'How much confidence do they have to act like this?' I wondered, and I countered by releasing my own mana. Of course, I hadn't reached the level where my mana could take physical form like Kang Chul-ho, the branch manager of the Hunter Association, so there were no issues with the inn.
Cheon Yeohwa had said that it was best to refrain from causing disputes in the domain of the righteous sects, but if we just tolerated their provocations every time, they would simply see us as pushovers.
I excluded the miscellaneous energies I felt on the first floor. I focused my mana on the one that seemed the strongest among them.
The energy he released and my mana collided in the air, but it was only for a fleeting moment. My mana swallowed his energy whole, crushing it.
He must have suffered considerable internal injuries. It was the price for acting without knowing his place.
As I leisurely descended the stairs, quite a few familiar faces came into view. Especially the face of the guy whose nose I broke was a sight to behold.
'He looked mediocre even when he was fine, but now he's truly ugly.'
The others were the same guys I saw at the inn during the day, but there was one person I hadn't seen before. A middle-aged man who looked somewhat like a rat.
"Are you the elder?"
"Y-yes!"
The man's complexion was deathly pale as I looked at him up close. He was sweating profusely, and it was a wonder he wasn't collapsing right then and there.
He probably was trying to endure, acting as an elder, for the sake of his disciples behind him.
"Hoo, so you are the one they call the elder?"
Cheon Yeohwa also seemed to realize that she couldn't avoid a fight any longer, and she released her energy, putting pressure on the elder. Under Cheon Yeohwa's pressure, the elder looked like he had aged five years in an instant.
"Hey."
"…Yes."
"Give me everything you have."
"…Excuse me?"
"You ruined all the fun, damn it."
He had committed a grave sin.
Not only did he interrupt the happy time between me and Cheon Yeohwa, but he dared to come to apologize empty-handed?
"If you've come here not to apologize for what your disciples did, but to argue, I think I'm going to be in a very bad mood…"
This was a kind of warning.
If he didn't want to get beaten up in front of his disciples, he should cough up some compensation.
"I, I am Suyanggeon, the Third Elder of the Hundred Flowers Sect, known as the Wind-Driven Sword! I heard that you oppressed and assaulted the disciples of the Hundred Flowers Sect, so I came here!"
"…Choosing to drink the forfeit wine instead of the toast."
"?!"
He visibly flinched at my words, but I didn't really mean anything by it. I just wanted to say that once.
"Do, do you know that the Hundred Flowers Sect is a branch sect of the Mount Hua Sect, and yet you act so rashly!!"
"Mount Hua Sect?"
Those plum blossom bastards?
Now I knew why that elder was acting so bold. He was doing it because he had a big company backing him.
"How absurd. Are you saying that it's okay for the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect's branch sect to harass a woman in broad daylight? Even one with a lover?"
"What?!"
The elder's eyes, which had been trembling with unease, now flared with anger. That anger was directed towards the disciples behind him.
"You lot! Is that true!!"
His voice echoed through the inn, and the disciples' faces dripped with cold sweat.
His intention was clear in trying to scold his disciples now. He must be getting desperate because I didn't seem to be cowed at all, even after he brought up their backer, the Mount Hua Sect.
If my guess was right, the attitude he would show next was obvious.
"…I admit that this incident was the fault of the main sect's disciples."
As expected, as soon as I gave him an opening, he grabbed it. Well, it would have been difficult for an elder to admit his fault first without any excuses, considering his face and pride.
Especially with his disciples watching behind him.
"So?"
"…We will educate them thoroughly so that such a thing never happens again…"
"No."
I cut off the elder's words.
He didn't understand the main point of the situation.
"Your disciples harassed my woman. I gave them a proper punishment for it and even generously let them all live."
Koo-oong!
The mana circle released mana according to its master's will.
A power different from internal energy began to press down on the entire first floor of the inn.
It was a pressure that was incomparably stronger than the mana I had unleashed earlier. For the record, I had pushed myself too hard.
I had reached the 4th Circle somewhat hastily, and my body hadn't fully adapted to the mana circle yet. As a result, my whole body throbbed when the output of mana exceeded the standard.
"Those who should avoid even being seen in my presence dared to bring their sect's elder and try to oppress me. I can't possibly let those guys go away with all their limbs intact."
I deliberately lowered my voice and imitated the tone of the characters in the martial arts novels I usually read. Judging by their expressions, it seemed to have worked quite well.
Especially the expressions of the disciples were something to behold. They were the ones who had been criticizing me without a clue, but if they had even the slightest bit of sense, they would have realized that I was stronger than the elder.
-Great Hero.
At that moment, the elder's voice echoed in my head. I was wondering what was going on, but soon I realized it was the voice transmission that often appeared in martial arts stories.
It was similar to telepathy magic.
-I admit that this incident is clearly the fault of our Hundred Flowers Sect, and I apologize. So please, ease your anger…
I didn't answer.
The insincere apology from a middle-aged man was not worth listening to.
Besides, I didn't know how to do voice transmission. If I answered with telepathy, it might spread the information that I didn't know martial arts, which could cause troublesome things to happen.
-Then, I will prepare a satisfactory compensation for you.
Compensation? Only then did my heart begin to waver.
I thought he was just old on the outside, but it seemed he knew how to use his head a little.
-How about weapons? We have one of the best blacksmiths in the Hundred Flowers Sect, even in Xi'an. The swords he makes are said to be the best in all of Shaanxi. The swords supplied to the Mount Hua Sect are also made by our Hundred Flowers Sect.
I had been reluctant to carry Gileniem around anyway, and to hear that the blacksmith made swords for the Mount Hua Sect…
It was a tempting offer, but the truth was that it was better to get weapons from the modern world. From the beginning, the manufacturing technology was on a different level.
"Money."
I whispered in a voice small enough for only the elder to hear.
Rather than receive a sword as compensation, I would rather have the money from this neighborhood, which I couldn't get on Earth. Of course, there was also a way to bring a large amount of useful stuff from Earth and sell it directly to make money.
But that was too much of a hassle, and there was a high possibility that strange flies would swarm around.
'I don't know if there's such a thing as non-aggression pact in this world, but even if there is, it would be useless in the face of money.'
It was more profitable to extort it from rich guys or rob bandits.
-If, if you wish, I will prepare it with money. So please, restrain your energy…
I had thought from the beginning that the elder was acting more humble than necessary, but it seemed that the release of mana had worked better than I had imagined.
I was about to stop anyway because my body was starting to creak little by little. The elder must have realized the gap between us, and he acted like a dog with its belly turned up.
As I withdrew my mana, the expressions of the disciples who had been half-rolling on the floor brightened up a bit. The cold sweat that had been flowing down the elder's face also decreased.
"I will let this go, if only for the sake of Suyanggeon, the Wind-Driven Candyman."
"Wind-Driven Sword…"
Either way, I didn't like that a guy weaker than me had such a fancy title.
The elder cautiously got up from his seat, lightly clasped his fist in salute, and disappeared with his disciples.
With this incident, I would never be invited to the Hundred Flowers Sect. From the beginning, the reason he spoke in voice transmission was probably because he wanted to resolve this incident as quietly as possible.
Of course, if I didn't like the amount of money he brought, I might put on a mask and hunt down the disciples of the Hundred Flowers Sect every time they went outside and beat them half to death.
Anyway, now that the situation was roughly settled, there was only one thing left to do. I hugged Cheon Yeohwa and ran up to the second floor.
"There's no need to be so hasty…"
I was in a hurry.
The first floor of the inn had become a mess because of the commotion just now, but that was the innkeeper's job to take care of, not mine.
If they felt wronged, they shouldn't have sold the customers' personal information.
***
"…Here it is."
Only after the sun had set and evening had arrived did Elder Suyanggeon return to the inn in black clothes and hand me a pouch filled with silver.
On closer inspection, there were also several silver ingots.
In reality, it seemed to be worth about 100 million.
I would have been satisfied and moved on normally, but the other party was the elder of the Hundred Flowers Sect, one of the leading sects in Xi'an.
"…If the sincerity is insufficient, I will be hurt."
Mana flowed out from my hurt heart. The elder, whose face turned pale, trembled.
"…I'll give you information instead…!"
"Information?"
"…If you go southeast from Xi'an for about three days, you will come to a small village called Jinheung Village. An ancient temple has been discovered in the mountains near there."
"An ancient temple?"
An old temple, isn't that common in China?
"However, rumors are spreading in Xi'an that the temple is where the Diamond Monk spent his last years."
"Diamond Monk?!"
Who the hell is that, you weeb?
"Why? In the first place, rumors are just rumors."
"…There are reports that the Mount Hua Sect and the Jongnam Sect are making moves. That's more than just a rumor."
"Does it bother you that I'm talking down to you?"
"N, no."
I think it's because he keeps thinking that he can be treated with respect just because he's older. He doesn't look good every time I talk down to him.
Do I really have to fight him to the death for him to come to his senses?
"But even if the rumors are true, if it's an ancient temple, wouldn't someone have already taken everything? Are two forces among the Nine Great Sects making a move?"
"It is said that there may be a martial arts manual left by the monk somewhere in the temple."
"A martial arts manual?"
"Yes, judging by the rumors that even the Shaolin Temple in Henan is making moves, it seems difficult to dismiss it as complete nonsense."
"Hmm…"
I don't know who the Diamond Monk is, but I know what Shaolin Temple is.
In martial arts novels, it is always referred to as the leading Buddhist sect in the righteous martial arts world along with the Wudang Sect. They're slow to act, only moving after the martial arts world has become a mess.
If such a place is making a move, it seems difficult to see it as complete nonsense.
"But is it okay to tell me such important information? Isn't the Hundred Flowers Sect going too?"
"We're not going."
"Why?"
"The Mount Hua Sect is making a move, so how could our branch sect dare to show greed? Of course, we're interested in the Diamond Monk's martial arts, but it is said that the monk mainly dealt with fist techniques and palm techniques."
Suyanggeon lightly tapped the sword on his waist. Well, fist techniques and palm techniques wouldn't be of much use in a place that mainly uses swords.
Besides, it was clear that it would be difficult to sell it after receiving money. It was obvious that he would be disliked by his parent company, the Mount Hua Sect. Why would he do that?
'…Should I consult Cheon Yeohwa first?'
For the record, Suyanggeon, the Wind-Driven Candyman, was only able to return after being forced to hand over five more silver ingots that he had secretly hidden.
If he was going to replace it with information, he should have brought at least solid information. Why try to cover it up with rumors?