Chapter 139: Tang Clan's Paper Flower

"...I'm hungry. Gramps, got anything to eat?"

That was the first thing Qing said upon opening her eyes.

Only then did she look around.

Day had already broken, and she was on a bed bathed in sunlight.

The beds of the Central Plains were scientifically designed so that the sun would hit one's face sometime between morning and noon.

Outside, there was the sound of bustling activity.

Scritch-scratch went the saws, thump-thump went the hammers, accompanied by footsteps and dragging sounds...

Qing casually threw on some clothes, tied up her hair, and stepped out of her bedchamber.

Choi Leeong, who had been sitting on the porch looking outside, naturally fell in step behind her. Qing offered a morning greeting.

"Gramps? Isn't there anything to eat? I'm starving. Ah."

It was a morning greeting that sounded more like she’d left food in his keeping, but something popped straight into her mouth. Qing's eyes widened before narrowing into pretty crescents.

Sticky, crunchy yet savory, and sweet.

It seemed to be some kind of pastry with nuts.

Stuffing the snack into her empty stomach, Qing watched the Tang Clan bustle with construction for a while.

Choi Leeong watched her with a content expression.

"Did anything happen last night?"

"Nothing much. The government troops withdrew."

"What? That's it? They acted like they were going to charge right in."

Actually, it hadn't been nothing much.

The Imperial Guard had been annihilated, the Imperial Censor and the Eastern Depot Eunuch captured, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had ended up somewhere in between – about half wiped out, half captured.

"Ah! Milady! Isn't it the young lady of the Ximen family!"

"Huh? Who are you? Do you know me?"

"This lowly one is called Changnan Gumho. You can just call me Fox. Hehe, it's belated, but allow me to offer my greetings, Milady."

He then prostrated himself flat on the ground, performing a deep bow.

"Are... are you okay?"

Qing asked, looking at the Fox's face.

She didn't know what his original face looked like, but it seemed to be swollen to about two or three times its normal size.

With livid bruises and lumps, he looked like he'd disturbed a hornet's nest.

"Goodness, you even worry about a beast like me. How kind-hearted you are. But please, speak comfortably to me. Hehe, this humble one is already dazzled being in your presence, Milady. If you speak so formally, my pea-sized courage won't be able to handle it."

"Uh. Okay, sure..."

Qing readily agreed.

She figured he must be some servant of someone in the Tang Clan.

Besides, Qing wasn't one to refuse deference.

"Hey, you Fox bastard! Where are you off to so early in the— Ah, it's Her! Milady, is that you? Good heavens, how radiant! Oh, please accept my greetings."

Another servant arrived and promptly dropped to his knees.

"What's going on? Why is everyone— Whoa!"

"So that's her!"

"I can feel such astounding dignity!"

And then, like a bunch of lackeys lining up to greet their boss, servants appeared one after another, kneeling and bowing their heads low, claiming to offer their morning respects. The number grew steadily.

"Truly a noble personage. My Spirit Eyes perceive that the quality of her soul is so lofty that a refined spiritual pressure flows from her."

"You fraud, are you sure about that? A guy who can't even find a water vein calling those Spirit Eyes? You failed seven times straight in Sichuan, where water gushes out wherever you dig. What kind of Daoist are you?"

Thus, a crowd of people gathered, respectfully taking their places in the front yard, bickering amongst themselves as they held a contest of who could flatter the best.

"In my dream last night, I was walking along and saw jade. As I reached to pick it up, a brilliant Vermilion Bird suddenly soared up amidst five-colored radiance! Is this not a dream foretelling the meeting of the most noble person in the world? Indeed, one look at you, Milady, and I know you are that person!"

"Why is it always the Vermilion Bird with this bastard? Did you sell off the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger somewhere?"

"Excuse me. It's a humble offering, but..."

A servant whose face was completely hidden by his hair sidled up and presented a small box.

Opening it revealed, what in the world, a jade ring thicker than her finger hole, sitting there grandly.

There are gifts, and then there are gifts. Qing's expression soured slightly as she discreetly pushed it back.

"This looks really expensive."

"I just picked it up off the street, so please don't mind..."

"No, seriously, where do things like this just lie around? Let me know too, I want to go pick some up."

"That bloodsucker! That bastard's offering a bribe!"

"Booo! You cheap bastard! When did you prepare that!"

"Hmph. I suppose I have no choice. Milady, do you perhaps enjoy calligraphy and painting? This brush is made from the tail hair of a white marten from North Mountain. And when it comes to brushes, isn't the first cut the best? Though I've used it once, it was merely for a test stroke. It would suit a noble person like you better than me..."

Then they started jostling each other, rushing forward to place their cherished belongings before Qing like tributes. Before Qing could even refuse, Choi Leeong deftly intercepted them, piling them up behind him.

It was then.

"Honestly, what is all this ruckus so early in the morning? Have you all nothing better to do! If not, go help with the construction! Can't you all scram!"

An incredibly stern-looking old woman appeared and roared. Everyone, unable to hide their fear, scattered in terror and vanished.

"Uh, who are you?"

"Hmph. I haven't acknowledged you yet. However, thanks to you, that man has embraced a grand ambition, so gratitude is still gratitude."

The old woman, Yan Pa, clicked her tongue inwardly.

A hidden dragon who sought a quiet life now aims for ascension... if his purpose is merely a single woman, wouldn't the world laugh?

Still, she was grateful.

Thanks to Qing, a full three thousand of the Imperial Guard had been dealt with—three thousand of the Emperor's most elite soldiers, wiped out.

Added to that were an Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander and thirty of his men.

The family of the Imperial Censor, head of the Inspectorate, had been driven to extinction, and as a bonus, an Eastern Depot Eunuch was eliminated too.

All of them were blades the Emperor could wield directly. This was akin to cutting off one of his limbs.

The Emperor's power had plummeted.

With this, aiming for the grand undertaking was certainly feasible.

"However, when one's position changes, so does one's perspective. If things go well, he will return. Even if they don't, given this much, there should be no need for regrets."

Yan Pa coldly tossed something over.

It was an untitled book. As soon as Qing touched it, the Martial Arts Window immediately lit up, signaling the registration of something new.

Touching a complete secret manual meant this book was exactly that—a martial arts manual.

"This is...?"

"It's something that once caused a bloodbath in the martial world. Best keep it hidden from others."

Yan Pa gazed at the book with eyes tinged with regret. It was a look filled with long-held resentment, and just as much sorrow and self-reproach.

But it lasted only a moment before she snorted, "Hmph," turned, and strode away haughtily.

Qing tilted her head.

So, who were all those people, and who was she...?

In any case, Qing checked her Martial Arts Window. Newly registered was—my god! Purple? Why purple all of a sudden?

And it was a purple movement technique named Wave-Treading Subtle Steps!

Hmm, never heard of it.

Qing's knowledge was simply too shallow to recognize it.

Then, the Mission Window started flashing frantically.

What now? Why is everything acting up one after another?

This time, there wasn't even a specific instruction, just a single line asking her to decide her allegiance.

What am I supposed to do when you just spring this on me?

Qing simply swiped the Mission Window away and pushed it out of her thoughts.

Afterward, a joint funeral was held at the Tang Clan.

It was a funeral personally presided over by none other than the Grand Prince.

It was a joint ceremony honoring the forty-two loyal and righteous members of the Tang Clan who fell defending the Grand Prince against traitorous rebels impersonating the Imperial Army, and the one hundred seventeen loyal and righteous soldiers who lost their lives in the process of subjugating those traitors.

After the funeral, a massive stone monument was erected at the entrance of the Tang Clan's main gate, engraved with their names.

Tang Nanah mentioned recognizing some faces among them and appeared quite melancholic afterward.

She did look pitiful.

So, even when Nanah was being unusually clingy, Qing let her be, thinking, Well, someone she knew died, she must be feeling down.

"Hey."

Tang Nanah immediately pressed the tops of her feet, her forehead, and her forearms to the ground.

It was, as always, a grand bow executed with precision and power.

Qing's eyes narrowed as she looked down at the back of Nanah's head.

"Hold on, why were you groping my chest?"

A long tail eventually gets stepped on.

Caught red-handed, Tang Nanah offered a deep bow of apology in the middle of the night, her head lowered.

"No, I just... it was just soft and felt nice. I'm too old to do that to my mom now, you know? And my mom's aren't that big anyway..."

Tang Nanah didn't really have any ulterior motives.

At first, it was just, Wow, how does something this big stay up without sagging? Wow, it's so soft. But somehow, the texture lingered in her mind, day and night.

"Damn it, you have your own, you know. Why are you messing with mine instead of yours?"

"But the feeling is totally different! It doesn't really feel like sinking into them. And, well, it's not like they wear out or anything. Don't be so stingy. Friends can touch a little, can't they?"

Tang Nanah brazenly asserted herself.

Qing had seen things at the Divine Maiden Sect.

She knew that women, in fact, liked large chests just as much as men, if not more.

Disciples with questionable orientations tended to be more reserved, while the perfectly 'normal' ones were far more persistent in coveting others' chests.

It reached a point where disciples endowed with large chests got so harassed that they'd snap, "Just stop it already!" at least once a day, without fail.

There were even about four disciples who audaciously asked if they could touch the Sect's Grand Elder's chest just once.

(Of course, Qing, being an external disciple and a comfortable peer, wasn't exactly treated like a Grand Elder aside from the title.)

Qing's eyes narrowed further.

"That doesn't mean you can grope me secretly."

"Ugh. But if I asked, you'd say no."

"Of course I would! Do you know how ticklish it is?"

"Hmph."

"Don't you 'hmph' me. You're really asking for trouble. Get on your knees and hold your hands up."

Regardless, feeling guilty, Tang Nanah obediently followed the order.

Through countless experiences, she knew it was advantageous to quietly obey in such situations.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!

This was the wicked wisdom Tang Nanah had acquired through years of committing misdeeds and offering subsequent apologies.

And so, Qing's days of leisure, ostensibly for 'healing her split chest', continued for about a month.

Then, a woman came looking for Qing.

Not the self-proclaimed senior sister whom Qing hadn't exactly been waiting for with bated breath, nor even particularly thought about!

She was still crossing the continent at that moment.

The Demonic Cult was too far away.

Besides, there was no need to hurry the journey.

So, she was leisurely enjoying her first trip to the Central Plains, generously spending the travel funds provided by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, with that Seol Ganom fellow tagged along as a guide.

The woman who came looking for Qing was someone else.

The woman's gaze, fixed on the memorial stone erected beside the Tang Clan's massive main gate, was somehow unkind.

She then naturally addressed the Tang Clan warrior guarding the gate condescendingly.

"I heard my disciple is staying with the Tang Clan. Is there perhaps a wench here by the name of Qing, with the surname Ximen?"

At that, the Tang Clan warrior froze stiff.

"Young Lady Ximen is indeed staying here. But if you say she is your disciple, then, Madam, could you possibly be..."

"Yes. Who is the current Tang Clan Lord? Was it Tang Tujuk, that kid who was all talk? Go tell him Senior Ximen Surin has come looking for her disciple."

The Zenith Among Women, personally making a trip to find her naughty disciple who ran away from home and never returned.