'How would Shaolin know about me...? No, something feels off.'

At first, I felt pleased at the words that seemed to acknowledge me, but soon tilted my head in doubt.

The idea that I was the right person implied that my fame had even reached Shaolin, which was certainly a point of pride, but the content of the request was strange enough that I immediately felt suspicious.

'A Taoist priest? That’s not exactly my area of expertise, though?'

Saying I was the right person meant they thought I could handle this matter well, but I couldn’t see why I would be suited for something involving Taoist priests.

I had learned that the ultimate goal of all martial artists was to achieve enlightenment through martial arts and become an immortal.

「“But why do we learn martial arts, anyway?”

“Well, you could say it's to attain enlightenment through martial arts and become an immortal.”

“An immortal? Like the ones who appear in dreams, bless babies, and give teachings? Maybe help you find your lost axe too?”

“Your axe?”

“Oh, that’s just something I heard.”

“I’m not sure about axes, but yes, something like that.”」

Even Taoist priests were no different in that regard, but I had heard that opinions among them varied somewhat.

There were some who believed they could become immortals without martial arts.

「“So everyone’s going through all this suffering just to become an immortal through martial arts? Isn’t there an easier way?”

“Oh, there is, actually. There are those who try to ascend to immortality without martial arts.”

“Oho, I knew there’d be something!”

“Yes, there are people who cultivate Taoist arts and raise their spiritual power to become immortals.”

“Taoist arts? Like teleportation? Supernatural powers? Stuff like that?”

“Exactly, So-ryong. But those incredible abilities only exist in old stories. I've never actually seen a Taoist priest perform real Taoist magic.”」

'I got all excited thinking there was a shortcut, but ended up disappointed, huh? Smelled like a scam, honestly.'

Taoist priests believed there were two paths to immortality: one was to master martial arts and ascend, like the main sword sects of Huashan, Wudang, Kunlun, and Mount Song.

The other was to cultivate spiritual power without martial arts, like certain non-mainstream Taoists within sects — the kind you might call "hermits."

Of course, there were also Taoist priests who didn’t belong to any sect.

Some lived in Daoist temples, while others lived alone in the mountains, training themselves to become immortals.

So if this was something related to Taoist priests, it would either involve martial arts — especially the sword, which was the main weapon of the Taoist sects — or it would involve Taoist arts, meaning there was a high chance it wasn't my area of expertise.

I knew nothing about swords, and Taoist arts always smelled a bit like trickery to me.

Because of that, I asked my brother with a slightly worried expression.

"Brother, I don’t know what the task is yet, but if it’s about identifying Taoist priests, I don’t think it’s really my specialty.

If it’s Taoist-related, it’s probably about swords or Taoist arts, and I don’t know anything about either..."

'Could it be a polite way of refusing?'

I started to wonder if this was his way of gently rejecting me, but after hearing his reply, I was relieved to realize that wasn’t the case.

"Hmm... I thought the same thing too, but it’s something both the Beggar’s Union and Shaolin specifically requested, so there must be a reason.

Here's a letter from Shaolin. If you take it to the Beggar’s Union and ask for information, they’ll hand it over to you. Will you go now?"

The fact that the Beggar’s Union was willing to hand over their information meant that both they and Shaolin really did think I was the right person for the job.

Brother said that if I was curious, I could go to the Beggar’s Union immediately to get the information, but he had just spent several days climbing Songshan at my request.

How could I possibly ask him to accompany me again right after he returned?

"No, Brother. You just got back after several days. If you go out again so soon, Sister-in-law will definitely glare at me.

Please just take a bath and rest today. I'll go to the Beggar’s Union with Hwa-eun."

"What? Haha. You’re something else. Fine then, I’ll leave the letter here."

"Then please rest well. Ah, and thank you too, Yang Seong-hu."

"Thanks... If it's for something like this, ask me anytime. I’ll take my leave now."

After Brother and Yang Seong-hu left, I tucked the letter Brother had left into my chest pocket.

It looked like I would have to head to the Beggar’s Union after all.

"Guess it’s time to go. I need to find out what this is about.

Oh right. I better put the So-ryong’s Compendium of Venomous Creatures away properly."

Just as I was about to head out, I turned back into the room, just in case.

I caught sight of the So-ryong’s Compendium of Venomous Creatures spread open on the desk and hurried over.

I had to put it away properly.

If I left it out, the little ones might climb on the desk and damage it.

It had already happened once — a tiny paw print had been stamped right onto the cover.

First, I touched the surface of the page I had been writing on.

Since I was using ink, it hadn’t dried completely yet, and if I folded it now, the ink might smudge onto the opposite page.

If it hadn’t dried yet, I would have to slip a sheet of paper between the pages.

"Looks like it’s dry."

It must have dried while I was talking with Brother, so I started folding the So-ryong’s Compendium of Venomous Creatures to put it away on the shelf.

That was when my hand froze.

Between the characters I had written, my eyes caught on an empty space.

A square frame, where an illustration was supposed to go, looked particularly empty today.

'I need to fill in the illustration too...'

There was a reason the illustration spot was still blank.

I was decent at drawing, so I had tried several times on separate sheets, but since I wasn’t a professional, I was never satisfied.

This was the first book I was writing, so both the writing and the illustrations needed to be top-notch.

But with my own drawings, I just couldn’t be happy with it.

Especially because the illustrations were portraits of my daughters.

The best artist in the Central Plains was needed.

If I sketched them poorly and made them look ugly, that was absolutely unacceptable.

'There’s no way I could entrust the portraits of my daughters to just anyone.'

As I closed the So-ryong’s Compendium of Venomous Creatures and headed outside, an idea came to me.

Since I was going to the Beggar’s Union anyway, maybe I could ask them to find a good artist for me.

'Yeah, the Beggar’s Union is great at finding people. If I ask for someone who’s good at drawing, it should work, right?

Me, being efficient and all.'

Was this what they meant by killing two birds with one stone?

Grinning, I turned toward the kids who were rolling around the room and said,

"Kids, Daddy and Mommy are going out for a bit."

-Skrrrt? 『Where are you going, Daddy?』

-Squee? 『Baap?』

The other kids didn’t react much, since they knew they weren’t allowed to tag along during the day.

But Hyang, lifting her head like a rabbit at the mention of going somewhere with Mom, asked.

It looked like she wanted to come with me, but when I answered, the reaction was unexpected.

"Ah, remember that smelly place we went with Mommy last time? We’re going there again."

-Skrreeek!?

Hyang recoiled in horror at the mention of going to the Beggar’s Union’s slum.

Immediately after, she conveyed her awkward feelings.

-Tseureu. “Have a good trip, Daddy. Hya, Hyang wants to just rest today. I think I’m tired.”

The way Hyang spoke, mimicking the expressions of adults, made it sound oddly serious coming from a child.

What kind of kid, who rests every day, needs more rest?

And when did she even learn the word “tired”?

I let out a quiet chuckle and nodded.

“All right. Then you just rest with the girls, Hyang. Oh, do you want to come along, Hongdan?”

–Kkii!?

When even Hongdan shook her head right after Hyang, I figured, Wow, guess the stench of beggar’s den really is something.

With that thought, I headed over to Hwa-eun’s room and knocked on her door.

–Knock knock.

“Hwa-eun, are you inside?”

“Yes, So-ryong. Come in.”

As I opened the door in response to her voice, I was met with the sight of her back.

Unmirang was in the middle of tying up Hwa-eun’s hair.

“What’s the matter?”

But just then, it looked like she was finishing up. Unmirang placed the final hairpiece—a lily-shaped ornament—into Hwa-eun’s hair. At that moment, Sandan, who had been sitting on the table, fluttered up and nestled herself right between the hair accessories.

The moment Hwa-eun turned around—

Seeing her face made my eyes widen.

Unconsciously, my eyes opened wide in awe.

And when I blinked like that, Hwa-eun glanced at Unmirang, and the two shared a knowing smile.

In my daze, I heard Hwa-eun’s soft, smiling voice.

“What is it, So-ryong?”

I forgot entirely that I’d come to ask her out somewhere and just stood there like an idiot, answering blankly.

“Ah, no, it’s just... um... you look even more beautiful today...”

At that, she shyly covered her face and her cheeks flushed red.

Unmirang, standing beside her, looked quite proud.

The reason I thought she looked even more beautiful today, and why Unmirang looked so proud—

Though her outfit was a bit more elegant than usual, it was probably the makeup.

Her lips were redder, her cheeks held a healthy glow.

And her skin—today, it looked even whiter and more translucent.

It seemed she had put on makeup, something she didn’t normally do, and in that moment, I understood why she had scouted Unmirang.

I briefly wondered if they were about to force me into women’s clothing again—but no. Apparently, she hadn’t brought Unmirang on board to doll me up, but rather to enhance her own appearance.

If she could make a guy like me look decent, then imagine what she could do with someone already beautiful like Hwa-eun.

In my past life, it was common to mimic celebrity makeup styles, but in this world, the makeup techniques of the palace maids were probably the best available. The most widely admired.

She must have seen me in drag and thought Unmirang was some kind of prodigy.

“So-ryong, seriously... Unmirang’s right here too... So, why did you come find me? Something you wanted to say?”

Her question brought me back to my senses, and I responded quickly.

“Oh, right. I wanted to ask if you’d like to come with me somewhere...”

“Really?”

When I said I wanted to go somewhere together, her voice lit up with joy. I nodded and explained.

“Yes. My elder brother has returned from Shaolin Temple, and apparently they’ve entrusted me with a task. Shaolin has asked the Beggars’ Union for some information related to it, so I was planning to head there and collect it. Would you like to come?”

Upon hearing my response, Hwa-eun looked down at her dress.

And then let out a quiet sigh.

She had dressed up nicely, and now I was asking her to go out—so she must’ve been feeling pretty good about that... but the destination was the beggars’ den?

Talk about a mood killer.

Dressing up beautifully to go to the beggars’ den?

Of all places, why did it have to be that?

I was wracking my brain trying to figure out how to smooth things over when Hwa-eun asked softly—

“What about the kids, So-ryong?”

“Oh, as soon as they heard we were going to the Beggars’ Union, they all refused...”

“Really!?”

Bipolar disorder is a condition where highs and lows alternate unpredictably. In this case, Hwa-eun’s voice went from gloom to a sudden burst of brightness, as if she were shifting into a manic phase.

She hurried over and grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go, So-ryong. Before the kids change their minds. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come often.”

She seemed genuinely thrilled at the thought of going out with just the two of us, so I smiled and offered a suggestion.

“Then how about we visit a few other places first and save the Beggars’ Union for last? I’ll go into the den alone when we get there.”

When Hwa-eun nodded, her smile bloomed even brighter. I guess she really liked that idea.

Turns out, dating experience does help you read a woman’s heart a little.

No, now that I think about it, there’s no way I’d mess up dating Hwa-eun.

‘Of course. Hwa-eun’s one of the venomous creatures registered under me. No way I’d screw this up.’

After all, venomous creatures are my specialty.

***

It wasn’t anything grand—just some window shopping at the market and buying a simple candied fruit skewer—but it clearly lifted Hwa-eun’s mood.

As she slipped one into my mouth, she asked me:

“So, what exactly is this about, So-ryong?”

“Well... I wasn’t told the details either.”

“That’s odd. Normally, Shaolin takes care of their own business.”

“Apparently, they asked the Beggars’ Union for help with the information, and the Beggars’ Union thought I was the right person for the job.”

“Hm. I see. Well, I suppose we’ll find out once we get there.”

We were sharing the candied fruit skewer one by one, and just as the last piece disappeared into Hwa-eun’s mouth, we arrived under the bridge.

Under the bridge, Elder Punggae was sitting with several beggars, having a conversation. But one by one, the beggars began to scatter, running past us in a hurry.

Things looked busy.

I approached Elder Punggae and gave a respectful bow.

“Elder.”

“Ah, you’ve come? I figured you’d show up about now. Someone, go fetch the documents Shaolin requested.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

One of the beggars disappeared into the makeshift shelters under the bridge, and Elder Punggae sighed heavily.

“I’m running myself into the ground because of you, you know. I haven’t slept in three days!”

“Is everything going smoothly?”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry. We’re going to hit them all at once.”

Sounded like things with the Five Venoms Clan and the Blood Cult were going well.

I ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) nodded and asked again.

“So what exactly is this task you recommended me for?”

“Ah, that’s...”

Just then, several beggars came scrambling back from under the bridge.

They reported to Elder Punggae, cutting off our conversation.

“Young Master, the Haomun side says it’ll take another ten days.”

“Well, it’s a bit of a distance, after all... Ah, hold on. Young Master, I’m too busy to explain in detail. It’s related to millipedes, so I think you’ll handle it well. The guy who went in earlier will bring out the compiled info. Check it when you get a chance.”

When Elder Punggae said that, Hwa-eun looked at me curiously and asked,

“Millipedes?”

Millipedes, huh.

Sounded like it was something to do with those.