The Eunuch Regains His Manhood in the Second Round

2. A Hungry Man is Better Than a Sated Pig

“Whew.”

I calmed my boiling excitement, blood, and male pride.

Cheonsangcheonha Yuadokjon Samgyegaego Adanganjee.

It is said that when Buddha was born from the side of Queen Maya, he stood up immediately, walked seven steps in all directions, and declared to the heavens and the earth.

Literally, Buddha declared Cheonsangcheonha Yuadokjon as soon as he was born, proclaiming that he would save all beings and liberate them from the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Although I am not a great sage like Buddha, nor do I have the ambition to save all beings, I wanted to make a declaration after my return.

Unlike my previous life where I couldn’t fulfill my desires because I was a eunuch, in this life, I would live solely for my desires.

I would live only for myself.

After shouting out what I wanted to say, I felt relieved and sat down near the coffin, rummaging through the dead middle-aged merchant’s bundle to take out some jerky and chew on it.

Chew, chew.

The tough and salty jerky crumbled in my mouth.

“That’s better.”

With nutrients supplied, I felt a bit better.

Feeling the pleasant heaviness in my lower body, I began to plan for the future.

Having made a grand declaration following the example of the great Buddha, I now had to seriously draw up a plan for my life.

What is the joy of love?

It is the greatest mystery of humanity.

If you are a man, unless you are a eunuch, or even if you are a eunuch based on my experience, you must have pondered and agonized over this.

Although my physical age is 12, with a little effort, I could easily earn some money and visit a brothel.

‘I don’t need such simple pleasures.’

But I am a modern person.

Moreover, I am a person with a very modern sense of morality and ethics who dislikes prostitution.

I don’t like prostitution.

No, I hate it.

I dislike relationships that only share physical pleasure without affection and love.

So, how can I enjoy true pleasure?

—

During the preparation period for the Great Reincarnation Technique, I deeply explored and contemplated what supreme pleasure truly is through cold, rational thought.

As a result, I was able to derive the most reasonable answer I could think of.

‘It is better to be a hungry human than a satisfied pig.’

The meaning of this proverb was simple.

No matter how full a pig is, it is still just a pig and can never become a human.

One must pursue qualitative pleasure, not quantitative pleasure.

Simple pleasures, meaningless pleasures that are merely abundant in quantity, are unnecessary.

What I seek is qualitatively superior pleasure, the ultimate pleasure, the supreme pleasure, a relationship where mutual mental exchange and physical pleasure are shared. This is the ultimate path of sensuality that I pursue.

From my perspective of pursuing true sensuality, the brothel is merely a low-grade pleasure that only seeks quantity.

I had no intention of pursuing such cheap carnal pleasures.

I had no intention of carelessly discarding my precious virginity.

I had no intention of becoming a satisfied pig.

I must become a hungry person, no, a satisfied person.

‘I don’t need simple physical relationships. I need a relationship where physical and mental affection are shared together, and the partner must be an absolute beauty, a peerless beauty.’

A relationship where I exchange affection with an absolute beauty who loves me.

A relationship that pursues not just simple physical pleasure, but also mutual mental satisfaction and love.

That is the path of sensuality that I pursue.

There is no meaning if I enjoy it alone.

The partner must also enjoy it.

The partner must love me.

Of course, according to modern moral concepts, monogamy dictates that the partner must be only one person.

‘Is there really a need for that?’

This is not modern South Korea, but the lawless medieval Murim land.

In an era where it is natural for a capable man to have multiple wives and concubines.

So, I have no intention of stubbornly adhering to monogamy.

There is a saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’

I am a modern person, but at the same time, I am also a person of the Central Plains who has lived there for 50 years.

I, Cheolsu Lee, having regained my male pride, have decided to be faithful to my desires.

‘That can’t be.’

It’s impossible.

Now that I’ve regained the man’s pride, I will indulge in love with many beautiful women, as long as it doesn’t go against the principles of desire.

Of course, I have no intention of forming relationships that the other party does not want.

I won’t stop the women who come to me, but I will absolutely not let those who wish to leave go.

Thus, I will build a harem of unparalleled beauties who love only me, enjoying the pleasures of life in the lush gardens of desire.

That is the ultimate pursuit of my desires!

The final goal of my life!

If I’ve regained a man’s pride, shouldn’t I aim to be a king of harem?

‘A harem of unparalleled beauties! Lush gardens of desire! Pleasures of life!’

With the harem and lush gardens, and the pleasures of life set as my ultimate goals, I settled into my seat and chewed on dried meat once more.

During the preparation period for the reincarnation technique, I not only contemplated the principles of desire but also meticulously mapped out the roadmap for my life as a man after reincarnation.

The reincarnation technique is a spell that transfers the subject’s soul to another person in the future, based on the moment of casting.

If the technique succeeds, I would have reincarnated into the body of someone in the future, and that body could very well be that of a physically deceased individual.

Naturally, it’s impossible to choose the body into which I will reincarnate.

It would be wonderful if I could possess the legendary body of Namgung-se, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility of reincarnating into the body of a dying vagrant on the street, which is of normal grade.

Therefore, regardless of the identity and status of the body I would reincarnate into, I had made all the necessary preparations to smoothly pursue my desires.

‘That was the grave.’

That means was my grave.

The tomb of Lee Cheol-soo, the esteemed figure of the Three Nations.

I used my power to create a lavish tomb on purpose, and under the pretext of burial goods, I included treasures, as well as the unparalleled martial arts manuals and elixirs.

On top of that, I installed mechanisms that could only be deciphered by me.

I prepared the opportunities that my future self could use with my own hands.

Originally, I would have found my tomb, built near Beijing, right after reincarnation, gathered the various treasures, elixirs, and martial arts manuals buried inside, and confidently emerged as a new master in the martial world.

The plan was perfect.

The problem is.

‘But I’ve returned not to the future, but to the past?’

I have returned to the past, not the future.

The tomb of Lee Cheol-soo, the legacy left by my past self for my future self, does not even exist at this point in time.

—

The arrangements I had made disappeared.

‘In that case, I guess I’ll have to redraw the roadmap from scratch.’

But there was no panic.

The grave had vanished, but I was given a special privilege that might be even more powerful than the arrangements I made in my previous life: future information that only a regressor could possess.

Moreover, in my previous life, I was the head of the East and West Chambers, the greatest and most powerful intelligence agencies in the Central Plains.

I know almost every event that will occur in the next 50 years.

‘To win the love of women, I need wealth and honor.’

I was quite good at self-objectification.

If I were handsome, I could have achieved the path of seduction, but unfortunately, my appearance could not be called handsome even as a compliment.

Not that I was ugly, just ordinary, or perhaps with sharp eyes that gave me a slightly fierce thug-like impression.

For someone like me to win the favor of an absolute beauty and ultimately achieve the ultimate path of seduction by enjoying the company of three wives and four concubines, I needed wealth and honor.

‘There’s a saying that heroes do not refuse three wives and four concubines.’

If you turn that saying around, it means that only a hero can have three wives and four concubines.

So, to enjoy the company of three wives and four concubines, I first needed to become a hero.

The means to achieve the path of seduction, for me, were wealth and honor.

If I had the wealth and honor worthy of being called a hero, women would naturally be attracted to me.

It’s only natural that women would be more attracted to a wealthy and honorable man than to a penniless beggar.

So, I had to find a way to gain wealth and honor and become a hero, and I had about three methods available to me at the moment.

1. Join the military, accumulate achievements as a soldier, get promoted, and gain honor and wealth to attract the favor of beautiful women.

2. Pass the civil service exam, enter politics, and gain honor and wealth as an official to attract the favor of beautiful women.

3. Join the martial arts world, build a reputation through martial exploits, and gain wealth to attract the favor of beautiful women.

Three choices.

It was the most important gateway, like the first job change in a game.

Job changes cannot be undone.

So, I had to choose my options carefully.

Soldier, official, or martial artist.

My choice was.

‘Of course, I have to choose to be a martial artist.’

A martial artist it was.

‘A soldier is out of the question. Right now, I would have to enlist as a private, and if I enlist, there would only be men, and I would have to fight against foreign tribes every day while rotating through the front lines. It would take a long time to accumulate military achievements and get promoted.’

—

—

Above all, having experienced military life in modern times, I know that even the 21st-century advanced military of South Korea, which prides itself on being progressive, had plenty of crappy aspects.

But what? The military of a medieval Murim land with no concept of human rights?

Even when I was a eunuch in my previous life, just hearing rumors about the military was enough to know that the absurdity of this primitive medieval Murim military was unimaginably horrific.

Moreover, having finally regained my male pride, I cannot re-enlist in a damned military full of nothing but dark, sweaty men, where I can’t even catch a whiff of a woman’s scent.

Re-enlistment?

The thought of it scares me to death.

‘Being a bureaucrat is out of the question. How long would it take to break through the cartel of the noble families in Beijing?’

Passing the civil service exam itself might not be that difficult.

The problem was promotion.

The cartel formed by the noble families of Beijing was solid.

Breaking through the cartel wasn’t impossible, but it would undoubtedly take a tremendous amount of time.

Even if I ascended to a high-ranking official position quickly, it might be in my 30s, or if late, in my 40s.

Moreover, this is a medieval Murim land that worships Confucianism.

All officials were essentially scholars.

Having reincarnated, living like a scholar until I turn 40, suppressing my desires?

That’s impossible. It can’t be done.

So, it had to be Murim.

If I combined strong martial arts with future knowledge, I could quickly build a reputation and be treated as a rising star in the martial world.

And if I participated in the Yongbongjihoe and caused a stir?

Becoming a hero would be a piece of cake.

Achieving three wives and four concubines in my 20s was entirely possible.

“Hohohohoho.”

At that moment, laughter naturally flowed from my mouth.

I reflexively hunched my shoulders, covered my mouth with my hand, and then shuddered and shook my head.

Drip.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Even now, everything is fine, but this timid eunuch’s laughter like a manly man!

Was it because I lived as a eunuch for 50 years? This damn habit stuck with me.

Laughing like a eunuch in front of peerless beauties as I did in my previous life? They would all see me as a fool, not a man.

That can’t happen.

—

—

To become the alpha male who commands three wives and four concubines, I must first correct these trivial habits.

“Hehehehe, hahahahahaha!”

I removed the hand covering my mouth and, with my shoulders and chest fully extended, let out a hearty laugh befitting a hero, not the eunuch’s laughter.

Yes. Now I am satisfied.

This is how a real man, not a eunuch, should be.

A rosy future unfolded before my eyes.

Three wives and four concubines in my twenties!

I could already feel the presence of peerless beauties before my eyes.

Throb.

The black dragon in my pants roared.

‘Speaking of Murim, I just remembered a sect that would be perfect for me to join, no, I remembered.’

I corrected my inner monologue.

There was no longer any need to use the eunuch’s tone.

To build a harem of three wives and four concubines through relationships with peerless beauties, I had to be reborn as a man, not a eunuch, from the heart.

I had to correct all the habits of a eunuch that I had for 50 years and adopt the mindset of a real man.

That was the great first step towards the path of lust.

While searching through the future information in my mind, I found a sect that was perfect for me to join.

‘Kongtong Sect (崆峒派).’

Kongtong Sect.

A prestigious sect that once held a seat among the Nine Great Schools, but 50 years ago, during the Great War between the righteous and the demonic, it suffered near annihilation at the hands of the vanguard of the demonic cult led by the Heavenly Demon.

Due to the scars of the Great War, the Kongtong Sect was expelled from the Nine Great Schools and its power dwindled, but I knew the future of the Kongtong Sect.

Five years from now, a genius who would rebuild the fallen Kongtong Sect and make it the greatest sect in the world would emerge in the martial world.

Sword Saint Yoo Jin-hwi.

I knew very well that his sect was the Kongtong Sect.

And I also knew that Yoo Jin-hwi was at the center of numerous incidents and accidents in the martial world, and that his fame spread very quickly.

A typical protagonist of a martial arts novel about rebuilding a fallen sect.

That was Yoo Jin-hwi.

After joining the Kongtong Sect, if I could use Sword Saint Yoo Jin-hwi to resolve all the upheavals in the martial world and rise to the position of the hidden power behind the righteous martial world, then…

The power, wealth, and honor that were the means to achieve three wives and four concubines would all be in my hands.

I was the one who had crushed all competitors and emerged as the final victor in the brutal political arena of the imperial palace.

—

—

Becoming the hidden power of the orthodox Murim was as easy as eating porridge.

Moreover, there was someone more important in the Gongdong Sect than Sword Saint Yoo Jin-hwi.

‘The future number one beauty of the White Path was also a member of the Gongdong Sect.’

The number one beauty of the White Path.

The most beautiful woman in the orthodox Murim came from the Gongdong Sect.

Having decided on my purpose, means, and methods, I quickened my steps with a smile.

“Everything is for my three wives and four concubines.”

I quietly reaffirmed my goal as I packed the dead merchant’s bundle and set out on the main road.

I felt a pleasant heaviness in my lower body, something I couldn’t feel in my previous life.

The destination was Gongdong Mountain in Gansu Province.

It was the place that would be the core of my plan for my three wives and four concubines.