Yoo Unryong, who had been staring fervently at Bu Eunseol, turned to Han Sangja and asked a question.
"Manor Lord Han, do you truly believe a True Demon would have written such books?"
He continued with a grave expression.
"I find myself wondering whether a being known to have transcended mortality would have involved himself in such a field as well."
"Of course."
Han Sangja took an old book from a shelf and opened it.
Inside was an erotic painting that was somewhat embarrassing to behold.
"Just as bedchamber arts have descended from ancient times, techniques for studying relations between the sexes and human psychology have also been passed down without interruption. Ages and civilizations may change, but the study of human desire and relationships has never ceased."
He continued.
"Even as the world changes without end, human nature and the longings born from it never disappear. Though little known among the public, Heart-Captivating Studies are an ancient discipline secretly transmitted from antiquity to the present day."
"I see. You mean there is no possibility that a True Demon would have ignored such a discipline."
"Precisely."
Yoo Unryong nodded inwardly.
Han Sangja not only possessed vast wisdom and insight, but had also mastered fields of learning beyond the bounds of ordinary understanding.
"This is troublesome."
Bu Eunseol spoke in a heavy voice.
"If so, no method capable of surpassing that knowledge in a short time can possibly exist in this world."
Han Sangja nodded as well.
It was the knowledge of a True Demon.
Even if it was merely a secret for seducing women, it would be extraordinarily profound. Surpassing that knowledge in a short time would be all but impossible.
"There is no need to reach that conclusion."
Yoo Unryong alone had hope gleaming in his eyes.
"There is someone with the power to oppose it."
When Han Sangja looked at him in puzzlement, Yoo Unryong pointed toward Bu Eunseol.
"The Command Lord."
"The Command Lord?"
"Yes."
Yoo Unryong's voice was filled with conviction.
"No matter how extraordinary the knowledge of a True Demon may be..."
He looked at Bu Eunseol and nodded.
"If the Command Lord resolves to unleash his charm, no woman in the world will be able to withstand it."
Bu Eunseol opened his mouth, utterly dumbfounded.
"I appreciate your high opinion of me, but..."
"No. This is an objective judgment."
Yoo Unryong spoke firmly.
"Think about how many women's hearts you have captured until now."
"..."
"The Young Palace Lord of the Divine Maiden Palace, the Young Sect Leader of the Snow Blossom Sect, the Lord of the Yeolha Holy Palace, Jin Seol and Lord Dan, the Wind God Palace Lord, Chief Inspector Gongsun and her sister, and even the beauties you have placed within the Martial Soul Society... Of all the great beauties under heaven, the only one not in your grasp is Danri Seoheon, the Heart-Stirring Beauty, whose loveliness is said to move the very hearts of those who behold her. Among the Three Great Beauties of the World, she alone remains. Am I wrong?"
At his impassioned speech, Han Sangja stroked his chin and nodded.
"Indeed, there is reason in what you say."
"Brother Han."
"The Command Lord certainly possesses an innate charm that others lack."
Han Sangja's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"If we add ancient Heart-Captivating Studies passed down through generations, or the Heart-Plucking Art... then as Corps Leader Yoo says, he may be able to break the secret art of the True Demon Palace."
"That is precisely what I mean."
Yoo Unryong clapped his hands.
"If we combine his natural talent with acquired learning, he will become truly invincible."
"It seems this too may be destiny."
Han Sangja rose from his seat.
He walked toward the study and turned several books inside it over.
Rumble.
One of the shelves moved aside and revealed a secret space.
"What is this?"
At Yoo Unryong's question, Han Sangja smiled and gestured inward.
"My secret library."
Yoo Unryong's eyes nearly sprang from their sockets when he entered.
A Brief Account of Romance, Records of the Spring Flower Album, Jade Wrist Secret Classic, Curious Writings of the Smiling Moon, Secret Transmission of Harmonious Pleasure...
The room was packed with Heart-Captivating Secret Texts concerning seduction between men and women, romance, technique, and psychology.
Han Sangja shrugged.
"I established secret safehouses throughout the Central Plains partly for security... but also because I needed places to store the secret texts I collected."
Bu Eunseol and Yoo Unryong nodded.
They had wondered why Han Sangja possessed so many bases that it seemed excessive even for someone wishing to avoid the eyes of outsiders.
The true purpose was to store his countless secret texts in complete secrecy.
"As it happens, I was organizing the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts here when this incident occurred."
Only then did the two men understand.
Han Sangja had said that this too might be destiny.
"If the Command Lord masters the secret methods in this place, he will surely be reborn as a man of even more irresistible charm than that fellow."
"You want me to study the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts?"
Bu Eunseol stared at them in disbelief.
Were they not ultimately telling him to learn techniques for seducing women?
"This is not merely about seducing a woman."
Yoo Unryong's voice carried powerful persuasion.
"The matter of Princess Hwijeong concerns not only the future of the Imperial Family, but also our grand design. Are you going to abandon the Dragon-Phoenix Ring?"
Han Sangja joined in.
"Command Lord, abandoning the Princess now would be no different from kneeling before the Empress Dowager."
Bu Eunseol avoided their fervent gazes and sighed.
'I should consider it another form of learning.'
Learning knew no end.
It might appear somewhat absurd, but this was still the study of a woman's heart.
It could become an opportunity to deepen his mastery of Mind-Seizing Secret Arts such as Illusion Upon Illusion.
"Fine."
Bu Eunseol nodded.
"I will try."
* * *
With Han Sangja's assistance, Bu Eunseol remained at the manor in the bamboo grove.
He began devouring the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts and learning the methods capable of stealing a woman's heart.
"Widen your stride slightly, straighten your shoulders, and let your gaze rest somewhat farther away. Hold the fan so that your eyes remain faintly visible... and make your gaze deeper."
Han Sangja primarily corrected Bu Eunseol's bearing and posture.
"When you converse, do not end every answer with a single word. What a woman desires is absolute empathy. First show that you share her feelings and draw her interest, then..."
They studied the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts night and day.
One by one, they selected the principles that could be applied to Bu Eunseol and taught them to him.
Of course, the process did not proceed smoothly.
Fortunately, his strikingly beautiful appearance made almost any action seem plausible.
The problem was his innately blunt disposition, which made every word and gesture appear cold or awkward.
"Would it not be better to focus solely on practicing Illusion Upon Illusion?"
Bu Eunseol asked Yoo Unryong while holding a book in one hand and practicing the elegant steps of a crane.
"After all, I need only read women's hearts."
"Do you think that will work?"
Yoo Unryong released a deep sigh.
"The foundation of Mind-Seizing Secret Arts lies in understanding a woman's heart, not peering inside it."
"Is that so?"
"Of course."
"Hmm."
Bu Eunseol swallowed a low groan and resumed his loose, sweeping steps while reading the book.
Yoo Unryong watched him and sighed deeply.
'Did I think this would be too easy?'
In truth, Bu Eunseol's power to attract others arose from his indifference and the relaxed air of a river flowing freely.
Covering him in such artificial beauty seemed to diminish even his natural charm.
Regardless, Bu Eunseol diligently read through the secret texts in Han Sangja's library and made progress in his own fashion.
"Unryong."
"Hmm?"
"Since I must keep changing books anyway, I will practice walking inside the library."
"Fine."
Still holding a book in one hand, Bu Eunseol strode loosely toward the library.
Yoo Unryong stared blankly after him.
Bu Eunseol always did his utmost.
Then Yoo Unryong too had to study the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts even more diligently and help him.
Rrrrumble.
After entering Han Sangja's secret library, Bu Eunseol took the Classic of Open Hearts from a shelf and began reading.
He read with a grave expression for a long time, then suddenly stopped.
Within the section from the Secret Writings of Love Transcending, which claimed that love could overcome every barrier, he sensed something alien.
'The place where the paper overlaps is raised by the slightest amount.'
It was a minute sensation that could detect even a single grain of sand clinging to an ant's leg.
Only Bu Eunseol, who had attained the extreme of the Beast Way, could have detected it.
Slip.
When he gently separated the layered pages, a thin sheet titled Chapter of Boundless Benevolent Love fell free.
"Someone hid a separate secret within it."
An astonishing method had been recorded there.
It was a unique art that did not exist in the current martial world, allowing two people to forcibly enter each other's spirits with mutual consent.
"To look into each other's hearts by mutual consent..."
However, to use this art to peer into a lover's heart, the two needed perfect trust, enough for their hearts to become one.
But if they trusted each other completely, why would they need to peer into one another's hearts?
In truth, it was a method useless for any practical purpose.
"Self-defeating."
Bu Eunseol snorted as he analyzed the method.
In truth, the art was closer to a trap inviting ruin.
If their hearts were not in accord, or if either harbored suspicion while they used it, what would happen?
Their spirits would shatter, and both would ultimately become imbeciles.
"This is Brother Han's book, so I cannot damage it."
He slid the Boundless Benevolent Love Art back between the pages and murmured softly.
"In the end, are Heart-Captivating Studies no different from Mind-Seizing Secret Arts or Soul-Seizing Techniques?"
This was how Bu Eunseol saw it.
One might forcibly steal another's heart through a secret art.
Or one might naturally capture it by arousing curiosity, admiration, or interest...
Both introduced something artificial rather than revealing one's natural self. In that respect, he felt there was little difference between them.
"Whether a libertine hides his true nature and beguiles a woman while pretending to be the greatest scholar under heaven, or uses a mind-seizing art to seize her heart by force... both deceive another person in the end."
Perhaps the Boundless Benevolent Love Art had also been created by a sage who realized something profound.
The origins of heart-captivating arts and soul-subduing secret arts might, in truth, be extraordinarily close.
"If so..."
Having thought of something, Bu Eunseol took out the Boundless Benevolent Love Art again and continued reading.
Several more days passed.
"Hmmm."
Han Sangja and Yoo Unryong looked at each other and sighed.
"In the end, it was half a success..."
"...and half a failure."
Bu Eunseol possessed such astonishing talent in martial arts.
Yet he had mastered the techniques of the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts only to an uncertain degree.
It could be called half a success.
Unlike before, he could now at least judge what sort of words would please a woman more.
"No, it may have been a complete failure."
Remembering Bu Eunseol performing the actions prescribed in the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts, Yoo Unryong looked dejected.
"He is worse when he tries."
The failure lay in what happened when Bu Eunseol adopted the gestures or gait described in the texts to win a woman's heart.
Rather than appearing charming, his movements became bizarre or ridiculous.
Yoo Unryong had eventually tried to stop his training.
―'No. That too may prove to be a useful method.'
But Han Sangja, whose wisdom was said to rival the Heavenly Mechanism Star's, had declared it acceptable, so Yoo Unryong had let him continue.
"Nonsense. It was a success."
At that moment, Bu Eunseol spoke with an expression full of pride.
"Thanks to it, I have attained a deeper understanding of Illusion Upon Illusion."
In truth, Bu Eunseol had never formally learned Illusion Upon Illusion from Ak Muryeong.
He had received only a few of its core methods separately.
Yet understanding a woman's heart unexpectedly shared a common thread with the secrets of moving the spirit.
Thanks to that, his studies had given him tremendous and wholly unexpected help in comprehending the profundity of Illusion Upon Illusion.
It was the strongest Mind-Seizing Secret Art in the current martial world.
"You see everything as martial arts."
Just as Yoo Unryong released a sigh...
Screeeech!
A messenger eagle that had flown from the distant sky began circling over their heads.
It was one of the messenger eagles used by the Death Spirit Corps.
Yoo Unryong spotted it and whistled.
Flap, flap.
The eagle descended onto his shoulder.
"This is not good."
Yoo Unryong's expression hardened as he untied the letter fastened to the messenger eagle and read it.
"It seems the Empress Dowager is deliberately provoking you."
The letter contained unexpected news.
Even Yeon Soha, the first woman known to be connected to Bu Eunseol, was reportedly meeting someone.
"What happened?"
Han Sangja approached Yoo Unryong.
Yoo Unryong handed him the letter so that he and Bu Eunseol could read it together.
"In the end, they intend to conquer every woman connected to the Command Lord."
Han Sangja sighed as he read the letter with Bu Eunseol.
"Young Master Dam supposedly encountered the Young Palace Lord by chance on the road, and she saw him rescuing a bird... but every one of those encounters must have been meticulously planned and disguised as coincidence."
Yoo Unryong nodded and spoke to Bu Eunseol.
"Someone acting under the Empress Dowager's orders clearly intends to seduce every woman connected to you."
Bu Eunseol's eyes narrowed.
This was no different from a declaration of war thrown at him by the Empress Dowager.
The women waiting for him were bound to him by more than simple affection.
Each served as a point of connection between Bu Eunseol and the force to which she belonged.
What would happen if they all turned away from him?
The forces that had been firmly united would also weaken.
The Empress Dowager had employed a completely unexpected scheme to weaken Bu Eunseol's power.
"The time has come to take the field."
At Han Sangja's words, Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
Using everything he had practiced until now, he had to capture their hearts again.
* * *
Before long, Bu Eunseol arrived at Wushan.
His expression was dark as he climbed the stone stairs leading to the Divine Maiden Palace.
The path remained as peaceful and beautiful as before, but the person awaiting him had changed.
If that change had been caused by another's evil secret art, he naturally had to break it.
But if her heart had simply changed, should he truly try to turn it back?
'Young Palace Lord.'
Except for the brief encounter when he had been consumed by the personality of Baekri Geomha, Yeon Soha had never contacted him privately all this time.
―'Because I would only interfere with what you must do.'
Yeon Soha had realized that Bu Eunseol had grown into a great hero under heaven, protecting countless people and carrying many burdens.
She had suppressed her own emotions and waited for him in silence.
Yet the number of people forming bonds with him had only continued to grow. Her heart must have burned with an anguish she could never express.
'I was far too indifferent toward her.'
His steps grew heavier each time his foot touched the white stone stairs.
He had honed the secrets of the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts so diligently.
Yet the moment Yeon Soha's face came to mind, he could not remember a single one of them.
When he finally reached the palace gate, he saw two gate guards of the Divine Maiden Palace.
"Greetings."
He knew their faces well and greeted them warmly.
"..."
But the gate guards stared coldly into empty space as though they could not see Bu Eunseol at all.
It seemed they had been ordered to treat him as though he did not exist if he came.
'This may be for the best.'
Bu Eunseol looked at their frigid expressions and nodded as though reaching a decision.
'I should use this opportunity to test the secret for capturing the hearts of women who blow colder than a winter wind.'
Fwip.
Bu Eunseol drew the fan tucked into his belt and raised it to cover his face.
Then he turned his body at an angle and cast his gaze toward the women.
The gate guards, who had been treating him as nonexistent, unwittingly began staring at him.
'It works.'
Bu Eunseol did not miss the instant their attention focused upon him and immediately unfolded the Divine Dragon Steps.
When this movement art was performed, its user appeared like a divine dragon walking while hidden among clouds, revealing the bearing of the greatest handsome man under heaven glimpsed within a dream.
However, his movements were not particularly smooth.
Bob, bob.
Bu Eunseol bobbed his head back and forth, imitating the head of a divine dragon concealed within clouds.
Twitch, twitch.
His legs portrayed the gait of a divine dragon floating through the air, but the movements were somewhat slow and affected.
In short, he was bobbing his neck like a sick chicken and walking with a bizarre gait.
"Hrk."
A strange sound escaped the gate guards' mouths.
They fought with all their strength to suppress their laughter, but a sound finally escaped.
"So you can see me after all."
Bu Eunseol approached while making a joke entirely unlike him.
"For a moment, I thought this body had suddenly become invisible."
Twitch, twitch.
When he continued approaching with that bizarre gait even as he spoke, the women's faces turned scarlet.
They could no longer suppress the laughter trying to burst free.
"Huhuhuhu."
"Khuhuhuhu."
They covered their mouths as tears and mucus streamed down their faces.
It was the greatest laughter they had released since becoming disciples of the Divine Maiden Palace.
"Who dared laugh?"
The leader of the gate guards had heard their laughter from inside.
The Gate-Sealing Envoy, Sang Eunryeong, flung the door open and shouted.
"I asked who dared laugh!"
"E-Envoy."
"Gate guards entrusted with the sacred duty of protecting our palace gate were cackling with laughter?"
"N-No, that is not..."
"You will face the wall at Fallen Soul Cliff for seven days!"
The gate guards' faces instantly turned pale.
Facing the wall at Fallen Soul Cliff in this cold weather was an extraordinarily harsh punishment.
"Envoy Sang. It has been a long time."
Bu Eunseol recognized Sang Eunryeong and greeted her warmly.
"I came to see the Young Palace Lord for a moment."
When Sang Eunryeong's eyes met Bu Eunseol's, she spoke as though she had no choice.
"Outsiders may not enter."
Bu Eunseol had been acknowledged even by the Divine Maiden Palace Master.
There was not a single disciple of the Divine Maiden Palace who did not know he was Yeon Soha's beloved.
Yet although Sang Eunryeong plainly recognized his face, she coldly called him an outsider.
"Please tell the Young Palace Lord that I have come."
"She refused to meet you."
"You have not even delivered my message."
"She told us in advance."
Sang Eunryeong continued.
"The Young Palace Lord ordered that if the Command Lord came, we were never to let him inside and must send him back without fail."
Bu Eunseol was left speechless.
'Has Yeon Soha's heart already been conquered beyond any hope of recovery?'
"Envoy, please forgive us."
At that moment, the gate guards knelt and clasped their hands.
"We did not laugh because we wished to."
"What disgraceful conduct is this before an outsider? Get up at once!"
The gate guards lowered their heads and refused to rise. They believed a severe scolding here was preferable to the wall-facing punishment.
"It is true. The Martial Soul Command Lord deliberately made fools of us."
"Made fools of you?"
Sang Eunryeong glared at Bu Eunseol with wide eyes.
"Command Lord, did you just make sport of our palace's disciples?"
"Make sport of them? Surely I would never do such a thing."
Seeing Bu Eunseol's solemn expression, Sang Eunryeong soon nodded.
The Martial Soul Command Lord possessed a cold and indifferent nature.
Everyone under heaven knew that he never played frivolous games with women.
Had she not witnessed him treating even their beautiful Young Palace Lord with indifference on numerous occasions?
"You truly intend to blacken our palace's reputation before an outsider. Did you think seven days of wall-facing punishment was a joke?"
"It truly was not our fault!"
The gate guards urgently pointed at Bu Eunseol.
"Ask the Command Lord to repeat the movements he showed us! Then you will understand."
"Movements?"
Sang Eunryeong questioned Bu Eunseol.
"Command Lord, what did you do to our disciples?"
"I did nothing. I merely..."
"Merely?"
Unable to speak of the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts, Bu Eunseol cleared his throat and adopted an unnecessarily resonant voice.
"The air here was so clear and pleasant that I merely walked a few steps to lift my spirits."
"You walked...?"
Under her suspicious gaze, Bu Eunseol had no choice.
Fwip.
He covered his face with the fan and unfolded the Divine Dragon Steps.
Twitch, twitch.
As Sang Eunryeong watched Bu Eunseol laboriously advance, her face turned crimson in an instant.
No matter how desperately she tried to suppress it, bubbling sounds escaped her throat like boiling water about to overflow the mouth of a kettle.
Never in her life had she witnessed such an absurd and grotesque gait.
Tremble, tremble.
Sang Eunryeong drew upon her inner energy with all her strength.
If she made even one mistake here, her dignity as the Gate-Sealing Envoy would fall to the ground.
"Corps Leader Sang, are you feeling unwell?"
But when Bu Eunseol addressed her while diligently performing the Divine Dragon Steps, or rather, moving his neck back and forth like a chicken...
"Huhuhuhuhu..."
Sang Eunryeong finally lost control and burst into laughter and tears at the same time.
"What is that bizarre sound?"
Creak.
The gate opened again, and a middle-aged woman dressed in blue slowly emerged.
It was the Water Purity Hall Master, Yak Ran, one of the three Hall Masters of Water Purity, Fortune Spirit, and Purple Wealth who supported the Divine Maiden Palace.
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