088
088
The new year dawned.
The collapse of Sword Pavilion Canyon, which had shaken all of Sichuan, became a feast for rumor-mongers, and the emergence of a new rising master of the Unorthodox Faction drew the eyes of the world.
Flower Dragon Sword Emperor, Geomdam!
He had fought the Divine Spear Baek Ju-heun—ranked among the Ten Great Masters of the World, even if only the lowest seat—to a standstill in single combat, and in the end, he had brought the entire canyon crashing down in a colossal burst of flame.
People began to speculate.
What if the Divine Spear had fought a pure one-on-one duel?
What if he had wielded his true weapon, stored in the Imperial Palace, rather than a hastily acquired iron staff?
If the other martial artists present had not interfered, could the Divine Spear truly have defeated Geomdam?
Their questions eventually reached the Divine Spear himself, and as he was about to leave Sichuan, he finally lost his temper and shouted in exasperation.
'Geomdam was a cut above me! But when we fight next, I will not lose.'
With the Divine Spear, hounded by crowds, blurting out a confession of defeat in a fit of frustration, all debate became meaningless. People once again proclaimed the sword superior to the spear, naming it the King of All Weapons, but opinions remained divided on the wielder.
- Still, Geomdam's a Lust Demon who kidnapped women.
Geomdam had seized both the Reclining Dragon Sword and the Phoenix Chick Sword and abducted two women from the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect. The subjugation force had entered the canyon to rescue the female disciples but only succeeded in recovering the Emei Sect's disciple Abbess Jeongjo.
- Who exactly is the disciple who vanished from Qingcheng?
- Ultimately, was she kidnapped by Geomdam and never rescued?
- Every female disciple of Qingcheng is trembling with fear! A disciple no one knows about was abducted!
The Qingcheng Sect fell into utter chaos. Their Sect Leader, who should have been managing the situation, had been defeated in a single sword stroke, fallen into deep shock, and lay wasting away in illness. Half of Qingcheng's Twelve Elders had suffered burns and entered convalescence.
Even their chief disciple Bang Do-rim had gone missing. Public concern began to spread that the Qingcheng Sect had effectively collapsed, and in truth, that concern was borne out by the Sect Leader's decision.
- Deeply ashamed of the Qingcheng Sect's inadequacy, we shall seal the sect for three years.
In practical terms, Qingcheng's fortunes had fallen.
An entire sect losing to a single one of the Ten Great Masters of the World was like a natural disaster, but an entire sect losing to just one man was tantamount to annihilation.
- Three years? Are they planning to rise again through the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering?
- They mean to lie low for three years and invest in the next generation. The Sect Leader's generation is finished now.
In truth, the Byeok-ja generation of Qingcheng had already broken in body and spirit. A shattered sword could be re-forged and tempered into a famed blade, but more and more elders were giving up early on the Heaven Beyond Heaven—the realm that even the Divine Spear could not reach.
- Our swords are buried in the Sword Pavilion Canyon. But Qingcheng's disciples are different. The disciples will become the future...
- But they couldn't even protect a female disciple from being kidnapped...?
- You don't enter a ruined sect.
The few prospective initiates who had been waiting at the gates of Qingcheng turned away. And they redirected their steps toward the Emei Sect—which had also been defeated by Geomdam but had at least managed to rescue their disciple.
- Still, Emei at least saved their disciple and brought her back.
- That Abbess Jeongjo of Emei, she lost to the Black Path's Number One Flower at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, didn't she? So if she climbs even to the lowest seat of the Six Phoenixes in the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle, couldn't Emei soar again?
- For Abbess Jeongjo, this year is her very last chance!
Qingcheng and Emei.
Which of the two would reclaim the prestige of being Sichuan's foremost sect first?
Whichever it was, only time would tell.
Time flows equally for all.
* * *
And the Tang Clan.
In the deepest recesses of the Tang Clan, beside the secret vault where the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation sprawled, a few members of the household came and went from a small pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, opened in utmost secrecy, two men and one woman sat facing one another. The woman, dressed as a courtesan, knelt with her head bowed low.
"One who once left the clan now wishes to return."
The Clan Head, Crow Chaos Finger Disease Dang O-dok, sighed deeply.
"Seo-hee."
"...Yes, Clan Head."
"Do you know what you have done?"
"I do. I know how much disgrace my actions have brought upon the Tang Clan."
A collateral daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan, cast out of her home and turned courtesan! The order of events was reversed, but the very few who knew were all too familiar with this secret. There were those who had sought to exploit that secret, to take a woman of the Sichuan Tang Clan and defile the clan's honor.
Though they were found as cold corpses the next day, Seo-hee was, to the Tang Clan, a second shame.
The first shame, of course, was a certain young transcendent master who had gone from Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am the Poison Dragon to Gentleman on the Beam, and now ascended to the title of Flower Dragon Sword Emperor. This, too, was a secret the Tang Clan had to conceal at all costs—known to virtually no one beyond the two gathered in this pavilion.
Though Seo-hee was already aware.
"As a member of the Tang Clan, you—"
"...Let us stop there, Clan Head."
Poison Ghost Dang Sa-rim, his voice drained of venom, laid a hand on Dang O-dok's shoulder.
"B-Brother?"
Dang O-dok had expected that if he took a stern stance, Poison Ghost would fiercely rebuke him—and his mouth fell open at Poison Ghost's action.
That voice was the voice of the warm-hearted man from before he lost his child, the former Clan Head he had deeply respected, the voice of the Tang Clan's strongest before he became a ghost—Poison Snake Wolf, Dok Sarang (毒蛇狼).
"If you truly wish to return to the Tang Clan, then show your resolve."
"......Three years."
Seo-hee straightened her back, her expression composed.
"For three years, I will not set foot outside this pavilion—no, outside the bounds of the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation. And within that place, I shall temper my martial arts."
"You?"
"The Zhongli Divine Flame Well."
Fwoosh. As Seo-hee calmly opened her eyes, flames surged within the pavilion. Both men startled and started to rise but could not move recklessly.
No ordinary opponent. As a Peak Realm master, Poison Ghost could feel it.
The woman before him had already soared far beyond him. Not through the Tang Clan's martial arts but through other arts, she had transcended her own level.
"I will remain shut in for three years and refine my martial arts. And three years hence... at the coming Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, I will become the White Path's Number One Flower."
Three years was enough time for people's memories to easily fade.
"Where did you learn those martial arts?"
"I discovered them through the arrangements of Lee Jeong, my sworn brother."
"...I see. So you sought your own solution in your own way. ...Next time, discuss it with us. Is that not what family, what the Tang Clan, means?"
Tears spilled from Dang Seo-hee's eyes before she knew it. She had thought she was wrung dry, that no more could come, but she could not hold back the streaming tears.
"No matter what happens, we will protect you."
"......."
...The Tang Clan, knowing nothing, had taken the Flame Demon into their bosom.
* * *
"Was keeping the Flame Demon tied to the Tang Clan a good choice?"
"Why, were you planning to keep her by your side and nibble on her like a snack?"
"With you right next to me glaring with bloodshot eyes, how could I?"
I drove the wagon carrying Lee Si-a in the back, passing through the canyon. The canyon I had collapsed was a path no one traveled, and following the well-paved road toward the Sword Pavilion would bring us to our destination.
"No matter what Forbidden Restraint you've placed on her, a woman's heart is like a reed. What if the Eldest Prince notices the Flame Demon's betrayal and comes to Sichuan? She'll stop being the Sky-Soaring Flame Demon and become the Earth Qilin Flame Demon once more."
The Flame Demon had chosen to betray the Eldest Prince and swear loyalty to the Little Princess.
She had left the Hao Sect, returned to the Tang Clan, and comported herself as a virtuous lady. The seething lust that had nearly driven her out of the Tang Clan she had transmuted into an ascending desire for martial arts.
- Aaahh! Every time I accumulate inner energy, it feels like something's thrusting inside me, haaahh!!
...I had cast an illusion technique so that whenever she performed energy circulation breathing, she would feel the sensation of being violated by me. I had cast the illusion while actually thrusting into her, and since she herself did not resist, the Forbidden Restraint took hold easily.
Thanks to that, Dang Seo-hee's body could now accept no other man.
If a member not wielding the Zhongli Divine Flame Well were to enter her, she would lose all her inner energy and burn to death together with the man who thrust it in.
"Can a woman who's awakened to lust truly preserve her chastity for three years?"
"Hmph, who knows? It won't happen, though."
"What makes you so certain?"
"Because the Flame Demon is a woman."
Lee Si-a prodded my back and sneered at me.
"They say if a man like you kept his chastity for three years, they'd take him on as a servant—you think she'd fail to keep her chastity knowing that? Besides, no matter what man she tries, she won't feel a thing anyway."
"Hahaha! Now that's good to hear. And the mistress of the house would be you?"
"Of course. I'm bringing her in as a handmaiden because I permit it. Since she's chosen to become my subordinate."
There had also been the option of simply killing the Flame Demon. Eliminating the Flame Demon's seat and creating a Ten Demons that absolutely supported the Little Princess was another path.
"Just kill her and slot some obedient bastard into Sky-Soaring Flame Demon—done."
"That doesn't really appeal to me."
But it was Lee Si-a who had chosen to keep Dang Seo-hee alive despite the risk of betrayal. It was somewhat frustrating to me, but after hearing her reasoning, I accepted it.
"Don't we need at least three handmaidens to do the housework in our place and, when I'm not feeling well, hold your cock instead of me?"
"......Three, you say."
Lee Si-a's words made my ears perk up, and at the same time, I once again marveled at her sharp mind.
"Why precisely three?"
"Because the Earth Qilin Three Demons are three. The Earth Qilin Three Demons—all three of them, women, right?"
"...Your reasoning?"
"Reasoning? There's only one."
Lee Si-a ground her teeth and sneered.
"There's no way that dog-like perverted bastard of an Eldest Prince would keep men at his side. He must have picked only the women among the Ten Demons and tried to keep them near him. Definitely planning to make them his wives once he becomes the Heavenly Demon."
"......Well, now."
I had nothing to say because she was right. The Eldest Prince's Earth Qilin Three Demons were all women. For exactly the reason Lee Si-a stated.
"Anyway, let me see that Flower Directory of yours."
"Wh-What?"
"No?"
"N-No. That's not what I—"
At the demand to hand over my Flower Directory, filled with my secret desires, I had no choice but to comply. The Flower Directory had been in the bundle of luggage in the wagon where she sat all along.
"Oh my... this isn't a Flower Directory, it's a gourmet tour diary. Namgung Yurin, Abbess Jeongjo... just how many flowers have you already plucked?"
"...Ahem!"
"Let's see... I'm in here too. But why is there no mark on mine?"
"Well, that's..."
There had been no time to write, and no reason to write in the Flower Directory. Because, just like Sagong Hee, I held her in this heart—
"I won't say."
"Oh? Are you embarrassed right now? Aren't you?"
"I am not."
"Hmm-hmm, really? Is that so...?"
Lee Si-a grinned broadly and rustled through the pages of the Flower Directory.
"Hmm, the young ladies of the White Path really are amusing. Oh my, this bitch wasn't a virgin? Wow... the world is full of surprises. But the Taiji Flower isn't here. Hmm, well, it was made before the Taiji Flower emerged, so that makes sense. Interesting. Truly—"
Rustle. Lee Si-a's hand stopped. I nearly pulled the reins to a halt mid-drive.
"There's one more woman with no mark at all besides me. And she's 'just one.' Heh—and she's no ordinary woman, either."
"......."
I'd been caught. Cold sweat ran down my back under her pointed glare, delivered in a deliberately exaggerated voice.
"Oh my, what a coincidence. This woman happens to be exactly where we're headed. W-O-W. What. A. Co-In-Ci-Dence. If you've got a mouth, say something."
"......Little Princess."
I stopped the wagon and sat facing Lee Si-a. Calmly and with dignity, I met her eyes and opened my mouth.
"......Well, since we're going to be sisters sharing a bed in the future—"
"Heavenly Demon Cowgirl Position!"
But she wasn't supposed to use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
"Die in the Heavenly Demon's embrace, you Lust Demon!"
Three two-hour watches later.
The Baby Lust Demon had been drained of all vitality by the Young Heavenly Demon.
* * *
"Brother Dang, when did you learn the twin sword art?"
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"There's talk that Geomdam, who's running wild across Sichuan, might be the Bandit Demon? They say he's a master who even beat the Divine Spear. Look—Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword? Isn't that perfectly suited to an alias for Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am the Poison Dragon?"
"......You rock-headed fool. Nine times out of ten, that Lust Demon bastard is impersonating me. Can't you even drive a cart proper—ah, damn, that old man messed himself again."
"Sky-Soaring Flame Demon! Sky-Soaring Flame Demon!"
"What's that Flame Demon wench got to do with—whoa, thank you. Brother Sam."
"Not at all. You're working hard indeed. I'll look after the elder. Go inside and rest a while, Brother Dang."
...Kch. I would like to meet the master who taught you. Most who grow into transcendent masters of our caliber tend to become arrogant, but you are a martial artist more courteous than anyone I have ever seen.