Just Spread Them Once (7)
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Yes.”
With Eun Yakbyeok’s permission granted, a Hao Sect disciple stepped inside.
“Young Master Wi and Miss Dokgo have finished their dual cultivation.”
“Only now?”
“They spent the night locked in each other’s arms. Just moments ago Young Master Wi requested breakfast and clothes for Miss Dokgo.”
“Hmm…”
Thinking it had lasted rather longer than expected for a first night, Eun Yakbyeok gave a small nod.
“Very well. Is that the entire report?”
“We’ve also caught the tail of the Peng Clan’s informant.”
“Where?”
“The Beggar Sect.”
“…The Beggar Sect?”
“Branch Leader candidate Eunho made contact with someone claiming to be the true successor of the Beggar Sect. It appears internal strife has broken out there as well.”
The Hao Sect disciple handed over the report. Eun Yakbyeok scanned its contents at once.
“Hmm… Well, they’re nothing more than beggars gathered under the single banner of chivalry. It would be stranger still if this affair caused no controversy.”
“Yes.”
“Who is the one claiming to be the true successor?”
“Biyeonggae—the man who opposed the current successor to the bitter end.”
“Elder Mukseon’s disciple.”
“Correct.”
“That much is trustworthy enough. When does Eunho return?”
“Well… he has chosen Biyeonggae as his traveling companion.”
At those words Eun Yakbyeok’s eyes widened.
It lay entirely outside her calculations that the successors of two organizations currently locked in rivalry over the title of the martial world’s foremost information sect would form an alliance.
“Ahaha! How interesting.”
“…Shall I order him to return at once?”
“No. It is a truly amusing choice; I look forward to seeing what comes of it. What is Biyeonggae’s strength?”
“Not especially numerous. Yet the Chief Patrol and the Law Beggar appear to support him.”
“Excellent.”
A smile rose to Eun Yakbyeok’s lips.
The Law Beggar is practically the third-in-command—vice-leader of the Beggar Sect—and if the Chief Patrol, the very core of the sect, also backs him, then he is viable.
Thinking a useful card had just fallen into her hand, Eun Yakbyeok began writing something in a ledger.
“Have the Shandong and Hebei branches join forces to assist Biyeonggae. And deliver this ledger to Eunho separately.”
She sent the ledger floating across the room with telekinesis. The Hao Sect disciple accepted it and bowed.
“Then…”
“Ah—before you go, would you prepare a bath? I would like to wash before I leave.”
“Yes. As soon as Miss Dokgo’s bathroom is free…”
“Oh my. Then prepare it for both of us.”
“…Yes. Shall I bring wine as well?”
“Yes, the usual, please.”
“Understood.”
Once the Hao Sect disciple had withdrawn, Eun Yakbyeok leaned back, propped her legs atop the ledger, and stretched.
The duel between Mukseon and the Sword Venerable has changed a great many things…
The martial world was beginning to grow noisy.
In times like these there were always the Demonic Cult’s stirrings or the unorthodox factions’ schemes, yet both forces remained mired in their own internal strife.
What truly unsettled her was the Blood Sect—eerily, unnervingly quiet.
Come to think of it, everything is a succession crisis.
Beggar Sect succession, Demonic Cult succession, unorthodox succession.
They say the rear waters of the Yangtze push the front waters aside…
Suddenly her own successors rose in her mind.
Could she already hand her seat over to them?
And of all times, in a period of chaos such as this?
…Having thoughts like these, it seems I too have grown old.
Straightening her posture once more and opening the ledger, Eun Yakbyeok set her hands to work again, writing steadily.
Not yet. Not yet…
Just a little longer.
Resolving to finish every scheme she had set in motion before she stepped aside, Eun Yakbyeok sank back into the pages.
After finishing breakfast with Wi Ilcheong, Dokgo Ryeong stepped outside.
Ah, fuck…
She had been so awkward she could not even remember where the food had gone, and her stomach still ached faintly.
The memory of the previous night made her face burn all over again.
Yet she could hardly walk out wearing the scrap of cloth Eun Yakbyeok had given her—something too shameful even to call clothing—so in the end Dokgo Ryeong had wrapped herself in a blanket and only after sharing breakfast with Wi Ilcheong had she finally managed to leave the room.
The first to greet her were the courtesans.
“We have prepared the bathwater.”
“…Yeah.”
The moment she stepped out she sensed a considerable number of people within range of her awareness, and her face flushed red.
That… crazy bitch for real!
Suddenly she fretted that everyone present might know what had happened the night before.
“How was breakfast?”
“…So-so.”
“I see. Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable?”
“…What.”
“My apologies. The Sect Leader ordered us to show the guest every possible courtesy.”
“…Forget it. I just want to wash.”
“Yes. I will escort you to the bathroom.”
“Yeah…”
All the way there she felt the sidelong glances of those around her, and the discomfort was almost unbearable.
Ah fuck… Did that Lust Demon bastard not even put up a qi barrier last night?
Thinking she should at least have demanded one, Dokgo Ryeong hung her head and followed the Hao Sect disciple who guided her.
“This is the place. The water has been heated.”
“…Thanks. Uh, that…”
“Yes? Is there something you wish to say?”
“…Did you hear?”
“Pardon?”
“Yesterday that… like… any sounds…”
As Dokgo Ryeong mumbled the question, the courtesan answered with a smile.
“The first rule of a brothel is soundproofing.”
“…Thanks for the answer.”
“Yes. If you need anything at all, please call. I will wait right here.”
“Yeah.”
Deciding the glances had been nothing more than her own imagination, Dokgo Ryeong entered the bathroom in a somewhat lighter mood.
That mood soured almost at once.
A prior guest was already there.
“Ugh.”
“Oh my. Reacting that way upon seeing me is a little sad.”
“…Why the hell are you here?”
“Is there some special reason one visits a bathroom? I came to wash.”
“Fuck…”
Eun Yakbyeok beckoned to her.
“Let us wash together.”
“You… crazy bitch! Why would I wash with you?!”
“Oh my, is there a reason we cannot? I also wish to hear about last night.”
“Aaa… Nothing happened!”
“So something did happen, I see.”
Just as Eun Yakbyeok reached out with telekinesis to lift her—
“Fuck off! Wanna die for real?!”
“Oh my…”
Dokgo Ryeong resisted.
Seeing it, Eun Yakbyeok looked genuinely surprised.
“No… What on earth did the two of you do in a single day?”
“You said it yourself. Achievements would rise quickly.”
“No. How thoroughly did you get pounded for already…”
“Crazy bitch! Watch your damn mouth!!”
Dokgo Ryeong flared up again.
“Hehe. Still, I am glad you made progress. Congratulations, guest.”
“…Fuck.”
“So, are you truly not coming in? I am leaving soon.”
“Huh? Leaving already?”
At Dokgo Ryeong’s words Eun Yakbyeok’s expression crumpled.
“…Already? Do I look like someone with free time? If I intended to leave, I should have left long ago.”
“…”
“I will depart the moment I finish washing. If you wish to talk, this is your last chance.”
“Fuck for real…”
In the end Dokgo Ryeong grumbled as she stripped off her clothes, covered her chest and the space between her legs with her hands, and carefully approached the tub.
“I… If you look this way I’ll kill you!”
“Between women, why are you so shy? Just… come in!”
“Yaaak…!”
Eun Yakbyeok poured more internal energy than before into a single pull and dragged her close.
She tossed Dokgo Ryeong into the bathtub, embraced her from behind, and nuzzled her face against her.
“Don’t… Don’t hug me!!”
“Uhoho.”
“Don’t… Don’t laugh either!!”
“You really are adorable, guest. You have transformed into a woman quite well.”
“Kyaaaaak!!”
Dokgo Ryeong struggled to free herself, yet she was soon subdued by Eun Yakbyeok.
“Hehe. These days I feel truly regretful.”
“Fuck… About what.”
“I should have hugged you once while you were still a man.”
“Ah, come on!”
“All right, I will stop.”
“Fuck…”
Quietly nestled in Eun Yakbyeok’s arms, Dokgo Ryeong muttered,
“Fucking hell for real… Why do women like hugging people so much?”
“Well. I do not really know either. I never casually embrace anyone except you, guest.”
“…You said before you couldn’t sleep without someone to hold.”
“Obviously a lie.”
“Grrr…!”
“If you keep thrashing, shall I immobilize you?”
“Try it!”
The moment Dokgo Ryeong answered with confidence, Eun Yakbyeok slid her own leg between Dokgo Ryeong’s thighs and spread them wide.
“Hi… Hiiik! Y… Ya!”
“Shall we check whether the membrane tore?”
“You… lewd bitch!!”
Feeling Eun Yakbyeok’s hand slowly advancing between her legs, Dokgo Ryeong squeezed her eyes shut.
Yet the sensation she had braced for never arrived.
“Oh my. Were you expecting it?”
“You… you!!”
“Hehe. Having tasted Young Master Wi’s yang root once, my fingers are no match now.”
“A… Aniik…!”
“So how was it? Did you enjoy it?”
“I… It wasn’t!!”
“Aaa~, I wanted to hear the guest’s moans again. How cutely you cried…”
“Kyaaaaak!!!”
As Dokgo Ryeong tried to thrash with even her internal energy drawn up, Eun Yakbyeok simply calmed her.
“All right, I will stop teasing. Truly. Promise.”
“Fuck…”
“Pleasant conversation with the guest ends here. Shall we speak of something a little more serious?”
When Eun Yakbyeok’s voice grew earnest, Dokgo Ryeong asked bluntly,
“What?”
“The martial world is noisy. The sect leader of Huashan has been in poor condition for several days.”
“Sect leader? Was it Hwasun?”
“Yes. It seems the time for him to ascend is drawing near.”
“…That old fart dying ages ago wouldn’t have been strange.”
Dokgo Ryeong briefly recalled Hwasun’s face and nodded.
“But the timing is peculiar, you see?”
“What is?”
“Moyong Byeok killed Mukseon, and the sect leader of Huashan—so close to Sichuan—suddenly falls ill.”
“That bastard Dokseon would kill Hwasun and more. He’s been itching to unify every sect around Sichuan for years.”
Dokgo Ryeong ground her teeth as she spoke.
“…But that Moyong Byeok bastard is fucking suspicious.”
“In what way?”
“That bastard isn’t the type to fight a life-and-death duel against a strong opponent.”
“For what reason do you think so?”
“I clashed with that bastard several times trying to mess him up. Every time the fight dragged on even a little he just ran. And now he goes and fights Mukseon? It’s incomprehensible.”
“…”
When Eun Yakbyeok fell silent and stayed still, Dokgo Ryeong lifted her head.
“What. You stop talking midway.”
“…Guest. Do you remember what happened in Guizhou?”
“…How could I forget.”
After stopping once in Guizhou, just south of Sichuan, Dokgo Ryeong had never intended to set foot in that region again.
“…The place where they made ‘Gu Poison’.”
“Yes.”
The cave in Guizhou that Dokgo Ryeong, while hunting the Tang Clan, had stumbled upon by chance had been hell itself.
People sealed inside a cave that admitted not a single ray of light.
People with nothing to eat, killing one another simply to survive.
The poison the final survivor alone cradled in his dantian while cursing the world.
The cave where they manufactured Gu Poison.
Only the corpses of those who had torn each other apart remained, and the presumed last survivor’s dantian had been completely empty—a place that left a foul taste in the mouth.
“…Why bring that up all of a sudden.”
“The Tang Clan can turn even extreme poisons into supreme elixirs.”
Hearing the implication that Moyong Byeok’s strength might have been forged from Gu Poison, Dokgo Ryeong shook her head.
“…Still doesn’t make sense. If you could get strong with that crap, Dokseon would have been called the Poison God ages ago.”
“…True enough?”
“Don’t go thinking weird shit for no reason. Just dredges up creepy memories.”
“Haa… Yes.”
Dokgo Ryeong’s words were correct.
If Gu Poison could truly grant such power, Dokseon would long since have been known as the Poison God.
…Or perhaps he already has become the Poison God.
While Eun Yakbyeok still could not shake a certain unease, Dokgo Ryeong suddenly jolted her from her thoughts.
“Hey…! Hey hey!!”
“…What is it?”
“You… You’re bleeding?!”
“Pardon?”
At Dokgo Ryeong’s cry Eun Yakbyeok glanced down at the bathwater. Just as the other woman said, the tub was staining red with blood.
Yet the source of the blood was not Eun Yakbyeok.
“…Guest.”
“Hey, fuck. Should I call Unyeong?! Are you hurt somewhere?”
“Haa…”
She wondered where on earth she was supposed to begin teaching this guest.
“…Do you know what a period is?”