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Chapter 21
Ma Baek waited for the hired man to return, his heart full of anticipation.
The man he’d hired through the Dark Soul Society was rather arrogant, but his work was solid. That was why Ma Baek could overlook that arrogance with a smile.
Judging by his past performance, he should undoubtedly be bringing Sehwa back.
Of course, Ma Baek had brought in some unnecessary people for this plan, but they were insurance.
If by any chance something went wrong, they were the ones who’d take the blame.
From the start, Ma Baek had no intention of keeping his promise to share Sehwa with the others.
According to the Dark Soul Society’s plan, those men were to serve as bait. Of course, they had no idea they were being used.
Originally, he had planned to simply buy Sehwa from Cheonwolru and take her as a concubine.
Had the madam of the house not rejected him outright—saying that the women of Cheonwolru were not bought or sold—he wouldn’t have needed to go through such trouble. Ridiculous. It was a pleasure house, yet they didn’t hang red lanterns and didn’t sell a woman’s smile or body.
No matter how lofty they pretended to be, it didn’t change the fact they were still a brothel, yet the madam acted high and mighty. That irked him.
Ma Baek tried to think positively. If he had the skill to enter Cheonwolru fair and square, wouldn’t Sehwa see him in a new light?
Under the original plan, that would have been the case—if not for that damned cub of a tiger from who-knows-where that ruined everything and forced him into such a disgraceful retreat.
I spent a fortune hiring the Dark Soul Society. I will make Sehwa mine.
The greater the investment, the greater the return. And Ma Baek never intended to share Sehwa with those lowlifes.
They were merely bait—tools. He was far more capable than fools who carried only a sword yet acted superior—so why should he lower himself to their level?
Someone as beautiful and exceptional as Sehwa should be possessed by someone deserving. Ma Baek believed he was perfectly qualified to be her husband and master.
“If she eats this, Sehwa will act exactly as I want…”
He snickered as he looked at the pill in his hand. If not for this pill, he wouldn’t have bothered hiring the Dark Soul Society. He had plenty of strong men in his own household.
But if there was a good tool, one ought to use it. A medicine that suppresses a woman’s reason, seizes her body, and ultimately turns both body and mind into submission—how could he not use it?
Truly, it was a dreamlike pill.
If it hadn’t been guaranteed by the Society’s agent, Ma Baek would have laughed and thrown it on the floor.
That was how much he trusted the man. The man didn’t even give his name and acted arrogant enough to tell him to call him whatever he pleased, but his skill was enough to justify that arrogance.
“But why is he so late?”
In Ma Baek’s mind, the future with Sehwa was already unfolding.
If he were to tell anyone passing by, they’d laugh at his delusions—but Ma Baek grinned foolishly.
Even though the Society’s agent hadn’t returned yet, his fantasies had already reached artistic levels.
Knock, knock—
Just then, he heard a light tap on the door.
“Back already? Come in!”
The knocking was too light, but Ma Baek rose, delighted.
This was the hideout he’d prepared.
Ever since the incident with that damned tiger cub, he had needed a hideout to plan this job.
He was annoyingly meticulous in unnecessary areas.
The door opened—but the person standing outside was not the man he’d been expecting.
“What? A brat?”
His expression twisted.
“Get lost. I’ve got nothing for a little beggar!”
Even at his harsh words, the child didn’t flinch. Feeling something was off, Ma Baek narrowed his eyes.
Wait a moment… Too clean for a beggar.
And the features—sharp and well-formed. The child would grow into a stunning beauty.
Looking the child up and down like merchandise, Ma Baek snorted.
Still just a kid. And a nuisance besides.
“Why aren’t you leaving?!”
The child’s lips parted.
“A big man with a big blade sent me. You really want me to just leave?”
Ma Baek paused.
“What? That guy sent you? Strange. Why would he send a child? And you don’t even talk like a kid… Where did you learn to speak like that?”
“He said it would take a bit more time.”
“Useless bastard! It should be an easy job—why is it taking longer?!”
Ma Baek cursed without thinking of his own failures.
The child, watching calmly, spoke again.
“He said he entered Cheonwolru. And that he had something to give you. He asked me to deliver it.”
“Something to give me?”
“He said you’d be pleased.”
“That so? Then come in and give it to me already!”
For someone talking to a child, his tone was rough, yet the child neither cried nor looked frightened.
Instead, as if waiting for that cue, the child stepped inside and closed the door.
And the air changed.
The atmosphere turned crushingly heavy in an instant, and Ma Baek froze out of reflex.
“H-Huh?”
“You’re a bad man. Treating a little kid so meanly.”
His gaze snapped to the child at the strangely light, childish voice that didn’t match the situation.
The child was smiling.
But the eyes were ice-cold.
“And on top of that, you dare covet the one who serves me, causing all this trouble.”
A child—and yet not a child.
Terrified, Ma Baek stumbled backward.
“Y-You! Who are you?!”
He drew his sword and pointed it at the child. Anyone watching would mock him for threatening a child with a weapon.
But Ma Baek was desperate.
The pressure in the air.
The mature, unnatural tone.
The predator-like gaze.
All of it came from the child.
His instincts screamed—
Run. If you want to live, run without looking back.
His mind argued—
It’s just a girl not even ten years old. Maybe you’ve been waiting too long and your senses are off?
The two thoughts clashed violently.
And the child smiled.
“Impudent worm.”
A flash of brilliant yellow glimmered in the child’s eyes.
The next moment, Ma Baek’s vision spun—and turned upside down.
“…Huh?”
A beat later—blistering agony surged through him.
“Aaaarghhhh!”
“Your bones aren’t broken.”
The child casually tossed away the sword Ma Baek had been holding.
The weapon clattered as it embedded into the wall.
Clutching his agonized right leg, Ma Baek rolled on the ground—until a sudden blow struck his chest.
“Gah!”
Unable to breathe, wheezing painfully, he looked up as the child spoke.
“I am very displeased. You reek of something you should not.”
The child grabbed his hair. Far too strong for a child.
Eyes widening in terror, he heard the child ask:
“Answer. Where did you get that pill?”
Following the scent made finding the hideout easy.
That big guy wasn’t lying, huh.
If he had lied after I stomped him like that, I would’ve praised him—before stomping him again.
Up until opening the door, my mood wasn’t bad…
Why does the Blood Sect’s scent linger here?
I personally moved to protect Sehwa and watch over the fox’s little game—and now I stumble upon something both unpleasant and welcome.
With that sentiment, I stomped Ma Baek.
A shame he was far too weak for his size.
“S-Stop! Stop!!”
“You’re in no position to command, you know?”
I poked him in the eye like he was disgusting. The reaction was priceless.
And that was barely a tap. What a drama queen—at emperor level.
“Show some backbone, will you?”
After slapping his back a few times, he finally quieted down.
“So, I’ll ask again—where did you get this?”
“T-That…”
“If you don’t answer, you’ll get hit again—”
“The Dark Soul Society! They gave it to me!!”
Gods, my ears.
I stuck a finger in my ear and smacked him in the mouth.
“You’re too loud.”
He only groaned pitifully. I pulled out the pill from my pocket.
Yep. Blood Sect scent.
No doubt about it—the smell of a pill made by the Blood Sect.
Guess I should go stomp that big guy some more while interrogating him.
Still, in that state he couldn’t go anywhere. I’d already turned him into more of a rag than the cleaning cloths at Cheonwolru.
Watching the sniffling wreck in the corner, I sighed.
Knock him out and search the room more thoroughly.
There might be more clues related to the Blood Sect.
The sniffles were annoying, so I knocked him out cold with a heavy slap to the back of the head.
He collapsed without a sound, and I shoved him into a corner.
The human world has too many overlapping smells…
And this guy—he’d been here so long his stench filled every corner.
Grinding my teeth in frustration at the overwhelming mix of emotions, I shifted back into tiger form. Maintaining human form while agitated wasted inner energy, and tigers had far sharper senses anyway.
I’d locate the source of the scents as a tiger, then switch back to the child form to search.
I was about to move when I heard noise.
Shouting—mixed with someone calling Ma Baek’s name.
His useless accomplices?
I identified how many by scent, then braced my legs.
…Better clear them out first so my investigation isn’t interrupted.
