Chapter 227: I'm the Kept Man's Friend

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Get out of the way! You damned bitch!"

Yeo Bulgae flew into a rage and beat the middle-aged woman. She shielded the other woman with her body, absorbing the blows. She had stepped forward because she could no longer bear Yeo Bulgae's perverted torment, which went far beyond satisfying his lust. Having suffered the same fate, she knew the difficulty and shame all too well.

Yeo Bulgae grabbed the woman by her hair and threw her back. People called him the King of the Night, but when angered, he was just a ruffian. It would have been a relief if he only beat them like a ruffian, but Yeo Bulgae tormented people relentlessly.

"Excellent, just excellent. An old bitch like you must have to play this role to survive among your kind, right?"

Yeo Bulgae injected his qi into the woman's body, inflicting immense pain.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

The woman screamed, unable to bear the agony.

"You should endure it! Didn't you step forward to sacrifice yourself? Were you just pretending to stop me?"

The young woman she had tried to protect stepped forward and pleaded, "I'll do it! I'll do it! Please stop!"

Tears streamed from her eyes. The other women watching bowed their heads and wept.

They were powerless against Yeo Bulgae, and not just because they were captives.

Yeo Bulgae threatened them with their families' lives. Some had children, some had siblings, and some had parents. He threatened to find and kill their families if they resisted, ran away, or killed themselves. He had once brought back the family of an escaped woman and brutally murdered them in front of her.

What saddened them even more was that they were adapting to this humiliating, beast-like reality.

"You're all just lumps of flesh that exist for me. What right does a lump of flesh have to protect another?"

The middle-aged woman squeezed her eyes shut as tears flowed down her cheeks. She wished for death every day but could not die because of her son. If she took her own life, Yeo Bulgae would surely bring her son here and kill him as an example to the other women.

Please! Someone save us!

The woman's desperate gaze turned toward the clear blue sky far beyond the window.

Please!

Just as her desperation reached the heavens, a subordinate reported from outside.

"The Monochrome Blade Duo and the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman have arrived."

Yeo Bulgae, as if he had been waiting, hurriedly opened the door and stepped outside.

The Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman entered the large courtyard. The Monochrome Blade Duo followed behind her, their bamboo hats pulled down low. They were, of course, Geom Mugeuk and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

They had expected many obstacles to getting inside. Geom Mugeuk had been prepared to use his wits, but the task was unexpectedly easy.

A guard at the entrance had guided them here as if it were routine. Since the Monochrome Blade Duo had brought women here before, no one suspected this pair was fake. The real Monochrome Blade Duo must have been so terrifying that no one dared to make eye contact, let alone investigate them.

And so, they had arrived before Yeo Bulgae with ease.

The moment Yeo Bulgae saw the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman, he filled with admiration.

"Oh! She's to die for!"

He liked the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman's aura. She was noble yet haughty. What greater pleasure existed than breaking such pride and making her his slave?

He went back into the room and dragged the middle-aged woman out by her hair. He threw her down mercilessly.

"Look, this is the kind of place a bitch with beauty like that is coming to. You should be licking my toes all day, and you have the gall to protect someone?"

Yeo Bulgae had no intention of looking good for the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman. On the contrary, he intended to instill fear in her.

He threw the door wide open, revealing his palace of pleasure and the women's hell. The kneeling woman, the woman sprawled in the corner, and the woman lying on the bed all lifted their heads to look at the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman.

"They used to run brothels, just like you."

The Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman's expression hardened the moment she saw them. Though she rarely showed anger, her face was now a mask of fury.

"You! It wasn't enough to take their brothels, you're trying to take their very souls."

Yeo Bulgae laughed pleasantly.

"Even the way you talk is noble! You, I like you. I'll love you the most!"

The women in the room gave her a look of pity.

The Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman said in a calm tone, "I'm quite good at seeing people's futures."

It was one of those moments when a person becomes calmer the angrier they get.

"Can you see my future too?"

"Your skin is being flayed off as you're skewered on an iron rod and thrown into a pit of fire."

She described the punishment of Avici, said to be the most painful of all hells.

His expression hardened for a moment, but Yeo Bulgae soon smiled leisurely.

"Even the King of Hell wouldn't take me. He'd say I'd dirty his hell."

He recited his usual line, then sneered at the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman.

"Only the weak prattle on about hell. So, does imagining me in a fiery pit make you feel better?"

"You're a coward. You act all bold on the outside, but you're a coward who fears death more than anyone."

"All the bitches in there were just like you at first. Full of pride, talking big. Not knowing what state they'd be in, what they'd be begging me for, just a couple of hours later. You think you won't end up like them, don't you? You think someone will come and save you? Yes, that's how people's minds work. Oblivious to what's right in front of them."

Just then, an unforeseen situation unfolded.

Hwang Yeom appeared with a group of masters. They blocked the way in front of Yeo Bulgae, protecting him like bodyguards.

"Who are you people?" Hwang Yeom asked the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman coldly.

Only then did Yeo Bulgae realize they were a fake Monochrome Blade Duo. He had been so captivated by the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman's beauty that he had not examined them closely.

"Fakes? These crazy bastards!"

The thought of how close he had come to disaster made Yeo Bulgae's heart sink, and rage boiled to the top of his head. He soon composed himself.

When Yeo Bulgae snapped his fingers, the women in the room rushed out, knelt, and prostrated themselves with their chests to the ground.

Yeo Bulgae sat on them as if they were a chair. He did not need a chair, nor was he showing off his authority. He did it so he could use them as hostages if necessary. This was the kind of man Yeo Bulgae was.

"If they're fakes, then that bitch must be a fake too."

"Does it matter whether I'm the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman or not?"

"It does. There are plenty of beautiful women in the world, but there's only one owner of the place I'm after."

"I am the real Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman."

Yeo Bulgae believed her. A woman who could exude such an aura would not be common.

"Those idiot Monochrome Blade Duo must already be dead."

"My kept man has quite a temper, you see."

Finding her own words amusing, she laughed. The sight of her laughing made Yeo Bulgae grow hot. She was his type. He had seen countless women, but this was the first time he had been so drawn to one.

Yeo Bulgae's gaze shifted to the Monochrome Blade Duo.

So she came here trusting in them.

At a glance, they did not look like much.

"If you're the real Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman, why did you come here?"

"I heard you were looking for me."

"And what do you think?"

"Ugly, insignificant, and pathetic. I came for nothing."

For a moment, Yeo Bulgae's expression turned cold as ice.

"I don't know what you're relying on to come here and pull this shit, but if you thought the Monochrome Blade Duo were all the subordinates I have, you've made a huge mistake."

Yeo Bulgae was not anxious. He could not be anxious even if he wanted to.

First, the three subordinates to his left were the Black Night Crow Trio. They were his long-time limbs and a cut above the Monochrome Blade Duo. Next to them, the man holding a long spear was his subordinate, the spear master Screaming Blood Spear. These four, plus the Monochrome Blade Duo, were the six masters who helped him become the King of the Night.

But today, there were more. With Jiseng and Aecha dead, he had brought in masters from the outside. The Evil Shadow Quintet, whom he had hired for a large sum, were infamous masters even among the unorthodox sects. He had not seen them fight himself, but their reputation was high.

And above all, there were the most dependable ones.

Two figures, a man and a woman, sat on a rock before the flower garden. Both wore bizarre makeup, making it difficult to tell who was the man and who was the woman.

They were the Yin Yang Ghost.

They were demons who used bizarre evil arts to drain their opponents' inner power. The male, the Yang Ghost, had mastered an evil art that absorbed a woman's yin energy, while the female, the Yin Ghost, absorbed a man's yang energy.

They loved to fight as much as they loved to absorb vital energy. Their inner arts were so powerful that most masters were toyed with before being sucked dry and killed.

Their personalities were also so cruel and vicious that they would slaughter entire families or groups if displeased. They were truly insane, so much so that even the Evil Alliance was reluctant to use them. In a situation like this, however, they were also the most trustworthy people.

So who was there to fear? Yeo Bulgae was full of confidence.

"So you're saying you were so angry that I tried to bring you here, you came in person to get revenge?"

Yeo Bulgae grew more sexually excited. Hwang Yeom, however, felt an unidentifiable unease, but ever since he was almost killed for interfering while Yeo Bulgae was engrossed with a woman, he never intervened again. He might get involved in other matters, but women were a territory he must never touch.

Instead of answering, the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman spoke to the prostrated women on the ground.

"Everyone, close your eyes. When you open them again, you will be able to return home."

At her words, the women's eyes wavered.

Looking into the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman's calm and gentle eyes, it truly felt like it would happen. They all closed their eyes and prayed to the heavens. Please, let us return home.

At this sight, the old lecher's lust swelled even more.

"That bitch is truly overflowing with charm," Yeo Bulgae said to the Evil Shadow Quintet.

"Five heroes, kill those men and prove your worth."

In short, he was telling them to earn their pay.

As the Evil Shadow Quintet stepped forward, Geom Mugeuk stepped up. While the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman had been buying time, Geom Mugeuk and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had already formed a plan through telepathy. They knew how to fight, how to protect the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman, and how to save the women.

Yeo Bulgae asked Geom Mugeuk, "If he's the kept man, then what are you?"

Geom Mugeuk replied, "I'm the kept man's friend."

At his words, the gathered martial artists burst into laughter. Not a single one of them was tense.

"No matter how much you like your friend, should you really follow him all the way to hell?"

"It's because I like that pillar too. He's the pillar of my life as well."

Though hidden beneath his bamboo hat, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's eyes shone with a clear light.

Geom Mugeuk's composure gave Yeo Bulgae an inexplicable sense of foreboding. That feeling made him issue his command with even more force.

"Break all those damn pillars!"

The moment Yeo Bulgae's order fell, the Evil Shadow Quintet drew their swords in unison.

Geom Mugeuk walked slowly toward them, as if on a stroll.

He lightly dodged the attack of the third brother, who flew in first, and thrust his fist into the man's abdomen.

PWAK!

With a sickening sound, the third brother collapsed. Geom Mugeuk twisted his body and planted his fist in the face of the second brother, who was thrusting his sword from the side.

A light dodge, a light tap.

To the onlookers, the fight made them wonder, What is this?

The fourth brother, attacking from behind, jumped over the fallen third brother to launch his assault. However, that movement was within Geom Mugeuk's calculations.

Leaning his torso back, Geom Mugeuk lightly stabbed the man in the heart with a throwing knife.

PUK.

Stabbed in mid-air, the fourth brother flew forward with his own momentum. With the man now a shield, the first brother gave up his attack and twisted his body to dodge.

However, Geom Mugeuk's fist, anticipating the dodge, struck him hard in the chest. The first brother collapsed. The moment Geom Mugeuk turned around, the fifth brother clutched his throat and fell. A throwing knife, which had appeared from nowhere, was embedded in his neck.

Geom Mugeuk had combined the Fist Demon's fist arts, the Four Strides of the Wind God, and knife throwing arts to deal with them. The martial arts he displayed were so sublime they were difficult to recognize.

There were no complex motions or flashy movements. It was simply fast and precise, a movement without a single wasted effort.

That was why, to everyone watching, it looked like a staged performance where the men were deliberately falling. It seemed they were hit lightly by a fist, yet they could not get up.

Yeo Bulgae was confused. The Evil Shadow Quintet looked like amateurs, and their opponent looked like a master. He had never seen a fight like this before.

The Yin Yang Ghost, in fact, had grasped the situation most accurately.

They looked at each other and smiled. They had recognized at a glance that Geom Mugeuk was a formidable foe and were delighted. A stronger opponent meant more inner arts to absorb, and the Yin Ghost was itching for a taste.

It was at that very moment.

KABOOM! RUUUUMBLE!

Thunder echoed from the sky. Dark clouds gathered, threatening to pour down rain at any moment and darkening the surroundings.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon slowly walked out and stood shoulder to shoulder with Geom Mugeuk. In a flash of lightning, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's white mask shone brightly beneath his bamboo hat. Geom Mugeuk knew just how furious the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was with Yeo Bulgae.

"You vile old lecher."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon opened his mouth for the first time since arriving. He had not wanted to exchange a single word with Yeo Bulgae. His next words would be his last, making any further conversation unnecessary.

"You're always going on about hell every time you open your mouth. I'll send you to a real one."