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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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The Hengsan Sect’s Kirin.
Im Seo-ryeon.
The things she had done while coming to our house today.
Mocking my wife, who couldn’t walk, to walk.
Ruining the alcohol that we had been brewing to drink together as a family.
Smashing the Qin dynasty vase, a family heirloom that had been passed down for generations.
Of course, she hadn’t found a single piece of evidence for the corruption that was her original goal.
“What are you trying to do?”
When the situation had gotten to this point, and the inspector’s prestige had fallen to the floor, a surprising thing would happen.
A first-rate master would be at a loss for words in front of a thug who wasn’t even second-rate.
“No, it’s…. You see….”
“No, I understand you rummaging through the house to find evidence of corruption. But no matter how important the Martial Alliance’s orders were, can you really act like this? Mocking my wife and smashing family heirlooms? I understand that I have no connections in this area, but isn’t it too much to be committing such atrocities?”
“Do-cheol, it’s okay. It’s fine if we just act as if nothing happened.”
Seon-go said that while tightly grabbing my arm. Im Seo-ryeon’s face was twisted as she struggled to find words. The confident look from just a moment ago was now nowhere to be found.
“It…. It just happened by accident… while I was… investigating…”.
The lieutenant was also at a loss for words. He had awkwardly taken a step back, and Im Seo-ryeon seemed to be even more embarrassed that he was looking at her.
When I thought about it, we were currently talking in a place where the servants could see us as well. Even if the situation was advantageous for me, insulting her too much might backfire.
I looked at the lieutenant and Im Seo-ryeon alternately and then lowered my voice and said,
“Lieutenant, could you excuse us for a moment? It doesn’t seem like this is something we should be discussing here. Let’s go inside and talk.”
Im Seo-ryeon nodded while curling her body. The lieutenant also seemed to understand my words. When he was awkwardly standing there looking around, I pointed to one of the servants and said,
“Take him inside and let him rest. Give him some tea and snacks as well.”
“…I apologize.”
Im Seo-ryeon said that to her lieutenant. She was shrunken from the humiliation that she had not imagined, more so than necessary.
I didn’t show her my true feelings and began to think.
It seems like she would listen to most favors right now, how far will she allow?
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Even though the room was silent, the water in the teacup was trembling. It was trembling and shaking, influenced by her, the first-rate master’s unstable breathing. I was blankly looking at the teacup, and then I purposely raised the cup and hit it against the table.
Tap.
Tap.
Im Seo-ryeon raised her head at the sound, and the subtle energy she had been emanating unconsciously disappeared.
Only then did Seon-go let out a small sigh of relief and cleared her uncomfortable expression, and I said in a low voice,
“I was thinking of formally protesting this matter to the Martial Alliance, but.”
“That’s….”
Im Seo-ryeon’s expression changed. Even though I was just lightly testing her, her pressure was clearly displayed outwardly.
Logically speaking.
I was at most third-rate. Moreover, there was a somewhat large power called Master Gold Fortune who considered me a thorn in his side. A foolish sect leader who had no connections and only enemies, protesting, wouldn’t cause any big problems.
Even if I was to formally send a letter of protest, she wouldn’t get fired or get in any big trouble.
But Im Seo-ryeon was pale and flustered after hearing that I was protesting.
“…I thought that we could… resolve this… in another way…”
It was because Im Seo-ryeon’s current situation was different. From what the lieutenant had said, she was under a lot of pressure because of her lack of results.
She had originally been very proud of the title ‘Hengsan Sect’s Kirin,’ but she wasn’t achieving any results in her investigator work that she had so confidently jumped into.
She didn’t want to hear about it so she had taken this case with more passion than normal, but instead of finding any evidence of corruption, she had smashed someone’s family heirloom and had insulted someone’s wife.
If I were to send a letter of protest to the Martial Alliance using this? Even if she wouldn’t get fired, what kind of ridicule would she face from people? They would say she was making all sorts of mistakes, unable to even take care of a third-rate sect.
Although I didn’t know what kind of ridicule she would face, it was clear that for Im Seo-ryeon, that imagination would be reshaped into a detailed and terrifying form and was disturbing her.
“…I thought that our sect was suspicious as well, and that the inspector was trying hard to do her job, but I thought it wasn’t good to pressure her too much.”
So, the right answer was to forgive her.
Even if I was to formally report this incident to the Martial Alliance, nothing would change, and only Inspector Im Seo-ryeon’s mood would sour. Instead, it was better to resolve this situation nicely by framing it as if I had done her a favor.
“Everyone makes mistakes. So, let’s just let this matter go.”
Im Seo-ryeon looked at me. She was blinking her eyes, unable to speak. She seemed touched, while also looking at me as if I was some kind of strange person. She struggled to find her words, before speaking carefully,
“…Do you… want anything in return?”
“Of course I do.”
However, I couldn’t just let her go. It was like a first-rate master had spread her legs open in front of me, asking me to devour her, how could I possibly miss such a good opportunity?
Her eyes widened after I said that I wanted something in return, as if she had anticipated it.
“…I can’t pay for the vase right now…. So, I can send it in installments somehow…”
Seon-go carefully grabbed my hand at that moment, and wrote a letter on my palm.
‘委’
It was the character for ‘entrust.’
Even though it was an heirloom that the Hongryun Sect members had taken care of for generations, now, both the woman and the sect were mine. It meant that she would not have a problem, no matter how I resolve this situation.
After getting her permission, I smiled and said,
“I’m not planning on being paid in money. Why would I want to connect myself with a master of the Hengsan Sect with debt? We are both cultivators who are using different paths to find truth. Let’s not taint our relationship with something as trivial as money.”
Im Seo-ryeon looked surprised at my words. She looked at me again with an impressed gaze and then straightened her posture. Her face seemed spiteful, like that of a fox, but she had a cute side to her when she was not being tense.
“…I apologize for not recognizing you as a hero.”
She spoke more politely than before. I felt a little embarrassed at her treatment. It wasn’t like I did what I did to be called a hero this time. I carefully looked her over and said,
“Scholars converse with letters, and martial artists converse with their bodies. Could you lend me your body for a moment?”
“…Huh?”
Her eyes, which had been looking at me as if I were a true hero, became distorted. Seon-go was looking at me with a puzzled expression, and I was the only one who was able to maintain my composure in that room where an ominous atmosphere was spreading. She spoke in a low voice, as if she was about to take out her sword at any moment,
“…I would like a proper explanation.”
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“Calm down. When I say I want to borrow your body, it’s not like I’m trying to fulfill any carnal desires.”
It was just a play on words.
But I was adding onto the guilt she already had with my excuses, so Im Seo-ryeon calmed her anger down and said in a gentle tone,
“…I’ll listen for now. Tell me what you’re talking about.”
“Truth be told, as you’ve probably done some research, I am not someone who has inherited the Hongryun Sect’s martial arts. I’ve learned some strange martial arts by coming across the manual of a reclusive master, and I’ve taken this leader position due to luck. Now that I’ve taken over the leadership of the sect, I think that it’s my duty to spread his martial arts to people as gratitude for his teachings. Therefore, I want to establish a sect using what I have as a foundation, but I am still a little unfamiliar with them, so I’m not sure how to teach people.”
Im Seo-ryeon asked,
“What martial art is it exactly?”
“It’s not really martial arts. It’s closer to medical treatment. It’s a type of massage where I focus energy onto my hands and then release tension from the body’s meridians.”
“Massage?”
Im Seo-ryeon’s eyes were filled with curiosity. I nodded and said,
“When I first received it from a master, I had the feeling that my whole body had become loosened, and I even had the thought that I should spread this technique to everyone. But I haven’t been able to use it on a martial arts expert before, so I don’t know how effective it is, and I haven’t found anyone willing to help me. If I don’t understand the core of this technique and teach people, wouldn’t that be deceiving the world?”
I looked straight at Im Seo-ryeon and said,
“So, I wish to borrow your body. There’s not much of a chance for me to put my hands on a master’s body.”
It seemed like Im Seo-ryeon was contemplating for a moment. She bit her lip and said,
“…As someone who is cultivating, it’s not proper for me to just show my body to a man.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Because it was clear that she was rejecting me.
“But the favor you have given me today is immeasurable.”
I looked at Im Seo-ryeon’s face. Her face turned slightly red, and then she fidgeted with her fingers before saying,
“If your wife is watching, and if you were to cover my body with cloth…. Th, th, then it’s f-fine.”
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thanks vine you goober!