At my request, Bini tilted her head and asked,

-Tsrrut? 『Daddy, you want to dig here?』

"Yeah. I think there might be some kind of tunnel underneath. Could you check it out for me?"

-Tsrrr. 『Okay, Daddy.』

"Be careful though, it's hot around here, okay?"

-Tsrrut! 『Okay!』

When I explained why we needed to dig, Bini responded brightly.

Just as she finished answering and was about to dig into the ground, Orange jumped in front of her, blocking her.

-Ska!

-Tsrrut?

Why make Bini do it when he was right there?

The look in his eyes said, "Leave it to me."

He tapped his chest with his tail while glancing at Yeondu, as if trying to look cool in front of her. I nodded.

Of course, a fellow man should help out.

And thinking about it, Bini specialized in rocky terrain, so for digging through this kind of soft ground, Orange was actually better suited.

After all, Orange was a Ji-yeong Snake who could swim underground.

In this kind of soft soil, Orange was definitely better than Bini for searching.

"So you’re taking over so Bini doesn’t get covered in dirt?"

-Skat!

"Orange, you’re such a thoughtful and cool guy."

-S, Skat.

Picking words that wouldn’t upset Bini, I praised him loud enough for Yeondu to hear. Orange, looking embarrassed, twisted his body awkwardly and thumped me with his tail.

Feeling shy, he suddenly leaped up and started digging near the charred, red-glowing remains of a bonfire.

-Kwadeuduk.

As he dug, the ground around him rippled like water and sucked his entire body down without leaving a trace.

Just as I was staring at the hole Orange disappeared into, a voice asked,

"Is there something underground?"

"Is there something down there?"

Come to think of it, I hadn't given a clear answer yet, so I smiled and replied,

"Yes. I think there’s an extraordinary beauty down there who could entrance all the male millipedes."

"A beauty?"

"A beauty?"

"A beauty? There?"

Everyone’s eyes widened at the word "beauty."

At the curious questions from Hwa-eun, Sister Seol, and Ji-ryong, I nodded and continued,

"Yes. You remember how I said that when millipedes mature, the females release a scent to lure males?"

"That's right."

"Yes, you said so, So-ryong."

"The village chief mentioned that everything around here had turned black and dead, right? That means there were millipedes here too. The surroundings turned black because the millipedes consumed the decaying leaves and such. If that’s the case, it means there were females luring males here. But if it was just ordinary females, they wouldn’t have been able to lure males from such a distance away. While the scent travels far, it’s  usually not strong enough to move the males all at once. Which means... there must be a special one, strong enough to lure males even from a distance. Thus, the conclusion is — a tremendous beauty capable of bewitching all the males must be here."

"Ahh..."

"Hearing it that way, it does seem plausible."

Exactly.

If this place had gone black, there must have been millipedes here.

It might have been multiple females using pheromones, but it felt much more likely that it was a single extraordinary individual.

Maybe like the Hwa-eun of the millipede world, one of the Three Blossoms of Murim?

‘I’m excited. It must be a spiritual beast, right?’

Just thinking about it made my heart race with excitement.

I was dying to see what kind of beauty it would be.

It felt like I was about to meet someone on a blind date.

Like exchanging messages after being introduced by a friend and getting excited about what kind of person you’d meet.

‘What will she look like? How big will she be?’

It was then.

Everyone was watching the trembling ground with anticipation when suddenly one part of the earth bulged up and Orange shot out.

-S, Skat!

"Oh! You found it!?"

He must have found something if he came bursting out.

Excited, I ran toward Orange, but after just a few steps, I felt something strange.

Orange started rolling on the ground as soon as he popped out.

-Skaaa!

It sounded like he was crying out in pain.

Something was definitely wrong.

I rushed over to check on him but had to stop before I got too close.

There was a stench coming off of him — a horrible, overwhelming stench coming from the hole he had emerged from.

‘Crap! Of course, if it’s a millipede’s burrow, it could stink!’

It hit me that millipede tunnels could have a terrible odor.

I immediately shouted toward the kids.

"Did you guys see a stream or something nearby when we came here!?"

I quickly asked if they had seen any water sources on the way.

Then Cho, flying above my head, pointed toward one side.

-Tsrrrut! 『Daddy, over there!』

I shouted urgently at Orange, who was writhing on the ground.

"Orange! Hang in there and head this way! Everyone! Stay alert near the hole — something might pop out! Everyone else, be careful too! Cho, guide me!"

-Tsrrr!

Something might crawl out, although it didn’t seem likely since the millipedes appeared to have vanished. Still, it was better to stay on guard.

Taking care of the injured Orange came first.

Following Cho’s guidance, I quickly picked up Orange and rushed toward the water.

Luckily, a stream was not far away.

The moment he saw it, Orange dove into the water like mad.

-Splash.

Thrashing in the stream, Orange struggled desperately.

I jumped in after him and hurriedly wiped his eyes and nose with my sleeve.

"Orange, are you okay? Look at your eyes — are they okay?"

-Ska.

The millipede stench was infamous for clinging stubbornly to the skin, and at first, it didn’t wash off easily. But maybe because of Orange’s smooth snake scales, when I tore up some grass and scrubbed him, the smell faded faster than I expected.

After a while, the smell was completely gone, and Orange calmed down.

However, he looked utterly drained, like the whole ordeal had completely exhausted him.

Seeing his limp posture, I asked worriedly,

"Are you hurt somewhere?"

Millipedes could be poisonous too — if something underground had poisoned him, it could be serious.

I asked if anything else hurt, but Orange just drooped his head in a dispirited way.

-S, Ska...

His body trembled as if he were about to cry.

Seeing that, I immediately understood.

He had suffered a wound — a wound to a man’s pride.

‘So that’s it. He hurt his male pride...’

He had wanted to look cool in front of Yeondu, and yet ended up embarrassing himself instead.

How mortifying must that have been?

I quietly patted his back without saying a word.

It was then that I heard a soft sound nearby.

-Shaa?

Turning my head along with Orange, we saw Yeondu peeking at us from the bank above.

-Ska!?

Orange panicked at the sight.

Even if I was a bit slow at noticing some things, when it came to picking up on romantic vibes, I was the best.

I quickly scrambled up the bank, brushed past Yeondu, and whispered,

[Yeondu, Orange really likes you and wanted to impress you. He’s totally down because he embarrassed himself. Could you cheer him up a little?]

-Sha, Shaa?

Yeondu looked flustered at my words, but as I walked a little ahead, she slipped down the bank.

I crawled back quietly and peeked from behind the bank.

Yeondu approached Orange and began licking his eyes gently with her tongue.

-Shaya.

Orange blushed furiously.

-S, Skaa...

Their tails floated on the water, brushing shyly against each other, then slowly twined together.

It wasn’t full mating yet, but it definitely felt like a bond had been formed.

‘An unexpected gain, huh?’

Looked like I might get to see baby snakes soon.

***

As I left the two of them to have a good time, I returned to the clearing. The foul stench rising from the hole had somewhat dissipated, and people along with the venomous creatures were alternating checking under the hole.

"So-ryong, you're soaked. Is Orange okay?"

As I approached, Hwa-eun’s worried voice came as she stepped closer to inspect me.

"Yeah, I think it's just the smell that got on me."

"That's a relief. You scared me for a second."

"I should've been more careful. That was my mistake."

"There's no sound coming from inside, and nothing has come out. Bini tried to go in, but she said the smell made it too difficult. What should we do now?"

"Once Orange comes back, we'll ask about the size of the hole. That'll give us a clue about what kind of creature is in there."

It would have been great to track the hole, but the strong smell made it impossible for the other kids to follow the trail.

With that, tracking became a very challenging situation.

As I was drying my clothes, Ji-ryong started a fire again. While the fire flared up and I hung my outer clothes on a branch, Yeondu and Orange returned.

"Orange, are you okay?"

"Orange, are you alright?"

-Ska! Skaat!

He looked like a toy with a dead battery, but now, he was bouncing around with energy as if fully recharged. I found myself thinking, was I like that too when Hwa-eun and I became a pair? I turned to Orange and asked,

"So, Orange, how big is the hole inside?"

-Skaat. Ska.

-Syaa. 『He says it's as thick as his own body.』

From Cho's translation, it seemed the hole's owner was about the size of Orange, the Ji-yeong Snake.

It definitely felt like it was a spiritual beast.

I had never seen a millipede that big before.

But the smell was making the pursuit difficult. This meant I would have to wait for a moment when the creature emerged.

As I pondered, Ji-ryong spoke up.

"So-ryong, it seems like there’s nothing more to learn here. Maybe we should look to Do-ryong. I told Gye-seong to track the Taoist. Perhaps he’ll meet up with a millipede."

It was definitely possible to meet someone who had been sent here while we were withdrawing.

I quickly returned to get the kids onto the boat before the sun set, but the news waiting on the boat wasn't good.

My older brother and sister-in-law had returned by boat, and they told me the Taoist had locked himself in a brothel again.

He was completely obsessed with the courtesans.

"He headed straight to the brothel in the middle of the night. He didn’t go anywhere else. For now, Geom-ryong and Kwon-ryong are keeping an eye on the brothel from the nearby inn."

"It looks like he spends money at the brothel, and when he runs out, he moves on. We’ll have to wait a while."

As Ji-ryong said, the Taoist wouldn’t move until his money ran out. So it seemed we’d have to wait for that.

Just then, I heard a sound from beside me.

-Ska.

Orange had brought a flower from somewhere and was handing it to Yeondu.

‘Looks like he’s really going all in. Orange, you’re really something.’

It felt like the right time.

An idea quickly flashed through my mind.

If he only moved when his money ran out, then why not make his money run out faster?

When a man falls for a woman, like Orange, he'd willingly give everything, including his liver and gallbladder, so I decided to use that.

I smiled at everyone and said,

"If he only moves when his money runs out, then let’s make that happen quickly."

"Money?"

"Money?"

"How, So-ryong?"

"I think I can ask a friend I made recently for help."

"Ah!"

"Ah, I see!"

A few days ago, I had made a friend who was a fellow enthusiast, Eunbi, the head of the Hao-mun Yeong-cheon branch. She was also in charge of the brothel /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ labor union.

If anyone could help with this, it was her.

What if we sent a courtesan who could make the Taoist fall head over heels for her, then robbed him of his money?

Before the sun rose, I boarded a boat to Yeong-cheon and headed straight for the brothel.

Since the brothel was open all night.

"So-ryong, what brings you here at this hour?"

Of course, I could meet Eunbi, but when I arrived before dawn, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"I came to ask for a favor."

"A favor?"

"Actually, I’ve been having some issues at the Shaolin..."

I explained the situation, and she smiled.

"Shall I have them move out tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

-Snap.

With a snap of her fingers, the door opened, and a courtesan entered the room.

I couldn’t see her clearly because Hwa-eun and Sister Seol were blocking my view, but the courtesan looked bold and forward.

Eunbi ordered her,

"Go to the brothel in Goechon and steal the Taoist’s purse."

"Understood, Eunbi."

I sent the courtesan to Goechon’s brothel, and sure enough, that very night, the Taoist began to move outside the brothel.

"The brothel really is a dangerous place."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Kwon-ryong and Geom-ryong were shaking their heads, watching the Taoist leave the village.