The Plight of the Jongnam Sect (3)
The next day after the Shaanxi medicine gathering, the disciples from Jongnam who had participated in the tournament were still staying at the Zhaogong Palace.
It was their custom to return directly to the mountain valley where their sect was located and, for three days, enjoy the city air and relieve the fatigue accumulated during that period.
However, this time the Jongnam disciples who had participated in the Shaanxi medicine gathering could not properly enjoy their much-needed break because of the sect leader who dragged them all the way to Xi'an to lecture them.
They devoted themselves to training all day like when they were at the sect, and could only eat meals or take short outings.
In the midst of all this, Ban So-ok visited the Zhaogong Palace.
Wi Ji-seol welcomed her with a startled expression.
"Sister Ok, what brings you here?"
"Of course, I came because I missed you. How have you been, Seol-ah?"
Jongnam and Mount Hua had been long-standing rivals, but Ban So-ok's kind and friendly nature meant that quite a few Jongnam disciples were close to her, and Wi Ji-seol was one of them.
Wi Ji-seol guided Ban So-ok to the guest room and served her tea.
Ban So-ok looked at Wi Ji-seol's face, which she was facing, and asked with concern.
"You've become quite thin... Is there something troubling you?"
At that, Wi Ji-seol's eyes trembled.
She forced a smile and replied.
"It's just that training time has increased lately, so I'm a bit tired. Don't worry about it."
It was a lie.
Because Wi Ji-seol truly loved her sword and martial arts, no matter how grueling the training was, vitality always radiated from her face.
She had never once shown the dull, gloomy expression she had now.
What truly tormented her was...
‘Khehehe… Come here, Miss Wi Ji-seol. I will examine your jade body thoroughly.'
‘Kk, unlike your stiff expression, your skin is incredibly soft. Good. Very good.'
‘Whoa, this side has a lot of clotted blood. I will treat it for you. It might hurt a little, but bear with it. Hahaha…'
Wi Ji-seol bit her lips to keep her inner thoughts from spilling out.
She knew that the disgusting goatee was not like a lofty being, the incarnation of Bian Que.
But the forbidden efficacy it created was real.
By eating it, she had even fought evenly with Ho-yeon Chan, whom she ranked as the strongest among the Five Dragons and Five Phoenixes, including the last seat.
To revive the Jongnam Sect in the shortest time possible, the forbidden medicine was necessary.
If she could only ease the hatred of the sworn brothers who had sacrificed their lives for her sake in the orthodox great war, thinking only of the future of Jongnam.
Wi Ji-seol could endure any shame.
Even if it meant abandoning the pride of a martial artist and acting like a prostitute.
In the end, Wi Ji-seol never revealed the truth to Ban So-ok until the very end.
When they had chatted for about thirty minutes and stepped out of the guest room.
Guan Xiao-san, the man with the goatee, appeared right in front of them as if he had been waiting.
"I heard you had arrived, Miss Wi Ji-seol. Is this lady the wife of the Geumwon Express? Hehehe… She is as beautiful as the full-blooming plum blossom in rumors."
"Seol-ah, who is this person?"
"This person is… the imperial physician of the former succession medicine of Jongnam, Dr. Jin Wol-in…"
"It is an honor to meet you, lady. I am Jin Wol-in. Although I am unworthy, the disciples of Jongnam call me the holy doctor."
At that, Ban So-ok lightly clapped her hands in admiration.
"Oh my, you seem to be incredibly skilled in medicine. It is fortunate timing. I was about to call a physician because my body is not in good shape. May I receive a pulse check from you, holy doctor?"
"Sister Ok, the holy doctor is busy, so just another physician…"
Because she knew Guan Xiao-san's dirty nature, Wi Ji-seol hurriedly tried to stop Ban So-ok, but the matter was already spilled.
"Of course it is possible. Fortunately, I am free, so I can treat the lady as much as you like. Come this way, please. Miss Wi Ji-seol, I will escort the lady well, so you may return to train."
Guan Xiao-san left Wi Ji-seol standing there restlessly and took Ban So-ok to his own room.
"Sit down, lady. Where does it hurt?"
"Actually… I almost had a terrible accident not long ago. Since then, my heart has been racing and uneasy at odd times, so I haven't been able to sleep properly."
"I see. Let me check your pulse."
Ban So-ok extended her arm, and Guan Xiao-san pressed it and closed his eyes.
“Huuuuum… You have suffered a great shock, and there is qi stagnation in your body. Do not worry. If I apply acupuncture, you will recover fully. The only issue is that the acupuncture points are inside…"
Guan Xiao-san slyly licked his lips once. His appearance was like a snake about to swallow its prey.
"I am sorry, but may I ask you to remove some of your clothes? Of course, it is only for treatment. I never harbor any ill intentions toward patients, so you can rest easy."
"Yes, holy doctor. Shall I take off only the outer robe? Or the undergarments as well?"
Because Ban So-ok spoke casually with an enormous voice, Guan Xiao-san's eyes bulged like frog eyes.
"Y-yes? What did you just say…?"
"I asked whether to remove only the outer robe or the undergarments as well."
“Crh! It would be better to remove the undergarments as well… Are you really all right? Even if you are a man and a woman, there is something special… ”
"There is no need to feel shy about showing your body to the physician. Then I will take it off immediately."
Sloruk—
Ban So-ok slowly loosened her waist cord.
Guan Xiao-san swallowed his saliva and stared at the scene with his eyes bulging.
However, Ban So-ok's hand, which was lowering her skirt, suddenly paused.
"Ah, I almost forgot my mind."
She quickly pulled the skirt back up, tied the waist cord, and bowed her head toward the dumbfounded Guan Xiao-san.
"I forgot that I had an important appointment. I need to return to the express immediately, so I cannot receive treatment. However, since I was able to determine the condition through pulse diagnosis, it is fortunate. Thank you, holy doctor. Goodbye."
"Wait, please, lady! Although your condition seems light at first glance, if you do not take proper action, it could worsen greatly. Even if you are busy, you must receive my treatment! I am the only one who can treat you!"
"Is that so? What to do… Ah, perhaps the holy doctor could come to our house later to treat me?"
For Guan Xiao-san, who was hiding because of the bounty on his head, it was a difficult request.
"That is difficult. My acupuncture is a secret technique coveted by many. To prevent the leakage of the secret, I do not perform house visits."
"If that is the case, do not worry. If you receive treatment in my bedroom after having my servants bite you, there will be no cause for concern."
"I-in the lady's bedroom… Just the holy doctor and the lady?"
Ban So-ok whispered to Guan Xiao-san in a charming voice with an amorous smile.
"Yes, in my bedroom, the holy doctor and I alone. Today there is no husband, so… the holy doctor can leisurely examine my body… No one will interrupt."
***
After Ban So-ok left.
“Khehehe! That seductive one! She is openly seducing!”
Guan Xiao-san could not control his excitement and wandered around his room by himself.
"I never imagined that the famous pure Ban So-ok was actually such a seductive beauty. Is the lower half of her husband’s body weak? Well, for a merchant with only fat on his belly, it is a bit too much. Hehehe… Wait, So-ok. Today this old man will teach you what a real man is."
Guan Xiao-san spent a pleasant time imagining various ways to taste Ban So-ok's mature female body.
Soon the appointment time approached.
Guan Xiao-san, who had written the death warrant, came out with a bundle.
Before passing the main gate, Un-heo Jin-in followed him.
“Hoho, holy doctor. Where are you going?”
“To breathe some fresh air, I am going to check if there are any new herbs at the medicine shop.”
“Is that so. I will provide escort.”
Guan Xiao-san waved his hand.
This old man hated Mount Hua fiercely, and if he said he was going to visit the wife of Ban So-ok, who was a disciple of Mount Hua, he would surely go wild and block him.
Guan Xiao-san refused Un-heo Jin-in's proposal, thinking such a thing.
“No, no. Escort is not necessary. I occasionally want to enjoy my own time.”
“Hmm… If that is the case, then it cannot be helped. Be careful and return.”
Guan Xiao-san, who had come out to the street, quickly moved his feet, anxious that someone might recognize him.
When Guan Xiao-san arrived in front of the Geumwon Express, one of Ban So-ok's escort guards met him.
"Welcome, holy doctor."
The legs of Guan Xiao-san, who met eyes with him, trembled for a moment.
'What the fuck. Why are those fresh young eyes so fierce?'
Guan Xiao-san followed the man through the outer courtyard bustling with escort guards, fighters, and wanted posters, and reached the inner courtyard where the national lord couple resided.
Then, in the middle of the courtyard, the man suddenly stopped.
Guan Xiao-san asked him with an odd expression.
"Why suddenly? The wife will be waiting for me, so let's hurry."
Then the man laughed and replied.
"You are mistaken, Guan Xiao-san. The one waiting for you now is not the wife, but the underground prison of the Murim Alliance."
"...!!!..."
***
The moment I mentioned my real name, Guan Xiao-san realized he was caught in a trap and tried to run away immediately.
But before his feet touched the ground, I kicked his shin.
Baaak!
“Kuwaaaak!”
Guan Xiao-san grabbed his broken leg and rolled on the floor.
Taking his scream as a signal, the subordinates of Murim Alliance Shaanxi branch chief Gwak Song came out, leading them.
“Capture the criminal!”
Following Gwak Song's command, the martial artists of the Murim Alliance tightly bound Guan Xiao-san with ropes and pressed his acupoints.
Guan Xiao-san, whose mouth was numb, could no longer scream, but the pain from his broken leg was the same, so tears and saliva poured out.
One of the martial artists pulled out Guan Xiao-san's goatee and compared it with the wanted poster he held in his hand.
“It is Guan Xiao-san!”
Guan Xiao-san’s eyes were now rolled white.
Pulling out the entire beard would hurt like hell.
Anyway, the Murim people must be handled roughly.
At that moment, the main contributor to this matter, Ban So-ok, approached me with her husband Ha-hu Bong.
I gave her a formal greeting.
“Thank you, wife of Ban. Thanks to you, I was able to catch that bastard easily.”
She gave me a formal greeting in return and said.
“No. I should thank you. Thanks to the great hero, one more villain who disturbed the Shaanxi has been eliminated.”
Last night, I had thought long about how to deal with Guan Xiao-san.
As a Muwon Assassin, it would be simple to assassinate him, but I could not receive the merit and bounty.
If I caught him as a righteous person, the fact that he was now a honored guest of Jongnam was an obstacle.
If I told Jongnam about Guan Xiao-san's scam, Un-heo Jin-in, who believed him, would not listen and would protect him even more thoroughly.
In the end, it was necessary to pull him outside Jongnam's territory.
Then one of his famous characteristics came to mind.
That bastard loved beautiful married women wildly.
The reason a bounty was on his head was because he drugged married women who came as patients pretending to be physicians and raped them, then touched the wife of the Murim Alliance deputy commander.
The deputy commander would definitely bear a grudge, so Guan Xiao-san in the Murim Alliance underground prison would never die peacefully.
For such reasons, I explained the situation to Ban So-ok, the Shaanxi's most famous beautiful married woman, and asked her to act as bait.
Ban So-ok gladly accepted my request.
She said she had tried similar tactics many times when she was traveling with the Plum Blossom Sword Master and confidently left for Zhaogong Palace.
She successfully caught Guan Xiao-san in one go.
Unlike her gentle appearance, Ban So-ok was a seasoned female warrior who had lived through many battles.
And I immediately requested support from the Murim Alliance Shaanxi branch chief using the imperial dragon token for his immediate arrest, and the guy from the alliance was waiting for him to arrive.
Since I caught the initial cause of Jongnam's collapse, it was now time to catch the decisive reason for Jongnam's downfall.
I sent a transmission to Se-ryeong and Ye-hwa, who were looking down gracefully from the roof of the adjacent building.
[Prepare for battle. We are going to Zhaogong Palace right away.]