‘Wait—hold on.’
I was just getting excited, but it felt a little too early to be disappointed.
They said the passage had collapsed, but among our group, we had a spirit beast capable of digging through collapsed tunnels.
Our adorable youngest daughter—Bini.
If it was Bini, who could crush even termite towers with ease, it seemed possible she could smash through the fallen rocks and open a path for Senior Yeoncheon to go inside.
Sure, for dirt or small stones, Orange would be the choice—but when it came to solid rock? That was Bini’s domain.
“Senior, I think it might be possible to break through the blocked passage. May I try it? Or would that be considered desecrating the tomb?”
I quickly asked Senior Yeoncheon if it was alright, and he tilted his head and asked back.
[You’re saying you can open the blocked passage?]
“Yes, of course. Bini!”
I called out to Bini immediately, and she scurried over from where she had been lying nearby.
Resting her chin on my shoulder, Bini asked why I had called her.
— Chrrrp. 『Why, Dad? You called Bini?』
I patted her head and explained the situation.
“They say the passage inside has collapsed. I thought maybe you could dig through so Uncle Yeoncheon can get inside.”
As Yeoncheon pointed to the opening he had come out from, Bini nodded and replied.
— Chrrr. 『Got it, Dad. Bini will try.』
Bini clattered her fangs, clearly confident that she could handle it anytime. Understanding her intent, Senior Yeoncheon nodded.
[Ah, so that’s what you meant. You don’t need to worry about damaging the tomb. If we take Hwamu-jin’s legacy, the tomb will collapse anyway.]
“What? Collapse? Then shouldn’t we not dig through? What if it collapses while she’s digging? Or... wait, maybe the tunnel didn’t just collapse—it’s already completely gone?”
I was startled at the mention of collapse.
If it would collapse upon retrieval, then there was the danger it could collapse while digging too. Plus, it had already been three hundred years—maybe it wasn’t just a collapsed passage, but the entire inside had caved in.
I’d heard that entering through the front door required overcoming trap formations, and if the collapse was ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) part of that mechanism, then over time, the formation itself might’ve degraded and caused it to fall apart.
There was no way I’d send Bini into a place that might cave in.
Yeoncheon, sensing my hesitation, answered with a slight chuckle.
[The tomb collapses because of the mechanism, so there’s no need to worry about it crumbling while you dig. From what I heard, it only collapses when the sword is pulled.
And from what I could see through the crack, the interior doesn’t seem entirely collapsed.]
“Oh, well that’s a relief.”
Thinking that was good news, I turned to tell Bini to start digging, but then Yeoncheon added something else.
[But according to Hwamu-jin, the interior of this rocky mountain is made of some incredibly solid type of stone—so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to dig through it that easily.]
“Solid stone, you say?”
[I forget the name of the stone, but Hwamu-jin said it was extremely hard...]
How hard could a stone really be?
Bini had already crushed a termite tower—there was no need to worry.
“Bini can easily break through something like that. Bini, go ahead and start.”
— Chrrr. 『Okay, Dad.』
At my signal, Bini began smashing the area around the hole where Yeoncheon had come out.
— Kwak! Krak!
Chunks of stone crumbled like crackers as the passage widened.
Yes, no matter how hard it was—rocks were nothing but snacks before Bini.
But then—just as Bini had burrowed about halfway through the widened passage—
—Ttak.
—Tch. 『Ow ow... My tooth...』
A different sound rang out, followed by Bini’s sudden cry.
Then came her voice, saying her tooth hurt.
“Wh-what’s wrong, Bini?!”
—Chrrrp. 『My tooth hurts...』
“Your tooth? Why would your tooth hurt? It’s not like our Bini could get a cavity.”
If this were a human child, like Yeong-yeong, cavities from too many sweets might be possible—but Bini was a centipede spirit beast.
I couldn’t understand how her tooth could hurt, and as I hurriedly pulled her halfway-out body from the hole, she emerged with a faintly blue-glowing stone clenched in her mouth.
I quickly took the stone and examined her tooth first.
The tip of one of her fangs was slightly worn down.
Bini’s fangs were sharp and pointed for venom injection—but the very tip had been slightly, ever so slightly, blunted.
Maybe the size of an ant’s tear?
But nothing escapes the eye of a dad who thoroughly checks his kids’ health.
Sure, she’d molt eventually and the fang would sharpen again—but I still shouted in shock.
Because the most important thing for a dad with daughters is dramatic reaction.
“What happened to my daughter’s precious tooth!?”
Bini gently curled her antennae in amusement at my overreaction.
She reassured me, clearly saying not to worry.
—Chrrrp. 『Bini’s okay, Dad. But that rock was really hard. Bini barely chipped off a piece.』
“Really? That hard?”
‘There’s a stone even Bini has trouble with?’
I took the rock from her mouth and looked it over.
It was a blue-colored stone, caked in dirt.
I rubbed it with my sleeve and as the dust fell away, more and more blue shimmered across its surface.
“What is this?”
Just as I tilted my head at the unfamiliar stone, Ji-ryong approached, seemingly recognizing something.
“Young warrior, may I take a look?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. Here.”
I handed him the stone, and Ji-ryong poured water from his gourd flask and washed the stone.
As the dirt washed off and he rubbed it with his sleeve, the dried surface revealed a fully blue hue.
The whole stone had a translucent bluish tint—and when sunlight hit it, it sparkled.
Ji-ryong and the others gasped in astonishment.
“Y-yes! I knew it!”
“It’s Azure Steel Stone!”
“Wait—does that mean the whole interior is made of Azure Steel Stone!?”
“Bini, are there a lot of these stones inside?”
At Hwa-eun’s question, Bini nodded.
—Chrrrp. 『Yeah, Mom. Once I dug in a little, it was all this kind of stone. I’d have to check the rest more carefully.』
Bini’s response made Hwa-eun brighten and exclaim with delight.
“Oh my! Then this entire rocky mountain where the tomb is must be a treasure! I’ll have to tell Grandfather to buy up the surrounding land!”
Hearing her talk about buying up real estate, I couldn’t help but think, Yep, definitely the daughter of a wealthy family.
But I also understood why she’d say that.
Even I had heard of Azure Steel Stone.
Azure Steel Stone—a tough, bluish jade-like rock, as hard as iron. It was often used to make tables for martial artists.
It’s incredibly difficult to shape, but if someone slammed it with their palm during a heated meeting and left a dent—or even cracked it—they’d get instant recognition as a true expert.
I’d heard it could only be shaped or broken using inner energy, and that only through internal force could one leave marks on it. So Bini’s worn tooth made sense now.
After all, Bini didn’t use inner energy.
If chipping off even a small piece strained her tooth, continuing the excavation wasn’t an option.
No way. Can’t have my daughter damaging her precious fangs.
Honestly, part of me wanted to just go home and get that wedding Hwa-eun wanted over with as soon as possible, but seeing how hopeful she looked, I couldn’t just suggest we turn back.
So I asked Senior Yeoncheon again.
“This place seems like a bust. Is there anywhere else we could try digging?”
[There are two more spots, but... they’re just ventilation holes. Even I couldn’t fit through.]
I looked around for other possible entry points and assumed those were the vents. We tried one, dug a bit, but again ran into raw Azure Steel Stone. The other had dirt piled up in front of it.
“Is this one blocked too?”
As I stood before the last opening, I thought—it must be blocked by dirt.
There was just so much of it piled up.
[We might as well go with the Nine-Gate Trial.]
With no alternate routes left, Senior Yeoncheon suggested heading to the front gate.
Even in my mind, it was starting to feel like the time for tricks had passed, and we’d have to go through the proper entrance. So I asked him,
“Senior, is the Nine-Gate Trial difficult?”
I wanted to gauge whether we could handle it ourselves.
On the way here, the Dragon Fangs had told us that a lot of people who tried to explore these tombs ended up dead.
Senior Yeoncheon placed his foot thoughtfully on what looked like a ridge and, after a moment, gave a rough explanation.
[If I recall correctly, the first six gates assess one’s basic qualities. The final three evaluate whether the challenger can inherit Hwamu-jin’s martial arts.
Mu-gyeol wasn’t fond of people getting hurt, so it’s unlikely to be deadly.]
He said it should be safe—but honestly, I had little faith in what martial artists considered “safe.”
What was life-threatening for me was probably “just a scratch” to them.
As I looked up, I could see the giant rock that marked the entrance to the tomb—just as Senior Yeoncheon had described earlier.
It reminded me of something from my past life, when I’d gone to China to collect specimens and ended up climbing Changkong Cliff Road on Mount Hua.
It was said to be the most dangerous path in the world, and I went up just to check it out.
I ended up crying with the others I went with.
They say a man cries three times in life—and I cried twice just on that road.
The first section was a joke—short and with guardrails—so we laughed our way up.
But from the second stage onward, things turned insane.
You had to descend by stepping on iron bars driven into a vertical cliff, and after that came a stretch of boards nailed to chains—some planks there, some missing.
That cliff above us now? It had that same Changkong Cliff Road vibe.
I’d fly up on my centipede, sure, but the others? They were in for a nightmare.
Still, just in case, I approached the last vent-like opening to give it one more look.
—Rustle.
As I stepped over the mound of dirt—
My foot pressed on the edge of a pile, and the dirt crumbled. Larger clumps tumbled down and smacked against the top of my foot.
And then—those dirt clumps didn’t feel normal.
Huh? This is strange...
Inside the dry soil were clumps still moist with damp earth—uniform in size.
Most people would’ve overlooked it, but not me—Spicy Fabre. I knew something was off.
These were small soil pellets, about the size of a chestnut.
I scooped one up and inspected it in my hand just as Hwa-eun approached and asked,
“What are you doing, So-ryong?”
“There’s something weird here.”
“Weird?”
“Weird, Ryong?”
“Yes, this dirt—it’s shaped too perfectly.”
“Dirt clumps? Now that you mention it... it does feel like someone intentionally formed them.”
The dirt was arranged like a funnel around the opening.
The vent was about as wide as my forearm, and when I peeked inside, I could see a cleanly swept, hollow space.
Suddenly, this tomb-robbing venture, which hadn’t interested me at all, ignited a fierce curiosity.
I wasn’t into tomb plundering—honestly, didn’t care. But this tomb... this one needed a thorough investigation.
Because there was only one type of creature that made such uniform pellets of soil.
A creature beloved by all insect lovers.
The very first insect anyone raises.
The cornerstone species of insect keeping—
Ants!
And not just any ants—these were clearly large ones, big enough to form chestnut-sized dirt clumps.
Which meant they’d made their nest inside.
This wasn’t a choice anymore.
This excavation was officially a go.
