All My Murim Noonas Are Obsessed With Me!-Chapter 115: The Divine Thief’s Stash (2)

[Protagonist POV]

Right—she had said something like that the first time we met.

"I-If you’re fine with it now, then it’s no issue! First, let’s—"

Before I could clarify her misunderstanding, she pointed her sword elsewhere and called out.

"Come out. I’ve got no intention of harming him."

Startle.

Her words clearly targeted Dang Ah-young. Shocked, I followed her gaze—there she was, hidden in the shadows, unnoticed until now.

Gulp.

Dang Ah-young stared at Yeo So-cheon with a grave expression, while Yeo So-cheon smirked mockingly.

"Didn’t I say I won’t hurt him? What’s with that cocky look?"

"..."

"I get that you care about him, but here’s some advice from a far senior martial artist: know your opponent. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me from others, but..."

"I’m not as lenient as Sword Mistress?" Yeo So-cheon added, her voice dropping ominously.

Twitch!

Dang Ah-young flinched.

"..."

Squeeze.

She stayed silent, but I could tell she was conflicted. When her cautious gaze met mine, I gave a slight nod.

"...I’m sorry. Please forgive my rudeness," she said, bowing respectfully.

Technically, Yeo So-cheon was the aggressor for smashing into the house uninvited, but in the martial world, right and wrong bent to strength and status. Even though Yeo So-cheon had barged in, Dang Ah-young had to apologize for showing hostility to a vastly superior senior.

Perhaps satisfied with the apology—

"Hmph. No need to bow that low. I get it—you had reason to react that way. I did mess up first," Yeo So-cheon conceded.

"...It’s fine."

"I’ll send repair costs later. For now, I need to talk to him. Could you give us a room?"

"There are plenty of unused ones—take your pick. I’ll step out for a bit," Dang Ah-young replied stiffly, a tone I’d never heard from her before. She left, and I turned to Yeo So-cheon.

"See that? The Tang Clan girl couldn’t even squeak in front of me," she gloated.

"Did you really have to go that far?" I asked.

"Hmph. To a civilian like you, I might seem harsh, but the martial world is brutal. She’s a genius for her age, sure, but the Central Plains are crawling with stronger masters."

"...Still."

"It’s a valuable lesson for her. With talent like that, a little push can spark huge growth. A proper motivator gives a martial artist wings. It’ll probably do her good."

"I don’t think so."

To me, it just looked like a scene straight out of an NTR story—especially since I was the target. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

"S-So, why’d you call me? Because of that... responsibility? I-I mean, I’d hate to burden you, but I owe you for my mistakes, so consider it repayment," I said, planning to clear up the misunderstanding later.

"Not that responsibility—the rumors you spread," she clarified.

"..."

"So I was thinking: the best way to bury a rumor is with a bigger one—"

Shing!

"On second thought, maybe it’s not your limbs I should cut—it’s that mouth. If I get rid of that clever tongue, you won’t spout nonsense again, right?"

"W-W-Wait! Calm down!"

"Shut it, you pervert!!"

It took a lot of effort to pacify Yeo So-cheon as she charged at me, sword in hand.

++++

Deep within Huashan Sect, at Sword Mistress’s quarters,

"You called for me?" a female attendant asked.

Sword Mistress spoke with her back turned. "You’ve heard about my clash with the Blood Cult remnants while I was traveling, right?"

"Yes, I have."

"True to their cowardly nature, many used poisons. Some even wielded aphrodisiacs and sedatives against me."

"How despicable...!"

Raised in Huashan and steeped in its teachings, the attendant found such artificial inducement of lust—outside genuine love—unforgivable.

"Of course, with my cultivation, I can suppress most poisons with my qi, but you never know. I’d like you to procure some antidotes—something to prevent those urges entirely," Sword Mistress requested.

"Understood. Leave it to me," the attendant replied confidently, not suspecting any ulterior motive.

And why would she? This was Sword Mistress, a hero of the righteous faction. No one would dream she’d request such drugs for personal use.

++++

[Protagonist POV]

"...Fine, it’s my fault. I should’ve known what kind of person you are," Yeo So-cheon grumbled, arms crossed as she sat, sighing.

Tremble, tremble.

"Uh, can I lower my arms now...?" I whimpered.

"Are you even listening properly?!"

Twitch.

I jolted, raising my shaky arms high.

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

Her shout startled me into compliance, but my frail arms were already at their limit, quivering like they’d collapse any second.

"Nngh..."

I scrunched my face, trying to hold on, but my strength gave out.

"Haa... Fine, just put them down," she relented.

Thud.

"Haa... Haa..."

With her permission, I dropped my arms and crumpled to the floor, gasping. As she looked down at me, a faint hint of disdain flickered in her expression.

"Seriously... Why would they choose someone like you...?"

"Huh...?"

"Enough. It was just a mutter to myself. Take a moment to catch your breath, you frail lecher."

It felt like an extra word had slipped in before "lecher," but I didn’t have the energy left to argue about it right now.

"Phew..."

Once my breathing steadied a bit—

"So, what’s this about? If you dragged me into this mess over something trivial, you’d better brace yourself."

Yeo Socheon opened her mouth, urging me to get to the point.

"Well... thanks to all the rumors about me spreading like wildfire out there, I can’t even step outside. But you know how rumors work—when something bigger comes along, the smaller ones tend to fade away quietly. So, I’ve been thinking..."

"...So you’re saying you want to stir up something huge in the Central Plains right now?"

"Exactly. That’s it."

Hearing my words, Yeo Socheon frowned.

"I managed to suppress some of the rumors midway, but the attention on you is still insane. And you think you can overshadow it with an even bigger event? Do you even have something in mind?"

"Maybe something like a famous ruin? Like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity left behind by a long-dead master."

"Ha, sure, that’d draw a ton of attention, but it’s not all good. When something like that pops up, every kind of person flocks to it. And where martial artists gather, fights are inevitable. Especially if the reward’s tangible, like a ruin—it’d be a bloodbath."

"Hmm..."

I hadn’t considered that.

It’d definitely bury my rumors, but it’d also spill a lot of blood. If things went south, it could spark new conflicts between sects or worsen existing ones.

"...I didn’t think of that."

"This is why I hate talking to people who only see half the picture. They don’t think through the obvious consequences and cause trouble—or forget a favor and run off to some scheming seductress after I went out of my way to save them." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"...Isn’t that last part personal?"

"You wouldn’t get it. That woman’s a liar—every word out of her mouth is a trap. If she ever talks to you, just ignore her. Don’t fall for her weird tricks."

"Yeah... yeah..."

"Don’t just brush it off—take it seriously."

"Alright, alright. It was a joke anyway. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as a stud horse."

Honestly, if I compared my feelings toward the fantasy-world saintess and Yeo Socheon—or the divine duo of heaven and earth—I leaned more toward the saintess.

Not because she was especially kind or anything, but because—

’I’ve suffered enough in this world already.’

The hardships here had been brutal. I was dead certain I wouldn’t have survived this long without Master.