Chapter 228: Even Vagabonds Have Their Own Code Of Honor. (1) |
Surprisingly, the Central Plains have long had a tradition of sitting upright. They sleep on beds and sit on chairs when sitting.
The lotus position that martial artists take is different from what is commonly called cross-legged sitting in Qing’s homeland. It’s closer to an acrobatic feat where both feet rest on top of the opposite thigh.
In short, it’s a terribly uncomfortable position, and if you ask why they take such a posture, it’s actually an ascetic practice to avoid dozing off during meditation.
The lotus position originally came from Buddhism, and the foundation of ancient Buddhism lies in self-harm.
So for the martial artists in the Hyeonkaekdang, the lotus position is uncomfortable but not impossible.
Although they’re unaffiliated, or vagabond, they’re not completely rootless wanderers without any internal cultivation. They’ve made names for themselves as righteous heroes in their regions, passing the Murim Alliance’s strict character screening.
Thanks to this, only Dao Laiman lying on the floor was uncomfortable.
“Miss Ximen? Can’t I just sit up too?”
“Come on. Lie down comfortably. Comfortably. Hero Dao should receive special treatment.”
Almost all the unaffiliated martial artists in the Hyeonkaekdang were sitting in lotus position in the room, with only Dao Laiman lying on the floor among them.
This isn’t special treatment, but special harassment, isn’t it? It seems like she’s holding a grudge for daring to give her an evil pill made with blood essence.
“So every single one of you took the Temporary Indulgence Pills. Hmm. What’s done is done.”
At this, the unaffiliated martial artists avoided her gaze.
Qing continued:
“We’ll dispose of the human pills after holding a memorial service. Come on. Take them out. And maybe tell me what the guy who gave you the pills looked like, starting with his appearance-“
“This isn’t right. Miss, who are you to talk about collecting and whatnot?”
“Huh?”
Qing looked at the martial artist who stood up indignantly.
It was Hero Wang Nopil who uses a chair as a weapon.
“What? So you’re going to keep taking pills made by grinding people?”
At this, Wang Nopil hesitated for a moment.
“Aren’t they already made? It’s unfortunate for the sacrificed victims, but wouldn’t they rather have someone use them than be discarded meaninglessly?”
What kind of logic is this?
Qing got irritated.
“What grand, righteous deed did you do to talk about meaning? What are you so proud of, shouting brazenly about taking it before the martial arts competition? Did you really think suspiciously bright red Temporary Indulgence Pills given by a shady guy were proper items?”
“That’s…”
“Everyone, speak up. Don’t give me that nonsense about trusting it because the Divine Thief gave it. Did the guy claiming to be the Divine Thief show some government-issued Divine Thief certification? Aren’t you all gathered here obediently in uncomfortable positions because you have something to feel guilty about? Ah. Hero Dao, keep lying down. Come on, I said stay comfortable.”
At this, the martial artists avoided her gaze, and the pitiful Dao Laiman tried to get up awkwardly but lay back down uncomfortably.
By Qing’s rough calculation, their evil karma had increased by about 30 points per pill.
But is it not a sin because they didn’t know what they were eating?
No one secretly fed it to them while they were sleeping or threatened them at knifepoint to eat it or die.
From what Nanah said, the bright red pill itself is ominous and should be avoided, but they gleefully ate what an unknown person eagerly handed them.
Originally Divine Thief? The Divine Thief was just an excuse, they probably just wanted to believe it was a good medicine given by the Divine Thief out of greed to perform well in the martial arts competition.
Is the source suspicious? It’s suspicious.
Is the medicine suspicious? It’s suspicious.
Is the use honorable? It’s not honorable.
So even if their evil karma increases, they have nothing to say.
At this, Wang Nopil shouted angrily:
“Miss, you don’t understand! You grew up nicely, eating elixirs and learning divine arts from a young age, how could you understand our feelings! You absolutely don’t know what this martial arts competition means to us vagabond! Everyone, isn’t that right!?”
At Wang Nopil’s words tinged with resentment, anger flashed in the eyes of the other martial artists.
Originally, there were two ways to make people angry. The first is to stop mid-sentence, and the second is…
However, the above methods apply to everyday life, not the secrets of arguments and verbal fights.
In reality, there was a separate best attack method that combines offense and defense, simultaneously provoking anger, injustice, irritation, and rebelliousness in people, blocking their words while causing their blood pressure to explode.
It’s taking the moral high ground and pressing down on the other person’s flaws.
At this, Qing realized her mistake.
Firing off words in irritation only caused resistance instead of making the other person ashamed, it was just a verbal knife to make herself feel better.
To persuade the other person, you need to guide them through empathy.
Or money.
And Qing’s preferred method is force.
So Qing softened her tone and changed her approach, gently coaxing:
“I understand everything, that’s why I’m here trying to resolve this quietly. Honestly, I’m here not tattling to the high-ranking orthodox faction members about Temporary Indulgence Pills and the competition, right? Because I understand how desperate you all are.”
“Ha. Understanding. How funny. Miss, what do you know? How could a Divine Maiden Sect disciple understand the sorrow of wandering without even a proper background, let alone a sect?”
“Well, I’m from a vagabond background too. It was just a few years ago that I was eating garbage and fighting with beggars over spots.”
“…? Then you’re not from a vagabond background but a beggar background-“
“Come on. Vagabond or beggar. If you steal with a sword you’re a vagabond, if you beg without one you’re a beggar. Right? You’ve all slept on the streets and been beaten by beggars, and been overjoyed when you found a piece of meat in discarded food waste, right? And also…”
As she spoke, the resentment she had been holding in burst out.
When else could she pour it out, and to whom?
Thinking she had finally found someone who could empathize, Qing poured out the sadness she had been holding inside.
At this, the expressions of the vagabond became awkward.
“Uh. Hmm.”
“Catching a rat was a feast day, and eating them raw because you didn’t want beggar kids to steal them, tsk, thinking about it makes me angry. I should have set fire under the bridge before leaving Jianping. Should I go back after the Murim Conference?”
At this, the martial artists looked at each other.
No matter how much of a vagabond they were, they hadn’t been in such a beggar-like state. Even working as a day laborer selling their sword skills at a third-rate martial arts school, they at least got cold rice and a place to sleep.
“You, you’ve been through a lot…”
“What, why are you looking at me like I’m pitiful? Isn’t this what all vagabond are like?”
“Miss, actually that’s not vagabond but beggar, ahem. No, Miss, you’ve really been through a lot.”
Wang Nopil was about to say that but changed his words after getting elbowed by a colleague.
Like this, Wang Nopil’s instigation fell through.
Rather, after hearing Qing’s resentment-filled experiences, it was even comforting to think that their lives as bottom-tier martial artists weren’t that bad.
To begin with, if they had martial arts good enough to show others and act as righteous heroes in their towns, their lives weren’t complete rock bottom.
In the end, wooden boxes piled up in front of Qing.
When Qing opened them to check, they all had two pills each and two compartments were empty.
It seems they had diligently taken them for two matches in the main tournament so far.
“Hmm? What’s this? Who only took half here? Did someone take one and a half and leave?”
Qing asked, finding one box with only half a pill.
“That was originally a half pill. They said people taking Temporary Indulgence Pills for the first time should start with half, so one was half from the beginning. I’ve taken it once before so…”
The martial artists nodded in agreement.
It was originally a box with three and a half pills, not four.
What? They even adjusted the dosage for first-time users? Isn’t that very kind for someone pulling a strange trick?
Although it’s an evil pill, it’s said to be a real Temporary Indulgence Pill with excellent effects and almost no side effects.
Thinking there are really all kinds of strange people in the world, Qing brought up the main point:
“From now on, we need to catch and deal with the bastard who distributed this evil drug.”
“You mean the Divine Thief? How could we…”
“Whether it’s the Divine Thief or not, do you think someone who deliberately distributed a horrible item using blood essence was being benevolent? If they’re not trying to ruin your bodies, they’re trying to ruin your reputations.”
“When you say reputation…”
“Unaffiliated martial artists finally got good results in the martial arts competition, but if someone suddenly appears and says those bastards cheated by eating pills made from ground-up humans, your reputations will be buried in the ground along with the Murim Alliance’s. That’s what I think, how about it?”
This was the opinion of Qing, an expert in reputation assassination.
As the highest authority in reputation destruction, Qing could roughly see through others’ schemes.
At this, the martial artists’ expressions became serious.
There’s no such thing as benevolence without reason in the world.
They thought it must be because the Divine Thief is such a strange person, strange enough to say let’s steal a victory together.
But in reality, the unaffiliated martial artists desperately wanting to turn their lives around with good results in the martial arts competition just wanted to believe that.
Only after hearing Qing’s words did they realize that belief was actually a fantasy without any basis.
“As I said before, I understand how desperate you all are. Actually, in my opinion, is there much difference between a realm achieved by being born with elixirs in your mouth and skills brought out by shaving off some of your lifespan? I don’t want to say what’s right or wrong. If only that Temporary Indulgence Pill wasn’t a damn thing made by grinding people.”
The martial artists nodded gravely.
“So I hope this matter doesn’t come to light and you don’t get pointed at. You’ve worked so hard to get here without any backing. They say you’re famous righteous heroes in your towns.”
With 30 points per pill, half of them lean towards righteous karma after subtracting 60 points of evil karma.
No one exceeded 100 points even after adding 60 points, showing the Murim Alliance’s personnel screening was thorough.
Isn’t it very easy for orthodox martial artists to live righteously?
But it’s difficult to maintain your karma while living a hard life (though not as hard as Qing thinks).
So these people shouldn’t be criticized or pointed at for succumbing to a moment of temptation.
In Qing’s opinion, that shouldn’t happen.
“So don’t we need to catch and deal with the dog or dogs who distributed the pills for you to sleep comfortably?”
The martial artists nodded again.
At this, Qing spoke in a gentle voice:
“So let’s think together. How should we catch and punish them?”
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