While I was screaming with joy, the snowflakes that had been falling one by one began fluttering and swirling in the air.

“Aigoo! You adorable little rascal!”

I ran over and hugged Dong-i tight, rubbing my cheek against his as much as I could.

With the cold snow came the chill of Dong-i’s skin.

It wasn’t warm or cozy, but the pleasant chill and the signature smoothness of the Snow-Ice Stone texture was distinct against my face.

And at the same time, Dong-i let out a dismayed voice.

–Pyuik. Pyu-pyu. 『G-Grandpa, w-wait. You're smothering me, Grandpa... Hnnngh.』

As I rubbed my cheek against him without mercy, he pushed against my face with his front paw, making a tearful expression.

But I couldn’t stop.

Because this... this had to be Dong-i’s ability.

As his body sparkled, snowflakes fluttered and fell from the sky in sync.

I still needed to confirm it, but it was clear—Dong-i’s ability was to make it snow around him.

The power to shift the weather.

It didn’t seem very strong for now, but Dong-i was still a baby.

Just like children grow up, wouldn’t traits and skills grow too?

This light snowfall could someday turn into a snowstorm... or even a blizzard.

Even if now, it was just a soft flutter of snowflakes.

As his grandfather, my heart pounded with such excitement I thought I might faint—or die.

‘Ugh, I feel dizzy.’

Like dopamine bursting through my veins.

Was this what it felt like for a grandfather to discover his grandchild was a prodigy?

Dong-i’s mother and father could only emit cold air and form an ice horn, but this kid—it felt like an AOE.

This was truly the student surpassing the master!

I couldn’t help but be thrilled.

Not only stronger than his parents—come on, in any game, the ultimate dream skill is always an AOE.

My grandkid was seriously the best.

“My precious little Dong-i. How are you this incredible...?”

–Pyu-uu...

When Dong-i gave up resisting and went limp against my cheek under my intense affection assault, Sister Seol’s voice rang out.

“So-ryong, now’s not the time to be celebrating!”

Not the time to be celebrating? What kind of nonsense was that?

If there were a fixed number of moments I could truly enjoy in this life, this—right now—had to be one of them.

Barring the moment I complete the Ten Poisons, and my wedding to Hwa-eun.

No question!

“What do you mean?! Dong-i just awakened an incredible ability! Of course I should celebrate!”

“Look over there!”

I protested with a face that screamed disbelief, but Sister Seol pointed beyond the side of the boat.

All I saw at first was the ship's curtain. I poked my head past it to peek beyond—and everyone at the harbor was just standing there, frozen, staring directly at us.

“Uh...”

It felt like every eye in the world was locked on us.

They probably couldn’t see us or the kids through the curtain, but everyone was definitely looking at our boat.

“Wait, why is this happening?”

“Because it’s only snowing on our boat!”

Ah.

Dong-i’s snow was falling exclusively in the area surrounding our boat.

This hyper-localized snowfall...

Of course that would draw everyone’s attention.

I turned to my sister and shouted urgently.

“Run!”

“Run?”

“Yes, run!!”

I’d been too busy rejoicing with Dong-i in my arms to realize everyone on the ship—including the Dragon Fangs—was standing around with panicked expressions.

I turned to Do Sagong and shouted.

“Do Sagong! Cast off! Prepare to set sail!”

“Y-yes, Lord So-ryong!”

Do Sagong, who’d been staring blankly up at the sky, snapped to his senses and gave the order to the sailors.

“P-prepare to cast off!”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Understood, Do Sagong!”

At his command, the crew began untying the mooring lines. Once all the ropes had been pulled aboard, I called out to Geumdo.

“Geumdo-ya, let’s go!”

The disguise sail unfurled, and with a stomp from Geumdo’s hoof, the ship began to move forward.

‘In a case like this, better to flee first and explain later.’

The official excuse? We didn’t know why it was snowing, and we were just moving away from it.

***

We didn’t flee far.

We just anchored a bit farther out from Yeongcheonbu.

I’d considered running farther, but we still hadn’t finished discussing how to deal with the Five Venoms Sect informants planted in the Hao Clan and Beggars’ Union.

We’d completed the first round of talks, but hadn’t made a move yet due to the government-affiliated individuals involved.

The Five Venoms and the Blood Cult had spread their influence deep into Central Plains—among both martial artists and ordinary civilians, and even into government officials.

Which meant we needed someone who could make a move on the government’s side, since Hao Clan and Beggars’ Union couldn’t.

Martial artists couldn’t openly attack civil officials—because of the principle of Separation of the Bureaucracy and the Martial World.

Fortunately, we had a solution.

Commander of Internal Affairs Meng Cheong-un of the Imperial Guards.

As the son of General Meng and someone I had ties with, he seemed like someone we could work with.

The Imperial Guards not only protected the royal family but also served as an intelligence agency.

That’s why we had planned to bring Meng Cheong-un into this.

I had sent him a message to arrange a meeting, but he’d been delayed due to cleaning up the mess from the last incident.

In any case, here we were—anchored near the riverside just outside Yeongcheonbu.

Fortunately, the snow had stopped after about an hour, limited only to the harbor.

You’re wondering how I knew that even after running away?

Because even though we’d docked a bit away from Yeongcheonbu, we started getting a string of... complaint visits.

“I mean, what were you thinking causing that kind of scene in Yeongcheonbu?!”

“It happened all of a sudden, I swear...”

Commander of Internal Affairs Meng Cheong-un of the Imperial Guards.

Despite being busy, General Meng’s son had come running in a panic, and so had Elder Punggae of the Beggars’ Union and Eunbi Ruju.

Of course—they were information experts. Barely an hour after we docked and they’d already found us.

“I was shocked too. I never imagined it’d snow...”

“I figured it had to be your doing—and I was right. A spirit creature that makes it snow...”

All the key intelligence leaders stationed in the capital, Yeongcheonbu, had come running.

Apparently, rumors were already spreading that something ominous had occurred—snow in early autumn was being taken as a sign of national unrest.

Even in my previous life, rumors of white crows or white deer used to swirl as portents of change in the nation’s fate. Now here, in this era, it had snowed in early autumn...

It was only natural that people would talk.

“I apologize.”

I bowed my head, but Meng Cheong-un still looked deeply troubled.

“We haven’t even finished dealing with the Crown Prince incident, and now this...”

“Crown Prince?”

I flinched at the words and repeated them. Meng Cheong-un nodded.

“Yes. He was insisting it was a fairy. The Crown Prince apparently went around inspecting each and every palace maid. He seems to have given up—for now—but who knows. He’s a persistent one.”

Why couldn’t he just give up already?

As cold sweat formed on my forehead, Elder Punggae quickly stepped in.

“Since it happened at the harbor, we—the Beggars’ Union and Hao Clan—will help suppress the rumors.”

"You're saying you'll control the rumors?"

"Yes. Most of the boatmen, porters, and even the inn servants around the harbor are affiliated with the Hao Clan, and since many of our beggars are stationed there too, it’ll be easy to suppress the talk.

We’ll just spread a rumor that it was dandelion fluff from Pogongyeong floating in the air. That’s the story we’ll go with."

“If you could do that, it’d save me a lot of trouble.”

Commander of Internal Affairs Meng Cheong-un smiled with relief at the proposal from Eunbi Ruju and Elder Punggae.

Since it was my own accident—no, my granddaughter's accident—that they were cleaning up, I was flooded with gratitude.

‘I’ll be sure to repay this someday.’

Just as I made that vow, Elder Punggae caught Meng Cheong-un's pleased expression and ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) quickly added with a smile.

“Well, with that settled. In any case, it’s good we met. I was hoping to speak with you.”

It meant he’d been looking for a chance to meet anyway, and this worked out perfectly.

“You mean me? So it was you who requested the meeting?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But what business would the heroes of the Beggars’ Union and the Hao Clan have with me?”

Meng Cheong-un tilted his head at the comment, clearly confused why they’d wanted to meet him.

Eunbi Ruju took the initiative to explain.

"Young Master So is in possession of a list of Central Plains officials who’ve been corrupted by the Blood Cult and the Five Venoms Sect. The problem is, there are quite a few government officials on that list.

They’re parasites eating away at the heart of the Central Plains. They need to be removed. But due to the martial world’s non-interference with government affairs, we can’t touch them directly. That’s why we need someone to handle the government side.”

“Is that true?!”

Startled, Meng Cheong-un looked around for confirmation—and everyone nodded.

"Yes, Commander."

"You should have told me this sooner."

Naturally, he was interested in the mission. But as we talked, it became clear his approach was different from ours.

We had been planning to eliminate the threats quietly—but he had a different idea.

“Rather than eliminating them outright, we should use them.”

“Use them?”

“You mean use them?”

“Even if we know their base, the exact location isn’t guaranteed. They may have already moved. So we use them to confirm their base of operations and trace their funding sources. If we just wipe them out, we’ll be cutting off ties that could lead back to the Five Venoms Sect and the Hao Clan.”

“That’s certainly true. Hmm. Not a bad idea, but... that would require a lot of surveillance. Can you handle that?”

Rather than just disposing of them, he proposed using them for greater gain.

Though Elder Punggae looked concerned, Meng Cheong-un answered with confidence.

“If you handle the martial world side, we’ll take care of the officials on our own.”

“Then let’s do it that way.”

“Agreed. It’s not a bad plan.”

With the Beggars’ Union and Hao Clan in agreement, the meeting concluded. The matter of dealing with the infiltrators in the Hao Clan was settled, and our business in Yeongcheonbu was complete.

Now, we would wrap up our activities here and return to the Tang Clan.

***

“We plan to depart immediately. It’s been a long time since we left the Tang Clan—we need to return home.”

As soon as the meeting ended, I offered my farewells.

It had already been half a year since I left the Tang Clan. There was no longer any reason to stay—so it was time to go home.

All this had started with helping the princess... and one thing led to another until we ended up here.

‘What kind of endless quest chain is this...’

“Then we’ll keep you informed of any developments via letter.”

“I’ll send letters too, Young Master.”

“Very well.”

“If I need to send anything, I’ll do it through the Beggars’ Union or Hao Clan.”

“Yes, Commander.”

And so, all three promised to use letters for further updates.

Just as we were finishing our goodbyes, Eunbi Ruju, who was walking across the wooden plank to the water’s edge, turned around with a look of realization.

“Young Master.”

“Yes, Eunbi Ruju?”

“Thanks to this incident, I’ve secured a strong position within my faction. I’d like to give you a parting gift.”

“But you already sent a courtesan last time...”

“That wasn’t a gift.”

“It was a huge help to me.”

I tried to refuse, but her next words made it impossible to do so.

“You collect venomous creatures, right? I recently came across some information, and when the snow started falling, it reminded me of it.

As the Hao Clan’s branch master, this kind of information about venomous beasts came naturally to mind, so I couldn’t keep it to myself.

I asked eagerly, face full of expectation.

“Yes? Uh, what kind?”

“They say the summit of Mount Lushan in Jiangxi Province is already frozen over. Like how it snowed out of season, perhaps this ice is also caused by a spirit creature.”

The mountaintop had frozen?

My Spicy Fabre venomous creature radar twitched.

I bowed in deep gratitude.

“Thank you!”

“If you ever start raising birds, be sure to visit Eunbi.”

As I offered my thanks, Elder Punggae of the Beggars’ Union stepped forward, clearly not willing to be outdone.

“Now, what’s this? Giving gifts all by yourself?”

“Then the Beggars’ Union should join in too, Elder.”

“Hrmm. What kind of information would help a young hero like you, who loves venomous creatures...”

“You really don’t have to...”

“Oh, but the Beggars’ Union can’t lose to the Hao Clan.”

He paused in thought, then suddenly lit up.

“Ah! That’s right! Young hero, they say a mysterious whirlpool has been appearing in Lake Dongting in Hunan recently. You should go check it out. Who knows? Maybe there’s a turtle lurking in the water.”

“Oh! Got it! Thank you!”

A whirlpool underwater, huh.

We already had a turtle, but still—there was no telling what else it could be.

The road back to the Tang Clan wouldn’t be boring, that was for sure.