Dang Soran kept up her provocations, but she couldn't focus because of her fear of Cheongwol.
Cheongwol's voice echoed in her mind.
‘This game is just between you and me. No matter who else asks, you can't do it. Got it?’
The expression on Cheongwol's face as she said those words had been so serious—it was still vividly etched in her memory.
At the time, I understood why she was acting that way.
She was the one who'd even stopped me from going to the brothels.
As a nun, she was far more conservative than ordinary people, and she probably wanted me, who was doing SM play with her, to stay a little pure too.
If I got close to courtesans, she'd feel like I was tainted.
It'd be like asking how I could so casually get near other women when men and women are supposed to keep their distance.
Honestly, the reason she was like this with me didn't matter.
Cheongwol had clearly told me not to.
She'd given me a clear warning.
...But I still got caught after barely holding out.
"Yes? Young Master..."
This crazy bitch! Because of you, we're all about to die!
What's so great that you're grinning like an idiot!
She doesn't know her future, that's why she's acting like this.
You'll get brutally killed by Cheongwol later!
Dang Soran's fate was clearly spelled out in the book.
She'd fled a hundred li hoping to survive until the protagonist came to help her... but Cheongwol's pursuit never ended.
The moment she thought the protagonist and the Hidden Dragon Society had come for her, filled with hope, what appeared was Cheongwol's sword.
Even as she screamed the protagonist's name, begged for her life, thrashed about, and desperately called for her father, all that returned was Cheongwol's blade.
Dang Soran met a gruesome end, hacked to pieces.
"...Hehe."
But looking at her now, it seemed she might meet an even more gruesome death.
I could picture myself lying dead beside her.
Dang Soran was scary, but Cheongwol was terrifying... The fear of Dang Soran faded away.
It was like flinching at a snake, only for a massive tiger to appear behind it.
Now, I didn't give a damn about the snake.
I grabbed Dang Soran's head with both hands and asked.
"...Funny?"
Dang Soran's expression turned intensely seductive.
She felt my hands gripping her cheeks.
"Eek... A-are you angry?"
"...Ha."
I searched for words, but all I could manage in the end was a sigh.
She wouldn't act like this if she knew.
She didn't know the future where Cheongwol would kill her.
"Just... punish me."
"..."
"...I feel like I did something worth punishing."
Blood rushed to my head.
Survival instinct surged alongside rage.
We're both going to die by Cheongwol's hand anyway—what was there to fear from Dang Soran?
If we're going down, I wanted to see her sniveling after her punishment.
Wouldn't an arrogant Dang Soran like this be cute broken down and crying?
Suddenly, I remembered spanking her ass in her room.
The feel of it, and how cute she'd been crying at the end.
My hands, still gripping her cheeks, naturally slid upward.
"...Ah."
Dang Soran let out a soft moan as she stared straight into my eyes.
I didn't know what my eyes looked like, but Dang Soran's gaze began to waver.
I sensed faint fear rising in her.
She stood awkwardly, lightly brushing the back of her hand against her own hip.
Her hair slipped between my fingers.
I gritted my teeth, about to grab her hair—
‘Ah... damn it?’
Dang Soran and I jumped apart in unison.
We knew from each other's eyes that a customer had come—it was over for today.
As I glanced at Dang Soran, she pulled something from her bosom.
A leather knife.
"...A leather knife made by the Tang Clan."
"..."
"A... gift. For that thing last time."
I snatched the leather knife from her hand and nodded toward the door.
"Thank you. Now leave."
"...Huh?"
Dang Soran's expression finally turned serious.
"A-are you really mad? Huh? No... i-it was just a joke—"
"—I don't feel like talking right now. And since you said you heard it, I'll say it myself too... I have no big plans to get involved with murim folk. Didn't we agree last time to cut ties?"
Dang Soran reached for my sleeve.
"Y-Young Master—"
I opened the Leather Room's front door.
Emei Sect's third-generation disciple—that bold little girl whose name was... whatever—jumped back in surprise.
"Mister!"
I flashed a grin.
"Long time no see."
"Huh? Next to you... Eek! S-Senior Dang Soran...!! Why, why are you here..."
I looked at Dang Soran. You answer.
Dang Soran blinked, cleared her throat, and replied.
"What's your name?"
"Emei Sect third-generation disciple, H-Honghwa, Senior!"
"...I came to check out the Emei Sect's Leather Room for a bit. It's more shabby and pathetic than I thought."
...This bitch to the end?
"And the shopkeeper lacks manners. Let's go, Honghwa. This isn't a place worth staying."
As Dang Soran extended her hand, Honghwa flinched.
"I... have business with the mister..."
...With me?
Dang Soran glanced at me, then at the basement behind me, then at Honghwa, snorted, turned her head, and left.
Her long sleeves, typical of the Tang Clan of Sichuan, fluttered as she walked away.
"...Haa."
I let out a long sigh.
...I really need to figure out a way to flee on a donkey as fast as possible.
****
Dang Soran couldn't stop her expression from twisting.
Not negative emotions like disgust, helplessness, or emptiness from her heart demon ordeal.
...How long had it been since she'd felt this angry, irritated, and pride-wounded fury?
The sensation she'd forgotten for so long dominated her, and she didn't know what to do.
She'd come all the way to Mount Emei just to see Han Seojin, holing up and eating temple food.
But when she actually met him, and he was even angrier and more annoyed than expected, it frustrated her.
...Did I do something wrong?
Of course, she had to reflect a little. But accepting it was hard for her, raised in such a privileged environment.
She could bow her head and play nice for trivial matters, but this had seriously bruised her feelings, making it tough.
She'd even given him a gift.
Worked hard to get it from the elders.
"...Ugly bastard."
Words she wouldn't normally utter slipped out.
Startled by the echo in her own ears, she looked around.
Fortunately, no one seemed to have heard.
She frowned and started walking.
****
"...So, Seol-yeon said she was sorry to me too, but honestly, I don't like it..."
I organized my thoughts while watching Honghwa chatter away.
...What the hell do I do about Cheongwol.
She can't possibly have no thoughts on this.
I know without seeing. I can practically see her losing it in rage.
Especially since it was with Dang Soran.
That's the worst part.
And Dang Soran was the one who revealed it.
If I think of it as Dang Soran provoking me the way she provoked Cheongwol...
"...Haa."
As I sighed deeply, Honghwa flinched.
She stopped chattering, sat on the chair swinging her legs listlessly, then finally glanced at me hesitantly.
"M-Mister. D-do you... hate me?"
"Huh? What're you talking about."
"...Did you leave Mount Emei because you hated me? Is that why you're sighing now..."
"...What're you saying?"
It felt so refreshing to hold back my real thoughts for once in a while.
With Dang Soran and Cheongwol, I always needed a filter.
"I... bullied you a lot, Mister."
"You?"
"Yeah."
I racked my brain.
"...I don't remember?"
"Don't lie!"
"I can't help it if I don't remember. How did you bully me?"
"I said you were ugly! Dirty! That it was gross how you eyed Cheongwol Senior! That you were overreaching!"
I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"Didn't bother me at all, so don't worry and head back."
I meant it.
Bullying from Cheongwol or Dang Soran—that's what hurts.
Kids don't know the adult world, huh?
Humans are cruel. They toy with lives.
"But Mister."
Honghwa suddenly blushed and bowed her head.
"...Actually, I don't think you're... that ugly. Just... normal-looking. Honestly, sometimes you're kinda—"
"—Got it."
"You are dirty though. If you dressed properly and fixed your hair, it'd be better. Oh, if you weren't a beggar, Mister, and made lots of money..."
"I accepted your apology, so no need for insincere words."
"I mean it... But I like you even as a beggar..."
"..."
...Suddenly, she seemed cute.
When was the last time I got such high praise from anyone?
Cursed by Cheongwol and Dang Soran.
Scratched by Gwak Du Uncle.
...Thinking about it, compliments like this were years overdue.
"Gotta go out more often. Step out for a bit, and I get all these nice words."
"N-No! Stop leaving now. Do you know how short we were on straw rope for bundling firewood on Mount Emei?"
"Got it, now go home."
"Mister... It's been so long! Can't we talk a little more?"
"I'm not interested in how your senior brothers stole your temple meals."
"Then talk about something else. You tell a story this time, Mister."
Cute? Canceled. Now annoying.
That's how it is.
Girls are cute but a hassle.
Boys take work but are fun. Tease them, they just sulk without doing much. No grudges either.
Not many boys on Mount Emei, but I play with them when I see them.
I scratched my head, then suddenly remembered something and asked.
"...Is Ga Yeong doing well?"
She's in the Hao Gate, Honghwa. Believe it?
"Ga Yeong... sis? She was selling dumplings today too."
"Hey! Why's Ga Yeong 'sis' and I'm 'Mister'!"
"Eek! Th-then... should I call you big bro too, Mister?"
"Hmm. Nah, that's weird."
"...Tch, whatever."
A brief silence.
I pondered for a long time, sighed, and finally whispered.
"Um..."
"Yeah?"
"...How's Cheongwol Junior Sister lately..."
Honghwa scowled hard.
"...Didn't I tell you not to covet her? You're not on her level."
"You apologized for being mean. Why tease again."
"It's true you're not on her level. Cheongwol Senior's called the world's top beauty—think she'll look at you just 'cause you try?"
"Whatever. Been off Mount Emei a while, just curious. How's she been?"
Honghwa looked reluctant, turned her head sullenly, and answered.
"She did something huge recently."
"What?"
"My... master and Baekhui Senior got kidnapped by some thug... and she rescued them."
"Oh, really?"
Didn't know that.
Wow, what gutsy bastard messes with Emei Sect nuns?
"Are the two okay?"
If word got out that Emei nuns were taken by a thug, it's not just reputation at stake.
Given the sect's nature, lots of guys lust after Emei flowers.
Once plucked, the world cruelly sees them as tainted disciples.
Emei avoids parading them too.
The sect must project purity for sponsorships—no choice.
Middle Kingdom's girl idols, basically. Pure and chaste... Cruel, but that's what people want.
Whether they can protect their own flower—that's the pride of Emei's heroines.
In that sense, Cheongwol's the perfect billboard for Emei's future.
So, I'm asking broadly. It's vital for Emei disciples.
...Not the best person to ask, Honghwa.
"Yeah. Aside from nightmares, they're totally fine physically."
"Phew. Good thing. What happened to the thug? Caught him?"
Hard to imagine Cheongwol sparing him, but with Emei there, she wouldn't kill in front of everyone.
"Nope. He wasn't easy to catch."
"Huh? You know who it was?"
No one around, but Honghwa looked about anyway.
Then shh—finger to lips, voice down.
She scurried to my side and grabbed my ear.
Whispered in it.
"Yushin Sword, Yeongcheon!"
Thump. My heart sank hard.
Feels you never get used to, no matter what.
"...What?"
Why's Yeongcheon approaching Cheongwol already?
Was it around now?
No, it can't be.
But if Yeongcheon met Cheongwol, she should've gone with him.
That's when she joins the Demonic Cult.
"...Did Cheongwol Junior Sister disappear?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You said she met Yeongcheon."
"Yeah."
"...?"
"...?"
"...She didn't go with him?"
"Mister! Why would Senior follow her master's kidnapper!"
"...Huh??"
I blinked at the incomprehensible change.
Cheongwol didn't go with Yeongcheon?
But that was her fated path.
Why'd it change?
Does this mean she won't become Demonic Cult?
Cognitive dissonance hit.
I sank into thought alone for a while.
"...Ha."
At that absurd possibility I'd never considered, I was too stunned to even breathe.
No way.
Only one difference.
Really, no way.
Cheongwol, that damn albino.
...The SM play really resolved her heart demon?
Does that even make sense?
Before I could fully accept it, Honghwa added.
"But lately, Cheongwol Senior seems in a bad mood."
"...Huh?"
"Her eyes... never seen that before. Super scary."
Felt like a cold blade at my throat.
I could guess why she was giving off such a fearsome aura.
"Meditating alone in the hall lately... Everyone feels it's weird. Even after rescuing my master, no one dares approach. Maybe 'cause of some new training?"
So she's not just pissed at me—she's fucking furious.
And Yeongcheon's offer is messing with her head too.
What if she decides to go back to the Demonic Cult like this? Furious at me...
"Watch out for our Senior too, Mister."
Honghwa stamped her foot.
"She promised... to punish you together when you come back."