How Tantalizing
Jin Mu-gak felt impatience rising like a tide. Only yesterday it had seemed certain he would claim Seol-ran at once.
“I’m truly grateful, Elder…!”
He had succeeded in bringing her all the way to his house, yet he could not advance beyond that point.
“It feels as though this girl has been far too rude to you…”
While uttering such words, Seol-ran stood in the courtyard. Simply remaining on her feet seemed to tax her. Throughout their conversation she sweated profusely, her complexion turning deathly pale as though she might collapse at any moment.
That alone let him be certain: she was no daughter of some insignificant clan, but a runaway young lady from a distinguished family.
A woman this frail and beautiful could never be held by some worthless house. It would only invite calamity upon those with nothing to their name.
Not merely a notable family, but perhaps the daughter of a high minister. The possibility that she might even be a woman who had fled the royal or imperial palace swelled within him. The higher her family’s status, the greater the challenge, yet that only added to the thrill of conquest.
“You look exhausted. Why not come inside instead?”
Hiding his restlessness, he tried to lure Seol-ran into the house. Yet even while gasping for breath she shook her head. When she offered a faint smile on that pale face, nothing in the world could have been more beautiful.
He had never understood those odd men who favored women too weak to handle, but today he felt he might awaken to that very taste for the first time.
“Tomorrow… haa… this girl will surely…”
“Tomorrow?”
“So that I may… huuu… impose upon Elder’s home without causing trouble…”
Utterly spent, Seol-ran answered in a feeble voice between labored breaths. Today was impossible, but tomorrow she would stay.
Judging by the way things had gone yesterday and today, this naïve girl might not share his thoughts, yet improper ideas refused to leave his mind. Anticipation for tomorrow finally buried his impatience.
“Indeed, you truly don’t look well. I shall escort you to your lodging, young lady.”
“There’s no need… I’m quite all right…”
“No matter how well-traveled the road, this area is rather remote. It could prove dangerous.”
Only then did the attacker he had completely forgotten resurface in his thoughts. The man had not reappeared, yet he worried the fellow might harass Seol-ran instead.
Still, Seol-ran appeared right after that attack.
Jin Mu-gak’s expression grew enigmatic. He was not suspecting her. He had already held her hand several times and observed her body closely while they spoke.
That is certainly not the physique of a martial artist.
Among martial artists, those who neglected—no, outright despised—external cultivation were countless. They had ample reason.
Once one began training in any aspect of martial arts, other qualities followed naturally. The stronger one’s internal energy, the more resilient both body and mind became; that was only logical.
Yet Seol-ran’s body is as delicate as a newborn.
Therefore she had not trained even internal energy alone.
In that case, could she be working with the attacker?
It was possible, yet the attacker’s skill was undeniably poor. Had he possessed real ability, he would have approached long ago. There was simply no reason to push such a frail woman forward.
Would they use a body weaker than most children to lower my guard for a surprise attack?
He snorted at the impossible supposition. Even if they carried one of the world’s famed hidden weapons, it would be useless in the hands of someone in that condition.
As expected, the way the attacker and Seol-ran had appeared one after the other was nothing more than coincidence.
Still, if she were to throw herself at me in an attack, I might just let it land. Heh heh heh…
“Elder…?”
“You would do well to listen to me. In my travels across the world I have imposed upon many households.”
“Then you must have spread kindness everywhere you went?”
“It also means I have that many enemies. In fact, just yesterday a group from the Evil Faction attacked me.”
“What…? But didn’t I meet you only yesterday…?!”
Seol-ran covered her mouth, eyes round. Sweat slid down her chin and disappeared into the hollow of her collarbone. That sweat-glistened collarbone was the most sensual sight imaginable.
“Normally I would not speak of such things to an unrelated young lady. But since you must walk a dangerous road, I have no choice. You may have heard of them. The ones who attacked me yesterday were two of the Five Great Evils—renowned even among the Black Dao—”
Jin Mu-gak exaggerated yesterday’s assault and draped an arm around Ok-yeon’s shoulders. Had others been present he would not have gone so far, but the place where he stayed was nearly empty compared to the city center. Even now only two or three people worked the fields beside the road, with a single figure approaching from the opposite side. All of them regarded the Murim Alliance elder with proper reverence.
His position prevented anything further, yet even this filled him with the same ecstasy a boy feels when embracing his first love.
“Aah… how frightening…”
Seol-ran, clearly at her limit, leaned gently against him. As if to prove she had received proper upbringing, it was not a full shift of weight, merely enough to support her weary body—yet that too only heightened his pleasure.
“But you truly are remarkable, Elder… The Five Great Evils, no less.”
“Do not call such things remarkable. To me they are merely a shameful past. When I think of those who died because of me, only sorrow remains.”
“Even so… this girl has heard of the Five Great Evils…”
“Oh? Have you?”
It grated on him slightly. Probing the truth was unwise. Yet the fragrant scent rising from Ok-yeon’s body stole his reason and clouded his judgment. A mysterious woman indeed, whose sweat carried no trace of staleness despite how much she perspired.
“I was told that three of them are suspected to be Demonic Humans.”
Ok-yeon’s voice dropped to a whisper. Jin Mu-gak, lost in the young woman’s body, failed to notice how cold her tone had become.
“It is said Demonic Humans can never mingle with ordinary people. Yet countless numbers of them are apparently hiding throughout the Central Plains.”
“Heh, yes, that is correct.”
“Then the Five Evils suspected of being among them are most likely Demonic Humans.”
“Probably so. They cannot be explained otherwise.”
“Surely the ones Elder encountered were Demonic Humans.”
“Exactly what I—”
Jin Mu-gak, answering with a mind adrift, suddenly froze. He had spoken without realizing what he was saying.
Among the words that left his mouth, there was still no clear mistake.
“…They are dangerous. I hope you will not take any interest in such creatures.”
“Of course not. The only one this girl is interested in right now is you, Elder.”
“Hahaha! Indeed! I had not realized! Hahaha!”
“If I felt no interest, why would I have sought you out?”
“True! Quite true!”
Suspicion could not find purchase in his mind. Jin Mu-gak was too busy trying to hide a grin that threatened to split his face.
“While listening to your story, Elder, one question occurred to this girl.”
“A question? Ask freely. For Lady Seol I shall reveal everything without reservation.”
“You possess so many achievements, your reputation reaches even the ears of someone like me.”
His nostrils flared. Praise from a beauty could make even an old Taoist dance.
“And you are still so young.”
“Hehehe…”
“So why has someone like you gone into seclusion in such a rural place?”
Jin Mu-gak’s giggling face stiffened for the first time. Of course—Seol-ran’s question was the very one that had troubled him most recently. Naturally, he had already reached his own conclusion long ago.
“A stone that sticks out is bound to be hammered down.”
“A stone that sticks out.”
“Correct. Do you know a man named Sama Ryung?”
“Is he not the strategist of the Murim Alliance?”
“You are well informed.”
Her panting voice had grown clear and refined along with the whisper, yet Jin Mu-gak still failed to notice the change.
“How do you know of Sama Ryung?”
“From what this girl has heard, he is an outstanding man capable of preserving the Murim’s foundation during an age of peace and prosperity.”
“An age of peace and prosperity. Heh heh… How amusing.”
“Why is it amusing?”
“An age of peace and prosperity… No, that is beside the point. Sama Ryung is known as a benevolent man who walks the path of righteousness, is he not?”
“Yes, that is what I have heard.”
“That is why I call the people of the world fools. For the strategist of the Murim Alliance to walk the path of benevolence and righteousness? Even a dog would laugh.”
“Then… are you saying you were driven out by Strategist Sama, Elder?”
“Perceptive. Correct. That bastard framed me.”
On the surface, it was because accusations of Jin Mu-gak’s own corruption had poured in. Yet he believed most of them were false without doubt. That this Jin Mu-gak, who had endured for decades, would suddenly face a flood of random accusations with no prior warning? Nothing could be more ridiculous.
“That bastard is mad for power. Why else would he turn me into a useless old man in the back room and drive me out? So he could seize the entire Murim Alliance and manipulate it at will.”
“But he is already the strategist…”
“Even so, he is young. A brat ten years my junior. He pushed aside the Zhuge clan that had held the strategist position for so long and took the seat himself. It means he has no foundation.”
“Then he must have underestimated you, Elder…!”
Underestimated. The word grated. Jin Mu-gak answered with clear displeasure.
“It was not underestimation. He had to remove me to make swallowing the Murim Alliance easier.”
“Heavens… So Strategist Sama feared your righteousness, Elder!”
“Exactly.”
Jin Mu-gak made a show of glancing left and right. There was no one listening, of course. He thought quietly.
Telling the full truth felt somewhat inadequate. Compared to the advances he had made on Seol-ran so far, the truth lacked appeal.
Suddenly a word flashed through his mind.
Demonic Human.
Perhaps because she admired heroes, Seol-ran had shown an unusual reaction to that term throughout their conversation.
Of all things, a Demonic Human. Even for me, it is a subject to mention with caution.
Yet failing to use it would be negligence.
“I suspect Sama Ryung has ties to the Demonic Cult.”
“What…?!?”
As expected, the reaction was perfect. Her eyes widened like a frightened rabbit and she covered her mouth, face filled with terror. Then, trembling, she pressed even closer.
“Have the Demonic Humans stretched their hands all the way into the Murim Alliance?!”
“If that were not the case, none of this would make sense.”
Everything Jin Mu-gak had told Seol-ran until now had been built upon truth. The incident where he paid bandits to attack a passing daughter of the Tang clan had become the tale of rescuing a kidnapped Tang daughter. The matter of seducing a local magistrate’s young concubine, being discovered, and killing the magistrate had transformed into punishing a corrupt official. Burning an entire slash-and-burn village and cutting down those who fled had become a legend of wisely eradicating a den of villains. Threatening a young, unconnected female disciple of Mount Hua and turning her into his plaything had been recast as a secret act of chivalry helping a disciple with nowhere else to turn.
Then what of this story? Where did these statements—selling out Sama Ryung to elevate himself—come from?
For Jin Mu-gak, whose imagination was poor, the only well he could draw from was experience, embellishing it to sound plausible.
In any case, this wench will soon be utterly mine.
“There are several within the Murim Alliance who have joined hands with Demonic Humans. I have obtained evidence that Sama Ryung stands at their center.”
Once again, Jin Mu-gak delivered a story built upon truth yet artfully embellished.
“T-then… Strategist Sama is…”
“Shh…”
He was confident that even if such a story—something that must never reach anyone’s ears—reached this naïve young lady, it would cause no trouble.
“It seems we have already arrived at your lodging. You should go in now.”
“Already? But I haven’t heard the important part yet…”
To win the young woman’s heart, Jin Mu-gak spoke his modified truth.
“It is already dark. Why not continue listening tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow… then…”
“I told you. We have plenty of time.”
“Then tomorrow without fail…”
“Of course. Come find me tomorrow. I will prepare to welcome you properly.”
In the darkness, Jin Mu-gak smiled slyly. Seol-ran smiled radiantly.