76. Temporary Residence (1)
Temporary Residence (1)
76. Temporary Residence (1)
Half the mountain roads of the Central Plains were paths the Green Forest had carved open. This wasn't an era of warlords carving up the land like the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the Sixteen Kingdoms, or the early days of the Three Kingdoms. The imperial courts of the Tang, Song, and Ming, powerful centralized dynasties, why didn't they exterminate these bandits?
The Green Forest weren't originally bandits but mountain road construction contractors. They had opened new paths, so the common people paid them tolls without resistance. But from the start, remote mountain regions lay beyond the reach of the authorities' law. Bandits committing crimes like extortion appeared one by one, but because of established custom, the authorities didn't bother sending punitive forces as long as they didn't descend to pillage villages. Besides, the bandits had learned martial arts, making their fighting strength formidable. In mountain guerrilla warfare, even cavalry and archers, the pride of regular armies, couldn't properly exert their power, so the authorities found it hard to concern themselves with matters beyond the villages.
Of course, their learning martial arts didn't only bring advantages. Once they became members of the martial world, they turned into targets for the orthodox faction, easy prey for unorthodox plundering forces like my family or young masters of prestigious clans seeking fame. So they united, and the result was the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds, one of the great forces of the rivers and mountains rivaling the Ten Great Evil Factions.
"Welcome to Yeongsan Lodge. Two meals and a newly built mountain cottage cost only five taels of silver. If you wish to leave heavy goods or valuables with us, use a storage locker. White Tiger Sect martial artists guard them around the clock until you collect them on your return. A locker costs one tael of silver."
Ban Ho-jeong's courteous reception. Lodging with storage service—had she, like me, come from the 21st century?
The men, who had only ever seen rough bandits, felt their lips curving upward at Ban Ho-jeong's face, which seemed delicate based on appearance alone.
"Miss, excuse me..."
"Oh my, miss? Flattery won't get you a discount. I'm a martial artist, so I haven't married, but I'm past the age to be called a young miss. I'm Ban Ho-jeong, Vice Sect Leader of the White Tiger Sect and Lodge Master of Yeongsan Lodge."
"Ba... Ban Ho-jeong?"
The men startled at her name.
"C-could it be... that the White Tiger Sect was formerly that White Tiger Fortress in Liaoxi?"
To traveling merchants, the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds were terrifying adversaries. And Ban Ho-jeong, the only woman among them, had reason to be famous.
"Are you trying to embarrass us with stories from long ago? The White Tiger Sect is no longer part of the Green Forest. We're upright orthodox martial artists, even registered with the Martial Alliance. If any of our sect members forget their old ways and act like fools, please let me know. I'll kick their balls in."
Ban Ho-jeong spoke with a pretty smile. At the reception desk, a document from the Liaoning Branch confirming their Martial Alliance membership hung openly. I had nothing to say against it, but sadly, the animal called man forgets his caution before a beautiful woman.
"Ah, I see. We must have misunderstood. Lodge Master, the smell of food is hard to resist—could we just eat and simply sleep outside?"
"Of course. A meal is one silver tael. There's no need to strain yourselves renting a cottage. You climbed the mountain this late into the dark night to earn every last coin, after all. And with summer approaching, it won't be that cold even at a campsite. Also, for just one silver tael, we lend out thick blankets, so let me know if you need them. Of course, it's perfectly fine if you don't."
The men rejoiced at Ban Ho-jeong's kind reply. This was predatory business. One silver tael for a single meal. Lee Eun-ha's skill might be remarkable, but this wasn't shark fin or bird's nest soup—most of it would be wild greens picked from nearby hills and locally sourced meat. This was worse than resort-town price gouging. Yet compared to the original five taels, the illusion that this was genuinely cheap, the irresistible aroma, and Ban Ho-jeong's gracious smile made even merchants who lived and died by money hand over silver with ease.
Ban Ho-jeong surely knew. The sad nature of men. She hadn't started with an unreasonable demand to use the five-tael cottages no matter what. So her smile asked: wouldn't just one tael be manageable? A real man puffs up with absurd pride before a beautiful woman. Dying from pride was the same in the 21st century. They were probably thinking: we'll just eat dinner tonight since we're hungry from the mountain trek, and make do with the dried rations we brought for breakfast tomorrow. But Lee Eun-ha's cooking wouldn't let them go that easily. And if they ended up borrowing blankets too, as Ban Ho-jeong had subtly mentioned, that would be three taels—hardly different from the original five.
"Well then, we'll just have dinner. It's a fine cottage, but we're a little short on money, so we'll make use of it when winter comes."
The men spoke cheerfully. When Ban Ho-jeong even linked arms with them as a bonus, guiding them to the dining hall, their mouths wouldn't stop moving. They'd be back for breakfast, for sure—probably become regulars.
"Oh? Hyung! You're back?"
Byeok-geum came out, spotting me. The guy who pulled off genuine Yellow Turban style in that yellow outfit—the kind that looked cute as a chick and soft as a forsythia bloom when our master wore it.
"Yeongsan Lodge? Seems like a good idea, but isn't this outright extortion?"
"Nah. Not at all. This isn't expensive at all. You're from the Baek Clan Estate and an invincible master, hyung, so you might not know, but originally you'd have to pay five taels just to cross a mountain where bandits live. If you don't like that, you have to take a detour of over ten days. Besides, the rates at a mountain tavern can't compare to a village inn. Getting ingredients up here isn't easy, right?"
It sounded like an interview with a merchant near a summer vacation resort. Not that I didn't understand, and they did offer the option of taking the original road without using Yeongsan Lodge, so I had nothing particular to say, but...
"Hyung. This was Steward Lee's scheme. The name Yeongsan Lodge is something Banmae received permission from the Sect Leader to use, too. The mountain entry fee and cottage rental fees are our White Tiger Sect's share, but that cooking is entirely Yeongsan Sect's share."
He spoke while subtly watching my reaction.
"What? That Senior Sister did this? No, wait—we have plenty of money now, don't we? Why does she keep trying to play kitchen maid?"
"Here's the thing. The way I see it, Steward Lee probably hates martial arts training terribly."
Ah... right. Even the direct instruction of Heosan, a descendant of Zhang Sanfeng—teachings others would pay a fortune to obtain—must have been genuinely hateful to her.
"I understand your concern as a martial artist, hyung, but I'm also in a position of eating meals Steward Lee cooks for me every day, so I found it hard to stop the Manager when she's so happily saving up coin by coin."
"No. You've done well. It's a million times better than banditry. And Yeongsan Sect set up temporary quarters behind Yeongsan Lodge, right? You've truly worked hard protecting our master and Senior Sisters while I was away. Here. A present."
I took out the Changhwa Wine from my bundle and handed it to Byeok-geum. He beamed like a child. Without Byeok-geum, a master at my father's level, I would have had to bring all of them with me to Jilin using an escort agency this time. Once was enough—carelessly assuming nothing would happen and suffering irreversible consequences.
"Oh my. Reverend. You look even brighter."
Ban Ho-jeong returned after guiding the men inside. Her words were likely flattery, but her face was the one that had truly brightened.
"You seem to be doing well yourself."
"We found a way to survive. It's not a fortune, but the money keeps coming in steadily. We no longer need to fear the authorities or orthodox factions and can live at ease. Instead of the Green Forest Chief who demanded ruinous tribute and even my body whenever the payment fell short, we have our wonderfully kind and lovable Yeongsan Sect Leader. If the Sect Leader were a man, I'd gladly jerk him off."
Ban Ho-jeong laughed radiantly. That last part about our master felt a bit horrifying, but I understood the meaning of that smile better than Byeok-geum probably did. She had struggled desperately to revive a sect that had once genuinely collapsed and hit rock bottom, and now she was finally seeing the fruits. I took out a trinket and handed it to her.
"Oh my, thank you, Reverend. This is the first gift I've received in my life. I thought those orthodox bastards were all polished appearances, but seeing such thoughtfulness makes me glad we joined the orthodox faction.
"Sect Leader, did you see? This is how lovingly a woman should be treated. It's not enough to squeeze her breasts so hard they nearly burst."
"Banmae's chest is too small—if I don't squeeze like that, it's hard to feel anything. And now that you're earning good money, just go buy one in the village."
At Byeok-geum's indifferent words, she glared fiercely and kicked him. But unlike with other bandits, she was the one who ended up hurt and even more annoyed.
"Ah. And Reverend. There's something I'd like to ask."
"What?"
"Those merchants earlier. They spent the whole journey tense, and now they've relaxed, had a warm and delicious meal—what do you think they'll be thinking of next?"
"Hmm. If it were me, I'd be thinking of alcohol."
"Exactly. They will want wine. We still buy it from the village for now, but Steward Lee has already brewed fifty large jars. Before long, the wine revenue will flow into Yeongsan Sect as well.
"The question is, once they have wine, what will they want next?"
"Let's see? Sleep? Since they're tired?"
"How could that be? Once they've relaxed, warmed up with drink, and a woman like me passes by now and then—wouldn't they think of women? Since I can't ask the Sect Leader, I'll ask you directly. Is it all right to run a whore business?"
As expected, a bandit was a bandit. Unorthodox was unorthodox. Even after switching to the service industry, the underworld mindset hadn't changed.
"Can you even find prostitutes willing to sell their bodies all the way out here?"
"That's the problem. We're not unorthodox anymore, so while we still deal with the black market, we can't buy people through the Hao Sect. That would get us expelled from the Martial Alliance immediately."
"You obviously know I can't permit kidnapping virgins. Don't tell me you're planning to sell your own body? You don't need to go that far—isn't there enough to live on?"
"Of course. I give my body only to family. I was a bandit woman, not a prostitute.
"The person I intend to use is Cheon Myeong-hwa. If you refuse, Reverend, I'll drop the matter."
She'd thought it through well. Not even leaving trash like that alone, but squeezing out at least a little profit. She, not Lee Eun-ha, was the one truly suited for the manager position. Prostitution wasn't illegal in this era. And I shouldn't let that bitch, who was probably getting comfortable and resting easy now that she'd grown accustomed to the White Tiger Sect, just be.
"I'll allow it, but keep the price low. This is a lodging and hospitality business, not prostitution."
"I plan to charge only one silver tael. But since you can't hold a woman at a campsite, only for guests who rent a cottage."
Honestly, the campsite was a really decent place—no worries about wild animals, guaranteed safety. So in a warm season like this, income from the cottages inevitably dropped. Ban Ho-jeong had targeted that point. Truly impressive. Places like first-class hotels maintain their high prices by offering, beyond lodging, various services you can only enjoy as a guest—breakfast buffets, private pools. By the same principle, she planned to offer prostitution services only to overnight guests.
"Thank you, Reverend. But one tael of silver is dust to someone who possesses more than a thousand taels of gold. Could you give me what that bitch earns? In exchange for pocketing her fee, I'll offer you my body whenever you want it."
"The money doesn't matter, but I don't need your body. You're now nominally a Vice Sect Leader and the Lodge Master of this Yeongsan Lodge. Even if you don't go as far as orthodox-faction empty formalities, maintain some dignity. That's why I bought you the trinket."
"Dignity, at this point."
Ban Ho-jeong's face held a somewhat complicated expression. Leaving her behind, I passed through the Yeongsan Lodge cottages and finally entered Yeongsan Sect's temporary quarters.
A log palisade incomparable to the plank fence from last time. Seeing those sturdy wooden walls, it looked fit to withstand a battle.
"Junior Brother!"
The moment Cho-ryeong spotted me, she came running. Like when Son Yeong returned from Jilin with me before, she flew into my arms with glistening tears. That day, I'd honestly felt a bit envious of Son Yeong, who seemed like real family, but now I too was being accepted as family by Cho-ryeong just as she had been, and I felt my chest fill with something warm.
"I missed you. Why did you come back so late?"
Cho-ryeong rubbed against me, smearing tears and snot everywhere.
"Family matters came up, so I was delayed."
"I have no home. Master, my Senior Sisters, and you are everything to me. So don't go far away alone for so long again. Stay here."
"Yes. I understand, Senior Sister."
As I stroked Cho-ryeong's head, the master and the remaining three Senior Sisters emerged from a large cottage.
"Master. I've returned."
"The Daeseon Construction Company people have already come and started surveying. You've done well, Yeongmok."
"Junior Sister Cho, move aside. I want to hug Junior Brother too."
Jeong-hyang spoke with a light laugh. Hearing that, Cho-ryeong didn't pull away from me, but shifted aside while still clutching my collar. Then, exuding the distinctive fragrance of the Yin Blossom Art, Jeong-hyang approached softly and gently embraced me.
"You've done well, Junior Brother. I missed Junior Brother just as much as Cho Junior Sister did."
The other women were also affectionate, but hers was a slightly different kind of affection from that of a lover. Not just warmth—her hot love transmitted to me through the embrace.
"You've done well."
Suddenly, Son Yeong came to my left side and hugged my arm tightly. I was a little surprised—I hadn't expected her to do that. Lee Eun-ha seemed equally startled, calling out to Son Yeong.
"Senior Sister Son!"
"Hm? Was this not how we were supposed to welcome him? Junior Sister Lee, come here too. We should welcome Junior Brother properly."
At the innocent look in Son Yeong's eyes, Lee Eun-ha seemed to have nothing to say, and she quietly approached from behind and lightly embraced me. As her soft breasts pressed against my back, I, who had been starved for days, naturally grew erect, prodding Jeong-hyang's lower abdomen in front of me. She glanced down briefly, then laughed just as happily as before.
"Huh? Hey, you lot? I'm all for close ties between martial siblings, but where's my spot?"
Every direction around me was occupied, leaving Master flustered with nowhere to go. Even though she was my lover, she could not so much as embrace me and could only stare in dismay. Her face was adorable.
I had lived at the Baek Clan Estate all my life, yet when I returned after three months, I had never felt this longing. At last, I had returned to the place where I belonged.