Chapter 240: Wanderers Have Their Own Code of Honor

Qing's tongue was an intangible poison, a sharp blade spewing the wicked whispers of hell, guaranteed by the Grand Clan Lord of the Tang Clan himself.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say her tongue had reached the realm of the Invisible Sword, capable of flipping a person's anger inside out and driving them into Qi deviation with just a few words.

However, Qing hadn't returned with the grand ambition of assassinating the Blood Cult bastards through verbal abuse alone.

As the father of some garbage villain protagonist in some story once said, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Because it would be annoying if this son of a bitch ran away.

Of course, pissing him off along the way was also fun.

"You, you, how...!"

"Well, the meals were rather poor. It seems the Blood Cult's finances aren't doing well; the hospitality was quite lacking. What are you, a bunch of beggars? Oops. Just thinking aloud. Anyway, I couldn't possibly burden you further, so I went out to eat."

"I mean how did you escape! Not why!"

"Ah! You should have asked more clearly then. Can't even speak properly, like some utter moron. Ah. Whoops. Don't mind me, just thinking aloud again. These thoughts keep slipping out. I'll be careful. But really, did the old bastard eat his age through his ass..."

"Wha-what! You wench, how dare you!"

"Augh...!"

Qing immediately slammed her knees to the ground, curled into a ball, and pressed her forehead down.

"Ahk, ahhhk, haaht, haaah♥...!"

Because the sounds were forced, only Qing perceived them as screams; to others, they sounded like embarrassing moans of pleasure.

Some of the Blood Cult warriors even shifted their awkward stances.

Since Qing had her head down, she didn't notice, merely thinking to herself.

Wow, feels like liquor is being poured directly into my guts. Whoa, that burns... is this addictive? Is this why drunkards can't quit?

"Kkhhhk! Khk! H-how's that? So high and mighty... you seem to have some talent in martial arts, but you seem to have forgotten that your life is ultimately in my grasp. Kkhk! Uhuhu!" Gyeongdamgan gloated.

"Ugh, ugh, so frustrating. Truly frustrating," Qing mumbled through pretended pain.

"Yes, have you become a bit more obedient?" Gyeongdamgan asked. "Quite resourceful, how did you escape? And how did you know that Sword Flower bitch was captured?"

"Wasn't there a corpse here? He asked me to suck his cock a bit."

"St-stop! What crude talk is that! D-don't you dare utter such words!" Gyeongdamgan threw a fit.

Because a Divine Maiden Sect disciple must be a pure flower. Only then could one fully savor the joy of breaking them.

Seeing his reaction, Qing's eyes gleamed.

"Hm? Why? Is 'cock' embarrassing? Then how about 'dick'? Yes. He asked me to suck his prick a little, so I thought, 'What the hell, let's give it a suck,' and then..."

"Stop! Why are you saying such things!"

"You're being difficult. He asked me to pound his prick a bit, so I thought, 'What the hell, let's give it a pounding,' and he came right over— Aahht♥."

"Kuaaargh!"

Unable to endure the vulgar language from a supposedly noble Divine Maiden Sect disciple, Gyeongdamgan activated the Gu Poison.

Thanks to him, Qing stopped mid-sentence, thinking, Aish, can't even finish a sentence, and let out another embarrassing moan.

"Hoo, hoo. Yes, if this is your ploy to get under my skin, it's quite excellent," Gyeongdamgan said, regaining some composure.

"Got under your skin, didn't I?"

Gyeongdamgan's eye twitched violently.

He couldn't comprehend why those six simple words enraged him so much.

Regardless, Gyeongdamgan understood the situation now.

The fool must have gotten completely blinded by his lust, approached her, and gotten thoroughly beaten.

Seeing the morning's carnage, it made sense that once captured, there wouldn't even be a chance to activate the Gu Poison.

"Kkhk, then it's my turn to scratch back. Here. A gift for you."

Gyeongdamgan gestured, and a Blood Cult warrior brought over a box that had been set aside.

Gyeongdamgan opened it ostentatiously, displaying its contents: four heads with pained expressions, packed tightly inside.

However, no matter how hard she looked, Qing didn't recognize any of them, merely tilting her head.

"What's this? Do you know these people?" she asked.

"Kkhhk, they are innocent commoners. And you are the one who killed them," Gyeongdamgan declared.

"Huh? What? I killed them? Then they must have been guilty commoners?"

"You killed them. If you hadn't acted so insolently this morning, my mood wouldn't have soured. Then I wouldn't have had to kill innocent commoners just to show you."

Gyeongdamgan waited expectantly.

How about that? How will you react?

Qing reacted.

"Why are you blaming me for something you did?"

"What?"

"I mean, seriously. It's not like I held a knife to your throat and forced you to behead them. You killed them because you wanted to, so why blame me?"

Qing was from the modern era and had encountered such narratives many times in various media.

It was logic few empathized with, and she was no different; experiencing it firsthand wasn't going to make her understand.

"Don't you understand?" Gyeongdamgan insisted. "If you hadn't caused such a ruckus this morning, these people would be alive and well, spending time with their families. It is precisely because you, you acted arrogantly, that these men died."

"Huh? Why? These people died because Eunuch Grandpa cut off their heads. Did I ask you to cut off some heads?"

"No, just! Come on! Why don't you get it? Think about it! Since you bitch killed my subordinate, wasn't this done in revenge for that!"

"But Eunuch Grandpa didn't even tell me about that. If you'd threatened me even once, saying you'd capture and kill innocent people if I didn't behave, I might have considered it."

"Why does it turn out like that!! Fine. So these are strangers to you? Would you have said the same thing if I brought you the heads of those wanderers you cherish so much?"

"Well, I'd be angry, but it still wouldn't be my fault. I'd give you a grand funeral in revenge, but there's no reason for me to feel sorry."

"Why does the conversation go like that! Think! Just! Think! If these were the wanderers' heads, think about how your reckless actions caused the wanderers to die!"

"Hmm. Weren't you planning to kill the wanderers anyway, even without me? So what difference would it make if these were their heads? If they die whether I'm here or not, isn't it the same?"

"Damn it! Why! Don't you! It's because of you! Because of you, wench!"

"Why is everything my fault? So, is it my fault that Eunuch Grandpa is an asshole? Is it my fault that Eunuch Grandpa killed and ate his parents when he was hungry? Is it my fault that Eunuch Grandpa is a eunuch?"

"No!! Just!!!"

Gyeongdamgan exploded.

And then he exploded again.

"And when did I eat anyone!"

"That's just what I think. Because you're enough of a scoundrel to do it, Eunuch Grandpa."

Gyeongdamgan erupted for a third time.

"Eunuch! Who are you calling a eunuch!!"

"Oh, so you're not? All the members of the Two-Line Blood Gu Unit said Eunuch Grandpa was a eunuch, a useless eunuch whose cock doesn't even get hard."

"Aaargh! Aaaaack!! Ugh..."

The old Gyeongdamgan clutched the back of his neck.

This was the power of the intangible poison, the Invisible Sword, or perhaps the Mind Sword – the absolute power of the mouth.

Then, glaring at Qing with eyes full of venomous resentment, he suddenly seemed to realize something and, very belatedly, activated the Gu Poison again.

Feeling the warmth spread through her insides, Qing bent over again.

However, having strained her throat, she found making moaning sounds rather bothersome, so she decided to just stay still, pretending to be in too much pain to even speak.

An awkward time passed.

The smallest unit of time in the Central Plains measurement system is one ke. In modern terms, that's fifteen minutes – truly, what a primitive, barbaric society.

Perhaps about half a ke passed.

Qing, who had been prostrate, slowly lifted her head.

"Excuse me. Isn't this taking a bit long? Hey, at this rate, I might faint from the pain, you know?"

"...?" Gyeongdamgan looked confused.

"Gu Poison is alive too, you know. Life. How can you drain its painstakingly gathered venom like this? You might as well try to suck the marrow from a flea's bone."

"You, how."

"Hmm. One: I'm enduring it with sheer willpower. Two: I got an antidote from my Tang Clan friend and took it beforehand. Three: After lunch, I took the opportunity to remove the Gu Poison. Which do you think it is?"

Gyeongdamgan was momentarily dumbfounded.

The Gu Poison's venom inflicted extreme agony, like being burned alive. Those weak to pain could die from the shock, their hearts stopping.

So, the first option was absurd.

And since she mimicked the reaction precisely when the Gu Poison released its venom, the third option was also out.

"Fine, so you took a counter-agent beforehand and now you're acting all high and mighty," Gyeongdamgan concluded. "Do you think the medicine's effect will last forever?"

"So you chose number two. Well. I won't tell you the right answer, though. But, if the Gu Poison doesn't work, what does an old Demonic Adept like you have left? This shabby underground facility? Or these iron bars?"

Qing then took out a bundle of keys from her bosom and jingled them.

"Didn't you realize I went out and came back? I have the keys, see?"

"Damn it! Chains, bring the chains!" Gyeongdamgan roared.

Qing watched curiously as the Blood Cult warriors leveled their spears, and one man brought chains and began wrapping them around the cell door.

The warrior wrapping the chains glanced nervously at Qing, his hands trembling as he hastily clanked and clattered, trying to seal the door.

When Qing approached, the spear tips shot out.

Qing grabbed a spear shaft and yanked it sharply.

"Seriously, you call this a threat? Are you locking up some woman who doesn't even know martial arts?"

Qing snatched the spears one by one, tossing them behind her, and finally grabbed the wrist of the Blood Cult warrior wrapping the chains.

"L-let go!" the warrior pleaded.

"You should ask politely if you want me to even consider it, yet you give me orders?"

Qing yanked the Blood Cult warrior's arm forcefully.

The warrior's shoulder was pulled through the bars, causing him to slam his head hard against the iron. Clang!

But the pain in his head was nothing.

Because Qing, who had suddenly gripped his shoulder, had dug her fingers firmly into the shoulder blade.

"Aaaack!"

Crack, creak, crack. Sounds that shouldn't come from a human body. Sounds felt only by the warrior making them and Qing herself.

Through her fingertips, through her awakened fingers and entire palm, flooded the sensation—crack—of raw muscle, cartilage, tendon tearing. Ah. Aah.

Finally, the warrior's shoulder separated.

Having unearthed a huge chunk of the shoulder blade, a real prize, Qing stumbled back, holding the warrior's arm, and landed on her butt.

Then she blinked blankly, her expression one of disbelief. Blink, blink, blink again.

Continuous, desperate screams echoed in the chamber as the Blood Cult warrior, clutching his shoulder, which looked like a tiger had taken a bite out of it, thrashed wildly.

Silence fell upon the chamber at the sight of a man's shoulder being torn off while he was still alive.

Amidst the silence, Qing staggered to her feet, trembling, and looked down at the warrior's arm in her hand.

Wow. A makeshift blunt weapon. So the green-haired girl was the princess. [^(Qing mentally compares her brutal act to scenes from modern fiction (like games or anime), where anything — even body parts — can become improvised weapons. The "green-haired princess" is not a specific person, but a sarcastic jab at a common trope where noble or delicate girls often have colorful hair. By treating the severed arm like loot or game meat, Qing’s dark humor and modern sensibilities shine through, mocking both the victim and the absurdity of the situation.)]

Something I'd only seen on screen. It looks a bit uglier than I thought. Maybe if I scraped off some flesh, it would look cleaner, like the ones you see in the wild.

"Alright. Anyone else want to wrap chains next?"

The warriors' faces turned distinctly pale, visible even in the dim underground light, and they scrambled back, putting distance between themselves and her.

Even Gyeongdamgan was completely horrified.

"What cruel methods are these! Is this something an expert of the Orthodox Faction should be doing?!"

"Come on. Does Eunuch Grandpa call it cruel when swatting mosquitoes or fleas? How can catching pests be cruel? What kind of human treatment did you expect, you vermin of the Blood Cult?"

"V-vermin."

"I've been watching how things work around here, and hmm... comparing you to bugs might actually be an insult to the bugs. Wouldn't mosquitoes or fleas be more beneficial to the world?"

Qing said this as she casually opened the jail door and stepped out.

Gyeongdamgan stumbled backward in response.