Chapter 195

A-Qing, who had gotten up alone in the meantime, shook off the hem of her martial arts robe and said,

“Oh my, Young Lady Mo Yong? Are you perhaps drunk? Why are you suddenly rolling on the floor? You startled me so much that I jumped up! Oh, were you trying to use a unique method to help me up?”

“The f-floor is a bit slippery. Young Lady Seomun seems unexpectedly! Quite! Heavy! I lost my balance because of the heavy thing! But Young Lady Seomun didn’t look that heavy! I mean, your weight!!! Ah, I’m sorry. That was a slip of the tongue. I meant no harm!”

Yesterday, A-Qing had targeted only the weak points and ended up being caught off guard, so Young Lady Mo Yong’s sharp words didn’t faze her at all.

A-Qing thought to herself,

Weight is something women fuss over. Do you think I care about that?

I feel no blow, and I’m not in a bad mood at all!

You’ve got to know your opponent before you charge in, you empty-headed, damned fool.

Honestly, I didn’t even feel a little upset!

Who cares about such childish taunts?

Still completely unphased, A-Qing replied,

“No, it’s the truth, so what’s there to apologize for? I’m just stuck with heavy flesh on my chest. Young Lady Mo Yong, I really envy you. Your shoulders must feel incredibly light!”

A-Qing’s superhuman hearing caught the sound of Young Lady Mo Yong gritting her teeth.

“Ah! Oh no! Are you alright!? If you fall, I’ll catch you. But doesn’t Young Lady Mo Yong have anyone to cushion her fall? You must be in more pain than me, and I feel so sorry, I swear, if only I could share the weight!”

As she tapped her chest, Young Lady Mo Yong’s forehead clearly bulged with veins.

“I-I don’t need it! Ugh. Yeah, today, drink to your heart’s content. Let’s see who wins.”

Young Lady Mo Yong’s voice trembled.

And she thought to herself:

Just hold on.

After all, I’m here for a drinking contest, sipping tea while that fool drinks herself to oblivion.

After returning to her seat and emptying about two bottles, the woman who had gone down earlier reported that the drinking contest preparations were all set.

A-Qing tilted her head in confusion.

What preparations could be made if there’s nothing here?

Then Young Lady Mo Yong, with a triumphant and wicked expression, boasted,

“Now, shall we head for the real contest?”

In the Martial World, the amount one could drink was a matter of manly pride.

Take Zhang Fei, for example.

What happened to Zhang Fei after he drank?

While drunkenly passed out, a blade touched his neck, mistaking it for a mosquito, he struck down hard on the sword and ended up cutting his own throat cleanly.

In other words, it wasn’t an assassination, it was a suicide.

How ridiculous must the two assassins feel who had come to take his head?

It could be said that the two elder brothers who hadn’t put a leash on their younger brother had caused Zhang Fei’s demise.

Despite drinking heavily as usual, what could the brothers do?

Being heroes, they thought a little drunken mischief was fine; why bother their younger brother, just like overzealous parents?

Because the capacity to drink was a man’s pride, and the younger brother’s pride was the older brother’s pride.

Thanks to that, he evolved completely into a dog, whipping everyone underneath him when he was intoxicated.

At that moment, Yu Bei pretended to intervene saying-

Such behavior can get you blindsided, so take it easy. Though it was really a worry for Zhang Fei himself.

What were commonplace lackeys worth when his younger brother was staggering through life? Once gone, you can always find another.

For Yu Bei, sons could easily be replaced (even though he didn’t give birth to them), so who gives a damn about nameless soldiers?

Yu Bei shouldn’t forget that after losing both his brothers, he became the worst ruler, discarding all ministers and the people like trash.

Nevertheless, Zhang Fei’s drinking made the brothers applaud and sing praises at every banquet, making him both a force for the enemies and friends, establishing dominance with sheer drinking capacity.

For a man in the Central Plain, this is what it meant.

In fact, this wasn’t only applicable in the Central Plain but worldwide.

So drinking capacity connects to an instinct that reaches the very essence of man.

Thus, when it comes to drinking contests in the Central Plain, some kind of order takes shape.

The rules of the drinking contest were as follows.

A jar of liquor was placed on the table, alongside a ladle floating in a liquor vat.

The ladle could only be touched once, and after that, participants had to pour the remaining drinks over their heads.

The moment their clothes got soaking wet, they would lose, so drinking neatly without spilling everything was crucial.

There were various other conditions for losing too.

Anyone who could no longer drink and withdrew would lose.

If you lost your balance and broke the drink jar, that’s a loss.

If you vomited, it’s a loss.

If you lost by pushing your luck gambling, you were the ultimate scum.

If the liquor ran out, whoever first went to relieve themselves counted as a loser.

Of course, sneaking away to the toilet before the alcohol ran out results in immediate disqualification.

The real trap that Young Lady Mo Yong had prepared was exactly this, as she sent friends (minions) around the floors, eagerly spreading the word about the drinking contest between Kim Yang-geomhwa and Myeonsanya.

Just so you know, the phrase “Kim Yang-geomhwa vs Myeonsanya” was truly malicious in its choice, cunningly framing it as a showdown between the beauty of the Martial World and an unattractive woman with her face covered.

And thus, an arena was constructed on the first floor.

The Dragon and Phoenix Association’s Cheonmu Stage, Jiryong Stage, and even the underlings of minor factions came to watch, necessitating the clearing of all dining chairs.

And rightly so. Wasn’t this a rare chance to witness a formal drinking competition of women?

It’s not common to hear women boasting about their drinking capacity, let alone the public competition they’re about to stage.

Thus, A-Qing and Young Lady Mo Yong sat across from each other at the table with the drink jars atop it.

Then A-Qing tilted her head in confusion.

But who the hell is judging this?

The answer was the owner of the pavilion.

However, since neither A-Qing nor anyone else cared, it went unnoticed.

“Alright, let’s drink!”

The pavilion owner, with a large ladle, scooped up liquor from the vat and filled the jars.

The ladle referred to as “Du” means a specific ladle used to serve liquor; the characters share the same with the Big Dipper, resembling seven stars shaped like ladles in the north.

Young Lady Mo Yong felt confident.

Having established a certain winning edge on the seventh floor, she’d rather enjoy her tea than deal with the burden of competition.

Compared to that, hadn’t A-Qing emptied seven jars of the strong liquor?

A-Qing simply marveled.

So this was the plan she had built up to.

Instead of getting smashed to snag a win, she was determined to put on quite a show before everyone.

But her opponent turned out to be too formidable.

With Sun Tzu’s principle of knowing both yourself and your opponent, she was on a perfect winning streak today.

Just as A-Qing was about to lift her jar,

“Wait! Young Lady Seomun, you should take off your veil! Isn’t it a bit unfair if I have to drink in this situation? Even if I leave some above my head, if the veil is consumed, it feels like it’ll disadvantage me! The more precious an item, the more liquor it takes!”

Na-geum refers to a veil woven from silk.

And here came the woman who was enjoying her tea while pouring liquor for A-Qing saying that.

This drew all the gazes towards A-Qing.

“That’s right!” Someone shouted.

A-Qing smirked and countered,

“Shouldn’t Young Lady Mo Yong endure this much? Even if you spill while drinking, your top won’t get wet, right?”

A-Qing gestured as if stroking a mustache.

In reality, she was mimicking droplets collecting on her chin, and the crowd immediately grasped her intent.

Eyes shifted back and forth between A-Qing’s chest and Young Lady Mo Yong’s.

And again, “That’s right!” Someone shouted out, causing a loud wave of laughter to erupt among the crowd.

Young Lady Mo Yong’s tightly clenched fist trembled with anger.

And thus began,

“One jar!”

Then two jars.

“Two jars!”

“Three jars!”

“Four jars!”

“Five jars!”

Now, some spectators began to show signs of paleness.

As Young Lady Mo Yong set down her jar, she wobbled slightly but regained her balance.

“Oh my, Young Lady Mo Yong? Are you perhaps overdoing it? I’m just feeling slightly tipsy; how could someone as fragile as you challenge me to a drinking contest?”

“Who said I’m drunk? I’m not drunk! Next jar!”

The spectators couldn’t help but think: She’s tipsy. She is tipsy.

“Six jars!”

“Seven jars!”

Now, the outcome was beginning to show.

Young Lady Mo Yong’s narrow red jacket was half-drenched, sticking to her body.

In contrast, A-Qing’s martial outfit was spotless, not a drop of moisture in sight.

“Young Lady Mo Yong, it might be wise to realize your limitations and withdraw? What if you embarrass yourself in front of so many people…”

“Shut up! Who said I’m drunk?…”

“I didn’t say you were drunk, but it seems like you’ve had quite a bit…”

“Next jar! Bring me the next jar!”

“Eight jars!”

The pavilion owner began pouring again.

A-Qing sighed deeply.

While the intent behind embarrassing her in front of all these people was undeniably malicious, at this rate, wouldn’t this end in an absolute disaster?

If she were indeed a vile creature, I would end it right here. But she seems like an innocent woman. That would hardly be something an adult would do.

Just as A-Qing picked up her jar and drank, she suddenly let it slip from her grasp, shattering loudly on the ground.

“Oh dear. Looks like I’ve fallen short. In this drinking contest, Young Lady Mo Yong is the victor, so I will take my leave.”

Though A-Qing said this, no one in the crowd thought that was the case.

Everyone could see she was being considerate, gracefully bowing out, thus murmurs of admiration for the veiled woman began circulating.

Ugh. I’m so stuffed.

A-Qing fought the urge to pat her belly as she headed towards the stairs.

Even if she were to leave, shouldn’t she take the fallen Gongson Yo-ye?

Thinking about asking Muchen Pavilion for some soup to settle her stomach, she pondered whether clear or spicy would be better.

Then,

“Hey! You there! What are you doing!?”

“A loser should leave in silence, right? I’m having a hard time keeping myself together, so as a victor, can you spare me some kindness?”

“You! You! Am I a joke!? Just because I have bigger breasts, you think you’re all that? Well, I’m a flat-chested woman! So what? Did you add anything to that?”

It was a grand self-destruct moment.

Oh boy, I didn’t want to see this.

A-Qing sighed deeply.

“Young Lady, perhaps you’ve had a bit too much to drink.”

“Yeah, like this is fake news! So what! You’re nothing but a nasty piece of work, picking at someone’s sensitive spot. What good does this nonsense do?”

And then, she shoved her hand down her chest and pulled out a stuffed piece of cotton and tossed it away.

Letting out a frustrated breath, tears suddenly began to flow.

“Uh, I too, like this, uh…”

Since she only pulled out one of her fakes, the contrast made one side perk up while the other drooped like a man’s.

If she had pulled both out, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but the asymmetry made it look worse.

A-Qing couldn’t bear to look and spoke again,

“Maybe Young Lady Mo Yong’s friends should help her…”

At that, the crowd, unsure of what to do, rushed to Young Lady Mo Yong.

“What’s wrong! Let go! Let me go!”

“Joo-hee, stop it! We all understand, and we’re upset too, so don’t do this! Let’s just head back up now…”

“How would you know! You’ve all had something! No one gets my feelings! You don’t know! Also, just because my chest is small, doesn’t mean I don’t have a big one, dammit!”

Finally, unable to listen anymore, one of her friends tightly covered Young Lady Mo Yong’s mouth.

With both arms firmly restrained, and her mouth blocked, Young Lady Mo Yong was dragged away.

And then a solemn silence fell over the hall.

Thanks to that, the only notable sound was her muffled cries.

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