SWNOVELXO Chapter 166
166th Chapter: Pleasure of the Heart
Cheonma’s words made Saekma flinch.
“Have you formed a brotherhood with Goeryong?”
Saekma nodded at Cheonma’s question.
“Yes, indeed, my lord. Before meeting my younger brother, I indulged in all physical pleasures. But in the end, it was just emptiness. When nothing could excite me, I met Lee Cheol-soo.”
Saekma spoke fervently, with a respectful tone.
“Lee Cheol-soo ignited a new fire of the Pleasure of the Heart in my hollow heart. Thanks to him, I realized that the pleasures I sought were only half of what true pleasure could be. If one does not know the Pleasure of the Heart, one cannot truly be a Saekma. How could I not form a brotherhood with such a benefactor?”
Cheonma pondered briefly while listening to Saekma’s words.
As he toyed with an empty cup, Saekma politely poured some liquor.
Pour, pour, pour…
Clear, top-quality Baijiu poured into Cheonma’s cup. Cheonma gulped it down and said,
“Emptiness, huh? So you’re saying Lee Cheol-soo filled that emptiness for you.”
“Precisely.”
Saekma nodded.
Emptiness. Cheonma mulled over that word in his heart.
Though their paths differed, Saekma too had felt that emptiness. Just like Cheonma, who was jaded by the world due to his exceptional talent, Saekma had grown tired of all pleasures after savoring them all.
Cheonma recalled Saekma’s past self. He didn’t know him well, but he was someone who never forgot the impressions of those he had encountered once.
Cheonma dredged up that memory of Saekma’s face from the depths of his mind. The Saekma he met just after ascending to his place was definitely different from now.
As Saekma said, his eyes had been filled with emptiness and nihilism.
But that was not the Saekma of today. His eyes were brimming with vitality.
“What exactly is the Pleasure of the Heart that Goeryong taught you?”
“Well, I’m still at the beginning stages, so I don’t fully understand, but Goeryong said this.”
Saekma refilled Cheonma’s empty liquor cup as he continued.
“Physical pleasure is merely empty and meaningless pleasure. Only through the Cloud and Rain Pleasure with someone whose hearts truly connect can one experience the supreme pleasure.”
“A partner whose heart truly connects.”
Cheonma’s gaze reflected in the liquor-filled cup.
The fragrance of liquor wafting from the Wine Pond and Meat Forest tickled Cheonma’s nose.
The Most Beautiful in the World, Jeoksawol, also spoke about how pitying it was for Cheonma—having no understanding of love and emotions. She lamented that she felt the same way.
“I don’t know the details either. But if you ask Goeryong, you might find the answer.”
Lee Cheol-soo.
That name again.
Cheonma’s mind conjured the image of Lee Cheol-soo—a bizarre physique that encapsulated fragments of Hyun-gyeong within an absurd state.
With an expression and gaze that even Cheonma couldn’t read.
Truly a crafty man.
And at the same time, the beloved of the Most Beautiful in the World and the first Post-Stimulation Indicator of the Orthodox Faction, having formed a brotherhood with Saekma.
“I had also been thinking the same.”
After finishing the remnants of his Baijiu, Cheonma placed his cup on the table and stood up.
“I will go to find Goeryong.”
“Do as you wish, my lord.”
As Saekma bowed deeply, Cheonma lightly kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
Before long, Cheonma’s silhouette crossed the dark blue night sky where a sliver of the moon hung.
*
After gathering information from Saekma, I returned straight to my accommodation. As if sensing my presence in advance, as soon as I entered, my disciple greeted me.
“Disciple! You’ve returned!”
In his boyish disguise, my disciple approached me. The scent of wildflowers brushed against my nose. Hug!
My disciple wrapped around me tightly, sniffing as he did.
What’s going on?
“Hmm. No smell of women.”
His eyes momentarily lost focus before snapping back quickly.
He flashed a slight smile.
“But I can smell alcohol. Have you been drinking, Disciple? With Saekma?”
His gaze turned toward me. His lips puckered.
Having spent the most time with him, I understood. He was just a step away from sulking.
We weren’t even married; I don’t know why I have to explain this. Still, I had to tell him about what happened with Saekma.
“That’s… I met Saekma at the Wine Pond and Meat Forest.”
“What did you do? Why did Saekma call for you?”
Crack!
My disciple held on to me like a cicada stuck to an old tree, bombarding me with questions.
Had I not known his original gender, I would have been taken aback. But now, what could I say? It felt… strange.
He looked like a pretty boy, but if I thought of him as the most beautiful woman in the world, Jin Soso…
I cleared my mind and explained the conversation I had with Saekma, even mentioning about forming a brotherhood with him.
Upon hearing my explanation, my disciple’s expression turned a bit complicated.
“Hmm… I see… A brotherhood…”
“Yes, it couldn’t be helped…”
In terms of Guanxi, Saekma and I had become Xiongdi (brothers). We essentially formalized this brotherly bond.
“… a brotherhood… Hmph. But we’re still siblings, right? I’m better than Saekma, aren’t I?”
With a lingering hug, my disciple looked at me.
“Of course.”
I answered him promptly.
There’s no way my disciple, who was originally female, is worse than Saekma, who had transitioned from male to female. My disciple had always been a girl. I just mistook it.
“I like you the most, Disciple.”
My disciple said with a bashful smile while still wrapped around me. Her face flushed red.
“But still, I don’t like the smell of alcohol. You know what? I think I should give you a bath. Until every trace of alcohol is gone.”
As my disciple lightly pulled away from me, she continued. What?
Give me a bath?
“I was worried about having no bath in Xinjiang, but luckily there’s one in the separate residence we’re staying at. Disciple, let’s take a bath together. I heard that siblings bond by bathing together.”
My disciple naïvely added that last part with a smile.
So now, she was suggesting we have a bath together? Is that what she meant by bonding as siblings?
There wasn’t anything wrong with her words. Bathing together as siblings to strengthen their bond was quite common. Traditionally, men would bond during their baths.
But the issue was that my disciple wasn’t a male; she was a woman. Taking a bath with her? Of course, I didn’t dislike it, but isn’t this moving just a bit too fast?
Still, I could…
My face turned red all of a sudden. My heart raced.
Just then, my disciple’s brows narrowed.
“… I wanted to, but sadly, it seems impossible today.”
Impossible, you say?
“Someone’s coming.”
With a serious look, my disciple freed her powers.
WHOOSH!!!
Dark energy soared toward the night sky.
At my disciple’s words, I spread my senses and felt it.
An overwhelming presence that overshadowed the entire black night sky.
I turned my head.
And there he was.
Cheonma Baek Murang. Clad in a black cloak adorned by moonlight, he was slowly descending from the sky into the separate residence’s courtyard.
Cheonma stepped down slowly from the black night sky, having turned his back on the moonlight, like stepping on a staircase. It was the Heavenly Ladder, the highest defense technique.
The Heavenly Horse Dominance Step. A technique only Cheonma, who possessed the highest mastery of the Defensive Technique, could wield freely.
Cheonma.
Could it be he came to see my disciple?
I stepped between my disciple and Cheonma.
“Gongdong Alliance. You don’t need to be overly wary of me. Withdraw your powers.”
“…”
Even with Cheonma’s words, my disciple didn’t drop her demeanor.
“What brings you here tonight, Senior Cheonma?”
My disciple glared straight at Cheonma.
Cheonma’s gaze shifted to me. Why was he suddenly looking at me?
Cheonma retracted his powers. The massive presence that engulfed the sky dissipated like smoke.
He looked at me and said,
“I came to find Goeryong.”
What?
Me?
Wait, wasn’t Cheonma interested in my disciple? He had been in my past life too, right? Why the sudden change?
Caught off-guard by the unexpected situation, I steadied my mind.
To counter the Blood Sect, the cooperation of the Demon Sect was essential. The faction level of Hyulma at the Boundary of Life and Death is still something I don’t know about.
So, I had to gather every bit of power available.
In this situation, having a private meeting with Cheonma was an opportunity. I needed to establish a connection with him. According to Sinseung, the current Cheonma Baek Murang had no ties with the Blood Sect.
“What is it you need?”
“Gongdong Alliance. I have no obligation to tell you. However, I promise this. I swear on my name that I will not harm Goeryong.”
Cheonma declared. My disciple pondered for a moment before retracting her aura.
“Understood.”
[Disciple, if anything comes up, send me a message. I’ll help you.]
My disciple shot me a familiar phrase. I replied with an acknowledgment.
“Senior Cheonma, I’m not sure what business you have with the martial artist known as the Sword Dragon, Lee Cheol-soo, but it’s only polite to receive guests properly. I accept the meeting with you, Senior Cheonma.”
With a smooth line, I adopted a posture of deference and bowed my head to Cheonma.
Upon hearing my words, Cheonma looked down at me with listless eyes and said,
“Goeryong, there’s no need for pretense. Let’s go to the reception room. I wish for a private meeting.”
“Understood.”
I left my disciple behind and headed to the reception room with Cheonma.
*
Reception Room.
Seated across from Cheonma in this elegantly decorated space filled with expensive ceramics, the moonlight filtering through the lattice, I poured tea from the teapot into Cheonma’s cup.
“So, why did you come looking for me, the Sword Dragon?”
I emphasized Sword Dragon while speaking.
I still didn’t understand why everyone kept calling me Goeryong. I’m recognized as the Sword Dragon of the Martial Alliance. SLURP!
After taking a sip of tea, Cheonma spoke to me.
“I had a private meeting with Yeon Sowol and Saekma.”
Then, Cheonma briefly summarized the conversation he had with them. Of course, he didn’t mention that Yeon Sowol was the same as Jeoksawol. It was hard to tell if he deliberately concealed it or simply didn’t notice.
Anyway, it seemed both of them spoke about me. In particular, Yeon Sowol said how pitiable it was that Cheonma did not understand love.
Pitiable for not knowing love, huh?
I wondered if this was indeed the Jeoksawol I knew? Was her alternate character’s concept consuming her main one? I couldn’t tell.
“… Goeryong.”
Cheonma stared at me, his empty eyes fixed upon me.
“Saekma said that you were the one who taught him the Pleasure of the Heart, filling his emptiness. Thus, I ask you. What exactly is the Pleasure of the Heart?”