The Winner Does Not Remove Their Mask.
I glared at Hongshin and said, "If you hand over all the money you have, I will let you leave today in one piece, considering our sect's feelings."
Though I said this, I had no intention of letting Hongshin go from the start.
"If you bring back a hefty sum again, I will accept your challenge once more. If you win even once, I will return all your money. Have you heard of martial arts gambling?"
Martial arts gambling.
It literally means fighting for money.
Theft and gambling are closely related, so this must be an irresistible offer for Hongshin.
Hongshin's expression changed dramatically.
"Are you serious?" I provoked him with a smile hidden behind my mask.
"Sister, be grateful that I won't kill you. If you're scared, just hand over the money and disappear quietly."
With this, he had no choice but to accept the challenge, right? Hongshin replied, "Martial arts gambling... You wouldn't decide the rules of the duel against your own sister, would you?" "You decide."
I was planning to beat Hongshin anyway if he lost the bet.
Hongshin was taken aback.
"Then let's not drag this out. Within half a breath, let's use all means to remove my mask, and I will consider it a loss. Should we settle this with fists like foolish brothers? If we just race, I would have the advantage. Setting a time limit seems appropriate. The martial arts gambling will be about removing my mask. How does that sound?"
I nodded.
"That sounds fair."
Since I had already seen the strategy guide, I expected him to suggest a duel involving lightness skills.
But this made things easier.
"I warned you in advance. I won't hold back. Let's keep the location within the Black Cat Chamber. If you go over the wall, it's a loss."
He would likely try to buy time with silly tricks and lightness skills, throwing talismans or creating smoke.
I yawned lazily and replied, "Let's begin. After the duel, I might take a nap."
Hongshin let out a strange laugh, leaped onto the wall, and threw a small hourglass toward my subordinates.
"Judge, flip that over. When all the sand falls, that's half a breath. Start."
Hongshin beckoned me with his finger.
"Come on, Brother."
I approached Hongshin slowly with my hands behind my back. 'How arrogant.' Hongshin laughed and said, "Are you a slug? What are you doing?" "Playing tag."
Since I was approaching too slowly, there was no reason for Hongshin to run away quickly.
He watched me while stepping back on the wall.
I half-heartedly chased after him, reaching out with both hands to climb up the wall slowly and steadily.
"Ugh..." "..."
Hongshin spoke in a still bewildered tone.
"Half a breath isn't that long."
"Shut up. How dare you give advice to your elder brother?" I rolled up my sleeves and said to Hongshin, "Today, I will teach you a proper lesson. I clearly said I would let you go unharmed if you just handed over the money, yet you don't know your place."
I glared at Hongshin as I approached.
There was no need to run fast from the start to catch the agile Hongshin.
He was now stepping back to confirm my position.
Then, perhaps thinking he didn't need to step on the wall or roof, he lightly jumped down to the wide center of the outer courtyard.
"You are quite relaxed."
I also descended to the outer courtyard and tracked Hongshin at the slowest speed imaginable, like a turtle approaching its prey.
This was, of course, psychological warfare.
Because I was moving so slowly, Hongshin had no need to show various tricks.
After all, the outcome would be decided in an instant, and at that moment, my hand would be faster than Hongshin's eyes.
"It's not too late even now. If you just hand over the money, you won't be humiliated in front of my subordinates."
"Oh, how scary."
I completely stopped and looked at Hongshin.
The distance between us was about three zhang (approximately 9 meters).
Hongshin slowly backed away while speaking.
"Sa..."
Just as Hongshin's words were about to flow out, I shot up into the air like lightning, darting diagonally above Hongshin's head.
Before he could fully say "Brother," he quickly reacted, disappearing as if he had vanished.
Normally, he should have turned and run, but he stepped back as if he wouldn't miss my strange behavior.
This meant I, who was faster than Hongshin, could catch up even quicker.
I leaped in a curve, closing the distance from three zhang to one zhang in an instant, and just as the gap widened again, I pushed off the ground and closed in like a bowstring snapping back into place.
Hongshin suddenly screamed and then turned his body, leaping into the air with all his might.
At that moment, the gap between my outstretched hand and Hongshin's newly leaping foot was perilously narrow.
Just when I thought he had barely escaped...
I deliberately whispered the name of the martial art I had learned from the elixir storage.
"Absorbing Sound Technique."
This was the so-called "calling out the name of the technique."
In the martial world, calling out the name of a technique during a fight is a taboo and childish act.
However, boldly calling out the name like this is proof that I could toy with my opponent.
As Hongshin tried to escape while maintaining a narrow gap, his ankle was pulled into my hand and caught just in time.
In that moment, Hongshin, gripped by the fear of possibly dying, twisted her body and unleashed her energy with one hand.
Holding onto her ankle, I swung my arm and threw Hongshin to the ground.
She quickly stretched out both hands to brace herself and shouted desperately, "Save me..."
But surprisingly, Hongshin rebounded off the ground with her energy and turned around, thrusting a fierce palm toward my face.
Since I had already said I wouldn't hold back, this included such actions.
I calmly struck Hongshin's palm with a technique mixed with fragrant incense and simultaneously used the Absorbing Sound Technique to pull off her mask.
In that instant, a loud bang echoed, and Hongshin's body was pushed into the air, engulfed in flames in several places.
Her upper garment was torn into ashes, revealing her skin.
However, true to her reputation as a thief, she wore sturdy protective clothing underneath.
Seeing this scene, my subordinates gasped in astonishment.
"Wow."
Hongshin's upper garment was burned, exposing her bare skin.
But I had no thought that she would be dead.
The amount of energy I felt when I hit her with the technique was not inferior to that of the previous leader of the Black Cat Chamber. 'Not bad.' It seemed the mention in the strategy guide about her having considerable energy after stealing the elixir was true.
While my subordinates were admiring Hongshin's exposed figure, I grabbed the back of her black robe with my fingers and threw it toward her.
The fluttering black robe flew and covered Hongshin's body.
Only then did my subordinates avert their eyes.
"Stop staring."
"Yes, Lord."
I examined the red mask in my hand and said, "By the way, I won easily, leisurely, and without any crisis."
"Congratulations."
"No need for thanks."
I expected that by now, Hongshin would have regained her senses.
Yet, she still did not rise.
I took this opportunity to kindly explain to my subordinates about the psychological warfare that occurs in the martial world.
"Everyone, look at Sister Hong. Does she still seem faint?" "Yes."
"No. She will lie there and be carried away on a stretcher, waking up in the middle of the night. She will either steal from the elixir storage or slip away with the funds of the Black Cat Chamber like a night thief. But that won't work on me. You all must always be cautious of various beauty traps. Especially in the dark side."
As soon as I finished speaking, Hongshin suddenly sprang up like a ghost and hurriedly put on the black robe I had thrown.
"Brother, today I am learning many things."
Only then did the martial artists of the Black Cat Chamber see Hongshin's face without her mask.
I realized that the act of removing her mask itself was a beauty trap.
She had a pretty face that nine out of ten men would like.
Moreover, most female martial artists who practiced martial arts had good figures.
From the perspective of the trashy men of the dark side, she was undoubtedly an object of envy.
Sure enough, I could already see sympathy in my subordinates' eyes.
"Tsk."
Beauty traps are truly terrifying.
"Sister, don't think about running away. Kneel. The moment you get caught, I will take that robe from you. After all, I am faster than you."
Hongshin, who had been bracing herself, stumbled unknowingly and knelt obediently.
"Brother, I have been quite rude today. I didn't expect your martial arts to have developed so quickly."
"Shut up. You lost, so spit it out."
Hongshin glared at me and pulled out a heavy pouch from her bosom.
As I approached slowly, just before Hongshin could say anything, I reached out toward the pouch and unleashed the Absorbing Sound Technique.
Whoosh! With a strange phenomenon like a whirlwind forming backward, the pouch flew into my palm.
The Absorbing Sound Technique, based on the power of the Heavenly Jade, became more familiar the more I used it. 'This is a jackpot...'
The pouch was quite heavy.
When I opened it, it was filled with thin rectangular gold and silver coins that were commonly used as currency in the area.
"As expected, Sister is wealthy."
Hongshin looked up at me and asked, "By the way, Brother, what is the Absorbing Sound Technique?" "The Absorbing Sound Technique is the Absorbing Sound Technique. It's my unique martial art. Why? Does it seem like there is no better martial art for stealing? Well, if you learn my Absorbing Sound Technique, you might be called the greatest thief in history."
However, this was a martial art I could not teach.
I was the only one with the Heavenly Jade.
It would be a long time from now, but if the sect leader tried to recreate it, I planned to kill him.
There was still plenty of time.
Suddenly, Hongshin spoke in a pleading tone, "Brother, could you teach that martial art to a pretty sister? I will find and bring you whatever you want. You know my skills..."
"You can never learn my unique martial art. Wake up from your dream. Even if you steal the world and place it at my feet, I won't teach you."
"It seems like a type of skill that can be learned naturally when one's energy is deep, but you're being too harsh."
"Think whatever you like. Pass it on to the other lower-level practitioners. The gap has widened, so don't bother me in the future."
Hongshin replied as if she was cleanly giving up.
"I will convey it. And thank you for sparing my life."
I examined Hongshin's mask.
Like the mask of the Black Cat, it was also crafted with considerable effort.
"Brother, please give me the mask."
I wondered what this mask meant and replied, "For free? No way. Bring me a hundred silver coins to exchange for it. Keep it well."
Hongshin responded coldly, "Are you really going to do this?" "Two hundred silver coins."
"You know I'm closer to the other brothers, right? I'm even closer to Brother Baekyu."
"Three hundred silver coins."
"Give it back."
"Four hundred coins."
"I will tell Master."
As Hongshin mentioned the Master as if she was sulking and turned away, I quickly approached and struck both sides of her neck with the neck restraint technique.
Hongshin's body stiffened like a wooden chicken.
I commanded my subordinates, "Lock the sister in the barn. I will personally interrogate her."
I stepped forward to enjoy the expression of the stiffened sister.
Only then did Hongshin seem to be able to closely examine my gaze through the mask and said in a calm tone, "Who are you?"
I smiled and slapped Hongshin's cheek.
The sound echoed throughout the Black Cat Chamber.
"What kind of words are those to your elder brother? Just because I call you sister, do you think I look down on you? Take her away."
My subordinates lifted the wooden red monkey and headed toward the barn.
I confirmed that the officers were staring at me blankly and said, "It should be time for a break now, right? Start the afternoon training."
Only then did I stretch out and yawn.
After several days of studying the Absorbing Sound Technique late into the night, I was lacking sleep.