A-Qing might lack common sense, but she's not stupid.
She also knew the implications of this shameful trash.
It was the persistent and desperate struggles of women trying to somehow create a connection with the Jade Qilin.
If it was to a certain extent, she would have playfully poked his side, telling him to pick some up out of courtesy.
But the trash-throwing had continued non-stop while A-Qing inhaled every single Central Plains snack imaginable: fried sweets, steamed sweets, boiled sweets, baked sweets, dried sweets.
Now, it was almost to the point where she could gracefully step on the handkerchiefs laid out with every passing step, like in Kim So-wol's "Azaleas."
Picking them up one by one would turn her into nothing but a woman gleaning the fields.
"Wow. I'm getting sick of it. Seriously."
"I thought you'd tell me to pick them up."
"How can someone pick all that up? Sheesh, someone's back would bend in half during such an attempt."
A sudden question made A-Qing speak.
"Do the owners pick these up later?"
"Well—"
Peng Daesan paused. Pick them up again? Wouldn't that be a bit undignified?But just leave them? Wouldn't that be a huge nuisance?
Peng Daesan flinched. Why am I even thinking about this?
"They'll send someone later, probably."
"To find them in all that? Is there someone who specializes in recovering lost items? Besides, they're being stepped on and kicked around."
The women who surrounded Peng Daesan were in fierce competition. They'd "accidentally" block views, subtly drop items on top of others' belongings, and stomp on their rivals' goods.
"Would they be worth anything if I picked them up and sold them?"
Peng Daesan couldn't believe his ears.
"Are you serious?"
"No, some of it looks pretty expensive. Surely they'd come back for those?"
A-Qing pointed to a perfumed pouch lying on the ground.
Handkerchiefs were easy to drop, but their meaning wasn't good. One way to silently bid farewell to a lover was to present them with a white handkerchief. A handkerchief embroidered with gold thread on red fabric, or one of similar splendor, was the minimum requirement for lovers to exchange.
So, women from wealthy families dropped ornaments. Occasionally, some women would drop a perfumed pouch or a hairpin, and other women wouldn't dare step on or claim these precious items. Messing with a woman who could casually discard such expensive items meant inviting future trouble.
Conversely, it also meant you could mess with them if you weren't afraid of the repercussions. Just like this person.
"What are these things? So messy."
A short boy dressed in clean white robes appeared, kicking aside the strewn affections of women on the ground. Next to him, a burly giant said,
"Looks like traces of Brother Jade Qilin, doesn't it?"
"Ah. Right. Brother Peng! Are you here?"
"Why are you shouting? Just follow the women's gazes. Ah, there he is."
"As expected of Little Brother Zhuge! So very smart! LITTLE! BROTHER! PENG!"
The white-robed youth was 86. Ooh, A-Qing thought, impressed. It was the highest score among martial artists she'd seen.
And the giant was -19. Decently good guy.
Good karma was hard to accumulate. In contrast, the amount lost to bad karma was immense. These were martial artists who frequently took lives. Even if their karma tipped into the negative, a double-digit negative score meant they had lived a relatively good life, avoiding too many bad deeds.
A-Qing, intrigued by the unusual combination, asked,
"Do you know them?"
"Yes."
Despite his affirmation, he didn't look happy to see them at all.
But Peng Daesan had never been seen acting warmly towards anyone, and it was hard to imagine him doing so. She just figured it was his natural disposition.
The boy entered the teahouse, shouting. Despite his small size, his voice was like a train whistle.
"Big Brother Peng! Long time no see! Never expected to meet you here! Your face is still shining as ever! Excellent!"
"Brother Hwangbo, long time no see."
"Indeed! When did we last meet? Oh! What's this! You're with a woman! Could it be?"
"Absolutely not. Absolutely not."
Peng Daesan recoiled in disgust.
"Haha, that's rude too! You really need to understand women's hearts!"
Peng Daesan's mood plummeted. Right, this was how it was supposed to feel when his sore spot was poked.
But Peng Daesan knew the short guy well. He was a good person with not a speck of malice, and terribly unobservant, so expressing his annoyance would only be a loss.
Unaware of his thoughts, the boy laughed boisterously. It didn't quite suit his small stature, though.
"This individual is Hwangbo Un-cheok, just a Senior Brother I know. And that punk is Zhuge Yi-hyeon."
"Senior Brother Peng, why is one called an individual and the other, a punk?"
"You are indeed a punk. You dragged him here on purpose, didn't you?"
"The women were so excited and chaotic, I figured Big Brother Peng must have appeared. Of course, I had to pay my respects to you, Brother."
The small boy was Hwangbo Un-cheok. Surprisingly, he was twenty-seven. Outwardly, he looked about middle school age.
This guy? Twenty-seven? Seeing A-Qing's expression, Peng Daesan added,
"He took the wrong medicine when he was young."
"Ah."
If he took the wrong herbal medicine, there was nothing to be done. A-Qing accepted it.
Young Great Hero Hwangbo Un-cheok. He was a famous benevolent figure in the Murim, and despite his small stature, he had already achieved the title of Great Hero, hence "Young Great Hero." He was known for his Late Peak Realm martial arts, his fair and just conduct, and a boisterous, carefree demeanor that utterly clashed with his small size.
And the burly giant, a walking embodiment of muscle, was Zhuge Yi-hyeon. His age was a blooming eighteen.
"Zhuge…? As in Zhuge Liang…?"
A-Qing asked again. A-Qing knew the Zhuge surname. Because Zhuge Liang was too famous. So, Zhuge, as in... weak but smart?
"He seems to have inherited too much blood from his maternal side."
"Of course! He's my aunt's son! It's only natural!"
"I'm satisfied. Isn't it time the Zhuge family shed its facade of frail scholars?"
Zhuge Yi-hyeon flexed his arms, showing off his biceps. It was the "front double biceps" pose, as it was called in modern times. Wearing the rare sleeveless light armor common in the Central Plains, his muscles and pride were on full display.
Beastly Sage, Zhuge Yi-hyeon.
It meant he possessed the body of a beast and the brain of a sage. He was a genius of the world, inheriting both the formidable physique of his maternal Hwangbo family and the outstanding intelligence of the Zhuge family.
His martial arts level wasn't particularly high, but people's expectations of the Zhuge family weren't in that direction to begin with.
Conversely, the family elders did expect "that" from him.
The Zhuge family's martial arts level was indeed lower among the Five Great Families, but they were still a member of the Central Plains' Five Great Families. Nevertheless, perhaps thanks to their overly distinguished ancestor, everyone in the world regarded the Zhuge clan as merely scholarly intellectuals.
Actually, that was unfair. Zhuge Liang was a man of steel-like endurance who survived 11 years of intense work, including overtime, after Liu Bei's death.
This injustice became such a deep-seated resentment that the Zhuge family's marriage alliances began to focus more on improving physical constitution rather than political gain. But the result was always the body of a sage and the brain of a beast. They even seriously researched their blood through mystical arts, wondering if some curse had been cast upon them.
Amidst all this, Zhuge Yi-hyeon revealed both muscles and intelligence from a young age, which was a huge blessing for the family.
To Peng Daesan, these were unwelcome guests. Peng Daesan tended to avoid peers with cool monikers. Young Great Hero, Beastly Sage. And then there was his own Jade Qilin.
And Hwangbo Un-cheok himself was, well, something else.
Good person? Only a good person? His mind was somewhat naive, and he was terribly oblivious. Moreover, he absolutely would not tolerate injustice.
He had even once stood up to a Transcendent Peak Realm master due to an injustice. It was fortunate that the master had laughed leniently and praised him, otherwise, he would have been dead long ago.
The moniker "Young Great Hero" was given to him precisely then.
Ultimately, being with Hwangbo Un-cheok was exhausting.
And Zhuge Yi-hyeon was quite a decent fellow. But he always had the fatal flaw of Hwangbo Un-cheok by his side.
The Young Great Hero's love for his younger cousin was famous.
"Young Lady, how did you come to be with our Little Brother Peng?"
"I'm accompanying them on the escort mission."
"Our brother is particularly cold to women, so perhaps…"
"We're just friends. Friends. Friends the same age."
"Oh ho, there's no such thing as friends between a man and a woman."
"We're right here, aren't we?"
"It all starts like that. Then you grow fond of each other, become lovers, and then husband and wife, isn't that right?"
A familiar scent wafted through the unfamiliar Central Plains. That way of speaking, emphasizing "us." That attitude of trying to hook up a woman with his brother, who supposedly had no interest in women.
'Yo, our youngest. Why did Choi Nayeon from C Line give you coffee? Doesn't this look like it's a step away from having beef soup together?'
'What are you talking about? She gave it to me to thank me for the ride yesterday.'
'Ooh, our youngest. Are you already at the stage of riding in cars together?'
'No, it rained yesterday. She missed her bus and was standing there, and I'd seen her a few times, so I gave her a ride.'
'Oh, our youngest, what a player, a real player. Yeah, that's how they all approach you.'
'I told you it's not like that.'
'Oh, our youngest. You're always playing games and never coming out of the house…'
Her senior from the same line of work, who had joined the company a year earlier.
A while later, he confessed to Oh Ha-eun from C-line, got soundly rejected, and quit the company.
He definitely wasn't a bad person.
If I said I wouldn't go to a company dinner (a drinking session disguised as a dinner, voluntary participation, but married men never missed it), he was a good person who would drag me along, saying he'd pay my share.
Only after seeing new hires who never showed up for a single company dinner naturally become ostracized did I realize that was something to be grateful for.
Even after quitting, he occasionally came to buy me meals.
But spreading rumors linking her with Choi Na-yeon, supposedly to help me out, was a bit much.
A-Qing recalled the past.
She wouldn't fall for it twice.