Chapter 378

Qing checked the shape of the moon outside.

Let’s see, what time is it? Around the time of the earth sign, or perhaps the hour of the monkey?

Qing wasn’t just being careless.

After all, using celestial observations to tell time isn’t the most precise method.

The meeting was supposed to be at midnight, so it had already been an hour and a half past.

However, since Qing was alone, being late wasn’t due to oversleeping.

In fact, she had arrived at the meeting place quite early.

The Dragon Palace Room of the Dragon King.

Just the name suggests it was the best guest room in the Dragon Palace.

And right below the seventh-floor Dragon King’s room was the Plum Blossom Room.

Qing concentrated her ears on the sounds drifting in for nearly an hour.

But nothing unusual was happening.

Since the appointed time, all she heard were her own mutterings about why the person hadn’t arrived, wondering if the letter hadn’t been sent, or if it had been ignored.

Judging from her persistent eavesdropping, it seemed there was no one arriving with a group or laying ambush in another guest room.

Alone? It appeared to be just solo?

Just to make sure, she checked one more time, but it seemed there was no entourage.

Finally, Qing opened the door leading outside.

It was a door rather than a window because in such high-class guest halls, they usually use sliding doors along the walls.

She lightly jumped down onto the eaves below.

Her side let out a surprised squeak, but this much was still bearable.

Stifling a groan, Qing knocked on the door with a bit of irritation.

With soft footsteps, the door creaked open.

“Hehe, I never expected you to come from outside. Quick, come in.”

Not particularly hostile, huh?

Qing felt a bit relieved.

The owner of the guest hall was a very wrinkled old man.

His skin was covered in dark spots, and the untouched parts were the unique shiny skin of an old man, like an aggregation of fine wrinkles that seemed a hundred years old.

“So, you know my secret?”

“Oh, you’re quite impatient. Making a person wait for over half an hour and jumping straight into your own story. Fine, I am Boyeol, the master of Poison Arts.”

“I’m Cheonhwa-geom Seomun Qing.”

“Ah, is that so? Do you enjoy tea? Since you’re in Guangxi, you should certainly try the Liubochá.”

Liubochá is known as one of the finest teas in the world, almost a specialty of Guangxi Province.

Naturally, the Gye-rim Sword Faction served it abundantly to their esteemed guests.

“I’ve had so much already, to the point of exhaustion. Is there no plain Longjing tea? The aroma of Liubochá is just too strong for my taste.”

Longjing tea refers to tea that’s made from the droppings of caterpillars that have eaten tea leaves.

Beyond price, it’s extremely rare.

Boyeol’s expression soured at that.

“They serve Longjing at the Gye-rim Sword Faction?”

“Yes.”

“Ha, that salty little rascal. Treating even a mere child to Longjing. Tsk. Just drink it. It’s not like I can call someone now at this hour just to change the tea leaves, and you wouldn’t want to be seen by others, would you?”

While saying this, he hurriedly mixed several kettles of water, adjusting the temperature for the tea.

Complaining as he brewed the tea.

“Longjing, huh? It’s those who don’t know tea that keep seeking Longjing. It’s the only tea they know, after all. Just how good can it be?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned into a tea ceremony.

Qing could only blink her eyes, glancing at the beautiful snacks piled up like gold bars on the table.

There were translucent, pale rectangular shapes with something yellow against them.

What is this?

Too suspicious. Really suspicious.

But because it’s so suspicious, I’ve got to try it. Nom. Yum.

The true identity of that snack was a jelly made from preserved kumquats, and it was deliciously chewy because of the generous amount of kumquat syrup.

Wow! Sour and sweet!

Qing’s expression blossomed with the taste of her hometown for the first time in a while.

“Hey, how can you be eating snacks when the tea leaves aren’t even steeped?”

“Uh. Right.”

Now wasn’t the time to be indulging.

Qing frowned and set the treat down.

The old aroma of long-settled tea filled the room.

“It’s ready.”

Traditionally, the etiquette for serving tea in the Central Plains is called Chayi.

The reason the old man makes a point of saying it’s ready is that it’s usually children serving tea to adults.

Of course, typically the host serves the guest first, but neither of them was in a host-guest relationship, were they?

Qing’s tea ceremony was refined through the harsh training of Seomun Sulin.

Even seasoned tea masters would be in awe of her elegant movements as she brewed a cup, leading Boyeol to lightly tap on the table three times in Southern Central Plains style to express his gratitude.

Qing inhaled deeply, savoring the nice aroma, and gently moistened her lips to taste it.

Hmm. It’s good. But there’s a ginseng smell…

One characteristic of Liubochá is that it has a ginseng scent.

“So, you know my secret.”

“Hmph. You’re quite impatient.”

“It’s late, so why care about personalities?”

“Hehe, can’t argue with that. Yes. Perhaps others wouldn’t know, but you can’t deceive my eyes.”

At this, Qing looked at Boyeol with an anxious expression.

My secret? What exactly does he know?

“You are indeed the Supreme Demoness of this generation.”

“Huh?”

“Hehe, what a masterpiece. To think the most revered master of the Orthodox Faction, the Divine Dragon, is actually the Supreme Demoness. Who could have imagined?”

Boyeol chuckled with amusement.

Qing asked a bit disappointedly and cautiously, “So, you knowing my secret is just that? That I’ve learned the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat?”

No way. Is that really all? Just that I learned martial arts?

I went through a lot of trouble late at night, booking the most expensive room, unable to sleep, eavesdropping on the floor for an hour, only to find out it was just this?

No way. It can’t be.

“Is that all?”

Qing felt both relief and anxiety simultaneously.

Well, of course. Let’s get to the point, old man!

“How many people know about the previous Supreme Demoness having ties to the Blood Sect now that you’re here? You’ve inherited the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, so you’re practically a demon of the Blood Sect, right?”

“Huh, and?”

“You’ve really fooled everyone. I was just as clueless about your true nature.”

Damn it.

Qing felt a bit let down again.

In fact, she hadn’t come here only to be cautious because someone knew her secret.

Maybe he is a peak-level practitioner, or perhaps a visitor from another time, someone with more information than she had.

I could have sought help from someone who knows more than I do, or even make friends to share ‘a hundred reasons why the Central Plains are uncivilized’ or ‘share my modern culinary experiences.’

But what is this? Just that I had learned the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat?

This is a total scam, a huge loss—no, it’s a total loss for me, like I’ve squandered half my life!

Damn it, return my expectations, my anxiety, my money, and my effort!

To make up for the loss, I’ll have to stuff my face with the expensive pastries instead.

Qing, in a fit of rage, started chewing the kumquat jelly, engaging in the heinous act of stuffing herself with the snacks meant to accompany the tea, an act akin to taking dishes away from a drinker before the table.

That was a truly inhuman deed unworthy of being done by a human.

In the face of such a fearsome revenge from Qing, Boyeol only chuckled.

“There’s no need to be so nervous. I didn’t call you here to say anything bad.”

“Ha. That’s easy to say now that you’ve been discovered. But the truth is I’m not Seomun Qing.”

“Oh? The Martial Alliance looks utterly ridiculous. The other day, a brat from the Martial Alliance was found hiding as a spy for the Blood Sect, and now it’s the Divine Dragon. So, what’s your true identity then?”

Ah, so you know Unyeonjeong.

Lately, Qing had been having quite a bit of fun impersonating her.

She was about to go another round when she got shut down in advance.

“Secret. I’m not telling you. If you want to find out, go ahead and figure it out. So, why did you call me? If you don’t want your identity to be exposed, you better listen to me.”

“Well, something along those lines.”

“You’re not scared at all calling on the Supreme Demoness? Want to have a taste of the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat?”

“I left a letter in the guest hall. If I don’t return, someone will come looking for me at the guest hall, and they’ll find that letter detailing your identity. Then the whole world will know who you are, so if that’s okay with you…”

“Wow, that’s quite a stark form of blackmail.”

Since my master taught me how to bluff my way through, Qing wasn’t scared at all.

However, she was curious now.

What did he intend with such fine tea and delicious snacks prepared?

After eavesdropping for an hour, she concluded that this old man had indeed come alone without companions.

“So, what do you want?”

Qing, unable to contain her curiosity, asked.

If it’s some cliché about undressing or some nonsense about rendezvous, she’d confront him with the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat plus the Master of Dark Demon Arts and the Master of Thunder Arts, smashing him to the netherworld, fifth-class-style.

Unfortunately, the Hundred-Eight Sura Sword only comes with two hands, so it wouldn’t be possible to partner up.

Or would it be? If he holds a sword in his mouth, maybe he could still manage half of a fifth-class technique?

Sadly, it seemed the old man wasn’t feeling particularly frisky at his age.

Boyeol pulled a small vial from his sleeve.

“Here. This is called Blood Poison.”

“You want me to drink this, huh? If you want an antidote, you better cooperate with me.”

“It seems a demon of the Blood Sect doesn’t know much about poisons. To not know about Blood Poison, one of the Top Ten Deadliest Poisons in the world.”

At that, Qing tilted her head.

“Top Ten again? Who decides these top ten lists, anyway? And who counts these ten deadliest poisons? Do people eat one of each poison and score them based on how painful they are?”

“Ahem. Hrm.”

Outside of a few genuinely famous poisons, the rest of the list is filled with just somewhat known ones.

A notable aspect is that poison makers often sneak their own concoctions into such lists.

Boyeol, too, had slipped his poison onto the list of the Top Ten Deadliest Poisons, which struck a nerve, causing him to cough awkwardly and sip from his teacup repeatedly.

When he reached for a snack to cleanse his bitter mouth, he suddenly froze.

Why, oh why, are there no more snacks?!

Now Boyeol was left without anything to cleanse his agitated palate.

The relentless chewing of Qing’s delicious snacks was thus truly a terrible vengeance.

“So, what do you want me to do with this?”

“Feed it to Kang Su-yang of the Gye-rim Sword Faction. It wouldn’t be bad for you, either. I don’t care what scheme the Blood Sect is plotting, but you wouldn’t want to see an Orthodox Sect vanish, would you?”

That was Boyeol’s true intention.

Blood Poison is as well-known as a thief’s term; once Kang Su-yang dies from poisoning, it wouldn’t take long for Boyeol’s involvement to be revealed.

That way, he would have single-handedly achieved the mission of the Gangster Group within Guangxi Province, claiming all the credit for himself.

Qing pouted her lips.

While he seemed somewhat friendly, it turned out he was truly a Gangster at heart.

Yet, Qing found herself deeply in thought.

Why? Because the poison was far too tempting.

She wanted it! The Top Ten Deadliest Poison!

Qing had already poisoned two high-level practitioners of the Realm of Transformation.

Whether it’s truly one of the top ten deadliest poisons or mere boasting from the maker, one thing was certain—it was unquestionably a powerful toxin.

With this, she could easily take down the Great Demon Lord of the Realm of Transformation, right?

What a righteous notion from the most revered member of the Orthodox Faction to eliminate the Great Demon Lord!

“So, kill Kang Su-yang with this poison, and I’ll turn a blind eye to your being the Supreme Demoness?”

“Sure.”

“Hmm. Got it.”

Qing declared as she snatched the vial of poison.

Success, I’ve got a deadly poison now!

But while she said she got it, she didn’t promise she’d actually do it.

She was already plotting to swindle a strong old man, not to mention her very own treacherous nature.

“Good to see our conversation is going smoothly. Don’t take it as blackmail; it’s a win-win.”

Unaware of her true intentions, Boyeol smiled brightly, his elderly face blooming with laughter.

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