Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A Demonic Art, Yet Not a Demonic Art
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Cheon Gyeongwan stared blankly at the room Byeok Taesan had entered, a sense of self-reproach washing over him.
There were four doors in the long corridor, and Byeok Taesan had gone through the last one with ten courtesans.
When the courtesans came rushing out of the room, he thought they were going home, but his mood sank when he realized that wasn't the case.
He was currently on the top floor of the Fragrant Flower Pavilion.
The Fragrant Flower Pavilion was a five-story establishment, and the fifth floor where he stood was reserved exclusively for esteemed guests.
The simple arrays installed in each room provided not only perfect soundproofing but also some shock absorption.
While Wuhan had many such establishments, the Fragrant Flower Pavilion was the only one to have earned such a high reputation with just a single building.
All four rooms were occupied, and two guards were posted at the entrance of each.
The perfect soundproofing proved useful in times like these. Standing before the door, they had no idea what was happening inside.
Cheon Gyeongwan wondered if he too should go stand by the door, but he quickly shook his head.
He was confident he could subdue the guards standing there with a mere flick of his finger, even with his eyes closed.
What he needed to be wary of wasn't these exposed men, but any potential ambushes.
‘Though the chances of that happening are close to none.’
Who in Wuhan would dare ambush the second young master of the Golden Jade Trading Company?
Besides, there was nothing to be gained from ambushing or kidnapping him.
It would be far more effective to kidnap Byeok Taesu's wife or child rather than Byeok Taesan.
No, it would be better to kidnap the general manager of the Golden Jade Trading Company.
That was the extent of Byeok Taesan's standing within the company.
Just as he was lost in thought.
“Haaaak!”
Startled, Cheon Gyeongwan snapped his head up.
A sound that was somewhere between a scream and a moan struck his ears.
He quickly checked the other guards; they too had heard it, their surprised eyes wide as they stared blankly at the room at the very end.
The room from which the sound had just come, the one Byeok Taesan had entered.
“Huuuungh!”
Another moan-like sound echoed from within. It was hard to tell if it was a cry of pain or pleasure.
‘Wait, isn't this the fifth floor of the Fragrant Flower Pavilion, which boasts perfect soundproofing?’
As if to prove his point, not a single sound came from the other rooms.
Only from the room Byeok Taesan had entered did such an erotic sound emerge.
‘What in the world is he doing in there…?’
The sounds continued unabated.
At first, he was curious, but after two hours, then four, he eventually grew weary of it.
One of the guards watching another room muttered under his breath.
“Is that really a man who was said to be sick?”
Whether he had traded his health for vigor, the scream-like moans pouring out of the room continued for a full six hours.
Not long after the sounds faded, the door opened and Byeok Taesan emerged.
The three guards in the corridor stared at Byeok Taesan with bloodshot eyes.
Their expressions were a mixture of envy and respect.
“You could have gotten some sleep. Did you end up staying up all night?”
At Byeok Taesan’s words, Cheon Gyeongwan bowed his head slightly.
“I am merely doing my duty.”
Cheon Gyeongwan’s gaze was slightly different from when they had first arrived at the pavilion, though he himself hadn't noticed.
“...Are you all right?”
At Cheon Gyeongwan’s question, Byeok Taesan grinned and glanced back at the room he had just left.
“Who, me? Or them in there?”
“Both.”
“Absolutely fine. So let’s head back. I need to get some rest, too.”
“I will escort you.”
Cheon Gyeongwan bowed his head once more.
As the two men descended to the lower floor, a thick silence filled the corridor.
Not even the sound of breathing could be heard from within the four rooms. The arrays were working perfectly.
* * *
“Hwaryeong, are you okay?”
The courtesan called Hwaryeong, who had been sitting in a daze, snapped back to her senses at the sound of her name.
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. Of course, I’m fine.”
A few of the other courtesans wore worried expressions.
“Are you really okay? Did something happen last night? I heard it was complete chaos…”
It wasn’t purely out of concern that they asked. Curiosity was the greater motivator. The story of last night had spread like wildfire among the courtesans.
Hwaryeong’s night-long screams weren't just heard by the guards on the top floor.
The people in the rooms the guards were protecting had heard them, as had the people on the floors below.
Because of that, the Fragrant Flower Pavilion’s array specialists were currently inspecting the array in the room Byeok Taesan and Hwaryeong had occupied.
The Fragrant Flower Pavilion was no ordinary establishment. An ordinary one wouldn't have array specialists on staff.
In any case, under the pretext of concern, everyone wanted to find out what had happened last night.
Hwaryeong’s face flushed slightly.
“I… I was reborn.”
The courtesans’ eyes sparkled. Just how good was it for her to say something like that?
“Huh? By the way, your skin seems to have gotten better.”
“You’re right.”
It wasn’t just her skin that had improved. Her face seemed a little different, too.
No, it was her aura that had changed.
She exuded an air of innocence and purity.
She looked like someone untouched by the filth of the world.
“Come to think of it, your body too…”
She seemed a little taller, and the curves of her body had changed.
It wasn't their imagination. The change was truly noticeable.
The courtesans’ eyes lit up.
“Don’t tell me… did that man give you an elixir last night?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
Honestly, Hwaryeong felt a bit wronged. She couldn’t remember.
It was like a dream. She vaguely recalled letting out scream-like moans.
It must have been really, really good.
But it was frustrating that she had almost no memory of that pleasure.
One thing she remembered for certain was the feeling of being reborn.
She wondered if her body and mind had ever felt so refreshed.
Watching Hwaryeong’s transformation, the other courtesans burned with ambition.
They vowed not to miss the opportunity if it ever came again.
* * *
“Ah… this body is even more of a wreck than I expected.”
Byeok Taesan muttered, shaking his head.
The reason he had gone to the pavilion yesterday was because of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
Reborn with the enlightenment gained at the moment of his death, the new Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts had changed so much it could hardly be called a demonic art anymore.
It still utilized souls, but not by ripping them from the dead and grinding them up as before.
Instead, it drew out the souls of the living and absorbed the impure energies and stray thoughts clinging to them, burning them away.
Those, too, could be called part of the soul, and the power created by burning them was immense.
It was on a level incomparable to ordinary internal energy techniques.
Of course, it was weaker than the original Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts. But since the side effects were completely eliminated, there was no danger of his body exploding, no matter how much power he absorbed.
Naturally, the more turbid thoughts clung to a soul, the more effective it was.
That was why Byeok Taesan had specifically gone to a pavilion and spent the night with a courtesan.
It was only natural that the soul of a courtesan who had seen and experienced all walks of life would be covered in turbid thoughts.
Of course, the scoundrels of the underworld, who killed and plundered as a matter of course, would have far more potent thoughts attached to them, but in Byeok Taesan’s current condition, trying to drain them would be dangerous.
Finding someone within the Golden Jade Trading Company was also problematic. They were less efficient than the courtesans, and it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
In any case, the thoughts attached to the soul of the courtesan named Hwaryeong yesterday were more than satisfactory.
The problem was this accursed body.
“I drained one courtesan completely, and all it did was reconnect a single severed meridian.”
And it wasn't even an important meridian, but a thin one, no different from a capillary, that he had barely managed to mend.
His body had certainly improved, but the change was unnoticeable on the outside.
“It looks like… I’ll have to live at the pavilion for a while.”
If he carelessly messed with the underworld thugs, his body might not be able to handle it.
The tarnish clinging to a soul through lust was much gentler than the tarnish from killing intent or fighting spirit.
So, for the time being, he decided to procure souls through the pavilion.
Above all else, reconnecting all his severed meridians was the top priority.
Once that was done, he would be able to train freely without needing to absorb souls.
Byeok Taesan closed his eyes, slowly cultivating the slender meridian he had barely reconnected today.
Simply connecting it wasn't the end. To heal it completely required constant effort.
* * *
“You’re going to the pavilion again today?”
Soso stared at Byeok Taesan, her face a mask of horror.
“Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't?”
“No, that’s not it, but… if the young lady finds out, she’ll be so disappointed.”
“Well, can’t be helped then.”
He couldn't give up his treatment for a fiancée, Yeon Harin, whose face he hadn't even seen yet.
And from the way things were going, it seemed that fiancée had no need to marry him either.
If that was all the inheritance Byeok Taesan was given, what was the point of tying herself to a man dying of illness?
Unless, of course, she could use Byeok Taesan as a link to get involved in the Golden Jade Trading Company's power struggle.
“And if you overdo it, something terrible could happen.”
Byeok Taesan let out a smirk.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
Soso’s face turned beet red.
“Y-You’re doing that! That thing!”
“And what thing is that?”
Soso finally pouted.
“Young Master, you’re so mean!”
Byeok Taesan chuckled, watching her fuss over him while still preparing his clothes.
* * *
Around the time the sun reached its zenith, Byeok Taesan left the pavilion.
Today marked the tenth day.
For ten days, he had come to the Fragrant Flower Pavilion every day and slept with one courtesan each night.
On the first day, he left as soon as he was finished—that is, right after he had cleanly absorbed all the stray thoughts clinging to the soul.
But after a few days, he realized there was no need to rush and began tending to his severed meridians with the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts before leaving.
The courtesan would remain unconscious the entire time.
Experiencing the purification of one’s soul was no simple matter.
The body follows the soul. When the soul is purified, it affects the body, cleansing it as well.
They remained unconscious while their bodies were changing.
In any case, the courtesans who spent a night with Byeok Taesan fell head over heels for him.
And the ones who hadn't yet slept with him waited with fluttering hearts, hoping they would be next.
Thus, Byeok Taesan slept with ten courtesans over ten days and was able to mend ten of his meridians.
Though they were slender, they were crucial, and his condition had improved, albeit slightly.
Of course, the improvement was less than a speck of ant dung, but the fact that it had improved was what mattered.
So, his steps were light on his way home.
Byeok Taesan led the way, with Cheon Gyeongwan following silently a step behind.
About halfway there, Byeok Taesan’s eyes caught sight of a person approaching in the distance.
The reason Byeok Taesan’s gaze fell on that person was simple.
‘She’s incredibly beautiful.’
She was one of the ten most beautiful women he had ever seen in his entire life as the Heavenly Demon.
Even during his time as the Heavenly Demon, a beauty of that caliber was a rare sight.
“Breathtaking.”
Byeok Taesan said, turning his head to look at Cheon Gyeongwan, who was following behind.
His expression seemed to ask, *You see her too, right?*
For the second time, Byeok Taesan witnessed the rare sight of an expression forming on Cheon Gyeongwan’s face.
It was a look, an expression that screamed, *What kind of man is this?*
Only then did Byeok Taesan guess the identity of the approaching woman.
In a moment, the beauty reached Byeok Taesan and stopped.
Byeok Taesan had no choice but to stop as well.
This woman was his fiancée, Yeon Harin.