"Cho, are you planning to eat this?"
I asked Cho, who was sprawled out on the grass in a sluggish state after molting. He didn't even have the energy to respond, but the feeling I got from him was a definite no.
Centipedes normally eat their own shed exoskeleton after molting to absorb the calcium, protein, chitosan, and minerals contained within, which helps them regenerate their outer shell.
But since Cho had consumed a small Neidan before molting, it seemed he didn’t need to eat his shed skin.
With all the nutrients he had gained from the Neidan, the exoskeleton was unnecessary.
I had planned to cut off a few legs if he wanted to eat it, but since he didn’t, that worked out even better for me. I spread out Cho's discarded shell.
The exoskeleton had been bunched up like an accordion, but when I stretched it out, its full six-meter length was revealed.
The blue-tinted, glossy, and transparent shell sparkled under the sunlight.
It was big enough that I could probably turn it into a pair of pants, but one thing about it made me frown.
"Damn... this looks amazing. But no matter how many times I see it, this is such an eyesore."
When I spread out Cho's shell, the spots where his two legs had been torn off stood out prominently.
Like missing teeth in an otherwise perfect row, the gaps on either side of his body irritated my sense of aesthetics.
‘I’ll remember you, damn wasp. The next time I see that lunatic woman, I’m definitely going to give her hell. But... I also kind of want that wasp... No, wait, hold on.’
At first, I was just pissed off that the wasp had hurt Cho, but as I kept fuming, I suddenly remembered something.
The golden needles flashing from the heads of Oh Cheong-yu and Maecho-gwi when they fled.
‘Could it be... that the real ones being brainwashed are actually Oh Cheong-yu and Maecho-gwi?’
Oh Cheong-yu had claimed that I was brainwashed, but now I was wondering if she and Maecho-gwi were the ones being controlled.
The Beast Palace’s Explosive Beast Subjugation Technique was supposed to be a method that forcibly stimulated a beast’s instincts to drive it into a frenzy.
But when I thought back to the soldier ant incident, it felt like O-dok-mun had done some kind of additional modifications.
‘The chances of them being brainwashed are high.’
At the end of my thought process, I was convinced that those two had been brainwashed. And if that were the case, wouldn't it be up to the Spicy Fabre to rescue them?
Oh Cheong-yu, being from O-dok-mun, had allied with the Blood Cult, which made her an enemy.
Even if she had been brainwashed, she still needed to be punished for her crimes.
I would eventually hand her over to the Martial Alliance.
But Maecho-gwi, who had been pitifully brainwashed and exploited by O-dok-mun, needed to be freed and brought into my warm embrace.
‘When people do wrong, they need to be punished. But what crime has a venomous creature committed? I have to save Maecho-gwi.’
With my thoughts sorted, I took out a dagger and prepared to cut off Cho’s leg joints.
—Clang.
The blade didn't even leave a scratch.
Thinking about it, even when he was still a Blue-Spotted Centipede, Cho's shell had been impervious to blades. Now that he had evolved into a Flying Centipede, it had to be even tougher.
I wondered if Yo-hwa, another member of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, might be able to cut it.
"Yo-hwa, can you cut this for me?"
—Kish?
Yo-hwa tried to cut the shell as I requested, but thinking about it, spiders aren’t capable of chewing.
A spider’s fangs are technically more like tusks than teeth, and they don’t have upper or lower molars to bite and sever things.
To cut something, upper and lower teeth need to press together, but since Yo-hwa only had her fangs, she couldn't chew through it.
That’s why most spiders hunt by injecting venom through their fangs to paralyze their prey, then regurgitating digestive fluids onto the body, dissolving it, and sucking up the liquefied flesh.
"So how the hell do I cut this?"
Yo-hwa couldn't do it, and while using a sword aura might work, Seon-hwa—the best person for the job—was still bedridden.
As I was contemplating, I wondered if the inside of the shell might be weaker.
I slipped my dagger into the inside of the exoskeleton and carefully pressed into the joint.
—Tchhk.
Like slicing into a perfectly ripe watermelon, a crack formed.
A moment later, one of Cho’s severed legs fell cleanly away.
"Ohh! The inside isn't as tough as the outside!"
The outer shell was hard, but the inside was much softer.
Repeating the process, I quickly removed several legs from Cho’s discarded shell.
Holding a whole bundle of centipede legs in my arms filled me with a strange sense of satisfaction.
‘Is this how a dad feels when he brings home fried chicken after work?’
With my arms full of Cho’s legs, I couldn’t help but think this must be similar to how a father felt bringing food home to his kids on payday.
I quickly turned to Yo-hwa.
"Yo-hwa, watch over Cho for me. I need to go get the other kids."
—Kishi!
Yo-hwa, now in her Hwa-eun form, thumped her chest with her pedipalps as if telling me to trust her.
She looked so cute that I scratched her chin until she made a pleased expression, then headed off to find my grandfather.
By the time I reached his residence—
—Chitter chitter...
—Chirp chirp...
—Crash!
"You damn little rascals! Sit still for one second! If you keep this up, I’m sending you straight back to So-ryong!"
I heard a loud ruckus coming from inside, accompanied by my grandfather Mandok Shingun’s exhausted voice.
‘He’s having a rough time.’
—Chitter!
—Chitter!
From the sound of it, Hyang and Bini hadn’t sat still for even a moment, and Grandfather was struggling to deal with them.
Hwa-eun had also suffered trying to keep them under control.
Now, it seemed Grandfather had become their next victim.
"These little ones came to find me this morning. They must be attached to me. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them."
When I had visited earlier, Grandfather had been so confident about looking after them.
But it had only taken half a day to break him.
It reminded me of how grandparents were always delighted when their grandkids visited, but after an hour, they were already wondering when they would leave.
"Ahem. Grandfather, it’s me, So-ryong."
"Hm? S-So-ryong!? Kids, your dad's here!"
As soon as I announced myself, I heard the most relieved tone I’d ever heard from my grandfather since arriving at the Tang Clan.
I stepped inside and was greeted by absolute chaos.
Broken inkstones. Torn paper.
Scattered flower petals from who-knows-where.
It looked like a house a puppy with separation anxiety had completely trashed.
"Holy hell..."
"Good timing, So-ryong. Just take them with you, please. I’ve never been this drained before, even when I was training my martial arts."
Grandfather was a powerful martial artist, yet Hyang and Bini had completely exhausted him in less than a day.
The centipedes of the Venomous Creature world were basically beagles in disguise.
I glanced around, trying to find the little troublemakers, but they were nowhere to be seen.
As soon as they heard my voice, they must have hidden somewhere.
When I looked around in confusion, Grandfather pointed his thumb toward his back.
"?"
Following his gesture, I focused on his shoulders.
At first glance, there was nothing unusual. But when I looked more carefully, I noticed something barely peeking out—two tiny antennae twitching ever so slightly.
It was Hyang and Bini.
The little rascals must have hidden behind Grandfather’s back the moment I stepped in.
‘Still sulking, huh?’
Suppressing a laugh, I decided to tease them a bit.
"Ahem. Well, what a shame. I brought something similar to a Neidan just like I promised, but where did those two go?"
—Tsrut!?
Startled chittering erupted from behind Grandfather’s back.
And then, in a flash, Hyang launched herself from his shoulder straight into my arms.
She leaped mid-air, landing snugly against my chest like a child jumping into a parent’s embrace.
Once she was settled, her curious little eyes locked onto the centipede legs I was carrying.
Her head tilted.
She had come rushing over, excited at the mention of a Neidan, but now that she was seeing it, it wasn’t quite what she expected.
Chuckling, I gently scratched Hyang’s head and reassured her.
"It may not look like one, but trust me—it’s just as good as a Neidan. Give it a try."
—Tsrut?
At first, she tilted her head in hesitation, but then, cautiously, she brought Cho’s exoskeleton to her mouth.
—Crunch. Crack.
The sound of chewing filled the air, and soon enough, Hyang was eagerly devouring the shed skin.
And that’s when it happened.
From Grandfather’s shoulder came the sound of angry chittering.
—Tsrurur! Tsrut!
Bini peeked out from behind his shoulder, glaring at Hyang furiously.
It seemed Bini was scolding her for rushing over alone.
But Hyang merely cast a sideways glance at Bini—who still hadn’t come over—before turning away and taking another bite.
—Crunch. Crack.
She was clearly saying, “If you’re not coming, I’ll just eat everything myself.”
Bini was the type to act all high and mighty but secretly wait for an invitation, so I turned to him with a warm voice.
"Bini, aren't you coming?"
—Tsut!
Bini sharply turned his head away.
Unlike Hyang, he was still sulking.
Reaching my hand toward Grandfather’s shoulder, I spoke gently.
"Mom and Dad were wrong. We didn’t want to disappoint you. So how about you forgive us now and come eat?"
Bini was still visibly upset, but at my words, he finally reluctantly crawled over to me.
The moment he did, he shoved Hyang aside, and the two immediately began devouring the molted exoskeleton.
—Tsrurur!
—Tsrrt!
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—Crunch, crack.
***
Food worked better than I expected.
After eating everything except for two remaining pieces, Hyang and Bini were now happily licking my face.
—Tsrt.
—Tsrurur.
It seemed their moods had finally completely recovered.
I handed them the last two pieces and said,
"Alright, this is the last of it."
—Tsrrt...
—Tsrrur...
Even though they had already eaten an amount equal to their own body sizes, at the word last, they let out pitiful cries.
I was a bit worried they might be overeating, but since they didn’t seem full, I figured the sacred creature’s exoskeleton might function like a Neidan rather than ordinary food.
"Should we eat some more?"
The moment I asked, their little eyes lit up.
—Tsrrt!?
—Tsrrurt!?
They chirped as if to say, "Really?! There’s more?!"
Nodding, I said,
"There’s still plenty left over there. Want to go with Dad to get more?"
—Tsrrt!
—Tsrrur!
Their excitement was practically radiating off them, and with our peaceful relationship fully restored, I quickly picked up my pace.
The cold war was over, and since there was plenty of Cho’s exoskeleton left, I figured they might even go through a molt themselves if they ate enough of it.
That thought alone made my steps feel lighter.
—Crunch.
The satisfying sound of chewing came from my shoulder as we arrived back at Yo-hwa’s spot.
Pointing toward the pile of shed skin, I grinned.
"See? There’s still a lot left. I’ll cut some for you."
—Thud.
And then...
A small piece of Cho’s exoskeleton fell from my shoulder.
Looking over, I saw Bini frozen in place, staring blankly at it.
"Did you drop it? Let me pick it up before it gets dirty."
Thinking nothing of it, I casually picked up the piece, brushed it off, and was about to hand it back to him.
—Tremble...
Suddenly, my shoulder shook.
I turned to see Bini trembling violently.
"Bini?"
I didn’t understand what was going on.
And then...
A furious voice erupted.
—Tsrurururur!
Bini leapt off my shoulder, landing with a stomp, bouncing up and down in a full-blown tantrum.
How could you?! Unbelievable! This is outrageous!
A flood of emotions surged at me so fast I couldn’t even make sense of them.
Hyang, meanwhile, had already started happily munching on more of Cho’s molted skin.
"What? What’s wrong, Bini? Why are you acting like this?"
I had no idea why he was so upset.
And then...
A familiar voice called out.
"So-ryong Sohyeop."
Turning my head, I saw Seon-hwa, supported by Yang Seong-hu, approaching me.
"Oh, Seon-hwa. Are you alright? Should you even be walking around?"
Since she had been seriously injured, I was worried about her condition.
But instead of answering, her face turned red, and she lowered her head.
She hesitated before speaking.
"I just... I wanted to thank you. I heard you opened this idiot’s eyes..."
"Ah..."
I hadn’t expected her to personally come to express gratitude.
It seemed they were here to thank me for helping them sort out their feelings.
"It was nothing. I just helped him realize what he already felt. I hope you two build a good relationship together."
—Tsrurur! Tsrur!
I answered casually, but Bini suddenly jumped in front of me, chittering angrily.
Furrowing her brows, Seon-hwa watched his bouncing fit and asked,
"Why is that little one so mad? He seems really upset."
"That’s the thing—I have no idea. It all started when I gave him some of Cho’s exoskeleton, but he just started acting like this out of nowhere..."
Since she was a woman, I figured she might have better insight into Bini’s sudden outburst.
I quickly explained what had happened.
Then, a moment later...
A voice whispered into my mind.
[So-ryong Sohyeop... you made a mistake.]
"?"
I blinked.
Before I could ask what she meant, Seon-hwa’s telepathic message continued.
[He thinks you handed him a hand-me-down. It’s like getting stuck with an old, used outfit...]
I stiffened.
[Before I entered Mount Song, I had older sisters, so I always had to wear their old clothes instead of getting new ones. I hated it. I always wanted something new for myself...]
'Oh, shit.'
Hearing her words, realization hit me like a rock.
Cho’s exoskeleton was essentially an old outfit.
And Bini, as we all knew, was a picky, proud tsundere.
He had thought I was giving him something brand-new.
But when he realized it was just his sister’s old shell, he lost it.
Hyang, being the laid-back type, didn’t care.
But Bini?
Bini was absolutely livid.
Raising daughters is way more complicated than I thought!
As if to add fuel to the fire, at that exact moment, Hyang’s molting process began.
Bini's rage shot through the roof.
—Tsrurrr!