A Cruel Bargain
Yeongso looked around, searching for the embroidery frame she had been holding until last night. Did the maid put it away? For some reason, it was nowhere to be seen. If she couldn't find a needle or thread, she needed something else—something small, thin, and easily overlooked.
Just then, Banya spoke suddenly from over Jang-gyeong's shoulder.
"What are you searching for so diligently, my lady?"
Jang-gyeong blew a small whistle hanging from his necklace. A sharp, grating sound pierced the air, echoing into the distance. At this, Banya wore an expression of genuine curiosity. Still keeping his eyes on Yeongso, he addressed Jang-gyeong.
"General Seo Jang-gyeong, you don't actually believe someone is coming to save you, do you?"
Banya curled up one corner of his mouth.
"That isn't going to happen. Because I've already severed the tendons of all your men. And just in case you were curious..." Banya mimicked slicing his own throat with the edge of his hand. "...I gave them a little nick here, too. Even if they try to scream with all their might, nothing but a wheezing hiss will come out."
"You bastard..."
"I mean, why did you stop me back then? It was the perfect opportunity to slit the throat of Hwa Mujin, who had fled all the way to the border." Banya reached out, and the fan embedded in the bedpost flew back into his hand with a sharp clack.
"Brother Jang-gyeong, watch your back!"
Desperate, Yeongso channeled her qi into a curtain lying on the floor and flung it forward. Sweeping across the floor in an instant, the curtain wrapped around Banya's ankle like a snake.
Banya let out a knowing laugh. "Heavenly Killing Star."
At his master's low call, his loyal subordinate, Ma Ryun, burst into the bedchamber. A pair of gleaming blue sabers sliced through the air, clashing violently against Jang-gyeong's sword. It was a fierce clash. In the meantime, Banya tore the curtain around his ankle to shreds and flew straight toward the bed.
She could no longer hide her martial arts. Yeongso gathered the qi rising from her dantian into her palm. She intended to wield the edge of her hand like a sword to face Banya. Though she did not know the true extent of the strongest master of the Unorthodox Path, Yeongso was not afraid. Her late master, after all, had been a legend who dominated an entire era.
However, there was one thing Yeongso had overlooked: Jang-gyeong believed his wife was merely a fragile, helpless woman.
"Sister Yeongso!"
The moment he turned his head to stop Banya, a fatal opening appeared in Jang-gyeong's stance. Ma Ryun did not miss it.
Clang! Clack-clack-clang!
Before they could even exchange three blows, Ma Ryun's murderous blade slashed across Jang-gyeong's right ribs.
"Brother!"
Yeongso quickly converted the sword qi gathered in her palm into a palm strike and unleashed it at Ma Ryun. But before even half of her energy could fly, Banya intervened.
"So, my lady is the famous Baekri Yeongso, the greatest beauty of Hadong, yes? Rumor has it that even flowers blush and the moon hides in your presence." Banya blocked Yeongso's attack with his fan, smiling with deep satisfaction. "Indeed, you are worthy of bearing this Alliance Leader's seed."
"What nonsense...!"
"Heavenly Killing Star, how fare things on your end?"
Ma Ryun replied, "Just say the word, Alliance Leader. I will take this man's head this very instant."
Hearing Ma Ryun's confident voice, Yeongso's eyes wavered. She wanted to turn her head immediately to check on Jang-gyeong, but Banya was not an opponent she could afford to lose focus on.
"Baekri Yeongso, are you curious to see if your husband is safe?" Banya, parrying the edge of her hand with his fan, gestured with his chin. "I shall turn you around so you can see for yourself."
Banya pulled Yeongso by one shoulder. With that, their positions swapped. Now, without even having to turn her head, Yeongso could see her husband over Banya's shoulder.
"Brother Jang-gyeong!"
Ma Ryun was pinning Jang-gyeong's head to the floor with his right foot. A terrifyingly sharp blade was pressed directly against Jang-gyeong's throat. Even if his hands and feet were free, a man pinned in such a manner could not budge an inch. The slightest movement would slit his throat.
"Right here." Having slipped behind Yeongso before she knew it, Banya gently cupped her lower abdomen as he continued. "If you simply receive my seed to the brim, I will spare your husband's life."
Banya emphasized that it would only be once.
"Not for many nights, nor many times. Just once. Surely... General Seo's life is worth at least that much?"
In that moment, Yeongso realized why people called him the most vicious man alive. This man fed on the suffering of others; it was his greatest pleasure. Therefore, if she accepted his proposal, he would indeed let Jang-gyeong live. He would keep his word. Because only if Jang-gyeong survived would everyone suffer even more.
"What about the lives of the other servants?"
"We will leave without harming another soul."
"If you have already killed them all..."
"No, my lady. I swear on my name as the Alliance Leader of the Thousand Death Alliance." Banya offered a bright smile. "We've only killed about fifteen so far."
Yeongso squeezed her eyes shut. She could only pray that the final moments of those who had been slaughtered were as painless as possible. Then, she let out a long breath. She resolved not to think about what would happen after tonight. It would be agonizing to look at each other's faces. But just because I lack the confidence to endure that pain doesn't mean I should let him kill us now. It won't just be Brother Jang-gyeong and me who die—everyone in the Duke's household will be massacred.
"My lady, it seems you have made up your mind," Banya whispered tenderly against Yeongso's ear.
Jang-gyeong screamed at his wife, begging her never to agree. Opening her eyes, Yeongso saw the blood pooling on the floor from her husband's other wounds.
"Personally, I would prefer Seo Jang-gyeong to watch with his own eyes, but if it bothers you... I can gouge his eyes out."
Yeongso's body shuddered. Banya was already holding her from behind, his embrace so tight they were practically one. He playfully licked her earlobe with the tip of his tongue.
"Hwa Banya! I will kill you! I swear I will!"
"What shall we do, my lady?" Banya gently bit her soft earlobe. "Shall I gouge them out?"
"...No."
"What about his voice? Isn't that spiteful shouting grating on your ears? If the Heavenly Killing Star makes just a tiny nick, it will turn into nothing but a wheezing hiss. Ah," Banya gasped in mock realization, "there is also the option of cutting out his tongue."
"Don't do it. His eyes, his tongue... do not touch a single part of my husband."
Banya smacked his lips as if disappointed. "General Seo Jang-gyeong is a very lucky man. To have such a beautiful and kind-hearted wife."
Jang-gyeong, his head pressed against the cold floor, glared at Banya with bloodshot eyes. He screamed, asking if Banya did not fear divine retribution. He vowed to take his revenge by killing Banya in the most brutal way possible.
"Well, indeed," Banya smirked. "When taking a wife by force right in front of her husband, this kind of background noise only adds to the excitement."
Yeongso's body was pushed backward onto the bed. The bedding, newly changed for tonight, smelled of warm sunlight. On the pillowcase, a pair of butterflies embroidered by Yeongso's own hands seemed to flutter playfully.
"If there is good news in a couple of months, be sure to send word to the Thousand Death Alliance." Banya tugged at the tie of Yeongso's nightgown. The pure white collar parted, exposing her bare skin. "For I would never mistreat the mother of my child."
With gleaming eyes, Banya looked down at Yeongso and pressed the blood-stained tip of his fan between her breasts. As it slowly traced down her abdomen to her lower belly, a cold shiver ran through her. When Yeongso tried to close her eyes, Banya stopped her.
"Seo Jang-gyeong may close his eyes, but you may not."
A sharp, concentrated force gathered at the tip of Banya's fan. With the sound of tearing silk, Yeongso's undergarments split down the middle. Banya admired her beautiful, bare form with satisfaction. Then, he noticed Yeongso repeatedly glancing toward Jang-gyeong.
"You seem quite worried about your injured husband. But it is rather irritating that you cannot focus on me because of him."
He declared he would change his plans. At Banya's command, Ma Ryun grabbed Jang-gyeong by the hair and dragged him out of the room. Seeing the door close, Yeongso turned deathly pale.
"You said you wouldn't kill him!"
"I won't. I wouldn't dream of it. It's just that General Seo's presence has suddenly become quite bothersome. While I couple with you, I shall have him kneel right outside the door."