One Bed, One Blanket
Dang Nan-a of the Tang Clan originally had no friends. Friendship was an equal relationship, but there was no one in the Tang Clan of equal standing to Dang Nan-a. Dang Nan-a was unofficially the number one in the Tang Clan's hierarchy, so everyone from the Clan Head down to the elders above her were all beneath her feet, mere incompetents. Since this was true within the greatest Sichuan Tang Clan, there were no equals outside either.
Instead, when she occasionally needed something, she would pull someone up from beneath her feet to her head and shower them with cuteness, but recently, the new sworn sister she had promoted had betrayed her and left. Instead, something like a friend (she had never had a friend in her life, so she wasn't sure) had appeared, so life was truly unpredictable; when one horse runs away, another comes rolling in.
And there was one thing she had always wanted to try if she made a friend. Dang Nan-a arrogantly extended her finger. “Hey. You.”
It was a sudden pointing, but Cheong took it in stride. She knew the child was a bit rude, but had no ill intentions. Lately, the chihuahua had been tamed somehow and was always circling around, looking for an opportunity to slip her a snack; how could she hate that?
“Why?”
“Sleep with me tonight.”
“Huh. If you come at me so suddenly like that.”
Cheong was startled. Of course, unlike Jin Jangmyeong, Dang Nan-a was a dignified twenty-two-year-old adult, so she held the right to sexual self-determination. When Cheong recoiled, Dang Nan-a's eyes shot up sharply.
“What? You don't want to?”
“Men and women are different, so how could the young lady say such a thing?”
“What, you don't want to……?”
It was the same words, but this time her shoulders slumped and her expression turned into a pout. Dang Nan-a asked again.
“You, aren't you close with me……?”
“If I had to divide it into black and white, I'd say we're on the close side?”
“Then why? If you're close, don't you sleep together?”
“Eh? Why? Is that a culture in the Central Plains?”
“Ha. How ignorant. Haven't you even studied the Elementary Learning?”
According to the Elementary Learning, the children's textbook of the Central Plains, it explains the righteousness that siblings should practice as follows: When sleeping, share one blanket; when eating, share one table. Using separate clothes and food among siblings is something only barbarians, not human children, would do.
At this point, one could see that Zhu Xi, who compiled the Elementary Learning, was a great Confucian scholar and at the same time a severe racist. However, in this era, discriminating against barbarians was natural for both the discriminator and the discriminated. It was an era when folk tales like "I gave a barbarian a kind word, and later they repaid me with their life" were widespread.
Anyway, he didn't create Neo-Confucianism but compiled it. The Elementary Learning was not a novel but a compilation that beautifully gathered the virtues of the era into a recommended children's book. This was evident just from the part about sharing one bed and one blanket. Roughly, even a thousand years before Zhu Xi's time, sharing one bed and one blanket was a beautiful tale of siblings with the greatest affection.
Immediately, the famous Three Kingdoms' Liu Bei and his sworn brothers spread their affection by sharing one bed. Liu Bei often used this when winning over his subordinates' hearts; a single word like "Stay and sleep tonight" would cause a flood of tears and loyalty. "Ah! My lord considers me a brother!" It was a plan that gave this kind of feeling of emotional resonance.
Of course, a normal person wouldn't shed tears of joy at a man saying "Stay and sleep." Sharing one bed and one blanket was closer to filial piety for parents who found it difficult to prepare separate rooms for their children. However, the bravado of the Chinese people was a national culture. They had to follow famous anecdotes or tales, and then use the afterword to elevate themselves by saying they had done so much.
Thus, Liu Bei and the ministers who stayed with him would boast to their descendants for generations that they ate, bathed, and slept with their lord. Listen, your grandfather, your great-great-grandfather, your ancestor slept with Liu Bei himself.
By the way, in the Central Plains, for friendship, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were actually valued more than Liu Bei's sworn brothers. They were famous for their tight-knit original friendship, even casting aside wives to share one bed, but they weren't very popular among the Korean people, so they weren't well known.
“Ah. What? So that's it?”
Cheong realized her misunderstanding. It wasn't that kind of sleeping where you just hold hands and sleep. It wasn't the sleeping where you hold hands and do everything, but a culture of just chatting in the same space and then sleeping. But what did brotherly affection have to do with friendship? It was something Cheong thought because she didn't know.
In fact, in the Central Plains, deep friendship was used in the same sense as brotherly affection. The unique culture of the Chinese people, guanxi, was even codified into written law (not really), and had detailed, systematic stages.
Guanxi Level 1: Pengyou (朋友) is an acquaintance. Level 2: Haopengyou (好朋友) From here, it's a friend. Level 3: Laopengyou (老朋友) is an old friend, from here guanxi expands, and it's a stage where introductions from acquaintances are possible. In martial artist terms, it's around First-class.
And only at Level 4 does it reach family, called Xiongdi. From here, even if it's just guanxi, they were called family, so it was a stage where the relationship couldn't be easily ended. Achieving Level 5 makes one Gexiongdi 干兄弟. This is the highest stage and a legendary achievement. Uniquely, there are sworn brothers above blood brothers, meaning that sworn brothers chosen by one's own judgment are more sincere than blood brothers one cannot choose.
It was also a characteristic that the names changed according to age and gender: sworn brother, sworn sister, sworn father, sworn mother.
Of course, the Central Plains was still primitive China, so it wasn't as formalized as the country Cheong came from. It was still roughly a feeling-based thing, so it hadn't reached the entrenched abuses of future China.
Dang Nan-a, with a physician's insight, immediately saw through Cheong's state. Even without a physician's insight, Cheong's expression, that face of not understanding, anyone with eyes could tell.
“Originally, friends sharing one bed and one blanket is common sense, you know? You, don't you have friends either?”
“Eh? That kind of common sense……? Now that you mention it……”
Thinking about it, the female friends Cheong had made in the Central Plains always coveted Cheong's bed. Jangmyeong also appeared every night hugging a pillow, and even the Fourth Sister Ho So-in tried a few times and when it didn't work, just came in the morning to change her clothes.
Cheong was unsure. Even if close same-sex friends could share a bed, it wasn't common sense that they should. It was a wicked lie Dang Nan-a was telling to raise their friendship level a notch at this opportunity. Despite her beautiful appearance, she was a villainess who didn't hesitate to use any means for her goals. She was a terrifying child who could commit such a terrible lie without even wetting her lips. Her evil deeds couldn't even be compared to the greatest demon of the world.
Cheong looked at the restless Dang Nan-a. Well, her family was in danger right now, so of course she'd be anxious. Even Paeng Sojeo had told her to take good care of her. It was pitiful to see her clinging all day with drooping shoulders, asking to play because there were no patients.
Cheong grinned and answered. “No friends, my ass. If I said I'd sleep with someone, the line at the Sinnyeo Sect training ground that day would be two and a half laps in formation.”
It was something Cheong said as a joke. However, if she actually did it, a similar scene would unfold. Though Cheong didn't know it.
Then Dang Nan-a's expression immediately brightened.
----
Cheong had picked up various bad habits since entering the Central Plains, among them a rather unpleasant habit even in bed.
“What, what are you doing, why are you taking it off……!”
“Eh? Then sleep with clothes on? Why?”
“Eh?”
She spoke as if it were the most natural common sense, so Dang Nan-a had no room to object. Cheong herself didn't realize it at all, but now she didn't even feel shy in front of women. Having wandered around naked in the Sinnyeo Sect and forgotten shame, and then accepting service as natural during her time in the Hwanhee Palace. On the other hand, she didn't hide from men either. When she saw a woman, it was a woman's body, so what? When she saw a man, it was between men, so what? Even when her body was temporarily taken by the Cheonma-type mental parasite last time, wasn't it a strange sight? Cheonma's mind was in the form of the first-generation Cheonma from the past, but Cheong's unconscious had chosen A-cheong's appearance, not a production worker before her Murim debut. It was a fact Cheong herself didn't realize.
In Eastern terms, water is the mind and the body is the vessel, so one could say the water is shaped by the vessel. In Western terms, one could add explanations about hormones that liberal arts students couldn't understand. However, there wasn't a single person in this world who could explain it logically, so it would remain a distant matter.
If Seomun Su-rin knew, it would be something to beat her chest about. How could a foolish girl who couldn't even define her true self, Jin'a, achieve Transcendent realm? The Transcendent realm was transcending the Peak. The Peak was the highest point an individual could reach, so the Transcendent realm was the first step in transcending oneself. Thus, the mind that had overcome itself wielded the starlight, the will of the stars, and this was called Ganggi. The Gang罡 in Ganggi meant the Big Dipper. The most destructive power a martial artist wielded was precisely that star's will, the starlight emitted from the sky of those without the sun, hence Ganggi.
By the way, in Cheong's hometown, there was also the unfortunate story that the primitive computer character set couldn't display rare Chinese characters, So they used Gang (剛) for "strong" instead.
Anyway, Cheong sprawled on the bed, rubbing her limbs against her bare skin and exclaimed in admiration. “Wow. The bed is nice. It's completely like silk.”
“Of course it's silk…….”
It was practically the most expensive bed in Sichuan, so even in the Central Plains, few beds were better. Cheong couldn't help but admire its comfort.
“Is that so? Then, shall I sleep?”
“Wait, what are you doing? Let's talk about something at least.”
Cheong thought. What, how annoying…….
“Originally, you should only sleep in bed. If you do other things, it gets into your mind and leads to sleep disorders, and eventually insomnia.”
“What's that? Whatever. Cheong-a…… do you have a lover or someone you admire?”
Dang Nan-a casually used a nickname. Cheong was ignorant of Central Plains nickname expressions, so since Paeng Sojeo also called her that, she accepted it.
“No.”
“Huh? Then what about Ok-girin?”
“He's just a friend? That guy doesn't like women in the first place.”
“Huh.”
Dang Nan-a gasped. Such a secret about the most handsome man in the world! If Paeng Daesan heard it, it was something he would say with raised eyebrows and his voice lowered to the depths of the sea. But Paeng Daesan wasn't there. Originally, when someone wasn't there, you could even curse the emperor. (But not up to the Son of Heaven)
“No wonder. There were such rumors.”
“Rumors or not, you can tell just by looking, can't you?”
“But when I saw him, hmm? Is it? It is?”
Dang Nan-a had also seen that jade face once at the Taesang Clan Head's seventieth birthday during the Yongbongjihoe held in Sichuan, but at that time she had been blinded by his brilliant appearance and hadn't noticed at all. Thinking back, his eyes when looking at women had been like that. Then a chill ran down Dang Nan-a's spine— no, it was really cold! The autumn night air was seeping in through the gap where the blanket wasn't touching the bed.
“Hey, can I have some blanket……?”
“Ah. I've gotten into the habit of wrapping myself up. Can't we just use two blankets?”
“No. You definitely said one bed, one blanket. But why? Then we'd have to sleep stuck together? Why? With such a wide bed?”
Actually, sleeping stuck together was the essence of friendship. But in Dang Nan-a's common sense, who had never debuted in Murim, a bed was originally a large object made spacious enough for ten people to lie on. She couldn't help but wonder why they had to share one blanket on such a wide bed.
There was no way asking Cheong would give an answer. But since it wasn't really a question seeking an answer, Cheong just threw out whatever. “Maybe there's a special extra-large blanket for friends?”
“But then it would be heavy. It'd be stuffy.”
“If two people hold it up, the weight is halved, right?”
“Is that so? Does the size vary by number of people? Hmm. I should tell the kids to bring some in.”
A conversation that only idiots would have passed between them. But conversations between friends were originally a series of such things, so they were just happy with each other.
“Hey, you, give me some blanket too. I'm cold too.”
“……”
Then at some point, Cheong turned her head with a deep, rhythmic breathing. Cheong was a sleep specialist who fell asleep quickly even in Choe Ri-ong's swaying embrace, so on a soft, top-grade bed that wrapped around her body, she had ultimately passed out.
“What, you're sleeping? Already? Damn, why is this kid so strong? Give me the blanket too, I'm cold…….”
Cheong had grabbed the blanket with her Xiang Yu-like strength, so Dang Nan-a had no way to take it. She had no choice but to get closer. Then at some point, there was a large presence, and she thought she felt movement, but then something heavy pressed down on half her body. Hot breath with a rhythmic sound immediately touched her ears, and Dang Nan-a stiffened in surprise.
“Huh. Hey, hey…….”
----
The next day, Dang Nan-a's complexion was haggard. Of course, nothing strange or unpleasant had happened the previous night. She had just had a bit of trouble sleeping and looked a little tired.
Even as she entered the Tang Clan's strategy meeting with the government office that had opened from the morning, her tired appearance was evident. Cheong, without any particular thoughts, was just participating in the meeting together, now treated almost as a family benefactor and benefactor.