Just Spread Them Once? (8)
"…Do you know what a moon cycle is?"
"Moon cycle? What the hell is that?"
"Haa…"
"Fuck, just fix this already!"
"…That's the problem. It can't be fixed."
"What?"
Eun Yakbyeok stepped out of the tub and rinsed herself with fresh water.
"A woman sheds blood like that for about a week every month. That's a moon cycle."
"What…?"
"It isn't an injury. It's natural, so just accept it."
"Ah… no, fuck…"
Dokgo Ryeong was reeling.
"H-how long does this go on?!"
"Usually it stops after fifty, though that varies from person to person."
"Ah… no, fuck…"
"That's simply how it is. The way of nature."
"Uwaaah…"
Watching Dokgo Ryeong spiral into confusion, Eun Yakbyeok let out a soft snort of laughter.
"Why so shocked? You've seen plenty of blood before."
"Ah… no… isn't there a way to stop it?!"
"…I don't believe so."
"Fuck… fuckfuckfuck!"
"Ask Gwanyeong for the details. Don't ask young lady Sohyeon."
"Why not her?"
"…You didn't know? Young lady Baekri has no… organs for bearing children. Come to think of it, there is one method. If you cut the organs out, the moon cycle stops."
"Ah…"
Only then did the scarred lower abdomen of Baekri Sohyeon rise in her mind, and Dokgo Ryeong bowed her head.
"…Fuck."
"Anyway, take whatever help you need from Gwanyeong."
"Fine…"
"Haa… I thought I might finally have a serious conversation with my guest for once, and the flow just dies like this."
Eun Yakbyeok dried herself and began rubbing fragrant oil into her skin, then suddenly stopped and looked at Dokgo Ryeong.
"…Guest."
"What?"
"Do you understand what it means to have a moon cycle?"
"How the hell would I know?"
"It means you can bear a child."
"Fuck…"
"As you are now. Have you no thought of simply living as Dokgo Ryeong?"
"…That again?"
Dokgo Ryeong was thoroughly sick of the subject, but the gravity on Eun Yakbyeok's face made her answer in earnest.
"No."
"…Understood."
"You've been weird lately."
"Have I?"
"You talk too much. Starting to sound like Unyeong…"
"Fufu, is that so? How lovely."
Eun Yakbyeok draped the clothes hanging nearby over herself and spoke to Dokgo Ryeong.
"Being told I look like an ordinary person is the greatest joy I could ask for."
"…What a strange woman."
"You're strange yourself, guest. I'll go out first. A moon cycle requires something layered into your underclothes, so I'll speak to the sect members about it."
"…Thanks."
"It's nothing. Well then… until we meet again. Assuming we both still live."
"…May ill fortune walk with you."
Watching Eun Yakbyeok leave, Dokgo Ryeong felt an odd unease.
…It's not like she's going off to die.
Seeing Eun Yakbyeok steal the farewell she herself usually offered, Dokgo Ryeong turned back to the tub.
"Ugh… fuck."
At some point the bathwater had turned thick with blood.
Once she had finished washing and, with the help of the Hao Sect members, gotten dressed, Dokgo Ryeong stepped outside.
This is so fucking uncomfortable…
The cloth layered into her underclothes was a nuisance, and the blood that kept surging out without warning was thoroughly unpleasant. A dull ache had begun to creep into her belly as well, needling her temper in a peculiar way.
No wonder there were women who reeked of blood sometimes even without a wound…
The one consolation was the clothing Eun Yakbyeok had set aside for her. Compared to the billowing, cumbersome garbage she had been stuck with before, these few outfits were far freer to move in, and that alone improved her mood.
And that was not the end of it.
"This is an inner armor made from the hide of a Poison-Horned Flame Net."
"…You're giving me this?"
"Yes. The Sect Leader instructed us in advance."
"…"
As if receiving the Yuseong-do from the Peng Clan had not been enough, she had now been given inner armor crafted from a Poison-Horned Flame Net.
…I owe her a lot.
Hoping that by the next time they met she would be in a state to at least treat Eun Yakbyeok to a drink, she returned to her room—
"Ah, you're back~?"
"We've been waiting the whole time."
"…Why are you two here?"
Eun Gwanyeong and Baekri Sohyeon greeted Dokgo Ryeong with bright faces.
"Because we obviously have things to ask!"
"There's so much I want to hear, Ryeong Mae."
"Uh… huh?"
With eyes that were somehow far too eager, the two young ladies spoke as one.
"How was the wedding night?!"
"How was the wedding night?"
"Ah, fuck…"
Dokgo Ryeong tried to turn and leave, but Eun Gwanyeong moved faster.
"Where do you think you're running off to~!"
"Would you—! You filthy little—!!"
Just as Dokgo Ryeong was about to thrash Eun Gwanyeong flat and force her way out, Baekri Sohyeon wrapped her arms around her from behind.
"This is an important matter, Ryeong Mae."
"And what's your problem?!"
"Well… the man I adore has a new woman now, hasn't he?"
"Wh… what?!"
At Baekri Sohyeon's sudden words, Dokgo Ryeong's mind went blank, and Eun Gwanyeong piled on.
"Exactly~! Me, I wouldn't mind being a concubine, but the principal wife has to be settled properly!"
"Mm-hm."
"Ah… no, fuck! Me and that bastard aren't even—"
"Do a man and a woman who are 'nothing to each other' spend the night together?!"
"Grr…!"
Dokgo Ryeong was just about to surge her internal energy and escape the room by any means necessary when—
"Ryeong Mae."
"What!"
"…I think Brother Wi is in love with you."
"Hwek?!"
Baekri Sohyeon's abrupt declaration snapped the entire flow of the conversation.
"So tell us."
"…This is really important, you know~…"
"Ah… no, fuck…. That bastard doesn't— no! You're both just imagining things!"
As Dokgo Ryeong flailed in panic, Baekri Sohyeon met her eyes and spoke.
"Ryeong Mae. I've watched Brother Wi for years."
"Ah… so…"
"When you collapsed, Brother Wi looked ready to cut down even Elder Doseon."
"…"
"I've seen him angry like that plenty of times, but… well. Has he ever been that way with me or Gwanyeong?"
"…I only saw it once, when he saved me…. Though I was little then…"
"Nooo… you're both just misunder—"
"Ryeong Mae."
Baekri Sohyeon cut her off in a firm tone.
"It isn't a misunderstanding. So tell us."
"Ugh… uuugh…"
"What happened. In detail."
"Uuuugh…!!"
"You're not leaving until you talk~!"
"Uuuuugh…!!"
Dokgo Ryeong's head was a mess. Looking into Baekri Sohyeon's earnest eyes, there was nowhere to run. Confirming that Eun Gwanyeong was also barring the door like an immovable guardian king ready to die on the spot, Dokgo Ryeong finally gave up on everything.
"Fuck… seriously… I… I told you no?!"
"We'll listen and decide."
"Right. We have to hear it first!"
"Ugh… so… so basically…"
In the end, with her face dyed a deep red, Dokgo Ryeong began to spill, bit by bit, what had happened the night before.
"I… I wasn't going to do anything at first…"
"Mm-hm."
"And then~?"
"That bastard… had his thing standing straight up…"
"Brother Wi's is huge, right?"
"Right. I was shocked the first time I saw it too."
"S-so I figured if I just got one shot out of him he'd calm down…"
"Does once ever work?"
"It goes down for a moment and pops right back up."
"S-so I climbed on top and… that…"
"Starting on top feels better at first."
"Really? I just lay there and took it."
"Would you shut up!!"
Dokgo Ryeong finally snapped at them for constantly cutting into her story, and only then did the two fall quiet.
"…Sorry."
"Please continue~…"
"Fuck! So after that the bastard came! And I started gushing blood!"
"…So you did it."
"You went all the way, then~."
"Ah… no, you brats! How the hell do you… put something that big in?!"
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
When Eun Gwanyeong and Baekri Sohyeon both failed to understand, Dokgo Ryeong said,
"Fuck, that… what was it. M… moon cycle?"
"Hm? Ryeong Mae, were you on your moon cycle?"
"…Today was the first time."
At that, it was Eun Gwanyeong who looked startled.
"What?! That can't be."
"Wh… what can't?"
"Starting this late… does that even happen~…?"
Eun Gwanyeong tilted her head.
"So you couldn't finish because of the moon cycle, then~. Brother Wi doesn't really like doing it during a moon cycle, you know."
"Hm? Gwanyeong, last time during your moon cycle you went from behi—"
"Hweeeek! Th-that's embarrassing, don't say it~! That was because the Moon Shadow Divine Art had me all heated up, okay~…"
"From behind what?"
"D-Dokgo young lady, please don't take an interest in weird things either!"
Ignoring Eun Gwanyeong's desperate plea, Baekri Sohyeon smiled and hugged Dokgo Ryeong close. Her hand slid slowly downward and lightly pressed against her rear entrance.
"You do it here."
Dokgo Ryeong's thoughts stopped cold for a moment.
A beat later, her ears blazed scarlet as she screamed at Eun Gwanyeong.
"U… uuuu… you filthy little slut!!!"
"I… I'm not, okay~! It feels pretty good there too, you know~!!"
"Iiiii…!!"
Dokgo Ryeong descended into pure chaos.
Th-that feels good too?! Are these people insane?! No, more than that, that… that huge thing…
For a moment Dokgo Ryeong's mind summoned the image of Wi Ilcheong's manhood from the night before.
And then—
"Hw… hweek…"
"Rye… Ryeong Mae?!"
"Dokgo young lady?!"
Dokgo Ryeong fainted.
Stroking her face, flushed a deep, ripe red, Baekri Sohyeon said,
"…She must have imagined it."
"Right~… Looking at this, Dokgo young lady might be the filthiest one of all…"
"I think so too, but don't say it to her face. She'll faint again."
"Yes~. More importantly, Sister Sohyeon, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"About Brother Wi. Does he really love Dokgo young lady?"
"Well…"
In truth, both Baekri Sohyeon and Eun Gwanyeong still harbored a faint doubt as to whether Wi Ilcheong truly loved Dokgo Ryeong. And yet this time Dokgo Ryeong herself had been the one to propose they sleep together, and there had also been the fierce reaction Wi Ilcheong had shown when she collapsed.
"Brother Wi was really emotional this time, wasn't he?"
"Mm. I don't think I've ever seen him that angry."
"If you look at it that way, it does seem like love, but…"
"But he only just said himself that he doesn't really understand love, so… it's ambiguous."
"Right~… And Dokgo young lady seems to have some feelings of her own, too~."
"Mm. Won't the two of them end up doing it soon enough?"
"Probably."
Fanning Dokgo Ryeong's thoroughly cooked red face with her hand, Baekri Sohyeon was certain. If they kept living and rubbing up against each other like this, the two of them would consummate things before long.
"Should we leave them some time alone from now on?"
"Hm? If they marry, wouldn't Sister Sohyeon be the principal wife?"
"…I can't have children."
"Ah…"
"And you said you didn't want the burden."
"That's true~… And if I become Sect Leader I couldn't stay at his side anyway~…"
"So it has to be Ryeong Mae. What about you, Gwanyeong?"
When Baekri Sohyeon asked, Eun Gwanyeong thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Me, well… someone like Dokgo young lady is fine. She has a huge amount of Yin energy, and she gets along well with our Sect Leader too?"
"Not that. What about Dokgo Ryeong as a person?"
"Ugh…"
Eun Gwanyeong furrowed her brow and said,
"…Not bad."
"So you like her?"
"…If she cut down on the swearing and stopped tormenting me a little."
"Fufu."
"Come to think of it, should I ask her to call me big sister too? Dokgo young lady seems to have received martial arts from the Sect Leader this time, so that makes us fellow disciples!"
"She'll have another fit and come flying at you."
"Probably…? Hiiing… I don't want a junior sister like that~…"
Baekri Sohyeon rested a hand on Eun Gwanyeong's head and stroked her hair.
"Ryeong Mae only does that to hide her embarrassment, so don't hate her too much."
"…I don't mind colliding with her honestly."
"Hm?"
"…It's just that watching her makes me feel inadequate~. What a lump of raw talent…"
"I feel like I fall short of you in plenty of ways, Gwanyeong."
"Uh… Sister, you…!"
Eun Gwanyeong looked enviously at Baekri Sohyeon's chest and said,
"…Your chest is huge~."
"Being big is inconvenient in its own way, you know? They get in the way when I swing a sword…"
"Ah! You're teasing me right now, aren't you~?!"
"Fufu, not at all~."
"Hiiing… Mine are going to get bigger too~… I'll have to ask him to knead them more often from now on~…"
"Or why not ask the Divine Doctor? He seems close with the Sect Leader as well."
"Ah, should I try asking once?"
"Mm-hm. At least give it a try."
"Yes~! Then… will Sister stay here?"
"I'll watch over Ryeong Mae until she wakes up."
"Okay. I'll be back, then?"
"Mm."
As Eun Gwanyeong dashed out in high spirits, Baekri Sohyeon, left alone in the room, stroked Dokgo Ryeong's hair and smiled.
"Fufu… if it's Ryeong Mae, I can give her my blessing with Brother Wi."
"Mmm…"
When she poked her forehead with a fingertip and watched her scrunch up her face, Baekri Sohyeon laughed.
"You really are adorable, our Ryeong Mae."
Certain that the days ahead would only be joyful, Baekri Sohyeon wore a happy smile.