Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 49
>Chapter Title: Variable (3)
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Standing on the roof of the tall tower, one hand forming a hand seal, a figure was concentrating intently.
It was none other than Jo Tae-cheong of the Defense Squad.
Sensing the strong spiritual power once again, he had spread barriers in all directions to pinpoint its location.
‘Cunning bastard.’
Jo Tae-cheong clicked his tongue.
Those of Blue Spirit grade or higher didn’t bother hiding themselves.
It was because they had reached a level where even martial arts masters or Immaemangnyang couldn’t be subdued recklessly.
Yet this lingering soul knew how to conceal itself.
Moreover, the moment he detected its presence in that brief instant, it had shifted positions.
‘Faster than even Toru can catch.’
Toru (土螻).
It was a yokai-grade Immaemangnyang that Jo Tae-cheong commanded as his familiar.
This Toru, known as the Red Falling Star of Kunlun Mountain, was faster than a Sweatblood Horse at full gallop, yet it couldn’t catch this lingering soul.
As Jo Tae-cheong focused, the muscles in his face twitched, his expression changing to something else.
“The path it’s taking is clearly deliberate.”
His raspy voice spoke, and his expression returned to normal.
The normal-faced Jo Tae-cheong spoke as if in conversation.
“I know.”
It was luring him on, this cunning thing, aware of his pursuit.
Otherwise, there was no reason for it to reveal its energy so periodically on purpose.
This allowed Jo Tae-cheong to be certain.
“It’s hiding something.”
If it was deliberately leading him on, it was obviously to conceal something.
Whether a comrade or whatever it might be.
But there was something this lingering soul didn’t know.
“Thinking with your head is fine, but are you really just one?”
* * *
Cheong-ryeong, with a bear pipe in her mouth, moved swiftly, constantly changing positions.
She was intentionally leaking her energy so the sorcerer could detect her.
Of course, it was to draw him away from Mok Kyung-un.
-Shwaaaaa!
As a spirit body, she could fly through the sky, making it hard for even peak transcendent experts or Fire Realm masters to track her perfectly.
Yet something kept following her.
‘Annoying.’
Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue.
It was probably the sorcerer’s familiar that had sensed her.
The yokai energy emanating from the familiar was no joke.
If her own grade hadn’t risen to Male Spirit, it would have caught her—it was that powerful.
Most likely,
‘Yokai.’
An Immaemangnyang that had reached yokai grade.
She’d nearly been caught once; with its eerie horns and sheep-like appearance, it seemed to be Kunlun Mountain’s Red Falling Star, Toru.
To command an Immaemangnyang of such high grade as a familiar meant he was no ordinary guy.
But her current grade had reached Male Spirit (藍靈).
She could shake it off easily...
-Hic!
In an instant, Cheong-ryeong’s eyes sharpened.
She sensed a shadow looming over her.
The shadow was beating massive wings.
-Ha!
Cheong-ryeong glanced back, dumbfounded.
This wasn’t the yokai Toru.
She knew well this creature with the upper body of a giant bird and the lower body of a hornet.
‘Hyeomwon...’
Hyeomwon (欽原).
Like Toru, it was a yokai dwelling in Kunlun Mountain.
‘Two of them?’
This was completely unexpected.
She’d already found it troublesome that he commanded yokai-grade Immaemangnyang, but two of them?
This was a monster among sorcerers, top-tier.
‘It’s gone beyond annoying...’
Just then, the giant bird with a hornet’s lower body fired sharp stingers at Cheong-ryeong.
-Pshooooooo!
‘Tch.’
-Swish!
Cheong-ryeong swiftly dodged and changed direction.
But at that moment, something charged recklessly from the front.
It was the other yokai, Toru.
Toru in front, Hyeomwon behind.
‘This is really tricky.’
With yokai-grade Immaemangnyang blocking front and back, it was a true dilemma.
* * *
“Hnngh.”
Wi So-yeon let out a moan, panting as she wrapped her legs around Mok Kyung-un’s waist.
Mok Kyung-un had no innate desire for such relations to begin with.
However, this relationship he’d started to make her his own for a purpose was proving somewhat intriguing.
‘Is this what pleasure is?’
It was a strange sensation he’d never felt before, but not unpleasant.
He’d only seen it as a reproductive act across any species, yet he found interest in Wi So-yeon, drenched in sweat, clinging to him and crying out in ecstasy.
Just earlier, during the act, she’d been so embarrassed she didn’t know what to do.
But at some point, she stopped hiding her excitement and began craving him.
-Pak!
“Hahk!”
Each time Mok Kyung-un thrust his hips, Wi So-yeon screamed.
The sound was strangely stimulating.
He’d planned to subdue her just enough and end it, but this stimulation had him going at her non-stop for five rounds already.
-Thud!
Pinning Wi So-yeon against the wall, Mok Kyung-un grabbed her thighs, lifted them, and thrust upward.
“Haa... haa...”
Wi So-yeon, now fully a woman, breathed raggedly, her gaze on Mok Kyung-un lewd beyond measure.
Seeing her face like this, Mok Kyung-un felt an odd sensation.
‘......’
It was because Wi So-yeon overlapped with Cheong-ryeong.
He’d recognized them as completely different beings, nothing more or less, yet learning this sensation of pleasure and feeling stimulated by it made Cheong-ryeong flicker into view occasionally.
‘It’s strange.’
He didn’t know why.
But thinking of Cheong-ryeong through Wi So-yeon made it even more stimulating. What was that about?
Thus, Mok Kyung-un drove into her even more roughly.
“Hahk!”
Wi So-yeon’s slender waist shook violently.
Panting and moaning, she pulled Mok Kyung-un close and whispered lewdly.
“More... more!”
She wanted to become one with him endlessly.
This pleasure was stimulating and so addictive.
* * *
“Haa... haa...”
Drenched in sweat, Wi So-yeon lay in Mok Kyung-un’s arms, breathing heavily.
Having known a man for the first time, she now understood why Gi Ok-ryeon and the others made such a fuss.
It was a pleasure truly hard to pull away from.
Wi So-yeon glanced at Mok Kyung-un’s face as he lay there.
Her own face was flushed, but he showed no sign of fatigue at all.
‘Beast......’
He really was like a beast.
So aggressive that at first, it had been hard to handle.
Even trained martial artists needed recovery time after a few rounds, but this guy showed none of that.
[You can do more, right?]
She’d lost count of how many times he’d said that.
Staring intently at Mok Kyung-un, Wi So-yeon asked shyly.
“You...... really your first time?”
“I told you it was.”
“But why are you so......”
She couldn’t finish, her lips trembling as she buried her face deeper in his chest.
Asking such a question was pointless anyway.
She’d felt him start rough but grow more delicate over time, confirming she was his first woman.
‘......Woman.’
It was a truly strange feeling.
After becoming one with him, she felt drawn to him even more inexplicably.
A stronger urge to rely on him, perhaps?
Was this what it meant to be a woman?
‘It’s odd. Really......’
Back when she thought the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridian’s curse could kill her anytime, she’d never felt such emotions or sensations.
No one to lean on in the face of death.
But now, with this man, life or death didn’t seem so bad.
Could emotions shake reason this much?
Then Mok Kyung-un suddenly sat up and said.
“I should go for now.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Stay a bit more...”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
Wi So-yeon, who’d reached to hold him, stopped.
She was growing fonder of him, but showing it here might make her seem cheap.
[Men change attitude once they think they’re in your net. So if you like a guy, miss, remember this one thing.]
[This?]
[Push and pull.]
[Push and pull?]
[Don’t seem too easy to men.]
Words Gi Ok-ryeon always told her.
You had to push and pull just right to keep the man on edge.
Yet Gi Ok-ryeon herself couldn’t follow her own advice around Great Inferno Division Leader Woo Ho-rang.
“Do you have clothes I can wear?”
Mok Kyung-un asked her then.
She shook her head in response.
“Nothing here. If you want women’s clothes, I can lend you mine.”
“......Are you joking?”
“......”
Wi So-yeon turned her head away sharply at his question.
She was supposed to push and pull, but it was getting harder with him.
She even wanted to tease him.
Did giving your body naturally lead your heart to follow?
“Ahem. Men’s clothes you can wear are in the guest quarters next door.”
“Thank you.”
“When it’s just us...... you can speak casually.”
Wi So-yeon fiddled shyly with her hair.
With this man, even calling her by name would be fine.
Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly.
“That might be hard.”
“What?”
“This way of speaking is comfortable for now.”
“You find that comfortable?”
“Yes. If a time comes when casual feels right, I’ll do that.”
Wi So-yeon couldn’t hide her puzzlement at his words.
He could be casual when alone, so why not?
Was he drawing a line?
Feeling a bit miffed, but Mok Kyung-un wrapped around her, pulled her close to lean on his shoulder, and said.
“Now that you’re my woman, I can expect plenty of help ahead, right?”
Wi So-yeon’s face flushed red at his whisper.
This man was toying with her heart.
Knowing it, why did her mood lift?
‘No. I have to push and pull.’
Wi So-yeon shook her head and lightly pushed him away, saying primly.
“I saved your life, so of course I’ll help. But whether I help actively depends on what you do.”
Mok Kyung-un chuckled at her words.
Then he quietly explained what he had in mind.
Hearing it, one of Wi So-yeon’s eyebrows shot up.
“You...... really want me to do that?”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
“......”
Wi So-yeon looked displeased at his words.
It wasn’t hard to go along, but she wasn’t sure if it was right.
She asked.
“......My subordinates, fine, but will Second Senior Brother accept it?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Don’t worry?”
“Yes. That’s what I’m going to handle now.”
‘!?’
Wi So-yeon frowned at his words.
His drive was impressive, but was it possible?
* * *
Night had fallen, the outside dark.
Leaving Wi So-yeon’s manor, Mok Kyung-un opened the pouch at his waist to check.
The eyeball of Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang inside was intact.
Midway, fearing the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridian’s true essence might rampage and freeze not just his clothes but this and the spare wooden doll, he’d tossed them far away, yet they were fine.
‘Shall I go?’
Mok Kyung-un unleashed lightness skill and soared off.
After traveling about fifty paces along the main road, he spotted a shadowy shrine building in the eastern corner of the inner compound.
It was quite large, and he sensed Cheong-ryeong’s energy from where she’d vanished.
Entering, he saw an altar, a torn-up scroll on the wall, and beside it an intact portrait.
‘This?’
Surprisingly, the figure in the portrait was,
‘Cheong-ryeong?’
It was Cheong-ryeong’s portrait.
But her attire differed from usual.
She wore red ceremonial robes like a bride, with makeup as well.
Mok Kyung-un wondered.
Why was such a portrait hanging on the altar in this shrine?
And why was the scroll that seemed another portrait shredded beyond recognition?
Then a voice came.
-Why stare so intently? Mortal.
“Cheong-ryeong?”
Leaning against one side of the altar was Cheong-ryeong.
Her face, puffing smoke from the bear pipe, looked haggard for some reason.
She’d gathered her spiritual power so no energy leaked, but she seemed quite exhausted.
Mok Kyung-un asked.
“What happened?”
-More annoying trouble than expected.
“Annoying trouble?”
-Yes.
“......Related to you vanishing mid-possession?”
Cheong-ryeong sighed at his question.
-Well, it started because of that, so yes. But there seems to be a Branch Chief-grade sorcerer or higher in the inner compound.
“Sorcerers are a given...”
-There is. But not an ordinary one.
Stroking his chin at her warning, Mok Kyung-un said.
“For you to go this far, he must be really strong.”
-Commands two yokai-grade familiars.
“What?”
Mok Kyung-un couldn’t hide his surprise.
Yokai grade meant third-class, a very high level for Immaemangnyang.
He’d heard even sorcerers struggled with monsters above that, so commanding two as familiars meant a sorcerer of exceptional caliber.
“Did you fight?”
-If I had, does it look like it’d end simply?
“True enough.”
Even Cheong-ryeong would struggle against two yokai without fully unleashing her power.
She’d fled desperately using minimal strength.
After nearly an hour and a half of hide-and-seek, she’d shaken them off.
Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue.
-By the way, mortal, why so late? You absorbed death energy quick enough—what held you up...
“Since possession failed, I had to find another way.”
-What? Oh...... right. That.
Preoccupied with shaking off the sorcerer and two Immaemangnyang, she suddenly recalled why the possession failed.
She didn’t know what that bizarre phenomenon was.
That mortal woman’s body that tried to suck her in was too strange.
“Why didn’t you possess? Or couldn’t you?”
Cheong-ryeong answered awkwardly.
-I don’t know. Even I do.
“Don’t know?”
-Possessing that mortal woman who looked just like me felt like it’d cause trouble.
“Cause trouble?”
-Hard to explain to you. Her body pulled my spirit body strongly—first time I’ve seen that.
“......Her flesh pulled your spirit body?”
-Yes.
“Hmm.”
Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow at her words.
Having gained some sorcerer knowledge, even he’d never heard of this phenomenon.
He’d need to check Sorcerer Jo’s arsenal or his books on sorcery.
Then Cheong-ryeong said.
-Embarrassing failure on my part. Possession botched.
“No. Not at all.”
-Not? But we need to control that mortal woman for the plan...
“I think I can control her.”
-Hm? How?
Even as payment for saving her from the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridian rampage, her status as successor candidate and disciple might resist control.
To the puzzled Cheong-ryeong, Mok Kyung-un said casually.
“Couldn’t make her a subordinate, so I made her my woman.”
-What? Your woman?
What nonsense was this?
How did he make her his woman...
Wait...
-You don’t mean?
“Yes. We had relations.”
‘!!!!!!!!!’
Cheong-ryeong’s expression hardened at his blunt words.
She’d thought him a stone-hearted guy with zero interest in man-woman stuff, never expecting this.
Even as a lingering soul, it felt embarrassing somehow.
Then, imagining it unbidden, her face reddened, expression twisting.
‘......Wait, that mortal woman looks like me.’
End of Chapter 49: Variable (3)