Chapter 14

14. When I went to see the commotion, it turned out that Chae Sung-tae was someone who made me want to hit him every time I saw him, just like the Bright Left Envoy of the Demon Sect.

Following the flow of my thoughts, I momentarily recalled the Bright Left Envoy.

A rare genius who had risen through the ranks within the Demon Sect.

Despite being a few years younger than me at the time, he had become the youngest Bright Left Envoy in history.

The Envoy was not originally a descendant of the Demon Clan but a talent recruited from outside the sect.

He was a collateral figure from a prestigious martial arts family, but as I mentioned earlier, rumors spread that he had sexually harassed several women with surnames, leading to his public condemnation. After that, he had no choice but to join the Demon Sect.

In this life, I planned to catch the Bright Left Envoy before he joined the Demon Sect.

He was a pervert, but his martial arts skills were exceptionally outstanding.

I intended to beat the perversion out of him.

I aimed to become stronger faster than my previous rivals, connect with the talented individuals of the martial world I knew, and either make them my subordinates, pursue them like Chae Sung-tae, or use them as slaves like the Envoy.

In the process, I planned to eliminate those who were beyond redemption from the Demon Sect, the White Path, and the Black Path.

Strangely, in the current martial world, those who were publicly condemned tended to join the Demon Sect. Additionally, those who fell out of favor with the sect leader often went to the Martial Alliance to be imprisoned.

It was a trend for talents to move to the extreme opposite camp.

I set my mid-to-long-term goal to intercept these talents in the middle.

This was known as the "Three Divisions of the World."

I planned to insert myself between the Martial Alliance and the Demon Sect, creating a three-way battle. Although it didn't seem to suit me, a man must have big dreams.

Chae Sung-tae, who had just come in after a heated argument, entered with his nose pinched. He said in a nasal voice:

"We need to close this inn. The reason for closure will be the stench."

I tried to recall how Chae Sung-tae died in my previous life. He wasn't particularly famous, so I couldn't remember much.

But one thing was certain.

Chae Sung-tae probably died somewhere from being hit because of his mouth.

"Sung-tae."

"Try to explain yourself."

"It's because of martial arts practice. I didn't defecate. What do you know?"

"I've never heard of martial arts practice causing such a stench. Don't lie. For the dignity of Il-yang, I will close the Zaha Inn today. Otherwise, I'll send some good cleaners. Choose."

"Then send them. Let's go to Meihualou first."

"Why?"

"I need to wash."

"Ah, you stink. Wash in the stream."

I grabbed Chae Sung-tae, who was pinching his nose, and put my arm around his shoulder. His face contorted.

"Ugh..."

"Cut it out."

"Yes."

Chae Sung-tae, breathing through his mouth, said:

"Isn't putting your arm around me a bit much? We're not close."

"Ah, I'm getting angry."

When I glared, Chae Sung-tae flinched.

"I'm sorry."

I stared at Chae Sung-tae and said:

"Change your clothes. Take them off."

Chae Sung-tae looked me in the eye and retorted:

"Hey, you. Just put your arm around me."

I hit Chae Sung-tae and headed to Meihualou like good brothers.

When we arrived at Meihualou, the doorman, who had been hit by me before, covered his nose and said:

"We accept drunkards but not those who have wet their pants."

Chae Sung-tae retorted:

"Do you want to get beaten? Move."

When I looked at the doorman, he averted his gaze, still harboring resentment from the last time I hit him.

I like my hometown for this.

Not many people cower after a few hits.

That might be why a guy like me suddenly appeared in the martial world.

As Chae Sung-tae and I entered Meihualou, emitting a strong odor, the women we met screamed and ran away.

Chae Sung-tae seemed to be enjoying the scene.

"Move. I defecated. I wet my pants. Hehehe."

I didn't want to laugh, so I moved my tongue around in my mouth.

I thought to myself that he was a guy who couldn't be let off the hook for a moment.

* * *

After washing several times with water, I entered the wooden bath. As I submerged myself in the hot, steamy water, my fatigue seemed to vanish.

"Ugh..."

A meaningless sound escaped my lips. It was a gift for reaching the Yanxi stage of the Golden Dragon Soaring Technique.

Suddenly, the bath's floor tilted to the sides, and Chae Hyang, holding a large towel, appeared unexpectedly.

"I will assist you with your bath."

I looked at Chae Hyang approaching the bathtub and waved my hand.

"What kind of bath assistance? Forget it."

"Sung-tae Oppa told me to come. I'll dry you off after you finish bathing."

"No need."

"What do you mean?"

What do you mean? It means that the beauty trap doesn't work on me.

"Do I not have hands or feet? I can dry myself with my feet. Leave the towel and go. Not only do men and women not share a bath after the age of seven, but even Zhu Bajie and spider demons don't bathe together."

"Really?"

"Especially, what kind of ridiculous situation is this, with the most popular waitress at Meihualou and the Zaha Inn's waitress in the same bath? Next time, if you receive such an order, tell them I won't come. I'll tell Chae Sung-tae. You should act like a proper waitress."

Sometimes people do things without being told, like Chae Sung-tae.

Chae Hyang bowed slightly and replied:

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for before."

It's only natural to accept a sincere apology.

"Alright."

I wondered why she was being so polite when her true feelings slipped out.

"Still, you're going to get rid of Jo Sam-pyeong, right? I'm just curious."

"Why? Do you want to keep him alive?"

"No, no. I was captured by Jo Sam-pyeong and brought here. This isn't my hometown."

"If you have a place to return to, you should go back."

"It wasn't a comfortable place. I was too poor and didn't want to go back."

"Tell the other courtesans to go back if they want to. Who said this? The Zaha Inn's waitress."

"Why did you get beaten so badly when you were so skilled?"

If you keep asking such sharp questions, I'll be in trouble.

I replied, only showing my head above the water at the end of the bathtub:

"I had to be beaten to seek revenge."

Chae Hyang chuckled.

"That's ridiculous."

"There's a saying that a gentleman's revenge can take ten years, and a waitress's revenge starts with getting beaten. You should read more books. Don't just practice singing. Reading more books will make you sing better."

"Really?"

"No, I just made it up."

Chae Hyang tilted her head.

"Hmm."

When I waved my hand to indicate she should leave, Chae Hyang folded the towel she was wearing and placed it on the floor before leaving the bath.

'That seductive one.'

* * *

Indeed, the beauty trap doesn't work on me.

Dangerous moments often come unexpectedly.

In the martial world, it's commonly said that you should be careful of the elderly, children, and women, but I have a different view.

In fact, if you exclude the elderly, children, and women, you're left with healthy men.

Healthy men are likely to be martial artists.

But be careful of the rest?

That means, in essence, be careful of everyone.

Until my martial arts are complete, it's the same for me.

If I fall for Chae Sung-tae's beauty trap and slack off in my training, I'll eventually be outmatched by the top experts.

Whether Chae Sung-tae intended it or not, this is a trap set by the subtleties of life, I concluded.

Anyway, now is not the time for that.

After washing my body and changing into new clothes, the way people looked at me was slightly different from before.

Some even didn't think I was the Zaha Inn's waitress.

When you become stronger in your youth, your appearance and demeanor change.

I didn't know this before because I had grown old while becoming stronger.

It's true that I look a bit better now, but I'm different from the perverted Envoy of the Demon Sect.

I'm not the kind of person who meets women through martial arts, desire, status, and coercion, so I left the brothel and headed straight for the Zaha Inn.

On the way to the Zaha Inn, I saw flames rising from somewhere. People were rushing to see the commotion.

"It seems there's a fire."

I followed and pushed through the crowd to see that the burning building was none other than the Zaha Inn.

"..."

It's a strange coincidence. I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of seeing my home burn down twice.

I muttered to myself:

"Why do you keep setting fire to my home? What has my home done wrong?"

Does an inn have a destiny?

The flames seemed to glare at me.

As if telling me that in this life, I shouldn't have a cozy home.

* * *

Of course, Chae Sung-tae wouldn't have done such a thing.

The returning lord of Shihualou, Jo Sam-pyeong, was looking at the Zaha Inn, and his subordinates were throwing torches at it.

Jo Sam-pyeong was the best-looking among the Jo brothers. With his handsome face, he was responsible for bringing in innocent women.

Seeing him after a long time made me think he was even more unlucky.

Someone in the crowd said:

"What are you going to do when Zaha returns? Why are you burning his place!"

"How can you burn someone's home like this! You'll be punished by heaven!"

Jo Sam-pyeong turned his head toward the source of the voice and said:

"Bring me Zaha. Where is he?"

The crowd in Il-yang is fierce. Someone in the crowd said:

"Damn pillar husband."

"Who is it! Don't hide like a rat. Come out, you bastards."

When Jo Sam-pyeong shouted, the crowd finally fell silent.

I wondered why he was so confident until I saw a man in black robes standing nearby, watching the situation with a cold expression.

He definitely looked like a more skilled expert than Jo Sam-pyeong.

I, who had been watching the Zaha Inn burn, spoke up:

"Sam-pyeong, there's your brother's grave behind the inn. What will you do if you don't even take out the body before setting it on fire?"

Jo Sam-pyeong turned his head sharply in my direction and glared.

"Who are you?"

I pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.

"It's me. Bastard."

Jo Sam-pyeong didn't recognize me at first, looking me up and down.

"Who are you?"

This guy doesn't recognize me? Is the beautifying effect of martial arts so great?

I looked at Jo Sam-pyeong and said calmly:

"Why are you burning an innocent home? How will you compensate for it?"

Only then did Jo Sam-pyeong look surprised.

"You, Zaha? What's wrong with you? Why do you look like this? Why is your tone like this?"

In the meantime, Jo Sam-pyeong told the man in black robes next to him, as if tattling:

"Senior Neng, it's this guy."

The man called Senior Neng, with a displeased look, tilted his head and then said in a low tone:

"Jo Sam-pyeong."

"Yes, Senior."

"What are you saying?"

"Huh?"

"Are you asking me to kill the waitress? You came here to get congratulations or food for your sect's establishment, but now I'm greatly disappointed. Surely you don't have the skill to establish a sect if you can't even kill a waitress. It's a shame that the entire martial world would mock you. My name should not be mentioned in such mockery."

The man in black robes looked me up and down and said to Jo Sam-pyeong:

"Kill him. If your skill is so poor that you can't even kill a waitress, perhaps you should join your brothers. Even if you admire the martial world, you need at least a bit of conscience."

Jo Sam-pyeong, looking flustered, replied:

"No, Senior Neng."

"And why am I your senior? I never had a junior like you."

Regardless, the man in black robes was right, so I chimed in:

"Jo Sam-pyeong, he's right. You need a conscience. Let the loser die in the fire. Come here."

The atmosphere became truly hostile because of my last words.