Hide and Seek (1)
Meanwhile, at the very moment Ban-ryong was desperately struggling to keep General Yi Cheong-ha alive, it was the late afternoon of the previous day. In the main hall of the Seoha Kingdom's imperial palace, a group from the Kunlun Sect had come to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the young Emperor. The Emperor lay sprawled across a throne twice his size, fast asleep, while beneath the Empress Dowager's furrowed brow her delicate lips slowly parted toward Hyeon-geom, the Kunlun Sect's leader.
— Kyuung♡
"Kh… Ahem. The Blue Pine Pill your sect presented will be put to good use. Now, what is this sudden business that brings you here?"
The aroused Empress Dowager barely suppressed the tremors deep in her womb as she looked down at the presumptuous Kunlun visitors with eyes that clearly wished they would leave as quickly as possible. Yet their words were not something she could simply brush aside.
"The Great War of the Orthodox and Demonic Factions is imminent. Before long, over ten thousand experts from the Martial Alliance will pass through Qinghai on their way to the Heavenly Demon Cult's Ten Thousand Great Mountains……"
"Wait. Did you say the Great War of the Orthodox and Demonic Factions?"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. According to information from our Kunlun Sect and various other sources, the Heavenly Demon Cult is also summoning countless experts to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains."
"And what does this so-called Great War have to do with our Seoha Kingdom? I am well aware of the great principle of 'Officials Must Not Interfere in Martial Affairs.'"
"In principle, that is correct. However, there are two loopholes in that principle. First, the principle was established between the founding Emperor of the Song Dynasty and the martial artists of the Orthodox and Demonic factions, meaning the term 'official' is limited to the Song state……"
"What!?"
"Second, the Heavenly Demon Cult harbors countless mad experts who have never cared for such principles and routinely slaughter civilians and imperial soldiers before fleeing."
"Mmm……"
The Empress Dowager's brows knitted. The Heavenly Demon Cult's Ten Thousand Great Mountains had not been attacked, nor had it launched an attack, in recent decades, so she had never given the matter deep thought. Seeing her troubled expression, Hyeon-geom offered a plausible suggestion.
"Our Kunlun Sect intends to declare neutrality in this upcoming Great War and, during the conflict, protect the safety of His Majesty the Emperor of Seoha and the imperial palace."
The young yet sharp-witted Empress Dowager grew suspicious of how conveniently their words sounded and pressed them further.
"Neutrality? Your Kunlun Sect is clearly an orthodox faction, one of the Nine Great Sects at that. How can you simply withdraw from such a decisive battle?"
At her question, Hyeon-geom decided there was no longer any point in hiding anything and laid all his cards on the table.
"To be honest, over the past thousand years our Kunlun Sect has endured countless Great Wars. Because of our location, we are inevitably the first target of the Heavenly Demon Cult's attacks or are forcibly pushed to the front lines by the Martial Alliance. In particular, during the war a hundred years ago, we suffered near annihilation at the hands of a single Heavenly Demon Cult force and have yet to recover even half of our former glory."
"So in the end, whether you win or lose, it brings no benefit to your Kunlun Sect, and you'd rather step aside entirely?"
"Your wisdom is unparalleled, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! Since our sect has not yet recovered its strength, we wish to seal our gates and obtain a small estate near the imperial palace to focus on nurturing the next generation. We beg Your Majesty to grant us this favor with your generous heart!"
Hyeon-geom prostrated himself flat on the hall floor, and following his lead, all the elders and disciples of the Kunlun Sect dropped to the ground as well.
'Heh, things are getting interesting.'
The Empress Dowager had witnessed General Yi Cheong-ha, one of the imperial guard's top experts, being utterly crushed by Ban-ryong the previous day. She intended to use these people to help revive Ban-ryong's forgotten martial arts.
— Click!
— Whoosh!
When the Empress Dowager opened the lid of the jade box containing the spiritual pill they had offered, a deep, rich scent of pine needles filled the entire hall.
"Hmm. Excellent. Seeing your sincerity, this palace shall grant your request. However, there is one condition."
"Please speak, Your Majesty."
"Give the imperial guards the opportunity to hone their martial arts."
"But Your Majesty, our Kunlun Sect's secret techniques cannot be leaked……"
"Oh, how impatient. I am not asking you to teach them secret arts or manuals. I simply want you to help our experts spar to their hearts' content."
"Ahem. If it is only that, there should be no problem. We shall have our experts devote themselves fully to the matches."
"Still, make sure our experts do not get too seriously injured."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Prime Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Empress Dowager quickly issued orders to the elderly minister who responded to her call and then adjourned the audience.
"Find a spacious estate near the palace for them to stay in, and a suitable open training ground for their practice."
The moment the audience ended, the Empress Dowager clenched her lower abdomen tightly and hurried out of the hall with steps unbecoming of her dignity.
"Uh, Y-Your Majesty the Empress Dowager?"
The brothers who had been staring blankly at her retreating figure only later requested a private audience with her after the next day's court session concluded, citing urgent family matters.
"That girl Seo-hee must really like Ban-ryong……"
Yang So-hee was entering the Seoha imperial palace under the guidance of her cousins for an audience. She had yet to detect the direct presence of the Vice Cult Leader, but she noticed faint traces of his unique scent lingering throughout the capital.
'This is far too suspicious. Especially that armored general of the imperial guard. The way she smells oddly similar to him, and those pink eyes—she's clearly been trained in the arts of seduction.'
"Ahem. From here onward lies the inner palace."
When her eldest cousin proudly showed her the inner palace, Yang So-hee already held more than nine-tenths certainty in her heart.
'He is definitely here somewhere.'
A faint trace of the Vice Cult Leader's scent could be felt both from the grand building deep within the inner palace and from the smaller structures in the eastern wing where the princesses resided.
'You little brat, Daddy's going to get a beating today.'
Yang So-hee sat in the garden seat prepared within the inner palace, gently stroking her heavily pregnant belly while chanting a mantra to herself and the fetus, rationalizing the domestic violence she was about to commit.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager arrives!"
"I-It really is So-hee. It's been a long time."
The Empress Dowager greeted her with an awkward smile, and the rich scent of the Vice Cult Leader wafted from her. She had clearly been rolling around with him in bed until dawn. Moreover, Yang So-hee's senses detected the faint life energy of a new life beginning to take root in the Empress Dowager's womb.
Yang So-hee carefully kept her brows from furrowing as she replied.
"Sister, it's been a while."
Of all the women, she had to share the Vice Cult Leader with this one.
"So-hee, you… you're pregnant."
"Yes. It's my 'beloved's' child. And you, sister……"
"Huh?"
"Congratulations on your pregnancy, sister."
— Clatter!
The startled Empress Dowager's teacup tumbled to the floor in an instant.
'Let her suffer a little for once.'
However, unlike the Empress Dowager, a situation completely alien to Yang So-hee's common sense—formed mostly during her time in the Heavenly Demon Cult—unfolded.
— Thud! Thud!
""Congratulations on Your Majesty's pregnancy!""
The ministers, including the Empress Dowager's brothers, and the palace attendants all prostrated themselves together, offering congratulations rather than condemnation for the Empress Dowager's pregnancy.
'Have they all taken some kind of drug? The Empress Dowager, who should uphold chastity, is pregnant, and they're congratulating her?'
Looking at the bewildered Yang So-hee, the Empress Dowager's eyes grew moist as she spoke.
"So-hee, I… I'm sorry from back then. Sob… You must have had a hard time because of this awful sister, right…? I… sob… I never did anything for you, yet I only received help from my little sister… I'm a failure as an older sister… Hic……"
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! Please compose yourself. Is today not a joyous occasion?"
Watching the sobbing Empress Dowager and her cousins trying to console her, Yang So-hee could only sigh.
'Sigh, I need to find him and drag him back to the cult before it's too late.'
After the private audience ended in such a mess, Yang So-hee was returning to her cousins' residence with them. While organizing her thoughts inside the carriage, she sensed the Vice Cult Leader's presence from a nearby mansion.
"Brothers, please go ahead without me."
— Bang!
"So-hee?"
Yang So-hee kicked open the carriage door and leaped out without waiting for an answer, executing her supreme lightness skill and soaring away.
— Fwoooosh!
From the aura she sensed, the Vice Cult Leader's sexual energy was trembling violently in place, as if he were in the middle of releasing during intercourse.
"You're dead…… Really."
Contrary to her words, her face was filled with laughter. Upon reaching the mansion, she suppressed her demonic energy to the utmost, surveyed the surroundings warily, and vaulted over the wall.
— Hop!
Unlike the strict security around the wall, there were no guards inside. Feeling suspicious, she entered the room from which the energy emanated. Inside the room, where the Vice Cult Leader's presence could still be felt, a pale-skinned woman appeared completely naked instead of the Vice Cult Leader.
"Huuut♡ W-Welcome, Master's female."
— Drip! Drop! Drip!
— Splurt! Splurt!
Love juices and semen poured steadily from beneath her awkwardly smiling buttocks.
