Camellia 9

Seol Yeong was generally quick to assess situations and had good instincts. Whenever something required his response, he usually handled it with precision.

But when it came to things he wasn’t interested in, he didn’t bother applying even a fraction of his exceptional ability. He acted carelessly, almost lazily.

That was why he simply dismissed the strange resemblance between the boy he had seen earlier and the man now in front of him. The features were similar, sure, but the Qi radiating from them was worlds apart. The boy’s body had been like barren land, unfit for martial arts, while the man’s body was already fully refined.

Experts could recognize other experts. Seolyeong thought to himself,

That’s one hell of a body, hardened by bitter training. Even though his Qi flow is being swallowed up by yin energy, it hasn’t been broken. That means he’s been refining his inner discipline, the root of martial arts. But how did he end up like this, just from some aphrodisiac?

Impurities in the body could be expelled with controlled breathing and circulation. Yet even as the man licked and caressed each of his fingers, Seolyeong’s attention was focused elsewhere, scanning the room to locate the aphrodisiac the man had consumed. He had an urge to inspect just how dangerous it was. It was right then, as he tried to push the clinging man away, that it happened.

“Hey.”

Seolyeong quickly grabbed the hand creeping up his trousers. The man, surrounded by yin energy, had clearly lost all reason. He looked like he was about to move past Seolyeong’s fingers and start sucking his cock, so Seolyeong frowned seriously and said,

“Yang energy can be transmitted this way too.”

As he released the man’s wrist, their fingers laced tightly together.

Like sunlight in early spring, a gentle warmth began flowing along the man’s pulse.

Not all yang energy felt this soft and invigorating. It was the nature of Seolyeong’s Qi, warm and tender like spring sunshine.

“Haa…”

“This seems like just the right amount, doesn’t it?”

The man, still under the drug’s influence, didn’t understand a word. Once his spasms started to calm, Seolyeong pulled his hand away. But the man looked so disappointed, like a marten who’d just lost its prey, that Seolyeong unconsciously reached out again, only to jerk his hand back in alarm.

He had nearly been charmed by that face.

From the moment he entered the bedroom, there was one thing Seolyeong had been meaning to ask.

“Are you truly the master of this room?”

He had come looking for the groom, only to find a beautiful man rolling around on the wedding bed, flushed and feverish.

It could have been mistaken for an assault, but Seolyeong was convinced. The man was the Sect Leader of the Cheonma Divine Sect. He had confirmed it while transferring yang energy and checking his pulse. That tightly compressed mass of deadly poison in the man’s body had given it away. And the fact that he hadn’t fallen into Qi deviation despite it meant only one thing. He had the body of someone immune to all poisons, the body of the Sahyeol Amje.

Still, one thing was puzzling.

After staring at the man for a long while, Seolyeong tilted his head and murmured to himself.

“No but really, why is he so handsome…? The more I look, the better he looks.”

His jade-like appearance raised even more questions. He looked like the type who could make a whole crowd of women in the martial world swoon with a single flick of his fingers.

According to Seolhyeon, the Sahyeol Amje was so ugly that people instinctively thought, What the hell do we do with that one…? That was why, among the men he’d encountered at the frozen pond, he had picked the one who looked most like a pig and asked if he was the groom.

But the man in front of him had a face so handsome it was hard not to stare.

If beauty were ranked, he would be placed in the highest tier.

Though to be honest, there was one thing a bit lacking.

If only he had a touch more softness. His features were sharply defined, which was nice, but too much symmetry could make a face feel cold and unapproachable.

Especially with those eyes. The whites of his eyes were unusually prominent beneath the pupils, a condition called sambaek-an, considered one of the five most ominous facial traits to get entangled with.

So while the man’s appearance was stunning, his overall impression wasn’t necessarily a good one.

As Seolyeong continued his evaluation, the man nuzzled against his stomach, making Seolyeong narrow his eyes with a soft sigh. The ticklish sensation made his toes curl.

Not stopping there, the man wrapped his arms around Seolyeong’s waist and pulled him close.

He acted like a puppy, but looked like a grown man.

Amused by the mismatch, Seolyeong tucked the man’s messy hair behind his ear. As his fingertips brushed the ear’s edge, the man licked his lips and raised his gaze.

Seolyeong grabbed the man’s pale cheek and squeezed it like dough.

“Just checking if this was a disguise.”

Even after pulling with Qi, the skin didn’t budge. It really was his own face.

Seolyeong found himself oddly fond of the Sect Leader’s indifference. Despite all the rumors branding him the ugliest man alive, he hadn’t bothered to correct a single one. A man should be able to laugh off misunderstandings and insults with dignity.

Still, regardless of the faint affection sprouting inside him, the current situation was uncomfortable.

How could it not be, with someone panting for yang energy right in front of him?

Seolyeong had never intended to share a wedding night with the Sect Leader.

He was more chaste than a young monk. He had never even touched himself down there. He had always kept a strict distance from the seductive traits associated with blood fiends, who were said to use sex appeal to feed on human blood.

Though born a blood fiend, Seolyeong had been raised as a human, and lived like one. He had intentionally ignored carnal matters.

So he had planned to be honest with the Sect Leader.

That he was a virgin among virgins, and had no intention of stripping down and rolling around with a stranger he had never even met. That he understood how absurd this situation must be for the other party too, suddenly finding himself with a male bride. And that maybe he should go take care of his urges elsewhere.

In return, Seolyeong would be like a flower in bloom, satisfying the Sect Leader just by being there. Just watching would be enough to soothe his heart and leave him content.

It might seem heartless to talk about purity while someone was clearly drowning in lust, but Seolyeong didn’t care.

Yin energy overflowing like a waterfall could be neutralized with even a bit of diligent effort. No, maybe not even that much would be needed.

Seolyeong flipped the man over, climbed on top and planted both hands firmly on the bedding.

Looking down at the glistening nape below him, his crimson eyes shimmered faintly with heat. With a human throat so close, it was natural for a blood fiend to feel thirst.

But Seolyeong suppressed his impulse. He kept repeating to himself that he was different from the others, that he was far more human than they were.

It was his only wish, to prove that belief before he died.

He lowered his lips and bit down gently on the man’s moist skin. It wasn’t to feed. Injecting yang energy through that spot would be more effective, so he softly embedded his teeth.

Infusing yang energy into that sensitive point would make the recipient instinctively cling to the blood fiend in ecstasy. But in this man’s case, surrounded as he was by yin energy, the yang would neutralize it and bring calm instead of excitement.

Seolyeong continued transferring energy until the squirming man let out a quiet groan and went still.

His breathing slowed, limbs softened, and the cold that had clung to him like a curse began to melt. A single tear traced the edge of his sharp eye.

With a soft wet sound, Seolyeong withdrew his teeth, then reflexively licked the man’s cheek where the tear had fallen. He was the one most startled by the act.

“What did I just do…?”

The man had absorbed plenty of yang energy and regained some color, he passed out like someone spent.

Seolyeong mumbled bitterly.

“Uh… um… ah… mm…”

The skin his tongue had touched was dangerously sweet. The yin energy that had nearly driven the man to death felt to Seolyeong like nothing more than a rare delicacy. His yang must have tasted just as delicious to the man.

For a moment, the blood fiend’s pupils widened, and his crimson irises flared even brighter. Seolyeong, who had unconsciously grabbed a fistful of the man’s hair, suddenly scolded himself.

“Hey now, don’t be like that, you scoundrel.”

He clicked his tongue at himself and leapt to his feet. He needed to get out of that bedroom as fast as possible. Otherwise, he really might really end up tasting that pretty man’s cheek.