‘These bastards... letting them just die quickly is too light a punishment. I need something harsher. Something that ensures their very souls suffer, even in death.’
In the depths of my fury, I racked my brain over how to punish them.
Death felt like too merciful a sentence.
Sure, brutally killing a spirit beast was a crime worthy of execution on its own—but there was a crime even worse: these scum had interfered with my own Twenty-Four Venoms Collection.
The very fuel that kept me alive in this world was the pursuit of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures and the Twenty-Four Venoms. Interfering with that was an unforgivable, capital-level offense.
‘Even in my past life, whenever I came close to completing a collection, something would always go wrong and ruin it. Damned cursed timing.’
Out of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures of the Central Plains, I’d already collected seven:
Of the three remaining:
I was so close to completion I’d already drawn up a plan.
Once I found the unknown one, I’d retrieve Hoja from the Five Venoms Sect. That would give me nine. Then finally, I’d go after Zimjo to finish the set.
A perfect circular completion.
Since Zimjo was the one that introduced me to the concept of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, wasn’t it fitting that it should be the last?
‘Every true collector knows you start and end with the same card. That’s the rule.’
But the heavens, perhaps thinking ten wasn’t enough, had handed me a side quest—the Twenty-Four Venoms.
The concept is similar to the twelve-hour zodiac of the Central Plains. Just like each hour is matched with an animal, the Tang Clan had designated 24 venomous creatures—not as powerful as the Ten Greats, but still highly dangerous.
They were divided across 24 symbolic "positions":
The ones I’d already secured were:
So that left just six:
And lastly...
Now? Found dead.
To a casual outsider, they might say, “Just find another one.”
But those people don’t know. In collection culture, when you lose something right before it’s yours, it curses the entire effort.
Same thing happened in my past life. Just when I was about to get a rare piece, something would always happen: the pet would suddenly die, or the seller would back out.
And those were the ones I could never replace.
If I somehow managed to complete the Ten Greats and the rest of the Twenty-Four, but this one beetle was missing?
I’d never rest. Not even in death.
How could that not be a capital offense?
‘Obviously.’
Do you know when collectors go the most insane?
When they’re missing just one.
It’s that one that drives you mad. Just one, and it’d be perfect. But it refuses to be found.
It’s like lottery addicts who hit second prize. They become obsessed. One more number and they’d have had it all.
It’s the same kind of madness.
‘God. I already feel like I’m going crazy.’
Just as the swirling fury and grief were reaching their peak—somewhere between twelve executions and spiritual implosion—Geombong and the Commander of the Venom Elimination Unit spoke up beside me.
“So-ryong, do you happen to know the name of this spirit beast?”
“Y-Young Hero, what should we call this one?”
They were probably curious what exactly this creature was.
I took a breath and explained.
“It’s most likely one of the Twenty-Four Venoms. The Exploding Jade Water Beetle.”
“Exploding Jade Water Beetle?”
“Exploding Jade Water Beetle?”
The two of them peered down at the dead beast again.
Geombong looked thoughtful, but the Commander of the Venom Elimination Unit wore the expression of someone hearing it for the first time.
“You’ve never heard of it either, Commander?”
“No, So-ryong. I’ve been part of the Venom Elimination Unit ever since I entered the Tang Clan. I’ve never focused on venomous creatures.”
Damn. How much of a murder machine do you have to be to be placed in the Venom Elimination Unit from day one and never leave it?
Shaking off that thought, I turned back to him.
“Anyway, let’s start tying up the ones Hwa-eun caught and prep for interrogation. Looks like it’ll be dawn soon.”
“Oh! Yes, So-ryong! Do you have any other orders?”
The commander grinned, excited to interrogate someone.
At his question, I glanced at the two men behind him and gave a command.
“You two—head to the boat and bring back a jar of strong baijiu.”
“Baijiu, sir?”
“Yes. One whole jar.”
“Understood, So-ryong!”
They shot out like arrows.
Once they were gone, the commander tilted his head curiously.
“So-ryong, if I may ask... why baijiu, all of a sudden?”
Baijiu—a strong, distilled liquor.
It made sense he’d be confused why I’d suddenly need that.
To clear it up, I pointed to the corpse of the Exploding Jade Water Beetle.
“I need to preserve the body. Otherwise, it’ll rot.”
Baijiu is high in alcohol content. It’s the easiest way in this era to get alcohol for disinfection.
Since I’d already dissected the thing, it was sure to spoil soon. I’d need to sterilize and dry it.
Back in my past life, preserving rhinoceros beetles or stag beetles was normal—you’d make specimens to remember them, since you couldn’t emotionally connect with insects anyway.
But now?
Now I was raising creatures like Hongdan, Cho, Hyang, and Bini.
There was no way I could turn one of their kind into a lifeless specimen.
Out of respect for them, I wouldn’t preserve this one for display.
However, spirit beasts’ remains are often used as material for armor or weapons. This was a rare and valuable resource.
So burial wasn’t an option either.
I was part of the Tang Clan, after all.
“Everything in the Tang Clan is mine, but the reverse is also true—what’s mine is also the Tang Clan’s.”
That’s why I needed to take it back and discuss it with the elders first.
“Then perhaps you should preserve it in salt? The head, too—it’s usually salted, isn’t it?”
At my explanation, the Commander of the Venom Elimination Unit offered his suggestion as if it were the perfect idea.
Why not just preserve it in salt?
“No, salting it could damage the shell with its acidity. Baijiu is better.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“No, I don’t think I’ll need much assistance.”
“I see. Then, since you’ll be handling this, I’ll proceed with the interrogation preparations!”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes, So-ryong!”
I was a little stunned to learn that people typically salted heads for preservation.
While I watched over the dead Exploding Jade Water Beetle, the commander returned and informed me that the interrogation preparations were complete.
“So-ryong! Everything’s ready!”
“Understood.”
Since the baijiu hadn’t arrived yet, I stepped outside. In front of the building were several captives, all kneeling.
They’d clearly been detoxified from Hwa-eun’s paralysis poison—they were conscious now.
Which meant Hwa-eun must’ve personally purged the poison. It’s said only a master in the Flame Realm could neutralize such venom.
“Kgh...”
“P-please spare us...”
As I stood before the building, I looked down at the prisoners, now utterly defeated—some even crying.
They must have assumed they were dead the moment the Tang Clan captured them.
‘You really didn’t see this coming?’
If you’re making counterfeit Tang Clan medicine, this kind of consequence shouldn’t come as a shock.
If they hadn’t killed the spirit beast, I might’ve had a sliver of sympathy. But the moment they interfered with my collection, any mercy I had evaporated.
I stood before them with a cold expression.
“Ahem.”
At that moment, Hwa-eun approached me and discreetly handed me something.
“So-ryong, take this. Hide it so the kids don’t see.”
“What is it?”
She handed me a blue bead—misshapen like a deformed natural pearl.
After giving it to me, she spoke softly.
“We found this inside the woman. Looks like the spirit beast’s Neidan.”
So that’s what it was—the internal core of the dead spirit beast.
‘These bastards didn’t just kill it—they stripped it clean.’
They’d drained the venom for medicine and even harvested its Neidan. Rage surged again.
I kept it bottled inside and began questioning them.
“Well, let’s start with introductions. You, over there.”
I pointed to one of the men among the last to be caught. He looked around, then hesitantly answered.
“M-me?”
“Yes, you. An organization this big must have a name. Why don’t you tell me who you are?”
Was the woman ranked higher?
Instead of answering, he looked toward her and fumbled his words.
“W-we are...”
But the woman looked half-mad, likely because her sect leader had died at my hands.
As the silence dragged on, the commander rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, prompting the man to speak quickly.
“Are you forcing my hand?”
“W-we’re from the Dark Poison Sect.”
“Dark Poison Sect?”
I’d never heard of it, but judging from everyone else’s reactions, I was the only one who didn’t know. They all looked surprised.
Hwa-eun, standing beside me, asked with narrowed eyes.
“Why would the Dark Poison Sect produce and sell counterfeit Tang Clan medicine? You know the laws of the martial world.”
When no further answers came, I turned to the commander.
“What exactly is the Dark Poison Sect?”
“They’re a minor faction, part of the Unorthodox Path. They use venomous creatures’ toxins to create medicines or coat weapons—similar to us in some [N O V E L I G H T] ways, but definitely smaller and less reputable.”
Unorthodox Path—those who do whatever it takes to gain power. Not well-loved in the martial world.
So they were basically a lesser mirror of the Tang Clan.
I spoke coldly, annoyed at their stubborn silence.
“You killed a spirit beast—one of the Central Plains’ rarest treasures—and used its venom to mimic my own Jidamhwan formula. That’s a serious crime. And you refuse to cooperate? Maybe I should take two heads to start things off.”
The commander cracked his knuckles.
“Excellent idea. Drag two of them out!”
“Yes, Commander!”
As his subordinates moved in, the man suddenly screamed toward the woman.
“Senior Sister! Let’s just tell them! Our master is dead—if we don’t talk, we’ll all die too!”
Then he turned to us and shouted.
“F-fine! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
“Junior!”
The woman screamed, but the commander had already struck her pressure point.
He clearly believed she’d silence the man if she stayed conscious.
The moment she collapsed, I stepped forward.
“Good. Now explain everything we want to know. Where did you find the spirit beast? And why use it to make fake Jidamhwan?”
The man nodded and answered.
“Understood. But... we didn’t catch the spirit beast.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, we found it while it was already dying.”
“You found it?”
At his words, I glanced back toward the building with the corpse.
There are only three reasons a fully grown insect would be dying.
First — Old age.
But the one we found wasn’t old. Beetles nearing death from age show it: missing leg segments, worn-out body hairs. But this one was intact.
Second — Disease.
But there were no signs of illness. Its shell was clean, its organs intact.
Its color had faded a bit, sure—but otherwise, it looked fine.
Which left the third possibility — Post-reproduction.
The creature might’ve just laid its eggs before dying.
And the moment that thought struck—
“Wait... no way!”
“So-ryong!”
“So-ryong?!”
I dashed back toward the abandoned building where the Exploding Jade Water Beetle’s corpse lay.
That third option felt the most likely.
