A Filial Son's Devotion
Pregnancy. The ultimate culmination of love that a man and a woman could share. The moment those words left Tang Hwi's mouth, Tang Suryeon's ability to think rationally short-circuited.
Her thoughts tangled like a knotted ball of yarn. The blood flow required to keep her brain functioning failed to reach her head. Despite being a supreme master of the Transcendental Realm, her cognitive circuits ground to a halt, completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information.
Yet, under Tang Hwi's gaze—burning with a gentle, unquenchable fire of passion—her paralyzed reason slowly drifted back to reality.
Pregnancy? Have a baby? Between me and my son? Her mind expanded to the point of bursting, twisting and turning until her head was a chaotic mess.
Perhaps because she was so utterly dazed, Tang Hwi let out a soft chuckle. He stood up and began to clean up the traces of their lovemaking.
If they left things as they were, the scent would linger until noon. Although he had forbidden the maids from entering, the Patriarch's Pavilion still required daily maintenance. The maids would arrive around the hour of the Horse—between eleven in the morning and one in the afternoon—to attend to light chores before leaving.
If he waited for her to snap out of her stupor, the evidence might remain until then. Thus, he wiped the remnants of their passion from Tang Suryeon's body with a towel, then used Samadhi True Fire to burn away the stains splattered across the room.
If other martial artists knew he was using Void Grab and Samadhi True Fire—sublime techniques that could only be performed after reaching the Master Realm—just to incinerate semen and vaginal fluids, they would likely suffer Qi Deviation and bleed from their seven orifices.
He went further, using Void Grab to conjure a breeze that swept the musky scent of their coupling out the window. He then used the water prepared for their morning wash to clean and dry their fluid-soaked garments.
Since they couldn't remain naked, he dressed himself and slipped a light nightgown over Tang Suryeon. Only after Tang Hwi had spent nearly an hour cleaning and tidying up did Tang Suryeon finally regain her senses.
"My son, what do you mean by that? How... how could a mother have a baby with her own son...?!"
Even as she spoke those words, her eyes betrayed a lingering, deep-seated desire for a child born between them. Yet, she still feigned rejection, as if clinging to the notion that this was the one line they must never cross.
Tang Hwi stepped closer and firmly grasped her hands. Feeling her hands captured in his, she was struck anew by how thick and masculine her son's hands had become.
Holding her tight as if he would never let her go, Tang Hwi looked at her with absolute seriousness.
"To be honest, I'm telling you this because I believe we won't get another chance. Father may be a cripple now, but before that, even if your marriage was cold, it wouldn't have been strange for the two of you to spend the night together."
"Hwi... Are you suggesting...?"
"Yes. We will disguise the child to the world as Father's last bloodline. In reality, it will be mine."
"But that... wouldn't that be too hard on the child?"
As a woman who had already given birth to three children, Tang Suryeon was interacting with Tang Hwi not as the Patriarch, but simply as a woman. She was clearly worried that the child would be devastated if they ever learned the truth in the future.
At that moment, Tang Hwi realized she didn't dislike the idea of bearing his child. The fact that Tang Suryeon no longer hesitated to bear the fruit of their love as man and woman filled him with an overwhelming sense of triumph. His heart pounded, and a deep smile naturally spread across his lips.
"Mother, if we don't do it now, we'll have to wait until I step down from the Patriarch's seat and we can retreat to some secluded mountain. Will you wait until then?"
"Mmm... Ten or twenty years wouldn't be enough, would it?"
"It will take at least ten years for me to inherit the Patriarch's position, and another twenty to appoint a successor and step down. It will easily take over thirty years. That's why we must have the child now."
Releasing her hands, Tang Hwi wrapped his arms around Tang Suryeon in a deep embrace. She offered no resistance, sinking into his chest. Wearing a blissful expression, she rubbed her soft hair against her son's chest.
It was only natural for a lonely woman to lean on a dependable man she could trust. Because of her pathetic husband, on whom she could never lean her slender, delicate frame, the woman who had stood in solitary isolation for so long now leaned into him completely, as if she had finally found peace.
It was an affectionate, almost coquettish display of love. Cradled in his arms, she looked up at him with moist, glistening eyes. Seeing the clear determination in her gaze—a resolve to rely on the man she loved even if this relationship led to their ultimate ruin—Tang Hwi tightened his embrace, holding her even closer.
"We can never let the world know of our relationship. But even if we are discovered, I will never give you up, Mother. So do not worry."
"Yes... Your mother will trust only you."
Their eyes met once more. A tender, yet burning exchange of emotions passed between them. Their lips, now light and eager, met in a gentle, innocent kiss.
There was no thrusting of tongues, no overt display of carnal lust. Instead, there was only a fresh, profound sincerity, proving how deeply committed they were to this abnormal, incestuous bond.
Though there was no sexual foreplay, Tang Hwi's hands gently caressed her non-erogenous zones, as if driven by a need to physically manifest their emotional connection. He cradled the back of Tang Suryeon's head with one hand while his other hand softly stroked her lower back.
Before his hand could reach her hips, he pulled back slightly, wrapping his arm gently around her waist to complete the embrace. The long, lingering kiss finally came to an end.
As their lips parted, a thin, silvery thread of saliva stretched between them. Glistening and unbroken, it stood as a testament to the depth and intensity of their kiss.
"Haaah... Haaah..."
As if she had held her breath the entire time they kissed, Tang Suryeon exhaled a hot, ragged breath. The air she released was thick with the pleasure rising from deep within her lungs. Seeing a supreme master of the Transcendental Realm panting like this made Tang Hwi secretly rejoice, knowing just how passionately she had thrown herself into their kiss.
"Mother, you should have breathed. Controlling your breath shouldn't be difficult for someone of your caliber."
"Haa... Haa... Well, that's..."
A deep crimson blush spread across Tang Suryeon's face as she stammered. Her hesitant demeanor, trying to avoid his gaze and evade the question, was undeniably born of sheer embarrassment. It possessed a devastating charm, making her look like a young girl in the spring of her youth.
But as he continued to gaze at her intently, she finally waved the white flag and softly confessed the truth.
"Sharing such a sweet, emotionally overwhelming kiss with my son... made my heart pound so hard that it was difficult to breathe."
"Is that so? To be honest, I felt the same way. Would you like to listen to my heartbeat?"
He took Tang Suryeon's hand and guided it to his chest. He pressed her palm firmly against his left breast, right over his heart. *Thump. Thump.* The steady, powerful vibration of his heartbeat transferred directly to her hand.
That powerful, unyielding beat set Tang Suryeon's own heart—which she had been trying so hard to calm—fluttering wildly once more.
"...Hwi."
Tang Suryeon reached out. She gently placed her hand on Tang Hwi's cheek, caressing it with deep affection. Her hand slowly traced down from his cheek to his neck, and then to his collarbone, her eyes filled with a bittersweet, yearning gaze.
"I may be a failure as a mother for saying this... but I am so happy that you are my son, Hwi."
"I am happy too, Mother, to have a mother who accepts me for who I am."
They embraced once more. They clung to each other as if determined to engrave the other's warmth into their very flesh. Just as they had during their kiss, the mother and son remained pressed tightly together for a long time before finally managing to compose their emotions and step apart.
"Ahem. Cough."
Feeling embarrassed after the fact, Tang Suryeon cleared her throat. She felt a sudden wave of shyness at having clung to him like a newlywed bride who had just exchanged her vows.
"Hwi, you must begin your daily routine now. It would be troublesome if rumors of laziness spread during such a critical time, just as you are beginning to make a name for yourself as the Young Master."
"There are no elders left anyway, so no one will object to me becoming the Young Master. Besides, Mother, you also suspect that the elders of the Taesang Pavilion who vanished without a trace... were slaughtered by a master who is at least in the late stages of the Transcendental Realm, don't you?"
"...So you think so as well."
Tang Suryeon never dreamed that Tang Hwi could have killed them. Even if he could somehow assassinate the elders through a surprise attack, the gap in power between him and the former Supreme Patriarch, Tang Cheon—once feared as the 'Dark King'—was simply too vast. A battle against such a monster would have inevitably left behind massive traces of destruction.
Thus, Tang Suryeon could only assume that an unidentified master, harboring a deep grudge against the older generation of the Tang Clan, had seized the opportunity of her absence to launch a devastating raid.
"The Amsugak and the Poison Medical Pavilion already support me. The Eunwongak, which values martial prowess above all else, is also showing signs of backing me. Even the Secretary Pavilion has warmed up to me, their attitude shifting favorably after seeing how I celebrated Sister's recovery. I can afford to be a little lazy and still become the Young Master."
And above all else...
"Isn't it far more valuable to spend this 'lazy' time confessing my love to you just one more time?"
"..."
"I love you, Mother."
"I... Your mother loves you too, my son."
Tang Suryeon blushed deeply. ...And she felt a strange, throbbing warmth stir deep within her lower abdomen.