Chapter 188: Dragon-Phoenix Assembly

Qing's first impression upon reaching the seventh floor was one of sheer opulence.

It was a veritable showcase of millennia of Chinese fashion history. There were elegant tops with crossed collars tied at the waist, similar tops tied high across the chest, and some wore vibrant vests with sleeves dangling a full chi length.

Others wore the casual myeongbok with its outer top, or the roomy, single-piece shenyi.

Amidst this display, Qing searched for Jin Seol.

And there she was, awkwardly rising from her seat—

Wow. As expected. She doesn't disappoint!

I believed in you, Blooming White Lily!

Jin Seol wore a vest over her top, the lapels crossing just below her sternum, revealing the upper swell of her breasts like an actress on the red carpet back in Qing's homeland.

It was the early style of the danxiong attire from the beginning of the Tang Dynasty.

Yesterday, her chest had been forcefully pushed up, creating a plump mound; today, without support, its natural shape was blatantly exposed.

In that moment, Qing understood Tang Nanah.

Seeing it all laid bare like that… the urge to just grab… hmm, the impulse was truly hard to control.

However, being a person of common sense, Qing decided to keep that thought to herself.

"Look at her, showing off again..." Tang Nanah muttered.

"Why? She looks good," Qing replied. "Isn't that the kind of attire the women of the Central Plains should strive to emulate?"

"Well then, Qing-ah, want to try it? I can get one made for you..." Tang Nanah offered slyly.

"No, why do you keep offering to get me things?" Qing retorted. "And how can a Daoist wear such revealing clothes?"

"Hmph. You walked around naked all the time in the Divine Maiden Sect."

"What are you talking about? Slandering an innocent person like this," Qing protested. "The only times I was naked were when I bathed or slept!"

"Normal people wear clothes when they sleep..." Tang Nanah pointed out.

"That's because I'm not normal, I'm special," Qing declared. "It's a sleeping method employed only by the top ten percent of sleep masters—no, grandmasters."

Qing spouted whatever nonsense came to mind.

Tang Nanah, already used to it, just giggled and slapped Qing's shoulder playfully.

Just then, a young woman hesitantly approached Qing.

But the distance… What's with this?

It reminded Qing of fighters staring each other down before a match, closing in, using their bodies to block the way.

The proximity felt like being on a packed rush-hour train.

Isn't this... a bit too close?

The woman standing right in front of her, Gongson Yoye, grasped both of Qing's hands and spoke in a rush.

"Ah, Miss Ximen. Did you get back alright yesterday? And did you sleep well last night? Uh, also, did you eat breakfast? I hope your journey here today was pleasant? I was so grateful and sorry yesterday, ah, thinking back, I didn't get to apologize yesterday, so if you have time, I would like to treat you this time. Is it okay if tonight we...?"

"Miss Gongson," Qing interrupted gently. "Please, calm down first."

Gongson Yoye flinched and took half a step back.

"I'm sorry. It's my first time making a friend, so I didn't know what to say and prepared beforehand, but I must be nervous, my words got a bit long..."

Sensing she was about to ramble incoherently again, Qing gently squeezed her hands and said,

"Miss Gongson. It's nice to meet you too."

"Ah... Me too. Very much so," Gongson Yoye replied, seeming slightly dazed. "So this is how it's done."

Gongson Yoye offered a tiny, wildflower-like smile, tinged with a strange wistfulness.

Then, a hand pulled Qing's away.

"What's with her!?" Tang Nanah demanded. "What's this atmosphere!?"

"Ah. This is Miss Gongson," Qing explained. "Miss Gongson, this is my friend Nanah, Tang Nanah. Sichuan Tang Clan, you know?"

At this, Gongson Yoye's eyes widened. She then deliberately lowered her voice, mimicking a man's tone and mannerisms.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Son Yoye of the Gong Clan. I have heard much of your esteemed clan's reputation; it is truly an honor to meet you thus."

Tang Nanah whispered, hiding behind Qing, "Wh-what's this, suddenly so formal...?"

"Isn't she a bit weird?" she added quietly.

"Don't say that," Qing whispered back. "Miss Gongson is completely new to the martial arts world, practically her first time out. Before this, she was apparently training almost constantly, like wall-facing meditation."

"Even so..." Tang Nanah muttered unconvinced.

Gongson Yoye seemed to hesitate, then tentatively spoke again.

"But Miss Ximen. About that, the address, um, if we're friends, shouldn't it be a bit softer, maybe more comfortable, like how Miss Tang addresses you? Of course, I'm not forcing you, there's no need to feel burdened, it's just my small thought..."

"Alright, Yoye," Qing said, testing the name. "Hmm, is the pronunciation a bit difficult? How about Ye? Is Ye okay?"

Officially, there was a seven-year age gap, which was why Qing used 'Miss', but Qing generally didn't care much about age unless someone was clearly an elder.

It seemed the girl wanted to be more casual with her first friend, and Qing saw no reason not to oblige.

"Ah! Yes! Please, I humbly request it..." Gongson Yoye stammered.

"No need for requests," Qing smiled. "Ye, you can speak comfortably too."

"Yes! No, I mean..." Gongson Yoye hesitated. "It's... it's not comfortable for me yet. So, may I have your permission to continue using respectful language towards you, Miss?"

"Alright. Permission granted to use respectful language."

"Ah, yes. Thank you... Ah?" Gongson Yoye looked puzzled.

Qing chuckled mischievously.

"Just do whatever's comfortable for you, Ye," Qing said kindly. "I don't mind either way. What's the point of having a friend if you feel uncomfortable around them?"

"Ah. Right," Gongson Yoye agreed. "Miss Ximen, somehow, you feel, yes, like an older sister. Of course, I don't have an older sister, so it's just a feeling. Maybe that's why I can't speak casually."

"Ah! Yes, that's right. There's definitely that feeling," Tang Nanah nodded from behind.

Qing smirked smugly. Well, I have lived longer, so it's only natural.

Jin Seol was still assessing the situation.

Having reached a sort of truce with Tang Nanah, there was no reason to be hostile towards Qing.

Of course, the grudge from the hellish stomachache during the birthday banquet wasn't easily forgotten, but maintaining a relationship with a skilled female physician she could rely on in a pinch wasn't a bad idea.

Besides, what's this, she just scooped up that Gong Clan girl?

Well, even if she was a woman nobody paid attention to, Qing's skill was surprising.

Gongson Yoye was one of those rigid martial artist types, the very staunch kind who, in front of everyone, had basically told the other women to stop fawning over men and practice their martial arts like the pathetic wenches they were.

Yet now, she was acting like a gentle, obedient handmaiden, smiling sweetly. It made Jin Seol wonder just how Qing had managed to melt her.

Then it occurred to her, Ah, she said she was a Divine Maiden Sect disciple.

Wouldn't a sect entirely composed of women engage in these kinds of power plays daily? (No.)

She must truly be a grandmaster, a giant in the realm of female power struggles, where life and politics are indistinguishable! (Also no.)

At this point, Jin Seol decided to swallow her pride.

It was frustrating, but one had to bow before a master.

Besides, by observing Qing up close, she might learn some of those marvelous techniques.

And if she could build rapport and form an alliance, that would be even better.

With both arms held captive, Qing wondered how she was supposed to eat.

Letting go of Gongson Yoye on her right seemed like it would deeply hurt her feelings, but deliberately switching to her left hand just to free Tang Nanah felt unnatural.

As she briefly pondered this dilemma, a pristine white valley suddenly unfolded before her eyes.

"Ahem, Miss Ximen," Jin Seol began smoothly. "You only made a brief appearance yesterday, didn't you? I wanted to chat as well, so I was rather disappointed."

"Ah. Miss Jin."

"Oh, speaking of which, you carry two swords," Jin Seol observed. "Do you use dual swords? I heard dual swordsmanship is a difficult art."

"Ah. I can do it, but I don't use them," Qing replied. "Personally, dual swords are a bit..."

"Miss Ximen?" Jin Seol interrupted, her tone shifting slightly. "Although I cannot see your eyes... where might you be looking? Your head seems slightly... lowered..."

"Ah! Apologies," Qing said quickly, looking up. "It wasn't intentional, you're just so beautiful I got distracted."

Jin Seol's eyes widened.

Then, pretending to be embarrassed, she subtly adjusted her elbow, and Qing's eyes widened too.

Woah, what the. The valley suddenly vanished.

Qing almost zoned out, but Tang Nanah's voice from her left snapped her back to reality.

"Look, look at that," Tang Nanah hissed. "Didn't I say she pretends not to, but she's totally gathering them up? She's just dying to show them off."

Normally, one would be careful not to let the subject of gossip overhear, but Tang Nanah had never adhered to such etiquette.

A vein popped on Jin Seol's forehead.

To be treated like this after she had taken the initiative to approach and offer friendship.

But it was only for a moment.

"You shouldn't say that," Qing chided Tang Nanah gently, then turned back to Jin Seol. "And what's wrong with it? She has plenty to be proud of. It looks good, so what? Sorry, Nanah here has a bit of a prickly personality, but her true nature isn't great either."

"Huh?" Tang Nanah squawked.

"Miss Jin knows too, right?" Qing added, smiling at Jin Seol.

"Ah. Of course," Jin Seol agreed readily, recovering her composure. "I know very well. Utterly spoiled."

"Hey! I even checked your pulse for you!" Tang Nanah protested.

"I appreciate that," Qing countered, "but wouldn't it be nicer if your words were kinder too? You do a good deed and then ruin it. I thought you were acting out of guilt for what happened."

"Guilt? What guilt?" Tang Nanah sputtered. "And who do you think examined you out of the kindness of her heart? I was just checking if anything was wrong, um, no. Actually, I was being kind. You're welcome, right?"

Tang Nanah spoke inexplicably before quickly changing her tune.

It was quite rare for Tang Nanah, who usually insisted on having the last word, no matter what.

"Ah. Let me introduce my friends," Jin Seol interjected smoothly, changing the subject. "Here we have Miss Xu Linlin from the Henan Xu Clan..."

After that, it proceeded like a normal banquet.

If Qing had her way, she'd be stuffing her face, but representing the Divine Maiden Sect meant she had to employ the Ximen Surin-style beauty eating, which was a slight disappointment.

Contrary to Tang Nanah's assessment of Jin Seol as a nasty woman with nothing but a pretty face, she turned out to be surprisingly agreeable and pleasant.

After some fumbling attempts to find common ground through ordinary conversation, being martial artists, the topic inevitably turned to martial arts.

The Guangdong Jin Clan was the origin of the famous Tai Chi Quan.

Their founder, Mr. Jin, created Tai Chi Quan, gaining widespread fame. A passing Daoist named Zhang witnessed it, marveled at its profound subtleties, requested to learn it, and took it to heart.

Later, Daoist Zhang used the principles of Tai Chi Quan to create a sword art, forging the peerless divine art known as the Wisdom Sword of Tai Chi.

Incidentally, Daoist Zhang settled on Mount Wudang and established a temple, which became the world-renowned Wudang Sect.

"So, the true origin, the original Tai Chi Quan, is our Jin Clan's Tai Chi Quan," Jin Seol explained with pride. "However, it's upsetting that nowadays, many people seem to regard Zhang's Tai Chi Quan as the original."

Qing searched for Tai Chi Quan in her Martial Arts Window, and a list popped up.

Tai Chi Quan has a red border, ah, is this it?

Qing spotted the Taiji Wuji Quan, a fist art with a brilliant purple border, and quickly closed the window.

She had no interest in fist arts anyway.

Unlike palm techniques that could be used alongside a sword, the forms of fist arts were designed assuming the practitioner was unarmed.

Hadn't Master said so?

Don't even think about learning fist arts.

The human hand, with four long fingers and one short thumb, is made to firmly grip tools; this was Nüwa's consideration when she molded humans.

Therefore, it is natural to hold a weapon in the right hand and assist with the empty left palm. Unless you plan to preach non-violence like those Shaolin bald monks, is there any need to learn fist arts?

And so, peace seemed to have settled on the seventh floor.

Although there were various cliques, the Phoenix Association was fundamentally a three-way battle dominated by the three major powers: Lily, Sword Flower, and Virtuous Flower.

But with Sword Flower and Virtuous Flower absent, the remaining Lily was the undisputed ruler of the seventh floor.

And when Lily (Jin Seol) extended a hand to Qing, it seemed all conflicts might dissolve, but.

"Oops, I think I came to the wrong floor. My bad."

With a voice full of life, a woman who had just climbed the stairs said, "Sorry, I must have mistaken the building," then turned around and went back down the stairs.

Who's that now?

As Qing tilted her head, she heard a grinding sound beside her.

It was Jin Seol, gritting her teeth.

Qing wondered why, but her curiosity was soon satisfied.

Because the woman who had just gone down came back up and said:

"Ah, this is the highest floor of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. I saw someone dressed like a courtesan with her flesh all exposed, trying to seduce men, so I thought I'd walked into a brothel instead of the assembly hall."

"That damned flat wench..." Jin Seol hissed under her breath.

"My, who dared to carelessly let a courtesan into this precious gathering place for the esteemed members of the Phoenix Association?" the newcomer continued, her voice dripping with false innocence. "Oh? Goodness! Now I see it's not a courtesan but the Lily. Hehe, oops. I mistook you based on your clothes. A virtuous woman wouldn't expose her flesh like that, so I got confused. Hehet."

Ooh. Personal attack. That's harsh.

Qing was impressed.