Chapter 175: Are You Acquainted With This Beggar?

The Peng Clan of Hebei arrived in Zhangwan City around lunchtime and settled their belongings at the Zhangwan Daoist Temple.

Although the Zhangwan Daoist Temple ranked only fifth in Zhangwan City's hierarchy, the decision followed Peng Clan Lord Peng Xian's principle that practitioners of the dao should naturally stay at a Daoist temple.

Thanks to this, the head of the Zhangwan Daoist Temple, elated, was busy welcoming the important guests. This provided an opportunity for his prized Zhang disciple to make an appearance at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly meeting of the Murim Conference. Of course, the introduction was just once; building a personal connection afterward was entirely up to the Zhang disciple.

After roughly unpacking—more accurately, after finishing giving instructions with only finger gestures—Peng Choryeo giggled like a street ruffian, teasing her younger brother.

"Wipe that look off your face, Daesan. You'll get wrinkles between your brows. What if my little brother's handsome face gets marred? It's not just your problem, you know; it's a loss for the entire martial arts world."

"Next time," Peng Daesan retorted dryly, "I'm telling Father to find three potential suitors and stick them in the same carriage as you, Sister. I'm sure he'll lap it up, saying something like, 'A man must fight to win what he wants! You're absolutely right!'"

"Still, wouldn't two be fairer? Shouldn't we add one woman too—"

"A woman who glares daggers at you the moment she makes eye contact with a man, you mean."

Peng Choryeo visibly shuddered. "Ah. Sorry. That must have been rough."

After that, the usual guest duties followed: exchanging pleasantries, sharing lunch, and then drinking tea while exchanging more pleasantries.

Meanwhile, Peng Clan Lord Peng Xian's moniker was Dao Lord, a title earned because he was very generous in sharing his teachings with fellow Orthodox Daoist temples. When Peng Xian offered to observe the skills of the Zhangwan Daoist Temple, the temple head was nearly moved to tears of gratitude, as overwhelmed as a loyal subject seeing the Son of Heaven himself.

Truthfully, Peng Xian had wanted to be called Dao King, like Namgung Daero, the Sword King and clan leader of the Namgung Clan, whom he considered a rival. However, with Beijing so close, he couldn't dare use 'King' in his moniker, so he'd given up on the idea.

Normally, Peng Daesan would have followed his father to the training grounds to practice together. But due to the fatigue from the journey, especially the immense mental exhaustion, he simply went to his room to quietly circulate his energy and meditate.

How much time had passed when a servant came looking for Peng Daesan? "Young Master," the servant began hesitantly, "there's a guest here asking for you. What should I do?"

"I'm tired right now. Please turn them away."

"Well..." The servant shuffled his feet. "This person... isn't someone I dare stop. They're already here, sir."

Then, as if on cue, a man with tanned skin appeared.

"Hah! Yes, he couldn't help it, so don't blame him too much," the newcomer boomed. "So, why are you cooped up in a stuffy room like this on such a fine spring day?"

"Brother Jo." Peng Daesan recognized him instantly. It was Jo Hakche, the heir of the Black Dragon Jo Clan.

"Come on," Jo Hakche urged, clapping him on the shoulder. "Don't be so stuffy. Let's go out!"

"Weren't you grinding your teeth about me just this morning?" Peng Daesan asked wearily. "Got any left?"

"Hahat! My apologies, my apologies!" Jo Hakche laughed, unconcerned. "But don't worry too much about the past. Is it the first or second time I've acted like this?"

"Brother Jo, please worry about it! You completely lose your mind whenever you see a woman!"

"What can I do? I just don't have the brainpower left for anything else!" Jo Hakche declared dramatically. "Isn't it a man's sad fate that all his attention is drawn straight to the flowers?"

Peng Daesan let out a deep sigh. This was Jo Hakche for you. All the men of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly agreed that Jo Hakche was a truly admirable man worth emulating... as long as there were no women in the group. He was also commonly called 'that woman-crazy bastard.' Somehow hearing this gossip, Jo Hakche had laughed heartily and brushed it off, saying, 'Yes, I, Jo Hakche, am a madman who'd give his life for a woman!' So, he was certainly magnanimous, if nothing else. But he was also the very person who had glared daggers and ground his teeth at Peng Daesan for ten straight days.

"Well, let's go," Jo Hakche insisted.

"To a brothel right after unpacking? What on earth will people think?"

"What will they think? They'll just say a bee is visiting a flower, that's all. But not this time."

"You mean you're not suggesting we go to a brothel?" Peng Daesan asked, genuinely surprised. A drunkard might sooner quit drinking than this man would skip a visit to the pleasure houses.

"That's right. Actually, I heard something interesting."

"Somehow, nothing you've ever found 'interesting' actually was," Peng Daesan muttered.

"No, listen! You'll find this interesting too, Peng junior brother. There's this city's only female beggar..."

"Already uninteresting. Please leave," Peng Daesan cut him off flatly.

"No, no, just listen!"

"I don't want to listen. Why don't you save it and tell Brother Changbin when he arrives?"

"Doesn't Brother Changbin turn into a stone statue when a woman is actually involved?" Jo Hakche countered. "Listening to him talk, you'd think he was the greatest flower-admiring young master under heaven."

"It'd be great if you two could merge and split your personalities fifty-fifty."

"Hahat! Then wouldn't that be a raw deal for me!" Jo Hakche roared with laughter. Three deep lines furrowed between Peng Daesan's eyebrows.

"Now, where was I?" Jo Hakche mused.

"Brother Jo. Please, get a grip," Peng Daesan pleaded. "I can maybe understand high-class courtesans, but a female beggar? Surely you're just talking about common streetwalkers."

"Yes, junior brother, you're right. I was talking about the female beggar. Just listen, will you?"

Peng Daesan pressed his temples firmly. Why doesn't this person listen when I speak? Wait, did I perhaps not actually say anything out loud?

"There's a female beggar," Jo Hakche continued, oblivious, "who covers her face."

"Good grief. She covers her face, too?"

"But they say her body shape is incredible! A perfect hourglass, a living hourglass, no less. Isn't that interesting already? A hideous face, but the body of a goddess!"

"Not interesting at all," Peng Daesan repeated firmly. Of course, it had zero effect.

"See? Interesting, right?" Jo Hakche beamed. "But get this: they say this female beggar's night skills are truly exceptional. People say they've visited paradise itself!"

"And you believe that? It sounds exactly like the sort of thing Brother Changbin always claims."

"No, no, prepare yourself! The female beggar asks for payment based on how much pleasure was received. The lowest amount paid was one silver sycee nyang, and plenty of men paid ten or twenty nyang each. There was even someone who paid four gold sycee!"

At this, Peng Daesan's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. "...Alright, that is somewhat surprising. Men usually change their tune after they've done their business. You're saying they willingly paid that much?" Even at proper brothels, countless men tried to skip out on payment and ended up getting beaten with clubs. How could a lone female beggar make men willingly fork over such sums?

"That's how good it must have been, enough to say they visited paradise!" Jo Hakche exclaimed. "Apparently, she started her 'business' when it got warmer, after rolling around in the cold all winter. In just half a month, they say half the men in the city have tasted paradise!"

Peng Daesan's expression soured dramatically. "That's impossible..."

"That's what's even more amazing! They say the whole act takes less than half of half a ke! She supposedly takes a hundred customers a day! Half a ke? How can anyone be that satisfied in such a brief moment that they'd offer up gold and silver?"

Peng Daesan's expression grew even more putrid. Anyone watching would have been amazed that such a foul look could possibly curdle further.

"Brother Jo, you have quite the stomach. Doesn't it disgust you? Isn't she just a prostitute wallowing in the gutters? No, the gutters are probably cleaner!"

"Don't worry! They say not a single person has caught any disease from her so far."

"It's not about the disease!"

"If it's not disease, what's the problem?" Jo Hakche shrugged. "It's not like you're going to marry her. Anyway, let's go."

"I am not going."

"I won't ask you to enjoy it, just come along with me! Since it's only half of half a ke, can't you just stand and wait for a moment? Please? I'm asking you. Hm?"

Peng Daesan sighed deeply, resigned. He knew there was no point in refusing this man. "Fine. But we are only going to see this beggar. Don't you dare ask to go to a brothel afterward."

"Hahat! Well, that depends on the female beggar, doesn't it?" Jo Hakche grinned. "If I'm satisfied after visiting paradise as the rumors say, would I still crave a brothel?"

"You never actually say you won't go, do you."

"Because I cannot tell a lie! Hahat!"

Ultimately dragged out against his will, Peng Daesan wore an expression as if he had just chewed on a particularly nasty bug. Despite this, a veritable wall of women instantly surrounded them, swooning, "Oh my, how handsome! How can even his frowning face be so cool?" They flocked around, blushing, simply staring dazedly at the Jade Qilin's famed jade-like face.

"Brother Jo," Peng Daesan said through gritted teeth, gesturing at the crowd. "Even after seeing this, you still intend to bed that female beggar? All the women in this city—no, beyond the city, those damned stalkers—will spread the word throughout the Central Plains that Brother Jo is a man who consorts with beggars."

"Hmm. A man must follow through. No taking back once a card is played," Jo Hakche declared stubbornly. "Besides, aren't I the man mad for women anyway? If I can experience paradise..."

"You really are mad." Peng Daesan shook his head in disbelief. It was nothing short of lunacy. If this wasn't madness, what else could possibly qualify?

Thus, the two men and hundreds of women surged across the main street like a tidal wave.

They finally arrived at the female beggar's dwelling—if you could call a spot with a few laid-out straw mats a dwelling. As the two men reached the sunlit corner, the hundreds of women formed a tight semi-circle, surrounding them. If the net of heaven and earth were spread like this, surely no one could escape.

However, the spot only held two straw mats; it was empty.

"It seems she's not here," Peng Daesan observed, perhaps a bit too hopefully.

"Hmm. Should we wait? Isn't she perhaps busy with a customer?" Jo Hakche mused, then spotted movement. "Ah, oh."

From a narrow alley just beside the beggar's spot, a man emerged, rubbing his head vigorously, his eyes completely bloodshot. The poor fellow was instantly startled by the sudden, imposing wall of women and froze, unsure what to do.

Jo Hakche immediately grabbed the man. "Hey, friend! Looks like that female beggar set up a 'Nail Warehouse' over there, right?" he asked conspiratorially, using the crude slang.

"Ah, yes, y-yes! Th-that's right!" the man stammered.

"Really?" Jo Hakche leaned in closer. "Oh, my goodness. Were you... crying?" He couldn't hide his awe upon seeing the distinct tear tracks on the man's face. "Just how moved were you that a grown man would shed tears! So, how much did you end up paying?"

"Well," the man mumbled, looking utterly miserable, "one gold sycee, seven silver sycee, and thirty-two wen coins..."

"Good heavens!" Jo Hakche gasped. "Judging by that very specific amount, you must have given her every last coin you had! Am I right?"

"Yes, yes, that's right..." the man confirmed wretchedly.

"Excellent! Did it truly feel like you visited paradise?" Jo Hakche pressed eagerly.

The man felt like dying. His head had been thoroughly thumped, he'd handed over all his money, and now he was standing in front of seemingly every woman in the city, branded as a man who'd just consorted with a beggar. A surge of spite rose within him—he couldn't be the only one to suffer this humiliation.

"Yes!" he declared with forced enthusiasm. "I even briefly saw my departed grandfather! I definitely visited paradise, alright. Well then, I shall take my leave." And with that, unable to brave the intimidating wall of women, he scurried away, practically hugging the nearby building wall for cover.

"See?" Jo Hakche turned to Peng Daesan triumphantly. "It's confirmed!"

"Fine, just go in and do your business already," Peng Daesan sighed.

"Hey, hey, easy there!" Jo Hakche protested. "After finishing the deed, don't I need to deal with the woman properly? Is it really a man's way to just barge right in afterward?"

"You're currently doing something a man shouldn't be doing at all," Peng Daesan pointed out wearily.

"Oh, there she comes!" Jo Hakche's attention snapped back to the alley. "Indeed, quite voluptuous! Her very bearing is different. What do you think?" He glanced at Peng Daesan for his reaction.

"..."

"Hey, Peng junior brother? Jade Qilin?" Jo Hakche nudged him.

"..."

Receiving no answer, Jo Hakche turned fully and a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Well, look at this. This fellow is completely stunned. Why? Did seeing her in the flesh finally stir your heart?"

Just then, Peng Daesan strode forward with sudden determination. He grabbed the female beggar's wrist firmly and, with surprising forcefulness, dragged her back into the narrow alleyway.

"Hey! Where are you going? Peng junior brother! You have to wait your turn!" Jo Hakche yelled after them, suddenly cut in line and wearing a rather troubled smile.

And then, chaos erupted.

"No way!"

"Lord Jade Qilin! No! Come back!"

"Kyaaaaak! How could this be happening?!"

"Hey! Snap out of it! Open your eyes!"

All sorts of screams, gut-wrenching cries that sounded like tearing entrails, and heartbroken wails exploded simultaneously from the crowd of women. Some fainted dead away, collapsing unconscious, while others, overcome with fury, tried to charge straight into the alley.

"Hoho. Young ladies," Jo Hakche called out, stepping into the alley entrance to block their path. "You mustn't dare disturb a man's cloud and rain pleasure. My heart burns like fire having to point my sword at lovely flowers like yourselves, but I cannot allow my most cherished younger brother's first experience to be ruined." He casually unleashed waves of Sword Energy, a clear warning.

What could they do against such power? However, the mere mention of 'cloud and rain pleasure' and 'first experience' caused another wave of fainting among the women. Only horrific, soul-shattering screams continued to echo, tearing through the sky in the middle of broad daylight.