A Necessary Examination
I spent nearly half an hour taking Dan Yuha's pulse. Anything less than a convincingly thorough examination, and she might grow suspicious. Even with my Deception skill, it was always wiser to tap the stone bridge before crossing it.
Dan Yuha waited for me with patient composure. At last, I lifted my hand from her wrist and spoke.
"It's a poison of the Poison Palace."
She looked at me with the same piercing gaze she'd fixed on the white tiger she'd just slain.
"Correct. To have discerned even that... Are you perhaps a disciple of Hua Tuo? Not a single renowned physician I have ever consulted — not even the master of the Medicine Sect himself — could identify this toxin. You are no ordinary child."
The Medicine Sect master hadn't identified it for an obvious reason. The Poison Palace had specifically designed this lethal toxin so that the Medicine Sect would never detect it — a hard counter to their medical arts.
Of course, given enough time, the Medicine Sect might well have unraveled it. But they never did. Because Dan Yuha belonged to the Unorthodox faction, they never devoted their full efforts to her treatment. That was how the conflict between Dan Yuha and the Medicine Sect had begun.
The Medicine Sect thought Dan Yuha was deceiving them, and she believed they were deceiving her.
The feud eventually reached its peak, and Dan Yuha and the Medicine Sect exchanged killing blows. It was then that she earned the moniker Rakshasa Demoness.
"The master of the Medicine Sect likely knew, my lady. I suspect he deliberately misled you because you belong to the Unorthodox path."
The Medicine Sect master hadn't known at all. But fabricating a convenient enemy would only raise her regard for me further. I lied to her as naturally as breathing.
"I see. I had suspected as much myself. The Orthodox faction — their hearts are black as pitch. One cannot trust them. Ah, forgive me. I did not mean you."
"Not at all. I share the same view. Those who drape themselves in the name of Orthodoxy are, for the most part, nothing but frauds and swindlers."
"You are an open-minded child. Heh. I find myself rather fond of you. Well then — if you have discovered that I am poisoned, I assume you also know how to treat it?"
Expectation now colored her voice. The chance to break free of the powerful toxin binding her — of course she would react this way. I put on a show of hesitation.
"I have not yet fully grasped the nature of this poison. The extreme toxins of the Poison Palace are as numerous as those employed by the Tang Clan. To examine the pulse more carefully..."
I let the sentence trail off deliberately.
"Is there something you require? If it is a matter of cost, do not concern yourself. I possess no small amount of wealth, you know."
"It is not a matter of money. The thing is... I would need to examine the patient's naked body to identify the precise toxin."
I threw down my gambit. At those words, Dan Yuha's mouth snapped shut.
If she saw through my lie, I would be in considerable trouble. But she had no way of knowing. Neither of us possessed any real medical knowledge, after all. And examining a patient's body during a consultation was hardly unusual.
For Dan Yuha, this is an offer she cannot refuse.
"My naked body... is that what you said?"
"Yes. Poisons of the Poison Palace are especially difficult to diagnose from outward symptoms alone. A thorough examination of the entire body is the only reliable method. However, to ask this of a lady such as yourself is somewhat..."
I trailed off again, and Dan Yuha sighed as she rose from her seat.
"If you see my body, you will be able to identify the poison with certainty?"
"As with all illnesses and toxins, I cannot give you a definitive answer. But the likelihood of identifying it will increase."
Acting too confident here would only invite suspicion. The key was to strike hard when striking, and pull back when pulling back. This was the time to pull back. I knew exactly how to earn someone's trust. All thanks to the Deception skill.
"Not a single soul has ever laid eyes upon the naked body of the woman you call the Rakshasa Demoness. And if any had, they would already have crossed into the afterlife. A woman's body is a thing of that much value. Do you not agree?"
"Th-that's right! How could a nobody like me dare look upon Lady Yuha's naked body? I only mentioned it because a simple pulse reading cannot reveal the poison. If you go to the Medicine Sect, there will be female physicians. Receiving an examination there would be more certain."
"The Medicine Sect and I have already crossed a river from which there is no return. Seeking treatment from them is no longer possible. If I did, they would assassinate me rather than heal me."
I knew that. That was why I had mentioned it — to make her understand that I was the only option left to her.
The Unorthodox faction had its share of reasonably famous physicians, but none who could match the Medicine Sect.
Dan Yuha could not easily come to a decision. In that case, time to play hard to get.
"I... I really should be heading back now."
"Wait. Stay a moment. You are saying that if you see my body, you can treat me, one way or another?"
"I cannot give you a definite answer, but... it would be better than what we have now."
"Very well... Follow me."
At last, Dan Yuha steeled her resolve. She led me to a small room deeper within the residence. Inside were a modest bed, a dressing table, and a wardrobe. Her bedroom, apparently.
Dan Yuha undressed with the composed grace of a noblewoman. First the silk outer robe, then the light inner garments beneath.
Her clothes were folded neatly and placed beside the bed, her Rakshasa mask set on top. Soon she stood in nothing but a breast-binding and undergarments. Strangely, it was more arousing than a model in a bikini.
Dan Yuha stood about five-foot-three — not particularly tall — but her proportions were so exquisite she could have passed for a model without shame. Watching such a beauty stand there, shyly covering her chest and groin, my cock responded immediately.
She hadn't even taken off her undergarments yet, and it was already this intense. How much more staggering would it be when she was fully bare? In my imagination, I had already fucked her twice.
"You would do well to consider the sight of this lady's naked body an honor among honors. Should you so much as breathe a word of this..."
"Good heavens! How could I ever spread such nonsense about having seen Lady Dan Yuha naked? Even if I did, everyone would simply take me for a madman."
"Well... I suppose that is true."
She hesitated as she said this, then glanced at me, gauging my reaction, before speaking again.
"Must I... remove even the undergarments?"
"A woman's breasts and vaginal opening are where toxic compounds tend to accumulate. I must examine them especially carefully to avoid a misdiagnosis."
"Then I suppose there is no choice."
Dan Yuha drew a deep breath, as if steeling herself, and then removed her breast-binding. I turned away out of consideration. I had wanted to watch her strip herself, but this seemed like the moment to take a step back. I would have my fill of her naked body soon enough — there was nothing to regret.
"It is done."
At her words, I turned around. Dan Yuha, now completely stripped of both her breast-binding and undergarments, lay on the bed with her face covered.
"Examine me quickly."
An unmistakable tremor ran through her voice. No woman could help but tremble in a situation like this. I approached her slowly.
A perfect body, just as I thought. And I'm going to make every inch of it mine... Heheh!
How could the female form be so varied, so beautiful?
This was a completely different body from Sujin or Yeonji, from Luna or Sera or Arme. Not so much in shape as in atmosphere.
Unlike Sera's voluptuous figure, which blatantly provoked male desire, this was a body of exquisite overall balance. Her breasts stood out round and plump, like steamed buns, looking to be about a B-cup. What was unusual was how large her areolae and nipples were. I wanted to take them in my mouth and suck on them right then and there.
I placed my hand on her stomach.
"I will examine you by touch. I shall begin from the top."
Her skin was soft, yet paradoxically firm. The body of a well-trained martial artist. There was no overt musculature, but boundless vitality pulsed beneath the skin.
My hand moved across Dan Yuha's body. The chest first. The higher my hand climbed, the more violently her body trembled.
"I will check the heart. Please forgive me if my hand passes over any indecent places."
"Nnh...! It is fine."
Her voice sounded anything but fine, but I had received permission. I brought my hand to her breast. It filled my palm quite nicely. I kneaded and brushed around her chest, savoring her reactions.
"Nnh...! Nnh...!"
I almost felt sorry for her, struggling so hard to ignore the unfamiliar sensation. This was surely the first time a man's hand had ever passed over such a precious place.
In the original story, Dan Yuha had been a virgin. That was why the protagonist Gong Woosun had tried so desperately to win her over — and ultimately failed. Among the heroines Gong Woosun had failed to conquer, Dan Yuha had been quite popular.
Gong Woosun failed. But failure doesn't exist for me.
I had information Gong Woosun never possessed. With that alone, conquering not only his heroines but even the ones he couldn't was a simple matter.
"Hmm. Just as I thought. I can feel the turbid energy of the poison in the heart. Centered here... the energy has gathered through the chest all the way to the nipples. This is no ordinary toxin."
I rambled on while gently rolling her nipples between my fingers. The sensation of tormenting those nipples with my thumb and forefinger was exquisite. Dan Yuha couldn't even follow my explanation, moaning instead. For a woman who had remained a virgin well into her years, my caresses — honed through countless real encounters — were far too much to endure.
"And this... it connects downward as well. Through the heart to the dantian and below... I need to examine a little further."
The breasts had been conquered. Next was her pussy. My hand descended boldly. After lightly passing over her dantian, my fingers headed for Dan Yuha's groin.
Her pubic hair was sparse. It didn't look like she had trimmed it deliberately — she was simply the type born with little hair.
Is it okay to go this far? Her expression looks completely out of it, so it should be fine.
I calculated internally as I brought my hand to her pussy. The outer lips were small and neat; the inner lips were slightly asymmetrical, fluttering like little wings. It wasn't extreme — if anything, it was cute.
Her face was that of a lofty, elegant beauty, but her pussy was more adorable than beautiful. The clitoris was buried within.
"I will examine the vaginal opening."
"Nnhhh! Nnh!"
Squish. Squish.
Love juices flowed freely from her pussy. She was aroused by the first sexual stimulation of her life. It was so easy I almost laughed.
To think he couldn't even conquer a woman this easy. Gong Woosun, that bastard, was clearly an idiot. Or maybe I was just that exceptional. Probably the latter.