Chapter 250

“Young Lady Seomun, you’re just too, too beautiful. Oh my. How can it be like this…”

Gongson Yo-ye couldn’t take her eyes off Qing.

With a gaze full of envy as if it could bore a hole through her, it made Qing feel quite embarrassed.

“Why do you have a bare face?”

“Well, as a warrior, putting on makeup when presenting myself to the public would be a bit… hmm, I mean, I’m not talking about Young Lady Seomun because you’re a natural beauty. But someone like me would just be laughed at if I tried to wear makeup…”

“Come on, can’t a warrior wear makeup? A female warrior trying to look like a male warrior just looks silly. Even my master said so!”

Qing preached about the necessity of beauty for female warriors like Seomun Sulin.

“Me, as a representative of female warriors? That’s a bit excessive…”

“Why not? With looks like yours, you’re already among the best young warriors! Of course, I exist too, but, ha, it’s a shame. Now, look at me. Just give me one try. Just a little pinch of color!”

Having learned the art of beauty from Seomun Sulin, Qing was already a master at tying her hair and applying makeup. However, unlike her usual cautiousness about her hair, she had never been into makeup.

In the Central Plain, there were as many cosmetic methods as there were clothing styles. Qing preferred a rather classical makeup style.

Eyebrows—slender, slightly furrowed.

Then, thickly emphasizing the eyelids to make her eyes look bigger. Adding a dash of blush to only the lower eyelids, for that perfect post-cry rosy glow.

And then for her cheeks, a subtle tint.

Finally, for her lips, rather than defining a bright cherry shape in the center, she preferred to spread the color outwards to create a naturally fading tint from the edges.

“Wow, stunning. I’m falling for you.”

“Even Young Lady Seomun says that…”

“As for me, I’m just a mere… Young Lady, you haven’t even prepared yourself yet and you’re already such a beauty, why not give it a try? You’re wasting it. You’re so lucky to have it.”

“Later, later…”

Even with just a little color around her eyes, cheeks, and lips, for some reason, Gongson Yo-ye’s face turned completely red, and she lowered her head.

Just then, two members of the Martial Alliance urged them.

“Aren’t you ready yet?”

“Ah! We’re ready now! Yes, let’s go.”

“Yes, yes!”

Then she walked out with stiff joints and creaking limbs.

What’s with this sudden stiffness?

Qing lightly squeezed Gongson Yo-ye’s hand.

“What’s up? Are you nervous? We’re not going to be swinging swords or anything.”

“Aren’t you trembling, Young Lady Seomun? I… well, I’m not really someone who is liked by others.”

“So what? I’ve already lost all interest in those people outside! Anyway, they’re all strangers who I’ll never see again; why do I care if they like me or not? As long as my friends like me, isn’t that enough?”

“Right! But, um, I mean…”

Gongson Yo-ye suddenly raised her voice but then her words shrank to an ant-like whisper.

“Why? Why stop talking? Have you heard of the two surefire ways to make someone mad? One of them is to stop talking in the middle.”

Gongson Yo-ye silently waited for Qing’s next words. However, Qing just smiled broadly, making her tilt her head in confusion.

“See? This is why you’re like this. So what were you saying? Are you hiding something from me?”

“Ah… well, I just… you have so many friends, so I thought I’m just someone you know a bit, and maybe you just hang out with me…”

Her voice dropped significantly at the end.

“No way! Aren’t we friends who share the same bed? I’m only close to you.”

“Ah, that makes it half…”

“Oh, and there’s also Jang Myung and Uncle.”

At that, Gongson Yo-ye’s expression turned desolate.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Half of a half, ah, no, wait! Young Lady Seomun? By any chance, you aren’t… seeing someone else? I mean, no! It’s late, so we should hurry and go. They’ve already been waiting for us.”

“Ah, right.”

Even though her speech was odd, her movements became natural, so it seemed like her tension had eased a bit.

Qing held Gongson Yo-ye’s hand tightly as they climbed the stairs to the stage.

—-

The spectators of the martial arts competition were not exactly filled with anticipation, but rather, they seemed to be a bit rowdy.

Just how pretty could she be for a Shaolin monk to act like this?

However, most opinions were that he was still a young monk and would definitely explode if a woman’s robe even barely brushed against him.

Moreover, they said her beauty was so distracting that it even obscured her face (though Qing had never said such a thing) and they scoffed, wondering just how good-looking someone would have to be to need to hide their face.

They thought that if they saw her face, they’d be so entranced they’d drop their weapons and surrender because they’d be too scared to think of anything else.

If she were truly a beauty, one might say she was the ‘Ugly Sister’ or a ‘Bear’, with a face so tangled it looked as if all her meals had come back up, so why would they need to endure that?

So, when Qing stepped onto the stage, everyone just nodded in unison.

Right. Even if a great monk with immense virtue were to appear, he’d likely still be acting like this. Hmm.

Of course, with looks like that, it made sense to cover her up. Who would dare to think of touching such a beauty?

After all, if they insulted an unparalleled beauty, would she even care about it?

And then, they were awestruck, gazing at her blessed beauty, with their mouths agape, pondering how it was possible for two eyes, one nose, and one mouth to be arranged in such miraculous detail.

And so, they each busied themselves internally describing Qing’s beauty.

This kind of spectacle was something every province prided itself on, bragging about their special talent.

Primitive and uncivilized, the main entertainment in ancient Central Plains was throwing stones at each other in village competitions or pillaging warehouses and women.

If not that, then it was just the tales of awesome deeds being shared or listened to.

So, now, they had to pay close attention so they could later say, ‘I once saw the most beautiful woman in the world!’

—-

The fact that the legendary Buddha’s Physical Body had been revealed was known throughout the Martial World.

Indeed, this was an extraordinarily rare event.

When it was said that a legendary technique had vanished, it meant the clan was losing its power; no matter how many divine skills there were, nor how abundant they were, like Qing described as just not a problem at all, it was not something that could easily be made public.

Seomun Sulin dismissed the loss of the Buddha’s Physical Body as being due to a lack of successors, but it was the opinion of a female warrior who felt regret about Shaolin being male-exclusive (the highest clan in the Central Plain).

In truth, though it was a straightforward fact whether it was true or false, it told another painful story as well.

In the past, there was a huge flood that could flip the world upside down. While Shaolin Temple, perched atop the mountain, was unharmed, the common people living below suffered unimaginable loss.

Thus, Shaolin Temple took active measures to rescue the suffering souls.

They opened their vast storerooms that had been filled with donations and their entire surrounding lands to help, and even sold elixirs to gather resources. They generously provided aid, relieving the worldly sorrows of the people, and thus, everyone praised Shaolin for their benevolence.

And the Emperor was annoyed.

How dare the lowly commoners receive praise while the Emperor, who governed the world at the center of it, existed? While he feasted and celebrated without a care for the natural disasters occurring outside, how could he harbor resentment against the goodwill of Shaolin’s actions?

While he had been enjoying himself, he openly made use of cannons to attack them in malice.

Meanwhile, the Buddha’s Physical Body also certainly had a secret manual.

There had been a backup secret manual hastily written down for contingencies.

The secrets were preserved in the most renowned martial arts library in the world, the Kanjing Pavilion.

And the backup secret manual had been stored in the Beijing Pavilion for such unforeseen disasters.

The popularity of Baekbo Shinkwon overshadowed that of the Buddha’s Physical Body, which was something the Shaolin monks couldn’t help.

If one wished to master the technique, it was much easier to learn Baekbo Shinkwon, and it blended well with the techniques of Shaolin.

There were grand qi mastery techniques like Great Strength Diamond Technique and Harmony Technique that would also serve as excellent alternatives from the Restoration Method.

And so, they responsibly stored the secret manual in the Kanjing Pavilion, believing that someday, someone may come looking to learn.

No one could arbitrarily force anyone to study the Buddha’s Physical Body.

Only those fated would study it someday, and those who practiced the teachings of Buddhism wouldn’t forcefully instill martial arts techniques.

But then, beneath the cannon’s assault, the Kanjing Pavilion was burned down.

The backup library, the Beijing Pavilion, was also consumed in flames.

Ultimately, the chance was completely lost, and one could only soothe their bitter hearts wondering if it was something that was always fated to vanish.

But now, that chance has arisen again.

“We must reclaim our divine skill!”

“Isn’t it an undeniable necessity to retrieve our original source at any cost!”

“We need to thoroughly investigate this! How can a legendary technique of BujinHej be displayed by outsiders!?”

“We need to send someone to the Divine Maiden Sect immediately… no, I will go myself.”

The Shaolin martial monks raised their voices.

Great Master Muhak clicked his tongue.

“I know my disciple’s character. If the divine skill was in the Divine Maiden Sect, they would have returned it to us by now along with the Great Elixir. Since they haven’t, it means they’ve personally connected with this situation.”

“But isn’t the Sect Leader of the other faction? There’s no way they wouldn’t keep such a divine skill for themselves. Right?”

“Would I be one to hide such a thing? It’s all just them screaming in ignorance. Hmmm. If I saw the lost heirloom, I would have to get it back. But tell me, how could a treasure lost over a hundred years suddenly be claimed? What price should I put on it then? Lest I impose a price on something that cannot be valued.”

A treasure that cannot be measured in value has no price. Conversely, once a price is attached, its profound quality diminishes immediately.

If I demand ten thousand gold coins to retrieve it, that divine skill becomes something worth ten thousand coins.

“What about the Great Elixir? If we pile everything we have, we can offer it.”

“Pah. Now that I’ve sold the Great Elixir, that’s a ridiculous demand. You expect to exchange ten elixirs for the divine skill?”

“Then, what about offering divine skills for divine skills? If we promise not to pass on the teachings…”

“How could I convey the essence of our teachings to outsiders? Would you speak sensible words, Master?”

“What? Do you think I would be speechless? Then would your side have something to offer? Or will you force yourself to serve me for fifty years till you bring back the skills?”

“Ugh.”

And so they debated amongst themselves, gossiping about whether to exchange for methods like Gyeokgong Sang or Bulyeong Seonhap, or Baekryun Shinkwon, and what to offer in return.

Great Master Muhak clicked his tongue again.

“Oh, you fools. Now I see you’re not just lowly warriors, but you’ve become mere merchants. You sit there pricing things as if you’d become rich merchants! Tsk.”

“Then, what should we do?”

“We should buy it, not by price but by grace. Whether it’s the Great Elixir or the divine skill, we should just hand it all over. Regardless, if the people of the world know, they will still say it’s Shaolin. Even if we have their goods later, they’ll still expect grace in return.”

“But what if it leaks?”

“Then it’ll just be the day all the Eighteen Arahan descend together. That too would serve as a huge lesson to those trying to exploit Shaolin’s kindness. But well, if there’s a leak later, that’s something to worry about then instead of fretting now.”

With that, some monks seemed to gain enlightenment, and others still wore expressions of discontent, their displeasure obvious.

But since Great Master Muhak spoke, it would be taken to heart.

“If you’re truly worried, just assess that kid’s character. If she’s frivolous and greedy, then it doesn’t seem appropriate to grant her the divine skill, but perhaps she would be tempted by wealth.”