Chapter 24: Ximen Qing

A-Qing's eyes widened.

Even with her limited knowledge, A-Qing knew that to learn martial arts, one had to become a disciple, and to become a disciple, one had to join a sect. 

Actually, she didn't know that at first. 

She found out early on when she was looking to learn a variety of martial arts. 

“Do I have to join the Divine Maiden Sect?” 

“Let me be honest. You, a girl who is not yet twenty years old, have reached the peak of the late stage, so your talent is very tempting. There is no master in Murim would covet it."

A-Qing was surprised. 

“Am I that young?” 

“Child?” 

"Well, this isn't exactly a girlish figure..."

Her face already had the lowest beauty score anyway.

“Child. By any chance. Do you not know your age?” 

“I'm Unsure??” 

“Did you name yourself A-Qing, girl?” 

“Yes.” 

To be precise, Ctrl+CV. Cut and paste. 

Because they said they would give me purple martial arts. 

“What's your original surname?” 

“I don't know that either…” 

Ximen Surin's expression was filled with pity. 

It was the same misunderstanding as that guy from Hebei.[^ Peng from Chapter 6]

It's not that Peng is stupid, but anyone in this age with a bit of sense will come to the same conclusion. 

"Oh my, child. How did you grow up so well despite those hardships? You're amazing, truly. So very lovely."

A-Qing, at a loss for an answer, just laughed it off. 

“Well, it seems like you had the blessing of a Master anyway.” 

“Master?” 

“...Don't you have a Master either? Then where did you learn your martial arts, girl?” 

“I just happened to know it somehow…” 

“Self-taught?” 

“I guess so?” 

A-Qing answered with a question. 

It wasn't martial arts learned through proper methods.

Ximen Surin's expression was filled with shock. 

"The pure and unyielding flow was clearly an orthodox Daoist lineage. It's not even lacking enough to be called a divine skill, is it? Such a fateful encounter, what is the name of that skill?"  

“The Yue Maiden Cultivation Technique.” 

Ximen Surin clapped her hands together.

“Oh! So that's why you're A-Qing. This is truly amazing! I thought the legendary divine skill only existed in legends, and its owner was here. Indeed, the world of Murim is vast, and there is so much that people do not know! But.” 

Bam! A noogie flew into the crown of A-Qing's head. 

It was a noogie that came at the speed of light, impossible to dodge.

The impact rattled her skull.

It was literally a nuclear noogie shot with an intercontinental ballistic missile. 

Ximen Surin looked at A-Qing, who had tears welling up in her eyes in an instant, and said sternly. 

“Do you answer again when asked? You foolish, slow-witted, and stupid girl. If the world knew your martial arts, they would all covet and chase after you. It's a miracle you're still alive. Tsk tsk.” 

“Ohhh.” 

She gained valuable knowledge again.

The madam was like a knowledge vending machine.

Every time she was poked, important knowledge came pouring out.

"Oh? That vulgar language! Are those words fit to come out of your mouth?"

"It's just a habit..."

"Well, I suppose it's understandable for a child like you."

Even though she didn't know what it was, A-Qing nodded.

"Sigh. You're truly a baby left by the water. If you were to enter the world like this, it's clear your life wouldn't last long."

“Me?” 

“Didn't you just make enemies with the Shin Changyang Clan? Surely that black clothed fellow next to you must be an assassin from the Black Assassin Guild.” 

A-Qing didn't know anything. 

It was evident in her blank expression. 

Ximen Surin let out a deep sigh. 

“Sigh. This foolish girl.” 

Despite the harsh words, A-Qing understood the concern behind them.

A-Qing just gave an awkward smile. 

“But that baby, she ate the Great Rejuvenation Pill of the Shaolin Temple.” 

“The Great Rejuvenation Pill?” 

A-Qing asked back. 

Her reaction was like saying, 'I have no idea what that is.'

Ximen Surin laughed. 

“The Great Rejuvenation Pill is the Shaolin Temple's elixir, considered the best among all the world's elixirs. They say you can't buy it even with a thousand gold.” 

“Aaahh…” 

That was why Yang Sowol had scammed her off to raise the price. 

“Sigh. That girl, Sowol.” 

“Oh, do you know Jangmyeong's mother?” 

“Of course I do, she was once a member of our family.” 

The Divine Maiden Sect is a sect of women. 

And a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect must not marry. 

However, as human nature desires to see their own child, they were allowed to adopt a girl and raise her as their own.

“Then could it be that Jangmyeong is…” 

“No. She is indeed her daughter. She ran away with a man.” 

“Ahh.” 

However, the Divine Maiden Sect is not a radical feminist group that blindly opposes marriage and demands a halt to it. 

You fell in love with a man and wanted to get married? 

All you had to do was give up what you received from the Divine Maiden Sect and leave. In other words, you just had to break your dantian and leave. 

Ximen Surin frowned. 

“She was a girl full of greed.” 

Yang Sowol ran away because she didn't like that. 

She didn't just run away. 

She took the Divine Maiden Sect's warehouse as a dowry and completely emptied it. 

She had planned it meticulously.

She only picked out the valuable things and took them all. 

That was why Jin Jangmyeong's memories of the past were so comfortable. 

A-Qing was speechless. 

'Wow, that woman. I didn't expect that.'

"I should have chased her to the ends of the earth and ended her then. She couldn't let go of what she held in her hands. A vulgar woman who would even betray her own sect wouldn't live a good life even if she survived, so I shouldn't have let her go."

That was the root cause. 

A child born with Pure Yin Blood dies before the age of twenty. 

It was a terrible curse of misfortune. 

However, for a martial artist, that curse could also be the greatest blessing.

Because it is the best quality to become the best artist in the world. 

A child born with Pure Yin Blood could sufficiently become an martial artist renowned throughout the world. 

The problem was that if one was born with Pure Yin Blood, it was nearly impossible to learn martial arts. 

The body is weak and only the energy is strong, so problems arose from the most basic stage of forming a dantian. 

“And then?” 

“You need the help of an expert, girl. At least the help of a true expert who has reached the Unrestrained Realm.” 

An expert who has reached the Unrestrained Realm could forcibly inject energy through physical contact to create a dantian. 

However, physical contact comes at the cost of the expert's decades of internal strength. 

"So could she have brought her daughter back? A woman who broke the sect's rules and even stole treasures to run away?"

So she got the Great Rejuvenation Pill and fed it to her. 

If the medicinal properties of the Great RejuvenationPill can replace internal energy, the expert doesn't have to lose anything. 

They can immediately use the medicinal properties to form a dantian. 

"She must have been prepared to give up her own life. To save her child instead. Since the child had already taken the elixir, she would have begged them to just guide her."

“Ahh…” 

“That damn girl! Since she turned her back on the sect, how could she know what achievements this Matriarch had made! Ha!” 

The Matriarch had already achieved great achievements ten years ago. 

She was at a realm where she could grasp the overflowing and destructive energy of Pure Yin and create a dantian. 

There was no need for physical contact in the first place. 

If she had just brought the child, the Matriarch would have saved Jin Jangmyeong.

"It was something she didn't need in the first place."

If she had known about Jin Jangmyeong’s constitution from the beginning and brought her directly. 

No matter how heinous her sins were, the Zenith amongst women wouldn't have been able to kill the mother of the child she had saved.

Her father wouldn't have lost his life either. 

The head of the Shin Changyang Clan would eventually be injured fighting the Demonic Cannibal, but the child would already be a member of the Divine Maiden Sect by then. 

Then the great family that had protected the East Sea from foreign enemies for so long wouldn't have been deceived… 

“This is what karma is. A single evil deed has plunged countless people into the abyss of sorrow, and this is the wickedness of evil karma.” 

Ximen Surin sternly advised. 

“So you must keep this in mind as well, girl. Especially you, who possess the most dangerous star.” 

A-Qing didn't know much about Murim. 

So she didn't really know what kind of relationship a teacher and disciple had in the Murim. 

In Murim, a master was like a parent.

Therefore, a master was considered equivalent to a parent.

However, for modern Koreans who do not distinguish between a instructor and a teacher, the relationship between a teacher and a disciple is too casual. 

The biggest reason why A-Qing didn't think much of it and just said, “I want to be your disciple,” and moved on was this perception. 

Besides, A-Qing was secretly longing for warmth. 

It was only natural for her to fall head over heels for Ximen Surin, who was giving off the energy of a grandmother. 

And so, A-Qing bowed deeply to Ximen Surin. 

Therefore. 

“If you go out into Murim like this, your life as a disciple will be in danger and will soon be cut short. So, for now, the priority is to hide your identity.” 

“Hide my identity?” 

“Yes. Your face has already been revealed, hasn't it? Especially since you've made enemies with a Trancendent Realm expert, you too must reach the same realm to even think about living. Until then, it would be wise to hide your identity.” 

“Ah.” 

She hadn't thought about it that way. 

Her approach was simply to fight if she could win, and run if she couldn't.  

A-Qing was also confident in her movement skills. 

"So from now on, your name will be Ximen Qing."

"Qing. Okay, I'll go by Qing from now on. The surname is the same as Master's, right?"

Qing or A-Qing, it's all the same anyway. 

It's a bit burdensome to even give her a surname, but since everyone in Murim seems to call each other by their surnames, it feels a bit strange to use only my first name, so, well. 

'So now I'm a Xi?'  

Come to think of it, I could have just used my original surname. 

Whack! 

“AYYAH!” 

A-Qing screamed at the terrible pain. 

It was an unavoidable scream that came out instinctively.  

It was a hydrogen-nuclear noogie that surpassed even the nuclear noogie.  

'What kind of noogie is this!'  

'Is my head cracked? Am I bleeding?' 

A-Qing rubbed her head, checking her fingertips every now and then.  

A-Qing rubbed her head, checking her fingertips every now and then. 

'At least it's not bleeding. Ayyyyaa, I thought it was.'