Chapter 4.2

“All right! Tonight, I shall show you the pleasures of the bed!”

“Let me go!”

“Ha, look at you playing hard-to-get! I like playing hard-to-get, so should we play hard-to-get together?”

This crazy bastard!

Yujo grit her teeth. Deep, black eyes my ass. She must’ve been mistaken about his expression just now. This man was definitely just a crazy drunkard. Yujo struggled to escape his grasp.

However, because there were many eyes watching her in the room, she couldn’t use her martial arts. If she only struggled, the others would think she was just trying to rile up a customer.

I need to leave, so let me go!

“What are you all still doing here? Why aren’t you leaving?”

The surprised courtesans glanced at each other. However, the customer had chosen the courtesan he would spend the night with. Because he had told them to exit the room, they had no choice but to leave. They couldn’t just stand there.

While the courtesans hesitated, the man laid Yujo down on the bedding and completely covered her with his body. Shocked, Yujo struggled underneath him before finally kicking him. In the process, her red skirts were pushed to the side and her slender leg was exposed.

The man lowered himself between her parted legs and pushed her down onto the flower-patterned sheets. Now this was completely unacceptable. Blue fireworks began to go off in Yujo’s eyes. If looks could kill, Yujo’s eyes would have slaughtered him.

Their eyes met, and Yujo’s eyes were burning with rage. They were filled with hatred. She was absolutely furious. The man merely grinned at her as if he weren’t right in the head.

His smile was sly and shocking. Yujo tried to pull back a fist and hit him, but her hands were both pinned down to the bed.

“You’re not properly disciplined. Like a wildcat.”

What the hell did he say?

Yujo’s mouth opened in shock as she glared at him.

The man didn’t miss this opportunity to press his lips down onto hers. Astonished, Yujo twisted her head away, and the man’s lips brushed against her cheek.

This was her first kiss. Yujo’s face flushed with rage and shock. She began to struggle once again, but the man’s body slid between her thighs and pressed down even harder in the process. Her two hands were still pinned down. She couldn’t move them, almost as if they had been chained.

“Move.”

“It’s not proper for a courtesan to speak that way.”

“Move before I kill you.”

“Aha, is this a new trick? It’s turning me on.”

As if to prove it, Yujo felt something stiff begin to press against her from below. It felt like a hot iron bar as it poked her between her legs. Yujo looked up at him in shock. The man pressed down once again as he gave her a cheeky smile.

Her body flinched as a strange sensation traveled down her spine. Yujo’s body began to tremble with rage.

It didn’t matter to him. He lowered his forehead onto hers. He looked down at her as if he’d eat her up and smiled.

“I never expected to see you again in a place like this…”

Yujo raised a brow at the man’s words.

Meet again? What was he talking about? She’d never met this crazy bastard…

Suddenly, Yujo stopped breathing. His eyes, no… The aura emitting from him had completely changed. The bumbling drunkard had completely disappeared, and his eyes had become fierce. This energy was the same as the one she had encountered back at the judicial office.

A shiver ran down her spine as her face paled. The man slowly smiled as he watched her reaction.

Was this the same man? Really?

This was bad.

Yujo looked back at him with cold eyes and pretended she didn’t know anything.

“Please let me go, sir.”

“Oh, so now you’re speaking politely?”

“I-I was just drunk, so…”

“You don’t smell like liquor.”

“I don’t know what you mean…”

Yujo smiled coldly, but her heart was racing inside her chest. The man’s weight pressing down on her body felt uncomfortable.

If this man was truly the one she had met at the judicial office, then this strength didn’t stem from the liquor.

What should she do? She felt a chill run down the nape of her neck.

“Stop feigning ignorance. Why don’t you start by telling me who you are?”

The man smiled derisively down at her as he pressed his lower half a little harder against her. Feeling the explicit touch of a man for the first time, Yujo’s cheeks flushed. She glared at him with enraged eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, dear customer. Could you please move?”

Yujo grit her teeth and spoke defiantly. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh.

“Aha, so you’re going to pretend to be a courtesan now?”

“That’s not…”

“You are treading on dangerous waters, aren’t you?”

He lowered his lips onto hers and whispered. His lips felt hot. Other than the liquor, she could also smell something musky coming from him.

She didn’t know what it was, but if he continued to lower his lips any further, she was going to bite them off. Yujo’s eyes screamed this warning as they glared up at him.

“Why don’t you tell me the truth before I devour your lips? Who knows? Maybe I’ll let you off easy.”

How could she escape? Because his powerful body was pressing down on hers, she couldn’t move an inch. Yujo’s mind was racing.

Suddenly, she recalled the dancers she had seen downstairs. She recalled the way the red cloth had wound around their bodies like snakes as they moved. Those strange movements! Whatever the case, all the men had shouted out and completely lost their minds, hadn’t they?

Fine, I’ll pretend like I’m crazy and…

Yujo grit her teeth.

He was still looking down at her. It didn’t matter. Yujo lifted her head and crashed her lips onto his. She thrust in her clumsy tongue and began to suck like a hummingbird drinking the nectar from a flower.

The man’s body instantly froze. Thankfully, he didn’t push her away, but his lips were still curved into a condescending smile.

Yujo slightly opened her eyes and glanced at him. His eyes were staring back at her, seemingly wondering what she was up to. Yujo’s heart flinched.

Was this all for naught? Was she being stupid? This was too strange. Did she need to back off now?

Her eyes widened as she tried to pull away. As their lips parted, a wet ‘chu‘ rang in the air.

Suddenly, the look in his eyes changed. He lowered his head and plunged inside her lips.

What is he doing?!

He pushed inside her mouth. Their tongues fiercely tangled together. It was as if he were sucking all the sweetness from her mouth.

Yujo pulled back her head, and a moan escaped her lips. He slightly tilted his head and plunged even deeper into her mouth. His flavor was flowing into her mouth. She wanted to turn her head away, but it was no use.

She had made a mistake.

He had completely changed. Something felt hot and stiff against her, and she was scared.

I need to run away! It’s dangerous!

Yujo moaned and turned her head. Only then did she realize that his grasp on her wrists had loosened.

Now!

She quickly raised her right hand and struck his head. As the man flinched in surprise, Yujo didn’t forget to shove her knee against his most important part.

Yujo watched gleefully as his face twisted with incredible pain. She took out the dagger strapped to her thigh and held it up to his neck.

“How dare you…!”

The man spoke with a malicious voice.

Suddenly, they heard a scream. They both turned around and saw that a courtesan had entered the room with a bottle of liquor. She cried out when she saw what was happening on the bed. The woman shouted and called for a guard. Yujo realized the situation and quickly threw the knife at the ceiling.

The knife flew in the air and precisely hit the rope that was holding up the lanterns in the room. The lanterns fell onto the serving tables with a loud crash.

The man was still groaning in pain, but he stretched out his hand to grab her arm. Yujo evaded his grasp and whispered.

“I’ll send you to your grave if we meet again.”

She actually wanted to beat him up a little more, but it looked like she needed to escape as soon as possible. She managed to find some interesting clues here, so it looked like she would just have to be satisfied with that for now.

Yujo quickly smashed the paper sliding door and exited the room. Guards were rushing towards her from both directions.

Where should I go? How do I escape?

Suddenly, Yujo caught sight of the red cloth in front of her. On the other side of the railings, the red cloth was fluttering down from the ceiling!

No other thought entered her head. All she could think about was finding a way out of here. Yujo ran. She stepped onto the railing and leaped off. She flew in the air before grabbing the red cloth.

Aagh!

Someone screamed, but it didn’t matter. She slid down the cloth. Her hands felt like they were on fire, but that didn’t matter either.

The dancers below saw Yujo approaching and quickly ran away like little chicks trying to escape an eagle.

As soon as she stepped down onto the first floor, Yujo quickly got up and exited the brothel. It was still raining outside. She peered through the rain and saw the same burgundy-colored horse she had seen last time.

Is that the same horse from the judicial office?

There was no time to think.

Yujo quickly leaped onto the horse’s back.

The horse was as fast as lightening. She thought this the first time she encountered it, but this horse was truly an amazing horse. Yujo couldn’t help but smile at its raw strength and speed. She wondered if this horse actually belonged to that man instead of the judicial office.

Suddenly, she heard a sharp whistle. Suddenly, the horse went on its hind legs and neighed. Yujo almost fell off.

No!

She frantically clung to the horse’s back and held on. As the horse rocked back and forth, the world seemed to spin in front of her eyes. But she was a woman of Yeha. She rode horses as soon as she learned to walk. She raised them and domesticated them all her life. She would never fall off a horse.

“How surprising.”

Yujo turned around and saw that the man had come all the way here in pursuit of her. Judging from the horse he was on, she assumed he had found some random horse at the ChiHwaRu and had come after her. But it seemed that he had picked the wrong horse. That horse was already quite old and was huffing and puffing for breath from the exertion.

“How dare you steal my horse twice?”

Just as she thought.

Yujo smiled coldly and arrogantly lifted her head.

“This horse seems too good for someone like you.”

“What did you say?”

“What proof do you have that this horse belongs to you?”

“Jukmu.”

As soon as he called the horse’s name, the horse flinched in surprise and began to run to its master. Yujo barely managed to stop the horse by pressing her heels against its ribs.

Don’t be like this, Jukmu. Do you want to see me die?

“Fine. I didn’t mean to steal your horse. Your horse is quite smart, so when I let him go, he’ll return to you.”

“He ignored his master and ran off twice. I’ll only slit his throat when he comes back.”

“What a cruel master you are.”

Yujo stroked the horse’s thick neck. Then she spoke to the horse in a playful tone.

“It’ll be in your best interest to run away from someone like him. So your name is Jukmu? Jukmu, why don’t you come with me?”

“What are you doing? You secretly infiltrated the ChiHwaRu and took a peek around the Danju’s room…”

“It looks like I wasn’t the only one who took a peak, my lord. So, did you enjoy your nighttime pleasures?”

“Get off that horse this instant.”

The man’s voice was filled with rage, but Yujo felt that it was pleasing to the ear. At that thought, she held back a scoff and glared at the man.

“I’ll take Jukmu with me. But this doesn’t mean I’m stealing your horse. I’m actually saving its life by letting it run away with me.”

“Very funny.”

“Let’s go, Jukmu. Running away from that kind of man is the wise thing to do.”

“Halt.”

What kind of idiot would halt just because they were told to halt in the middle of an escape?

“Haw!”

Yujo shouted. She deftly pressed the horse’s hips and readied herself to steer. There was no horse that could go against the hand of Yeha. Suddenly, Jukmu began to race. The angry man shouted out as well and went in pursuit of them.

“Haw!”

Yujo raised her hips and lowered her body. It was as if she had become one with the horse. The man’s threats may have been empty. But even so… how could he say that he would slit the horse’s throat when it returned to him? It was too much!

If he was only joking, then that was a relief. But if there was an ounce of truth to his words, she wasn’t going to return the horse to him.

The two of them raced through the lush forest. Their shadows flew across the ground. Her opponent was quite skilled. She wasn’t able to shake him off.

However, Yujo was quite skilled herself. Additionally, she was riding Jukmu, the incredibly powerful horse. The horse showed no fear at the inclines and pits they came across.

They passed through the trees and began to climb up the boulders. The raindrops pierced through the fog and fell on her like shards of ice, but Yujo didn’t care.

It had been a long time since she’d ridden a horse like this. It almost felt like she’d returned to Yeha. Her heart felt refreshed.

Suddenly, the horse noticed something and flinched. The man and his horse had jumped over her head and was now blocking her way. She didn’t know how he had managed to do this. All Yujo could do now was stop Jukmu to the best of her abilities.

The rain was pouring. Steam left the horses’ nostrils as they panted before it faded away into the cold air. The man’s fierce eyes were glaring at her. But something made him hesitate. Yujo followed his gaze and quickly fixed the collar of her clothes.

Because she had raced like crazy on the horse, this damned courtesan’s dress had ridden down. In the process, her damp, pale chest had been exposed. Her long hair was stuck to her neck and shoulders.

Damn it!

Yujo quickly dragged the wet clothes even higher, but it didn’t matter.

“You look like a water demoness.”

The man mumbled churlishly. Yujo grit her teeth and turned Jukmu around. Then she began to race back. She felt the man chase after her.

Eventually, it was just the two of them racing side-by-side on the narrow mountain path. The man’s old horse was using all the strength it had left to keep up. However, now wasn’t the time to be in awe. If that man got even a little closer to her, both the horse and Yujo would slip and fall down the slope to their deaths.

“Halt.”

The man warned. However, Yujo merely smiled coldly. The wet rocks rolled down the slope. Jukmu continued to climb up the dangerous slope.

“I said halt!”

The man shouted out again. However, Yujo merely clenched her hands on the reins.

“There’s a cliff ahead, you idiot! Halt!”

He shouted out his warning, but it didn’t matter.

Show him what you’re made of, Jukmu.

Yujo whispered. Suddenly, the horse jumped and seemed to ride the wind. Jukmu and Yujo flew through pouring rain with the black sky behind their backs.

Thud!

The black dirt splattered.

While the man’s horse stopped precariously at the edge of the cliff, Jukmu had landed on the other side.

Damn it.

Yujo heard the man let out a string of curses in the rain. Yujo’s heart finally trembled. She hadn’t felt like this even when she had been back in the grasslands. This had been an exhilarating match.

“You have a good horse on your hands, Jukmu’s master.”

Yujo shouted out to him. She knew that the man was glaring at her in the dark. She flashed him a victorious smile and decided to show him some mercy.

“If you tell me you won’t harm Jukmu, I’ll send him back to you. Promise me now. That’s the only way I’ll return him to you.”

The man didn’t respond. Yujo waited. This kind of horse was one that came by once in a hundred years. After a while, she heard the man’s voice.

“I won’t kill him.”

“And you won’t hit him.”

“…And I won’t hit him.”

He was grinding his teeth. Yujo chuckled.

“Thank you for today, Jukmu’s master. I’ll send him back right away.”

With a final, cheeky farewell, she disappeared into the rain. The man remained standing on the other side of the cliff as the rain poured down on him.