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After Taoist Hyeonta Sa Jeong-hu learned the full circumstances regarding me and Sagong Hee, the Wudang Sect became our shield.
Of course, Wudang Sect Leader Hyeoncheol still knew nothing. The other elders were the same; the only person who knew the entire truth was Taoist Hyeonta.
"I didn't really want to know. You're not trying to make me handle all of this, are you?"
"You catch on quick. That's right, so you do it all."
"...Damn it."
Even though I am Taoist Mubung, they know I practice medicine as the Divine Doctor's disciple, but at the same time they also know I'm the Lust Demon who follows the Demonic Cult's Little Princess, and the Lust Demon who kidnapped Dokgo Yeon.
And that I am Sagong Hee's de facto husband.
"Ah, so are you going to kick me out? I won't be the only one dying. If I run away, Sagong Hee will follow me too. Heh heh heh. Do you think Gyeon-hui would stay in Wudang rather than follow a Sex Demon?"
"...This is basically blackmail."
"Aren't Sex Demons supposed to be demons? Heh heh heh."
As a righteous hero, the obvious human response would be to report me to the authorities or the Murim Alliance at once, but I urged him to collude with the filthy reality.
"First of all, since you're not listening to a thing I say, listen to what the others have to say for a bit."
And the three women had a serious talk with Sa Jeong-hu and persuaded him.
First, Lee Si-a.
"If the Grand Duke swallows the Demonic Cult, the Great Righteous-Demonic War will break out. I do not want that."
She revealed to Taoist Hyeonta that Grand Duke Ju-ji was behind the plague that struck the Wudang Sect.
"The Grand Duke is a vicious and cruel man by nature. If he becomes Heavenly Demon, a Blood Calamity will occur."
"The Grand Duke is still a person. How could he commit such atrocities?"
"It was the Grand Duke who spread the plague in Hubei."
"That son of a bitch... ahem. Is there anyone worse than a beast? Is that truly true?"
At first he was half in doubt, but when he heard about Ju-ji's scheme we had uncovered, he flew into a rage.
"I see. I do not wish to join hands with the Demonic Cult... but I understand the Little Princess's intention. However, bear in mind! I am not cooperating with the Little Princess; I simply cannot forgive the deeds that fellow Grand Duke has committed!"
"Then please turn a blind eye to my staying inside Mount Wudang, inside Cheonga Manor. I will leave the moment I cause any disturbance."
"If possible, please stay here. If you must go outside, do not let anyone else see you."
Thus, Taoist Hyeonta acknowledged Lee Si-a's presence.
Next, Dokgo Yeon.
"Lady Dokgo, your father is weeping tears of blood."
"Taoist, if it were not for the doctor, I would have vomited blood and died without being able to cure my illness."
Dokgo Yeon appealed to Taoist Hyeonta's sympathy.
"The doctor gave me a new life. A life-saving debt is a grace that a lifetime is insufficient to repay, yet I have been prevented from repaying it—how could I hold my head up and walk around?"
She had sworn to devote her entire life to the one who had sincerely treated her, but her father Dokgo Ja-yeong tried to force her into marriage.
'Did that really happen?'
'There were occasional verbal marriage proposals.'
It wasn't entirely untrue. Dokgo Ja-yeong had intended to have her bear a child as soon as her illness was cured.
"But Lady Dokgo Yeon, causing your father grief..."
"Are you saying that just because he is my father, it is acceptable to force his daughter into marriage and make her offer her virginity to a man she does not want?"
Plop. Plop.
Tears began to fall from Dokgo Yeon's eyes.
"To hold a beloved one in my heart forever, yet be violated night after night by a man I do not love, and finally bear an unwanted child and live my whole life as a man's plaything and childbearing doll...?"
"No, wait. That's not what this is about."
"What is different?"
Perhaps just thinking about it made her depressed; Dokgo Yeon shed tears. She did not weep mournfully, but tears dripped from an expressionless face, leaving Taoist Hyeonta at a loss.
'She watched the First Tears Victory Sect at the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle and learned that technique right away.'
Strike first to control the enemy.
Taking the proactive stance, Dokgo Yeon used a woman's emotions and tears as weapons.
"Ugh...! Fine! I will pretend not to know."
Ultimately, Taoist Hyeonta agreed to keep Dokgo Yeon's presence a secret.
"But bear in mind! I am not endorsing that swindler Mubung; I am merely considering and trying to understand Lady Dokgo Yeon's feelings!"
Thus, Taoist Hyeonta was won over by Dokgo Yeon's persuasion.
And finally, Sagong Hee.
"Martial Uncle. I... I am carrying my husband's child."
"Aaaaah!!"
Taoist Hyeonta sank. At those words, Lee Si-a and Dokgo Yeon, who had been clapping along, had their eyes flashing, but Sagong Hee placed a hand on her cheek and smiled.
"In a dream."
"Hey! Do you want to die?!"
"Sister Hee... that kind of joke isn't funny...?"
At Sagong Hee's not-quite provocation, the two women got angry, but the shocked Taoist Hyeonta, who had fallen over, could not regain his senses.
"Th-that's right. It's too early for you to bear a child... isn't it..."
"It is the prime childbearing age. What is a woman's greatest joy? Is not bearing the child of her beloved husband the very true joy of a woman?"
"Well, that is true."
"As I said, if my husband leaves the Wudang Sect, I will throw away the Taiji Flower and everything else and follow him. The reason I remain in the Wudang Sect is because my beloved husband made me a warrior of the Wudang Sect."
Taoist Hyeonta could not say a word in the face of Sagong Hee's boldness.
"What is wrong with a wife following her husband?"
"......Husband is the guide of the wife. To bring up the Three Bonds here."
Unlike Lee Si-a, who openly flouted the Three Bonds and Five Relationships by riding the Heavenly Demon in cowgirl position, or Dokgo Yeon, who abandoned her family for love, among the women in Cheonga Manor, Sagong Hee held the most conservative and traditional values.
"Indeed. You said you were the daughter of a scholar's family."
"Yes. It is the teaching of my late father."
And among the three, the one most compatible with Taoist Hyeonta's common sense was neither Lee Si-a nor Dokgo Yeon, but Sagong Hee. Although he was a man of the Dao, he was not one to disregard or belittle Confucianism.
"If a woman follows her husband, I suppose it cannot be helped. Hah."
At last, Taoist Hyeonta sighed deeply and rose to his feet. Then he glared at me with wide eyes.
"You aren't a Public Enemy of the Martial World for nothing."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Not content with taking three women who could easily rank among the Top Ten Beauties of the World as your wives, you are a Sex Demon who goes around violating other women—how could you not be a Public Enemy of the Martial World?"
"Hahaha, Hyeon-ta."
I deliberately spoke in the most arrogant voice possible.
"Did I not tell you? Ultimately, my Sex Demon acts are for the peace and well-being of the entire Murim."
"Nonsense."
"You still do not believe me. Someday you will witness the truth. Heh heh heh. Or would you like to verify it once more? The authenticity of my words?"
"...Forget it. There is no way to confirm it anyway, so me continuing to talk would just be empty words."
"A Taoist calling something empty words? Tsk tsk. The world's ending."
"......"
I had not lied. Taoist Hyeonta also clearly knew well that my embracing these women was a shortcut to the peace of the world.
"Ugh... But bear in mind...! If something harms the Wudang Sect, even if my honor falls to the ground, I will act for Wudang."
"You sure have a lot to bear in mind. Do not worry. I also consider the Wudang Sect my second home."
I picked up my chopsticks and performed the Taiji Wisdom Sword. The chopsticks floating in the air perfectly separated the bones and flesh of the grilled salmon caught from the river this morning, without crushing it.
"The Taiji Wisdom Sword again!! Stop using it in such a manner!"
"But it is so convenient. Lately I have even been thinking of using only the Taiji Wisdom Sword."
"The martial arts of Wudang are not your signature move alone!"
"That is true. But recently, since I use the Taiji Wisdom Sword often, it has genuinely become quite comfortable."
There is nothing as good as the Taiji Wisdom Sword for sparring against three women simultaneously.
The Taiji Wisdom Sword I wield is specialized in Sword Control Arts, so by mixing in the formulas of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, I had no great restriction in using other martial arts.
The beneficiaries were not only the three women, but also Sa Jeong-hu. I provided Sa Jeong-hu with many privileges as hush-money payment.
"Hyeon-ta, you do not often get a chance like this. Where else will you find someone who teaches you the Taiji Wisdom Sword at your level and even finds you a suitable sparring partner? Is not your martial progress improving day by day? Do you not admit that this is thanks to me?"
"Ugh...!"
Taoist Hyeonta had already fallen into the trap I had laid.
"You want to achieve Ascension, don't you? I may have strong Yang Energy, but if I put my mind to it, I am a Half-Immortal capable of Ascension."
"Heh..."
Martial artists are, by nature, the beings with the strongest desire for self-ascension, and among them, Taoists especially lose their minds when cultivating Immortal Arts for Ascension.
"Heh heh heh, and wasn't it thanks to me that you became the First Elder? The other elders learn from what Taoist Hyun-gi left behind or from Gyeon-hui, but when you think about it, aren't you practically my direct disciple?"
"Grrrr...!!"
Clenching his fists and trembling as he was, I almost wanted to torment him more oddly, but there was no profit in tormenting a bearded man who was not a woman.
"I have been putting up with your insolence all this time. Is this how you repay me? Huh? You all call me Grandmaster, don't you? Oh, Hyun-gi! Your junior brother Hyeon-ta is insulting me so!"
"That was a swindle!"
"A swindle? Who else but the Grandmaster who passed down the lost Taiji Wisdom Sword to Wudang? Shall we really seriously sort out your martial lineage?"
When I first pulled the scam, I called myself the Sage Taoist. But the Taiji Wisdom Sword was lost long before the Sage Taoist, so if we formally trace my lineage, I could rise to the level of great-great-great-grandmaster.
"In fact, I come right after the founder. Want me to make a real scene? Huh? Want me to flex my power as the disciple of Zhang Sanfeng, returned after cycling through five gapja? Huh?"
"...Let us stop, Grandmaster Mubung. I have lost."
And thus, I was acknowledged as Mubung as well.
"Are you sulking because I didn't give you any? Ah, geez. Thousand-year fleeceflower root doesn't grow thick like weeds."
"...When we stir-fry hundred-year fleeceflower root as greens once a week, aren't you at all sorry when you say that? Didn't all of that come from Mount Wudang? Even gambling house touts give a tip."
"Here, thousand-year fleeceflower root. I picked it up on the way."
"Thank you, Grandmaster."
And thus, Cheonga Manor was able to perfectly hide within the Wudang Sect.
* * *
"Estate Lord, I will take my leave for today."
"Why? Stay the night in the detached building."
"Hoho, I will pass today. Lately, how should I put it... I feel as if I have become a mother of three daughters."
Jin Sa-wol smiled, her eyes crinkling, and bowed her head deeply. Not only the detached building built for guests, but also a room to lay her body in the main house existed, yet she deliberately chose to sleep at the mansion she had bought in Hubei Province.
"How can I stay here when my daughters are giving me this much silent pressure? They say a mother-in-law isn't supposed to be glued to the newlyweds' house. Hoo hoo."
"Goodness... Shall I escort you?"
"No, it is fine. Now I am also a woman who can use her legs somewhat, so I can return home alone. Instead, next time, please fill me up with a good amount of inner energy."
"Ah, alright. Go safely."
After I returned from Henan to Hubei, Jin Sa-wol had learned part of the Wudang Sect's martial arts. She had no talent, but I could infuse her with inner energy, so she had to rely on me to use martial arts.
"Please take good care of Jin Family Manor. You are the lord of that place, Sa-wol."
"Of course. Since you, Estate Lord, entrusted the mansion to me, I will manage Jin Family Manor with all my heart."
Jin Sa-wol, who had just stepped outside the fence, knelt before me and bowed.
"Respectfully, I offer my deepest thanks once again. You regarded me, who was nothing but a mere servant, so preciously and made me the owner of the estate. I am truly grateful."
"Yes. I will be counting on you even more."
Jin Family Manor. An estate named after Jin Sa-wol's surname, it was a small manor in Hubei Province, different from Cheonga Manor inside the Wudang Sect forest within the Celestial Maiden's Unmarried Mark Nine Palaces Formation. I had gifted Jin Sa-wol a nearby estate, and she became the head of a small clan.
In other words, if Cheonga Manor here is the main house, then Jin Family Manor is a branch house. For the women who would visit this place from all over the world, I had secured an additional separate residence in Hubei Province besides Cheonga Manor.
"Sister Sa-wol has left. Husband, now please come this way."
Sagong Hee, who had been behind me, tugged at my sleeve. I turned and followed her. In the newly renovated Cheonga Manor with rooms packed closely together, each room had a nameplate affixed to it.
Taiji Gate (太極門).
Demon Heaven Pavilion (魔天樓).
Celestial Maiden Garden (仙女園).
And my own room connected to each of their rooms, the center of Cheonga Manor, Flying Heaven Palace (飛天宮).
"Today, you know what day it is, right?"
"Gaga. ...Shall we do it?"
Already, in front of Demon Heaven Pavilion and Celestial Maiden Garden, Lee Si-a and Dokgo Yeon had come out onto the veranda and were waiting for me. Sagong Hee stood in front of her own room—Taiji Gate—and asked me.
"Husband, tonight... where will you sleep?"