The Second Eunuch Regains His Manhood

Episode 192: The Fragrant Aroma

My head feels like it’s going to explode.

It’s as if my body has swallowed fire, burning intensely.

[······Is someone entering?]

I heard a voice, not just in my ear but in my head.

Is it auditory hallucination? No, it’s definitely not. Someone is directly speaking into my mind, just like Hyeokwang’s technique.

The moment I realized this, I quickly retraced my memories up to just before I fell asleep.

At the moment I was cornered in the life-and-death struggle with Gangsimajon, Jeoksawol appeared. That was when I lost consciousness.

And here I am now.

As soon as I recognized that I had woken up, a luxurious fragrance wafted into my nose. Soon after, I felt the warmth of skin against my face.

What’s going on? I twitched my hand and opened my eyes.

“Are you awake?”

A familiar voice reached my ears. It was Jeoksawol. With her voice, I realized the state I was in.

I was embracing her. What I felt on my face was probably Jeoksawol’s bosom.

Blood rushed to my face as I realized this fact. The color spectrum is the study of pursuing the master of desires, not the slave of desires. But the body of a youthful teenager doesn’t listen to my mind. With the control of my blood flow, having reached the Stage of Transcendence, I barely managed to calm my lower half.

“I’m awake. So please let me go. This is embarrassing.”

Jeoksawol was silent for a moment at my request.

My request was valid.

This isn’t the modern world but a medieval martial realm in another universe. The separation of men and women is the norm. The sight of a man and woman embracing is deemed vulgar in this world.

After a brief silence, she spoke to me.

“···Understood.”

With that, I hastily released myself from Jeoksawol’s embrace. I’ve endured for ten years. If I stayed embraced any longer, my body would instinctively respond beyond my will, causing embarrassment with an unwanted reaction.

Once I freed myself, I could finally see the surrounding scenery clearly. Unlike the demon realm, it was a clear, desolate, mountainous landscape.

Crackle, crackle.

In the middle, there was a campfire. Crackle, crackle. The flames of the fire flickered and sparks flew up into the sky.

It was the night after sunset.

Just as I was about to ask Jeoksawol about the current situation.

“Disciple!”

From a distance, a familiar voice called, and someone hugged me tightly. This time it was the scent of wildflowers brushing against my nose.

It was Sahyeong.

“Ah, you’re awake, brother.”

“······.”

Next, I spotted Heuksaryong Wi Soryeon, quietly looking at me while putting Sosumahu to sleep on her lap, and So Cheonma Baek Cheon-hwa.

All the participants, except for Makdaewon, who was a wristwatch, were gathered here.

“Where’s Makdaewon?”

It’s clear he escaped the demon realm through the Five Demon Gates.

Then where could he be?

“He’s a traitor of the Blood Sect. I left him in the demon realm after personally marking his blood. By now, he might very well be a meal for some demon monster,” Jeoksawol replied.

The blood-marking technique is a crucial martial art treated as school legacy. Until certain sects’ blood-marking techniques spread widely during the chaotic end of the Ming Dynasty, only masters who trained in reputable sects could perform the marking.

Of course, Dongchang had a blood-marking technique that wouldn’t be easily broken.

Logical as it is, the reverse of blood-marking, unmarking, must also be done according to the blood-marking method. Of course, if a low-level practitioner were to mark a master, they could forcibly undo the marking with their cultivation. But that wasn’t the case with Makdaewon.

The blood-mark was from Jeoksawol, an incomparable master of the Hyeongyeong level, who had suppressed him. Regardless of the blood-marking technique, Makdaewon could never release it using his own energy.

Considering he fell into a demon realm where monsters dwell, as Jeoksawol explained, he was most likely eaten by a demon.

‘By the way, if Makdaewon is a traitor······.’

Makdaewon’s father, Changma, is a betrayer of the Demon Sect. The moment my suspicion turned into conviction.

“Disciple, I missed you······.”

Sahyeong clung to me, not letting go.

I nodded at Sahyeong’s words and checked my physical condition.

‘I’m not injured······.’

External wounds were fine since I had applied healing ointment. The fundamental principle of Gongdongpa Mugong is Purest Life Force. This is the ultimate life. Therefore, my body, which has recently undergone transformation through Gongdongpa, boasts superhuman durability and regenerative capabilities.

The injuries sustained in my fight against Gangsimajon almost healed just from resting. It’s absurd that healing ointment would completely regenerate wounds so quickly.

With my body’s capabilities tailored to pursue ultimate life in Gongdongpa, a pleased smile crept onto my face.

‘Hehehe.’

With this level of durability and regeneration, I’m bound to achieve amazing performance even on the bed.

Right now, I’ve surpassed the average stamina level of all modern humans on Earth.

Simultaneously, I now possess enough stamina to satisfy two partners at once.

I’ve finally approached the level of the King of Stamina.

‘I’m glad I joined Gongdongpa.’

Even after sustaining injuries and recovering, I feel an incomprehensible surge of vitality.

It’s the achievement of the Gongdongpa Mugong, which seeks ultimate life.

“Sahyeong, what has happened while I was out?”

I gently distanced Sahyeong, who was continuously clinging to me. Upon hearing my words, Sahyeong’s eyes momentarily showed a daze.

Soon after, she smiled. The breathtaking beauty, no, the breathtaking charm of Yujinhwi made the surroundings feel brighter.

“Fufu. See, I’m the most reliable here, right? I knew you would ask me first about everything when you woke up!”

Yujinhwi declared boastfully to me, as if she just won a tournament.

Seeing this, Jeoksawol’s hand trembled. When her gaze met mine, Jeoksawol quickly averted her eyes, snorting softly.

What is she doing?

“Then, I’ll tell you everything now. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask and I’ll tell you again. Listen closely, Disciple······.”

From summarizing Sahyeong’s speech, I was able to learn everything that happened while I was unconscious.

The reason Jeoksawol appeared in place of Yeon Sowol was explained by Sahyeong: ‘While you were unconscious, Jeoksawol escaped the Demon Sect and was sent as a messenger to contact the Sado Family, and Jeok-sunbaenim appeared from somewhere and saved us.’

‘A plausible excuse.’

If I hadn’t known that Jeoksawol and Yeon Sowol were the same person, I might have felt a bit awkward and uneasy, but given the emergency, I wouldn’t have thought too much about it.

But now it’s a problem. Because I know.

“So that’s why we’re here now.”

Upon hearing Sahyeong’s words, I turned to look back. The traces of destruction in the mechanical control room and the fog-filled ceiling beyond it are glaringly evident.

“What has happened to the Demon Sect Headquarters now?”

“I’ll answer that part.”

Before I could finish speaking, Jeoksawol chimed in. Dressed in a crimson aura, she took a sip of tea brewed over the fire and then spoke.

On her slender index finger sat a small bird.

“I just received information about the Demon Sect Headquarters through an informant.”

She pulled a letter from the container tied to the bird’s leg.

“Did they infiltrate the Headquarters with informants? Well, the Demon Sect Headquarters is virtually a city. For civilians who engage in daily activities without martial arts, deploying informants would be easy.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Jeoksawol.

She took out the letter and began reading.

“Changma has rebelled against Cheonma. Unidentified external masters have joined Changma. Rumors are spreading that the previous Cheonma has been resurrected. The main gate of the Heavenly Horse Hall has been destroyed, emitting a level of energy that could alter the surrounding terrain.”

Thud.

Jeoksawol folded the letter.

“It’s those Blood Sect bastards. The Four Great Lords, the highest level practitioners of their class, might have been mobilized. Gangsimajon, who faced off against this gentleman, may have returned as well.”

She interpreted. The simultaneous involvement of an unknown Four Great Lord alongside Gangsimajon.

Changma’s rebellion.

And the Blood Sect’s large-scale participation.

The conclusion drawn from this is singular.

‘Their Plan B has been set in motion.’

The Blood Sect’s Plan B. To eliminate the present Cheonma and his followers, and use a puppet Cheonma to blatantly dominate the Demon Sect.

From the records of my previous life, the Blood Sect’s Plan A was to secretly take over the Demon Sect while keeping their existence hidden. This was a somewhat safe plan.

However, the current Plan B risks revealing the Blood Sect’s existence and even tolerating the demonization of the Demon Sect in order to devour it.

‘Why didn’t they use Plan B in my previous life? Was it because I had control of the Imperial Palace? Or because the Heavenly Demon’s prestige was taken away from them?’

The Blood Sect did not use Plan B in my previous life. Perhaps it was a dangerous plan and at that time they had already initiated an internal strife within the Demon Sect, but feared higher losses and didn’t use it when they suffered greater damage.

Additionally, I inadvertently became the loyal subject of the Ming Empire after all the Blood Sect members were expelled in the Imperial Palace. The Blood Sect might not have viewed me as a threat to their Plan B, which needed to reveal their traces while being aware that I modified them.

‘They must have overly underestimated me. Could the Demon be a coward?’

At this point, the Blood Demon would have to be referred to as Blood Coward. Because they’re just a cornered recluse, practicing boundaries of life and death mastery.

“The Cheonma is in danger, so naturally, I must step in. I may not like the Cheonma, but allowing the Cheonma to die at the hands of the Blood Sect would only create further chaos in the Demon Sect.”

Jeoksawol stood up.

“My father is in danger······”

Baek Cheon-hwa muttered in a low voice from the side. Having worshipped the Cheonma throughout her life, finding out he is in danger must feel surreal to her.

“······You all stay put. I will take care of everything······. But even here, it won’t be completely safe. So be cautious, everyone.”

Under the moonlight, Jeoksawol looked stunning, a true representation of the phrase “moonlit beauty,” and spoke to us with concern.

As Jeoksawol’s red gaze swept over everyone, it froze when it met mine.

Her face slightly reddened.

She avoided her eyes and turned away.

Seems she’s embarrassed.

“I will take my leave now.”

Whoosh.

Jeoksawol took off. Soon after, her voice echoed in my head.

[This gentleman. Be careful. Don’t get hurt.]

It was a concerned telepathy. Hearing her words, I smiled.

And then heightened my guard.

My instincts were ringing alarms. Gangsimajon.

He will undoubtedly return.

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