Taboo (3)

187. Taboo (3)

Murong Rin laughed quietly. She was probably quite disappointed in Duanmu Hwang, but she seemed to like his younger sister, Duanmu Seon, quite a bit. The unconventional Beautiful Madness Murong Rin preferred calculating profit over empty formalities. Naturally, she had chosen a political marriage to obtain what she wanted, not because she loved Duanmu Hwang. So Duanmu Seon's request that she not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠abandon him—framed around mutual benefit rather than useless emotion—had been remarkably effective at soothing the furious Murong Rin.

"You're remarkably skilled at placating a filthy temper. Are you really younger than me?"

"I do look a little older, do I not? I am such a dutiful daughter that I am aging in my mother's place, taking on her years too."

Even while making light jokes, she produced a strange scene, as if a mature lady of the house were soothing young children.

"Now that I think about it, Lady Duanmu, you were actively in favor of this marriage from the start, weren't you? Is there something you want to gain from this marriage as well?"

"Yes. I told you already. I wanted to become family with an unni I've always respected. I wanted to become like you, unni."

Duanmu Seon lightly licked her lips and looked steadily at Murong Rin.

"You want to become like me? Is your dream, by any chance, to be a crazy bitch?"

Murong Rin was certainly a crazy bitch, but countless people had approached her, coveting her background and piling on all manner of flattering phrases—respect, admiration, and the like. Knowing she was far from someone deserving of respect, Duanmu Seon's words irritated her, and she asked bluntly.

"No way. Unni, you're so beautiful and your martial arts and abilities are outstanding, but that's not the part of you I want to become. You forbade my older brother from contacting other sects in the Martial Alliance, right? Actually, there was no need. The prestigious sects and great clans of the Martial Alliance don't even bother with the Duanmu Clan. In the Martial World, the Duanmu Clan isn't seen as a clan of martial artists, just a wealthy merchant house with lots of money."

"So, Young Miss Duanmu, you need my power to change that perception?"

Something like an abacus began clicking in Murong Rin's head. But Duanmu Seon gently poured Murong Rin a drink and spoke warmly.

"No. That doesn't matter. I'm someone who will marry out someday, so why would I struggle to change my birth family's reputation in the Martial World? Besides, the main family truly is weak in martial arts and just has a great deal of money, so the Martial World's perception isn't wrong. It's only a shame that, because the main family is like this, I have few opportunities to mingle with impressive martial artists."

"What you want is connections?"

"That's right, unni. You've enjoyed yourself a lot too, haven't you? Among them, weren't there men from prestigious great clans and disciples of major sects? I want to do that too. They say Duanmu is as good as feudal lords in Jiangsu, but the impressive men gathered here in the Alliance won't give Duanmu the time of day, you know?"

Duanmu Seon, revealing a bewitching lust, was spouting dog-like nonsense to Murong Rin, who would soon be her sister-in-law. Murong Rin, who had been expecting some kind of pragmatic demand, only now began to cackle at the screw-loose Duanmu Seon's words.

"Huh? Unni, don't laugh. You're going to enjoy yourself with other men even after marrying my brother, aren't you? Even if it's something unni has eaten and thrown away, that's fine, so please share a little with me. Okay?"

Murong Rin's laughter grew even louder. Just how long had it been since she had laughed this merrily?

"You're asserting that I'll naturally enjoy men even after marriage?"

"Isn't it true? Even if my brother were normal, there's no way unni would be satisfied with just my brother alone."

"What does that mean?"

Duanmu Hwang was not normal. At Duanmu Seon's words, Murong Rin stopped laughing and asked her.

"Huh? Surely... the two of you haven't slept together yet? I thought a quick-handed unni like you would have done it long ago...

"You'd find out eventually. The truth is, my brother was bedridden throughout his growing years, so although his build looks fine, he never developed properly as a man. His beard barely grows, and his skin is smooth like a woman's, right? His cock is child-sized too."

Duanmu Seon raised her little finger and whispered to Murong Rin.

"I figured as much. From his girlish looks alone, I wasn't expecting anything."

Murong Rin raised her cup with a bitter smile.

Good God. Duanmu Hwang, that bastard, had a problem with secondary sexual characteristics? Come to think of it, my aesthetic standards still carried twenty-first-century sensibilities. Smooth skin and a well-proportioned head probably looked like a eunuch or a little girl by this era's standards.

"Your older cousin was the same way—is it fate for the daughters of the Murong Clan to marry small men?"

In the absurd situation, her cousin sister Murong Jin came to mind, and I made a light joke of it, at which Murong Rin slapped my thigh with a smack, putting internal power into it.

"That's some remarkable sibling affection. Young Miss Duanmu, you're the first younger sister I've met who knows the size of her older brother's penis in detail."

"The main house was overflowing with servants, but tending to my brother's sickbed was always my mother's job. Because he learned an incomplete martial art that the elders in the library warned him not to read and became half-crippled in return, instead of my brother, my mother became the sinner of the main family. A luckless woman who ruined her husband and then ruined her son too. My mother was always watching the main family elders' moods, sending the servants away and tending to my brother. Only when I looked after my brother could my mother finally rest."

To the point that ceasing to exist would have been far happier—in my past life, tending to my father and younger sister's sickbeds had been hundreds of times harder than poverty. Duanmu Seon spoke lightly, but her words were thick with resentment toward the immature Duanmu Hwang, who had brought suffering upon her and her mother.

"I resented my brother a lot. I clung to my mother and cried and cried. In that situation, the only thing that soothed my heart was intercourse with men. Anyway, I'm of the Duanmu direct line, and the men who'd strip at my word were as numerous as grains of sand. But since all the martial artists in the clan are relatives who bear the Duanmu name, the men I could enjoy were no better than servants. Still, funny as it is, I'm a martial artist myself, aren't I? When I deal with men without martial arts, the men struggle a lot, so it's hard to fully enjoy myself. That's why, for this trip to Henan, I came along hoping to enjoy myself with impressive martial artists."

Back in my weak, third-rate days with ten years of internal energy, during sex with Murong Jin, her embrace at climax had nearly killed me for real. Honestly, that was so frightening that later, I ended up preferring doggy style in the sex that followed with Murong Rin. Duanmu Seon's grievance was ridiculous, but since I'd had a similarly serious experience, I found myself nodding along.

"An unni who knows men couldn't possibly be satisfied with my brother. The reason you still agreed to the marriage is that Reverend Yeongmok here is your insurance, right? An unni who knows how to enjoy men chose my brother without even testing physical compatibility. That means from the start, you meant to set up my rich, obedient brother as a show-husband and enjoy your nights with Reverend Yeongmok, isn't it?"

"Sharp. If the Young Miss were a man, I might have chosen the clever Third Young Master, not the Eldest Young Master of Duanmu, as my husband. If that's what you mean, it's not difficult. First of all, you're a beauty, so men will line up. I'll introduce you to some suitable men. The intellectual men of Zhuge, the strong and simplehearted men of Huangfu, the men of the Peng Clan who become remarkably obedient if you just make the terms clear. The men of the Tang Clan and Nangong would be a bit difficult since Murong has an uncomfortable relationship with them, but if my cute sister-in-law asks, I could gladly introduce you even to Murong men I haven't touched myself."

Murong Rin power-tripped viciously, but when she decided to help, she pushed all the way. As if laying out a catalog, she lightly told Duanmu Seon to pick from the scions of prestigious great clans everyone in the Martial World envied. But Duanmu Seon quietly lifted her teacup, shook her head, and spoke.

"My position is different from unni's. Unlike unni, who enjoys herself freely without minding anyone, I have a weak standing even in the main family. My mother is the eldest daughter-in-law of Duanmu, but for the crime of having a foolish son, she's lived her whole life walking on eggshells. Now the Young Clan Head position has gone to our half-brother, so our standing has shrunk even further. If rumors spread openly in this situation that I'm a promiscuous woman, it'll make things even harder for my mother. So rather than many men, I'm longing much more for a single, best man who keeps his mouth shut.

"Unni, you've had many experiences with men, right? Who was the best for you? It's Reverend Yeongmok here after all, isn't it?"

Duanmu Seon looked at me with subtle eyes and poured tea with bewitching movements. Honestly, if this girl had been born a courtesan, she'd probably have become such an ace that Lee Yeon would have looked like a joke by comparison.

"You've got quite the eye. That's right. He's the best man. Even putting martial arts aside, he's the greatest man under heaven. If I weren't Murong Rin of the Murong Clan, I'd want to kneel down and beg fervently to become his concubine. But Young Master Baek is my friend, not my subordinate or my lover. If you want Young Master Baek, you should wag your tail at him; why are you asking me?"

"Well... touching my sister-in-law's man seemed like it might get complicated. So I'm asking for your understanding in advance."

Lightly sweeping her hair aside, Duanmu Seon stole a glance at Murong Rin's expression.

"Maybe in the past, but now I can't control Young Master Baek's womanizing as I please. Do as you like. I'll go visit your manor to see Young Master Duanmu now, so go ahead and seduce Young Master Baek to your heart's content with your own charms."

With those words, Murong Rin set down her cup and left the tea room. She was somehow more manly than me. As she said, she wasn't my lover. If she'd refused or permitted Duanmu Seon here as if she were my lover, I'd have been quite angry, but she really was a woman who, though rude, kept to the line well.

Slink. A thin hand curled in like a snake. As soon as Murong Rin left, Duanmu Seon smiled, rested her hand on my thigh, and whispered ticklishly in my ear.

"Reverend. You like women, don't you? How about me? I might be lacking as a lover, but as a woman to enjoy lightly, I'm not so bad, am I?"

She breathed into my ear and spoke stickily.

"Truth is, I fell for you at first sight. I was the one who egged my brother on that day to go out to the manor. I'd only ever seen my brother, who's always like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a child, and then I saw you, a manly reverend, and it was like lightning struck from the crown of my head to my lower parts. After we drank tea in that room together, my underwear was soaked through. And it's the same now. Would you like to check?"

Whoa. I'd expected her to be the well-experienced madam type, but when she set her mind to it, she was no joke. Duanmu Seon rose from her seat, lightly lifted her skirt, and pulled my hand toward her vulva. Her silk underwear really was sticky and wet.

"Is your constitution always this wet?"

"Yes. It's always been like this. But oppa, do you know why a woman's lower parts produce this kind of love fluid? It's because the yin gate has to be slickly moist to receive a large penis. The reason my love fluid is this abundant is probably because I'm a woman born to receive a very large penis."

Her slender fingers had already crept gradually up from my thigh, and upon confirming my cock over my trousers, she smiled happily.

"As expected. I knew it. Isn't this fate? I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠born with this watery constitution in order to couple with you, oppa."

"Don't talk nonsense. What fate? I'm a man who has a lover. Stop that pointless talk and go back to your manor."

As she had said, I liked women. Though it was driven by lust, she had fallen for me, and although she seemed a little mature, she was unquestionably a considerable beauty. I didn't have even a speck of fidelity left to uphold at this point. But this felt wrong. It wasn't moral guilt over violating Duanmu Hwang's fiancée and then his sister too; a strange anxiety had begun creeping up from the way she kept speaking about her mother.

I knew a woman of Duanmu. A widow who had lost her husband while raising two children, a son and a daughter—Gahong. She had said she was heading to Liaoning on Murong Clan business. I'd thought it couldn't be because of her extremely youthful face, but no matter how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I thought about it, the circumstances suggested Gahong was the mother of those two siblings. She'd said she was heading to Murong. A grand occasion between Murong and Duanmu. Could the reason she'd set even the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering aside and headed to Liaoning have been to make prior arrangements for her son's wedding?

It was only a passing relationship, but I couldn't violate both mother and daughter. I made my refusal clear to Duanmu Seon with that sentiment, but she didn't even listen to me. Already undressed and now naked, she took the offensive. I hadn't realized because she was a fairly tall woman, but her two massive breasts, reminiscent of Lee Eun-ha, crumbled my ironclad resolve like a sandcastle.