Chapter 217

When Qing opened the door to the guest room of Muchen Pavilion, Tang Nan-ah popped up with her hands under her chin.

“Ta-da, a bouquet for Qing Ah!”

Qing just stared at her with a tired expression, looking at her nonsense blankly.

Tang Nan-ah, feeling a bit embarrassed and also slighted for not receiving a response, was about to complain, but after seeing Qing’s face, she raised her voice.

“Qing Ah!? What’s wrong with your face!? Did you cry!?”

While her body had swelled up during the torture, her face was now puffy.

She cried until she was exhausted.

Qing replied with a weary look.

“Not really…”

“Then why does your voice sound like that!?”

Her voice was completely hoarse, sounding almost like a deflating balloon.

“No. But, what about Master…?”

“Today, he said he has to clear things up with some friends, didn’t he?”

Well, Master must have friends to meet up with once in a while during the Martial World Tournament.

Now it made sense why Tang Nan-ah was here.

Taking advantage of Master’s absence, she had come to visit.

Regardless, Tang Nan-ah started chattering about the day’s events.

“Oh, right. Today the Grand Matriarch led the Double Blade Meeting!”

“The Double Blade Meeting, what’s that…?”

“Oh, I guess you don’t know. The Grand Matriarch, seeing how passionate she was, suggested forming a small group. We came up with the name together.”

When Namgoong Shin-jae pushed for a knife polish meeting, Gongson Yo-ye shyly raised her hand in agreement.

It was a gathering for sharpening swords.

Then Pang Choryeo insisted they use “Dao” instead, suggesting a Dao Meeting along with Pang Dae-san.

The idea was to put “Dao” in the name, but when a Daoist pushed for it, the intention was obvious, right?

Amidst their escalating voices, a rumor about someone flitting around like a bat came to light.

In the end, they decided on the Double Blade Meeting.

There was quite the heated debate over whether to call it the Blade Double Meeting or the Double Blade Meeting.

However, since a sword is usually referred to as a Dao, the Blade should concede once, and Pang Choryeo accepted this after a bit of rambling, leading them to finalize it as the Double Blade Meeting.

“What does that even mean… just…”

Regardless, Qing was too exhausted for this.

With one step that felt like two steps for her jacket and three to four for her skirt, she threw herself onto the bed.

“Qing Ah? You should lie down properly. Even if it’s warm, do cover yourself with a blanket.”

“Do it for me…”

As a martial artist, it wasn’t particularly hard or troublesome for Tang Nan-ah to lay Qing flat.

Yet, usually, when someone is helped, they unknowingly tend to brace themselves, but Qing’s consciousness had already sunk into a haze, wandering somewhere between sleep and unconsciousness.

Fully sprawled out, Qing ended up making Tang Nan-ah struggle late into the night.

—-

Suddenly, Qing awoke with a tingling arm to find it was still dark, the middle of the night.

Wondering what was going on, she found Tang Nan-ah pressing her face into Qing’s neck, breathing softly like a sleeping child.

While it had been frustrating not knowing what it was, the soft breathing sound now that she did know was quite soothing.

After all, it’s not like having Tang Nan-ah, the strongest body in the world, lying on her was a bother.

The warm contact was overwhelmingly comforting, and the slow beating of her heart brought a sense of relief.

At least in this touching moment, there wouldn’t suddenly be a “it was all just a dream” conclusion.

What perfume was she wearing that smelled so good? Ah, I could really go for a warm glass of milk right now.

Smiling, Qing closed her eyes again.

And when she opened them once more, she felt refreshingly as if yesterday had been just a dream, a dream it seemed… yesterday was, ohh…

Qing shivered and trembled at the thought.

Just thinking about it sent chills and tightness into her limbs; it was a truly horrifying experience.

But was she supposed to do that again? Nineteen more times?

Isn’t it better to train for twenty years instead?

As Qing pondered seriously, Tang Nan-ah lazily sat up.

Qing gently smiled and greeted her.

“Nana, did you sleep well?”

“Uh? Huh?”

Tang Nan-ah looked dumbfounded.

Poor Tang Nan-ah woke up bright and cheery only to be met with Qing’s bright smile, right in her face.

A sight that could be quite harmful to the heart.

Tang Nan-ah’s face turned red as she buried it in her pillow.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“No, no, it’s nothing. It shouldn’t be, I mean, it must not be.”

“Why are you acting like this so early in the morning?”

With Qing’s extraordinary hearing picking up on Tang’s mutterings about needing a capable son-in-law for the family, she suddenly realized the son-in-law was actually very bright.

“Oh. What time is it? Nana, I’m off! Master is probably waiting!”

Qing hurriedly put on her clothes and dashed out of the room.

With a breathtaking flying technique, she flung open the hot bath door, and this time, the delightful aroma of fragrant incense struck her nose.

Cheon Yu-hak, fanning the fire under the medicinal bath, threw her a grumpy comment.

“What’s wrong? I told you to come after lunch. Why are you here already?”

“Oh. Is that right? I was almost fainting yesterday.”

“Hmm. I might not have, I was about to faint too.”

Then Qing noticed Cheon Yu-hak’s haggard complexion; he looked completely worn out.

“Master? Are you okay?”

“It’s a whole day just to keep an eye on a medicinal ingredient. Do you think preparing the entire bath is just a small task?”

“Hmm. I appreciate it, but don’t you usually say it’s not a big deal?”

“Hmph. If you work hard, you should let someone know. I’ve been fussing all night, making this for you, so of course, you should know.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

After putting in all that effort yesterday and still getting up in the middle of the night to prepare a new medicinal bath, it was truly a burden and something to be grateful for.

The grudge from yesterday melted away smoothly in Qing’s heart.

Everything was according to Cheon Yu-hak’s plan.

The “come after lunch”? He didn’t say that.

He wanted Qing to see how haggard he looked when she arrived in the morning.

In reality, Cheon Yu-hak didn’t understand his disciple at all. The rigorous training and Master’s playful antics turned into resentment.

It was spot-on to call it generational grudge because the relationship between Shintu and his students often turned into affectionate friendship.

But when Cheon Yu-hak took his students and sought revenge for what he had received, he figured it would be better to earn respect instead of having a fleeting good time.

Though that didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to enjoy a good time; he’d already tormented them as much as needed and would continue to do so while pretending to be a good Master.

Yet, regardless of how dark or light his heart was, he genuinely cared for Qing and thus deserved her sincere thanks.

“Hmm. It smells really good. Hmm. Smelling it makes me feel so hungry…”

At that moment, her stomach growled in perfect timing.

Cheon Yu-hak chuckled and tossed something her way.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Yam.”

Qing looked at the cleanly peeled yam in her hand. It had a smooth texture that felt rather unpleasant, but it did have a pleasant plant-like scent, maybe even delicious.

Biting into it, she found it as hard as raw potatoes, but it also stuck to her mouth with its gooeyness.

“Hmm. Surprisingly good, huh?”

“A well-raised girl eats so well? It’s rather bland; eating it raw isn’t ideal unless you’re really hungry.”

Actually, the yam had a bad texture and no flavor at all.

It was just something Cheon Yu-hak threw for her amusement and wasn’t actually intended for her to eat.

In fact, well-raised Cheon Yu-hak could hardly eat it.

Even if he looked casual, he was the scion of a prestigious family, the head professor at the Hall of Literature.

“Was I well-raised? Did you not hear, I’m a beggar origin?”

“Oh, really? I thought you had a sort of noble presence, like the daughter of a rich family.”

Cheon Yu-hak skillfully turned his near-slip-up into a compliment.

Unaware of it, Qing chuckled.

“Well, I do have a certain nobility about me.”

“Nobility, my ass. I’m from a family with a history of holding positions above the fifth rank. Does that seem like it?”

“Can I be honest?”

“You just did…”

Anyway, now that she was there, Qing chatted away and helped with the bath.

Putting in yam, wild yam, and more yam along with minced onion and leeks, and then some taro…

“Master? Are we making a medicinal bath? It’s starting to look like vegetable porridge.”

“Don’t claim you understand medicine. I’m just following directions; I don’t even know why we put this in.”

“Didn’t you put ginseng in here too? I can smell it.”

“Ginseng? You think I randomly threw in a dozen roots of hundred-year-old ginseng? Considerable herbs went in here, including some good spirit medicines. This is an elixir soup. It’s an elixir absorbed through the body, not the mouth.”

“Oh, elixir. Now that I think of it, I’ve never taken an elixir before. Hey.”

Suddenly it hit her; didn’t the Supreme Being Representative demand all the elixirs from the heavenly maidens when she was in the Demonic Sect?

Why did only the martial arts come and the elixirs didn’t?

Did someone swipe them?

Naturally, the subordinates, who only pretended to heed the Supreme Being Representative’s words, had no reason to give Qing the precious elixirs.

Moreover, the martial arts wouldn’t matter since they’d be of no use in returning to the Zhengpai anyway.

Meanwhile, the medicinal bath was ready.

“The elixir soup should only be given to disciples who’ve learned the Awakening Skill. It’s meant to be absorbed through the skin for cultivation. Otherwise, it’s better to eat it raw. This single serving can lead directly to the completion of the Five Achievements.”

“Wow. Five Achievements? That quickly?”

“The total of elixirs included here could probably be around two hundred silver taels. In reality, you don’t have to give it to a disciple. Two hundred taels might be a bit much even for Shintu.”

It was meant to be a special treat just for her.

Qing was so moved that she bowed deeply.

“Ah. Thank you, thank you again. This disciple will engrave Master’s kindness into my bones.”

“Hmph. Don’t just talk, act well. And you might even achieve something higher than the Five Achievements. Yesterday you sucked up a load of medicinal power, after all. They typically don’t let it go to waste since most elixirs can’t be absorbed fully.”

Having seen Qing suck up all the medicinal power from the medicine’s remnants the day before, he thought she could probably consume the elixir soup too.

In truth, making the elixir soup was more effort than just slowly feeding an ordinary student.

It was a last-resort measure used when the heir was aging or sick, needing a strong remedy.

“Well then, before hopping into the bath, I should eat lunch.”

“Oh. So, what shall we have for lunch? Hmm, for some reason, I’m really craving milk porridge today. What do you think?”

“Why go out and buy when I have a nutritious broth cooking here? We put in all the best ingredients; you should take a taste. I’m going to put some rice in and cook it further.”

It was meant to be Qing’s bath and lunch.

Anyone else would find that quite off-putting, but Qing just had a bright smile.

Wow. Sounds delicious.

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