Camellia 78

After regaining his original form, Tang Yujae headed to Gwanju Hall to handle the backlog of work.

Sure enough, Daeyeonggak Lord Gyo Seokryun was standing like a statue at the entrance, arms crossed. He’d completely ignored the servants telling him the lord was unavailable and should be visited another time.

“I’m here to see my lord, and these kids think they can stop me….”

Despite being well past seventy, Gyo Seokryun still retained the youthful appearance of a man in his thirties. He was also the one who had given Tang Yujae the Saseogyeong.

Now, Gyo Seokryun addressed Yujae as the “Cheonsin” and worshiped him like a god, but their relationship had actually begun as that of master and disciple.

It had started after the fire demon engulfed an entire village.

Yujae, dragging a body that could barely stand, had stowed away on a Haedong merchant ship. And the first Jungwon native he encountered upon arriving, an old elder of the former Demonic Sect, was none other than Gyo Seokryun.

“Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years of glory!”

The moment Yujae appeared before him without a sound, Gyo Seokryun dropped to his knees and shouted. His red eyes shimmered with heat beneath strands of black hair.

“My radiant god! I, your lowly servant, greet the Supreme One who has transcended the heavens! Have you been well?”

Gyo Seokryun was the one who had taken in the boy from the ruined Tang clan in Sacheon and shaped him into something human. He was a brutal man, both in nature and in hand.

At the time, Yujae had been a beggar scrounging for food. Seokryun had quickly extended his claws. All for the sake of decoding the Saseogyeong, and the boy’s body was his tool.

“Listen well, boy. I require the untouched body of a young martial artist. If you entrust yourself to me, I will feed you and give you shelter. Consider carefully which choice will keep you alive.”

But the content Seokryun managed to decipher amounted to only a few lines from the Saseogyeong’s western chapter. After fleeing Jungwon when the old sect fell, and spending decades hiding in Haedong, this was all he’d accomplished.

By the time Yujae had finished serving his use as a living experiment and started sneaking peeks at the scroll himself, crafting his own interpretations, Seokryun realized the real reason fate had brought the boy to him. That day, he decided to act as his master.

One day, he sat Yujae down and declared:

“From today forward, you shall call me Master. Soon enough, you’ll realize those little poisons you learned in Sacheon were nothing but child’s play.”

Indeed, Yujae’s monstrous poison arts had come not from his parents, but from Gyo Seokryun.

Of course, the head of the Tang clan had poured great effort into training his heir, but at the time, Yujae hadn’t shown any promising results. He had been too young, had no desire for martial strength, and no interest in living as a warrior.

The boy named Tang Yujae had a naturally gentle and timid disposition. Beneath the cold skin inherited from his father, there had always been a sliver of warmth passed down from his mother. And Gyo Seokryun, with deliberate cruelty, devoted himself to destroying it.

He would roar whenever he had the chance:

“You were so weak that your parents died instead of you! I hear they burned every last Tang child alive just for their bloodline! Your mother’s body was dumped in a jar of poison and picked apart by wild beasts. They plucked out her blood-soaked eyes and strung them into necklaces, redder and brighter than any gem. You knew that, didn’t you?”

Yujae learned to twist his grief into hate and refine it into vengeance. Seokryun poured every ounce of effort into wringing the boy dry, and he succeeded.

Now, staring at the man’s wolfish face, Yujae stepped into his office, white robes fluttering behind him. He walked to the window, glanced back, and said,

“You look five or six years younger. Much healthier too.”

Gyo Seokryun smiled gently.

“I have Your Grace’s Byeokgokdan to thank. I chewed it up with these bad molars and endured. If I’m to avoid being pushed aside by younger scholars and losing your trust, I need to extend my life however I can. But, my lord…”

The pleasantries ended quickly. Gyo Seokryun took a step forward and knelt slowly.

“The time has come. Just how much longer must this old servant wait?”

His eyes, polished and glossy, brimmed with suspicion. He remembered the young Yujae clearly, how the boy would do everything in his power not to spill blood, even when snapping the neck of a beast. A boy who was mild-mannered and even-tempered.

With a whisper, he pressed on, as if this was the final moment to act.

“The Cheonma Singyo Sect awaits your command.”

Yujae, still gazing out the window, answered quietly.

“I won’t disappoint you. Since you’ve made the trip, eat well and rest while you’re here.”

Daeyeonggak Lord licked his lower lip with a blood-red tongue.

“I’m already looking forward to it.”

Tomorrow, Yurigung would host a bimuyeon, (martial duel or armed contest) a ceremonial match to celebrate his return and the Hanhoe delegation’s visit. Despite its name, it was essentially a public slaughter.

After their victory in the Great Demonic War, no celebrations had followed, and discontent had been slowly growing. The entire sect, including the Eight Pavilion Lords, hungered for blood. As their leader, Yujae had decided to give it to them.

But one thing was certain: the bride would not be attending.

If Seolyeong saw righteous warriors dying for sport, he’d foam at the mouth and try to leap into the ring.

***

The arena, paved with thick layers of blue crystal.

More than four hundred martial artists gathered, the air thick with tension.

The match was about to begin, and the hall was in uproar. The source of the commotion? The announcement that the Murong clan head would be the first to fight.

The spectators blazed with excitement.

“Hold on. Murong clan? That’s the bride’s family, isn’t it? So the Cheonsin is going to slaughter his in-laws for our entertainment!”

“Exactly! Behold how fair and ruthless our lord is! Just because he married into the righteous faction doesn’t mean he’s gone soft!”

The followers who had entered Yurigung alongside their pavilion masters swelled with loyalty. They were people filled with hatred for the martial world and its warriors.

When news of Cheonsin’s marriage to a blood fiend spread, reactions among the members had been similar.

Even if he bore blood from the old Demonic Sect, accepting someone who had lived among the righteous as the sect bride? Unthinkable.

Yet the marriage had gone forward. Though they couldn’t voice it, many had begun harboring resentment toward Yujae.

But now, smiles returned to their faces. Of course. Their cold, calculating sect leader wasn’t some fool who’d be bewitched by a pretty face and push for peace.

Meanwhile, Yujae sat on the high seat, his expression blank with boredom.

When the frozen corpse was brought into the ring, cheers exploded through the arena.

“Wow–!”

It was the head of the Murong clan. Frozen by Yujae himself.

“Obey Heaven and live, defy Heaven and perish! Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years!”

But their worship didn’t please him. It just grated at his ears like a swarm of gnats.

For a brief moment, he thought of the bride’s warm embrace, so calm, so still. And just like that, Yujae was caught off guard by his own reaction.

Those gemlike eyes. That endlessly loud mouth.

He couldn’t get them out of his head.

Resting his chin on one hand, Yujae watched the sect members, then shook his head and straightened up. He kept seeing the moment that clueless bride chattered beside him like it was happening right now.

The unfamiliar feeling made him unconsciously mutter.

“Why am I….”

Why am I thinking about you?

Right as confusion began to take hold, the doors of the arena swung open with a crash.

A man of unbelievable beauty stepped inside. He hadn’t been invited, but the noisy crowd instantly fell silent.

The man’s pearl-colored robe fluttered like spring wind. His dark brown hair shimmered faintly with light. And his eyes, bright and striking like camellia petals, locked onto Yujae.

Yujae laughed dryly.

The bride had entered. And just like that, the dull arena transformed into something worth watching.