Chapter 451

As the raindrops were falling one by one, I thought it wouldn’t rain too much, but by the time we finished our meal, it started pouring down with a monumental *whoosh*!

Normally, the sound of rain can create a cozy atmosphere when you’re not getting wet, easing the nerves of people around.

Maybe it was from climbing mountains all day, but after eating, Jin Jangmyung dozed off, surrendering to the soothing sound of the rain.

Then Qing got up from her seat.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m just going to boil some water. Please wait a moment, and I’ll bring you hot water.”

“Ahem! There’s no need to overdo it just because it’s raining. I thought I’d go outside and enjoy the rain for a bit.”

Though she said that, a loose smile appeared on Cheon Yu-hak’s lips.

Both Qing and Cheon Yu-hak were used to roughing it outside. But Qing wasn’t fond of soaking herself in boiling hot water; that felt more like a chore. She figured that if they were going to camp out tomorrow too, washing up might as well be pointless.

On the other hand, Cheon Yu-hak usually liked to keep things neat, even when roughing it.

Knowing her master’s preferences, Qing thought, “Oh well, I have to take care of him.”

“I’ll also get a taste of the rain. Do you think the rain will help reduce the stench if I get soaked? Maybe it’ll wash away some of it?”

“Reducing it? No way! It’ll make it worse!”

As Qing opened the door, a refreshing sound flooded the room all at once.

Without hesitating, she jumped right out into the pouring rain.

It felt less like rain and more like being pelted by a slew of water droplets.

Standing out in the rain bizarrely reminded her of that world on the other side… Was it because they never got rained on over there?

Ah! It feels so refreshing! Oh man, I could go for some savory pancakes or seafood pancakes. Dipping them in spicy soy sauce dotted with chopped chilies? Oh, delicious!

Qing thought this right after finishing her meal.

She decided to head toward the town center.

“Hahhh…”

“Wow, that’s tough! Extremely tough!”

To her surprise, all six of them were still alive!

From the perspective of Physician Woman Qing, there was no chance for revival.

However, from the viewpoint of Martial World Individual Qing, it was quite satisfying.

“Look at the pile of corpses of the unfortunate villagers stacked in the empty lot, grinning away.”

Their mouths were stretched up to their ears.

But how can corpses grin?

Qing rubbed her eyes.

But no, she wasn’t wrong. The slain villagers, all those many corpses, were turning their heads to look at the scum down there and, with hollow eyes, were wearing grim smiles.

There were even heads twisted at impossible angles; given that they were already dead, they’d be like, “Well, can’t die again now, can I? So who cares about the neck and muscle nerves?”

“Ugh, uhhh…”

Even the muffled groans of suffering filtered through the agonizing sound of rain in stark clarity.

With skin adhered to clothing, those droplet impacts on their bodies must be excruciating. Better to kill them outright.

“Does that really mean anything? They’ll keep suffering anyway, even if they die. Everyone’s welcoming them with open arms. When they get to the afterlife…”

Qing snapped her fingers.

“They say that innocent people killed by you will come to greet you with knives in the afterlife. Those with sins will be stuck in hell, so only innocent ones will come for revenge. Isn’t that kind of nice? That’s how the afterlife should be.”

Feeling quite chipper, Qing started humming a little tune as she took off.

She stepped into an empty house, grabbed an empty pot there, picked up two from the next house, found two more from another beside it, and—oh, this one hasn’t been washed up, pass.

Her current residence had pots too, but since she felt too lazy to clean, she was out hunting for a clean pot to boil water, while looking over at the burning human blankets.

When she brought the boiled water back to her teacher, the sun had completely set, and given how it had been pouring, it was pitch black with no visibility whatsoever.

“Then, you should rest. I’ll sleep in the next room with Jangmyung and greet you in the morning.”

She didn’t mean to be any trouble to her master.

She just thought he should wash himself after the hot water was given.

“Right. Tomorrow we’ll head straight back to Jigmuk-hyeon as soon as dawn breaks, so don’t stay up for no reason—get some sleep early.”

“Oh, by the way, do you have any Xiangzhao left?”

“Ha! Have you ever seen me wander without Xiangzhao? Not washing is on you, not me!”

“Oh, I was just thinking of washing with the rain outside.”

“Are you serious? You’re thinking of washing with the rain? Outside?”

“It’s pouring down! If I lather up with some bubbles and rinse off…”

“Wait, what? You have no shame! Even if it’s dark out, that doesn’t mean…”

“Hey, it’s already night, and no one’s coming to find me. It’s pitch black, so what’s the big deal anyway?”

“Tch, come on now! Is this boldness or just… Ugh, whatever. There’s a limit to being laid-back. A man can wash out in the rain, but a woman shouldn’t have to?”

If Seomun Sulin had overheard this, she’d probably be quite troubled.

So, it’s okay for men to be naked washed in the rain while it’s not for women?

Well, of course, that’s a no-go. True, but…

If men can, but women can’t.

But what’s this reckless disciple up to? Even in the middle of the night, how dare she flaunt her body!

In the end, this would probably earn the disciple a solid smack on the head.

Unfortunately, Seomun Sulin was not around.

Cheon Yu-hak had no intention of bickering with his disciple over such a scandalous topic.

Qing had had her fair share of experiences washing up in the rain from her military days.

So, she thought, “Oh well, who’s going to see anyway?”

In the Central Plain, there’s nothing but pure, crystal-clear water falling down without any mountain rain. Isn’t that cleaner than the Mid-Autumn-style bathwater anyway?

Therefore, in the most splendid scenery of the Central Plain, the most beautiful in the world, a soap bubble bath in the rain was so close, yet no one knew it.

As the clouds covered the sky and the ground filled up with water, one could say a spectacular view of the human world passed by, unnoticed.

—-

Qing woke up at the crack of dawn.

After lying down last night and thinking, it felt like she should hide those burned corpses better.

After all, it wouldn’t be too pleasant for the elderly and children to see.

Despite drenching all night with rain, the clouds were still heavy, but the sun seemed to be climbing over the ridges, sorts of.

With Qing’s otherworldly vision, she could just make out the outlines of things.

Wearing her raincoat, she headed to the square, and there were bodies that had become burnt blanket-like, lying lifeless in the mud.

Hmm. If they had lived, maybe things would’ve been better for them.

Qing roughly tossed the limbs over the brush wall without hesitation.

No need to bury them or hide them anywhere, just moving them away from sight on her way out would be the key.

Then, as she looked at the pile of villagers’ bodies, she frowned.

“What’s this? Didn’t they laugh just yesterday?

Or were they just satisfied seeing their enemies die, returning to their original states?”

Qing felt a tinge of disappointment.

If they’re going to smile, might as well smile a bit more!

She could’ve told her master and Jangmyung, “See, these people are smiling because they’ve relieved some of their grudges.”

But alas, disappointment is just disappointment, and the dead are still dead.

Though they’re already mourned, why would they frown at their fate?

So, Qing reverently joined her hands together and recited the offerings of the deceased.

Then she greeted her elder, and alongside Jangmyung, who had slept well since early evening, began preparing breakfast by the fire.

To be precise, Jangmyung was bustling around, doing nothing, while Qing was the one doing all the breakfast preparations.

But that’s the role of the youngest.

Just loitering while not actually doing any work, simply signaling a desire to help.

For when the youngest fumbles around, things might actually get messed up, so it’s best to just let them watch and grasp the situation.

Still playing the role of wanting to help is just a way to be loved.

“Why does the breakfast look just like yesterday’s? Is it even worse than yesterday? I mean, last night we at least had some egg porridge, right?”

In the Central Plain, meals are divided into main dishes and sides, in Qing’s hometown style that’s, let’s say, cooking and meals (the staple and side dishes).

There’s a hierarchy too, where rice is in the same level as white porridge, and egg porridge should be made with sautéed rice.

“Eh, what kind of porridge is this for breakfast? Plus, there need to be ingredients to make it.”

“What’s wrong? What does porridge have to do with breakfast?”

“Come on! People need to eat to have strength!”

“What? What’s the connection between rice and strength?”

The folks from the Central Plain really couldn’t understand.

But to Qing, this was just common knowledge.

Porridge first thing in the morning?

Porridge is for when you’re sick or just to finish off a dish.

“This looks like the same old mixed stew from yesterday, doesn’t it?”

Well, this is the limit of a half-baked cook.

Hey now, even in Qing’s hometown, there were quirky cooks who managed to whip up some strange mixed stew or leftover fried rice.

Qing’s skills were exactly at that level.

Though she could differentiate between ingredients that would make a dish tasty or ruin it, and she was good at seasoning, so no matter how hastily she whipped something up, it came out decent enough.

“Why not go grab a few from that chicken coop outside? You could boil a few and make something nice, right?”

Hearing this, Qing just chuckled.

“I don’t know how to catch a chicken!”

“What?

“Shouldn’t I know that?”

Cheon Yu-hak then realized.

Indeed, it’s normal for a disciple from the Martial World to not know how to do chores like that!

“Hmm, well, since you’re so good at outdoor living skills—eating fruits, picking mushrooms, foraging for herbs—I thought you’d know how to hunt too.”

“I can hunt, but I don’t know how to clean it. I just burn it up, and it ends up tough and slimy. Plus, the outside burns while the inside remains raw.”

“Well, that’s obvious, since you didn’t drain the blood and oil. Oh, you should’ve told me earlier. I’ll teach you when we get to No Mountain next.”

“Ah! Master, you can actually do that?”

“Just picked it up as a hobby.”

“Then why not teach me right now? There’s some starch powder in the kitchen. It’ll taste good if we fry it!”

“No way! When would you find the time for that? We’ll return to Jigmuk-hyeon anyway, and we can eat well at the restaurant for lunch.”

“Still, if there are any free-range chickens around, it’d be good to learn.”

Qing was burning with passion when it came to food.

If she had spoken with that much enthusiasm about martial arts, maybe by now she would have reached another level in mastery.

And thus, they spent a fruitful time learning how to catch chickens at an unexpected moment.

This was the moment when Qing, with her heart always in the right place when it came to food, learned how to slaughter birds.

Oh yeah! Now I can eat chickens!

The moment she thought all birds across the Central Plain flinched was most likely just a coincidence.

—-

Upon returning to Jigmuk-hyeon.

There was actually a reason they went back instead of heading to No Mountain.

“If you’re going to cause trouble in the mountains, you better hide your identity well. How will you handle the grudges?”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, you need to change your face a bit. Yeah, while we’re at it, you should learn that too. It’s not like it’s a tough skill. Changing your human impression isn’t that difficult in the first place.”

With that, they dropped their bags and roamed the market in Jigmuk, shopping for all sorts of things.

Starch, glue, grass. Sewing tools, beeswax, honey? Why honey?

Then there were tendons, fascia, intestines, all sorts of grain powders, and so on.

It was a wholly obscure shopping list with no apparent purpose.

Then they returned, and the serious class of Merchant Shintu’s disguise techniques began.

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