A-Qing was shocked.
The favor she had for her turned into bubbles and disappeared.
Was this how the Prince felt when he saw the black Little Mermaid after going through so much trouble to find her? Did he also feel as if he himself was the one who had turned into bubbles and disappeared?
"Ooh, what's up with our little brat's attitude? When you're hungry, I'm the pretty noona who buys you food, but once you're full, I'm ugly? Huh?"
"...Tch. Noona? What a joke. You're funny."
"I'm so sorry, Great Expert. She's not usually like this, but she's been a bit difficult since last year. Oh dear, I don't know why she's like this."
Last year? So, fifteen. Second year of middle school. A-Qing understood. Puberty's a valid excuse. Definitely.
However, the mother had some unresolved issues.
"Suddenly she just won't listen, and it would be fine if she just didn't listen, but she insists on doing exactly what I tell her not to. I guess she has reason to hate her mother. A useless woman who couldn't even give her a healthy body, let alone anything else…"
"Ah! Stop talking like that! It's so annoying!"
Jin Jangmyeong shrieked and ran up the stairs.
That left A-Qing awkward, alone with the heartbroken mother.
"Uh… so. Wanna have a drink?"
"Oh, you must be going through a tough time."
"Tough time? I guess my child is pitiful because her mother is so useless. I just wanted her to be normal, and I couldn't even manage that."
Yang Sowol raised her glass with a mournful expression. With a sorrowful, familiar gesture, she drained the glass, then covered her mouth and dabbed it with a handkerchief.
Yang Sowol lowered her voice, her expression grim.
"Great Expert."
"Yes?"
"Be careful. The liquor is poisoned."
"Huh?"
Yang Sowol subtly revealed her handkerchief. It was damp with liquor she'd pretended to drink but actually spat out. A-Qing looked between the handkerchief and the glass, then casually gulped down the liquor.
"Great Hero!? Why?!"
"Ugh. That hits the spot. Ah, it's so addictive."
"Ugh. That hits the spot. Ah, it's so addictive."
A subtle spiciness lingered in the aftertaste. Even amidst the numbing, stinging sensation in her mouth, there was a distinct, burning heat.
The numbing taste was ma. The spicy taste was la. Combined: Mala flavor!
The flavor most beloved by the Korean people. A taste enjoyed by their ancestors since ancient times. It was even a traditional flavor depicted in Subakdo.
This… it wasn't the intended flavor? She thought, like a true Mala hotspot, even the liquor would taste of Mala. So it wasn't a good Mala place after all!
"It's fine because of my constitution."
When creating her character, A-Qing followed the recommendations. She allocated her stats, chose her fate star. And then she chose her constitution.
When creating her character, A-Qing followed the recommendations. She allocated her stats, chose her fate star. And then she chose her constitution.
The constitution A-Qing chose was Blood Poison Body.
A-Qing didn't know since she hadn't played the actual game, but originally, the AI of Murim Chronicles: A Tale of Life and Death heavily used poison. Moreover, the UI5 was also quite inconvenient.
There were over ten types of useless antidotes, and they were expensive. The quick slots were limited to four, so getting poisoned was frustrating beyond belief after the first couple of times.
The Blood Poison Body was a constitution that provided immunity to all poisons. It was the reason why it was recommended over cheat-tier constitutions like the Heavenly Martial Body, Innate Dao Physique, or Nine Yin Meridians.
So A-Qing was free from poisoning. It was the secret to her survival in her first year in the Jianghu, where she ate grass and mushrooms, and even scavenged food waste to stay alive.
A-Qing's survival was the result of the veteran players in the Murim Chronicles: A Tale of Life and Death community, who had painstakingly researched and made guides for newbies.
The very miracle of A-Qing being able to read, write, and communicate with the locals was all thanks to the Korean language patch.
The sheer goodwill of those who simply wished for their beloved game to thrive, for more people to enjoy it! That goodwill kept A-Qing alive and breathing!
A-Qing shivered again, thinking.
Damn it, I'm going to kill the bastard who recommended this game. Seriously.
A-Qing abruptly stood up.
Now was the time to screw someone over.
How glorious it was to have someone to screw over, and a good reason for it.
"Server!"
"Ah, customer! Coming!"
The server rushed out with a happy expression. A wealthy customer was the server's joy.
But it was short-lived. The server's face was filled with sorrow. Because anyone felt sorrow when a blade touched their throat.
"How dare you poison my liquor? You're fucking dead today. When your parents ask why you came up early in hell, tell them you messed with someone's drink."
"Oh no, no, Customer! No! It wasn't me! It really wasn't me!"
"You're saying it wasn't you? Then who was it?"
"Well, that's the thing…"
A-Qing looked at the server's karma.
The number was 42. Unfortunately, it was good karma.
What the hell? How's a server got such high good karma? Did he feed all the neighborhood beggars or something?
A-Qing was lenient towards good people.
"Alright. I'll believe it wasn't you. Then who told you to do it?"
"Oh my, that is..."
"Did the alcohol get bored and turn itself into poison? Or did the person who made the liquor get so bored that they decided to poison a bottle and sell it, hoping someone would die?"
The server glanced around nervously. A-Qing tossed him a carrot this time.
"Look, you have a really good impression, server. So I believe you. So there must have been someone who ordered you to, right?"
Of course, there were no servers with bad impressions. If there ever were, they were usually just inn owners' sons who were angry about unreasonable labor.
"P-please spare me! I just…"
"Ugh, I'm getting angry! When I get angry, my hands tremble! What if an innocent server's neck gets cut off?!"
"P-Please, please s-spare me!"
"No, I won't spare you. No intention of sparing you. Speak quickly."
The server whimpered. A-Qing wasn't interested in seeing a middle-aged man's hot tears.
"Die! You sons of bitches who mess with food! My Moonlight Sword hungers!"
A-Qing stomped forward and lunged. Towards the cheap seats in the inn, the secluded corner where men with a few flimsy buns were sitting.
One head shot into the sky, and blood spurted out like a fountain. A-Qing grinned, soaked in the warm blood, and continued her sword strikes towards the enemy of her liquor.
True to their nature as petty poisoners, their skill was pathetic. Three corpses and one soon-to-be-corpse remained. The man clutching his belly spat blood and said,
"How did you know…?"
"Well. Everyone else was watching with interest, but you guys were the only ones constantly glancing around."
The man asked back with a bewildered expression,
"That's all? Or what were you going to do if it wasn't us…?"
"Well, even if that wasn't the case, you were bound to get stabbed and die anyway. You guys have gone around doing a lot of bad things, haven't you? If I was correct, revenge successful. Even if I was wrong, I would still be taking out the trash. It's a win-win."
They were bastards who had accumulated a lot of bad karma. If they weren't the culprits, then, well, she could just assume she did a good deed. A-Qing was in a no-lose situation.
"So, what poison did I drink?"
"Heh, heh, do you think I'd tell you that? In this situation?"
"Fine by me."
She asked because it tasted good, but if he didn't want to tell her, what could she do? Goodbye, my Mala sauce. A-Qing didn't expect an answer anyway.
He'll spill it when he dies, probably. A-Qing raised her sword.
"When they ask you in the afterlife why you came—"
"I'll tell them I came to fuck your mom."
Even in death's throes, he was full of venom. A-Qing sighed and swung her Moonlight Sword (No. 6).
"Gah! Gurk, gurk…"
If you skillfully slice the windpipe, avoiding the arteries, a person can't speak. The man clutched his throat, then his intestines spilled out, and he clutched his belly again. Then he understood why a person had two hands.
"See? He insulted my mother. Let him die. If anyone touches him, it means you want to have a nice, friendly sword fight with me."
A-Qing swept her gaze across the room, not hiding her bright smile, and threatened them.
But something was strange. What the hell? Why are all their karma scores like this?Is this some inn for bad guys' meetups? If she set it on fire, she'd rack up a sweet amount of good karma.
But A-Qing wasn't a crazy bitch who screamed "Evil must be punished!" and drew her sword every time she saw a bad guy. She just thought it was perfectly fine to do whatever she wanted to bad people.
Well, first things first.
A-Qing hummed a tune and searched the corpses.
They were the type who ate buns, so they were utterly broke. But a bunch of miscellaneous stuff came out. A few small porcelain bottles, pouches of powder, etc.
A-Qing carefully gathered everything and returned to her seat, meeting the trembling gaze of Yang Sowol. A-Qing realized her mistake. Oops.
"Server, bring me some washing water."
It felt good to be covered in blood.
And though this may obviously be common sense, some unfortunate souls might not be like her; they might fear blood itself.
Then they should just overcome it by eating ox blood soup.
But do they even have ox blood soup in the Jianghu?
I want some ox blood soup.
With a natural train of thought, A-Qing smacked her lips once and tilted the liquor bottle.
Another toast, celebrating a rewarding day's work. Another sip, watching the villains steadily drawing their last breath. The food was good, so the liquor went down easily.
◇─◇───◆─◈─◆───◇─◇
Yang Sowol couldn't regain her composure.
Indeed, genuinely skilled female martial artists were rare in the Jianghu. That is, if you excluded the women who went out for pleasure, carrying pretty weapons and dressed in fancy palace robes.
In truth, life in the Jianghu was a hardship that a woman's body could hardly endure twice. It sounded good to be a martial artist, but in reality, she was a wanderer. What good situation could a drifter, constantly away from home, be in?
Eating, sleeping, and relieving oneself outdoors—simply existing—was in some ways close to a humiliation for a woman.
Female martial artists from prestigious families could enjoy traveling, accompanied by servants and riding in carriages. There were also daughters from noble houses who enjoyed playing at being martial artists.
But poor female vagabonds, who had no backing, would say those ladies were merely playing at being martial artists.
Yang Sowol, hailing from Divine Maiden Sect of Mount Wu, despised such women who came around to roleplay as martial artists.
That's why she had a good impression of A-Qing. And as a mother, she was truly grateful for A-Qing's kindness to her child.
Originally, "true" female martial artists were typically rough. If you laughed delicately among men, you'd be easily underestimated. And being underestimated in the Jianghu was akin to walking around with half your life already forfeit.
But there was a limit to being tough.
This was beyond tough; she was practically a madwoman.
Watching A-Qing splash water on her face from the basin that had just arrived, Yang Sowol made a vow.
I must not get entangled with this child.
However, that vow didn't even last a day.