Chapter 277

It’ll be July the day after tomorrow, so it should be about time for the rain to fall, yet here I am totally unprepared for it. Guess I’ve been a bit absent-minded.

But Qing has always been careless except when it comes to killing people or eating, so no matter how much I reflect, it’ll likely still be a recurrent issue.

Qing wasn’t entirely without grievances, though.

Living a wandering life in the Martial World. Sure, now I have a small cottage at the Divine Maiden Sect to call home, but I’ve still been drifting around.

The Central Plain is vast, not just in width but also in elevation, with some places hugging rivers, others sunk in deserts, and some along beaches. So, you can imagine the weather varies wildly, leaving me totally clueless if it’s going to rain or be scorching hot.

Rushing out of the tavern, I spot a boy dozing off by the entrance, suddenly jolting upright.

If it rains, he’s the boy who’ll appear out of nowhere, setting up a stand beside the tavern.

Truth be told, he’s probably the child of someone working at the tavern, aiming to earn extra money during bad weather—a common scam by the tavern owners, if you will.

It seems like the upscale tavern even has umbrellas ready, as if everyone else expected the rain except me.

“Hey, give me two large hats.”

“Ah, Lady! Right here!”

The boy, waking up and enchanted by Qing’s beauty, hands over a massive basket-like item without asking for payment.

“How much?”

“Ah! Right! One liang each.”

“This? Did you weave these well or what?”

The boy shrank back at that.

“Two for one liang…”

It magically became half the price, but hey, I’m still being generous.

“You know my room, right? Just throw a handful of dried fruits in there.”

“What about my tip…?”

“Come on, I could buy two hats for five times the tip.”

“Yes…”

Surprisingly, he quickly accepts without haggling over the price.

Sure, even kids in the Central Plain are tough little traders, but after getting captivated by Qing’s looks, the boy’s bargaining instincts softened.

So, I put on the two overlapping large hats, and the sound of the big hats clapping against each other is quite loud.

Simply put, a large hat is an oversized hat worn on the head, capable of shielding from rain and covering the back and behind down to the waist, funneling rainwater off to the sides.

The downside is that they can be heavy, heavier when wet, and when the rainwater streams down the back, it feels like a waterfall cascading down to soak your ankles.

But Qing’s super strong neck can handle that weight without issue.

Stepping outside, well, it’s pitch black…

Heavy rains always accompany very thick rain clouds, and in the underdeveloped nights of the Central Plain, there’s no electricity.

The greatest invention in human history—the boiling water to turn a wheel—still hasn’t come about.

Anyway, Qing stepped onto the street.

With vision beyond humans, Qing’s eyesight gradually adjusted to the dark outlines of the night.

Where could Young Lady Seol be?

Haven’t I slept outside enough to know?

Qing, the homelessness expert, scuttled around, desperately checking all the places that caught my eye.

But there’s nothing.

And then the urgent thought hit me.

Am I really just awkwardly homeless without any knowledge? Is it possible she crawled under a bridge to escape the rain?

Water swells quickly, and a rapid current is a much fiercer disaster than expected.

So, Qing dashed around examining the tributaries of Han-nam, scrutinizing under the bridge.

Yet, still nothing.

If I can’t find her in suitable places or even under the bridge, where on earth could she be spending the night?

Or did she simply go home since it’s raining?

Thinking about it, if it’s Seol, she could very well be that kind of person.

To go home, she should inform someone, right? Just ditching without a word to worry others?

I was the only one dashing around at midnight.

But still, I would rather she went home.

Not being certain, it felt weird just barging back inside.

So after searching for Seol for about half an hour, I finally spotted her.

They say the area under the lamp is dark; there she was, squatting beneath a makeshift tarp set up by a street vendor, right in front of the tavern.

In fact, since I half-jokingly suggested a late-night escape, she chose to squat in a spot where she could keep an eye on the entrance.

Having a brain with calculations beyond humans, Qing had been mindlessly running around in the pouring rain.

But with my steel-like stamina and having become immune to the cold, it didn’t feel like that much trouble.

“Hey, Seol! Have you been out in the rain the whole time? Why on earth are you getting soaked? Aren’t you cold?”

“The North Sea is much colder.”

Indeed, the Northern tribes live year-round on frozen lakes, so their summer and winter are just variations of cold.

“At this time of year, I’d say it’s warm in the Southern Sea.”

“Your voice is shaking already.”

“No, it’s not.”

Truth be told, while discussing whether it’s cold or not, the answer would be that it’s not cold at all.

Rather, it feels refreshingly cool, almost like a sense of freedom, throwing an umbrella high to feel raindrops pouring down like a scene from a movie.

But being drenched in heavy, thick raindrops hitting against me continuously for a long time?

That’s a whole other story from simply being cold or not.

A person’s body temperature is regulated through the air, so while getting soaked doesn’t help, being hit by fresh raindrops relentlessly steals warmth.

“Lady, you said you’ve slept outside a lot, right? Do you sleep in the rain in the North Sea? At this rate, you’ll end up like a corpse.”

“It’s not a big deal…”

Yet, while making no effort to move, I noticed her reluctantly stand up, hinting that this was somewhat not okay.

Once back in the room, lo and behold, her complexion was pale, looking sickly, but her lips were stained black, losing saturation between purplish and bluish hues.

Fortunately, the umbrella-wielding boy brought over a pile of dried fruits, so Qing started by wiping her face clean, squeezing out her wet hair, trying to peel away the stuck-on drenched clothes with some effort before finally wiping off excess moisture with the dried fruits.

Then, I laid her down on the bed and covered her with a blanket, realizing how tough it must be to care for a child and feeling immense gratitude towards my parents for teaching me to be diligent…

“Hey, what kind of night camping in the rain is this?”

“Yep.”

Having wiped all the moisture away, Seol finally spoke after burying herself into the bedding.

“You’re gonna die like this. Cold and being rained on are completely different experiences. Didn’t you say you’ve done plenty of camping?”

“There’s no rain in the North Sea.”

“There must be snow, right? Do you camp out in the snow over there?”

“Nope.”

“Seriously, did you just stay in the rain without any protection?”

“It’s raining, not snowing.”

She didn’t yield one bit with her words.

Qing, clicking my tongue, finally began drying off her own wet clothes.

I might’ve worn a large hat, but in this heavy rain, running about (and uselessly), there was hardly a dry spot on me—head, shoulders, and back were pretty much it.

Seol’s gaze was glued to Qing’s form, and then to the towel she used, and finally hovering on Qing’s heavily swollen dark arms, unable to look away, as if nailed in place.

Whether she cared or not, Qing was feeling pretty tired after all the drama from the night and (even if my body was up for it) a sense of relief left me drowsy.

Having roughly laundered myself, I dove under the blankets.

Then Seol spoke up.

“Um.”

“What?”

“I can’t sleep if someone’s around.”

“Then don’t sleep. You couldn’t have slept outside in the rain, could you? So isn’t it better to not sleep at all on a warm, comfortable bed?”

“…”

Seol’s lips were tightly sealed, like she was fuming or something.

“Do what you want—sleep or not, it’s up to you. I, however, am going to sleep.”

“…”

Is she prideful or something?

Not getting a reply, Qing just shrugged it off. But wait, is she actually breathing heavily now?

“Seol?”

“…Doron.”

Qing crinkled my face in frustration.

Aren’t you the one who said you can’t sleep if someone’s around? How can you fall asleep right after saying that?

—-

There’s a saying, “Just in case, expect the expected.”

And sure enough, Seol caught a cold.

“Seriously, how can a warrior catch a cold?”

“Wife.”

“Your nose is completely stuffed. You’ve got a runny nose right now.”

Seol wiped her nose with the blanket.

“It’s bean soup, wife.”

“Goodness, really…”

Yes, a warrior can catch a cold; it might be quite a feat, but it happens.

For instance, if you’re stubborn and don’t protect your body while directly absorbing the pouring rain, then it’s just about the same as a body of a strong ordinary person getting drenched.

So Seol caught quite a significant cold.

And it wasn’t a mild one either.

“Did you really stand out in the rain without using any internal power?”

“I did.”

To clarify, she explained that among the summers in the North Sea, around ten days shine brilliantly with sunshine. On those sunny days, everyone comes out to enjoy the warm weather.

And even the coldest day in the Central Plain felt much warmer.

So, that muggy heat at the end of June feels like a blazing hell to Seol.

She had been energetically circulating her internal power to keep cool, so at night when the heat calmed down, she would restore her energy, and during the day, keep exerting her internal power.

“So you depleted your internal power just to cool down, then found your dantian empty at night?”

“Yeah. And stop talking nonsense.”

“Ha. Playing the pity card with a stuffy nose just sounds funny, you know? Can you at least try pronouncing it right?”

To that, Seol shot Qing a fierce look.

Qing retorted.

“Before glaring at me, why not wipe your nose? I’m honestly trying not to laugh right now.”

“Cheh.”

“Either way, I’ll make sure we have a filling breakfast together, so let’s eat and head back. Or no, I’ll just book a room for you to rest and cover all expenses until you feel better.”

Even a warrior can catch a cold, but it doesn’t take long to recover.

Just a day of circulating power and taking care of yourself should have you bouncing back like nothing ever happened.

“Sing. Yo.”

Attempting to pronounce it clearly, she stammered, but that didn’t magically clear her stuffed nose.

A rather unfortunate attempt.

“Hey, why are you being so stubborn, suggesting you’ll keep following me? It’s rainy season, and it’s gonna keep pouring, right? You don’t have clothes to change into or money to spare!”

“Yes.”

Stubbornness can only take you so far; there’s a limit to how ridiculous it can get.

I’m not going to be overly compassionate, treating her like my mom might do, nor will I babysit someone who insists on not taking care of themselves, no matter how cute they seem to be sometimes.

But, wait a minute—isn’t it kind of nice to take care of someone pretty and who acts cute? Isn’t that what they call a pet?

Shaking off those random thoughts, Qing kept plowing through.

After all, I’ve already known the fear of the rain quite well from a previous scare.

“Hmph. Then do whatever you want. I’m out of here; you can just stay here, Young Lady Seol.”

“Cheesy. That’s so low of you.”

Seol had no change of clothes on her.

With the rain pouring since morning, there was no way her clothes would have dried by now.

Seol was stunned, scrambling to pick up her soaking wet undergarments while hesitating, whereas Qing, the homeless expert, had already changed into fresh clothes and was completely ready to head out.

“I’ll leave you one of my spare hats; do what you want with it—wear it or toss it. See ya later; maybe we’ll meet again.”

With that, Qing waved over my shoulder and dashed outside.

Now, what should I eat for breakfast?

I’m really craving some scallion pancakes with this rain…

But there’s a benefit to living in this backward and ancient Central Plain—all kinds of similar foods do exist.

And there’s something similar to pancakes, which is jeon (fritters).

In Qing’s hometown, jeon refers to buckwheat pancakes or a type of kimchi dumplings, but the original version is a general term for thinly fried batter made of flour or similar ingredients.

Plus, it’s a popular breakfast choice for many in the Central Plains.

“Should I grab a bottle of sweet liquor to go with the pancakes? After all, it wouldn’t be right without some soothing alcoholic beverage.”

While Qing was deep in thought, the sound of the door creaking open revealed hurried footsteps, followed by a relieved, congested sigh echoing through the air.

Cursing under my breath, I turned around—

The weather may have been hot in the Central Plain, but Seol’s attire was a single-layered blouse and skirt combo, very thin and light.

Now that she was drenched, the damp fabric clung closely to her body, accentuating the features of her form.

Qing gasped in shock.

“Lady, what’s going on?! You can’t be running around like that right now! Get back inside immediately!”

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