The Grass-Eating Dog

“Are you acquainted with this beggar?”

“Aigoo, our Flower Beggar.”

“To think you’d give me all this……”

“From the very first time I saw you, I knew you weren’t ordinary. Twenty years in this trade and I could tell right away, hehe.”

Speaking of physiognomy when they had never even seen each other’s faces was very much a waiter’s line. The usually strict, solemn, and serious Jeomsoi had changed. Knowing she was a Murim expert made it hard to keep up the adult act, but the bigger reason was gratitude toward the benefactor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had protected his precious shop.

Unexpectedly, Jeomsoi was closer to a business partner than an employee. According to the hierarchy inside the establishment, it went Innkeeper, then Owner, then Jeomsoi, then the cooks. Of course, it could vary depending on years of service and the size of the shop. But with twenty years of experience, one could practically consider him a co-owner.

“Don’t give it away so freely. Just hand over the exact change, slowly. Generosity only lasts a time or two. If it keeps going, benefactors turn into enemies.”

The fact that he didn’t refuse meant he intended to keep coming in the future. Jeomsoi’s expression was simply delighted. The compensation money paid by the Murim Alliance had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already covered the broken furniture and the money customers had run off with, with plenty left over. Add to that the money collected from the corpses and the weapons they were told to sell, and several months’ worth of income had come in all at once today.

“Aigoo, what are you saying? Flower Beggar, you are a lifelong benefactor of Seoryang Banjeom.”

Even as he spoke, he was inwardly marveling, because Cheong’s words had struck a chord. Respect began to shine in Jeomsoi’s eyes. Her words were full of profound insight, she was an unfathomably powerful Murim expert, and yet she practiced the way of possessing nothing. On top of that, she mingled so casually even with a lowly waiter like himself. She was truly a chivalrous hero straight out of a storybook.

Anyone listening would have called it the ravings of a madman. Yet dogs really do eat grass. Usually they munch with cheerful little chomps as a digestive aid, though some peculiar ones simply find grass tasty. Just as the owner of a grass-eating dog hears the real sound of a dog eating grass, to the indebted Jeomsoi, Cheong was, in any case, a proper Murim heroine.

Look at that majestic way she eats! Was that not exactly the heroic spirit of Xiang Yu charging in alone on horseback and slaughtering ten thousand Han soldiers? And the way she downs strong liquor like water—truly a peerless champion of the world. Moreover, the revealed jaw and lips were so beautiful that the face hidden behind the veil was clearly not concealing ugliness, but was instead an unparalleled beauty!

She had been acting like a beggar, and now she was eating like one too, yet her dignity remained intact! Jeomsoi, properly blinded by the eyes of a benefactor, evaluated Cheong’s meal—or rather, the art of stuffing food into her mouth like a pig—while watching.

This was why people said human affection was frightening.

-----

After skimming the letter summarizing the damages, Black Point Association Leader Jang Eun-chae roughly tousled her hair. It wouldn’t ease her anger anyway, and would only leave her hair a mess, so it was a completely useless action. She was simply in that foul a mood.

“Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang? Almost the entire Yangzhou region was wiped out? The ruined Jinju Eon Clan warriors suddenly appeared, drove out the customers, and killed the merchants?”

Yangzhou referred to the old name for the southeastern region of the Central Plains, also called Gangdong. The northwestern region of the Central Plains was also called Yangzhou, which could be confusing, hence the two names. For reference, the northwestern Yangzhou was also called Seoryang.

“The Black Point branches in each city were also destroyed.”

“I know that already! I heard it!”

“What do we do now? Wouldn’t it be better to cancel the bounty at this point?”

“Are you joking right now? If we tuck our tails and run now, how much will everyone look down on the Black Point? Fine, you bastards want to play it this way? Raise the bounty to twenty thousand guan and make it dead or alive……”

—Association Leader, it’s Yeon-ga.

Just then, a subordinate interrupted.

“What? Come in.”

“Association Leader, this.”

The subordinate approached respectfully, placed a rolled-up letter on the desk, and withdrew.

“What is this?”

“Well, a box was delivered to you from Fujian……”

The method ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of sending letters or goods to the Black Point Association Leader was simple. If one offered it to any Black Point branch, fence, butcher, or moneylender with the words “For the Black Point Leader,” it would be delivered promptly. Of course, one had to keep in mind that subordinates would open and check letters and boxes beforehand. The box from Fujian had also been opened by subordinates to check for anything dangerous.

It contained something utterly horrifying. A human head had been attached to a dog’s torso, and a letter was clenched in its mouth. The head belonged to the Fujian branch leader of the Black Point.

“Ugh……”

It was a gruesome sound just to hear. The subordinate who had actually opened the box had immediately fainted and was still having nightmares.

Jang Eun-chae unfolded the tightly rolled letter.

On the following page, beneath a beautifully drawn portrait of a beauty, the height was written as five cheok, four chi, and one mun.

“That dog-like bastard!”

Jang Eun-chae crumpled the letter and threw it. At the same time, a chill ran down her spine.

How does she know my name? And “the Jinju Eon Clan that is still not ruined”? It was a warning that she knew her identity and everything she had said. There was even the line about boiling her head and eating it.

“Cancel the bounty! Cancel it right now!”

“Association Leader?”

“Damn it! It wasn’t Eon Yeonyeong! Some other bitch sold off the Jinju Eon Clan and impersonated her! I didn’t know that and went and poked a hornet’s nest for nothing.”

She had poked it very, very wrongly. The silver lining was that the letter hadn’t said, “You’re already dead, so wash your neck and wait.” In other words, it meant she would let it slide if the bounty was withdrawn.

“Who is that bitch? If we catch her, it’s twenty thousand guan. How do we find her? The ones who were with her weren’t impersonators either, right?”

“Do you mean Jegal Ihyeon and Dang Nan-a? Those two are already confirmed as themselves. Their faces are widely known……”

“We can’t touch the Five Great Clans. There was one more girl, wasn’t there? You sent someone after her? Where did she go?”

“Well, after that, she stopped by Mount Dabie with her companions, took back the slave they were looking for, and returned to Jumadian. After parting ways with the heirs of the Five Great Clans, she and the slave, along with an old man called Cheoljang, stayed at the Seol Clan Merchant Group in Jagwi-hyeon, Hubei Province.”

“Seol Clan Merchant Group? What kind of place is that?”

“It’s a merchant group run by Seolgajik—”

“Are you joking right now? Of course Seolgajik runs the Seol Clan Merchant Group! Who the hell did you send that you couldn’t even find out the owner’s name and just said ‘some Seol guy’?”

“……I’ll take care of it. Anyway, it’s a merchant group that handles various goods, but its scale doesn’t even reach that of a city.”

Another victim of injustice was about to be born.

“A hole-in-the-wall shop. If she stayed there, we can figure it out.”

“However, she later stopped by the Sinnyeo Sect and came out, so she might be a woman connected to the Sinnyeo Sect.”

“What Sinnyeo Sect! What, they all flock together? Of course they do. That’s just how the orthodox faction bastards are.”

Jang Eun-chae pounded the desk loudly.

“What will you do?”

“If we back down now, we’ll really become the laughingstock of the world. You know that if you’re looked down on in this world, it’s over, right? We’ll temporarily withdraw the bounty, find out that bitch’s identity first, then double the bounty and put it up again. Seol Clan Merchant Group? I don’t care how much gold it takes—buy them off or send people and drag that so-called companion of hers to me.”

Seol Clan Merchant Group? Jagwi-hyeon? It seemed like some hole-in-the-wall shop in a village she had never even heard of. If the Black Point moved, would such a trivial little shop dare to resist?

Jang Eun-chae’s eyes burned with rage.

-----

After seeing the wanted poster, Cheong felt relieved. So she drank plenty of alcohol and ate even more free food. With her stomach full for the first time in a while, anyone who saw her would have asked how many months pregnant she was.

It was just like the competitive eaters from her hometown, whose very existence was questionable. One of the things Cheong enjoyed was stuffing herself until she was about to burst and then lying down immediately. A Body Reconstruction expert could do that. Their esophagus was sturdy, so unless they were hit or poisoned, nothing would come back up. Eating and then sleeping wouldn’t give them heartburn.

If Cheong had to name the best thing about Body Reconstruction, this would be one of the advantages she could confidently mention. The other two of the Three Heavenly Kings were not fearing menstruation and not getting sweaty breasts. Not gaining fat even after eating had been the case even before Body Reconstruction, so it seemed to just be her constitution.

Anyway, for once, the food had reached up to her chin. Jeomsoi, impressed by her heroic demeanor, had activated “I won’t lose” and kept filling the table so she could enjoy herself endlessly, until Cheong finally declared defeat, saying she had reached her limit.

Thanks to that, her stomach, stretched to its limit, was protesting and telling her to stop pushing food in. Lying down while savoring that sensation was perfect. So Cheong did exactly that.

There was only one person in the world who could stop this unseemly behavior of hers: her beloved master, Seomun Su-rin. In other words, once she left the Sinnyeo Sect, there was no one to stop this pitiful beast from lying down whenever she ate, even if she wasn’t pretending to be a beggar right now.

Even before Body Reconstruction, Cheong had lain on her left side because it gave her heartburn. Spreading out a straw mat and lying down in thick, warm cotton clothes was simply paradise.

Soon, a silken dream came to her.

How much time had passed?

“Noona, Beggar Noona.”

“What……”

“I’m here. It’s Moyong Jun.”

“You came…… If you came, go away……”

Cheong waved her hand sleepily.

“Then I’ll wait……”

“Yeah, just stay there and wait……”

Cheong snatched back the dream that was about to fly away. Sleeping was good, but this state—drowsy, limbs limp with languor, body warm, temperature slightly raised—was also a truly happy time.

How much time had passed? Since it was just a nap, her mind naturally cleared as time went by. She slept during the day and trained at night, so even in the middle of the night, this was indeed nap time. If Seomun Su-rin found out, she would be torn between being proud that her disciple trained regularly and lamenting that her disciple’s manners were becoming more pathetic by the day.

Cheong sat up, slipped her hand inside the veil, rubbed her eyes, and asked,

“Mm. Moyong kid, how long has it been?”

“Uh. Just a moment. The moon……”

Cheong, still half-asleep, knew there was a presence beside her that hadn’t moved. But knowing that her light dreams were sweet and that she would wake up soon, she had told him to wait and left him alone.

Moyong Jun looked at the moon, pointed with his finger, and seemed to be measuring its position with fidgety movements before answering energetically,

“I got here about one sijin ago!”

“Huh?”

One sijin was two hours. Feeling guilty, Cheong unfairly blamed the innocent kid.

“No, why did you wait so stupidly for a whole sijin?”

“You told me to wait without moving……”

So he had been standing there blankly without any sense.

“No, I was just going to lie down for a bit. At least make yourself comfortable.”

Cheong scratched the back of her head. She had only been lying there lazily for a moment. How had so much time passed already?

They say happy times pass quickly because of the theory of relativity, but it really was this fast.