While the little guy trembled like a quaking tree, unable to make a decision, backup arrived.

The kids stepped forward and began trying to persuade him.

If he were human, he would surely have been crying his eyes out by now.

This was the perfect timing to convince him, wasn’t it?

Moreover, the kids were also spirit beasts.

They would be far more effective at persuading him than I ever could.

-Tsururur. 『You’re being deceived. Daddy said that family is something you cherish and love. Abandoning and running away is not something family does.

Daddy, but friends are family too, right? Or are they not?』

"Of course. Friends are half-family, no matter what."

-Shiaa. Shii. 『That’s right. That monk tricked you. I don't know how you two met, but my human friend, when surrounded by enemies, chose to die to save me instead of running away.

That’s what a friend is. Running away and abandoning you? That’s not a friend.』

Bini, not fully understanding what a friend even meant, just assumed it was something like family and said her part,

while Golden-Crowned Snake Queen Cheongyu recounted her experience with her human Cheongyu to convince him.

When similarly surrounded by enemies, her human Cheongyu gave her life to save her.

Looking at how that monk abandoned the millipede, there was no way he could be considered a friend.

No matter how you saw it, that monk wasn’t a friend — he saw the millipede as just another fool to use.

-Kkukkuu. 『You led the millipedes into the human village, causing suffering, while he made money from it.

You were clearly being used for evil.

Just like Father said, become part of our family. We will never betray you.』

After Bing-i finished speaking, the other kids chimed in with affirming cries.

-Biii!

-Shaaa!

-Skaaa!

-Kkii!

They were clearly agreeing that everything said earlier was true.

With all their persuasion and encouragement, the trembling of the millipede’s body finally stopped, and he took on a dazed look.

His antennae drooped like a puppy’s ears, and his body curled in on itself.

It seemed he was finally realizing — or maybe finally accepting — the truth.

He must have sensed something wrong before, seeing the males trampled to death one after another whenever the monk’s strange requests came, but kept denying it to himself until now.

-Tsururur. 『Come with us.』

At that moment, when Bini again invited him to come with us,

the millipede’s antennae suddenly rose sharply, and he let out a sharp cry toward us.

-Kyu, Kyuki! Kyukit...

After that sharp cry, Bini, who had stepped slightly ahead of me, sent a flustered feeling.

Looking around, I noticed the other kids also had their antennae raised stiffly or were making surprised faces.

"Why? What did he say?"

Hyang-i hesitated briefly before translating the cry for me.

-Tsururur. 『You’re humans too, aren’t you! I don't think I can trust humans anymore...』 Daddy, that’s what he said.

"Huh?"

Well, I was human, sure, but the kids were arthropods, insects, and reptiles.

So his reaction didn’t make sense — until one thought struck me.

‘Ah, he can’t see!’

Even though our kids, being spirit beasts, had functional eyes, originally, centipedes are only known to sense light, not to see properly.

Millipedes are the same. Even as a spirit beast, it seemed his sight wasn’t properly developed.

Up to now, he could react as if he were seeing us because he could sense vibrations through the ground and air.

Thinking back, it made sense — the monk had stomped around the village [N O V E L I G H T] shouting nonsense about "Hyangrang Fairy Thousand-League Movement."

He must have been trying to send signals to the millipede buried underground.

Otherwise, there was no reason to stomp like that.

‘But the kids are talking only through cries now, shouldn’t he have noticed they aren’t human?’

Although they were all communicating by sounds, it seemed he hadn’t realized yet — probably too flustered by everything happening so fast.

I decided to approach him and explain that our kids weren’t human.

‘That damn monk! How could he gaslight a blind child!’

My anger boiled at the thought, but I swallowed it down and stepped forward calmly.

"Wait just a second. I’ll come closer. We’re not humans."

-Kyuki?

Hearing my words, the millipede was clearly confused.

As I approached slowly, I could see the grass under the moonlight stained red.

It was surely from the mist he had expelled.

That mist must be loaded with cyanide.

I carefully stepped through the grass, making sure it only touched the soles of my shoes, and extended Hyang-i toward him.

-Tsururur. 『Extend your antennae.』

-Kyut?

At Hyang-i’s gentle request, the millipede cautiously stretched out his antennae, and the moment their antennae touched—his entire body jolted as if struck by lightning.

Though it was just a light touch, their pheromones must have communicated something deep.

-Kyu. Kyukiiiii...

Immediately after, he hurriedly swept his antennae over Hyang-i’s body, reacting in wonder at every touch.

It must have been his first time meeting another spirit beast besides himself.

I too slowly reached out and placed my hand on his head, speaking softly.

"Come with us."

At my touch, the trembling of his body gradually calmed.

He cautiously traced my face with his antennae, and then, after a brief pause, finally nodded.

Since he had decided, it was time for a name.

Still with my hand on his head, I spoke gently.

"Then your name will be Ranghyang."

It came from the old Korean name for millipedes, Hyangrang Fairy, but rearranged to distinguish him.

I wanted to call him Hyangrang, but since it sounded too much like Hyang-i, I swapped the order.

-Kyuki?

He made a questioning cry, but I didn’t even need to hear the meaning to understand.

"Yes, when someone calls your name, you need something to answer to. Ranghyang. That’s your name now."

Hearing my answer, his body began trembling again — this time with overwhelming emotion.

***

The world was made of two things: light and darkness.

That was the entire world for Ranghyang.

Ever since the moment he first realized that 'he' existed in the darkness.

When he crawled up from the damp, cold soil, there was light above, but the harsh brightness stung his antennae, and Ranghyang could only retreat back into the dirt again and again.

A long time after that, he discovered that when the ground grew colder, there was no light above, and so he crawled up to the surface.

There, he found a world above the soil.

The owners of the vibrations he felt underground.

A mysterious world filled with countless small moving lives — that was the world above.

Ranghyang, excited by the new world he had discovered, spent his days underground during daylight and his nights roaming above the soil.

But the joy was short-lived.

As he explored the world, Ranghyang came to realize one painful truth.

All the living things in the world moved together, in groups, but he alone was always by himself.

And whenever he approached, they would flee in fear.

Over time, Ranghyang could not help but feel an overwhelming loneliness.

Everyone was together — except him.

One day, after endlessly repeating the cycle of sleeping and waking in the cold soil, as he slept shallowly underground, he heard something for the first time — not just the earth's tremors, but actual understandable sounds.

"Please, spare me!"

"You were told you only needed to pay the toll! You dare run? Know that you will not leave here alive!"

Drawn by the voices, Ranghyang rose to the surface.

When he appeared, the humans screamed and fled.

-Kyuki?

"W-what is that!?"

"H-h-heeeek! M-monster!"

But not all had fled. One remained behind.

"I fled from the bandits only to meet a monster. Now I'm truly doomed. Ugh."

-Kyukii?

Ranghyang tried to tell him that it was a misunderstanding, that he meant no harm.

But it seemed the human couldn't understand him.

As Ranghyang tried to approach, the human shouted,

"D-don’t come closer! Stay back!"

At his cry, Ranghyang stopped and, following the human’s words, retreated and waited a long while.

Then, a cautious voice came.

"Uh? C-could it be... you understand human speech?"

-Kyuki.

"You nodded!?"

By nodding to answer, they managed to communicate a little.

And so, Ranghyang could become friends with the one who claimed to be human.

"Would you like to be my friend?"

-Kyuki?

"A friend is... well, someone who keeps you from feeling lonely..."

-Kyukit!?

"Huh? You agree? Then we’re friends."

Ranghyang didn't fully understand what a friend was, but the idea of not being lonely struck him so deeply that he could only nod in shock.

That deep-rooted loneliness.

The promise to ease it was irresistible.

At first, just as the human said, he was no longer lonely.

The human talked to him and accompanied him on his walks.

But once Ranghyang grew bigger and other creatures similar to him gathered around, the friend started asking strange favors, requests that grew harder and harder to understand, and eventually, the visits became rare.

And today.

When that friend fled, abandoning him —

Ranghyang realized everything he had been asked to do was wrong.

No, he had known deep down, but had tried to deny it for the sake of the small warmth he had been given.

The moment he accepted it all, in the depths of despair,

the warm, comforting voice he had longed for finally reached him.

"We never abandon our friends. Would you like to be our friend? Or better yet, become our family?"

-Kyu... Ki?

He didn’t know what 'family' meant, but it felt even warmer than 'friend.'

Still, he couldn’t answer right away.

How could he be sure they were any different from the one who had just abandoned him?

-Kyukit! Kyu...

That was why he cried out —

You're humans too! I don't think I can trust humans anymore...

He had no choice but to say it.

If the same thing happened again, he would truly break.

But even after those words, he approached.

And he showed Ranghyang that there were others in the world like him.

Creatures with hard shells and antennae, just like him.

When Ranghyang realized he was not alone, that there were others like him in the world —

something touched his forehead.

Even after becoming friends, the one who called himself Taeheo had never touched him.

But this one placed his hand on Ranghyang’s head.

At that touch, Ranghyang’s body trembled as if struck by lightning.

The warmth he had been searching for all this time was there.

It was not the harsh burning light of the sky, but a warm, gentle heat that seeped into him through his head.

And then, just as warm as the touch, a gentle voice followed.

"Then let’s name you Ranghyang."

Thus, Ranghyang — born in darkness, tormented by loneliness — finally found warmth.

The light was rising in the sky again, but it no longer felt harsh.

Because that hand was gently covering his antennae.

***

Dragging the monk that Cho had captured, we immediately headed up Mount Song.

Honestly, I would have liked to beat him to death right there, but killing on Mount Song was forbidden, and besides, Shaolin had asked for him alive.

"Thinking about what he did to a blind child makes me want to beat him senseless."

As I looked down at the bastard foaming at the mouth, speaking with a face that said my fists were itching, Kwon-ryong hyung smiled gently and said,

"No need to feel so regretful."

"Why not?"

I tilted my head at his words.

And the answer came.

"Normally, when someone commits crimes related to Shaolin, they are imprisoned in the Chamber of Repentance. Spend a few years there, and they'll convert to Buddhism without fail. And this bastard — a guy who loved women so much — becoming a monk would be a punishment worse than death, wouldn’t it?"

‘Wait, forced castration too? Maybe that's actually a fitting punishment.’

As I thought that it suited him perfectly, off in the distance, the first gate of Shaolin, the Iljumun, came into view.