I Am This Murim’s Crazy B*tch

Qing was seriously hurt.

Truth be told, if it weren’t for her Blood Poison Body, she would have already kicked the bucket.

If luck was on her side, she might open her eyes back in her hometown, or maybe embark on a new adventure in the Middle-West, continuing the ragtag legend of a beggar from the West.

But who could say for sure?

Anyway, a body that doesn’t get infected is this tough and resilient.

But that’s about it.

Thanks to the benefits of Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, aside from the ridiculously tough part below her elbow, there wasn’t a single intact spot on her body.

First things first, a big injury.

From her shoulder to the opposite knee.

Naturally, one of her triceps got chopped off, and guess what? It was that same head again from last time.

According to Tang Nan-ah’s evaluation.

“Still, you should be thankful that part didn’t get cut off. If it had been a bit bigger or if it was hit even half a chon higher, one side would have just ended up being decorative, you know?”

“Anyway, it wasn’t like I’ve been hearing only useless stuff about triceps. Hmm. But Nan-ah, shoulder to thigh like that. Wouldn’t it look cool as a scar? Should I not treat it and leave it? Like a battle-hardened veteran who has just returned from the brink of death…”

Tang Nan-ah’s fist was shaking.

She had never felt so wronged about her own low skill level before; with no place to hit her body, all that was left was to hurt her own fist.

Is this what it felt like to have come back from the dead? It was frustrating beyond words.

After hastily getting out of the Blood Demon Sect Manor, she settled into the medical quarters, making sure to keep watch for four days.

Enduring three long nights of groans, she finally opened her eyes to hear what was left to be said.

By the way, when she managed to slip out of the Blood Demon Sect and join the military, the sound of drums and thousands of cannons was nothing but a lie.

How could troops travel all the way from Suzhou to Hangzhou overnight, let alone finish the cannon barrage in between?

Troops are people on foot.

Unlike the Mongolian barbarians galloping around on horseback, Commander Wang Sang-ryong came charging on his steed alone.

First, he was to raid the Sky Lantern Office in Hangzhou and completely confiscate all the drums that surrounded the Blood Demon Sect Manor.

First, he would strike the drums to stop the fighting, then ensure the safety of Mama.

When Qing heard this, she couldn’t help but think the Great General was indeed a great one.

An impressive facade!

Of course, she heard that whether or not Wang Sang-ryong was coming, the searchers for the Demonic Arts could have escaped easily with those Blood Ghouls around.

Still, Wang Sang-ryong did his part splendidly.

It wasn’t like he chased right into the Blood Demon Sect Manor or anything, but hadn’t the treacherous fellows spread throughout Hangzhou?

It was thanks to Wang Sang-ryong and the troops stationed around that conditions were created for safe treatment.

“Hmm. General.”

Hey, a person can go out for a late-night stroll, right?

But some gossiping busybody had to watch and report on it.

But in the end, considering the Realm of Transformation was captured, can’t we just promote the general again?

As Qing pondered the removal of the traitor Wang Sang-ryong’s punishment.

Right at that moment.

Boom!

A thunderous sound roared.

It was like thunder striking, the earth tearing apart, or mountains crumbling—it was a deafening roar!

Upon hearing it, Qing’s expression stiffened.

But Tang Nan-ah didn’t seem surprised at all.

Instead, she calmly responded as if it was expected.

“Ah, Qing, are you hungry? They did give you porridge, but you’ve been lying down for quite a while.”

“I-I feel like I’m dying. Rice, something meaty, sweet and salty meat, braised ribs. And maybe just some simple beef, pork, chicken, and duck. Fish is fine.”

Tang Nan-ah chuckled.

“What’s with you? After a long spell of starvation, now you want greasy food? Hmm, perhaps fish is the best option. How about some fish porridge?”

“No, meat, meat…”

“Ugh. Just wait a little.”

Tang Nan-ah headed out of the room.

Through the screen put up to protect her bedside, there was the sound of a door creaking open and then the door closing again.

-By the way, how is the Young Lady?

-Is Qing doing okay? Seems she’s regained consciousness.

-The elder sister is…

-Still unconscious. She needs rest for now, so everyone, please don’t crowd around like this, okay?

Looks like everyone’s gathered outside.

But wait, was I truly unconscious?

That, something. It was like those kinds of scenes.

I was mistakenly under the impression I was speaking from a spiritual state, and Nan-ah was just venting while I lay there in my unconscious flesh, right?

-No lie. I could hear everything you said.

-What? You want me to give you acupuncture? It seems you’re hearing things now, huh? I could just stick a needle right in your ear. That ought to clear things up.

-No, no! Liar, liars should get their tongues cut out!

-What? Did you just say everything you wanted?

-You’re so ignorant. I’m all done here.

-What? You’re calling me ignorant?

Tang Nan-ah mentioned the punishment of tongue-cutting.

It’s a punishment for those who slander or claim that others have wronged them; you could pay off the penalty with two gold coins.

Generally speaking, except for revolts, penalties in the Central Plains could typically be substituted with silver or gold.

Anyway, I heard them trying to concoct an excuse to prevent Nan-ah from seeing me.

Well, to be fair, as far as patient recovery goes, doing nothing or sleeping is the best, so they must have had their worries, but still…

I wanted to see their faces.

I needed to check if there were any missing pieces.

So, Qing took a deep breath and—

“Hey, guys—!”

But calling out felt incredibly painful; after all, yelling puts pressure on the chest and creates discomfort.

Suddenly, there was the sound of the door being flung open, and in rushed familiar faces.

“Young Lady Seomun!” “Young Lady!”

The first to dart in was Gunyongi and Mo Yong, collapsing onto the bed, while Ye quietly stood by, exchanging careful glances with an obviously displeased Tang Nan-ah.

Sang-in and Je-gal stood at a distance, observing when suddenly, a certain ruffian burst through, shoving the women aside and crashing down onto the bed.

“Swordmaster! Swordmaster! What the heck is that!? That’s it, the Second Stance of the Unyielding Sword! Is it the sword style left behind by the Great Master Mucheondae? What’s its name? What intention does it hold? In my life! Such a—no! Such a beautiful sword! What in the world is that?! I’m so curious, is that even a thing?!”

Namgoong Shin-jae, who had been loudly shouting, gradually started to slur his words and his focus started to fade.

He leaned to the side, and as he tilted, Seoliri, who had been subtly furrowing her brows, stepped aside decisively.

Crash, down goes Namgoong Shin-jae.

With a needle jabbing abruptly into the back of his neck.

Behind him was Tang Nan-ah, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“Ah, I’m trying to have some patient recovery time here. Can’t you at least show basic etiquette when you come visiting?”

“Wh-what’s with these…”

Even after he was poisoned, Namgoong Shin-jae stubbornly inquired about the technique’s name.

Everyone then looked down at him with expressions as if they had just stumbled upon some kind of food waste or poop.

“Young Lady Seomun—” “Young Lady—” “Hey, Qing—”

Words came pouring out all at once.

They turned to each other, eyes meeting and seemingly reaching some unspoken agreement.

“Qing—” “Seomun—” “Young Lady—” “You okay—”

Hmm. It seems the agreement fell through.

But what would they even ask, really?

Whether I was okay, if it hurt or not—whatever was on their minds; Qing had prepped her reply.

“I’m fine, there’s hardly a sore spot on me, though it’s not like I’m not hurting; it’s bearable, really. My True Energy is a bit drained, but it’ll heal with time. And since my wounds aren’t festering, I just need some good rest, and I’ll be right as rain, so you don’t need to worry.”

Seeing her companions visibly relaxing at her words, Qing decided to elaborate.

“Oh, but to be honest, my chest does feel a bit, no, a lot heavy right now, and I got something bigger to address—”

Instantly, everyone’s expressions turned grave as they all focused intently on her.

Then, Qing grinned.

With a smirk that could drive anyone mad.

“I’ve entered the Realm of Transformation.”

Though Tang Nan-ah had sort of pieced it together by observing the first flower blooming behind her back, the rest were too absorbed in their own struggles that they barely registered anything.

Just as they were about to exclaim congratulations, Qing jumped the gun.

“Ah, you don’t know what the Realm of Transformation is, do you? The term is a short form for the Harmony Realm, you see? Is it a concept of mind empowerment? From here on, my will is the law, the true martial artist’s domain that administers the laws of the world. Can you even imagine all the things I can do now? Of course, you can’t. How could you possibly understand when you aren’t even in the Realm of Transformation?”

Everyone’s expressions turned sour.

Save for one person who was knocked out cold.

“Ugh, wow! That’s wild!”

The crushed words were still filled with praise, it seemed.

Qing offered a sweet smile to her friends who looked at her with disbelief.

“Oh. Of course, I’m a world-class master while you guys are merely peak martial artists, but still, you will always be my precious friends, and as members of our Double Sword Society, you deserve my respect. What do I say… ah, right, I’m not one for elitism. No matter the skill level difference, we’re friends.”

And with that, she flaunted her silliness and suddenly burst into laughter, only to be cut off by a painful gasp. Overwhelmed by the twinge of pain, she quickly began to chuckle again followed by another groan.

Everyone’s eyes went cold, taking in the spectacle she had put on.

Either laugh or suffer, just pick one thing.

If it were up to them, they’d want to punch her in the face, but with her wrapped up like a mummy, it was impossible to lay a hand on her.

Regardless, Qing was absolutely thrilled.

Having just reached the Realm of Transformation, how could she not be happy?

—-

It’s not like Qing being annoying is something new.

Thinking back, even when she reached the peak martial artist level, she spent days showboating, bragging about how she had all these abilities you didn’t even have at home.

“Ah! Is it a bit dark? Ta-da! Sparkly sparkly.”

Tiny orbs of Qi floated above Qing’s head and shoulders, scattering a faint light.

Qi orb, symbolic of a martial artist in the Realm of Transformation.

Honestly, the power of these Qi orbs was rather pathetic, yet the process of expelling True Energy into the air and coalescing it into orbs was a daunting task that required immense focus and energy to pull off.

It was far more effective to just toss True Energy at something.

So, Qi orbs could be used by anyone at the Realm of Transformation, but they weren’t generally seen in actual battle.

Usually, they were displayed before a fight, serving as a silent threat: “Get a load of this, I’m in the Realm of Transformation, so you better watch out.”

If you were to use it strategically, it might just be to create a visual distraction when you didn’t have anything in hand to throw.

So, everyone just figured they’d let her enjoy herself since she seemed so excited.

In fact, who wouldn’t be excited?

Qing was precisely at a special age.

A special age refers to women around twenty years old.

So, she was exactly at the age of twenty.

Thus, this year, she was twenty-one.

At twenty-one, having reached the Realm of Transformation?

To have achieved peak martial artist status at such a young age was an unparalleled record in the martial world; twenty-one?

What state could be surpassed in a mere year and a bit, considering it’s already well into autumn?

Honestly, it was unbelievable.

Twenty-one and in the Realm of Transformation?

How could anyone believe that?

Even if verified through the Qi orbs that she produced, they’d still be like, “Oh, she must have pulled off a trick to make it look like she produced those.”

That one move she showed, supposedly a technique left behind by the Great Master Mucheondae, the majestic moment she claimed she had witnessed, she wouldn’t have believed it had she not seen it herself.

But now that she had witnessed the world turn on its head, hmm. Is that for real?

When she reached her peak, she had filled the world around her with hundreds of thousands of Qi orbs.

The notion that she might pull off such a feat if she were to risk her life would seem reasonable.

But still, the group knew Qing well.

She often tossed around nonsense, and accurately, half of the stuff that came out of her mouth was meaningless drivel.

Yet, she never really lied through her teeth, so if she said she had reached the Realm of Transformation, it wasn’t a lie, nor would there be any reason for falsehood.

So, yes, the world truly seems unfair.

For the record, hearing someone complain about fairness, especially when they were blessed with lineage like the Five Great Families and the Ten Great Clans, not to mention the Miss of the Ice Palace, would certainly evoke overwhelming disbelief.

(Although Seoliri might have every right to feel wronged.)

“How’s it? Is it brighter now? Still dark? Aww, can’t be helped. This incredibly talented martial artist, the exceptional master of the Harmony Realm, Zhou Huage, offers her gratitude.”

A gigantic bun slipped into Qing’s mouth.

“Stop talking and just eat quietly.”

“Mmm, this is so good.”

But Qing didn’t forget to mention the five characters ‘Zhou Huage’ all the way to the end.

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