Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel

Author: Cireng

Chapter 111

I stared at the woman in utter despair.

One year?

I had to wait one whole year?

“Ah, no…”

I stammered in disbelief.

“So you’re saying I have to spend a year as an intern… no, performing good deeds? And I have to complete the entire year?”

“It may be difficult, but it can’t be helped. It’s part of the process of seeing whether a person is sincere.”

‘Sincere?’

Well, I certainly wasn’t sincere.

But if this really was a branch religion derived from the Guangjin Cult, then they were ultimately under me. I was the Cult Leader! Why did I have to prove my sincerity?!

“Is there… really no other way?”

At my almost tearful question, the woman gave me an awkward smile.

“There is another way… I believe that if you accomplish some great deed that everyone can acknowledge, you can immediately become a full-fledged member. At that point, the Cult Leader personally commends your achievement and accepts you as a follower.”

“A great deed…”

“But although such a rule exists, it’s never actually happened before. Usually, people diligently complete the full year and undergo the initiation ceremony.”

“……”

In other words…

‘She’s telling me not to try any pointless tricks, isn’t she?’

Only then did I understand what Sahyeon had really meant when he said, ‘I heard the Sacred Flame Cult is as closed-off as our own religion.’

No wonder they had made it so easy to join. They had laid down a safeguard like this. Unless someone had an extraordinary amount of determination, most people would probably run away before even making it through a few months.

Perhaps I looked excessively dejected, because the woman spoke in a consoling tone.

“Please don’t be too discouraged. A year may seem like a long time, but you could also say it’s quite short. Once you learn the joy of performing good deeds, you might even feel that you don’t have enough time.”

‘Really?’

“Then what will you do?”

The woman asked.

“Would you like to join?”

***

…In the end, I didn’t join.

Of course.

‘A year is too much.’

It was too precious to waste a whole year, rather than just a few months.

On top of that, even after wasting that year, there was no guarantee I’d actually be able to meet the Cult Leader. There was something else the woman had added afterward.

“Though, even if you complete the initiation ceremony, I don’t know whether the Cult Leader will come. Ever since the Cult Leader stepped down, the current affairs of the main sect have all been handled by the Sacred Flame Saintess.”

No, then there was even less reason for me to join!

At this rate, I could end up starring in my own Sacred Flame Cult life starting from zero, all by myself, so I gave up on joining.

The woman seemed disappointed, but she understood and backed off. It was strange that she wasn’t particularly aggressive about recruiting me, considering she was a religious person.

In the end, they left the next day. They had said they traveled around various villages instead of staying in one place, so it seemed they had left to tend to another village.

I was left alone at the inn, drinking and regretting my decision.

‘Damn it, I should’ve secretly gotten on their boat!’

Even though they were heading to the next village, if they kept going from place to place, eventually they would have headed toward their base.

Of course, the question was whether I could have stayed hidden until then. Still, if I had hidden among their luggage, I probably could have managed somehow. They all seemed like ordinary people, after all.

But the boat had already left.

I took another drink and began thinking. Right, since things had turned out this way, I should just keep following them. If I secretly got on board later…

Creeeak.

“Welcome! Are you staying with us?”

“I’ll just have a meal before I go.”

“Yes, sir. Oh my, your companions are all quite handsome. You must have come from some impressive place?”

“Haha, no. We’re just travelers.”

‘Handsome?’

Hearing the waiter’s response and a strangely familiar voice, I instinctively raised my head.

Then my eyes widened at the people I saw.

‘Wh-why are they here…?!’

Among the group, I spotted several familiar faces. A neatly dressed Daoist, two young masters who were obviously from prestigious families.

And above all…

‘A veil?’

One person was wearing a white myeokri, a traditional broad-brimmed veil.

It was the beauty.

Unlike last time, he was wearing a myeokri, but that unmistakable appearance that made one’s jaw drop at first sight, that ethereal elegance like an immortal… it was undoubtedly him.

The moment I realized this, I hurriedly lowered my head. Sweat began gathering on my back.

“Where should we sit? That secluded corner over there? Or by the window?”

“Let’s sit anywhere. I’m hungry!”

They looked around the inn, chatting among themselves. I merely pretended not to hear them while diligently cracking and eating the pine nuts in front of me.

Eventually, they took a suitable seat near the window. It was some distance away from me, who was sitting in the corner. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Phew.’

I was worried they might sit beside me, but fortunately…

…No, why am I even nervous? I haven’t done anything wrong!

And even if they sat next to me, they wouldn’t recognize me at a glance. Back then, when I was pretending to be a scholar, I had used an ordinary-looking face, but now I had my actual ugly appearance as Flower-Glutton.

On top of that, I had even attached a bushy beard to my chin, covering half my face.

‘Right, let’s just stay confident!’

I poured myself another drink and downed it. Just then, I could hear their conversation.

“So what are we supposed to do from now on?”

The first person to speak was the girl with the dumpling-shaped hair.

Objectively speaking, she was quite pretty, but her large, round eyes and adorable expression gave her the appearance of a cute younger-sister type of beauty.

And… She was wearing a green robe.

Among the promising younger generation of the Orthodox faction, there was only one family whose members wore green robes.

‘The Sichuan Tang Family.’

The Tang girl pouted her lips and grumbled.

“Honestly, considering they sent us all the way here, aren’t we just going to come up empty-handed again? Besides, I heard we’re all moving for the same purpose this time?”

“B-but surely there must be something we can help with? If we just work hard…”

Someone quietly answered the Tang girl’s complaint.

It was a monk. The monk wearing gray robes also looked young. With his round head and innocent, blinking eyes, he looked so meek that it seemed he couldn’t hurt even an ant.

But if he was among this group, his inner power couldn’t possibly be ordinary. I tried to guess the monk’s background, then my mouth fell open.

‘Shaolin?’

“Hmph, do you know how many times we’ve already worked hard thinking that was the case, only to come up empty-handed? The other groups are steadily racking up results, while we’re just poking around meaningless places!”

“That’s…”

“Even the entire Yongcheok Stronghold burned down last time, so we couldn’t get anything out of it. How long are we supposed to keep playing second fiddle? Right, Sister Joo?”

“……”

The woman the Tang girl called ‘Sister Joo’ didn’t answer.

I glanced sideways at this ‘Sister Joo,’ and my eyes widened.

‘Could that person be…?’

She was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Her jade-smooth face seemed to glow. Her large eyes were calmly lowered, yet they sparkled with intelligence, while her high nose, well-shaped lips, and slender chin created a beauty that was truly rare to behold.

If it weren’t for that white-clad man, everyone would probably have been staring exclusively at her. And I had seen that face many times before.

‘Miss Joo of the Mount Emei Sect.’

She was precisely the reason I’d stormed into the Mount Emei Sect.

Originally, she had been covering her face with a veil. I’d gone rushing there after hearing rumors that the Mount Emei Sect had an unrivaled beauty who wore a veil.

Thanks to that, I nearly died once and had to sweat buckets clearing up the misunderstanding… but in the end, I got the chance to meet her face-to-face. Only after asking her a few questions did I learn that she wasn’t the young lady.

What her master had told me about Miss Joo’s background was clear, after all. I’d been tremendously disappointed at the time…

‘Who would’ve thought I’d see her here.’

You really never know what life had in store. And apparently, she’d joined the Inspection Corps and was working with them before I knew it. As I glanced toward Miss Joo in fascination,

“Hah, if you’re a second-stringer, then of course you’re going to play second-string. Who else are you going to blame?”

“What?”

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts at the suddenly familiar voice. That blunt voice was unmistakably Paeng.

Does he talk like that even to his own teammates?

He really was consistent.

“Seriously, is that something you should be saying?”

“What?”

“Honestly, if you hadn’t rushed into Yongcheok Stronghold first, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place! And I heard from Ye that you even ended up getting thrown in jail, didn’t you? And you’re calling us second-stringers? If anything, you’re the second-stringer, Langlang!”

“Hey! I told you not to call me by that stupid nickname!”

“Then what am I supposed to call you? If not Langlang, should I call you our adorable Paeng Mirang? Our lovely jade gem? What do you want me to call you?”

“You little…!”

‘Sacred crap.’

I hurriedly bit down on my lip.

‘Paeng Mirang?’

So that’s why he was so reluctant to tell me his name. Was it because of that cute name that didn’t match his burly appearance?

And his nickname was the ridiculously adorable Langlang?

Wow, my heart was swelling with……

“……?”

Suddenly, I froze.

Something felt strange. The surroundings had gone quiet.

I slowly raised my head, and in the distance, the entire group from the Inspection Corps was staring at me.

As though they’d just heard something they weren’t supposed to hear.