Thorns Among the Five Flowers
Meanwhile, Jin Seol was on high alert. After all, Dang Nan-a was hardly someone she had a good relationship with. Even setting Dang Nan-a aside, the Five Flowers of Murim could never be called close. They were the sort who freely traded barbs and harsh criticisms about one another.
Their collective badmouthing went something like this: The Poison Flower used poison without regard for time or place. After she got caught at the Goryeon banquet and threw herself on the floor, wailing and playing the victim, everyone had grown sick of her. The Sword Flower treated anyone with a larger chest than hers like a public enemy of the Murim or her parents' mortal foe. Yet she herself had the smallest chest in the world. The Wise Flower acted like she was smarter than everyone else and looked down on them. Talk to her for even a moment and you would realize she was destined to live her whole life without friends. The Snow Flower had no expressions and no emotions. They said it was a side effect of her ice arts, but she lacked any human warmth and barely seemed like a person at all. She never spoke more than two words, so every answer was either "yes" or "no."
One might wonder how all five of the Murim's flowers could be so flawed, but if you deliberately set out to find faults, anyone would end up looking defective. The greater your affection for someone, the more their flaws became understandable and their strengths stood out. It was only because the Five Flowers disliked one another that their shortcomings seemed so glaring.
In any case, it was only natural that Jin Seol grew tense with the Poison Flower sitting right beside her. For starters, she had no idea why Dang Nan-a had come over. Bracing herself against the possibility of poisoning, Jin Seol launched a cautious probe.
"By the way, Nan-a. You seemed awfully close to that veiled Seomun girl earlier. What kind of person is she, that even the Poison Flower of the world would chase after her?"
Translation: Why is a girl who ranks among the Five Flowers playing maid and waiting on some veiled ugly wench?
"You. If you keep flaunting your chest like that, won't the blood stagnate? Though, were they always that heavy? Are you stuffing something underneath?"
Dang Nan-a responded with a clean dismissal.
"W-what are you talking about? They've always been like this, you know? I didn't put anything in there, okay?"
"I'm just worried about you. The human body is healthiest in its natural state. When it isn't, illness follows. If you let cold air into your chest and force it upward to hold it in place, the blood will clump later and cause real trouble. In the worst case, you might have to cut them off."
Jin Seol wavered. She had thought it was an attack, but it wasn't? What was this? Why was she pretending to be concerned?
"Hmm. You didn't just use oil—you powdered them too? That's why the veins show so blue? That's a really bad sign. If you develop a mammary abscess, you'll really have to cut them out."
"H-huh? That can't happen. Is it really serious?"
Jin Seol took the bait. Dang Nan-a was also well known as one of the few female physicians.
"It's hard to tell just by looking because of the powder. I'd have to examine it by touch. Should I take a look now? Tomorrow everyone's going to see the Yongbongjihoe together. We should do it while it's just the women."
"Uh, yeah. Okay……"
"Yeah, okay? Try asking properly. 'Please, Physician Dang,' or are you planning to go to the medical hall and bare your chest for some old man to take your pulse?"
It was a problem caused by the lack of female physicians. Women often endured pain in silence because they felt embarrassed about having their pulses read.
"Do you know what happens if it really turns into a mammary abscess? They'll call in all the medical students and say, 'Look at this, this is a mammary abscess. Feel here—this lump is a blood tumor risen from liver stagnation. Everyone take a turn so you remember the sensation.' They'll probably summon every disciple in the neighborhood and knead it like rice cakes."
Jin Seol's face went pale.
"P-please, Nan-a. Will you take a look? I've been feeling strangely sore lately……"
"Hmm. You could stand to be a little more polite."
Jin Seol bit her lip. Dang Nan-a smirked as if she had won.
"Well, a physician can't choose her patients. Let's put up a screen. Everyone heard that, right? If anyone else is worried, line up. While I'm at it, if you have any pain you can't talk about, I'll check that too."
Jin Seol realized her mistake. This woman was no longer trying to compete with poison—she was winning people over with medicine. Once she treated even someone she openly disliked like Jin Seol, every member of the Bonghwanghoe would feel free to run to her with any ailment. Dang Nan-a was a terrifying woman. And that Seomun Cheong girl too—going so far as to play maid. Just how much power did that veiled woman wield that she could make someone do something so out of character?
----
"Did you have fun?"
"Yeah. I went to see the Gongsun girl and the iron tower, and ate a ton of snacks. The iron tower was still impressive the second time. Whew, I'm stuffed. Snacks really fill you up."
"……? Was that your errand?"
In the Central Plains, "snacks" referred to every kind of treat besides proper meals. Skewered rice cakes counted as snacks, steamed buns with red bean paste counted as snacks, and so did tanghulu, candied fruit, and ginseng preserved in honey. If you asked for one of every kind available at a stall, even a grown adult would have more than enough to eat after just one bite of each.
"Ah, right. They're holding the Yongbongjihoe again tomorrow, aren't they? Are you going up the mountain? I heard the food there is excellent."
"I went for a walk earlier. It's surprisingly convenient when your face is covered. Tomorrow I should go eat the famous Kaifeng dish, the steamed dumplings in soup, and the crispy fried dumplings."
"Oh? If there's something like that, you should've told me first. Ugh, I'm full though."
"I didn't say we were going to eat them right now. Besides, I only heard about them while I was walking today."
"Steamed dumplings in soup—I can guess what that is just from the name. Dumplings with hot broth inside. What's the crispy one?"
"They pour batter over the dumplings while frying them to make them crunchy, apparently."
"Ah. Sounds delicious. If only I weren't so full."
"You can eat them tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's the Yongbongjihoe. They said there's going to be lots of good food."
Paeng Daesan's eyebrows twitched, though Cheong couldn't see it because of the bamboo hat.
"Banquet food is all flash and no substance. They make huge quantities from morning onward and keep serving it, so it either goes cold or gets reheated until the flavor is gone."
"What? If the food at a banquet is terrible, why even go?"
"The purpose of most banquets isn't the food."
"Hmm. I guess. Still, since we're going, we might as well greet people. I promised to meet Geom-u, and I should see Changbin too. Hyang-i is there as well. Do you know Jegal Hyang?"
"Should I?"
"Well, it's good to know people. Anyway, we'll be going separately tomorrow too? What will you do if our San gets lonely? Ah, save some of those dumplings and fried dumplings for me."
Twitch, twitch. Paeng Daesan's eyebrows moved again.
"You intend to eat cold dumplings? By the way, are you planning to keep wearing that to the Yongbongjihoe?"
"Hmm? Would that be rude?"
"No. If you want to avoid unnecessary trouble, it's better to keep it on."
"True. When I stayed at the Tang estate, those five or six brothers made things so awkward. The way those men stared with those hot gazes—ugh, it gave me chills. I really hate that. Are they insane or what?"
Cheong shuddered. How to describe it—honeyed gazes, perhaps. Those pepper-brained men would lock eyes with her in that lingering, greasy way. It had been a thoroughly revolting experience.
While they were passing the time with meaningless small talk, Dang Nan-a returned to the inn and plopped down right beside Cheong, leaning against her.
"Ah, I'm exhausted. It's been a while since I took pulses and I'm completely drained. Why is no one here healthy? If you're sick, you should see a physician……"
"What, you went to take pulses? At the Bonghwanghoe? Wow, that was surprisingly decent of you. But why the sudden change?"
"I just had something I wanted to check. I had a feeling, and sure enough. Ah, are we sleeping together tonight?"
"What? Who decided that?"
Dang Nan-a looked at Paeng Daesan and made a chihuahua-like growl.
"Then are you going to keep sharing a room with that guy? No matter how harmless a friend he is, men and women are different. Sharing a room isn't right. What do you have to say? Cheong-ah, who are you going to sleep with?"
"Anyone listening would think we deliberately booked only one room."
"Exactly. Since we didn't deliberately book only one room, there's no problem with Cheong-ah coming with me, right?"
Paeng Daesan frowned. If he answered like that, it really would sound as though they had only booked one room on purpose. He couldn't say no, so the answer was already decided, yet being forced into that position made irritation and stubbornness rise in him. She was doing this on purpose, the ill-tempered woman. Still, if he insisted on sharing a room, he would truly become the scheming one, so in the end he could only nod reluctantly beneath his bamboo hat.
----
The Yongbongjihoe wasn't a temporary event. Whenever there was a major gathering in the orthodox Murim, the rising stars would assemble, and that gathering was called the Yongbongjihoe. When the men met it was the Blue Dragon Society, when the women met it was the Bonghwanghoe, and when both met it was the Yongbongjihoe—a grandiose name for what was essentially just that. Of course, it was an important meeting where the next generation that would lead the orthodox Murim built friendships, so the name wasn't entirely undeserved.
"Cheong-ah, want to try wearing a danhyung? It would suit you really well."
The "hyung" in danhyung meant chest, and "dan" was an uncommon character meaning "to bare." The outfit Jin Seol had worn to the Bonghwanghoe yesterday was called a danhyung, or sometimes a "bursting chest outfit." For reference, "bursting chest" in the Central Plains simply meant exposing the chest, regardless of size.
Cheong answered incredulously.
"Hey. I'm from the Daoist sects too, you know?"
"Oh. Right. Cheong-ah's a Daoist as well."
Indeed, Seomun Cheong was a Daoist! An identity no one could have imagined. And Daoists wore Daoist robes. Whether they were allowed to wear them in private time varied by sect, but at the very least, they were required to wear them at official events.
"So I can wear them later? The Sinnyeo Sect doesn't allow it?"
"Not really, but……"
"Then let's go get one made after we're done today. I'll buy it for you. Okay?"
"Hmm. It looks stuffy just looking at it."
"It's not, okay? It's really comfortable. Plenty of women wear it because it's comfortable. Once you fix it in place like that, it doesn't even shake, so it's actually easier."
"What, Nan-a, you wear it like that too?"
"It's hot in the summer. It's so much cooler."
"Really? Do all Sichuan people dress like that? I'm going to Sichuan this summer. The Tang Clan has rooms, right?"
Dang Nan-a burst out laughing.
"I think you're misunderstanding. It's not some daring outfit. You just wear a long skirt with the chest lifted up to show your collarbones, then put on a thin outer robe that lets the breeze through—that's a danhyung."
"But yesterday that girl—what was her nickname again? Lily? How can someone's nickname be Lily? A talking lily, at that."
"That Lily girl goes a bit too far. Normally—no, nobody lowers it that much. I don't know how she walks around like that. If she's going to do that, she might as well just go naked. That's a sickness too, a sickness. You know what she does? When a man looks at her, she pretends not to notice and folds her arms to push them up even more."
"Hmm. She sounds like a fine young lady. So only that girl dresses like that. No wonder I'd never seen it before. Sichuan is canceled. Nothing worth seeing there."
Dang Nan-a giggled.
"You. You've got the best one yourself, so why are you looking at other people's? I've examined them all, and there's only one that's perfect in shape, size, texture, and weight. It's not that I'm weird—once you've experienced something like this, you really can't help it. Here, feel it. Wow, this is it. This—wow, this is—wow. I really can't describe it."
"Now you're just openly groping. Not letting go?"
Dang Nan-a withdrew her hand with a gentle, smiling glance. In truth, Dang Nan-a had changed her tactics entirely. According to medical texts, when a person was repeatedly exposed to a stimulus, they eventually grew accustomed to it and no longer found it special. She had taken that idea and created what she called the "make it normal" strategy.
If someone walked around doing handstands in the marketplace, at first people would think they were possessed or training strangely. But the novelty would only last a day or two. After a month, everyone would simply think, "Oh, that's just the person who walks around on their hands." That was how things became normal. That was exactly what Dang Nan-a was aiming for. And she was gradually seeing results. Dang Nan-a might act like an airhead, but fundamentally she was a cunning and terrifying villainess.
"Alright, Cheong-ah, let's go now. I got some good energy this morning and I'm bursting with strength."
Dang Nan-a smiled refreshingly and naturally took Cheong's hand. Seomun Cheong was officially heading out for the Yongbongjihoe.