Through the cracks of my closed eyes, bright light seeped in.

Judging by its intensity, it felt like it was around noon.

Since I’d fallen asleep at dawn, I’d probably slept for three or four hours, so I decided it was time to get up.

Six to eight hours was enough.

Ah, that was a good sleep.

I wriggled a bit and opened my eyes.

No one around.

Everyone had woken earlier than me, and I was the only one left on the bed.

But the moment I moved, the lingering sweet scent of Hwa-eun’s body rose faintly from the bedding and stirred me.

At once, I flinched—her eyes right before she’d fallen asleep flashed through my mind.

It was the first time I had seen her look at me with that kind of resentment.

I’d been worried about what to do if I faced her after waking up, but... maybe it was a relief?

I fixed my clothes and stepped off the bedding, heading outside.

“Ah, So-ryong.”

“Sister Seol, did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I woke up just a little while ago too.”

As I opened the door, the children were gathered in the yard, chatting about something.

Sister Seol looked like she was about to head out.

Usually, she wore the short skirts and hats of the minority tribes, but now she was dressed like someone from the Central Plains.

Since men from the Central Plains tended to sneak glances at the short skirts worn by minority women, she always wore Central Plains clothing when going out. So, that meant she was preparing to leave.

“Where are you headed?”

“To the magistrate’s office. Gotta tell them to arrest the Blood Cult bastards. Hwa-eun and I are going. Gotta interrogate the ones we caught yesterday too.”

“Ahh.”

So that’s why she was getting ready—she was planning to hand over the Blood Cult guys that Orange had planted yesterday.

As I nodded at her explanation, Sister Seol suddenly leaned in and whispered in my ear.

[So-ryong, your sister set everything up for you, and you just made Hwa-eun sleep? A girl mustered that much courage, and you just— Are you stupid? My little brother’s a fool...]

[No, I mean, there were circumstances...]

[Hwa-eun’s really mad right now.]

So she is, after all?

It looked like Hwa-eun really was furious about what happened last night.

She’d built up the courage, and the situation ended up like that.

Still, I felt seriously wronged.

I’d been looking forward to it too—but it was all because of the kids.

*[I’m not sure how much you overheard, but there were... circumstances. It wasn’t intentional, I swear... Right at the critical moment, the kids barged in... They asked what we were doing on the bed together—what was ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) I supposed to say?

I tried to say Hwa-eun was scared because of the ambush and couldn’t sleep, so I stayed beside her... but then they said if that’s the case, let’s all sleep together, and...

So, we ended up all sleeping in the same bed...]*

[What?]

After hearing the whole story, Sister Seol tried to hold it in but burst out laughing.

Sure, it was a tragedy for us, but to others it probably sounded hilarious.

“Puhahaha! So that’s how it happened?”

“Yes...”

“And here I thought my brother was a world-class fool. A poison-freak idiot who knows nothing but toxic beasts.”

“I’m not a fool...”

And then, right as I was talking with Sister Seol—

“Everyone, time to eat.”

It seemed a late breakfast-slash-lunch had been laid out. As we approached the pavilion, warm dumplings were set out on the table.

“Oh, looks delicious.”

I tried to act cheerful to lighten the mood and draw attention, but Hwa-eun didn’t even glance at me.

Just as Sister Seol had said, she was clearly still angry at me.

Or maybe she was just deeply hurt.

I could’ve said something else to the kids, but my dumb excuse led to this mess.

I could’ve just said, “I’m talking to Mom alone right now, go ahead and sleep first,” or something like that.

Haa... Why didn’t I think of that at the time...

I’m usually quick on my feet—why’d I make such a stupid excuse then?

Cursing my dawn-self, I sat down with everyone in the pavilion.

Hwa-eun began distributing the dumplings.

“Everyone, eat up.”

“Wow, these look great. Thanks, Hwa-eun.”

Even when I spoke, she only looked at Sister Seol.

Without a word from Hwa-eun, the meal began.

The dumplings are warm, but the atmosphere’s ice cold.

“The meat dumplings are so good, Hwa-eun. The filling’s packed, makes them even tastier.”

“Eat lots, unni.”

“I think our little Hwa-eun is ready for marriage now?”

“Unni, come on...”

While Sister Seol, maybe trying to help me or cheer up Hwa-eun, chatted with a bright expression, something struck me as odd.

Huh? Meat dumplings?

What was weird? My dumplings didn’t have any meat in them.

In the Central Plains, even plain steamed flour buns without filling are still called dumplings, and that’s exactly what I had—empty flour dumplings.

When I peeked at the dumplings that Hwa-eun and Sister Seol were eating, they were full of meat.

Yeah, I definitely needed to make things right with Hwa-eun.

She was clearly sending the I’m angry signal loud and clear, so I had to respond.

I thought for a second about how to fix things, then remembered something Grandpa had taught me—and decided to use inner voice transmission.

Until now, I hadn’t had enough internal energy to do it, but I was finally at the level of Three Flowers Converging Stage.

I could launch palm strikes and send inner voice messages now.

Pretending to eat a dumpling, I covered my mouth and sent a voice transmission to Hwa-eun.

I could’ve just spoken to her mentally, but I figured making my first voice transmission to her would have a stronger effect.

[Hwa-eun, can you hear me? This is my first voice transmission.]

She flinched slightly as she chewed her dumpling.

I kept a calm expression and continued, pretending to eat.

*[Sorry about last night, Hwa-eun. I really didn’t mean for it to go that way... I just couldn’t think of anything better to say.

But I understood how you felt. So next time, I’ll make sure the kids are asleep and come find you. So... even if you’re upset or hurt, please don’t stay mad.]*

I glanced at her expression.

Hwa-eun also used her dumpling to cover her face.

Since her face was small, the dumpling actually covered most of it—but I could still see the redness creeping along the edge of her cheek.

Maybe her anger was easing.

As if to confirm my hunch, a moment later she drank some water and quietly swapped the flour-only dumpling in my bowl with one of her meat-filled ones.

Meat truly is love.

It really was. Meat was love.

***

When we arrived at the place where Orange had planted the Blood Cult warriors at dawn, the sight of the warriors neatly embedded in the ground came into view.

They were lined up in perfect rows and columns—extremely tidy.

There were nineteen captured; three were already dead, and the rest were paralyzed with fear.

That was only natural, since Cheongyu’s snakes were right beside them, hissing menacingly as if ready to strike.

—Ssshhk. Ssshhhk.

The snakes, overflowing with venomous energy, seemed to be carrying out Cheongyu’s orders flawlessly.

“Cheongyu, can you calm the snakes down and move them aside for a bit?”

—Ssshaa.

The moment the snakes moved aside, the warriors burst out screaming.

“P-please spare us!”

“Please, we beg you, spare our lives!”

While their cries continued, Hwa-eun’s voice rang out.

“Hmm? This one!?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I followed Hwa-eun’s gaze and saw that a woman—only her head sticking out of the ground—was the last one brought in by Yo-hwa.

It had been hard to see clearly last night, but now her face looked familiar.

She had the exact same face as that woman, Nanhwa, the vice commander of the Bloodshade Unit we captured before.

I had definitely seen her being carted off as a vegetable and heard she was executed—there was no way she could’ve survived.

So then, she must be someone else...

“A twin?”

As I asked if she was a twin, Hwa-eun clung tightly to my side and shouted.

I must have apologized well earlier, because now she was leaning on me.

“So-ryong, I think this woman was the unit commander of the Blood Cult!”

“This woman?”

“Yes, she was leading the other warriors!”

The woman had her eyes closed, but at Hwa-eun’s words, she turned her head slightly.

Feeling convinced by Hwa-eun’s claim that this woman was the unit commander, I turned to the other warriors begging for their lives.

“Is this woman the commander of the Blood Cult unit?”

The warriors clamped their mouths shut.

We had come to find out why they had attacked us, but since none of us were skilled in interrogation, Sister Seol looked slightly concerned.

“Looks like she really is, huh? But how do we make her talk?”

I placed my arms over Sister Seol and Hwa-eun’s shoulders and asked with a mischievous smile.

“Sister Seol, Hwa-eun, do you know which form of torture strikes the most fear into people?”

“Torture that causes fear?”

“Torture that causes fear?”

The two tilted their heads at my question.

They seemed to be pondering what might terrify someone the most, and then they gave their answers.

“I’d say physical mutilation. You can’t undo it.”

“I think starvation. I heard starving is the most painful.”

Their opinions varied, but among the ancient torture methods, one was notorious for striking the deepest fear.

I closed my eyes briefly and summoned my friends from the First Gate that I had practiced with last night.

〈Everyone, come over here for a moment.〉

—Chrrrrrrrr.

At my call, countless centipedes that had been hiding nearby came swarming in, and the sound of their movements filled the air.

The Blood Cult warriors and the woman who seemed to be the commander were now filled with terror.

“Th-this is!?”

“O-O-gong!?”

Just like at dawn, the O-gong swarmed all around me.

Smiling, I asked:

“Pop quiz. Why do you think my friends are here?”

“Umm... to bite them?”

“But So-ryong, O-gong venom is painful, but if they bite too much, the target might die. Not really suited for torture, no?”

Sister Seol and Hwa-eun seemed to think I was going to order the centipedes to bite people—but that wasn’t it.

The most terrifying torture method from ancient times wasn’t that straightforward.

With a smile still on my face, I turned to the Blood Cult dogs and spoke.

“O-gong hates bright places. So they try to stay in darkness whenever possible. Now, what do you think will happen when all these friends are told to go somewhere dark?”

〈Move toward the mouths, noses, and ears, will you?〉

—Chrrrr.

—Scritch. Scritch.

With my command, the centipedes began crawling toward the heads of the captured people.

As they moved in accordance with my words, the Blood Cult warriors’ eyes bulged in horror.

Even Hwa-eun and Sister Seol trembled and clung to me.

It seemed the scene that was about to unfold was just too horrifying.

The human fear of insects is quite intense, after all.

“Hiiiek. So-ryong, this is too much...”

“S-So-ryong... a-are you really going to do it?”

“They endangered Hwa-eun’s life. I cannot forgive that.”

As soon as the centipedes reached the heads of the captives and began climbing onto them, the Blood Cult warriors erupted in screams.

“I-I’ll talk! Yes, she’s the unit commander!”

“Please spare me! Aaaaaagh!”

***

“I—I’m Nanhwa, commander of the Bloodshade Unit of the Blood Cult. Hic... I surrendered to the Five Venoms Sect and received the Dual Yin-Yang Parasites. I was ordered to eliminate Wei Su Long—no, Lord So-ryong—and that’s why I came here. Huuuk... P-please, get this thing off me...”

Sniffling with a centipede stuck in her nostril, Nanhwa spoke between sobs.

Indeed, insect torture was extremely effective.

Just having centipedes crawl onto their faces had been enough to make most of them break and spill their secrets.

Even the ones who resisted gave in the moment a centipede began crawling into their ears or noses.

How many people could withstand that?

Probably no one in the Central Plains but me.

“So why were you trying to kill me?”

“They said you had to be stopped before you mastered the Five Poisons...”

“So it was because of that, after all?”

Last night, Cheongyu Sojeo had told me as much.

When Hwa-eun said the Blood Cult seemed to be after me, Cheongyu Sojeo said it was probably to prevent my mastery of the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art.

『So it’s not Hwa-eun, but me they’re targeting?』

—Ssshh. Yes, So-ryong.

『Why?』

—Ssshhya. (Probably because they believe you’ll gather all five of the venomous creatures as spirit beasts.)

『That’s a reason?』

—Ssshhh. (I told you the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art is considered a failed martial technique, remember?)

『Right.』

—Sssshaaa. (That’s why the Five Poisons Implosion Art was created. That thing that was embedded in my head. It has two functions.

One, to rob someone of reason and force them to obey commands. The other, as you know, is to generate a Neidan. Some people have both effects like I did, but that puts a heavy burden on the body, so usually it’s one or the other.

Ah, remember the creature from the Beast Palace we sent to battle? That one didn’t have a Neidan—because it was only set to obey commands.)

『Ahh... and how’s that related to me?』

—Ssshhyaaa. (Even if you open the Five Gates, spirit or venomous creatures see you as a friend, so they’ll help when asked—but they won’t necessarily go as far as dying for you.

However, if you fill the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art with spirit beasts and open each corresponding gate, you’ll be able to issue commands—through the Implosion Art—that they will carry out, even at the cost of their lives.)

So the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art is like a broadcasting station, and the Five Poisons Implosion Art is the antenna.

If I complete the Five Poisons technique with spirit beasts, I could steal control over the artificial venom beasts made by the Five Venoms Sect. That’s why they’re trying to kill me.

Snakes, scorpions, toads, centipedes, and lizards—that’s the core of venomous creatures in the Central Plains.

That would mean the Five Venoms Sect could no longer create artificial spirit beasts using those five types.

“So it really was just as Cheongyu Sojeo predicted yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“If they find out you’ve mastered the Five Poisons, they might send even more assassins. We should return to the Tang Clan as soon as possible.”

Hwa-eun said it would be best to go back quickly, but I disagreed.

How long were we going to stay on the defensive?

I’d reached a decent level now, and I had companions—like the children, and Sister Jeokwol. It was time to go on the offensive.

After all, offense is the best defense, right?

“No. Let’s strike first.”