[I Will Let You Live]

The best in Hoehwa Brothel was, of course, the Brothel Owner. Then, who was the next best, the second-in-command?

Although each possessed different talents, Yehwa considered Manager Mae to be the second-in-command. His popularity was beyond question, and immediately excluding the Brothel Owner, the strongest man in Hoehwa Brothel was Manager Mae.

But seeing such a Manager Mae bowing so low that his back seemed to be about to break, Yehwa couldn't help but feel a sense of awe towards Seo-yeon.

She couldn't help but think that Seo-yeon was a real female expert.

It might not be an appropriate expression, but even wearing such baggy clothes, Seo-yeon couldn't hide her outstanding curves, and Yehwa felt an insurmountable wall.

Even if they brought Madam Son, who was famous in Hoehwa Brothel in that area, she wouldn't be a match.

Feeling a pointless sense of defeat, Yehwa climbed the ladder, and a splendid room, fit for high-ranking officials, revealed itself. Yehwa had spent many years in Hoehwa Brothel, but she was only finding out about the existence of such a room today.

Manager Mae, who was cautiously looking around, opened his mouth.

"The Brothel Owner is right upstairs."

Seo-yeon, after confirming that Yehwa had completely climbed up, spoke.

"If it's a cof this size, there must be a government office."

"...Then, should I go to the government office and bring the constables?"

Manager Mae said that while swallowing hard. He had answered with a sense of what Seo-yeon wanted, but he knew what it meant for a martial artist involved in Heukdo to go to the government office. However, most of the officials in Hwayang county had taken bribes from the Brothel Owner, so even if he went, they wouldn't easily move.

He was also worried about offending Seo-yeon, so Manager Mae carefully opened his mouth.

"It might sound like an excuse, but our Brothel Owner has given a considerable amount of money to the Head Constable, so the government office won't easily step in."

He was indirectly saying that it would be meaningless for him to go.

Using an authoritative tone was quite unfamiliar, but Seo-yeon, having concluded that there was no point in being underestimated by Heukdo, opened her mouth.

"If you add the words that the Martial Alliance is coming, they won't be able to stand by. I've already finished speaking before reaching Hwayang county, so it won't be difficult to verify the truth. Do you understand?"

"...I understand."

Manager Mae squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. Either way, refusing meant death. Entering prison would mean the end of his life in Heukdo, but it seemed much better than dying.

Escaping was also impossible. With such a skilled person, she might be waiting for him to escape and setting traps everywhere. In the first place, if the Martial Alliance was coming, he couldn't rashly escape.

No matter how influential the government was, the prestige of the Martial Alliance was higher than that of a small county like Hwayang county. Unless the Martial Alliance Members caused disputes by exerting their authority, the government office would try to cooperate in most situations.

"...I'll go."

Seo-yeon stared at Manager Mae, who was going back down the secret passage.

After all, Heukdo were people who shouldn't be trusted, and couldn't be trusted. She thought it was unlikely that Manager Mae would actually go to the government office and bring the constables. He might ask for help from the surrounding Heukdo, but Seo-yeon thought she could handle it well enough.

As the sound of footsteps faded away, Yehwa carefully opened her mouth.

"Would it be better for me to stay here?"

"It would be better to go up together. You might be taken hostage."

There was a risk of being hit by a Hidden weapon, but she was confident that she could block it.

"I'll stay close to you so I don't get in the way."

Yehwa stuck close to Seo-yeon's back, and Seo-yeon, with her hand on the sword hilt, stepped out of the room.

A fairly wide corridor came into view at a glance. There were quite a few rooms, and Seo-yeon's stomach twisted at the thought that women who had been kidnapped or captured without knowing anything were filling those rooms one by one. She thought that Hwa-ryeon might have ended up like this if she hadn't met her.

Suddenly, she thought that if she just went up and defeated the Brothel Owner, the remaining Heukdo bastards might cause problems. They might take hostages, or perhaps escape to another area and do the same thing again...

Seo-yeon closed her eyes for a moment and thought. She was trying to gauge how many people she could handle.

As she went upstairs, men who seemed to be servants were shouting and approaching her. Seo-yeon, without paying attention, drew her sword and split the pillar next to her into the wall, then stared at the rabble again.

The wall and pillar, split like paper and spitting out wood chips, and Seo-yeon's atmosphere intertwined.

The rabble, who seemed about to rush at her, exchanged glances and stepped aside to the left and right. Seo-yeon passed by the rabble and spat out the words she was going to say.

"Get lost. Seeing your ugly faces makes me feel dirty."

The rabble looked at Seo-yeon's expression and quickly ran down the stairs.

An intruder has appeared, a woman has invaded alone, the Brothel Owner is in danger, etc. All sorts of shouts echoed from below.

'Come more, come and see more.'

Thinking that, she opened the door, and something flew towards Seo-yeon's temple.

Whoosh!

Before Seo-yeon could even identify the identity of the Hidden weapon, she drew her sword and deflected it. Thick, needle-like things were helplessly deflected and stuck into the floor and walls.

As if they were in a meeting, three executives were standing side by side next to the Brothel Owner. Seo-yeon examined the Brothel Owner's atmosphere. He was far below the founder of the Eagle Strike Sword she had met in her mind.

"Kill Yehwa first. That bitch has finally caused trouble."

The Brothel Owner said indifferently.

The three executives nodded and immediately kicked off the ground. Seo-yeon stared at the executives rushing in from different directions. Each of them had different weapons. Someone had an axe, someone else had a sword, and someone else had a Dao.

"For men, it's three against one."

The executives' breathing faltered at the unexpected words.

Seo-yeon didn't miss the gap and unfolded a stance of the Whirlwind Willow Sword. A whirlwind raged, and the rushing executives hurriedly stepped back.

"...!"

Seo-yeon didn't stop and unleashed a sword strike.

The Diancang Sect's swordsmanship was as fast as lightning, yet heavy and powerful. It focused on the mysteries of extreme speed, so it risked everything on stabbing.

Clang!

The axe pierced by Seo-yeon's sword shattered. The sword strike didn't stop there, but twisted at a strange angle and struck the enemy's side.

"Kakh!"

The enemy, hit as if swept by the sword's surface, was knocked away and crashed into the wall. The enemy, embedded in the wall, trembled, coughed up blood, and collapsed. The sound of cracking echoed with each breath, as if all the bones in his body had been broken in one blow.

A lull occurred.

The underlings who had rushed up from the lower floor with weapons raised, the remaining executives, and even the Brothel Owner.

Everyone was speechless and stared at Seo-yeon with horrified eyes.

They realized that the opponent was a master several levels above them.

The Brothel Owner was the first to come to his senses. He raised his finger and ordered his subordinates.

"Attack!"

Soon, the executive holding the sword quickly stepped forward. Seo-yeon stared at the rushing enemy with sharp eyes.

The martial arts of third-rate Heukdo usually had no name. This was because no one had learned proper martial arts, and the names were different in each county.

This was the same.

Just by looking at it for a moment, she could tell where the sword would move.

'Perhaps he has talent that is among the best in the county.'

Seo-yeon slightly adjusted her evaluation of her own talent. She didn't know about her physical abilities, but she thought her perception was on par with the rising stars.

'I should test it.'

She suddenly wondered how far her body would follow.

'Flash Cloud Division.'

It was different in nature from the unpredictable and continuous Whirlwind Willow Sword. A sword that moved so fast that it could even split clouds. Although it couldn't match the Diancang Sect's unique swordsmanship, the Sun Piercing Sword, the Flash Cloud Division Sword was no less swift than the Sun Piercing Sword.

Before the executive could even take a step, Seo-yeon's sword moved nine times.

There was no blockage even though the muscles contracted and expanded in an instant.

"Ah...!"

Soon, a sigh was heard from somewhere. The executive trembled, dropped the sword with holes like a honeycomb, and stepped back.

Seo-yeon struck the head of the executive trying to escape. With the sound of crushing, the executive with his head crushed was slammed into the floor.

Crack!

The exploding Kyungpa burst out a strong wind. Silence fell again.

Seo-yeon turned her head and stared at the Brothel Owner.

"If you're a man, step forward bravely."

"......"

The Brothel Owner didn't answer. All the subordinates were looking at him. Because he didn't have the confidence to step forward, they were hoping that the Brothel Owner would step forward and face Seo-yeon. If this happened, he couldn't easily escape. Unless he had the confidence to throw away everything he had built up so far.

Finally, the Brothel Owner opened his mouth.

"I will bestow gold and silver to the first one to attack."

No one stepped forward. The Brothel Owner opened his mouth again.

"I'll give you women too."

At that moment, some of the underlings flinched, but still no one tried to step forward. Seo-yeon said to the Brothel Owner, whose face had turned red.

"You have no popularity, and no manly spirit. You're pathetic."

Manager Mae was a hundred times better.

"It's a waste to use a sword on someone like you."

Seo-yeon said that and sheathed her sword.

At this point, the Brothel Owner couldn't help but get angry. The Brothel Owner drew the sword that was tied to his waist and stepped forward.

"You bitch. Did you think you could face me without a weapon?"

Before the Brothel Owner could finish speaking, Seo-yeon quickly closed the distance with a leap. Then, she put all her Inner Energy into her left palm and thrust it out.

The Brothel Owner hurriedly put out his palm that wasn't holding the sword. The distance was too short to swing the sword.

Clang!

Soon, the sound of Kyungpa splitting rang out. Originally, the purpose of palm techniques was to shake and concuss the enemy's interior with a wide range of strikes. Therefore, the competition of palm force was inevitably advantageous to those with deep Inner Energy.

The Brothel Owner's eyes widened.

'What!'

The moment they met, the sensation in his palm disappeared. It felt as if he was facing a huge, towering rock of hundreds of Jang alone.

In a fleeting moment where he couldn't even blink, a chilling sound of bones breaking came from his elbow.

Crackle!

"......!"

Before he could even feel the pain, Seo-yeon's powerful Inner Energy rode up the Brothel Owner's body and shattered his shoulder, and to make matters worse, it concussed all of his internal organs.

Due to the overwhelming difference in Inner Energy, the Brothel Owner was helplessly knocked away and crashed into the wall. The cracked wall poured out dust like a waterfall, and his body hung limply embedded in the wall.

"Kuh......"

The Brothel Owner endlessly spewed dead blood from his mouth. He was alive, but there wasn't a single part of his body that was intact. He was in such a miserable state that he thought it might be better to die.

Seo-yeon grabbed the Brothel Owner's hair.

"Come if you want to avenge the Brothel Owner."

The remaining executives flinched without realizing it as they watched the Brothel Owner's state, who was only pouring out blood. Their eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and horror.

In the silence, the sound of weapons being dropped rang out particularly loudly.

The underlings didn't even think of running away and prostrated themselves on the spot.

"P, please spare us."

Seo-yeon nodded with the sword hilt in her hand.

"I won't kill you."