Etiquette Education (5)
Dokgo Ryeong woke later than usual, still heavy with fatigue, and the first thing she did was check the color of her hair.
…Light pink.
Lately she had been growing more used to this body of hers. When lust boiled up, her hair lightened into pink; when she kept her composure, it stayed red. She had never seen it go any paler than pink, and after half a shichen—about an hour—it always returned to its original shade. Yet today, even after waking, the soft pink still clung to her strands, and her heart grew quietly complicated.
…Because of last night…
The moment the memory surfaced, her face felt as if it might flush all over again, so she hurriedly shoved the recollection aside. She rose, straightened the bedding, and looked around the cabin. Empty. A flicker of unease stirred.
…Where did everyone go?
Just as she was about to step out of the cabin, Baekri Sohyeon walked in.
“Ah, Dunchi.”
“Ryeong Mae, did you sleep well?”
“…Yeah.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
Baekri Sohyeon smiled her usual gentle smile, yet something about it left Dokgo Ryeong vaguely unsettled. The phantom of last night—caught mid-act, eyes meeting Baekri Sohyeon’s—rose unbidden in her mind.
…She wasn’t actually asleep, was she?
Dokgo Ryeong shot her a suspicious glare, but Baekri Sohyeon did not so much as flinch.
“…Why are you blocking the way?”
“Ah. You just woke up—are you thirsty at all? Want some water?”
“Sure. I was about to get a drink myself, but you’re standing in the way.”
“Here.”
Dokgo Ryeong eyed the cup Baekri Sohyeon held out. Something felt off.
“…You didn’t spike it like last time, did you?”
“Heh… heheh… Why would I do something like that…?”
“Oh? So there is something in it.”
“I-It’s medicine!”
“Huh?”
Baekri Sohyeon flustered and hurried to explain.
“B-Because of us, you can’t sleep at night! I… I mixed in a little herb that restores vitality.”
“….”
Still thoroughly unconvinced, Dokgo Ryeong pushed the cup back.
“You drink it first.”
“…You don’t trust me, Ryeong Mae?”
“Nope. I don’t.”
“Hiiing…. Fine.”
Baekri Sohyeon drank half the water herself, then handed it over. Only then did Dokgo Ryeong relax enough to finish the rest.
“…From now on, every single time.”
“Mm….”
“So what’s on the schedule today?”
“Ah! Today we’re going to review everything you’ve learned so far one last time. Just to check how far Ryeong Mae has come.”
“Good. Let’s get it over with quick so we can talk about the Shoot the Sun Sword Art.”
“Ah…”
Baekri Sohyeon’s face clouded with fresh difficulty.
“Hey, Dunchi. You’re acting real suspicious today.”
“N-No I’m not…. There’s… one more thing I have to teach you today….”
“Then finish that too and we can talk, right?”
“…I wonder if we’ll even be able to talk after….”
“What?”
“N-Nothing! Okay, let’s hurry.”
“….”
Baekri Sohyeon was acting strange today. And that ominous feeling proved entirely correct.
A short while later, after Baekri Sohyeon and Eun Gwanyeong’s etiquette lesson had ended, Wi Ilcheong stepped into the cabin. The moment Dokgo Ryeong heard his words, she understood.
Ah, fuck.
So this was it.
This is why it felt wrong.
“I will be in charge of today’s lesson.”
Wi Ilcheong entered the cabin and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, stood behind the now-naked Baekri Sohyeon, resting his hands on her shoulders as he spoke.
“I intend to teach Miss Dokgo about the female body.”
“…Lust Demon.”
“Please speak, Miss Dokgo.”
“I decided I needed etiquette lessons from the Hao Sect and Dunchi, so I took their teaching.”
“Yes.”
“…But why the fuck do I need this?”
“Mm…. There are several reasons. Still, Miss Dokgo has a point. It will make the lesson smoother if she first understands why it is necessary.”
The first thing Wi Ilcheong said was strange.
“Miss Dokgo, do you know how a child is made?”
“Huh?”
“Answer in detail, if you would. Through what process, and how exactly, is a child born?”
“Uh….”
Dokgo Ryeong tilted her head.
“Beats me?”
“Haa…, I thought as much.”
Watching Wi Ilcheong raise one hand to cover his eyes, Dokgo Ryeong felt only confusion. She had never once received any form of sexual education. She had vaguely believed that when a man and woman who loved each other spent a few nights together, a child simply appeared—perhaps with some supernatural sign, the North Star shining especially bright, or the Old Man Under the Moon appearing in a dream. As Dokgo Jin she had never once held a woman, and having lived as an orphan from childhood, her days filled only with battle, there had been no way for her to learn.
“…When I eventually meet Elder Dokgo Jin, I believe I am owed a drink.”
“Why the hell are you bringing that up all of a sudden…!”
“A child, you see, is the result produced through Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation.”
“Uh…?”
Dokgo Ryeong’s thoughts ground to a halt.
“Wait…, that….”
“I have misunderstood Miss Dokgo a great deal. Honestly, I assumed Elder Dokgo Jin or the mother I have yet to meet would already have explained all of this.”
“Y-You mean you have to do that filthy act for a baby to come out?”
“See? You are already calling Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation filthy without question.”
Wi Ilcheong pointed to the scarred lower abdomen of Baekri Sohyeon.
“Do you know what is here?”
“…The lower dantian.”
“Incorrect. Martial artists call this place the lower dantian, but more precisely, an organ capable of nurturing a child resides here. That is why women form their lower dantian earlier than men.”
“Huh? Wait…”
Dokgo Ryeong clutched her head in confusion, and Wi Ilcheong continued his patient explanation.
“…That is why Miss Baekri cannot bear a child. The organ inside has been damaged.”
“That’s what she meant?”
“…You seem to have been under a misunderstanding.”
“No… I just… thought… her body was wrecked so she couldn’t make one….”
Until now Dokgo Ryeong had only known that Baekri Sohyeon could not have children because her body was ruined; she had never known the concrete reason.
“Haa…. Elder Dokgo Jin’s karmic burden runs deep.”
“….”
“Normally this is a conversation parents have with their children only after marriage is decided. But for now, I will take the liberty of teaching Dokgo Ryeong myself.”
“No…, so fucking… why is this…”
“When we reach Tianzhu I will receive Miss Dokgo’s first night, and I have also mastered the Classic of the Plain Girl.”
Wi Ilcheong raised his right hand.
“Let us call this right hand Yang energy. Yang energy signifies the male, the sun, and life force. Conversely…”
He lowered his left hand.
“This left hand is Yin energy. Yin energy signifies the female, the moon, and death.”
“I know that much, you bastard.”
“No. Miss Dokgo knows nothing of the sort.”
Wi Ilcheong brought his two hands together.
“It is the natural order of the world for man and woman to desire one another. In that process Yin and Yang harmonize and form the Taiji. The one who elevated this into martial arts was the True Man Zhang Sanfeng.”
“…The Taiji Sword Art. Wudang.”
“Yes. But even without such lofty practitioners, people constantly strive to achieve the harmony of Yin and Yang.”
Wi Ilcheong formed a circle with the thumb and index finger of his left hand, then thrust the index finger of his right hand into the opening as he spoke.
“Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation, the joy of cloud and rain, or more vulgarly, ‘pounding rice cakes’—these are all expressions of that.”
“That’s just filthy as he—”
“That very thought is mistaken, Miss!”
Wi Ilcheong’s sudden raised voice made Dokgo Ryeong flinch and shrink back.
“Why are you yelling…”
“When a man and woman yearn for each other, desiring each other’s bodies is the natural order of heaven and earth! The pleasure that arises between them is the blessing of the Heavenly Emperor!”
“N-No… that…”
“The Classic of the Plain Girl that I practice allows man and woman to achieve the highest pleasure and thereby restore each other’s true energy! Do you not understand, Miss?”
Wi Ilcheong brought his face close; Dokgo Ryeong startled and flushed scarlet.
“W-What are you…”
“It is perfectly natural for a man to feel lust boil up at the sight of a lovely woman, and the reverse is equally true. There is no need for shame.”
“….”
“And when two people who yearn for each other achieve the harmony of Yin and Yang, the result that is born is life itself. How noble an act is that….”
Wi Ilcheong smiled with quiet pride. On either side of him, Eun Gwanyeong and Baekri Sohyeon broke into applause.
“That’s riiight…. And the process is happy, too.”
“Mm, I’m jealous….”
“…You’ve all lost your fucking minds.”
Wi Ilcheong composed his expression again and called to her.
“Miss.”
“What.”
“You masturbated last night, did you not?”
“Uh… uh?!”
“I knew everything.”
“N-No… that…!”
Dokgo Ryeong’s face blazed as she floundered. Yet Wi Ilcheong only soothed her with a gentle, kindly smile.
“There is no need to feel ashamed. It is a natural act.”
“No… fuck…. That…”
“Miss Eun, have you ever masturbated?”
“I haveee~. I’ve never met anyone who hasn’t masturbated in their life….”
“And Miss Baekri?”
“I have too. The only people I can think of who wouldn’t are Shaolin monks, and even they probably do it in secret….”
When Baekri Sohyeon and Eun Gwanyeong openly admitted to it, Dokgo Ryeong was thrown into deeper confusion.
“U-Uh… so this is… natural?”
“Yes, that is correct, Miss.”
“But…”
“Please stop denying it, Miss. You already know the answer, do you not?”
Wi Ilcheong’s hand touched her hair; Dokgo Ryeong’s shoulders hunched. His soft voice brushed against her ear.
“It felt good, didn’t it?”
“Hnn…!”
“The pleasure rising through your body was more than you could control, wasn’t it?”
“N-Nooo….”
“You may speak honestly, Miss.”
To help Wi Ilcheong’s persuasion, Eun Gwanyeong pressed close from the other side and lightly nipped Dokgo Ryeong’s opposite ear.
“Haah!”
“Miss Dokgo…, did you think of my hands…?”
“N-Nooo…!”
The final blow came from Baekri Sohyeon. She gently cupped Dokgo Ryeong’s cheeks and spoke the truth.
“Ryeong Mae. Did you know?”
“W-What?!”
“When Ryeong Mae’s lust boils up, her hair turns pink?”
Baekri Sohyeon lifted a lock of Dokgo Ryeong’s hair and held it before her eyes.
“Such a lovely pink, isn’t it?”
“Th-This is just…!”
“Heheh, Ryeong Mae’s mouth is rough, but her body is so honest—it’s really cute.”
“Uuugh…!!”
Looking at Dokgo Ryeong’s face, flushed to the point of bursting, Wi Ilcheong spoke again.
“Miss Dokgo. As I said earlier, lust boiling over is the natural order. But if you do not know the proper way to resolve it, you will continue to find yourself in various difficulties. That is why I arranged this gathering today.”
“W-What….”
“Miss Baekri.”
“…Mm.”
Baekri Sohyeon leaned back against the wall and spread her legs wide, fully exposing her sex. Wi Ilcheong rested a hand on her hip and pointed with a finger as he spoke.
“So I will teach you each part myself, one by one. After all, if Miss Dokgo is to receive her first night, she needs to grow accustomed to lewd matters in advance.”
“Y-You crazy bastard!”
“And you may continue masturbating as well. However, if you are caught it could be mutually embarrassing, so if you set a time we can…”
“Kyaaaaah!!!”
Dokgo Ryeong began thrashing wildly; Eun Gwanyeong seized her from behind.
“Aah! You mustn’t thrash around like thaaat.”
“Y-You filthy bastards and bitches!!”
“That is precisely the misunderstanding I am correcting. Now, look here. This plump, raised flesh…”
“If you gently knead that spot with your fingers it feels even betterrr.”
“Ryeong Mae, if you softly stroke this little protruding part up here…”
“Finger insertion is best left until one is more accustomed to the act, but Miss Dokgo already grows quite wet enough, so…”
Under the flood of information, Dokgo Ryeong did not last long. Overcome by sheer embarrassment, she fainted.
The three remaining people looked at one another over her collapsed form.
“Miss Baekri, how much of the aphrodisiac did you give her?”
“…About the same as last time?”
“Haa…, next time cut it in half. Miss Dokgo appears to have more talent than expected. To faint from mere conversation…”
“She’s harder to teach than I thoughttt….”
“Yet she does seem to possess talent. Even while blushing, her eyes kept following exactly where I pointed.”
“Mm…. I could feel Ryeong Mae’s gaze the whole time too.”
“We still have plenty of time, so let us educate her slowly.”
“…More importantly, Brother Wi.”
Baekri Sohyeon caught the sleeve of Wi Ilcheong’s robe with a hopeful look.
“…When I gave Ryeong Mae the aphrodisiac earlier, I ended up drinking about half myself…”
“Dear me…. No wonder I thought you seemed especially wet. My consideration was lacking.”
“Aah! Include me toooo!”
“For the next two shichen—about four hours—no sailors will come this way, so let us enjoy ourselves in advance.”
“Yeees!”
They shoved the unconscious Dokgo Ryeong into a corner. In no time the three of them were bare and began exploring one another’s bodies. The deeper the act went, the more certain the two women became.
They needed to teach Dokgo Ryeong a great many things, and quickly.
Because two of them alone were nowhere near enough to handle Wi Ilcheong.