Chapter 282

But, Seoliri is not a coachman.

Just because someone can drive a carriage doesn’t make them a coachman; a coachman basically knows the roads.

Anyway, Seoliri, who doesn’t know the geography, can only follow the path straight ahead.

It was also pouring rain, making it the perfect scenario for getting lost.

However, luckily, it’s not easy to get lost right in the middle of Henan Province.

So, following the road and taking the main paths, a small village called Bubu Village appeared.

It’s just a pitiful little place with only one tavern, but still, it was something.

Considering it wasn’t a fortified rural village with a market alongside, that was a stroke of luck.

So, I got a room, dried off with a warm towel (a hot water bath is more of a city convenience), and since there were no clothing shops in town, I tipped the tavern girl to buy some dry clothes for me to change into.

After having a rather ambiguous meal that could barely be called cooking, I lay my body down on a bed that wasn’t exactly plush, and wow. The exhaustion just hit me.

The bed was a bit uncomfortable and smelled kind of musty; had I not been in my right mind, I would have fainted the moment I lay down.

But why am I so tired…?

Just from a little knife fight?

Qing, feeling unusually exhausted and sprawled out, found Seoliri standing there, peering down at me while only her head poked out from the blanket.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“If I sleep, who will look after me?”

Seoliri’s pronunciation had improved tremendously, so I figured after a warm, good sleep tonight, she’d be fine by tomorrow.

Originally, even a minor cold would heal within a day for a master or a medium-level practitioner.

Anyway, Seoliri was still a decent enough reason for me to take care of her, not wanting to refuse the duties of a bamboo lady.

“Hmm. Alright. Let’s do it this way.”

“What way?”

“In my opinion, Seol Young Lady can sleep really well, even if someone were to carry her away, she wouldn’t notice at all.”

“No way.”

“Okay. If Aunt Seol can just lie still for thirty minutes, I’ll book another room for you. But if you can’t handle it and you sleep instead? Then you’ll be guilty of lying and you’ll have to sleep with me from now on. How does that sound?”

“I don’t want to.”

“If you don’t want to, then you can just sleep on the floor.”

“That’s unfair.”

“Are you scared? Feeling like you might lose, so you won’t even accept the bet? You can’t even last this long without falling asleep while whining.”

At that, a vein popped on Seoliri’s forehead.

“Fine!”

Then, she just flopped onto the bed.

Since this inn was just a shabby little place in the countryside, the bed was small.

As I shifted under the blanket, I found myself leaning against Seoliri’s body, draping my arms and legs over her.

“Get off. You’re complaining.”

“Well, isn’t that better for you, Miss Seol? If someone is here bothering you, won’t it be harder to sleep?”

“Even without this—”

“Hey. This is for fairness. I’m watching to see if you won’t sleep, straining your body trying to stay awake, folding your arms, pinching yourself, and holding your breath. Now, let’s start the timer.”

Lying under the warm blanket, whether it was from the aftereffects of the wind or my physique, holding onto the cool bamboo lady felt incredibly comfortable, to the point I wondered if this was paradise.

And a little while later…

“…Grunt.”

As Qing slowly drifted into sleep, she could hear Seoliri’s soft snores by her ear. Cute little snoring sounds came out rhythmically, grunting and snorting.

She had just taken some medicine for that cold, and she had been drenched while driving the carriage.

No matter how sensitive one might be, sleeping next to someone couldn’t compare to the exhaustion they were feeling.

For some reason, despite not doing much, maybe bouncing around in the rain had exhausted more energy than expected.

Anyway, Qing was just as tired, and listening to that adorable snoring made her irresistibly sleepy…

—-

Having fallen asleep mindlessly since early evening, when Qing woke up, she had no clue about the time.

Normally, she could tell morning, afternoon, or evening by the sunlight coming through the room, but it was pitch dark inside, and focusing her mind led only to the sound of heavy rain.

Had Seoliri’s cold cleared up? Her breathing was soft and even, not a trace of wheeziness left.

Qing felt a slight sense of regret.

Hmm. That cute little snoring was actually charming.

But really, without cuteness, what would be left of Seoliri?

Just a pretty coachman, I guess?

Would it be fine to have Seoliri drive from now on instead of hiring a coachman?

After all, even if they rode together, she never said a word, so it seemed more cost-effective to just have her sitting in the coachman’s seat instead of wasting money.

Hmm. Could that save money?

Or would it actually cost more?

Qing had money, but now she would have even more.

The coachman would certainly enjoy himself and then take a little extra to share with his friends.

Rumor had it he asked for ten taels of silver.

That meant at least fifteen of them were set to pocket ten taels each.

Plus, the tips he got weren’t bad either.

If they sold off the cheap weapons stored in the carriage’s cargo area, there would be even more income.

Considering that, Qing was clearing away the garbage from the world and earning a nice sum of money in return.

If Seoliri took on the role of the coachman, this income would have never been possible.

Anyway.

Ugh. Musty.

In this primitive and uncivilized place, there’s no air conditioning, so oh, Great Hero…

Though it wasn’t hot thanks to the rain, the humidity! What’s the July weather even like if it’s not cool?

Once I stepped outside the guest room, I realized it was just early morning.

“Oh. Young Sir. Are you up?”

A tavern employee’s daughter, wiping the breakfast table, approached me.

“‘Young Sir’ can only be heard in the countryside.”

“Seriously, what’s with this rain?”

“Right? The elders say it might be gathering after a very dry spring, and all the rain is falling at once.”

“True, it was quite dry before.”

Since leaving the Divine Maiden Sect until the end of the Martial World Tournament, there had been very few rainy days from spring to autumn.

I think I even heard that the water level of the Grand Canal was half empty or something.

“Hmm. So, when will the rain stop?”

“Ha ha. How could I possibly know the will of the heavens, Young Sir?”

“Is that so…”

In this primitive and uncivilized world, weather forecasts weren’t a thing. After all, it’s a rather advanced technology.

Of course, weather forecasting is crucial.

Thanks to that, there were fortune tellers and meteorologists on the Central Plains, but the accuracy was about as good as saying, “I thought it might rain.”

If it rains, it rains; that’s just how it goes.

Qing then got to the point.

“Please find someone to drive the carriage to Luoyang. I’ll pay one tael of silver.”

—-

Originally, it takes a day by carriage from Sung Mountain to Luoyang.

There were some fun incidents along the way that delayed the trip, but it wasn’t a time-bound journey, so setting out early from the countryside meant arriving in Luoyang just in time for a late lunch.

And so, Luoyang!

Luoyang, one of the three great cities of the Central Plains… well, I’ve been here before, and because of the rain, I couldn’t really enjoy it from the outside.

Thus, I dropped by the horse stable to return the carriage.

“Hey! Aren’t you managing the coachmen? Is it true what everyone says that they’re no different from bandits?”

“I’m so sorry, so sorry…!”

“Sorry just won’t cut it! This stable is a den of criminals. I’m going to let the whole world know.”

“Oh no, it’s not like that!”

Qing skillfully extracted a fair compensation.

Didn’t she know about the coachmen’s misdeeds? But she didn’t interfere with those personal matters.

If a coachman succeeds in his side hustle, nobody talks about it, and if he fails, it’s all his fault, so a consolation prize follows.

Qing wasn’t being malicious or scamming; she was rightfully collecting what was due.

“Ha ha.”

She was overflowing with glee. She seemed to be in a very good mood.

At times like this, a travel companion with common sense would naturally ask, “Why are you in such a good mood? Did something good happen?”

But Seoliri, with her cold demeanor as a bamboo lady, was simply lacking in every aspect as a travel companion.

She was a total broke-ass without a single coin, and her conversation skills were nonexistent, and her attitude was hardly friendly.

No matter how you slice it, dragging someone like her along felt like having a living saint come down to the mortal world.

Even my uncle wasn’t this unhelpful.

At least my uncle would always share food first with me when he got some, help carry luggage, and lift me up if my legs got tired.

Though Seoliri might be just as clueless, my uncle was filled to the brim with overflowing warmth—making any comparison an insult!

How on earth could there be someone more useless than Gyeon Pohee?

With such a pitiful, useless person living and breathing in this world, I sighed deeply at Seoliri sitting at the table.

The mystical beauty with silver hair, a side effect of her martial arts, looked at Qing with a dull expression.

Her lack of expression appeared to be conveying: “Why are you making such a fuss?”

Dear lady. Your face.

If it weren’t for that face, I could have just left you behind.

Just looking at her would effortlessly soften my heart; she was like a self-moving, hugging pillow.

So rather than a pillow, is she a pillow-hugger?

Anyway, since Seoliri never fulfilled the necessary duties of a suitable companion, it would forever remain a mystery why Qing was in such a good mood…

She instead asked the tavern girl.

“Hey, Jeomsoi. Have you heard about the Heukyeong Society? You know, those Sapa guys in Luoyang?”

They do indeed exist.

The aristocracy’s revenge may take ten years, but that’s the spirit of the Central Plains from ancient times.

Never forgetting a grudge even over a millennium while ignoring kindness—that’s the great spirit of the Central Plains.

It had been only three years since Qing had been humiliatingly forced to retreat from Luoyang, making it the perfect time to complete that unfinished revenge.

However…

“Oh. Those guys? They’re finished.”

“Eh? Why? What happened?”

“I heard they mistakenly messed with someone high up in the Martial World.”

The tavern girl explained that the martial artists from the Hubei Pang Clan and Huang Bo Clan teamed up to shut them down and expose their ugly crimes.

Thanks to that, other Sapa in Luoyang quickly distanced themselves, pretending they had nothing to do with it.

In the end, being attacked by two of the ten top sects meant they wouldn’t leave a single stone unturned.

Then, a mission notification flared to life, announcing completion of the sudden task.

For some reason, it felt like I was being mocked by this late notification, “Well, aren’t you foolish?”

No, why!

Pang and Huang Bo clans are just little ants!

Why do they get to enjoy this without me?!

I can wipe them out too!

How much I love slaying villains!

Qing’s spirits plummeted.

She had been betrayed by someone she trusted.

How could they have such fun without me, leaving me out of everything?

If Pang Dae-san and Huang Bo Woon-cheok found out, they would be dumbfounded and frustrated beyond belief.

After all, they’d even mobilized their families’ martial artists considering the future repercussions, with Pang Dae-san stepping up to protect Qing.

As for Huang Bo Woon-cheok, he simply joined in out of impulsive heroics, responding to Qing’s words.

Fortunately, Qing quickly managed to compose herself.

It’s all gone now, so what can I do?

Goodbye, my Luoyang. My silver treasure.

But, uh… oh, that looks delicious.

Because the food had just started coming out.

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