The Villainess Eats Malatang
People’s true nature is to endlessly praise and grow lenient toward anything deemed beautiful. Look at what happened during the time when Yang Guifei was obsessed with playing the villain, committing every kind of atrocity, ruining the country, and even triggering a rebellion. The rebel leader, An Lushan, could not bring himself to kill the emperor and instead begged him to get rid of that stinking woman. (Yang Guifei was also infamous across the land for having the worst body odor under heaven.) The emperor, who could not smell due to chronic sinusitis, roared back that if the greatest beauty under heaven wanted to ruin the country a little, so what? Why were they trying to undermine their lovely Yang Guifei? The term “nation-toppling beauty” meant that even if a beauty shook the country to its core, she could be forgiven. Therefore, being lenient toward beautiful women could be considered a defining trait of men. If a male friend adamantly denies this, one should watch one’s back very carefully.
And Cheong was, without a doubt, a man among men.
“Hmm. Now that I think about it, treating a guest to a company dinner should be fine, right?”
Since Cheong roughly equated the Five Great Clans to chaebol families, she figured that if chaebols were meeting, they could at least do it at a famous restaurant.
Then Jayu slyly asked a question.
“Don’t women usually feel jealous when they see a woman more beautiful than themselves?”
“Ahem. Isn’t that a rather stereotypical prejudice? Besides, why are you looking straight at me and asking me specifically? How would I know?”
“……?”
Jayu was at a loss for words. If you want to ask about women’s matters, you should ask a woman. Asking a man would only lead to wild speculation.
Then suddenly—
“I have spoken out of turn. I shall apologize with all sincerity, so please do not hold it too deeply in your heart.”
He apologized with a perfectly courteous attitude.
In truth, the mysterious veiled beauty of the Central Plains was nothing more than a fantasy that existed only in stories. A woman’s beauty was a virtue to be proudly displayed to the world, so there was no reason to hide it. A woman who covered her face naturally had a reason to do so. The conclusion the Central Plains had reached about veiled women was this: her facial features were so overwhelmingly unique that ordinary people would find it difficult to handle, and thus she was showing consideration. In other words, the apology meant: I’m sorry for pointing out that you’re ugly.
“Your way of speaking.”
“That was on purpose just now. It shows how sincerely sorry I am.”
“Really? Then, since you’re that sorry, how about buying me dinner? There must be something delicious besides malatang, right?”
“Very well. Even if malatang is the ultimate dish, it is still nothing more than malatang. It lacks foundation.”
Malatang originated from mochae, a meal eaten by the lowest class of commoners. About half of the people of Sichuan refused to even acknowledge malatang as proper cuisine. Of course, they made an exception for Mala Ultimate Tang. Still, everyone lamented that if the greatest chef under heaven made other dishes, they would be far more delicious, yet he wasted his talent fiddling with mere malatang.
“Today, my friend will finally realize why Sichuan cuisine is synonymous with the greatest under heaven.”
“Good. Today’s the day my stomach bursts. Just so you know, I eat a lot. If you think you can’t handle it, you must declare defeat at any time and stop the meal. You’ll have to show me a tearful plea.”
“There is no need to worry about me.”
Cheong grinned and then asked,
“By the way, is it Sichuan custom for the guest to enter first?”
“Of course not. The more honored the guest, the more meticulously one must prepare and have the entire household welcome them together.”
“Then is the Yeo Hang-jeok not a very honored guest?”
“That cannot be the case.”
“Then why?”
Cheong pointed at the restaurant, Blue Dragon.
After the two women went inside, the coachmen and other hangers-on stood guard in front of the restaurant. The character “Tang” emblazoned boldly across the chest of their martial uniforms looked incredibly tacky.
“I thought since they reserved the whole place, the whole family was having a nice meal out together.”
“My friend, you really do have an innocent side, don’t you? They reserved the entire place because they wanted to eat alone, just the two of them.”
“What?”
Cheong stopped dead in her tracks.
They kicked out all those customers just to eat alone together? What kind of absolute rudeness was that? What kind of ill-bred, uneducated behavior?
She paused for a moment to assess the situation.
Indeed, Cheong always assessed the situation. She was not a reckless fighting chicken, and although she occasionally showed symptoms of anger management issues, that was because her head had gone rotten from the Heavenly Killing Star and demonic arts, so it couldn’t be helped. Even back in Luoyang, when facing the Black Whatever Sect, hadn’t she manfully admitted defeat and retreated? Fundamentally, Cheong was the type who was strong against the weak and weak against the strong—a cowardly, timid creature. She would never charge in first without absolute confidence.
And she quickly reached a conclusion.
Cheong spun around and headed straight for the restaurant entrance.
“My friend, where are you—wait, what kind of strength….”
Jayu couldn’t quite grab her hand and only caught her sleeve, but he ended up being dragged along helplessly. Cheong’s pure physical strength had already surpassed even the prime of Xiang Yu the Conqueror, and Jayu, who had no martial arts to speak of, had always been the weakest among men.
“Halt. What business do you have?”
Cheong looked at the Tang Clan warrior blocking her path. Though his martial uniform looked expensive, the huge green character “Tang” drawn in a large circle from his chest to his stomach was unbearably tacky. Since he had one character on the front and one on the back, did it combine into “Dangdang”? Even the outer coats of prestigious universities weren’t embroidered so blatantly large.
Cheong took a deep breath.
And then she screamed almost like a shriek.
“Isn’t this! Really! Too much!!!”
The place was already packed with onlookers. The wave-breakers had only pretended to disperse before crowding back in with the sole desire to catch a glimpse of the Sea-Breaking Poison Flower, only changing the density of the crowd. When you added the groups that had followed the carriage hoping to see the Sea-Breaking Poison Flower, the total reached at least a third of the level of an Jade Qilin, if not quite that much.
It was a woman’s characteristically shrill, ear-piercing scream.
Did you see the Sea-Breaking Poison Flower? She really doesn’t belong to this world.
People who had been turning to go back to their own business naturally turned their heads toward Cheong and smoothly rewound time to their original positions.
“Does being from the Tang Clan mean you can just cancel other people’s reservations? I waited forty-one days and five more hours for this very moment, yet because one young lady showed up, you tell me to get lost? Do I have to sink into the ground? Why not just tell me to crawl into a grave while you’re at it?”
“This bitch dares—”
“Dares!? Dares!? You said it well! So the great Sichuan Tang Clan thinks that lowly worms like you can do whatever they want to us and we’re not allowed to talk back? Hey, everyone in the neighborhood! Look at this! The noble Tang Clan royalty has arrived!!!”
Cheong screamed at the top of her lungs so everyone could hear.
“L-lower your voice.”
“My old man’s dying wish before he passes was to taste the flavor of malatang he had only eaten once in his difficult childhood after scrimping and saving every penny. I barely managed to get a reservation and brought him here, but—”
Choe-ri-ong’s expression turned strange. Having walked the path of the prestigious demonic ways of the Heavenly Demon Cult his entire life, Choe-ri-ong had never once lived in poverty.
“Grandpa!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry I’m such a worthless, powerless, spineless bitch with no backing!! This Tang Clan young lady is tired of eating fancy food and wants to experience commoner cuisine, so what can I do!!”
Even the onlookers who had gathered out of curiosity gradually began to murmur with increasingly hostile tones.
Was there anyone in Sichuan—especially anyone living in Chengdu—who had not suffered from the Tang Clan’s tyranny at least once? Even the nameless warriors from the collateral branches, as soon as they put on clothes with the Tang character, acted like exalted lords.
“Ah! What blasphemy have I uttered! Honorable warrior! This crazy woman has dared to defy the great Tang Clan, the imperial family of Sichuan! They say that in Sichuan, the Sichuan Tang Clan is the imperial court and the law! Please do not doubt my loyalty! Long live the Tang Clan! Long live! No, above the heavens there is another heaven, and above the emperor stands the Tang Clan! Ten thousand years to the Tang Clan! No, one hundred and eighty thousand years!! One hundred and eighty thousand years!!!”
The Tang Clan warrior’s face turned deathly pale.
In reality, the prestige of the Sichuan Tang Clan in Chengdu had long surpassed even the royal palace. Although Prince Deokhyun’s royal residence was located on the outskirts of Chengdu and owned nearly all the land, it was still overshadowed by the Tang Clan and rendered powerless. This was true even though a chinwang was a title granted only to the direct bloodline of the imperial family—basically, to the emperor’s sons and brothers.
In fact, it was already an open secret that the Tang Clan secretly sneered among themselves, saying things like “Even a chinwang is nothing to us. How dare a mere prince act so arrogantly?”
“No! What do you mean by numbers! How can the greatness of the great Tang Clan be expressed with mere numbers! Please accept this lowly one’s loyalty! Tang prosperity! Tang prosperity! Tang, Tang prosperity!”
But an open secret also meant there was an unwritten rule that it must never be said openly. In fact, among the onlookers were some wearing particularly tacky uniforms with single characters embroidered on them—soldiers, officials, or clerks serving the government.
This was the moment their topic of conversation for tonight was decided.
“P-please, just shut up for a moment……”
“What!? Shut up!? Are you saying that a mere firefly beneath the sun that is the great Sichuan Tang Clan still finds my voice insufficient!!! Long live the Tang Clan one hundred and eighty thousand years!!!! Long live the Tang Clan!!! Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Cheong’s breathing had already been trained by the Boksinjeok, making her lung capacity far superior even among masters. Her voice was so thunderous that, with some exaggeration, the buildings shook and the earth vibrated along with it.
“Hey, come on—”
Deciding this couldn’t continue, the Tang Clan warrior reached out toward Cheong. He figured he had to drag her away at least. Since she was causing such a scene on purpose, he couldn’t let her continue.
It wasn’t a wrong judgment.
The problem was that this was exactly the moment Cheong had been waiting and watching for.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Cheong flew through the air as if she had been hit by heavy cavalry in full plate armor. She even bounced twice on the ground, rolling and tumbling until she sprawled out. To anyone watching, it looked exactly like she had been struck by a palm strike from an absolute master of the world.
Cheong curled up and trembled like a patient with a serious illness. While rolling, she had secretly flicked a small pebble. Choe-ri-ong, who had been lightly struck by it, immediately caught on and rushed toward Cheong.
“Aigoo! My child! Come to your senses! Where in the world is there such a law!! To do this to a frail twenty-year-old girl!! What mortal sin did she commit by raising her voice a little!! Is there such a law under heaven!! How can this be the behavior of a prestigious orthodox sect!!”
Although Choe-ri-ong’s internal energy was barely at the first-class level, his enlightenment had already reached the Harmonious Realm. Someone at the Harmonious Realm could freely wield the secrets of the Lion’s Roar—commonly known as the “Gah!!!” shout—so the sorrowful old man’s voice rang out powerfully.
A frail twenty-year-old girl.
Fathers with children of their own were greatly agitated, and whispers spread through the crowd again.
No matter how powerful the Tang Clan was, wasn’t this going too far? They had always acted sinisterly from the shadows, and now they were openly committing tyranny. They had to warn their own children, and so on.
Jayu, who had been watching the scene, shook his head.
It would have been better if she had drawn a sword and charged. Instead, she had gathered people and was openly dragging their dignity through the gutter. There was no villain in the world worse than this.