Chapter 59: Qing's Return

Do you know the feeling of a father, shivering in the cold winter air, carrying home a freshly bought roast chicken for his children?

Of course, Qing wouldn’t know. She had no kids.

But if she had to guess, it might feel something like this.

With a massive bundle strapped to her back like a wandering merchant, she climbed up Divine Maiden Peak, her steps light and carefree.

If someone were to see the contents of her bundle, they’d surely mistake her for some saintly traveling merchant girl.

She had blown all her remaining money on sweets and accessories.

Thanks to her rich friends, her coin pouch had been overflowing, but she never actually spent any of it—until now.

Not that Qing was a leech who only mooched off others.

…Well, maybe not entirely.

But in this era, if she ever pulled out her own money, it would completely ruin Peng Daesan and Namgung Shin-jae’s reputations.

"How narrow-minded must a man from one of the Five Great Clans be to let a woman pay for him?"

So whenever Qing shouted, ‘It’s on me!’, the two would jump in shock, frantically trying to stop her.

Because of that, her gift bundle had ended up resembling…

A certain bearded old man in red, who only wore one outfit, preached universal equality, and handed out sweets to children worldwide.

The disciples guarding the main gate of Divine Maiden Sect noticed Qing approaching and began waving frantically.

“Ah! Grand Martial Junior is back!”

“Grand-Martial Junior! You’ve returned!”

The excitement in the girls’ voices was pure and genuine.

Qing’s heart felt warm and fuzzy.

But… she still found these Divine Maiden Sect disciples a little intimidating.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re all working hard. Here.”

Qing reached into her bundle and skillfully pulled out sugar candies wrapped in yellow paper.

One by one, she placed the hardened sugar sticks into their hands.

“Wow! Candy! Thank you, Grand-Martial Junior!”

“We’ll eat well! Grand-Martial Junior, you’re the best!”

For women, sweets were serious business.

Before transmigrating, Qing had been just a regular factory worker who didn’t care much for sweets.

But now? She completely understood.

There was a certain bliss that only obscenely sweet things could provide.

The way sugar coated the tongue, washed away by tea, only for you to crave another bite—it was the Central Plains’s legal drug.

Then again… it wasn’t like actual drugs were illegal yet.

Ancient barbaric China hadn’t developed any proper laws or regulations for drug control.

“Thank you, Grand Martial Junior!”

She passed sweets to the youngest chicks,

Nodded politely to the elder matrons,

And even tossed some to the second-generation disciples rolling around the training grounds.

Qing strode confidently through the sect, distributing sweets like a warlord handing out rations.

There was no higher-ranking woman to stop her—her path forward was unobstructed.

And finally, her sweet, sweet home came into view.

The real estate market in Murim wasn’t exactly booming.

But still, there was nothing quite like having a home of your own.

That was when—

A girl lying on Qing’s handmade wooden bench suddenly shot up and charged at her.

“Unni!”

But Qing was no fool.

This ambush was far too obvious.

She dodged effortlessly.

“…You dodged?”

“Who dares enter the residence of the esteemed Ximen Qing, External Elder of Divine Maiden Sect? A mere disciple, stepping in uninvited? For failing to recognize your sect’s honored elder, I shall personally punish you with a candy!”

“…?”

Qing shoved a piece of candy into the girl’s hand.

The girl’s eyes narrowed.

“…What the hell are you saying?”

“Ah! That voice… don’t tell me—Jangmyeong?!”

“You’re so mean.”

Qing had every right to be confused.

The Jin Jangmyeong she remembered was not some delicate beauty—

She had been a handsome little brat.

And now, after just half a year, she had transformed into a ridiculously adorable young lady?

There was no way Qing could have recognized her.

…Though, her height hadn’t changed at all.

Was Divine Maiden Sect not feeding her properly?

“You… completely fooled me! Quite the devious little mind you’ve got!”

“…I wasn’t trying to deceive you…”

Qing ignored her protests and began rambling.

“Wow! You’ve gotten so pretty! Jangmyeong, you’re beautiful! You’re adorable! Lovely! Gorgeous! You look like a flower! No—like a fairy! Hiya, now you're completely a girl, a girl! Totally a girl!”

“…? Then what was I before…?”

Jangmyeong tilted her head.

Was she… being insulted?

Then, as disappointment sank in, her cheeks puffed out.

This wasn’t at all the emotional reunion she had imagined.

“…Whatever. I’m leaving.”

“Ah! Wait! I brought you a special gift! It’s expensive, so don’t go blabbing about it to the others, alright?”

Jangmyeong’s ears perked up.

“…Special?”

“Let’s see… I packed it somewhere over here…”

Qing rummaged through her bag.

After a moment, she pulled out a glittering golden hair ornament.

A Binyeo—a type of ornamental hairpin with two prongs to secure it in place.

The golden leaf ornament had veins branching out like delicate bones, with a green jade bead dangling from its stem. It wasn’t large or overly extravagant—just small, intricate, and adorably elegant.

Jin Jangmyeong’s eyes widened.

“Waaah…”

“Pretty, right? Ahem, ahem. Just something I picked up along the way. You wouldn’t find something like this in your house, would you? Like… spring potatoes… no, wait.”

“…What the hell are you even saying?”

Despite her words, her face lit up with joy.

“Put it on for me.”

“Hey. Do you not have hands? Do you not have feet?”

“Hurry.”

She wasn’t exactly at an age where she should be acting spoiled…

But then again, Jangmyeong had never really been in a position to act spoiled—not even after joining Divine Maiden Sect.

Feeling a little soft-hearted, Qing gave in.

“Fine. Since you’re cute, I’ll allow it.”

She had also learned the proper placement of hair ornaments, so she carefully tucked the golden leaf pin into Jangmyeong’s neatly twisted hair, slightly off-center on the right.

“kehhekeh…”

“…Oi? Just now—”

“What?”

Qing tilted her head.

Did she just hear… a really shady-sounding laugh?

Weird. She could’ve sworn she heard something.

“…Never mind. I need to go see my master now. Wanna come?”

“No.”

Jangmyeong’s expression instantly hardened.

That was that, and this was this.

“My, my. So decisive. You could at least pretend to consider it for a second.”

“No thanks.”

“Alright, then. Have it your way. So stubborn.”

After unpacking her things, Qing grabbed her remaining bundle of gifts and left the courtyard.

Behind her, Jin Jangmyeong stood with a reddened face, absentmindedly touching the golden leaf ornament in her hair.

Of course, Qing’s eyes were facing forward.

So she had no idea.

“Masterrr! Your disciple has returned!”

“…Haah. What kind of grown woman drags out her words like that? And here I thought I’d raised a proper disciple… tsk tsk.”

Ximen Surin clicked her tongue.

Which, when translated, meant: "I'm glad to see you again."

“Hehehe…”

“Stop grinning like that. All my teachings have gone to waste.”

Despite her words, a smile crept onto Ximen Surin’s lips.

As she gazed into her disciple’s eyes, she nodded in approval.

“…Your eyes are clearer than before. It seems you haven’t been running around causing trouble. I was worried your Heavenly Slaughtering Star fate would flare up again, but… looks like I was worrying for nothing.”

A completely groundless misunderstanding.

Ximen Surin had no idea that the Martial Celestial Emperor had single-handedly erased Qing’s accumulated slaughter fate.

She simply assumed that, since the faint killing aura she had left with was now gone, her disciple must have had a peaceful journey.

“Ah, Master! I brought you a gift, too.”

“Gift? No need for that. Just returning in one piece is enough.”

“It’s a flute. I thought you played it sometimes.”

Qing pulled out the flute she had been hiding behind her back.

Ximen Surin’s expression shifted slightly.

As a gift, it was a little strange.

Rather than a proper instrument, it looked more like an unfinished chunk of metal.

“…This is…”

“The flute’s called Bokshinjeok.”

Ximen Surin let out a quiet chuckle.

“Hmph. So my disciple has learned to joke? First, you name every sword you own ‘Moonlight Sword’, and now you’re obsessed with naming things? Where did you even hear such a name?”

Qing flashed her signature blank smile—the one she always used when she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Ximen Surin’s face stiffened.

“…Wait. Are you serious?”

Qing just kept smiling.

Ximen Surin carefully examined the flute again.

Now that she took a closer look, it was heavier than it seemed.

A faint chill emanated from it, and its dull, dark-blue color was reminiscent of the midnight sea.

She already knew.

There was only one flute like this in the entire world.

“…No way. Where did you even get this? I was told it was buried alongside the Heavenly Empress.”

Bokshinjeok was famously known as the treasure of Seol Neungcho, the greatest female warrior of her time.

It had also been the betrothal gift from her husband—the legendary blacksmith, Banchi.

The Heavenly Empress had once declared, "When I die, all I need to be buried with is this flute."

And when she disappeared from the world, never to be seen again, it was naturally assumed that her flute had been buried with her.

That was common knowledge.

For reference, in Murim, the phrase "disappearing from the world" was a poetic way of saying ‘retirement.’

Of course, retirement in Murim was no simple matter.

The grudges of martial artists were complicated—especially grudges of vengeance.

If someone suddenly announced,
"I’m retiring! Let’s just pretend all our grudges never happened! :D"

…Did anyone really think their enemies would clap and cheer,
"Congrats on your retirement!"
before waving them off with a smile?

Of course not.

They’d pull out their swords and come for their life.

That was why retirement in Murim required an official ceremony—one that ensured all past grudges were erased.

Only the most respected warriors could pull it off.

And Seol Neungcho had been one of them.

Of course, Qing, knowing none of this, innocently replied—

“Oh! So that place was her tomb?”

Ximen Surin’s face grew serious.

Just what the hell had her disciple been doing on this journey?!