The escort leader of the Kunpeng Escort Agency, Sang Anjin, was astonished.
What in the world is that woman's charisma? She just made friends with the legitimate heir of the Hebei Peng family in an instant? It seemed clumsy at first glance, but it was an astonishing feat.
Moreover, she was a master of the Late Peak Realm! The world was vast and full of eccentric talents, so it wasn't strange for such a master to remain unknown.
However, Sang An-jin was an Escort Leader, basically the pillar of an escort agency. If a leader just brushed it off, thinking, "Oh, there are many eccentric masters!" then he'd have no excuse if he was fired on the spot. Pillars were plentiful, and an agency wouldn't collapse just because one was gone.
Connections! I smell connections!
A young master was indeed a rare commodity. The "young" part was more important than the "master" part.
And she was still an unknown, wild card.
In some ways, she was even more valuable than the eldest son of the Peng family.
The eldest son of the Peng family already had an overflowing network of strong connections. The Kunpeng Escort Agency operated across two provinces. But it was simply incomparable to the Hebei Peng family, which was practically a royal house in Hebei.
No matter how well Sang Anjin treated Peng Daesan, it was essentially just breaking even. It was a given that the Peng family would receive such treatment.
But A-Qing was different. She was clearly impoverished, just look at her greedily stuffing food down her throat until her stomach looked like it would burst! It merely reconfirmed the fact that she had lived a life of hardship.
"So the Steamed Pork is to your liking? Hey, you there!"
"Does the steamed pork suit your taste? Hey, over here!"
"Oh, you don't have to order more. It's fine…"
"How can you say that? Bring us more steamed pork!"
"No, you really don't have to…"
A-Qing's voice trailed off, half-gratification, half-embarrassment.
"Three plates, huh? You are quite shameless. But that's to be expected."
"What, you bastard? Wanna fight?"
"Was it really that delicious, you cleaned the plate twice?"
"You don't lose anything by eating when you have the chance, you know?"
Peng Daesan sighed deeply. She wasn't shameless (though she was, to be fair); it was mostly a huge lack of common sense. Then again, given her appearance, how much experience could she have had being treated well?
"Empty plates are rude."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, licking a plate so clean is rude. You should leave at least a couple of bites."
A-Qing didn't understand.
"Leave food behind?"
"Yes."
"It's rude if I don't leave food?"
"Didn't you know?"
"Why would you leave precious food behind?"
It was an outburst on the level of "Why do you eat? Why do you sleep? Why do you breathe?" Peng Daesan clucked his tongue. Tsk!
"Listen. An empty plate at the table shames the host."
"Like a scar on a swordsman's back shames him?"
"…? What the…? …? Well, that makes sense, but."
The only thing a guest was allowed to empty was alcohol. All food should be left with a little bit remaining. An empty plate was an act that made the host lose face. Whether one was poor or petty, it implied that they hadn't been able to properly entertain their guests.
A guest emptied the same plate twice?
Your hospitality was not satisfactory today, so the only dish worth eating was this, hahaha.
That's what it implied.
A-Qing's eyes went wide.
"Escort Leader, I made a mistake because I didn't know…"
"Haha, it's quite alright!"
Sang Anjin had already noticed A-Qing's ignorance.
Actions done out of ignorance were not rude, they said. It was rude to not act even when you knew.
"So I have to leave something, no matter what?"
"It doesn't matter for a simple meal. But when you're being treated, it's good to leave about two bites at the end."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
"What do you know?"
◇─◇────◆─◈─◆────◇─◇
A-Qing was slowly becoming civilized. The truth was, living in a different culture was difficult precisely because of lack of such common knowledge.
Anyway, for A-Qing, it was a precious realization. When you're being treated, leave some food behind.
It was a valuable lesson for getting more free meals in the future. A tactical retreat, for greater gains later.
Actually, she had already gotten quite a lot of free food.
A-Qing had established a new rule for herself: masters naturally get treated to meals. She had no idea that Escort Leader Sang's escort fees had already been exceeded due to soaring food expenses.
Peng Daesan didn't know this either. Besides, for Peng Daesan, the legitimate heir of the Peng family, being treated was as natural as breathing. He had no need to know the escort agency's financial situation.
That said, Sang Anjin wasn't entirely at a loss. It wasn't because of the uncertain future gains he might reap from investing in a new female master.
He was recouping those losses immediately on the escort mission itself.
A wild bandit (group) appeared!
"Stop!"
"Troublesome. This body. Master."
A-Qing, who had been lying on top of the lead carriage, basking in the warm spring sun, drew her sword.
As Sword silk flared, the swaggering bandits who had appeared naturally started walking backward and disappeared.
It was like time was rewinding.
The largest expenditure in Central Plains logistics was these tolls.
A-Qing had always thought there were too many bandits in the Central Plains. Now she realized that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Bandits generally found swordsmen who traveled alone, carrying swords, to be unappealing customers. They were dangerous as hell, yet offered no money even if you messed with them. Meaning, not many bandits had dared to mess with A-Qing. A-Qing, even at that level, thought the world was swarming with bandits, perhaps because it was like ancient China.
But after joining the escort mission, she learned the truth.
Every mountain had bandits. Every valley had bandits. Even deserted forests had bandits.
If Peng Daesan hadn't told her that they shouldn't attack unless the bandits provoked them, A-Qing would have walked a path of blood, accumulating good karma points generously.
A-Qing realized: Traveling with merchants was comfortable and well-fed, but it was hard to slice up bad guys. Still, she needed to see blood at least once a week.
Indeed, there was no perfect path in this world. If you gained one thing, you had to give up another.
Still, being comfortable and well-fed meant she didn't particularly miss the blood.
Having acquired the Buddha's Palm, her good karma wasn't as enticing anymore. One thousand points was just too tough.
As A-Qing gradually grew lazier, the escort agency's carriages rolled and rolled until they reached Luoyang.
◇─◇────◆─◈─◆────◇─◇
Luoyang. A-Qing knew it was a city name. A big city, she figured. She'd seen it in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Though, it was just a casual read. She only knew Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang.
But seeing Luoyang in person, it was gigantic and magnificent, even by modern standards.
City walls, taller than most modern commercial buildings, stretched endlessly left and right. Through the wide-open main gate, a super-high population density mingled with carriages, spitting people out and swallowing them up in utter chaos.
Truth be told, A-Qing harbored a subconscious tendency to underestimate Central Plains civilization. Roughly somewhere beyond primitive humans.
As someone from modern Korea, this was an unavoidable perception of ancient China. All of ancient China's proud and grand achievements had already been incinerated by the collective will of the Red People, so modern Koreans had never heard of them or seen them.
Especially the height of these city walls!
She thought she wouldn't be overwhelmed by height. A-Qing had lived through the era of massive buildings like the Eye of Sauron tower visible everywhere in Seoul, or the Second Whatever Tower.
And the density of buildings was incredible. Adjoining buildings shared walls; they were built seamlessly, without even the concept of an alleyway.
After unpacking at the Kunpeng Escort Agency's Luoyang branch, and having a cup of tea with the branch master, there was nothing much to do.
"Hey, San."
"No."
"What? I haven't even said anything yet."
"You're going to ask to go sightseeing in Luoyang anyway, aren't you?"
Frustratingly, he was right. But A-Qing had a reason she couldn't back down.
She was broke! Especially with a reliable sugar daddy right here.
"If you follow obediently, there shall not be an incident of bloodshed."
Peng Daesan stared at A-Qing with a dull expression.
If you looked closely, sometimes a sophisticated word would pop out. Despite her formidable ignorance. How?
"My Moonlight Sword hungers. If you don't want to become a sacrifice to the blood-red moon, lead me through Luoyang right now, human."
"Right. That. I've been wondering about that. Moonlight Sword? Isn't it just an ordinary iron sword?"
"You're supposed to give your beloved weapon a name."
Peng Daesan frowned. One of the famous lessons for martial artists: Do not name your weapon.
It was the experiential wisdom of predecessors who warned that if a martial artist grew too attached to their weapon, they would hesitate to use it and end up getting stabbed.
However, from what he'd seen, A-Qing used that Moonlight Sword so carelessly that there was no need to explain it to her.
When she was bored, she would poke at campfires with her sword (Moonlight Sword, No. 6), making him doubt his eyes. Using a sword as a poker, regardless of whether you treasured it or not, was enough to question one's qualifications as a swordsman.
"That aside. Why Moonlight Sword?"
"Because I'm a master of the Yue Maiden Sword Art?"
"…?"
" Yue Maiden Sword Art. Moonlight Sword (Yue means moon)."
"…?"
"You don't get it? Yue Maiden. Moonlight Sword."
"…Never mind."
Yue Maiden was a shortened term for "woman from the State of Yue."
And naturally, the State of Yue was not the "Moon Kingdom."
How could a country be named "Moon Kingdom"?
"Anyway, let's go, San. Luoyang awaits us."
"I said I'm not going."
"I'll bother you until you go. Surrender."
Peng Daesan's eyebrow twitched. Her remark had grazed a sore spot.
By now, she was less of a woman and more of a master of the sword, an ignorant person, a beggar, a quasi-friend. But her persistent clinging made him suspicious of her motives again.
Could it be? Is this a strategy? Is she, despite herself, still acting like a woman?
It was a severe case of advanced "delusions of being loved."
Fortunately, A-Qing's thoughtless blabbering extinguished the spark of verbal conflict.
"We're eating dinner at the Pavilion of Diao Chan. Do you agree?"
"You, how do you know where that is…?"
"I heard the escort guards say it's the best place in Luoyang."
It was indeed the best in Luoyang. The Pavilion of Diao Chan was Luoyang's finest brothel.
"That place is expensive. And you don't have any money, do you?"
"What are friends for? When else in my life will I get to go to such a top-tier inn, huh, San?"
It was an overt attempt to freeload.
So, it was not seduction, but just plain freeloading.
Peng Daesan's paranoia subsided.
Instead, he felt subtly annoyed.
Why am I annoyed?
"Alright, I'll be generous. I wouldn't even ask for the Pavilion of Diao Chan, but—"
"Good."
"Eh? Wot?"
"I said good. I'll take you. To the Pavilion of Diao Chan."
A-Qing blinked.
"Really? Didn't you say it's expensive? San, are you serious? Were you a man with that much wealth?"
"You told me to take y- No, what do you mean whether I have that much wealth? Are you seriously asking me that?"
"It was just a negotiation tactic. First, make a big demand, then if it's refused, make a smaller one."
It was a sharp remark that occasionally popped out from amidst her ignorance. This one was even sharper. Peng Daesan pondered her words carefully.
A-Qing, mistaking his silence for something else, offered a small, apologetic smile.
"If it's too much, forget it. I just threw it out there."
Peng Daesan's eyebrow twitched.
Her earlier comment about wealth. Could it be…
"Hey. Do you know what my family is?"
"The Hebei Peng family, right? The escort leader always says that."
"You don't know what that means?"
"You don't have to brag about your family being rich. Oh. Sorry. The 'too much' comment wasn't meant to wound your pride, okay? Don't worry about it."
She didn't know what the Hebei Peng family was! She seemed to understand them as just a famous rich family. There's a limit to ignorance.
A-Qing had only ever met lowlifes or low-level martial artists. People who wouldn't dare utter the names of the Five Great Families.
The Nine Great Sects and One Alliance were more forgiving; if you were caught badmouthing them, you could cry and beg and usually be forgiven.
If you were caught badmouthing one of the Five Great Families, you'd lose at least one arm. At least.
"The Pavilion of Diao Chan is hardly any burden at all. Let's go."
It was true that it wasn't a burden. It was also true that his pride had been somewhat wounded. Most importantly, Peng Daesan's offer to go with her wasn't an act of goodwill.
There was a reason Peng Daesan didn't want to go out.
And he was curious about A-Qing's reaction to a brothel.
Unaware of this, A-Qing, excited, rushed out the door—
She came face-to-face with an immense crowd of Luoyang beauties.