Chapter 38
Waking from her sleep, Dokgo Ryeong let out a curse.
“Shit… Again?”
Maybe she’d hit her head on something when she collapsed, because it felt like her skull was about to split open.
“No… fuck…”
“Ah, Miss Dokgo. You’re awake?”
…
The moment she saw Eun Gwan-yeong greeting her, the memories from before she’d lost consciousness came flooding back.
Baekri Sohyeon, half naked.
Wi Ilcheong pointing out each part of her body and explaining what should be touched to make it feel good.
And Eun Gwan-yeong sharing how she masturbated.
As the memories came back one after another, Dokgo Ryeong’s face turned red and she let out a shriek.
“Ugh… You lewd woman!”
“Haa… There you go again. You already learned all about it yesterday, so why are you acting like this? I’m telling you, it’s not lewd.”
“I-if that isn’t lewd, then what is…!”
“There’s no time for that now. Hurry up and get yourself together, then pack your things.”
“What?”
“We have to get off. Shandong’s coming into view.”
“Already?”
“Yes. Big Brother Wi is already outside looking around with Big Sis Sohyeon.”
After gathering her belongings, Eun Gwan-yeong approached Dokgo Ryeong.
As soon as she came closer, Dokgo Ryeong instinctively felt threatened.
“Wh-why?! Don’t come any closer!”
“Come over here. You need to get ready before we disembark.”
“What…!”
“You need to change your hair color.”
“…What?”
“Oh, come on, Miss Dokgo. Have you already forgotten? You’re wanted right now! With such a conspicuous hair color, you’ll be recognized in no time.”
“Ah…”
Dokgo Ryeong fiddled with her hair.
Watching her, Eun Gwan-yeong wore a sly smile.
“Why? Were you expecting something else?”
“D-don’t be ridiculous!”
“Hehe. Once we find an inn later, we can do plenty…”
“Kyaaaah!!”
“All right, I’ll stop teasing you. Turn around.”
“Shit…”
“Ah, and watch your language, too. We’re about to meet my fellow sect members.”
“The Hao Sect’s Watchman?”
“Yes. Though he doesn’t really like that nickname.”
Eun Gwan-yeong sent inner energy through the acupoints around Dokgo Ryeong’s head. Starting at the roots, her hair changed from pink to black.
“That’s a relief.”
“What is?”
“It seems your hair color is affected by your inner energy… Just in case, please don’t have any lewd thoughts while we’re outside, okay? If your hair suddenly changes…”
“Die!!”
When Dokgo Ryeong swung her fist, Eun Gwan-yeong dodged and stepped back.
“…Look at this.”
When Eun Gwan-yeong pointed at her, Dokgo Ryeong looked at her own hair fluttering in the air.
It had turned pink again.
“…Please calm down. Understood?”
“Shiiiiit!!!”
Even as she said it, Eun Gwan-yeong thought that the word ‘calm’ didn’t suit Dokgo Ryeong at all.
“Ah, you’re out…?”
Watching Dokgo Ryeong come out of the cabin, Wi Ilcheong’s voice held a note of uncertainty.
“…Why are you hiding?”
“Well, you see… If Miss Dokgo keeps thinking about Big Brother Wi, then… Ack!”
“Sh-shut up!”
Dokgo Ryeong’s fist sank into Eun Gwan-yeong’s side, and she grimaced.
“Couldn’t you try to act a little more like a person…?”
“Kyaaaah!!”
“…All those etiquette lessons were completely pointless.”
“What’s going on, Gwan-yeong?”
Baekri Sohyeon came over and looked at Dokgo Ryeong, who was hiding behind Eun Gwan-yeong’s petite frame.
“Ryeong, why are you standing back there?”
“Well, you see…”
“Kyaaaah!!”
…
Watching Dokgo Ryeong keep flying into fits of anger, Eun Gwan-yeong sent a telepathic message to Baekri Sohyeon.
[Whenever Miss Dokgo sees Big Brother Wi, her hair turns pink…]
[Oh my.]
[…What should we do? Maybe it’d be better to put her to sleep?]
[It is cute seeing her get so embarrassed, but… Hmm…]
Baekri Sohyeon rested a finger on her cheek and tilted her head, then approached Dokgo Ryeong.
“Ryeong, Ryeong.”
“Only call me once.”
“How about walking around with pink hair the whole time?”
“What?!”
Dokgo Ryeong was horrified.
Even if no one else knew what it meant, to Dokgo Ryeong, that pale pink hair was nothing but humiliating.
It was practically proof that she was consumed by lust, and they wanted her to go around with it showing?
“Blockhead.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Hehe. Everyone else will just look at your hair and think, ‘Pretty~,’ then move on.”
…
Baekri Sohyeon smoothed Dokgo Ryeong’s hair as she spoke.
“Fiery red hair and this pretty pink hair give completely different impressions, don’t they? If you carry yourself confidently, even people from the Martial Alliance might not recognize you.”
“B-but… How could I…?”
“I’ve thought of a good way, hehe.”
Baekri Sohyeon smiled brightly.
Even as she watched that refreshing smile, which was sure to put anyone in a good mood, Dokgo Ryeong felt uneasy for some reason.
“…Shit.”
“You’ll have to keep your mouth shut, Ryeong.”
…
“So…”
After hearing the whole idea, Dokgo Ryeong rejected Baekri Sohyeon’s proposal.
No, she did more than reject it—she went wild as if she meant to sink the ship then and there.
But in the end, she had no other choice, so she swallowed her embarrassment and did as Baekri Sohyeon suggested.
*
At the far end of Shandong.
At the port in Weihai, Huangbo Yun, young master of the Huangbo Clan, sat chewing on a candied hawthorn skewer.
“…Do I really have to do this?”
After finishing another candied hawthorn skewer, Huangbo Yun looked at the beggar sitting beside him and asked.
“Haa… The Alliance issued the order. How can we not act?”
“I feel bad saying this to a four-knot disciple of the Beggars’ Sect, but I have something to say.”
“Honesty is one of the Huangbo Clan’s strengths.”
“Honestly, even if I saw the Mad Demon’s daughter, I wouldn’t be particularly interested in capturing her. I might even secretly treat her to a meal.”
“Kehaha! That’s just like the Huangbo Clan.”
“Putting it bluntly, wasn’t it the Beggars’ Sect that made an enemy of the Mad Demon first? I heard you refused to provide information because she’d made a deal with the Hao Sect.”
“That’s true as well. But, young master, there’s something you’ve forgotten.”
“And what’s that?”
The Beggars’ Sect disciple fiddled with the four knots tied around his waist as he spoke.
“Have you forgotten that it was our Sect Leader, Elder Mukseon, who declared this kill order?”
“…That makes it even stranger. Is there anyone in the martial world who doesn’t know Elder Mukseon’s character?”
“Rather than commit the sacrilege of questioning the Sect Leader’s judgment, I’ll simply obey.”
“Fair enough. If our clan head told me to bring someone’s head right now, I’d probably just bring it to him.”
“Isn’t that just the lot of those of us below?”
“I suppose it is. Ah, another ship is coming in.”
Huangbo Yun rose to his feet and looked at the ship approaching in the distance.
“Shall I go, or should the Incense Master?”
“I went last time, so you go this time, young master.”
“Very well.”
Huangbo Yun poured inner energy into his feet and bent his knees.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, he soared into the air and landed on the ship.
A massive man suddenly dropped from the sky, startling the sailors into a panic.
“H-holy…!”
“I’m here on behalf of the Alliance! From this moment on, everyone aboard is to cooperate with me fully! As for who I am…”
Huangbo Yun struck his chest with his fist as he spoke.
Embroidered where his fist landed was the Huangbo Clan’s emblem: the character for thunder (雷).
“I am Huangbo Yun, young master of the great Huangbo Clan!”
“T-the Thunder Dragon Fist Star (雷龍拳星)!”
“I’m embarrassed to say it, but that’s the sobriquet by which I’m known. Where is the captain?”
“I-I’m the captain.”
One of the sailors stepped forward, and Huangbo Yun looked at him and asked.
“Is there a young lady with red hair and a brash disposition aboard this ship?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure?”
Crackle.
When Huangbo Yun clenched his fist, his intense yang energy turned into lightning, and sparks flew.
“Do you know what I hate most?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Vagueness. If she’s here, say she’s here! If she isn’t, say she isn’t! Give me a clear answer.”
“Well…”
At that moment, a man came strolling out, leading three women.
“I didn’t expect to meet the young master of the Huangbo Clan here.”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m embarrassed to say that in the martial world, I’m known as the Jade-Faced Young Master.”
“…So you’re Hero Wi.”
Huangbo Yun politely cupped his hands and bowed, and Wi Ilcheong smiled brightly.
“The captain seemed to be in a difficult position because of me, so I came out.”
“What do you mean?”
“One of my companions has pink hair, so I imagine that might be confusing.”
“Ha! Is there really a woman with pink hair in this world?”
“I thought it was strange too. Would you like to see for yourself?”
“By all means.”
When Huangbo Yun looked at Wi Ilcheong, a woman whose face was bright red with embarrassment stepped out from behind him.
“N-nice to meet you. I…”
“Go on, speak up.”
“I-I’m Ryeong-a.”
“Oh…”
Huangbo Yun marveled as he looked at the woman who’d introduced herself as ‘Ryeong-a.’
‘How could such a beautiful woman exist in this world…? And not just one, but three.’
As the son of a prestigious clan, Huangbo Yun had mingled with many other clans since childhood. Among them were quite a few famous beauties known throughout the martial world.
But not one of them could compare with the three women in Wi Ilcheong’s company.
A lovely young lady with silver hair and a petite frame, who somehow retained a girl’s fresh charm.
A demure young lady with beautiful black hair like the night sky and a voluptuous figure that made her seem warm and comforting.
And finally, a young lady whose mysterious pink hair and crimson cheeks made her so adorable that he could barely contain the affection welling up inside him.
Huangbo Yun gazed at the three young ladies in a daze for a moment, then remembered why he’d come and asked again.
“Um… Do you not have a surname?”
“I-I’m from a family of slash-and-burn farmers.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”
“It’s all right…”
Watching her blush and lower her head at the end of every sentence, Huangbo Yun felt a ticklish warmth in his chest.
‘How can there be such an adorable woman…?’
The sight of her stirred a man’s urge to protect her, and Huangbo Yun’s heart raced.
“By the way, Hero Wi.”
“Yes?”
“…Why are you still holding Miss Ryeong’s hand?”
“Ah… Haha. Well… She’s very shy around strangers. So she doesn’t want to let go of me.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. Isn’t that right, Ryeong-a?”
When Wi Ilcheong looked at Ryeong-a, Huangbo Yun’s gaze naturally followed.
‘Hmm?’
For a moment, he saw a beastlike gaze in her eyes. But a moment later, her face turned red all the way to her ears as she answered.
“Y-yes…”
“She really does seem very shy.”
“That’s what I’m saying, haha.”
Once he’d confirmed everything, Huangbo Yun cupped his hands to Wi Ilcheong again.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Hero Wi. If you ever have occasion to visit Mount Tai, be sure to stop by the Huangbo Clan. I’d like to have a leisurely chat with you sometime.”
Wi Ilcheong returned his greeting with a cupped-hands salute.
“Haha, if I ever have occasion to go there, I’ll be sure to do that.”
“…Then I’ll be off.”
Just as Huangbo Yun pushed off from the ship and headed back to shore, he heard a strange cry.
“Shiiiiit!!!”
It sounded like the pink-haired young lady he’d just seen.
But Huangbo Yun ignored it.
He couldn’t believe such a lovely young lady would say something so foul.
*
“I’ll kill you…! Kyaaaah!!”
“…Please calm down, Miss Dokgo. Didn’t things work out well in the end?”
“I’d rather…!”
Dokgo Ryeong stared at the ship’s mast with murderous intent.
When she tried to slam her head into it, Baekri Sohyeon hurriedly stopped her.
“Ryeong, calm down just a little…”
“Kyaaaah!!!”
“Brother Wi.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to seal her mute acupoint than use sleep incense…?”
“Kyaaaah!!”
Until just a moment ago, Dokgo Ryeong had been acting like a demure young girl, dying of embarrassment.
What annoyed her even more was that her hair had stayed pink the whole time simply because she’d been holding Wi Ilcheong’s hand.
‘I… I was overcome with lust… Shiiiiit!!!’
At the thought that she’d become a lewd woman whose lust boiled over from merely having her hand held, Dokgo Ryeong’s mind nearly went blank, leaving her feeling hollow.
Just as Dokgo Ryeong stared blankly into space, the ship stopped at the pier and jolted once.
“Ryeong, let’s calm down first… We’re on land now.”
“Shit… I… I…”
“Mm-hm. I know. Ryeong isn’t a lewd girl.”
“Uuuggh…”
…
After watching Dokgo Ryeong’s spirit practically leave her body in real time, Wi Ilcheong turned to look at Eun Gwan-yeong.
“…By the way, Miss Eun.”
“Yes?”
“How did you evade the Martial Alliance’s notice? They must know I’m traveling with Miss Dokgo.”
“Heheh, I have my ways. Ah, there he is.”
As Eun Gwan-yeong stepped off the ship, a beggar with four knots tied around his waist approached her.
Pointing him out, Eun Gwan-yeong introduced him.
“Now, this is my senior brother and the Hao Sect’s Watchman, Senior Brother Eunho!”
“…Long time no see, junior sister.”
Eunho, who’d been disguised as a member of the Beggars’ Sect, greeted her with a gloomy smile.