5. Baek Clan Estate (4)
Baek Clan Estate (4)
5. Baek Clan Estate (4)
"Forgive me, but my knowledge is limited, and this is the first I've heard of your esteemed sect's name."
It was absurd, but I still had to do the job. Whether I gave them alms or not, I needed to know who I was dealing with first. If I gave them money out of goodwill only to later discover that this Yeongsan Sect was an unorthodox faction, the reputation Baek Clan Estate had painstakingly built would plummet.
"We are a small sect at the edge of Liaoning. Our founder established the present school from the teachings of the Maoshan Sect."
The Maoshan Sect. A truly peculiar sect name had just surfaced. There were countless Daoist sects—Wudang, Mount Hua—but the Maoshan Sect was the real deal. A Daoist priest's original trade wasn't swinging a sword but exorcising ghosts and performing rituals. The Maoshan Sect had trained in swordsmanship to some degree, but they focused on Taoist arts rather than martial arts, which made them an odd faction that was difficult to even categorize as a martial sect.
Nevertheless, the Maoshan Sect had earned fame comparable to the Nine Great Sects and the Beggars' Sect through its brilliant achievement in the war against the Blood Cult last century, when it dispatched the jiangshi that had left everyone else helpless with astonishing ease. While Wudang, Mount Hua, and the rest tried to fight the jiangshi through martial arts, Maoshan destroyed them with Taoist arts. Its name spread throughout the world, but because the sect had already been in steep decline, it disappeared naturally in less than ten years.
It wasn't an attack from the unorthodox faction or the Blood Cult. Among the present great sects of the martial world, except for Shaolin or Emei, most had Daoist roots. The Maoshan Sect simply faded away as those great sects—which had long neglected Taoist arts despite being Daoist sects—poached the Maoshan Daoist priests. For a martial artist, changing schools was a taboo among taboos, but the Maoshan Daoist priests saw themselves not as martial artists but as Daoist priests, and as casually as a monk moving to a different temple, most of them relocated to the top-tier great sects—especially Wudang and Mount Hua. Honestly, if I had been working at a struggling niche company and got a scouting offer from a major corporation, I'd have left without looking back too.
A sect called Yeongsan Sect, sprung from that bizarre Maoshan Sect. Even at a glance, her beggarly state made perfect sense. Unlike in the past, the Wudang and Mount Hua of the present day now devoted serious effort to Taoist arts as well. When people needed a ritual performed, they'd naturally want an esteemed Mount Hua or Wudang to handle it, not some obscure, unheard-of Yeongsan Sect. That was why a lone female disciple like her had to travel all the way to a Beyond the Wall sect like ours, going around begging.
"How large is your sect? Ah, I'm not trying to spy. I simply need to understand your situation if I'm to help, so please don't misunderstand."
Perhaps because she saw a possibility, her face brightened considerably.
"It's very small. There are Master and the four of us disciples—only five people in the entire sect."
Wow. Five people. Even the bandits in this region numbered more than twenty... Honestly, that was staggering.
"All four disciples, and Master as well, are women. We also have a very young junior sister, so we don't need a great deal of grain. Even ten taels of silver would let us survive this spring."
Son Yeong spoke with obvious urgency. I had learned only after coming to this world that spring, not winter, was the hardest season for farming households. In winter, plenty of the autumn harvest still remained; in summer, mountains and fields offered other foods. Even so, this was supposed to be a sect, not a farming household, and it needed only ten taels of silver. The old man who had borrowed five taels earlier could have the men chop and sell firewood, the women weave, or someone take day labor at another household to survive the spring famine. Yeongsan Sect could do none of those things, and even if it begged ten taels, it seemed unlikely to fill everyone's stomachs with thin gruel.
"Ah, so it's an all-female sect."
The Emei Sect or Sword Empress Pavilion—female sects definitely existed. But this was my first time seeing one with my own eyes.
"No. We originally had several male senior martial uncles and senior brothers as well. Things weren't this difficult back then... They all passed away last year."
Her face darkened. It wasn't just a destitute sect; it had been left orphaned after losing all its father figures. Hearing its story made me realize again how fortunate I was to have been born in the Baek Clan Estate. The gulf between a second- or third-rate sect and a fifth-rate one was enormous. Huh? A fifth-rate sect? Come to think of it, was that not exactly what I had been looking for?
"By any chance, does your esteemed sect accept disciples?"
"Disciples? That's out of the question right now. We truly have nothing to spare."
"If you did have the means... would you be willing to accept a disciple?"
"May I ask what kind of person this is, who wishes to join our school?"
She asked cautiously, her eyes uneasy at my sudden question.
"It's me. I wish to join."
"What?! That's impossible. As I told you, all our senior martial uncles and senior brothers who knew martial arts passed away in last year's bloody calamity. No—even if they were alive, our sect's martial arts would be of no help to the young master of Baek Clan Estate."
"That doesn't matter. You said your sect branched off from the Maoshan Sect, didn't you? Surely the Taoist arts remain?"
Taoist arts. Just hearing the term, it sounded like mysterious abilities—magic, breathing fire, riding clouds—but in the end, it was knowledge of setting up ritual tables, methods for writing talismans, how to conduct rainmaking ceremonies. Things like that got called Taoist arts. At best, I might learn some divination.
"Th-that... well..."
She was restless, not knowing how to respond to my proposal.
"I understand that entering a sect isn't normally decided so simply. Still, could an exception be made? A paid admission, perhaps."
"A paid admission?"
"Yes. I would make a substantial donation in return for admission. Those starving junior sisters of yours will become my senior sisters once I join. You surely don't think I'd let them go hungry."
She'd come simply to beg for money, and my utterly unexpected proposal left her in confusion. No matter how far a sect had fallen, it wouldn't be easy for her to decide once the school's name was at stake.
"First, since you've come from afar, have a meal and get some rest. You can take your time with an answer."
"Ah... th-thank you."
I summoned Jang Chung and gave special instructions that our guest be attended to and made comfortable. I'd better than a seventy-percent chance of succeeding. If I did, she would become my senior sister, so I wanted to make a good impression now and ensure the next three years went smoothly.
My morning duties were over. Since I'd decided to stop bothering with training, I returned to my room and ordered a servant to bring tea. I'd found a sect with perfect conditions. Even members of a fifth-rate sect could possess the filthy pride of those who considered themselves martial artists. I had planned from the start to buy my way in with a donation, but I had still prepared myself to endure three years like another term of military service. Such people might resent the wealthy eldest son of the Baek Clan Estate out of an inferiority complex.
Yeongsan Sect was different. They were the ones in desperate need, and I liked that it seemed less a half-baked martial sect than a shabby remnant of a Daoist school. I'd already given up on martial learning, and training in shoddy basic arts even worse than those of the Baek Clan Estate would have been agony. With Taoist arts, I could read books and kill time. After three years, I planned to return and live as a freeloader. Mediocre martial arts inferior even to those of a White Horse Unit soldier would be useless, but if I learned respectable Taoist arts, I could at least officiate household ancestral rites or ceremonies before the White Horse Unit marched out, giving the family less reason to resent feeding me.
First, as a branch of the Maoshan lineage, Yeongsan Sect belonged to an impeccably orthodox tradition recognized throughout the martial world since the bloody calamity of the previous century. It was unlikely to cause trouble later. Finally, the master and all four disciples were women. Since this was essentially a study-abroad escape, I'd much rather spend my time pleasantly with cute senior sisters than share hot-blooded martial brotherhood with sweaty men. The conditions were perfect. It felt as though heaven—or the demon—were pushing me forward now that I'd made my decision.
My deliberation was over. There was no need to delay any further. Now I would settle matters with Dan-yeong and Lady Tang, the two of them, and then prepare to leave Baek Clan Estate.
"Young Master. Young Lady Gyeong has come to see you."
Just as I was about to meet Dan-yeong, a servant called from outside the door. Should I tell her to leave because dealing with her was bothersome? No. She'd probably wait outside my room for days on end, like a woman turned to stone waiting for her husband. Since I would soon be leaving, I ought to at least say goodbye.
"Tell her to come in."
At those words, the door opened and Gyeong Su-yeon entered, dressed in splendid red clothes.
"I pay my respects, Young Master."
She knelt all the way to the floor and offered a greeting that would be fitting for a parent or master, and I waved it off with one hand. Her face was full of tension. She was far more frozen than the guest who'd borrowed money in the reception hall earlier. Her gaze trembled faintly, terrified that a single hand gesture or breath might displease me.
"Have you been keeping in good health?"
"Well, in my own way."
Though there were two empty chairs at the table where I drank tea, she simply stood there with her hands demurely clasped, her face strained with tension.
"Gyeongse Sect is without trouble, I hope?"
"Thanks to the grace of Baek Clan Estate, we have been able to manage without incident."
"That is fortunate, then."
Gyeong Su-yeon. The eldest daughter of the head of Gyeongse Sect, located in a neighboring village. A question like asking after Gyeongse Sect's well-being might sound like a simple greeting, but to a martial artist, it was an act that could cost one their head. For me—not even the junior head of Baek Clan Estate, just the eldest son—to inquire after the entire Gyeongse Sect's well-being as if addressing a subordinate, that was impossible without an overwhelming gap like the one between Baek Clan Estate and Gyeongse Sect. Yet there was no trace of anger or shame on her face. She simply had the eyes of a condemned prisoner, gauging my mood and awaiting my disposition.
"Sit."
"Thank you, Young Master."
Once I gave permission, she knelt on the floor beside me rather than taking the chair opposite. Without being told, she loosened the ties closing her collar. After several years of this, she had become thoroughly trained. There was only one reason she sat beside me: to make it easy for me to knead her large breasts like toys. Out of habit, I slid my hand inside her clothes and roughly groped them. A woman's breasts always offered a delightful sensation.
"They get hard from just a touch now, do they?"
My fingers had barely grazed her, but her nipple stiffened firmly. The first time, she had swallowed her shame with tears in her eyes and barely managed to apologize. Now, she could maintain an expressionless face.
"I am grateful for the Young Master's touch."
What a lie. She felt like shit right then.
"May I return the favor?"
"If you want to do it, you should. Who would stop the daughter of the Gyeongse Sect Leader?"
Even at my mocking words, she steadily loosened the ties of my trousers. I rose from the chair and stood before her so she could more easily remove my trousers and undergarments. I hadn't inherited martial talent from my father, but I had at least inherited this monstrous cock. It hadn't been small in my past life either, but goddamn. How was some Chinaman's dick bigger than a Western porn star's? Dan-yeong, whom I'd seen while urinating long ago, might have inherited martial talent, but he was saddled with a pitifully sized prick. Was the world fair in its own way?
While I was lost in pointless thoughts, her hot breath touched the tip of my glans. And then, her red tongue passed across my urethral opening like a glancing touch. She was technically the daughter of a respectable house—where the hell had she learned this? Did she take special lessons at a pleasure house or something?
Her tongue moved from the urethral opening to the underside of the glans and down the shaft, while her slender fingers began caressing my scrotum. For her, it was probably humiliating enough to make her want to die. Honestly, though, I enjoyed it. A healthy man could hardly help responding to such stimulation. Besides, Gyeong Su-yeon was no common prostitute or unorthodox prisoner in a dungeon, but a woman of respectable birth—probably the most beautiful woman in the region. Using the mouth of a woman like her so degradingly gave me a strange sense of conquest and a great deal of pleasure.
Before I knew it, the tip had entered her mouth. After being exposed to the cold air, the sudden heat made the sensation even sharper. Her tongue moved smoothly, and the scrape of teeth that used to bother me was nowhere to be felt. Her saliva, tongue, and the movement of her cheeks sent indescribable pleasure washing through me. It climbed all the way to the crown of my head, and with a tingling jolt, I came hard into her mouth.
Damn it. I hadn't even lasted five minutes again. I could accept lacking martial talent, but being this well endowed and still finishing too quickly was honestly humiliating.
Without so much as a cough, Gyeong Su-yeon spat the semen into the towel she'd brought, then stimulated my oversensitive glans again. Unable to endure the maddening sensation, I finally pushed her head away. With an indifferent expression, she took out a handkerchief, wiped my cock, and cleaned her mouth.
Looking at her like that, I felt strangely defeated.