Chapter 41
Hao Sect Leader Eun Yak-byeok.
The first thing that came to Dokgo Ryeong’s mind when she saw her was this.
‘…I’m screwed.’
There wasn’t a single person Mad Demon Dokgo Jin could call a friend.
There were only partners at his side.
Hao Sect Leader Eun Yak-byeok, who provided information on the people Dokgo Jin wanted to kill.
The physician Un-yeong, who treated him whenever he was badly injured.
And the assassin Mu-myeong, another victim of the Tang Clan, just like him.
Un-yeong and Mu-myeong were both men, and neither was close enough to him for personal conversations.
Whenever he met Mu-myeong, they exchanged a few words about whom they’d killed and whom they planned to kill, then parted ways.
When he met Un-yeong, he quietly listened as Un-yeong scolded him, telling him to please stop getting injured.
But Eun Yak-byeok was different.
She had always taken a great interest in Dokgo Jin.
And Dokgo Jin had never found a conversation with her unpleasant.
The two of them had always gotten along unusually well in conversation.
“Why are you trying to turn the whole martial world upside down, Guest?”
“What?”
Dokgo Jin asked again, twisting his already fearsome expression into an even uglier scowl.
“I asked why you’re tearing through the martial world like that, Guest.”
“Shit, why would I need a reason to smash something that’s a piece of shit?”
“Ahaha! That’s a good reason. A piece of shit, you say…”
“…”
Dokgo Jin was a little taken aback to hear the word ‘shit’ come from a woman’s mouth, but the chill in her eyes quickly drove the thought away.
“…The martial world really is a shitty place. Full of trash… a cesspool of trash.”
“Sounds like you have a story behind that.”
“Would you like to hear it?”
“No. I don’t need to.”
Dokgo Jin rose from his seat.
“You seem to have quite a few grudges yourself, so just knowing that is enough. Damn it, there are countless reasons people end up unhappy, and every one of them comes with some shitty circumstance. Hearing your story on top of that would only piss me off.”
“Hehe. Those are wise words.”
“What the hell do I know about wisdom? Anyway, where to next?”
“I didn’t know you’d become this strong, so I thought I’d take a bit of a gamble.”
As always, Eun Yak-byeok tossed him a book, and Dokgo Jin opened it.
“…The Namgung Clan?”
“The Sword God, the pinnacle of the martial world and a living deity, is there.”
“You want me to kill the Sword God?”
“Ahahaha! You really still don’t know your place, do you, Guest?”
Eun Yak-byeok made a brazen remark, but Dokgo Jin paid her no mind.
Why was the Sword God called the Sword God?
Because he was a man who had forged a legend with a single sword.
Dokgo Jin had spoken without thinking, but he had no intention of challenging the Sword God.
“The Sword God’s son will be heading to the Martial Alliance soon.”
“So?”
“Even the Azure Sky Namgung Clan, known as a house of chivalry, will get filthy if it spends its days with the Martial Alliance’s cesspool.”
“Those who keep company with the corrupt become corrupt. Is that it?”
“…”
Eun Yak-byeok’s eyes widened when Dokgo Jin quoted the saying.
“…Pardon me. I didn’t expect you to know a saying like that.”
“Shit. I’ve been learning to read lately, okay?”
“That’s good. Anyway, I’d like you to meet the young master of the Namgung Clan. He’s barely past thirty, yet he’s already earned the title of ‘Sword Emperor.’ If he turns out to be a bad sort, kill him on the spot.”
Watching Eun Yak-byeok calmly suggest killing the son of the greatest man in the martial world, Dokgo Jin grinned.
“What if I like the bastard?”
“Hmm… How about giving him a good spanking?”
“Kahaha! I’ll do that. Have you prepared a guide?”
“Yes. They’re waiting at the stables.”
“See you next time. If we’re both still alive, that is.”
“May misfortune be with you.”
Leaving Eun Yak-byeok’s farewell behind, Dokgo Jin walked out of the brothel.
That day, Dokgo Jin met the young master of the Namgung Clan. He liked the man’s spirit more than he’d expected, so he let him live.
Instead, as promised, he smacked his backside. Fewer than five people in the entire martial world knew about it.
He had no idea that the young master of the Namgung Clan who’d been spanked would one day become the Martial Alliance Leader. But that wouldn’t happen for a long time.
*
“Is the tea not to your liking?”
“…I don’t really like it.”
“Oh my, you have a rather unusual way of speaking.”
“I… I’m not very good at observing etiquette, so…”
“Hmm… You’d make a rather clumsy spy. Or is this a cute attempt to throw me off on purpose?”
“…”
Remembering the conversations she’d had with Eun Yak-byeok back when she was ‘Dokgo Jin’ and returning to the present, Dokgo Ryeong realized just how pathetic her current body was.
‘This is driving me crazy…’
Even though all she was doing was sitting there drinking tea, her throat felt parched.
Her sharpened qi sense kept warning her about Eun Yak-byeok, seated right before her.
This woman was a beast.
An entirely different kind of existence.
Someone who could take her life with ease at any moment.
“If you don’t like tea, shall I bring you some wine instead?”
“…No.”
“Your way of speaking sounds awkward. Why not just speak comfortably? It’s frustrating even for me to listen to. If you really are the Guest’s daughter, you’re like a niece to me.”
“…All right.”
Unable to bear the thirst brought on by Eun Yak-byeok’s overwhelming presence, Dokgo Ryeong finally reached for her teacup. Just as she took a sip, Eun Yak-byeok suddenly cut in.
“So, who are you?”
“Kheuk…”
Dokgo Ryeong choked and spat out all the tea, but not a drop reached Eun Yak-byeok, who was sitting across from her.
“…You really are clumsy. The more you act like this, the more it troubles me.”
“Ahem… Ahem.”
Watching the tea hang and swirl in midair, Dokgo Ryeong was reminded once again of Eun Yak-byeok’s martial skill.
Telekinetic control, manipulating objects around her at will.
It sounded simple enough, but controlling every single droplet someone suddenly spat out with her inner energy, without missing even one, was no easy feat.
More than anything, the fact that Eun Yak-byeok could do it so casually made the depth of her strength all the more apparent.
As Dokgo Ryeong stared blankly at her, Eun Yak-byeok gave her a mysterious smile.
“So, do you intend not to answer?”
“I… I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
“I told you. Who are you?”
“I… I’m Dokgo Ryeong, Dokgo Jin’s daughter!”
When Dokgo Ryeong somehow managed to shout it out, the Hao Sect Leader rested both arms on the table, leaned toward her, and asked,
“Then who is your mother?”
“Uh… I… I don’t know! She died when I was little…”
“You were born near Mount Hua, so how did you live on your own?”
“I… I became a slash-and-burn farmer and worked the fields…”
“Oh my. Could an infant work a field? Who looked after you?”
“There… There was someone nearby who took me in…”
“When did you reunite with Guest Dokgo Jin?”
“R-recently…”
“And when did you learn the Shura Rakshasa Saber Art and the Nine Yang Divine Art?”
“After I met him…”
“That’s enough.”
Eun Yak-byeok seized Dokgo Ryeong by the wrist.
“Move, and I’ll kill you.”
“I…”
“And if you tell me one more of those ridiculous lies, I’ll kill you.”
“…”
As Dokgo Ryeong clamped her mouth shut, Eun Yak-byeok’s inner energy entered through the arm she was holding.
‘…Shit.’
As Eun Yak-byeok’s energy began probing every corner of her body, Dokgo Ryeong’s face gradually went pale.
Just as Dokgo Ryeong realized she couldn’t hide anything any longer and was about to tell the truth…
“Actually… I… I…”
“Oh my…”
“…”
Eun Yak-byeok figured it out first.
“…Could you be… Great Hero Dokgo Jin himself?”
“Shit…”
Seeing Dokgo Ryeong effectively admit it, Eun Yak-byeok released the wrist she was holding.
“…How did you know?”
“Your Nine Yang Divine Art’s inner energy… and that immense yin energy. Um… Just a moment.”
Suddenly, Eun Yak-byeok raised a hand to stop Dokgo Ryeong from speaking.
“Let me figure it out. Wait a moment.”
“…Go ahead.”
“You took the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“…Did the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade really affect you?”
“I can’t say it had no effect at all.”
“I had no idea the Ice Palace’s sacred treasure had a spell that could turn a man into a woman. And you seem to suffer from something like a severed-meridian condition, too.”
“Well… Hah.”
Dokgo Ryeong raised both hands and covered her face.
“…Can you get me some alcohol?”
“…It seems like you’ll need quite a lot.”
Eun Yak-byeok waved her hand and used telekinesis to bring over a bottle of liquor.
“It’s Wuliangye, your favorite.”
“…Not that. Do you have any baijiu?”
“Pardon?”
“…This body’s such a piece of shit that I can’t handle alcohol very well…”
“…”
Without a word, Eun Yak-byeok brought over another bottle.
She poured liquor into Dokgo Ryeong’s cup. Dokgo Ryeong downed it in one go, then began to speak.
“Haa… Shit. So, basically…”
Dokgo Ryeong began a long story.
She told Eun Yak-byeok about the Bone-and-Marrow Transformation, meeting Wi Ilcheong, and everything that had happened with the Murong Clan.
*
“Kheuk…! I’m telling you…! Shiiit, that… that little brat…”
“…You’re drunk, Guest.”
“Hey! Let go! I’m not drunk!!”
“…”
With her face flushed red and her hair now a pale pink, Dokgo Ryeong wailed at Eun Yak-byeok, half in tears.
“Shiiit… That lewd little wench was teasing me! I’m telling you!”
“…I’m sure Gwan-yeong didn’t mean any harm.”
“Kheuheuk… Shit. It’s bad enough that I lost my inner energy… And then a little kid like that…!”
“…”
Judging that Dokgo Ryeong would go on ranting without end if left alone, Eun Yak-byeok gathered her inner energy and warned her.
“…Stay still.”
“Huh?”
Thump!
“U… Uweegh!”
Eun Yak-byeok forcibly ignited Samadhi True Fire inside her, burning away the alcohol. Dokgo Ryeong promptly vomited all over the floor.
“Urgh… Th-thanks…”
“Think nothing of it.”
“Give me some cold water.”
“Here you are.”
After gulping down the cold water Eun Yak-byeok handed her, Dokgo Ryeong finally came to her senses again.
“…That was embarrassing.”
“I’ve seen much more embarrassing things. It’s nothing new at this point.”
“…Shit.”
“Hehe… To think that the great Dokgo Jin would become such a pretty girl…”
Eun Yak-byeok reached out and played with her hair.
“Such a lovely light pink. Your lust is starting to…”
“S-shut up!”
“…Well, even when you were a man, you had absolutely no interest in this sort of thing.”
Eun Yak-byeok had been grinning happily the whole time.
“This is so fascinating. A man becoming a woman through the Bone-and-Marrow Transformation.”
“It might’ve been fascinating if I hadn’t lost my inner energy.”
“Oh my… How greedy of you. If you ask me, your body’s better than before.”
“…What?”
Dokgo Ryeong didn’t understand what she meant, so Eun Yak-byeok explained her opinion.
“This is my first time seeing a martial artist’s body after a Bone-and-Marrow Transformation, but it’s certainly a fine body. If you clear away the turbid qi blocking your eight extraordinary meridians, your finer meridians are already active, and your muscles look to be in excellent condition. It seems like you could master any martial art. And, above all, you have pure yin energy.”
“That’s no use if I can’t fucking draw on it.”
“Hehe. You really don’t pay much attention to other people, do you, Guest?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Eun Yak-byeok gave her an alluring smile and used telekinesis to bring over her seven-stringed qin.
“Do you know what people call me?”
“…The Sound Venerable.”
Because she practiced sound-based martial arts, Eun Yak-byeok was called the Sound Venerable (音尊). But she was also called the Lust Venerable (淫尊), since people said she was lewd.
Surprisingly, she didn’t mind people calling her lewd.
“You may not like it, Guest, but there are actually quite a few martial arts in the world that are based on the stirring of lust.”
“Isn’t that nonsense?”
“Of course not.”
When Eun Yak-byeok began plucking the qin, Dokgo Ryeong felt goosebumps rise on her back.
“A performer is only first-rate when they put their emotions into their instrument. Filling the strings’ resonance with longing, sorrow, and anguish is the bare minimum. And naturally…”
“Hngh…!”
The rhythm changed, and a bewitching sound began to flow from the instrument.
The moment Dokgo Ryeong heard the qin, her lower dantian throbbed again, and her hair turned pink.
“It’s possible to imbue the music with lust, too.”
“…Why are you telling me this…?”
“It seems you’re looking for an inner energy cultivation technique suited to your new body. Would you like to learn one?”
“Huh…? Yours?”
“Yes.”
Eun Yak-byeok plucked the strings again, and this time, a sorrowful sound rang out.
“It’s a cultivation technique imbued with the grief of a woman gazing at the moon, longing for her lover who’s gone on a distant journey. It’s perfectly suited for wielding yin energy.”
“…What’s it called?”
“The Moonshadow Divine Art (月影神功).”
“!!”
At her offer to teach her a divine art so readily, Dokgo Ryeong’s eyes widened.
“I… Is that really all right?”
“Of course. You’ve done us a great favor, Guest, so I can certainly offer you this much. However… this divine art has a problem, just like the Nine Yang Divine Art you practiced.”
“…What problem?”
Eun Yak-byeok set the qin aside, placed a hand on her lower abdomen, and said,
“Until you reach the tenth stage, you’ll need to regularly take in yang energy. Otherwise, your lust will become uncontrollable, and you’ll end up clinging to any man you come across.”
“H-hey… Yang energy…”
“To put it simply… a man’s ‘semen.’”