SHMBM 20

Chapter 20

“Uh…?”

It was that big guy from earlier. Why was he here?

I was puzzled, but I didn’t let my guard down. He was someone I needed to keep an eye on.

The man, who had been staring at me silently, twitched the corner of his mouth.

“Kid. Do you know where the latrine is?”

“The latrine?”

“…I went out looking for it, but this place is so big I lost my way. Could you show me the way?”

On the surface, his tone was polite enough. But his eyes were insolent, his manner—though not overtly rude—was awkward, and his expression gave away nothing of his true intent.

‘He’s the one asking a favor, so punching him right away would be… troublesome.’

There wasn’t anything I could directly fault him for. The parts that bothered me were small details, and according to what Sehwa had taught me about human etiquette, his behavior wasn’t improper enough to call out.

Normally, I’d just bite his neck and be done with it, but… if I did that, Sehwa would have a hard time explaining things later. So, I should probably just help him for now… right?

His expression was strange, but he didn’t withdraw his request. So, I stood up and dusted off my backside.

“Fine. I’ll show you.”

Actually, that worked out better. A suspicious guy like this should be kept away from the weak humans in Cheonwolru.

Thinking that, I quickened my steps with the big man following behind.

Ugh, this body is so small. No—most of my inner energy is gone…

‘Still, my qi has recovered a little—enough to keep a human form for about an hour.’

But I didn’t have the leisure to fight a human comfortably. I needed to finish this favor quickly and return to my tiger form to feel at ease. The latrine wasn’t far, so I’d just handle this fast.

Muttering internally, I spotted the latrine in view, turned around, and said to the man:

“The latrine is that wa—”

The next moment, I instinctively jumped back as his hand lunged toward me. A glint flashed in his eyes.

“Oh? I thought you were just some clueless little girl.”

Ah, so that’s what you thought?

Suspicious from the start, and now he’s openly showing his true colors?

‘This place was carefully prepared by the fox for me. I have to protect it.’

Besides, Sehwa’s quarters weren’t far from here. She’s been looking after me so sincerely—I should repay that in kind.

With that thought, I kicked off the ground and lunged at him.

“—?!”

He clearly hadn’t expected that, his eyes widening. Still, the way he raised his guard showed he wasn’t inexperienced.

But he’d overlooked one thing.

“Ghh—!”

I was small—much smaller than an adult human.

A man who’d reach for a child like that had probably never fought a fair fight against one.

There was a sharp crack as his shin bent at a grotesque angle.

“Graaagh!”

He managed not to scream, but veins bulged across his forehead.

He barely kept from collapsing by bracing on his sword, but—

‘That’s as far as you go.’

I immediately kicked his sword with a qi-infused strike. The blade went flying before he could react, throwing him off balance.

He staggered, trying to regain his footing—he had passed through Cheonwolru’s gate, after all—but—

“Khuk!”

“To reach for a little girl… you must be rotten to the core.”

I neatly snapped the arm that held his sword.

His look of disbelief was almost comical—but hey, tell me I’m wrong.

“Y-you little brat—!”

“Yeah, I’m a brat. But what about you? What kind of grown man does this?”

I kicked his fallen sword even farther away and pressed my qi-charged foot down on his left hand.

“Ggggghh—!”

“Trying to kidnap a little girl right after showing up? Bad man. You need a beating to come to your senses.”

“Who the hell are you?! Whose child are you, to—!”

Whose child? …I hadn’t really decided that.

“Hmm… Bad Mister, I’ll beat you until you’re crying snot and tears.”

His face twisted in disbelief, but I didn’t care.

Figuring out his feelings was less important than finding out why he was doing this.

“Mister, why are you doing something like this?”

As expected, he kept his mouth shut. I’d anticipated that.

“If you don’t talk, I’ll just keep going until you do.”

There’s a simple rule that applies to both humans and beasts alike—

No one wins against strength.

Let’s see how long a guy with a broken arm and leg can last.

‘Might as well test how sturdy a martial artist really is.’

As I clenched and unclenched my tiny fist, his eyes flickered with fear—but I ignored it.

“The faster you talk, the less you’ll hurt.”

So hurry up and confess.

Whether it was pride or stubbornness, the man held out for quite a while.

Maybe he thought, What could a little kid possibly do? I could see the scorn in his eyes.

That look just made me stomp harder.

How dare you look down on me, you fool. I know exactly how to make this hurt.

I took out all my irritation—both from his wicked act and from my small, limited body. There was no need to hold back against a scoundrel like this.

Finally, he surrendered—right around the time I expected him to.

“Sp-spar… spare me!!”

He screamed the words with his teeth barely intact. I released my grip on his hair.

“Now do you feel like talking?”

He nodded violently, his face a bruised rainbow of colors.

I may have gone a little too hard—he lost a few teeth—but he should still be able to eat.

As I brushed the footprints off his back, I waited for his answer.

He started spilling everything he knew. His voice came out wheezy and broken, but I understood the gist.

“So… someone named Ma Baek hired you to do this? Because he couldn’t stand losing to the tiger cub and not getting to see Sehwa again?”

He nodded, and I was speechless.

Seriously? That guy wasn’t even a real martial artist—no pride, no shame. Couldn’t do it himself, so he hired someone?

“And you’re part of the Amhonhoe (Dark Soul Society)? You were supposed to kidnap me to lure Sehwa out?”

“Y-yes, that’s… correct…”

“And the plan was to tell her, ‘If you want the child back, bring the tiger cub and 5,000 gold taels’?”

The more I listened, the more ridiculous it sounded.

“That Dark Soul Society sure is pathetic—getting beaten by a kid.”

Tsk, tsk. At this rate, they’ll starve to death soon.

He glared at me furiously, but I ignored the loser’s tantrum.

“Where’s your base?”

“T-that’s…”

He shut his mouth.

Whether it was conscience or some kind of guild code, he refused to reveal the location.

But that was fine. The solution was simple.

“You’re not going to talk? Then I’ll do as I please until you do.”

His eyes began to shake violently. I stuffed a wad of cloth into his mouth.

If he talks, it’ll be when I allow it. And I couldn’t let him get too loud—Sehwa might come running.

‘She’d faint if she saw something like this.’

Fragile humans must be protected. Sehwa had treated me so well, after all.

Meeting his terrified gaze, I smiled brightly.

“Want another beating, Bad Mister?”

So take it.

Soon, his muffled screams echoed weakly through the air.

Two hours later, he finally spilled everything—locations, names, the works.

When he started babbling uselessly, begging for his life, I grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground until he passed out.

Honestly, I didn’t even need him to talk. I could just track his scent.

‘Still… I was pissed.’

How come the moment the fox leaves, scum like this shows up?

Sehwa’s practically defenseless. And that Ma Baek guy—so he does have an eye for things.

“To think he’d try to kidnap a human favored by a divine beast.”

And he dared to lust after my human? Despicable.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I gave the unconscious man one last whack on the head before standing up.

Not just one man, but a whole group trying to kidnap a child and lure out a woman?

They were all going to get a proper beating.