Beijing (4)

116. Beijing (4)

"Senior Sister! The baby's feet are so tiny."

Cho-ryeong gazed at the soles of the baby's feet, completely beside herself.

"You were that small once too, Junior Sister. You were a baby who cried a lot, so Master and I carried you around every single day. You just kept wailing, and if you cried too long the Senior Brothers and Martial Uncles would get angry about the noise, so in the end I put you to my breast—you quieted right down."

Jeong-hyang recalled Cho-ryeong's early childhood as she looked at the baby. Back when Cho-ryeong was a baby, Jeong-hyang herself would have been about the same age Cho-ryeong was now, and she had the thought to nurse her. As expected, a woman's maternal instinct was magnificent.

"Strange. He should be crying from hunger about now."

Do-hwa tilted her head as she looked at her son, who was sleeping blissfully.

"I made him some weaning food and fed him. He's a lovely, good-natured child."

Lee Eun-ha spoke gently. He was old enough for weaning food, but I couldn't possibly not recognize that smell rising from the corner of his mouth.

You little rascal. I didn't have a swapping fetish, but since he was a baby, I'd let it slide just this once. I'd drunk his mother's milk myself, so I could overlook him drinking from Master.

"So, Yeongmok. Did you handle the matter well?"

"Yes. They already knew who I was. They backed off on their own. Their livelihood depends on it, so I didn't touch them separately. And this house seemed too dangerous a place for Do-hwa and the baby, so I bought her a small residence on the main road. I'll also send a letter to Peng Gang telling him to keep an eye on things from now on."

"Well done, Yeongmok. Truthfully, we were quite worried about this neighborhood too."

—[I am truly grateful. Though she is a distant descendant whose face I have never seen, it deeply troubled me to see one of my children suffering like this.]—

The Medicine Immortal's voice reached me for the first time in ages. —[We owe you far more. Besides, Do-hwa is a friend from my hometown.]—

"So here's what I propose: once we finish the meal, we move to the new house straightaway. We'll be imposing on her hospitality for a few days anyway, and it seems best to help with the move while we have extra hands."

"Good thinking, Yeongmok. Madam Do. I've prepared the meal. I know it's discourteous to enter the kitchen without the owner's permission, but our Eun-ha absolutely wanted to serve the Medicine Immortal's cooking to you, Madam Do."

"Really? Good heavens! No one has set a table for me since my mother passed. Thank you, Sect Leader!"

So Do-hwa really had lived a hard life. I honestly had never imagined that someone could be so overjoyed simply because another person had set the table. My own past life had been difficult, but my mother had always prepared delicious meals for me. When Do-hwa's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tearful meal ended, we prepared to leave this house. A truly pitiful collection of household goods. Not merely old and worn out—she had apparently sold off absolutely everything worth any money to pay her debts. We even had to use our camping utensils as our share of the tableware.

"What should we do about this house? Seungju unni can't live at the pleasure house because of the baby—can I let her stay here?"

"Do whatever you want."

She might be a courtesan, but she had at least trained in martial arts, however modestly, and the place she belonged to, Red Flower Pavilion, was probably an ordinary unorthodox sect, so she'd have enough means to protect herself even in a place like this.

"But you really don't own a single household item, do you? How can you not even have one blanket?"

"I cut up the blankets to make wrapping cloths for my son, that's why. Like you said, I'll buy all new household goods, so we just need to take my woodworking tools and the items I've made in the storeroom."

In the end, when we searched the house, the luggage that emerged was a single bundle. Before heading to the workshop, Master handed the baby to Cho-ryeong and spoke gravely.

"Ryeong, you can hold the baby properly, can you not?"

"Yes, Master! Senior Sister Jeong said she carried me around at my age. I'm stronger now than Senior Sister Jeong was then, so I can carry him around just fine."

Honestly, Cho-ryeong as she was now could probably carry Master and Jeong-hyang both on her back and still climb a mountain, as long as she could figure out a way to strap them on. We entrusted the baby to Cho-ryeong, and because Lee Eun-ha, armed with an iron pot and an iron rice paddle, would have difficulty carrying luggage, only Master, Jeong-hyang, Son Yeong, Do-hwa, and I entered her woodworking shop.

"Hey. When you said tools, you meant this one carving knife is all of it?"

"Well, what else do you need to carve wood? This thing's really expensive. Two silver taels for five of them."

A few carving knives and blocks of wood. A jar of lacquer for adding a shine. A brush with almost no bristles left. There was not even a worktable; a straw mat on the floor was all she had. I was genuinely ashamed that I'd asked Master and my senior sisters to help with the move. The things we gathered from the workshop made a single bundle. Next, we headed to the storeroom to collect what was there.

"Oh my. This is adorable."

"Isn't it? Madam Do's skill is remarkable."

Master and Jeong-hyang chatted happily as they looked at the various dainty ornaments. The storeroom contained a good number of pretty ornaments that Do-hwa had made in quantity.

"If there's anything you like, please take it all. I'm rich now, so woodworking will just be a hobby for me."

Oho. Do-hwa had really adopted the mindset of a rich person that fast. Right—rich people were supposed to work only as a hobby, weren't they. The women giggled at Do-hwa's words as they chose ornaments. It seemed they were enjoying the act of choosing more than the ornaments themselves, like shopping.

"Madam Do. What is this?"

Son Yeong tilted her head as she looked at items set at the back.

"Huh? You don't know? Are you a virgin, by any chance? It's a Wooden Root."

"A... Wooden Root?"

Son Yeong, who originally hadn't even known what masturbation was—these days she was having sex every single day, but her knowledge of this field was absolutely zero. She picked up one of the Wooden Roots with curious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes.

"It resembles a male member, doesn't it?"

"Of course. It's a substitute for the male member. It's an essential item for women like me who don't have a man, or for the wives of inadequate husbands, to soothe their own nether regions alone. If you're not a virgin, please take one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and try it. According to the sisters at the pleasure house, my Wooden Roots are smooth and excellent."

"Don't tell me this is a tool for inserting into the yin gate and moving with one's own hand—for masturbation?"

"That's right. Seeing that you know your stuff, I suppose you're not a virgin after all."

Just as I had once been, Son Yeong was struck speechless by a colossal shock that shattered her common sense.

"Is this one for young girls?"

Jeong-hyang picked up a moderately-sized Wooden Root and asked Do-hwa.

"No? A young girl shouldn't use one. She wouldn't be able to get married."

"Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why is it so small?"

In that instant, Do-hwa struck her palm with her fist as if a realization had dawned on her face.

"Immortal Lady—is Eun-hyeok, by any chance, a woman?"

"Pardon?"

"Nah. Now that I think about it, it's obvious. Ah—so this was why that bastard Eun-hyeok kept looking down on me! He really did have a beauty like you in his arms!

"Immortal Lady. That one is quite large. An average man, let's see—just about this size."

Do-hwa pulled out a small-sized Wooden Root and spoke to Jeong-hyang.

"An average man is only this size?"

This time it was Jeong-hyang who was dealt an enormous shock.

"Immortal Lady, you're only saying that because you've only ever seen Eun-hyeok's. Ah. And I should apologize in advance. We had a round at my new house."

"Ah... that's all right."

"As expected, a beauty of your caliber must not have an insecure heart."

Even in an era where the very concept of privacy didn't exist, my personal life was laid bare far too easily. Master quietly picked up a strange object and asked Do-hwa.

"What is this? The Wooden Root has heads on both ends."

"Ah. That's a Wooden Root for women to enjoy with each other. Women don't have cocks, so it's a tool for inserting the Wooden Root into both holes and enjoying it together."

Master nodded at Do-hwa's starkly explicit explanation.

"I see. Come to think of it, women rubbing their vulvas together makes it difficult to reach climax."

"Sect Leader, do you like women?"

"No. But in the course of Taoist arts cultivation, there are practices concerning copulation. Before Yeongmok entered the sect, we were all women, you see."

"Then please take this."

Do-hwa spoke like a salesperson as she handed over not a straight, double-headed Wooden Root but an L-shaped one bent in the middle.

"This is what they use in the pleasure houses. If you insert this end into the cunt and fasten it with a leather strap, it becomes like a man's cock, doesn't it? Then you use it to violate a woman, just like a man would. At the pleasure houses, they say they usually show these to the customers to liven up the mood."

So the reason Wooden Roots were needed in the pleasure houses was for masturbation shows and lesbian shows. Truly the world was wide and full of crazy bastards and bitches.

"Would men actually like that?"

"Of course. There isn't a man alive who dislikes watching women tangle with each other. And it makes sense—a woman's naked body is what drives men wild, so how much better would two women's naked bodies be? A few days ago, Seungju unni sucked my breasts once to help my milk come in. Some lunatic spied on that and jerked off from behind the wall."

It really was a trash neighborhood. Come to think of it, in my past life, the truly worst slums had existed in big cities like New York too. Master glanced at me for a moment, then quietly pocketed that Wooden Root.

No... that... well... I kind of did want to see it, though? But Master would probably play the role of the woman pinned underneath, not the one doing the violating.

"I'll truly take this one—the shape is a little unusual, isn't it?"

Jeong-hyang picked up another unusually shaped Wooden Root and asked Do-hwa. Before anyone knew it, the dainty ornament shopping had become a sex-toy-shop shopping trip.

"Ah? That one? That's for advanced users."

"Advanced users?"

"It's meant to be inserted not into the cunt but into the rear. Some people, men and women both, are into that, so that one actually sells pretty well."

"Hmm. May I take it as a souvenir?"

"Of course. So a beauty like you, Immortal Lady, likes the rear too? With a rear like yours, somehow I imagine it would smell of flowers."

Do-hwa—did she have some kind of divine ability? First, she'd thrust the Taiji symbol at me, then she'd correctly identified sworn siblings directly under the Peng Clan, and now she was casually getting Jeong-hyang's scent right as well. Son Yeong held one of the Wooden Roots up against her trousers, then picked a slightly larger one and spoke to Do-hwa.

"I'll take this one."

"You have a discerning eye. This one is actually quite rare. Once it absorbs moisture, it swells slightly on the inside. You start off enjoying it gently, and then once the love juice is secreted, it soaks up that moisture and grows larger just at the right moment. After use, you have to wash it clean and dry it thoroughly in the shade."

A fairly high-tech Wooden Root. There was no way they had chosen these for masturbation. It seemed our nights would gain a variety of new activities from then on.

Each person gathered what she wanted, and once the remaining items were wrapped into a bundle, in the end it amounted to: one bundle of household goods, one of woodworking tools, one of finished products—a total of three bundles was the entirety of the moving luggage. There was no need to burden Master or my senior sisters; I simply carried the three bundles myself, Cho-ryeong carried the baby wrapped in a cloth on her back, and we left Do-hwa's old home, making our way to the new house on the commercial district.

Now, to start the real shopping, filling the household with necessities, the women set out with delighted faces toward the large shopping street densely packed right in front, but I had no desire whatsoever to shop, and by now even fairly heavy loads posed no problem for them at all, so I decided to simply rest at the house. Cho-ryeong, too, wandered around every corner of the courtyard with the baby on her back, saying she would play with him.

"Senior Sister, do you like the baby that much?"

"He's so cute. But, Junior Brother, when I look at the baby like this, I think I understand just how much Master and the senior sisters must have adored me."

A truly admirable and bright child. Without parents, she'd had every reason to grow twisted and run wild in that Yeongsan Sect, so how had she grown up so upright?

"Junior Brother, you're truly a good junior brother, but there's one thing I don't like about you."

"Me? What is it you don't like?"

"I was always the youngest at Yeongsan Sect. So every day, I looked forward to having a cute junior sister or junior brother who'd be like a little sibling to me. If a junior sister or junior brother came along, I wanted to truly adore them and take good care of them, the way our senior sisters did for me. But you're not a child, Junior Brother—you're a big grown-up, so I can't take care of you."

A cute complaint typical of her. In fact, she had arrived at Yeongsan Sect before any of the current disciples. Calculating the ages, when Cho-ryeong was found as a baby, Jeong-hyang had been barely ten years old. A disciple of the former Sect Leader had said he recognized her beauty and brought Jeong-hyang back, but unless that bastard was a lolicon, there was no way he'd looked at a ten-year-old child and imagined a bride. Jeong-hyang actually came to Yeongsan at twelve, when her secondary sex characteristics had begun to appear.

In Son Yeong's case, she'd fallen for a female Murong martial artist, left home, scoured the sects of Liaoning, and barely managed to find Yeongsan Sect. It would've been too much for a nine-year-old. Eight-year-old Lee Eun-ha, needless to say, was the age at which she'd have been learning a trade in Joseon. But Cho-ryeong, being far too young, had her formal initiation as a disciple delayed, until eventually, after Master became Sect Leader, formal initiation was permitted and she became the youngest junior sister.

Honestly, I felt a little sorry for her. She'd spent over a year as the youngest because her formal initiation was delayed. If my first junior after all that had been a forty-year-old man long past military-enlistment age, I'd have lamented my ruined service record and cursed my lot too.

"Senior Sister Cho. Even grown-ups like being looked after."

"You're teasing me again, treating me like a child. Just wait a little. I'll be an adult soon too, and then I'll really take care of you."

Cho-ryeong spoke with a resolute face, the baby still on her back. What kind of adult would she grow into, I wondered?