HSM 11

Chapter 11

Swoosh!

Another palm flew toward me at rapid speed.

Is slapping people this unnie’s hobby?

I pouted my lips while bending my knees and arching my back backward.

Though I didn’t lie horizontally on the ground like a supreme master, it was an acrobatic move that would have drawn gasps of admiration from ordinary people.

“How long do you think you can keep dodging!”

Her hand, which had been shooting toward my face, suddenly curved into a claw shape.

With my body arched back, I would have to roll on the ground to avoid the attack, but doing so would surely earn me the disgusting mockery of those wretched maids.

Though grandmother told me not to reveal my martial arts, this was practically a wartime situation for me.

Since things had come to this, showing them a lesson once more wouldn’t be bad.

Hoping this commotion wouldn’t reach Eok I-geon’s ears, I extended my left foot while lying down and gently pushed Ji-ae Senior’s hip joint as she charged at me.

The recoil caused Senior’s waist to buckle with a crack, and her fingernails barely grazed over my chest as they passed by.

I took advantage of that gap to quickly raise my upper body.

“This bitch knows martial arts too?”

Furious that her confident strike had failed, Ji-ae Senior glared at me fiercely.

Though she was slightly surprised by my counterattack, her contemptuous attitude remained unchanged.

“Even so, you’re not even third-rate level. You must have stolen and learned it from somewhere, but today I’ll thoroughly fix your bad habits!”

Shouting arbitrarily, she stepped into footwork again, and there was considerable power in each of her steps.

But how should I put it.

It felt somewhat clumsy?

I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t seem like that was how you were supposed to step.

Shin Geum said that footwork wasn’t just about stepping unconditionally.

I learned that you should move your body according to the set steps, but within that, you must control the intensity—sometimes strong, sometimes gentle—while releasing your internal energy.

But charging recklessly like this, as if she weren’t an angry colt.

There were so many openings that I had to choose where to strike first.

Should I start by giving her some medicine?

I stepped back half a pace to the side and casually extended my foot.

“Ugh!”

With a loud scream, Ji-ae Senior tumbled on the ground.

“Th-this bitch learned some wicked sorcery somewhere!”

I had merely tripped her, yet she called it sorcery.

Her face flushed red with embarrassment as she shouted and glanced at her friend and junior—quite a pitiful sight.

That’s why you shouldn’t have bothered me when I was staying quiet.

My life motto is to endure quietly.

“Damn it, I’ll kill you!”

Despite her loud boasting, Ji-ae Senior couldn’t even scratch my body afterward.

Though the difference in skill had been revealed long ago, perhaps due to her pride, she continued charging at me with screams.

Doe Senior, who had been watching such an unnie, also seemed to realize something was wrong, as his complexion wasn’t good.

Ga-ye Senior also showed clear signs of panic, as if her trusted friend had at least stepped on her foot.

Then should I stop here and head back?

Surely Eok I-geon wasn’t looking for me in the meantime, right?

“Hah!”

Once I made up my mind, I moved quickly.

I instantly penetrated into my opponent’s embrace and struck her chin upward with my palm.

Bang!

From the heavy impact, Ji-ae Senior’s body flew into the air and soon dropped to the ground with a thud.

It was the same attack I had used during the day, but the intensity was much stronger now.

“U-unnie!”

“Ji-ae!”

Though it would certainly hurt quite a bit, it was simple fainting with no threat to her life whatsoever.

Nevertheless, perhaps very shocked, Doe Senior and Ga-ye Senior turned pale and ran over screaming.

Swoosh— Swoosh—

It was then that warriors poured down from the wall.

Suddenly, dozens of martial artists surrounded me and the seniors.

Each of them held sharp weapons in their hands, and thick killing intent rippled from their entire bodies.

Wh-what?

Startled by the sudden situation, I gasped and stepped back.

Though I was in my fifth year of being possessed in a martial arts novel, this was my first time experiencing such a situation.

When I actually faced a scene that I had simply thought of as tense in the novel, it was frightening enough to make my legs weak.

But the one I should truly fear was someone else.

“Clear the way! Otherwise, I’ll kill this girl!”

Suddenly, I felt a chilling sensation on my neck.

Without even looking, I could sufficiently guess that it was a blade.

So currently, I was in a state of being held hostage by someone I didn’t even know.

The warriors surrounding me had originally flown here targeting not me, but the man who had taken me hostage.

But is this person an idiot?

What does he plan to do by taking a maid like me hostage?

Traditionally, hostages are useful when you can obtain what you want by putting lives at stake.

Naturally, to achieve your intended goal, you should choose someone of noble status rather than a maid like me to increase the success rate.

Just who on earth would step forward to save me?

Ugh!

Hey there. As if I wasn’t even in their consideration, the warriors gradually closed the distance.

Then, as if to prove his words weren’t empty threats, the bastard’s blade cut my skin.

Though it was still just a stinging level, it had the momentum to pierce my throat at any moment.

A faint scent of blood formed at the tip of my nose.

Only then did I truly realize how perilously dangerous the situation I was in actually was.

I thought about taking a chance to run away, but my opponent was a master whose presence I couldn’t even sense.

If I tried to escape clumsily, I might only hasten my death.

Grandmother, what should I do!

My whole body trembled with fear.

When I judged there was nothing I could do alone, I found myself desperately praying inwardly for a savior to appear.

Had my earnest wish reached heaven?

Thwang!

“Kuk!”

Suddenly, with a small explosive sound, the hostage taker let out a groan.

His body swayed, and naturally the strength left the arm that had been gripping my neck and shoulder.

“Heok!”

Thinking this was my chance, I quickly escaped from the bastard.

And I saw it.

The figure of Eok I-geon flying up over the wall and flicking his fingers.

Thang! Thang!

It was like bullets.

The transparent, bead-shaped energy forming at Eok I-geon’s fingertips.

It shot toward the man like bullets.

“Keuak!”

One pierced the wrist holding the dagger, and another pierced the ankle that was barely supporting him.

Though I didn’t see it directly, Eok I-geon’s first shot seemed to have targeted the man’s ear.

Bright red blood was flowing from one ear of the man who had collapsed on the ground, gasping.

The same was true for his hands and feet.

“Ah!”

Paokdanjagyeol (Jade-Breaking Bullet Technique).

Now I remember.

A technique Eok I-geon used to employ frequently like snacks when encountering enemies.

A supreme martial art only possible for absolute masters, gathering internal energy and projecting it outward to attack opponents.

It was one of Eok I-geon’s specialties, so there was nothing particularly surprising about it.

The timing was just the problem.

He was only nineteen years old now.

If he could execute the Jade-Breaking Bullet Technique from this age, his other martial arts would likely be at a similar level.

I knew he was a monster throughout reading the novel, but this far exceeded my expectations.

Perhaps Eok I-geon was an even stronger bastard than I had imagined.

“Are you alright?”

While I was lost in thought, amazed by what I had realized alone, Eok I-geon approached.

But what did he say?

I think I must have heard wrong, so could you say that again?

For Eok I-geon to ask after the well-being of a mere maid… My ears must be mistaken.

Unaware of my questioning thoughts, Eok I-geon stared at me intently once, then walked steadily toward the man writhing face-down on the ground.

A fierce storm of energy arose from his grip as he raised one hand above his head.

It was clear that taking that blow directly would shred his body to pieces like tearing paper.

Was I going to witness Eok I-geon’s murder from the very first day as his personal maid?

Just as I was about to turn my head away, unable to bear watching, a majestic voice suddenly echoed all around.

“Stop!”

The warriors who had been surrounding the area unchanged even after Eok I-geon’s appearance all lowered their weapons in unison.

They all prostrated themselves as if by prior arrangement and shouted.

“We greet Cheonma!”

“We greet Cheonma!”

I was as shocked as when I first met Eok I-geon.

Why is Cheonma appearing here?

Of course, even amid this, my forehead was automatically pressed to the ground.

The absolute ruler of Maegyo.

One of the Ten Supremes of the Martial Arts World, and among them, the greatest master under heaven called the foremost.

At this meeting with Cheonma, whom grandmother had always warned me to be careful of, my heart began beating frantically.