City Outing (Part 1)
Jeok Mu-hwi and Ye-hwa had finished their bath and stepped out of the bathroom.
Now it was time for breakfast.
Ye-hwa carefully pulled out a chair and sat in front of the dining table.
As she did, her breasts pressed softly against the table, and she let out a lewd little moan.
“Mmm~…”
After being so thoroughly stimulated in the bathroom earlier, her nipples were still aroused, making her unusually sensitive.
I prepared breakfast while receiving her resentful gaze.
Before long, Se-ryeong descended in disheveled attire as well.
The moment she sat in the chair, she furrowed her brows and let out a low groan.
“Aah~…”
It was probably because her buttocks still stung from the spanking I had given her yesterday.
She shot a scorching glare at the back of my head while I cooked, just like Ye-hwa.
To soothe their moods, I laid out an extravagant breakfast spread.
During the meal, I announced,
“Today, we’re heading into the city.”
***
After breakfast, we circulated our internal energy to merge the two Qi types stored in our dantians and went out together with the girls.
Our destination was Luoyang City.
A historic capital city that had once served as the capital for several dynasties.
Though its prestige had greatly diminished since the country’s center shifted to Beijing, it was still one of the major cities recognized across the Central Plains.
Especially among righteous martial artists, it carried more weight than Beijing itself.
Thanks to its proximity to Shaolin Temple—the North Star of the righteous martial world—it had become the headquarters of the Murim Alliance.
The distance from our residence to Luoyang City was half a day’s walk for ordinary people, but for the three of us, it was no more than strolling next door thanks to our light body techniques.
We passed through the massive city gates and entered the bustling streets of Luoyang.
Tall pavilions lined both sides of the wide avenue.
A vast crowd of people of all ages and backgrounds gathered together.
Se-ryeong gazed at the scenery before her and exclaimed in admiration.
“Oh my— what a lively city this is. There are quite a few martial artists here who’ve mastered their skills well.”
Ye-hwa smiled and replied to her.
“This is, after all, the heart of the righteous martial world. People sent from the Nine Great Sects, the Five Major Families, and hundreds of other factions belonging to the Murim Alliance are staying here.”
Both of them wore wide-brimmed straw hats that draped long veils over their bodies, concealing their faces and figures.
They were two of the most striking beauties in the world.
If they had simply walked around, they would have attracted endless unwanted attention.
Especially Ye-hwa, the granddaughter of the Sword Sovereign of the Central Plains Murim, the successor to the Peerless Heavenly Sword, and a breathtakingly exotic blonde beauty.
Her nickname alone was enough to make one wonder if she was truly the princess of the sword with the beauty of an immortal.
If word spread that Ye-hwa had appeared, the martial artists here would certainly cause a huge commotion.
As we entered the market alleys, we spotted many street stalls selling snacks.
Se-ryeong pointed at one of them and asked me,
“Mu-hwi, what is this?”
I had instructed them to call me by name rather than master, even though I was their owner.
While I did pride myself on treating my slaves exceptionally well, openly indulging our lewd preferences right here was a bit embarrassing.
“Tanghulu. Skewered hawthorn berries coated in honey syrup.”
We immediately went to the stall and bought three sticks of tanghulu.
As I held one out, Se-ryeong quickly wrapped it in her veil with a swift motion.
“Mmm, sweet and tangy. It’s quite good. I like it.”
“Thank you, my little disciple. I’ll eat it with pleasure.”
“If you see anything else you need while looking around, just say so.”
“Ho? Mu-hwi is treating me today?”
“Yes. Anything under two taels of silver—I’ll buy it for you. If you end up with many personal belongings, you’ll grow attached and behave more obediently than before.”
“Hmph. I don’t like such shameless tactics, but since we don’t have the right to refuse, I’ll accept it gratefully.”
While pretending to be reluctant, both of their voices carried a slight tremble of excitement.
“Let’s go, Ye-hwa! I’ll pick something ridiculously expensive to make Mu-hwi regret his money.”
“What a wonderful idea, Se-ryeong.”
From then on, we happily toured the market together.
Although I had jokingly said I would ruthlessly empty my purse, their spending was surprisingly modest.
Se-ryeong bought a limited-edition comic book titled [Three-Class Scholar and the Martial Artists Who Obsess Over Him].
Ye-hwa simply purchased a folding fan featuring calligraphy by a famous calligrapher.
The prices weren’t cheap, but to me, who was prepared to buy an entire store if that’s what they wanted, it was a minor expense.
It seemed that at this stage, the only thing the girls craved was not martial arts, but other luxuries.
When I suggested buying clothes or jewelry, both firmly refused.
“We don’t want to dress up for you.”
“Such gifts should be given by your future lover to the woman she loves.”
I felt a little wounded, but no real resentment toward them.
Honestly, it would be shameless of me to expect them to fall in love so soon.
My proud wives—the future Heavenly Demon and Sword Empress—were not the type of women who would be swayed so easily.
…Even on the bed they were formidable.
***
After finishing our market tour, we headed to the city’s most famous brothel, Huayue Tower, for lunch.
Thanks to the legendary chef’s skills, the place drew many customers seeking only meals without wine or courtesans.
Even though it was lunch, the restaurant was packed.
I handed five taels of silver to the waiter and reserved a private room on the third floor.
“What would you like to order, sir?”
I answered the waiter’s question.
“The Buddha Jump Wall.”
A delicate dish simmered for hours in a rich broth of Shaoxing wine and various rare ingredients.
So delicious that even the Buddha would abandon his meditation and leap over the wall, which is why it’s called Buddha Jump Wall.
Since this legendary dish was being sold as a signature item in a city just as renowned as Shaolin’s territory, wealthy merchants from across the land would hear about it and come here to try Huayue Tower’s Buddha Jump Wall at least once.
The waiter prattled on.
“Understood, sir. Oh my~ Today, our guests are truly fortunate. The supply of ingredients has been disrupted, so this will be the last Buddha Jump Wall order of the day.”
Once the waiter left, Se-ryeong and Ye-hwa removed their straw hats and veils.
I placed a book on the table.
While chatting with Ye-hwa, Se-ryeong glanced at me and revealed her curiosity.
“So that’s the comic you bought from the bookstore along with my illustration collection. The title was the Criminals’ Register, wasn’t it? Just from the name, it seems like a very dark novel.”
Ye-hwa covered her mouth and giggled as she told Se-ryeong,
“It’s not a novel, Se-ryeong. It’s the official wanted list for those with bounties issued by the Murim Alliance.”
Jianghu Murim.
The name sounded grand, but in essence, it was a world of villains who wielded weapons arbitrarily without the government’s permission and caused endless chaos.
Without the power to completely control it, the government could only allow the existence of such a place.
From the government’s perspective, there was no bigger thorn in its side than the Murim world.
From the martial artists’ viewpoint, it was equally concerning that one day the government might suddenly decide to exterminate them.
That’s why the righteous factions, who were heavily supported by the government through temples, the Open Sects organized by the government itself, and the Five Major Families that had to maintain close ties with local landowners all banded together to form the Murim Alliance.
To prove they weren’t just causing trouble like the riffraff, they created various systems.
One of those was the bounty system.
Bounties were placed on bandits, pirates, murderers, and other criminals that local authorities couldn’t handle, in order to encourage wandering martial artists to take them down.
In the Criminals’ Register, many names were on it due to personal grudges with the Nine Great Sects or Five Major Families, but genuine criminals were definitely listed as well.
Most of those real scum had once joined the Blood Cult before its downfall and helped plunge the world into hell.
Even now that the Blood Cult was gone, they remained nothing but a burden to history.
I planned to eradicate them all during our Jianghu travels, killing two birds with one stone—earning pocket money along the way.
Se-ryeong spoke again.
“I heard the master is quite a notorious killer. Does the master’s name appear on that list too?”
“It does.”
“Hehe, I’m curious what they wrote for you. May I read it first?”
“Go ahead.”
I handed the Criminals’ Register to her.
While flipping through the pages, Ye-hwa told Se-ryeong,
“The master’s name should be in the Golden Seal Register at the back.”
“Golden Seal Register? What’s the difference?”
“Besides the Murim Alliance, it’s also the list of criminals wanted by the government. Since the emperor’s golden seal is stamped on each bounty, it’s called the Golden Seal Register. The bounty is paid in gold, not silver, and the unit is guan instead of taels. Oh, and the government even grants official titles.”
“One guan equals one hundred taels.”
“Oh, so they’re big shots capable of turning a life around with just one bounty.”
“That’s right. But taking a name from the Golden Seal Register means the Jianghu—and even the court—will feel threatened by you. They’re powerful and dangerous people.”
“Indeed… The two of us weren’t caught by some random weakling. Ah, here it is. The Muwon Assassin.”
Se-ryeong discovered my alias in the register and read out the description.
“Alias: Muwon Assassin. Real name: Unknown. Age: Unknown. Origin: Unknown… Sect: Unknown…”
“What kind of information is this? There’s not a single proper detail!”
Se-ryeong frowned slightly, skipped some parts, and read the bottom of the page.
“Thirty-six government officials and Murim acquaintances killed. In addition, various heinous criminals who committed murder, robbery, arson, and other crimes counted as demerits. A reward of fifty guan in gold is paid, along with a fifth-rank official title. Ohhh… fifty guan in gold…!”
Se-ryeong closed the book and leaned over to me with a mischievous glint.
“Master, you look really dashing today. Your face looks like it’s been gilded with gold.”
“Is that so?”
She smiled cutely, but the words that came out of her mouth were anything but.
Her eyes sparkled with greed.
“Hehe, I originally planned to carve every last piece of flesh off Master with the Bursting Dragon Sword Thrust in a year… but my heart changed.”
“Planning to take my head to the government office to claim the bounty?”
“I’m not a person who craves wealth, but fifty guan in gold is tempting. With that amount, I could forgive you enough to bury you in a proper grave and pray for your soul.”
“What a magnanimous Heavenly Demon you are. But keep those thoughts to yourself, you brazen slave girl.”
I suddenly wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her toward me.
Then, to muffle any sound, I pressed my lips to her cheek.
“Mwah~!”
I sucked in her soft flesh and gently bit it, and Se-ryeong let out a shrill scream.
“Hyaah!”
While Ye-hwa watched my madness with a smirk, I continued nibbling on Se-ryeong’s cheek to train her.
Finally, I released her and let go of my hold.
“The Buddha Jump Wall isn’t ready yet?! What the hell do you think I am?!”
The outside was noisy.