Chapter 953: I Want to Watch (7)

A martial artist’s weapon wasn’t just a weapon.

It was a companion that lived alongside a martial artist’s life, and a guidepost on the road of training toward one’s own completion.

Truly—could there even be a line more perfectly on the nose about a martial artist and their weapon than that? A proverb that ought to boom like a declaration, the narrative itself, a scream you’d spit out while shaking novices by the collar as they first learned how to hold steel.

Of course.

That’s only if you bother to wrap it up pretty.

The advice about always wearing your weapon like it’s part of your body, and treating it like a precious companion—those are words you feed to chicks who just stepped into martial arts.

Because once you got used to living with a weapon on you, the next lesson was the exact opposite.

The guy who cherishes his weapon dies early. Never treat a weapon as anything more than a weapon—treat it as a consumable you can replace any time.

That’s right. A weapon is a consumable from the start.

Metal builds fatigue the more you use it, weakening bit by bit, so no matter how well you maintain it, one day it just snaps clean in two. And if you’re going to baby it because you’re afraid to “waste” its durability, then there’s no reason to lug something heavy around in the first place.

And yet.

A martial artist’s feelings toward a weapon—especially a weapon they cherish, a beloved weapon—ran deeper than you’d imagine.

You had to tend it with care every day. The more you used it, the more it stuck to your hand, the more your grip grew used to its weight and balance until it wore into you. Honestly, it would be weirder not to get attached.

And on top of that, good weapons were priced however the seller felt like pricing them.

They were obscenely, insanely expensive.

So maybe not quite a “companion,” sure—but at minimum, you poured into it the kind of affection you gave a pet you raised yourself.

People even dueled to the death over nothing more than their hilts knocking together—How dare you hit my weapon!—so if someone stole your beloved weapon outright?

Not even secretly. They went out of their way to wake you up, mock you, and then take it right in front of your eyes.

The sect leader of Azure Dragon Gate was furious.

“This—this bitch—gather them all! All of them! That bitch—how dare she—she can’t live under the same sky as me! How dare she, how...!”

“Sect Leader? When you say all of them...”

“All of them! You can’t understand words!? We’re going to Dragon Spring Tower right now!”

Getting jolted awake by an emergency in the middle of the night wasn’t enough—now they were being deployed at an absurd hour.

But what could they do? When a superior gave an order, a subordinate’s fate was to obey no matter how fucking disgusting it felt. If you didn’t like it?

Quit.

Of course, no matter how brutal the work got, nobody was going to quit an influential local sect.

And so, the sect leader of Azure Dragon Gate—rage boiling over—led every disciple through the night.

Destination: Dragon Spring Tower, Dangsan County’s Number-One Inn.

The disciples, however, didn’t know what was happening. They’d only heard “emergency” and come sprinting out, so what the hell was this?

“Senior Brother—what is going on?”

“Well... it looks like a thief broke into the sect and stole the sect leader’s beloved weapon.”

“What!? What kind of bastard dares—! There’s a limit to how much you can look down on our sect! Does he think he’s some Divine Thief or something!?”

“It’s not a bastard. It’s a bitch. That bitch who came earlier and made a scene, remember? Face covered, and her chest was this big.”

“That bitch—her!? Ha—what kind of bitch even—!”

After hearing the details, the disciples exploded in anger like it was their own problem.

Because sect members lived on pride in their sect.

Sneaking in, deliberately waking someone up, and stealing a weapon—just how much did she have to look down on Azure Dragon Gate to commit an atrocity like that?

The sect and its disciples were one body. If Azure Dragon Gate was humiliated, it was the same as being humiliated themselves.

But.

“Then... are we really allowed to go out?”

“Hm?”

A first-generation disciple’s face darkened.

Because this was Dangsan County.

In other towns, even if the number-one sect in the city went out at night and made a racket, it wouldn’t become a major issue.

Government and martial arts were non-aggression and non-entanglement—if the martial world made noise at night but didn’t harm civilians (government people), the authorities would usually avoid meddling.

But Dangsan was different.

Dangsan County sat between Beijing and Shanhai Pass, a strategic choke point counted among the most important in the Central Plain. The government’s power here was strong enough that the martial world couldn’t dare flex its own strength.

Soldiers were stationed in every direction around Dangsan County, and their numbers ran into the thousands.

What could a single mid-sized sect possibly do?

That was why the sect’s chief steward was desperately trying to rein in his sect leader.

“Sect Leader—please, you must endure it. In one shichen the sun will rise, so...”

“One shichen!? If she runs for one shichen, she’ll be hundreds of li away! We’ll lose her forever!”

“Then just a little—just a little more, please! Shouldn’t we first get permission—no, at least understanding—from the prefectural magistrate?”

Even if a thief had broken into the sect in the dead of night, they couldn’t mobilize a large force without the prefectural magistrate’s approval.

That was the unavoidable reality of the Hebei martial world.

After all, the Son of Heaven was in Hebei—how could an armed mob be allowed to prowl the streets at night? No matter how far the imperial house had shrunk since the Heavenless Emperor, it still had to preserve the bare minimum of dignity. Hebei was the imperial court’s front yard.

And honestly, Hebei’s sects didn’t complain much about it.

Even the Hebei Peng Family, whose name shook the entire Central Plain, had to watch Beijing’s mood. So what could mid-sized sects like them possibly do?

So this nighttime commotion wasn’t really about catching the thief bitch.

It was about the sect leader’s authority and face getting completely smashed if he didn’t rage like this, right now, in public.

You could argue he’d gotten robbed and was taking it out on his disciples.

But the sect leader’s aim wasn’t only that.

Once you sat in a sect leader’s seat, even if you didn’t want to, you became fluent in political calculation. The world’s schemes and plots were born from politics like this.

So—how long had the chief steward been trying to talk the sect leader down, while the sect leader screamed about deploying immediately?

An elder who’d sprinted straight to the prefectural magistrate’s residence the moment the incident happened came rushing back in, leaned to the sect leader’s ear, and whispered.

“Sect Leader... I’m sorry, but the prefectural magistrate refused. He says to wait until sunrise.”

The answer was: No.

Of course it was. If martial artists caused a nighttime uproar in the imperial court’s front yard over “a little theft,” the prefectural magistrate’s position would wobble too.

“But he says he’ll mobilize the government office to help as well. He asked that you endure it this one time... and told me to pass that along.”

And at those words, the corners of the sect leader’s mouth twitched.

He was obviously fighting to keep his furious expression in place.

“Ghk... I want to catch that bitch and kill her right this moment, but as a citizen of the nation, I cannot dare violate the laws of the state for personal revenge...!”

He let out a deep sigh—but unlike the sigh itself, he looked... satisfied. Somehow.

People said government and martial arts did not trespass on each other, but in reality it was more like government and martial arts were friendly.

Unless you were one of those Daoist or Buddhist sects holed up in the mountains, the city sects showed sincerity to the government office and functioned more like a mutual-aid clique.

And for the great families, it was the opposite—the government office showed sincerity to them.

Because those great families traced their roots to ancient local powers. They were the region’s real owners.

Anyway.

The sect leader of Azure Dragon Gate got what he wanted.

Relationships in the Central Plain were give and take.

He had “endured” for the prefectural magistrate’s sake even after his beloved weapon was stolen, so the prefectural magistrate now had to “take care” of the sect leader’s situation too.

The thief bitch had already fled outside Azure Dragon Gate. Losing her was basically a done deal.

Even if they went to Dragon Spring Tower now, would she still be there?

But if the government office issued a wanted notice?

The sect leader’s eyes glinted coldly.

*****

No matter how long the night was, dawn always came—clawing the dark apart with savage fingers.

And in spring’s fourth month, morning came even faster than in winter. The moment the first rooster cried, Azure Dragon Gate’s main gate swung wide open as if it had been waiting.

At the front walked the sect leader, and behind him the disciples poured out in a rush.

April mornings were busy by nature.

Farmers waited for the sun to rise and then finally headed out. Travelers were also lined up to leave as early as possible.

And when crowds gathered, merchants got busy too—porters with shoulder poles hauling soup, dumplings, noodles, and street vendors sprinting to claim spots faster than their competitors.

And right in that moment, Azure Dragon Gate disciples in martial robes crossed the main road.

Just from the ominous momentum alone, it was obvious this wasn’t normal.

Heads turned. Bodies turned.

Feet moved on their own, following behind.

Because to people of the Central Plain, watching a fight was a very, very serious matter.

Fieldwork? Sure, it was time to sow seeds for hours today, but... do it tomorrow. A big spectacle popped up—what’s one day of delay?

Porters and vendors were even happier. The whole city was going to swarm. If they sold then, they could watch and do business at the same time. Today would be insanely lucky.

And so the wall of people surged after the marching column of Azure Dragon Gate disciples.

Same picture as yesterday—except this time, the person leading the crowd had switched sides.

And so they arrived at Dragon Spring Tower.

Azure Dragon Gate disciples encircled the five-story towering inn, sealing it off.

The crowd’s eyes gleamed brighter than ever.

Oh wow, so something really did happen at Azure Dragon Gate yesterday—did they come for revenge today?

Revenge my ass, the sect leader’s son was the one who caused it. What revenge?

Isn’t that how a father’s heart works? His son got publicly humiliated—of course he’d hold a grudge.

Whisper, whisper.

Whether the disciples heard it or not, they just held their positions in silence, maintaining the tight siege.

Then the inn owner—realizing something had exploded—came rushing out, threw himself into bows, and scraped his forehead low.

“Ah—Lord Pyeong! What brings you all the way here! It’s been so long. Please, don’t do this, come, come inside and—”

“Enough. Where is that woman?”

The crowd’s whispering stopped dead.

This was the important part. Everyone pricked their ears, craned their necks, stretching for any scrap of what was going on.

“L-Lord Pyeong... that woman, you mean...?”

“Proprietor. You know who I mean. That face-covered woman and the children.”

“If you mean them... they left last night.”

A smile touched the sect leader’s lips.

And he raised his voice—

“Ha! Right. I knew it!”

He turned.

Then he looked out over the packed crowd and raised his voice again.

“You all must be wondering what this uproar is, first thing in the morning! Then I will tell you! It is shameful, but last night our sect suffered an intruder!”

Gasping burst out everywhere at once—sharp inhales and exhaled shock.

Because how could that not be shocking?

What kind of sect was Azure Dragon Gate?

It wasn’t comparable to the Nine Great Sects or the Ten Great Families, sure—but it was still Dangsan County’s largest sect, with many experts under its roof.

An intruder in that sect?

The crowd swallowed hard, staring at the sect leader.

Eyes full of thirst.

So what happened? Don’t drag it out—tell us already.

But the sect leader dragged it out.

A sect leader was someone who stood before people. If you didn’t know how to handle a crowd, you didn’t even qualify to be a sect leader.

And at the perfect timing—not too long, not too short—he opened his mouth.

“It is a wretched thing to admit! But the intruder entered this sect leader’s inner chamber, stole my beloved weapon—my sword—and fled. At that moment, was my wife not at my side? She is but a woman who knows no martial arts, so this sect leader had no choice but to let the vicious thief go!”

Nods spread through the crowd.

If he had to protect his wife, it couldn’t be helped. Choosing his wife over his beloved weapon—what a devoted husband.

And at the same time, “those with insight” began voicing criticism of the intruder.

No matter how ruthless the martial world was, wasn’t it an unspoken rule that you didn’t touch someone who couldn’t fight? But she broke into the inner chamber and threatened her—wasn’t that going too far?

Then the crowd’s eyes widened.

A thief who broke in at night and stole a sword.

And why had Azure Dragon Gate disciples swarmed here and surrounded Dragon Spring Tower?

And when you combined that with what he’d just said to the proprietor—

“That’s right! The vicious thief was yesterday’s woman! Now that I think of it, it was only natural! She hid both her name and her face—would an upright person ever do that? From the start, she clearly provoked a needless dispute for that very purpose!”

Gasping again. Breath bursting out.

That unknown woman yesterday—unknown name, unknown face, but whose body shape everyone remembered with painful clarity—wasn’t a chivalrous hero at all.

She was a thief.

Then... did that mean the sect leader’s son had truly been framed?

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

After some time—

The sect leader stomped his foot hard, forcing everyone’s attention back onto him.

“Though last night I was forced to let her go, how can I stand by and watch such a cruel thief bitch run rampant through the martial world! This is not a personal grudge—this is an evil bandit who must never be allowed to go unpunished, for the sake of the entire Central Plain!”

He clenched his fist and raised it.

“Therefore, I intend to report that woman to the government office! And this sect will pursue her to the end and stop her evil deeds!”

In an instant, the sect leader had turned Qing into a villain and transformed himself into a righteous chivalrous warrior.

If she felt wronged, she’d have to come out and refute it.

But Qing wasn’t here.

Only the sect leader was.

In other words—paying back what he’d suffered, exactly as he’d suffered it.

The sect leader, oddly energized, kept raising his voice.

“And so, I, Pyeong Mo, would ask for help from all of you as well!”

And he continued—publicly declaring a wanted notice, soliciting tips.

“If any of you have information on that woman’s whereabouts, even the smallest thing will do! If you saw where she was coming from, or heard her say where she planned to go! If your tip can become a clue for pursuit, I will reward you with gold and silver! And if it is decisive information, I will compensate you richly with great wealth!”

The crowd’s eyes lit up.

A chance to watch something good—and make money, too?

That was the moment.

A hand shot up among the crowd.

The sect leader stared at it, and the crowd immediately parted, making a path between the sect leader and whoever had raised it.

People of the Central Plain really did synchronize hands and feet in moments like this.

Because if the tip was decisive, this spectacle might continue longer.

“What is it? Do you know something?”

“Ahem. I am a wanderer called the Southern-Dynasty King, but your words don’t add up, so I only wish to ask. You said she stole your sword and fled.”

The sect leader’s eyebrow twitched.

A fucking wanderer daring to question a sect leader—insolent beyond belief.

That woman yesterday defended the wanderers, so this one wanted to take her side too, huh?

“Then are you saying I lied? Do you have the courage to take responsibility for that accusation? Are you claiming this sect leader fabricated a lie out of private emotion? Is that what you’re saying?”

The wanderer flinched—but didn’t back down.

“If she truly fled, how could she treat the wanderers to breakfast at Dangsan Tower? She only said Dragon Spring Tower seemed unlucky and that she changed inns—she is staying at Dangsan Tower. But you say she fled far away, Sect Leader. Doesn’t that contradict itself?”

The crowd’s gaze snapped backward.

More precisely, they looked at the plaque hanging on the five-story tall inn standing opposite Dragon Spring Tower.

“Dangsan Tower.”

Dangsan Tower was Dragon Spring Tower’s strongest competitor—essentially Dangsan County’s second-best inn—and it was a five-story inn directly facing Dragon Spring Tower.

In other words—

It was the house across the street.

And.

It was then.

“What’s with all this noise so early in the morning? Is there a show? Did a fire break out at the pancake shop—or... oh? Sect Leader? What’s going on here?”

Beneath the plaque, stepping out boldly from the front entrance—

A woman whose sheer presence was, once again, truly overwhelming.

Appeared.