Chapter 180

When people talk about the three great ancient capitals of China, they mean Xi’an (Jang An), Luoyang, and Kaifeng (Liang).

All of them shared a common benefit, having developed based on the agricultural productivity of the vast plains stretching across Hebei, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan during the era of primitive farming.

Among them, you can’t ignore Kaifeng’s massive canal.

The canal stretched right into the city center, allowing boats to set off from in front of the government offices, heading north towards Beijing, west past Luoyang to Xi’an, and south-west to Hangzhou, making it the hub of China’s inland waterway transport.

This was all interconnected with three monumental rivers in the Central Plain—the Yellow River, the Yangtze, and even the lesser-known Huai River, all forming an impressive waterway network.

“Hmm. Time to wake up. Go on up and rest.”

“Huh? No way…”

Qing responded groggily, barely opening her eyes.

“If you don’t want to, are you going to sleep uncomfortably here? We booked a room, so why not sleep on a proper bed instead?”

“I want to sleep here…”

“Hmm. Then you’ll need to stay in the carriage. I’m leaving.”

Pang Dae-san, without realizing it, was inadvertently saying he was going to live here while his mom was going back home.

Come to think of it, that’s quite a universal sentiment among humans.

“See you later…”

But Qing was also quite the handful.

Pang Dae-san reached out to her, then awkwardly withdrew his hand, scratching his chin with a perplexed expression.

Even if his friend didn’t understand the intricacies between genders, it was a ride he shouldn’t take too lightly.

Instead, he leaned in closer to Qing’s ear and whispered in his signature low voice,

“Wake up when you come to your senses.”

“Eek! What’s that? Creepy!”

It had a tremendous effect.

Startled and wide-eyed, Qing shot up, narrowly avoiding a collision with Pang Dae-san’s hard head, which felt as solid as iron but indeed contained nothing significant.

“Wow, creepy, seriously. Don’t do that!”

Qing rubbed her arms in disgust.

She was just resting peacefully but suddenly hearing that overly sweet tone from a guy would catch any woman off guard like this.

“Hmm.”

Pang Dae-san’s eyes sparked with mischief.

It was the glimmer of someone who had finally found a weakness in that annoying friend.

But that moment was short-lived; he quickly shielded his bright eyes with a straw hat, effectively hiding Oki-rin’s elegant face from view.

The hat, hastily acquired that morning, wasn’t of the best quality; the flimsy veil hardly served its purpose, merely allowing a pleasant smile to peek through.

“So, what? Going with the face covering now? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t cover it because you had nothing to hide?”

“After thinking it over all night, I realized I’d be the one getting hurt anyway. Better for the dirtier one to avoid me, right? I don’t want to step into muck and then complain about it. So, I got a servant to find this.”

“Good thinking. That’s spot on. Alright, then I’ll too.”

Qing threw a veil over her head.

Pang Dae-san, watching her, asked,

“Is that the original color?”

“Yeah. The washer did a good job. Wow, the fragrance. You wouldn’t expect it, but she’s a heavenly woman, right? So considerate.”

“Unlike someone.”

“That’s because I’m a man. And actually, I could also be a heavenly woman, you know? I just choose not to.”

“That basically means you’re already hopeless.”

With that, they hopped out of the carriage, and Qing stretched out.

“Ugh, that was exhausting! Traveling all night makes me feel dead. People should really sleep at night; doing anything else is just wrong.”

Pang Dae-san rolled his eyes and shot back.

“What were you doing with your eyes closed in the carriage? You sure have a thick skin.”

“Hey, sleeping in a carriage doesn’t count, you know? Even if I did sleep, it wouldn’t feel like sleep. Ahhh, yawwwn.”

Qing stretched her mouth wide for a yawn.

Big-mouthed women are one of the classic traits from the Central Plain, so yawning with noise is taboo; usually, they’d turn and cover their mouths.

Of course, Qing had no idea, and even if she did, she’d think, “What does it matter? I’m not shy about it.”

Pang Dae-san clicked his tongue at her carefree nature.

“Get some more rest. I’ll meet you around lunchtime. You’ve got the second room from the end on the third floor.”

Pang Dae-san, still seated in the carriage, held onto the door Qing swung wide open and said,

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“Every inn is full of guests, so I barely managed to grab a room after paying extra. I plan to take a nap in the carriage and drop by around lunchtime, so don’t act out and just stay put.”

With the Martial World Tournament approaching, all the lodgings were completely booked up.

Had their faces been uncovered, they could have stayed at the Martial Alliance’s luxurious accommodations. But now that they were on the run, they didn’t want that either.

So, he decided to sleep in the carriage left in the horse stable.

“Aah, why would you sleep uncomfortably in there? I should have known better. You’re not the type to catch some z’s.”

“…I doze off sometimes.”

“Exhausted folk should sleep on a proper bed. I should have told you long ago; you’ve probably had your fill of sleep, so just take the bed.”

“Alright.”

Pang Dae-san said that and then, just as if he’d been waiting for it, hopped lightly out of the carriage.

Qing’s veil tilted slightly to the side.

“Hmm?”

“What’s with that? Oh, but wait.”

Then Pang Dae-san’s translucent lips stretched into a sly grin.

“You’ve got two beds here, and you’re saying you’d sleep on the floor? I guess you’ve gotten used to that peasant life, huh?”

“Ah, we have separate beds? So why are you saying you’d sleep in the carriage?”

“Well, I only got one room, so I wouldn’t ask to share.”

“Oh. I see. That makes me seem like a weird one.”

As Qing understood this, she also realized;

They couldn’t get two rooms, but since he wouldn’t come out and ask to share, he must be waiting for her to bring it up.

What a bothersome guy.

But the carriage owner was Dae-san, the one who booked the room was Dae-san, and the cash used was also Dae-san’s.

So, what could she say?

With which she was jokingly meddling, what right did she have to complain?

No, she wasn’t here to mess around; she just wanted to slowly explore and hang out with Zhuo and Jun but felt bad for her lonely friend Dae-san so she came along instead.

Therefore, Qing had every right to boldly ask for whatever on this trip to Kaifeng.

Should Dae-san hear this, he’d certainly retort about keeping her in line during their travels to Luoyang or Hwasan.

Pang Dae-san had napped deeply until it was nearly noon.

Considering he’d stayed up all night guarding the carriage, it was naturally expected.

And he was a bit surprised to find Qing still asleep on the opposite bed.

She just woke up, took a carriage nap, got up, then came back to the inn to sleep again?

If left as such, one could sleep the entire day away!

Having barely caught up with Qing’s lazy state in martial arts proficiency left him with a strong sense of self-doubt.

After he did wake her up for lunch, piled some snacks before her, she began munching away and asked,

“So, what’s next? What’s so famous around here? Any sights to see?”

“Could you ask one thing at a time? First, let’s drop by the alliance leader, and, hmm. You wouldn’t need to reveal your face; it’s fine, I like it. I should have started covering my face long ago.”

“See, covering makes it easy.”

“It does ruin some decorum, though.”

Face-covering straw hats are quite common in the Central Plain.

Usually worn by boatmen or coach drivers, the veils serve the practical purpose of shading from the sun or shielding from rain, while also blocking splashes of water or dust.

However, since boatmen and drivers did not hold a good reputation, wearing such things was seen as lowly for a young master of high status.

“What are you talking about? Nobody’s going to recognize you anyway, so what decorum?”

“Hmm? You have a point there.”

“So, what’s next? I’m so bored just lounging around.”

“Kaifeng boasts two famous pagodas—one tall and one short. And it has the biggest market in the Central Plain. And, of course, they each have shrines dedicated to the likes of Wu Wang, Yue Fei, Zhang Liang, and Bao Zheng.”

If Je-gal Lee-hyun had been present, he would have spilled all the tales about them, but Pang Dae-san preferred sharing the bare minimum of information.

Two pagodas, tall and short.

Shrines, not that you’d care anyway.

And the largest market in the Central Plain.

“Hmm? Bao Zheng? Sounds familiar?”

At that, Pang Dae-san’s eyes fluttered.

“I mentioned four names, and you only recognize one? And it had to be Bao Zheng?”

“Honestly, I don’t really know. Bao Zheng? Is he a dancer or something? Anyway, shrines? Nothing special there. And what about pagodas? How tall could they be?”

At that moment, Qing thought pagodas were only as high as the national treasures shown on coins might depict.

How tall could these pagodas even be? Just two or three times a person’s height… well she used to think like that.

“Wow! That’s high!”

After a late hearty lunch, when Qing stood before the towering brick pagoda of the “Kaibo Temple,” she couldn’t help but be astonished.

Seeing a thirteen-story brick edifice towering eighteen spans high, it was impossible not to be amazed.

The Iron Pagoda wasn’t actually made of iron; it just looked like it because the dull bricks had the shade of iron.

“Since I saw the tall one, do I really need to see the short one? How about the market? Street food is a must!”

“You’re going to go munch some food again?”

“Actually, there aren’t many seats available. We should walk, let it digest, and then pick and choose the best bites. If you’d told me about lunch beforehand, I wouldn’t have thoroughly fallen into your trap back there.”

“You certainly have a knack for leaving people speechless.”

“Well, if you practice anything, it becomes a skill, right?”

And just like that, he did not shut his mouth, so discussing it further would only lead to an endless stream of chatter.

Thus, Pang Dae-san decided to hold his tongue for the time being.

But just because Pang Dae-san kept quiet didn’t mean Qing would follow suit. Back in her previous life, she wasn’t overly talkative, leaning more towards being a good listener.

However, since she was living away from home, especially in a friend-centric culture like China.

Friendships have levels; you start from mere acquaintances and steadily work your way up the ranks.

They even announce your newfound status with statements like, ‘From today onward, I regard you as a friend.’

This phrase implies that they didn’t see you as their friend prior.

When someone is starving, they might gorge themselves, and when surviving alone in an isolated environment, the silence grows unbearable, and they just can’t handle the quiet moments.

“Oh, what’s that? Rice wrapped in leaves?”

“It’s a rice dumpling, sweetened rice.”

“Why would you add honey to rice? Sounds unappetizing.”

“Honey is expensive, so usually, they add boiled fruit.”

“Eww.”

“Don’t you like sweet things?”

“Rice and sweetness are two different things! They shouldn’t be mixed. Sweet things are sweet, rice should be salty, spicy, and… um, could it be sweet? What sweet foods do we even have? Braised ribs? Oh, how I want some braised ribs.”

“Talking nonsense with that big mouth of yours.”

“Ah! Isn’t friendship supposed to bloom in conversation? Alright. I’ll keep my mouth shut. Don’t be shocked if I suddenly go quiet.”

And genuinely, Qing closed her mouth.

Pang Dae-san wasn’t the type to eagerly initiate conversation anyway, so they just strolled around the market.

Suddenly, Pang Dae-san realized something felt unusual.

Even though he just had a straw hat covering his face, wasn’t it oddly comfortable without all the overly enthusiastic ladies following him around?

Hiding his identity felt more like he’d been running away from all that pressure than anything else—why did he feel so foolish for being cautious?

“Hey, Dae-san. What’s that? Looks a little gross?”

“Chicken head.”

“What? Another chicken head? What kind of rotten place is this that sells everything, even chicken heads? This is disturbing for everyone!”

“…So you just toss it then?”

Chicken heads, along with duck necks, are among the staple snacks in China.

However, the chicken head was a bridge too far for Qing, who ultimately decided to go with a well-roasted duck neck instead.

While Qing happily tore into the duck neck, her attention was elsewhere as she noticed all the various sights brought in by the waterway.

Suddenly, Qing’s left hand shot out, grabbing a man’s wrist.

The sensation of bones crunching under her palm washed over her, and wow, yeah, this is it. Been a while since blood was spilled.

“Aah!”

The man’s scream echoed loudly.

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