Chapter 140
Chapter 140
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Warning
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After wrapping up that embarrassing romp in the entryway for the time being, I lay on the bed, feeling utterly spent.
Dang Ayoung naturally settled down beside me.
She seemed satisfied enough with tonight's efforts.
"...But are you really okay with this?"
It wasn't my place to say, since I'd been the one to spark it, but I felt strangely unsettled by how smoothly Dang Ayoung was accepting things with Yeo Sochen.
Sure, this was a world where heroes had their three wives and four concubines, but it was generally monogamous, and sexually conservative to boot.
I wasn't some stud who could juggle multiple women anyway...
Comparing their social standings, Yeo Sochen had practically stolen me away, yet Dang Ayoung's reaction was remarkably calm.
Honestly, I'd braced myself for at least a few slaps, or even a knife fight if things got ugly.
"What, did you think I'd grab a weapon and storm Kunlun right now?"
"...A little."
"Sigh. Even if I am Daddy's girl, I couldn't pull that off. The Tang Family of Sichuan already faces quiet rejection from the orthodox sects as it is—if we started a war with Kunlun over a man, the elders would lose their minds."
Her words brought the Central Plains' power dynamics back to mind, ones I'd momentarily forgotten.
Even though both were part of the Nine Great Sects, the image of Kunlun's reclusive Daoists, secluded in the mountains cultivating immortality, clashed hard with the Tang Family's poison and hidden weapons. If trouble brewed between them, public opinion would side with Kunlun—no question.
"...Thinking about it, the very idea of Kunlun having a 'man problem' is unprecedented."
"..."
"No, wait... something's off. Isn't she a Daoist? With decades of cultivation under her belt—how does someone like that pounce on a man...? Has she given up on ascension? Even so, decades of training..."
"...Hmm..."
Because that Daoist is on pretty intimate terms with the Lord of Heaven and Earth.
I wondered what face Dang Ayoung would make if I told her I'd even shared my body with a goddess, albeit through possession.
Her one supposed rival turning into a buy-one-get-one-free deal? No way it'd be a normal reaction.
'Better keep quiet.'
The goddess's motives for borrowing that body at that exact moment were still a mystery—what was there to explain?
Her body was Yeo Sochen's anyway, so I'd just think of her as Yeo Sochen.
Probably just a capricious goddess in a foul mood.
"She's no ordinary Daoist, that's why. Doesn't she look extraordinary? Blue hair, even."
"...True enough. She must have her reasons, even if she's committing adultery with her junior's fiancé."
"Ahaha..."
"And... no matter who she is, she's in the same boat as me, right?"
"...Pardon?"
"You can't marry either of us right now, anyway."
That line reminded me of the excuse that let me keep things in this awkward betrothal limbo with Dang Ayoung.
"Didn't you say you absolutely couldn't marry until Master emerges from her seclusion?"
"Ah..."
I'd completely forgotten.
After our mishap, getting summoned to the Murim Alliance, meeting Dang Ayoung's father, and accidentally holding what amounted to an engagement ceremony(?), I'd pulled out that excuse to stall her rush to marriage.
"Speaking of, when's her training supposed to end? Feels like it's been ages."
*drip drip drip drip*
"W-well, you see..."
Now that I thought about it, a good chunk of time had passed since then.
'How much longer? What month is it now?'
Time was running critically short.
If I kept stalling without resolving anything, Master might finish her training and step out any day now.
Unless I returned beforehand and pretended nothing happened, she'd take one look at the neglected household after years of abandonment, read the letter I'd left, realize I'd bolted, and come hunting me down. Obvious as day.
And the first words out of my mouth upon reunion? "I'm getting married, so please give your blessing"?
[...I've raised my disciple wrong.]
*shiver*
That very day would be my execution.
"C-closed-door training doesn't have a fixed schedule, right? It's more like 'around this long.' I don't really kn-know exactly when."
"Hmm... Fair enough, but..."
"Sh-she'll come out when the time's right. Don't be so impatient."
Originally, I'd planned to wrap up my Jianghu business quick and sneak back to the mountains. How'd it spiral into this?
*drip drip*
With debts I'd been juggling via card tricks closing in, cold sweat poured down my back inside.
Of course, I was human too. After all Dang Ayoung had given me, ditching her for the hills now wasn't an option.
I genuinely felt affection for her, and if possible, I'd happily marry her.
Sure, she always took the lead, but after taking a virgin's chastity like that, dumping her would be cruel. She was top-tier wife material—no flaws, no reason to refuse.
The problem was the tangled mess of circumstances tying my hands.
With Master liable to show up any moment and potentially end me on sight, marriage was a joke.
Even if I somehow convinced her and tied the knot, this world's unknown doomsday loomed.
And my goal of returning to Earth would trip me up then too.
...Hold on.
'Do I even have to go back?'
Reflecting, my reasons for returning were the soul-crushing boredom of ten years in isolation, lack of fun, mortal dangers upon venturing out, and apocalypse dread.
Plenty of entertainment here if you looked.
Marry Dang Ayoung, and personal threats vanished.
Yeo Sochen was busting her ass to avert doom anyway...
'Maybe I don't need to go back?'
This world might even beat Earth by then.
Amassing 10,000 points wasn't easy—when would I even finish?
Frankly, I hadn't been living large on Earth either.
My life there...
'What was it like again?'
Time had blurred it all, like fog in my head.
Safer, more fun for sure, but job? Hobbies? Friends? Lovers? Blank.
...If I can't remember, probably wasn't that great.
'With safety guaranteed, this world might be better...'
Before threats arose, I'd half-abandoned return anyway. Changing my mind now wasn't weird.
10,000 points. Literally.
Pre-Yeo Sochen, daily income was 1 point or 1 nyang of gold—27 years straight. I'd be middle-aged by then.
Success here meant satisfaction; would I still crave Earth? I'd pondered that ages ago.
Before her variable, return was a ladder too high to climb.
"What're you thinking so hard about? I'm right here."
"...Nothing. Just... zoned out a bit."
She really was amazing, all over again.
Beautiful face, killer figure, strong martial prowess, great family, even cooks well.
No competition as bride material, and she greenlit multiple women.
Bed skills... too good. Almost wish they weren't.
Insatiable too.
Even when I was pinned and moaning, she'd chase her peak, then pounce again like it was nothing.
I'm barely holding on—any other guy would've died happy long ago.
*pfft*
Whatever.
High-maintenance in bed? Small price for perfection.
Given the power gap, I'm basically a house husband—gotta shine where I can.
"But you okay with it?"
"With what?"
"Yeo Sochen joining in means less time for us."
No firm talk with Yeo Sochen yet, but Dang Ayoung already saw her as soon-to-be sister-in-law. Half-joking probe.
Rape aside, only once with Yeo Sochen.
Unlike well-sampled Dang Ayoung, data on Daoist bed Yeo was sparse. If it happened, we'd need occasional romps.
Older(?), Daoist body—probably not daily like Dang Ayoung. Still, she'd yield some.
That was the gist...
"Why worry about me? Worry about yourself."
"...Me?"
Her matter-of-fact counter left me blank.
"More wives are fine, but don't let love per wife dilute."
"...Pardon?"
"Yeo Sochen or not, I demand at least this much love from you. Forewarned."
"..."
A chill beyond ominous crawled my spine.
"S-so, if she insists on nightly?"
"Mornings work for me."
".............What about my body?"
"I'll feed you nutritious meals three times a day."
"My stamina's shot—I can't even lift a finger..."
"Just count ceiling patterns. I'll handle the rest."
*drip drip drip drip*
Cold sweat poured as I watched her smile.
I plastered on a grin, but my mind raced with horrors.
"Um..."
"If mornings are rest time, three of us together's fine."
"..."
"So think carefully before wandering off from now on?"
Scratch "great woman." Among Central Plains women, Dang Ayoung might be the scariest.
"Stamina isn't infinite, you know."
Beware women of the Tang Family of Sichuan.
The old drinking tale resurfaced in my head.