It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 97: The Green Forest (1)

Zhang Fei was strolling through the marketplace.

As expected of a bustling market, she could hear people gathered in groups of twos and threes, chattering noisily.

She stopped in front of a merchant sitting on a mat, selling fruits.

“Welcome!”

The merchant greeted Zhang Fei warmly, his face lighting up.

Zhang Fei, however, wore a bored expression and sighed.

“I came to ask you something.”

“Pardon?”

The merchant clicked his tongue. He was convinced that she wasn’t a customer.

“Isn’t your attitude a bit off? Aren’t we fellow citizens of Han? I can ask a few questions, can’t I?”

“…Sigh. What is it?”

“The Green Forest.”

Zhang Fei spoke.

“What happened with the Green Forest?”

“…”

At that question, the merchant’s expression turned hostile.

This had been going on for a while.

She had come to deal with the Green Forest bandits, but all she heard was that they had already vanished.

Whenever she asked why, the people would frown deeply and look at her with wary eyes.

Clearly, they were reluctant to mention anything about the Green Forest.

“Hey, I’m not a person with time to waste.”

Zhang Fei showed her badge.

The merchant flinched, hastily bowing his head.

“Oh, my! I didn’t recognize such a distinguished person! I have committed a grave sin!”

“Okay, if you get it, then just answer me. Who on earth took down the Green Forest?”

“…That, I…”

The merchant shut his mouth tightly.

Then, he even knelt down and prostrated himself.

“Please forgive my ignorance! I know nothing about it!”

“…Let’s keep this simple. You can’t not know. Those bastards caused so much trouble that we came ourselves to deal with them. And you don’t know who dealt with them? What kind of absurd lie—”

“Oh my goodness!”

Just then, a woman rushed over to the merchant, shouting.

“The wife is calling! Oh, who might this be…?”

“…”

The woman, quick-witted, saw the merchant prostrated and hurriedly knelt down herself.

“Please forgive our rudeness! I ran over in such haste that I failed to recognize your honor!”

“This is just…”

Zhang Fei clicked her tongue and turned her head.

The once noisy market had fallen silent.

Everyone was staring at Zhang Fei.

What was this?

Fear? No.

They were wary.

They all viewed Zhang Fei with a sense of distrust.

“Hey, I didn’t tell you to kneel. If you don’t know, you don’t know. What can you do?”

In the end, Zhang Fei decided to take a step back.

She left the market, rubbing her chin.

Something felt off.

If someone had taken care of the bandits plundering the village, they should be hailed as a hero.

Especially by the villagers, who would have seen it up close; their gratitude should be even more profound.

Yet, they were trying so hard to hide it.

Honestly, she felt wronged.

It wasn’t like she’d come to devour them.

She just wanted to meet such a hero, have a drink together, and chat.

No matter how she thought about it, no answer came to mind, so Zhang Fei shrugged her shoulders and turned away.

***

Three months had passed since I arrived here.

I was still focused on recovering my body.

I circulated my qi.

The blocked acupoints were almost fully restored.

Thanks to this, I could spread my internal energy without coughing up blood anymore.

I still had to be careful not to overdo it, but it was certainly better than it had been initially.

Soon, my qi flowed from my lower dantian and touched my middle dantian.

As expected, my middle dantian was still in disarray.

It was almost halfway shattered.

Given that I had recklessly strained an unfamiliar dantian, this was only natural.

“Whew…”

I took a deep breath and slowly composed my dantian.

Thump, thump, thump.

I could feel my heart pounding rapidly.

I could also feel the veins in my head bulging.

Focus, focus.

Was it because I had a better understanding of qi?

Moving qi as I wanted wasn’t all that difficult.

—Haaaaah!

I felt qi surge from near my solar plexus.

“Hup!”

I held my breath.

If I made even the slightest mistake here, I would truly cross a river from which there was no return.

How much time had passed?

“It’s done…”

I let out a deep sigh.

My clothes were damp—I must have sweated profusely.

During this process of circulating qi, the impure energy in my body naturally drained, causing me to sweat so much.

‘This is progressing much faster than I thought.’

It was exactly as it seemed.

To be honest, I had expected this would take years.

But the results were far better than expected.

It was likely because I had already “experienced” it.

My body was still at the initial stage of the peak level.

However, on the day I fell into qi deviation, I was forcibly thrust into the next level.

The difference between someone who has experienced the next stage and someone who hasn’t is vast.

Having experienced the next level, my ability to manipulate my internal energy must have improved considerably.

At this point, I could almost call myself a master.

Anyway.

I stood up.

My limping leg was now completely healed.

However, after going through this recovery process, I would be unable to use my strength for a few days, so I still needed the cane.

I looked just like an old man in a nursing home.

“Are you done?”

“Yeo.”

Right, there was something I had forgotten.

No matter how much experience I had, no matter how much hardship I had endured, without Lü Bu, I wouldn’t have made such rapid progress.

Training martial arts with Lü Bu allowed me to deepen my understanding and insight into qi.

Moreover, her taking care of me wholeheartedly enabled me to come this far.

I am genuinely grateful for this—I consider it a favor that I could never fully repay in my lifetime.

“Then take this.”

Thud.

Lü Bu tossed me an object.

A sword.

“…What’s this?”

When I asked with a puzzled look, Lü Bu grinned, showing her teeth.

“A warrior shouldn’t just be walking around with a cane, right?”

“Indeed.”

I smirked as well.

It had been a long time since I held a sword.

As I drew the blade, a thrill ran through my body.

‘…This.’

As soon as I gripped the sword, my senses sharpened.

I felt as if I couldn’t win to anyone now.

“Do you like it?”

“I feel great.”

I sheathed the sword again.

“Now that all the annoying stuff is over, it’s time to head back.”

I laughed heartily.

At this rate, I would be able to meet my brothers without issue.

“Ha, I wonder if those trash will manage to do things properly.”

“Hey, calling people trash will bring bad luck.”

“Hmph.”

The ones Lü Bu called trash were the three people I had previously helped.

Over the past three months, I had ended up seeing them quite often, and we had exchanged various conversations.

During one of these conversations, I learned that the middle-aged man ran his own business as a merchant, driving a wagon himself.

Since he mentioned traveling around the central plains, I entrusted him with a letter.

At first, I was unsure if I should burden him with such a task, but he said he was happy to help.

By now, my message should have reached Cao Cao.

She must have been worried.

I truly felt sorry.

“Well, shall we go out for a drink, Yeo?”

“Are you planning to go back to that market?”

“I’ve received so much, haven’t I? Buying things directly a few times is the least one can do as a human. Besides, we’re running low on supplies.”

Saying that, I strapped the sword to my waist.

I finally felt like a martial artist again.

***

Inside the tavern in the village, the atmosphere was tense.

The owner was kneeling on the floor, trembling for some reason, while several people were slumped weakly on the ground.

“One shichen.”

At that moment, a man’s voice broke the heavy silence.

“One dies every shichen.”

The man, Yang Bai, was in a foul mood.

As a leader of the Green Forest, he had committed countless atrocities.

Recently, however, their members had been dwindling, picked off by some mysterious assailant.

So he had resorted to this petty game to vent his frustration.

“Hey, you there.”

“Y-yes…”

“Who do you think is behind this mess?”

“Well, I… I don’t really…”

“You don’t know? Then you die.”

As Yang Bai said that, one of his men stepped forward and beheaded the man.

Yang Bai took a swig of his drink, smiling as he made the execution his entertainment.

“Phew… Next. If you don’t answer, everyone here dies. Got it?”

“Aaah!”

People quivered in fear.

Yang Bai ignored them, lazily waving his finger to select the next person.

“You, you’ll do.”

“…”

“Well, look at this girl. What’s with those eyes?”

Everyone was overwhelmed by Yang Bai’s presence.

The woman he had pointed at was trembling, but her eyes burned with anger.

Yang Bai stroked his chin.

Her face was plain, but she had a certain cute charm.

“Nice, I like it. Come over here and pour me a drink.”

“…No.”

“Huh?”

“I said no.”

“…Really?”

Yang Bai stood up.

The woman didn’t avert her gaze as Yang Bai approached.

However, Yang Bai didn’t go toward her.

“Kyaaa!”

Yang Bai grabbed another woman by the hair.

“Are you sure you don’t want to?”

“W-wait.”

—Sling!

Yang Bai drew his sword.

In the end, the woman had no choice but to yield.

She slowly moved to stand beside Yang Bai.

“That’s more like it.”

Yang Bai sheathed his sword and sat back down.

The woman’s body trembled with rage as she poured his drink.

“This is really strange. Already, dozens of our members have disappeared. What do you think the reason could be?”

“…”

“I’m certain it’s the same guy. How many people in this backwater place could take out our men? But we can’t find him. Anyone who encounters him either dies or goes missing.”

“…”

“What’s your name?”

“…Hyeryeon.”

“Hyeryeon, huh? I like it.”

Hyeryeon frowned at his blatant stare.

“So, what do you think? If you get it right, I’ll let everyone here live.”

Yang Bai’s question was clearly mocking.

He was convinced that no one here knew the answer.

However, Hyeryeon knew.

She knew exactly who was systematically wiping out the Green Forest.

But she couldn’t say it.

It was a promise.

Even if it meant losing her life, she couldn’t betray her benefactor.

“I… I don’t…”

“Geez. Stupid girl. Hey, bring another one. They must think I’m a joke.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hyeryeon’s eyes widened.

“W-wait! Just kill me instead!”

“You’ve got work to do with me, so wait your turn.”

“…Hrk!”

At his vile tone, tears welled up in Hyeryeon’s eyes.

This was the reality.

In the face of overwhelming violence, no one could resist.

Even if one woke up at dawn to farm and lived fiercely every day, what awaited was only violence.

That was the state of the world.

Powerless Hyeryeon, and the ordinary people, were helpless.

Countless had died, and no one came to save them.

Even when someone did, it was only because the people happened to be in the path of their pursuit of profit.

In that despair, Hyeryeon closed her eyes.

It was then.

—Clunk!

The door opened.

Hyeryeon, with her eyes shut tight, couldn’t see who had entered the tavern.

But one thing was clear.

“R-run away…!”

Hyeryeon shouted with her eyes closed.

Then, creak.

The sound of the door closing was heard.

Hyeryeon sighed in relief.

There could be no more victims.

At that moment.

Tap, tap, tap.

A rhythmic sound echoed.

The floor of the tavern shook slightly.

“Well, well. I just came to grab some food, but…”

Hyeryeon opened her eyes at the familiar voice.

It was a man with his face hidden under a deeply pulled-down straw hat.

He also seemed to have difficulty moving, relying on a cane.

One noticeable difference was that he now wore a sword at his waist.

“Yeo, lock the door.”

The man said.

“I’m going to stretch a bit.”

Click.

The door to the tavern locked.

The man stepped forward.