—Chirrr. Chirrrr.
It was a night filled only with the sounds of insects.
Around the border of the Daewol State, something unusual had appeared a month ago.
They were towers—structures built of bamboo—erected at regular intervals along the border.
And on top of each tower, two people stood watch.
These bamboo towers were called Juktap, bamboo watchtowers, constructed under the directive of the Martial Alliance, meant to monitor the surrounding area.
It had been proposed by Elder Zhuge Hu, the military strategist.
Since the jungles around the Daewol border were so dense that it was nearly impossible to keep guard, parts of the forest had been burned down to clear sightlines, and bamboo towers were erected along the edge to maintain surveillance.
They were meant to detect any movement from the Five Venoms Sect or the Blood Cult crossing the border in advance.
"Yaaawn."
From the top of one such tower, a man watching the border beyond into Daewol let out a wide-mouthed yawn.
Each team was composed of ten men, and five teams made a unit.
This man was Seo Ga-myeong, a first-class warrior and squad leader of Unit Eul of the Black Tiger Division within the Martial Alliance.
“If you’re sleepy, Captain, why not rest your eyes for a bit?”
The suggestion came from Oh Jin, a second-class warrior also assigned to this post.
Seo Ga-myeong replied, his expression immediately turning stern.
“Sleep while on duty? Don’t say such nonsense. Remember the two from Gap Unit who dozed off a few days ago and caused a major incident?”
Indeed, just a few days earlier, two men from another team had been caught sleeping and caused a serious breach.
Oh Jin, however, looked unconcerned.
“Those guys were dumb enough to fall asleep at the same time. If I take the watch and wake you when needed, won’t that work just fine?”
“No. Just because you don’t see anything now doesn’t mean you can get complacent. And what if someone from the Five Venoms or Blood Cult slips in? You always have to be ready.”
Despite his serious tone, Oh Jin [N O V E L I G H T] wore an annoyed look as he answered.
“Geez, Captain... You’re too cautious. Those bastards from the Five Venoms and the Blood Cult haven’t made a single move in months.
When the last supply run came in, I asked the folks from the Alliance—turns out most of their underground operations in the Central Plains have already been shut down. No doubt they’re going to vanish like the Blood Cult used to.”
“You mean the Beggars’ Union and Hao Clan split the continent north and south and wiped out their black-market networks?”
“Yes. With their income streams cut off, they’ll have no choice but to go into hiding, like the old days. You can’t fight wars without provisions. No supplies, no fighting, right?
Otherwise, there’s no reason for them to be this quiet.”
Oh Jin rattled off his theory like he was possessed by some old tactician.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
As he said, the Blood Cult had always followed the same pattern—causing chaos across the Central Plains, then going underground the moment their forces were weakened.
And this time, with things turning against them again, it made sense to assume they were just disappearing to regroup.
But Seo Ga-myeong shook his head.
Because it wasn’t just the Blood Cult anymore.
“I thought so at first too, but higher-ups say otherwise. They say the Blood Cult can just operate from within Daewol now, don’t they?
According to them, they need time to absorb the cult and bring their own people in line. So stay sharp.”
“Ahh, well, the higher-ups always say things like that...”
As Oh Jin muttered under his breath, Seo Ga-myeong looked once more toward the distant border of Daewol.
He was tired too.
Each Juktap was manned by three teams, rotating every four hours. After ten days of shifts, the whole unit would rotate out—and today was the end of their ten-day stretch.
The accumulated fatigue was heavy.
He would head to the Beast Palace next and rest for ten days. That would help.
Another yawn escaped him, and then Oh Jin’s voice broke through again.
“Oh, by the way—did you hear? The Tang Clan’s son-in-law is heading to the Beast Palace.”
“I heard. He’s their adopted son, and he’s coming to marry Dokhwa.”
“Damn. Winning the hand of the infamous, high-nosed Poisonous Flower herself. He really is a young hero of the martial world.”
Of course he’d heard.
Half the gossip among martial artists these days was about that very topic.
The young hero who’d created a poison that allowed even third-rate warriors to take on Blood Cult elites.
The fiancé of the Poisonous Flower of the Tang Clan.
And then the whispered secret everyone already knew by now—he was the descendant of the Alliance Leader.
In the Martial Alliance, where most held the Lord in the highest respect, how could anyone not care?
His nickname was a little strange, though.
Heaven’s Poison Papa?
Seo Ga-myeong chuckled to himself as he thought about it. Then he turned his eyes back toward the border and muttered,
“The one who inherited the Lord’s martial arts... I hope he’s arrived safely at the Beast Palace by now.”
He tried to imagine what this adopted son of the Beast Palace, the Tang Clan’s son-in-law, would even look like.
That was when a loud, strained voice came from beside him.
“Ugh. C-Captain. I think that rice ball earlier was spoiled. I, uh... I need to use the toilet.”
Seo Ga-myeong turned to see Oh Jin clutching his stomach and hopping from foot to foot.
Food spoiled fast in Yunnan.
Warm and humid—it didn’t take long.
They were supposed to eat only freshly prepared meals, but earlier, hungry and impatient, Oh Jin had eaten a leftover rice ball from yesterday.
He’d claimed he’d be fine, but of course he wasn’t.
Seo Ga-myeong frowned and scolded him.
“Didn’t I tell you not to eat yesterday’s food?”
“S-Sorry. I’ll be quick!”
Oh Jin scrambled down the ladder and ran off into the brush.
Some time passed.
Then, hearing noise behind him, Seo Ga-myeong turned around to see the relief team approaching.
“Already shift change time?”
Through the still-dark jungle, two warriors emerged from the brush and climbed up the ladder quickly.
One of them called out:
“Captain! We’re here!”
“Good work. Huh? Where’s Oh Jin?”
Come to think of it, it had been at least half an hour, and Oh Jin still hadn’t returned.
Seo Ga-myeong wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“Said he had a stomach ache from some spoiled rice ball. I’ll go fetch him.”
“Disgusting bastard.”
“Always something with Oh Jin.”
After handing over the watch, Seo Ga-myeong descended and made his way toward the brush where Oh Jin had disappeared.
But he wasn’t there.
A little further in, Seo Ga-myeong spotted him—lying on the ground near the thicket.
Had he actually fallen asleep?
“Oh Jin, seriously, what the hell are you—?”
Just before he reached out to shake him awake—
Seo Ga-myeong noticed it.
Oh Jin’s chest wasn’t moving.
Without a word, he reached for his sword’s hilt and tried to sense for any presence nearby—but there was none.
Second-class warrior Oh Jin.
Even if he’d been careless, for someone to take him down completely like this...
That meant the enemy was highly skilled.
He pushed all his senses to the limit.
Then—
A sharp sting in his ankle.
—Shhhrrrk!
“Khhrrgh!”
He leapt back and tried to seal the pressure point in his leg, but then—
Something white came flying over his face, blinding his vision.
Seo Ga-myeong collapsed beside Oh Jin without a sound.
—Thud.
***
I hadn’t realized it before, but it seemed that Hwa-eun wasn’t actually an assassin-class poison user—she was a healer.
And rightly so—because she had revived Daeryong, who had quite literally died, using some mysterious technique.
I thought three times would be the limit, but four, five...
Every time she used her resurrection technique, Daeryong came back to life like a miracle.
But, as expected, that came at a cost. I could barely keep my eyes open all morning, nodding off like a sick chick.
Even though my cultivation was full at the Flower Realm, my internal energy leaned heavily toward yin, and the resulting yang deficiency left me with severe fatigue.
Tssrrt. 『But Mom said she stayed up all night healing Dad... so why does Dad look even sicker?』
Tssrrr. 『But Cho unni, Mom’s face got all smooth and shiny—like our shells!』
Tssr. 『What?』
The kids had brought me out onto the deck to sunbathe since I kept dozing off and looked sick. They were now whispering among themselves, watching me like I was some strange specimen.
I kept my eyes shut, pretending not to hear, but then I heard Yo-hwa’s voice next to my ear.
—Kishit. 『Brother...』
I opened my eyes to see Yo-hwa hesitating beside me, fidgeting awkwardly.
With a faint smile, I asked, “Yeah, Yo-hwa. What is it?”
She looked apologetic, fiddling with her fingers as she mumbled:
—Kishishi. 『Sorry, but... it’s that day...』
“Oh—ah, right! Got it, Yo-hwa. Sorry, totally slipped my mind.”
Only then did I remember—it was the day Yo-hwa needed to feed on my yang energy.
I held out my hand to her without thinking.
Yo-hwa’s method of absorbing yang energy was to suck on my finger.
But no sooner had she begun than her voice turned disappointed and dismayed.
—Kishit. 『Huh? Brother, where’s all your yang gone?』
“...Huh?”
Oh no.
Hwa-eun and I had made a mistake.
Even if it had been a long time and we’d been eager to test the efficacy of the talisman, I should’ve left some yang energy in reserve. But no—we’d scraped the barrel clean.
Thinking back on it, a man’s pride is closely tied to his yang, and the owner of that yang wasn’t just Hwa-eun.
I know what you’re thinking: You’re married—what the hell are you saying?
But you have to understand: Yo-hwa depends on my yang energy to survive.
For Hwa-eun, it was a luxury—a treat, like a snack.
For Yo-hwa, it was sustenance—her main course.
Yo-hwa asked again, her eyes wide and troubled.
—Kishit. 『Brother, why is your yang so low today...?』
“Th-that’s... because of Hwa-eun...”
‘Your big sister drained it all last night, I’m afraid...’
At that exact moment, Hwa-eun stepped onto the deck. She and Yo-hwa locked eyes.
Immediately, Yo-hwa opened a group mind-link and sent a message directly to Hwa-eun:
『—Kishishi. (Big sis Hwa-eun... are you eating yang now too?)』
“Hmm? Oh... th-that is...”
—Kishit. (But Yo-hwa needs yang too! How could you eat it all yourself? Yang is important for Yo-hwa too!)
Realizing what she meant, Hwa-eun’s face filled with guilt.
“S-sorry, Yo-hwa... I’ll, um... I’ll share next time.”
Looked like I wouldn’t be allowed even a handful of yang energy going forward.
***
Hah... I need to be more careful.
I told Hwa-eun we should rest today.
Maybe she’d developed a taste for it last night, because she was already suggesting we “treat” again tonight. But I had to recover my yang—if not for myself, then at least for Yo-hwa’s sake.
After barely calming Yo-hwa down and sending her off, I was lying on the deck, worn out, when I heard the sound of wings.
—Bzzzzzzm.
I opened my eyes and saw Ranghu hovering above me.
She landed gently on my chest, removed something yellow from her own head, and placed it delicately on my chest.
“...Huh?”
—Bzzm.
—Shia. 『He said he was coming to see you, so she brought him over.』
The “he” Ranghu brought was O-gyo, the youngest of the five Qing Ji-dam larvae.
The other children couldn’t really communicate with the larvae, but the Golden-Furred Wasp Queens clearly had some method. Apparently, O-gyo had insisted on seeing me.
He’d been content eating and sleeping in the Wasp Queens’ nest, but I guess he started missing me again?
“Aww, you came to see me, huh? My little O-gyo~?”
I tickled his chin, and he rolled across my chest like a mischievous puppy.
Small, yellow, and elongated—he reminded me of when I first met Cho, Hyang, and Bini.
“Man... so cute. Look at you.”
As I watched O-gyo’s playful antics, I heard familiar voices nearby.
Tssrrt. 『Hmph...』
Tsst. 『Tch.』
Hyang and Bini. I turned to see them glaring.
What’s up with them now?
Just then, a voice rang out from outside the boat:
“Excuse me! If there’s a pilot on board, please come out for a moment!”
I sat up and headed toward the railing, just as our pilot called out:
“What’s the matter?”
“This area is under the jurisdiction of the Beast Palace. May I ask where this vessel is from?”
Looking toward the riverbank, I spotted a man riding an elephant.
A warrior I’d seen once before at the Beast Palace.
“Greetings! Long time no see.”
“So—So-ryong!?”
I waved from the side of the ship, and when the warrior recognized me, his eyes went wide in surprise.
“Geumdo, bring us to the shore.”
As our boat pulled up, the elephant spooked and backed away.
“Whoa, easy! What’s wrong?”
It must’ve sensed Geumdo’s presence. In the end, the warrior dismounted and used light-footwork to leap onto the deck and greeted me with a bow.
“So-ryong-nim! Welcome! We’ve been looking forward to your arrival. I’d heard you were coming, but I didn’t expect such a grand vessel.”
“Haha, is that so? How’s my father doing?”
“He’s well, of course!”
“And things at the Beast Palace? All quiet?”
The casual exchange of greetings continued, but when I asked about the Beast Palace, the warrior hesitated.
“...Is something wrong?”
At my question, the warrior’s expression darkened.
“We’ve been pushed back quite a bit at the border. Seems the Five Venoms have released a new kind of venomous creature, but we can’t figure out what it is.”
“A new creature?”
Sounded like the Five Venoms Sect had cooked up yet another artificial chimera.
