Shura Faints!
"Aah... There are so many people!!!"
Dalsan wasn't one of the truly massive metropolises in the Murim, but it still qualified as a respectable mid-tier city.
Typically, you'd find one large city like this, surrounded by scattered, truly remote villages dotting the landscape at irregular intervals.
The ruling power over this city was called the lord, but if you looked closer, it was usually a single family holding everything like a noble house, or an organization like a sect wielding violent influence, or a guild-like professional association, or even a religious faction in control.
In some places, multiple groups formed uneasy alliances or coalitions to maintain dominance. The variety was endless.
Because of this, regions outside the city walls had almost no reach from administrative or judicial authorities. They became lawless zones, outlaw territories where anything went.
As a result, people kept flooding into the cities. Urban populations swelled while rural areas shrank. This influx worsened public order, turning cities into chaotic battlegrounds straight out of hell on earth—the current state of the Murim.
Of course, this world wasn't inhabited by humans alone. Countless monsters, witches, beastkin, demons, goblins, and other bizarre lifeforms, ghosts, and strange entities existed that most people didn't even know about. That was another reason humans clustered together in cities—for mutual protection and survival.
Cities across the Murim all looked roughly the same. Massive, imposing defensive walls encircled them, sometimes with moats. Usually two to four gates stood at the cardinal directions, guarded by soldiers who opened them at sunrise and closed them at sunset.
Inside the walls stood a jumble of shops, offices, government buildings, and ordinary houses. At the center lay a public square and the grand main castle where the city lord resided. Some castles had their own moats; others were simply large structures.
Buildings came in various styles, but most resembled the sleek wooden houses common in Japan. This region apparently had plenty of cedar trees, just like Japan. Their sturdy, straight trunks made construction easy, even allowing two- or three-story buildings.
Unlike rural homes with thatched roofs, many city buildings used tiles. Some even had flat, slab-like roofs whose construction method Pungjin couldn't yet figure out.
Every shop and store displayed eye-catching signs to lure customers. The roads were paved with flat stones, giving them a refined look free of dust.
In many cases the city had outgrown its original walls, so more people lived outside than inside. Sometimes the walls enclosed only government offices and residences of the lord and elites, with commoners living beyond them.
Dalsan, however, was a classic Chinese-style fortress city, its massive walls surrounding the entire urban area.
Pungjin wandered the bustling streets, wide-eyed like a country bumpkin at the sight of this otherworldly Murim cityscape.
Shura, though unfamiliar with humans, had visited cities before to gather yin energy, so the scene wasn't as shocking to her as it was to him.
Still, for incubi like Shura, cities brimmed with potent yin energy. In the past, incubi had targeted monks in urban areas, but temple rules had changed. Monks now gained experience and protected themselves with talismans and sacred objects. These days, incubi preferred innocent young men in remote villages and rarely appeared in cities full of jaded people.
In a sense, the monks owed the incubi a debt for forcing the temples to revise their rules and allow them sexual experience.
Pungjin found a nearby restaurant and ate dinner with Shura. It was his first time eating out at a proper establishment since arriving in this world.
Shura had never eaten human food either, so dining at a restaurant was a first for her too. They glanced around nervously, copying the other tables as they ordered.
They'd already sampled the local cuisine back in Hyerim's village, but restaurant fare had to be a cut above, right?
The menu looked like typical Chinese dishes. Fitting for the Murim, he supposed. At least it wasn't Western or European medieval cuisine—that would have been harder to adapt to.
Surprisingly, rice was available here, though it was apparently precious and priced accordingly. Still craving it after so long, Pungjin ordered a bowl along with a drink that resembled makgeolli. The rice being expensive made the liquor pricey too.
He'd tried something like wine in Hyerim's village, but nothing else. That area had no rice paddies, so rice-based foods and drinks were scarce.
Rice really was the best, he thought. It stored well for years, could be fermented into makgeolli or distilled into soju, turned into syrup like honey or candy, ground into rice cakes, made into sweet drinks, or even used for snacks and vinegar. It was truly all-purpose.
Ahh, he missed beer and cola. This wasn't military boot camp, damn it. The things you crave were always the same.
Pungjin imagined mastering magic and alchemy someday, perfecting water control, mass-producing rice farming, and becoming a tycoon by introducing beer and cola to the world. Meanwhile, he dug into the sweet-and-sour pork-like dish that had just arrived, washing it down with the liquor.
"Kyaah..."
The drink tasted great.
"Wait, Master—no, Oppa, why are you drinking alone? Give me some too~"
Since he couldn't let her call him "Master" in front of others, Pungjin had told Shura to address him as "Oppa."
"Hey, aren't you underage? Drinking this stuff will get you in trouble. This is alcohol, you know. Not that you'd understand..."
"What are you talking about, Oppa? You're a slash-and-burn farmer who doesn't know anything either. I've observed humans for ages. I know plenty. Hmph, if you won't pour for me, I'll just help myself~"
"Ah, no way. That would be disastrous. If I did something like that back in the Eastern Land of Courtesy, the elders would have beaten me senseless."
"Aang, I don't know what that means, but if Oppa does it, I always like it... Wait, slash-and-burn farmers had countries too? Eastern?? Kingdom??"
Even as she poured her own cup, Shura kept babbling nonsense. Pungjin poured her a drink, then made her pour one for him, teaching her how to clink glasses properly. They tapped their cups together with a cheerful clang and downed them.
"Ugh!! W-what's with this taste? This is alcohol??? It's so strong..."
"You said you'd take it in one shot, so why aren't you finishing it? Drink up already."
"Oppa, why is your face suddenly so red? And your voice..."
"Ah... I'm... drunk..."
"Huh? So humans really do turn into dogs after drinking this? I thought it was some kind of magic."
"Haha, calling it turning into a dog... Don't say stuff like that so casually. You should drink a few more cups yourself. Then you'll understand."
Reminded of his past as a wolf-dog, Pungjin felt a chill. What if drinking made him revert to being a wolf or dog again? The fear made him stop drinking entirely, leaving the rest of the liquor to Shura.
"Hah... Master, I think I'm drunk... I feel weird... If I'd known it felt this good, I would've tried it sooner..."
After finishing their meal and returning to the room, the alcohol finally hit Shura and she started acting up.
"Ugh, shut up. I'm dying of sleepiness."
Feeling tipsy himself and annoyed, Pungjin covered Shura's mouth with his hand to quiet her.
Shura licked his palm like a dog, lapping at the hand that silenced her.
The sensation was strangely ticklish and pleasant. Soon Pungjin slipped his fingers into her mouth to explore.
"Mmm... Master, your fingers taste good... slurp... slurp..."
Shura sucked on his fingers as if they were a cock. Pungjin thrust them in and out, then pushed deeper to probe inside her mouth. The slippery, wet sensation of her tongue wrapping around them and the slick inner walls made him press his other hand firmly against her crotch.
"Mmph... mmph... mmph...!!! slurp... slurp... huff... huff... ngh..."
As his fingers stirred wildly inside her mouth, his other hand matched the rhythm between her legs. Shura thrashed her head side to side, moaning intensely, but the fingers in her mouth muffled every word.
Behind her, Pungjin's raging erection pressed against her backside. He rocked his hips as if they were actually having sex.
Fingers in her mouth, fingers between her legs, and his cock grinding against her rear—all three points moved in sync, rubbing, shaking, and twisting. Shura's mind went blank with overwhelming pleasure.
"Hngh... hngh... hnghhh...>0
She climaxed nonstop, her body twitching and convulsing as if electrified. Whether from the intense pleasure or lack of oxygen with her mouth covered, Shura's eyes rolled back and she fainted, drooling.
It hadn't been intentional, but Pungjin had successfully silenced her. He fondled her plump breasts and rear as he drifted off to sleep.