Chapter 130

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His entire body ached as if it were breaking apart. Whether it was because of the childhood dream he had or because of the pain, his eyes were damp with moisture. Even in the midst of severe pain, Cheong-ra was very conscious of his body being damp with cold sweat. He wanted to wash, but he couldn't muster any strength in his body at all.

His breathing became rough as the image of the giant centipede insect kept flashing before his eyes. It was more terrifying than being locked in a chest full of insects. The hard exoskeleton that wouldn't even crack no matter how much he attacked it, the tenacious life force that didn't die even when its body was cut apart, the countless terrifying legs and the dirty bodily fluids that had gotten on his body.

All those memories became a heart demon for Cheong-ra. The fear that had been suppressed deep in his heart tore through his body and shook his mind.

"Heu, uk, uk, uuk..."

Something else welled up from inside. As a fishy smell rose sharply, making him wrinkle his face, there was a hand raising his upper body. As the hand tapped the acupoints on his back, black blood flowed out of his mouth along with coughs that shook his lungs. Cheong-ra lifted his heavy eyelids at the touch of a hand that put soft cotton in his mouth to scrape out the pooled blood.

"Ah..."

Cheong-ra's eyes widened in surprise. He wondered who was taking care of him, but surprisingly, it was Dang Ran-yeong. Seeing that Cheong-ra had regained consciousness, he tapped his cheek and said,

"You crawled out and got hurt without my permission?"

Hearing him boldly claim ownership over Cheong-ra, a slight laugh escaped him out of absurdity. It was strange. Just seeing Dang Ran-yeong's face made the maddening fear and anxiety slowly subside.

He wanted to ask, "So are you going to punish me?" but it ended with just a slight movement of his lips. Seeing Cheong-ra's eyelids keep drooping, Dang Ran-yeong pressed an acupoint to forcibly wake him up and said,

"Don't sleep yet."

When Cheong-ra forced his eyes open, Dang Ran-yeong sat him up against the wall. Then he left for a moment and came back with a steaming hot medicinal decoction.

Seeing the black liquid, Cheong-ra recalled how he had fallen terribly ill after drinking the decoction last time. However, thinking that getting sicker here couldn't be worse than dying, Cheong-ra obediently drank the bitter decoction. Soon, the blood and energy that had been boiling due to the heart demon slowly subsided with the energy of the decoction, and the pain eased considerably.

"You can sleep now."

As Dang Ran-yeong laid him back down and said this, Cheong-ra's eyes immediately closed, and he fell back into a deep sleep.

Due to his severe internal injuries and later spitting out the Poison-Resisting Bead, Cheong-ra was ill for a long time with symptoms of poisoning from the centipede's venom. After repeating the cycle of waking up, drinking the decoction, and falling asleep again several times, he was finally able to regain consciousness enough to sit up and eat rice porridge.

What was surprising was that Dang Ran-yeong had been constantly by his side every time Cheong-ra woke up. The fact that he was there each time, even though he didn't know when Cheong-ra would wake up, meant that he had been taking care of him all day long. This was an aspect Cheong-ra had never expected from Dang Ran-yeong. Cheong-ra recalled how Dang Ran-yeong had claimed ownership of him and said he would take responsibility.

'Perhaps taking responsibility means more to Dang Ran-yeong than I thought...'

Such a thought briefly crossed his mind, but Cheong-ra was too exhausted to think about it more deeply.

Although his internal injuries had somewhat recovered, the heart demon that had taken root in his mind did not improve. From time to time, anger and heat would rise, blood would come up, and his mind would become confused. He vomited several times even though he wasn't sick to his stomach. Cheong-ra performed the Great Circulation technique many times, pressing various points on his chest and solar plexus. Afterward, his eyes, which always shone brightly, would be filled with fearful frustration.

However, without revealing any of these inner feelings, he waited until he regained some strength. When he was finally able to eat meals properly, Cheong-ra said to Dang Ran-yeong,

"Young Master Dang, thank you for taking care of me. I think I'll be fine on my own now, so you can go about your business."

Dang Ran-yeong, who had been watching Cheong-ra eat, raised his hand to touch Cheong-ra's forehead and then removed it, saying,

"You no longer have a fever."

"Thanks to you, I've recovered a lot."

Cheong-ra answered, unnecessarily touching the spot where Dang Ran-yeong's hand had been. Dang Ran-yeong nodded slowly and stood up, his accessories making a faint jingling sound. Finally judging that it was okay to leave him alone, Dang Ran-yeong left the bedroom. It was the first time Cheong-ra had been left alone since collapsing after fighting the centipede monster.

Cheong-ra looked around. There was an empty decoction bowl, as if Dang Ran-yeong had forgotten to take it out. After taking a deep breath, Cheong-ra wrapped the decoction bowl once in a cotton cloth. Then he smashed it hard on the floor. Thanks to the cloth, there was no loud shattering sound. He unwrapped the cloth and unhesitatingly chose the largest piece, immediately moving to cut his own throat.

No, he tried to, but his hand was forcibly stopped just short. Dang Ran-yeong, who he thought had gone out on business, suddenly appeared and tightly gripped his wrist. The firm hand applied pressure, squeezing as if to crush it, causing Cheong-ra to scream.

"Ack...!"

"Yes, I knew you'd do this."

Cheong-ra looked up with wide eyes and then gritted his teeth. Dang Ran-yeong's gaze glaring at him was like frost. He resisted until his hand trembled, but unable to withstand the grip on his wrist, he finally dropped the bowl fragment. Blood trickled from his palm. Thinking he had lost his chance to die here, Cheong-ra gave up and said weakly,

"Young Master Dang, let go."

"You went out without my permission and got hurt, and now you're trying to throw away your life?"

Dang Ran-yeong's voice was very cold. Cheong-ra looked up to meet his angry gaze and then dropped his head again. Only after he completely relaxed his body did Dang Ran-yeong release his wrist, which was already turning red with bruises.

Dang Ran-yeong clicked his tongue as he checked the wound on Cheong-ra's open palm, then took out some wound medicine from his bosom and applied it. As he skillfully wrapped a bandage, Cheong-ra asked,

"Young Master Dang, you knew from the beginning, didn't you? That I had the Blood Cult's mind-controlling insects in my body."

"Yes."

Dang Ran-yeong admitted without hesitation. Cheong-ra guessed that he probably knew about his mind-controlling insects from when he first approached him at Full Moon Lake. Everything made sense if he thought that Dang Ran-yeong had approached him thinking it would be appropriate to use him as bait for the Blood Cult since he already had mind-controlling insects planted in his body. However, there was still something he couldn't understand.

"How did you know I had mind-controlling insects in my body? And when and how did this..."

Cheong-ra's face turned pale as he thought of the insects that might be in his body. No matter how many times he performed the Great Circulation technique, Cheong-ra couldn't find any mind-controlling insects in his body. He couldn't understand how Dang Ran-yeong had recognized this.

"The Blood Cult has been looking for potential sacrifices for a long time. Among them, those considered especially valuable are usually approached when they're young, fed Demon Soul Insects, and then marked. In Beauty's case, it's on the back of your neck."

Cheong-ra unconsciously felt the back of his neck, but couldn't feel anything. Even after finishing wrapping the bandage, Dang Ran-yeong didn't let go of his hand and asked,

"Shall I show you?"

Cheong-ra nodded silently. He was still half in doubt about having insects in his body. After all, he hadn't felt anything wrong with his body even after performing the Great Circulation technique.

Dang Ran-yeong helped Cheong-ra stand up. With his support, Cheong-ra limped to sit in front of the dressing table. Dang Ran-yeong gathered Cheong-ra's long hair and draped it over his shoulder, then used a hand mirror to show the back of his neck. It was a straight neck line without any blemishes.

"Look closely."

Dang Ran-yeong took out a small medicine bottle from his bosom and applied some unknown reddish-brown liquid to his finger. When he touched it to Cheong-ra's nape, there was a burning sensation, and a reddish pattern, whether text or picture, appeared. Cheong-ra held his breath at the ominous-looking shape.

"This is a type of ancient character meaning 'sacrifice for the Heavenly Demon Horse'."

Cheong-ra couldn't take his eyes off the brand engraved on his nape. After a little time passed, the red characters that had appeared slowly faded away. Cheong-ra, who had squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, asked,

"What did you apply?"

"A reagent mixed with Blood Cult members' blood. It only reacts to their blood."

"...I need to wash."

Cheong-ra's face hardened at the thought of dirty blood being on him, and he stood up abruptly. However, he was immediately caught by Dang Ran-yeong's hand and made to sit down again.

"You're not in a condition to wash yet. Sit."

"But..."

"I'll wipe it off for you, so stay still."

Only after hearing this did Cheong-ra reluctantly become docile. Dang Ran-yeong poured some alcohol with a strong, clear scent characteristic of Polygonum multiflorum onto a soft cloth. Only after wiping Cheong-ra's nape several times with the dampened cloth was Cheong-ra finally satisfied. He muttered blankly,

"They feed mind-controlling insects and leave a brand when you're young..."

At that moment, what flashed through his mind was a childhood memory. Wasn't the first insect his mother tried to feed him similar in appearance to the mind-controlling insects?