Chapter 149

Baek Ri Cheong-ra was suspicious and bewildered by Dang Ran-yeong's suddenly changed attitude. Nevertheless, he was so naive that he was dragged along as Dang Ran-yeong swung him this way and that. While personally teaching him the soft sword to help improve his stagnant skills that he had deliberately left untouched, Dang Ran-yeong realized two things.

First, that there was quite a taste for teaching talent, and second, that he couldn't force training like this forever. Sure enough, seeing Cheong-ra avoid him from the next day, the second time seemed unlikely. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Even those without talent can reach Baek Ri Cheong-ra's level through simple training. However, beyond that was a matter of mindset and enlightenment. He needed to raise his skills to at least be able to handle two Blood Cult executives simultaneously with some to spare, so Dang Ran-yeong pondered how to handle him.

Then, before the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest, he fed Cheong-ra the Meridian Opening and Root Activating Decoction. This was something the Tang Clan used to examine the body in more detail.

It had the side effect of causing the whole body to boil with heat, but in exchange, it widened and activated the meridians, allowing a thorough examination of the body. It could even detect medicines, poisons, or diseases that the person themselves didn't know about. The result was surprisingly clean. Although he hadn't had high expectations, the complete lack of results was more than a little disappointing.

Even while confining him in the formation, indulging in him to his heart's content, and afterward dressing him as he wished and putting a custom-made sword in his hand, Dang Ran-yeong had been constantly focused on finding a way to remove the Demon Soul Insects.

Usually, there were three main ways to remove mind-controlling insects:

First, directly remove the mind-controlling insects by cutting open the flesh. Naturally, if they were lodged in vital organs, many would die from excessive bleeding. If the mind-controlling insects burst during removal, the host would immediately die. Second, in the case of yin-yang paired insects, obtain one of the pair and put the mind-controlling insects in the body back to sleep. However, this didn't apply to Demon Soul Insects. Third, have another person infuse their inner energy to locate the mind-controlling insects, then surround and burn them with inner power. This was also impossible as they couldn't even locate the Demon Soul Insects.

Therefore, Dang Ran-yeong had to find a new method that didn't fall under these three categories. This was important not just for his Beauty, but in general. They couldn't keep secretly killing all potential sacrifice candidates by checking for sacrifice marks forever.

'If only there was a poison that could selectively kill only the Demon Soul Insects...'

Dang Ran-yeong pondered deeply. Demon Soul Insects, born from the most potent of decay poisons, wouldn't die from ordinary poisons. As he was recalling various poisons in his mind, the carriage finally arrived at the village where Nam Gang-ryong and Baek Ri Cheong-ra were staying.

At that moment, Dang Ran-yeong's face, deep in thought, hardened.

Sensing the village's unsettled atmosphere, he immediately opened the door of the moving carriage and jumped out. He usually got lost even in such small villages, but it was different if there was something to use as a landmark. Dang Ran-yeong noticed from the traces left in the village that a battle had taken place here.

Nam Gang-ryong, with his unique pure and clear inner energy characteristic of Shaolin monks, was easy to pinpoint. However, he couldn't sense Baek Ri Cheong-ra's presence anywhere near him. Whatever had happened, it had already occurred.

Nam Gang-ryong was meditating in the lodging, his body covered in severe bruises. He looked like he had been beaten dozens of times, but the fact that he was sitting up normally showed that, true to being a Shaolin monk, he had good endurance. When Dang Ran-yeong approached making his presence known, Nam Gang-ryong opened his eyes and sighed deeply. Like Baek Ri Cheong-ra, he was unnecessarily kind-hearted, with guilt clearly visible on his face.

"Where's Beauty?"

When Dang Ran-yeong asked calmly, Nam Gang-ryong unfolded from his lotus position and stood up abruptly. Judging by his nearly dead expression, the answer was clear without hearing it. Dang Ran-yeong had told Nam Gang-ryong that if something like this happened, he should never lose consciousness but rather run away. Following those instructions well, he answered with a grave face.

"...Two days ago, it was the work of the one who controlled the Ink-scaled Centipede at the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest."

"Ah, Yuheng, was it?"

Yuheng... the one formerly known as Thousand Forms Sword Yeon Jeok-san. When he saw him last time, he should have cut off his neck instead of his right arm, but Cheong-ra's condition was too poor then, so he had to let him go. Dang Ran-yeong examined the wounds on Nam Gang-ryong's body with his eyes. The traces looked familiar.

"Beauty did this."

"Yes... I used the lion's roar, but by then it was already too late."

The fact that Baek Ri Cheong-ra had attacked Nam Gang-ryong, an ally, meant that the Demon Soul Insects had finally awakened. Since he had thought this might happen someday, Dang Ran-yeong was extremely displeased but not surprised. Sound-based attacks were originally difficult to block. However, this defeated the purpose of leaving Nam Gang-ryong behind, so he pressed him.

"Didn't you hear the sound of an instrument playing?"

"I thought I only needed to be careful of flute sounds, but it was hidden in an instrument similar to wind chimes... I thought it was a local tradition, but that wasn't the case either. All of this is this humble monk's fault. This humble monk will take responsibility and find Devotee Baek."

Dang Ran-yeong glared coldly at Nam Gang-ryong. He had never ordered Nam Gang-ryong to protect Baek Ri Cheong-ra. He had only told him to interfere if he heard the sound of instrument playing.

"Monk, don't spout nonsense. Who are you to dare talk about taking responsibility?"

"But, Lord Dang... Kuk."

Nam Gang-ryong, noticing signs of an attack, hurriedly raised his arm to block, but Dang Ran-yeong's foot was already kicking his body. Having struck an acupoint, Nam Gang-ryong was sent flying, crashing through a wall, and then collapsed while trying to get up unsteadily. In normal circumstances, he would have firmly withstood such a blow, so his injuries were clearly severe.

Hwan-hong and Wi Je-ho, who had been following behind, witnessed Nam Gang-ryong being hit. Wi Je-ho clicked his tongue and approached Nam Gang-ryong to check his consciousness. Dang Ran-yeong took out a pill good for wound recovery from his bosom and threw it. Hwan-hong caught it and put it in Nam Gang-ryong's mouth. A painful groan escaped Nam Gang-ryong's mouth, then soon the medicinal energy took effect, and his breathing quieted as if he had fainted.

Dang Ran-yeong put the first joint of his index finger in his mouth and whistled. After making the unique sound that alternated between sharp high and low notes a couple of times, a crow came flying with a flapping sound. Crows, being birds with a developed sense of smell and intelligence, were suitable for training.

Especially for tracking the tracking incense.

After feeding it a couple of pieces of dried fruit and sending it off, the crow circled in the sky a few times, expecting a bigger reward. A moment later, having detected the tracking incense, it started flying in one direction. Dang Ran-yeong immediately followed the crow.

A bird's flying speed is incomparably faster than a human's running speed. However, Dang Ran-yeong's lightness skill, based on his powerful inner energy, was swift enough to keep up with it easily. Usually, he wouldn't leave even a trace of broken grass, but he deliberately left footprints by stepping firmly so that his companions could follow.

The surrounding scenery passed by at a rapid pace. Two days was more than enough time to escape far away. That guy would know the possibility of Dang Ran-yeong pursuing, so he would surely have fled at full speed to a distant place.

However, the path a bird flies is different from where humans walk.

The crow flew in a straight line across the mountain. Soon, Dang Ran-yeong's figure sprang forward as he encountered a steep cliff. His black clothes fluttered. Lightly stepping on protruding parts of the cliff without any sign of difficulty, he reached the top in an instant. Then he ran through the mountain interior, dense with undergrowth and full of rocks where human feet rarely tread, as if it were flat ground.

Even while running through the rough mountains, he showed no signs of fatigue. Rather, the crow had to land midway to rest, drinking water and eating food. While resting, Dang Ran-yeong briefly thought about how to handle Baek Ri Cheong-ra.

'First, I need to find out what orders were given. I might need to capture Yeon Jeok-san alive.'

Those controlled by Demon Soul Insects all tend to follow even extreme orders well. At least in the early stages, there's enough consciousness left to hesitate slightly at orders, so catching them within that time was crucial.

Finding out the control melody directly and giving orders to put him in a safe place was the best choice in the current situation. Dang Ran-yeong's jaw tightened, and the sound of him grinding his molars fiercely echoed. Instead of sending off the crow that had rested sufficiently, he looked back.

Blood Cult members who had been lying in ambush to interfere with Dang Ran-yeong were approaching. Madmen willing to throw away their lives just to hold him back for the cult, without even being controlled by Demon Soul Insects. Soon they all rushed at him, but Dang Ran-yeong didn't even take his whip in hand.

"Poison!"

A Blood Cult member shouted urgently, seeing his hand go into his sleeve. Poisonous sand was scattered in all directions. The ground reacted the moment the sand containing terrible poison touched it, and smoke rose. While the Blood Cult members hesitated and froze, other hidden weapons shot out in all directions.

They were just ordinary-looking needles. However, they drew a sharply curved line in their trajectory. By the time the Blood Cult members who thought they had dodged, believing the needles had been shot in a straight line, realized this fact, it was already too late. As if they had thrown their bodies deliberately to be hit, the needles were already embedded.

"Kuk...!"

Surprisingly, without missing a single one, the needles that pierced their bodies were completely buried inside without leaving a trace. It was a vicious technique that made it impossible to even remove the needles. Someone hurriedly tried to dig out the needles with a knife, but soon collapsed, vomiting black blood.

Someone else desperately threw hidden weapons at the crow, but even that was blocked. After watching the dying Blood Cult members with an indifferent gaze and taking a sip of water from his canteen, Dang Ran-yeong finally sent the crow flying again.

After several days of full-speed pursuit, the place where the crow stopped was a small hut perched atop a dizzying thousand-foot cliff.