Episode 329: Return to the Demon Sect
With a grave expression, Akcheon Goe looked down at Sabigang and suddenly turned to Dang Ihyeop, as if remembering something.
“By the way, did you receive the message I sent earlier?”
“I did.”
Dang Ihyeop replied with a stern face and continued.
“The situation on your end is quite serious as well.”
“Serious? What on earth was in that box?”
“It contained something that could cause a massacre.”
“A massacre? In that small box?”
Instead of answering, Dang Ihyeop simply nodded.
He recalled the moment the message had arrived the day before.
**
“The message has arrived.”
A subordinate reported as they entered the dark chamber.
If it warranted such a report, it meant the matter was quite serious.
Dang Ihyeop furrowed his brow slightly and asked, “Did it come from the Tang family headquarters?”
“No, it seems…”
“From whom?”
“It appears to have been sent by the former leader of Sabigang.”
“Appears?”
“It was sent in a hurry, and the message was a ‘Blood Flight.’”
“A Blood Flight!”
Dang Ihyeop jumped to his feet.
A Blood Flight was the most urgent type of message, named for its blood-red color.
‘Could it be about that issue?’
A few days ago, Sabigang had secretly informed him about a potential poisoning of Hongmyo.
But with just that information, it was too difficult to deduce what substance might have entered Hongmyo’s body.
He had requested a few suspected materials, just in case…
“It wasn’t a letter?”
“No, it was a small box.”
“Show me.”
Dang Ihyeop immediately moved to inspect the wooden box that had been delivered.
Inside, he found two tiny insects, two eggs, and three pills.
‘It must be from the lord!’
The real issue was the meaning of the contents.
Upon seeing them, Dang Ihyeop was certain of what had been implanted in Hongmyo’s body.
“This is it.”
He picked up a tiny egg with chopsticks.
Mucheon, who was standing nearby, squinted and said, “Isn’t this…”
“Do you recognize it?”
“Judging by the greenish top and reddish bottom… could it be the egg of the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm?”
Dang Ihyeop nodded grimly.
“That’s right.”
“Then, this is a huge problem, isn’t it?”
Mucheon exclaimed in an agitated voice.
The Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm!
He muttered in disbelief, even though he saw it with his own eyes.
“To think the Blood Sect possessed the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm…”
“Their collection skills surpass even the main family.”
“It’s an unavoidable reality due to their numbers.”
“Indeed. But that’s not the issue right now. If the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm is inside Hongmyo, it’s a dire situation.”
Mucheon clenched his teeth.
He already knew without being told.
The Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm.
A male and female pair.
Interestingly, they are predetermined as a pair from birth.
The mother lays one male and one female egg at a time, and once they hatch, they mate, and the female lays eggs again.
The Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm can enter a human body either as an egg or in its insect form.
Either way, it survives inside the body.
When a certain trigger occurs, it travels through the bloodstream to the human brain.
Then, it draws out all the host’s internal energy, causing a massive explosion that leads to mutual destruction.
The more profound the host’s internal energy, the greater the explosion.
The trigger is the death of the paired Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm.
No matter how far apart they are, they interact with each other.
In a way, it’s similar to the Thunderous Worm.
But the terrifying aspect of the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm is something else.
“If Hongmyo really consumed this, the leader is in danger.”
“Exactly.”
Dang Ihyeop didn’t deny it.
Before exploding, the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm always performs a specific action.
It uses the host to seek out the strongest presence within a ten-mile radius.
It’s similar to the parasitic horsehair worms that control grasshoppers or mantises.
Just as horsehair worms lead insects to water, the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm seeks out the most profound internal energy before exploding.
The type of internal energy doesn’t matter.
Whether it’s poison, demonic, or righteous energy.
What the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm desires is intense energy itself.
Perhaps, like a flower blooming most brilliantly before it withers, the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm wants to end its life in a final, spectacular display.
This instinct makes the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm dangerous.
“If the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm inside Hongmyo starts reacting…”
“Naturally, it will seek out the leader.”
“Indeed. As if possessed.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to tell Hongmyo the truth and have her leave?”
But Dang Ihyeop shook his head.
“Don’t you know why the leader chose her?”
”…You don’t mean?”
“Yes, Hongmyo harbors feelings for the leader.”
“Then, out of resentment for being abandoned…”
“You haven’t truly seen Hongmyo, even while keeping her close. She’s more of a romantic than you think.”
“That’s troublesome.”
Dang Ihyeop nodded.
Even if they informed her, Hongmyo wouldn’t think of leaving on her own.
If the leader wished it, she would willingly sacrifice herself.
“What if we kill her now?”
“Then the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm would explode immediately. To kill her, we’d have to accept sacrifices on our side.”
A truly impossible situation.
Mucheon ground his teeth.
“That leader is truly ruthless. How could he use a woman who followed him so loyally…”
“Such ruthlessness is what brought him to power. But…”
**
“That very ruthlessness will be his downfall.”
Dang Ihyeop’s eyes gleamed fiercely.
Meanwhile, Akcheon Goe, having heard the gist of the situation from Dang Ihyeop, clicked his tongue.
“Truly fitting for the leader. To use Hongmyo like that. He must have had feelings for her…”
He had observed the leader and Hongmyo closely.
They were undoubtedly in love.
Not just physically.
Of course, he pretended not to notice.
The leader was such a person.
Someone who could use love lightly for ambition.
That’s why he had also approached Hongmyo.
But…
To discard a beloved woman without hesitation if necessary.
‘Ha, impressive, leader.’
But he quickly regained his composure and shook his head.
“Now’s not the time to be impressed. We must stop Hongmyo somehow.”
“We’re exploring every possible means to find a solution. The main family has mobilized all available resources, so results will come.”
“Has the righteous alliance reached Tangyang?”
“They should be there by now.”
“Damn!”
Akcheon Goe slapped his knee and stomped his foot.
He knew Humu Geuk’s personality well.
He was someone who chose speed over caution when faced with a task.
Humu Geuk’s philosophy was to finish everything before attempting anything.
“We must hurry! It’s not impossible for Hongmyo to seek out the leader tonight!”
“That’s why we’ve stationed top martial artists around the leader’s quarters for protection. It won’t be easy to breach.”
“Hmm. Why not evacuate the leader?”
“This matter must be handled in utmost secrecy. The Blood Sect will think the main family is vulnerable. But I intend to find a way to extract the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm from Hongmyo’s body. And the main family plans to turn this crisis into an opportunity for a counterattack.”
“But those in Tangyang aren’t aware of this, are they? The Blood Sect might target them too.”
Dang Ihyeop turned to Akcheon Goe and suddenly chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
Akcheon Goe asked, furrowing his brows, and Dang Ihyeop shook his head.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just curious when you started referring to them as the Blood Sect instead of the main family.”
“Hmph, such trivial talk…”
“Anyway, there’s nothing we can do about that. Sending a message could risk it falling into the Blood Sect’s hands, jeopardizing the plan and putting the main family in greater danger. However, reinforcements have been dispatched. Whether they’ll arrive in time is uncertain.”
“Hmm.”
Akcheon Goe murmured, resting his chin on his hand.
They had done everything they could.
As Dang Ihyeop said, sending a message was risky.
If it fell into the Blood Sect’s hands, they would be caught in a trap.
Now, they had to leave Tangyang to fate.
And they had to prevent anything from happening here.
“By the way, if Hongmyo starts moving, how do you plan to stop her?”
“We’ll try to buy time and extract the Soul-Devouring Explosive Worm from her body.”
“Is that possible?”
“It has to be. It must be.”
Dang Ihyeop said with a determined expression.
Akcheon Goe also looked gravely at Sabigang.
‘This fool… How can you sleep at a time like this?’
Of course, Sabigang wasn’t sleeping but teetering on the brink of death.
He was barely clinging to life after being overwhelmed by various poisons.
Even after taking the latest antidote developed by the Sichuan Tang family, there was little improvement.
“What should we do now?”
“I’ll save him, no matter what.”
After answering, Dang Ihyeop quickly started walking away, his steps urgent.
A horde of dark, ominous cavalry loitered at the base of the hill.
Though they stood in formation, they swayed like drunken men, unable to stay still for even a moment.
From the top of the hill, they looked like a lake rippling under the moonlight.
A man with a face marred by burns glanced sideways and asked, “How many are there, Agwi?”
The one called Agwi bowed his head deeply and replied, “A thousand in total.”
“Incredible. I didn’t think Nokmyeon could pull this off.”
Jealousy and admiration flickered in the burned man’s eyes.
Nokmyeon had successfully assembled a thousand-strong cavalry as planned.
Meanwhile, he hadn’t managed to capture even a single Seoncheon Demon Spirit.
And that was with Heukmyeon by his side!
Of course, this wasn’t something that could be measured by numbers alone.
That’s probably why Jonya wasn’t holding him accountable.
But now that he had another chance, he had to prove himself.
In this battle, he would either kill Sabigang or capture a Seoncheon Demon Spirit!
“I’ll get one of them, no matter what!”
Crash!
“Instructor! Instructor Sabigang!”
The door burst open, and Dan Lijeong and the rest of the Cheonmyeol Unit rushed in like a flood.
At that moment, Dang Ihyeop and Ak Cheongoe were solemnly placing Sabigang into a coffin.
“A coffin…?”
The hearts of the Cheonmyeol Unit members sank.
Sabigang’s face was covered in blisters, his condition beyond words.
“What happened here?” Yeon Wookyung demanded, stepping forward.
Everyone swallowed hard, waiting for an answer, their eyes fixed on Dang Ihyeop and Ak Cheongoe as if accusing them of Sabigang’s demise.
Dang Ihyeop closed the coffin and said, “Not yet… not yet.”
“Then why put him in a coffin?”
“This is the only way. Without this, there’s no chance of saving him. Even with this, the odds aren’t good.”
The Cheonmyeol Unit fell silent, unable to speak.
Then,
“That’s…”
Thud!
Everyone turned at the sound of someone collapsing. Maeseollan had rushed in and now sat slumped at the entrance.
With tears brimming in her eyes, she spoke with determination, “You must save him, no matter what! That’s an order!”