Chapter 201: Dragon-Phoenix Assembly

Qing let out a chuckle.
Looks like she went crying to her little brother.

“Why? What did she say?” Qing asked.

“She said some woman suddenly picked a fight with her and humiliated her in front of everyone. She even said she got hit and it hurt,” Murong Jun replied.

“Oh? Hit her? Where did she get hit?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Tang Nanah sounded utterly dumbfounded. Then, with an air of disbelief, she said, “Now she’s lying to her own brother too? Hey. Picking fights and humiliating people is what your sister does. Your sister just goes around picking fights with anyone she lays eyes on. Maybe not exactly, but pretty much.”

“My sister does?” Murong Jun asked.

“Yeah,” Tang Nanah confirmed. “Everyone else just sighs, thinks ‘poor kid,’ and lets it go, so now she thinks it’s okay. She just messed with the wrong person and got put in her place, that’s all.”

Murong Jun’s eyes trembled.

“Really? Is that true? Qing-unni, is what Tang-unni said true? My sister…”

“Hmm. She certainly seemed like that kind of person to me,” Qing mused. “Daesan, did you happen to know?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t care,” Peng Daesan said. “I just thought she was a somewhat bothersome woman.”

“Trying to slip away all by yourself? Not allowed.” Qing nudged Peng Daesan’s side, then wrapped an arm around Murong Jun, who was reeling from learning the truth about his sister. “Even if Junnie’s sister is like that, you’re family, so you have to take her side. Not stand there looking like, ‘How could she?’”

“Ah! Yes!” Murong Jun agreed.

“Qing-ah is really so kind-hearted. I’m touched,” Tang Nanah chimed in.

Peng Daesan clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “You’re teaching the boy such wonderful things. Shouldn't family be stricter, precisely because they're family?”

“That’s only for when someone makes a huge mistake,” Qing argued. “Like, if she co-signed a loan or something, then you’d have to break her legs to teach her a lesson. But for minor things, it’s right to just take their side, isn’t it?”

“Right. Qing-ah’s right,” Tang Nanah agreed eagerly.

“Don’t minor things pile up and become habits?” Peng Daesan countered.

“Hmph! Whatever,” Qing retorted. “It’s the minor things piling up that make you feel hurt. Besides, someone who feels wronged won’t listen to reason anyway, right? If even their family blames them for just a little argument and embarrassment, it only makes them feel more miserable.”

“Right, right. Qing-ah is absolutely right,” Tang Nanah repeated.

“...Isn’t the result of being coddled like that standing right next to you?” Peng Daesan muttered, glancing at Tang Nanah.

“What!? You wanna go?” Tang Nanah’s eyes blazed as she slipped a hand into her robes.

Qing shook her head. “Nanah-ah. Put the poison away. Use your words. Words.”

“Tch. Too bad…” Tang Nanah grumbled.

“San, you should be careful too,” Qing warned Peng Daesan. “She really does use poison.”

“Hmm. You say that as if warning me your dog bites,” Peng Daesan remarked dryly.

At that, Tang Nanah growled. “Ha! You think I won’t bite? You’d better get away from Qing-ah before you actually get bitten. No, just be mentally prepared, because I’ll bite you the first chance I get. Hmph.”

Watching them, Qing thought, Hmm. She does have a bit of a dog-like quality... like a pet.

In truth, the physiques within the martial arts world clans tended to show distinct characteristics based on lineage. You could call it genetics. Training in martial arts from a young age shapes the body into an ideal form suited for those techniques. In long-established martial arts clans, these physical traits are passed down through generations, eventually solidifying into characteristic features.

For example, within the Zhuge Clan, heavily muscular builds were rare. Zhuge Ihyeon was a very unusual case; typically, they struggled to gain not just muscle but even fat, and their skin often had a sickly pale hue.

Members of the Peng Clan of Hebei, due to their mastery of the long dao, were usually tall but not overly thick, possessing instead dense and clearly defined muscles.

The Hwangbo Clan pursued heavy weaponry and fist techniques, leading to large, thickset bodies. The Black Dragon Jo Clan members simply hailed from outside the Central Plains, giving them healthy, brown complexions.

And the Murong Clan was characterized by shorter stature, slender upper bodies, and sturdy lower bodies. This physique was well-suited for the twin swords style of the Murong Clan, which pursued extreme swiftness.

Murong Juhui had inherited this direct lineage very strongly—exceptionally strongly among them, truly, truly, intensely strongly.

Thus, Murong Juhui had long given up on the matter of her chest. It wasn't that Fairy Arts capable of cultivating a voluptuous female form didn't exist, but those types possessed a cold yin nature. This was the complete opposite of the Yang-focused divine art she practiced. To learn them, she would have to completely dissipate her existing internal energy.

Since she couldn't abandon her family's martial arts, there was only one hope left: reaching the Transcendent Realm and achieving Overhaul Rebirth. This was also why Murong Juhui was known for being surprisingly serious about her swordsmanship.

Therefore, Murong Juhui desired two things above all else in the world: one was a voluptuous—or at least, shapely—bosom. The other, like most daughters of martial arts clans, was the heart of the Jade Qilin, the Greatest Handsome Man Under Heaven.

And so, upon hearing the extremely rare news that the Peng Daesan had appeared at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, Murong Juhui had rushed over like a madwoman.

Only to hear news like a bolt from the blue. News that the two things Murong Juhui desired most in the world had both been snatched away.

“No way! Lies!” Murong Juhui cried.

“The Jade Qilin is completely wrapped around her finger,” the girl relaying the news said, her eyes genuinely moist and looking thoroughly distressed. “She nags him like Empress Lü, and he just keeps saying, ‘Sorry, sorry,’ can’t even meet her eyes, does everything she asks… Ugh, it was so upsetting just watching… really…”

“Impossible, impossible! Why would Master Peng lower himself to serve a hideous wench hiding behind a veil!? Hah, I don’t believe it.”

Murong Juhui then stomped, practically ran, up the stairs in her haste. As soon as she reached the top, she heard it—the low, deep voice of the Jade Qilin, enchanting just to listen to.

Pushing through the women, Murong Juhui saw—

Qing, sitting side-by-side with Peng Daesan, with Murong Jun perched comfortably on her lap.

“N-No…! Junnie…!”

Murong Juhui’s voice trembled. That wench, just how much more does she intend to take from me?

With the Jade Qilin on her right, and on her left… hmm, who’s that girl? And her brother on her lap—three plus one extra—were chatting cheerfully.

Murong Juhui collapsed onto the floor.

“Ah! Sis!”

Spotting his sister, Murong Jun hopped down and scampered over. Just as he was about to embrace her, he met Murong Juhui’s tear-filled eyes and stopped awkwardly.

“You! Junnie, you! How could you be with that woman!?” Murong Juhui demanded. “What is this!? Who said you could hang out with someone like her!”

“W-well, Father said she’s a nice older sister, so I should stay close to her…” Murong Jun stammered.

“What? Say that again. What did you just say?”

“Father told me…”

“What! You! Why would Father… a wench like you.” Murong Juhui felt her world collapsing.

Qing answered for him. “If you mean Great Expert Murong Chengyi, I met him and paid my respects the other day while playing with Junnie. It seems he views me favorably.”

“How… how…” Murong Juhui muttered, then suddenly turned her head, shooting a pleading gaze at Peng Daesan. “Master Peng, how… how could you do this? If it were another of the Five Flowers, yes, even that Tang Clan wench over there! Then—”

“What!?” Tang Nanah suddenly flared up. “I can’t stand pretty-faced slickers like him either, okay? Who are you pairing with whom? What did I do!”

Tang Nanah’s outburst left Murong Juhui blinking dumbfoundedly. What’s going on? Why is the wench who was spitting poison about being the main wife angry now?

“A-anyway,” Murong Juhui continued, turning back to Peng Daesan. “Out of everyone, why… why are you obsessed with such a hideous woman hiding her face behind a veil, huh? Is it her chest? Is it because of her chest? Master Peng, you like women with large chests too, right?”

Peng Daesan let out a deep sigh.

Truthfully, at this point, whether Qing showed her face or not, it would only lead to scandal either way. Even when rumors spread that he was involved with a beggar, women had started dressing like beggars and loitering before him. If he showed any semblance of a relationship beyond this, wouldn’t it just mean Qing would have to bear a share of the attention directed at him, but in the form of hatred?

“There seems to be some misunderstanding,” Peng Daesan stated clearly. “I am merely friends with Miss Ximen. Please refrain from remarks that might trouble Miss Ximen.”

A collective sigh of relief filled the hall from the surrounding crowd. Bright whispers spread.

So they weren’t dating. Thank goodness.
Come to think of it, apart from that earlier moment, they didn’t seem like lovers at all. It must have just been teasing.
Right, it’s ridiculous to think the Jade Qilin would be with a woman like that.

Emboldened, Murong Juhui decided to drive the point home. “Is that truly so? Can you really say there isn’t even the slightest, not even a speck, of other feelings involved?”

Peng Daesan’s eyebrow twitched. However, it was the perfect question to end this scandal.

“Yes. It is pure friendship,” he declared firmly. Peng Daesan continued, his tone hardening, “However, are you my mother, miss? I’ve heard some strange things in my life, but this takes the cake. I’m utterly baffled. I don’t know what gives you the right to ask.”

“Ah! I just, well, I… I was just worried about Master Peng…” Murong Juhui stammered.

“Worried? About what, exactly?” Peng Daesan pressed.

“Well, if rumors spread that you were associating with such a woman…”

“I fail to see what business it is of yours who I associate with, miss,” Peng Daesan cut her off. “Besides, did I not just say Miss Ximen is my friend? Do you have a habit of carelessly slandering others’ friends, especially right in front of them? Isn’t talking behind someone’s back usually done when they aren’t present? Is this your true nature?”

Murong Juhui’s face turned deathly pale. “That’s not, that’s not it. I just…”

But what excuse could she possibly have?

Moisture welled up in Murong Juhui’s eyes. Tears automatically filled them out of sheer indignation and resentment.

Just then, Murong Jun stepped protectively in front of his sister and shouted, “Don’t bully my sister!”

Qing sighed deeply. She wasn’t unacquainted with Junnie or his father; she couldn’t just stand by and watch Juhui get completely crushed.

“Enough,” Qing intervened. “Miss Murong and I just trade harsh words sometimes, so she spoke carelessly. Don’t corner her like that. Nanah-ah calls you this and that too, but it’s not like she says it because she’s genuinely rotten, right?”

“No. That one is just rotten,” Peng Daesan stated flatly, nodding towards Tang Nanah. “Coddled way too much, completely spoiled.”

“What! You wanna go right now?” Tang Nanah challenged again.

“See?” Qing said to Peng Daesan. “You trade harsh words with Nanah too, right? Miss Murong and I are also like that sometimes. If you get to know Miss Murong, she’s actually kind? Hmm? Is she kind? She’s not a bad person, you know?”

“Weren’t you yourself unsure just now?” Peng Daesan pointed out.

“That’s what I mean, this is our relationship,” Qing insisted. “Isn’t that right, Miss Murong?”

“R-Right,” Murong Juhui agreed quickly. “We just trade harsh words sometimes.”

Peng Daesan didn’t hide his suspicious gaze, but eventually let out a deep sigh. “It seems I was mistaken due to my ignorance. Miss Murong, I apologize.”

“N-No. I also spoke carelessly in a way that could be misunderstood. Ha, haha…” Murong Juhui laughed awkwardly.

Qing spoke again. “I need to exchange a few more harsh words with Miss Murong. Daesan, could you wait here for a moment? Miss Murong, I’d like to talk with you briefly on the seventh floor. Would that be alright?”