Chapter 537

When you think of Suzhou, the lake that immediately comes to mind is Taehyo.

Just by its name, which uses the character “Ta” (太) meaning “great”, you can tell this is one massive lake.

And it really is huge.

Stretching one hundred seventy li from north to south and one hundred thirty li from east to west, its colossal expanse is so vast that you can’t even see the other side, revealing a horizon as if you’re looking out to sea.

In terms of how vast it is, Qing’s hometown feels instantly relatable; you could roughly fit four cities the size of Seoul in there and still have room to spare.

This brings us to one of the complaints from the people of Suzhou.

Besides Taehyo, there are many beautiful lakes, making the city surrounded by a variety of small and large lakes, which is just stunning.

To the north is Zhao Lake, to the northeast is the large Yangjing Lake, to the east you’ll find Geumgye Lake and Dokseo Lake, and to the south, led by Isanho, over a hundred lakes abound, with Taehyo being in the remaining directions.

Even the smallest lake surpasses the commonly used area unit of Il Yeouido from Qing’s hometown—this is a true lake city!

But in terms of fame, there’s really only Taehyo that stands out.

Regardless, when you bring up Suzhou, you can’t forget that it’s a city where cultured men of the Central Plain gather, notorious for their lasciviousness.

To put it nicely, it’s “hedonistic,” but the folks from the Central Plains think of them as crazed for women—officially referred to as scholars.

And then, a beauty arrived in this city of scholars, Suzhou.

The most likely candidate for the title of “The Most Beautiful in the World,” that Cheonhwa-geom, they’re saying her one sword is definitely the most beautiful in the world — it’s that Divine Dragon.

To be precise, Qing is considerably distant from the beauty standard that today’s scholars pursue.

Being a beauty isn’t just about the face; the figure has to meet the criteria too, and the current scholars unanimously agree that women should be as slender as a swallow.

In other words, they think the ideal figure is a well-proportioned, delicate frame resembling a tiny bird.

So? What do you think? Should we crown her as the most beautiful in the world?

Yes. The scholars of Suzhou will indeed recognize it.

Hey everyone, let’s sign this petition!

Cheonhwa-geom is truly “The Most Beautiful in the World,” and that modest chest is just a sign of a child’s hunger!

At that moment, the scholars of Suzhou were struck by a literary piece.

That’s right, it was “Sangwolhee,” written by an unnamed scholar.

Sang-a, known as Hanga in Qing’s hometown, could be described as the goddess of the moon.

Among the divine beings in the Central Plain, she occupies the realm of beauty, and in Daoism, they call her Taeyumseonggun Wolgung Hanga.

Thus, the story of the novel “Sangwolhee.”

Long ago, Sang-a descended from the Lunar Palace after completing her exile, using the lake where the moon shone brightest as her pathway to the earth.

That lake is none other than Taehyo.

However, the text doesn’t match historical accuracy.

In the hierarchy of lakes in the Central Plain, the top tier is dominated by Payang Lake (exceeding the size of eight Seouls), followed by Dongjeong Lake (exceeding seven Seouls), while Taehyo barely makes it to third place (less than four Seouls).

One might wonder why Sang-a chose to land at a lake that only goes halfway when there are larger lakes to choose from; perhaps it’s because the writer hails from Gangnam.

Anyway, she is the moon goddess who deigned to manifest in the third-ranked lake.

And at that time, Taehyo was under the domain of Wu, so it’s only natural that the embodiment of beauty descended upon the human realm, making Sang-a surely “The Most Beautiful in the World”.

The Moon Lady, who supposedly loved to wear pale moonlight-like clothes, is also known as A-Qing, whose actual name remains unknown.

She is, after all, Sang-a, the daughter of the divine among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

With divine powers, she gifted humanity the first martial art, which was referred to as the Moon Lady Sword in the tales.

A completely fresh reinterpretation of the legend of the Moon Lady.

The highlight of the novel is the meeting between the Moon Lady and Seossi.

Upon seeing the Moon Lady’s beauty, Seossi felt embarrassed about her own appearance, causing her to frown at the world that praises her as a beauty. What a surprising reinterpretation!

And at the end of the story…

Long after the Moon Lady departed the earthly realm…

A peerless beauty wielding the Moon Lady Sword made her entrance in Suzhou.

Welcoming back the master who taught the soldiers their first martial art and personally leading the troops of her disciples—this was a grand return after around two thousand years.

A smooth connection woven between Sang-a, the Moon Lady, and Cheonhwa-geom.

Filling the pride of the Gangnam people, who consider themselves descendants of Wu, it’s like a hometown blessing!

Above all, the value of this novel is its unprecedented sensuous writing.

A woman’s waist should be thin.

But she must also have five heads worth of intelligence.

Thus begins the five thousand seven hundred characters of “The Grand Theory of the Ideal Figure.”

For the scholars of Gangnam, this was nothing short of a seismic shock— a complete upheaval of perspectives!

Moreover, there’s the vivid proof of Cheonhwa-geom, which they could see with their eyes, leading to conversations among the scholars gathering around.

“Hey, have you read Sangwolhee? I cried out of embarrassment after reading it.

I’ve truly been blind to the truth; I didn’t realize that true beauty lies in fullness, so how could I, as a scholar, dare to utter frivolous words while unable to look up to the heavens!”

I’ve been well-acquainted with numerous Moon Lady tales, yet I never questioned why I held Seossi’s beauty in higher regard. The only thing I feel is despair.

Surely, the deity who bestowed the great learning to humanity couldn’t possibly be less than Seossi.

But did you see the writing in Sangwolhee?

Since then, I haven’t been able to sleep.

Whenever I close my eyes, that writing flickers in my mind, igniting a fire that burns through my very essence, preventing me from finding peace.

And then, the unnamed scholar, a subordinate of the Deputy Commander of Shandong, Bai-ho from the White Tiger school, Yeon is left dumbstruck.

“Master! You are truly the harbinger of Central Plain literature! Please, grant this humble person the honor to discuss with you about style and beauty throughout the night!”

“I’ve launched a grand petition on Taehyo in your honor; please come and share your insights with us!”

“I’ve been enlightened upon reading your illustrious works! There’s no age in literature, so this old man dares to revere you as my master!”

Just two days after arriving in Suzhou.

Before handing over the military title, I submitted the pieces I had written during my free time to the Literary Prominence collection, and then suddenly, the transcription circulated; before I knew it, all the scholars of Suzhou were moved and came rushing in!

Hold on, me? Am I secretly talented?

If I were just an ordinary guy, I might have boasted with my head in the clouds, thinking I was some sort of genius, being arrogant.

But that’s not the case here; I truly am a man of class, one who could represent my era as a great literary figure.

“I’m merely someone who captured the beauty of Cheonhwa-geom in writing. Inadequate words to express such magnificence make your praises undeserved. Please, take them back! If you had the chance to witness Cheonhwa-geom’s ultimate beauty firsthand, a far superior piece than mine would’ve been birthed.”

And upon hearing that, the scholars were astonished, thinking: Ah, truly, a giant of the era has emerged.

And now, it’s the age of Cheonhwa-geom.

The art of how delicately the beauty of Cheonhwa-geom is portrayed will define the scholar’s dignity.

Thus, everyone scrambled to gather their thoughts, frantically trying to compose prose.

And so began a total debacle of an exaggerated writing contest— a contest to see who could describe Qing in a way that would grab attention.

In other words, a grand mess of gushing indulgence!

But Qing remains unaware.

How could she know that she has become the star, moon, world, and ultimate ideal among the scholars from Gangnam?

More than anything, Qing is busy.

“Seriously, why can’t everyone do this ultra martial art so easily? You just have to hop over one wall, and bam—Qi everywhere! Is that so hard?”

[……]

“Should I train like my master? If I just unleash a flurry of punches and unleash hell, they’d reach ultra-level martial arts out of sheer survival instinct, right?”

[……]

“But where’s the chance to shove ’em around? I can’t just start beating people up. San and Namgung already reached ultra-level; I can let Je-gal slide since he’s just a chatterbox.”

Now Qing was outright whining.

How do you have a complaint like this?

If I were to put it in a fable, it would be like shouting in the woods, “The emperor has donkey ears!” And in the current situation, my friends are stuck in a mediocre realm.

That moon— while it should be a serene listener, it’s more like a giant shadow obscuring most of the sky, not shining particularly bright.

[……]

At that moment, countless images flashed in Qing’s mind.

She let out a painful groan.

“Ugh, wait, stop! It feels like I might burst. I surrender! I surrender! Hey, I’m not kidding, I surrender!”

As Qing thumped her palms in frustration.

Yet, after being pushed by the ultimate weapon, ‘Hal (割)’, around twenty times, she found herself now a bit tougher.

The pain was truly unbearable, like her head would split open, but somehow, she was getting accustomed to it.

What’s there to be confused about? I mean, it’s just a bunch of scenes playing in my head, not a Master’s deadly blow.

[……]

“Come on, if I’m going to block a sword aura, I need to at least have some sword aura to start with, right? Why am I worried about that? There are always one or two ultra-level martial artists in even the smallest villages, right? Even the village’s top martial artist should be able to aura out a bit. So how come these folks from good households, with good lineage, still stall at mere levels?”

[……]

“Still, being ultra-level isn’t that great. Me, for instance, living through miracles every single moment, constantly redefining greatness; I’m sure nobody else has that!”

[……]

“But protecting them? That’s a joke since everyone’s volunteering to attach themselves to dangerous situations. How insane is that? Ah, this won’t do. Hm, how do I shake these leeches off? What do you think?”

[……]

“In the first place, I don’t have a mission to stay in Hangzhou for days, so I just have to meet Nyeonyoung and head back, right? So, I just need to ditch them for half a day; maybe I should ask for something like Sleep Aroma from Nana? No, wait, ah—ouch, enough, I get it, I’m going! I’m off!”

Qing’s eyes sparkled.

What? Did she ask for help? Just to vent her frustrations, and sends me away?

No wonder I have no friends.

Once out of my thoughts, my whole body felt muggy.

And, ugh, it’s hot.

Because, you see, I was currently being snugly cradled by Mo Yong Joo-hee and Gongson Yo-ye, both wrapping one limb around each other like cozy blankets.

Yeah, hot and stifling.

Qing wriggled and suddenly slithered down using her adeptness in Yulryu Yeonryeon and Shintu-style escape tactics, moving like a snake.

In the spot where Qing had just been,

The tall, wooden woman who had been leaning on her stirred in her sleep, seemingly looking for something.

“Uugh… “ “Young Lady, you’re tickling…”

The two murmured these words.

When their hands, which had been roaming the bed, touched, they instantly snuggled closer together.

The childlike Mo Yong Joo-hee burrowed into Gongson Yo-ye’s embrace, and in response, Gongson Yo-ye spread her arms wide to hold her tight.

“Lady Seomun…” “Hehe…”

Qing smiled as she watched the two stick together.

What a deeply affectionate scene, isn’t it?

Gongson Yo-ye has no friends except me and it’s nice to see Mo Yong Joo-hee getting someone to hug her tight.

Those two seem like they’d become good friends soon.

As for the others? Well, they seem utterly hopeless.

Regardless, it’s quite touching!

Qing sat quietly, gazing down at her friends.

In the spacious room lit by a single lamp, even in the dullness, the scenery was vivid enough to her eyes.

Suddenly, Qing’s eyes, usually so elegantly shaped, turned serious, sparkling as if some decision was crystallizing in her mind.

---