The Dragon and Phoenix Meet, But I Feel a Bit Sorry for Them
I wasn't sorry about the Dragon Phoenix Assembly, but I did feel a little bad for them. Savoring the bitter aftertaste of the liquor, Cheong was just about to turn around, thinking she should grab Gongson Yoye and head back to their lodgings, when—
"Oh! Isn't that Hyang?"
A tiny figure came scampering out and threw herself into Cheong's arms. The child's head pressed firmly against her upper belly, creating a sensation like being nuzzled. Cheong couldn't see it, so she only felt it. Since it was out of Cheong's sight, it was the same for the child.
"Huh? I can't see Big Sis Gaga..."
"Hyang. If you're too close, there are things you won't be able to see. Could you take a step back for me?"
When Jegal Hyang stepped back, the child's face finally came into view.
"Our Hyang looks even prettier today. Did you put on makeup? But if you didn't want to wear it, you should have said something. Why wipe it on your uniform?"
"Hup."
"Oh dear, it's all smudged now."
In the Central Plains, talking about makeup inevitably brought up the name of the greatest beauty of all time, Seossi. Seossi's frowning face had become a fixed obsession among the people of the Central Plains—a bizarre fetish that made them lose their minds over sorrowful expressions.
Thus, they would apply a faint red tint around the eyes on a pale face to recreate the flushed look of a woman who had been crying. Everything else—the eyebrows and lips—was left to the wearer's preference. They might draw the start of the eyebrows slightly upward toward the forehead to create a frown, or paint only the center of the lips bright red in the shape of a cherry.
Jegal Hyang's red eye makeup had smeared all the way to both sides, clearly because she had wiped her face on the chest of her uniform. The white powder was probably just an added bonus.
Seeing Jegal Hyang fidgeting awkwardly after her mistake, Cheong burst into clear laughter. The child, catching the laughter, spread both arms wide and lifted them up.
"Aww, aren't you just the cutest thing."
Cheong lifted the child into her arms and glanced around. Jegal Hyang wouldn't have been alone, so—ah, there he comes.
"Sister, I'm sorry. Hyang seems to follow you especially well. She was already throwing a fit saying she missed you, and now this. Hyang, you shouldn't act so spoiled toward Sister in a place like this."
"No, no. It's fine. Actually, I was missing Hyang earlier too. Hmm? Why was I missing her again? Whatever. The important thing is that she's here, right?"
"That's right!"
"By the way, what on earth is all this commotion?"
"Yeah. What is this mess, indeed."
It wasn't something the person who caused it should say, but since Cheong hadn't planned any of it, she had simply been dragged into the scheme while drinking on the seventh floor.
"Big Sis, Big Sis, I want to eat a peach."
"Now you're ordering me around like a servant? If you weren't so cute, I swear... Alright, shall we go find some peaches?"
Since all the tables on the first floor had been cleared away, they would have to go upstairs to find peaches. As Cheong climbed the stairs, another beauty from the seventh floor came clicking down in her heels. She brushed right past Cheong without even glancing at her.
The difference from before was that Cheong now had two members of the Jegal Clan clinging to her.
"Who was that beauty who just passed by? How should I put it... she's pretty? Yeah. Pretty."
"Are you referring to Seol I-ri of the Ice Snow Flower?"
"Ah. So it doesn't have to be four characters?"
"If we tried to combine them, it would become something like Ice Blossom or Cold Ice, which just doesn't sound right. She's been staying at the Murim Alliance for about five years as a guest from the Ice Palace."
"Hmm. I wonder if there's any way to get close to her."
"Even with your dog-like affinity for making friends, Sister, becoming close with Snow Flower would be difficult. In five years, she hasn't interacted with anyone. She simply wishes to be left alone."
"Hmm. There are people like that too. But Jegal. Dogs are humanity's friends. And dogs also bite people. Do I really have to act like a dog? You're really pushing it lately, aren't you?"
"Haha. Sister. Aren't both your arms currently sealed? If you don't act out now, when will you—urk."
Jegal Ihyeon, who had been precisely stabbed in the tailbone, rubbed his backside and hopped around with heavy thuds. A giant a full handspan taller than Cheong was bouncing around, making the entire staircase vibrate and shake.
At the sight, Jegal Hyang burst into delighted giggles. Cheong folded her outstretched leg at the knee, planted both feet firmly on the stairs again, and spoke.
"If you want to seal me, bring two more Hyangs. Hang one on each leg, and only then could you say I've truly been sealed."
"Ugh. There isn't a child in the world as cute as our Hyang."
"Then the sealing is doomed from the start."
"How is it that every kick you throw lands precisely on my vital points? Even for me, getting hit in the bone hurts."
"Anyway, isn't your butt packed full of muscle? Kicking it would only hurt my foot."
"Well, um. Muscle. That's right. Speaking of that time you visited... about the National Martial Unrivaled Training Grounds..."
That was when someone who recognized them spoke up the moment they reached the top of the stairs, cutting Jegal Ihyeon's words short.
Oh! Who is this! The honorable victor of the drinking contest! Hahaha, I saw it well.
"Ah, Brother Jo."
"Oho. The young lady already knows me. That's right, I am indeed Brother Jo—Jo Hak-cheo."
The great-grandson of the Murim Alliance Leader, successor of the Black Dragon Clan, and the guy the members of the Heavenly Martial Corps affectionately called "the crazy bastard obsessed with women," Jo Hak-cheo.
Cheong felt a momentary jolt of guilt. Come to think of it, hadn't she been wearing that exact face veil when she saw him last? Should she cover her mouth?
But it was a needless worry. The face veil Jo Hak-cheo had seen on the flower beggar was so filthy and stained that it looked like the worst kind of rag imaginable. The current one, however, was clean. Even Paeng Daesan had asked if it was originally that color, so there was no way he would connect the two. The original had been a national treasure-level veil that should have been offered to a princess.
"I think you've misunderstood, Young Master. I lost the drinking contest."
"Who would think that? On the contrary, I was deeply impressed by the generosity you showed. After all, isn't a woman's silk-like heart the most important thing, no matter what anyone says?"
Cheong's eyebrows twitched. This guy, what the...?
"From what I heard, Young Master Jo is quite the womanizer. If you'll pardon me asking, do you not have a lover?"
"That is correct. This Jo Hak-cheo is still a man who has never dated, waiting for his fated match. But for you to ask that..."
"It doesn't mean anything. You just looked like that kind of person."
At that, a giggle burst out. It came from right behind Jo Hak-cheo.
"Oppa, the way you talk is why you get cursed out. Who in the world compliments a woman's heart like that, you idiot?"
"Huh? Then what should I do?"
"Why. Just call her ugly and throw a tantrum. Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult Lady Seomun's feelings..."
"No, it's fine. I don't really care about that sort of thing."
It was only when someone ugly was called ugly that their feelings would be hurt. Since Cheong knew she was a beauty—to the point that she was still startled every time she looked in a mirror—she could simply chuckle at being called ugly and move on.
"I'm Jo Yeong-yeong. Um, I've been on the seventh floor the past couple of days, and after seeing you verbally destroy people, I decided to respect you. So, is that okay?"
"Well, that would be up to you, wouldn't it, Miss?"
At that, Jo Yeong-yeong's expression bloomed. In truth, when women said they wanted to respect someone with their words, it usually meant they wanted to join their faction. Similar roundabout expressions included "You're so pretty I want to call you Unnie" or "I want to do your makeup"—indirect ways of saying they wanted to stay close while praising the other person.
But of course, Cheong had no way of knowing that.
"Respect? Of course I have more than a few respectable qualities, but I don't think I've shown anything particularly good on the seventh floor these past two days."
"No! It's because I originally have a bit of a potty mouth. The men of the Black Dragon River are such idiots that they only pretend to understand if you curse them out, so I can't help it. It's not an excuse, it's the truth. Our women are a bit like that."
"It's true, Sister. The women of the Black Dragon River are famous in the Central Plains for having the strongest—"
"Jegal, shut up. If the men of the Black Dragon River are all like Brother Jo, I can understand. So?"
"After seeing you calmly and thoroughly destroy people with words these past two days, I realized you don't even need to use vulgar language to do that. The truth is, my speech is so trash that I can't open my mouth anywhere. I feel like I'm going to die of embarrassment. They always call me a bitch with a rag in her mouth and make me sit in the corner so I can't even speak."
"Hmm. Actually, my original way of speaking isn't very refined either. Right now I'm being polite because there are people around, but otherwise, I'm quite something, you know?"
In truth, she wasn't just "quite something." Cheong was the Central Plains' foremost expert in profanity. Wasn't she the one whose formless, deadly tongue had even impressed the Taesang Elder of the Tang Clan?
"That's right! Sister's profane words are always so fresh and thrilling to this Jegal that every moment fills me with awe and naturally inspires respect. Truly, it is the greatest under heaven!"
Jegal Ihyeon agreed with exaggerated enthusiasm.
Cheong let out a small laugh and said, "My master put a lot of effort into teaching me. Yeah. That's right. If you stay at the Goddess Sect for just one season, you can become like this. If you're truly desperate, I can speak to my master—"
"Ah! Please do!"
"If that's what you really want."
Cheong smiled with satisfaction, already mourning for her in advance. Because her master's education came with pain. There's no way I'm suffering through that good stuff alone.
While that was happening, yet another person approached.
"Lady Seomun! Are you alright? It looked like you drank quite a lot. Here, please have some rock candy."
"Oh dear, my hands are full right now."
This time it was Gongson Cheon-il, the burdensome younger brother of Gongson Yoye.
At that, the usually good-natured and melancholic eyes of Jo Hak-cheo suddenly turned fierce like a wild beast. Ah. So that's what it is. The thing where if there was only one woman in the group, every man looked at the others like enemies.
Gongson would open his mouth and spew greasy lines, Jo Hak-cheo would grind his teeth every time, and the two would keep interrupting each other with obvious comments, only for Jo Yeong-yeong to curse them out. Since Gongson Cheon-il's level of skill in sweet-talking women was on another plane entirely, there was simply no competition.
"Big Sis Gaga. That peach..."
"Ah. Right. I completely forgot because of these people. Okay, let's go find some peaches. Now then, where could the peaches be~?"
"Where could the peaches be~?"
Jegal Hyang echoed Cheong's humming as she searched for peaches. Why is this kid so cute? It's unreal.
While she played with Jegal Hyang like that, three men trailed behind them like ducklings. Goodness, what the hell is this picture?
They kept saying things like her voice was truly beautiful, her hands were so beautiful, and the way she played with the child was beautiful. And this Jo guy—what didn't he call beautiful? Cheong, who had become beautiful in every way except her face, firmly resolved to avoid Brother Jo whenever she saw him.
In comparison, the one who kept offering practical advice like drinking something beforehand to lessen the hangover, or finding a peach and perfectly skewering it on a stick to give to Jegal Hyang, was the burdensome but attentive Gongson brother. He was definitely the better of the two.
In the end, Cheong, unable to endure it any longer, promised Jegal Hyang that she could come play at the top floor of Mucheon Pavilion next time and escaped.
The Gongson brother carried the soundly sleeping Gongson Yoye on his back and neatly loaded her into the carriage.
"Please take good care of my sister. She's a wall-like idiot who's completely blocked off and frustrating, and her stubbornness is so strong it can't be broken. Sigh."
The muttered words hidden behind the sigh—"Stupid bitch"—were caught by Cheong's sharp hearing. But despite saying that, his eyes were overflowing with pity. No matter what, he was a younger brother who took care of his sister.
At that, Cheong let out a small, airy chuckle.