Chapter 154

Throughout the carriage ride, Cheong-ra subtly probed Yeon Jeok-san. He was most curious about "that Mun-ga fellow" who could supposedly remove the Demon Soul Insects, but he didn't ask for fear of arousing suspicion. Whether satisfied with Cheong-ra's obedience or completely trusting in the Demon Soul Insects, Yeon Jeok-san inadvertently revealed a piece of information.

"That disgusting monk, it would have been good if you had killed him, Cheong-ra. Well, it doesn't matter. It will happen soon anyway... I'm looking forward to when the great Shaolin Temple falls."

Cheong-ra dismissed the thought that Yeon Jeok-san was merely using the Blood Cult for his own purposes. His words and actions revealed hostility towards the righteous factions, especially Buddhism and Taoism. Was this an instinct that naturally developed after becoming a Blood Cult member? Or was it brainwashing?

In any case, the information that the Blood Cult was targeting Shaolin was very important. Cheong-ra vowed to inform Monk Gang-ryong as soon as he returned.

He tried to engage in various other conversations, but Yeon Jeok-san only continued one-sided talks, gazing at Cheong-ra with ecstatic eyes, saying how happy he was that Cheong-ra finally understood his feelings, and that they should form a marital bond as soon as they arrived.

After several days of continuous travel through such torturous time, they finally stopped at a sparsely populated area.

Alighting from the carriage, Yeon Jeok-san led Cheong-ra deep into the mountains. After climbing for a while, they came upon an old hut on a sheer cliff. However, Cheong-ra was certain there must be a formation set up. Sure enough, Yeon Jeok-san carefully looked around before heading towards a spot close to the cliff.

"Cheong-ra, be careful. There's a formation here, so you must follow closely behind me."

"I'll be careful, San-san."

Though he answered with a smile, Cheong-ra was starting to feel bored with this situation. He needed to quickly obtain information about this Mun-ga person.

Carefully following in Yeon Jeok-san's footsteps, they soon found themselves before a two-story pavilion that had appeared out of nowhere, the old hut gone. Its appearance was identical to where Cheong-ra had stayed in Moon Lake Sect. Far from being pleased, this bizarre obsession only gave Cheong-ra goosebumps.

"What do you think, Cheong-ra? Do you like it?"

"San-san, how did you prepare all this?"

"There's nothing about you that I don't know."

When Cheong-ra asked, pretending to be moved, Yeon Jeok-san answered with an affectionate smile. Then, his eyes slowly began to fill with lustful desire as he looked at Cheong-ra. Afraid that he might try to violate him, Cheong-ra quickly used his wits, grasping Yeon Jeok-san's hand tightly and saying,

"If we're to hold a wedding ceremony, we need to start preparing various things now. I'm so happy to think that I'll be sharing life's great relationship with San-san. Ah! Then, who will ride in the flower sedan chair?"

"Huh? Flower sedan chair?"

When Cheong-ra took his hand first and smiled, Yeon Jeok-san was flustered, as if wondering if this was a dream or reality. Seeing his eyes shake wildly, Cheong-ra muttered as if disappointed, "Oh, there's no flower sedan chair..." Then he acted out an expression of trying hard to cheer up and smile.

"It's okay without a sedan chair, since there's no one to carry it anyway. Then, do we have wedding clothes?"

"Ah! Of course, I've prepared wedding clothes."

Yeon Jeok-san's decision to awaken Cheong-ra's Demon Soul Insects must have been extremely impulsive and capricious. Moreover, this pavilion had clearly been built in secret, without even informing the Blood Cult. Thus, Cheong-ra was certain that the preparations for a wedding ceremony would be inadequate.

Yeon Jeok-san proudly brought out a large box covered in dust, as if it had been made quite some time ago. Opening the lid, inside were two sets of groom's wedding clothes, neatly folded and perfectly sized.

However, as Cheong-ra examined the wedding clothes, he let out a small sigh. Yeon Jeok-san, who had been keenly observing his reaction, immediately asked,

"Cheong-ra, what's wrong? Is there something you don't like? It's made of Shu brocade, and I ordered it from skilled craftsmen."

It was the first time clothes made of Shu brocade had brought him so little joy. He couldn't even guess when such luxurious wedding clothes had been ordered. The thought that Yeon Jeok-san had made two sets of wedding clothes and cherished them alone, intending to form a marital bond with him, only gave him goosebumps. Conveying these feelings, Cheong-ra sighed again and shook his head.

"It's nothing, San-san. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry? How can I not worry?"

Yeon Jeok-san anxiously pressed Cheong-ra. After sighing a couple more times and pretending to be conflicted, moving his lips slightly, Cheong-ra spoke softly,

"Actually, I wanted to wear a bride's wedding dress."

"...What?"

This was such an unexpected answer that Yeon Jeok-san was completely at a loss for words this time.

"We need to report to the gods of heaven and earth that we've become a couple, but if we're both dressed as grooms, they might not acknowledge it. So I wanted to wear a bride's dress. ...But it's a bit embarrassing to think of wearing a woman's wedding dress as a man."

After saying this, Cheong-ra lowered his eyes as if very embarrassed and turned his head slightly. Seeing this, Yeon Jeok-san's mouth fell open.

"A bride's wedding dress..."

Like the pervert he was, he must have imagined Cheong-ra in a bride's dress in his mind, as the corners of his mouth twitched. Soon regaining his senses, Yeon Jeok-san hastily replied,

"No! If that's what you want, I can get it for you anytime."

"San-san, really?"

Pretending to be overjoyed, Cheong-ra hugged him tightly, causing Yeon Jeok-san's gaze to become unfocused again. As his arm slightly wrapped around Cheong-ra's waist, Cheong-ra quickly pushed him away and changed the subject,

"Ah, and where are the red lanterns?"

"Red lanterns...?"

As expected, having only prepared the wedding clothes, Yeon Jeok-san was again at a loss for words. He stammered out a response,

"I didn't manage to prepare red lanterns..."

"Then if you give me the materials, I can make one or two. We just need to attach red silk to lanterns, right? Um, then what about the wild geese...?"

As Yeon Jeok-san again struggled to answer, only opening and closing his mouth, Cheong-ra quickly responded as if it wasn't a big deal, pretending to feel sorry himself,

"Don't worry about it, San-san. I'd be fine with a chicken or a goose."

Of course, there was no way there would be wild geese, let alone chickens or geese. The pavilion had been empty for a long time, so there couldn't have been any live animals. Now Yeon Jeok-san's face darkened considerably. To stimulate his guilt and pride, Cheong-ra threw out one last comment,

"It's okay if we don't have wedding clothes, red lanterns, or geese. We can just share a cup of nuptial wine. Even Thousand-Day Brew or Great Chrysanthemum Wine would be fine."

Deliberately mentioning a couple of expensive wines as if they were the minimum preparation, Yeon Jeok-san took the bait as expected, his face turning red and blue. He fidgeted anxiously before shaking his head vigorously from side to side.

"No, no... Our wedding must be perfect! Cheong-ra, wait here. I'll definitely get wedding clothes, red lanterns, geese, and good wine."

Yeon Jeok-san immediately left the pavilion. Things were going according to plan. Cheong-ra went to the door and saw Yeon Jeok-san off with a smiling face, saying, "Have a safe trip, San-san! I'll be waiting." Just in case, he waited about another quarter of an hour before entering the pavilion and beginning to thoroughly search the interior.

'If this building is so meaningful to Yeon Jeok-san, he must have hidden something important somewhere!'

Although his mind kept going blank at times, Cheong-ra searched thoroughly from the upper floor and found a storage room on the first floor. Opening the storage room door, he found several boxes stacked inside. Opening them one by one, he found items that seemed to have been secretly taken from him over time.

From his comb and brush to old clothes and underwear, sword maintenance tools, and even garbage he had used and thrown away - seeing all this collected only made him sigh. As Cheong-ra continued opening boxes, he found an expensive-looking, dust-covered box in a corner.

Without much expectation, he opened the box to find an old martial arts manual and a token made of obsidian inside. He had finally found something that wasn't his.

Cheong-ra examined the martial arts manual first. The title of the manual was "Ten Thousand Deceptions Art," meaning a martial art of deceiving ten thousand times. Wondering what kind of martial arts manual title this was, Cheong-ra tilted his head and turned the pages. As he read through it, his face gradually sank.

'Is this the essence of the martial art that earned Yeon Jeok-san the reputation of Thousand Forms Sword?'

The content seemed vague and ambiguous, but he could understand the gist of it. This martial art taught how to imitate others. To summarize, it was roughly as follows:

'First, observe with your eyes and practice the movements ten thousand times to understand the opponent's self. Then you will obtain the form. Repeat this ten thousand times to reach ten thousand deceptions, and you will attain the extremes of ten thousand techniques.'

What this martial arts manual taught felt closer to an evil faction than a righteous one. Was Yeon Jeok-san's Thousand Forms Sword a martial art learned by imitating others? Was that how he came to have a thousand forms? This was the kind of martial art that would never be accepted in righteous factions. Nevertheless, Yeon Jeok-san seemed to have deceived others' eyes quite well.