Peng Daesan, the Jade Qilin. Peng Daesan, the Most Handsome Man Under Heaven.
Peng Daesan hated these monikers.
He was genuinely sick of it
They were just names he got for being handsome, for having a good face. Any bastard who smiled and liked being called something like that wouldn't even deserve to be a Martial artist
Peng Daesan was twenty-two years old. At a mere twenty-two, he had reached the Mid Peak Realm. He was truly a martial genius bestowed by heaven, and among the rising talents of this generation, his achievement was the most outstanding.
But what? Jade Qilin? Most Handsome Man Under Heaven? Could there be such a humiliation in this world?
Just look at that Namgung Sinjae bastard. That Namgung Sinjae, who barely scraped into the Early Peak Realm, his moniker was none other than the Little Sword King. It meant the next Sword King. And Namgung Sinjae was even a year older than Peng Daesan!
He's the Little Sword King and I'm the Jade Qilin?!
So Peng Daesan got twisted.
But because he was fundamentally diligent, he didn't go completely off the rails.
Instead, he just completely forgot the concept of manners when it came to women.
Actually, it wasn't entirely Peng Daesan's fault.
Peng Daesan was the Murim's most eligible bachelor.
First off, he was handsome. His voice was good too.
He was the eldest son of one of the five greatest families in the Central Plains. Moreover, the Peng family was famous for being the only one among the Five Great Families that didn't engage in political marriages. Of course, this family tradition was maintained because they enjoyed treating other major families as "petty, small-minded, idiotic, penny-pinching fools who trade marriages."
The Peng family requires nothing but pure love in marriage! But you guys don't, do you? That was their vibe.
On top of that, Peng Daesan was a master.
And he was going to become even more of a master in the future.
He possessed looks, status, wealth, and skill.
Because of this, Peng Daesan was under the gaze of every woman within his radius, every waking moment, and sometimes even in his sleep.
The women who merely watched him were the better ones.
Along every path Peng Daesan walked, all sorts of random things would be abandoned on the ground.
From embroidered cloth fragments to incense pouches, cotton cloths, daggers, and even repulsive undergarments.
Because of this, Peng Daesan never bowed his head. He simply walked straight, looking only forward.
More proactive women would even attempt body slams.
The very idea of "accidentally" bumping into a Peak Realm Master was already a bust, but they harbored an inflated ego, thinking he would catch them if they fell.
Peng Daesan couldn't decide whether to laugh or scoff at the women who flung themselves to the ground.
At any rate, Daesan had been experiencing extreme difficulties with women ever since he was young.
It was an extreme case of a "peach blossom curse. ( negative romantic outcomes like promiscuity or unwanted attention)"
So, in front of women, Peng Daesan became increasingly rude. He lost all his manners. It was his way of saying, "I'm not interested, so fuck off."
In fact, A-Qing's approach didn't surprise Peng Daesan.
He had experienced all sorts of bizarre incidents, supposedly part of "differentiated dating strategies."
He even had a rough classification system. If he had to classify A-Qing, he'd say she mixed the "bold woman" strategy with the "funny woman" strategy.
Successful cases of the "funny woman" strategy were rare, so A-Qing's move was indeed noteworthy.
He hadn't laughed in a long time.
He hadn't expected the "Asura" bit.
What a blasphemous joke.
And then came the "rough woman" strategy. Though, the level of coarseness, like something a back-alley thug would say, was rather unexpected.
But then he got punched in the face! What the hell was this? Was this some idiotic romance trope, like "You're the first woman who ever hit me"?
As a result, Peng Daesan genuinely got pissed off.
His already low voice dropped even further, fueled by rage.
"I've dealt with all kinds of crazy bitches, but you—"
A subtle killing intent laced his voice. Responding to that killing intent, A-Qing's Heavenly Slaughter star opened its eyes.
However, the truth was, once activated, she became a truly deranged bitch, swayed by the killing intent of her Heavenly Slaughtering Star. It was a passive urge for slaughter. By nature, when intoxicated by the Heavenly Slaughtering Star's killing intent, one finds pleasure in carnage and bloodbaths.
"Why you pissed? Oive dalt wibb arr koinds wof cravy vitches, vut. But what? Does lowering your voice make you the shit or something? Hehe."
"Don't copy me."
"Von't coby vee. Why? What're ya gonna do? Wanna punch me?"
When it came to taunting, no nation in this world, at least, could catch up to modern Koreans.
Peng Daesan trembled uncontrollably. Burning fury consumed him.
"I will not tolerate any further insults."
"I wun't tulerate any purfur mulsults… Hey!"
CLANG! A sharp sound as sword and saber clashed.
"You hit first? Self-defense, right? You really wanna go? Fine, I always said why talk when you've got a good blade."
"I won't kill you. But I'll cut off that reckless tongue of yours."
"Can you even cut it off? Here, try it. Ble-egh!"
A-Qing stuck out her tongue. Her unusually red tongue flickered alluringly.
"Ble-e-e-egh!"
But her tongue stayed out for a bit too long.
She really doesn't know when to stop. What kind of crazy bitch is this?
At this point, Peng Daesan was actually disheartened. Although his anger had exploded and he'd drawn his saber, A-Qing's even wilder, more chaotic behavior made him feel self-loathing instead.
But he couldn't just give up like this. His pride as a Mid Peak Realm Master wouldn't allow it. So he just had to show a little bit of his Mid Peak Realm power…
It was at that moment. A-Qing's sword was imbued with Sword Qi. White threads, coiling and swaying, were clearly visible. Sword silk. The technique of a Late Peak Realm Master.
If you break through the wall beyond the Transcendent Peak Realm and continue onward, you reach a supreme realm called the Harmony Realm
It was also called the Unrestrained Realm.
And what if you overcome even the Unrestrained Realm
At that point, the body rejuvenates just once, turning back time to regain its youth. This was called body reconstruction
A martial artist who had undergone body reconstruction was, in essence, a monster in human skin, a demon in the mortal world.
A fight is only valid between equals.
Humans and monsters cannot fight. It would be called a unilateral massacre.
"Wh-which venerated senior are you?"
"What? Stopping here? Ugh, you're gonna stop halfway through a shit."
How could such words and actions possibly come from a woman?
But when he considered that she might be a supreme master who had undergone body reconstruction, it suddenly made sense. Come to think of it, didn't his grandmother talk like that sometimes too? Women must get foul-mouthed when they get old, he thought.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Peng Daesan of the Peng family."
"I'm A-Qing."
Their honorifics had reversed at some point.
A-Qing smiled contentedly, thinking, This bastard's scared. See? In the Murim, the strongest one is the law.
◇─◇────◆─◈─◆────◇─◇
Peng Daesan's misunderstanding didn't last more than half an hour
A-Qing was overflowing with ignorance every time she opened her mouth. More than ignorance, it was a matter of basic common sense. To someone unaware of the circumstances, it was all the same.
In reality, A-Qing didn't even know why, what, or how Peng Daesan had misunderstood. So the misunderstanding was easily cleared up.
After that, Peng Daesan faced a new crisis. So this crazy woman is a higher-level master than me?
"Excuse me, but, Young Lady, how old are you?"
"Me? I'm…"
A-Qing pondered for a moment.
Saying she was in her mid-thirties felt a bit off. Anyway, they wouldn't believe her even if she did. There should have been at least one person who pretended to believe her.
Then again, it felt weird to treat someone who was just a baby as her senior.
Baby. From A-Qing's original perspective, a young man in his early twenties was still a baby who hadn't even gone to the military yet.
This was a very common and natural psychology for modern Koreans.
Besides, he might be well-off, but he's weaker than me, right?
"You first, Young Master Peng."
"I am twenty-two this year."
"I'm twenty-five."
"…Really? Is that true?"
Peng Daesan's eyes, full of disbelief, darted at her.
"I just look young for my age."
"Are you serious?"
"Mmm."
Lying too much accumulated bad karma. Insisting she was in her mid-thirties was true in some ways. So she could push it shamelessly. No one believed her though.
But what if she had to state the age of this body? It wasn't worth accumulating bad karma over. A-Qing answered honestly.
"…Actually, I don't know either. I'm about seventeen, but I don't know if I'm precocious or really about twenty-five and just look young."
"How could you not know your age—no."
Peng Daesan absentmindedly asked again, then waved his hand as a sudden thought struck him.
"A-Qing" meant "blue-clothed child." It was also the nickname of the woman known as the absolute master of the Spring and Autumn period, the Yue Maiden.
The Yue Maiden apparently always wore blue clothes.
According to historical records, she suddenly appeared in the Kingdom of Yue during a crisis and taught them the Yue Maiden Sword Art.
However, the sword art was so miraculous and difficult that no one could properly master it.
They only managed to create a sword manual by imitating the visible sword forms.
Even that alone was a formidable divine art.
Armed with this divine art, the Kingdom of Yue attacked and destroyed the Kingdom of Wu.
Ultimately, the character of A-Qing was an idol for female martial artists in the Murim. She was also an idol for women who dreamed of the Murim.
A woman who had appropriated such a famous name for herself. And then claimed not to know her own age.
Peng Daesan began to misunderstand again, in his own way.
Could it be that she was an orphaned wanderer?!
However, this misunderstanding was not of the easily resolved kind. He couldn't exactly ask if she had no parents.
Perhaps the "Asura" comment was actually meant seriously. A woman who grew up alone might have been at a loss for an answer when asked about her progenitor.
A surname isn't just the first letter of a name; it's the pride of one's roots and lineage. It seemed she had grown up completely unaware of such things.
And that uneducated, vulgar speech! That idiotic ignorance!
"No. I misspoke. I apologize."
"What? Why do I suddenly feel bad…?"
A-Qing cocked her head. She felt strangely annoyed. What is it? Is the status window acting up again?
"Whatever. Forget it. Anyway, since we seem to be peers, let's just be friends."
"Peers, huh...."
Peng Daesan had never heard someone of his age call him a peer.
Her choice of words was a bit…Right?
Regardless, A-Qing had her own agenda.
He was clearly a rich kid. Befriending him seemed like a perfect way to leech off of him.
If he was her "younger brother," it wouldn't look good to freeload. And she certainly couldn't call a "baby" her older brother.
"Got it? So we're friends, right? Okay, San?"
Peng Daesan was flustered. Men and women were distinct, how could she just casually call him "San"?
"Uh, Young Lady? Even if we're friends, 'San'?"
"When I say 'San!', you should immediately say 'Qing!' San?"
"No matter what, it's not proper for a man and woman to be so informal…"
"Hey, what's gender got to do with friendship?"
"Isn't it usually the other way around?"
A-Qing retorted confidently.
"Right. Even if there are no friends between a man and a woman, wouldn't overcoming that be true friendship?"
"Hmm?"
It subtly made some sense.
"Got it? San? San? San? San?"
She was an extremely pushy and loud woman. It was clear she'd keep talking until he agreed. Peng Daesan reluctantly responded.
"…Qing."
"Your voice is too quiet! Again! San?"
"…Qing."
"I can't hear you! San?"
"Qing."
"San?"
"QING! QING! Alright, I get it, stop pestering me already! Just stop!"
Peng Daesan roared.
A-Qing grinned, satisfied.