NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
60 – The Girl Who Fell in Love
Time had flown by, and it was now night. The entertainment district of Hwajeong County was bustling with men who had come from all over the Central Plains, drawn by rumors of the Orthodox Faction Competition.
“Hey, come play! You there, young master!”
“Come have fun at our place. We’ll treat you well, okay?”
The entertainment district was lively, matching the peak season.
Courtesans wooed customers, and men entered the courtesan houses. The mixed scents of perfume and incense stung my nose.
But surprisingly, there wasn’t a single courtesan who recognized me or tempted me.
Damn it.
With a bitter heart, I stepped into the Gonhwa Pavilion, where the blue lanterns were lit.
“Welcome… You?!”
The Chief Guard’s face contorted the moment he saw me.
I looked at him and said, “You know? Show me in.”
“Do you even know where this is… Wait a minute.”
The Chief Guard, who was about to explode with anger, suddenly turned serious.
He seemed to be receiving an internal communication.
“…It’s an order to let you into the private room. Be grateful.”
With the Chief Guard’s words, I ascended to the second floor.
Unlike my previous visit, the first floor was full and busy due to the operating hours.
The sounds of singing and laughing from the courtesans and guests filled the air.
I passed them all and stood in front of the private room.
Click.
The sliding door opened on its own.
It wasn’t a person; it was a technique called “Air Apparition.”
Anyway, I had to acknowledge that high-level masters waste their internal energy.
I clicked my tongue as I entered the private room.
Thud.
The sliding door closed with the sound of Air Apparition.
“Nice to meet you.”
In the dark room, a white mask was illuminated flickering by the candlelight.
A slender man, impressive in contrasting black, sat in a chair, looking at me.
It wasn’t Jeoksawol.
But I already knew the identity of the man.
Baek Myeon-am-gun, Maejirang.
The only disciple of Jeoksawol, a master of Hwakyung, and the current leader of Hao Mun.
And he was gay.
That’s right.
This man was the world’s strongest gay.
It wasn’t like Jeoksawol was specifically good, but why was a gay guy showing up instead of Jeoksawol here?
I unconsciously felt a chill in my rear and, with superhuman patience, controlled my facial muscles that wanted to contort, then sat down.
“I’m So Hyup from the Gongdong Sect. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Maejirang, the leader of Hao Mun, though I’m lacking in many ways.”
He greeted me in a voice that resembled a gay man.
Just hearing it made the hair on my entire body stand up.
What rotten luck! I had just run into the last master I wanted to meet in the Martial World.
What the hell is this?
I only came to place a bet!
“It’s an honor to meet your esteemed self, Baek Myeon-am-gun, known throughout the Martial World.”
But I kept my displeasure hidden, creating a business smile like when I ate snacks before Wi Soryeon, and sat down.
“What brings you at this hour?”
Baek Myeon-am-gun asked me in a calm voice.
“I came to place a bet on the Martial Arts Gambling hosted by Hao Mun. There’s no rule against the party involved betting, right?”
I got straight to the point, wanting to leave quickly.
I certainly didn’t want to stay in the same space as that gay.
His eyebrows twitched at my words.
“I see. What are you planning to bet on?”
“Gongdong Sect winning. All in.”
Thud.
I pulled out my money pouch and dumped fifteen silver taels on the table.
The glimmering silver reflected in Baek Myeon-am-gun’s eyes.
“…The current odds for Gongdong Sect winning are…”
Baek Myeon-am-gun wasted time creating atmosphere while covertly revealing the odds.
In modern terms, Gongdong Sect’s victory had odds of 20 to 1.
Twenty times?
This was a huge upset on top of an upset.
If that’s the case, I could eat energy-boosting meals three times a day without worry.
A good amount.
I nodded and said, “Still, I’ll bet it all on Gongdong Sect.”
No matter the odds, we would win the game anyway.
There was no reason not to stake it.
I need more money to buy energy supplements.
Today, I would embody an upset-betting master.
“Good. I’ll process it. After the match, please find the Chief Guard of Gonhwa Pavilion with this token for the payout. Do you have any other business?”
“None. Well then.”
No other business? There wasn’t any. I needed to leave this place as fast as I could.
After tucking the now-empty money pouch and the token Baek Myeon-am-gun handed me into my robes, I left the private room.
Thud.
Only after hearing the closing sound made by the Air Apparition, could I finally relax.
Phew, I never want to see him again.
Alright, now all that’s left is the big win from my bets.
I thought that as I exited Gonhwa Pavilion and quickly unleashed my technique to leave the entertainment district and head towards the main base.
*
After Lee Cheol-soo stepped out of Gonhwa Pavilion.
Click.
With the sound of a device activating, the wall behind Baek Myeon-am-gun opened, revealing a hidden chamber.
In stark contrast to the dark hidden room, this chamber was brightly lit as if it were midday due to countless lights installed.
There she was.
A beauty with blood-red eyes and dark-red hair tied up neatly.
As if a celestial maiden had descended, her perfect, taut chest, slender waist, and ample hips fit together to create a figure that resembled heaven’s gift, dressed in a flowing crimson dress.
Her face was overwhelmingly beautiful, exuding a beauty so powerful it could only be described as violent.
Even without the Beauty Temptation Technique or seduction arts, her overwhelming beauty surpassed even the likes of Zhou Yu and Wang Zhaojun. The beauty with a face that could captivate every man in the world was none other than Jeoksawol.
“Disciple.”
Jeoksawol’s seductive gaze turned to Baek Myeon-am-gun.
The natural allure radiating from her body dominated the space.
However, even with a master like Hwakyung, Baek Myeon-am-gun remained unfazed.
Because he was a gay man.
“Yes, Master.”
Baek Myeon-am-gun bowed respectfully.
“How was it?”
Though the question skipped part of what she meant, Baek Myeon-am-gun understood her intent.
He replied, “This So Hyup is not a gay man.”
Lee Cheol-soo.
In the brief moment Baek Myeon-am-gun had faced him, he observed him thoroughly.
Pupil tremors, speech habits, facial muscles, even his pulse.
As a result, he concluded that the boy wasn’t gay.
“…But he is certainly not an ordinary man.”
However, that didn’t mean he was an average person.
He maintained a consistently relaxed demeanor even while conversing with a master like Hwakyung.
He showed neither fear nor terror.
It was hard to believe he was just a fourteen-year-old boy.
“I see.”
Upon hearing his disciple’s report, Jeoksawol propped her chin with her painted crimson nail.
An unruffled demeanor.
But her heart was beating so violently that it could hardly endure any longer.
The warmth from when he had touched her chest during their last meeting made her feel flushed.
“…You say he’s not a gay man.”
Jeoksawol casually covered her face with a veil, muttering unnecessary words.
Whoosh.
At that moment, her face flushed bright red.
She couldn’t control her emotions. Her heart raced like it was going wild.
‘How dare he…’
Jeoksawol bit her lip.
How dare he, a boy, boldly reject the affections of Neungwolhyang, the most coveted courtesan in the world, coveted by all the young masters!
How could he decline even the sight of Neungwolhyang, whom only those who passed the test of the Forbidden Book could see?
…Even after having seen her chest.
Making her indulge in such shameless thoughts.
And yet…
A fragrance-free peony flower, indeed.
That bastard, I cannot forgive him.
“…He really is insufferable, that Lee Cheol-soo.”
Jeoksawol said with a trembling voice.
Baek Myeon-am-gun quietly listened to her words while observing his veiled master.
He understood why she hadn’t faced Lee Cheol-soo directly.
Even now, seeing the reddened earlobes and neck that couldn’t hide behind the veil, it was impossible to pretend otherwise.
‘Master… is feeling shy.’
Having lived sixty years alone, never revealing affection to anyone, Jeoksawol had now fallen for someone for the first time, and it was only natural that she might appear clumsy about it.
Even now.
She could have met him directly, yet she sent her disciple out of sheer embarrassment.
Though she already knew he wasn’t a gay man.
‘As a disciple, I can’t ignore Master’s love.’
Apart from their master-disciple relationship, Jeoksawol had led a solitary life for sixty years.
Baek Myeon-am-gun couldn’t ignore his master’s first love, a feeling she had never known throughout her life.
To Baek Myeon-am-gun’s eyes, Lee Cheol-soo appeared quite decent, except for being a member of the Orthodox Faction.
Naturally, appearance was insignificant. Compared to the world’s number one beauty Jeoksawol, anyone would look like an ugly man.
Most importantly, his master looked undeniably stunning at that moment.
Because she had become a girl in love.
“I sensed a bit of disappointment that the person approached in the private room wasn’t the Neungwolhyang that he might have wanted.”
Baek Myeon-am-gun stated.
It was true that he had hesitated briefly when entering the private room.
“Perhaps he wanted to meet you…”
Just as Baek Myeon-am-gun trailed off.
“Hmph. Naturally, he should.”
Jeoksawol interrupted his words.
He wanted to see me.
The moment she heard those words, her heart raced to an alarming level.
The warmth spread across her chest and hands.
Her face flushed bright red.
For the first time in her sixty years of life, she was engulfed in a whirlwind of emotions.
There were countless men in her life—Neungwolhyang and Jeoksawol—whom she had longed to see throughout her life.
So, it was natural for him to wish to see her.
It should have been expected.
Yet, why?
Jeoksawol was startled by the smile that had involuntarily crept onto her face and hurriedly wiped it away.
“…Then there’s no helping it… Hmph, if he wishes to see me so badly, I’ll have to show him my face at the very least… It might be amusing to see how a disciple of the Orthodox Faction falls into the skirts of a courtesan.”
Indeed.
This was all part of a scheme to lead the promising post-stimulation indicator of the Orthodox Faction to ruin.
Thus, it was inevitable for Jeoksawol, not Neungwolhyang, to meet him as it was her mission.
She would seduce him, the disciple of the Orthodox Faction, and lead him down the path of debauchery as only her skirts could contain him.
Just as Jeoksawol thought of this moment…
“Then will you be staying at Gonhwa Pavilion for now under the identity of Neungwolhyang?”
“I’ll have to do that reluctantly.”
At Baek Myeon-am-gun’s question, she nodded.
“Understood. As for the observation of the match tomorrow…”
“…I won’t attend.”
She shook her head to the second question.
The outcome of the match was already obvious.
The Gongdong Sect would lose, and the Heukryongbang would win.
Perhaps Lee Cheol-soo could get hurt severely in the process of losing. For some reason, she couldn’t bear to see him lose.
“Tell that boy to win against Gwangma Dodgun, but to hold back. Since this has become the Orthodox Faction Competition, it shouldn’t be good to overly provoke the defeated Orthodox Faction.”
“Understood, Master. I will report the outcome of the match immediately.”
“Good. You may leave.”
Watching Baek Myeon-am-gun bow and disappear into the darkness, Jeoksawol let out a sweet sigh.
Not much time was left until the match.
Gongdong Sect and Heukryongbang.
Lee Cheol-soo and Heukryongbang.
As she pondered about their relationship, Jeoksawol tousled her hair.
“…What a bad guy…”
Jeoksawol’s sultry, languorous voice echoed through the private room.
*
After finishing all the preliminary work, the Primordial Unity Technique proposed by my master was officially recognized as the Gongdong Sect’s technique with my master’s approval. A few days had passed, and that morning…
“Hey, young master! Wake up! It’s morning!”
I opened my eyes to Seoharin’s morning call.
Finally.
The day of the Martial Arts Competition that would decide the fate of Gongdong Sect against Heukryongbang, Gansu against Sichuan, and the Orthodox Faction against the Unorthodox Faction had arrived.
Today began the grand showcase of my debut in the Martial World, a hero who would captivate the hearts of countless women!