Chapter 106

It was a familiar voice that awakened Cheong-ra, who had frozen in fear beyond terrible disgust.

"Beauty, what are you doing out there without coming in?"

Only then could Cheong-ra barely move his body again. Dang Ran-yeong, who had opened the main gate and come out, raised his eyebrows at Cheong-ra's complexion, which had turned extremely pale and was covered in cold sweat. His gaze soon fell on the luxurious box Cheong-ra was holding with trembling hands. Like Cheong-ra, he too had keen senses. And at a level far surpassing that of an ordinary martial artist.

Immediately grasping the situation, Dang Ran-yeong strode over and snatched the box from Cheong-ra's hands. Cheong-ra gasped and staggered back quickly. After taking a couple of deep breaths to regain his composure, Cheong-ra explained, unable to take his eyes off the box. His white forehead was already beaded with sweat.

"This was dropped in front of the main gate. I thought a porter had dropped it, but... inside... there's something..."

As fragments of the past kept flashing before his eyes, Cheong-ra couldn't bring himself to say the word "insects." Dang Ran-yeong examined the box closely, turning it this way and that. Cheong-ra swallowed dryly, anxious that the other might open the box. Fortunately, Dang Ran-yeong seemed more concerned with the state of the packaging than its contents.

"Beauty. Doesn't this string seem familiar somehow?"

What Dang Ran-yeong pointed to was the rope tightly binding the box. Cheong-ra, who had hardly paid attention to the packaging due to the contents of the box, now focused on the rope.

The luxurious rope made of red silk was certainly familiar. Cheong-ra recalled the weasel that had been found strangled to death by a rope last time. The material and color were exactly the same. Anyone with a good eye couldn't miss it.

"...Is it the same person's doing?"

The end of his words trembled faintly. Cheong-ra's face darkened at the thought that someone, whoever it was, clearly knew his weakness. Dead animals were unpleasant but didn't bother him much, but insects were truly horrifying. It was even more so because this incident could happen again.

"It does feel like it's from that unpleasant fellow from before. I'll take care of this."

Dang Ran-yeong, who had been staring at the box, suggested in a calm voice. Or rather, Cheong-ra didn't have the composure to observe the other's voice or expression.

"...Thank you."

Cheong-ra, who couldn't even think of touching the box again, simply expressed his sincere gratitude to Dang Ran-yeong.

Who could have done this? Cheong-ra had tried hard to hide his fear of insects. He had been worried that it might look ridiculous for a martial artist to be afraid of mere insects.

So, apart from Dang Ran-yeong, Monk Gang-ryong, and Miss Hwan, to whom he had recently and unavoidably revealed his fatal weakness, only a few people close to him like family in Moon Lake Sect, including his master and uncle, knew about it.

Therefore, whoever did this must have been observing Cheong-ra for more than just a day or two.

***

A few days later, Cheong-ra was almost certain that the unidentified person who had brought the dead weasel and the box of insects was Yeon Jeok-san. On the day of the preliminaries for the World's Greatest Beauty Contest, a letter written in blood arrived at the mansion. It was even more unpleasant because it bore the mark of Moon Lake Sect.

Still, thinking he might find a clue, he read the letter, which turned out to be a love poem. It was exactly the kind of thing Yeon Jeok-san used to do before.

The letter continued with exaggerated praise and admiration for his beautiful appearance, but it didn't please him at all. Although he immediately burned the letter in the brazier, fearing there might be insects attached, his mood didn't improve much. He was anxious and uneasy, not knowing when this person might send him insects again.

With his mood disturbed, Cheong-ra barely touched his breakfast. His discomfort must have been quite apparent, as Dang Ran-yeong said with a smile,

"It seems our Beauty is in a bad mood."

"Anyone would be in a bad mood after receiving a box of insects and a blood letter."

Cheong-ra replied glumly, sitting in front of the dressing table and diligently combing his hair. As he was carefully gathering and tying up his glossy, flowing hair that he always meticulously maintained, Dang Ran-yeong approached from behind and said,

"Shall I take care of that fellow for you?"

Dang Ran-yeong suggested, running his finger along Cheong-ra's exposed nape as he tied up his hair. His voice sounded so soft and sweet that it felt like every hair on the touched area was standing on end. Cheong-ra involuntarily shivered slightly.

"...No, I'll handle it myself. If it's to be ended, I should end it with my own hands."

Until now, he hadn't harbored much resentment, but after receiving the box of insects, he had developed a grudge. Cheong-ra answered, gritting his teeth, and added,

"Besides, it's not related to Young Master Dang anyway. So I don't want to involve you in such matters."

"Not yet, you mean?"

As Cheong-ra drew a line, Dang Ran-yeong replied indifferently, brushing back a few stray hairs that had escaped around his eyes. What did he mean by "not yet"? In any case, Cheong-ra was subtly on edge as someone else's hand kept hovering over his vital points.

While it might seem friendly on the surface, this act of unhesitatingly invading the sensitive space that made a martial artist nervous when crossed was actually a very rude kind of behavior. It was even more so given that the other's actions were full of intention.

"By the way, is that the outfit you're wearing today?"

Cheong-ra nodded towards the large box at Dang Ran-yeong's side, subtly moving his body to the side to avoid the other's hand. Instead of answering, Dang Ran-yeong placed the box on the table and opened it. Inside were a blue Shu brocade long robe and black leather shoes embroidered with silver thread.

"This is... really magnificent."

Cheong-ra couldn't help but admire as he stroked the long robe. The cool, very soft touch of the Shu brocade clung to his skin. The color and pattern of the fabric were so beautiful and pretty that it was beyond words. The embroidery on the sleeves was also beautiful and luxurious, matching well with the silk.

"This blue color suits Beauty well."

"Is that so..."

Cheong-ra answered a bit shyly. He had heard many times that blue suited him well, but hearing it from Dang Ran-yeong's lips made it feel more special. He soon put on the blue long robe over his white short jacket. He also wore the new shoes and attached the jade ornament he always carried preciously and his sword to his waist. After checking his appearance from various angles in the copper mirror, Cheong-ra asked with satisfaction,

"How is it? Does it suit me well?"

As Dang Ran-yeong had said, the blue silk suited Cheong-ra perfectly. Unlike usual, his blue hair tie was gathered high, with a small jade bead sparkling and swaying at the end. His clear martial spirit shone through, making his beautiful appearance even more radiant.

"Yes, it looks good."

Cheong-ra's heart lifted as he saw Dang Ran-yeong's face with a satisfied smile. It would be nice to always wear clothes like this... In fact, it was an excessively luxurious and flashy outfit for him to wear if not for something like the World's Greatest Beauty Contest. Only someone like Dang Ran-yeong would adorn themselves with silk clothes lavishly embroidered with gold and silver thread and all sorts of precious jewels.

Cheong-ra, his mood quickly recovered as if he had never received the blood letter, left the mansion with light steps.

The venue for this Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest, the official name of the World's Greatest Beauty Contest, was a martial arts hall in Beijing. It was a structure with a quite spacious training ground, which the Golden Flower Merchant Group had bought and then expanded and renovated once to make it suitable for the contest. It was quite a distance from here, and Cheong-ra was puzzled when he didn't see a carriage in front of the mansion.

"Aren't we taking a carriage?"

"On a day like today, it's better not to take a carriage."

Dang Ran-yeong said in a meaningful voice. Soon, Cheong-ra could understand why he said it was better not to take a carriage.

The road leading to the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest was bustling as if every person living in Beijing had gathered. Unless they were to trample over people, it was impossible for a carriage to pass through. As a result, there was chaos everywhere due to carriages stopped here and there. The crowd was so dense that it was difficult to move forward. That would have been the case for ordinary people, at least.

However, Dang Ran-yeong and Cheong-ra were martial artists who had mastered lightness skills. With just a light stomp of their feet, they could easily rise above the ant-like crowd onto the surrounding buildings. People looked at the two with surprised and envious eyes. As they moved directly from building to building, Dang Ran-yeong asked,

"So, what does our Beauty plan to showcase in the preliminaries?"

The Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest had one round of preliminaries before determining the winner in the finals. Each person was given a maximum of about half an hour. So they had to make themselves stand out as much as possible in that short time. Cheong-ra hadn't given much thought to what he would show.

But "our" Beauty? Our? Since when had Dang Ran-yeong and he become "we"? Cheong-ra answered while secretly feeling a bit concerned about this,

"A sword dance."

"A sword dance? I thought you would play an instrument."

"I just need to make it to the finals, right? There's no need to win, is there? The prize is likely not even a real Vermilion Face Fruit. And for a martial artist, a sword dance is more fitting than playing an instrument. Besides, how many people will be performing music there? It won't be easy to stand out in such a place."

"You don't need to be modest. I acknowledge Beauty's musical skills."

At Dang Ran-yeong's words, Cheong-ra nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. But inwardly, his heart fluttered strangely. ...Honestly, he was a bit happy to be acknowledged by this arrogant man. By now, he had completely forgotten about the box full of insects and the blood letter.