“What the hell!? Why is everything the same!?”
At first, I thought I'd failed to enter the mental world.
It was because I had woken up beneath a massive Bodhi tree.
Not just anywhere—inside the sealed temple.
The very place I had entered to access my mental world.
The moment I opened my eyes, everything around me was exactly the same—except Hwa-eun, Sister Seol, and the kids were missing.
“Ah—no, wait. It is different? Damn, that startled me.”
Realizing I was alone, I pushed aside the branches of the Bodhi tree that had been blocking my view. That’s when I finally noticed the difference.
The temple was no longer dilapidated.
The half-collapsed stone wall closest to the tree was now perfectly intact. Turning my head, I noticed the thick vines that once engulfed the area were gone too.
The stone floor showed no signs of erosion, no stray weeds poking through the cracks.
It felt like the stone had only been laid recently or was extremely well maintained.
The temple buildings still held the grandeur they must have had before being destroyed.
Was this perhaps how the temple looked in the past?
Mental landscapes often reflect the places someone has spent the most time or are tied to their identity... and yet I ended up here.
Curious and amazed, like a country bumpkin visiting Seoul for the first time, I wandered through the glorious, restored version of the temple.
“Did Hwanji and Hwana live in this temple for a long time? Whoa, so that building used to be that massive?”
Drawn in by the grandeur, I naturally headed toward the pond—where the broken statue once stood.
It was the place where I first met Hwanji and Hwana.
The scent of nameless flowers blooming on either side of the path tickled my nose, and the majestic air of the temple instilled a strange peace in my heart.
If the temple had felt like a ruined relic before—as if hiding some ancient treasure—then now it exuded a reverent, sacred energy.
Step. Step.
Passing through the temple's paths, I arrived at the arched stone gate leading to the pond.
I stepped inside.
And instantly, everything grew brighter—as though my vision itself had been enhanced.
Clear, translucent water filled the pond, and crimson lotus blossoms blanketed almost its entire surface.
Even outside the mental world, there had been a few lotus flowers in the pond.
But they came in various shades, the water was dark and murky, and the place hadn’t been well kept—it never struck me as beautiful.
Yet now, the sheer radiance of the pond seized my attention.
The once headless deity statue now stood tall, gazing down over the blooming pond in full splendor.
This perfect sculpture had four arms, two legs, and a serpent-like belt coiled around its waist.
In reality, the statue only had two arms—guess it used to have four.
Here, two more sprouted behind its shoulders.
“Oh, so that’s how it was supposed to look. Maybe the other two arms broke off and fell into the pond in real life?”
I stared at the towering Shiva-like statue, mesmerized, and before I knew it, I was standing right in front of it.
Snapping out of it, I looked around—but no sign of Hwanji or Hwana.
“I thought they’d be here... this isn’t it?”
I assumed they’d be in the place we all slept. But the two were nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to turn and look elsewhere—
Snrk. Snicker.
I heard a chuckle behind me.
“Keekeek.”
I turned around.
And there she was.
A woman who definitely hadn’t been there a moment ago now stood in front of the deity.
She wore a sari—traditional Indian attire—dyed in white and red.
Her sharp eyes and faintly curled lips gave her the look most would call fox-like.
But to us reptile maniacs, a furry fox doesn’t quite stir anything.
So, if I were to describe her in my terms—yeah, she looked more serpentine.
She had a sinuous beauty, like a snake, with a smile curled across her lips.
“Hwanji? Hwana?”
I called both names at once, not knowing who she was.
But a thought struck me.
‘Why is there only one?’
Hwanji and Hwana were a two-headed serpent.
I’d assumed they’d resemble the Hindu god Shiva with their duality... yet here stood a single woman.
No second head, no sign of another person.
If there’s only one head... then where’s the other personality—no, the other Sage-Serpent Self (Sagek)?
Wait... don’t tell me? Like Cheong-yu Sojeo, are they two personas in one body?
Just as I was thinking that—
Chaaa-ring.
A bell chimed.
Then from behind the woman—who had her hands pressed in prayer—two more arms rose up.
As her palms unfolded, more women appeared in a line behind her, mimicking the Thousand-Armed Goddess dance.
I’d seen something like it once on YouTube.
Then, in the middle of the dance, the woman moved her head robotically to the side—and a second face popped out.
“HUH!?”
I stared, wide-eyed, in shock.
Both faces now smiled at me and asked in perfect sync:
“Surprised?”
“Surprised?”
And just like that, the woman took a step to her left—revealing another woman standing beside her, identical in every way.
Twin copies of the same woman, smiling at me.
‘Ah... so they do show up as twins.’
Of course—they’re conjoined twins.
Dicephalic parapagus twins occur when identical twins fail to completely separate during embryonic development.
“Uh, yeah. You got me good.”
“Hehe, knew it. Mission complete!”
“Totally worth it.”
It seemed they’d rehearsed the whole Thousand-Armed Goddess routine just to startle me.
The two high-fived each other, clearly pleased.
Unlike in reality—where they were often bickering—they looked incredibly close here.
As I walked up to them, I asked:
“You two seem to be getting along really well here?”
The twins looked at each other and smiled.
“Well, it’s because we have separate bodies here.”
“There’s no reason to fight when we’re not stuck together.”
“Sigh... I just want to live like this forever.”
“So this is what entering someone’s mental world means. We get to borrow So-ryong’s form and have human bodies. If we knew it felt this good, you should’ve done it sooner!”
They looked genuinely thrilled to have split into two.
Honestly, I’d been worried they might start fighting even here. Glad I was wrong.
To be honest, these two have always listened to me well, but I never really felt like they were particularly loyal or affectionate.
It often seemed more like they were only cooperating because Cheong-yu Sojeo told them to.
Last time, when I tried to lie on their massive serpent body, they clearly acted annoyed.
But now, even though I hadn’t completed their full contract, their loyalty seemed to have gone up.
Normally, that kind of increase only comes after final registration.
Maybe it’s because they’re really enjoying this mental world—both of them even came up and linked arms with me.
“I did want to do it sooner, but life’s not that simple. Everything happens in its time...”
They were clearly teasing me about taking so long to bring them here, so I went off on a little philosophical tangent.
I mean, everything in life has its proper order, right? Even cold water has an upper and lower layer.
Even goat poop lines up in rows.
“...Huh?”
“What does that mean?”
“Ah—it’s just one of those things, you know.”
Feeling awkward, I quickly changed the subject—remembering how I once begged Yo-hwa.
“Anyway, you two really know how to use your hands, huh? Yeondu and Orange can’t use theirs at all.”
Their dexterity stood out—totally different from Yeondu and Orange—so I asked out of genuine curiosity.
The twins answered with expressions that said obviously.
“Well, that’s because they’re still kids. Just recently reached adulthood, you could say? But we’ve lived for hundreds of years—we’ve even experienced dream-walking into human dreams before. This is kind of like that.”
“Exactly. It’s similar to dream-walking. Feels like we’re borrowing fragments from So-ryong’s memories.”
“Oh? You two can do dream-walking too?”
Dream-walking—as in, like the way Cheon Pan O-Gong’s mother showed up in my dream back then?
When they said it so casually, like it was no big deal, my curiosity peaked. They both nodded.
“Of course we can.”
“Obviously, So-ryong.”
Tsk. As expected of their size. The bigger they are, the more they can do, huh?
Not that ability is solely tied to size, but still—bigger is better, right?
Thinking I’d just learned something very useful, I grinned.
“Oh, then drop by in my dreams sometime.”
“Shall we?”
“Sure!”
“Got it, So-ryong!”
The best part of dream-walking was that I could see them in their human form even at night—and they could switch back into spirit beast form at will.
Just imagining that made me genuinely excited.
“Anyway, let’s wrap this up and finish your registration.”
Not that a ton of time had passed in the mental world, but still—must’ve been a full day by now.
Just as I suggested we complete the process and leave—
The two clinging to my arms looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
“We’re leaving already?”
“It’s the first time we’ve ever been apart like this.”
Apparently, being in separate bodies was such a treat that the mere idea of leaving made them look genuinely devastated.
“Sorry, but if we stay too long in here, several days could pass outside.”
“So-ryong, can we just stay a little longer?”
“Please, So-ryong.”
“No, if we linger, days will go by. There are people waiting for us out there.”
Even as they pleaded, I flatly refused like a man of stone. So they changed tactics—and broke out the charm.
“You haven’t even explored the temple with us yet, right? Come take a walk with us. You won’t get another chance like this.”
“Yeah! Let’s explore together. We’ll guide you.”
Still clinging to my arms, they coiled their serpent-like charm around their voices, pouting as they begged to stay just a bit longer.
But I, So-ryong, was not so easily swayed.
‘I’m the man once called Iron Bamboo—unyielding, unmoved!’
...But even so, I couldn’t be too cold.
I remembered how that Blood Cult woman had once infiltrated my mind using soul-drawing techniques, and I gently reassured them I’d look into methods to revisit this place.
In fact, Hwa-eun and Sister Seol had already started researching soul-binding techniques together.
“There’s this technique—it’s called Soul-Binding Art, kind of like a spell or martial technique. I think we can use that to enter the mental world again. I’ll look into how it works. But for now, let’s head out, okay?”
“So-ryong~...”
“So-ryong, pleaaase...”
Now they were wrapped around my legs.
“Ah-ah. Still won’t work.”
When my sweet-talking failed to work, I had to put on a stricter tone.
They exchanged glances beneath me—still hanging from my legs—and then looked up at me with sly, dangerous grins.
“Oh right... Didn’t someone say So-ryong likes spirit beasts way more than people?”
“Yeah... someone did say that.”
‘Who the hell’s been running their mouth—but not wrong...’
As I wondered who’d let that slip, the twins whispered their offer like a secret.
“So-ryong... if you stay just a little longer, we’ll grant you a wish.”
“A wish? What wish?”
I blinked with curiosity, genuinely unsure what they were talking about.
The two smiled mischievously.
“You said you wanted to lie on our backs. We’ll let you do it.”
“Yup! No more saying it’s annoying. You can lie on us anytime. Promise.”
They’d always been stingy about that—and now they were offering it freely.
As someone with ironclad resolve, I felt... just slightly swayed.
I was about to say no again, remembering how precious time was—
But then came the real knockout blow.
“Not just our backs...”
“You can lie on our bellies, too.”
“...Bellies?”
“Yes. Our bellies. The scales there are so fine and smooth. You always complained you couldn’t sleep from the heat—our bellies are cool and soft. You’ll sleep like a baby.”
“This isn’t something we offer just anyone. Actually... you’d be the first.”
No one touches the belly of a wild creature.
Whether reptiles, amphibians, insects, or mammals, an animal’s belly is its most vulnerable point—where all the vital organs are.
That’s why, when a dog shows its belly, it’s a sign of absolute submission.
Even Cho, Hyang, and Bini rarely let me touch their bellies—аnd now these two wanted me to lie down on theirs?
That meant complete trust.
It meant I could sleep nestled into the soft belly of two massive serpents.
Who could say no to that!?
Besides, “Iron Bamboo” just means rigid and inflexible... maybe being called a reed wouldn’t be so bad.
That would mean I’m flexible. And wasn’t that what my parents always told me in my past life?
‘You gotta bend with the wind, son.’
So, with a slightly stern face, I gave them my verdict.
“Fine. But we play just a little longer—and then we’re out.”
***
“Uunngh...”
I opened my eyes to the sound of Hwa-eun’s voice.
“So-ryong, are you awake? Why did it take so long this time? It’s been ten days.”
I always asked how much time had passed when I woke up, but this time, she beat me to it.
Ten days.
I guess giving in to Hwanji and Hwana’s “just a bit more” pushed things a little too far.
“Ah... maybe because they’re bigger now. Took longer, I guess.”
I couldn’t exactly say “I was busy getting pampered,” so I gave her a vague excuse.
She helped me up and brought me water.
“Are you feeling okay? Nothing strange with your body?”
“I’m fine, Hwa-eun.”
“Well then, since we’ve stocked up on supplies, if you’re feeling well, we can depart tomorrow.”
“Y-yeah, let’s do that.”
Registration complete.
Now it was time to find out what secrets Podarlap Palace held.
“Wait for me, Podarlap Palace! So-ryong is coming!”
