Episode 8: Friends

A-Qing might have appeared naive, but she was far from it. She recognized the pathetic desperation emanating from the women, their blatant attempts to attract the Jade Qilin's attention. Had they displayed even a sliver of sincerity, she might have been tempted to nudge San and playfully suggest he help retrieve some of the dropped items.

However, as A-Qing savored her collection of Murim snacks—fried, steamed, boiled, baked, and dried—the littering continued unabated. The ground became so covered in handkerchiefs that she could traverse it without touching the ground, as if walking on a poem come to life. Picking up every single one would be an endless task. A-Qing clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Wow," she remarked, "I'm sick of this."

"I thought you'd tell me to pick them up," San commented.

"How could I possibly pick up all that? Forget it, my back would give out."

A question suddenly crossed A-Qing's mind. "Do the owners return for these later?"

"Well..." Peng Daesan hesitated. Did they return for them? Wouldn't that be a tad embarrassing? But leaving them there seemed inconsiderate. Peng Daesan frowned. Why was he even contemplating this?

"They'll send someone later," he finally replied.

"They'll travel all the way back to retrieve them? Is there a specialized service for recovering lost items, especially after they've been stepped on and kicked around?"

The women surrounding Peng Daesan were all rivals. They subtly blocked each other's view, pretended to stroll by and "accidentally" dropped their own belongings atop their competitors', or even blatantly stepped on their rivals' possessions.

"Would I earn any money if I gathered and sold them?" She wondered aloud.

Peng Daesan was incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"No, I mean, some of them appear quite expensive. They'd definitely come back for those, wouldn't they?" A-Qing pointed at a fragrant pouch lying on the ground.

Handkerchiefs were easily discarded, but they easily carry a negative connotation. Presenting someone with a white handkerchief was a subtle way of ending a relationship. Only a handkerchief crafted from red fabric with gold thread embroidery, or something equally lavish, was deemed a suitable gift between lovers.

That's why women from affluent families dropped trinkets. Occasionally, a woman might drop a fragrant pouch or a hairpin, but even the other women hesitated to step on or kick such valuable items. After all, who would dare offend a woman who could afford to discard such expensive things? Conversely, it also implied that if you were willing to risk the consequences, you could do as you pleased with them.

"Ugh, what's all this? So dirty." A short boy dressed in pristine white clothing appeared, kicking away the scattered tokens of affection.

The burly man beside him remarked, "Looks like signs of Brother Jade Qilin’s passage."

"Ah, you're right," the boy agreed. "Peng, my brother! Are you here?"

"Why are you shouting? Simply follow the women's gazes. See? There he is."

"As expected of our brother Zhuge! Very clever! Pe-e-eng! My bro-o-ther!"

A-Qing instinctively checked their karma. The boy in white had 86. "Wow," she gasped. That was the highest she'd witnessed among martial artists. And the burly man had -19. "Hmm, not bad," she thought.

Positive karma was difficult to accumulate. Conversely, negative karma could be amassed quickly, particularly for martial artists who frequently took lives. Even with negative karma, a two-digit negative number suggested a relatively decent life.

Intrigued by the unusual pair, A-Qing inquired, "Do you know them?"

"Yes," Peng Daesan replied, his tone less than welcoming.

Not that A-Qing had ever seen him act warmly towards anyone, nor could she imagine it. She simply assumed it was his nature.

The boy entered the teahouse, his voice surprisingly loud for his small frame. "Brother Peng! Long time no see! I didn't expect to see you here! You're still glowing! Wonderful!"

"Long time no see, Brother Hwangbo," Peng Daesan responded.

"Yes! When was the last time we met? Oh my! What a surprise! You're with a woman! Could it be...?"

"Absolutely not," Peng Daesan stated, horrified.

"Haha, I apologize! You need to learn a thing or two about women's hearts!"

Peng Daesan's mood soured. Of course, this was the typical reaction when a sore spot was touched. But Peng Daesan knew the 'brat' well. He was a good person without a trace of malice, and so clueless that arguing was futile.

Oblivious to Peng Daesan's thoughts, the boy laughed heartily, a sound that seemed incongruous with his small stature.

"This is Hwangbo Uncheok," Peng Daesan explained, "just an acquaintance. And that one is Zhuge Ihyeon."

"Brother Peng," Zhuge Ihyeon interjected, "why is he a 'acquaintance' but I'm 'that one'?"

"Because you dragged him here on purpose" Peng Daesan retorted. "Did you bring him here intentionally?"

"The ladies were so excited, I knew right away that Brother Peng had arrived. Naturally, I had to bring him to greet you."

The small boy was Hwangbo Uncheok, surprisingly twenty-seven years old. He looked like a middle school student.

"Twenty-seven?" A-Qing mouthed silently, her expression a mix of disbelief and amusement.

Seeing her reaction, Peng Daesan added, "He took the wrong medicine when he was young."

"Ah," A-Qing nodded understandingly. Well, there was nothing to be done about a mishap with herbal medicine.

Hwangbo Uncheok, the Little Supreme Justice. A renowned good person in Murim, he had earned the title of Supreme Justice despite his diminutive size, hence the nickname Little Supreme Justice. He was known for his late-blooming martial arts prowess, his righteous conduct, and his boisterous personality that contrasted sharply with his youthful appearance.

Then there was Zhuge Ihyeon, a giant of a man who looked like the embodiment of raw muscle. He was eighteen years old.

"Zhuge...? Like, Zhuge Liang...?" A-Qing asked. She recognized the name Zhuge. After all, Zhuge Liang was incredibly famous. He was the one who was physically weak but intellectually brilliant.

"He seems to have inherited too much of his maternal family's blood," Peng Daesan explained.

"Of course!" Hwangbo Uncheok exclaimed. "My mother’s side is full of warriors! It’s only natural!"

"I’m satisfied with it," Zhuge Ihyeon replied, flexing his biceps. "Isn't it time for the Zhuge family to shed the image of frail scholars?"

In modern terms, it was the classic front double biceps pose. The fact that he was wearing a sleeveless top, a rare sight in Murim, only accentuated his muscles and his pride.

Zhuge Ihyeon, the Beastly Sage. He was said to possess the body of a beast and the mind of a sage. He was a genius blessed with both the powerful physique of his maternal Hwangbo family and the extraordinary intellect of the Zhuge family. His martial arts skills weren't the highest, but no one expected that from the Zhuge family anyway. On the contrary, the elders of his family held high hopes for his intelligence.

The Zhuge family might have been on the lower end of the martial arts spectrum among the Five Great Clans, but they were still one of the Five Great Clans of Murim. However, perhaps due to their exceptionally brilliant ancestor, everyone seemed to perceive the Zhuges as nothing more than clever weaklings. It was rather unfair, really. Zhuge Liang himself was a man of steel, enduring 11 years of arduous work, including countless nights of overtime, after Liu Bei's death.

This perceived injustice had fueled the Zhuge family's obsession with improving their physical constitution through marriage, rather than focusing on political advancement. However, the results were consistently the same: a sage's mind in a weakling's body. They even delved into bloodline studies through the lens of sorcery, suspecting a curse might be at play.

Amidst all this, Zhuge Ihyeon, who displayed both strength and intelligence from a young age, was a godsend for the family.

For Peng Daesan, however, they were unwelcome guests. He tended to avoid peers with ostentatious nicknames like Little Supreme Justice or Beastly Sage. And then there was the matter of the Jade Qilin himself.

Moreover, Hwangbo Uncheok was, how should one put it... a bit too pure? His mind was somewhat innocent, and he was terribly oblivious. Plus, he couldn't abide injustice. He had even confronted a peerless master once. Fortunately, the master had laughed it off magnanimously; otherwise, Hwangbo Uncheok would have died on the spot. That was how he earned the nickname Little Supreme Justice.

In short, being around Hwangbo Uncheok was exhausting. And while Zhuge Ihyeon was a decent fellow, he had the fatal flaw of always being in Hwangbo Uncheok's company. The Little Supreme Justice's affection for his cousin was well-known.

"Young lady," Hwangbo Uncheok asked A-Qing, "how did you come to be with our Brother Peng?"

"We're traveling together," A-Qing replied.

"My brother is notoriously harsh towards women, so..."

"We're just friends," A-Qing interrupted. "Friends of the same age."

"Oh, come on, there's no such thing as friendship between a man and a woman."

"Well, here we are," A-Qing retorted.

"Everyone starts like that," Hwangbo Uncheok chuckled. "Then you grow close, become lovers, and eventually call each other 'honey,' don't you?"

In this unfamiliar Murim world, A-Qing suddenly detected a familiar vibe. That way of speaking, emphasizing "we." That attitude of trying to pair up a woman with his friend who had no interest in women.

'Hey, our youngest! Why did Choi Nayeon from C Line give you coffee? Is this a galbitang moment?'

'What are you talking about? She gave it to me to thank me for the ride yesterday.'

'Oh, our youngest. Already giving rides to girls?'

'No, it was raining yesterday. She missed the bus and was standing there, so I gave her a ride since I'd seen her a few times.'

'Wow, our youngest, quite the player, aren't you? That's how they all approach you.'

'That's not how it is.'

'Oh, our youngest. Always cooped up inside playing games...'

That was the senior who had joined the company a year before her. A while later, he confessed to Oh Haeun from C Line, got brutally rejected, and quit the company.

He wasn't a bad person. He was a good person who would drag you to company dinners (a.k.a. mandatory booze fests that married men never skipped), even if you didn't want to go, saying he'd cover your share. Later, witnessing a new employee become an outcast for not attending a single dinner, A-Qing realized how grateful she should have been.

Even after quitting, he would often visit and buy her meals. But spreading rumors about her and Choi Nayeon was a bit much.

A-Qing reminisced about the past. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

She wasn't about to fall for that routine again.