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A familiar ceiling. The Paeng Clan's ceiling looked worn, though it had been recently replaced, and it held the brashness typical of a guest room.
"Ugh...."
Paeng Shin-hye pressed a hand to her head. Outside, the light was still dim, and the pungent smell of alcohol only worsened her headache.
What happened? Last night, she had definitely gone to the storeroom and secretly taken a large amount of Erguotou Wine to violate Yeon-bung and Hee—
"You're awake?"
The voice was so incredibly clear and pure that Paeng Shin-hye broke out in goosebumps. She lost herself at the sight of the woman sitting cross-legged in a chair by the window, burning a cigarette.
"Heh, your tolerance is weaker than I thought."
"Uh... what happened...?"
"You don't remember? What happened?"
Yeon-bung shook her head, her face full of genuine disappointment. Paeng Shin-hye pressed her aching head with her hand and fumbled through her memories.
—You little sow.
"Hik?!"
Paeng Shin-hye clutched the blanket and screamed. Her back ached as if a bone had slipped out of place; she couldn't put any strength into it, and her lower half burned as if it were on fire.
"It was fun, Miss Paeng Shin-hye."
Yeon-bung giggled, hooking the ring of a chain onto her index finger. At the end of the chain dangled a dog collar that should never be exposed to the outside world.
"Thanks to you, I've had a real tonic. Thank you."
"Ah, aah...."
"What's so frightening?"
Ssss. Yeon-bung stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and rose from her chair.
"What are you so afraid of? Hm?"
"Ah, aah...."
Rustle. Paeng Shin-hye shuddered at the hand placed on her shoulder. The touch that slowly tightened—ring finger, middle finger, index finger—was eerily gentle.
"It's all right. I'm the same way."
"Ah, ah...."
A sigh of relief. Paeng Shin-hye felt her mind ease for no reason.
"But I am someone who plays the instrument, not the instrument itself."
"Hik...!"
"Your voice was so pretty yesterday. Heh, come play again tomorrow."
Smooch. Paeng Shin-hye's heart fluttered at the lips that touched her cheek.
"E-Excuse me! Next time, um...."
Paeng Shin-hye glanced at the box containing the 'tools.' All sorts of implements covered in slick liquid were hung out to dry in the cool breeze.
Among them, Paeng Shin-hye's eyes could not tear themselves away from the model. She had never imagined that the objects she used on other women would become instruments to violate her.
'But was it always that big?'
Paeng Shin-hye compared the size by eye to the inner sensation. She had been indebted to it whenever she comforted herself alone, but she had never felt a sensation like last night's—thick and large, as if it were alive.
It felt like a real phallus. She hadn't put a real one inside yet, but she was certain that if she ever lay with a man, that was exactly what it would feel like.
"Why did you stop talking? Are you teasing me?"
Yeon-bung furrowed her brows and expressed a faint annoyance. Paeng Shin-hye hurriedly straightened her posture and bowed her head to Yeon-bung.
"S-Sorry!"
"Hmph. Fine. Just say what you wanted to say."
"......Next time I'll be the one to penetrate you—"
Shove.
Paeng Shin-hye was dumbfounded by the sudden shift in her view. By the time she realized her hair had been grabbed, her face was already slammed into the bed.
"Mmph?!"
"Ha. You fucking bitch. You dare to forget your place."
"Mmph...!!"
Thump, thump. Paeng Shin-hye's whole body tensed at the low voice that had devoured her the night before.
"Seems this whore hasn't been trained enough.... Hey, what did you say?"
"Sorry, I'm sorry! I-I chose my words poorly!"
Paeng Shin-hye felt humiliation. But she had no choice but to submit to the rough violence right before her eyes.
"Chose your words poorly? Bullshit."
The other party possessed the strength to beat down three or four of the Paeng Clan's warriors. Now she understood that she wasn't traveling alone in Hebei for nothing.
"Your entire premise is wrong, you stupid bitch."
And she felt true terror at the fact that this strength was being wielded against her.
"Since when did a piglet get to speak human words?"
"......"
Overwhelming power. A voice that seemed to violate her brain. Paeng Shin-hye surrendered to the dark eyes looking down at her.
"...Oi-oink."
"Wrong."
Yeon-bung smiled brightly like a child and grabbed the slick carved phallus.
"I'll teach you personally."
Dawn.
Paeng Shin-hye learned that baby pigs cry with a 'buhi-hik'.
* * *
Morning.
To show Paeng Shin-hye the reality of the Paeng Clan, Paeng Yuwol raided Paeng Shin-hye's room holding a ledger crammed full of debt notes.
"Hey, Paeng Shin-hye!!"
"Hik?!"
Paeng Shin-hye was still trying to steady herself in the room when Paeng Yuwol barged in; she screamed and collapsed to the floor. Her body reeked of alcohol, and the moment she saw the furious Paeng Yuwol, Paeng Shin-hye trembled all over.
"What the hell did you do last night?!"
"I-I did nothing!!"
"Don't lie! You took more alcohol from the storeroom, didn't you!! And you took it to the guest room!"
"Buh-hit...!"
Buh-hit? Paeng Yuwol got goosebumps for a moment, wondering if her ears had deceived her. It was a sound like a pig being slaughtered—one she might make to someone else but that Paeng Shin-hye would absolutely never make. Paeng Yuwol's momentum softened.
"What in the world—"
"Oh my, good morning."
Paeng Yuwol flinched in shock at the voice whispering in her ear.
"Who...!"
"Oh my, it's me. Yeon-bung."
Paeng Yuwol stroked her startled chest at the woman who had appeared directly behind her. Yeon-bung's skin was supple and plump, as if she had eaten something wonderful the night before, and she picked up the bundle of papers Paeng Yuwol had dropped.
"Oh my, what is this?"
"Ah, th-that is."
It was meant to show Paeng Shin-hye, not something for the Paeng Clan's guest. But Yeon-bung was already holding the bundle and examining it.
"Hmm... Miss Paeng Shin-hye, you've piled up quite a lot of debt here and there, haven't you?"
"Hik!"
At Yeon-bung's cold gaze, Paeng Shin-hye seemed unable to even think about getting up. Paeng Yuwol was appalled at the sight of Paeng Shin-hye, who couldn't even twitch in front of Yeon-bung since the previous night.
"What in the world...?"
"Miss Paeng Yuwol, I was very rude last night. But please don't scold Miss Paeng Shin-hye too much."
Yeon-bung nodded with an expression of complete understanding. Paeng Yuwol softened her tone, feeling she couldn't bring herself to speak harshly to a house guest.
"Here, take this."
Yeon-bung pulled something from her bosom—a yellow paper envelope. Inside was a single thin sheet.
"...What is this?"
"Payment for the alcohol I drank yesterday. It was such good liquor that I drank too much without realizing it... heh."
"Miss Yeon-bung, I cannot accept this. No matter what, from a guest...."
Paeng Yuwol shook her head and refused, but she couldn't finish her words decisively. Her mind was already seriously occupied with thoughts of what might be inside the envelope.
"Heh. It's fine. I have lots of money."
Yeon-bung tore open the end of the envelope. Inside was a promissory note bearing a tremendous sum. It was clearly an enormous amount that could restock the emptied bottles from the day before many times over and still have plenty left.
"How could you... such a large note?"
"Heh, that's a secret."
Yeon-bung placed her index finger to her lips.
"And if you don't accept this, I'll be so embarrassed I won't be able to show my face. Please take it."
Yeon-bung clasped Paeng Yuwol's hand tightly and pushed the envelope containing the note into it. Paeng Yuwol tried to decline, shaking her head, but through some strange, mysterious force, her hand ended up tucking it into her own bosom.
"...Thank you for your consideration."
"Heh, don't mention it. But may I ask one favor?"
Paeng Yuwol shut her eyes tight. Could she refuse a favor after receiving such a huge sum of money that could wipe out half of Paeng Shin-hye's debts?
"What is it?"
"Your daughter is so lovely. May I see her once before I go?"
In that moment.
Oddly, Paeng Yuwol felt her heart swell with emotion at Yeon-bung's words.
* * *
In my previous life, I had no children.
I never even married. There had seemed to be a woman I had promised a future to, but in the end, we couldn't make it work and I had to let her go.
So as soon as I returned to the past, I wanted a child to leave proof that I had been alive. I wanted to lead a peaceful, ordinary life, raising a child affectionately with the most beautiful women in the world.
A life where I madly share intimacy with a woman, and when a child is born, I raise it as it comes, and while sharing love again, if another is conceived, I welcome a new one!
'Murim warriors can easily keep having healthy children even past forty without the typical concerns of late childbirth.'
Unlike ordinary women, women who have trained in martial arts are said to reach menopause later, perhaps due to the influence of their martial arts. Those who maintain the youth of their thirties or forties even past sixty are the women of Murim.
Even if one's body becomes incapable of bearing children, undergoing Return to Youth makes one young again.
No one trains in martial arts specifically to become one man's woman or one child's mother, but there's a rumor that martial arts are the secret to youth—so much so that even the Imperial Palace secretly has its consorts practice them.
Therefore, I wanted to take Murim women as my wives.
'Still, it would be troublesome to have too many, so let's limit it to exactly three wives and four concubines.'
Separate from simply enjoying myself, I would fill the role of mother to my children with only seven women. With that thought, I traveled the world and observed many women.
But so far, no woman has ever carried my 'child.'
During the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, Sagong Hee tried to take my essence energy even during her period, hoping to bear my child and bind me to her. I released inside her, but no child was conceived.
Was Sagong Hee the problem? No. I blocked it.
—Blood Calamity----!!
The Great Righteous-Demonic War. The Blood Cult's Return.
When the Blood Calamity descends upon the world, what would my grown child do when faced with an age of chaos? I could simply enjoy this life as is, but thinking of the future destruction my own offspring would experience, I couldn't easily allow a child to be born.
What if, after having a child, my wife or child were harmed by the Blood Cult's rampage?
If I were to have a child, it would be in the far-distant future.
I'm sorry to Paeng Yuwol, but to be honest, the child conceived with Paeng Yuwol was not one I absolutely desired.
It wasn't that I deliberately set out to get her pregnant; it was more out of sympathy—thinking that if she conceived, her martial arts would improve and she would better withstand the Blood Calamity later.
—I truly want to impregnate this woman.
But as I continued to hold Paeng Yuwol, I impulsively did it without realizing it. At first, I just wanted to hold Paeng Yuwol a few times and be done with it, but before I knew it, I had released with true intent.
—Do you... truly wish to embarrass a girl like that?
I was bewitched by the voice whispering love, the first I'd heard in this life.
So, believing that the Hebei Paeng Clan was an environment that would raise a child well, believing that Paeng Yuwol would be a good mother, I answered her love.
Father---
And so, my first impression upon holding Paeng Yuwol's child, my child, in my arms was that it was 'heavy.'
"Oh my, she's never done this before."
The life born from my union with Paeng Yuwol was not something I could judge with such a simple thought. All my thoughts froze solid at the warmth of the child, who smiled brightly at me and tried to nestle into my arms.
Bbaa-
"......."
"This is the first time I've seen her so happy. Hmm...."
I couldn't spare any attention for Paeng Yuwol behind me, who was watching her daughter with an odd expression. The child had a pretty face that resembled Paeng Yuwol. And the shape of her eyes was the spitting image of me.
"The child is... truly pretty."
"Isn't she?"
Most and extremely obviously, there was no trace of Chu So-gwang. This was a child whose growth promised to be distinctly different from the user of the Five Tiger Door-Breaking Blade in my memories.
Soft, soft breaths.
The child fell asleep in my arms. Through the power of inner energy, I had lifted things far heavier than this without issue, yet the weight of the child sleeping with her face buried in my shoulder and chest was heavier than I had ever imagined.
"What is the child's name?"
"Well...."
At my question, Paeng Yuwol scratched her cheek and avoided answering.
"...We are still using the infant name for now."
"The infant name?"
"Yes. We are calling her Wol-a."
"......Wol-a."
It was a name with many meanings. It signified she was Paeng Yuwol's child, but to Paeng Yuwol and me, the name 'Wol-a' was not just a simple name.
Like Gyeon-hui, which I gave to Sagong Hee, it was a pet name I had made for Paeng Yuwol while I held her. It was a fleeting moment like a flame, but she was my Wol-a.
"Miss Paeng Yuwol. If there were an environment where you could raise the child better, would you leave the Paeng Clan?"
"......."
At my question, Paeng Yuwol shut her eyes tight.
"...No. To your eyes, the Paeng Clan may seem old and struggling, but the Paeng Clan will rise again. Wol-a, who carries on that person's spirit, will become the new hope of the Paeng Clan."
"What if the Paeng Clan were to fall?"
"...I will wait."
Paeng Yuwol reached inside her clothes. And she pulled out from her bosom a single thin sheet of paper.
"Until the day the 'Heavenly Guest' he spoke of comes to find us."
Paeng Yuwol had not forgotten the promise. I nodded heavily.
"I see...."
Waaah.
Wol-a, who had been asleep, suddenly began to cry. Did she not like being held in my arms? I tried to soothe Wol-a by infusing her with True Qi.
"Heh, give her here."
Paeng Yuwol took Wol-a into her arms and opened her chest. Without any hesitation in front of me, she exposed her breast and gave Wol-a her milk, and Wol-a buried her face in Paeng Yuwol's chest.
"Sorry. Surprised you, didn't I? I don't know who she takes after, but she loves my chest that much. She looks for it even when she's not hungry. Yes, Wol-a. Nom nom. Good girl, that's right. Were you hungry?"
"......."
Paeng Yuwol nursed Wol-a with eyes full of love. Strangely, I felt no jealousy at all at that sacred sight.
I want to protect this sight. I have to protect it.
'If I don't protect my woman and my child, who will?'
To do that.
In two days, when all preparations are complete.
In front of everyone, I will—
'For my family.'
—violate the Blood Torture Witch Paeng Shin-hye.