Chapter 53 Masochist Rebellion (1) - Martial Arts Masochist

Title: Masochist's Rebellion (1) I... guess this is it for me. Seems like my intuition wasn’t wrong after all. Cheong Wol, that woman, had intended to kill me back in the basement. The fierce look she gave me as she stood up and glared at the wall. It was the same gaze I saw behind Mount Emei. Not the gaze of Cheong Wol from the Emei Sect, but of the Death Omen Cheong Wol. That day, she had truly resolved to end my life, and I had only managed to escape by sheer luck. But what I failed to understand was that her obsession with murder is grotesque. It's not an obsession visible only to Murim warriors. If someone like me holds a grudge, she seems determined to follow through no matter what. She must have really wanted to plunge a blade into my throat. "...Ha." As death draws near, my mind feels oddly clear. Though my hands and body tremble, my desires become even more pronounced. I grabbed another bottle of liquor from the table and took a swig. If I’m going to go, I might as well savor the taste. Ah, that day I really stepped in it. Cheong Wol, she’s finally going to kill me. Dragging Tang So Ran along, putting on a show, getting upset because she was displeased... I don’t know. I might as well drink. -Gulp, gulp. The fiery sensation of the strong alcohol burned my throat, but I paid it no mind and continued drinking. Considering my neck would soon be severed, what’s a little pain? "...Hoo." "..." But no matter how long I waited, Cheong Wol didn’t cut my throat. Enough time had passed for rationality, startled into fleeing due to sudden fear, to return, yet... Cheong Wol just sat there beside me, unmoving. It felt like the moment when you brace yourself expecting to be hit, but your teacher never delivers the punishment. My palms began to sweat. ...Why? Weren’t you going to kill me? If not, what reason could there be for meeting you here? Appearing like some assassin... "...Aren’t you going to answer?" Suddenly, Cheong Wol asked out of the blue. "Answer...?" What kind of answer did she need? She glared at me with her intense eyes. Instinctively, I avoided her gaze. "Did you run all the way from Mount Emei just for this...?" ...Is she trying to start a conversation? This changes things. I had resigned myself, thinking she'd end it immediately, but if she's giving me a chance to exchange even a word, I have no reason to refuse. The desire for life also resurfaced stubbornly like weeds. My mind raced furiously for a moment. Yes, don’t give up! Let’s survive! After struggling so long in Zhongyuan, there’s no reason to give it all up because of one woman, Cheong Wol! That would be too regrettable! The fortunate part was that drinking silently made me appear more relaxed and carefree. The first rule of negotiation: Always be confident. "Run away? From whom and why would I run?" I set down the bottle and spoke. "If you didn’t run away, why did you come all the way to Chengdu?" No reason. Because it was an escape. You’re absolutely right. I went too far last time, but you were quite rude too. Where’s a masochist causing trouble for a sadist... No, I can’t say it like that. It was an escape, but I feigned ignorance for now. A spontaneous excuse emerged. "I came to see how far my leather goods are being sold." "What?" "Surely you’re aware of how I’m regarded back in Mount Emei. The poor, orphaned owner of a leather shop. Didn’t you say even your senior martial brothers mock me, saying I’m hopeless at finding a match?" "..." "But even so, I don’t want to live in poverty forever. I don’t want to be lonely all my life either. I’ve been doing business at Mount Emei for several years, but it’s no different from being poor, so I must have sought a way to sustain myself, don’t you think? It’s not that I lack ambition. I want to eat delicious food too, live in a nice place. Unlike you, I can’t live with nothing." "..." Surprisingly, Cheong Wol's expression seemed to soften at those words. It was time to strike. I raised my voice slightly, testing the waters. "Did you chase me here just to ask me that? I’m fairly taken aback." Cheong Wol slightly turned her head. "...Chase you? I came to Chengdu because I had business too." "...?" "You’re not unaware that Tang Gajoo is holding a gathering for the promising juniors, right? I was invited as well." "Ah." ...I see. But why would you participate there? You’re, after all... Ah, right, she did win the duel, didn't reveal the Annihilation Sword. No self-restraint, which allowed her to join this gathering. Wow... This is turning out very differently from the future I knew. Could it be that she’s participating in the gathering? I paused to picture that scene. "..." Why does it feel like a disaster waiting to happen? For the sake of the future, it’s essential that this gathering be cohesive... Is this another butterfly effect I’ve caused? I don’t know. Let’s not think about that now. What’s important is the Cheong Wol standing before me. "You came to participate in the gathering." "...Yes." "Then why not focus solely on the gathering? Why come all the way here..." "What?" Cheong Wol seemed visibly offended by this question. But from my perspective, I was simply asking what needed to be asked. "What concern is it of yours whether I dally at a pleasure house or gamble?" Cheong Wol’s lips slightly moved. She then quietly... whispered. "...Friend..." A question mark popped up in my mind. Since when were you and I friends? What kind of friend fears for their life around another friend? But even so, the question remains. "But...?" "Huh?" "...Oh." The thing is, it’s not your concern whether a friend goes to a pleasure house or not, Cheong Wol’s gaze wavered. "Huh? So... I mean... Uh...?" She stammered, seeming broken. But to me, that appearance seemed all the more bizarre. Why are you acting like this, seriously? **** When driven by anger, you don’t expect to be called out on it like this. But once Han Seo Jin pointed out the inconsistency, Cheong Wol couldn’t utter a word. What concern is it of mine, indeed? Why did I get so angry at the thought of Han Seo Jin possibly going to a pleasure house? "..." Though she had little to say, that contradictory emotion continued to dominate Cheong Wol. Without reason. She just hated it—the mere thought that Han Seo Jin might have mingled with courtesans in this pleasure house with that sly smile of his. If she hadn’t come, would he have tried to undress another woman? Would he have asked for her to pour him drink? And then...? The thought was irritating, borderline repulsive. This inexplicable emotion made things more difficult for Cheong Wol, all the more so because she couldn’t even attach a proper excuse to it. Ultimately, she spilled her tangled words like forcefully pulling out weeds. “...How could I not object to you abandoning my inner demon treatment just to come to such a cheap pleasure house?” It wasn’t entirely incorrect. Once Han Seo Jin disappeared, her inner demon settled back into place with remarkable speed. Still, Han Seo Jin remained nonchalant. “If you’d just waited a bit, I’d have returned to Mount Emei eventually. Couldn’t you have been a little patient? I’m not your personal physician, after all.” "...Ugh!" “You know, I was helping you without expecting any reward. This feels like saving someone from drowning only for them to demand your belongings.” Cheong Wol came to this room intending to scold Han Seo Jin. Yet, upon opening the lid, she found herself on the receiving end. Her suppressed inner demon began to stir, clawing at the gaps of her heart. “...Still.” Her low voice caused Han Seo Jin to clench his lips for a moment. “Even so, wouldn’t anyone be upset if a physician tended to a wound with dirty hands?” "..." “Considering you performed some vile and shameful acts in this lowly place... and then to impose such bizarre commands on a novice... how would that not sicken me?” “...Uh... well, that...” This impoverished shop owner wouldn’t know. How much anger she was holding back at this moment. Her core arbitrarily awakened, vibrating, while her qi flowed through her acupoints. -Ssshhh... An indescribable sensation enveloped her entire body. Blue energy rose like threads upon Cheong Wol’s skin. Had she surpassed the barrier of first-class medium qi in her fury? Perhaps her martial prowess had expanded at this very moment. But she had no luxury to care about such matters. It had been some time since she felt so utterly enraged, equally long since she had suppressed it so thoroughly. The lack of understanding only increased her frustration. "Um? Master...!" "..." Han Seo Jin glanced at her briefly, then picked up the bottle again. -Thud! Cheong Wol, wanting the conversation, snatched the bottle from him. Han Seo Jin's resolute intention to drink only made him seem more obnoxious. Facing him, with an exasperated lick of her lips, Cheong Wol eventually unleashed her concealed emotions. "Moreover... moreover...!" Her voice trembled as she spoke. "Last time, you only had eyes for Tang So Ran...! So... I just kept holding it in-" “-Haaah." A prolonged, heavy, and loud sigh. The sound abruptly clipped Cheong Wol's words. As she glared at him with annoyance, preparing to speak again- “-Wola.” Tap, that single, brief word. The impatient tone of that solitary remark sealed Cheong Wol's lips tight. It transformed the dim room of the pleasure house into the basement of a leather workshop. An unexpected shift in authority transpired. Even Han Seo Jin, once reserved and poor, easily dismissible, had changed, his presence humming with intensity. The meek, disregarded man vanished, replaced by an authoritative figure who shamelessly gave commands. “... Your tone seems a bit disrespectful today, doesn’t it?”