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Murim Alliance Infirmary.
Yoo Seol-ra had not been able to receive treatment from Physician Saekbung for personal reasons, but she regained consciousness without any serious injuries.
After handling the situation as Alliance Leader, Dokgo Ja-yeong came to visit the rescued Yoo Seol-ra. Given her torn clothes and the bindings, he had assumed the worst, but it had not come to that.
"Only her acupoints were pressed. It doesn't seem she was subjected to anything... else."
"Impossible. Examine her more closely. The bastard used Miss Yoo Seol-ra's internal energy, did he not? And hasn't her internal energy completely vanished?"
Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang.
The method involves sexual intercourse ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
"Er, hm. In my professional judgment..."
Every physician gave the same diagnosis.
"It appears she was not sexually violated. Her internal energy was simply plundered."
"And such a thing... is possible?"
"It's the only conclusion. No matter how we look at it."
"But you, the physicians, diagnosed otherwise! That she—that it was not present!"
The physician shook his head at the Alliance Leader.
"That could be present or absent, couldn't it? Alliance Leader. Miss Yoo Seol-ra is a woman in her mid-twenties. These things are possible."
"Hrk..."
"Or perhaps there's some sort of dark art involved. Wasn't he called the Ice Demon? Isn't there a common rumor that he can drain a woman's yin energy with a mere touch?"
"Arghhh..."
Unlikely. Yet Dokgo Ja-yeong found himself forced to conclude he had been wrong.
Because if not, it meant Yoo Seol-ra really had been ravaged by the Ice Demon and subjected to Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang.
After Ui Sa-baek knocked Yoo Seol-ra unconscious, he must have extracted her internal energy by some other method. Wasn't the 'Internal Energy Plunder Through Blood Extraction Incident' a clear precedent?
"Very well. That's not really the problem here."
"Lust-Exorcising Abbess."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess, who lay on the bed right next to Yoo Seol-ra, laboriously pushed herself upright.
"The moment I was struck by his Ice White Divine Palm, I felt my internal energy being drained. It's quite possibly the Absorption Technique."
"The Absorption Technique!"
The Alliance Leader recoiled in shock and disgust.
"How can that accursed martial art have reappeared in the Martial World!"
"It's not certain. As my internal energy was siphoned, a portion of my vitality was damaged. I'll recover with time, but I also need convalescence."
"Then..."
Everyone's eyes turned to Yoo Seol-ra, who lay quietly with her eyes closed.
Perhaps as a lingering effect of the Ice Demon's attack, her hair had begun turning snow-white during the course of her treatment.
Anyone could see it was a mark of being struck by the Ice White Divine Art.
"As if being struck by the Ice White Divine Art wasn't enough, her internal energy as well... Urk."
"Ah..."
Yoo Seol-ra, who had seemed unconscious, let out a faint moan and opened her eyes.
"Miss Yoo!"
"I'm..."
After staring blankly at the ceiling for a moment, Yoo Seol-ra flinched and sat bolt upright. The moment she took in the face of the so-called Divine Physician, her expression went ashen.
"W-what in the world...?"
"You were struck by the Ice Demon's Ice White Divine Art. Your abductor was a master who had learned the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace."
"......."
Yoo Seol-ra couldn't find her words for a long while.
"I am sorry. I apologize as the head of the Dokgo Clan. He infiltrated the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle to lure me out, and he used you as bait by kidnapping you."
"Ah..."
"Your hair... this is undoubtedly caused by the Ice White Divine Palm."
"......."
That much was obvious—because the martial art Yoo Seol-ra used was the Ice White Divine Art itself.
Yoo Seol-ra's hair hadn't been changed by an Ice White Divine Palm strike. She'd simply unconsciously activated her Ice White Divine Art while asleep, reverting her hair to its original color. The moment she saw her reflection, she'd realized her blunder.
Being forced to lie still for so long with her acupoints sealed until she'd dozed off hadn't been part of the plan. A clear failure as the Ice Demon.
"Physician, what about Miss Yoo Seol-ra's internal energy?"
"It's slowly recovering at this moment. She should be able to restore about seventy percent of her original power in three days."
"I see. ...Miss Yoo. The Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle hasn't concluded yet. What will you do?"
"Er, well, that is..."
"Seol-ra."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess beside her strained to rise and took Yoo Seol-ra's hand.
"This is a good opportunity. If the Exterminating Treasure Grandmaster were in Seol-ra's position, what do you think she would do?"
"...I don't know."
Of course she didn't know. Yoo Seol-ra had only learned the Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword by rote. She possessed only the bare minimum of information needed to avoid suspicion.
'I'll teach you some responses for improvisation.'
Instead, she had the 'Dialogue Tactics for Dealing with the Orthodox Faction' taught to her by the Lust Demon.
"But... at the very least, she'd be furious if I collapsed here. If I still have a chance left to me."
Yoo Seol-ra clenched her fist tight.
"I... intend to keep my promise to my master."
"Right. That's the spirit. The Exterminating Treasure Grandmaster would surely find it admirable. After all..."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess covered her reddened eyes with her sleeve and turned her head away. The Alliance Leader gave a heavy nod and rose to his feet.
"The fact that you were attacked by the Ice Demon shall remain a secret for the time being. The Alliance will prepare a wig for you."
"......."
Yoo Seol-ra.
Lying there silently, she had succeeded in infiltrating the Murim Alliance and the Emei Sect.
* * *
The Flower Garden.
I lay with Dokgo Yeon in the flower bed, greeting the night sky.
"Physician, I'm sore."
"Where now?"
"Both, front and back."
"...Sorry about that."
Last night.
I'd leisurely savored Dokgo Yeon's insides, going back and forth. At one point, I worried the intense pleasure might make her faint, but Dokgo Yeon's formidable willpower kept her consciousness anchored.
"Why does it hurt? Did the treatment go wrong? You clearly treated me, so why does my belly ache inside?"
"If it hurts, I should give you another injection."
"Would you?"
Dokgo Yeon turned her body and draped herself over me. Our clothes were caked in dry dirt, and as time passed, the dirt grew muddier and more sodden.
Yet neither of us complained or called it filthy. These were the fervent marks of our lovemaking, so I simply remained as I was.
"Yeon. There's something I haven't told you until now."
"What is it?"
"I'm the Lust Demon. And a physician. Simultaneously."
"......."
Dokgo Yeon looked at me with deep, shadowed eyes. I caught her hands, making sure she couldn't pull away.
"I can't stay here forever. I have to protect the Little Princess and make her the Heavenly Demon."
"Why?"
"For the peace of the Murim."
Only by preventing the Eldest Prince from ascending to Heavenly Demon can the Blood Calamity be stopped.
Lee Si-a, whose chest may be modest but whose heart holds human duty and the realm itself, must become the Heavenly Demon. That's the one way the Murim might know a fragile peace.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you."
"No, Physician. You haven't deceived me at all."
"...Huh?"
I'd thought she might be shocked by the truth and try to leave, but Dokgo Yeon instead settled more firmly atop me. It felt as though she was the one preventing me from leaving.
"Lust Demon, serial killer, a martial artist who was once gentle. I really don't care. Because you saved me. You gave me, who was dying, a new life."
"......."
"My illness required dual cultivation to treat? So you treated me with dual cultivation. If all you did was sleep with me and leave me with a terminal illness, that would be one thing, but..."
She pressed a gentle kiss to my lips and drew back.
"You treated me. What part of that was deception?"
"Yeon, what I mean is—"
Another kiss.
Dokgo Yeon sealed my lips with hers again. Our tongues didn't entwine, and of all the women I'd tried to embrace, her touch was the lightest. Yet Dokgo Yeon's kiss was unbearably weighty.
"Everyone has secrets. So it's fine. We can just learn what we've been hiding from now on. For now, just answer my questions."
"...I mean."
Smack. This one lasted longer. I nodded obediently.
"You approached me to take my body, didn't you?"
"That's right."
"And now that you've taken my body, you're planning to leave?"
"That's right."
"Leaving me here, just like this?"
"......."
I couldn't bring myself to open my mouth carelessly. This was a different woman than the Sky-Shattering Divine Sword I'd known. The violet eyes, always brimming with hatred, contempt, and killing intent toward me, were gone.
And I recognized this look. Sagong Hee had worn it, and so had Lee Si-a.
"Yeon, I'm... too greedy. One woman will never satisfy me."
"I know. I felt that... bone-deep just now."
Dokgo Yeon dropped her head, her face flushing. Last night, until the moon rose high and began its slow descent, I'd been so careful with her that I hadn't dared thrust my hips with any force.
"I'm still very lacking. Not enough to receive all of you, Physician."
Unlike with Sagong Hee or Lee Si-a, I couldn't even get halfway inside, let alone to the root.
It was completely different from Sagong Hee, whose body had long since molded itself perfectly around my shaft and welcomed me, or Lee Si-a, who swallowed me into her self-proclaimed divine embrace while enduring the pain with sheer fortitude.
Dokgo Yeon's body was still frail.
I myself was still growing by leaps and bounds, but Dokgo Yeon had only just crossed into adulthood.
Physically, just by appearance, she was much smaller than the other women. She needed to grow more before she could truly receive me.
Even if I could just thrust in and release, that alone wouldn't be enough.
"I can't reside here for long. I'm a body that can't stay in one place. But you're a body bound to this place."
"Then... the answer is simple."
Dokgo Yeon leaned forward until our eyes met, our noses nearly touching. She gazed at me intently.
"Physician. You said you're a lust demon, didn't you? The Lust Demon and a physician simultaneously."
"I did."
"In that case..."
Whisper, whisper.
At Dokgo Yeon's suggestion, the hairs on my self-proclaimed divine body stood on end.
"...Are you truly prepared for this?"
"You made me this way, Physician. You have to take responsibility. You weren't planning to just leave me here like this, were you?"
"Of course not."
I flipped our positions, reversing Dokgo Yeon and myself. Now that she'd laid her heart so clearly bare, I owed her an answer to match.
"A Lust Demon's way is to abduct women. But will you be okay? If you leave this place, you'll face harsh living for a while."
"An acquaintance told me. I... don't want to live with regret. After letting you go, Physician, I simply have no confidence in staying on this island alone, counting the days and nights by myself. So..."
Dokgo Yeon wrapped her arms around my neck once more.
"At least for tonight, stay here with me and watch the moon."
At Dokgo Yeon's request, I clasped her hand and lay down with her in the flower bed, gazing up at the moon hanging in the sky.
...It had been an exhausting day.
* * *
Step, step.
Dokgo Ja-yeong walked across the bridge alone.
"Ui Sa-baek... Ui Sa-baek... Ui Sa-baek."
Repeating the vanished Lust Demon's name over and over, Dokgo Ja-yeong rummaged through his memories.
The one who raped and murdered a woman in Hubei? No. He had personally chased that man for three days and nights and killed him.
The one who abducted a married woman in Henan? No. That man had perished in mutual destruction with her husband. Dokgo Ja-yeong had stood right there and watched.
If not them, then the one in Anhui who set aside the wife and took the wife's younger sister? No. That man was still alive. Because the wife had forgiven them both, Dokgo Ja-yeong had buried the whole truth in his heart.
"Ui Sa-baek, who in the world are you?"
Who could possibly be able to wield a sword so steeped in sorrow for the sake of revenge?
Perhaps he had been lost too deep in thought. Dokgo Ja-yeong found he had arrived at the clan's estate grounds, Wuling Island Garden. The night was deep, and the four men and women inside seemed to be quietly sleeping.
"Will Yeoni be all right?"
Creeeak.
Dokgo Ja-yeong cautiously opened the door, moving his steps like a thief, careful not to wake anyone.
And then.
Ahhh.
Dokgo Ja-yeong's face went ashen at the sound of a woman's moan from within. On edge, he nearly drew his blade, but the moan that followed made his skin crawl.
Ahh, more... harder, please...
'Taiji Flower!'
Sagong Hee was spilling passionate moans. Who on earth? Could it be Physician Saekbung?
'It's possible.'
Physician Saekbung's connection with Sagong Hee clearly stretched back to Hubei. It couldn't be ruled out. Engaging in such things in someone else's home was insolent, yes, but if it was simply young blood—
Keep it down. We'll get caught.
"!!"
Dokgo Ja-yeong clapped a hand over his mouth. Feeling his blood run cold, he frantically suppressed his qi.
All you've got is a ridiculously big chest. That's why every time I'm with you, I end up suffering.
Oh, don't be so angry... More than that, harder... more...
Quiet. They're both asleep.
Squeak, squeak.
Dokgo Ja-yeong silently retreated, step by step.
Creeeak.
Closing the door in time with the bed's rhythm, he withdrew from Wuling Island Garden. Suddenly, his own home didn't feel like his home anymore.
"......."
Could it be that the two women were actually more dangerous than Physician Saekbung?
"Heh-heh, hah."
He'd finally discovered the reason the Black and White Two Flowers got along so incredibly well.
"Is this the dawning of a new Murim? Or must I, as their senior, guide them back to the proper path...?"
In a small flower bed branching off beside the bridge, three lilies had bloomed. Two of them were tightly intertwined, twisted around each other. A tiny insect lay sleeping atop the third.
"...It'll be fine, right?"
Surely they wouldn't do such a thing. And even if something did happen, Dokgo Yeon would be more than capable of subduing them both and protecting her body.
Dokgo Ja-yeong swallowed hard and turned away.
"Heavenly Demon. It seems our ill-fated bond will extend to the next generation, but..."
Fist tightening with a cracking sound, Dokgo Ja-yeong clenched it tight.
"When it comes to raising children, I believe the victory is mine."
Dokgo Ja-yeong was certain of his triumph.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to learn the Heavenly Demon's Thousand Catty Hammer."
"Ha, seriously... I want to sleep over there too. Why am I stuck with you..."
"Oh, come on. I'll teach you this time. First, you crouch down upside-down above me as if tracing the Taiji symbol, and then..."