Chapter 324

Qing quietly grasped the hilt of her sword.

She wasn’t in the best condition to use her inner strength yet.

It’s not that she lacked confidence in fighting with physical abilities, but it required a certain level of preparedness to pull off those skills.

Just relying on her sword energy wouldn’t last long before her sword gave in if she fought without it.

But, there wasn’t much need to hold on for long.

If there was any commotion beneath the Divine Maiden Sect’s mountain gate, Master would soar over here on a sword in no time.

The demonic cult members knew this too, so, hmm? Maybe this isn’t the time to flaunt it only because of Master…

Qing exchanged glances with Seoliri.

A white mist started pouring from Seoliri’s entire body as she broke her serene meditation pose, sensing something was amiss.

This thick chill emanating from her meant she had taken an elixir and was fired up.

With this level of intensity, Qing relaxed a bit, feeling confident that she wouldn’t get hit.

– Ah, my lady. What brings you here?

– Is someone inside?

– The Young Lady Seomun, a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect, is inside.

– Hehe, is that so? A disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect…

Qing quietly drew her sword.

Suddenly, Seoliri opened her water flask and poured its contents into her hand, producing a long, frozen sword with a crackling sound.

What’s with all this cool stuff popping out?

But it wasn’t the time to joke around, so Qing quickly signaled with her fingers.

Left for me, right for you.

Seoliri nodded.

And then a voice came from outside the carriage.

– Wasn’t the Divine Maiden Sect a place forbidden to men? You don’t seem like a woman.

– I’m just here to drop you off, then I’ll be heading back.

– Ah, I see. Everyone, relax your weapons. They say she’s a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect.

“Huh?”

What’s going on with the atmosphere?

Then, a knock on the carriage door.

– Excuse me. You mentioned you’re a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect, but since I’ve been instructed to ensure no men are sneaking in, may I check the carriage?

The lowered voice was exceedingly polite.

“I was just about to get off and head up the mountain.”

As Qing opened the carriage door, her eyes fell upon a guard clad in shiny golden armor.

Martial world individuals seldom wear armor, so just looking at the attire revealed he was a palace guard.

Upon making eye contact with the guard, he froze, wide-eyed, unable to even blink as he stared at Qing.

“Uh, hey?”

“Ah! My apologies, my apologies!”

The guard hurriedly bowed, his ears turning bright red.

Caught off guard by her angelic beauty, his heart raced, and his limbs trembled, making his voice stutter.

“Uh, um. Is something wrong?”

“The…uh, my lady is performing a ritual right now…”

“My lady?”

Now, ‘my lady’ is a term used to refer to a high-ranking woman.

When Qing asked, the guard lowered his voice.

“The Empress has come to visit.”

The formal address for the Empress is ‘Your Majesty,’ just like for the emperor.

“Oh.”

Wait, that lady?

Qing recalled the representative from the Ho family she had met in front of the Shaolin Sect.

Biologically speaking, yes, she seemed like a mother.

But Princess Yeonsul was Princess Yeonsul, and Seomun Qing was Seomun Qing; the more entangled they became, the more awkward it felt to look at each other up close.

What was it called again? Something about the boat? What was it?

If the captain changes, is it still the same boat? If it changes the owner, is it still the same boat? If the owner changes the name, is it a different boat? What is this?

Of course, it didn’t matter who steered it or who the owner was.

But the truth is far away, and Qing had no way of knowing, so what could she do?

In any case, Qing would realize that since she wasn’t the Princess Yeonsul, the Empress would come to terms with the fact that her daughter was already gone forever.

Still, she worried it might end up with a bitter conclusion like, “You aren’t my daughter! Give me back my daughter, you monster!”

Thus, she climbed up the treacherous mountain of the Divine Maiden Peak and finally arrived at the Divine Maiden Sect sign, where the waiting disciples immediately brightened up upon seeing Qing.

But that was it.

For some reason, instead of running up to her, they stood straight and only bent down when Qing got close.

“Is Master Tai Sasukjo here?”

“Welcome!”

Qing tilted her head.

Huh? Is this right?

Normally, they would rush out and bombard her with a thousand questions to catch up.

Qing’s genuine expression made the disciples chuckle.

“A big guest is here, so the Sect Leader told us to behave. We’d better watch out, or we’ll be in for a smack on the head.”

“Ah, right. A smack on the head. That hurts…”

Qing understood immediately.

Under the legendary head-smack, all disciples are equal.

“Really, it hurts so much.”

“This kid cried his eyes out after just one hit! Almost a whole quarter of an hour!”

“It wasn’t a quarter of an hour! Just a little tear, that’s all!”

“Is that what a little tear looks like? If you shed real tears, the world would drown, right?”

“What, wanna have a tear battle today? Wanna get your hair pulled and shed some tears?”

“If you cry, the whole world will be flooded, won’t it? For the sake of peace, I’ll be nice today. But hey, who’s that pretty lady next to you? Wow, she’s stunning! I feel like I’m falling for her.”

Whether they were excited to see Qing or just couldn’t keep their usual energy in check, the disciples were behaving as they normally would.

Before long, they were in for a smack on the head.

“Seoliri from the Northern Sea Ice Palace! You know Seolhwa, one of the Five Beauties of the Martial World, right?”

“Wow! Seolhwa! The Five Beauties of the Martial World!”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, your hair is so pretty!”

“Yeah.”

Seoliri replied.

“…?”

What’s this? Is it normal for you to come in now? Their puzzled expressions seemed to convey that.

With the disciples behaving as they usually did and Seoliri doing just fine, it seemed like nothing particular was worth mentioning except for the ‘big guest.’

At that moment, a stern voice echoed.

“You lot. Can’t contain yourselves, revealing your true colors in front of guests! How shameful!”

“Gasp.”

“Gasp.”

The two disciples let out astonished breaths.

Then, turning in a clumsy, squeaky manner, they spotted the Sect Leader, Wang Juhee, the legendary Tian Dun Sword right there, instantly tensing up.

“M-Master, when did you get there?”

“From when you greeted Master Tai Sasukjo. Why?”

She had been watching from the start.

Yet, neither Qing nor anyone else had sensed her; it was as if the Tian Dun Sword’s mysterious elusiveness had deceived the world.

Of course, Wang Juhee hadn’t exactly used any stealth.

Regardless, Qing, who had nothing to hide, beamed and greeted her.

“Master! I’ve returned.”

“Nice. Everything alright? Let’s see. You’re Seoliri from the Northern Sea Ice Palace, right?”

“Yes! I’m here to pay my respects to the Master.”

Seoliri bowed respectfully.

Even a respectful disciple like her wouldn’t reply with simple yes or no when talking to an elder.

At times like this, one might think they were doing it intentionally.

“Alright, Yuansong, show Seoliri to the guest hall. Qing, you go see your Master immediately.”

“Yes! Ah! Ouch…”

Whack! The inconspicuous disciple, Yuansong, got a whack on the head.

Naturally, being Seomun Sulin’s disciple, Yuansong could handle a smack or two.

After getting hit for a while, she couldn’t resist the overwhelming desire to spread the profound teachings of Seomun Sulin.

“Not Yuansong, but Sarang will guide her.”

“Of course, Sect Leader. I’ll follow your orders.”

Sarang, having witnessed the head-smacking moment, transformed into a cultured and composed lady due to the impact of the event.

Such was the miraculous effect of Seomun Sulin’s education method!

Qing had not seen her in a while. Then again, a change in seasons usually meant long waits.

But it had only been about two months.

Nevertheless, upon seeing her disciples, Seomun Sulin let out a long sigh.

“Hah. So, the Princess Yeonsul, huh?”

“Oh, you heard?”

“Out of the blue, I was given a title and became the Deputy Matriarch for the Royal Academy, didn’t I? Wouldn’t I know?”

The Deputy Matriarch position comes under the royal family, ranking high among officials.

Just so you know, the Prefectural Governor holds a similar rank, being the head of the administrative department.

The Deputy Matriarch is responsible for educating royal women, making it one of the highest positions women can take up in the Central Plains.

“Um, congratulations?”

Clang! That cute squeak felt like a small tactical nuke of cuteness.

However, the hands of the original owner inflicted far more pain, as Qing rubbed her head until it felt like burning.

“In my life, I’ve even smacked a princess’s head. This life is truly eventful.”

“Wait, why does that hurt…?”

“Didn’t I tell you it would hurt? No, just when I was about to enlighten you, why again?”

“Well, you see, my pulse has been acting up…”

Before she could finish, Seomun Sulin tightly grabbed Qing’s wrist.

And in surged the warm True Energy.

“Ah! That hurts!”

It hurt so bad it felt like her blood vessels were being torn.

At least it had improved a lot to the point she wasn’t bursting into tears; in the beginning, if she had come to her senses, she could have fainted just from circulating her inner strength.

Seeing the dampening tears in Qing’s eyes made Seomun Sulin’s expression turn serious.

“What in the world is going on? Why did this foolish girl suddenly return with her pulse in such a mess?”

“I’m not incapacitated, but see, I caught sight of Jeolgeumbyeok…”

Qing explained the whole story.

Seomun Sulin relaxed her expression as if reassured.

“Hmm. I think you’ve reached the Supreme Martial Artist realm, and because of that, your reactions have been stronger. During the Shaolin, it was just your arm, while at the Jongnam, it was your whole pulse. You said if you didn’t recover properly before facing Jeolgeumbyeok, you might die, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hah, anything ever easy? But your cultivation level is lacking, so there’s not much we can do. You should definitely refrain from visiting Jeolgeumbyeok for a while.”

Qing felt a sudden chill. Seomun Sulin’s gaze sharpened.

“So, you say the Princess Yeonsul, huh?”

“Uh. I guess so.”

“Didn’t know beforehand?”

“I only learned after meeting the Empress, and, um, to be honest, I don’t really believe it, nor do I have any desire to live as the Princess. I’d much rather be Seomun Qing, a disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect.”

As she said this, Seomun Sulin’s expression softened.

The Empress visiting suddenly, seeking to perform a ritual, wouldn’t be surprising enough.

The goddess worshipped by the Divine Maiden Sect was famously known for her romance with the Crown Prince long ago, so it wasn’t unusual for royal women to come for rituals now and then.

But when the Empress suddenly came and wanted to pay respects to Master, it had truly startled her.

A great master? The Empress is planning to take on a teacher?

It was a moment that made everything before her go black!

Fortunately, the Empress didn’t mean she was entering the Divine Maiden Sect.

It’s a gesture of respect in the Central Plains to refer to one’s child’s teacher as a ‘great master.’

This thought made Qing worried, wondering if the Empress was trying to hide her identity and then snuck in.

Of course, that was unlikely. Besides, the two of them didn’t look like something a princess would engage with on first acquaintance.

Nevertheless, confirmation was necessary.

And when she heard the girl say she wanted to be Seomun Qing rather than a princess, it felt like a weight had completely lifted off her chest, and her heart began to race with relief.

At the same time, a profound realization washed over her.

This child was so dear to her.

Initially, she admired her as a woman of admirable courage with outstanding qualities, seeing her as someone who would bring a refreshing breeze to the world of women.

Yet somehow, her affection had grown.

Perhaps it was fear of losing her that made her anxiety bubble up so intensely.

Thus, Seomun Sulin couldn’t help but smile brightly.

Seeing Qing tilting her head, she was suddenly in a great mood.

With a cheerful grin that she hadn’t worn in a long time, she mentioned.

“They said it’ll take you about two months to recover, right? Since the Empress requested to hold a ritual for three months, it seems about the right amount of time. During that, you’ll serve her.”

Qing’s reaction was one of horror.

“Me? I really would rather not. To be honest, I have no memories, and you say I’m your daughter; it just feels awkward. What if I fail to recognize your daughter and end up saying, ‘Who are you?! Give me back my daughter, you monster!’?”

“Stop that nonsense. Even if you have no memories, isn’t she your mother? And even with no memories, one’s nature tends to surface naturally; surely you won’t fail to recognize your mother.”

That’s the problem…

Qing’s expression grew hesitant as Seomun Sulin gently ruffled her hair.

“Even if you claim you want to live as Seomun Qing, could you really ignore a mother searching for her child? Who knows when the Empress might come out again? It’s just two months in a long life, so serve her with respect.”

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