Ruins (6)

62. Ruins (6)

Byeok-geum had declared he'd prove his manhood to me. He roughly rammed her loose cunt while occasionally yanking on her breasts or slapping her face, savoring the tightening that came from her pain. I didn't much care what Byeok-geum did, but I was honestly a little ashamed of how watching that ugly bitch's suffering was starting to secretly excite me.

"Drink this."

Ban Ho-jeong had approached my side and offered me wine before I'd even noticed. I had no desire to watch other people's lovemaking, but to maintain the Spirit Possession Art, similar to the Spirit Vessel Art, I needed to keep that woman in my line of sight. I had no choice. I took the cup she handed me, and as I drank deeply, cooling my throat, Ban Ho-jeong stared quietly at my pants.

"Shall I suck it for you?"

"Huh?"

"I said, would you like me to pull one out with my mouth?"

"I appreciate the thought, but you're not a courtesan, not my lover, and not a captive."

"Any man of the White Tiger Sect is welcome to enjoy my body. Now that Reverend Yeongmok is family to us too, it doesn't matter at all. You seem aroused yourself, Reverend, and it'd be awkward to rub your dragon head in front of your junior brother, just as it'd be awkward for the older brother to use the hole where his junior brother's seed is still left in her. Just keep drinking your wine. I'll pull one out for you, nice and refreshing."

She casually pulled down my pants and took out my penis. As always, any woman seeing it for the first time wore that exact expression of awe.

"Whoa. If you hadn't forgiven us that day at the Heavenly Wolf Sect, or if I'd been loitering around Jilin back then, I'd have gotten skewered by this big thing just like that bitch over there."

She spoke cheerfully as she began delicately licking my member with her tongue. Her tongue-work, enriched by more rough men than any courtesan had ever known, was far more pleasurable than I'd expected. Since I had to keep watch here anyway, I drank my wine with a light heart and enjoyed her mouth. To be honest, I'd been starving for this ever since leaving the Murong Clan.

While Byeok-geum proved his manhood by ejaculating four times, I came once as well, had her clean me with her mouth, and pulled my pants back up.

This should be enough by now.

I left the hut, returned to Yeongsan Sect, and entered my chamber. I took out the pebble and summoned the Four Heroes of Dong-o.

—P-please forgive me! I was wrong! I spoke nonsense!—

The moment I took the pebble out, Moon Immortal spoke in a rush.

—So masters really are different, huh? The bitch you went into just now became livestock from a human after a bit of education, but your way of talking's still the same, I see?—

—I... I was wrong. Please forgive me. If you wish, I too will make the sounds of a beast.—

—Wrong about what. It's my effort that was lacking. Don't worry. I'll let you enjoy yourself to your heart's content tomorrow and the day after too. You've probably noticed, but those guys are bandits. About forty of them. There'll be no shortage of men. Your first lovemaking in hundreds of years was fun, wasn't it?—

—Kyaaaaak!!!! S-stop!! I said I was wrong!! I died a virgin after living seventy years, and then that mad bitch and those insect-like bandits violated me again and again and stitched my living flesh! They even sewed shut the most sensitive, precious part of me! What you need is my cooperation with your sect and the martial arts I possessed in life, is it not?

—I'll cooperate. I'll cooperate, so put me inside a sword like the Flame Emperor instead of that woman's body!!!—

People broke surprisingly easily. A person might throw away her life like a weed, but I still had to understand Moon Immortal's situation once even death was no longer an escape. Honestly, that tone made me want to torment her a little longer, but the Spirit-Binding Art ultimately depended on how willingly the spirit cooperated with me. Taking the torment too far could also turn the other spirits, beginning with the Flame Emperor, against me, so I decided to stop there. When I transferred her soul into the sword Byeok-geum had prepared in advance, it floated beside me, bobbing in the air.

—I'm telling you in advance, my way of speaking has always been like this, so please bear with me on that, at least. I'll carry out whatever you order without a hitch.—

Her tone remained as irritating as ever, but being broken once would temper her pride from now on. The other two spirits had watched Moon Immortal's punishment in the hut without saying a word. I addressed Heosan and Geo Am casually.

—You know what? The spirit that could be placed into that woman's body just now doesn't have to be a woman's spirit like Moon Immortal at all.—

A blatant threat. For those possessing a male identity, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was a far more horrific and vicious threat.

—Of course, I'm not shameless enough to profane the honored dead out of sheer spite just because complete strangers refuse to help me. Neither a human being nor a Taoist should do such a thing. So...

—Choose. Will you learn a woman's pleasure, or will you make one request of me in exchange for helping me?—

Of everyone around me, Murong Rin was the most skilled at making threats. Hers were never crude. They were polished and relentless, leaving an escape route open while guiding the victim into it of their own accord. Moon Immortal was one thing, but if I trampled the pride of men who had never wronged me, they would never sincerely help. By promising to grant them a request in return, I meant to preserve their dignity while securing as much cooperation as possible.

—Hoo. Hm. In that case, I do have a request I'd like to make. One day, I'd like to climb Mount Wudang once more. My one regret was that I never got to pay my respects to my grandmaster and my master.—

Heosan was the first to extend his hand.

—Hmph. Absurd. Has the Wudang man forgotten the Sword-Disarming Platform? How do you intend to climb Wudang while trapped inside a sword?—

The moment she was out of danger, Moon Immortal was sneering again. Truly a stunning personality.

—That could be managed by transferring me into a small stone like this one or some other object when the time comes. What do you say? Can you give your word?—

The reason I made them present conditions in this manner was to uphold their pride by establishing that we stood as equals.

The Wudang Sect, huh. Since I'm alive, I suppose I'll end up going there someday.

—Of course.—

—Before that, let me ask one thing. What became of the Mount Tai Sect?—

—A hundred years ago, bastards called the Blood Cult unleashed jiangshi and turned the Martial World into a complete wasteland. The Mount Tai Sect's losses were so severe that they were pushed out of the Nine Great Sects.—

Geo Am. I had guessed he wasn't from Shaolin, and it turned out he belonged to the Mount Tai Sect. His spirit sighed at my answer.

—There is one martial art I never had the chance to pass on to my disciples. I wish to convey it to the Mount Tai Sect.—

—I have no objection, but the Yeongsan Sect will learn it too.—

—That is of no concern. And if possible, should they ever find themselves in difficulty, I would be grateful if you, as a fellow practitioner of the same martial art, would assist them.—

Restoring their sect's secret manual would make me a benefactor of the Mount Tai Sect. Maintaining good relations with them wouldn't hurt. They had once been one of the pillars of the Nine Great Sects and the Beggars' Sect, after all. The souls of all four heroes who had once saved the world were now in my hands. The Flame Emperor alone had displayed power beyond explanation, and I would never again need to fear anyone or bow my head. In a world governed by strength, I had grasped power at its very peak.

Bolts of fabric bought by the White Tiger Sect's men were piled as high as a mountain. As though they'd emptied an entire dry-goods shop, silk, gold thread, and every kind of splendid cloth arrived at Yeongsan Sect. The clothes the women had barely managed to have fitted before being dragged away by the Heavenly Wolf Sect were torn in several places, and they had secretly been upset about it. So I gave the men four taels of gold and told them to buy every kind of cloth they could find. I bought a ridiculous amount so the women wouldn't treat their clothes like precious designer bags, but could change into something new every day without concern. Lee Eun-ha's sewing was first-rate, but Ban Ho-jeong, who could embroider human skin with human hair, was a monster beyond comparison. She even postponed making the White Tiger Sect's Yellow Turban uniforms and devoted herself entirely to sewing clothes for Yeongsan Sect.

"Hyung. Someone from the Martial Alliance came again."

While I was absorbed in watching the sewing, Byeok-geum brought me irritating news.

"Again?"

"This time it's someone a bit higher up. Said to be Cheonghwa Hall Master?"

Cheonghwa Hall? Had they put some thought into it? Cheonghwa Hall Master was a man ranked third in the Liaoning Branch. I had no choice but to trudge over. When I reached the crude wooden fence's main gate, a sturdy old man of the Daoist line and a dozen or so warriors escorting him were waiting for me.

"I am Seok Woo-hyeon of the Liaoning Branch. I heard our side was quite discourteous last time. Allow me to apologize, and please put the matter behind you."

The old man approached me with a markedly humble posture.

"I am Yeongmok of Yeongsan Sect. I've heard of Grand Hero Seok's illustrious name since I was a child."

Well. Until recently, he'd been as much a figure from another world to me as a National Assembly member from my past life.

"I'm sorry to trouble a busy man when great matters have befallen his sect. My business is the same as last time. I wish to meet your sect leader."

"Why do you wish to see my master?"

"For one, isn't the sect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leader the one who witnessed everything in this incident? I wish to ask him for the full details."

"I will pass on your request, but as you can see, our sect is in disarray. My master is also a Taoist practitioner preparing an important rite, so it may take some time."

"Time? How long?"

"I don't know exactly, but we must rebuild the burned Great Clarity Palace and perform the ritual, so it doesn't look like a short time."

The very fact that the old man was being this courteous even to me, while I was still suspicious of him, showed that he was going to be trouble. If he had a private meeting with my naive master, he'd obviously end up pulling him along by the nose according to his own intentions. First, my master would be forced to recount memories he didn't want to dredge up, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then once my strength was confirmed as real, the old man would skillfully manipulate him into working for the Martial Alliance. So when I politely declined, the old man wore a troubled expression.

"Ah. Can it not be hastened? This concerns you as well. We've received word that the Black Heaven Association Leader, Bloodslaying Sword, and roughly fifty Black Swordsmen are heading this way. Yeongsan Sect is also part of the Orthodox Faction. Should you not cooperate with us to repel these unorthodox forces from Shandong?"

Aha. So this was why the old man was acting so humble. Seeing the Black Heaven Association Leader and Bloodslaying Sword move personally, he'd confirmed for certain that I was indeed their sworn enemy who'd killed Heuk Cheon-gyeon.

"That's all right. We'll respond on our own. A force of that size, even if the Murong Clan's strength has been cut in half, won't have serious intentions of shaking up the Liaoning Martial World. They'll likely just strike at our Yeongsan Sect and the White Tiger Sect to assert their pride and then leave. Grand Hero Seok, you need not worry. You may return at your ease."

Just as his courtesy didn't change the business he came for, I too maintained courtesy while refusing him in the exact same way. My answer was clearly unexpected, and the old man and his warriors looked visibly flustered. At that, Byeok-geum ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke to them, feigning familiarity.

"Well now. Old sir. This has gotten troublesome, hasn't it? You've effectively been given an order to vacate and should return, but if you truly go back to the Liaoning Branch, you won't be able to investigate the truth about Yeongsan Sect when the Black Heaven Association arrives in the meantime. But as Cheonghwa Hall Master, you can't very well camp out here either, and if you commute between here and the village every day, your kneecaps will ache something fierce."

Byeok-geum stepped forward with an expression of pure amusement.

"Shut your mouth! I have been barely restraining myself for the sake of Yeongsan Sect's honor! How dare a mere Green Forest brigand wag his tongue at Cheonghwa Hall Master?!"

The old man was polite to me, but to the Green Forest men he'd opposed all his life, he spoke with pure contempt. However, Byeok-geum paid this no mind, just grinning as he addressed him.

"We're not Green Forest anymore. You surely saw the Expulsion Decree?"

"You think a bunch of thieves can ever change?"

"Haven't you even read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? A general named Zhou Cang was a bandit too, but once he came to serve Guan Yu, he became a general remembered throughout history. Why couldn't we do the same?"

Byeok-geum, uneducated yet startlingly sharp with his words. Though Zhou Cang was a fictional character, from what I'd heard.

"We're orthodox now too, are we not? Fellow orthodox folk should help each other. You see those fine strongholds over there? If you want to confirm whether our hyung really is the master who killed Heuk Cheon-gyeon, you can wait comfortably in one of them until the Black Heaven Association Leader arrives. Our hyung spends plenty of time at the White Tiger Sect, so you'll have many chances to observe him up close.

"What do you say? Ten silver taels per stronghold per day. Care to rent one?"