It was when I was still feeling a little hurt over Sister Seol's story about the bat.

My older brother scratched his head with an awkward expression and cautiously began to speak.

“So-ryong, I have a favor to ask...”

“A favor, sir?”

“Well, it’s just that...”

As I blinked at the sudden mention of a favor, Sister Seol poked me in the thigh.

When I looked at her, she tilted her chin subtly in one direction.

There stood a young woman who looked younger than me—Yak Sosso.

She was also looking at me, and just then, Hwa-eun’s voice rang out in my mind.

‘Since Peng Gongja is going off to fight the Blood Cult and the Five Venoms Sect, Miss Sosso says she’s going with him...’

‘Huh?’

‘Well, here’s what happened. You remember how Peng Gongja hadn’t been in touch for years, right?’

‘Right?’

‘So...’

As she explained, it turned out that even though that guy had vanished for years claiming he was chasing down Yin cultivators, now he was suddenly heading off again to fight the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult. She couldn’t stop him, so she said she’d go with him.

‘Honestly, I’d probably say the same if I were her.’

While my brother fumbled with his words, Yak Sosso let out a soft sigh and stepped forward, speaking cautiously in his place.

“Haah... Young Lord So. I know it’s shameless, but I’d like to ask to accompany you.

He shows up after all these years and just says, ‘I’m off to fight the Blood Cult and the Five Venoms Sect—can you wait a few more years?’ What am I supposed to do with that?

If something happens to him, what about me? So please... let me go with him.”

‘He seriously said that?’

Not even “I’ll be gone a bit to fight”—but years?

I stared at Peng Gongja in disbelief, unable to believe the words that allegedly came from his mouth.

He finally got a match set up, and now he’s acting like a rooster refusing to do his duty.

Besides, he’s not getting any younger. What, if he doesn’t manage to crush the Blood Cult and the Five Venoms Sect, he’s just not going to get married?

‘Are you out of your mind, human?’

I answered with a smile that showed I understood Yak Sosso’s feelings completely.

“Of course she should come with us. Shall I prepare a cabin for you two to share?”

“What!?”

Yak Sosso jumped in surprise, her eyes wide—but then a flustered whisper sounded in my mind.

[Pl-Please. Young Lord.]

“Young Lord,” as in Soya, the formal term for a noble son.

Since I was my brother’s sworn brother, I guess she figured it was appropriate to call me that. Still, I was thankful she was at least proactive.

Since it was my future sister-in-law’s request, I figured I should decorate at least one cabin like a honeymoon suite.

***

After about two days sailing upstream, our destination—Bojung—came into view.

As the distant city began to take shape, the boatman suggested we stop here.

“That city you see over there is Bojung, Young Lord. I suggest we dock the... turtle, no, the boat around this area.”

“Let’s do that.”

Bojung was a mid-sized city, similar in scale to Taean, and it had a comparably sized harbor. The reason we were docking a bit farther away from the city, though, was of course because of Elder Geumdo.

At present, we’d disguised the bamboo house built on Elder Geumdo’s back as a raft by laying bamboo around it.

We’d tethered a long rope from the back of our real boat to the bamboo house on Geumdo’s back and were towing it along.

From the outside, it looked like our boat was pulling a bamboo raft.

But in reality, it was Geumdo pushing the boat.

Of course, it wasn’t a perfect disguise—bits of sand would peek out now and then, which might catch someone’s attention. So we decided to anchor the boat and Geumdo a good distance away from the city.

“Cho-ya, tell Geumdo to stick close to the riverbank. That spot under the willow trees looks good.”

—Tssrrrk. Tssrrt! 『Got it, Dad. Geumdo, head for the shade over there!』

As I gave the order to go beneath the row of willow trees along the riverbank, Cho interpreted immediately.

Bubbles rose from the water as Geumdo slowly moved toward the riverbank.

—Bwooorrgh.

A moment later, the boat touched the shore, and the Dragon Fangs jumped out onto land.

Following them, the Immortal of Medicine and Immortal of Herbs also gathered their things and disembarked.

“Hwa-eun, this was such a joy. I’ll stop by the Tang Clan later with your elder brother.”

“Take care, Grandpa Yakseon. It was great seeing you again.”

“Let’s meet again soon, Hwa-eun.”

“Farewell, Immortal of Medicine.”

Hwa-eun stepped off after them, exchanging farewells.

The reason Hwa-eun and Sister Seol were saying their goodbyes was because they were staying behind here.

As I watched Hwa-eun say her farewells to the two elders, I silently praised myself.

‘Last night... I must’ve been crazy. How did I react so fast...? In the entire history of Spicy Fabre’s broadcasts—no, in the history of my past life—that was the fastest reflex I’ve ever had. Seriously.’

I hadn’t fully decided whether I’d go to the Peng family’s estate to learn the technique that blurred awareness during rituals, but I was leaning toward not learning it.

Cheongyu had repeatedly advised me against it, and fortunately, Hwa-eun and the kids had been using the group chat less frequently lately.

Ever since I said I’d be helping Geum Gi-ryung, Hwa-eun had told the others not to disturb “Dad when he’s working,” and usage of the group chat had settled down quite a bit.

Now they only used it when I was idle or clearly not ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) doing anything, which meant I no longer felt so overwhelmed—and thus had less need to pick up new martial arts techniques.

So I was almost completely set on diving into the Five Poisons path early.

Still, since I helped with my brother’s romance, he insisted I absolutely had to go to his house—and I was definitely going to Unghyeon, where the two elders were headed.

I wasn’t sure about visiting my brother’s place, but Unghyeon was a must. Who knows, there might be new venomous creatures there.

The real issue, however, was that I’d have to leave behind the big kids: Geumdo, Cheongyu, Cheongwol, Cho, Bini...

Even though Geumdo, the giant turtle based on the Asian Giant Softshell, could survive outside water for a few days, his size was a problem.

On land, his massive body and coloring made it impossible to go unnoticed, so I had no choice but to leave him behind.

Same for the other big ones.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

From here to my brother’s place in Bukgyeong, there were too many towns and villages connected by open plains—nowhere to hide them.

So someone needed to stay behind and care for the kids—and of course, the most suitable person was Hwa-eun, since she could communicate with them through our group chat.

She was the closest person to both me and the kids.

「‘Looks like I’ll have to stay again, huh?’

‘Yes, most likely.’」

Last night, when I’d mentioned my thoughts, Hwa-eun had agreed.

Hearing her response, I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Because at long last, freedom was returning to me.

Mentally shackled together with Hwa-eun, I desperately needed time like this.

A precious moment where the bond loosened even slightly, even if just our bodies separated.

‘Ahh... Long live So-ryong’s independence!’

Just as I was quietly celebrating this in my heart—my glee at parting ways with Hwa-eun...

In that moment, I heard Hwa-eun and Sister Seol talking.

“I’m a bit worried. Please take care of So-ryong again this time, Unni.”

“This time, I’ll be sleeping right next to him, so he can’t try anything funny. Don’t worry, Hwa-eun.”

Huhhh?! Sleeping together? No—wait, that’s not the issue! Come to think of it, wasn’t Sister Seol a spy?!

Sleeping together itself wasn’t that big a deal. The three of us—me, Hwa-eun, and Sister Seol—had often shared a room. But the problem was that Sister Seol was coming along.

I’d just gotten my freedom and was celebrating it, but if Sister Seol was a spy, then my freedom was only half-baked.

I quickly turned to Sister Seol and said,

“Sister Seol, I believe you should stay behind this time.”

“Hm? Me too?”

“Yes. You’ve only just started bonding with the children I entrusted to you. Wouldn’t it be wrong to keep separating from them?”

“Oh, it’s fine. The kids are good with people, you know.”

No, Sister Seol. Please have mercy! Your one and only younger brother is going to die like this!

She really was a good person, but maybe because she’d grown too close to Hwa-eun lately, she was going too far. I spoke up quickly.

“I-I’ve been too embarrassed to say it before, but I think I must now. Honestly, what I told you earlier was just an excuse.”

“?”

“The real reason I want you to stay is because of Hwa-eun.”

“Because of me?”

“Because of Hwa-eun?”

Both of them blinked in confusion. As Hwa-eun looked at me wide-eyed and Sister Seol wore an expression that said what on earth are you talking about, I answered resolutely.

“If only Hwa-eun stays behind, I’d be too worried!”

“You’re worried about Hwa-eun?”

“Me?”

“Yes, Sister Seol. At the Peng residence, there are the Dragon Fangs, and it’s a safe place. That’s why we could leave Hwa-eun there alone. But here? We’d be leaving her in an open plain with just the boatmen. What if something happens?”

“But the kids are here, aren’t they?”

“Sister Seol, wouldn’t having the kids act be a last resort in a place where people constantly come and go?

If something were to happen and she had to use force on her own, and something happened before the kids could intervene, what would we do then?”

At my words, Hwa-eun’s cheeks flushed red, and Sister Seol clicked her tongue.

“So-So-ryong, I’m okay with it...”

“I’m not! Ah, maybe I shouldn’t go either. I’m too worried now.”

“Haah... you’ve got to be kidding me...”

I made it sound like I was refusing to go, but honestly, there was no way I could stay.

The Immortal of Medicine and the Immortal of Herbs really enjoyed hearing my ideas about venom use and my past-life medical knowledge.

So I had already agreed to accompany them to Unghyeon, where reportedly all the villagers were suffering from anemia, and learn a bit of simple medicine along the way.

They had originally called me a prodigy and tried to get me to formally study medicine, but when I said I wasn’t interested in treating humans outside of venomous creatures and spirit beasts, they agreed to just teach me the basics.

In exchange, I had promised to tell them everything I knew about medicine from my world—so I couldn’t back out.

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes to look firm, but I was secretly peeking to see their reactions.

As if her face was burning, Hwa-eun rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand and spoke.

“Unni, the Dragon Fangs are here, and the two elders as well... So-ryong can go alone.

A man should experience doing big things alone sometimes.

I think... we’ve been overprotecting So-ryong all this time.”

Yes, that’s it!

“So-ryong? So-ryong?”

“Oh—Hwa-eun.”

“Go safely, alright?”

“I will. You stay safe too, Hwa-eun.”

“Yes, I will.”

I almost spaced out, remembering the thrill of last night, but managed to answer her just in time and started saying goodbye to each of the kids one by one.

Geumdo, Yeondu, Cho, Bini, Cheongyu, Cheongwol, and Hwayang—who were staying behind.

“I’m off. Listen to your mom, okay?”

—Tssrrrk.

—Pii?

—Shiaa!

I waved to the kids as they wiggled their antennae from the boat. Then we set off.

Accompanying me were Hyang and Hongdan, disguised as armor, and Yohwa, disguised as Hwa-eun.

Inside my body, I had hidden Seol, Bing, and Dong.

Hyang wrapped around me like armor, Hongdan disguised as ornamental plating.

I was still greeting people when Seol, Bing, and Dong caught up late and attached themselves to me just as I reached my brother.

Then, Sister-in-law Yak Sosso peeked her small head out from behind my brother’s large frame and sent me a whisper.

[Young Lord? Just listen. Last night, Lady Hwa-eun asked me to keep an eye on you. She gave you permission to leave, but she asked me to watch you—so I’m secretly letting you know.]

There’s no such thing as just letting things slide, huh...

I had thought she’d let it go, but of course, she was still a woman of the Tang Clan.

Even though I’d specifically asked Hyang not to be swayed by her mother’s orders and warned the other kids too, she’d gone and opened a back route.

Still, since Sister-in-law seemed to understand loyalty, I figured I should keep her close.

***

We arrived in Unghyeon after three days. The village was under military lockdown.

A military encampment had been set up around the village, and soldiers were strictly controlling all entry and exit.

As we approached the sealed village entrance, the officer in charge shouted in a stern voice.

“This village is under quarantine due to plague! You may not enter!”

The Immortal of Medicine looked troubled and spoke with a heavy tone.

“Oh dear, it’s serious enough that the authorities had to step in?”

“If the authorities are involved, that must mean it’s bad?”

“Yes—sounds like people have started dying.”

“People have died?”

I’d heard it was anemia, but now they were saying people had died—my head started to spin.

No matter how much I liked spirit beasts and venomous creatures, if they were killing people, I needed to reconsider things.

This could be trouble...