By Zephyria 
Biryoo inserted their fingers deep inside and stirred. They pressed firmly against the inner walls with their fingertips and gently stroked the outer muscles with their thumb. In the quiet room, the squelching sounds echoed wetly. It was a sound so erotic that even the brazen Young-pa felt his ears flush.
Young-pa’s phallus gradually rose until the tip began to rub against the blanket. In his heart, he wanted to lie back and thrust like a madman, but he lacked the courage to do so while Biryoo’s hand was inside his filth.
Young-pa gritted his teeth and endured. Whether they knew his state or not, Biryoo took their time, leisurely sliding one or two fingers in and out.
“Azure Dragon… is it… much longer?”
“Is there something urgent?”
“Not exactly… ngh!”
Biryoo’s fingertips touched the deepest part.
“The night is long, let us play slowly.”
Young-pa squeezed his eyes shut. It was because Biryoo began to rub their fingers as if they were thrusting a pillar.
“Ah, agh! Ah!”
Then, more fingers entered, stretching the hole open. Overwhelmed by the sudden stimulation, Young-pa’s waist sank low, and one cheek pressed against the blanket.
“Ah, agh, wa-wait!”
Young-pa tried to push himself up, but his efforts were futile, and he remained pressed into the blanket.
“Stop, st… stop, hngh!”
Even as he pleaded for them to stop, the hand movements only grew faster. Only when Young-pa screamed and ejaculated did Biryoo’s fingers withdraw.
“I see now that you prefer fingers over my phallus. How disappointing.”
“No, that’s not… the phallus is far, far better.”
Young-pa barely managed to answer, wiping the saliva dripping from his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I cannot trust your words, so show me with your body.”
Biryoo tilted an oil bottle and poured it lavishly into the crease of his buttocks. They stroked around the folds with their fingertips and spread the opening wide. Thinking of Biryoo’s flesh-rod, Young-pa instinctively shrank.
As Young-pa trembled, frozen in place, the fingers entered again. Once his tense waist relaxed, a second finger was added. Even a third finger was bearable. However, when they spread wide inside, a scream escaped him.
Without warning, Biryoo wrapped one arm around Young-pa’s waist, lifted him, and sat him upon their thigh. As the fingers withdrew, the penis forced its way into the place that had not yet closed.
“Wait, just a moment…”
As his hips slowly sank, Gokdo swallowed the erect phallus. Because his internals were soaked in oil, it was easier than before, but it was no less overwhelming. Young-pa twisted his waist as if having a convulsion. He reached back to grip and pull Biryoo’s forearm, but it was useless.
“Hngh, hngh…”
Biryoo’s chest pressed against Young-pa’s back.
“You have become quite accustomed to this.”
A deep voice whispered in his ear. Biryoo waited until Young-pa had taken their manhood all the way in.
“Azure Dragon…”
Instead of answering, Biryoo felt around Young-pa’s chest and loosened the ties of his garment. Young-pa was so out of it that he didn’t even realize his jeogori was being stripped off.
“Earlier, the fox… how did he look to you?”
“A fox is a fox; why do you ask?”
“The way he… disguised himself as Midong, wasn’t it quite enchanting?”
“Did it look that way to your eyes?”
“I… ngh, I was the one asking.”
“Be quiet. Shut your mouth and try rotating your hips.”
Biryoo whispered, burying their lips in the nape of Young-pa’s neck.
Young-pa took a deep breath and lifted his upper body. Every time he twisted, he could feel his internals bending to the shape of the penis, which felt like a pillar of fire. Though it was hard to breathe, he repeated the motion of rising on his knees and sitting back down several times.
“Did I… beat him and chase him away for nothing? Did you perhaps wish to enjoy yourself… with that fox?”
“You’re a fellow who’s bound to get his liver eaten.”
“It’s not that… but he is far more supple than I am, and surely better at the art of pleasure?”
Young-pa hoped he looked as seductive in Biryoo’s eyes as the fox’s disguise, but he lacked certainty. Curious about Biryoo’s reaction, he twisted his waist and looked back.
“Unless I have gone mad, why would I mix bodies with a male fox from who knows where?”
“Then… what about a male human from who knows where?”
“Then I must be mad.”
Leaning against Biryoo’s chest, Young-pa burst into laughter. Biryoo pulled his cheek and sucked on his laughing lips. As they kissed, Young-pa clumsily lifted and lowered his lower body, and he could feel the phallus hardening inside him.
Young-pa looked forward again and straightened his waist. He began to ride Biryoo’s center as if riding a horse, bracing himself against the ground. He moved his pelvis as if lifting his hips and then driving them down. Unlike a man who could run a hundred li without tiring, he soon became breathless. The sounds of “ngh, ngh” leaking from his throat did not sound like his own voice.
The speed of Young-pa’s movements increased. Pressing his palms against the floor and intentionally pounding like a pestle, a flashing sensation surged up his waist, similar to when Biryoo thrust. The wet, slapping sound of flesh hitting flesh grew intense.
“Aah! Ngh… ngh, ngh!”
Biryoo’s hand, which had been leisurely teasing Young-pa’s chest, moved down and pulled his stomach. Biryoo began to thrust their pelvis in short bursts to match Young-pa’s movements. As the stimulation deepened, the strength left his legs and his lower back trembled.
Young-pa screamed and moved his lower body with all his might. Shaking from the force of the frantic upward thrusts, he clung to Biryoo’s forearm. Biryoo hugged Young-pa’s waist as if to crush it. The man’s rough groans crashed ecstatically against his ear.
The speed of the thrusting grew faster and faster until it became impossible to keep up. The screams Young-pa let out were cut short, filling the room. Had this been a village, the entire neighborhood would have lost sleep due to the screaming.
When Young-pa finally collapsed, unable to endure more, Biryoo pressed their chest against his back. With one hand, they bound both of Young-pa’s wrists and slammed their waist down brutally. His entire body surged from the force of the impact that hit all the way to the root.
“Ah, agh! Biryoo, Biryoo… ah!”
The rough act was etched not as pain, but as pleasure. His body, now accustomed to erotic affairs, greedily absorbed the stimulation. As he shook his waist without shame, the heavenly realm visited him every time Biryoo crushed his insides. Young-pa’s member continued to stand tall, untiring even after discharging yin water.
One shijin passed, then two, and a long stretch of the midnight ripened with spring lust. Even after the lamp had burned out and gone dark, the lavish radiant energy showed no sign of stopping. Since no one lived around the thatched cottage on the mountainside, the sound of their breathing only penetrated each other’s ears, reaching no one else.
Outside, pitch-black darkness reigned. The world was so black that even the moon seemed to shrink in fear. Riding the deep shadows, a pair of vertically slit vermilion eyes scanned the earth, searching for a human.
≋ ≋ ≋
Young-pa opened his eyes in a dim place. His eyelids were heavy and his body lacked strength. After blinking a few times, Young-pa realized he was in a dark cave.
He bolted upright, but there were no shackles binding his wrists or ankles. This was not the snake cave, but his residence on Asadal Mountain.
“It’s been so long since I escaped, what the fuck was I thinking.”
Young-pa muttered fiercely, searching through his memories. What had he done yesterday? As he thought back, the scenes were all enough to make his cheeks flush.
They had spent the night in the fox’s cottage. Even after one round of eroticism had ended, Young-pa saw that Biryoo’s member remained as it was. Feeling competitive, he laid Biryoo down and diligently performed oral sex on the phallus. After the second outpouring of sexual fluid, Biryoo insisted on flipping Young-pa over on the blanket and mounting him. After mating like four-legged beasts, his voice grew hoarse and he collapsed onto the blanket, lacking the strength to even lift a finger.
He had fallen asleep watching the dawn sun push up the twilight, and upon waking, he found himself back at Asadal Mountain. It seemed Biryoo had carried him back while he slept.
“The dignity of a servant is in shambles.”
Young-pa muttered and looked outside. Judging by the dimness, it seemed to be late evening. His clothes were neatly folded next to the blanket. Young-pa rose on his knees, picked up and put on his jeogori and pants, and stepped outside.
Perhaps it had rained, for the world was a moist, silver realm. The thick fog lying over the lake felt as if it could be grasped. The clouds draped in twilight sparkled like scattered jewels.
The man Young-pa was looking for sat before the lake, which looked like a large tray. The faint sunlight, now only a trace, shimmered over the hem of his robe and his black hair tied into one.
Young-pa wanted to hug Biryoo from behind. He wanted to kiss his noble forehead, straight bridge of his nose, and soft lips frantically. But something blocked him in his heart. Just then, the dog lying beside Biryoo looked back.
Woof woof!
The dog ran over, ears fluttering. It was so happy that it seemed as if a year had passed since they parted, not just one day.
“I get it, stop now.”
The dog only backed off after covering Young-pa’s face in saliva.
As Young-pa sat beside Biryoo, the dog rested its chin on Young-pa’s thigh and lay down. Fiddling with the fluffy fur, Young-pa called out, “Azure Dragon.” At that, the man’s eyelids slowly lifted, and a contemplative gaze touched Young-pa’s cheek.
‘Why are you so difficult?’
Among humans, it is believed that a secret relationship is formed after sharing affection just once. In that regard, what they had done over the past few days would not be insufficient even for those who had exchanged a baeknyeongayak. Yet, Young-pa still felt as if Biryoo were a stranger. Even though he tried to sit close, he felt far away.
“Was it not arduous to carry me back?”
Young-pa asked politely. This was because nothing was certain except that he was Biryoo’s servant.
“The one who suffered was your dog.”
Hearing this, the dog lifted its head and let out a dull bark. Young-pa smiled and stroked the dog’s head. Just then, a loud growl echoed from his stomach.
“Go and have your dinner.”
Biryoo’s tone was soft. Though Young-pa knew that kindness was meaningless, he greedily swallowed the affectionate words. However, he did not follow the instruction. No matter how hungry or starved he was, he did not want to leave Biryoo’s side.
“Azure Dragon.”
“What is it?”
“I have already gathered half of the medicinal ingredients. Where should I find the next material?”
The third ingredient was aged blood. Blood is a substance that does not stay in one place but circulates, drying up outside the body. Young-pa could not imagine a way to age blood.
“You can obtain a bloodstone from the body of a long-lived monster.”
“I have heard of bloodstones before. How large of one is needed?”
Crystals of hardened blood. It was said that the stronger the monster, the larger the bloodstone. If one split open the internals of a mediocre monster, nothing would come out.
“I have seen something usable recently.”
“Where?”
“Do you remember when I dealt with eight serpents while you went to find the changjingyeong?”
Young-pa nodded. Even if thousands of years passed, how could he forget that day?
“There was a quite large bloodstone in that carcass.”
“Then the matter will be resolved easily. Does the clan head have it?”
“No. I saw a lesser dragon take it.”
Hearing this, it was good news. If Lee Shim had the bloodstone, there was no need to go all the way to Nazgol, making the task easier.
“I happen to be meeting him in a week, so I shall tell him to bring the bloodstone.”
“Will he hand it over obediently?”
“That fellow’s head is filled with nothing but thoughts of ascension. Since I told him you would give him the wish-fulfilling orb in the future, he will have no choice but to listen.”
Biryoo did not hide his displeasure at the mention of giving away the wish-fulfilling orb. However, since it was something already permitted, they said nothing more.
Silence lingered between the two for a while.
“Once you regain your divine power, this servitude will also end.”
Young-pa wanted to say it playfully, but a hint of regret lingered at the end of his words.
Once the divine power was regained, Biryoo would demand the divine artifact. Originally, the reason Young-pa had fought so hard not to hand over the somyeonghwan was for another reason. But by now, that ring had become the final excuse to keep Biryoo bound to him.
Biryoo had already shown Young-pa excessive kindness. They helped him find the changjingyeong so he could know who he was and save the Vermilion Bird. In the council of deities, they stood opposite Ji Seo-gu and saved his life. When Young-pa was recaptured by the Black Tortoise, they went all the way underground to rescue him, and in a desperate situation, even sucked out the poison to save him. If not for Biryoo, how many times would Young-pa have died?
Though they seemed intricately entwined, in reality, their relationship was not that complex. This thin connection was woven solely by the divine artifact. The only reason they had come this far was that Young-pa had not handed over the ring.
His heart felt bitter. It felt as if a long scratch had been made on his heart. It wasn’t painful enough to kill him, but it throbbed uncomfortably.
“Azure Dragon, about the owner of the divine artifact. The person you called the ‘longed-for one.’ Were they beautiful?”
Biryoo frowned slightly and looked at Young-pa.
“Why do you ask that?”
“Just… I might be curious.”
“They were the most beautiful woman I have ever known.”
Because Biryoo answered so readily, Young-pa felt as if he had been slapped out of nowhere.
“I see.”
Young-pa glared at the lake for no reason. Being wary of an opponent whose identity he didn’t even know was like trying to grasp the fog. Moreover, he had said that person died long ago. Young-pa wanted to stop this meaningless endeavor, but it didn’t go as he wished.
‘He could have at least lied.’
Young-pa grumbled inwardly. But if Biryoo were that kind of person, he might not have fallen for them to this extent.
Young-pa admired the fortitude of this noble being. He adored the fact that Biryoo would choose silence over lying or making excuses. Even the aspect of keeping away from impure things was wonderful. Young-pa longed for them and, furthermore, wanted to resemble them.
However, Young-pa was a shadow made only of the dark side of humanity. The driving force that brought him here was anger and hatred, and even though he had fallen deeply for Biryoo recently, he had merely coveted their body, drenched in lust.
Since jealousy was also an emotion befitting him, Young-pa asked with dark eyes.
“When did that person die?”
Biryoo did not answer for a long time. Just as Young-pa thought he was being ignored again, the answer came.
“They died a thousand years ago.”
“What?”
Not ten years, not twenty. Not even three hundred, but a thousand.
Young-pa tried to fathom a thousand years and was reminded once again that Biryoo was a dragon. What kind of story could it be, to have a love that could not be forgotten for such a long time? It must have been a bond so deep that Young-pa could not even feel jealous of it.
“Then have you remained chaste for a thousand years?”
When Young-pa asked playfully, hiding his true feelings, Biryoo predictably cast a pathetic look his way.
“If that person’s beauty was the pinnacle, where do I rank?”
This time, a scoff of disbelief returned. But it wasn’t a joke made for amusement. Young-pa had asked because he was genuinely curious.
“Am I higher than the fox we met yesterday? At least answer that.”
“What a strange human.”
“Pardon?”
“I cannot even remember the appearance of that fox.”
As Biryoo smiled at him, Young-pa forgot his sorrows. His mind cleared, and it felt as if it were filling with light. A warm palm gently cupped Young-pa’s cheek.
“Why ask such a thing? Is it not a fact praised by all that your appearance is outstanding?”
“I have no need for the praise of all. What I want is the recognition of one person.”
“How many times must you hear it to be satisfied?”
“You have only told me I am pretty once. Since it was during the radiant energy… I might have misheard, or it might have been nonsense you uttered in a haze.”
Despite Young-pa’s stubbornness, the smile did not vanish from Biryoo’s lips. That sight unfailingly shook Young-pa’s heart.
“I have a nasty habit of not keeping things I dislike close to me. Why else would I embrace you?”
Before he knew it, Young-pa was sitting on Biryoo’s thigh. The tip of the energetic dragon’s genital was touching the inside of his thigh. Young-pa traced a line over the hardened penis with his fingertip.
“First of all… it’s not that you are embracing me, but that I clung to you and wouldn’t let go. And I thought you embraced me not because I am seductive, but because I am good at the night’s work.”
“You were crying in pain not long ago, yet you’ve become quite confident.”
Biryoo lightly pinched Young-pa’s cheek.
While he melted at the touch that seemed to find him cute, Young-pa also found Biryoo’s nonchalant attitude irritating.
He wanted to conquer the leisurely man. He wanted those indifferent eyes to gaze upon him with heat, and for those lips to whisper vulgarities in his ear that were unbecoming of a deity’s dignity. He longed for him to touch his body, to leave marks with his lips, and to drive him into a frenzy with pounding thrusts that would make him lose consciousness.
Young-pa pushed himself up and kissed Biryoo. Even though they had only pressed their lips together for a moment before parting, he was breathless. Not even the thousand-year lover Biryoo yearned for could dispel the ecstasy filling Young-pa’s chest.
‘He’s a dead person anyway.’
Young-pa murmured inwardly. Then, he whispered softly.
“When you spend the night with me, you must look only at me.”
Their noses were touching. As he locked eyes with Biryoo from such a close distance, his heart hammered violently.
“What strange words.”
Biryoo gently wrapped his arm around Young-pa’s waist and pulled him closer. Then, he slowly stroked down his back.
“Whether it be night or day, you give me no room to even turn my gaze away.”
Biryoo stood up while still holding Young-pa in his arms. Young-pa laughed and clung to Biryoo’s neck.
He walked along the perimeter of the lake and set Young-pa down where the fragrant grass bloomed plushly. It was a spot where peach trees cast a romantic shade. As Biryoo leaned over Young-pa, the night sky sparkled behind his face.
“There is a flower here that resembles you.”
A few wind flowers were blooming nearby. Even though he was calling him a weed, Young-pa didn’t feel offended in the least.
Biryoo plucked one and teased him, tickling the tip of Young-pa’s nose. Young-pa burst into laughter, wondering what could be so amusing.
After laughing for a while, he noticed Biryoo wearing a vacant expression. That is, if such a word as ‘vacant’ were permitted to be used for him.
Young-pa snatched the wind flower dangling from his fingertips.
“If you want me, try taking it back.”
When Young-pa took the wind flower into his mouth, Biryoo blinked. Seeing his eyelids slowly close, Young-pa did the same. Soon, the petals were crushed, and their tongues intertwined.
The scent of flowers and a man lingered on his lips. It was not the taste of a noble divine dragon, but that of a man driven mad by lust.
≋ ≋ ≋
The dreamlike week passed in an instant. They shared their affection like male and female animals in estrus. Whenever their eyes met, they clung to each other; they parted only to merge again, unfolding and overlapping repeatedly.
Even if Young-pa was naturally lewd, Biryoo seemed to have cast off his lofty shell to indulge in the flesh. Whether Young-pa was picking wild greens, gathering dry twigs, practicing spellcraft, or shaking out a blanket, Biryoo’s hand would slip beneath his clothes.
Of course, Young-pa welcomed such temptations with open arms. He loved kissing Biryoo with a manic intensity. He enjoyed touching and licking his body, and conversely, he delighted in being caressed. He savored the sensation of the phallus entering between his legs, and while taking it in his rear, he shook his hips as if his body might break.
Young-pa received the penis while lying down, prone, crawling, or sitting. Occasionally, sexual encounters took place while he clung to Biryoo’s shoulder. It was common for him to toy with the genitals in his grip or swallow semen after holding it in his mouth. Beyond that, they engaged in lewd acts that were difficult to describe individually without hesitation.
They engaged in lovemaking several times a day, regardless of the location. Once, while they were coupling in a certain lake, Jeolgon happened to fly overhead.
Biryoo quickly pulled Young-pa’s shoulder and dove underwater. Knowing it would be dangerous to make a scene, Young-pa still couldn’t resist his lust upon seeing Biryoo’s face submerged. While Jeolgon roared above them, Young-pa took Biryoo’s lips above and his phallus below, making him ejaculate underwater—a feat he took great pride in.
After Jeolgon passed, Biryoo bound Young-pa’s hands under the pretext of punishing him and ravished him by the waterside. To Young-pa, this was a reward rather than a punishment.
Young-pa’s primary goal had drifted away in the meantime. He spent much of his day enjoying himself with Biryoo, and even when they weren’t together, he fell into lewd fantasies. His mind was so filled with erotic acts with that man that there was no room for unpleasant thoughts of Black Tortoise or revenge. Young-pa pushed aside his troublesome worries under the excuse of being busy.
He carved himself into Biryoo’s body, stitch by stitch. He made the one who had been cast down from the heavenly realm wallow in the mire of carnal desire. He stimulated him and led him to writhe in excitement. He left scratch marks on his back, bite marks on his neck, and let erotic moans spill from his ears, inducing him to abandon his reason.
Now, Biryoo smelled not of orchids and green pines, but of a human. The scent of sweat wafted from his body just after lovemaking, and a fishy smell rose from his semen. When Young-pa buried his nose in the crook of his neck and inhaled, he could smell a wild, masculine musk.
After their sexual encounters ended, the two would lie languidly and talk. Young-pa asked Biryoo numerous questions. Half were ignored, but if he was lucky, he received a good answer.
For instance, Young-pa learned that Biryoo liked rainy weather. And that among the four seasons, he enjoyed autumn the most.
Biryoo said he had taken in three abandoned dragons and raised them in the heavenly realm. Two were still young and cute, but one had become rebellious after growing up and was difficult to handle. Biryoo wore a tender smile as he told this story.
However, Biryoo hid far more than he revealed. While Young-pa had come to know Biryoo’s body as well as his own, the man’s heart remained a complete mystery.
Even as the nights they spent together increased, Biryoo remained as taciturn and secretive as ever. Even when he did speak, he was ambiguous, and he never gave answers to the things Young-pa truly wanted to know.
The more time he spent with him, the more their bodies mingled, the more anxious Young-pa became. Consequently, even when he had poured out yin water so many times that nothing more could come out, he was not fully satisfied. Whenever Biryoo acted indifferent, a heart-wrenching pain flared up. Yet, even that pain felt ecstatic and precious. His emotions swung between the heavenly realm and the underground several times a day.
Young-pa wanted to spend time with Biryoo, to share affection, and to be attached like yeolliji. He always craved Biryoo’s praise and wanted him to find him cute. On the other hand, a destructive desire surged within him to break him, wound him, and make him long only for himself.
If these were the two faces of love.
“Azure Dragon, is romantic love a good emotion?”
Young-pa asked abruptly. A calm answer returned from behind.
“It does not seem to be a bad emotion.”
Feeling lethargic, Young-pa let out a large yawn. It had been a while since he had eaten dinner, finished his radiant energy release, and bathed. Young-pa wanted to lie down due to lack of strength, but he barely managed to stay seated because Biryoo offered to braid his hair.
“Why do you ask?”
“I wondered if Ji Seo-gu had left me with a heart capable of loving someone when he split me apart.”
“Human emotions are like passing seasons; what meaning could there be in romantic love?”
Whatever kind of life he had lived, Biryoo’s distrust and contempt for humans were severe. Young-pa replied with a slight flare of annoyance.
“Humans also have sincere hearts. How can you disregard them so?”
“It is a heart that changes as easily as flipping a palm.”
“It is not!”
“Stay still.”
Biryoo gently tugged at his hair.
He liked touching hair. Whenever Young-pa washed, Biryoo volunteered to comb through his hair with his fingers, and afterward, he always tried to braid it. During that process, Biryoo’s fingertips would often brush against his nape and ears, so Young-pa grew to love that time.
‘Could there be a place more peaceful than this?’
With a wide myeonggyeongjisu in front, a starry night sky above, a fluffy dog by his side, and a mubiilseok handsome man behind him, there was nothing more to wish for.
Looking back, there had been no time in his life spent so peacefully and happily. His childhood was devoted to rigorous training, and once he grew up, he founded salcheondang and dedicated everything to his hatred for the four spirits.
‘Once, I wanted to live like this with Lady Seolji…’
He too had a dream of making a baeknyeongayak with the one he adored, picking wild greens and fruits together, catching and grilling fish, raising animals, and living in one house. Although it was a wish from a long, long time ago.
Young-pa imagined if he hadn’t hated the four directional gods so much, whether he could have lived cozily, skin-to-skin, with a woman. However, he couldn’t easily envision himself as someone who didn’t found salcheondang, someone who revered the deities and lived according to his station like others.
Young-pa returned to reality. A failure split in half after challenging the four symbols. A fool who somehow got entangled with one of them and indulged in pathetic delusions. A sharp sense of reality pierced through the center of his childish happiness.
By tomorrow, they would discover the location of the third material. This also meant the time he could spend with Biryoo would decrease.
Young-pa grew anxious. Behind the simple desire to set up a home and live happily with Biryoo, a wicked desire for him not to recover his divine power followed like a shadow.
Young-pa knew that no noble emotion was permitted for him. Therefore, the hope that he could stay with Biryoo, or the misunderstanding that he harbored special feelings for him, were equally welcome.
‘Romantic love, my foot. There’s no way Black Tortoise gave me such a good emotion.’
As Young-pa shook his head, Biryoo grabbed his neck and set it straight.
“I told you to stay still.”
“Yes.”
Young-pa felt fortunate that Biryoo could not see his face. He was too melancholy to force an expression. Only the dog could see Young-pa’s face, and as if it had noticed something, it began to lick his cheek.
‘Human affairs are so complex; what do you know about me that you follow me so?’
The dog’s eyes were a watery brown. It was a miracle that two eyes were placed straight on such a messily distorted face.
Young-pa guessed that before becoming like this, it must have been a fairly handsome dog. Then, it occurred to him that the dog must have had an original life as well.
“Azure Dragon.”
Biryoo did not answer, perhaps because he was busy braiding the hair.
“Please ask the puppy if it misses its former owner.”
Before Young-pa could finish speaking, the dog barked. Then, it rubbed its forehead against Young-pa’s chest.
“It says it misses them. But it says it likes you best in the whole world right now.”
The brown eyes looked at him as if in worship. Young-pa wanted to tell it that he didn’t deserve such devotion. On the other hand, he knew the stubborn dog wouldn’t listen to a word of it.
“Please… ask what its name is.”
Again, the dog barked as soon as it heard Young-pa’s words. Biryoo conveyed the answer in a dry voice.
“It says it has waited every day for you to give it a name.”
Young-pa closed his eyes as a surge of hot emotion rushed over him. He had never once given a name to an animal or formed an attachment. It was both amusing and meaningful that the one dog to enter his life was a patched-up failure of Black Tortoise.
Young-pa held the dog’s large face with both hands. Then, two gentle eyes met his. A clear and pure heart, harboring not a single ulterior motive.
“From now on, your name is Cheongsim. Understand?”
Cheongsim jumped up, spun around, and wagged its tail vigorously.
“It doesn’t stay still for a single moment.”
Biryoo complained as he tied the hair with a string. When Young-pa turned around, Biryoo examined his appearance.
It was a funny thing. As soon as he locked eyes with Biryoo, the worries that had filled him until then vanished as if washed away by rain. No matter what anyone said, he was skin-to-skin with Biryoo, and there was no denying that touch and warmth.
“How do I look, Azure Dragon?”
As Young-pa flirted, casting his eyelids up coquettishly, Biryoo’s eyes curved beautifully. It was a precious smile that made Young-pa’s heart flutter.
“Does it stir your lust?”
Biryoo lowered his head, stifling a laugh. When he raised his face again, he was smiling as if amused.
“Well, I think you’ll need to put in more effort.”
It seemed his coquetry wasn’t quite vivid enough. He was already feeling a twitch in his eye from trying to do something he had never done in his life. Feeling awkward, Young-pa let out a loud “Hahaha.”
He wiped the smile from his lips and this time stretched out his leg.
“Then how about this?”
As Young-pa rolled up his trousers with a suggestive gesture, Biryoo smiled and shook his head. Since it looked extremely awkward even to himself, he had no right to complain if Biryoo’s lust wasn’t stirred.
“You said you were too tired to do any more, so why are you trying to stimulate me?”
“It’s your fault for fueling my competitive spirit. I can’t stand losing.”
This time, Young-pa lay down with his head on Biryoo’s lap and opened his eyes half-closed. As he wrote lewd letters on the thigh with his fingertips, he touched something heavy. Unexpectedly, Biryoo’s phallus was as stiff as an iron rod.
“You won from the beginning. Let’s just sleep.”
Only then could Young-pa see the fire burning subtly in his eyes.
Just one shijin ago, he had thought that if he pushed himself any further, his rear would be raw. But how could one born lewd resist the impulse of sexual desire?
“I don’t want to.”
Young-pa sat on Biryoo’s thigh. He wrapped his arms around his neck and slowly rubbed his own equally hardened sataguni against the spot where the penis was. The smile gradually vanished from Biryoo’s face.
“Can you endure it?”
Did Biryoo still not know him? It was an unnecessary question.
Instead of answering, Young-pa untied his neat garment ties. And he poured hot kisses upon the man who could not be resisted.
Old Blood
The next day, Biryoo and Young-pa set out together. In the deepening spring of the green forest, flowers bloomed, making daemyeongcheonji colorful and fragrant. Dog-flowers, daylilies, and even iris flowers were in full bloom, to the point that it made one’s eyes dizzy.
On their way, they saw Jeolgon hunting a bear. Despite being covered in wounds, the bear was fighting back bravely.
Lee Shim, who had been hiding between the peaks and rocks of asadal mountain, scurried out as soon as Young-pa arrived.
“Brother!”
Seeing Biryoo standing behind Young-pa, he turned pale and prostrated himself on the ground.
They say dragons do not like lesser dragons; the gaze Biryoo cast down upon him was as cold as could be. Since Biryoo had become more prone to smiling recently, Young-pa hadn’t seen that expression in a long time.
“This m-m-m-m-millet greets the Eastern Azure Dragon…”
At that peculiar greeting, Biryoo crossed his arms and looked away, appearing displeased.
“I-I-I-I d-d-d-dare not l-l-l-look upon your f-f-f-face… Aagh!”
Unable to take it anymore, Young-pa smacked the back of Lee Shim’s head.
“Shut up and just recite whatever you’ve found out.”
“Yes, brother…”
Lee Shim’s story was different yet similar to the last time. Black Tortoise was still searching for Young-pa and was scouring the land indiscriminately.
He said a man living alone by a river was captured and taken underground; as soon as Black Tortoise saw him, he knew it wasn’t Young-pa, tore his limbs into pieces, and killed all the serpents that had brought him. Hearing this, Young-pa’s fist tightened.
“Fortunately, asadal mountain has already been searched extensively, and since that ferocious yellow dragon lives here, there seems to be no sign of suspicion.”
Having finished his report, Lee Shim bowed toward the ambiguous space between Young-pa and Biryoo.
“It’s a relief that bastard is searching in the wrong place, but his actions are too atrocious.”
“Black Tortoise is originally a s-s-scary deity, but since his mood has been very poor lately, even the serpents are trembling in fear.”
Young-pa was momentarily seized by the anger and hatred he had forgotten, but then he remembered there was something more important.
“I have something to ask you today.”
“What is it, brother?”
“The great Azure Dragon said that you have the bloodstone.”
Lee Shim, who had been talking just fine with Young-pa, began to tremble violently as soon as Biryoo was mentioned.
“I-I-I-I d-d-d-did take the b-b-b-bloodstone from the b-b-body of Dae Mang, that is a f-f-f-f-fact, b-b-b-but… Aagh!”
“Speak clearly!”
“T-t-that b-b-bloodstone was t-t-taken by another s-s-serpent!”
Young-pa turned around and asked Biryoo.
“What should we do, Azure Dragon?”
“Ask where that serpent is.”
Young-pa didn’t know why they were communicating through him, but he did his best in his role.
“He says to ask where it is, you earthworm.”