Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Sowing Seeds
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The sun that had been high in the midday sky had set before they knew it, casting faint moonlight over the pavilion at the summit of Wudang Mountain.
Amid the raucous chatter and endless pouring of drinks, Jegal Han-sang—whose delicate liver couldn't handle the peak brews of the Wudang maidens—had passed out long ago.
Song Seol-ryeong, who had feigned illness to avoid witnessing the mad antics of her new direct superior, the Sect Leader, lay collapsed beside him.
Gang Pyo had retreated into the hut for meditation to attune himself to his newly Bone Transformed body.
And so, the only ones left at this drinking party were the Pure Harmony True Person and the Sect Leader.
As for So-hyang, she had slipped into stealth mode long ago to fully enjoy the entertaining spectacle ahead.
Chewing on dried fruits in place of the absent fried corn, she watched with bated breath, anticipating the scene to come.
"Haa, haaa...! This is because Master seduced me... It's Master's fault...!"
The Sect Leader, spouting dangerously bold words, reached out with sticky, groping hands toward his master amid heavy breaths.
"Uuuu... Cheongha..."
The Pure Harmony True Person, who hadn't dispelled even a trace of intoxication to fully savor the drinks, murmured in his sleep without sensing anything amiss.
Of course, that didn't mean he suddenly groped at the other's crotch in some assault-like manner.
In truth, the Sect Leader was also a pure Daoist who had spent most of his growth within the Wudang Sect. Apart from his harbored affections and obsessions, his knowledge and moral compass remained that of an untouched virgin.
The most he could manage was touching a side or thigh, and even that pushed him to his limit—his face flushed red as if it might burst.
"Uuu, Master..."
Lacking the courage for anything more extreme, the last thing he wanted to do was...
"M-Master..."
With his speech slurred from considerable intoxication—though not quite at the Pure Harmony True Person's level—he voiced the dream he had cherished for so long.
A vulgar tale from his youth, when fellow female disciples secretly brought in senior brothers, blushing as they sent them away.
Its contents were just that.
It said that lovers bound by vows held hands.
That they felt each other's warmth through clasped hands.
The Sect Leader did so as well.
His hand met the adorable little hand of his master, who appeared as a young boy.
"Huaa..."
Soft and warm. How could the texture be so lovely? His entire body was perfection, his master.
Even the sticky sweat felt between their interlaced fingers was ecstatic.
And lovers gazed into each other's faces.
He did so.
"So, so beautiful..."
Like beholding the world's masterpiece painting, devouring a peerless manual with greed.
He felt it every time, but how did such delicate features fit into that tiny face?
Calling it sculpted or pictorial fell endlessly short of describing his master's jade countenance.
And they whispered words filled with love to each other.
He did so.
"...I love, I love you, Master."
His throat suddenly felt choked, so he couldn't speak loudly.
It was a whisper forced out, leaking through the cracks.
His chest burned hot. He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears.
His heart felt like it would burst.
For some reason, his eyes stung, his throat tightened.
Without even using Void Grasping to lift himself, he felt afloat in the sky.
Everything spun—up, down, left, right—leaving him too dizzy for coherent thought.
No reply came from the other, but the Sect Leader didn't mind and moved on.
The tale said as much.
They gazed lovingly at the lips that whispered love, then drew close to press them together.
A kiss, a lip-lock.
"Master, your lips..."
Already glossy and plump, now even redder from the alcohol stimulating blood flow as he drank merrily.
Cherry, rose, blood— no metaphor suited them.
It was a demonic crimson hue, dizzyingly alluring, driving one mad.
The Sect Leader calmed his wildly pounding heart with effort. He might really collapse like this.
"I can do it, I can...!"
Eyes squeezed shut, lips pursed out, he slowly brought his face toward his master's lips.
By chance or fate, at that exact moment, the Pure Harmony True Person's eyelids fluttered open slightly.
"...Mm, disciple?"
"Ah."
Their faces so close their breaths mingled, lips cautiously extended, clearly aimed at one target.
His own lips.
"...!! Wh-wh-what are you doing?!"
The Pure Harmony True Person's face paled instantly, and he urgently pushed his disciple's face away with outstretched hands.
No matter the panic, he would never truly strike his disciple.
What emerged was merely a flailing arm, steeped in drink, devoid of any inner energy or strength.
The issue was his non-normal state, slightly beyond mental control.
The small palm of the white-haired boy, meant to cover the mouth and push away firmly, swung ruthlessly in panic—
—and slapped the Sect Leader's cheek with a crisp smack.
The sound echoed refreshingly, and silence fell between them.
"Che-Cheongha..."
"Ah, uh..."
The Sect Leader dazedly clutched his slapped cheek and froze.
Of course, he knew it was his own fault. Sneaking a hand-hold and attempting a kiss violated etiquette for Daoists and worldly folk alike.
But still.
"...Did you hate it that much?"
To strike him—a blow you never dealt before—just to avoid a kiss.
Tears welled up naturally.
His heart ached as if torn apart.
He had known his feelings were unattainable, so confessions before carried a half-playful air.
She'd refuse anyway.
Of course not.
But now, with hope from So-hyang's advice and a real possibility in sight...
"Ah, no. Cheongha, it's not because I hate you..."
Today, the Sect Leader experienced his first true rejection.
His expression began to crumble.
Frustration, despair, sorrow, disappointment.
And finally, rage.
"...Ch-Cheongha? Why do you keep coming closer?"
"Now that it's come to this, there's only one way..."
He seized his master's arms as they worriedly touched his cheek, shoving fiercely to pin them down and lay the body flat on the pavilion.
"Ugh!? What is this all of a sudden...?"
The Pure Harmony True Person forcibly laid on the pavilion, the Sect Leader atop him, pinning the arms to fix the position.
"Cheongha! Even so, this is too mu— Mmph!"
With gleaming eyes, the Sect Leader silenced his protesting master by covering the mouth with his own lips.
A clumsy press of lips alone, far from adult exchanges of tongues or breath.
Yet it conveyed his heart fully.
"D-Disciple, what is this...?"
His mind blanked at the unprecedented event beyond imagination, and the Sect Leader seized the moment.
Grabbing both arms with one hand, the other ventured downward.
All or nothing—he'd do everything he'd ever wanted. In short, reckless acceleration.
"Oh dear, that's not how you do it..."
So-hyang, who had watched eagerly, could only slap her forehead in regret.
Too much.
As the Sect Leader's eyes rolled back fully, yanking down his master's trouser hem—
"—Ah."
From the master, face red as if bursting, erupted a fierce aura.
The Sect Leader jerked his head up like a puppet's joints creaking.
A hand-hold and lip-press might have been glossed over charitably, but—
"U, ugh...!"
Going this deep would make it hard even for the Pure Harmony True Person to stay calm.
Taiji Wisdom Sword, Discharge.
The ever-rotating Taiji flow shattered instantly, unleashing reverse Taiji power.
The shockwave launched swift enough for immediate execution, hurling the Sect Leader tumbling down Wudang Mountain.
"Hiyaaaa—"
A instinctive defense born of momentary shock.
His long scream trailed as he flew far away.
Notably impressive was adjusting the force mid-flight to avoid serious harm.
"Ah, ugh, what just..."
The Pure Harmony True Person sat dazed for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut and burned away all the alcohol in his body.
"Haa..."
Regretting the loss of the pleasant buzz briefly, he returned to reality and clutched his throbbing head.
"Primeval Celestial Venerable, mercy...!"
In the end, his disciple had pounced on him.
And he had flung that disciple down Wudang Mountain.
"What am I to do now..."
Of course, as his own disciple, a fall from the mountain wouldn't injure him, but that wasn't the point.
The soft lip texture and warmth branded in his mind like a seal, the lingering scent.
His small ears flushed red instantly.
"How am I supposed to face Cheongha from now on...!"
Just as the Sect Leader was a virgin, so too was the Pure Harmony True Person a bachelor.
Though he had achieved unmoving mind, he hadn't excised emotions.
He could resist lewd temptations, but not human feelings between people.
"...Oh, so it worked."
Seeing through it, So-hyang could only mutter in small admiration.
A bold ambush could sometimes outperform cautious approaches.
Most crucially, she had sown the seed of affection in the master's heart overnight.
So-hyang nodded in satisfaction.
"Hm, not far off now."
The grand sect of Taishan North Star, the righteous Dao gate, foremost in the jianghu—Wudang Sect.
The day its Sect Leader and master would unite seemed closer than thought.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
The Pure Harmony True Person refuted her mutter with a greatly crumbled expression, but his bursting-red face lacked conviction.
"Eh, just get married already?"
"Ah, ugh...!"
Unable to bear the rising absurdity, he clutched his nape, but to So-hyang, his failure to refute actively meant it was over.
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The chaotic drinking party ended, the risen moon tilted westward, and dawn broke anew.
"...I shouldn't have drunk. Cheongha, Cheongha! What kind of Daoist drinks alcohol?!"
Reaffirming his repeated vow of abstinence, the Pure Harmony True Person brewed tea with a profoundly complicated expression.
His hands trembled rattle-rattle, mirroring his turbulent heart.
"Well then, shall I be off?"
Sparring done, drinks shared merrily—Wudang business concluded.
"Yes, safe travels..."
The Pure Harmony True Person bid So-hyang farewell with emotions indescribable in words.
Detailing the Blood Brush's traits was invaluable to the sect.
Personally grateful too.
Fixing his disciple's chronic flaw with guidance, granting him enlightenment—truly thankful.
Yet provoking and igniting the disciple's improper affections midway... was it necessary?
Served the finest liquors—a splendid, joyful experience.
But watching gleefully as the disciple pounced on his drunken, senseless self...
"Damn, what kind of person is she..."
How could a human embody such chaos?
Without forgetting the Song Clan Superior Sword repair, mere hours after dawn, she returned with it fixed.
Sturdier and better balanced than the original, even.
A monstrous martial artist, top brewer, renowned jianghu blacksmith.
What freak was she? The Pure Harmony True Person gave up pondering.
"Anyway, th-th-thank you..."
Strictly speaking, gratitude was due, despite his tangled feelings.
"Eh, no need to thank me. I did it for fun."
"...I know."
Too well, that was the problem.
He newly realized that someone acting solely on personal amusement, with such abilities, led to this.
"Where to next...?"
Not truly curious, but politeness prompted the question.
"Ah, that..."
So-hyang trailed off, as if recalling something dear.