—"Shia!? 『Y-You want me to wear this!?』"

The next morning, as the villagers brought their offerings, Cheong-yu Sojeo's eyes widened in shock.

They had offered her floral garlands, tropical fruits... and a sari, the traditional attire worn by women in India.

The problem lay with the sari itself.

This one was made entirely of sheer mesh fabric.

A sari, for the uninitiated, consists of a tank top-like blouse, a skirt slit from the foot to the waist on one side, and a long piece of fabric draped over the body. In this case, however, all of it was translucent mesh.

“It seems to be a heartfelt offering. If you refuse, I think the villagers might be saddened.”

—Shiiiii. 『B-But... this is... y-you can see everything through this! Even the stomach is completely exposed!』

“They really want her to wear this?”

“The outfits the women wear around here are already bold, but this one’s next-level.”

“Whoa... you can see right through it. Everything. Literally everything.”

In a Confucian society like the Central Plains, such attire would be utterly unimaginable.

Everyone was stunned—everyone except one woman.

“What? It’s cute. I like it.”

It was Seon-hwa, the swordswoman from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.

She often wore short-sleeved shirts and miniskirts, so she didn’t see what the fuss was about.

Besides, even if it was mesh, it was still just a layer over what you were already wearing—at least to her.

—Shiaa. 『I... I have to fight bad guys. This kind of outfit doesn’t... suit that.』

After thinking long and hard about the villagers’ kindness and what their offering meant, Cheong-yu Sojeo finally decided to decline.

But before she could finish speaking, her head trembled.

It was morning now—the sun was up. Which meant Golden-Crowned Death King Cheong-yu had taken over the body.

And naturally, her decision was the complete opposite of Cheong-yu Sojeo’s.

After all, the Golden-Crowned Death King didn’t comprehend human concepts of modesty.

—Shiiiii. 『I appreciate the gesture, but wearing it myself might be a bit inconvenient. If someone else puts it on, I’ll try mimicking it.』

“Mimic it?”

—Shii. 『Like this.』

Tsrrr...

With the Golden-Crowned Death King’s words, the clothes she wore shimmered.

Like a mirage.

“Oh, right. She’s just mimicking Cheong-yu Sojeo’s look right now.”

It had felt so natural that I’d forgotten—but yes, her current clothes weren’t real either. They were just her copying what Cheong-yu Sojeo had worn in life.

So she wasn’t wearing it in the conventional sense—just imitating it.

And that made me wonder:

Wait. So up until now, she hadn’t actually been wearing anything?

‘Then how on earth is this more embarrassing than not wearing anything at all?’

Still baffled, I addressed the women.

“Cheong-yu says she can’t wear it herself, but if someone else puts it on, she’ll copy the look. Any volunteers?”

“You want one of us to wear that!?”

“Excuse me!?”

“I’ll do it! I want to try it!”

While everyone else was recoiling in horror, Seon-hwa raised her hand with fiery enthusiasm.

After explaining things to the villagers, a few local women helped Seon-hwa dress in the sari. She spun once for effect.

Golden-Crowned Death King Cheong-yu nodded in approval and began to tremble slightly.

Shrrrsshhhh...

With the sound of shifting scales, her illusionary clothes changed into a sari that radiated exotic elegance.

Though Seon-hwa’s sari was bright red, the one worn by the Golden-Crowned Death King was in gold and black—colors Cheong-yu Sojeo had favored in life.

Still mesh, though.

Wow.

After years of seeing the conservative, tightly-bound outfits of the Central Plains, the sight of two women wearing saris was a shock to the senses—in the best way.

Skin really was... nature’s gift to a man’s eyes.

At that moment, Hwa-eun reached out to cover my eyes.

Her voice was soft, flushed, and utterly flustered.

[So-ryong... please don’t look. If you really want to see me in something like that... I’ll... I’ll buy one later.]

[You’ll... buy one?]

[After we’re married. Just once. W-When we’re alone.]

[GYAAAH!]

That shriek—that sacred shriek I only let out when I saw a truly horrifying venomous beast—escaped before I could stop it.

Apparently, I was definitely more into the non-furry kind.

Anyway.

Just as I was reeling from Hwa-eun’s spontaneous cosplay promise and thinking, “Damn, this trip to India really was worth it,” a voice rang in my head.

『—Cha-le (Daddy, when are you coming out?)』

“Ah, you’ve been waiting? I’ll be right there.”

I’d hidden most of the kids in the forest near the village, just in case their appearances startled the locals. Only Cheong-yu Sojeo, Yeondu, and Orange were allowed to stay.

I’d told them we’d do some scouting once the sun came up, and it seemed they were waiting.

“All right. Cheong-yu, you stay here with Orange and Yeondu. I’ll leave a couple people to guard you. We’re going to check out the ruined temple.”

For now, we decided to leave Golden-Crowned Death King Cheong-yu, Orange, and Yeondu behind.

We hadn’t yet confirmed whether the ruined temple was truly linked to the Five Venoms Sect, and even if it was, the actual raid would require a lot more planning.

Also, Cheong-yu Sojeo had been awake last night, so the Death King should probably rest a bit.

—Shii. 『Understood.』

“Orange, take good care of Cheong-yu, all right?”

—Sska. 『Of course. But, Hyung-nim, will you really be okay?』

When I said I was only taking Monk Ja-heo, Ji-ryong, Eunbong, and Seon-hwa with me, Orange sounded concerned.

I thumped his chest and replied,

“It’s just a recon mission. Who knows, we might need to throw ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) down soon, so get your muscles warmed up.”

—Sskaaa. 『Don’t worry, Hyung-nim. Those guys? I’ll flatten them with my usual skills. Heh heh.』

We bantered a bit in front of the cave temple, then headed toward the village edge—where the village chief approached us.

“Where might you be headed?”

Perfect timing. I made my request.

“We’re heading to the sealed temple for a bit. Also... just in case, could you ask around the nearby villages?”

“Ask... what, specifically?”

“See if anyone’s seen any suspicious people. Especially people from the Central Plains. Or, say... locusts.”

“Ah, I understand. I’ll send word to the neighboring villages and have people ask around.”

After parting ways with the village chief, we reached the bamboo forest just outside.

That’s when the kids came running out.

—Tsrrt. 『Daddy!』

—Ksssht!

—Ggggkkk. 『Father!』

“Hey, did anything happen last night?”

As I spoke, Yo-hwa pointed above her head, and Hyang crawled up my leg to explain.

—Tsrrt. 『Nothing major. But there was a cat last night, so Yo-hwa tied it up.』

“A cat?”

I turned toward where Yo-hwa was pointing, puzzled—and that’s when I saw it.

A silk cocoon, tied up high, was slowly sliding down.

Inside the semi-transparent silk was a completely trussed-up...

“A—a Ho!?”

Ji-ryong screamed in astonishment as the cocoon touched down.

Inside it was a tiger, bound like a housecat.

It looked like a Bengal tiger. And Seon-hwa’s eyes lit up.

A furry animal—and the strongest of all felines? Her favorite kind of beast.

“Wait, seriously? It’s a tiger! Did you guys catch this thing!?”

“How the hell did you even manage that?”

In a voice tinged with astonishment, I asked, “How the hell did you catch a tiger?”

Cho came forward and lightly tapped the tiger’s head as she replied calmly:

—Tsrrt. 『We ran into it at night. It was probably just a cub—it got scared real easy. Froze up as soon as it saw us, couldn’t move properly... even peed itself.』

“What?”

Despite Cho’s words, the tiger looked like a full-grown adult. But sure enough, when she tapped its head, it flinched like a spooked puppy.

It had clearly sensed the presence of a spiritual beast and had its spirit thoroughly crushed.

Seon-hwa, delighted by the sight of a tiger acting like a frightened housecat, practically lit up.

“Hey kids, can Auntie keep this one?”

—Tsrurrt. 『Of course, Auntie can have it.』

“They say you can take it, but...”

“Really!?”

“But let’s decide after the scouting trip, okay? We can’t exactly bring it along right now.”

“R-Right. Okay then—guys, tie it up nice and secure, okay?”

—Kissshht.

We left the tiger tied up and headed out.

Not all the children joined us for the recon mission.

Only Cho, Elder Sister Jeokwol, and Changcheon came along this time.

It was just a scouting trip—we couldn’t bring everyone.

Soon after passing through the bamboo grove, we entered a dense subtropical jungle.

The kind you’d only ever seen in movies—towering trees, endless vines—it was all suddenly real.

“This forest is thicker than I thought.”

“Are we on the right track?”

“I’ll go up again and check.”

We’d turned down the villagers’ offer to assign us a guide, and now we were paying the price. Without a clear sense of direction, Cho and I had to fly up multiple times to orient ourselves.

We kept moving, using the rocky mountain visible in the distance as our landmark.

Just when I thought we’d reached the jungle’s edge, something appeared—

A stone pillar, wrapped tightly in vines.

It leaned at an angle, half-collapsed.

“What’s this?”

“This might be the temple. Looks like the entrance.”

I had expected the temple to be further in, nestled inside the rocky mountain—but it seemed the mountain’s base was the temple.

My older brother scanned the area cautiously.

[From here on, we need to be careful.]

[Let’s communicate only through internal voice. I’ll go up again to scout from above.]

[Understood.]

As Cho and I took to the air, I realized I’d been right—this was the temple, and it began right here at the mountain’s base.

The stone pillars and faint outlines of a broken path stretched up toward the crag.

In the distance, choked in vines, lay the silhouette of a massive abandoned structure—clearly the temple, untouched by human hands for over a century.

Thick-rooted vines grew around the mountain like a massive bonsai sculpture. The temple had been carved into the rocky slope, rather than built upon it.

In this jungle climate, it didn’t take long for vegetation to take over. After a hundred years, the place resembled one of those ancient ruins buried in rainforest.

Deeper inside, broken buildings lay scattered. Holes dotted the rock walls.

‘Those caves might be part of the temple too.’

From the entrance all the way to the shattered central halls and the man-made holes in the cliff behind—everything screamed "temple grounds."

It was a massive site, and there was plenty to investigate.

What caught my attention, though, were those holes in the back.

While the surrounding area was thick with tropical vines, the caves were oddly clean—too clean.

In a place this overgrown, those cave mouths should have been just as tangled in vegetation.

I descended and asked Changcheon:

[Changcheon, do you sense anything?]

—Charrk.

—Tsrurr. 『No, Daddy. Nothing.』

‘Hmm. Could it be hiding too deep to sense?’

The caves weren’t that far away. If any giant locusts were inside, Changcheon should’ve felt something.

Yet he felt nothing.

I decided to move in closer—quietly.

And I deployed my surveillance insect, just in case.

“Elder Sister Jeokwol, can you fly up and keep an eye on things? Let us know if you spot anyone.”

—Chii!

Being a butterfly-type spirit creature, Elder Sister Jeokwol could cloak herself even mid-air.

We slowly made our way toward the inner temple grounds.

Crouching behind rocks and vines, we advanced bit by bit.

We moved slowly—too slowly—but it was necessary to avoid being spotted.

It took nearly an hour before we reached the inner temple gates, and that’s when I heard it—

—Chiiii.

Jeokwol descended silently beside me.

She had found something. I asked in a whisper:

[Did you see something?]

—Chii.

Just as Cho was about to interpret her response, Jeokwol spread her wings wide.

Glittering powder scattered like mist, forming a spherical veil around us—rendering us invisible.

And then—two men appeared from around the broken temple wall.

We all froze.

It had been so sudden.

Had it not been for Jeokwol, we’d have been completely exposed.

At this distance, we should have sensed their presence. So how the hell had they gotten this close undetected?

As they passed near us, I heard it—spoken in the Central Plains dialect:

“What should we hunt today?”

“Couple of deer should do.”

They were speaking the language of the Central Plains, but that alone didn’t confirm they were from the Five Venoms Sect.

Still, hidden beneath Jeokwol’s butterfly powder, we watched with tense expressions.

The two men walked right past us, unaware of our presence.

And that’s when I saw it—

On their backs.

Clear as day.

A sigil.

A snake, a scorpion, a toad, a lizard, and a centipede—each biting the tail of the next.

Unmistakable.

The emblem of the Five Venoms Sect.

Cocky bastards. In a foreign land, and they still had the nerve to walk around wearing their insignia.

‘Real bold of you lot. Anyone watching might think you’re just another open and honorable sect of the martial world.’

Unforgivable.