Bokmyeon Eumwang (1)
"Where exactly did you lose that Jade Fan Poison Demon?"
"Lost him on the streets of Heukjeonga. Odds are he's holed up somewhere among the black dens in there."
"The black dens of Heukjeonga? What kind of place is that?"
"It's the black market of Myeon-yang. Every illegal trade under the sun thrives there—gambling, drugs, prostitution, performances, auctions, the works."
"What? There's a place like that here in Myeon-yang?"
"Haha. Hardly a city in the land without a black market, young lady. Only difference is the size. Myeon-yang's is called Heukjeonga, and a fair number of martial artists have already poured into it."
At the news that the Jade Fan Poison Demon was somewhere in Heukjeonga, Eon Mimi's eyes lit up.
"Young Hero Hyun, shall we go take a look at Heukjeonga?"
"Why Heukjeonga?"
"They say that Jade Fan Poison Demon is carrying the Black Sword Emperor's martial manual, don't they?"
"And he's a Peak expert who practices poison arts on top of that. He's not someone you can handle, Young Lady Eon."
"If we fight him together, though—wouldn't that be enough?"
"With me?"
"Mm. With you and us sisters together, I think we could manage."
"It wouldn't just be the Jade Fan Poison Demon. Taking him down would be hard enough, but the moment we kill him and claim the Black Sword Emperor's manual, every other martial artist in the place will turn on us. Get greedy for treasure and you'll put your life on the line."
"Ah—the other martial artists. Now that you mention it, hundreds of them are after it. The second we seize the treasure, we become the target. And then our lives really would be in danger."
"Exactly. So let's not get greedy for treasure."
The real reason I had no interest in the Black Sword Emperor's manual was that I already possessed martial arts of a higher grade. But the two sisters, still stuck at the First-Class level, found it hard to let go of their longing for a Peak-tier supreme technique like the Black Sword Emperor's.
"All right. I won't covet the Jade Fan Poison Demon's treasure. But we can still go sightseeing in Heukjeonga, can't we?"
"Sightseeing in Heukjeonga?"
"You said illegal everything thrives there. I'm curious what kind of place it is."
"Ahem—Young Lady Jincheonhwa! Heukjeonga is a dangerous place. Full of rough characters who don't give a damn about the law."
"Hmph. But we're martial artists, aren't we? We're hardly the sort to fall prey to street thugs."
"Well, true enough. And with three people who managed to take down the Jiangshi Poison Demon going together, it shouldn't be too dangerous."
"Young Hero Hyun, you heard him? Even Senior Gujigae says the three of us will be fine if we just go look around."
"Fine. We'll eat first, then head over."
The conversation over our meal with Senior Gujigae settled it—after we finished eating, we would go tour Heukjeonga. Once we had a rough idea of the location from Gujigae, we set out.
"Hmm. Martial artists are definitely standing out. Looks like that Jade Fan Poison Demon has drawn a lot of them in and out of the place."
"Mimi, doesn't this place feel awfully gloomy, though?"
"Black markets are all like that."
Heukjeonga was a warren of buildings packed so tightly that sunlight barely reached the ground. Even in the middle of the day, almost no light filtered in, leaving the whole district dim and oppressive.
The moment we stepped inside, every man on the street turned lust-filled eyes toward the Eon sisters. Had they been ordinary women, something ugly would already have happened. But the swords at their waists marked them as martial artists, and that was enough to keep the men from going any further. Even the local toughs knew better than to pick a fight with trained fighters.
Deeper past the entrance, a riot of shops lined the way, barkers calling out to every passerby. The touts made the whole street noisy and chaotic.
We were strolling past the storefronts when a young man caught hold of my sleeve.
"Young master! Heukjeonga's finest performance is about to begin. You've arrived at the perfect time. Come watch the Masked King of Lust—the greatest show in all of Heukjeonga."
"A performance? What kind of performance?"
"Haha! Don't tell me you've never heard of the Masked King of Lust, Heukjeonga's greatest show? Five hundred copper coins and you're in. And today it's Blue Plum Blossom performing—our most popular girl. It'll be the best show of the season. Starts any moment. Perfect timing, really. Come, come—follow me."
"No, I wasn't particularly planning to watch a performance."
"Young Hero Hyun, let's go watch together. I've never seen a show like that before."
"Neither have I."
"Is that so? All right—let's go take a look."
"This way, this way—follow me."
The man seized my hand and led us straight to a building off to the side, then pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Brought three guests."
"Three? Wait—beauties like these, in a place like this?"
As expected, the men inside were far more stunned by the Eon sisters' looks than by me. Two hulking guards posted at the inner door went wide-eyed the moment they saw them.
"All right, guests! Three of you—that'll be one and a half taels."
"Here."
I handed the money to the man who had dragged us in. The two guards then held something out to each of us.
"These are the masks for our guests. Please put them on before you enter."
"Why do we have to wear these?"
"Because on the stages where guests participate, you have to wear them to take part."
"I thought this was a performance. Aren't we just watching?"
"There are performances where the guests take part as well. First time at the Masked King of Lust, I take it?"
"It is."
"You can just watch if you like, or you can join in where it's allowed. That's why the masks."
"Understood."
I put on the mask they handed me. With only the eyes and mouth cut out, no one would be able to recognize the wearer.
"Go on in. Enjoy yourselves."
The two men gave the Eon sisters a peculiar little smile as they opened the door for us.
From the outside the building hadn't looked particularly large, but once we stepped inside it was bigger than expected. A corridor ran ahead of us, with several doors opening off either side. Each door had a small square window set into it so you could peer into the room beyond.
The three of us looked through the first window—and our eyes went round. We turned to stare at one another.
"Young Hero Hyun! There's a woman dancing naked in there!"
"My goodness—dancing completely bare. They're putting on lewd shows like that?"
"Looks like a room for nude dance performances."
"They said every illegal thing thrives here, and they weren't joking. You couldn't stage something this obscene anywhere else."
"True enough."
A woman with a rather fine figure was dancing naked on the stage, while a dozen or so masked guests watched from the seats in front of her.
"So what about the other rooms?"
We looked into three more. Each one was putting on a slightly different show. The common thread was simple: on every stage, a man or a woman was performing something while the audience watched.
At the end of the corridor stood a room with a door set in the center, and from inside came a considerable racket.
"Looks like the room with the most people."
"Seems that way."
Another man stood guard in front of the final door. When we moved to open it, he stopped us.
"Hold a moment. This room's performance requires an extra fee."
"What? Nobody told us that. They said five hundred copper coins would cover the shows."
"That only covers the four rooms back there. This one costs an additional tael per person."
"Is that so? So three more taels. Is it really worth paying that much to see?"
"Heh heh. This is the top performance—the one everyone comes here for. You've never seen the Masked King of Lust show, have you?"
"First time here today."
"Heh heh. You won't regret the money. And audience participation is allowed, too."
"Audience participation? So that's why we put on the masks—for this room's show?"
"Exactly. You'll understand once you're inside."
"Hmm. What do we do?"
"Young Hero Hyun, let's go in. I want to experience something we've never done before."
"All right. Here's three taels."
"Confirmed. Please go in. This way."
The door creaked open as the man ushered us through. The room beyond was pitch-dark—a sealed space swallowed entirely by black shadow. Only the stage was lit by oil lamps; everything else lay in gloom. Unlike the earlier rooms, the audience area here was not a neat row of chairs. Instead, a number of partitioned booths lined the space, each entrance screened by a black curtain.
"You can watch from this booth. The curtain at the front leads out to the stage; when you leave, lift the rear curtain and go out that way."
"These partitions are pretty high."
"Heh heh. There's a reason for that. You'll understand as the performance goes on. Brought two ladies with you, I see. A man who knows how to enjoy himself. Have yourselves a thorough good time."
"A thorough good time?"
The man glanced at the two women, flashed a sly grin, and left.
Just as he had said, the booth had two curtains serving as front and rear entrances. And inside sat something that looked less like a chair than a bed.
"This doesn't look like a seat. It looks like a bed."
"You're right. Well—let's sit and wait for now."
Eon Mimi settled first onto the bed-like thing. Eon Sisi and I sat down beside her and faced the stage.
After a while, a man stepped up onto the platform and offered a greeting.
"Thank you, honored guests, for joining us once again at the Masked King of Lust. Tonight's performance features our most popular star—Blue Plum Blossom. Without further delay, let the show begin."
The man left the stage. A woman climbed up in his place.
And so Blue Plum Blossom's performance began.