Chapter 151

Dang Ran-yeong's expression remained unchanged even with the dagger stuck in his abdomen. In reality, this level of injury or pain didn't bother him at all. Since the objective of stabbing had been achieved, he even gently caressed the cheek of his opponent who stood motionless. Watching this, Yeon Jeok-san's expression crumbled. Then it burned with extreme hatred.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

His anger was so intense that he suddenly coughed up blood. Then his face swelled up red. Why couldn't he control things as he wished even though he had obtained Cheong-ra with the Demon Soul Insects? He had only spent one day here with Cheong-ra after fleeing...

He couldn't bear to see his lover being toyed with by Dang Ran-yeong. Soon, Yeon Jeok-san's entire body swelled up. Seeing the ominous signs, Dang Ran-yeong's face hardened as he pulled Cheong-ra behind him.

"If it's come to this, let's all die together!"

Yeon Jeok-san charged forward with his enlarged body, letting out a monstrous roar. Just as Dang Ran-yeong was about to step forward to cut him down, a figure darted out ahead of him. Dang Ran-yeong's hand, which had been about to grab Cheong-ra, hesitated.

"San-san, don't do this."

As Cheong-ra gently embraced him with his clothes fluttering, Yeon Jeok-san's eyes widened. As the cool fragrance wafted close, he held his breath. He couldn't help but be shaken when the idol he had long admired embraced him first in such a situation.

"Ch-Cheong-ra..."

Yeon Jeok-san's body, which had been swelling up with the intention of self-destruction, slowly deflated. It felt like a dream that Cheong-ra had come into his arms of his own will without being ordered. A blissful smile appeared on his face. It was when he raised his arms to embrace him back with trembling hands.

Suddenly, a terrible burning pain spread across his back. His lover, who had embraced him, had stabbed a dagger into his heart. Yeon Jeok-san looked up with wide eyes in disbelief, only to see Cheong-ra looking down at him coldly, as if he had never smiled sweetly.

"If you want to die, die alone, Yeon Jeok-san."

"Kuh, huk... Ch-Cheong..."

Yeon Jeok-san couldn't understand at all. How could he, when he was being controlled by the Demon Soul Insects...? Why...?

Soon, Cheong-ra pushed Yeon Jeok-san's body away as if disgusted. He bent down and snatched the jade rabbit Yeon Jeok-san had been wearing at his waist. His beautiful smile, happy to have reclaimed his possession, was so captivating that even as he was dying, Yeon Jeok-san couldn't take his eyes off Cheong-ra.

Then his breath stopped.

Cheong-ra, having put the jade rabbit in his bosom, turned around. He walked dazedly towards Dang Ran-yeong, who stood motionless, and rested his head on his chest before exhaling a long breath. Soon, as his body began to collapse, Dang Ran-yeong caught and held him tightly.

A confused expression also appeared on Dang Ran-yeong's face as he looked at Cheong-ra. Just before, when Yeon Jeok-san had swelled up as if about to do something, Cheong-ra had clearly said through sound transmission:

'Let me handle Yeon Jeok-san myself.'

Those who have eaten Demon Soul Insects can never disobey the controller's orders. Not only is the control of Demon Soul Insects excellent, but even if one were to resist with extreme willpower, they would suffer physically and mentally to the point of endangering their life. The host's suffering would be unmistakable, and there were no exceptions.

So there was only one answer. Either the Demon Soul Insects hadn't awakened, or...

Covering the nape of Cheong-ra's neck, where the sacrifice mark had appeared stained with Yeon Jeok-san's blood, with his palm, Dang Ran-yeong muttered in a low voice,

"Or it was never there to begin with."

***

The despair Cheong-ra felt when he realized that Yeon Jeok-san was playing the control melody of the Demon Soul Insects disguised as wind chime sounds was truly terrible.

At that moment, he imagined himself feeding blood insects to those around him or harming the people of Moon Lake Sect, and then felt a deep sense of relief that at least Dang Ran-yeong was there.

The melody resembling wind chime sounds repeated in his head, ringing loudly in his ears. As Cheong-ra sat dazed on the floor with his mind in a fog, Nam Gang-ryong charged at Yeon Jeok-san. Angry at the sudden turn of events, veins bulged on his forehead.

"Uwaaaaah!"

Once again, the lion's roar erupted thunderously. Even as blood trickled from his ears due to the lion's roar, Yeon Jeok-san laughed loudly without the slightest concern.

"Hahaha! It's already too late! The Demon Soul Insects have awakened!"

The Demon Subduing Continuous Spinning Kick, one of Shaolin's seventy-two techniques! Legs hardened to the point of being able to shatter rocks through extreme external training rained down on Yeon Jeok-san's body. It was a kicking technique imbued with the majestic energy of breaking evil that destroys the unholy. The power was so strong that deep marks were left wherever his feet struck the ground.

Yeon Jeok-san's face contorted, as after becoming a Blood Cult member through human sacrifices, he found the energy of those practicing Taoist martial arts or Buddhist methods particularly abhorrent. Nam Gang-ryong shouted angrily.

"How could you commit such a terrible and immoral act!"

Nam Gang-ryong felt equally disgusted by the other's energy. From the mouth that should have spoken of compassion came a shout filled with killing intent, turning into a lion's roar. He had not given up hope that the Demon Soul Insects might not have awakened yet. The lion's roar is a sound technique created in Buddhism to subdue evil. Thus, although Yeon Jeok-san's martial arts were superior to Nam Gang-ryong's, he felt unbearable pain.

While the two were fighting, Cheong-ra, who had been sitting in despair, suddenly felt doubtful.

'This is... strange.'

He had despaired, believing that the Demon Soul Insects had awakened because his mind had suddenly become foggy. He had no doubt that the severe dizziness he felt even before Yeon Jeok-san appeared was the process of the Demon Soul Insects awakening, and when his body became heavy and his mind hazy, he was certain.

But strangely, apart from that, he felt almost no difference from usual. Was it because he hadn't received an order yet? As he was pondering this, Yeon Jeok-san dodged the majestic Hundred Step Divine Fist technique raining down like thunderbolts and leaped back, shouting,

"Cheong-ra, kill that disgusting monk!"

When he heard that order, Cheong-ra realized, to his surprise and contrary to his tension, that he could ignore Yeon Jeok-san's words. Just to be sure, he tried to stand up. He looked back once at Yeon Jeok-san, who was immersed in ecstasy, then turned to face Nam Gang-ryong, who had frozen with a dismayed expression.

"Devotee Baek..."

Apart from Nam Gang-ryong's lament, Cheong-ra was still certain that he could choose not to follow Yeon Jeok-san's orders right now. Except for his mind being quite hazy, his judgment was almost the same as usual.

Judging by Yeon Jeok-san and Nam Gang-ryong's reactions, both were strongly convinced that Cheong-ra was under the control of the Demon Soul Insects. This meant that the control of the Demon Soul Insects was supposed to be absolute. Is it really certain that there are Demon Soul Insects in my body? It was natural to have such doubts.

Hope swelled up.

He turned around, about to shout to Yeon Jeok-san that he wasn't under control, but hesitated. The thought crossed his mind that this might actually be a good opportunity.

What if he pretended to be controlled by the Demon Soul Insects and followed Yeon Jeok-san? He might be able to uncover important secrets about the blood insects and even completely deal with Yeon Jeok-san when he let his guard down.

Thinking that the Demon Soul Insects had just awakened and weren't fully controlling Cheong-ra yet, Yeon Jeok-san shouted again with bloodshot eyes,

"Focus on my words! Kill that monk right now! Hurry!"

"...Alright. I'll do it."

Having finally made his decision, Cheong-ra drew the Dark Moon Sword. The tip of the blackish blade was pointed at Nam Gang-ryong. Cheong-ra felt inwardly guilty at the pitiful expression that appeared on his face. However, he swung his sword without hesitation.

It was fortunate that Nam Gang-ryong's martial arts were quite powerful. Especially as a Shaolin monk who had trained his external techniques to the extreme, his body was as hard as a rock, allowing Cheong-ra to continue his attacks freely. Even more regrettably, Nam Gang-ryong was solely on the defensive, unable to attack easily.

Cheong-ra considered sending a sound transmission to subtly let him know he was fine, but it would be troublesome if Nam Gang-ryong couldn't act well and gave it away. In the end, Nam Gang-ryong tried to attack Yeon Jeok-san while avoiding Cheong-ra, but gave up and chose to flee. As Cheong-ra was about to chase after him, Yeon Jeok-san shouted in a somewhat anxious voice,

"Stop! Let's leave this place quickly instead."

He looked urgently afraid of Dang Ran-yeong, who could return at any time after finishing his business. As Cheong-ra sheathed his sword, Yeon Jeok-san gestured for him to follow. While following behind him, Cheong-ra once again recalled information about the Demon Soul Insects.

'They say those controlled by Demon Soul Insects show almost no difference from their usual selves.'

He remembered the red eyes of the Blood Cult members and the commoner who had appeared like a madman and ambushed him when he was trapped in the cave at Hengshan Sect. Those who received power from the Blood Cult through human sacrifices would have their eyes turn red if successful, or go mad as if they had suffered a qi deviation if they failed. On the other hand, those controlled by Demon Soul Insects were said to be more troublesome because they showed almost no difference from their usual selves even when being controlled.

If so, it was fortunate that acting shouldn't be too difficult. Cheong-ra tried to bury his contempt, disgust, and hostility towards Yeon Jeok-san deep inside. Luckily, as his mind continued to be hazy, managing his expression wasn't too challenging.