142. Mirinae (1)
Mirinae (1)
142. Mirinae (1)
"Five taels of gold?"
Master tilted her head and asked Lee Eun-ha. She'd said she had something to tell Master, and after putting Cho-ryeong to bed early, once everyone was gathered in the tea room, Lee Eun-ha reverently placed a silk pouch before Master.
"It's the money I've saved all this time. Not the travel money Junior Brother gave me, or money from selling medicinal pills—money I earned myself by making food for Yeongsan Lodge, paid by the White Tiger Sect. Honestly, I wanted to save a little more and present it handsomely, but now even fifty taels of gold wouldn't mean much, so I'm giving it to you now, Master."
"To me? Why? It's money you worked so hard to save, Eun-ha. Wasn't there something you wanted to buy?"
Everyone in Yeongsan Sect knew how frugal Lee Eun-ha was. Even now, with the household well-off, she had bought groceries at the market but never once bought herself a snack or an accessory. For her to hand over her entire savings—Master's astonishment was entirely natural.
"Yes. And I intend to buy something with it. I don't know exactly, but wasn't it five taels of gold for Master and for the senior sisters too?"
Master looked startled, and Jeong-hyang and Son Yeong had no idea what was going on.
"W-wait. Eun-ha. You don't mean—?"
"Yes. It's a dowry. You've abolished discrimination against female disciples, haven't you? That means female disciples have an equal right to pay a dowry and take a male disciple, correct? I'm giving you this dowry, so as Sect Leader, please permit me to become Junior Brother's wife."
The Lee Eun-ha who used to step back diffidently was nowhere to be seen. Like a general on a battlefield, she addressed everyone with imposing dignity.
"What? Junior Sister Lee, are you saying you intend to pay a dowry?"
Jeong-hyang, who had always been waiting for Lee Eun-ha to join them, was flustered by Lee Eun-ha's bold move.
"That's right."
"Why? The dowry itself doesn't carry much weight, but still, a dowry is money a groom pays to the bride's family in order to marry her, isn't it? I've never heard of a woman paying a dowry and taking a man."
Even Son Yeong was startled and asked Lee Eun-ha.
"I came from Joseon all alone, so I have no family—nothing at all. Even now, when Yeongsan Sect overflows with peerless arts, as a martial artist I'm shamefully dull. And I've always lived with Master and the senior sisters, you know—there was no way to gain any confidence. I'm in charge of Junior Brother's household, and we see each other every day, so I don't think Junior Brother dislikes me, but I couldn't be sure whether it was romantic affection or just pity. So I decided long ago that I would pay the dowry, and I saved diligently."
She spoke to Jeong-hyang and Son Yeong as if finally feeling relieved. But Jeong-hyang and Son Yeong still looked flabbergasted.
"So if you pay five taels of gold, does that give you confidence you didn't have? Five taels of gold is a lot of money, but Junior Brother has far more than that."
"No, that's not it. I was trying to make good use of Yeongsan Sect's dowry system. Think about it—if a Taoist paid a dowry, did the targeted female disciple have the right of refusal? No matter how much we hated it, we were going to be dragged off by the senior brothers who paid, weren't we? So I'm going to do the same. Whether Junior Brother likes me or hates me, I'm paying a dowry and taking a husband, so Junior Brother has no right to refuse. Today, I went on an outing to the village alone with Junior Brother, and I can't hold back my feelings anymore. I don't even want to agonize over whether Junior Brother's heart is romantic affection or pity, so I'm just going to take Junior Brother as my husband as I please."
A capitalistic way of thinking that was somehow so like her. She was the woman in Yeongsan Sect who best understood the power of money. Her bizarre declaration of love, which sounded like vulgar money-worship, was actually love in which she paid what she considered the highest price. In the end, she'd lacked confidence, but her feelings for me—I could swear—were utterly sincere. From the first time I met her, she had been a captivating woman. Tenacious vitality and a grounded sense of reality. A polymath in every domestic art and talent outside of martial arts. There was no way I wouldn't fall for her. No—I couldn't even imagine life without her anymore.
"I'm not sure. Long ago, when Yeongmok paid not only Hyang-a’s dowry but mine as well, I was genuinely happy. I've never been so happy to have been born a woman. I had hoped Eun-ha could share that joy, but she chose differently, didn't she? Understood. In the name of Do-ok, Sixth Sect Leader of Yeongsan Sect, I will accept the dowry from my disciple Lee Eun-ha. However, this pledge is for after we descend the mountain; as long as we remain at the main sect, I order you to maintain the relationship of senior sister and junior brother as before."
Master, her face light at first and then solemn, accepted Lee Eun-ha's pouch and placed it inside her robes. As with Son Yeong, she still looked somewhat conflicted, but she also wore the far more relieved expression of a mother who had just married off one troublesome daughter.
"You'll still permit Yin-Yang Art training, though. Honestly, isn't that just closing your eyes and pretending?"
"Wrong. The Yin-Yang Art is not marital life—it is strictly a Daoist cultivation and a martial arts training. Since no one but Yeongmok can learn the Spirit-Binding Art, the only secret art founded in Yeongsan Sect now is the Yin-Yang Art."
Honestly, I could not for the life of me tell the difference. That damn Yin-Yang Art had already hit the wall at the Fifth Stage long before we even left for Henan. Yet every time we stopped in a village, we genuinely worked hard at pounding away. Since everyone was a cheat user, in a single night's efforts, dozens of times had become routine. Seriously, what kind of training was this? It was just an orgy.
"Whew. This junior sister really does pull off amazing things sometimes. Paying a dowry to obtain a husband—I never even dreamed of it."
Son Yeong spoke quietly.
"This junior sister may be extraordinary, but isn't she far more normal than Senior Sister Son? She went through the proper procedure, didn't she? No matter how bold this junior sister is, she couldn't even dream of acupoint-striking Junior Brother and raping him, could she?"
Jeong-hyang said, sounding incredulous. Son Yeong blushed a little and changed the subject.
"So, is this junior sister going to sleep with us starting tonight too?"
"Ah, I'm prepared for the senior sisters all enjoying group pleasure together, but please go easy on me tonight. This is my wedding night, you know."
Lee Eun-ha spoke as if grumbling. So she'd finished preparing herself, had she? From Master to Jeong-hyang, Son Yeong, and Lee Eun-ha—why were none of the Yeongsan Sect women in the least bit embarrassed even on their wedding night?
"Then can I watch?"
Jeong-hyang asked playfully.
"That's all right. Honestly, it's scary alone."
Well, that was an unexpected reaction. Watching was fine? On her first night? No—from the start, my opinion had not been reflected even slightly. Having abandoned reading each other's moods, the women were now seriously discussing Lee Eun-ha's wedding night in an atmosphere like a board of directors' meeting.
"So, starting tomorrow, we can all enjoy it together, right?"
"I've got no choice. I genuinely hate it, but I've already finished steeling myself to rub my yin gate against Senior Sister Jeong's and to lick Master's jade gate."
"Junior sister, it'll be a little tough at first. We take turns day by day and accommodate each other's tastes, and on the days when Master offers her opinion..."
"I know. No matter how dull I am, I'm a martial artist who's entered the second-rate realm. Did you really think I didn't know what you were doing in the next room?"
At Lee Eun-ha's words, Master's face turned pale. Right—now that I thought about it, she had ascended to the second-rate realm long ago; there was no way the thin walls of an inn could have concealed our presence.
"To be honest, after I put Senior Sister Cho to sleep, I masturbated to the sounds of the senior sisters. Master likes getting hit, doesn't she? And you like wearing a leash and being led around like a dog. You seem to drink urine sometimes, too. That much I can manage. The problem is Senior Sister Jeong. I've resigned myself that Junior Brother violating my anus is unavoidable as part of the Yin-Yang Art training, but do I really have to stick my tongue into Senior Sister Jeong's anus and lick it?"
Lee Eun-ha spoke to Jeong-hyang with a look of horror.
"Of course."
But Jeong-hyang had no intention of backing down.
"Ugh, fine. But I'm curious—what kind of preference does Senior Sister Son have?"
"Hm? Me?"
When suddenly singled out, Son Yeong tilted her head.
"Sometimes Yeong-i stops in the middle of coupling and mutters strange things to herself. You have to be really careful then—she's attaining enlightenment."
At Master's words, Lee Eun-ha looked at Son Yeong with an awkward smile. Of course it would baffle her. Lee Eun-ha was an even slower learner than me, so a moment of enlightenment had never once come to her.
"Junior Sister Son has made a habit of stopping mid-coupling and saying odd things. She keeps muttering strange words, saying Junior Brother is the sun and she is the moon. When that happens, if you pinch her clitoris, she suddenly spews all sorts of nonsense about how Master is the sky and I am a star."
"That doesn't sound like a problem."
Really, Son Yeong's taste wasn't all that problematic. Once she'd grasped the other women's sexual preferences, Lee Eun-ha finally looked at me and asked with a tense face:
"I know refusing is useless, but I'll ask just once. I'm not pretty like Master or the senior sisters, I'm dull-witted, and I'm not from the Central Plains. The only talent I have is keeping house, but honestly, now that Yeongsan Sect is well-off enough to hire servants, I probably have almost no merits. Junior Brother, do you really think someone like me is all right?"
Her voice and her eyes trembled. The reason a woman this multi-talented had so little confidence must have been that she'd crossed the sea to the Central Plains and lived completely alone, with no family, no relatives, not even anyone from her hometown. And beside her, the beautiful Jeong-hyang and the genius Son Yeong must have constantly stoked her inferiority complex.
"You're talking nonsense again. You need an education at the Red Flower Pavilion. Do you really not know what you're saying? Men like those huge breasts, don't they? No matter how pretty my face is, it's utterly useless during lovemaking."
Before I could even open my mouth, Jeong-hyang spoke to Lee Eun-ha with a slightly sulky face.
"What do you mean you're a slow learner? Apart from Junior Brother, the person with the strongest internal energy among us is this junior sister, isn't it? And you'll keep advancing by leaps and bounds. Since your martial art is the Sonic Art, it's not about moving your body, anyway. Honestly, I'm jealous of you, Junior Sister. Even though I take Medicine Immortal pills and keep attaining enlightenment, your level still feels impossibly far-off."
The genius Son Yeong likewise spoke of the feelings she'd been harboring toward Lee Eun-ha, sounding dumbfounded.
"Same for me. Maybe not as your master, but from the position of a fellow wife, I'm genuinely mortified that I can't make my husband one bowl of good rice or one set of fine clothes. Eun-ha, you're truly the ideal bride."
Strange—even if it was lip service, Master's words carried a peculiar persuasiveness. It didn't really seem like an effect of the Great Clarity Internal Art, but Master was becoming a genuine Taoist.
The three women were pouring confidence into Lee Eun-ha, but this was a question directed at me, not them. My heart had been set long ago. So I answered lightly, with sincere feeling.
"Five taels of gold. Honestly, I'm not at a level to be sold off for that kind of money anymore, am I? Still, if it's this senior sister, I'll gladly be sold. If this senior sister became a Medicine Immortal, she could easily marry into a truly great man's family, but I absolutely cannot bear to see you marry another man."
I wanted them to be happy. So I turned away from a future at Jilin Baek Clan Estate and chose to become Yeongmok of Yeongsan Sect. But a great deal had changed since I first joined Yeongsan Sect. For a bastard like me to become the man of women this captivating—I used to think it would be an insult to them, and I actually wished they would meet a fine man other than me.
Obviously, that was a damn foolish thought. Now I couldn't picture life without them at all. I'd only granted Lee Eun-ha a reprieve; from the start, I'd never intended to let her go. Above all, the person who taught me that a capable man could embrace many women was none other than Lee Eun-ha herself.
"Somehow I thought Junior Brother would answer like that. Ah! Now it's really over. Being left out all alone every day, secretly masturbating all alone, agonizing until my head split—it's all over now."
Hearing my unimpressive reply, she ruffled her own hair and spoke with refreshing relief. We'd already confirmed each other's feelings. Once she put her own lingering regrets to rest, she immediately came up beside me, took my hand, and gave me a lovely smile.
"By the way, Master, can't we get rid of this dowry system? Isn't it an unnecessary rule for the present Yeongsan Sect?"
When I held Lee Eun-ha's hand and spoke to Master, she tilted her head.
"Why? It may not be an essential rule, but is there any need to abolish it? Wasn't it the precious rule that joined Yeongmok and us?"
"That's true, but there's no right of refusal, you know. If, later on, Senior Sister Cho says she'll pay a dowry too, I'll be forced to accept Senior Sister Cho as my wife."
Naturally, Cho-ryeong wasn't even at an age to be seen as a woman yet. But from my past life's experience of living with a younger sister, little girls grow up in the blink of an eye. Master, Jeong-hyang, Son Yeong, and Lee Eun-ha—even accounting for the Spirit-Binding Art, women far too good for me. That those women loved me was probably largely because I was the only man they encountered within the sect.
Yeongsan Sect was a female-dominated group. On top of that, with everyone in love with me, at some point Cho-ryeong might start seeing me as a man, too. Far in the future, she would grow into a beautiful young lady, but as long as I remembered her current adorable little appearance, I simply couldn't accept it. Master, too, had been opposed when it came to Cho-ryeong, even if she might tolerate it for the other disciples. As she'd said, becoming a fellow wife with a child who was like a daughter was something she couldn't possibly accept.
But contrary to my expectations, Master's face abruptly turned into that of a mother and, looking at me full of disapproval, she said:
"What's lacking in our Ryeong-i? She's a good child I raised myself. Don't you think Ryeong-i is pretty, Yeongmok?"
At Master's unexpected words, Jeong-hyang and Son Yeong nodded. From Lee Eun-ha, who alone squeezed my hand tightly with a sympathetic look on her face, I sensed the empathy of an old married couple who'd lived together for decades, just three minutes after she had officially become my fiancée.