Chapter 97

"But won't the Blood Cult be suspicious of me?"

"They might be. That's why you should act according to the rumors currently spreading in the Central Plains."

"What rumors have spread in the Central Plains?"

Cheong-ra asked, feeling a bit anxious. While traveling with Dang Ran-yeong, he had been so focused on matters related to the Blood Cult that he hadn't paid attention to his own reputation.

"Well, rumors that our relationship isn't particularly good."

"Ah, those rumors..."

Cheong-ra was well aware of the rumors that had arisen even before the Hengshan Sect incident, due to his constant clashes with Dang Ran-yeong. Since they were the kind of rumors suggesting that Dang Ran-yeong had marked him for destruction, he had simply ignored them.

"In reality, our relationship isn't that good either."

When Cheong-ra said this, Dang Ran-yeong smiled silently in an ominous manner.

"Our relationship isn't that good? Shall I show you what a truly bad relationship looks like?"

"No..."

"I'm hurt that you don't seem to know how much I adore you, Beauty. It seems my efforts were lacking."

"No...!"

Cheong-ra, who had been toyed with by Dang Ran-yeong, came to his senses and responded properly.

"When did I say our relationship was bad? I just... wanted to say that we're not in any kind of relationship."

"Hmm, we're not in any kind of relationship..."

"We're not, are we? It's just a short-term cooperative relationship based on a deal, with an end. A relationship that ends when we finish our business in Beijing."

As Dang Ran-yeong's ominous smile deepened, Cheong-ra emphasized "deal" once again. He didn't want to be swayed by the other anymore. That's why he was indirectly saying that he no longer needed things like "acting basely" and that they should just end it with him doing the job at the World's Greatest Beauty Contest.

But Dang Ran-yeong rested his chin on his hand and replied like this:

"Is it really the end?"

"What are you saying? Of course it's the end!"

Cheong-ra jumped up in protest, but then noticed Wi Je-ho looking at him with a strange gaze and forced himself to calm down.

"Anyway, I just need to break the Blood Cult's brainwashing formation, right? What happens after I break the formation?"

"Get as far away from there as possible, and that's the extent of what Beauty needs to do."

Dang Ran-yeong said curtly, as if there was no more information to give. Though he had said with his own mouth that it was just a cooperative relationship based on a deal, Cheong-ra somehow felt strangely disappointed. It was probably because he had grown somewhat attached to these people.

Not just Dang Ran-yeong, but Nam Gang-ryong who was a bit eccentric yet kind, Wi Je-ho whose true identity was unknown, and Hwan-hong who seemed to prefer spirit beasts over people - they were all connections too precious for Cheong-ra to end as just brief encounters.

"I'll step out now, so continue discussing the plan."

Suppressing his feelings of disappointment, Cheong-ra stood up and spoke in a calm voice. Though it was regrettable, wasn't it true that all relationships, once begun, must eventually end? But as Cheong-ra was settling his mind like this, Dang Ran-yeong said,

"The more I think about it, it seems too regrettable to end this as if we were nothing to each other."

What's this all of a sudden? Cheong-ra looked at Dang Ran-yeong with a very wary gaze. Wi Je-ho, who had been watching the two, made a meaningful "Hmm" sound, which snapped Cheong-ra back to his senses, and he immediately shook his head in denial.

"No, I'm not... particularly regretful..."

"You can look forward to it. I'll treat you well from now on."

Look forward to it? Treat him well? What did he mean by that? Cheong-ra, feeling afraid, unconsciously swallowed dryly.

And Dang Ran-yeong was truly a man who faithfully kept his word once spoken.

***

Something was slowly crawling across his cheek. Soon, the sensation of it sliding down and tickling his neck woke Cheong-ra, and he stirred.

"Rin-rin..."

Thinking it was the baby Venomous Horned Serpent crawling on his body, Cheong-ra muttered and groped around to pet it affectionately. But for some reason, the temperature and texture touching his fingertips were too warm and soft for a snake.

"Rin-rin...?"

Feeling something was off, Cheong-ra frowned deeply and opened his eyes. His sharp nose bridge wrinkled slightly. As he slowly opened his heavy eyelids, something black flickered before his eyes. Was Rin-rin this thick? Am I not fully awake? Thinking this, Cheong-ra raised his gaze and met dark green eyes staring intently at him, and his mouth fell open wide.

The scream he was about to let out was blocked. The thick, black body wasn't a snake, but Dang Ran-yeong's forearm hidden in his black sleeve. Dang Ran-yeong, who had been staring at Cheong-ra until he woke up while teasing his cheek and neck, smiled.

"Did you sleep well, Beauty? It was time to wake up, so I came to rouse you."

How could he have slept well? He thought his heart was going to fall out. An ordinary person might have sensed something and woken up, but with a master who had no presence doing this, even the strongest martial artist would have fainted.

The door creaked open, and Nam Gang-ryong, who was coming in to wake Cheong-ra, stopped in his tracks. He saw Cheong-ra, whose face had turned pale with shock, and Dang Ran-yeong covering his mouth, and sighed while chanting Buddha's name. Then he scolded sternly.

"Lord Owner Dang, are you tormenting Devotee Baek first thing in the morning?"

"I came to wake him up personally, and you call this tormenting? It's a luxury even my parents never enjoyed."

"Tsk... Isn't it the same as tormenting just for Lord Owner Dang to look at him?"

"Monk, if you have nothing to do, go feed the horses."

After chasing Nam Gang-ryong away, Dang Ran-yeong removed his hand with a grinning face. Cheong-ra clutched his rapidly beating heart and jumped up from his seat. His chest hurt from the mental shock he received first thing in the morning, especially after having trouble falling asleep.

Dang Ran-yeong pushed a basin of water towards Cheong-ra, who was in such a state. Cheong-ra looked at the water in the basin very warily.

"What's this?"

"What else could it be? It's water for washing your face."

I know it's water for washing my face. What I mean is, why is Young Master Dang showing the kindness of bringing me face-washing water? Such words rose to his throat, but he swallowed them. Cheong-ra dipped his finger very slightly in the water surface and then removed it. Then he asked suspiciously,

"You didn't put poison in the water, did you?"

"Poison? Me?"

Dang Ran-yeong laughed as if it was very amusing and asked, "Shall I wash your face for you?" which made Cheong-ra reluctantly wet his hands. The other was a man who could easily grab his hair and waterboard him under the pretense of washing his face. Fortunately, it didn't seem like poison had been dissolved in the water, so he finished washing comfortably, but he still felt uneasy. It was because Dang Ran-yeong had been staring at him the entire time he was washing.

'Why on earth is he acting like this...'

His grinning smile, as if something was so amusing, seemed ominous. Cheong-ra glanced at Dang Ran-yeong while wiping the water off with his washcloth. Then his hand stopped as he was rummaging through his luggage. The ties for his lower garments were missing. No matter how much he searched, they didn't appear.

'Did they steal it like the jade rabbit?'

Thinking about it carefully, that seemed impossible. First of all, they had left that village and were in the middle of traveling by carriage. They had been staying at this inn the whole time, so there was no opportunity for anyone to sneak in and steal anything. Thinking it was absurd, Cheong-ra raised his head and froze.

"Beauty, are you looking for something?"

Dang Ran-yeong asked, holding several familiar long ties in his hand. Cheong-ra took a deep breath to calm himself and then demanded,

"Give me back my hair ties."

"Hair ties?"

Long, firm fingers stroked the ties in a strange manner. Though it was just that, the gesture looked suggestive to anyone watching, making Cheong-ra blush.

"Where are the hair ties here?"

As he said this, he blatantly glanced at the area between Cheong-ra's legs. Cheong-ra, who could never show his lower body in front of others, fidgeted uncomfortably. He wouldn't even go out without tying his lower garments with those ties. That's how important his appearance to others was.

"Fine, they're not hair ties. Anyway, they're mine, so I'm asking you to return them. Young Master Dang, why are you suddenly acting so childishly?"

Cheong-ra found it difficult to understand why Dang Ran-yeong's attitude had changed like this. Before, even when they engaged in such physically intimate acts, he never felt like they were getting closer. Not only did he intentionally keep his distance, but he had also completely ignored him more than once or twice.

But now, his sudden familiarity was very perplexing. Would Dang Ran-yeong have acted mischievously like this before? He would have mocked him under the guise of teasing and forcibly made him kneel. Or was there some ulterior motive?

Cheong-ra looked at him with a gaze full of suspicion.

"Alright, I'll stop acting childishly. Here, I'll give them back."

Dang Ran-yeong threw the ties he was holding. Surprisingly, the ties that should have fluttered to the ground straightened out and went precisely into the luggage bundle. While Cheong-ra was distracted by this throwing technique that seemed to have reached the realm of immortals, Dang Ran-yeong instantly approached him.

"As an apology, shall I tie them for you personally?"