Chapter 217: Let's Hold a Spar

As an exhausted Qing opened the door to her room in the Mucheon Pavilion, Tang Nanah popped up, cupping her own face with both hands.

“Ta-da! A flower for Qing-ah!”

Qing just stared blankly at the display, her expression weary.

Tang Nanah, feeling slightly embarrassed and disappointed at the lack of reaction, was about to complain when she took a closer look at Qing’s face and immediately raised her voice.

“Qing-ah!? What happened to your face!? Did you cry!?”

While her body had swollen during the torture, now that it was over, her face was puffy instead.

It was because she had cried until she couldn't cry anymore.

Qing replied tiredly.

“It’s nothing like that…”

“And what’s wrong with your voice!?” Tang Nanah exclaimed.

Her voice was completely hoarse, almost like the wind whistling.

“It’s fine," Qing said. "But, where’s Master…?”

“She said she needed to catch up with some old friends today.”

Right, Master must have friends too. They probably only get to see each other occasionally during events like the Murim Conference.

No wonder Tang Nanah was here.

She must have seized the opportunity when Master stepped out.

Ignoring Qing’s state, Tang Nanah started chattering about her day.

“Oh, right. Today, the Matriarch gave us some guidance on the Half-Sword Twin Saber Society.”

“What on earth is the Half-Sword Twin Saber Society…?” Qing asked.

“Ah, you wouldn’t know," Tang Nanah explained. "The Matriarch said she liked seeing our passion and suggested we form a small group. That’s the name we decided on together.”

Apparently, Namgung Shinjae had pushed for ‘Nine Swords Society,’ and Gongson Yoye had shyly raised her hand in agreement. Nine Swords Society, a group for honing swordsmanship.

Then, Peng Choryeo, along with Peng Daesan, argued they should use the character for ‘Way’ (道, Dao) instead, making it the ‘Nine Ways Society.’ Using the character for ‘Way’… when a saber user pushes for ‘Way,’ the intention is pretty obvious, isn’t it?

They ended up raising their voices at each other, until someone exposed another for acting like a bat, muttering about ‘half-swords this’ and ‘twin sabers that’.

So, in the end, they settled on the Half-Sword Twin Saber Society.

There had also been a fierce debate about whether it should be the Twin Saber Half-Sword Society or the Half-Sword Twin Saber Society.

However, since swords and sabers are commonly referred to as ‘saberswords’, it was argued that the half-sword side should yield once. Peng Choryeo accepted this, saying, ‘Hearing it like that, it makes sense. Indeed, the leading saber should yield once,’ thus finalizing the name as Half-Sword Twin Saber Society.

“What is this… Zzz…” Qing mumbled, drifting off.

Regardless, Qing was too exhausted.

One step shed her jeogori, two steps her skirt, three and four steps left her undergarments behind like shed skin as she flopped face-down onto the bed.

“Qing-ah? You should lie properly. Even if it’s warm, cover yourself with a blanket,” Tang Nanah urged.

“Do it for me…” Qing murmured.

Being a martial artist, it wasn't particularly difficult for Tang Nanah to lift Qing and lay her down properly.

However, normally when someone is being supported, they instinctively tense up to help. But Qing’s consciousness had already drifted away, hovering somewhere between sleep and fainting.

Completely limp, Qing was dead weight, forcing Tang Nanah to grunt and struggle with her in the middle of the night.

Qing suddenly woke up, her arm numb. The surroundings were still dark; it was the dead of night.

The reason? Tang Nanah was pressing down on Qing’s arm, her face buried in Qing’s neck, breathing softly like a child.

Before knowing her identity, it had felt stifling, but now, knowing who she was, the soft, rhythmic breathing near her ear felt peaceful and pleasant to listen to.

Besides, having Tang Nanah resting on the strongest torso in humanity wasn’t exactly strenuous.

The warmth enveloping her was incredibly comforting, and the slow, steady thudding of a nearby heartbeat was strangely reassuring.

At least when we’re like this, touching, it won’t suddenly turn out to be just a dream, right?

What kind of powder does this girl use to smell so nutty? Ah, I want to drink a cup of warm milk, gently blowing on it.

Qing smiled and closed her eyes again.

When she opened them next, she felt remarkably refreshed, as if yesterday’s events were just a dream, just a dream… Yesterday was… Ughhhh…

Qing shuddered violently.

Just thinking about it made her knees weak and the back of her neck tighten. It had been a horrifying experience.

And I have to do that again? Nineteen more times?

Wouldn’t twenty years of training be better?

As Qing seriously pondered this, Tang Nanah stirred and sat up.

Qing smiled gently and greeted her.

“Nanah. Sleep well?”

“Huh? Huh?”

Tang Nanah wore a dazed expression.

The poor girl had opened her eyes first thing in the morning only to be greeted at close range by a bright, friendly smile radiating warmth.

It was a scene detrimental to heart health.

Tang Nanah’s face turned beet red as she buried her head in the pillow.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Qing asked.

“No, it’s nothing. It shouldn’t be. It can’t be. Because I’m, not like that.” Tang Nanah mumbled into the pillow.

What’s with her first thing in the morning? Qing wondered.

Qing’s superhuman hearing ability picked up fragments of Tang Nanah’s mumbling—something about the Tang Clan needing an adopted son-in-law, a capable servant to work for the family his whole life…

Then the word ‘son-in-law’ (사위 / sawi)? No, wait— Qing suddenly realized the surroundings (사위 / sawi) were bright. [^(A pun: the Korean word *sawi* means both 'son-in-law' and 'surroundings')]

“Ah. What time is it? Nanah, I’m leaving! Master must be waiting.”

Qing hastily threw on her clothes and dashed out of the room.

Using the peerless lightness skill of Thousand Li Flight, she burst through the door to the bath area, this time assaulted by the fragrant aroma of various incense sticks.

Cheon Yuhak, who was fanning the flames under the wooden bath, spoke gruffly.

“What, I told you to come leisurely after lunch. Why are you here already?”

“Oh. Did you? I practically passed out yesterday,” Qing replied.

“Hm. Might not have. I passed out too,” Cheon Yuhak admitted.

Looking closer, Qing saw that Cheon Yuhak’s complexion was dull, his face etched with utter exhaustion.

“Master? Are you alright?” Qing asked.

“Just brewing a single bowl of medicinal soup requires watching over the embers all day. Do you think boiling an entire bath like this doesn’t take immense effort?” Cheon Yuhak retorted.

“Um. I appreciate it, but don’t people usually say it’s no big deal?” Qing ventured.

“Hmph. If you suffer, you need to make a fuss so people recognize it. I pulled an all-nighter for my disciple’s sake, so of course, you should know.”

“Hehe. Thank you.” Qing smiled.

So, even after collapsing from exhaustion yesterday, he woke up during the night and spent all this time preparing a new medicinal bath.

It was something to be truly sorry and grateful for.

The resentment from yesterday melted away from Qing’s heart.

Everything was going according to Cheon Yuhak’s plan.

Did he tell her to come late yesterday? Nope.

That way, she would come in the morning and witness his haggard state from preparing the bath.

Truthfully, Cheon Yuhak had regarded his own master like dog shit. The arduous training and his master’s provocations had turned into resentment. It was a perfect example of inherited grudges; the master-disciple relationship of a Divine Thief often evolved into a friendship bordering on love-hate.

However, now that Cheon Yuhak had his own disciple and was about to inflict the same things he had received, he decided that earning respect might be better than having a brief moment of vengeful fun.

Not that he hadn’t had his fun—he had tormented her plenty and planned to torment her more—but he was currently putting on an act, pretending to be a good master.

But whether his intentions were black or white, the fact remained that he had poured his effort into it, making him, in Qing’s eyes, a truly grateful master.

“Mm. It smells really good. Mmm. Smelling it makes me feel… somehow… hungry…” Qing murmured.

Right on cue, her stomach rumbled. Ggrrrk.

Cheon Yuhak chuckled and tossed something to her.

“Hm? What’s this?” Qing asked.

“Yam.”

Qing looked down at the cleanly peeled yam in her hand. The smooth, slippery texture wasn’t entirely pleasant, but it did have a certain plant-like aroma, a delicious smell.

Taking a bite, it was hard and crunchy like a raw sweet potato, yet also sticky, clinging to the inside of her mouth with a glutinous texture.

“Mm. It’s surprisingly edible?” Qing remarked.

“A delicately raised girl eats this well?" Cheon Yuhak said. "It’s bland; unless you’re starving, eating it raw is a bit much.”

Yams have a poor texture and little taste.

He’d only tossed it to her out of mischief, not actually intending for her to eat it.

In fact, the delicately raised Cheon Yuhak couldn’t eat it himself.

Despite his rough appearance, he was the son of a very prestigious family and a high-ranking academician at the Hanlin Academy.

“Delicately raised? Who? Didn’t you hear I came from beggars?” Qing asked.

“Oh, is that so?" Cheon Yuhak replied smoothly. "I thought the girl carried herself with such grace, she must be the precious daughter of some wealthy and powerful family.”

Cheon Yuhak smoothly turned his near slip-of-the-tongue into a compliment.

Oblivious, Qing giggled.

“I do have a certain noble air about me.”

“Noble air, my ass," Cheon Yuhak scoffed. "I am the child of a distinguished family that has held government posts of the fifth rank or higher for generations. Do I look like it?”

“Should I be honest?” Qing teased.

“You already said it all…” Cheon Yuhak grumbled.

Since she was already there, Qing chatted idly while helping prepare the bath.

Ground yam, wild yam, and Chinese yam were added, then finely grated onion, leek, and lotus root, followed by taro…

“Master? Are you sure you’re brewing a medicinal bath? It feels like it’s turning into vegetable porridge,” Qing commented.

“I told you I have no expertise in medicine," Cheon Yuhak said. "I’m just preparing it according to the recipe passed down; I don’t know why these things are added either.”

“There’s ginseng in here too, right? I smell ginseng,” Qing noted.

“Ginseng? Bah! Do you know how many roots of hundred-year snow ginseng went in there? A good amount of Sohwan Dan too, and I threw in two Taecheong Dan pills. This is an Elixir Bath. An elixir absorbed through the body, not the mouth.”

“Whoa, an elixir," Qing breathed. "Come to think of it, I’ve never had an elixir before. Huh.”

Something suddenly occurred to her. Back in the Demonic Cult, hadn’t that Alleged Supreme bastard ordered someone to bring her all the elixirs along with the Fairy Art?

Why did only the martial art arrive, and not the elixirs?

Did someone steal them?

Of course, the subordinates who only pretended to listen to the Alleged Supreme had no reason to give precious elixirs to Qing.

They probably figured distributing the martial arts didn’t matter, as learning it would just be another reason she couldn’t return to the Righteous Faction anyway.

Meanwhile, the Elixir Bath was completed.

“This Elixir Bath is only prepared for disciples who have learned the Awakening Divine Art," Cheon Yuhak explained. "It needs to be absorbed through the skin specifically to practice the Awakening Divine Art; otherwise, just eating the ingredients raw is better. One dip in this, and you could go straight to achieving the Fifth Star.”

“Wow. Fifth Star? That quickly?” Qing asked, amazed.

“All the elixirs in here probably add up to about two hundred gwan of gold," Cheon Yuhak continued. "Honestly, you don’t really need to do this for a disciple. Two hundred gwan is a bit burdensome, even for a Divine Thief.”

He was saying he was doing it specially for her.

Deeply moved, Qing performed a deep bow.

“Ah. Thank you, thank you again. This disciple will engrave Master’s grace upon my bones.”

“Hmph. Don’t engrave it with words, show it with your actions," Cheon Yuhak said. "And someone like you might achieve even higher than the Fifth Star. You sucked up all the medicinal properties yesterday too, didn’t you? Normally, most of the elixir is wasted because it can’t be fully absorbed, which is why it’s usually not done—it’s too wasteful.”

Seeing Qing completely absorb the Purgatory Bath yesterday made him think she could handle the Elixir Bath without waste as well.

Truthfully, it was far more efficient to slowly feed the ingredients to someone over a couple of years rather than make one Elixir Bath.

This was a trump card, usually reserved for situations requiring a drastic measure, like when a successor was old or sick, their entire body's meridians already hardened.

“Alright, before you get in the bath, let’s have lunch,” Cheon Yuhak declared.

“Oh. Then, what should we eat for lunch?" Qing asked. "Hmm, for some reason, I’m really craving milk porridge today. What do you think?”

“Why go out to eat when we’ve prepared such a fine nourishing soup right here?" Cheon Yuhak countered. "We put all these good ingredients in; we should taste it. We’ll just take some out, add rice, and boil it.”

It was Qing’s bathwater and lunch rolled into one.

Anyone else hearing this would find it utterly repulsive, but Qing just beamed with a bright smile.

Wow. Sounds delicious, she thought.