Meanwhile, Jin Seol was on high alert.
After all, it wasn’t just anyone she had to be cautious of—it was Tang Nan-ah.
Even if it wasn’t Tang Nan-ah, the five members of the Martial World’s Five Flowers were definitely not friends; they often gossiped and bashed each other.
Summarizing the gossip, it had come down to this.
Poison Flower uses poison. She even caused a ruckus at a birthday banquet, throwing herself on the ground and crying, acting like a victim. Since then, everyone avoided her.
Geomhwa thinks if a woman has bigger breasts than her, she must be a martial hero or a family enemy. Ironically, she’s the one with the flattest chest in the world.
Hyeonhwa pretends to be smart, looking down on everyone else. If you talk to her for just a bit, you can tell she’ll live her whole life without any friends.
Seolhwa shows no expression and has no feelings. They say it’s a side effect of the ice technique, but she’s got zero humanity, hardly even speaking more than two words. Every conversation boils down to yes or no.
You could wonder why all the flowers of the Martial World’s Five Flowers have their issues, but honestly, if you went out of your way to nitpick, anyone would show flaws.
Thus, the greater your affection for someone, the more you can overlook their shortcomings while their strengths shine.
It was just that the bad relationship between the Five Flowers made their faults stand out.
Anyway, it was only natural for Jin Seol, sitting next to Poison Flower, to be all tense.
She didn’t even know why she came over in the first place.
Warily distinguishing if there might be any poison or plot, she decided on a soft jab to test the waters.
“But hey, Nan-ah. You seemed really close to that masked Young Lady Seomun earlier. Who on earth is she that the great Poison Flower chases after her?”
Translation: Why is a girl as famed as the Five Flowers tending to a masked face like a maid?
“You. If you walk around with your chest out like that, you’ll get blockages? But was there always that much weight there? Are you hiding something under there?”
Tang Nan-ah responded coolly, ignoring her.
“N-no, what are you talking about? It’s always been like this! I didn’t put anything in!”
“I’m just worried. The human body is healthiest in its natural state, and when it’s not, illness occurs, right? If you keep that chill in your chest and force it up, eventually your blood will clot, and that could be a big problem. You might end up needing surgery.”
Jin Seol was taken aback. Was this an attack or not? What was happening? Why was she pretending to be concerned?
“Hmm. You put powder on instead of oil? Is that why I can see the veins so clearly? That’s a bad sign. If it gets any worse, you’ll really need to have it cut out.”
“Oh, that’s not good, is it serious?”
Jin Seol perked up.
Tang Nan-ah was also known as one of the few female physicians.
“Since you’ve powdered it, I might not be able to see it well. I think I’d need to feel it to really know. Wanna check it out now? Tomorrow, the Dragon and Phoenix Association will all gather, right? Might as well check it when we’re just women together.”
“Uh, yeah, sure…”
“Uh, ‘yeah’ doesn’t cut it. Don’t you mean to say, ‘Please, Lady Physician Nan-ah’? Or should I go to the clinic and show old Grandpa my chest to take a pulse?”
This was a problem arising from the lack of female physicians. Women often bore pain in silence, feeling too embarrassed to get checked out.
“What if it is actually something serious? I’d have to call all the physicians over and say, ‘Look at this, this is the lump and it shows blood stasis blockage.’ Everyone would have to feel it just to remember how to recognize it. The whole town’s disciples would be crouching around like they’re kneading dough!”
Jin Seol’s face went pale.
“P-please, Nan-ah. Can you check me? I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather…”
“Hmm. It would be nicer if you were more polite.”
Jin Seol bit her lip.
With that, Tang Nan-ah broke into a grin as if she had just been granted a favor.
“Well, a physician doesn’t get to pick and choose their patients. Let’s set up a screen. Everyone heard, right? Those who think they might have a problem, line up. And if there’s any pain you’ve been too shy to mention, I’ll check that too.”
Jin Seol suddenly realized.
That girl was trying to extend her skills no longer with venom but with medicine, trying to win people’s hearts.
If she provides care right to my face, then anyone from the Phoenix Association who might be suffering won’t hesitate to come rushing in.
That terrifying girl, Tang Nan-ah.
And that Seomun Qing too.
To go this far with the maid act, just how much power did that masked lady have to pull off such an off-key performance?
—-
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah. I met with Young Lady Gongson and visited the iron tower, ate a bunch of snacks. The tower looks great even the second time. Ugh, I’m stuffed. Those snacks can really fill you up.”
“……? Was that the purpose?”
In the Central Plain, snacks refer to all treats not including the actual meal. Grilled silkworm skewers are snacks, red bean buns are snacks, and sweet-coated hawthorn berry skewers as well as honeyed ginseng are all snacks. So when you ask for every kind in a shop, even just one bite each amounts to a substantial meal for a grown person.
“Oh, by the way. They say there’s a meeting for the Dragon and Phoenix Association tomorrow. Are you going to make a climb? They say there will be delicious dishes.”
“I just got back from a walk, and it felt so liberating to have my face covered. Tomorrow, I want to indulge in the local specialty, the soup dumplings and potato cakes.”
“Ooh. What? You should have told me about that first! Lady, I’m already full.”
“I didn’t say I was going to eat now. I just heard about it during my walk today.”
“Soup dumplings? Just hearing the name makes me know what it is. Dumplings with hot soup inside, right? But what are potato cakes?”
“They said it’s batter poured over dumplings to make them crispy.”
“Ah. Sounds delicious. If only I weren’t so full.”
“You can eat them tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow I have to go to the Dragon and Phoenix Association. They say lots of tasty food will be there.”
Pang Dae-san’s eyebrows twitched. However, the straw hat obscured Qing’s ability to read his expression.
“Banquet dishes are usually more elaborate but lack substance. They prepare them in bulk from morning and keep serving them cold, or they reheat them, and the taste tends to drop.”
“The usual point of a banquet isn’t the food.”
“Hmm. Is that so? Still, once I’m there, I should greet people at least. I plan to meet with Swordmaster and Daoist Chang-bin. They even say Jiegal Hyang will be there. Do you know her?”
“Am I supposed to know her?”
“Well, it’d be good if you did. Anyway, I guess you’ll be there too, right? Poor Sun is going to be alone.”
Oh, Pang Dae-san’s brow furrowed again.
If they asked that way, it truly felt as if he had deliberately rented only one room for the night.
Since he couldn’t deny it, there was a preordained answer anyway, and yet, saying that would only raise his ire more.
This girl really knows how to provoke.
Still, insisting on sharing a room would make him look like the one trying to make a move, so he could only grudgingly nod his straw hat in agreement.
—-
The Dragon and Phoenix Association wasn’t just a temporary event; it’s simply the place where the sects and heroes of the Martial World gather when a major event occurs – that’s the Dragon and Phoenix Association.
With the men, it’s the Blue Dragon Association, while the women gather for the Phoenix Association; when both come together, it becomes the grandly named Dragon and Phoenix Association.
Of course, since it’s a place for the next generation who will someday lead the orthodox martial arts world to make friendships, it’s an important gathering worthy of such a grand name.
“Qing, do you want to try wearing a short robe? I think it would suit you so well.”
A short robe (danhyung) refers to the attire which exposes the chest, an uncommon character. Yesterday at the Phoenix Association, Jin Seol had dressed herself in just such attire.
By the way, ‘porky’ means exposing one’s bosom, related to size—not limited to abundance.
Qing, startled, responded, “Hey. I’m a Daoist too, you know?”
“Ah, right. You’re a Daoist as well.”
That’s right! Seomun Qing was a disciple of the Dao!
What an unbelievable identity! And Daoists wear Dao robes.
Each sect has its own rules concerning personal time, but at least on formal occasions, they must wear the robes.
“So later can I wear one? The Divine Maiden Sect doesn’t forbid it, does it?”
“Not really…”
“Then let’s go get one made after today’s events. I’ll treat you. Okay?”
“Hmm. It looks suffocating just to look at it.”
“No way! It’s super comfortable! Most women wear it because it’s easy. It’s designed to lift and secure without shaking.”
“What? Nan-ah, you wear it too?”
“It gets hot in summer. It’s really refreshing.”
“Really? Do people in Sichuan wear it too? We’re hitting Sichuan this summer, right? The Tang Family has rooms available?”
Tang Nan-ah chuckled softly.
“Qing, you seem to be mistaken. It’s not a daring outfit or anything. It’s simply a cloak draped over the chest, with a simple garment to let the collarbone show, and layered lightly below for airflow—that’s the short robe.”
“But yesterday, that White Lotus? How could a person be called White Lotus? Are you kidding me?”
“White Lotus goes a bit too far. Typically, nobody goes that low. And how does she walk around like that? If you’re going to dress like that, you might as well go naked. That’s just wrong. Does she know? When a guy looks at her, she pretends nothing’s wrong and pulls it up.”
“Hmm. She’s a prominent Young Lady, isn’t she? Still, only she could be so forward. No wonder I thought she looked strange. Forget Sichuan; it’s got nothing for me.”
Then Tang Nan-ah started to giggle.
“This one. If you’re the best one, why are you looking at others? I felt every inch of perfection—shape, size, softness, and weight—it was one of a kind. Once you feel it, you can’t help it. Once, oh wow, this is it, like wow, wow, wow—I can’t even describe it.”
“Now you’ve gone straight to being bold. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Then Tang Nan-ah playfully smiled, retracting her hand.
In truth, Tang Nan-ah had completely flipped the game.
The texts state that when a person is repeatedly subjected to a stimulus, they become accustomed to it and stop feeling anything special.
Thus, she devised her strategy of normalization.
If someone walked around upside down in the city, people would initially think, ‘Is that person possessed by evil or doing some weird training?’ But after a certain amount of time passed, they’d grow used to it.
They’d come to view it as, ‘Oh, that person just walks upside down now.’
This was exactly what Tang Nan-ah aimed for. And it was actually beginning to show results.
Tang Nan-ah wasn’t just a goof but fundamentally a cunning and fearsome villainess.
“Okay, Qing, let’s get going. I’ve soaked up good energy since morning, and I’m feeling completely revitalized.”
Tang Nan-ah beamed, wrapping Qing’s hand in hers as they headed towards the Dragon and Phoenix Association for a proper debut.
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
