The Riddle
The arrival of the renowned Wind Thunder Corps leader and the Blue Jade Token that had finally found its master after so long.
“The Blue Jade Token…”
“Just how powerful is her backing, really?”
The previously chaotic atmosphere in the Record Hall was now organizing itself around a single person.
I felt a bit awkward.
“Ahem. So, can I leave now?”
Of course, the person in question—me—found the current mood a little embarrassing.
I was the type who could stubbornly endure malice but grew weak beneath a barrage of praise and compliments.
I gritted my teeth.
“Ugh…!”
The ones watching this scene while grinding their teeth were Moyong Cheon and his gang.
Not only had they been completely ignored by someone they admired, but the woman they hated was being hyped up before she left. How could their feelings not be complicated?
It was truly adding insult to injury.
Yet the reason they stayed to watch this unpleasant sight was simple.
They were waiting for the words that would soon come from the clerk’s mouth.
“Um… Lady Yeonhwa?”
“Yes? Is there still something left to fill out?”
“It’s not that…”
The clerk pointed at my face.
“Within the Alliance, you cannot wear items that cover your face, such as a myeon-sa or a mask.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. So, I’m sorry, but could you please remove your myeon-sa?”
It was for identity verification that the Record Hall issued the token, so hiding one’s face made no sense.
This was why Paeng Ha-yun had removed her myeon-sa from the carriage earlier.
“Then I guess I have no choice.”
Heh heh heh.
Moyong Cheon let out a sly sneer.
Since she covered her entire face, she had to be extremely ugly.
Even if not, there must be at least some scar she wanted to hide, just like Paeng Ha-yun.
Let’s see you reveal your own weakness.
He was happily imagining how he would spread rumors about her hideous face.
But contrary to his expectations, my hand smoothly removed the myeon-sa.
And then—
“Huk!”
The hall erupted in murmurs.
“Why would someone with a face like that cover it up!”
“It’s not for nothing that the sayings ‘fish sink, geese fall’ and ‘moon hides, flowers blush’ exist.”
The aesthetic standards of the Central Plains had remained consistent from ancient times until now. They valued porcelain-like white skin and hair as black as ebony above all else.
If on top of that one possessed distinct features and an elegant aura, it was perfect.
Finally, adding a touch of the red color that Chinese people loved made it flawless.
With my pale skin, jet-black hair, and crimson eyes, I perfectly matched that ideal image of a woman.
I scratched my cheek.
“It’s not that much…”
As always, I simply felt awkward at how much everyone was fussing.
“Then it’s fine now, right? I’ll be going!”
So I escaped the Record Hall with my companions as if fleeing.
“Damn it!”
A situation where neither connections nor appearance could compare.
Moyong Cheon had been completely defeated on his home turf, the Murim Alliance.
And the Taoist who always stuck to him spoke up.
“Why are you so angry, Brother Moyong? Isn’t this a good thing instead?”
“A good thing? What do you mean, Heo Yeop?”
Heo Yeop. As the youngest among the first-generation disciples of the Qingcheng Sect, he was a rather worldly young man for a Taoist.
He and Moyong Cheon were a perfect match for each other.
“With such a beautiful woman, wouldn’t it be good to ‘build close relations’?”
“What? But she seems to have a strong background. If we mess up…”
“Haha. If both parties like it, what problem could there be?”
Heo Yeop smiled as he took out a small medicine bottle.
“Now that you mention it, that’s a great idea! The usual method we always use?”
“Exactly, Brother Moyong. I’ll pave the way for it.”
After leaving the Record Hall with the others.
“Then we’ll take our leave first with Mu-gang.”
“I also need to go see the elders.”
The short but eventful journey together had finally come to an end.
Since we had gathered due to our own circumstances, it was natural to part ways according to those circumstances.
“Lady Yeon, let’s definitely meet again next time.”
“Ahaha. You’re embarrassing me, Lady Paeng.”
Paeng Ha-yun seemed quite impressed. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
Her younger brother Paeng Mu-gang watched his sister’s mood and smiled awkwardly.
“I also hope to see you again once I become a Sixth Rank member. I won’t report about the Sword Force, so please rest assured.”
“Really? I thought you needed achievements.”
“The death of Danryeong Paebu Bae Man-gang alone is more than enough for achievements. I can’t possibly cause trouble for my benefactor.”
“Oh…”
His first impression had been that of a shameless beggar, but he seemed to have some sense of loyalty.
“Alright then, everyone stay healthy until we meet again. Especially you, Lady Paeng—contact me if anything happens, okay?”
“Yes!”
“Good.”
“Then we’ll see you next time!”
I waved vigorously at the three as they left.
So now I was finally alone?
There were two letters tucked inside my clothes.
One was a letter of introduction regarding Chief Strategist Jegal Yeong, and the other was a letter I had been asked to deliver to Namgung Byeok.
I had been wondering who to visit first, but—
“I didn’t expect you to be in the Military Department.”
“Hahaha, it is a bit surprising that the son of the Sword Emperor works in the Military Department, isn’t it?”
Unexpectedly, Namgung Byeok belonged to the Military Department rather than a combat unit.
“Unlike my older brother or younger brother, I don’t have much talent for martial arts. If I gain experience here, it might help with the family’s internal affairs later.”
“That sounds good. I heard the internal affairs became a mess because of Namgung Jaeyeong.”
“I knew his character was bad, but to think he’d join hands with the Heavenly Demon Sect’s lackeys…”
“So what happens to the Heavenly Demon Sect now?”
Since they had tried to kill the head of the Namgung Clan, something big should happen, right?
“The Alliance will issue a statement of condemnation, and they’ll try to kill any demonic heads who enter the Central Plains.”
“Huh? Isn’t that what they’re already doing?”
“It’s a bit funny, but… they’re already applying all kinds of sanctions. If they go any further, it’ll only lead to war.”
“Ah~”
So their relationship was already at rock bottom with nowhere further to fall?
“Still, this incident definitely crossed the line. We might invest capital to carry out secret operations.”
On the surface it was a peaceful era, but there seemed to be various conflicts beneath the surface.
“By the way, you said you wanted to see the Chief Strategist?”
“Yes. Here’s the letter of introduction from the Sword Emperor.”
“You’re lucky, Lady Yeon. You get to have a private meeting with that beautiful strategist.”
“Pardon?”
“The strategist is called the Heavenly Flower for a reason—she possesses both beauty and wisdom. Although years have passed, her beauty hasn’t faded at all—”
Why was this guy suddenly acting like this?
“I too was greatly shocked the first time I met her fifteen years ago. The reason I work in the Military Department is to see the strategist often—”
“Don’t tell me you have a crush on her?”
“What are you saying! The strategist is not someone a person like me could dare to covet!”
Namgung Byeok denied it with a bright red face.
No matter how you looked at it, he clearly had feelings for her…
“A-anyway, I’ll show you inside. We can’t keep the strategist waiting too long.”
Mint scent.
The first impression of a space is usually determined by smell.
No matter how visually beautiful it is, if it stinks you want to leave immediately. Conversely, even if it’s nothing special, a good scent makes you want to stay longer.
In that sense, Jegal Yeong’s office was the kind of place that made you want to linger.
The neatly arranged furnishings relaxed the eyes, and the subtle mint aroma refreshed even the mind.
“Hello?”
“Yes. Don’t stand there—come sit down.”
She used casual speech from our very first meeting, but it didn’t feel bad at all.
It felt like the friendly older sister from next door.
Whoa…
And the most surprising thing was her appearance.
I knew she was in her forties, but she didn’t look it at all. Her face was like that of someone who had just graduated from university.
Neither her sparkling blue eyes nor her fair, delicate skin showed any traces of time yet.
“I thought the old man sent a muscle-brained martial artist who only knows cultivation, but this is unexpected? To think it was such a pretty child.”
“It’s a bit embarrassing…”
Fortunately, she seemed to like her first impression of me. Jegal Yeong smiled while gently holding my hand.
“Hehe, sorry about that. When I see a pretty and talented child like you, I can’t help but want to cherish you. So, you had something to ask me?”
“Yes. It’s about a cultivation formula…”
I explained the eighth stage formula of the Guihua Preservation and asked for her opinion.
A few seconds later.
“‘After breaking the vessel, true qi appears on its own.’ Quite an extreme statement. ‘Maybe I have to destroy the dantian…’ You weren’t thinking that, were you?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“It probably isn’t that.”
“Really?!”
Phew. Good thing I came. If I had worried about it myself, it could have been disastrous.
Jegal Yeong opened a book and said.
“In the Book of Changes’ Appended Judgments, there’s a saying: ‘What is below form is called the vessel.’ So ‘vessel’ doesn’t simply mean a bowl but can also refer to all things that have form.”
“Hmm, it’s good news that I don’t have to destroy my dantian… but it seems even harder to understand now.”
According to that interpretation, ‘after breaking the vessel’ could be translated not as ‘after breaking the bowl’ but ‘after breaking the form.’
So what exactly was that form?
“That’s why you need to focus on the following phrase. If you grasp the overall atmosphere of the sentence, you can infer what the ‘vessel’ refers to.”
“Oh! That makes sense?”
As expected of the Murim Alliance’s Chief Strategist, her thinking was unhindered.
It seemed Namgung Seon’s comment that she was ‘the smartest person I’ve ever met’ wasn’t an exaggeration.
“True qi appears. It means genuine energy manifests. So…”
“So?”
“I don’t know beyond that.”
“What?!”
She had explained so well and now she says she doesn’t know?
“It’s embarrassing, but I’m still at the Peak Realm… so I’m not in a position to advise others about energy. This is a practical matter.”
“Then who should I ask?”
“An expert on energy, of course. Isn’t Mount Song right next to Luoyang?”
“Mount Song… you mean Shaolin Temple?!”
Shaolin Temple. A famous monastery known for its martial monks who practiced martial arts.
I didn’t really understand why monks would learn secular martial arts, but anyway, it was a place teeming with incredibly strong experts.
However—
“Women can’t enter Shaolin Temple…”
Shaolin Temple was traditionally a space forbidden to women.
Except for the outer court where donors made offerings, all areas prohibited female entry.
“You wouldn’t be able to enter the inner court, Lady Yeonhwa. But then couldn’t a monk just come out to the outer court?”
“Call a monk?”
“Yes. Then there wouldn’t be any procedural issues.”
Jegal Yeong picked up a brush and began writing something on paper.
“I’ll write one letter of introduction for you. If you have one more, even those arrogant monks will have no choice but to come out.”
“One more?”
“Yes. I heard rumors that you’re quite close with the Wind Thunder Corps leader. Get an introduction letter from that person.”
“Kek!”
Just visiting was burdensome enough, and now she wanted me to get an introduction letter too?
Still, for the sake of the Guihua Preservation, I had no choice.
Jegal Yeong put the written letter of introduction into my bosom and said.
“You still have one more thing to ask, don’t you?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Actually, there was one more thing I wanted to ask Jegal Yeong.
But it seemed too rude, so I had been holding back.
“It’s just… it’s okay. It seems too rude.”
“No, speak comfortably. When I was young, I asked about everything I was curious about. No matter how rude it was.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So ask me anything. Just like my seniors did for me, now it’s my turn to answer talented children.”
“Wow…”
“Hehe, wasn’t that cool just now?”
Was this what they called downward love?
If she said that much, it should be okay to ask, right?
“Um… I heard that female experts have menstruation even at a late age. Is that true? What about you, senior?”
It was common knowledge that the higher the expert, the slower they aged.
I had always been curious about this aspect… Today I could finally find out!
“Uh… that is quite a rude question…”
“Hehe, sorry.”
“Ahem. For now, I’m still quite active. And… I’ve heard that in the Harmonization stage—or rather, the Transcendent Realm—it continues quite late.”
Heard?
So Jegal Yeong had asked someone that question before too? As expected, people all think alike.
By the way, still active, huh. If I told Namgung Byeok this news, he’d be happy, right?