Camellia 33

Yangcheonju could only be consumed once every three days. So whenever Tang Yujae’s yin energy surged to the point where his body couldn’t withstand it, he would bathe in water steeped with cordyceps¹.

On a night when the moon shone brightly,

He took in the wide-open view from the bathhouse with its roof completely open to the sky.

Countless stars lit up the pitch-black sky. His wet hair hung dark as the heavens themselves. His eyes, filled with an emotion words could not describe, were the same.

Suddenly, the small mark beneath his eye began to twitch as if it were alive.

When he pressed a palm firmly over his eyelid, the dot rapidly spread.

Like ink flowing from a brush, the mark expanded with precision, transforming into a large imugi tattoo that covered half his face and neck. A dragon that had not yet claimed a yeouiju². Just as the dark tattoo finished forming, a chilling voice brushed against Yujae’s ear.

–Human. You feel it too, don’t you? The time we agreed upon is drawing near. Soon, I shall complete my final molt and ascend.

Only Tang Yujae could hear this voice.

The presence sealed within him sent out a frosty aura, making his already cold danjeon freeze even further.

Yujae laughed quietly.

“…And if I die before then?”

–Do not worry. Until that day comes, I’ll keep your life tethered.

The imugi that had endured three thousand years to ascend was a patient creature. On the verge of becoming a god, it also held a certain fondness for humans. That was why Tang Yujae had survived even after stealing and consuming its yeouiju.

Rather than devouring the human who laid hands on its treasure, the magnanimous imugi had allowed itself to be sealed. Because it had seen into Tang Yujae’s past without permission.

Before the Sacheon Tang clan burned and vanished.

That was the story that stirred compassion in the imugi. If it hadn’t been moved by Yujae’s past, it would have devoured his danjeon, now carrying the energy of the yeouiju, without hesitation.

The imugi wanted to see Tang Yujae fulfill his final goal, even at the cost of his life. And there was no loss in lingering in the human world for a few more years. Once ascended, it could never descend again, so now was the time to quietly observe the world.

Yes. The imugi was benevolent to humans.

More precisely, it was especially generous to Tang Yujae, who resembled someone it once loved.

Yujae had easily earned the imugi’s favor by reminding it of a man who once lived and died as the Sect Leader of the Cheonma Divine Sect, reigning for eighty years.

In return for their pact, he promised to rebuild the ruined Cheonma Divine Sect, and the imugi couldn’t help but adore him, enough to make even the serpents of Mount Kunlun jealous.

Though it still felt bitter that the legacy nurtured by its old love had been torn apart, the imugi never voiced such sentiments, fearing its bias would be too obvious. But now, with Tang Yujae scratching at all the old itches, it couldn’t help feeling delighted.

“I haven’t deciphered the last page of the Saseogyeong yet,”

Yujae muttered, eyes closed.

The techniques recorded in the books left by the Cheonma unfolded in his mind.

Rumors said that Yuhoon had destroyed the Saseogyeong, but in truth, it had been secretly preserved by a former elder of the old demonic sect.

The rumor was false.

After Yuhoon, known as the greatest martial artist of his time, died in a life-and-death duel with the Cheonma, the Murim Alliance spread propaganda both to praise him and to cement the destruction of the Cheonma Divine Sect.

One elder who survived the Great War stole away the Saseogyeong, which was essentially the Cheonma’s memoir. Though it was known as a martial manual, it lacked proper annotations and clear techniques. Trying to learn from it was nearly pointless. One would be better off training through more efficient methods.

The demonic sect members had only revered the Saseogyeong because it was something the one they worshipped had left behind.

The Murim Alliance knew this but chose not to reveal that the book had been lost.

Instead, they spread their victory far and wide, hoping to put an end to the long war.

The martial world had already lost tens of thousands. It wanted peace, and the Murim Alliance faction responded accordingly.

And that moment of complacency had given rise to Tang Yujae.

Who would have expected it?

That a boy with the Five-Star Constitution would read the Saseogyeong and refine his martial arts to a level rivaling the Cheonma.

The imugi, silent until now, finally spoke again.

–As always… you’ll find the answer in the end.

The divine beast sometimes mourned the fact that it couldn’t reach out and caress its contractor.

–I want you to fulfill your goal and die in freedom.

As the low voice faded, the imugi tattoo also began to recede.

Following the Saseogyeong, Tang Yujae had stolen and consumed the imugi’s yeouiju. Once it entered his body, he reached insights he had never grasped before, and his cultivation skyrocketed. As a result, he was now constantly overwhelmed by yin energy, but that was the cost of housing an imugi.

Yujae opened his eyes and turned his head toward the entrance of the bath.

So that was the presence he had sensed…

A blood fiend stood there blankly, dazed, watching him. Even without his martial arts, he had managed to move undetected, proof he was still one of the blood fiend race. For someone like that to pretend to be aligned with the orthodox sects, it was laughable.

The bathwater, once yellow-brown from medicine, had turned pitch black.

It was from the expelled yin energy reacting with the herbs.

Drawn by the sweet scent radiating from the Supreme One’s body, Seolyeong gulped down a mouthful of drool.

Already gravely wounded, he’d only made things worse forcing himself through the blizzard. Yuwon would likely faint if she saw him. And Seolyeong… was not in his right mind.

‘His body smells sweet.’

Only instinct remained, preventing rational thought.

‘Is it coming from his neck?’

With dilated pupils, Seolyeong stared blankly at Tang Yujae’s neck.

He had staggered here in a daze and let out a harsh growl.

Beast-like snarls echoed again and again.

Tang Yujae asked,

“Who am I?”

“……”

Such a simple question, yet Seolyeong couldn’t seem to grasp it. Tilting his head, he licked his parched lips slowly.

He wanted to sink his teeth into the man’s neck, the source of that intoxicating scent, and suck the blood until his scream tore through the air.

Seolyeong grumbled,

“…My teeth itch.”

With his danjeon damaged, the Supreme One’s yin energy affected him like an aphrodisiac.

“I want to bite you.”

If he were his usual self, Seolyeong would’ve resisted through sheer will. But now, he didn’t have the strength. His mind focused only on the man’s pale neck.

The Supreme One didn’t repeat himself.

“You’ve lost your senses.”

He muttered as he turned his gaze forward again. He could still feel traces of Si Pungjae’s Qi at his acupuncture point, Seolyeong’s body had woken, but his mind hadn’t fully returned.

His judgment was nearly correct.

An ordinary person would’ve remained unconscious for days. But with the superior physique of a blood fiend, Seolyeong had awakened. He simply couldn’t ignore the sweet scent flooding his nose.

Following that smell had led him here.

If Si Pungjae had stayed by his side, things might have gone differently. But Si Pungjae had gone into seclusion, carrying out the punishment handed down by the Supreme One. And for Si Pungjae, being separated from his lord was the cruelest punishment of all. A single day without serving him felt like thorns sprouting inside his mouth.

“Ah…”

Seolyeong licked his lips openly and trembled. He exhaled a slow breath. His legs moved on their own.

He knew he shouldn’t. That biting someone was wrong. That sucking blood was a sin. But the part of him that used to whisper those things was buried deep.

In front of him was a tempting neck. One bite, and hot blood would gush onto his tongue. The thrill alone made his lower half stir.

His lower was starting to harden.

1. Cordyceps, a blade‐shaped fungus that grows on caterpillars, valued as a tonic herb in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a wide range of disorders ↩︎
2. Yeouiju (여의주) is a mythical orb often associated with Korean and East Asian dragons. Koreans thought that an imugi could become a true dragon, or yong or mireu, if it caught a Yeouiju which had fallen from heaven.  ↩︎