766 - I Am This Murim’s Crazy B*tch

Even the women of the palace learn the Fairy Arts(仙女公). However, despite being called Fairy Arts(仙女公), it doesn’t possess the energy-accumulating benefits of true internal arts but is rather a type of cosmetic exercise, akin to gentle gymnastics. It’s commonplace to see the palace ladies, with little else to do, gathering in the secluded backyard each morning, flailing their arms and legs together in factions. But swordsmanship is distinctively an art meant to harm others. In the Forbidden City, where even trees are uprooted to thwart assassins, they teach swordsmanship to a princess who is inevitably bound to marry far away? Of course, Qing wasn’t sharp enough to catch such contradictions or intimately familiar with palace intricacies. She merely thought, “Didn’t they say we weren’t allowed to learn it?” “Ah. Well, about that…” Hae-ryu glanced nervously at Gabiya. Gabiya showed no reaction. She appeared lifeless, though the faint rise and fall of her chest suggested she clung to some semblance of life. With a face of despair, her eyes open, unseeing, twisted skyward, staring into the void. Not stopping at just observing, Hae-ryu approached, poking Gabiya before straightening her clothes and hoisting her over his shoulder. “Let me dispose of this first, then I’ll explain.” “Oh, you mean you're putting her back in her quarters, not burying her somewhere dark, right?” “Hey, if I were going to bury her, there are much better ways to handle it.” Qing was unsure. Was that a joke… or not? Anyway. “Your Majesty, hehe, Princess. Um, do you remember Lord Beom Gi-do? The one who was assigned as your protector?” A Gi-do was a position tasked with the protection of royal bloodlines. Naturally, Qing wasn’t acquainted with such matters. “No…” “I see…” Hae-Ryu’s shoulders sagged. But just for a moment, then he smiled again. “The Princess requested to learn. Don’t you remember? How you pestered us for nearly a month, asking to quickly be taught swordsmanship?” Yeon Sul, the monarch at eight years old. When she wasn’t yet a princess, back when Yeon Sul was merely an unremarkable child, not particularly exceptional. One day, for reasons unknown, her gaze dangerously sparkled upon seeing her bodyguard's sheathed sword. She pleaded continuously to be taught swordsmanship, promising rewards if they did, threatening to jump off a ledge if they didn’t, refusing to eat until they taught her swordsmanship—though she did eat well, she even feigned illness saying she was sick because no one would teach her, claiming it was a lovesickness of sorts, relentlessly asking thousands of times a day for swordsmanship, swordsmanship! Declaring she'd rather have swordsmanship than food—not quite! “Hmm.” “So we trained together, remember?” It seems Lord Beom Gi-do devised a clever tactic. He said, to wield a sword, foundational training was first needed, and if she truly wished to learn, she should start with the basics. Perhaps he assumed the rigorous basic training would cause her to quickly give up. But she endured it all. She ran when told to run, sat when told to sit, lifted when told to lift, diligently persevering for nearly three months. Ah, they must have marveled at such a tenacious child. Secretly, she began learning swordsmanship. Yeon Sul began developing rapidly, shooting up sturdily like a bamboo stalk. Around age ten, when bestowed the title of princess. Thus began the strong and mighty legend of the great Princess Yeon Sul… The Empress once remarked that she had the body of an adult even from a young age. Upon hearing this, one might suspect there was another instigator behind it all. “What kind of swordsmanship? Surely they taught you more than just any technique, right?” “Come on, you still remember, don't you? I've heard about the Heavenly Sword Flower. Even now, your name is known as a master of the Yue Maiden Sword Technique (월녀검법). Though you lost your memories, you never forgot the training embedded in your body, did you?” “Huh?” “After reading the Yue section in the Wu Yue Chunqiu, you proclaimed you’d become Ah-cheng, wearing only blue skirts every day. You pestered Lord Beom Gi-do for just that reason.” The Yue Maiden Sword Technique? She learned the Yue Maiden Sword Technique? When she first fell into this primitive, ancient, undeveloped Zhongyuan(Central Plains) world, it was the only martial art she possessed. It was the basic martial art once you input the hidden element named Ah-cheng in the Murim Life-and-Death Chronicle. If Princess Yeon Sul practiced it… It means Lord Beom Gi-do taught her the true versions of the Yue Maiden Sword Technique (월녀검법), Yue Maiden Heart Method (월녀심결), and Yue Maiden Footwork (월녀산보). Then indeed, the previous owner of this body must be Princess Yeon Sul. If everything aligns this well, hmm. Then a sudden thought struck her. “Hmm. Was Lord Beom Gi-do close with Princess Yeon Sul or something?” “Of course. Almost like a daughter to him, too. Oops, heh, just my usual blabber. You know what I mean. Hehe, don't you? He’s been promoted to Master Gi-do now, taking charge at the Huangjige, so why don’t we visit him sometime?” “For some reason, I feel like we’ll meet eventually…” Qing murmured with a sour expression. It felt as if she’d soon be burdened with another significant figure. ---- A palace maid carefully laid the tea tray in front of Qing. Very, very carefully. Perhaps because of the towering stack of sweets on the platter. A typical tea tray would have a few pieces to accompany the tea. However, Qing's tea tray bore only sweets, resembling a mountain. As the pile of snacks on the plate formed a precariously steep peak, she lowered it cautiously, fearing one might tumble and- Plop. A round piece finally lost its balance and rolled towards Qing. A rounded confection, fried into a ball, known as a Korean-style yakgwa. Qing instinctively picked it up. “Ah! I-I have committed a grave sin! Please, please forgive me!” Thud! The maid dropped her head harshly as she trembled, pleading for forgiveness. “Huh. It’s alright. I thought it looked a bit unstable since I first saw it.” Then, thud! The maid next to her hit her head as well. “T-that was… a grave sin! The plate was too small, so I had no choice…!" Qing blinked her eyes blankly. What’s the panic about? Is someone going to devour someone else here? For some reason, today, the palace maids in the Hall of Perfumes couldn’t even meet my eyes. If they dared, they would immediately shiver and lower their heads. What’s going on? Why do I feel like I’m some kind of symbol of terror? The fact is, the maids had witnessed the dreadful state Gabiya was in when she was brought back the night before. Her eye makeup smudged across her entire face, mouth glistening with copious drool, eyes upturned in an unconscious state—a ghastly scene, indeed. The maids weren’t fond of Gabiya's behavior, given she acted superior just because she was in the personal service of a high-ranking figure. Yet observing her sorry end stirred both deep sympathy and relief—they couldn’t help but think perhaps it was for the best. And beyond that, it evoked an indescribable fear. For palace maids, the most realistic aspiration was to gain the affection of an influential master. Conversely, their greatest fear was enduring harsh persecution under a wicked and cruel master. Moreover, once they entered someone’s personal service, they couldn’t leave at their own will and had to suffer such horrendous treatment endlessly. Even now, terrible ones would deliberately take servants just to torment them. Although such occurrences had decreased since the Divine Maiden Sect established control, ominous tales of someone being flogged or another’s face swelling from a slap still circulated the Forbidden City. So, if even a small mistake was made, one could end up like Gabiya every day. Even if Hae-ryu—a giant like a tiger—had his eyes swollen from tears, this referred to Mama, who left his throat hoarse after scolding. Qing would have felt wronged upon learning of such fears. After all, Hae-ryu had been sobbing alone while Qing hadn’t even laid a finger on him. And with Gabiya, there was just a slight misunderstanding. It is a bit ambiguous whether one could say Qing caused her to cry based on the results. Nevertheless. “Hehe, Mama.” After the maids withdrew, Gabiya filled Qing’s teacup. She quietly slipped into a seat beside Qing, hugging her arm, clinging on. Qing didn’t mind the soft sensation pressing against her biceps, but she wondered, hmm, what's she up to now? “Gabiya?” “Yes, Mama. Gabiya, it's me.” Instead of saying Mama, she extended it to Mama-a, mixing in a nasal tone that seemed intended to be endearing, which felt quite burdensome. “Isn’t that uncomfortable?” “Still hard to move my body. Muscle pains, you know, someone was too rough, ouch.” Gabiya whispered into Qing's ear, feigning painful moans, breathing them as if they were puffing flames. Qing clenched her mouth shut. Right. It’s true, she had wronged her somewhat... Trying to change the topic, Qing spoke: “By the way, what was the Divine Maiden Sect’s event about?” Hae-ryu had stepped out, summoned by His Highness the Crown Prince, while Gabiya had returned from a morning event of the Divine Maiden Sect. And currently, her accumulated karma points stood at forty-two. What sort of event grants accumulated merits like that? “Apologies. It’s a royal event, so even with you, Mama, I cannot speak of it freely.” “A royal event?” “Yes. But if you’re curious, I could ask His Highness at the next event if I can share it with you, especially for Mama.” “His Highness? Oh. If His Highness himself attends, well, then there’s nothing more to say.” Qing easily accepted it. Of course, if members of the royal family attended, it was only natural one couldn’t talk freely about it. If this had been a suspicious time, she might have doubted it, but... Qing knew that despite Gabiya's slightly impure intentions, she bore no malice. Besides, there were actually different questions Qing really wanted to ask. “Ah, by the way, do you know anything about Princess Yeon Sul? I heard she was cured by the Divine Maiden Sect when she was gravely ill?” “Oh. That happened before I entered the palace. Lady Lingju healed Princess Yeon Sul, and because of that, our sect was granted a place to stay.” Lady Ashiya of the Divine Maiden Sect gathered her sect’s sisters who had fled from Tianzhu after receiving the title of Lingju from the sect. After that, Gabiya entered the palace life as a maid, explaining why she wandered the empty palace without a master to serve. “Thanks to that, I was able to serve you, Mama. Isn’t this fate, a connection written in blood and spirit, a link etched into my mind, ah… I shudder to think back on it…” Gabiya leaned in, whispering nonsensical words, her head resting slyly on Qing’s shoulder. This girl doesn’t seem to know much... Trying to sound profound while subtly being careless—it seemed typical of her. However, the Emperor’s mentioning of the "wicked enchantresses of the Divine Maiden Sect" could not be ignored. If Lady Ashiya swapped something, then why did I awaken alone in a cave? If the existence of a true soul was a reality? Then, might the Yeon Sul residing in the Forbidden City be truly the real Princess Yeon Sul? The real Princess Yeon Sul might have abandoned the ship and escaped her body, taking on a new form while I ended up residing in the discarded shell. Thus, with a few minor misunderstandings resolved, perhaps I could return the real identity to those who missed Princess Yeon Sul all these years. And then I could live my life unentangled from the royal family. Everyone would live happily ever after. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Hmm. As long as the Empress didn’t hold grudges, accusing me of deceiving her, hmm, surely not. “Hmm. Then, do you think it’s possible for me to meet this Lady Ashiya?”