Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Vast Ocean
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The aftershocks of pleasure still rippled through my body like tremors, but facing Senior Disciple's composed expression brought a wave of embarrassment crashing over me.
In my daze, blinking vacantly, she casually covered her face with her hand and waved me off.
"What are you spacing out for...? How embarrassing."
A faint blush seemed to creep onto her cheeks belatedly as well.
Senior Disciple feigned cool detachment, but her eyes sparkled with mischief as she urged me on.
"Didn't you say you'd cool off and head back out? The sun's high in the sky—how long do you plan to laze around?"
"Ah...... Y-Yeah, that's right."
I forcibly shook off my hazy mind and rose from my seat.
But my legs were so weak they trembled, nearly sending me tumbling back down.
With Senior Disciple clicking her tongue and extending her hand—which I stubbornly refused to take—I staggered toward the teahouse entrance.
"Then...... I'll be off, Senior Disciple."
A low chuckle came from behind me.
That laughter strangely invigorated me, while at the same time making me want to crawl into a hole.
Dragging my shaky legs, I wandered the streets at the foot of Mount Wudang once more.
What happened in the teahouse felt like a distant daydream, yet the emptiness in my lower body clearly proved it had been real.
That was when a familiar, grubby figure burst from the crowd.
"Hey there, brother! It's me, me!"
It was Jeom Sochil, the Beggars' Sect's First-Class Beggar.
He bared his yellowed teeth in a friendly greeting. Seeing him again after just a day oddly filled me with warmth.
"Oh, Jeom Sochil, sir. Do you have news already?"
To my eager question, Jeom Sochil stroked his chin beard with a mock-serious expression.
"Come on, brother. You think I've got clairvoyance or something? Can't pinpoint the culprit in a day. But we've put our beggar heads together and come up with something..."
He glanced around cautiously before leaning in close and lowering his voice.
"Listen up. Hubei is the backyard of the Wudang Sect and Zhuge Clan, right? Even a mouse couldn't hide from their eyes. And rumors spread faster than the wind here."
Jeom Sochil pointed at the martial artists passing by on the street.
"No righteous sect punk would dare touch the summoning pill, and if they did, they'd leave a scent trailing our beggar info network. So that leaves the riffraff of the unorthodox paths... but who in Hubei would strut around with Wudang and Zhuge glaring down?"
"Then... who exactly should we suspect?"
Jeom Sochil flashed a meaningful smile and held up three fingers.
"In Hubei, only three groups can move boldly under Wudang and Zhuge's noses. First, the most vicious and dangerous unorthodox sect here: Flying Fan Sect. They're so elusive, even we have trouble with them."
"Flying Fan Sect..."
"Second, the big, slippery bastards who excel at cutting off tails: Filthy Gate Sect. They'll cut off the king's topknot if the price is right. And the last one..."
Jeom Sochil's voice dropped even lower, more secretive.
"The assassin group lurking in Hubei and Hunan: Blood Shadow Tower. We figured they wouldn't care about something like spirit medicine since they erase people without a trace, but there's been suspicious activity lately."
His words muddled my thoughts.
Flying Fan Sect, Filthy Gate Sect, Blood Shadow Tower.
I didn't know the reputations of Flying Fan Sect or Blood Shadow Tower, but standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Filthy Gate made it clear they were notorious in Hubei.
"What do you think? Our boys are digging into these three spots hard... but these rats know better than anyone that a long tail gets stepped on, so it'll take time."
Jeom Sochil patted my shoulder with a grin.
It was a rough reassurance not to worry, but the weight in his words ignited a spark in my chest.
'Wait?'
Just hole up in Senior Disciple's skirts, sucking my thumb until the Beggars' Sect intel arrived?
Suddenly, Senior Disciple's words from the teahouse echoed in my ears.
- This is karma you must face and overcome on your own.
'Come to think of it, aren't I the greatest prodigy under heaven right now?'
An arrogant whisper reared its head within me.
Something hot surged from deep in my chest.
It was the desperate urge to reclaim what I'd lost—and the childish heroism of solving this myself, without relying on Senior Disciple, to be recognized as a true man.
"Flying Fan Sect......"
I'd heard the name during the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament preliminaries.
If they hadn't left the area yet, I could at least talk to them.
"Brother, what's with that look? You're not thinking of charging in alone, are you?"
Sensing the dangerous glint in my eyes, Jeom Sochil flinched back.
I forced a casual smile, awkwardly lifting the corner of my mouth.
"Haha, as if. It's just... the pure energy of Mount Wudang is refreshing, that's all."
This was my chance.
A chance to correct my mistake with my own hands.
If I reclaimed the summoning pill solely with my own power, without Senior Disciple's help...
Even she would see me in a new light.
Not as a childish junior brother, but as a true hero who could command the jianghu.
Having scoured every back alley all day, my legs were swollen and numb.
The only gain: the approximate location of Flying Fan Sect's hideout, an abandoned mansion.
But that alone set my heart pounding wildly.
A real man who draws his sword must cut something—even grass. I couldn't return empty-handed.
Thudding heavily back to Senior Disciple's room in Purple Cloud Pavilion, she had already prepared for bed and sat under the lamplight reading an ancient tome.
Her elegant profile nearly softened my resolve, but I hardened my expression.
"You're back? Any luck?"
Senior Disciple closed her book and turned to me.
Her eyes said, 'Probably not.'
I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Still slim pickings..."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Or... should we give up and head back to Mount Hua? Might be faster to beg the Sect Leader."
Her words made my eyebrows twitch.
Give up? I, who had just made my name known under heaven, couldn't tuck tail and run.
Noticing my blazing eyes, Senior Disciple chuckled and lifted the blanket flap.
"Such a grim face. You're tired today—rest up. Come here and sleep with me? I'll lend you my arm for a pillow."
Normally, I'd dive into that warm embrace.
I'd seek comfort in her touch.
But not tonight.
My mind was filled with plans to raid Flying Fan Sect at dawn, without her knowing.
I shook my head and backed away.
"No, Senior Disciple. I'll sleep alone tonight. Gotta head out early tomorrow too."
"Oh? What's this—no whining? Growing up?"
"When I bring back the summoning pill tomorrow, I'll cling to you all you want. To rediscover just how warm your embrace is, I'll definitely retrieve it."
At my solemn declaration, Senior Disciple's eyes widened briefly before she burst out laughing with a 'pfft'.
Her shoulders shook lightly.
"Oh, really? Holding out so valiantly. Fine. If you manage it on your own, I'll give you not just my embrace, but one more reward of your choosing."
She covered her mouth, smiling with her eyes.
The subtle anticipation and indulgent treatment in her gaze strangely stoked my competitive fire.
I reaffirmed my resolve once more and retreated to my room.
Meanwhile, in the Flying Fan Sect's hideout shrouded in thick darkness.
Zhuge Jiun squatted naked on the floor, not a thread on her.
Before her eyes stood five stripped men in a line, trembling like aspen leaves.
"Let's see..."
Zhuge Jiun gripped the first man's groin indifferently.
His manhood was already swollen stiff with fear and arousal in her grasp.
But her brows furrowed.
"No. Not this feel."
Tsking her tongue, she moved to the next man's.
This time, she wrapped both hands around the shaft and stroked up and down.
It had decent heft, but she pouted.
"How is it that even rock-hard and throbbing, it's still no match for that one?"
Grumbling, she inspected the next, then the next, methodically.
She rolled the rigid, veiny members in her palm, tapped the tips to gauge weight, but her expression grew only more bored.
"That hero... Dragon-Phoenix is sniffing around Flying Fan Sect's tail, they say..."
"Hm... Is that so? Mount Hua's Dragon-Phoenix is tailing me?"
She took the report without shifting her gaze.
"This one's thick enough, but the length is a total bust."
Zhuge Jiun kneaded the men's tools like toys, critiquing each one.
They flinched at her touch but dared not resist or retreat.
They knew it would cost their heads.
"Sigh, really... Why does Flying Fan Sect lack talent like this? If there was a big, capable cock, I'd make him my husband and dote on him every night."
Tsking again, she seized the last man's piece.
It seemed the most usable in size, but still didn't satisfy her.
Zhuge Jiun's eyes turned venomous.
"Better this way. No matter how I search, nothing measures up... so for it to walk right to me? I'm grateful."
She muttered coldly and squeezed hard.
"G-Gaaahk!!"
With the man's scream came a gruesome squelch! of rupture.
Zhuge Jiun had crushed his balls outright.
Blood sprayed like a fountain from his urethra, splattering her pale hand and face.
"Ahahaha! Pretty—a red flower blooming!"
Zhuge Jiun cackled wildly at the man writhing bloodied on the floor.
She licked the blood from her fingers, her snakelike eyes gleaming as she stared into the darkness.
"Hurry and come. Big sis will play with you real fun."