Chapter 21
After using the Tortoise-Breathing Art (龜息大法), the world began to look slower to Dokgo Ryeong.
At the same time, she felt a kind of comfort she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
It was a strange sensation, as if she were floating in the sky, much like sleeping in a cozy bed.
Savoring that sense of ease, Dokgo Ryeong sank inward.
‘…’
After sensing the cold, pure yin energy curled up near her lower dantian, around the Huiyin acupoint, Dokgo Ryeong surveyed her insides as if circulating her energy through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
When she reached the Tianhui acupoint near the crown of her head, she noticed the trace of yang energy she’d stored there back when she was the Mad Demon, Dokgo Jin.
‘…It was still there.’
It was the remnant of the moment she’d sent all her yang energy to the Tianhui acupoint, determined to save her mind even if it meant becoming impotent, while undergoing a complete transformation of bone and marrow.
The yin energy of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade had swept through her once, so the remaining yang energy felt like less than a handful. Still, she thought she might be able to draw on it in a truly desperate situation.
Just as Dokgo Ryeong wondered what she could do with that little yang energy, her chest suddenly began to feel tight.
The strange warmth she’d felt moments ago vanished, replaced by a suffocating sensation as if she were sinking deeper and deeper underwater. Dokgo Ryeong began thrashing with all her might.
At last, she overcame the suffocating feeling and broke through the dirt. When she emerged into the sunlight, the first face she saw was Wi Ilcheong’s.
“…Shit! Cough… Gack…!”
Dokgo Ryeong looked around for a moment, then remembered the situation she’d been in.
Once she’d come to her senses, Dokgo Ryeong looked at Wi Ilcheong and spoke.
“Ah, shit…. I thought I was going to die…. You’re here?”
“Ha… Haha….”
“…What? Why are you laughing?”
“Seeing you as consistent as ever, Miss Dokgo, puts me a little at ease.”
As Wi Ilcheong sank to the ground, Dokgo Ryeong examined his clothes.
Small sword cuts here and there, torn clothes, and ragged breathing.
She was about to assume Wi Ilcheong had been through his own share of hardship and cut him some slack, when something felt off.
It felt as though something that should have been there was missing.
“…Lust Demon.”
“Yes.”
“…Where’s the blockhead?”
“Well…”
“You bastard!!”
Dokgo Ryeong grabbed Wi Ilcheong by the collar.
“What happened? You said you’d bring her!”
“Miss Dokgo, please calm down for a moment…”
“I said, where is she!!”
“…I’m right here.”
Startled by the voice suddenly coming from behind her, Dokgo Ryeong turned around. Baekri Sohyeon and Eun Gwan-yeong stood there, covered in dirt.
Baekri Sohyeon smiled brightly at Dokgo Ryeong.
“…I got here first, so I hid too.”
“…”
“Hehe… Did you miss me, Ryeong? Were you worried about me?”
“…Hey, Lust Demon.”
“Yes, Miss Dokgo.”
“You should’ve told me beforehand, you bastard!”
“…I was going to tell you.”
“Aaaagh!!”
As Dokgo Ryeong shuddered with embarrassment, Baekri Sohyeon hugged her and tried to calm her down.
“Hehe, Ryeong. Hurry and call me Big Sis Sohyeon.”
“Forget it, shit. Forget it! I was out of my mind for a second!”
“Hehehe, Ryeong. I like you a who~le lot too.”
“Aaaagh!”
It took quite a while for Dokgo Ryeong to calm down.
Once Dokgo Ryeong had settled down, the Lust Demon crouched and dispelled the energy barrier he’d put up.
“Phew… I’m glad we were able to meet again like this. Also, Miss Dokgo, if you’re going to scream, give us a warning first. We went to all that trouble escaping—what if we’re discovered?”
“…Shit.”
“Hehe… I’ll take good care of her, Brother Wi.”
Dokgo Ryeong was nestled in Baekri Sohyeon’s arms.
No matter how much she struggled, there was no way to escape Baekri Sohyeon’s embrace with her frail body as it was now, and her chest was soft and comfortable.
In the end, Dokgo Ryeong gave up and rested her head against Baekri Sohyeon’s chest as she listened.
“Miss Dokgo. I take it you’ve already spoken with Miss Eun?”
“The Hao Sect, the Silver Fox’s disciple, and she’s actually a woman.”
“That’s enough.”
“…Why’d you hide it?”
“To deceive the enemy, you have to deceive your allies first. Also, Miss Eun’s Bone-Shrinking Art is a genuine trump card. It makes a huge difference whether the enemy knows she can change her appearance with it or not.”
“…I understand.”
“Hehe, it’s kind of embarrassing to be acknowledged by you, Brother Wi. Hehe….”
Seeing Eun Gwan-yeong scratch her head bashfully, Dokgo Ryeong moved her foot for no reason and kicked dirt at her.
“If you’re that capable, you should’ve done something sooner. Huh?!”
“Hiiing….”
“Haa… Please stop bullying Miss Eun, Miss Dokgo.”
“Shit, how am I bullying her?”
“…”
Even as he rubbed his tired eyes, Wi Ilcheong smiled for no reason, as though this had become a familiar part of his daily life.
Seeing that, Dokgo Ryeong scolded the Lust Demon.
“You bastard, you can laugh? Noh Sun-pyeong is behind us, and the river and the Murong Clan martial artists are ahead. How are we getting through?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I should’ve explained first.”
Wi Ilcheong picked up a twig and began drawing in the dirt.
He drew three wavy lines at the top and said,
“This is the Pajeo River.”
“And?”
He drew a dash below it and wrote ‘Murong Clan’ beside it.
“This side is probably the force sent from the Murong Clan’s main estate to meet us.”
He drew a circle below the dash.
“We’re around here.”
Finally, he drew a question mark below the circle.
“That question mark is the pursuit party led by Senior Noh Sun-pyeong. I don’t know where they are now.”
“Did you thin their numbers?”
“The last time I saw them, there were around fifteen.”
“Hmm… You’ve cut them down quite a bit, then.”
Dokgo Ryeong stroked her chin as she looked at the drawing the Lust Demon had made.
“What if we just break through the troops along the riverbank and cross using Water-Walking?”
“…That’ll be difficult. There may be Murong Clan reinforcements on the other side of the river.”
“So we’d run into Noh Sun-pyeong if we went around behind them.”
“That won’t be easy either.”
“…So what’s your plan?”
Wi Ilcheong drew an arrow toward the lower left and said,
“If we go straight south from here, there’s a point where the Pajeo River meets another river.”
“And?”
“We escape to that point and cross the river. Then, if we follow it farther south, there’s a small fishing village called Cheongniwa (青泥窪). If we cross the sea from there…”
Wi Ilcheong marked a dot.
“We can go straight to Shandong.”
“Why go out of your way to take this route?”
“A lot of it has to do with you, Miss Dokgo. I didn’t know a capture order had already been issued for you.”
Wi Ilcheong’s twig returned to the Pajeo River.
He marked a dot to the left of the Pajeo River, then drew a line south as he spoke.
“This is Liaoning. The Murong Clan there is determined to kill you, Miss Dokgo.”
“…And?”
“Tianjin is south of here. Since it’s the Beggars’ Sect headquarters, it’d be difficult for you to pass through.”
“…And after that?”
“There’s also the Hebei Peng Clan near Beijing. I heard the Mad Demon and the Peng Clan Head often fought over the title of Number One Saber Under Heaven. Is that right?”
“…If they learn who I am, they’ll want to pick a fight, even if they have to take me hostage.”
“And I can’t break through all three places while facing those threats. But…”
Wi Ilcheong drew another line, linking Cheongniwa to Shandong.
“If we go straight to Shandong, we can follow the coast to the Putuo Sect without much trouble. That’s the first reason.”
“What’s the second?”
“There are no clans in that area that hold a grudge against the Mad Demon. The only prominent families in Shandong are the Shandong Ak Clan and the Huangfu Clan. The Huangfu Clan rose to a seat among the Five Great Houses thanks to the Mad Demon thrashing the Murong Clan, so they shouldn’t hold much of a grudge.”
“Hmm….”
“And there’s a third, most important reason.”
“There’s a bigger reason?”
“The Hao Sect.”
“…”
Wi Ilcheong looked at Eun Gwan-yeong, and she explained.
“Ahem. Our Hao Sect has hidden branches all across the Central Plains. There are a few especially large ones, and the Shandong Branch is one of them.”
“…What’s good about going there?”
“I can contact my sect and explain Brother Wi’s situation, and we can help Miss Dokgo travel. Brother Wi can also take his time treating his severed meridians.”
“…That treatment is…”
“Hehe….”
Eun Gwan-yeong grinned, brought two fingers together to form a circle, and started to push a finger through it.
Dokgo Ryeong swung her foot at her.
“Y-you crazy woman! Still, there’s a limit! A proper woman shouldn’t make such a vulgar gesture….”
“…But I can’t exactly say ‘have sex’!”
“That’s the same thing, you crazy woman!”
“Ryeong… calm down, okay?”
“Haa….”
Baekri Sohyeon held Dokgo Ryeong from behind and stroked her, and after struggling for a moment, Dokgo Ryeong quickly calmed down.
“Haa… Fine. Lust Demon, let’s do as you say.”
“Yes. Then we’ll set off shortly, so please get ready.”
“…Can you shake off the pursuers?”
“It’ll probably be difficult. I’ll hold them off like I have been, then rejoin you.”
“The Murong Clan bastards are persistent….”
“What can we do? Haha….”
Wi Ilcheong scratched his head.
“…So, about that, Miss.”
“What?”
Wi Ilcheong put up the energy barrier again.
Seeing him do that, Dokgo Ryeong had a feeling the Lust Demon was about to say something that would make her scream and go berserk again.
“…Would you caress me?”
“…What?”
“I mean exactly that. Could you perhaps caress me…?”
“You crazy bastard!!”
Just as Dokgo Ryeong began to fly into another fit and charge at Wi Ilcheong, Baekri Sohyeon hugged her from behind and stopped her.
“Ryeong, Ryeong. Calm down and hear him out.”
“No, shit. What am I supposed to calm down for…!”
“You remember Brother Wi said he practices the Su Nü Jing, right?”
“So what, shit!”
“…The Su Nü Jing is a strange cultivation method that lets you build inner energy only during intercourse. And Brother Wi has used up a lot of inner energy escaping from the Murong Clan.”
“…”
“So, Ryeong, you need to help him a little.”
“No, shit… There are two other women here, aren’t there?”
When Dokgo Ryeong pointed at Eun Gwan-yeong, she smacked her lips regretfully and said,
“…I’ve used up a lot of inner energy getting here, so I’m exhausted. Besides, after I do it with Brother Wi, my legs are all wobbly until the next day, so I can’t.”
“No, shit… Blockhead, what about you?”
“…I did it before we came.”
“Ah, shit.”
Only then did Dokgo Ryeong realize why Baekri Sohyeon and Wi Ilcheong had been rolling around naked before the Murong Clan attacked them.
“No, shit! What kind of fucked-up cultivation method is that…!”
“…Miss Dokgo, we’re short on time. I’d like to recover my inner energy before Senior Noh catches up.”
“What the shit…!”
“I’m not asking much. Just help me out this once. You only have to… take my manhood…”
“Fuuuuuck!!!!!”
“…Ryeong, you’re all we have….”
“We’ll all die if you don’t, Miss Dokgo… We’ll teach you what to do.”
“…”
Dokgo Ryeong was gradually being cornered.
‘No, shit. Am I really going to do it with that bastard…’
Just thinking about it made goosebumps rise all over Dokgo Ryeong’s body.
Just then, Wi Ilcheong gave Baekri Sohyeon a look.
Baekri Sohyeon nodded in response.
“…?”
While Dokgo Ryeong wondered what signal the two of them had just exchanged, Baekri Sohyeon suddenly wrapped her arms around her from behind and restrained her.
“You… crazy! Blockhead, what are you doing right now…!”
“…Sorry, Ryeong.”
“No, shit!!”
Wi Ilcheong quickly pulled some powder from his robe and mixed it into the water.
“…I’m sorry, Miss Dokgo.”
“You bastard! What is that?!”
“…It’s an aphrodisiac. It’ll make you feel like doing it, Miss Dokgo. As promised, I won’t take your virginity here. The situation is truly urgent, so please understand.”
“You bastard!! Hey! Ah!!”
Eun Gwan-yeong covered Dokgo Ryeong’s mouth and forced it open.
“Hng… Brother Wi. Hurry…”
“Phew… I’m really sorry, Miss Dokgo.”
“Aaaah!!!”
Dokgo Ryeong struggled until the very end, but in the end, she had no choice but to swallow the liquid forced down her throat.
And her mind grew hazy.