were unlucky.

Did you ask to be saved? No, you didn't.

Tell them to eat shit.

From that moment on, Jin Jangmyeong came to agree with the writing tutor's words fervently.

It was the words that removed the burden of guilt that her young life had been carrying, the weight that was so heavy that it was hard to even breathe, the weight that had been pressing down on her chest.

So Jin Jangmyeong decided not to think too much about what her parents had done.

She still loved them, but honestly, she didn't want to see them anymore.

On the other hand, living as a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect meant living with women for the rest of her life.

Perhaps because of this, Jin Jangmyeong had witnessed truly strange scenes.

Senior and junior disciples walking around with their fingers tightly interlocked, oblivious to anything else but gazing into each other's eyes.

Jin Jangmyeong, who was a perceptive child because she was sick, realized that this was not just a sign of friendship.

Friendship ends with cute hugs or linking arms.

Tightly intertwined fingers were... an indecent, indecent, extremely indecent thing.

Every time that happened, Jin Jangmyeong thought of that dark dugout.

That cozy darkness.

That warm warmth that warmed her body.

The one who hugged her small body tightly, hugged, hugged, hugged, just hugged, so close, heart pounding thump-thump-thump, so soft and fluffy, skin touching...

It was then.

"Hey, Jangmyeong-ah. I decided to sleep here one more day."

"...?"

After receiving a grand farewell, Qing left the Divine Maiden Sect and returned half an hour later.

It was awkward as hell to see each other again so soon.

But mental health was important.

The look in Jin Jangmyeong's eyes when they reunited so quickly was strange.

It was like she was thinking, 'What the hell is this idiot doing?'

Qing was a little hurt.

But because she said she was leaving tomorrow, Jangmyeong came to see her at night and offered to sleep with her, so Qing was able to heal her mental wounds.

Separately from that, the very idea of sleeping with a middle school girl was appalling, so Qing sent her back.

And again, Ximen Qing, heading off again!

Qing, who had recovered her spirit with the energy of owning her own house, set out on the road once more.

She had already decided where to go last night.

A mature martial artist always plans ahead.

Qing was now a mature martial artist too.

First, she would go to the city.

Join any escort agency and receive hospitality.

It was a perfect plan, no matter how she thought about it.

It didn't matter where she went.

The important thing was the hospitality.

And there was a city near Mount Wu.

Zigui. It was a port city on the Yangtze River.

Ximen Qing had been there a few times.

The Divine Maiden Sect was not a feminist self-sufficient community that practiced self-sufficiency.

Like any other sect, they leased out their fields to tenant farmers and received donations from patrons, limited to women.

However, they were at a disadvantage compared to secular sects in that they could not receive protection fees, which were a major source of income.

But the Divine Maiden Sect was quite wealthy.

How?

By selling special products.

The Divine Maiden Sect was a mysterious sect of women who worshipped the Flame Emperor and his third daughter, the Divine Maiden.

In modern terms, the Flame Emperor was the sun god, as well as the god of agriculture and the god of craftsmen.

With the support of farmers and artisans, he became the most worshipped god in Murim!

So it was only natural that the special products of the Divine Maiden Sect were rumored to be miraculous.

Amulets, prayers, embroidery, trinkets, and other handicrafts, pieces of cloth with Buddhist scriptures engraved on them, and so on...

They bought what they needed with the money they earned.

They also bought things they didn't need as much.

People can't live on just rice.

Once a fortnight, when the list of what the disciples wanted came out, the elders took turns buying the goods.

Ximen Qing, who was also an elder, had accompanied them a couple of times out of boredom.

For private outings, they had to wear a veil over their faces.

Because of this rule of the Divine Maiden Sect, she couldn't have any fun.

It was hot, and she had to wear a veil over her face.

She had to go shopping all day long according to the list, so of course it couldn't be fun.

Qing swung her hands as she headed for the city.

The sound of 'swish swish swish' cutting through the air was sharp.

White Hand Demonic Arts.

One of the five most evil techniques in Murim, the peerless demonic art, embroidered the air.

It was so bad that there was even a special nickname for martial artists with the White Hand Demonic Arts, either Demonic Hand or Demonic Witch.

It was the wisdom of the Murim seniors and the will passed down through generations, saying that you must catch and kill that bastard who has the White Hand Demonic Arts.

Of course, there was no way Qing would know that.

It was something her master, Ximen Surin, couldn't have anticipated either.

The very idea that a girl with several Daoist techniques suddenly mastering demonic techniques was absurd.

It was a notion that would make even a madman tip his hat and say, "Your imagination is truly something!"

Yet, Qing had done the impossible.

Awestruck by the wicked power of demonic arts, Qing exclaimed, "Oh, mighty slap! Hmm, how can I set my hand on fire? Would that be possible?"