Chapter 170: Are You Acquainted With This Beggar?

“Ah, our dear Flower Beggar.”

“Oh my, you shouldn’t have…”

“From the moment I first saw you, I knew you had no ordinary face. With my twenty years of experience as a server, I recognized it instantly. Hehe.”

He’s talking about reading my face when he’s never even seen it. How very server-like, Qing thought.

The server, who had previously maintained a strict, solemn, and serious demeanor, had changed completely.

Of course, his courage failed him when trying to act like an elder in front of someone he knew was a Murim expert, but more significantly, he was deeply grateful to the benefactor who had protected his precious establishment.

Surprisingly, the server was closer to a business partner than a mere employee. In the hierarchy of the restaurant, it went Owner, then Manager, then Server, then Cook.

Naturally, this could vary depending on seniority and the specific establishment.

However, a server with twenty years of experience could practically be considered a co-manager.

“Don’t just give everything away. Dole it out slowly, just enough to cover the difference. Goodwill is fine once or twice, but if it continues, benefactors often turn into enemies.”

The fact that Qing didn’t refuse meant she intended to keep coming back.

The server’s expression was simply delighted.

The compensation money provided by the Virtuous Quartet of Qinghe had already more than covered the cost of the damaged furniture and the bills skipped by fleeing customers.

On top of that, adding the money collected from the corpses and the proceeds from selling their weapons meant he had essentially earned several months' income in a single day.

“Ah, please don’t say such things. Flower Beggar, you are the eternal benefactor of the Xiliang Restaurant.”

Even as he spoke, he marveled inwardly, thoroughly agreeing with Qing’s words.

A hint of genuine respect began to gleam in the server’s eyes.

Her words are full of profound wisdom! She’s an incredible Murim master, yet she practices the virtue of non-possession, owning nothing!

And yet, she mingles so freely with a lowly server like me! She’s truly a genuine hero, the kind you only read about in stories!

It was a delusion that anyone else hearing it would dismiss as utter nonsense.

However, dogs actually do eat grass.

Usually, they chew it with cheerful chomping sounds as a digestive aid, though some odd ones simply like the taste of grass.

Just as the sound of a dog eating grass was a reality to the owner of such a dog, to the indebted server, Qing was, regardless, an upright heroine of the martial arts world.

Look at the dignity with which she eats so heartily!

Could this be the heroic spirit of Xiang Yu when he charged alone, slaughtering ten thousand Han soldiers?

And look at how she drinks strong liquor like water! Truly, she lacks nothing as a hero under heaven.

Furthermore, her revealed chin and lips are so beautiful! It’s clear the veil isn’t hiding ugliness; she must be a peerless beauty!

She may act like a beggar, and she eats like one too, yet her dignity remains intact!

Thus evaluated the server, thoroughly blinded by gratitude, as he watched Qing’s meal—or rather, her technique of stuffing food into her mouth like a pig.

This just goes to show how frightening human affection can be.

Zhang Enchai, the Black Store Association Leader, ruffled her hair wildly as she scanned the letter detailing the damages.

It was a useless act, doing nothing to quell her anger and only messing up her hair.

It simply showed how utterly foul her mood was.

“Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang? Almost the entirety of Yangzhou is gone? Warriors from the ruined Jinju Eon Clan suddenly appeared, chased off customers, and killed merchants?”

Yangzhou was an old name referring collectively to the southeastern region of the Central Plains. It was also sometimes called Jiangdong.

It had two names because the northwestern region of the Central Plains was also called Yangzhou, which could be confusing.

For reference, the northwestern Yangzhou was also known as Xiliang.

“The Black Store branch in every city was destroyed too.”

“I know! I already heard that!”

“What do we do now? Wouldn’t it be better to cancel the wanted notice at this point?”

“Are you kidding me? If we back down now, how much of a joke will everyone think the Black Store is? Fine, you bitch, so this is how you want to play? Raise the bounty to twenty thousand gwan! Dead or alive, it doesn't matter…”

“Leader, it’s Yeon.”

Just then, a subordinate cut her off.

“What is it? Come in.”

“Leader, this…”

The subordinate respectfully approached, placed a scroll on the desk, and retreated.

“What’s this?”

“Well, a box addressed to you, Leader, was delivered from Fujian…”

Sending letters or goods to the Black Store Association Leader was simple.

One just had to present it to any Black Store branch, fence, pawnshop owner, loan shark, or any related individual, addressing it to the esteemed Black Store Manager, and it would be duly delivered.

Of course, one had to keep in mind that whether it was a letter or a box, the subordinates would open and inspect it first before delivering it.

The box from Fujian had also been opened by the subordinates to check for anything dangerous.

It contained something utterly horrifying.

A human head was sewn onto the torso of a dog, and a letter was clamped in its mouth.

The head belonged to the Black Store Branch Manager of Fujian Province.

“Ugh…”

Just hearing about it sent shivers down her spine.

The subordinate who had actually opened the box had fainted on the spot and was reportedly still suffering from nightmares.

Zhang Enchai unrolled the scroll.

And on the back page, atop a beautifully drawn portrait of a beauty, it was written:

“That dog-like bitch!”

Zhang Enchai crumpled the letter violently and threw it down.

At the same time, goosebumps erupted all over her skin.

How does she know my name?

And ‘not-yet-fallen Jinju Eon Clan’?

It was a warning, stating clearly that she knew everything – her identity and what she was up to.

Including the line about boiling her head.

“The wanted notice… cancel the wanted notice!”

“Leader?”

“Damn it! It wasn’t Un Yeonyeong! It was some other bitch impersonating the Jinju Eon Clan from the start! Shit, I didn’t even know and poked a damn hornet’s nest.”

She had messed up, messed up badly.

The silver lining, if any, was that the letter didn’t say, ‘You’re dead now, so wash your neck and wait.’

Meaning, if she withdrew the bounty, she might be spared.

“Which bitch was it? If we catch her, it’s twenty thousand gwan. How do we find her? Weren’t the man and woman with her also impersonators?”

“You mean Zhuge Ihyeon and Tang Nanah? Those two have already been confirmed as authentic. Their faces are widely known, after all…”

“We can’t touch the Five Great Families. But there was one more woman with them, right? You put people on her? Where did she go?”

“Well, after visiting the Dabie Mountains with her companions, she took the slave she was looking for and returned to Zhumadian. Afterward, she parted ways with the scions of the Five Great Families and went with the slave and a blacksmith called Old Man Ban to the Seol Family Trading Company in Zigui, Hubei Province, where she settled in.”

“Seol Family Trading Company? What kind of place is that?”

“It’s a trading company established by Seol Ganom—”

“Are you kidding me? Of course, the Seol Family Trading Company was established by some Seol! What kind of idiot did you assign that couldn’t even find out the owner’s damn name and just reports ‘Seol Ganom’?”

“…I will take measures. Anyway, it’s a trading company that handles various goods, but its scale doesn’t even reach the level of a city.”

An innocent victim was about to be made.

“A hole-in-the-wall shop, then. If she settled there, it figures.”

“However, she visited the Divine Maiden Sect afterward, so she might be a woman connected to them.”

“What Divine Maiden Sect! Why does everyone flock together? Dammit, of course, they flock together. That’s how those bastards from the Orthodox Murim operate.”

Zhang Enchai pounded the desk loudly.

“What are your orders?”

“If we back down here, we’ll truly become a laughingstock across the land. Don’t you know it’s game over if you look weak in this business? Announce that the wanted notice is temporarily withdrawn. Find out that bitch’s identity first, then repost the bounty doubled. Seol Family Trading Company? Use as much gold as needed—buy them out, send people, whatever it takes—go and drag that woman they call her companion before me.”

Seol Family Trading Company? Zigui?

It sounded like some thatched-hut trading company in a rural village she’d never even heard of. If the Black Store intervened, could such a pathetic little shop possibly dare to resist?

Zhang Enchai’s eyes burned fiercely with rage.

Qing felt relieved after seeing the wanted poster.

So, she drank liquor to her heart’s content, ate even more free food, and for the first time in a while, her belly was so full that anyone seeing her might ask how many months pregnant she was.

She looked just like one of those competitive eaters from Qing’s homeland, whose existence seemed utterly pointless.

One of Qing’s favorite things was to eat until she was about to burst and then lie down immediately.

An expert who had undergone Overhaul Rebirth could afford to do so.

Her esophagus was strong, so unless she was beaten up or poisoned, food wouldn’t reflux. Simply eating and sleeping wouldn’t cause heartburn.

If asked to name the best thing about Overhaul Rebirth, Qing could proudly state this as one of the top benefits.

The other two forming the holy trinity were: not fearing her menstrual period anymore, and no sweat accumulating under her breasts.

Not gaining excess weight even after eating was something true even before Overhaul Rebirth, so that seemed to just be her constitution.

Anyway, for the first time in a while, food reached up to her chin.

The server, impressed by her heroic demeanor, had declared, “I won’t lose!” and kept refilling the table limitlessly, forcing Qing to finally declare defeat, admitting she had reached her limit.

Thanks to him, her stomach, stretched to its maximum capacity, was screaming at her to stop shoving more food in. Lying down while savoring that sensation was perfect.

So, Qing did just that.

The only person in the world who could stop Qing from such disgraceful behavior was her beloved Master, Ximen Surin.

In other words, once she left the Divine Maiden Sect, even when not deliberately acting like a beggar, there was no one to stop this pitiful creature from collapsing right after eating.

Heck, even before Overhaul Rebirth, Qing used to lie on her left side because of heartburn.

Lying down like that on a straw mat, bundled up in thick, warm cotton clothes, was truly paradise on earth.

Soon, a dream like silk drifted over her.

How much time had passed?

“Noona, Beggar Noona.”

“What is it…”

“I’m here. It’s Murong Jun.”

“You’re here… If you’re here, then go away…”

Qing waved her hand dismissively, drunk with sleep.

“Then I’ll wait…”

“Yeah, just wait right there, don’t move…”

Qing snatched back the fleeting threads of her dream.

Sleeping was nice, but this state—lethargically drained of strength, body warm with rising temperature, intoxicated by sleep—was also a truly blissful time.

How much more time passed? Since it was just a nap anyway, her mind naturally cleared as time went by.

Her routine was to sleep during the day and train at night, so even though it was midnight, this counted as her nap.

If Ximen Surin knew, she’d be conflicted whether to be proud that her disciple was at least training regularly, or lament that the girl’s manners were becoming more pathetic by the day.

Sitting up, Qing put a hand under her veil to rub her eyes and asked.

“Ngh. Moyong kid, how long's it been?”

“Uh. Just a moment. The moon is…”

Qing, still half-awake, was aware of the unmoving presence beside her.

But knowing the dream was sweet and she’d wake up soon anyway, she had just told him to wait a bit and left him there.

Murong Jun looked up at the moon, seemingly calculating its position by wiggling his fingers, then replied brightly.

“I arrived about one shichen ago!”

“Huh?”

One shichen was two hours.

Feeling guilty, Qing needlessly blamed the innocent kid.

“Why did you foolishly wait for a whole shichen?”

“You told me to wait right here and not move…”

So, he had just stood there rigidly, waiting without a clue.

“No, I just meant I was going to lie down for a bit. You could have at least made yourself comfortable.”

Qing scratched the back of her head.

I was just lounging around for a bit. How did time pass so quickly?

They say time flies when you’re having fun, calling it the theory of relativity. Man, did it fly.