“Huff... huff... huff...”

—Splaash.

Nanhwa, stumbling down the slope, slipped on the grass.

Her right arm was gone, and without it, she couldn’t maintain balance on the incline.

“Khk.”

Lying on the ground, Nanhwa stared at her arm.

What remained of it was a tattered stump near the elbow.

For a martial artist, losing an arm was a cause for despair—but at this moment, all Nanhwa could think was how lucky she was to have gotten off this lightly.

It happened when that red powder suddenly burst into the air.

At that instant, she remembered the sect leader of the Five Venoms Clan warning her that venomous creatures possessed strange abilities, and she instinctively pulled back.

And because she had, all the other martial artists of the Blood Cult—every single one except her—were erased without a trace.

Yes, erased. There was no better word for it.

Shivering, Nanhwa recalled the unbelievable scene she had witnessed just moments before.

The red powder swirled wildly, and as it engulfed her subordinates, they crumbled like powder themselves.

It was a vision of terror she couldn’t shake.

—Skrrreeee!

The roar of a venomous beast echoed from far up along the Fifth Ridge.

Startled, Nanhwa snapped out of her thoughts and scrambled to her feet.

If she got caught, she would end up just like them.

In that moment, blood trickled down from the arm she had tied with a strip of torn cloth.

It must have come loose when she fell.

Kneeling, Nanhwa grabbed one end of the knot in her teeth and the other with her left hand, pulling tight to stop the bleeding.

“Khk...”

The searing pain that shot from her bound arm was unbearable.

It didn’t make sense.

She had mastered the Blood Cult’s martial arts—she should have been able to control her bleeding by will alone.

Yet the wound inflicted by that butterfly earlier wouldn’t stop bleeding, no matter what she tried.

Worse, she couldn’t even locate the blood vessel line in her arm.

She had no choice but to keep it tied up with cloth like this.

After tending to the wound again, Nanhwa continued moving down the mountain.

When she reached the Third Ridge—

Suddenly, she heard screaming.

“Kkrrrghh... krrghh...”

“Kkrrghh...”

Startled by the sudden cries, Nanhwa turned toward the sound.

The full moon, hidden behind drifting clouds, emerged—its light revealing something round moving in the shadows beneath the trees.

As she approached, she saw it clearly.

It was a martial artist of the Blood Cult.

One of the warriors stationed here at the Third Ridge to wear down the strength of the woman from earlier.

But now, one of them had his entire face buried in the ground, with only his nose barely sticking out.

“Wh-what is this...?”

Nanhwa’s eyes widened in disbelief as she surveyed the area.

Nearly all the warriors she had stationed on the Third Ridge were in the same state.

Their noses were the only part of them visible above the dirt.

Their eyes pleaded for rescue.

But Nanhwa, unable to comprehend what had happened here, was reminded of her subordinates vanishing into powder moments earlier.

Without hesitation, she turned and ran.

If she stayed here, she would either end up like them—or like those who had vanished entirely.

She sprinted past the buried warriors, and just as the foot of the mountain came into view—

A woman suddenly appeared ahead of her.

“H-how!?”

Nanhwa’s eyes bulged.

That woman from the Sacheon Tang Clan—the one they thought they'd cornered—had somehow arrived here before her.

Nanhwa froze, staring blankly at the woman.

It felt like this was the end for her.

But in that brief moment of eye contact, Nanhwa noticed something strange.

The woman tilted her head slightly at the sight of Nanhwa, her face utterly expressionless.

She looked like a doll—emotionless, lifeless.

No wings on her back.

No flower in her hair.

‘No way...!’

She seemed to be alone here.

And for some reason, her mind didn’t seem entirely right.

Nanhwa didn’t know how she’d gotten here so fast—but maybe, just maybe, she could fight back one last time.

No. She couldn’t die like this.

She reached into her clothes and pulled out the Blood Shadow Spirit Darts.

A concealed weapon that could fire twelve thin, crimson darts that flew like shadows to strike their target.

She had brought them just in case—and now was the time to use them.

These were the very same weapons that had once made many masters disappear without a trace twenty years ago.

Moving swiftly to the side, Nanhwa took aim at the woman with the Blood Shadow Spirit Darts.

“Die!”

Without hesitation, she pressed the trigger.

The thin darts, gliding like a cicada’s wings in the darkness, flew straight toward the woman’s face.

—Shhhhhk. Shhk.

The Blood Shadow Spirit Darts made their signature sound as they flew—but the woman didn’t even flinch.

She just stood there, blank-faced, not reacting at all.

A gleeful cry escaped Nanhwa’s lips.

“Yes!”

If she fled now, she might live.

Even if Wei Su Long found out, she might not be severely punished for killing his fiancée.

But then—Nanhwa’s eyes shot open in disbelief.

—Ttidi-dik.

All twelve of the darts hit the woman’s face, only to fall to the ground with a metallic clatter.

It was like hitting solid iron.

“What!? Body-Protection Qi!?”

Could her blank expression have been because she had broken through to a new realm?

As Nanhwa reeled in shock, the woman’s face contorted in rage.

Then she raised her hand and casually flicked a finger in Nanhwa’s direction.

—Kssssh!

“Gkkk—!”

Suddenly, her throat was tightening.

“W-when did—?! Kkkk!”

Clawing at her neck with her remaining hand, Nanhwa felt something thin wrapped tightly around it—pulling her upward into the trees.

Her airway was instantly crushed, and her vision blurred.

She kicked and flailed, grasping at the thread to untangle it.

But her movements slowed.

Then her body went limp.

***

Today was just full of surprises.

From Jeokwol noona’s butterfly powder to Orange’s abilities—every bit of it.

After Jeokwol noona wiped out most of the enemy, Cheongyu Sojeo said there were still some captives down the mountain that Orange had caught, so I went to check.

And what I found was—Orange had turned the captives into something that looked like freshly harvested radishes.

The mountain was full of radishes ready for picking.

‘Wait, or are they watermelons?’

Staring blankly at the radish-like captives, I asked:

“Wait, Orange did this?”

—Skaaa.

The guy pushed his head into me like he wanted praise.

I stroked his head with admiration and asked,

“How’d you do it?”

In response, Orange bit one of the planted warriors by the head and yanked him out just like a radish.

—Splaash!

“Gyaaahhh! P-please spare me! Please!”

The warrior—no, the "radish"—who had been yanked up by the head, fell to the ground and begged for his life. But Orange, who had burrowed into the soil, bit the warrior’s ankle and pulled him right back underground.

I already knew Orange could soften soil, but what was surprising was how he pulled someone down into the softened earth and then hardened it again afterward—turning the captured man back into a freshly planted radish.

“Mmph! Mmph mph!”

“Wow, that’s impressive.”

I never imagined there was a way to capture enemies like this.

As I watched in awe, I turned to Jeokwol noona, who was perched on my shoulder, and thought about her ability too.

‘It’s definitely like a sandblaster, right?’

I had a rough idea of what her ability was.

There’s an industrial tool called a sandblaster, also known as a sanding machine, which her ability seemed to resemble.

How it works: high-pressure air mixed with sand is blasted out.

This friction allows it to strip away rust or paint from a surface.

Of course, noona’s ability is a bit different, but while most people use sandblasters to clean things, if you increase the air pressure or use diamond dust instead of sand, it can strip people apart too.

Which is why protective gear is a must when using one.

From what I saw, the wind wasn’t particularly strong earlier—but Jeokwol noona’s butterfly dust clearly had a special trait.

Maybe it was stronger than diamond, or maybe, depending on how she controlled it, she could dissolve surrounding objects.

—Skaaa.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I was fiddling with some of the butterfly dust when I heard Orange’s voice and turned my head. Cheongyu Sojeo, who’d followed me, asked:

『–Shiaa (What should we do with all of them?)』

‘Ah, could you gather them all in one place and plant them together?’

—Shia. (Got it.)

We could just hand them over to the same commander we gave the Blood Cult squad leader to last time.

It’d be a good way to rack up merit, so he’d be pleased.

“Gyaah! P-please spare me!”

As Orange began neatly transplanting the captives like crops in a field, someone nearby wailed.

—Ksss!

I turned toward the noise.

Coming up the path from the base of the mountain was Yo-hwa, walking toward us.

“Oh, Yo-hwa. I guess you missed Hwa-eun?”

—Ksss.

Now that I thought about it, I had sent Yo-hwa ahead earlier—so they must’ve passed each other.

Hwa-eun did say she hadn’t met Yo-hwa.

Yo-hwa was carrying a lunchbox and a basket, probably the ones Hwa-eun had left behind. But behind her, she was dragging something.

“What’s that, Yo-hwa?”

—Ksss.

In response, Yo-hwa lifted it like a fish she’d caught.

It was a woman, wrapped in webbing like a cocoon with only her head sticking out, completely unconscious.

“Huh? A person?”

—Kshi. Kshishi.

Cheongyu Sojeo interpreted Yo-hwa’s words:

『–Shia. (She says it’s the woman who attacked her.)』

‘Another Blood Cult member? Have Orange plant her with the others.’

—Shiaa. (Got it, So-ryong.)

Apparently, the woman had attacked Yo-hwa, so she’d caught her in a fit of rage.

I told them to plant her too, and headed back home.

I was hungry, and Orange could handle things here.

We could leave some snakes behind to guard them.

“Alright, let’s head back. Once Orange is done planting, tell him to release a few snakes around them for protection.”

—Shia. 『Understood.』

Back home, we left Orange and the snakes behind.

As Jeokwol noona inhaled her dust again, the illusion faded, revealing the house.

And from within the vanishing illusion, Seol noona spotted me.

“Oh, So-ryong.”

“Where’s Hwa-eun?”

“She’s bathing. Said she wanted to wash up.”

Apparently, she’d been sweating from stress and needed a bath.

‘Should I cook something in the meantime?’

As I thought about what to do while waiting, I decided to make a meal.

I hadn’t eaten in days and was starving.

I’d lived alone in my past life, so I knew how to cook at least a basic meal.

I made some rice in a pot, grilled the fish «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Hwa-eun had bought, and seasoned a side of greens.

We even had some radish, so I made a beef radish soup with the beef she’d picked up.

“You know how to cook, So-ryong?”

“Yes. I lived alone in Haenam.”

“Really? It smells amazing.”

I was just finishing up when I heard her voice.

“So-ryong? Sis? What are you doing?”

Hwa-eun, freshly bathed and glowing, appeared and stared wide-eyed at us just as we were about to bring the dishes out from the kitchen.

“Oh, I just made a little something to eat.”

“You did? I should’ve done that...”

Hwa-eun looked a bit guilty that I cooked instead of her, but I brought her into the room and we started our meal.

It was a huge hit.

And no wonder—they usually steam rice here in the Central Plains, but I had made it in a pot.

The difference was night and day.

“This is delicious!”

“Yeah. It’s even better than what I make...”

After we finished eating, Hwa-eun asked me,

“So-ryong, why did it take you so long?”

She was probably asking why I took so long in the mental world.

Hearing that, Cheongyu Sojeo chimed in and asked a question of her own.

『–Shiaa. (So-ryong, which venomous beast did you choose?)』

“Choose?”

Hwa-eun tilted her head at Cheongyu Sojeo’s words.

I smiled and answered,

“O-gong.”

A slightly disappointed voice followed.

『–Shia... (I figured... well, it’s not like this was my only chance. Next time, it has to be me, okay?)』

She seemed a bit hurt that I’d picked a centipede instead of a snake.

But honestly, that was the extent of it.

My choice hadn’t been wrong.

That tiny bit of disappointment was nothing.

‘Nice pick. Wait—next time?’

As I let out a sigh of relief, that last line from Cheongyu Sojeo made me pause—but before I could ask, Hwa-eun spoke.

“What’s going on? Can someone please explain in a way I can understand?”

“Well, inside the mental realm...”

I explained to Hwa-eun what had happened inside.

Then she looked to Cheongyu Sojeo and asked,

“So, what happens if you choose O-gong?”

“Oh, right. I want to know that too. I’m an O-dok now, so you can tell us, right?”

I was curious too, so I nodded along with Hwa-eun.

Cheongyu Sojeo tilted her head and replied.

『–Shii. (Huh? You should be able to feel it already.)』

“Feel it?”

『Shia. (Close your eyes and try to sense it.)』

I closed my eyes and focused.

At first, I felt nothing—but as a few moments passed, something large came into focus.

‘Oh, is that Hwang’s energy?’

It was a massive, reddish aura coming from where Hwang was lying in the room.

As I focused harder, I began sensing the presence of Cho and Bini outside the room too.

It felt like I could perceive where they were.

Then, I started sensing faint presences above the ceiling, beneath the floor, and all around me.

They were far smaller than the blazing, sunlike aura of the others—more like tiny candles—but they were definitely there.

And then, they began moving toward me.

Seol noona and Hwa-eun gasped in shock.

“S-So-ryong!”

“So-ryong!”

When I opened my eyes, I saw dozens of ordinary centipedes swarming toward me.

They surrounded me, raising their heads affectionately.

『–Shiaa. (Now, all the centipedes in the world will see So-ryong as their friend.)』

At Cheongyu Sojeo’s words, I couldn’t help but let out a scream.

“Gyaaaaaaaaah!?”

To a venomous creature maniac like me, could there be any greater gift in the world?