Chapter 210: Let's Hold a Spar

Someone funny from Qing's hometown once said: Life is a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy in long-shot.

Qing’s situation was exactly like that.

From afar, she was just an idiot who learned a harsh lesson after playing around at the dinner table.

But up close?

It hurt. It hurt so much. It hurt like crazy.

"Well, Qing-ah doesn't respond to anesthesia. There's nothing I can really do for you..."

Since she had bitten her tongue so severely, the wound should ideally be stitched up, but since anesthesia didn’t work on her, that wasn't possible.

"So, you're saying we just have to leave it like that?" Peng Daesan asked, watching Qing continuously swallow gulp after gulp of her own blood.

Tang Nanah shook her head.

"Even Guan Yunchang would have meekly taken an anesthetic and passed out if asked to stitch his tongue without it..."

The tongue is a vital spot teeming with nerves; even the most patient person couldn't endure it while conscious.

Besides, the attempt itself was dangerous.

People clench their teeth when in pain.

If she clenched her teeth while they were trying to stitch her tongue, they might end up cutting it off completely instead of attaching it.

Thus, Tang Nanah's prescription was simple.

Pouring hemostatic powder into her mouth.

If they could just stop the bleeding, the tongue was an organ that regenerated quickly, so it would heal soon enough.

However, the hemostatic powder was incredibly bitter and pungent...

Qing just looked miserable.

"Nana-yah..."

"Hm? What?"

"Can I... thtill eat... dinner...?"

Tang Nanah smacked Qing’s shoulder audibly.

"Seriously? You practically bit your tongue in half, and you're worried about whether you can eat dinner? Doesn't your tongue even hurt?"

"It'sh not completely cut off..."

"Hmph. For the time being, you'll have to drink goat's milk mixed with honey. Your tongue isn't just idle when you chew, you know?"

The tongue diligently moves food around, pushing it between the teeth while chewing, so she absolutely shouldn't chew anything right now.

"N-no..."

The light in Qing's eyes went out.

It was truly the look of someone plunged into despair.

One might even call it dead eyes.

"And no sparring for a while either."

"Why..."

"Because strenuous exercise is forbidden, obviously. What if it starts bleeding again? You want the period you can't eat your beloved food to start all over from scratch?"

"I won't..."

"And don't talk either. Every word you speak adds another ke [^(Approx. 15 minutes)] to the time until you can eat properly."

At that, Qing nodded her head vigorously.

Tang Nanah had a great realization.

Qing listens well when threatened with food.

"Don't lower your head below your heart, so blood doesn't rush to it. Sleep on your back with a high pillow too. Don't lie on your side."

Nod, nod.

Wearing an expression like she'd lost the whole world, Qing watched the others spar from a corner of the training ground.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Maybe the martial arts manual merchant uncle would know a training method she could do even like this.

Hoping he might be there, Qing headed towards the bathhouse path.

Just as she'd suspected, she saw Cheon Yuhak lying there on his mat.

He seemed to be sleeping, even snoring loudly, drrrreong, but as soon as Qing approached, he naturally opened his eyes and sat up.

"What is it? Finally decide to offer the Nine Bows of Etiquette?"

Qing shook her head side to side.

Cheon Yuhak frowned.

"What's this? Why shake your head when you have a mouth?"

"My tong..."

At that, Cheon Yuhak burst out laughing.

"Right. Looks like you bit it while eating? Isn't that a trial everyone goes through once? I stabbed myself quite a bit too. Even split my lip in half once."

“……”

"What, wondering why I didn't tell you beforehand? Do you think telling you would have prevented it? If you don't experience it yourself, it'll happen eventually, no matter how many thousands of words are spoken."

"...?"

"Wondering how I guessed just by looking at your expression? This is experience, girl. And your expression is quite easy to read."

“……”

"I don't know about that one. Use your words."

Qing spoke slowly, deliberately.

"Twaining... that ithn't... thtwenuouth..."

"A training method that doesn't involve strenuous movement? Ha, looks like you cut it quite badly. You still want to train in that state?"

"Yeth."

"Hmm, well, there is a perfectly suitable training method."

Qing's expression brightened.

Cheon Yuhak snorted.

"You're not even my disciple, why should I bother telling you? What a funny girl. Or perhaps, even now, you'd perform the Nine Bows of Etiquette..."

Before he even finished speaking, Qing bowed deeply from the waist. The angle wasn't too deep, mindful of the warning not to lower her head below her heart.

"Stubborn as an ox tendon! Aish. Fine. Here. Take this."

Cheon Yuhak pulled something from his robes and tossed it over. Catching it, Qing saw it was a Buddha statue, carved with exquisite detail down to the smallest decoration and every fold of clothing.

Even to Qing, who was ignorant of Buddhist art, it looked like a very valuable object.

"You have the Blue Sword, right? Go get a large radish from the kitchen and try carving it exactly like this."

“……”

"Is this helpful, you ask? Weren't you saying you wanted to learn softness? Softness ultimately comes from precision and sensitivity. Concepts like redirection or leverage all sound grand, but aren't they ultimately techniques that delve into extremely fine, precisely defined angles to deflect, redirect, and return attacks?"

"...?"

"Strength is just power. Stronger force, faster, harder. Of course, the strength a person possesses is ultimately limited, so it can't just increase dramatically. That's why people hone techniques to produce greater power with the abilities they have. Still, compared to softness, it's not that difficult. That's why not many martial arts take softness as their core subtlety."

Martial arts that focused on softness were generally too difficult, and if the level of mastery was low, they generated almost no power, making them practically useless in real combat, he explained.

"...!"

Cheon Yuhak continued, seeming to understand Qing's silence.

"What? Surprised I sound like an expert? I'm just a lighthearted person. Besides, isn't it ridiculous for experts to act all high and mighty anyway? Does face put food on the table?"

Qing nodded her head fiercely at that. It was a most fervent agreement.

Cheon Yuhak grinned.

Somehow, the more he looked at her, the more desirable a prospect she seemed.

"We see eye-to-eye, unlike most Daoists. Aren't those sticklers usually the ones most obsessed with face? Are you sure you won't be my disciple?"

Qing bowed from the waist again.

Cheon Yuhak clicked his tongue.

"Then stop bothering an old man trying to rest and scram. Only coming around when you need something. Aish."

Hearing that, Qing felt a pang of guilt and expressed her thanks with forceful pronunciation.

"Ah. Thank you..."

"It's nothing."

With that, Cheon Yuhak lay back down and closed his eyes again.

Qing stood there fidgeting for a moment, then, realizing the snores were a signal to leave, quietly slipped away.

Qing returned to the training ground with a whole box full of radishes obtained from the kitchen.

"What's this! Qing-ah, I told you you can't eat that."

Qing's eyes narrowed.

Does she think all I do is stuff my face? Besides, if I were going to eat, why would I gnaw on raw radishes instead of something tasty?

Qing shot her a look, then settled down in a spot and began to carve the radish.

However, hmm. It wasn't going as planned.

She had anticipated that carving the Buddha statue would be difficult.

She had never sculpted before, after all, and the detail on the statue was extraordinary.

Still, she thought she might manage somehow if she kept at it, but that was wishful thinking.

First off, the tool itself was a major problem.

There's a reason carving knives have blades only a finger-joint long, with various angled shapes and slopes used for different purposes.

Each had its use; different knives were used for carving surfaces, circles, and details.

Moreover, since it required detailed work, the blades were made short so you could grip them close to the tip.

But the Blue Sword was quite long for a dagger, and it was so damn sharp that it sliced through radishes like tofu just by touching them.

So, far from carving a Buddha statue, she couldn't even manage the most basic shape and just wasted precious radishes.

"Playing with your food again."

Qing glared, letting her eyes do the talking.

Peng Daesan shrugged and resumed sparring with his sister.

However, with Qing not participating in the sparring, Tang Nanah, standing beside her, was quite delighted.

"I used to do a lot of carving too. It's really effective for improving dexterity, which is very helpful when training hidden weapon techniques."

Hearing that made Qing trust the book merchant's training method a bit more.

Tang Nanah took out her throwing dart and quickly carved a radish beside her, creating a passable imitation of the Buddha statue.

Of course, it only captured the basic shape and posture, falling far short of the intricate detail of the statue Cheon Yuhak had given her.

"There's a knack to this, you know? First, you need to establish the balance with the large masses. From here, head, body, feet. Think about the balance of the form first."

Listening to the explanation, she felt like she understood.

And understanding meant squat. If carving were possible just by listening to a short explanation, who in the world wouldn't be a sculptor?

Still, Qing didn't give up.

Not because Qing possessed an indomitable spirit, but because she couldn't just sit around doing nothing.

At a time when she needed to improve her skills, even just a little, when she absolutely had to get stronger, she couldn't stop just because she'd split her tongue a bit.

Turning back time a few days—

Un Yeonyeong wore an expression of utter disgust.

"Oh my, Xinpa. Are you truly thinking of taking that ugly, dirty dog with you?"

"Since fate brought us together like this, what reason is there not to take it in?"

"You know, once a dog becomes a stray, it bites people, right? It's no different from a wild beast, not livestock, you know?"

"Cluck cluck, are you worried this old woman will get bitten by a dog?" Xinpa asked.

Un Yeonyeong tried persuasion again. Truly, she must have disliked it immensely, as the girl who was usually so passive poured out a rare, passionate speech.

"Besides, dogs smell, you know. And its long fur gets everywhere. Plus, when you take it for walks, it'll come back covered in ticks, fleas, bugs, and filth from the mountains and fields."

"Ha. Who asked you to raise it?" Xinpa retorted. "Why is some unrelated girl making such a fuss when I intend to raise it in my own house?"

"Oh my, Xinpa. Shouldn't you show some consideration for the person living with you? I refuse. I absolutely detest animals."

"Such fuss from a girl who's just freeloading," Xinpa scoffed. "If you hate it that much, you can just go live with the Poison Demon or the Sword Demon."

"You're truly too much... Ah, how sorrowful one's situation becomes without a home..."

Un Yeonyeong pretended to wipe away tears, but then her eyes suddenly filled with ominous killing intent.

"If you insist, then make sure you train it thoroughly not to even poke its snout towards the Annex. If it takes even one step inside, I'll slaughter it and throw it to the butchers!"

And now—

"Oh my, Chugu! Goodness, did you roll in the mud? No, no. Sit. Such a pretty dear, listening so well. Shall we go get cleaned up?" Un Yeonyeong cooed.

Chugu meant 'ugly dog,' which might seem a bit harsh for a dog's name.

However, anyone could see it was an ugly dog, so the name seemed fitting upon seeing it.

"Chugu? It's Daebok," Xinpa corrected. "I'm telling you, its name is Daebok."

"Oh my, Xinpa. But anyone can see Chugu fits perfectly, don't you think? Chugu, which name do you like?"

Woof, woof. The dog barked, lying down at Un Yeonyeong's feet and wagging its tail.

"See, Xinpa? Chugu likes it too," Un Yeonyeong said triumphantly.

Xinpa's expression twisted.

"The wench who was talking about slaughtering it is now the most excited one making a fuss."

"Hmm. Shall I say my thoughts have changed slightly?" Un Yeonyeong mused.

"Changed slightly, and you completely change your tune? How shameless," Xinpa replied.

A faint smile appeared on Un Yeonyeong's lips.

"Xinpa. Have you perhaps never experienced this? Even when you're with someone, you're constantly lonely. Have you never truly been lonely to the bone? Like being thrown into the world all alone..."

"Hmph. Life is originally lived alone," Xinpa stated.

"You wouldn't understand, Xinpa," Un Yeonyeong said softly. "You probably can't even imagine what it feels like to be different from others, to be the only outcast in the world."

"That's just how people are," Xinpa responded. "You may know the waterways, but you don't know the depths of a person's heart. No matter how well you think you know someone, there comes a moment when you realize you don't know them at all."

Her voice was filled with regret.

Un Yeonyeong's smile deepened at that.

"What I was talking about was more about essence than mere feelings... Anyway, isn't being all alone in the world too cruel? I don't have the confidence for that. So I tried changing. Chugu, what do you think? You can understand me now, right?"

Woof, woof.

Chugu barked as if in understanding.

At that, Un Yeonyeong's smile deepened even further.