80. Temporary Residence (5)
Temporary Residence (5)
80. Temporary Residence (5)
Even beneath the dark night sky, Moon Immortal's sword found me as unerringly as moonlight. Even before Heosan's ironclad Taiji defense, it pursued my vital points with vicious persistence.
It could be blocked. Heosan's Taiji could certainly block it.
But the longer I watched Moon Immortal's sword and the more I understood those abstruse forms, the fear I'd suppressed countless times revived. Befitting a spirit vessel, the Moonlit Divine Sword flew at me with ghostly wails. Its truly vicious quality was that whenever terror stiffened me for even an instant, it seized that opening and stabbed at my vital points before Heosan, a master of defense, could reset his sword.
Damn it. She really was a ghost.
The sword did not strike my acupoints. It only grazed and sliced my skin. Even after being cut thousands of times again today, I still failed to witness the Second Stage of the Moonlit Divine Sword.
—What's so frightening about Moon Immortal's lightweight sword?—
Geo Am watched from a distance. Damn it, of course he could say that when his style naturally countered hers. Even if Moon Immortal had wrapped her sword in Martial Aura during life, her attacks would have struggled to pierce Geo Am's Vajra Body. The Flame Emperor, slower but devastatingly powerful, held the advantage over Geo Am, while his overwhelming strength lost to Heosan's perfect Limitless. Yet whenever Heosan returned hundreds of strikes through Force Transformation, Moon Immortal repaid him with thousands. Because her sword was so light, the force of his counters was limited. Just as Wudang's sword was called the finest under heaven yet strangely performed poorly against Mount Hua, Heosan was disadvantaged against Moon Immortal. The Four Heroes' affinities formed a cycle. I'd heard Moon Immortal and the Flame Emperor were evenly matched, as were Heosan and Geo Am—though that had been when they still possessed living bodies.
—Now, I'll show you the Mount Tai Strike. Once you witness it, Moon Immortal's lightweight sword will no longer frighten you.—
Geo Am, who'd done nothing but run his mouth, charged at me carrying a tremendous force.
—W-wait! That's Martial Aura!—
—No. It's Sword Qi.—
An enormous force of death reminiscent of a dump truck bore down on me. It was slow, but at my level I couldn't dodge it. If I tried, the aftershock alone would surely kill me. The better my eyes became at reading swords, the more insane this training felt.
—Control yourself! Yeongmok will die!—
—He won't! He promised to protect our Cho-ryeong, so this much will never kill him!—
As if survival worked merely because someone wanted it to. Every last trace of internal energy drained from my body in an instant and gathered in Heosan's sword.
Limitless.
It had no extreme. With neither beginning nor end, it was the ultimate point reached by Taiji and the primordial origin from which Taiji began.
There was no way to explain it. Heosan's sword did not block Geo Am's; it mingled with the attack, flowed along it, and wrapped around him. Yet the Mount Tai Strike crushed even that perfect principle through sheer power and inched closer and closer to me.
If I panicked, I'd die. I should have simply fainted. I had to relax every muscle and entrust my body to Heosan's Limitless if I wanted to survive.
With a tremendous roar, Geo Am's sword finally broke through the Limitless that Heosan had forced out of my meager internal energy and flew past, leaving a massive wound from the back of my hand to my shoulder.
—A-are you insane?!—
—There. Moon Immortal's sword no longer frightens you, does it?—
—Of course it still does! Now I have an entirely different fear as well!—
Perhaps from the anger welling up inside me, I tasted the metallic scent of blood rising through my throat.
—Don't vomit blood.—
The Flame Emperor quickly replaced Heosan and began circulating my qi to regulate my breathing. Even Hwangseong, who knew no martial arts, had already prepared the incantation for the Spirit Possession Art in this urgent situation. Damn it. My martial arts had once been so pathetic that I had never even experienced internal injury. How did it make sense to unleash a Wuji Sword that would make active Wudang elders shake their heads with this shitty body?
—I thought Geo Am was still too much for you, but it seems one must shatter the vessel to reach the next stage.—
The Flame Emperor spoke cheerfully after finishing the qi circulation.
—Cho-ryeong believes you, her junior brother, are the strongest man under heaven. Can you betray that innocent child's expectations?—
—She's still a child. In time, she'll understand that I'm merely the dullest of dullards who commands ghosts.—
—No. I won't allow that to happen.—
Geo Am spoke firmly. Damn. I had thought this old man only knew how to rub salt in wounds.
—Incomplete though it was, Limitless unfolded through your hands. Even if you inherited the Flame Emperor's martial arts, that Limitless is the final destination you must reach as a Daoist.—
—My final destination is just the Spirit-Binding Art.—
—Wasn't there something else besides the Spirit-Binding Art? What about the Yin-Yang Art? You need to achieve the Union of Yin and Yang, don't you? And why did you just stand there yesterday silently listening to the Yeongsan Sect Leader? Master may be your master, but she's still your woman. As a man, you looked terribly weak, didn't you?—
—Shut up. Union of Yin and Yang, my ass. I feel like I'm about to fucking die. I'm starting to feel sorry for that Goshifa Lama who endured the combined attack of all Four Heroes.—
—Hmph. Enough weakness. Return to your room at once and embrace the Yeongsan Sect Leader and chief disciple until you are sick of them. Men are creatures made to look elsewhere once they tire of a woman, even if she is the greatest beauty under heaven.—
—Anyone overhearing you would think you understood men like the back of your hand, despite dying an old virgin.—
—What did you say? Do you have any idea how many men courted me while I was alive?—
—And you rejected them all. Why are you so desperate to pair Son Yeong with a man who already has two women when you refused every man yourself?—
—Because the Reverend is excellent breeding stock.—
—Excellent breeding stock?—
—With the Spirit-Binding Art, he need not fear most masters, and he's even learned the Bedchamber Arts called the Yin-Yang Art, so married life shouldn't be bad. Besides, with us here, sooner or later he will become a true master. I do not particularly like him, but I think a man of this quality is suitable enough for our Yeong to marry.—
That was unexpected. Moon Immortal held me in such high regard.
—Men are all the same anyway. If a woman dies an old virgin, there will not even be anyone to perform rites for her. She should meet the most suitable man available and marry him.—
Moon Immortal grumbled. I had privately thought her similar to the man-hating women of Sword Empress Pavilion, but apparently she was different. Then again, Moon Immortal hated far more women than men. While I chatted idly with the spirits, the abrasions carved into my skin vanished without a trace. Damn it. Even knowing what this training would do, I had stupidly worn my Daoist robe, reducing the precious garment to rags. Lee Eun-ha could make new clothes in an instant, but if this training was going to happen every day, I might as well strip first.
I returned to my room and changed into the martial uniform I'd brought from the Baek Clan Estate. Though it pained me to lose the Daoist robe filled with memories, I stepped outside before Lee Eun-ha could see it, summoned Flame Qi, and burned it. Had the Flame Qi really grown this much in only one day?
"Junior Brother, it's Jeong-hyang."
As I rested in my room, she finally came.
"Come in, Senior Sister Jeong."
When I opened the door, she stood there beaming with flushed cheeks, while Master hid slightly behind her with an anxious expression.
"Oh? Is that the outfit you wore when you first arrived?"
"I tore my Daoist robe during training."
While I scratched my head awkwardly, Jeong-hyang's expression grew nostalgic.
"I remember now. I think I fell for you at first sight when I first saw you, Junior Brother."
Jeong-hyang happily reminisced about something that had happened only recently as though it were long ago. She truly fell in love at the drop of a hat. Hiding her away at Yeongsan Sect had been the right decision.
"A wife is supposed to make her husband's clothes, but what should I do? My hands are no more skillful than my feet."
"Your hands worked well enough when you used the Yin Blossom Art."
"My feet work well too, Junior Brother. Neither Master nor I can sew, so let's bring Eun-ha with us too. Ow! Master! Don't pinch my butt! I'm going to show this butt to Junior Brother, so it is embarrassing!"
"I told you I wouldn't allow it."
"That's only Master's opinion. I'm going to become Junior Brother's official wife."
Jeong-hyang puffed out her chest playfully as she spoke to Master.
"W-well... that's... you're right. Once we descend the mountain, I will just be a concubine, so I should obey Hyang, the official wife."
Master answered, looking slightly deflated.
"What are you talking about? My surname is Jeong, so I'll be Lady Jeong, and Master will be Lady Chae. I'm right, am I not, Junior Brother?"
Surname puns existed in this era too. The cheerful Jeong-hyang firmly took both my hand and Master's and strode toward the next room.
The bathhouse. Once there, Jeong-hyang quickly stripped, placed her clothes in the prepared basket, and looked at us.
"Are the two of you not undressing?"
Normally little more than an ornamental beauty, she took charge and hurried us along. We were briefly flustered, then remembered that this had been the purpose from the start and followed her example. Thanks to the abundant fabric and skilled seamstress, we wore splendid, sensual silk underwear instead of plain cotton. The money I'd earned was being put to excellent use.
After enjoying my gaze for a moment, the two women removed their underwear as well. Jeong-hyang's pussy was now smooth like Master's.
"I was going to grow it again for Hyang's fan, but Eun-ha had already cut the pubic hair and left it before my door. It prickled painfully when I tried growing it halfway, so I shaved it smooth again."
Master spoke shyly with her pussy exposed.
"This is the first time you've seen my mound, is it not? Is it truly all right?"
Jeong-hyang looked slightly anxious.
"Yes. I like it even more."
They could tell from my face that I wasn't lying. Delighted by my answer, Jeong-hyang hugged me tightly. Then Master looked at the large jars and spoke regretfully.
"The White Tiger Sect Leader drew the water for us. He says he'll bring water every day from now on. But with it this cold, I miss Yeongsan Sect's hot spring."
Byeok-geum. I would have to buy him a bottle of liquor later. He had really done everything imaginable before leaving.
"These jars are enormous. I couldn't fit, but Master and Senior Sister might be able to get inside, could you not?"
"We'd freeze to death. Now that we have no pubic hair, our crotches might get so cold that we die."
I gently stroked the joking Jeong-hyang's head, put both hands into the jars, and activated Flame Qi. It was a surprisingly domestic martial art: excellent for grilling meat, sterilizing dishes, incinerating rubbish, and even serving as a makeshift boiler.
"Oh? Bubbling? Is the water boiling?"
Master asked in fascination.
"It should be comfortably warm. Here, soak for the first time in a while."
I slid my hands beneath Master's armpits, lifted her, and dropped her into the jar with a splash. Water equal to her volume immediately overflowed, but those bastards had even installed drainage in the wooden building.
"Ahh... it really feels like a hot spring. It's a little cramped, but this is a perfectly good bath for me."
More than anything else, Master had missed the hot spring, and her expression immediately went slack with bliss. Jeong-hyang spread her arms before me and declared herself next. I lifted her into the other jar. Unlike Master, whose head barely emerged, Jeong-hyang's shoulders remained above the water as she smiled happily.
"This is amazing. It's the Flame Emperor's martial art, is it not? I'd like to learn it too."
"They say a woman who learns the Flame Blossom Art becomes unable to bear children."
"Really? What a shame... Then again, I am strong against cold but weak against heat, so if I could choose, I'd prefer an extreme-yin art rather than an extreme-yang one. Something like the Ice Soul Divine Art. It'd keep me cool even in midsummer, would it not?"
Ah... why had I never thought of this? There were three requirements for mastering the Ice Soul Divine Art. First, a secret manual containing its oral formula. Second, help from a master deeply versed in martial studies to interpret that abstruse formula. Third, yin energy above a certain level.
Every condition had already been met.