-Sii? 『This must be growth, right? It has to be, right?』

"I think so too."

-Siia. 『Will it end tonight? Or will I be able to wake up tomorrow too? It would be amazing if I could wake up tomorrow! No—every night! If I could wake up every night, it would be incredible!』

'Was Cheongyu Sojeo always this excitable?'

Cheongyu Sojeo was extremely hyped.

Before she woke from the Five Venoms Sect’s brainwashing, she had been mysterious, dangerous, and quiet. Even after awakening, though she brightened up, she still had a calm, gentle atmosphere. But now she was practically bursting with energy and excitement.

She spoke rapidly without even giving me a chance to answer.

-Siaa, Sii, Sia. 『I never imagined growth would be like this! I thought it would be like, my poison getting stronger, or my body hardening, or maybe flying around—but to be able to appear even when it's not a full moon! Now I could even get closer to Hwa-eun Sojeo...』

Cheongyu Sojeo kept talking happily, but honestly, I felt a bit disappointed.

It would have been nice if her body had toughened up, or if she had gained the ability to fly, or if her poison had grown stronger.

Especially the poison—since that’s a venomous creature’s foundation—if that had strengthened, it would’ve been perfect.

So, yes, I was a little let down.

Still, if Cheongyu Sojeo was happy, that was the most important kind of growth.

And if she could come out every night, I wouldn’t have to wait half a month every time I needed to ask her something.

Whether it was about martial arts or the Five Venoms Sect, there were plenty of questions, but I had always needed to wait for the next full moon to ask.

I didn’t know what the Golden-Crowned Death Queen herself thought about it, but...

'Well, Cheongyu’s gentle enough that it shouldn’t matter too much.'

-Sii, Sia. 『What should I do today...? I woke up so suddenly, I don't even know what to do. What should I do?』

As Cheongyu Sojeo continued muttering to herself, I splashed some water on my face to wake up properly and sat at the table.

That’s when I noticed a cloth covering something, along with a water jug and cup.

When I lifted the cloth, underneath were cold dumplings.

The corner of the cloth was embroidered with the character for "Silver," meaning Hwa-eun had left them for me.

She must have thought I might get hungry if I woke up during the night.

'How thoughtful.'

Feeling grateful, I drank some water first and then took a bite of one of the dumplings.

Just then, Cheongyu Sojeo's voice, still full of excitement, reached me.

-Sii? 『Ah, I’m ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ getting too excited. What if tonight is the only night? So-ryong, I'll be able to wake up tomorrow too, right? Tonight isn’t the end, right?』

I hurriedly swallowed the dumpling and asked back:

"Do you feel anything? Like a sensation you didn’t feel before?"

-Sii... 『Hmm... I don’t think so.』

As you know, through the original power of the Beast Heart Technique that evolved into the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art, Cho had awakened a passive ability, while Bini had awakened an active skill.

Cho’s body had gained an affinity for water-like movement after a single infusion of energy, while Bini could temporarily enlarge herself whenever infused.

About the size of her real mother.

So if Cheongyu Sojeo had awakened a passive ability like Cho, she would continue to wake up every night.

But if it was an active ability like Bini’s, then she would only wake up again if I infused her with energy anew.

Passive abilities stayed active permanently; active ones needed recharging.

"Judging by Cho’s and Bini’s cases, if you wake up again tomorrow, you’ll probably be able to keep waking up every night. But if tonight is all, it means I’d need to infuse you again for another night."

At my words, Cheongyu Sojeo clasped her hands together and spoke with a desperate expression.

-Siiwu... 『It would be amazing if it was every day...』

Judging from her words and behavior, it seemed she wasn’t very happy living inside Cheongyu.

I asked carefully:

"You’ve been feeling a bit stifled, haven’t you?"

Cheongyu Sojeo nodded firmly, her lips pressed together.

-Siiaa, Sii. 『Always being stuck inside Cheongyu and only seeing the outside... it’s suffocating. And it’s not like Cheongyu always shows me what I want to see. Even if I want to say something, I have to wait. Last time, there were Blood Cult members nearby, but I couldn’t warn you... it was agonizing...』

"Ah..."

Hearing that, it made perfect sense why she’d feel trapped.

Having enemies right before her eyes and not being able to give a warning— It would’ve driven anyone crazy.

'Yeah... that must have been hell.'

Thinking about it, I smiled and spoke warmly.

Even if it was a bit of a burden for me, I could infuse her regularly.

Maybe not every day, but at least every other day before sleeping. Infusing energy only took about half an hour, so it was manageable.

"Even if it turns out you need energy infusion, I’ll try to do it as often as possible so you can come out more."

-Sii? 『R-Really?』

Cheongyu Sojeo’s eyes widened in surprise.

She looked like she couldn’t believe it, but I smiled and nodded.

"Of course. It was frustrating for me too, having to wait half a month just to ask one question. And it would be nice if you could help watch over my martial arts more often—like my master."

At my words, Cheongyu Sojeo grabbed my hand tightly.

It seemed the word "master" made her incredibly happy.

-Siiia! 『Thank you! Thank you, So-hyeop! And, Master! Yes! I’ll be your master from now on!』

***

Two days in a row of meeting Cheongyu Sojeo.

Except for yesterday, it had always been half a month between questions and answers, so time had been precious.

Yesterday I barely got to talk to her because I was busy playing with the kids.

But with two consecutive nights together, we finally had enough time to have proper conversations.

In the middle of our talk, Cheongyu Sojeo shifted the subject to martial arts.

I had intended to avoid that tonight since she was so excited, but she seemed energized by the idea of becoming my master and was eager.

-Sia! 『Then before dawn comes, I’ll help you review your martial arts.』

"Will that be alright?"

-Sii! 『Of course! It’s a master’s duty to guide their disciple’s martial arts.』

"What should I ask her about this time?"

However, despite her enthusiasm, I didn’t really have anything pressing to ask.

I still needed to learn the Scorpion Tail Swift Kick from Grandpa later, and otherwise, there were no immediate technical blocks needing advice.

While I was thinking about what to ask, Cheongyu Sojeo spoke.

-Sii. 『Ah, I should tell you about this. It’s not finished yet, but I’ve been pondering something ever since So-ryong mentioned it last time. Since I’m always stuck inside, I had plenty of time to think about things.』

"You mean something I said?"

'What did I say?'

As I tried to recall, Cheongyu Sojeo explained.

-Siia. 『Yes, about the later three forms of the Venomous Snake Life-Seizing Hand. You said they weren’t working properly.』

"Ah, but didn’t they say you needed a special hidden weapon issued only to the Black Snake Division of the Five Venoms Sect?"

I definitely had said that before.

That the later three forms of the Venomous Snake Life-Seizing Hand weren’t working properly.

It hadn’t felt like a true attack — and it turned out it was originally meant to launch hidden weapons.

But the story had ended with the idea that unless we seized those hidden weapons from the Five Venoms Sect and replicated them at the Tang Clan, it wouldn’t be usable.

When I tilted my head, Cheongyu Sojeo smiled and said:

-Siii. 『I thought of an alternative.』

"An alternative?"

-Sii. 『Just a moment.』

She told me to wait, then walked toward the window.

Cheongyu Sojeo looked outside, scanned the room again, then grabbed a stick leaning in a corner and moved back to the window.

She extended the stick far out the window, and from outside came a faint hissing sound.

-Sheeeek, sheeek.

It seemed she had called some snakes — a few snakes crawled up her arm as she turned to me.

-Sia. 『I’ll show you. Let’s go outside.』

"Alright."

We went out onto the deck, and I checked the snakes Cheongyu Sojeo had summoned.

They were Elaphe rufodorsata — water snakes known for living in groups and being non-venomous.

-Siia. 『I called some Hongmunche-ransa.』

Apparently, in the Central Plains, they called them Hongmunche-ransa.

Once we reached the deck, Cheongyu Sojeo took a ready stance and said:

-Sia! 『Come at me!』

I wondered why she had called the snakes — but now, with snakes wrapped around her arms, she was inviting me to attack.

The realization hit me like a hammer — my eyes flew wide open.

If what I was thinking was right, it was truly amazing.

'No way!? Could it really be!?'

"Here I come!"

Suppressing the pounding in my chest, I quickly made a respectful salute and got into stance.

I dashed toward Cheongyu Sojeo, stepping on Seokcheok Byeokho Movement.

I had to see it with my own eyes.

"Venomous Snake Pounce!"

The first form of the Venomous Snake Life-Seizing Hand — Venomous Snake Pounce.

You shaped your hand like a snake, twisting around the opponent’s defense to strike their chest — the basic technique.

I launched Venomous Snake Pounce toward Cheongyu Sojeo, who deftly twisted her upper body, using the snakes wrapped around her arms to dodge easily.

Then she began to counterattack, flowing into the later three forms.

-Sia! 『Venomous Snake’s Fangs!』

The first of the later three forms: Venomous Snake’s Fangs.

Originally, just brushing the enemy with your fingertips — meaningless if done empty-handed, but deadly if a hidden weapon shot out upon touch.

Cheongyu Sojeo’s pale hand stretched toward my chest.

-Sheeeek! Sheeeek!

The snakes coiled around her arms hissed, and her hand lightly tapped my chest.

At that moment, three water snakes shot out, spinning along her arms toward me.

They spiraled through the air toward my chest.

I could see them coming clearly.

They lightly bit onto my clothes without hurting me — they must have been ordered not to cause harm.

Even though I allowed her to touch my chest with the first form, I was too overwhelmed by excitement to react to the following two.

-Sia! Sii! 『Venomous Snake Soaring! Venomous Snake Twin Fangs!』

In Venomous Snake Soaring, a snake flew toward me from long range, and in Venomous Snake Twin Fangs, two snakes shot out from each hand, curving toward both my shoulders.

If deadly snakes had been used, it would have been fatal.

Shivers ran down my spine!

I had been shivering since the first strike.

Because she was executing the techniques using live snakes instead of hidden weapons.

In one word:

'Gyaaaah!'

Using live snakes like hidden weapons — it fit this Fabre’s martial arts perfectly.

Three snakes clung to my chest, two to my shoulders, and three to my abdomen.

Cheongyu Sojeo must have given them an order, because soon after, the snakes released their grip and slipped over the edge of the deck into the river.

As the snakes disappeared, Cheongyu Sojeo looked at me and asked:

-Siiaa. 『Once So-ryong opens this gate, you’ll be able to command snakes like me. Then it’ll be a martial art only the two of us can use in all the Central Plains. How is it?』

Only one word left my mouth.

"Ma... Master."

Cheongyu Sojeo was truly fit to be the master of this Fabre.

***

-Pii?

-Kkuuuu?

-Tsrrt?

After confirming Cheongyu Sojeo’s incredible martial technique at dawn, the need to open this gate became even more urgent.

As soon as morning broke, I gathered the half-awake kids in front of the bedding.

Hwayang, Seol, Bing, Dong, and Hyang.

All the ones who hadn’t awakened new abilities yet.

I had to open this gate no matter what.

"Alright, everyone. Did you sleep well? Daddy has something important to tell you today."

As I spoke kindly, the half-asleep kids blinked, confused.