Could life be easier if you were smart?
Not necessarily.
You’d think that being able to prepare for everything in advance would make life simpler, but often it’s the simple-minded people—like Gungbong—who go through life with less burden.
They don’t overthink things. They find satisfaction in small joys, forget bad things quickly, and don’t twist people’s words. As a result, their relationships tend to be smooth, sometimes surprisingly so.
Even the Dragon Fangs found Gungbong a bit of a headache, but it wasn’t out of dislike—that much was clear.
I only came to realize it after Soto ended up inhabiting Gungbong’s body.
After spending nearly every hour of the day with him, I found that as long as you fed him, gave him a place to sleep, and played with him when he asked, raising him wasn’t so different from raising my own children.
It was like having one more pet.
In contrast, it’s the smart people who really suffer in this exhausting world.
They think deeply and analyze everything, and that leads to more stress. They look at even the smallest things from countless angles, struggle to make decisions, and get mentally drained trying to consider every detail and every emotion around them.
Sometimes they spiral into endless overthinking, interpreting meaning even in things that were meaningless.
That’s why, in the end, all the advice Ji-ryong gave me felt pointless.
He was simply too clever for his own good. His overthinking had led to conclusions that had no basis in reality.
He’d been convinced that Podarlap Palace would test me—but no such thing had happened.
Not once had they even mentioned verifying whether I was the reincarnated Heavenly Master.
‘So yeah, it’s true—being too smart isn’t always a good thing. That “confirmation” talk? Ji-ryong definitely got ahead of himself.’
Come to think of it, Gungbong’s low intelligence isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even if others get frustrated with him, his own sense of satisfaction with life seems much higher.
As I rushed toward the withered tree with its two hanging fruits, I called out excitedly,
“This is the tree, right!?”
“Yes, Heavenly Master,” Dorje replied.
I stepped past him and approached the tree.
The courtyard-like space was surrounded by a low fence, and although it was roofed, light streamed in through open windows on all sides, making it easy to observe.
Just as Dorje had said, the tree was gaunt and withered, with bare branches and a mottled bark I’d never seen before. The fruits hung from an upper branch.
I stood on tiptoe to get a closer look, and Dorje spoke again.
“So then—what was it you wished to say?”
He seemed to be referring to why I had called for him.
I beamed and replied,
“I was actually going to ask if I could come see this tree.”
“I see. I had planned to show it to you once you were fully rested—but it seems you’ve been eager.”
“Yes! Very much!”
Eager? I’d nearly melted with anticipation.
Dorje had practically saved my soul.
He smiled warmly and said,
“You may go inside the fence and take a closer look.”
“Really? That’s okay?”
“Of course.”
I’d hesitated because the fencing reminded me of Korea’s sacred Injeong Pine, but now I gratefully hopped over it.
The tree stood about 3.5 meters tall—roughly twice the height of an adult man. The fruits hung about three meters up.
As I moved beneath the tree and looked up, Dorje’s voice called out again.
“You may climb it if you’d like.”
“What if I break a branch...”
“It’s fine. Please, go ahead.”
“Gyaah! Thank you!”
Dorje really was a decent human being. I quickly began climbing the tree by grabbing a large branch.
‘Why is this tree so smooth...?’
Climbing, I noticed the strange sensation beneath my hands—unusually smooth bark.
At first I’d thought the mottled pattern was bark, but the tree had no bark at all. It felt like polished wood, peeled clean.
Had the bark fallen off when it died?
It was like climbing a waxed log—difficult to grip.
Still, I eventually reached the fruit.
Grabbing the final branch, I hoisted myself up and found the two fruits fully in view.
Each was about the size of two adult fists. They hung side-by-side, coated in a dull gray rind.
‘Tch. Not from the Blossoming Tree Fruit species, huh?’
I was slightly disappointed.
It didn’t seem like one of the Fruit of the Blossoming Tree.
The Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures doesn’t provide a perfect record of it.
Hwa-eun’s ancestor had only observed it from a distance due to the overwhelming venom. The record only includes a vague sketch and a warning: Beware—emits extreme poison.
From what was passed down, the fruit was supposed to be a deep blackish-red.
But this one was gray. That ruled it out.
Dorje had said the tree was alive, just dormant—and even if dormant, it should retain its natural color.
‘Wait—Hwanji and Hwana were gray and stony when dormant too, weren’t they?’
It was too early to give up.
I examined the fruit more carefully.
The most distinctive thing was where it had grown.
‘That’s unusual... the way it’s attached.’
Normally, fruit grows from the tip of a branch where a flower blooms and is pollinated.
But this one had grown directly from the branch stem.
It reminded me of jabuticaba—a fruit I’d seen while catching snakes in Brazil. Jabuticaba grows black grape-like fruit right out of its trunk.
This one had the same strange feature—embedded into the branch rather than dangling from a tiny stem.
I couldn’t tell what the original bark had looked like, since the tree seemed stripped—but if the bark had matched this gray tone, then the resemblance was uncanny.
‘Can I... cut this open?’
It seemed like I had to. I looked down.
Dorje had silently come closer and was now looking up at me.
When our eyes met, I suddenly felt guilty.
This tree... it seemed to be treated like a sacred object.
Would it be insane to ask if I could cut into it?
This was Tibetan Buddhism. Wouldn’t they think I’d lost my mind?
But I am crazy.
A madman for venomous creatures.
‘Let’s act just a little crazy. I have to know.’
I scratched my head and tried my friendliest expression as I asked,
“Um, would it be alright if I cut into this? It looks like an important tree, so... haha... maybe not?”
But Dorje simply nodded, unbothered.
“Of course. The Dalai Lama said you may take it, as long as you can revive it by any means necessary.”
“WHAAAT!? Really!?”
Honestly, even if this turned out to be the Fruit of the Blossoming Tree, I expected there would be a dispute over ownership.
It was, after all, kept by Podarlap Palace.
Even if I brought it back to life, they might claim it.
But he just said I could take it!?
Ecstatic, I pulled out my dagger from my robes.
I struck the point where the fruit met the tree, aiming to slice just the fruit off.
If something was alive inside, great. If not—well, it was just a lump.
—CLANG!
“Ugh!”
The impact jolted up my arm like I’d struck metal.
‘What the—!?’
I shook my aching hand and looked down, stunned—only to see Dorje smiling.
He grinned and said,
“It’s very hard, isn’t it? Both the fruit and the tree feel like iron.”
“Seriously?”
I raised my dagger again and tried stabbing above where the fruit was attached.
—CLANG!
Another metallic ring.
“What kind of tree is this...?”
The blade didn’t even scratch it.
But I, So-ryong, was not the kind of man to give up.
If once didn’t work—
Then twice, three times, four.
—CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
As I struck repeatedly at the junction, finally—after many hits—a tiny chip flaked off.
And in that moment, my eyes went wide.
The flake had come from the fruit, and beneath it was a gleam of dark, reddish-black.
Small as it was, it was unmistakably blackish-red.
Assuming it wasn’t just blood from my hand, that is.
‘This... this is—!’
It was the signature feature of one of the Twenty-Four Venoms—the Fruit of the Blossoming Tree.
“Gyaaaah!”
The scream escaped me before I realized it.
Dorje, startled, called out.
“What’s wrong!?”
“N-no, it’s nothing!”
I waved it off and focused on the chipped spot.
Definitely blackish-red.
I immediately called out to Hwa-eun in my mind, unable to contain the excitement.
『Hwa-eun! Hwa-eun!』
“Yes, So-ryong. What is it?”
She answered in a slightly worried tone at my frantic call.
But when I told her what I’d found, she instantly brightened.
『Dorje took me to see the withered fruit—and I think it’s the Fruit of the Blossoming Tree from the Twenty-Four Venoms!』
“Really!?”
『Yes! The fruit is like a lump of iron stuck to the tree. I chipped off a piece with my dagger—and underneath, it’s blackish-red!』
“Blackish-red! That definitely raises the chances that it’s the real thing!”
『Right, Hwa-eun!』
But at the end of our exchange, her voice took on a slightly concerned tone.
『That’s great news... but then won’t it be hard to take it from Podarlap Palace?』
『No, Dorje said—by order of the Dalai Lama—that I can take it if I bring it back to life by any means necessary. Isn’t that great?』
“...What?”
She sounded a bit confused by that, and I didn’t understand why—until she asked the next question.
『So-ryong, doesn’t that count ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) as the confirmation process Ji-ryong mentioned? That the trial... is reviving the fruit with your abilities?』
“...Huh.”
A situation I hadn’t considered at all.
