First, I calmed myself and asked Yang Seong-hu to look after the two elders.

[Yang Seong-hu, could you please check on the elders? I’ll check on the kids.]

[Understood, Sir So.]

While Yang Seong-hu went to wake the two grandfathers, I turned immediately to the children.

My heart was racing because of what had just happened.

‘Please... let them wake up safely.’

The reason I was so anxious was that I didn’t think this was the Soul-Stealing Technique.

If it wasn’t that, then what was it?

A drug or a poison.

The reason I was so certain it wasn’t the Soul-Stealing Technique was because that technique is known to suppress the body through eye contact, drawing the target’s spirit into an illusion where their soul can be subdued.

Like turning to stone when you look into Medusa’s eyes in fantasy stories, the Soul-Stealing Technique must be activated through the eyes.

Before coming here, whether because she was worried about me or wanted to make me her accomplice, Hwa-eun had told me a bit about it. She said it was a kind of technique that combined illusion arts and martial arts and must be performed through direct eye contact.

「“The Soul-Stealing Technique can only be used through the eyes, so if you ever face a Blood Cult expert, avoid eye contact. So-ryong.”

“Got it, Hwa-eun.”

“No, I mean avoid their eyes—not mine.”

“Ah, right? I didn’t even realize...”」

But Hyang and Hongdan, and Seol, Bing, and Dong had either disguised themselves as armor or stayed hidden inside my body after entering the village, so there was no chance they’d locked eyes with anyone.

They had no opportunity for eye contact.

Well, maybe Hyang or Hongdan might’ve glanced at someone briefly, but how would anyone know they were sentient creatures to use the Soul-Stealing Technique on them?

Especially while disguised as armor.

And that woman—the Blood Cult spy—had been terrified of the children’s mental power, so there was no way she would’ve dared try the Soul-Stealing Technique on them.

Then I remembered even the dog I saw in the village had fallen asleep, and that solidified it—this couldn’t possibly be the Soul-Stealing Technique.

Who would waste spiritual power trying to use that technique on a mutt?

That’s what led me to conclude that it must have been some kind of drug or poison.

To knock all of us out or put us into a deep sleep, it had to be one of the two.

Something like a type of toxic gas that affects humans, insects, and reptiles alike.

That’s why I was feeling such urgency.

Because if it really was a drug or poison, the mechanism that induces sleep might affect the kids differently than it does humans.

Even if it were a drug or poison, if I woke up, the two elders would be able to wake up easily too.

We’re all mammals and vertebrates, after all.

The effects of the drug or poison would likely apply similarly to all of us.

At least, the sleep-inducing symptoms would.

But the kids are reptiles or arthropods.

It might have no effect on them, but if they were already showing symptoms of sleep, and their bodies couldn’t metabolize the substance, it could be really dangerous.

Even something as harmless as onions to humans can cause fatal anemia in dogs.

Humans and arthropods, reptiles—we all have completely different detoxification systems. As their dad, I couldn’t help but panic.

There are even many types of insecticides that are designed specifically based on those metabolic differences.

[Hyang, Hongdan, Seol, Bing, Dong?]

I lifted Hyang’s head and gave it a gentle shake, but she was so deeply asleep that drool was trickling from her mouth.

It dropped onto Hongdan’s forehead, but neither of them stirred.

It didn’t seem deadly poisonous, at least, but I couldn’t fully relax.

They appeared to be in a deeper sleep than I was.

What if they never woke up?

‘No—stop being cute and get up already!’

I was worried sick, and yet somehow their expressions looked like they were just playing cute.

Hyang’s relaxed and droopy sleeping pose was way too adorable.

While shaking her, I almost instinctively kissed her on the forehead.

[Hyang, wake up! You’re making Daddy worry!]

But snapping myself out of it, I hugged Hyang, Hongdan, Seol, Bing, and Dong all together and shook them.

My heart was racing, but I didn’t have enough arms.

Even as I kept shaking them, none of them so much as twitched.

In the end, I stopped whispering and had to raise my voice.

“Hyang, Hongdan? You little rascals, snap out of it!”

Just then, I heard the elders beginning to regain consciousness on the other side.

“Are you both awake, Grandpas?”

“Nggh...”

“This sleep is unpleasant... How did you get in here? What on earth happened?”

Just like they said—it was unpleasant waking from that sleep. But the two elders had awakened faster than I had.

“I waited until morning to receive a signal from you, but when none came, I infiltrated the village in secret.”

“Good grief... Did we fall to the Soul-Stealing Technique without even realizing? How could that be!?”

“At least nothing worse happened.”

They held their temples and shook their heads.

The two of them seemed to believe we’d fallen under the Soul-Stealing Technique, but I quickly shared my thoughts with them, even as I kept trying to wake the kids.

“Grandpas, I don’t think it’s the Soul-Stealing Technique.”

“You don’t think so?”

“No. The Soul-Stealing Technique subdues the body through eye contact and pulls the target into a mental realm to capture their soul. But none of my children even saw anyone after entering the village, yet they still fell asleep.

It’s clearly some kind of drug or poison.”

At that, Elder Herbalist stood up, wobbling a little, and made his way to the door.

He leaned by the doorway and peeked outside, then asked Yang Seong-hu,

“Was there any threat outside? Any signs of surveillance?”

“No, sir. The village was dead silent, as if everyone was in a deep sleep. We might’ve been discovered, but there were no signs of movement. I couldn’t detect any surveillance either.”

“If they were going to act, it would’ve been during the night.”

“Most likely...”

“The villagers should be waking soon.”

If they were going to poison us and make a move, they would’ve done so already, like the elder said.

Elder Herbalist immediately asked Elder Physician to guard him.

“Senior Brother, I ask you to protect me. If it’s a drug or poison, I should be able to identify it. You go take a look outside.”

“Alright. Got it.”

“Understood, sir.”

Elder Herbalist seemed determined to figure out what kind of poison it was.

I’d heard that his internal energy was specialized for identifying or detoxifying drugs and poisons.

「“My senior brother and I have different types of internal energy. I’ve mastered something called Divine Pharmacist Art, and he’s trained in the Moxibustion and Acupuncture Art.

Mine is for crafting medicine and identifying the properties of herbs, while his is more useful for applying acupuncture and moxibustion.”」

Yes, if this really was caused by a drug or poison, there’s no way Elder Herbalist wouldn’t recognize it.

Our Tang Clan may be masters of poison, but Grandpa’s pharmacological skills are nothing to scoff at either.

Elder Herbalist closed his eyes and began circulating his internal energy.

And just then, Hyang’s antenna, which had been drooping and drooling, twitched.

“Hyang!?”

Chik. Chik.

Then came the sound of her cute little coughs.

Just like someone waking up and washing their face in the morning, her antenna instinctively reached for her mouth.

For the kids, their morning routine starts with cleaning their antennae—and she was doing it unconsciously, right after waking up.

If she were human, she’d be praised for waking up and brushing her teeth right away.

In the mental realm, she might already be a proper lady, but in the physical world, she was still just about a year old.

Chup chup.

She began nibbling her antenna from the base.

Seeing her behavior, I finally began to feel at ease.

Cleaning their antennae is a sign that centipedes are healthy.

‘Even now, my daughter’s so tidy.’

“Hyang, are you awake?”

At my gentle question, another antenna perked up, then flopped sideways again.

Then a tiny voice came:

Chit? 『Daddy?』

She was finally fully awake.

Right after that, Hongdan, Seol, Bing, and Dong also began to stir.

Kiiiii.

Gukguuu.

Kkyuit.

Thank goodness.

I didn’t know what kind of drug or poison it was, but it didn’t seem to be causing any serious harm.

‘Thank goodness.’

When I patted the children’s heads, they clung to me or climbed onto my body.

Then, about 15 minutes later.

Elder Herbalist’s eyes suddenly opened wide, and he nodded.

“There’s definitely something. Just when did it enter our bodies...?”

“There’s something?”

“Yes. Senior Brother. I don’t know what it is, but we’ve been poisoned.”

“What the—when did this even happen... Hoo...”

The two elders, known as the greatest in the Central Plains when it came to medicine.

And me, So-ryong of the Tang Clan—Tang Clan in name, at least.

To have all of us poisoned without any of us noticing—this was astonishing.

Naturally, the two elders wore expressions of disbelief as they sighed.

A moment later, Elder Physician asked Elder Herbalist,

“So? Have you identified what kind of poison it is?”

He was asking about how it worked. But in response, Elder Herbalist shook his head darkly.

“I don’t know. I’ve never encountered this poison before.”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

We were all poisoned, and yet we didn’t even know what the poison was.

In fact, aside from causing people to fall asleep until midday, we knew nothing at all.

After a moment’s thought, Elder Herbalist gestured to Yang Seong-hu.

“Come here.”

“Me, sir?”

“Yes.”

Elder Herbalist quickly checked Yang Seong-hu’s pulse. Then, with a somewhat relieved expression, he said,

“Fortunately, you haven’t been poisoned. The sun will be at its peak soon. You should head out quickly. If you stay, you might get caught by the villagers or poisoned as well.”

“Understood, Elder. Is there anything else I should do?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Nothing for now. Ah—go tell the commanding officer that no one must enter this village.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Yang Seong-hu bowed quickly and disappeared down the path leading out of the village.

Once he was gone, Elder Herbalist opened his bag and began sampling small amounts of different medicinal herbs while circulating his internal energy.

“What’s Elder Herbalist doing right now?”

“He’s using Divine Pharmacist Art to test which herbs react to the poison in his body. The poison doesn’t seem to be doing much beyond putting people to sleep, but if the poisoning persists, who knows what might happen? He’s trying to detoxify it quickly.”

In other words, he was experimenting on his own body.

Elder Herbalist’s martial art was basically no different from poison arts.

***

The rest of the day passed similarly to the day before.

Elder Herbalist shut himself inside the room, saying he was working on a way to detoxify the poison, while Elder Physician stayed outside and checked the villagers more carefully.

He was trying to see if any additional symptoms developed in those who had been poisoned for a longer time.

Meanwhile, I quietly searched for any signs of a spy among those around Elder Physician.

But I didn’t feel anything suspicious from anyone.

No one seemed to be making any sort of move.

“It seems this treatment will take a while. My junior brother needs time to find the right medicine—it’s a disease we’ve never seen before.”

“As long as there’s no pain aside from the sleep, there’s no rush. Please take your time, Elders.”

“Yes, truly. Just the fact that you’re treating us is more than enough.”

When we said it might take time to treat them, the villagers told us not to worry.

By the time evening came, and after we’d had dinner, Elder Herbalist suddenly called me in.

“So-ryong, come in for a moment.”

When I entered the room, he handed me a pitch-black pill.

“What is this?”

“It’s a mixture of ingredients I’ve discovered today that show some effectiveness against this poison. You might be able to expect some detoxification.”

“Why are you giving it to me?”

I thought he should take it himself, but Elder Herbalist looked out the window and said,

“Even if I took it, it wouldn’t stop me from falling asleep tonight. My internal energy technique is focused on crafting medicine and drawing out its efficacy. Without a completed formula, I can’t expect much effect.

But you—you’ve trained in poison arts. Take this and circulate your poison arts to hold out as long as possible.

If the sleep strikes at night again, someone needs to stay awake. And that someone can’t be us.”

The children would all fall asleep too, so if anything happened, I’d be the only one left to handle it.

The thought of being truly alone for the first time made me a bit nervous, but I nodded.

“Understood, Grandpa.”

And so, night fell.

I swallowed the pill Elder Herbalist had given me.

A horrifying bitterness filled my mouth.

This one pill alone felt like it could drive sleep away—but how long had I been meditating with my eyes closed?

Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness hit me like a storm.

From the symptoms, I could tell—it wasn’t ordinary sleepiness.

Even as I desperately recited chants and circulated my energy, I felt my consciousness slipping...

That’s when a voice stirred my mind.

『“So-ryong, you said you were going somewhere ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) dangerous, so I promised not to speak first. But why haven’t you said a word all day? I was about to go to sleep but decided to check in.”』

‘GYAAAH!’

Now I remembered—Hwa-eun had made me promise to contact her regularly out of concern, but I’d completely forgotten. The moment I remembered, my sleep vanished like it had been wiped away.

***

After begging Hwa-eun for forgiveness, even the lingering drowsiness disappeared completely.

『‘I’m so sorry.’

‘I understand. If something serious happened, it can’t be helped. But you’re okay, right? You said it’s poison...’

‘Yes, there don’t seem to be any serious effects beyond the sleepiness, so you don’t need to worry.’

‘Well, you’ve trained in poison arts, so that’s at least reassuring...’』

I thought she’d be furious if she heard I’d been poisoned, but surprisingly, Hwa-eun was rather calm.

Apparently, since my body had absorbed the poisons of four spirit-level venomous creatures, I was already somewhere between Hundred-Poison and Thousand-Poison Realm.

Then, quietly in the group chat, Cheong-yu Sojeo’s voice chimed in.

– Sia. (Um, has everyone finished talking? This is Cheong-yu. There’s something I need to say.)

‘Ah, Cheong-yu Sojeo.’

‘Ah, today’s the full moon, isn’t it?’

As Cheong-yu Sojeo popped into the group chat, I suddenly remembered—it was the full moon tonight.

She had likely just switched with King Lockjaw, and cutting into our conversation, she quickly spoke.

– Siaaa! (That’s not important right now. Sir So, whatever’s in that village isn’t some lowly Blood Cult member!)

‘Not the Blood Cult?’

‘You mean it’s not the Blood Cult?’

– Siii. (Yes, Sir So. You caught the vice-captain of the Blood Yin Unit recently, didn’t you?)

‘That’s right?’

– Siaa, sii. (When I was still in the Five Venoms Sect, I researched the Blood Cult in order to seize them. I know that group well. The vice-captain of the Blood Yin Unit never operates outside. They stay within Blood Cult territory.)

‘Then... what is it?’

Out of all of us, Cheong-yu Sojeo knew the most about the Blood Cult. If she said so, it had to be true. She pressed me further.

– Siaaaa! (So-ryong, are you awake right now? Then look outside! Under the full moon!)

I opened my eyes and wet a finger to poke a hole in the papered window.

I didn’t want to go outside for some reason, but what I saw through the hole in the paper left me speechless.

Every single lantern hanging from house to house had turned into red lanterns, and the rooftops and courtyards were stained red—as if blood had been splattered over everything.

‘W-what is this!?’

As I gasped in my heart, Cheong-yu Sojeo’s voice rang out in the group chat.

– Siaaa. (When red blooms under the full moon, luring people into dreams and illusions, the ancients called it this: Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly.)

Under the moonlight, something crimson spread wide wings and drifted through the sky.

From the air, red powder rained down like snow.