Dear Sisters
Namgung Bu-ryun was currently receiving a thorough thrashing from his wife in the Patriarch's training ground. While his Super-Peak martial prowess was by no means lacking in the Jianghu, it was nowhere near enough to stand against his wife, a Transcendental realm master and one of the Ten Great Masters.
Yet, Namgung Bu-ryun could not help but shudder with intense humiliation. Tang Suryeon's title was the Poison Butterfly Sword Empress. Naturally, she was a master of poison arts and swordplay.
Thud!
But she used neither poison nor her sword.
"Keheuk!"
As he gasped from the agonizing pain radiating through his entire body from his fractured ribs, Tang Suryeon's chilling voice drifted down to him.
"Get up, dear."
"Ugh... W-Wife. I was wrong. So, please, let us stop here..."
"I believe I asked you before. Since this was an arranged marriage neither of us wanted, I never expected much from you. However, as a father, I cannot tolerate you failing to uphold even the barest minimum of your duties."
Since it was a loveless marriage born of clan interests, she could turn a blind eye to a certain amount of deviance. However, she could not easily forgive his verbal abuse toward their daughter and the hostility he directed at their injured son. To make her point, the sword master was shattering the pride of Namgung Bu-ryun—known as the Sword Fox—with her bare fists.
Though decades of living together had fostered a begrudging attachment, her precious children were far more important to her.
"I didn't ask for much. Even if you couldn't be warm and affectionate... at the very least, you shouldn't have been a father who harms his own children, a father who brings ruin to his family. Have I ever left you wanting? I tolerated you visiting the Honglu to embrace courtesans, and I even let you hold me to your heart's content whenever you desired."
"That is a wife's natural duty...!"
"You are not performing your natural duties as a husband, so if you wish to argue any further, prepare to perform the naryeotagon."
The naryeotagon referred to a desperate, undignified technique of throwing oneself to the ground to dodge an opponent's attack. It was a highly humiliating maneuver for any martial artist, typically employed only by unorthodox practitioners. In other words, saying this to Namgung Bu-ryun, a member of an orthodox clan, was a warning to shut his mouth if he didn't want to be beaten to a pulp.
"...Ugh."
A wave of regret washed over Namgung Bu-ryun. Even if those wretched brats of his had irritated him, he shouldn't have unleashed his energy wave. Unleashing his full energy in a fit of rage near a Transcendental master meant he was bound to be caught. At the very least, I should have done it when she wasn't around, he thought.
"Dear, am I asking for too much?"
"No. I will be careful."
"Sigh. Good. I will trust you."
Her face showed she didn't believe him in the slightest, but this was the limit of what Tang Suryeon could do. No matter how powerful she was as the Patriarch, treating her husband too harshly in a patriarchal society would reflect poorly on her. It would have been better to divorce him, but she couldn't ignore the reaction of the Namgung Clan. Simply keeping this useless husband around brought the Tang Clan immense benefits, including trade and distribution rights. That was why she had beaten him in a way that left no visible marks.
Still, this should keep him quiet for a while.
Since he had been thoroughly beaten, it would take some time for his shattered pride to recover. For the time being, Namgung Bu-ryun wouldn't dare cause trouble with the children. Her son was injured, which grieved her, and with her husband acting so childishly, Tang Suryeon felt mentally exhausted.
"Sigh. I can count on one hand the number of times I've felt tired since reaching the Transcendental realm."
Perhaps because it was a family matter. Though her body wasn't weary, her mind clamored for rest. If she were to measure only her mental fatigue, it felt comparable to sparring with another of the Ten Great Masters. That was how deeply disappointed she was by her husband's actions, and how worried she was for her children.
"...Disappointed. Did I still harbor expectations for him?"
One could only feel disappointment if they had expectations in the first place. Seeing herself feel disappointed deep down, it seemed she had held some lingering hope for Namgung Bu-ryun, more than she cared to admit. A happy home. A harmonious couple. Perhaps, in secret, she had dreamed of such things. No matter how powerful a Transcendental master Tang Suryeon was, her fundamental nature as a woman remained. She, too, wished to be loved by her partner as a woman, and to build a bond with her children as the mistress of a peaceful household. However, Namgung Bu-ryun lacked both the skill and character befitting a matrilocal husband, and she, having become the Patriarch, had no time to bond with her children. She had no regrets about the way she had lived her life... but it would be a lie to say she felt no lingering sorrow.
"Whew. At least there is that."
Her sensory perception was vast enough to easily blanket the entire Patriarch's Pavilion. While she couldn't perceive everything in minute detail when her senses were spread so wide, focusing her concentration allowed her to clearly sense specific areas. Thus, out of concern that Tang Hwi might have suffered an irreversible emotional wound, Tang Suryeon checked on him and felt a wave of relief. Instead, her senses faintly picked up her son, who had begun moving his arms, shifting them around as if marveling at his own recovery. Tang Ga-hui was stuck close to his side, guiding his movements as if teaching him martial arts. Seeing her children interacting so warmly, just like old times, Tang Suryeon felt a swell of joy in her heart.
In reality, however...
"Ahhn! H-Hwi... Could you please, ah, touch my breasts a bit more gently?"
"I-I'm sorry. Your breasts feel so good, sister... I can't pull my hands away...!"
"Ahem."
Tang Hwi was simply fondling his own sister's breasts.
Dusk had fallen, and the moonlight was beginning to peek through the late-night sky. When it came time to change shifts, Tang Ga-in arrived right on schedule without a moment's delay, and Tang Ga-hui handed over her duties as usual. Her demeanor seemed to suggest she didn't care whether Tang Ga-in liked Tang Hwi or not, acting as if it were none of her business. However, Tang Ga-in's feminine intuition saw right through it.
Oh? She doesn't even view me as a rival?
What Tang Ga-in felt from Tang Ga-hui was an abundance of composure, bordering on supreme confidence. It was a look that seemed to look down on her, as if declaring she could never surpass her. Even if that wasn't Tang Ga-hui's intention, her gestures made Tang Ga-in feel exactly that way.
"Sister, do you know something?"
"Know what?"
"Just how far Hwi and I have gone."
"!?"
Seeing her sister's pupils shake with shock, Tang Ga-in's smile widened. Judging by that reaction, she was absolutely certain that her progress with Tang Hwi far outstripped Tang Ga-hui's.
Tang Ga-in twisted her body slightly and crossed her arms, emphasizing her figure. She struck a pose that anyone would find undeniably feminine, throwing Tang Ga-hui into even greater fluster.
Hmm. The older sisters at the Amsugak were right!
Lately, they had been teasing her, saying she exuded a certain allure and asking if she was really that excited about her engagement to the Peng Clan. To be precise, it had started after she accepted her feelings for Tang Hwi. As if proving the saying that a woman in love grows beautiful, Tang Ga-in, realizing her aura had changed, had learned how to flaunt her feminine charm at the Amsugak.
Sensing an unfamiliar aura—a seductive allure—radiating from her younger sister, Tang Ga-hui panicked.
"A virgin like you wouldn't know, sister... but nights with Hwi are absolutely ecstatic. Did you know that?"
"Y-You...! Are you insane?! Hwi is your brother! We share the same blood! If the clan finds out about this, what do you think they will do?!"
"So what? It doesn't matter as long as we don't get caught."
"...What did you say?"
As Tang Ga-hui stood dazed, doubting her own ears, Tang Ga-in continued to voice her thoughts without hesitation.
"Honestly, who cares about what the world thinks? And let's be real, even within the clan, we just share a common ancestor. Most of them have completely different blood. Think about it. When your face ended up like that and the Moyong Clan unilaterally broke off the engagement, did any of the clan elders step up for you?"
"That... that was because Liaoning was too far..."
"That's just an excuse. Even if the Tang Clan boasts of repaying grudges tenfold, if they calculate that the loss outweighs the gain, they'll make up all sorts of excuses to back down. Our family is just slightly more lenient with its standards, but we're no different from the rest. Besides, even if this Patriarch's Pavilion we live in is the most private place... we don't even know what goes on in the Outer Pavilion where the branch families live. From the very beginning, we were family, yet not family."
"...That still doesn't give you and Hwi a reason to be together," Tang Ga-hui managed to counter.
"But it doesn't give us a reason not to be together either," Tang Ga-in shot back effortlessly.
"..."
"..."
A silent war of nerves ensued, but Tang Ga-in held an overwhelming advantage. Did Tang Ga-hui finally realize she needed to mount some sort of counterattack? At this rate, Tang Hwi might be completely devoured by the youngest. Well, judging by her words, he had already been devoured... but even after his memories returned, they couldn't allow this sinful relationship to continue. She had to push Tang Ga-in away somehow. At the very least, she had to try her absolute best.
She had no experience with men, nor did she desire to actively pursue Tang Hwi like Tang Ga-in did. Nevertheless, she possessed a secret weapon that far surpassed anything Tang Ga-in had. And Tang Ga-hui resolved to use it.
"You flat-chested thing."
"..."
Tang Ga-in froze instantly, as if time itself had stopped.