005
005
"This is exactly what I raised a disciple for."
From my room, I scanned the scene below with my internal qi and emptied my wine cup. Sam-gu, who had been waiting nearby, radiated his internal qi without reservation, instantly suppressing the commotion.
—Who... who are you, sir?
A martial artist among the escorts, who seemed to possess considerable strength, asked Sam-gu politely.
"Paeng Clan?"
I had been wondering why escorts for a guy like Chu So-gwang would be holed up in a place like this. Were they just wanderers who had learned Paeng martial arts, or was it something else? They carried none of the massive sabers characteristic of the Paeng Clan, but the aura of their clan was palpable in their footwork. Looking closely, all the escorts appeared to be disciples of the Paeng Clan.
'So that's it. They are escorts who followed Paeng Yuwol. Escort agencies and bodyguards ultimately operate on the logic of force.'
But even if money can buy women and bodyguards, it can't buy the world's greatest beauty or the world's strongest master.
There are always limits to what wealth can acquire.
Learning Paeng martial arts doesn't mean you can beat the Sam-gu I've raised.
"You son of a bitch. This is why you don't mess with a woman another man has already had."
Chu So-gwang was frozen in place, trembling. Any courage from alcohol had long since fled in the face of Sam-gu's killing intent, and he was starting to nervously gauge Sam-gu's mood.
—C-Could it be that the gentleman who held this girl before is...
—That would be me.
Chu So-gwang hastily offered a fist-and-palm salute and paid his respects. True to the textbook form of a man who preys on the weak and grovels before the strong, he realized Sam-gu was an opponent he could never handle and started running his mouth desperately while gauging Sam-gu's reaction.
—I-I bought that wench as a courtesan! I paid a large sum to register her as my concubine...
—Registered?
"What the hell is this nonsense?"
I hadn't heard any of this. I was so focused on Hong-ryeon's coquettish moans that I hadn't heard the ruckus Chu So-gwang was causing downstairs. I just dismissed it as some drunkard acting up and buried my face in Hong-ryeon's breasts.
"Explain yourself."
"W-Well..."
The courtesan, her lips freshly rouged and still glistening from the enthusiastic kiss she had just shared with Sam-gu, prostrated herself before me.
"Ch-Chu So-gwang bought my senior Hong-ryeon. He said he'd register her as his concubine for 100 silver nyang and tossed the money before he left..."
"Oh-ho. So it's tangled up nicely."
The picture was clear. It's rare for a woman who falls into a pleasure house to regain her freedom. Becoming the registered concubine of an escort agency's heir is certainly a success story by a courtesan's standards, but courtesans are human too, and they can't help but feel disgusted if the man in question is a scoundrel.
"What a shitty situation. Why didn't you say something?"
"W-Well..."
"Isn't it obvious. You were trying to swindle both sides. You were determined to ruin a young man's promising future."
With one wrong move, I was just a step away from getting tangled up with an escort agency heir and having my life completely derailed.
"She thinks she's some tragic heroine."
I just went there to relieve some built-up tension, but Hong-ryeon was weaving a tragedy worthy of the marketplace—with me and Chu So-gwang as the male leads.
"Ugh. I get that she was trying to latch onto me..."
It was both pitiful and incredibly annoying.
If I saved Hong-ryeon here, I'd be stuck taking responsibility for her, while also making an enemy out of the Chuso Escort Agency. Turning a local influential power into an enemy over a woman I just wanted to enjoy for one night? That's a terrible trade-off.
—I see... I apologize, Master Chu. I was unaware of such circumstances. I offer my apologies.
—O-Oh, not at all! I am merely grateful that a great hero like yourself understands the situation! Haha.
'I'll have to give Sam-gu that thousand-year fleeceflower root I've been holding onto as a gift.'
He swallowed his pride and bowed his head apologetically on my behalf. Even if he was just a servant, it was hard to watch him prostrate himself in my stead.
I had come to help because this was the only pleasure house that hadn't turned me away at the door for my looks, but now I was on the verge of having to skip town entirely.
"Now that I think about it, this really pisses me off."
Why the hell did I have to get dragged into this mess just for a bit of stress relief?
An Orthodox Faction solution: laugh it off, apologize, and it's over. Everyone takes an uncomfortable step back, saving face, but the resentment lingers, and the root cause is never addressed.
An Unorthodox Faction solution: beat him into submission and then leave. Chu So-gwang would end up a bloody pulp and bedridden for a long time, but Hong-ryeon and the pleasure house would undoubtedly be ruined. Unless I took direct responsibility for the whole establishment.
'This sucks. Should I just kill him?'
A Demonic Cult solution: kill everyone.
It's the cleanest and most efficient method.
The government office would investigate it under the title "Chuso Escort Agency Massacre," but if any martial arts traces were left, it would simply be concluded as a typical grudge-fueled revenge killing.
"Kill him, save him, kill him, save him..."
Just as my dilemma deepened, a dazzling flower entered, ready to shift the tense atmosphere of the pleasure house. The fragrance of nature, completely distinct from the typical cloying perfumes of the establishment, filled the air, clearing my head in an instant.
"Twice in one day. Could this be destiny?"
At the wide-open entrance of the pleasure house stood Paeng Yuwol, radiating a chilly aura.
—What kind of disgraceful conduct is this?
At Paeng Yuwol's ice-cold voice, Chu So-gwang and his escorts scowled deeply. Chu So-gwang because he had shown such shameful behavior in front of his future wife, and the escorts out of sheer displeasure at being placed in such an absurd situation.
—Why are warriors of my clan in a place like this, Master Chu?
—Hmph...! Once you become a person of our escort agency, they will naturally be our agency's warriors too! What difference does it make if I use them a bit early!
Chu So-gwang arrogantly tilted his head up as if issuing a threat. His actions displayed not a shred of shame or hesitation.
—Hmm? What's all this about?
Sam-gu was glancing around and subtly gauging my reaction. This guy was quick to learn martial arts, reaching the first-rate level in no time, but he was always clueless enough to openly lecture me, his master, about going off to bed women.
[Can't you tell by looking? Paeng Yuwol is the woman that bastard is supposed to marry, and Hong-ryeon is her spitting image. Judging by how cold Paeng Yuwol is acting, he likely wanted to have some fun with Hong-ryeon before the official wedding.]
Sam-gu nodded gravely at my telepathic message. Even after explaining it, I felt utterly dumbfounded.
'Damn, so I'm no different from that piece of trash?'
He had the exact same thought I did: to take Hong-ryeon as a substitute for Paeng Yuwol. The realization sent a sudden chill down my spine.
"What a son of a bitch. He should've just held Paeng Yuwol—why the hell did he have to go after Hong-ryeon and cause this whole mess?"
My anger was righteous. Every time I heard Paeng Yuwol and Chu So-gwang arguing below, I felt both aghast and furious.
'So that bastard couldn't wait for his wedding night and came to take Hong-ryeon instead of Paeng Yuwol, and now I have to sit here alone, jerking myself off and drinking because of it?'
This was unforgivable. The consequences could be dealt with later; right now, I couldn't hold back this boiling rage any longer.
[Sam-gu. Slip away from there for now.]
I sent Sam-gu a telepathic message and gathered up the silver.
I had originally planned to pay for only half the day and take the rest, but I was so disgusted that even a single nyang felt dirty to touch. I channeled energy into a chopstick, honing it into a sharp blade.
"Ah, what rotten luck. Just leave it all behind and skip out."
I left all the silver and slipped out the window. I leaped to the roof of the building opposite, where I had a clear view of the first floor, and began observing the situation closely.
—I've lost my appetite for this. I'll take my leave now.
—Uh, wha...? Wait, when will you—
—Please, see yourself out safely.
Hong-ryeon had the presence of mind to let Sam-gu go without a fuss. Thanks to her, Sam-gu was able to make his exit as if he had actually bedded her, even though he hadn't laid a finger on her.
Sam-gu slipped into the alleyway with his presence suitably diminished, then stepped lightly across the walls and rooftops before landing next to me.
"Ah, I'm dying here."
"Well done, Sam-gu. Now then, how do we screw that bastard over?"
"...Haah, Master. This is precisely why I told you not to go to the pleasure house."
The moment Sam-gu had leaped out of the entrance and landed beside me, he started grumbling.
I wanted to smack the back of his head, but I held back this once because he had to bow and apologize for my sake. I do have some sense of shame, after all.
"Did you know? That Hong-ryeon was playing me."
"I tried to tell you, but you smacked my head before I could speak."
"I've got no response to that. Next time, I'll hold back for one more second before I hit you."
Even a master must admit when he's wrong and move on. I stood up as the commotion began to die down.
'Time to make this dramatic.'
It was time to send Sam-gu on his way.
"Sam-gu. That Gwangcheon Asura Sword you've been mastering... what star have you reached?"
"......I have reached the Five Stars."
"And your internal energy?"
"Thanks to your grace, Master, it has surpassed one gapja."
"Good. Then you won't get yourself beaten to death out there. You may now leave the mountain."
"What? Master, what do you mean?"
Sam-gu was so startled by my words that he threw himself down. The middle-aged man who had just been overwhelming Paeng Clan warriors with his internal qi was now looking up at me, his expression as desperate as a virgin begging for mercy.
"A-Are you abandoning me?!"
"Abandoning you? Wasn't that the deal from the start? You'd look after me until I became an adult. Tsk, not sure who was looking after who, though."
Sam-gu, with his naturally aging face, had faithfully played the role of my external guardian. Now that I was old enough to bed women, it was simply time for us to part ways.
"I realized it today, watching you intimidate those warriors. You're now a full-fledged master. If you leave my side now, roam the world, and dominate the martial world, you could aim for the peak realm—or even beyond. Do you remember the first time I taught you martial arts? When you master the Gwangcheon Asura Sword to its pinnacle, what did I say you could reach?"
"...The Hundred Great Masters at the least, and you said I could even reach the level of the Ten Great Masters of the World."
The Gwangcheon Asura Sword.
The sword art of the "Sword Emperor," one of the Ten Great Masters who had endlessly tormented me when I was a Blood Jiangshi in my previous life. He was so incredibly strong that he was even considered a candidate for leader of the Orthodox Murim Alliance. But he was beaten down by me, under the Blood Cult Leader's control, and became part of the Blood Jiangshi.
Given that his martial arts were enshrined in a cave hidden between cliffs, I'd never have to face a situation where some clan would accuse me of stealing their secret techniques.
'Once more for the drama.'
"Sam-gu, spread your wings and achieve your ambitions!"
"Master, are you just trying to get rid of me because you find my presence bothersome when you're out womanizing?"
How did he know?
"If you know, then shut your mouth and leave quietly. And don't ever call me your master once you're out there. That's an order."
"......Hah, really. I understand. I will follow my master's order."
Sam-gu hesitated for a long moment, scratching his head and looking lost. To help him leave with a lighter heart, I pointed toward the mountain where we had lived together.
"Do you remember the place where we first met?"
"I do."
"I buried a thousand-year fleeceflower root there. I secretly took measures so you wouldn't find it until your Gwangcheon Asura Sword reaches the Seventh Star. Roam the world, and when the time comes, go back there."
"Master, may I ask you just one thing? What exactly is your true identity?"
Sam-gu always asked me the same question.
I never felt the need to tell him who I truly was. Sam-gu was simply a guardian to draw the public's attention until I had the body of an adult.
"How do you know a martial art that's among the Ten Great Masters? How do you know the locations of all these elixirs and spirit medicines? And what exactly are the martial arts that you use?"
"You call that 'one thing'?"
"Please tell me. Even if I can't utter your name, shouldn't I at least be able to proudly declare which sect's martial arts I inherited?"
"Instead of wasting time talking, you could've just stabbed a few more times... Alright, alright. You really look like you won't leave if I don't tell you."
I turned around and stood at the very edge of the building's roof.
"Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang."
"...Huh?"
"Don't pretend you didn't hear me. I said Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang."
When I was a Blood Jiangshi, the reason I could accumulate all sorts of martial arts in my body while being controlled by the Blood Cult Leader was because I had truly mastered only a single martial art to its peak.
"I get stronger by rolling around in bed with women."
By forcibly absorbing women's yin energy into my body and merging it with the blood energy forcibly injected into me, I was able to seize their martial arts as my own.
"...Master, you're joking too far."
"If you don't believe me, then don't. Now, leave and go far away. This incident won't bring you any harm."
"Master, what in the world are you scheming?"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Since my attempt to bed a woman was interrupted, it's only natural that Chu So-gwang's attempt should be equally ruined.
"Before Chu So-gwang can lay a finger on her, I'm going to try bedding that woman from the Paeng Clan. He had the gall to snatch away and try to hold a woman I'd already had, so shouldn't I hold the woman he's supposed to hold?"
"...Are you planning to commit a crime?"
"A crime? Haha. Just say I lived like the wind and left like the wind."
I had no intention of committing any crime. Just a man and a woman whose hearts align and bodies entwine.
"Who knows? Maybe Paeng Yuwol will fall for me at first sight and abandon her clan to run away with me."
"...Haah. I understand. If you're so determined to send me away, I will follow your will, Master."
From the uncomfortable rooftop, Sam-gu even performed the Nine Bows Ceremony, giving his final farewell before departing into the night.
The Movement Art he used to dash through the air, spreading gold-tinged internal energy, was a technique typically only possible once one had entered the initial stages of the Gwangcheon Asura Sword's Sixth Star.
He said he was at the Fifth Star, yet he left wielding a technique of the Sixth.
"That little rascal. Just showing off."
I perched on the edge of the rooftop and clutched a newly filled bottle of wine.
"But I wasn't just spouting nonsense."
I hadn't told Sam-gu a single lie.
"The Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang is my True God Technique."
If Sam-gu had been a woman... I probably would have never stopped taking her.