Chapter 355: Journey to Naknyeong (8)

“Go inside and get some sleep. You must be exhausted. You’ve got to save your strength first.”

“Mm. That’s true.”

Zayu nodded obediently.

That left Qing speechless.

She’d been planning to convince him — saying he needed sleep to recover, so he wouldn’t drag them down later — but she hadn’t expected him to agree so easily.

Inside the crevice, Yeon Pa was deep in breathing and energy circulation.

Looking closer, her face still looked like ten overlapping layers — but at least now, her complexion had the hue of the living.

Zayu, lying down some distance away so as not to disturb her, suddenly asked, as if remembering something:

“Don’t people normally take turns standing watch?”

“I’ll wake you when it’s your turn. Just sleep for now.”

“Alright then.”

As if.

Qing couldn’t help but snicker.

Zayu must have been exhausted — he fell asleep almost immediately, breathing deep and steady.

For someone born noble, probably used to the finest beds, to fall asleep so easily in the wilderness — even with the fallen leaves making it soft — meant he was truly worn out.

Well, wearing two thick fur coats must’ve made things comfy enough.

Qing lay down outside the crevice.

If she had to stand watch anyway, no point sitting or standing stiffly —

Classic excuse of people who could sleep anywhere, anytime.

The moonlight was bright.

But... was that a full moon?

Didn’t seem like full moon season — probably not.

Still, considering how everything had looked like a mashed blur when she’d left Zhangjiajie, her vision had improved a lot.

But... is this normal?

Aren’t eye injuries supposed to be permanent?

Since she’d gotten hurt, her eyes had been tingling — oddly like they were healing.

Same unique sensation she’d felt when she damaged her spinal nerves back in the Demonic Cult days —

That “Dear body owner, don’t panic — nerves are under repair, feel free to resume daily life” signal.

But do eyes even heal like that?

If they did, why would anyone need glasses or surgery?

Should’ve read medical texts instead of wasting time on Korean history.

Maybe it’s just a naturally healing injury?

Or her constitution?

High health stats?

Or invisible health bars slowly refilling?

Should I just be glad and not overthink it?

But good fortune always comes with a price, unlike random misfortune.

Qing opened her shimmering mission window.

Probably tied to the... what was it, the Hwangryong Conflict? Something like that.

The text blurred too {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} much to read — just guessing.

It was tied to her friend, so she tried to focus, but the letters floated away when she leaned in and stayed out of reach when she pulled back.

Ugh, what’s with these useless convenience features?

What if I go blind?

Will it read itself aloud?

Or will new eyeballs just sprout later?

It wasn’t like a math problem — no amount of thinking would solve the mystery.

And she sucked at math anyway — gave up ages ago.

While Qing simmered with pointless frustration—

Rustling footsteps.

Not Zayu — he stomped through leaves like a herd of cattle.

Meaning only one possibility.

“Feeling better?”

“You shameless girl, sprawled out like some lowborn, lying flat in the open... I thought you promised to stand watch but passed out instead?”

“Not like I can see much right now. I’m focusing with my ears.”

“Hmph. Good. That’s right. How dare you slack off when there’s danger everywhere? You mustn’t. Absolutely not. Not at all.”

Yeon Pa kept repeating “not at all” endlessly.

Qing giggled.

“Thanks, but I only did it ‘cause it’d be a waste not to use the medical skills I learned. They’d get rusty otherwise.”

Hard to say thank you directly —

But Yeon Pa looked just like the classic venomous mother-in-law.

So much for ‘physiognomy is a lie’ — guess it’s science after all.

Well, with all of Zhongyuan’s history as samples...

“Ahem. You’ve got sharp instincts, I’ll give you that. I like that. Girls need good instincts.”

Then, a faint chuckle.

“Fate’s funny, isn’t it? Thought you were just another wild, useless girl causing chaos — turns out, not entirely hopeless.”

“Oh? But guys can run wild and it’s fine?”

“As if men can escape their lowly birth? They’ll stay common and pass on their worthless surnames — what’s the harm in them acting lowly? But women are different.”

Men stayed lowborn forever, but women could climb the ranks — back home, they called that marrying up.

Qing wavered.

Would Master explode hearing this, or... maybe not?

“Especially you. You should always carry yourself neatly — behave like a graceful noblewoman.”

Always composed, elegant, dignified —

A martial heroine with poise —

Master said that all the time...

Though lately, she’d given up? Maybe?

Feeling indignant, Qing muttered:

“Why’s it always me?”

“Ugh. Such poor instincts for someone praised for sharp instincts! What’s the point if you’re blind to obvious things? Tsk tsk.”

“You just said you liked my instincts—”

“Hmph. Didn’t you claim to be His Highness’s close friend? They say, judge a person by their friends. If you run wild, doesn’t that disgrace His Highness?”

“Alright, I’ll work on it.”

Yeon Pa nodded.

“Good. At least you said the right thing.”

Then she got to the point:

“Take His Highness and leave. This old hag will cause as much chaos as possible — shouldn’t be hard for you. But guard him with your life.”

“I’ll need to hear Zayu’s opinion on that.”

“Tch. When your elders speak, you listen.”

Qing shook her head.

“Leaving like that’ll only hurt Zayu more. We haven’t even done anything yet, and I’m supposed to ditch him?”

“Protecting the noble comes first — I accepted that long ago. It’s a lowborn’s duty.”

Qing’s face crumpled.

“Why do you keep saying ‘lowborn’ and ‘noble’? What, you think royal blood’s liquid gold or something?”

“Ha! You’re showing your true colors now. Anyone with eyes can tell gold’s worth more than straw. Talking like that — you sound like a rebel. Lowborn talk like lowborn, naturally.”

“If you’ve got a thousand taels of gold but need a fire, straw’s worth more, isn’t it? And for the record, I’ve got royal blood too. I could be a princess if I wanted.”

“Ha! Why don’t you announce to the whole world you plan to rebel?”

“Marching around with armed guards isn’t rebellion?”

Veins bulged on Yeon Pa’s forehead.

Her nape stiffened — another word, and she’d explode.

But her next words came with a sigh:

“Anyway, Zayu probably values Yeon Pa over gold. So stop saying things like that.”

“You naïve child. You haven’t seen how cruel this world is.”

If she had seen, Qing would’ve turned into a demon by now — but Yeon Pa didn’t know.

She just saw a soft-hearted girl, lacking the ruthlessness needed to stay by His Highness’s side.

Though... in a way, she approved.

That softness suited His Highness.

Like eating all the side dishes before the main course —

Back home, they called it drinking kimchi soup before the rice.

“Anyway... did you learn how many of them there are? I caught a few and questioned them — they’re all from different factions. Total headcount’s over a thousand.”

“Looks like the Iron Banner bastards gathered here. If they pulled northern troops this far south, who’s guarding the border?”

Qing cautiously asked:

“What about the others...?”

“The Embroidered Guards, the Eastern Depot — the whole area’s locked down. Iron banners everywhere. This old hag has skills, so I’m alive — the rest are probably dead. Got any bright ideas?”

“Not yet. Let’s watch the situation a few days. You’ll be able to move freely in three, four days, right? From what I saw, their discipline’s crap, patrols sloppy, no real focus. I’m thinking of tailing them tomorrow.”

“I’ll let you try, but if you mess around, I’ll scream bloody murder — they’ll swarm us, and you’ll have to flee with His Highness.”

“What kind of threat is that?”

Basically, ‘if it gets bad, I’ll sacrifice myself to buy time.’

A suicidal old lady plan.

Seeing Qing’s expression, Yeon Pa chuckled like a dying elder —

Then pulled out another secret manual.

“Take this too.”

Qing recognized it instantly —

Her martial window flashed with a new technique alert.

Holding the manual close to her nose, she squinted hard, reading each character:

“Jeon, Ryun, Ma, Geop... Eh? Isn’t this one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts?”

“Know why noble birth matters? If a lowborn learns it, it’s an evil Demonic Art. If a noble learns it, it becomes a divine, wondrous technique. That’s the way of the world. I’m not long for this world — keep it, use it, or don’t.”

“Isn’t a Demonic Art still demonic no matter what?”

“You’re a peak Daoist already — your mind’s trained. Learning one Demonic Art won’t twist your soul. It’s ruthless, but there aren’t many arts that control Qi this well. Besides, I told you — noble girls can learn Demonic Arts too.”

Qi-control Techniques —

Arts that manipulate Qi in unique, often bizarre ways.

Qing’s Qi-control Techniques included Heavenly Demon Light Beam and Heavenly Demon Finger, firing focused rays of energy from her fingertips.

She gave me a Demonic Art? What’s that mean?

Obviously, the old hag expected to die —

Handing over techniques like putting her affairs in order.

So Qing accepted the manual.

A silent agreement — if worst came to worst, she’d abandon Yeon Pa.

As a martial artist, Qing wasn’t naïve enough to think courage and grit solved everything.

But... noble girls learning Demonic Arts, huh?

Yeon Pa smiled.

“Come to think of it, I gave you the Neungpami-bo, didn’t I? How is it? Total mess of a technique, isn’t it?”

“Mm... kinda, yeah.”

Qing answered, thinking of how the art made her always pop up behind enemies — perfect for escape.

But Yeon Pa misunderstood:

“Doesn’t even feel human-made, right? Countless lives spilled over that damn manual. Be careful.”

“Huh? It’s impossible to master, then?”

“Hmph. What, you managed to learn it? Even a rough imitation—”

Yeon Pa’s words cut off.

Lying down, Qing’s form split eight ways, scattering into the shadows in all directions.

“Mm. I still don’t get why you made it so I always appear behind enemies...”

Yeon Pa rubbed her eyes, confused.

What... the hell did I just see?