The Beggar Aunt and the Little Prodigy
Do you know this beggar?
“Why, she’s a flower-like beggar, so she’s a flower beggar. Got a problem with that?”
“But, but she’s so fat……”
“Hey. Peonies are flowers, and lotus blossoms are flowers too, you know? Just because it’s big doesn’t mean it’s not a flower.”
“But… those two are pretty……”
“Wow, you really speak your mind when you want to. Fine, you win. Happy now? Now go away. The flower beggar—no, Beggar Aunt is going to sleep.”
“Ah. Um, well then… um, pumpkin flowers are pretty too, right? So regular pumpkins don’t count? Or maybe bitter melon, or cucumbers—ack!”
Moyong Jun rolled across the ground again. He didn’t even seem to notice that his expensive silk clothes were now covered in dirt.
According to Cheong’s personal philosophy, kids were basically earth-attributed anyway, so they were supposed to eat dirt and roll around in it. It was fine if they tumbled a bit.
The blow this time was much weaker than before. It didn’t deserve the almighty title of ‘nuclear,’ so it was just a regular chestnut flick (third-class level). Still, getting hit in the same spot again made it hurt like hell.
After rolling around for a while, Moyong Jun finally stopped. This time he looked genuinely wronged, his eyes brimming with tears as he shot her a look full of betrayal.
“Why… why?”
“I told you not to say bad things.”
“But you said Beggar Aunt agreed with what my father said. That people who cover their faces—”
“Enough. If I called you a bed-wetter, would that make you happy? Does that mean you never wet the bed? Not even once in your entire life?”
“Ah.”
“What do you mean, ‘ah’? Whatever. Beggar Aunt is sleeping now.”
With that, Cheong flopped down completely. Moyong Jun stood there awkwardly, scratching the top of his head.
“Um, Beggar Aunt. Isn’t it uncomfortable sleeping here? Why don’t you come to our house—no, not our house, but the Small Fire Gate? Wouldn’t you rather sleep there?”
No matter how you looked at it, the kid was kind.
Still lying down, Cheong answered.
“I have to think about the people at Small Fire Gate too. They wouldn’t be happy if I brought a beggar over.”
“Ah.”
“It’s fine. It’s late. Don’t wander around alone—wait, what time is it?”
Cheong lay flat on her back and looked up at the sky. The clear moon hung in a position that suggested it was roughly between the Hour of the Pig and the start of the Hour of the Rat. In modern terms, that was around three in the morning—the time when human emotions ran highest and people unconsciously sent text messages.
“What the hell? Why is a precious young master wandering around alone in the middle of the night? That’s dangerous.”
“Ah. I’m not alone. I came with Nok Musa who guards me. Nok Musa?”
“Grrk.”
A sudden phlegmy sound came from the shadows beneath the wall. When Cheong looked over, a man dressed in black was standing there watching them. She couldn’t tell his exact realm since he was hiding his presence, but she could read his karma—it was a little over two hundred in the negative.
What the? I didn’t notice him at all.
Wait, he’s a bad guy?
Cheong immediately went on high alert. The mute guard waved his hand as if to reassure her. Cheong hesitated for a moment, then suddenly thought of the old man from before.
Right. There could be more people like that old man.
The kid had a strong sense of justice and could be stubborn, but he also listened well and was cute. If he’d been born in the modern world, Moyong Jun probably would’ve made a fortune as the nation’s beloved child actor with the most beautiful face.
Wait. Did that mean he’d been listening to all her gender equality lectures? Why hadn’t the old man stopped him? Maybe he thought it was something the kid really needed to hear?
Well, any reasonable adult would have a hard time stopping her extremely educational lectures. Still, they probably wouldn’t go so far as to deliver the bitter medicine of love that tore one’s heart apart.
“Nok Musa apparently injured his throat before.”
“Hmm. His family must be worried. It’s late, so you should head back. You might not need sleep, but Nok Musa is probably tired.”
“Nok Musa is always awake at night. During the day, Baek Musa watches over me.”
“You always have an escape route, don’t you……”
Cheong muttered while lying spread-eagle. Her sleep had already been completely ruined, and her mind was wide awake. Even if she forced herself to sleep now, it would only be a short nap that left her with a headache.
Since it was night anyway and she had nothing else to do, she might as well practice her martial arts.
“I’m going to train now. If you’re done with your business, go home and sleep. You need to sleep at night if you want to grow tall.”
“Didn’t you sleep too much, Beggar Aunt?”
“What the hell, kid? When I was young, sleeping only one and a half hours a day was considered a child’s virtue. If you slept more than that, you’d never become a great person.”
That damn three-hour-five-hour bullshit.
Some bastard had spread that nonsense. For reference, the three-hour-five-hour rule was a vicious custom born from Korea’s brutal college entrance exam culture—sleep three hours and you pass, sleep five and you fail.
“Ah! My father said the same thing. Two hours of sleep is enough. If you can’t fall asleep, there’s no need to force it. If you’re bored, just train instead.”
“So that’s why you’re wandering around at night……”
She couldn’t tell if the kid’s father was strict or not. But since the child didn’t show any fear when mentioning his father, he was clearly a man who gave his son plenty of love.
“Then let’s train together! I’m stronger than the warriors in our sect!”
“This body does not cross swords with mere first-class practitioners. How about you train more and come back later?”
“But training together would be nice……”
Cheong let out a chuckle.
“Fine. Let’s train. Training is all that’s left for a beggar anyway……”
Anyway, Cheong’s daily routine remained the same. During the day she lazed around, ate a huge dinner, immediately lay down while rubbing her full belly, and enjoyed an afternoon nap. When she woke up, she swung her sword in the middle of the night.
With high probability, Moyong Jun would show up at night and they would spar together. With low probability, he would also appear during the day, disturbing her sleep and being a nuisance.
“What? I need to sleep.”
“You said one and a half hours was enough……”
“That was because I couldn’t sleep then. I’m making up for it now. By the way, do you know that person?”
Cheong pointed at a man on the other side who was glaring at her as if she were his mortal enemy.
“Ah. That’s Baek Musa.”
“Then why is he staring at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s not that. Baek Musa called Beggar Aunt a filthy whore, so I told him he should apologize. I’m sorry our warrior is such a bad adult. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“Aww, how sweet. Yes, grow up just like this. The future of the Righteous Faction’s Murim looks bright.”
Cheong gently stroked Moyong Jun’s head. In response, Baek Musa placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
What’s he going to do about it? Draw his sword?
When Cheong gave him a deliberate smirk, the man’s face twisted like he’d bitten into a bug. The high-karma Nok Musa would occasionally bow when their eyes met, but this bastard who leaned toward good karma was an absolute thug.
A guy who would say such things to a child.
That was why, whenever the little brat appeared during the day, Cheong would sometimes deliberately play along just to mess with Baek Musa.
And so, time flew by like an arrow.
When daily life was ordinary, not particularly difficult, and followed a regular rhythm, time passed quickly. As one grew older and became accustomed to the ways of the world, special events gradually decreased. That was exactly why adult time flew by so fast.
Spring was in full bloom now, making the clothes feel hot. The days were warm and the nights cool, so Cheong—who had grown strong against the cold through harsh training—ripped out the seams of her clothes and removed all the cotton padding. Since she was going to throw them away anyway, she could treat them roughly.
“Beggar Aunt? Have you lost weight? Suddenly?”
“It’s because the clothes were too thick. Hmm. Where are you looking? Has the little pervert awakened again?”
“Ah! I’m sorry. It was just interesting…… Is it not heavy?”
“It is heavy. But don’t stare so openly. People will talk. Just glance. Glance. Pretend you’re not looking and glance.”
Thanks to Dang Nan-a, Cheong had learned to properly distinguish lecherous gazes. This wasn’t the dark, lust-filled look that Dang Nan-a got. It was simply the sparkling eyes of a child’s pure curiosity.
Curiosity never lasted long anyway. And sure enough, after a few days Moyong Jun quickly lost interest and stopped glancing over.
The problem was the other bastards.
“Even with your face covered, you’ve got a nice figure. Well, if it’s an eyesore, you can just cover it. Where did you set up your ‘nail shed’?”
“Ah. Could you come over here for a moment?”
“Nail shed” was slang for a place where one hammered in quickly like driving a nail, then pulled out. The people of the Central Plains really had a talent for wordplay.
While the white warrior’s comment that all female beggars were filthy whores was something one shouldn’t say to a child, if one were to judge whether it was true or false, it technically fell under “true.”
When lying on the street and glancing over, the face was covered so it couldn’t be seen. But the curves of the body—wow! My god! How is this possible! How can someone look like that!—naturally stirred a man’s lust along with other things that rose up.
Cheong moved to an inconspicuous spot in the back alley and delivered a nuclear strike to the crown of the man who was already loosening his waistband.
CRACK!
The impact was so strong it created the illusion that his head had been crushed into a concave shape.
It was the Seomun Su-rin style Complete Destruction Chestnut Flick Technique’s ultimate secret art—Cheonsin Jijang (God’s Staff).
“A perfectly healthy bastard, and you’re doing this in broad daylight.”
“Aaaagh! I’m dying!”
“I hit you so you wouldn’t die, so get a grip. This is what happens when you harass people. Got it?”
“This crazy beggar bitch wants to die—urk. Your martial arts are truly profound. You should have said so earlier……”
The stone in Cheong’s hand had been ground into fine powder and scattered in the wind. The man who had been about to shout immediately became docile.
“There. You’ve learned a great life lesson today—that if you wave your dick around just anywhere, you might really lose your dick. Now pay the tuition fee.”
“Yes, teacher. I’ll leave it here.”
“Good.”
That day alone, after removing the cotton padding, Cheong had collected three canes. She thought to herself:
At this rate, the rumor of a vicious female beggar should spread far and wide, right? They won’t bother me anymore, right?
Cheong’s thinking was too naive.
There was no way such a rumor would spread. What man would admit he got beaten by a beggar—a female beggar at that—and even paid her tuition before running away?
Instead, the rumor spread in the completely opposite direction.
It was because the men who had suddenly lost all their cash made up similar excuses to avoid being questioned. They also shared the childish mentality of not wanting to be the only one who suffered.
And so, ten days later, in the middle of April when flowers were in full bloom and spring was at its most brilliant, the money Cheong had earned purely from tuition fees filled her bag with silver and coins.
“What the hell is wrong with this neighborhood? Are they all in heat or something? Why isn’t the rumor spreading? Or are they coming because they want to get beaten? Even the black market is quiet. Maybe I should stop pretending to be a beggar.”
Cheong grumbled after creating another large bump on yet another man’s head.
Maybe it was because it was spring. Everyone was out enjoying the sunlight. The streets were absolutely packed with people.
Cheong lay there lazily, watching the people go by. Then suddenly, she felt a sense of discomfort and tilted her head.
Huh. Were there always this many women in this city?