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<Hubei, Jangha Lake Port Fishing Spot>
On the Central Plains, a lake is a stretch of still water, yet its breadth rivals that of a decent-sized city.
Ju Sam, a fisherman who made his living off freshwater fish in Jangha Lake, earned a little pocket money by renting out his boat to anyone who wanted to try their luck with a rod.
He wandered the port, scanning the gathered anglers for a customer. His gaze landed on a young man who looked like he had coin to spare, holding a fishing rod and wearing a deep scowl.
The wooden box beside the young man was empty. Ju Sam cleared his throat and sat down nearby.
"Not having much luck fishing?"
"Asking someone if they're having bad luck seems rather rude, doesn't it?"
The young man's sarcasm was open. Ju Sam's face reddened for no good reason, but he cursed inwardly at the oppressive presence the young man radiated.
Stepped in shit.
The young man was clearly a murim warrior, and Ju Sam had pricked his temper.
"Ahem. My apologies. I assumed you were the type who came around looking for news."
"Hm?"
"Well, that's a signal to the storytellers around this village."
Ju Sam tried to wriggle out of the situation by making up nonsense on the spot. The young man looked him up and down for a long moment, then smirked and turned his head back toward the river.
"Alright then. Any good news?"
"Of course! Listen closely."
To soothe the young man's mood, Ju Sam recited everything he knew, as much as he had heard.
For instance, the number of Sex Demons roaming the martial world had surged so sharply that the government office, in coordination with the Murim Alliance, had launched a full-scale subjugation campaign.
For instance, the Exploding Dragon of the Namgung family in Anhui was going around breaking the signboards of sects famous for swordsmanship.
For instance, the Paeng family's main house and branch house in Hebei had merged once again, building an immense power base.
For instance, a woman called the Demonic Sword Consort in Shaanxi had castrated countless Sex Demons with her blade and was still settled in Xi'an.
For instance, the Sect Leader of the Emei Sect in Sichuan had entered closed-door training.
For instance, the daughter of the Moyong family was still missing.
"You really do know quite a lot. How much should I pay you for this information?"
"Ha-ha, everyone in this area knows these stories, so what information fee? Just think of it as an old fool happy to have someone to talk to after so long."
Ju Sam felt relieved at the young man's calmer tone.
"By the way. Have you heard the news?"
"Could you just tell the story without calling it 'the news'?"
"Tch, what a young fellow who doesn't know the joy of a proper back-and-forth conversation. It's about Shandong. The Hwangbo Clan."
The young man's expression stiffened for an instant, but Ju Sam didn't notice.
"The Hwangbo Clan! Hwangbo Yeom, the Thunder Divine Fist and the Best Fist Under Heaven, is the Clan Head, and I hear he has no less than seven daughters. A few weeks ago, he held a martial tournament to marry his daughters off, but guess what—the man selected as the groom got scared and ran away!"
"...Ahem. Well, now."
The young man clicked his tongue as he reeled in his rod. He replaced the bait and cast the line back out.
"I know that story roughly. Wasn't he the man who defeated a Peak Expert?"
"Exactly! A young man from a mysterious sect. The Clan Head was so taken with his strength he offered all seven sisters to him... Keu, is there really a young man that blessed?"
"Is that a blessing?"
At the young man's sarcasm, Ju Sam clapped his hands.
"My point exactly! Thought it was a blessing, but it turned out to be a death sentence. Heh heh, keep this to yourself now."
Ju Sam lowered his voice to a tiny whisper.
"The rumor is the man ran away because the second daughter of the Hwangbo Clan is so... insatiable!"
"Huh."
The young man laughed as if it were absurd.
"No matter how formidable a woman is, how could a man run away scared of a woman?"
"That's what I thought! But here's the thing—I've also heard this rumor. Apparently, it's not just the second daughter who's insatiable. The other six are just as bad."
"...So all seven of them consummated with that man, is what you're saying?"
Ju Sam shrugged.
"How should I know? Maybe only the second daughter was frightening, or maybe he ran because all the Hwangbo women were terrifying. Either way, the man in question has vanished, so there's no way to know now. Heh heh heh. And from that, the story goes like this..."
Ju Sam thrust his fist forward.
"The Clan Head, Hwangbo Yeom, has placed a bounty on that fellow! Ha-ha-ha! Still, the fact he's telling the man to take responsibility makes me think both the man who ran and the Hwangbo Clan's second daughter are something else!"
"She was indeed a remarkable woman."
The young man twisted the corner of his mouth and pulled on his rod. At the end of the line, a carp as thick as a forearm was thrashing.
"Oh, ohhh!"
Without bothering to play the carp, the young man yanked the rod with sheer force. Before anyone could scold him for risking a snapped line, the carp shot out of the water and landed neatly in his hand.
"Hmph."
Grinning, the young man dropped the carp into his wooden box.
"Finally caught a satisfying one."
"Impressive. By any chance, would you consider selling me that carp?"
"Sorry, but this fellow is dinner tonight, part of a contest."
The young man gathered his box and rod and stood up.
"That was a fine story. Thanks to you, I've had an entertaining listen to the state of affairs in the Central Plains."
"R-right? Heh heh."
Ju Sam let a subtle hint of expectation show. Earning pocket money from martial world stories wasn't a pastime of his, but even so, buying a bottle of unrefined rice wine on the way home wouldn't be so bad.
"Here, for the information."
The young man generously took out a silver coin from his chest and tossed it. Ju Sam's heart sank as the coin landed neatly into his own chest pocket.
What if it had been a hidden weapon instead of a coin?
Gaga---!
A voice as clear as jade beads rang out from the distance. The young man turned his head as if it were only natural, and Ju Sam followed his gaze to see who was calling the young man Gaga.
"Huk."
The woman, with a bright smile as if spring itself had bloomed, looked as if a Celestial Maiden had descended to the earth. The young man's gaze toward the purple-eyed woman flipped in an instant like a turning palm.
"Did you catch a lot?"
"Yes. This should be enough for tonight's dinner, don't you think?"
The woman pointed to the large wooden box she carried. Inside were countless freshwater fish longer than a hand.
"I only caught one."
The young man took the wooden box from her as he gestured toward his own. The woman puffed up her cheeks at the size of the carp inside.
"You caught a bigger one than me?"
"I was lucky. It's just that the single one I caught happened to be this fellow."
"Pff. What a lie."
The woman tried to snatch the wooden box from the young man, but he moved the heavy box, water and all, side to side to dodge her hands.
"You carry that one. Elder brother Ju Sam, the story was enjoyable. If fate allows, let's meet again next time."
"If fate allows... Pfbt. Goodbye."
The woman laughed brightly and left the fishing spot with the young man. Ju Sam tucked the silver coin into his chest as if mesmerized and stuck his tongue out slightly.
"Like a Celestial Maiden, even looking again."
Had there ever been such a beautiful woman around here? Ju Sam kept recalling the woman's appearance and grinned to himself.
"Hit the jackpot today... Huh?"
The moment he went to buy unrefined rice wine, he saw people who looked like murim warriors posting something on the wall of an inn. After buying his wine and reading the poster, he clicked his tongue in pity.
"Missing person, Dokgo Yeon. Tsk, how could a girl who just came of age..."
The girl named Dokgo Yeon in the poster was such a young girl.
"Ice-Colored Demon... she must be dead by now?"
Several months had already passed since the Ice-Colored Demon had announced he would attack the Moyong family, and no news of his appearance had reached any part of the martial world since.
"Ice-Colored Demon... who in the world is he!"
* * *
"Cough."
"Gaga, do you have a cold?"
"No. I lowered my voice earlier and my throat got hoarse."
After selling all the fish we caught in a nearby city, we kept only the single carp I had caught and set off on the road home.
"I can never use the Soul-Seizing Crashing Fist ever again. Word of the Shandong incident has spread all the way here to Hubei."
"Still, it's a relief. The path to marriage isn't completely blocked."
Officially, the Soul-Seizing Crashing Fist only had relations with Hwangbo Hye-ji. Of course, no one believed that.
If the Soul-Seizing Crashing Fist had eaten and run with just Hwangbo Hye-ji, then only Hwangbo Hye-ji should act as if she'd suffered harm. But if the other six sisters also took the Soul-Seizing Crashing Fist's side, wouldn't the picture look strange? Ultimately, while it was just a rumor, the Soul-Seizing Crashing Fist became widely known as a petty scoundrel who spent one night with all seven sisters and fled.
"If I go all out, I can easily handle not just seven, but twelve."
"Is that your way of saying you'll increase your wives to twelve?"
"...No, I was just saying that. Yeon-a, you can't do this if you attach so much meaning to every word I say."
I had only mentioned a possibility, but Dokgo Yeon cut down that possibility with merciless precision. Just what you'd expect from a practitioner of the Dugu Nine Swords who reads an opponent's attack path, dismantles it, and strikes first.
"But Gaga, if Hye-ji says it's alright, you'll accept her."
"Why is that?"
"Hye-ji was a virgin."
"...Ahem."
Contrary to Dokgo Yeon's concern, Hwangbo Hye-ji was a virgin. She almost lost her virginity, but fortunately, physically speaking, she was a virgin.
But she did have a first love. The Eldest Prince, 'Ju-ji'.
"Yeon-a. I am not someone who clings to past entanglements."
I soothed the anxious-looking Dokgo Yeon.
"I am not necessarily trying to only bring in women who have liked no one else, loved no one else, and had no physical relations with anyone else."
"Then?"
"I follow my heart. But right now, there is no one in particular like that."
Sagong Hee, Lee Si-a, Dokgo Yeon, Paeng Yuwol.
Emotionally, I was already in a fairly stable state. With three meals a day—morning, noon, and evening—plus eating out once every seven days, I had no particular desire to increase the number of table settings.
"I suppose continuing like this wouldn't be so bad. Heh heh."
"But Gaga, you won't stop those who come to you."
"That is true. I told you last time, if Hwangbo Hye-ji comes as Hye-ji, I intend to accept her. What about you?"
"...I'd prefer someone I already know too, if possible."
Dokgo Yeon didn't show any particular aversion toward Hye-ji.
Unlike Sagong Hee, who would look at the chest size and let it slide as long as I said I liked the woman, or Lee Si-a, who would rather encourage me to enjoy lust more, Dokgo Yeon was the type to pay a lot of attention to the increasing number of women.
"Yeon-a, do you dislike it when I add more women?"
"It's not that I dislike it. What worries me is that women approaching Gaga with bad intentions might increase."
"Women like the Thunder Demon?"
"...Yes."
Because I don't turn away any woman who comes, you only find out whether she has a flower or a knife hidden in her belly after going through it.
"Do not worry. Who am I? The man closest to being the best under heaven. What woman could stab me?"
"Gaga. What I worry about is right here."
Dokgo Yeon placed her hand on my chest.
"I am afraid that Gaga might suffer a wound to the heart."
"...Heh heh, then stay by my side if that happens."
I lightly bent my upper body forward in front of Dokgo Yeon and buried my face in her chest. After that trip to Shandong, Dokgo Yeon had grown considerably, and now she was growing to the point where she might even surpass Sagong Hee in height alone.
'This is the perfect size.'
"Gaga, if you touch me like that, I won't be able to walk home."
"Why?"
"Because it makes me want to do it with Gaga."
Dokgo Yeon stroked my head and gave a coy smile. As her body grew, her gaze too was increasingly dyed with the worldly color of purple, and she could now confidently claim to be both a complete lady and a lustful woman.
"This is a problem. What will you do if you get wet just from having your chest touched? What if someone else targets your chest and touches it?"
"It's because Gaga is the one touching my chest."
"Ho-ho. It seems I have become a permanent weakness for you."
"Haven't you developed a weakness for me too, Gaga?"
Dokgo Yeon spread her hand and stroked my lower abdomen. At her discreet use of the Joint Locking Technique, my member jolted in surprise too.
"...Heh heh heh."
"Pfft."
We grabbed each other's weak spots and laughed for a long while. The hour was already late, and the sun was setting behind the mountains before we knew it.
"Heh heh. Let's head home before the carp goes bad. No need to..."
Ba---oom!!
An explosion sounded from atop the mountain. I hadn't realized it before entering the wide-spread Nine Palaces Bewildering Array, but acrid smoke was rising into the sky.
"What kind of accident did they make today?"
"...Deep-fry?"
A sharp, pungent smell of oil made my skin crawl.
"Deep-fried food is tasty even if you fry a shoe."
"Maybe they didn't wipe off the water again before frying?"
"......."
Dokgo Yeon was a woman who could read heavenly secrets.