[Why can I move?]

Hwa-ryeon used Light Body Skill, listening to the Martial Alliance Members' conversation.

"Have you pinpointed the location of the Hoehwa Brothel?"

"That path is the fastest. It's a rough mountain road, so using Light Body Skill is twice as fast as going on horseback."

Jangsan continued.

"I'll be at the very front, and Jegal-hye will be at the very back. The rest of the formation is up to you, but if the child falls behind, the closest person should carry her and continue."

Hwa-ryeon nodded briefly.

"Thank you for your consideration. But I can go alone."

Yeom Isan cleared his throat and added.

"I don't think you need to worry. Hwa-ryeon is faster than I am."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"You're getting personal training after this mission."

"......Yes."

Jangsan briefly met Hwa-ryeon's eyes. Since neither of them said anything, Jangsan asked again.

"We're going to increase the speed even more. If it's too much for you to keep up, let me know at any time."

"I'll tell you if it's too much."

"Understood."

Jangsan nodded.

"Let's go as fast as possible. Report any unusual circumstances immediately. If we encounter any Demonic path, protect the child first and foremost."

Soon, the Martial Alliance Members increased their speed. Hwa-ryeon followed them without difficulty. She had always been confident in her Light Body Skill.

Jangsan glanced at Hwa-ryeon at first, but after seeing her follow without any trouble, he soon focused on his Light Body Skill.

"......"

There was no conversation at all, but it wasn't difficult to understand the situation. The troubled faces of the Martial Alliance Members that occasionally surfaced explained everything.

It was better now, but until Yeom Iseon told Jangsan about their master's matter, the Alliance Members had reacted almost like people in a panic.

Is it true, is it really true, is it really really true, how long has he been gone, what did he say, and so on.

Then, as if they had given up, they closed their eyes tightly and sighed as if the ground would cave in. The impact was even greater because the martial artists, who looked like they wouldn't even groan if they were hit by a sword, reacted like that.

The other Alliance Members around them also sighed. They tried to say something, but realizing that Hwa-ryeon was next to them, they shut their mouths. Hwa-ryeon guessed that they were probably complaining about their superiors, though she couldn't know for sure what they were going to say.

The atmosphere was just like that.

Hwa-ryeon didn't take it seriously, thinking that people could complain about their superiors from time to time.

Rather, she felt sorry for them, as they seemed to be suffering unnecessarily in the middle. Was their master an ordinary person? If she were in their position and were a Martial Alliance Member, she thought it would be terrible.

A little later, when Hwa-ryeon arrived in Hwayang County, the first thing she saw was Heukdo thugs with broken arms crawling on the floor.

Jangsan glanced at the Heukdo and gestured with his hand.

"They're just small fry. There must be a reason to keep them alive, so subdue them quickly and continue."

Soon, the Martial Alliance Members rushed towards the Heukdo who were trying to escape and struck them with the scabbards like lightning.

They decided to just knock them unconscious for now and come back to collect them later, and the Martial Alliance Members hurried towards the Hoehwa Brothel.

Just as they were about to enter the county, a man with a broken left arm rushed up to them. Just as they were about to subdue him, thinking he was the same kind of thug as the Heukdo they had just met, the man opened his mouth.

"Are you members of the Martial Alliance? I am Mae Gakju of the Hoehwa Brothel. An unknown female master told me to tell you that if you meet the Alliance Members, you should go to the government office and bring the constables first."

Jangsan frowned at the unexpected words. It sounded plausible at first, but he couldn't trust the words of the Heukdo at face value.

Seeing that Jangsan didn't believe him, Mae Gakju hurriedly added.

"If you really can't trust me, you can tie me up and have two or three of you follow me? I don't think I can handle her wrath."

"......"

At that point, Jangsan had no choice but to take Mae Gakju's words seriously. They had already made one mistake. No, if you included what happened at Taesil Mountain in the past, this was the second time.

What if they made a mistake this time too?

They say that if you endure three times, you can avoid murder, and this was the third time.

Soon, Jangsan had a vision of the senile old martial artist beating them all up.

"......Let's go to the government office first."

Not a single person objected to this.

"What should I do with you guys?"

Seo-yeon murmured quietly, looking at the dozens of Heukdo prostrating themselves before her. She thought this was a very important crossroads in her life.

'Just beating them up indiscriminately isn't the best policy.'

She thought that her current actions would determine her future direction.

Then one of them cautiously opened his mouth.

"If you spare us, we'll do anything."

"Then break both of your legs first."

"......"

The guy shut his mouth as if he had never said anything. They were guys who didn't have any manly courage. Seo-yeon didn't even sigh because she didn't expect anything in the first place.

Seo-yeon gathered her internal energy and then struck the guy's legs with the scabbard. With a cracking sound, the guy couldn't stand the pain and fainted. Only then did Seo-yeon return to her original position.

"Don't say things you can't keep."

The faces of the Heukdo turned pale again.

"Raise your hands if you haven't hurt anyone."

"......Then will you spare us?"

Seo-yeon glared at the Heukdo who asked the question. They should have seen what happened to the guy who asked the question earlier, but they were full of clueless and stupid guys who would ask such a question. Seo-yeon downgraded her assessment of the Heukdo thugs to slightly below animals.

"Just raise your hands."

As Seo-yeon added that, some of the Heukdo, who were watching the situation, slowly raised their hands. Counting them, it was slightly less than one-tenth.

Seo-yeon scanned their faces and then asked the women who were standing next to her. She had brought the courtesans who had been trapped after defeating the Brothel Owner of Hoehwa to this place. Among them was Yeong-yeong, the child Yehwa was looking for.

"If there is anyone among them who is lying, please tell me."

"......"

The courtesans closed their mouths, afraid of the aftermath. Seo-yeon nodded as if she understood.

"Everyone, bow your heads and close your eyes."

The Heukdo, who were watching the situation, hesitated for a moment, but when Seo-yeon fiddled with her scabbard, they bowed their heads without hesitation. Seo-yeon asked the courtesans again.

"You can tell me with gestures or winks. You don't have to be afraid of anything."

Only then did the courtesans point to one of them. It was the guy who had raised his hand on the third try, after looking around.

"......He was a shameless guy."

Seo-yeon drew her sword and strode towards him. The guy, who noticed something strange, was startled and raised his head, but it was already too late.

With a thud, the guy's body was slammed into the ground. Some of the Heukdo flinched at the loud noise, but no one moved, only swallowing hard.

Seo-yeon opened her mouth again.

"Anyone who has not kidnapped, raped, or humiliated a woman, stand up."

Perhaps because of what had happened earlier, only one person stood up this time. Coincidentally, it was one of the guys who had stood up earlier. Seo-yeon looked at the courtesans again.

The courtesans shook their heads this time.

"He was good to us."

"He sometimes put sweets in our meals."

He was quite a decent guy. Now that she looked at him, he was young and didn't seem to have been in the Heukdo for very long.

"You go to that corner over there."

"......I understand."

She also liked that he didn't say thank you. He had at least a minimum of shame.

After repeating the questions and answers several times, the boundary between humans and beasts became clear. At that time, one of the courtesans, who had been watching quietly, cautiously opened her mouth. She was a courtesan who looked particularly young.

"Um, female master. What will happen to us now? Will we be kicked out? If the Hoehwa Brothel disappears, we have nowhere to go. All we know how to do is dance and sing."

Her young age was felt from the out-of-context question.

"Even if we go back to where we used to live, we'll be sold again. It was like that when I worked at the Plum Fragrance Pavilion before. The constables came in and released us all, and gave us travel expenses to go back to our hometowns, but my father took the travel expenses and sold me again."

The courtesan didn't even sob. She was used to this kind of life.

Suddenly, she thought that this was an era where you couldn't even enjoy happiness if you didn't have power.

If the Heukdo disappears, a new Heukdo will appear in its place.

The same was true of the Hoehwa Brothel. Even if it was burned down, a new Hoehwa Brothel with a different name would be created before long.

"......"

Seo-yeon's worries deepened.

"This way."

Mae Gakju wondered if something like this could ever happen in his life.

'I never thought I'd be guiding Martial Alliance Members and a Head Constable at the same time.'

The person leading the constables was the Head Constable. Although he was the Head Constable of a small county, he was clearly a martial artist who had learned martial arts.

He was usually very proud of his skills, but seeing him shut his mouth after facing the Martial Alliance Members, it seemed that he didn't measure up to the capabilities of the Alliance Members.

In fact, he thought he would be arrested as soon as he entered the government office. He had gone there with that resolve in the first place. But when he came to his senses, he was in the strange situation of standing at the front and leading the way.

'I don't know. I'll die if I die.'

His life was already half given up. Mae Gakju, who had resigned himself, entered the main gate of the Hoehwa Brothel. He had come this way because there was no need to move secretly. He had already told them that there was a secret passage, so there was no need to worry about anyone escaping.

The Hoehwa Brothel was quiet. Originally, if this many constables had been brought, anyone would have reacted.

'Did they all die in the meantime?'

He thought that a master of that level would have done that. Mae Gakju knew very well that the Brothel Owner of Hoehwa was strong in this county, but she was third-rate outside the county.

As he was thinking that, he went up to the top floor, and a completely different sight unfolded than he had expected. The Brothel Owner of Hoehwa's room was full of Heukdo martial artists who were collapsing and groaning. Some of them looked relatively unharmed, and they were tying up the collapsed Heukdo with ropes.

One of them found Mae Gakju and said in a surprised voice.

"......Mae Gakju?"

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, a master appeared and ordered us to tie up the guys who were worse than beasts, so we were doing that."

"Beasts......?"

The gazes of the Alliance Members and constables who followed in were also full of shock and surprise.

"They've completely crippled them."

The Head Constable, who was looking around with a surprised expression, muttered.

The Brothel Owner of Hoehwa was barely alive. His dantian was completely destroyed, and the muscles in his arms and legs were all severed. Looking at him mangled right arm, it was not difficult to guess that this had happened during a battle of strength.

'......She did this with her bare hands?'

It was the kind of skill that reminded him of the Crown Prince's guard, the Celestial Mandate Sword. He had heard rumors that there were hundreds of them with the full support of the Imperial Family. They pretended to be ordinary martial artists, and if there were corrupt officials or martial artists who crossed the line, they would draw their swords and punish them.

Perhaps that's why the Head Constable felt that not killing the Heukdo was a warning to him.

The Head Constable hurriedly asked.

"Where did that master go?"

"Where did she go?"

The man had a face that didn't understand what he was saying.

"Isn't she over there?"

Everyone's eyes turned to the tip of the man's finger.

A woman was sitting in front of the Grand Preceptor's Chair, which was originally the Brothel Owner of Hoehwa's seat.

The woman was tilting her head as if lost in thought. The wind flowed in from the open window, and the Veil slowly fluttered to the side.

Perhaps because of that, their gazes were momentarily entangled. She had a beauty that was truly unsurpassed, and everyone, regardless of gender, couldn't help but admire her.

"Gasp!"

Mae Gakju, who had been staring at Seo-yeon with a face of disbelief, screamed.

At the same time, he squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face, which was very comical, but thanks to that, many people came to their senses.

"......I'm not petrified? Why can I move?"

Mae Gakju was making a fuss and looking around. He couldn't say that because he hadn't seen Seo-yeon's face properly.

"Poo-heh-heh."

It was Hwa-ryeon who couldn't help but laugh for a moment. She tried to hold back her laughter, but she ended up making an even more deflated sound.

"......I'm sorry."

Hwa-ryeon apologized, feeling embarrassed for no reason.