Chapter 176: Are You Acquainted With This Beggar?

Meanwhile, Qing, having sent one pest packing, returned only to find herself bewildered.

What’s with this wall of women? It was as if some Jade Qilin had arrived. …No, wait, one actually did?

Qing hesitated for a moment. Should I pretend to know him or not?

The conclusion came quickly. Acknowledging him now would only bring trouble. He’d just give her that sullen look, click his tongue loudly, and mutter about her acting like a beggar despite her martial seniority. Better to wait until the Murim Conference, when I look like a proper human again.

Just as Qing was calculating her escape route, Peng Daesan suddenly strode towards her with large, urgent steps and grabbed her wrist firmly.

“Ah! What are you doing?” Qing yelped.

“Shut up and follow me.”

Honestly, she could have easily broken free. More than just break free, she could probably swing him around like a weapon. However, rather than trying to break through the protective wall of women surrounding the Jade Qilin, taking the alleyway seemed more advantageous, so she let herself be dragged along meekly.

Her mouth, however, wasn't so obedient.

“Oh my, what’s this?” she said sweetly. “You shouldn’t rush things, no matter how urgent. You should set the mood first, gaze deeply into my eyes… Hmm. Squeezing harder won’t break it, you know.”

Qing commented as the pressure on her wrist suddenly intensified. Her beautiful wrist, cultivated through the White Hand Demonic Arts—which rivaled the best among the Ten Great Demonic Arts under Heaven—was tough enough to withstand a hammer blow, nearing Vajra Invulnerability. Her realm wasn't quite high enough for true invulnerability, but it was still extremely hard to break.

“What in blazes have you been doing?” Peng Daesan demanded, his voice tight. “And what is this?” He gestured at her ragged clothes.

Qing flinched. As a self-proclaimed Peng Daesan expert, she recognized the tone immediately. According to her internal classification of his moods based on vocal pitch, this ultra-low, ultra-deep frequency meant he was starting at the highest danger level.

She tried to play it off casually first. “Ah. Busted? You recognized me? Wow, I guess this is what they mean by having good friends, huh? Long time no see, San.”

Peng Daesan’s eyes trembled violently. Of all the possible ways to reunite with his female friend, this was the most horrifying. This reunion with Ximen Qing was the absolute worst.

“What on earth… what have you done… that man who just left…” Peng Daesan’s voice shook. Had Peng Choryeo heard it, she would have known it was the sign of an imminent, full-blown rage explosion. But Peng Choryeo was the foremost authority, having practically raised Peng Daesan; how could Qing possibly know?

“Ah. That guy?” Qing waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t know why there are so many creeps like him lately. Looked perfectly normal but tried to solicit me in broad daylight, so I beat him up, took his money, and kicked him out.”

“What?” Peng Daesan’s expression crumpled instantly. He recalled the subtle expression on the tear-streaked face of the lecherous man. Saying he’d just returned from seeing his grandpa in paradise must have meant he’d been beaten half to death, briefly dipped into the underworld river, and barely made it back alive.

Deep relief washed over him for a moment, only to be followed by an anger that erupted magnificently, like an active volcano.

“Ha! Are you hearing yourself right now? What? You beat him up and took his money? Just to earn a few coins, you’d throw away your dignity—no, can you even call it dignity anymore? Do you even plan on showing your face in the Central Plains again?!”

“San, buddy, calm down a bit first…”

“Do I look like I can calm down? Ha, do you have any idea what all the men in this city are calling you right now?”

“Uh… That there’s a foul-tempered beggar woman who’ll beat you up if you mess with her?”

“Ha! They’re saying the city’s new spectacle is a beggar whore who sleeps with a hundred men a day! I heard about it already, and I only arrived around lunchtime!”

“What?” Qing’s expression soured instantly. “Those rotten sons of bitches! Which bastard spread that shit? Who?! Who’s saying that crap?”

“Every man in Zhangwan.”

“Fuck this.” Qing’s insides boiled. What did they say? What?! Right, it’s my fault. My fault entirely. Instead of a head flick, I should have just used the satisfying slap of the Black Slaying Demonic Palm and burst his head open. “This won’t do. Which bastards are they? I’ll tear their limbs off into a goddamn star shape.”

The light slowly faded from Qing’s eyes. Seeing her erupt in uncontrolled fury, Peng Daesan, who had been watching, suddenly felt drained.

“Haaah. Alright, I see you didn’t know either. What on earth were you doing, playing beggar, that you didn’t even pick up on such rumors?”

“Hey, I never heard anything like that,” Qing protested, sounding genuinely wronged. Well, it was gossip circulating among men; how could Qing, a woman and the subject herself, possibly overhear it?

“...First,” Peng Daesan sighed, rubbing his temples, “I think you need to explain why you’re dressed like a beggar.”

“Ah. This? Well, what happened was…” Qing explained the events in Zhumadian: the sobbing old man, the annihilated Unorthodox Faction members, the tasty pupae snack, the bizarre choice of the human trafficker who preferred castration over handing over the gold sycee, and finally, the ten thousand gwan bounty on her head. “...So, I didn’t want to burden anyone, and to avoid attention, I disguised myself as a beggar.”

“Honestly, haah. Should I say this is just like you?” Listening to her story, none of it was Qing’s fault. Besides, the Black Store was inherently a gathering of scum who dealt in all sorts of poisons, drugs, stolen goods, slaves, and even human flesh.

“Well, it’s fine,” Qing said brightly. “Only two people know my real identity… no, three including you, San. I already got promises from the other two. You’ll keep it a secret, right, San?”

In any case, the Flower Beggar of Zhangwan was destined to disappear soon anyway. The only ones who knew her identity were Junnie and his father, Uncle Yu. Uncle Yu had promised to pretend he hadn't seen her, and she'd spoken to Junnie, who was surprisingly obedient, so there was no problem there. As for the Beggar’s Union, she’d used Grandpa Nugok’s name to ensure they acted like they didn't even see each other, so they wouldn't know either. So, she could just slip away, and that would be the end of it. The Flower Beggar would vanish from the world.

“Ha, as if you could disappear easily with that body,” Peng Daesan scoffed.

“What’s wrong with my body?”

“Do you really need to ask? Is there any other woman in the martial arts world (Jianghu) as tall as you with such… vulgar… no, large. Hmm… such a broad bosom?” Peng Daesan averted his gaze somewhat awkwardly as he spoke.

Qing let out a snort of laughter. “Why are you mincing words? Why can’t you just say ‘vulgar breasts worth docking three points for’?”

“...You remembered that,” Peng Daesan muttered. “And breasts—dammit, I never said anything that vulgar.”

“Ah, was that Seol Ganom then?”

“Which bastard—Ahem, I’ll retract the point deduction, so just forget about it.”

“Nope. I’ll never forget,” Qing grinned. “Besides, people surprisingly judge by clothes, you know? If I wear beggar’s rags, I’m a tall beggar. If I wear a Divine Maiden Sect uniform, I’m seen as a female martial artist of the Jianghu. And what are they going to do if I just deny it?”

Peng Daesan looked momentarily stunned. Come to think of it, sometimes, very, very rarely, she did say things that sounded surprisingly insightful.

Just then, Qing leaned in conspiratorially. “Wow, but how did you recognize me at first glance? Didn’t my limb length change after the Overhaul Rebirth?”

“Hmm. Still, you must be careful,” Peng Daesan warned, changing the subject. “Rumors, when malicious, can stick to anything. What will you do if such a terrible scandal attaches itself to you?”

“San! Are you worrying about me!?” Qing gasped dramatically. “Wow, Ximen Qing is touched. A sea of tears of emotion! Don’t worry. If that happens, I’ll just reveal my face. Here, look. Ta-da!”

“What changes just because you show your face—” Peng Daesan’s words cut off abruptly.

It was the fate of anyone who unexpectedly confronted Qing’s devastating face up close without mental preparation. The brilliant warmth filling her smiling eyes, like those of an innocent child, and the smile sculpted from sincere gladness were dazzlingly bright. And the red lips curving playfully into an arc. For some reason, in a world that had suddenly faded to gray, he couldn't tear his eyes away from that solitary splash of red.

But that too was momentary. Qing didn’t give him a chance to be complacent.

“See? Got prettier, right?” she crowed. “This is the power of Overhaul Rebirth! Ah. This Overhaul Rebirth thing is really great. Can’t explain it in words. You can’t know unless you experience it. Someone probably doesn’t know yet, right? How would a Peak Realm practitioner know about Overhaul Rebirth? Ah, what a pity.”

That mouth of hers. Peng Daesan’s eyebrow twitched. “It’s Late Stage Peak Realm now.”

“Yeah, yeah, feeling better now?” Qing patted his arm patronizingly. “See? Now that you’ve seen my face, nothing else catches your eye, right?”

“Ahem.” Understanding its power all too well, Peng Daesan merely cleared his throat, his pride stinging too much to answer directly.

Seeing this, Qing became triumphant. “I had it all planned out, that’s why I acted like a proper beggar. If I seemed half-assed about it, everyone would get suspicious, wouldn’t they?”

Instantly, Qing’s good karma dropped by one point. Because, in truth, she hadn't thought that far ahead at all. However, Qing, who didn't keep her status window open, remained unaware. Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Peng Daesan asked, resigned.

“Exit Flower Beggar, stage left,” Qing declared. “I was planning to just lounge around until the Murim Conference, but that won’t work now. I’ll make a run for it, then take a bath late at night. Ah. You hate dirty things, right? Try to understand. It’d be weird if a beggar was clean.”

“It’s fine.”

Knowing Peng Daesan’s usual fastidiousness, she expected him to recoil in horror, but surprisingly, his agreement was straightforward. What’s this? A friend perk? Has this guy Peng Daesan finally realized the value of friendship?

“Ah. Right,” Qing added. “If I just disappear like this, won’t it cause trouble for you, San? You’ll be the guy who hooked up with the beggar who sees a hundred clients a day.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Peng Daesan growled, his voice dropping low again. “This is something that must be hidden forever.”

“Your voice dropped again. Hmm, how about this? Actually, the Flower Beggar was a great Demonic Adept in disguise. You, the great expert San of the Orthodox Murim, discovered this and, after a fierce battle, managed to drive her away.” Even Qing had to admit, for something cooked up on the spot, it sounded remarkably plausible. It simultaneously explained the Flower Beggar’s disappearance and boosted Peng Daesan’s reputation—a truly ingenious plan killing two birds with one stone.

“Well then, see you at the Murim Conference.” Qing turned to leave.

“You’re leaving just like that again?”

“What else?”

“Being the guy who hooked up with a beggar might not be so bad after all,” Peng Daesan mused aloud. “No, it might even be good. It could be a great opportunity to shake off those persistent women following me around. Besides…”

“Besides?” Qing prompted.

“Hmm. Never mind.” Peng Daesan swallowed his words. He hesitated. If the truth came out later, the fact they’d cooked up a story together could look even more suspicious. He couldn’t risk it. Besides, he thought, a true man doesn’t brag about his good deeds.

“What, why did you stop talking mid-sentence?” Qing narrowed her eyes. “There are two things that really piss people off. One is when someone stops talking in the middle of a sentence, and…” She looked pointedly at Peng Daesan.

He waited meekly for the rest. Only after a long staring contest did Peng Daesan realize he’d been had.

“Whatever,” he sighed. “Let’s just stick together and find an inn. You can clean up properly and then slip away. Why should a woman bathe secretly at night? What if someone tries to peep?”

“Oh. San,” Qing cooed. “I’m about to be moved again.”

“Enough,” Peng Daesan cut her off gruffly. “After you leave, come to the Zhangwan Daoist Temple. Is there any reason to travel separately when our destination is the same?”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“What? Why not?” Peng Daesan’s eyebrow twitched again.

Qing replied with utmost seriousness. “As a swordsman, I simply cannot bear the humiliation of staying at the ‘Half-Sword[^T/N Joke is it's a Saber, she calls it a half sword]’ Sect. Nope.”

“Pfft.” Peng Daesan suddenly burst out laughing. Though he was clearly trying to hold it back, his face turned beet red as he struggled to suppress the convulsions threatening to erupt.

“Why don’t you just laugh if it’s funny?” Qing asked dryly. “Do you feel like you lose if you laugh?”

“I’m… not… laughing…” Peng Daesan choked out between suppressed giggles.

“N-not… lffng…”

“Kuhuk.” Peng Daesan made a sudden sobbing sound. Yet, the fact that he still stubbornly refused to let even a peep of laughter escape his lungs showed just how obstinate he was.

“Alright,” Qing smirked. “So it’s the Zhangwan Half-Sword Sect, is it? Ah. Is Young Lady Peng there too?”

“Stop with that Half-Sword Sect nonsense,” Peng Daesan managed, his voice still slightly unsteady. “My sister? Unfortunately, yes.” Perhaps because his laughter hadn’t fully subsided, his voice cracked slightly, hitting a note half a tone higher than usual.

Hearing this, Qing quickly changed her tune. “Then, it’s the Zhangwan Daoist Temple it is! As a dear friend who has shared the Way with Young Lady Peng, insulting the Dao insults me! I mean, what’s a sword anyway? Just two dao blades stuck together, right? From now on, I'm calling swords 'twin daos'. And since I have two Moonlight Swords, that makes them the Moonlight Double-Double Dao! The day they howl is coming soon!”

At that, Peng Daesan’s gaze towards Qing turned ice-cold. It was a look that clearly said, What the hell kind of wench is this?