“Jiun, Soran too—heed your father's will and follow it. In these chaotic times, people like us must take the lead to reassure everyone. The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly being held at Shaolin Temple...”
Dang Soran sat in the Clan Leader's quarters with her younger brother Dang Jiun, listening to their father.
That didn't mean Dang Jeokcheon's words were flowing into her ears.
Her mind was still lingering on Mount Emei.
After bringing Han Seojin's item for Namgung Yeon to Chengdu by carriage and safely delivering it through Mokgyeol, she had been confined by her father's orders ever since, unable to leave.
The Namgung Family had suffered a major attack, so Dang Jeokcheon was even more worried about his daughter's safety.
The tragedy at the Namgung Family had thrown the entire Tang Clan of Sichuan into tension.
Even the previously relaxed elders were personally maintaining their poisons and weapons, carrying them at all times, and the number of Tang Clan warriors patrolling the streets of Chengdu had noticeably increased.
They even carried small flutes the length of a finger in their pockets to signal each other in emergencies.
She had already vanished without a word for a whole month last time, so it was even more impossible now.
The elders were stricter about such matters.
In their eyes, Dang Soran was still at a soft age, and they refused permission without even needing her father to step in.
Guards had even been assigned to Dang Soran.
They were called guards, but in truth, they were watchers.
Given Dang Soran's realm, which placed her in the upper ranks of the Hidden Dragon Society, the pretext of protecting her was just a shell.
“Soran?”
“Yes?”
Lost in thought, Dang Soran looked up.
Her father's words had brushed past her ears.
Her younger brother Dang Jiun gazed at her with worried eyes.
Dang Jeokcheon let out a long sigh before speaking again.
“I asked if you're prepared. For the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.”
“Ah, yes. I'm ready. Since I showed results last time, I'll do the same this time.”
...Above all, she felt a strange urge to defeat Cheongwol.
It was a chance for revenge, overcoming her past defeat.
Unlike before, her heart demon was much more suppressed, so she was sure she could win this time.
Dang Soran unconsciously swallowed.
Lately, she had been swallowing like this more often for some odd reason.
No, it wasn't odd.
She knew the reason.
The debauched guilt of being the filthy woman who had swallowed Han Seojin's saliva crashed over her, and saliva came on its own.
Thinking of the elders who doted on her, her father.
Or her younger siblings who looked up to her—it made her heart pound with regret.
Yet that excitement lingered around her like an aftertaste.
She couldn't take it back since she had stooped so low.
She was a woman who had eaten a man's saliva.
The image of Han Seojin coldly spitting it into her mouth came to mind.
And her own figure, submitting to that gaze and swallowing it like a bird.
“...Hoo.”
Dang Soran let out a deep sigh.
The one who had done that to her was far away on Mount Emei.
...What in the world was he doing with Cheongwol?
Why didn't Han Seojin live in Chengdu?
Why did Han Seojin live on Mount Emei...
“...Sister.”
Snapping back, Dang Jiun had stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
From the situation, it seemed their father had dismissed them.
“Ah.”
Dang Soran noticed and quickly rose from her seat, but...
“...”
Soon, she sat back down without realizing it.
Dang Jeokcheon silently nodded his son away.
Dang Jiun bowed politely before carefully leaving, leaving Dang Soran behind.
Now only the two of them remained in the Clan Leader's quarters.
“So. What is it you want to say.”
Dang Soran spoke first, but her thoughts weren't sorted, so she closed her mouth again.
She herself didn't even know what she wanted yet.
Hadn't it always ended up like this?
Before meeting Han Seojin, she had struggled with such anguish.
A bland, colorless world.
A life lived like a buoy, without likes or dislikes.
‘Ptooey.’
Then, the imagination of someone spitting saliva into her mouth returned.
The unforgettable intense stimulation she felt then.
Who could go back?
After such an experience, how was she supposed to live this boring life?
As she mulled over the memory, her mouth spoke on its own.
“...Dad.”
“I'm listening.”
“...I... I want something now.”
Dang Jeokcheon let out a deep sigh.
But Dang Soran herself was startled by the words that had slipped from her mouth.
She wanted something?
Was that her feeling? No, not really, definitely not to that extent.
Why would she want to possess the person she wanted to torment?
And even if she did, it would be Han Seojin possessing her, not... No, that's not it...
“What is it you want.”
“Th-that is...”
Right. The words had slipped out.
How could anyone say they wanted a person?
It wasn't like she wanted to make him her slave or anything.
Yet that dangerous fantasy spread through her mind like poison.
Han Seojin as hers.
“...”
Just that imagination alone made Dang Soran feel that prickling sensation she had never known before.
Looking only at her. Ignoring Cheongwol.
Cherishing her several times more than now, treating her preciously.
...And occasionally tormenting her in a pleasurable way.
Taming her heart demon, erasing her anxieties, bravely stepping up in danger...
Just painting that picture in her head made her breath catch.
Dang Soran looked up.
“Please give me a Wish Token.”
“...A Wish Token.”
“One that grants any request of mine.”
“Tell me what that wish is. I feel guilty about the Wie Cheon-sang incident. If it's reasonable, I can grant it right now—”
“—No.”
...It still wasn't something Dang Jeokcheon could accept.
Hadn't he already told Han Seojin no to the idea of taking him as a partner?
Besides, even that vague feeling hadn't fully settled in Dang Soran's heart yet.
She couldn't even be sure if she truly wanted this.
It was a major crossroads in life.
She already regretted summoning those three men to Chengdu last time; she couldn't repeat the same mistake.
Was playing with him good?
...Yes. Definitely. Thrilling.
The liberation at the end was too addictive.
But did that mean she liked him as a man?
...A question she had never properly answered.
If she clung to someone just because the play was fun, wouldn't that be insincere?
Like getting bored of a toy as always, what if she got bored of the play?
Wouldn't that be disrespectful to Han Seojin?
Her pride was still unbroken.
Anyone in the world would say the same, wouldn't they?
The eldest daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan and some leather shop owner.
Who should be the one kneeling and begging?
Why should she tarnish her face and approach Han Seojin first?
Normally, proposals come from men—how could the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan, a woman, do it first...
So, a Wish Token.
Until her heart sorted itself out.
“If you know the content of the wish, you might oppose it, so it's a Wish Token. Please give it with the intent to grant my selfish request.”
“...”
Dang Jeokcheon closed his eyes for a moment.
As if weighing countless possibilities in his mind.
Then, he opened his eyes and said.
“If it's a wish destined to conflict with me, I can't give it so easily.”
“Dad...”
“...So, earn it yourself.”
“Yes?”
“With the Namgung Family incident, many are trembling in fear. Though that bloody affair happened far away at Mount Tianzhu, the people of Chengdu are surely uneasy inside. So you must reassure them. I still lack the opportunity to step forward. The chance is yours, so you must do it.”
“You mean for me to run around on foot to calm them—”
“—No. We were talking about it earlier. The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. Prove yourself there. You've suffered from your heart demon for a year. Show me how high you can soar, overcoming that pain.”
“...Will bringing back the Phoenix title be enough?”
“You're already called Phoenix—what meaning does the title hold?”
“Then...”
“Break through the wall to the Peak Realm.”
Dang Soran's mouth fell slightly open.
“Ah, Father! Even so, that's...!”
The wall to the Peak Realm wasn't one just anyone could cross.
Warriors at their prime, blessed with heaven's talent.
Sect Leaders of a faction, Clan Leaders, elders... or reclusive masters who had accumulated years.
Only those reached the Peak Realm.
Slicing waterfalls and mountains, leaping as if flying through the skies, dodging or deflecting sword strikes with eyes closed...
Even across the entire Central Plains, it was said there were fewer than seventy who had crossed that wall.
“Only then can even I, the Clan Leader, set aside my face and yield. I don't know what you desire... Soran, you're already at first-rate mid-stage. You can do it.”
Stifled by the overwhelming goal, Dang Soran asked back.
“Then, will you truly grant any demand, no matter what?”
Dang Jeokcheon nodded.
“I'll even grant a request to disown me. Though I hope that day never comes.”
“...”
It was a promise carrying the weight of Dang Jeokcheon's resolve.
That resolve made Dang Soran shrink back first.
Even so, with that level of commitment, surely...
...Surely he'd even grant kidnapping Han Seojin.
Dang Soran bowed her head once and replied.
“...This girl will go train.”
Dang Jeokcheon smiled bitterly.
“I'm curious what that wish could possibly be.”