Chapter 85: The Heavenly Demon Cult Serial Murder Case #5 – No Chinese Allowed, Absolutely Not.
Seol Ganom looked just as gaunt as he did a day ago—just skin and bones, hollowed-out cheeks, and sunken eyes.
So why the hell did he look... prettier?
Qing’s observational skills were about as sharp as her origins suggested.
If someone secretly lived in her house, shifting her furniture around and sneaking bites of her food, she probably wouldn’t notice for at least a week.
For her to actually pick up on something? That meant something serious had changed.
What was it? Why did he look... prettier?
Did his nostrils get narrower?
Did his skull get a little slimmer?
Qing squinted and scrutinized Seol Ganom’s face.
And then, finally, she realized.
His eyes.
His naturally long, narrow eyes—beady little pupils that made him look like a scheming villain straight out of a wuxia novel.
But now, there was something off. Something weird.
What the fuck?
Wait.
The hell kind of guy has eyelashes like that?!
Of course, Qing didn’t just keep that thought to herself.
Because Qing never fucking held back.
“Did you put on fake lashes or something?”
Seol Ganom, deadpan as ever, replied,
“Side effect.”
“Maiden’s Blissful Art does that? It’s a Daoist technique, but still—damn.”
Wasn’t that technique created by some celestial maiden or whatever?
Did it really boost beauty stats?
If Qing had picked a male character in this world, her charm stat would’ve still skyrocketed—but she’d have been handsome, not pretty.
Seol Ganom answered her silent question.
“My body was originally trained in the Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Arts.”
“The what now?”
Qing’s dumbassery was on full display for all to see.
“It’s an annoying demonic art that turns you into a woman. I used the Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts to overwrite it. Never thought this Maiden’s Blissful Art would actually be a legitimate Daoist cultivation technique. I always assumed Bliss Palace was just some den of degenerates.”
Maiden’s Blissful Art was an internal energy cultivation technique that purified demonic energy and refined it into righteous qi.
It also followed Daoist principles of balance and moderation.
So when it overrode his previous cultivation, the Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Arts resurfaced.
Jade Maiden. The kind of beauty that was pure inside and out.
Supreme Yin. Meaning the coldest, purest form of feminine energy.
It was the ultimate cultivation for someone who walked the righteous path.
And it also just so happened to be one of the few arts capable of coexisting with Maiden’s Blissful Art.
Qing blinked.
“…So what the hell does that mean, exactly?”
“It means the Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts I barely mastered just dissipated, and the Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Arts I discarded came back stronger than ever.”
Right. That was normal.
That’s how internal energy cultivation was supposed to work.
Qing, on the other hand?
She was the only freak who broke all the rules.
She swallowed back a bitter feeling rising in her throat.
This was the natural order of things in the ancient, primitive, backward-ass martial world of the Central Plains.
Compatible energies merged into a single, more powerful force.
Incompatible ones got purged.
Only if two techniques were perfectly balanced could they coexist.
Or, in rare cases, like Maiden’s Blissful Art, they existed separately without conflict.
But Qing?
Her body didn’t work like that.
The energies inside her weren’t merging into a single, more powerful force. They weren’t balancing each other out.
They were fighting each other, bouncing around her meridians like rabid animals, completely out of control.
In the Central Plains, this was called qi deviation—a condition where clashing energies ran wild and caused internal damage.
The only reason Qing wasn’t fucking dead was because of character settings.
Because this wasn’t a real body.
Because she wasn’t a real person.
Because she was just…
A fucking character.
And then—
A surge of internal energy suddenly flowed from Qing’s dantian.
It coursed through her meridians, gently caressing each acupoint before spreading throughout her body, leaving behind a comforting warmth.
It was the boundless compassion of Grand Purity Sutra.
Like a soft, reassuring smile, it unraveled all the irritation and melancholy she’d been feeling in an instant.
Right. I think, therefore I am.
The world recognizes four major races—Yellow, Red, Black, and Han Chinese.[^Yellow → East Asians, Red → Indigenous Americans, Black → Africans]
Well, fuck it, let’s add a fifth.
Ximen Qing, the one and only.
Qing grinned ear to ear and teased,
“So, did you just escape eunuchhood in one shot? Do I need to throw a celebration?”
“Unfortunately not. In the North Sea, the Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Arts is also called the ‘Stone Maiden Technique.’”
“Oof. So you’re still stuck. My condolences.”
Qing patted his shoulder with genuine sympathy.
My friend is still a eunuch.
…Okay, it’s kinda funny, but shit, keep a straight face.
Think of something sad…
…Wait.
Doesn’t that make me a eunuch too?!
A look of tragic realization crossed Qing’s face.
Seol Ganom cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem. I’m not a eunuch anymore—just extremely desensitized. But since I haven’t felt anything in so long, these days even a light touch makes me—well, let’s just say, certain things react. Like, right now.”
“...If you even think about asking me if I wanna see it, I swear I’ll finish what fate started and turn you from Seol Ganom into Seol Ganyeon[^¹ 놈 (nom) is a derogatory term for a man (bastard, punk), while 년 (nyeon) is a derogatory term for a woman (bitch, wench). Swapping them is a common way to mock masculinity.]. Any dick that dares enter my field of vision gets chopped off immediately.”
Qing’s voice dropped an octave, full of undisguised disgust.
Now that she thought about it, his weird sitting posture had been kinda suspicious.
Seol Ganom, on the other hand, looked thrilled.
Apparently, his sexual harassment finally landed.
I mean, this was a man who treated sexual harassment as naturally as breathing.
It was just that, usually, Qing ignored it outright.
She didn’t hate him for it—she just despised the whole concept of male camaraderie.
That said, she wasn’t gonna waste her breath on jokes that had no effect.
For the first time, she saw Seol Ganom smile as he reached into his robes and pulled out a book.
“Anyway, take this.”
The moment Qing grabbed it, her Martial Arts Window flickered.
A secret manual.
Not that she needed to check—she could already read the title.
The Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Arts.
Well, wasn’t this convenient?
Her Maiden’s Blissful Art had been skyrocketing in progress lately.
Qing’s internal energy cultivation had clear growth limits.
Heavenly Ice Sura Demonic Arts alone wasn’t cutting it, so getting a new technique to slow her descent into insanity? Hell yeah.
“Wait, really? A manual? For me?”
“I received one, so I’m giving one in return. That’s all.”
Seol Ganom hesitated for a moment before adding,
“If you ever run into someone from the North Sea Ice Palace or the Snowy Mountains, pass this along. No need to go looking—just if you happen to meet them.”
“…Why not give it to them yourself?”
“I’ve already forgiven the Ice Palace, but I doubt they’ve forgiven me. It’s better if we just never cross paths again.”
“…Oh.”
Qing blinked, momentarily impressed by his big-heartedness.
Damn.
A man of wisdom and grace. A true intellectual.
He may be a relentless pervert, but hey, I like dirty jokes too, so it doesn’t really count as a flaw.
But still—
“Well, I wouldn’t call it ‘forgiveness’ or anything that grand. I just killed those bastard lovebirds, torched the palace, and stole their secret manuals on my way out. Felt damn good.”
Qing casually checked Seol Ganom’s karma points.
Over four hundred.
Certified top-tier villain.
Not that it was surprising—around here, the more discreet a villain was, the higher their karma score tended to be.
After all, this was a place where killing your next-door neighbor earned you ‘virtue’ points.
When she first met Seol Ganom, she spared him because he was useful and fun to talk to.
And over time, he became a regular stop in her routine.
She never even considered killing him anymore.
To Qing, karma was just a number.
Three digits or more? Fair game.
Her “villain hunting” had nothing to do with justice or heroism.
From the very beginning, she did it for three reasons:
- Leveling up fast enough to survive.
- Economic stability—because money was nice.
- Fun.
The past ten days had just been a complete insanity bender where reason #3 shot to the top of the list.
But ultimately, survival was always the priority.
That’s why, when someone like Eon Yeonyeong—a high-karma bastard—acted suspicious, Qing immediately switched to survival mode and played dumb.
She had never played the role of some righteous punisher seeking out villains to slay.
And she never planned to.
Qing didn’t fully realize it yet, but something new had wormed its way into her categorization of people.
Before, it was simple:
Humans and villains.
But now?
Something in between.
A friend.
Qing spoke to her friend.
“Ah. That reminds me. I’ve had a bit of an epiphany lately.”
Seol Ganom’s face lit up.
Finally!
She was starting to show the clear, righteous gaze of a true heroine.
She must’ve finally come to her senses and decided to stop the meaningless slaughter!
“Oh! Now that’s what I like to hear. Then from now on—”
Qing cheerfully cut him off.
“I’m gonna be more selective about who I kill. I’ve been slaughtering random nobodies like a dumbass.”
“……?”
Seol Ganom blinked.
Did he hear that right?
He must’ve misheard.
Qing kept going, completely unfazed.
“So I need you to make me a kill list. The ones the cult actually needs—I want holes punched in their defenses when shit hits the fan.”
This was the biggest regret she had after regaining her senses.
It was fine to hunt for a good escape technique.
But ultimately?
The real priority was ensuring her survival when she actually made her escape.
“…I hate to be that guy, but, uh, any chance I could get my manual back? If you die a stupid death, it’s gonna end up in the cult’s hands. And then I’d be royally screwed.”
“Pfft. A deal’s a deal, buddy. You ever heard of ‘no take-backs’?”
“I used to dump water on myself every night just to stay alive. What do you think I’d be willing to do now?”
Seol Ganom, ever the realist, knew when to quit arguing.
So Qing got straight to the point.
“Alright, so, roughly a month from now…”
She laid it all out.
The Heavenly Demon Soul. The Heavenly Demon’s Tomb.
And most importantly—her plan to fake cooperation, destroy the Demon Soul, and run for it.
Meaning?
She needed to start thinning out the important figures ahead of time.
Qing was never afraid to admit her own weaknesses.
Which is why she had no problem asking her brilliant friend for advice.
Seol Ganom hated the cult bastards as much as she did.
He didn’t even hesitate.
He simply nodded.
“Hm. You’ve got a decent head for strategy.”
Seol Ganom nodded in approval.
“If you run now, the cult bastards won’t just let you go. You’re too important. But you can’t fight them head-on either. So your plan is to cripple them as much as possible and escape while they’re scrambling to recover. That about right?”
“Exactly.”
“Hm. Let’s see…”
Seol Ganom stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“The best method would be to gather allies.”
“Like you?”
Seol Ganom raised his eyebrows, once up, once down.
“Well, that’s up to you.”
“…The hell? We’re friends, aren’t we? You ditching me? Huh? You not my friend anymore?”
“A friend doesn’t have to be on your side all the time. True friendship is about not betraying trust—not blindly sticking together and dragging each other down.”
…Damn it. He had a point.
Qing scowled, unable to argue.
“Ugh. You and your annoyingly logical bullshit. Fine. Explain. What do you mean by ‘gather allies’?”
“Well, you’re young, you’re beautiful, and your tits are huge, so you could probably seduce a few demonic—”
“Rejected.”
Qing shot him down instantly.
