004
004
"What is it, Madam?"
"It's nothing."
Paeng Yuwol, daughter of the Hebei Paeng Clan, pulled her gaze from the carriage window as she sat in the uncomfortable coach.
She had turned to the window to escape the weight of his stare, but a gaze that seemed to bore right through the oil-paper forced her to look back inside.
"Are the peasants outside bothering you? Haha, to think you'd already be taking in the local atmosphere so far from home. You put me to shame."
The man sitting across from her wore an utterly slick expression, and his voice was just as greasy.
His manner of speaking suggested he was saying, 'Get acquainted with the residents of the land you'll soon manage,' and Paeng Yuwol openly furrowed her delicate brows.
"Young master. We are not yet wed. Please do not address me with the title of Madam."
"...Heh-heh, but aren't we to be bound by the Hundred-Year Vow in just nine days? Don't be so cold. It might wound me, and I could end up speaking to your father."
"......."
Paeng Yuwol looked back at the window.
She deeply disliked how he used his wealth to pressure her by exploiting her family's difficult situation, but Paeng Yuwol had no choice but to accept the current reality: a man with rolls of fat eyeing her lecherously.
"If our Chuso Escort Agency stands with the Paeng Clan, we'll easily regain Hebei's supremacy! Haha!"
"......."
A daughter of one of the Eight Great Families was betrothed to the heir of an escort bureau that primarily dealt in coin.
Furthermore, the fact that she had come down not just from Hebei, where the Paeng Clan holds sway, but all the way to Anhui meant the initiative lay with the Chuso Escort Agency, not the Paeng Clan.
To put it simply, Paeng Yuwol had been sold off to the Chuso Escort Agency.
To bolster their declining fortunes, the family had bartered away their daughter to an escort bureau for a few pieces of gold.
Grind.
Her lips, hidden beneath the face veil, were bitten hard enough to leave marks. The man across from her, the heir of the Chuso Escort Agency, the "Gold Pig" Chu So-gwang, savored Paeng Yuwol's reaction with a greasy smile, freely raking his eyes over her body.
"Oh? Are you angry? Do you intend to threaten the man who will be your husband with your martial arts?"
"......I have done no such thing."
It was a flagrantly rude act, but the situation and circumstances forced Paeng Yuwol to stay her hand.
In terms of martial arts alone, Paeng Yuwol stood at a far higher realm than Chu So-gwang, but the burden of her clan's revival and the weight of gold pressed heavily upon her shoulders.
"Haha! Please, make a wise choice. The day we light the wedding candles, the carts carrying our payment will depart. And in that spirit...."
Chu So-gwang subtly rose and slid over to the seat beside Paeng Yuwol. The way he pressed his bulk against her in the cramped carriage made genuine revulsion crawl up Paeng Yuwol's skin.
"Since we're out here alone, how about a little—"
"...I told you clearly. Not to touch me before the wedding."
Paeng Yuwol aimed the edge of her hand toward Chu So-gwang's lower abdomen. Her white cotton glove held a sharpness like a blade, and Chu So-gwang broke into a sweat, raising both hands.
"Haha, ha. Right. Ahem."
Chu So-gwang subtly scooted his rear back to his own side.
Having dispersed the energy she'd gathered in her hand, Paeng Yuwol looked back at the window. She felt a sticky, leering energy from behind, but she ignored it with effort and looked outside.
Fuck, she's insanely pretty.
"......."
It must be an illusion. Beyond the oil-paper window, a rather handsome young man was staring directly at her as if entranced, his expression laced with vulgarity.
The young man looked through the screen as if he could see her face perfectly, mouthing exclamations like, 'Wow, insane, a Celestial Maiden.'
"......Pfft."
If a man merely looked at her because she was beautiful, she could tolerate such gazes.
But she wanted nothing to do with a man who sought to possess her beauty by exploiting her family's weakness and scheming from the shadows. Chu So-gwang's thick hand slithered onto the hand she had placed on her thigh.
"Heh-heh, I just have to wait nine days, right? Father will surely be pleased."
"......."
Paeng Yuwol shut her eyes tight.
* * *
"Ahh. The wine tastes good."
I rinsed my mouth with clear liquor, burning away the slick taste of a woman's nectar.
"My lord, did you enjoy it?"
"My lord? Hey, aren't you embarrassed to say that to me?"
"If a man gives me three nyang of silver for one night, then he's my lord. What else? Hmph."
The courtesan Hong-ryeon, who bore a resemblance to Paeng Yuwol, wrapped her naked body around me and pouted playfully.
Her body was slick with the sweat she had shed through the night, but that did not bother me. After all, I was the reason she was sweating.
"My lord, should I..."
"Enough. Don't go ruining a young man's bright future for nothing. If you do, I'll call for another girl next time."
"Tsk, you're too cruel. Especially after making my body know only you!"
Hong-ryeon reached her hand down toward my lower body.
She caressed my fully engorged member as if handling a piece of expensive pottery.
"Haa, it's truly remarkable. How do you possess something so robust at your age?"
"It comes from a regular lifestyle since childhood, sufficient sleep, and a bit of exercise."
"And where did you learn the technique that sends me to paradise?"
"I was born with it."
I let Hong-ryeon crawl between my legs without stopping her. As she prostrated herself like a dog and swept her hair past her ear, she naturally took me into her mouth.
"You're quite a natural-born courtesan yourself. Thinking to put a man's cock in your mouth without even asking."
"Slurp. I don't do this for others. I only do it for you, my lord."
"Right, I'll take it as that."
I picked up the bottle of wine placed on the low table.
The bottle was still half full, and dawn was still far off. The food sent up as a dinner spread was already cold from the chilly night air.
'How long was I at it?'
I had scraped together some silver during the day and sought out Hong-ryeon the moment the pleasure house doors opened. She was no Paeng Yuwol, but the woman with cat-like features was not easy to find, even in the best house in this town.
"Sluurp, haa. My lord, you seem to be enjoying this? You flinch every time my tongue touches the tip, haa."
Hong-ryeon's mouth was as hot and wet as her core. I hadn't held many women from the pleasure houses, but Hong-ryeon was an exceptional courtesan, the kind other establishments schemed behind the scenes to poach.
Her slender tongue swirled and licked around the tip with a fervent devotion to service.
The feeling that she was devoting herself to me like this sent a thrilling satisfaction through my whole body. I paid three nyang of silver for a single night with such a woman? That was a bargain.
"The wine truly tastes excellent. Hong-ryeon, my apologies. I was so caught up in buying your night that I failed to prepare a gift."
"Hm? Fufu, the fact that my lord requested me is a gift in itself."
My cock, coated in Hong-ryeon's saliva, had already grown hard again, pointing straight toward the ceiling.
Even after exuding yang energy without a moment's rest for three full watches, my desire flared up again after just a bit of service, and Hong-ryeon covered her mouth with her hand, laughing.
"My lord, please start again."
"I'm going to keep drinking. You get on top and do the work."
"What? B-but...."
I leaned my back down and stretched my legs out forward. Facing a position that embarrassed even a courtesan, being told to mount him herself, Hong-ryeon hesitated and straightened up, flustered.
"M-may I be so bold?"
"Bold? I'm the one who's indebted here. Where could you find a courtesan who can handle me for this long?"
At my words, Hong-ryeon smiled, then straddled my thighs.
We were so lost in devouring each other's bodies that the once-warmed wine cup had turned cold, and no courtesan but Hong-ryeon could withstand my yang energy to this extent.
"My lord is simply too exceptional. Do you know something? The madam hides the younger girls every time you come."
"I don't deal in kids."
"Pfft, and what about me?"
"A flower is most fragrant when plucked at its peak of beauty."
"Smooth talker."
Hong-ryeon gently placed her hands on my shoulders. The touch of her fingers, which bore slight calluses rather than being smooth as jade, gave a hint of her past.
"My lord, I—"
"Sister Hong-ryeon! There's big trouble!!"
The door burst open and a courtesan rushed in with a desperate face. Hong-ryeon wiped the expression she'd had for me from her face and turned her head, her look icy.
"Crazy bitch, what kind of disgrace are you putting on in front of a guest!"
"Th-the madam—she's dying!!"
"...What?"
The color drained completely from Hong-ryeon's flushed body. I gently lifted her hand off me and nodded toward the door.
"Go."
"......I have no excuse, my lord. I won't accept payment for tonight. Next time you come, I'll serve you even more devotedly."
Hong-ryeon glanced at the silver I had set down, then hurriedly threw on her clothes. I waved her off as she cast apologetic glances my way, and washed my throat with the cold wine.
"Kuh. Getting it for free. Nice."
As expected, her diligent tongue work was worth more than money. Alone, I refilled my cup and gazed at the moon hanging over the window, quenching my thirst.
"Hm? What is it? You planning to take over instead?"
"Ah, n-no. It's just that...."
The courtesan who had shattered my mood hesitated, watching my reaction.
"Speak. Does the silver tempt you? Do you think Hong-ryeon's time went to waste? Don't worry. I used half the night, so I'll leave half."
A generous man might leave it all, but I'm a petty man. The world isn't short of women besides Hong-ryeon, and once I'd cooled my body's heat with wine, I could simply go to another pleasure house and embrace a woman worth two nyang of silver.
Splitting three in half is tricky, so I'll take two for myself.
"S-sister Hong-ryeon... she's in love with you...!"
"...Tsk. I don't like getting emotionally snared. Kid, saying that to me is the same as chasing off a model client. I came here for Hong-ryeon's body, not her heart."
"The heir of the Chuso Escort Agency is downstairs right now, raising a storm and demanding they hand over Hong-ryeon!!"
"......And what do you want me to do about it? Are you telling me to go rescue Hong-ryeon?"
I picked up the wine bottle.
"Why should I?"
"Elder!"
"Haa.... It ticks me off enough that my plans for some fun got cut short after a long time, and now it looks like I'm about to get tangled in some troublesome affair."
I sighed and tapped the table with my fingers.
"Guess it's time for me to leave this place. Sam-gu."
Swish.
A middle-aged man in a black mask landed by the window and entered the room. I pressed the pressure point of the courtesan, who was startled by the sudden appearance of an outsider.
"Hey, if you want to save her, do exactly as I say."
"Wh-what are you going to do?!"
"What do you think? I'll resolve it the murim way. Disciple, let's go."
* * *
"Calm down, please!"
"Calm down?! Do I look like I'm in a calming mood?! Bring that bitch before me right now!"
Drunk and belligerent, Chu So-gwang was shouting at the top of his lungs and causing a scene. The guard warriors standing behind him frowned slightly, but men hired with coin had no reason to interfere with their employer's conduct.
"Hong-ryeon is currently with another guest..."
"She's mine exclusively! How dare you let some other man hold her!"
"Such unreasonable...!"
"You called for me?"
Hong-ryeon approached Chu So-gwang and bowed her head. Her neatly arranged hair and attire made it look as if she had finished dressing and been waiting for quite some time.
"Oh, yes! Keuh, you bitch, you look just like her. Heh-heh, let's go enjoy the night together right now! Hahaha! ...Huh? Wait."
Out of his mind with drink, Chu So-gwang strode over and roughly tore open Hong-ryeon's clothes. As the front of her robe was pushed aside, her breasts were exposed.
"Y-you filthy whore! You were really doing it with another man?!"
Even if she could neaten her hair and clothes, she couldn't hide the traces of a man's touch and teeth marks that ran from her collarbone to her breasts. With her chest exposed before others' eyes, Hong-ryeon shook off Chu So-gwang's hand and stepped back.
"What is the meaning of this!"
"Damn it! There's a limit to how disgusted I should feel! You dare push a girl another man has already eaten right in front of me!"
"W-we told you. Right now, Hong-ryeon is with another guest..."
"And I said this bitch is exclusively mine!"
There was simply no getting through to him. But for a pleasure house like this, the escort warriors of an escort agency were a major source of income.
"Damn it! I can't use a filthy pleasure house that pushes out a whore used by another man's equipment! We're leaving! The Chuso Escort Agency will never set foot in this place again!"
"Oh dear, sir! We're sorry! Please...!"
"What's all this ruckus?"
A heavy voice echoed down from the upper floor. The commotion fell silent in an instant at the sound, and Chu So-gwang's whole body stiffened. The warriors reached for their blades, only to find their bodies frozen.
"I didn't realize the woman I'd been holding had an owner...."
Step, step. A middle-aged man with a thick, shaggy beard staggered drunkenly down from the upper floor. The vivid traces of his intimate encounter with a woman remained plainly on his body.
"...A master!"
And the aura emanating from him was not merely intoxication.
"What's the meaning of this?"
A killing intent began to gleam in the eyes of the middle-aged master, Sam-gu.