A warrior responded to my question.
"Yes. Every night, one or two warriors either go missing or are found dead..."
Warriors were disappearing or turning up as corpses each night.
From what I could gather, they hadn’t identified the culprit—but the warrior confidently claimed it was a venomous creature, which made me skeptical.
It was strange. How could they say it was a venomous creature if they hadn’t even confirmed what it was?
"Hmm... You haven’t identified it, so why are you so sure it’s a venomous creature?"
"That’s because, ha—"
"Black Elephant!"
"My lady!"
But I never heard the answer.
Because just before the warrior could respond, Sister Seol appeared.
Apparently, the Beast Palace warrior’s name was Heuksang—Black Elephant—and he seemed to know Sister well.
"How did you get even more beautiful?"
The warrior threw out a compliment upon seeing her.
Sister smiled as she lightly thumped his chest.
What woman doesn’t like being told she’s pretty?
"Hahaha, Heuksang, you flatterer. How’s Father?"
"He’s doing well. Instead of hearing it from me, why don’t you go see him? He’s at the Beast Palace."
True, he must be nearby, so there was no need to exchange words here.
Sister Seol smiled and said,
"Shall I?"
"Yes. We built a new dock up ahead, but... hmm, the ship is too big, so you should anchor here and go on foot."
The warrior suggested not sailing all the way to the dock because of the ship’s size.
Excited, Sister shouted,
"Let’s do that then. Let’s go, So-ryong!"
"Yes, Sister Seol. Everyone, please disembark! We’ll have to walk from here!"
『“Kids, wait here, okay? Daddy will come pick you up at night.”』
—Tsrururu. (Okay, Daddy.)
—Kishi. (I’ll tell the others too, So-ryong oppa.)
—Piiiii. (Baap!)
—Kkuggugu. (Got it, Father.)
After shouting toward the cabin that we had to walk from here, I explained to the kids that I’d come back at night to get them.
For now, only the people were departing.
We left the supplies behind and planned to greet people first.
The luggage would be easy enough to handle later. We could bring people from the Beast Palace and maybe a few elephant-sized helpers—no problem.
After all, elephants are the ultimate lifters and cranes in one, aren’t they?
But just as I stepped out of the ship—
Sister Seol looked at me and asked,
"Why are you coming out alone?"
"Hwa-eun is right next to me though?"
"I’m here, Sister Seol."
Tang Hwa-eun had quickly caught up beside me, and the Dragon Fangs trio followed behind us.
I looked confused—what’s the issue?
Then Sister Seol pointed at Cheongwol, who was disguised as a rock on the ship’s deck.
"You need to bring the kids."
"The kids? But there are a lot of Martial Alliance warriors stationed here..."
I’d heard that warriors from the Martial Alliance were currently stationed at the Beast Palace.
So I was worried people might freak out, but Sister gave me a look of utter disbelief and said,
"My little brother raises these kids at the Beast Palace—so what? Do they need to care about what outsiders think? Should my brother and the children he raises worry about strangers?"
Damn. Sister Seol, spitting straight fire.
My chest swelled with refreshing clarity.
She was right.
This was the Beast Palace, paradise for pet-like companions.
Our kids might not be furry, but aren’t they just pets too?
Here, walking around with animals or beasts is totally normal.
Sure, our kids might be a bit unusual in size or looks—but as Sister Seol said, this was our home. Who cares what others think?
Feeling good, I shouted toward the ship,
"Kids! Auntie says you can come too! Come on out!"
"Huh? Whoa! So many precious darlings all at once!?"
I’d just told them earlier to wait and that I’d come back at night—but the moment I said to come out, they all swarmed out onto the deck.
The deck was suddenly overflowing with kids, and the warrior called Heuksang widened his eyes in shock.
—Tsrururu. 『Really? Daddy?』
—Kishi. 『Really, oppa?』
"Yeah, Auntie says it’s fine. Let’s go. Cheongwol, you too!"
—Krrng. 『Understood! Geumdo, anchor the ship tight. I need to get off.』
Cheongwol’s voice was slightly elevated as he called to Geumdo. It had been a while since he disembarked.
He always said he was fine, but clearly, “fine” didn’t mean unaffected.
—Bugurururu.
As Geumdo moved and pulled the ship close to the shore, an elephant flinched and stepped back.
And once the ship was secured, Cheongwol stretched on deck—but the moment his front paw touched the water—
—BBOOOO!!!
The startled elephant turned tail without even looking back and bolted toward the Beast Palace.
‘Wait, did God-phant just... run away?’
In my past life, elephants were called "God-phants."
In childish debates like “Who’s stronger, a tiger or a lion?” there were always comments like, “Cats? Pfft. God-phant is the true king,” followed by videos of lions getting wrecked by elephants.
Even lions feared fully grown elephants.
No matter how powerful or agile a lion or tiger was, nothing beats sheer size.
So in Africa, the true monarch was the elephant—that’s why they were called God-phants.
But that same God-phant had just turned and ran the instant it saw Cheongwol.
Its little tail wagged frantically as it fled.
—Krrrng. 『What’s that adorable animal?』
Cheongwol watched and commented that the elephant looked adorable.
***
The Beast Palace I returned to after so long had changed a lot.
Originally, wasn’t the Beast Palace built inside a bottle-gourd-shaped depression in the middle of a rocky mountain?
There was flat ground in front of it, and behind were the palace buildings and the residences of its people.
But now, in front of the place where the army ants had once been exterminated, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) a village had sprung up.
And not just a tiny one—a very large village.
Buildings made of freshly cut wood and temporary structures of bamboo, the most common construction material here in Yunnan, lined the area.
I saw people selling things under tents, and even a market had been set up on one side.
“What the... What happened to this place?”
Even Sister Seol, who was from the Beast Palace, looked stunned.
The warrior guiding us smiled at our reactions and explained,
"After the Murim Alliance stationed troops here, people who provide meals and supplies followed. Merchants came, and as they did, more people gathered. That’s how this all came about."
Now that he mentioned it, I remembered something from my past life.
In the medieval era, whenever troops were deployed, supply units, washerwomen, and merchants would follow them—two or three times the number of actual soldiers.
Here, too, it seemed that thousands of Murim Alliance warriors had arrived, and so a village naturally formed around them.
"Hm. I see. Let’s go, So-ryong."
"Cheongwol, let’s go."
—Krrrng. 『Understood.』
Thud, thud.
Cheongwol, who had briefly stopped, resumed walking.
The smaller children rode on his back, the flying ones followed us from above, and behind us trailed Hwanji and Hwana.
Everyone moved together, except for Geumdo and Heukjeom.
This was, after all, the paradise for pet-like beings—Beast Palace.
And just as I thought about our dear “God-phant” from earlier—who had bolted with his tiny tail twitching—the voices of shocked villagers who spotted Cheongwol ahead reached us.
“What is that... H-holy—!”
“What is that thing!?”
“Whoa! It’s a Scorpion King!”
“There’s someone riding on top of it!”
“There’s a giant twin-headed snake following them!”
People were losing it at the sight of me riding a massive scorpion.
Since we had to pass through the newly formed village to reach the Beast Palace, we approached its entrance, and the warriors on duty at the gate gawked up at me, utterly dumbfounded.
Their jaws hung open, too shocked to speak.
With a wide grin, I said,
"Heading home to the So-ryong household of the Beast Palace."
My words snapped the two warriors out of their daze.
“W-welcome! P-please, come right in!”
From the village entrance to the bottle-necked path leading into the Beast Palace, a wide road had been made. As we moved along it, crowds poured out to watch us.
A massive scorpion carrying an assortment of venomous creatures, with colorful butterflies and shimmering silver moths flying overhead.
In the sky, flying snakes; behind the scorpion, a gigantic twin-headed serpent—how could they not stop and stare?
As we passed through the village and arrived before the gates of the Beast Palace, the atmosphere changed distinctly.
“So-ryong-nim! So-ryong-nim has returned! Inform the Lord! He has brought the spirit beasts!”
These people weren’t shocked. Rather, they were beaming with excitement as they led us inside.
“My goodness, what a large and magnificent scorpion.”
“That snake is amazing too!”
They even praised our kids.
The kids looked pleased as well.
It had been a while since they got to move about freely under the open sky without having to avoid people.
—Tsrut. 『Second time here.』
—Shiaa. 『I used to live nearby. It was here that I gave So-ryong-nim my Neidan...』
—Kishishi. 『I remember this place! It's where oppa did something dangerous.』
“Haha, this place really is great, r-right?”
A bout of dark history nearly surfaced, and I quickly changed the subject.
At that moment, a bandit came running out from the Beast Palace entrance.
A large, burly man thundered toward us.
“So-ryong!”
“Father!”
We weren’t the most affectionate, but when the other side shows joy, it’s proper to respond.
As I welcomed my foster father, he embraced me happily.
“Welcome back! I’ve heard much.”
“It’s been a while, Father. Your son pays his respects. Hwa-eun, come here.”
“Yes, So-ryong.”
Like in a period drama, I pulled Hwa-eun beside me and knelt to offer a deep bow right there on the ground. My foster father looked overjoyed.
“Hahaha! My son is so polite. The new bride too—welcome!”
“Have you been well?”
“Of course! I’ve been just fine. It’s good to have you both here. Let’s go inside. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
Clapping my shoulder, he guided us inward.
Behind us came Sister Seol’s sharp voice.
“Hey! I came too, you know!”
“I know.”
“But you only welcomed So-ryong!”
For some reason, Sister Seol was treated like chopped liver. Still grumbling, she followed us inside, where we sat down for tea and conversation.
We spoke of our journey, our recent wedding, and more.
After some time passed—
We’d finished talking about the wedding and adventures, so I asked Father,
“By the way, Father—”
“Yes, So-ryong? Speak.”
“On the way here, I heard that our troops have withdrawn from the border. Is the situation that serious?”
I couldn’t just ignore what I’d overheard earlier.
My foster father’s expression darkened as he replied,
“Well, it’s not like we’ve been pushed back in any serious way. The enemy hasn’t shown themselves at the border yet. It’s just that...”
“Just that?”
“Each night, warriors go missing or are found dead. So we’ve withdrawn a bit for now.”
That was what I’d heard earlier too.
But now, I wanted to know the details.
My foster father would surely know more.
“Could I hear the specifics?”
“Ah, of course. Now that you and your bride are here, you might be able to help. First, the warriors who were found dead had no major external wounds. After investigation by the elders dispatched by the Tang Clan, it was confirmed that they were poisoned.
So we suspect the culprits may be venomous creatures from the Five Venoms Sect.”
Since this place was essentially the front line, the Tang Clan had deployed a moderate force.
I’d heard that two elders from the family had been sent, and it seemed they were the ones who had confirmed it.
“A new venomous creature? Did they say what kind of poison it was?”
Hwa-eun asked what kind of poison had been found, and Father answered with a baffled expression.
“They discovered two kinds.”
“Two?”
“Yes. Both deadly. One was the toxin of hadoon. The other was called shellfish poison.”
Hadoon—that would be pufferfish toxin.
Shellfish poison—as the name suggests, from mollusks.
It was a combination that didn’t make much sense for a venomous creature.
