222
As the sun rose into the sky, the darkness that had blanketed Chengdu lifted.
The Sex Demons who had attacked the Sichuan Tang Clan were all subdued by Tang Clan warriors and hauled off to prison by government soldiers.
"Ugh, spare me...!"
"Just send me to prison!"
"Nggh-ik."
Every single attacker had been poisoned by the Tang Clan or crossed a river from which there was no return.
At the Sichuan governor's request, they were kept alive—but even if it didn't show on the surface, the Tang Clan had at least several hundred poisons ready to turn someone into a fine paste.
And so, every warrior who had descended on the Tang Clan was dealt with. Those who had dreamed of revenge against the Tang Clan were all rounded up, and a new morning sun dawned over the clan.
"You've worked hard, Clan Head."
"You as well, brother."
Dang Sa-rim and Dang O-dok praised each other's tireless efforts as they shared a cup.
Drinking in broad daylight might normally earn a remark or two, but the thrill of victory and a swallow of fire wine were simply too good to pass up.
"Countless have tried to trespass against the Tang Clan...."
"And none have ever succeeded in coveting it."
"Indeed. Heh-heh. We could have slaughtered them all—a bit of a shame, honestly."
"Worry not. We took our revenge in another form instead of blood."
Dang O-dok smiled, a faintly sinister curl to his lips.
"They will find themselves bleeding from below, and often."
"Bleeding from below? What do you mean? They're not women."
"Just before we handed the attackers over to the authorities, Seo-hee fed them every poison she had developed. They're all thoroughly afflicted."
"...What kind of poison are we talking about? A poison even I don't know of. How could you possibly poison them right under the guards' noses?"
Dang Sa-rim was genuinely shocked. To extract blood vengeance on that many people while evading the watchful eyes of government troops—was such a thing even possible?
"Over time, their internal organs slowly harden. They won't be able to pass stool for a long while, and it builds up. Then, one day, it erupts all at once—and when the gate tears open, they sustain injuries that cannot be healed. They won't receive proper treatment in prison, either."
"...So you're saying they'll suffer from constipation, their assholes will burst, and eventually the accumulated filth will turn septic and kill them?"
"Brother."
Dang O-dok raised a finger to his lips. The somewhat coarse language was the sort of speech that diminished Dang Sa-rim's dignity.
Even if it was the truth, there was clearly a need to refine one's words to some degree.
"Seo-hee really is remarkable. To think she'd create a poison like that. How did she say she made it again?"
"...She said she simply mixed a little of her own blood into a spirit pill. Something about how consuming the blood of a Celestial Maiden brings one closer to ascension, and the first sign of that transformation is that the body stops producing stool, or some such."
"You're joking."
"It's probably a joke. Most likely. Why not ask her yourself?"
The two men arrived at the entrance of the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation. Dang Seo-hee stood quietly before the formation.
"...Hm?"
Her attire was considerably disheveled. Her skin was flushed all over, and she was wrapped up strangely tight in her clothes.
"O-oh, you've come. Clan Head, and Uncle."
As if the sensuality she'd been suppressing were overflowing, Dang Seo-hee's voice quivered with a bewitching tremor.
"S-Seo-hee? Could it be...?"
"...I exerted myself too much at dawn. It seems my illness has flared up again."
Dang Seo-hee bowed her head low, her face flushed bright red all the way to her crown. The sight of her pressing her knees together and trembling made the two men subtly widen their distance.
"Ahem, my apologies. We came to express our thanks for your contributions...."
"As a member—hahh—of the Tang Clan, I merely did what was required of me."
Dang Seo-hee barely managed to lift her head, her face slack as she struggled to contain something. She looked for all the world like a woman enduring a man violating her from behind, and the two men felt discomfort mingled with pity.
"To endure such side effects and still exert yourself like this for the Tang Clan...!"
"We are deeply grateful, Seo-hee."
The more powerful the strength she drew upon, the worse the side effects became. Yet Dang Seo-hee had not hesitated to wield the power of the Jungryeo Divine Flame Arts.
With the emergence of a new Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers to protect the Tang Clan, the clan's warriors felt their confidence pierce the heavens.
Hidden weapons, poison arts, and even immortal arts that commanded fire.
"Seo-hee. I know this is uncomfortable for you, but you must tell us now. The power you displayed was far too formidable to be dismissed as mere dark arts that manipulate flame."
"......."
Dang Seo-hee let her head slump forward.
"The people are afraid. Wild rumors are already circulating—that you, freely commanding fire as you do, might be a monster disguised in human form."
"Seo-hee. Are we not family? Will you not answer us?"
"......Chukyung."
At Dang Seo-hee's words, both men pricked up their ears.
"......Ah, that is to say... the protagonist of the Seven Captures and Seven Releases. Do you know his wife?"
"Nanman?"
"Chukyung?"
"Yes. ...I found this power in Yunnan. ...In a secret map that brother Lee Jeong left behind."
"!!!"
The two men's eyes flew wide open. They had suspected as much, had already vaguely guessed it, but hearing it directly from Dang Seo-hee struck them differently.
"...Lee Jeong."
Dang Sa-rim shed a tear.
"Even after leaving the Tang Clan, you still—for the Tang Clan...!"
"......."
The Tang Clan men wept from their eyes, while Dang Seo-hee felt something white and sticky trickle down between her thighs beneath her skirt.
"C-Clan Head. Uncle...."
Dang Seo-hee bit her lip and answered as if on the verge of tears.
"May I... go inside now...?"
She rubbed her thighs together, forced to weep from above and below alike as she fought to suppress the thick scent of night-blooming flowers wafting from her groin.
‹That same hour, Xi'an.›
The women of the Sword Pavilion had gathered in one place, lost in deliberation.
How were they to 'handle' the two White Path women who had been knocked unconscious by Thunder Demon? One was more Unorthodox Faction than White Path, strictly speaking, but as long as they stood in opposition to the Demonic Cult, they were both considered White Path.
Moyong Ran.
Bang Yeong-hui.
The two who had vehemently insisted on rescuing Demonic Sword Consort would have disobeyed her orders if Thunder Demon hadn't intervened.
In truth, they occupied positions where they didn't have to follow orders—but even so, the Sword Pavilion disciples could not tolerate the two of them for having turned a deaf ear to Demonic Sword Consort's words.
"How should we deal with them?"
"...Killing them seems a bit much, doesn't it?"
Although the Sword Pavilion's disciples were all women, their temperaments were by no means uniform.
Some had followed Wang So-hyeon since her days in the White Path, while others were daughters of Demonic Cult practitioners who had joined the Sword Pavilion after it crossed over to the Demonic Cult's side.
"These women tried to defy the Pavilion Mistress's orders. I see no need to go easy on them."
"Wait. They're the ones who ran away because they didn't want to be caught by the Sex Demon, remember? Isn't killing them a bit harsh?"
"Then kill them as women, so they can never serve as women again."
"You're supposed to try persuading people with words—why are you all reaching for your swords first? Let's calm them down and talk once they wake up. If they still haven't come to their senses then, it won't be too late to act."
Clashes of opinion were therefore frequent among them. Had Demonic Sword Consort not mediated skillfully from the center, the Sword Pavilion might well have split into two factions and ignited a civil war.
"Nngh, where...?"
The first to regain consciousness was Bang Yeong-hui. Having gone about without her Body Transformation Art active, she had shown her true appearance to everyone.
"Hey, Bang, wake your friend up."
"......I've been awake for a while now."
At Moyong Ran's words, the Sword Pavilion disciples flinched in alarm. With a voice sharp as a blade, Moyong Ran had already sliced through her ropes and freed herself from restraint.
"You wench...!"
"You don't need to know who your opponent is—but you should at least gauge what level of martial skill they're at."
Moyong Ran fully raised her internal energy. As her dense aura spread palpably through the room, the Sword Pavilion disciples began stepping backward one by one, biting their lips.
"It can't be...! That's impossible! She was nowhere near this strong when she fought the Master!!"
"When you venture into the Martial World, you conceal thirty percent of your ability. Isn't that the most basic of basics? Bang, how long are you going to stay like that?"
"Hmph. I was about to get up."
Crr-rack, cr-crack.
Bang Yeong-hui tore through her ropes with sheer grip strength. The Sword Pavilion disciples grimaced at the power of these two White Path experts, who were clearly at the mid-Peak level—or perhaps even beyond.
"You deceived us!"
"It was less deception and more the Pavilion Mistress testing you. She wanted you to gauge roughly what level we're at."
"We humored you, and now you're yapping about killing us like you're the stronger ones.... Unbelievable!!"
Boom! Bang Yeong-hui slammed her fists together.
"I intended to stay put, but I can't anymore! Our master is in danger—how can we just sit still because we were told to?!"
"Exactly. No matter how much you've joined the Demonic Cult, you can't just pretend not to know your master is in peril. I'm no disciple of the Sword Pavilion, but if I were, I'd have gone to save that woman."
"No, Moyong."
A familiar voice came from beyond the door. The disciples all brightened at once, while the two White Path women swallowed hard.
"That is the orthodox way of the White Path, and its truth. But not this time."
"......!! Lady Demonic Sword Consort, could it be...?!"
Demonic Sword Consort's hair was thoroughly disheveled. Faint red marks from a man's touch lingered darkly on her skin. The clothes she wore were not the ones she'd originally had on, either.
"Yes, I was taken."
"!!"
Not just the two women—even the Sword Pavilion disciples inside the room were stunned.
Who in the entire world could possibly violate Demonic Sword Consort?!!
"I was taken by Geomdam. ...Hoo, hoo-hoo. Whether to call it good luck or bad luck."
Demonic Sword Consort slumped into a chair. Despite clearly having been violated, she wore a strangely refreshed smile.
"He didn't kill me. And he said I could seek revenge all I wanted. ...Said the same thing would happen even if I came back to challenge him again."
Moyong Ran tilted her head quizzically.
"Yes. He told me to challenge him as much as I pleased. Hoo-hoo, to think the challenge fee would be getting raped once...."
Something about those words didn't seem quite true, but questioning the veracity of a woman who had challenged an untouchable master and been violated in return would have been far too rude.
"Hear me, disciples of the Sword Pavilion. I, Wang So-hyeon, cannot return to the Sword Pavilion as I am. For the sake of revenge, I will move separately from now on."
"Pavilion Mistress?!"
"This is my personal revenge. How could a woman be violated by a man and do nothing but soak her pillow with tears?"
"Senior!"
Moyong Ran clasped her hands in a martial salute and dropped to one knee.
"Please, allow me to assist you!"
"The same goes for me!"
"...Your intentions are admirable, but there's no need for you to step forward needlessly—"
Demonic Sword Consort bit her lower lip and spoke as if spitting out the agony of a severed organ.
"If you join me, you may needlessly suffer the same calamity yourselves. Are you prepared?!"
"Yes!!"
"......."
Demonic Sword Consort smiled bitterly and patted the two women on the shoulders.
"Good. Then from now on, you too are members of the Chase-the-Lecher Women's Corps."
Beneath the great cause of plotting against the Sex Demon, the Chase-the-Lecher Women's Corps gradually expanded its influence.
"Flame Demon, Thunder Demon, Sword Demon, even Poison Demon. As expected, following the Young Heavenly Demon around means even while you're sleeping, food drops into your lap."
"Nice, right? So praise me more."
"The most beautiful woman in the world, and kind-hearted too."
"That's it?"
"I'm simply overjoyed that such a woman is mine."
I scooped Lee Si-a up and spun her around once. Lee Si-a puffed out her cheeks at me for treating her like a child.
"You're mine, you know? When it's just the two of us, would it kill you to act like you're mine for a bit?"
"When it's just the two of us? I am already yours—how could there be any conditions attached?"
"Says the mouth. Hmph, fine. While you're at it, you'll probably ask if you can pick and eat any pretty woman you spot along the way."
"Well, naturally. It's not like I'm giving that woman my body and heart—I'd just be draining some internal energy and leaving."
I bickered playfully with Lee Si-a as we walked. Paying no mind to Thunder Demon and Demonic Sword Consort's pursuit, we slipped out of the Sichuan Tang Clan and set out on our journey.
Originally, the plan had been a route skirting around Jang'an. But with the excuse of avoiding Demonic Sword Consort and Thunder Demon, we chose to head south instead.
"Looks like I'll be seeing more than my fill of mountains."
"Yeah. ...But isn't it getting a little hot?"
Lee Si-a removed the outer layer of her Moon Woman robes. Her bare arms were fully exposed, and I cooled her down by wafting the Ice White Divine Art in her direction.
"Women who've cultivated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—that really is the best part."
"What is?"
"That side effects show up here too."
"Eek?!"
Lee Si-a shrieked at my sudden finger technique. I tickled the smooth hollow of her underarm.
"Someone once said that for the sake of beauty, a woman can afford to keep only her hair and her eyebrows."
"Who said that?"
"Some ancient sage?"
A sage of the sexual variety, so it fits.
"Ugh, is that why you filled Flame Demon up so thoroughly inside? Because she burned it all off right down to the roots?"
"How could I not find a woman lovely when her heart is already becoming that of a virgin again?"
Not only had she captured the former Poison Demon and made her submit to my violations, but her willingness to cast off her past self and endure all of it for a new life with me—how could that not be beautiful?
"I'll have to encourage her to use the Jungryeo Divine Flame Arts more often going forward."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks to Flame Demon, you ate a whole four demonic practitioners."
"Four? Not counting Flame Demon, that's Sword Demon, Thunder Demon, Poison Demon. That's one short."
"Heavenly Demon!"
At Lee Si-a's words, I couldn't hold back my laughter.
"Violating a Heavenly Demon. Whoever he is, he's got some nerve."
"Just nerve? Other things are big too. Speaking of which, since we're heading south toward Yunnan for a change, how about violating one more?"
"One more? There's another demonic practitioner in Yunnan? That's news to me."
"Mad Demon."
I had to work to keep my expression steady at Lee Si-a's words. I maintained my composure as best I could.
"Isn't Mad Demon... a man?"
"He is. But I hear his daughter's an incredible beauty."
"......."
I couldn't easily give an answer.
Mad Demon.
I know better than anyone just how beautiful his daughter is.
"Hmm. That's a pretty lukewarm reaction. Surely the Sex Demon wouldn't turn down a beauty?"
"For now."
I added a caveat.
"......For now, I'll see her face with my own eyes and judge."
"You don't trust the rumors?"
"They could just be idle gossip she's spreading with her own mouth."
A self-proclaimed beauty—she might very well be singing the praises of her own looks, mightn't she.