Hebei (9)

105. Hebei (9)

Honestly, I thought I might have gone a little too far. It was different from the casual fun I'd had with Murong Rin, Murong Jin, Gyeong Su-yeon, and the others back at the Murong Clan estate or Baek Clan Estate, when my women were far away. My repeated, insane sexual experiences were gradually becoming familiar, and now, under the same manor roof, with them so plainly present, violating Peng Gang's wife felt like I had crossed a line. Caught between the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sweetness of breaking a taboo and the guilt that washed over me after post-nut clarity, I decided to go to them and speak honestly.

"Master. I'm sorry. At this very moment, I am on my way back from having embraced another woman."

When I bowed my head before my master and spoke with gravity, they looked at me with unimpressed eyes.

"She can't possibly be a better woman than me, right?"

Jeong-hyang asked me with a face full of confidence. It must have been confidence born from the Bedchamber Arts, rather than her looks. In reality, while Hong Seon-hwa did harbor the seeds of a seductress, she was nowhere near the level of a Yin Blossom Art cultivator.

"Of course."

My master looked indifferent. Jeong-hyang looked confident. Son Yeong spoke slowly, her voice slightly more cautious.

"I am already a woman who secretly slept with Junior Brother while disregarding Master and Senior Sister, his two wives. Master says I am also one of Junior Brother's principal wives, but those two are like heaven to me. Because I once hid in Junior Brother's bedchamber and chose the cowardly method of rape, I still think of myself as a concubine. I don't care what woman Junior Brother embraces, so long as he doesn't forget me."

Thinking about it procedurally, what Son Yeong had done was also insane. She had struck the acupoints of her master's and senior sister's husband and gone as far as attempted rape.

"So, are you saying you will now take a fourth wife?"

My master spoke as if uninterested ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while making talismans to be placed around the manor.

"It's not that. It was just an affair."

My master put down her brush, looked me in the eye, and said,

"Yeongmok. Let me use this opportunity to tell you. If you wish to take a new wife, you need the permission of us, your primary wives. This is a wife's right. However, we are not discourteous women who would envy every single amorous pleasure enjoyed by a virile man. A man who neglects his wives and falls into debauchery is a pitiful sight, but you, Yeongmok, are a man with sufficient ability to feed us and make us happy."

My master, who had burned with jealousy during the last jewelry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incident, became cool and let the matter of an affair slide right past. I simply couldn't comprehend the mindset of women in this era. Well, Lady Tang also thought nothing of my father violating women of the unorthodox factions, didn't she?

"So, how was Madam Hong?"

Jeong-hyang sidled up to me and asked. Hit directly on a sore spot, I was quite startled and asked her back,

"How did you know it was Madam Hong?"

"Probably only you and the children didn't know? Madam Hong was wagging her tail at you from the very beginning. You were thoughtless for gifting jewelry to another man's wife, but why do you think Madam Hong, who knows a woman's heart, asked for jewelry in the first place?"

My face instantly grew hot. I had vowed countless times to protect those women, pure as blank sheets of paper, from the storms of the world, yet I had been the most oblivious of all.

"We will be leaving the manor tomorrow, so go and enjoy yourself with Madam Hong today, too. I will be holding the two children and sleeping with them for the first time in a while."

My master outright permitted my affair.

"Master, are you truly all right with this?"

"Of course I am. Because no matter what, Madam Hong is only a partner in your affair. We are your wives. Even if you were to embrace every single one of the Four Flowers of the martial world, I am confident that you will eventually return to us, so it truly doesn't bother me at all."

Ah... That explained it. Master, Jeong-hyang, and Son Yeong could react so calmly to the shocking news of my affair because they took pride in being my primary wives.

"Still, she is the daughter-in-law of the Peng Clan. Please be careful, Junior Brother, about matters involving Young Hero Peng or contraception so they do not become problems in the future."

Son Yeong added that last comment. In the end, even though I had lived twenty-three years in this world, I was still a 15th-century Joseonjok thinking with the mindset of my past life.

"Let me tell you in advance: I, as the second wife, have already chosen the fourth wife. Even if you bring an imperial princess, I will absolutely never permit it if she is not this junior sister."

Jeong-hyang, who had not given up on a future where everyone was still together, was applying subtle blackmail. In the end, the meeting meant for atonement turned into a meeting for permission, and now that I had the approval of my three wives, I sought out Hong Seon-hwa once more. As my master had said, it was a fleeting amorous adventure. Let me covet her, a woman to be forgotten after today, without any restraint.

Madam Hong was beautiful enough to have been selected as the daughter-in-law of a prestigious clan and obedient enough to lick my member clean afterward. The problem was the unwanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠accessories that came with embracing her: Peng Gang and Hwa-ran. In the end, on our final night at the manor, we satisfied the perverse desires of the two couples in something too absurd even to call an orgy, intoxicated by forbidden fruit until dawn.

"Un... unbelievable. I've been eating elixirs since I was young and trained my body in the Fist-and-Kick Art. Besides, I'm not even a virgin, and yet I can't even walk properly."

Madam Hong staggered to her feet with a comical, splay-legged gait.

"At least you're a martial artist, Madam. My private parts are so swollen tight I still feel like the heavy male root is inside me. Truly, a rare treat isn't meant to be eaten. No matter what man I copulate with now, whenever I think of the elder, they'll all feel shabby!"

Hwa-ran spoke with a tearful face. Peng Gang stroked her head and spoke to her kindly.

"Hwa-ran, you take a good rest today."

"What do you mean, take a good rest? I'm the kitchen manager. I have to prepare breakfast for the elders of Yeongsan Sect."

Hwa-ran forced herself to stagger to her feet. It seemed rude, but her professional spirit was strong.

"No. The kitchen is off-limits today. Senior Sister Lee will be using it."

"What? The Medicine Immortal? Oh... oh no! Why on earth would such an esteemed person go into the kitchen?"

She spoke in a flustered panic. In her position as a maidservant of the Peng Clan, a martial artist entering the kitchen was no different from a battalion commander who cooked as a hobby making food in the mess hall.

"Roughly how many Peng Clan martial artists, military-officer trainees, and candidates preparing for the military examination are there?"

"I'm not sure about the martial artists, but the trainees and candidates vary a little each time, but roughly around six hundred."

"And how many maidservants are preparing those meals?"

"Normally, it takes over thirty."

Hwa-ran spoke proudly, puffed up with the pride of a great house's servant.

"Our Senior Sister Lee, she prepared eighty servings of food every morning and evening. By herself."

"What? Does that even make sense? Are you sure you're not mistaken, elder?"

"You're subtly polite but you sure don't hold back your words, do you? Even a skilled chef couldn't do it because they only have one body, but Senior Sister Lee is a martial artist. Counting only internal energy, her level is even higher than yours, Peng Gang."

"Th... that's impossible."

I thought so too. The White Tiger Sect had been gradually increasing its followers. Just before we left, it had passed sixty. On top of that, the food for the six of us and the guests at Yeongsan Lodge. It would have been absolutely impossible without superhuman physical abilities amplified by her vast internal energy. What was truly mysterious was how she naturally enhanced her physical functions with internal energy when cooking, but why did she move so sluggishly during a martial match? While I was thinking about her, her voice came from outside the door. Speak of the devil—Lee Eun-ha's voice came from outside the door.

"Junior Brother, may I come in?"

"J... just a moment!"

Hong Seon-hwa and Hwa-ran jumped in surprise at Lee Eun-ha's sudden voice. Even Peng Gang and I hurriedly grabbed and put on our clothes before opening the door. Her expression changed subtly in an instant.

Damn. At the mere sight of four people, men and women alike in one room this early in the morning, she must have guessed the rough situation, but the disheveled bedding, the beads of sweat dotting their flushed red faces, and on top of that, the urine the women had spilled onto the floor and the semen the men had sprayed about. Though Lee Eun-ha was momentarily surprised by the brazenly explicit sight, she soon spoke with a gentle face.

"The meal preparation is finished. You've treated us to fine food for two days, Young Hero Peng and Madam Hong, so I prepared something today."

"Ah... I... that is... Excuse me, Medicine Immortal Elder. Next time, if you have this kind of business, please instruct us maidservants. We're grateful you thought of us, but that... it puts us in a difficult position."

Hearing Hwa-ran's words, she seemed to realize something she'd missed. Remembering a forgotten servant's duty, she nodded her head and said,

"I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. Truthfully, I also worked as a maidservant for a high-ranking official when I was young. I'm a person more accustomed to receiving orders than giving them, so I guess I made a mistake. I'll be careful from now on."

"What? The Medicine Immortal elder? You, the Medicine Immortal, were a servant like us? Don't lie. Where would you find a pretty servant like this? You, Medicine Immortal, are also a noble young lady from a prestigious family, just like our Madam."

"How I wish that were true. Anyway, help the three of them wash and then come to the dining hall."

Having finally established her position, Lee Eun-ha could now converse comfortably with the maidservants. Hwa-ran was a little rude, but she spoke with easy familiarity.

"Medicine Immortal Elder. I'm sorry, but I'll call another servant. I can't even walk right now."

"Why call an unmarried girl an elder? Here, take this. Madam Hong, please have one too."

Lee Eun-ha placed two pure white medicinal pills into Hwa-ran's hand. At the sight, Peng Gang cried out in shock.

"Isn't this the Jeong-hyang Pill!"

"No, Young Hero Peng. This one is slightly different."

"What? This is a medicinal pill? It looks like a pretty jewel. It's really okay to eat this, right?"

Hwa-ran popped one pill into her mouth, placed another into Madam Hong's mouth, and smiled happily.

"It's... delicious!"

"It's not just delicious. You should be able to move your body now, so hurry out to the dining hall before the food gets cold."

With those final words, she left the room. Behind her, Hong Seon-hwa, who unlike Hwa-ran had experienced the efficacy of the medicinal pill, asked urgently,

"W... wait a moment. What is the name of this precious spirit pill?"

"The Son Yeong Pill."

In the dining hall, my master and senior sisters were waiting along with all the maidservants dispatched to Seungbok Manor. Perhaps because Hong Seon-hwa was clearly a competent manager, the very first time she brought our belongings she had also brought strong men, but since the majority of Yeongsan Sect were unmarried women, she had withdrawn all the men and left only the maidservants. A dozen or so maidservants sat at another table, and when we sat at the table where my master was, Hwa-ran and the kitchen maidservants began busily carrying out the dishes.

It had been a long time since I had eaten Lee Eun-ha's cooking from a proper kitchen. Strangely, perhaps she felt some rivalry with the Peng Clan maidservants, because she had clearly put her full effort into it. Peng Gang, Madam Hong, and Hwa-ran, who'd already heard a rough explanation, were just astonished again, but the maidservants' table erupted into an uproar. The shock was evidently different for those who understood the cooking process than for those who just ate the food.

"Th... this is. It's the Peng Clan cuisine we first prepared."

Looking at the stir-fried chicken, which had been quite delicious, the maidservants made expressions of disbelief. Whether by coincidence or inevitability, chicken, with its high protein content, must have been a very suitable food for the military-like Peng Clan.

"This is Guangdong cuisine? Medicine Immortal Elder, weren't you from Liaoning?"

"No. I'm a Joseon person."

Lee Eun-ha sat down at the maidservants' table with a joyful expression and spoke to them warmly.

"What? You're a Joseon person? Isn't their food cold?"

"Not all of it is, but here, white kimchi. It's a food that pairs well with greasy dishes."

"Elder! How did you braise this mushroom? If it's seasoned to this degree, shouldn't it normally have disintegrated into mush?"

"You don't start with soy sauce. You parboil it in salt water first."

Before I knew it, Lee Eun-ha was conversing comfortably in the middle of the maidservants. She truly was different—a person with an extraordinary ability to adapt to the world.

"So-a. You have to eat this too."

"Eh... I hate fish."

"Big sister will take out the bones for you."

Cho-ryeong had changed as well. Before I knew it, our cute youngest had become a mature older sister, kindly taking care of her little sister. Lee Eun-ha, finally finding her place, mingled with the maidservants. Cho-ryeong, suddenly more grown-up in front of her younger sister for the first time. My master, able to smile leisurely even after receiving such a massive manor.

It was honestly a little embarrassing. While they were changing so splendidly, I'd transformed into a magnificent pervert.