– Zzzrrr! Zzzrrrzzrrr!

The same sharp cry rang out again, echoing across the lake, muffled beneath the surface as clouds of silt swirled up from the lakebed.

It sounded panicked, like the creature was trapped under Geumdo’s foot and flailing to escape but couldn’t—so it resorted to screaming.

Judging by the sound, it was definitely the same one from before.

It was the same ultrasonic cry that had burst out when it had first seen Cho and freaked out.

So it didn’t vanish—it just hid in the sand, huh?

The creature had charged toward us, then darted beneath our feet and disappeared. I’d thought it was some ghostly trick, but it must’ve either burrowed into the sand or camouflaged itself by lying flat against it.

“Geumdo, watch your foot, alright?”

I gave Geumdo a firm warning.

There were two reasons for that. First, I didn’t want the creature under his foot getting injured. Second—and just as important—I didn’t want Geumdo getting hurt, either.

As soon as I realized something was pinned under his foot, I started to get an idea of what kind of creature we were dealing with. And if I was right, it probably had a venomous stinger.

“It might have a stinger, so be careful not to hurt it—and don’t let it hurt you either.”

– Brgrrrr.

No wonder we couldn’t find it. But if it’s venomous—hell yeah. Jackpot.

I still couldn’t get a clear look through all the stirred-up sand, but I had a decent idea of what it might be.

I decided to go down and calm it, get a better look, and confirm its identity.

If it was what I thought it was, the color would be important too.

『“Cho, looks like Geumdo’s caught it. Let’s go down.”』

– Chrrrt. Okay, Daddy.

“Geumdo caught something? So-ryong?”

“Yeah, Hwa-eun. Geumdo must’ve stepped on it while walking across the lakebed.”

“Stepped on it? What kind of thing would let itself get stepped on?”

Hwa-eun jumped into the conversation again, her voice full of surprise as she processed the bizarre image. As I sank back under the water, I gave her a brief explanation of what happened.

『“I have a hunch, but I’ll confirm it before I say anything. We’re diving down to check it now.”』

“Alright. Be careful, So-ryong.”

Cho and I dove down to where the sand was still swirling.

The water rippled gently, and sharp grains of sand brushed against my skin—but then, from within that cloud of dust, two glowing blue eyes locked onto us.

– Zzzrrr!

The furious cry rang out, and I glanced at Cho, asking him to translate.

Cho nodded and relayed the message—it was pissed. Very pissed.

『– Chrrt. Chrrrt. (“How dare you collude with a human to oppress a fellow spirit beast! Let me go!” That’s what it said, Daddy.)』

At this rate, with it thrashing like that, the silt would never settle, and we’d never see it clearly.

I needed to get a good look at it, and I also wanted to find out why it had flipped the boats earlier. So I asked Cho to calm it down.

『“Damn, it’s ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) really mad. Cho, tell it to chill out—tell it I’m not a bad guy. If we don’t calm down, we won’t be able to talk this out.”』

For now, the local naval authorities had only issued a warning not to send out boats, but if things kept escalating—like more boats flipping—they might dispatch the navy and start a suppression campaign.

I’d seen that happen during the Ho-ye incident.

– Chrrrt. Chrrt. 『Okay, Daddy. Hey, calm down! My dad’s not a bad guy!』

– Zz-Zzzrr?

– Chrrt. 『Huh? “How can a human be your dad?” Well, my mom said he was.』

– Zzzrrrzzrr!

– Chrrrt? 『“Your mom? But she was human too?”』

– Zzzrr. Zzzrrr!

– Chrrrt. 『Yeah, but the mom I met when I was little said Daddy was my daddy. And Daddy called her Mommy, so that makes her my mom.』

– Zzzrr...

– Chrrrt-chrrrt. 『Your head hurts, so you want to talk to Daddy yourself? Huh, how come you don’t get it? Daddy, the spirit beast says it wants to speak with you directly.』

From the sound of it, Cho had tried to explain our complicated family situation—and predictably, it went over the creature’s head.

Honestly, even humans would have a hard time following that lineage.

Our family tree really is a bit much...

I was just about to start speaking to the creature directly, but my lungs were starting to burn.

I asked Cho to take us back to the surface for a breather.

I could hold my breath pretty long thanks to my training, but "pretty long" still had a limit.

『“Cho, let’s surface for a second. Ask it to wait just a moment.”』

– Chrrrt. (Got it. Just a moment, alright? Daddy needs to go breathe.)

– SPLASH!

“Puhahhh!”

Breaking the surface, I exhaled and greedily sucked in the fresh air.

Then I dove back down.

This time, the dust had finally settled—and there, resting on the bottom of the lake, the creature was clearly visible at last.

Trapped beneath Geumdo’s foot—right between tail and rear—was a massive stingray.

That was its true identity.

It was about three meters across. Its snout was pointed, but the body was gently rounded.

White-bodied, with a scattered pattern like the dark stones strewn across the lakebed. If you didn’t look closely, you’d never notice it was even there.

It reminded me of a color-inverted version of Potamotrygon leopoldi—a high-end freshwater stingray species that fetched a fortune before I died in my past life.

A rare one!

An inverted Leopoldi?

This was an ultra-rare variant.

The standard Leopoldi is black with white spots, and its value depends entirely on the symmetry and vibrancy of its patterns. The more white, the pricier it gets. At one point, the highest-grade individuals sold for over $100,000, though right before I died, the species had become common enough to sell for between a hundred to five hundred thousand won.

I’d even raised a few myself.

Filled with joy, I descended to the lakebed and relayed the creature’s identity to Hwa-eun, who was surely curious by now.

『“Hwa-eun, the spirit beast causing the whirlpools—it’s a Bun.”』

“Bun? Isn’t that... something that lives in the ocean?”

“Bun” is the classical Central Plains word for stingray.

When I told her what it was, she immediately asked if it wasn’t a marine animal. A common misconception.

Even back in my past life, most people thought stingrays lived only in the ocean.

But outside of colder regions and Europe, stingrays exist in freshwater as well.

They’re widely distributed across warmer regions—Africa, North America, Australia, Southeast Asia, and South America.

Freshwater stingrays fall into two broad categories:

One has the more pointed, familiar stingray look (seen in North America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia), and the other—found in South America—features rounder-bodied rays like the Leopoldi, known for their beautiful, ornamental patterns.

In Southeast Asia, the Mekong River is home to a giant stingray over 3 meters long, officially recognized by Guinness World Records.

But this one—this Bun—was like a hybrid of the massive Southeast Asian rays and the ornamentally-patterned South American ones. Something I’d never seen before.

『“Ah, not necessarily. Some stingrays live in freshwater too.”』

“I see. Still, to think it was a Bun... then why did it flip the boats?”

“That’s what I’m about to ask. Give me a moment. Cho, help translate. Hi, I’m So-ryong.”

I told Hwa-eun to hold on and gently descended to the lakebed. The stingray was already looking up at us.

I waved my hand, signaling Cho to interpret for me.

– Chrrrt. 『My dad says he’s happy to meet you. His name’s So-ryong.』

– Zzzrr. Zzzrrr!

The creature let out a sharp cry in response.

– Chrrrt. Chrrrt. 『“Are we in any place to be exchanging pleasantries? So—now that you’ve captured me, what will you do? Tear open my belly and take my Neidan, even without asking?” That’s what it’s saying, Daddy.』

“And here I thought I was being polite...”

It thought we were here to harvest its Neidan. I hadn’t even said anything, but Cho immediately snapped back at it.

– Chrrrt! 『My dad’s not that kind of dad!』

– Zzzrrrrrr!

– Chrrrt! 『And besides—it wasn’t my dad who caught you, it was Geumdo!』

I didn’t catch what the creature shouted back, but judging by Cho’s reaction, it had asked why a “good person” had captured it in the first place.

Seeing Cho so flustered, I asked him to tell Geumdo to let it go.

If my daughter was showing this much trust in me—how could I not respond?

Of course I will.

“Cho, tell Geumdo to release it.”

– Chrrt? 『Really?』

“Of course. I’m a good dad, after all.”

– Chrrrr. 『See? Told you my dad’s nice. Just wait a sec!』

– Zzzrr?

Cho rocketed to the surface, proud and triumphant.

Geumdo gently shifted his foot, and the stingray was freed.

Once released, the creature blinked in surprise and stared at me.

Cho came swimming back, his jaw set with smug pride.

Like: See? Didn’t I tell you my dad’s great?

Isn’t my dad awesome?

Something like that.

I noticed the creature’s tail had a venomous barb—just as I’d suspected.

Stingrays with venomous tails have a modified spine that acts like a jagged saw, which they whip at threats. That saw-like barb causes deep bleeding wounds, and simultaneously injects venom.

The venom itself is a complex of proteins and enzymes that causes intense pain, paralysis, and necrosis. It disrupts cellular processes and destroys tissue.

It’s neurotoxic, hemotoxic, and cytotoxic—all at once.

Even in my past life, there was no antidote for stingray venom.

And this was a spirit beast, which meant it was even more dangerous.

『“Cho, ask if it’s okay to talk above water. Tell it I need to breathe.”』

– Chrrrt. 『My dad says can we talk on the surface? He’s human, so he needs to breathe.』

I gave the creature a warm smile as Cho spoke.

The stingray nodded and took the lead.

Apparently, being released without any strings attached had left a strong impression.

“Puhah!”

Breaking the surface, I took a long, clean breath of fresh air. Geumdo quickly swam over and lifted me onto his back.

Seeing this, the stingray surfaced too—and its eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Geumdo.

– Zzzrrr.

– Brgrrrrr.

– Chrrrt. 『He said “How curious.” I told him Geumdo can be trusted.』

“Aha.”

So that’s what they’d talked about.

I gave Geumdo a few appreciative taps, then turned to the stingray.

“Can I ask—why did you keep flipping people’s boats?”

– Zzzrr. Zzzr. Zzzrrrrr.

It spoke for a while, then flipped its body to show me its underside.

And there it was—what looked like a smiling face on its belly.

Next to its gills, something glinted.

I took a closer look.

A rusty fishing hook.

Cho explained:

– Chrrrt. 『Fishermen kept dumping trash into the lake. That’s how this happened.』

The creature wasn’t native to this lake. It had arrived several years ago, only to be met with constant garbage and discarded nets.

Eventually, it tried to leave—but a hook had lodged in its gills.

So before it left, it decided to teach the humans a lesson by capsizing their boats.

Pretty understandable, honestly. This kind of pollution happens all the time wherever humans live near water.

Trash in its home? No wonder it was pissed.

I nodded sympathetically.

“Yeah, I’d be mad too. Let me take that hook out.”

– Zzzrr?

– Chrrrrrr.

Its eyes widened in surprise at my offer.

Cho shot another proud look at the stingray, as if to say, See? That’s my dad.

The creature flipped again to show me the embedded hook.

I inspected it carefully.

Fishing hooks are designed with barbs—once they’re in, they don’t come out cleanly. Pulling them out forcefully causes worse damage.

In most cases, the best method is to push them all the way through.

The hook had pierced the soft gill flesh. Of course it had a barb.

I warned the creature it might hurt and carefully went to work.

“This’ll hurt a bit. Hang in there.”

– Zzrt.

The moment I pushed the barb through, the stingray flinched.

A small trickle of red blood emerged, but it stopped quickly.

“All done.”

– Zzzrrrrrr.

The stingray bowed its head in thanks.

The moment felt right—so I made the offer.

“Hey, wanna come with us? It’s not just these two—I’ve got other companions too. Spirit beasts living together, helping each other.”

– Zzrt.

But it shook its head.

Grateful, but not coming.

“What? No? Come on—at least think about it. I’m a really decent guy.”

A rare venomous spirit beast—right in front of me—and I had to let it go?

I tried again. Gave it my best pitch.

But the stingray was firm.

– Zzzrr.

– Chrrrt. 『He says no, Daddy.』

What? Is this how it ends?

For the first time in the legendary history of Spicy Fabre... I was about to walk away from a venomous creature.