Night Play with Cheong-ui Gongja (4)

Paviya's trials do not come at any random time.

Paviya is a prisoner. A high-ranking being who fell into corruption and was exiled to the underworld. Since the immortals are eagerly watching for any chance, Paviya cannot easily intervene in the mortal world.

However, if he thrashes around with all his might, he can momentarily slip away from the immortals' eyes.

Even so, direct intervention is impossible. He can only infiltrate humans whose reason is paralyzed, such as when they're asleep or blackout drunk.

Cheong-ui Gongja knew that fact.

That was what the Tripitaka Master always emphasized. His master had always taught him to beware of Paviya's temptations.

'No matter how much virtue a ascetic has accumulated, if they accept it, it's over. It's like ink spreading on a white sheet of paper. It mustn't stain from the start. You must always hone your mind through abstinence training to defend against evil temptations.'

It was as if the Tripitaka Master's voice was echoing in his ears. The lesson always ended with a whack on the head with his staff.

Cheong-ui Gongja detected an evil demonic energy in Muk Seo-ah's eyes.

"You bastard, demon! Return to the underworld where you're trapped!"

A gloomy, low wailing sound seemed to echo. From somewhere in the underworld, the darkness seated on its jade throne sneered at Cheong-ui Gongja.

At that moment, Cheong-ui Gongja realized it.

Paviya's target is me.

The goal was Cheong-ui Gongja, but he couldn't infiltrate the pure mind of Cheong-ui Gongja, tempered by abstinence training.

This very moment was a chance for Paviya to indirectly tempt Cheong-ui Gongja by cursing Muk Seo-ah. There was no way Paviya would miss such a golden opportunity.

"My master said it: your power weakens the more noble ascetics there are. Are you trying to grow stronger by disrupting my training? In your dreams! I will absolutely never fall...!"

That was when it happened. Muk Seo-ah, flushed with drunken heat, gave her hips a slight wiggle. Her soft thighs and breasts rubbed against Cheong-ui Gongja's body.

This wasn't Paviya manipulating her. He couldn't interfere to that extent. Paviya was the one who merely sewed the first button. What came after was entirely Muk Seo-ah's choice.

Whether to be swept away by the trial or overcome it—that was purely up to the individual's will. Cheong-ui Gongja bellowed in encouragement to Muk Seo-ah.

"Muk dosa, overcome it! I don't know what trial this is, but you can beat it!"

"Huh? I don't get what you're saying. You don't wanna?"

"Hwaaa! What the hell is this girl saying—how could I?!"

"I've repaid your kindness, so now it's time for payback. It's bugging me, so just stay still."

Muk Seo-ah giggled sloppily as she tried to strip off Cheong-ui Gongja's clothes.

Cheong-ui Gongja resisted with all his might, but Muk Seo-ah's raw strength was greater. Cheong-ui Gongja ended up pinned down and lying helplessly under her.

"I said stay put, didn't I?"

Muk Seo-ah straddled Cheong-ui Gongja's body, planting her ass right on his belly. The soft, ample curves of her buttocks pressed fully against him.

Muk Seo-ah grabbed both of Cheong-ui Gongja's arms and pulled them up over his head. In the process, her body leaned forward, and her voluptuous breasts smothered his face.

"Ubbuhphoofbph!"

"What?"

"Hwaaaaa!! Stop it! You're not in your right mind right now because of the booze and the curse!"

"You don't want me?"

"This isn't your true feelings, so I can't accept it!"

Mixing with a woman lost in a drunken haze might bring physical pleasure in the end, but that wouldn't be true happiness. False happiness. Fleeting pleasure.

And its end is ruin! Cheong-ui Gongja gritted his teeth and endured.

Muk Seo-ah's body was insanely soft and warm. The male instinct to turn into a beast right then and there, thrust in, and shake wildly was only natural.

Having lived in the brothel, Cheong-ui Gongja naturally knew. There were plenty of men in this brothel eyeing Muk Seo-ah.

In the crude words of those lowly guys, Muk Seo-ah was a woman who subtly "let it drip" everywhere she went.

With a face and body that stimulated men's desires, yet she didn't give a damn about her looks and wandered around so casually—it made it easy for other men to approach.

The brothel guys always stole glances when Muk Seo-ah passed by, and when she wasn't around, they'd spew vulgar bullshit.

Like how they wanted to grab those tits and squeeze, or how she must feel damn good. Just hearing it pissed him off. Whenever Cheong-ui Gongja ran into those guys, he'd shout exorcism spells at them.

The reason Muk Seo-ah had maintained her purity without any men's advances so far was largely thanks to Cheong-ui Gongja.

He'd silently pressured those crudely horny bastards, whether they knew it or not.

Just seeing Cheong-ui Gongja eat meals with Muk Seo-ah was enough to cow the other men—they didn't dare pick a fight with an exorcist over some pussy.

It was a man's world. Cheong-ui Gongja knew the fierce, ugly world of breeding competition between males.

When one pretty girl shows up, they all subtly pant and puff up for a same-sex showdown.

If Cheong-ui Gongja hadn't kept them down with that silent pressure, Muk Seo-ah might right now be rolling in the sheets with some blond, bronzed-skinned meathead with a dick like a club.

No, she probably would be.

In Cheong-ui Gongja's eyes, Muk Seo-ah was far from strong against temptation.

If anything, she fell for it easily and was weak to it.

If some guy bought her a drink, she'd follow without suspicion, and the odds of them banging were 100%, no, 200%.

The only shield she had was that she was a damn powerful exorcist in her own right.

If Muk Seo-ah had the temperament of a frail ordinary woman, who knows what would've happened to her by now—imagination failed.

Though they hadn't known each other long, to Cheong-ui Gongja, Muk Seo-ah was close to someone he had to protect.

He couldn't just go "hell yeah" and hook up when she came at him with this fleshy assault like now. It was wrong on every level.

"Not now! Tempt me like this only when you're in your right mind!"

Muk Seo-ah was out of it right now. If she sobered up, would she really say she'd repay him with her body like this?

Would she say she'd become his servant and repay the favor, like that exorcist Pungrang?

'I wish she would... Hwaaaaa!'

Cheong-ui Gongja almost blurted out his true feelings.

No, if Muk Seo-ah were in her right mind, she wouldn't. This situation with her rubbing her tits on him was all thanks to Paviya's dirty tricks.

So this might be his one and only chance. If he got through tonight, he'd probably never get to hook up with Muk Seo-ah ever again. The odds were high.

Tears seemed to well up in Cheong-ui Gongja's eyes.

Ah, cruel heavens! Practicing virtue is this damn hard.

Go through the narrow gate.

For the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, so many enter through it. But the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road constricted, so few find it.

Oh, human nobility. Oh, that sad virtue. The path of following virtue was a thorny one.

If he just closed his eyes once and accepted, supreme pleasure awaited. Muk Seo-ah's soft breasts spread across Cheong-ui Gongja's upper body. Her silver hair tickled his face.

If he just gave in to temptation for this moment, he could embrace Muk Seo-ah.

'But that is the wrong path.'

Cheong-ui Gongja's heart entered the thorny path.

They say endurance is bitter but its fruit sweet. That's a lie. Endurance is bitter. But there's no fruit.

All that's left in your mouth is a bitter aftertaste. There may or may not be fruit. Usually, there isn't.

Those who endure hoping for fruit finally reach the end of the thorny path, confront the fact that there's no fruit, and their minds shatter from the shock, terror, regret, remorse, and despair!

'I go through the narrow gate.'

Cheong-ui Gongja held back tears.

Buddha, is this right? Happiness so huge and certain is right there for the taking, so why must I walk the grueling thorny path to the narrow gate?

Unless you're some extreme masochist, endurance is just bitter. Pure suffering.

Others don't agonize or endure—they just swallow the pleasure handed to them on a platter and live it up easy.

Cheong-ui Gongja couldn't do that. Because it was wrong.

The massive darkness seated on the underworld's jade throne spoke to Cheong-ui Gongja. Paviya's voice was extremely sweet and persuasive.

It blended a deep father's voice with a seductive woman's. Paviya spoke warmly.

"Hwaaaaa! No! Shut up, demon!"

"Tsuaaaaaaaa!!!"

=====================================

When Muk Seo-ah came to her senses, Cheong-ui Gongja was embedded in the wall.

No. What the hell? Why's he stuck in the wall?

Racking her memory, it gradually came back. She had been wasted. So drunk her reason shut down completely that Paviya had slipped into her loosened mind.

Paviya weakens the more noble people there are.

The demon had tried to inflict a trial on Cheong-ui Gongja, but couldn't intervene in his mind, honed by constant abstinence training.

From Paviya's perspective, the ever-virtuous Cheong-ui Gongja must have been a thorn in his side, so he'd targeted her instead to disrupt him indirectly.

What made Paviya scary was that he didn't scam.

The bastard really guaranteed everything. If you gave up asceticism and accepted the temptation, he'd give you anything. Paviya, who showered money, women, power—everything—was the generous godfather who gave without holding back.

The reason Mukmyeong hadn't fallen to Paviya was his lack of desires. He already had plenty. Money? Overflowing. Just earn more.

Power? Mukmyeong already had that too.

Finally, the trial of lust that topples most people.

That didn't work on Mukmyeong either. Because he was a total misogynist. Getting women through Paviya's tricks felt like buying a whore with cash, so he hated it.

Now it was Muk Seo-ah's turn. Her mindset was the same. Her only desperate wish was killing the Fox King.

If I were some shitty low-rank exorcist, I'd have snapped up Paviya's temptation in a heartbeat... Muk Seo-ah objectively assessed herself.

But low-rank exorcist Cheong-ui Gongja didn't.

Even with a being who could gift any luxury trying to persuade him, he chose to charge at the wall and bash his head in.

Cheong-ui Gongja's upper body had smashed through the wooden wall.

His body was jammed into the narrow hole. Cheong-ui Gongja had stubbornly gone through the narrow gate.

Muk Seo-ah's face flushed at her own disgraceful behavior.

Mind alteration, seriously? What kind of filthy curse is that!

"Ch-Cheong-ui Gongja, you okay?"

"..."

No response. Did he die?

It looked like he'd bashed his head hard. Enough to punch through the wall.

Muk Seo-ah approached to check if he was alive, tapping his back. At that moment, her huge breasts unintentionally rested on Cheong-ui Gongja's back.

Cheong-ui Gongja's lower half, sticking out like it grew from the wall, got erect.

With his upper body smashed into the wall, Cheong-ui Gongja said,

"I am an irredeemable piece of trash. No matter how much I train, I've realized the lust inside me can never be erased."

"N-No, aren't you okay? Paviya's gone. You rejected the temptation."

"...But I hesitated. The violent allure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of your flesh was too much for me to endure. I scraped together ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠every last bit of will from the depths of my soul."

Muk Seo-ah froze for a moment. What, the violence of her flesh?

It clicked. Cheong-ui Gongja saw her as a 'woman.' Muk Seo-ah suddenly felt her face heat up and unconsciously clutched her collar.

Her movements became oddly prim and cautious.

"...This time I shook off Paviya's temptation, but who knows about next time. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠am a weak being. When temptation assaults, I become a candle in the storm. I might fall next time. My mouth tastes like blood from the bitterness of endurance."

"No, that's 'cause you smashed through the wall and got wood in your mouth."

"Ptooey."

Cheong-ui Gongja spat out a wood chip but showed no sign of coming out of the wall.

"Muk dosa, return to your room. I have no face to show you right now. I am a lump of lust, nothing but a primal male ape."

Cheong-ui Gongja visibly wilted. With his upper body jammed in the wall and the rest slumped, he looked pathetic, pitiful even.

Muk Seo-ah patted his back a few times, then made a big decision.

She had to encourage Cheong-ui Gongja.

In the long run, it was beneficial for her too.

If Paviya grew stronger, it was bad for everyone. That evil-filled demon would be able to intervene more in the mortal world.

Cheong-ui Gongja was precious firepower. Just his existence was weakening Paviya in real time right now. Every single ascetic mattered. They were weapons against Paviya.

Cheong-ui Gongja had said it: Endurance is bitterly painful.

If the right path is nothing but suffering, who would walk it?

That's why there are so few good people. The repeated, emphasized pain wears humans down and makes them give up.

There has to be fruit at the end of the thorny path.

Otherwise, there's no reason to do the right thing.

"Cheong-ui Gongja, you did the right thing. Ignore that dumbass Paviya. Didn't he say there's no payoff to virtue?"

Muk Seo-ah said. She needed to steel herself mentally.

Muk Seo-ah squeezed her eyes shut and took a huge breath in and out.

At this point, she didn't feel repulsed or grossed out much. She'd done way worse before.

If it's Cheong-ui Gongja, it's fine. He wasn't some ugly pervert.

"You're wrong. All that hardship you went through—it sticks. Endurance tastes like total shit, so if you endure that much shit, the fruit's gotta be fucking sweet, obviously."

Grab. Muk Seo-ah seized Cheong-ui Gongja's rock-hard cock through his pants. Her soft hand wrapped around the firm shaft.

Cheong-ui Gongja went rigid as stone.

"M-Muk dosa?"

"Nah comes after the grind. If it's just endless suffering, who's gonna do it!"