SWNOVELXO Chapter 165
Chapter 165: The Innocence of a Young Girl
After leaving the great war, Jeoksawol walked with a lighter step, humming a tune.
She liked him.
Once she finally admitted that fact, she felt a sense of relief.
‘Hehehe. Cheonma. To look down on me and then get countered—serves him right.’
And not only that, she had countered Cheonma.
It was a rewarding day.
Jeoksawol crossed the Heavenly Horse Hall and arrived at the separate residence she was assigned to.
She spotted Heuksaryong Wi Soryeon amongst the well-cultivated gardens and rather extravagant royal chambers.
“Yeon Sojeo. You’re here now.”
Wi Soryeon greeted her bashfully.
Looking at her, Jeoksawol smiled and slap. Jeoksawol clung to Wi Soryeon and said, “Yes, Sister Wi. Were you waiting for me?”
“U-uh, not particularly… but, um, we received the banquet invitation.”
Wi Soryeon, trying to detach the clingy Yeon Sowol, fumbled through her garments and presented the invitation to her.
Yeon Sowol, no, Jeoksawol, took the invitation out.
“Cheonma Banquet… this is it!”
Jeoksawol’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Seeing her, Wi Soryeon’s cheeks flushed slightly as she stammered, “S-so, I wanted to ask a favor from you, Yeon Sojeo.”
Suddenly, grab.
Wi Soryeon held onto Yeon Sowol’s arm. In her sight, Yeon Sowol was radiating with a feminine charm that was worlds apart from her own tomboyish self.
It was because she was a post-stimulation indicator student training at Hao Mun.
Moreover, Yeon Sowol had boldly declared her feelings for Lee Cheol-soo. To Wi Soryeon, she felt almost like a rival.
But to Wi Soryeon, that didn’t matter at all right now.
“What kind of favor do you want, Sister?”
Jeoksawol giggled alluringly while tightly hugging Wi Soryeon.
The sweet fragrance wafting from her sent Wi Soryeon into a panic.
‘S-so this is the scent from a young girl’s body…!’
Wi Soryeon’s shoulders drooped slightly. It was the first time she was experiencing such a refreshing fragrance, having always trained with sweaty men.
‘I, I only smell like sweat…’
Wi Soryeon’s lips pursed slightly. She couldn’t help but compare her own rough appearance to the delicate beauty that was Yeon Sowol. She had grown up among men like one of them, all for inheriting the Heukryongbang.
Even as a child, she sometimes envied girls her age. But she thought it was a necessary sacrifice to become the owner of Heukryongbang in the future.
But that wasn’t the case anymore.
‘Lee Cheol-soo must take responsibility…!’
That couldn’t happen.
On the day of the Orthodox Faction Competition, when she was exposed half-naked in front of everyone.
The only man who could take responsibility for her was none other than Lee Cheol-soo.
She had poured her whole life into becoming a woman who was even rougher than men.
But the moment her girlhood was revealed in front of everyone, all of her training went to waste.
Moreover, with the finger-pointing of being lewd, she had become the scapegoat for the defeat in the competition. While it was whispered about publicly, Wi Soryeon was fully aware of it. Thus, as her standing in the faction dwindled, the only one who could take responsibility for her was none other than Lee Cheol-soo. He must not take full responsibility.
‘If I had learned the ways of a woman like the other girls…’
Since reuniting with Lee Cheol-soo until now.
No, even long before that, Wi Soryeon had been concerned.
The sight of the young girls around Lee Cheol-soo, and her contrasting presence.
Seomun Cheong-ha, Seoharin, and Geumhu Eun Seol-ran. All of them exuded feminine charm that was completely opposite to hers.
In contrast, Wi Soryeon was not like that. She was a tomboyish girl, devoid of any feminine allure. The worst woman that all men avoided—that was her.
So, even if Lee Cheol-soo spoke of taking responsibility, what if the other women all claimed their spots beside him? Perhaps there would be no place for her there.
That could not happen. But in Heukryongbang, there were only sweating men. There was no great figure who could teach her the ways of a woman.
Moreover, her father, the head, had not yet changed her training regimen. So, there was nothing left but to ask Yeon Sowol, who was her complete opposite.
And on top of that, it was a banquet. Unlike a casual meet-up, she didn’t want to be compared with other girls for her unrefined appearance in a formal setting. She might not have cared before, but now it was different.
“I, I also… want to appear as a proper girl… at this banquet.”
With red cheeks, Wi Soryeon swallowed her pride and made the request.
Hearing her words, Yeon Sowol smiled.
Jeoksawol knew through her 62 years of life experience that Wi Soryeon would indeed make this request. Wi Soryeon had fallen for Lee Cheol-soo. However, she lacked the freshness of a girl.
Of course, as the Most Beautiful in the World for 45 years, Jeoksawol was confident in enhancing Wi Soryeon’s charm by tenfold.
‘But it won’t come free.’
Everything has its price. Jeoksawol smiled.
“Alright, Sister.”
Jeoksawol emphasized “sister” while grinning.
“R-really?!”
“Yes! Of course… I won’t help you for nothing.”
“Hmph. I never thought you’d help me for free either. What do you want?”
In response to Yeon Sowol’s words, Wi Soryeon replied.
In the faction of martial artists, accurately calculating pros and cons is crucial. Yeon Sowol’s attitude of asking for compensation was completely natural as a faction member.
Jeoksawol laughed at her question.
Finally, they had come this far.
“Well, when you’re with me, you have to side with me, no matter what.”
“Without exception?”
“Of course, any unreasonable demands can be rejected. What do you say, Sister?”
Jeoksawol’s gaze fixed on Wi Soryeon.
‘Now that this has come to pass, I shall definitely… become the official concubine of Gaga. Hehe. The primary duty of an official concubine is to manage the household and control the mistresses… The candidates for concubines in Gaga must all fall under my control.’
Jeoksawol’s red eyes gleamed wickedly.
Jeoksawol acknowledged her feelings. And she had also planned for what came after.
In her 62 years, a man like Lee Cheol-soo would never come around again. He was the only man who could capture her heart.
So she had to hold onto him. She had to become his woman. But simply being a wife wouldn’t satisfy her.
She was the Most Beautiful in the World. If she was to be a man’s woman, she would aim for the highest position.
She had to target the official concubine.
As Jeoksawol thought, she looked at Wi Soryeon.
“Uh, yeah. That’s fine.”
Wi Soryeon nodded. As long as the requests weren’t troublesome, she could afford that much.
Seeing Wi Soryeon agree, Jeoksawol alluringly smiled.
“Great! Sister, let’s go to my room.”
With that, Wi Soryeon, caught by the wrist, was dragged to her room.
*
After the conversation with Jeoksawol ended.
Cheonma pondered over the words left by Jeoksawol.
‘Heart.’
A Cheonma endowed with transcendent talent who could almost be considered a supernatural being in human form. Raised as an orphan, he never knew his parents’ faces. But such a thing held no relevance or utility in his life.
The absence of parents was of no concern whatsoever. He had always been unique.
He had grown up under the iron-blooded rule of the strong who dominated the New Religion. He had never once thought it odd. His innate martial arts talent bestowed by the heavens had made him Cheonma.
Thus, he believed martial arts was all there was to being human. In the New Religion, no value existed outside of martial arts.
He thought humanity was useless. Yet…
Jeoksawol, a master at his level, said otherwise. She said martial arts weren’t everything; humanity was needed.
‘Humanity.’
It was something he had never once contemplated. Furthermore, Jeoksawol mentioned love as well. She even said he was pitiable. Everything was foreign to him.
Yet, he couldn’t ignore the words from a transcendent master as great as Jeoksawol.
‘If it’s love…’
In the New Religion, the person who understood love and emotions the best was none other than one individual.
‘Saekma.’
Saekma.
If anyone could fathom the desires of humans and the complexities of emotions, it would be him.
Having concluded all his thoughts, Cheonma rose from his seat.
*
In the Palace of Joy.
After forging a brotherhood with Lee Cheol-soo and sending him away, Saekma was savoring some wine near the wine pond.
‘Pleasure of the heart.’
It was a perspective he had never once considered.
While he thought he had mastered the intricacies of human desires, he had never thought of the pleasure of the heart. The secret arts of the Palace of Joy only dealt with the pleasures of the body.
Of course, there were arts that dealt with the heart, like in the technique of emotional fusion, but instinctively, Saekma knew those weren’t the true pleasures of the heart as described by Lee Cheol-soo.
‘To truly obtain the pleasure of the heart, how should one go about it?’
He had enjoyed the pleasures of the body to the fullest.
Saekma was no longer interested in physical pleasures.
The new pleasure, the pleasure of the heart, the question thrown by Lee Cheol-soo was the path Saekma was now pursuing.
Just then, while Saekma was deep in contemplation.
An overwhelming presence shrouded him. Someone with a violent aura that overshadowed all the sensual energies of the Palace of Joy could only be one man.
The lord of the New Religion, Cheonma.
Saekma immediately knelt at the direction where the aura was felt.
“I greet the Lord!”
As Saekma’s voice echoed throughout the Wine Pond and Meat Forest, a figure clad in black robes descended gracefully onto the pavilion.
It was Cheonma.
Cheonma’s gaze fell upon Saekma.
“Rise and sit.”
“Understood, my Lord.”
Having received the command, Saekma promptly sat down in a respectful manner.
Soon after, a servant who had been commanded by Saekma replaced the wine table in the pavilion with a new one.
Once the servant left and the two were alone, Saekma cautiously spoke, “My Lord, what brings you to such a humble place?”
Among the Five Demons, Saekma had the lowest martial arts skills.
Additionally, the current Cheonma had shown little interest in women, thus there had been nearly no connection between Saekma and him. There was also rarely an opportunity for personal interaction.
Yet now, without prior notice, Cheonma had come to see him.
For Saekma, this was beyond bewildering.
Seeing the gaze of Saekma, Cheonma spoke.
“…Saekma. You’ve transcended human desires, haven’t you?”
“Just a trivial skill, my Lord.”
“Can you possibly enlighten me about love, emotion, and the heart?”
Saekma paused at Cheonma’s words.
Normally, he would have confidently answered and claimed he could share that knowledge.
But ever since meeting Lee Cheol-soo, that was no longer the case.
Lee Cheol-soo had given him enlightenment. He now realized that the pleasures he knew were only half of the truth.
“That… I also do not know very well. However, there are those who are well acquainted with it.”
“Who is that? Tell me.”
Bowing his head at Cheonma’s inquiry, Saekma replied, “My sworn brother, Goeryong Lee Cheol-soo.”
Upon hearing this, Cheonma’s brows furrowed.
Cheonma asked back, “Sworn brother, you say?”