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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Young Mistress O Eun-rim - [2]
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Heo Pung-gae bowed to the victor as etiquette demanded.
"That was a fine move. May I have your name?"
He said it without any particular emotion. He was utterly calm, not even bothering to hide a sense of superiority.
But the defeated Young Mistress of the O Family Manor couldn't manage that. She struggled to control her expression but ultimately failed. Her face flushed red as she took deep breaths.
Was the defeat embarrassing? Of course it was. She'd been utterly beaten by someone who looked about her age or even younger. That had to make it twice as humiliating.
Heo Pung-gae understood that shame all too well. It was the emotion he'd felt for over a century.
So he knew just the words to soothe her a little in this situation.
"O Eun-rim. I got to witness some rare skill there... And yours?"
"Yi Sul. But I'm older than I look and have trained longer, so this isn't exactly a victory worth bragging about."
Yi Do-hyeok shot him a look from the side as if to say, Are you serious? He ignored it.
O Eun-rim asked,
"Uh... really? How old are you, then?"
"That's a secret. Anyway, at your age, I hadn't achieved half as much, so you can take plenty of pride in your skills."
Those words didn't magically brighten her gloomy face.
Still, they were better than nothing. O Eun-rim steadied her breathing and calmed herself down. Regaining her composure, she continued the conversation.
"So, you're stronger than your master for real?"
"In my opinion, yes."
"You can't spar with him right now to test it, though."
"I don't need to. I'm confident I'm stronger."
O Eun-rim forced a smile.
"Well, that's not something I can verify... Anyway, if it's true, that's impressive. Once Invincible BB Bullet the Great Hero gets out, that'll mean two peerless masters under one roof? The martial artists will all freak out..."
"Truth be told, Invincible BB Bullet isn't a true peerless master."
"Hey, can you trash-talk your own teacher like that?"
"It's the truth."
As O Eun-rim looked dumbfounded, Yi Pung burst into laughter. Then he spoke up.
"Anyway, miss, now that we've had a little spar, could you put in a good word for us when you get back home?"
"A good word?"
"Spread the word that Invincible BB Bullet's disciple has emerged into the world. This guy's eager to make a name in the martial world, but he hasn't had a chance to show his skills or build any connections, so he can't just yet."
"So Master Yi here isn't even a full-fledged martial artist yet?"
"Nope. And you know how Invincible BB Bullet was kind of a loner? Instead of introducing his disciple to people from childhood and building networks, he just focused on training."
O Eun-rim agreed to pass the message along, and Yi Pung was satisfied.
A moment later, Yi Pung stopped laughing and turned serious as he said to Yi Do-hyeok,
"Do-hyeok? Time to put on a serious face."
"Huh?"
"We're about to head out. We have to act like we fought each other here. That way, the young miss can claim her tribute from those punks for standing up for them. Hmm, should I even fake an injury? We've got bandages and everything right here."
O Eun-rim recoiled in horror.
"No way. Then it'd look like I came to Invincible BB Bullet the Great Hero's clinic and caused a ruckus. What if word gets out?"
"Ah, my bad, I didn't think that through. Sorry. Let's just do it with expressions, then. Alright, no more smiling—everyone look serious..."
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The men watched the acupuncture clinic where the four had entered, letting their imaginations run wild. One nosy guy who loved gossiping spoke up.
"I hear martial artists' fights aren't open to civilians. They don't want their techniques leaking out."
"So they brawl in secret spots like that?"
"Yep."
Whatever the martial artists' reasons, the gap-toothed man was frustrated at not being able to watch the fight.
Who won? And what would happen to their side now?
They found out twenty minutes after the group went inside.
The four emerged with hardened expressions. They seemed to harbor hatred for each other now, avoiding eye contact entirely.
At least they all looked unharmed, but none of the men had the guts to ask what happened.
They were just terrified that their organization would have to double the tribute due this month—and that they'd be blamed as the cause.
Young Mistress O Eun-rim of the O Family Manor spoke.
"You lot? Go home."
"Y-Yes? Yes, ma'am..."
The men obeyed instantly.
With the three men gone, only eleven people remained.
O Eun-rim eyed the three bound thugs lying there. The one who'd fired the gun and his cronies.
"Guys? Search these idiots."
Her escorts rummaged through the men's pockets. Out came philopon, cocaine, and another pistol.
Two guns in total.
"What the hell with these bastards..."
As Yi Pung gasped in shock, O Eun-rim asked,
"How much did these cost you?"
Her tone was gentle, but her voice carried a subtle low-frequency menace—what martial artists called killing intent.
The thugs trembled before answering.
"Nine hundred thousand won..."
"Nine hundred thousand?"
O Eun-rim raised one eyebrow. She glanced at the two confiscated pistols.
Colt knockoffs. No serial numbers—they looked like Ming Chinese copies.
Nine hundred thousand for fakes was a rip-off, of course, but smuggling labor wasn't cheap.
The harder an item was to smuggle, the pricier it got. Considering that, nine hundred thousand for illegal guns was practically a steal.
"Damn, at that price, no wonder any thug's walking around armed."
O Eun-rim clicked her tongue. Yi Pung asked,
"Are there really that many guys packing heat these days?"
O Eun-rim replied,
"Enough that you gotta watch out. All sorts of crazies are carrying now. That's why I don't go anywhere without four bodyguards."
She explained that several martial artists had actually been shot dead. Even some experts among them.
Now, high-value masters traveled with three or four bodyguards to take the bullets instead. One more reason to crack down on illegal arms dealers ASAP.
"Right, you're taking these guys back to the O Family Manor?"
At Yi Pung's question, O Eun-rim nodded.
"Yes. We'll gladly take them off your hands. Guys, any ID on these punks?"
One of her escorts answered,
"Yeah, they're all wanted. Looks like drug dealers."
The silent Heo Pung-gae finally spoke.
"These guys are wanted?"
"Uh? Yeah."
"Then this counts as guiding evildoers to justice."
"Guiding evildoers? Well, yeah..."
Only then did Heo Pung-gae smile.
Yi Pung grinned and casually brought it up.
"Hey, miss? I hear there's a reward for catching these types..."
O Eun-rim wasn't stingy. As Young Mistress, she had plenty of authority.
"Their organization'll probably cough up about ten million won for my call-out fee... I'll split half with you upfront. That work?"
"Perfect, thanks."
As Yi Pung lit up, O Eun-rim smiled faintly. She pulled a wooden box from her bag and offered it to Heo Pung-gae.
"And this is a gift. If you'd accept it..."
The box was labeled Azure Harmony Pill.
An elixir—a spiritual medicine. Yi Pung's eyes widened in recognition.
"Isn't this worth over forty million won? You can just hand it over?"
"Of course not casually, but I brought it for myself originally. Better it goes to fostering ties with a new peerless master like you than just turning into my waste..."
She watched Heo Pung-gae's face closely. Would the gift work?
It did. Spectacularly. The man, who had been stoically expressionless save for that one smile earlier, now showed genuine joy.
His master Invincible BB Bullet loved elixir gifts, it seemed—and so did the disciple.
As O Eun-rim marveled, Heo Pung-gae smiled awkwardly and said,
"Thank you. Sincerely."
"No, no... Anyway, it was a memorable time. Shame to part like this. How about a modest reception to get better acquainted?"
She didn't expect refusal. The mood was perfect.
But at the word "reception," Heo Pung-gae's face stiffened. O Eun-rim panicked.
Yi Pung twitched an eyebrow and asked,
"Reception?"
"Is there a problem...?"
"You know Invincible BB Bullet was tough to entertain, right?"
"Of course. The O Family Manor admires him so—we wanted to host him but never could. So I'd love to treat his disciple instead."
"This guy's the same. Hard to entertain."
O Eun-rim got it immediately. Invincible BB Bullet's quirks were infamous in the martial world.
"Don't tell me this brother's mastered the Virgin Boy Skill too?"
"Yep. So no nightlife entertaining, period."
"Avoiding Grains as well?"
"Spot on. Even this morning, he had some weird porridge. Not the tasty stuff from a place like Bonjuk—the kind that'd get you sued for human rights violations if you fed it to POWs. So even a single meal's off the table."
"Uh... that's a shame..."
Her face screamed, Another weirdo, but Heo Pung-gae ignored it.
He was just glad she wouldn't force that kind of "entertainment" on him.
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After O Eun-rim and her escorts left, Yi Pung gathered his staff and ordered a mountain of delivery food. Then he bellowed heartily,
"You remember that new guy from yesterday? Made us money in two days flat! Party time!"
It was a welcome bash to keep the rolling stone from grating. Yi Pung even pulled out his wallet.
"This is your pocket money too..."
"Thank you, thank you!"
The staff grinned ear to ear—all but one with a stiff face.
Yi Do-hyeok cautiously spoke up.
"Boss?"
"Yeah?"
"Isn't this a celebration for making money thanks to that guy?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Then why isn't he here...?"
Only four were present: Yi Pung and three staff.
Heo Pung-gae had skipped the party.
Yi Pung didn't get offended at the point-out. He just laughed.
"If I invited him here, he'd scowl and hate it?"
"Still..."
"I know Invincible BB Bullet well from traveling with him. Drag him to a party against his will, and he'd genuinely hate it. 'You want me to watch you pigs gorge on good food?'—he'd curse like that. Eventually, I stopped even inviting him out of courtesy. He liked not wasting time more."
"Come to think of it, he said he can't eat anything because of Avoiding Grains or whatever."
"Can't even touch rice or kimchi? Rice counts as grains... Avoiding Grains means no five grains. Kimchi's out because of the five pungent spices—garlic's in there. Meat and fish go without saying."
Everyone gasped.
"So what can he eat?"
"Porridge mixed with pine resin, perilla seeds, sesame... stuff that doesn't look human food. I tried it myself back when I was training—puked my guts out, got malnourished, ended up in the hospital.
Seems pointless to me. Emperor Wanli gorged on greasy food, banged palace girls, and did all sorts—still ascended just fine, right?"
"But that's why he became an expert, no?"
"Maybe."
Yi Pung conceded easily, then added,
"But do you gotta go that far to be an expert? Can't eat good food, can't get laid? Where's the joy in life? Why bother training like that, or having money at all? Beats me..."
Rain pattered outside. Yi Pung frowned.
"Bad weather. Thunder incoming. Guys? Unplug everything quick. This building's from the colonial era—lightning fries all our electronics."
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