The Second Eunuch Regains His Manhood

217th Chapter: Age Doesn’t Matter

“Hmph. As expected, I prefer my mother over my father.”

Whether I was baffled or not, Sosumahu comfortably called Wi Soryeon ‘Mom’ while snuggling in her arms, not even embarrassed by the age difference of several decades.

“Right, Mom?”

“Ah, yes. Senior.”

“Not senior, call me Jiyagi…”

Sosumahu corrected herself, her face flushed as if she felt embarrassed.

“Ah, got it. Jiyagi.”

Wi Soryeon, surprised by her words, gently patted Sosumahu’s head. Sosumahu melted into Wi Soryeon’s embrace like a cat.

I was utterly speechless.

As I clucked my tongue inwardly, a voice broke through.

“Um, older brother.”

Heuksaryong cautiously spoke to me.

Her gaze shifted toward me.

“So, about the Mosan Sect departure…?”

“I got permission from Master. Here’s a handwritten note from them.”

I pulled out the handwritten note from my Master.

“I see… then I too…”

Wi Soryeon trailed off, stealing glances at me.

“Dad. You’re not thinking of not taking Mom, right?”

Sosumahu, still nestled in Wi Soryon’s arms, asked me. Her crimson eyes were fixed on me.

Although I thought it might be somewhat risky, considering the Blood Sect’s Trap, I had no choice because of Sosumahu.

Right now, Sosumahu felt a bit uneasy alone without Wi Soryeon, but if the baby-like Sosumahu didn’t have her mom around, she would cry saying she didn’t have a mom.

I couldn’t leave her behind.

“Wi Soryeon. I’ll take you along too, so don’t worry.”

“Th-thank you! Older brother!”

Wi Soryeon beamed with joy at my words. Upon seeing her happy face, Sosumahu smiled slightly and our eyes met.

Sosumahu looked flustered, her face turning red as she dropped her gaze.

She hurriedly asked, “So, is our party complete with just me and Mom, Dad?”

“No. Given the possibility of the Blood Sect’s Trap, I plan to reinforce our party’s strength.”

“Who are you going to summon?”

“I’m going to call Geumhu, Senior.”

Sosumahu flinched at my words. She said, “Is Yeomwang not coming? I thought he would definitely tag along if you moved.”

Is she talking about Jeoksawol?

Though I had refused, I didn’t think she wouldn’t come either.

She would find a way to join us somehow.

“I didn’t call her, but Yeomwang will probably come too, just like you said, Sosumahu.”

An uninvited guest, literally a 不請客, Jeoksawol would be joining our party.

Jeoksawol, Geumhu, Sosumahu, Wi Soryeon.

That’ll probably be our final party for the Mosan Sect departure.

With these troublemakers gathered, I was already worried about what kind of chaos would unfold.

*

After Lee Cheol-soo left.

In the separate wing guest room, only Wi Soryeon and Sosumahu remained.

Sosumahu Baek Rijiak was blushing in Wi Soryeon’s embrace.

Ah, Dad, eh, Mom…

Her heart raced.

She didn’t want to call them that. But due to the Gold Restriction, she had no choice. Even after two years, she still wasn’t used to it.

Ugh…

What she could no longer endure was that every time she faced Mom and Dad, her affection grew.

Moreover, the memories and feelings from her childhood rushed back to her original self. No matter how much she resisted, she could feel maternal love in Wi Soryeon’s embrace and affection from Lee Cheol-soo’s gaze.

Even now.

Thump, thump.

Just thinking of Lee Cheol-soo—no, Dad—made her heart race. Her breath quickened, and her face flushed. She felt excitement and affection.

This isn’t my feeling.

She denied it rationally.

She was Sosumahu.

The highest master of Current Moon Demon Art and the supreme wielder of Sosu Demon Art, she was once revered as the Heavenly Demon among the hundred thousand followers of the Heavenly Horse Church.

In her prime as the Heavenly Demon, both the deceitful sects and hypocritical orthodox factions revered her.

That glory, that martial prowess remained embedded in her being. The level of mastery she achieved was still alive and breathing within her.

At 108 years old, now 110. Both Wi Soryeon and Lee Cheol-soo were still inexperienced youths, barely coming of age.

It didn’t make sense to call them Mom and Dad.

But she couldn’t deny her heart.

Sosumahu, an orphan of heaven. Orphans were not rare among the Demon Sect. A prodigy recognized for her talents, she joined the Current Moon Demon School. Since then, she had always been alone.

No parents, no family. Just her subordinates. She had once trusted her subordinates, but she was betrayed.

That’s why she fell from the position of the Heavenly Demon. Buried at Heavenly Horse Mound, she became a demon zombie through the Gold Restriction.

The traces of her resurrection as a zombie still lingered in her body. Slow pulsing heart, a body much colder than an ordinary human’s, rigid like iron, close to being indestructible.

She was alive, but her body was already that of a zombie.

Family…

She had never had it even once. It would be a lie to say she didn’t miss the warmth of parents. However, relying on youngsters as parents was something she resisted. Even so, the years spent with Lee Cheol-soo and Wi Soryeon—their warmth melted her heart.

Now, she couldn’t imagine a time without the two of them.

She wanted to act like a real child once more.

As such thoughts crossed her mind, Sosumahu shook her head.

“No, no!”

Not at all.

Hadn’t she lived well alone all this time? She didn’t need family. After reaching the position of the Heavenly Demon, she had made up her mind not to think about such things.

Just as Sosumahu desperately tried to maintain her sanity.

“Jiyagi, what’s wrong?”

Swoosh.

Wi Soryeon gently patted Sosumahu’s head.

Feeling Wi Soryeon’s touch, Sosumahu trembled. Her face turned red.

A wave of happiness surged.

No, no, this feeling!

Unfamiliar and yet, like a drug, happiness spread within her heart. This was a false feeling. Her rationality began to blur.

Sosumahu shook her head.

“No, no. Mom.”

“Are you excited about going out with Dad?”

Wi Soryeon smiled. Sosumahu Baek Rijiak. The fact that she was a 110-year-old wise being didn’t matter to Wi Soryeon anymore.

After taking care of Sosumahu for these two years, she now felt like Sosumahu was truly her daughter.

Oh, so brother is her husband?!

Wi Soryeon’s face blushed.

Images of Lee Cheol-soo holding Jiyagi’s hand came to her mind. Their family outings.

Hehe.

Wi Soryeon smiled.

She finally acknowledged her own feelings. Only Lee Cheol-soo ever acknowledged her as she was—her rugged demeanor included.

It was Lee Cheol-soo who declared he would become a hero encompassing Jeongsama and take responsibility for her.

Most importantly, Lee Cheol-soo was Jiyagi’s dad. So inevitably, he had to become her husband.

He said to take what you want for yourself.

Wi Soryeon remembered her father’s words. Unlike the hypocrites of the Orthodox Faction, who act pretentiously, she would pursue Lee Cheol-soo boldly, like a rogue.

With that thought, Wi Soryeon gently patted Baek Rijiak’s head.

“Ugh…”

In a fierce battle between rationality and emotion, reason finally lost as Baek Rijiak dove into Wi Soryeon’s embrace, smiling happily.

*

After receiving a secret mission from the Crown Princess, Yujinhwi, dressed in traditional clothes along with Zhangpo, arrived in Beijing, wearing a conical hat and a mask.

Thanks to the Crown Princess Juga-yul’s help to change horses at the relay station along the way, Yujinhwi reached Beijing quite quickly.

So this is Beijing.

The sunset illuminated the vast metropolis before Yujinhwi’s eyes.

A city filled with Golugeogak, home to millions of people. Magnificent towers stretched endlessly across the sprawling city.

Though Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, was a bustling metropolis at the starting point of the Silk Road, it paled in comparison to the level of Beijing.

The capital of the Ming Empire, the center of the world, settled into Yujinhwi’s view.

With the awe of a country bumpkin, a eunuch’s thin voice reached Yujinhwi’s ears.

“Please come this way, Oh Hyup.”

“Understood.”

Still dressed as a man, Yujinhwi was guided by the eunuch to a splendid mansion on the outskirts of Beijing.

Outside the mansion stood guards. Yujinhwi’s eyes turned toward them.

There’s a bloodline rising. Masters. Judging by their hands and feet, they’ve learned martial arts based on practical skills. Are these the renowned Ming army?

Yujinhwi’s exceptional insight quickly unraveled the martial prowess they had learned.

The Ming Empire’s army.

Even the lowest-ranking soldier possessed the skills of a third-rate martial artist.

The founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, established the groundwork of the new country and, to never again give up the Central Plains to northern barbarians, fanatically collected martial arts and summoned martial artists to compile the Imperial Palace Martial Arts.

As a result, a diverse range of Imperial Palace Martial Arts was born, from the basic technique that even the illiterate could learn to the supreme martial arts.

Although the martial artists in the Wulin are numerous as grains of sand, the Imperial Palace possessed a different realm of martial arts.

The might of the million Imperial soldiers, masters filling the Imperial Palace, and the large-scale formations they executed together had protected the Ming Empire for over three centuries.

The Ming army had consistently recruited masters from the Wulin, and the generals were at least top-tier masters, with the twelve generals who were bestowed the axe symbolizing military authority by the emperor, all being masters of Hwakyung.

The military world was a place where only martial skill mattered, regardless of status or background. Even the lowest soldier could rise to fame if they possessed exceptional martial prowess.

During the Japanese invasions, the Ming army allied with the Joseon army and crushed the Japanese forces head-on, making their name famous.

The eyes of the eunuch who had guided her met with Wisa’s.

The eunuch turned his gaze to her, and Wisa nodded.

With that, the mansion’s gates opened.

Yujinhwi had to walk quite a distance through the magnificent garden before reaching the most secluded room deep within the mansion.

As she entered the room, surrounded by stringent guards and complex procedures, she could finally meet her.

Crown Princess Juga-yul.

At the age of fourteen, surpassing her brothers, she had reached a position unattainable for a woman.

With the title of acting regent, she had usurped power from the late emperor, becoming the de facto ruler of the Ming Empire.

In a dazzling golden dress, a brown-haired beautiful girl with an expressionless face sat and looked down at her.

As soon as Juga-yul’s gaze and Yujinhwi’s eyes met.

“You are before the Crown Princess! The Gongdong Sect’s Martial Department, Yujinhwi! Present your respects.”

A eunuch next to her shouted.

Yujinhwi immediately knelt, bowing deeply.

“The Gongdong Sect’s Martial Department, Yujinhwi, greets the Crown Princess.”

“I asked for a private audience, so it will just be you and I here. Stand up, Yujinhwi.”

Swoosh.

The eunuch’s presence vanished, and the door closed.

Yujinhwi stood up. The two of them locked eyes again.

The moment she looked into the Crown Princess’s eyes.

Yujinhwi flinched slightly.

In the Crown Princess’s gaze, there was no emotion to discern. It wasn’t that she was without feelings; she simply didn’t show any feelings toward others.

An unknown majesty and aura flowed from her.

A haughty aura and a commanding presence radiated from her. Perfect emotional control. This was something else.

Crown Princess Juga-yul is fourteen?

There was no way a fourteen-year-old girl could present herself like this.

Could it really be that this girl in front of me is fourteen?

Just as Yujinhwi was flustered, she heard the Crown Princess’s languid voice near her ear.

“Nice to meet you, Yuhyup. Or should I call you Yu Young lady?”

---