Chapter 147: The Road to Kaifeng

Jin Jangmyeong was a blunt girl, utterly lacking in aegyo.

This was because aegyo is less an innate trait and more something learned. Only through accumulated experiences of using cuteness to get what one wanted as a child could it function as a skill to be deployed when needed in adulthood.

Jin Jangmyeong had suffered from Meridian Blockage since she was young.

Having watched in real-time as her family's fortunes declined because of her, she only knew how to endure and bear things silently. She had never even considered trying to force her way through coquetry or feigned charm.

“I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“I’ve told you time and again, the National Law is strict.”

“There’s no such National Law.”

“There is in my universe, okay? Now, now. It’s time for the little kid to go to sleep. Gotta grow taller, especially since you’re already so short.”

“Jangmyeong-ie is going to sleep here tonight.”

Qing’s eyes widened at that.

Seriously? This little kid dares to refer to herself by her own name?

Of course, Qing often bantered with Jangmyeong. But this level of audacity was usually just dry wordplay delivered with that unique deadpan expression of hers. Right now, Jin Jangmyeong herself was blushing beet red from embarrassment.

Qing looked at that crimson face and finally sighed, giving a troubled smile as if she couldn't help it.

Using age as an excuse, I’ve been keeping my distance specifically from Jangmyeong. How upset must she be to resort to aegyo she’s never shown before? Look at her, she’s about to die of embarrassment.

“Fine. Sleeping together for one night isn’t going to bring down heavenly punishment or anything. But… won’t it be cold?”

Jin Jangmyeong’s eyes widened.

“Huh? It worked?”

“Normally, I don’t forgive anyone using my name to refer to themselves, but since you’re cute, I’ll let it slide.”

For Jin Jangmyeong, this was a huge step forward.

Maybe it’s okay to use aegyo sometimes.

“Alright, come here.”

“Okay.”

However, just as expected… it was cold!

Jin Jangmyeong, too, was unprepared for the winter chill. Tang Nanah’s goal had been less about Qing and more about the desire to feel that fluffy, weighty softness again, so she quickly gave up in the face of the cold and fled.

But Jin Jangmyeong endured.

The trembling coming from beside her was intense. Qing burst into a sly, irritating laugh.

“If you’re cold, go sleep in your own house.”

“I-I’m not cold.”

“How about you stop your teeth from chattering before you say that?”

“N-not c-cold,” Jin Jangmyeong gritted out, clenching her jaw.

Qing let out a snort of laughter.

“Seriously, you little poop sack, you’re so stubborn.”

Just as Jin Jangmyeong was about to protest, strong arms suddenly wrapped around her. Startled, her eyes flew open as the world spun dizzily. Qing had grabbed Jin Jangmyeong, rolled them both to the edge of the blanket, grasped the fabric, and then rolled them back the other way, wrapping them tightly together like a burrito.

“How’s that, a little better? I sleep like this every day lately.”

Jin Jangmyeong froze, her heart pounding, lying rigidly at attention within the embrace.

What just happened?

It was too dark to see anything. The tightly wrapped blanket felt constricting, and all she could do was wiggle her fingers and toes; she couldn’t move.

After some time had passed, Qing’s voice came from above her head.

“Hmm. This reminds me of the old days. But how come you haven't grown at all, little kid?”

“The old days? Ah.”

Jin Jangmyeong suddenly recalled a memory from long ago.

Back then, in the underground tunnel.

Come to think of it, it had been just as dark and constricting, making it difficult to move. But some things were different now. Instead of the smell from not being able to wash, there was only the faint, fragrant scent of soap (an ancient, primitive beauty soap). There wasn't the discomfort of dirt ground into every part of her body, nor the harsh cold seeping into her back and calves.

Her tense, stiff body went limp like a wet towel, leaning against Qing.

This wasn't the indescribably thrilling atmosphere between seniors and juniors she had imagined.

But still, it was so comfortable.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this comfortable.

In front of her parents, there was only guilt, making home a constantly uncomfortable place filled with the pungent smell of medicine. The people of the Divine Maiden Sect were kind, but living communally without her own room meant she could never fully relax.

“Hey. Little kid. Is life at the Divine Maiden Sect okay? You’re not going around bullying people, are you?”

“……? Isn’t the question usually whether I’m being bullied?”

“Who would bully the youngest of the second-generation disciples? All your senior sisters must adore you. If anything, you’d be the one bullying the third-generation kids for jumping ahead in seniority.”

“I don’t do that.”

“Really? Good then.”

Qing had seen more than a few disciples scoop Jin Jangmyeong into their arms and rest their chins on her head, so she was just making conversation. It was like how Korean fathers, when finding themselves alone with their children, might awkwardly ask, “How’s work?” Qing assumed, anyway. Having only had one father, she couldn’t know if others behaved similarly. (Choi Leeong might be upset if he knew this thought).

“I wanted to go with you this time,” Jin Jangmyeong said, her voice laced with disappointment.

Qing had promised to take her on a short tour of the nearby martial arts world once she reached the First-Rate Realm, but this time, she had been rejected.

But it was understandable. This event would be swarming with young men from every renowned family in the Central Plains.

The sons of prestigious families were fundamentally handsome. The wives of these families were women of great beauty, having mastered at least one type of Fairy Art. Their children inherited this beauty, and the beautiful daughters would then master Fairy Art, become beautiful mothers, and so on… This accumulation of Fairy Art through bloodlines had reached a point where one could recognize a prestigious family simply by their refined appearance. Sending an unguarded nineteen-year-old girl into such a perilous place was out of the question.

“I said next time. Just think about where you want to go nearby.”

“Then, the Northern Sea.”

Thanks to Seol Ganom, Qing knew the Northern Sea was far away.

“If you reach the Peak Realm by the time I get back from this trip.”

“Tch. Then Hainan Island. Zhoushan Islands.”

“I don’t know where those are, but they’re islands, right? Are you planning a pilgrimage around the entire Central Plains, north, south, east, and west?”

“Then…”

As they chatted idly like this, Jin Jangmyeong’s breathing soon grew soft and even. Qing chuckled softly and allowed the sleepiness she had been fighting off to wash over her.

Major events in the Central Plains were always scheduled with extremely generous timelines.

This was because guests often traveled from very, very far away.

Kaifeng, where the Murim conference was held, was located in the northeastern part of Henan Province, while the Divine Maiden Sect was tucked away in the far western corner of Hubei Province.

It wasn't a short distance.

However, by the standards of the Central Plains, neighboring administrative provinces were considered "next door," allowing for such boasts. Besides, the roads were exceptionally well-maintained. Traveling down the Yangtze River from Muhan, then heading north along the main road through Xinyang, Luohe, and Xuchang, stopping in Zhengzhou before turning towards Kaifeng only took a few days.

These cities had existed since ancient times, even during the era of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms when Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sima Yi contended for supremacy. Even in those primitive times, proper roads were built, and constant use had rendered them flat, well-drained, and wide enough that even a cheap carriage offered a decent ride.

Therefore, Qing, grumbling about her unnecessary excitement, only departed from the Divine Maiden Sect after winter had fully passed and she had leisurely finished her transcription work.

““Have a safe trip!””

Leaving behind the usual fervent farewell from the Divine Maiden Sect disciples, Qing began her fifth year of excursions into the martial arts world.

Already the fifth year.

Time flies.

Qing felt a strange sense of sentimentality. But then again, even the most tedious and longest periods of one's life seem to pass in an instant when looking back.

“Have a safe trip, Physician Tang!”

“I have to go home after this ends though…” Tang Nanah, who had practically moved in under the pretext of attending the Murim conference together, was an add-on. Still, she didn't seem to mind the enthusiastic send-off, wearing a wistful smile.

Afterward, they stopped in Zigui, the town before the Divine Maiden Sect, to pick up Gyeon Pohee, who had been left in someone's care.

Zigui, Seol Family Trading Company.

Each time Qing came out for occasional supply runs for the Divine Maiden Sect, the place seemed a little larger. Now, it had become a completely respectable estate.

Indeed, the town’s top intellectual seems to have a knack for business too.

Qing found this explanation plausible, but in reality, this place was essentially another Central Plains enterprise of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. The capital came from the Cult, and the goods handled were connected to the Cult's trade routes. Seol Ganom was little more than a figurehead president who had lent her name.

This was the terrifying economic invasion of the Central Plains by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult… No, actually, it was the result of Choi Leeong plundering the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's secret funds to amass gold to buy Qing tasty things. The real owner of the trading company was Choi Leeong.

Waving at the already familiar company employees—the guards at the main gate—Qing strode inside. Just then, Seol Ganom, a striking beauty who was giving instructions to some porters in the main building, noticed Qing and quirked an eyebrow.

Gyeon Pohee, with her limited vocabulary, had described her as looking like an older sister, and seeing her in person, it made sense. Rather than beautiful, her features leaned towards handsome—a clearly defined face, coupled with a hero's headscarf worn to cover her forehead. Even to Qing's eyes, she looked like a cool, cross-dressing beauty.

“Wow, Seol Ganom. You get prettier every time I see you.”

“Insulting me the moment you see me, I see.”

“Where is she? Is she doing well?”

Qing looked around. She distinctly remembered Seol Ganom having a lover they were all lovey-dovey with the last time she visited.

Seol Ganom replied calmly.

“We broke up. She decided she didn't want a husband prettier than herself. Said she couldn't live her whole life hearing people say she was uglier than her husband.”

“Oh dear. Chin up. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Why would I need to chin up? There are plenty of women who like me.”

She sounded completely serious, which was rather irritating. However, when it came to women liking her, Qing also had more than a few admirers, so she just accepted it.

“Well, if you say so, Seol Ganom. I’m heading to Kaifeng. Where’s my Sworn Sister?”

“If you were coming, you should have sent word in advance so that wild girl could prepare. Showing up out of the blue and demanding her… Did you expect her to be waiting around, playing and eating, just waiting for you every day? She went out to work.”

“Wouldn’t playing and eating be nice? When will she be back?”

“That might be nice for you. Anyway, the Elder sent someone as soon as you two entered the city, so she should be back soon.”

Qing narrowed her eyes.

“What, was someone tailing us? How did you know the moment we entered the city?”

“Your companion is rather conspicuous, isn’t she?”

Qing might wear a veil, making people assume she was just some plain woman, but Tang Nanah, walking beside her, was, surprisingly, one of the Five Great Beauties of the Central Plains. This was despite her having the demeanor of a hormonal teenage boy, constantly sneaking glances—while pretending not to—at the chests of passing women. Qing rarely made eye contact with her back at the Divine Maiden Sect, mainly because Tang Nanah seemed to think people's eyes were located on their chests and was too busy searching there.

Regardless, her appearance alone was that of an exceedingly beautiful woman with a fierce aura.

“What. Why. Your gaze feels kind of unpleasant.”

“It’s nothing. As long as you like it, that’s all that matters.”

“……?”

“Oh, look at the chest of that person working over there.”

Tang Nanah’s head instantly snapped around.

“Huh? Where? Where?”

“They’ve trained their chest muscles well.”

Tang Nanah immediately shot Qing a glare like daggers.

Qing sighed deeply.

She wasn’t exactly normal from the start, but I don’t think she was quite like this.

How did she end up this way?

She was already worried about the journey ahead. Gyeon Pohee was inherently slow, so Qing just needed to guide her well. But this one, despite being a physician, seemed to be getting progressively stranger.

The burden on Qing, the sole voice of reason, felt heavy indeed.