“Let’s go!”
—Tssrr. 『Okay, Dad.』
—Chiii.
Waiting outside were Cho, Yeondu, and Jeokwol noona. We quickly made our way through the shadowy courtyards as dusk settled across the palace.
I hadn’t even eaten dinner yet, but there was no time for that anyway.
Besides, I didn’t feel hungry. With all the time wasted on the general from the Imperial Iron Cavalry, we couldn’t afford any more delays.
‘That general wasted enough of my time. Just wait a little longer—this So-ryong will pull you out of that brainwashing right away.’
Right now, inside my residence, Cheong-yu Sojeo was with Sister Seol, Hwa-eun, and Gun Hye-rin, preparing to reverse the effect of the Five Venoms’ brain-poison acupuncture technique.
I’d asked them to handle the setup while I chased after the Five Venoms bastards.
『Hwa-eun, how’s it going?』
It wasn’t a far distance, but I couldn’t hold back anymore and messaged her in the group chat.
I’d been holding it together with superhuman patience until now.
Honestly, if my adoptive father hadn’t joined the pursuit team, I wouldn’t even have gone—I would’ve started the deprogramming immediately.
『Ah, So-ryong. Is everything wrapped up on your end? We got everything Cheong-yu Sojeo asked for. She said it would take about one hour, so we’re finishing up now.』
“Oooh! As expected! I’m on my way.”
『What happened with the general? I heard he was furious.』
『Ah, Father-in-law handled it well. Ended peacefully.』
Hwa-eun’s update that preparations were complete put a spring in my step, and I sped into the residence using lightfootwork.
Outside the door, the kids were waiting for me.
—Tssrr. 『Dad!』
—Gyuu! 『Grandpaa!』
—Krrrng. 『You’re here. Not injured, are you?』
—Bii. 『Sooo...ryooong. Baaap.』
They looked worried, so it seemed Hwa-eun hadn’t told them anything else while preparing the antidote.
Among the crowd of creatures rushing toward me, I thought I heard something different in Hwayang’s voice and glanced at him.
—Biiiii... 『Baaaap...』
He was staring off into the distance, muttering “rice.”
I assumed I’d misheard and smiled at the kids.
“You were all worried, huh? I’m fine, so give me a little space, okay? There’s a sick spirit beast inside waiting for me—let’s take care of it first, then we can talk. Sound good?”
I gave each of their heads a pat and was about to head inside—
When Yeoncheon sunbae’s voice came from atop Cheongwol’s shell.
『Benefactor, what became of that bastard?』
“We lost him in the end.”
She was probably asking about the Five Venoms Lord, who she had personally struck. I answered with some regret, and Yeoncheon reassured me.
『He ran, then? Don’t worry. No matter how much he’s trained in venom arts, he won’t survive easily. My venom is dangerous enough on its own, but the stinger that pierced him will continue damaging him from inside as it dissolves.』
“Really? When I pulled it from the tree earlier, it didn’t seem fragile.”
『That’s because it only dissolves after being soaked in blood—human or beast.』
“Ohh. That’s the secret, huh?”
I had never seen the Crimson Poison Harpoon Snail’s stinger embedded in living flesh—only in wood or walls—so I hadn’t realized it had this kind of ability.
But according to Yeoncheon, the stinger fragments would continue to cause damage even after the initial impact.
‘Nice.’
Typically, the radula—a snail’s venom-injecting organ—is tiny and made of chitin. When embedded in skin, it can break off, but that doesn’t happen often.
They weren’t evolved for attacking humans—so it was rare to lodge one deep in flesh.
But Yeoncheon’s stinger clearly had a maximized version of that property.
‘Her greatest enemy must’ve been humans.’
That thought came from something I read before—a research paper on spitting cobras aiming at primate eyes.
It said venomous animals’ offensive and defensive adaptations evolve with a clear purpose, and you can deduce their natural enemies based on those traits.
From that perspective, the fact that the stinger dissolves in blood implies that Yeoncheon evolved specifically to fight mammals—probably humans.
If her enemies were insects or other beasts, it would’ve reacted to hemolymph or internal fluids instead.
“Then I guess we can relax a bit. Even if he survives, he won’t be moving around normally anytime soon.”
I’d originally figured the Five Venoms Lord might not die, but he’d definitely suffer.
Now, hearing Yeoncheon’s explanation, the odds of death were probably higher.
And if fragments remain, it might even leave him permanently crippled.
『Exactly. So you needn’t worry, Benefactor.』
“I’ll sleep well tonight, then. See you in a bit.”
As I finished speaking with Yeoncheon and reached for the door—
Creak.
The door opened.
Inside stood Hwa-eun, Sister Seol, Cheong-yu Sojeo, and Yo-hwa, all looking at me.
“You’re here. Come in.”
—Shia. 『Welcome, So-ryong.』
“So-ryong, you’re back,”
—Kssit. 『Brother.』
And just beyond them, I saw it—
A dark figure bound tightly to the floor.
Most of the furniture had been cleared out. Hoja was restrained against the ground, like Gulliver bound by the Lilliputians.
Hundreds of threads tied it down at every segment.
“Uh... why’s Hoja tied down to the floor like that?”
He was supposed to be mounted on a large wooden board. I asked why he’d ended up on the stone floor instead.
Sister Seol wiped her forehead with her forearm, looking exhausted.
“Don’t even ask. It was a nightmare. We tried securing him to the wooden board, but he just smashed it to pieces. If Yo-hwa hadn’t jumped in with paralyzing silk, he would’ve gotten away.”
“That happened?”
Hoja was a spirit beast based on a wasp—a martial world wasp, no less.
His physical power was so superior that he literally destroyed the wooden board we were going to tie him to.
“Yeah. So we pinned him to the stone floor instead.”
“Good work. What about Cheong-yu Sojeo?”
—Shiaa. 『I was worried the wound might fester, so I prepared a poultice. I also cleaned the stinger site thoroughly with medicine. Now we just need to remove it.』
‘Nice. So all that’s left is to yank it out. It’s like having the meal already served.’
The way she said, “just need to pull it out,” made me think—
This was like the moment just before the main event.
You know... that thing between husband and wife.
I’m no expert, but even a married couple’s fun has all sorts of warm-up steps. Petting, kissing, whispering sweet nothings—sometimes it’s exhausting.
There are days you just want to skip all that and get straight to the fun.
And now she was saying all the prep was done—only the fun part was left.
With a satisfied grin, I approached Hoja and placed my hand on his head.
“You’re probably scared and confused. But don’t worry. I’ll bring you back to your senses soon.
Cheong-yu Sojeo—let’s begin.”
—Shia. 『Understood, So-ryong.』
At my signal to begin, Cheong-yu Sojeo placed her hand on Hoja’s head.
Seven needles were embedded in a hexagonal pattern—six arranged around the outer edges and one in the center.
Cheong-yu Sojeo touched the lowest needle and began to explain.
—Shiaa shii. 『The Five Venoms Brain-Poison Acupuncture Method is composed of seven needles. Starting from the bottom, it goes: Greedy Wolf, then clockwise—Giant Gate, Prosperity Keeper, Literary Curve, Integrity, Martial Tune, and at the center, Breaking Army. You need to remove all seven in that order.
So-ryong, please remember the sequence.』
“Understood, Cheong-yu Sojeo.”
As she gripped the first needle with her thumb and middle finger, clearly preparing to pull it out, her head tilted in confusion.
—Shia. 『Hm?』
Sensing something was off, I asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
—Shiii. 『It feels stuck. Like it’s lodged in really deep.』
“Stuck?”
“What’s wrong, So-ryong? It won’t come out?”
“Yes, Hwa-eun.”
It won’t come out?
Thinking for a moment, I asked, “How long has this one been in the hands of the Five Venoms?”
—Shiia. 『I’m not sure exactly. But he was already there when I got captured. So... probably at least twenty years.』
“Have you ever seen the Five Venoms perform the Brain-Poison Acupuncture Method on him?”
—Shia. 『No. I only found out after I died. I had strong resistance, so they had to reapply the technique every few months. But as far as I know, they never did that with him.』
Her answer explained everything. My face hardened.
“This is bad...”
—Shia. 『Do you know why, So-ryong?』
“Yes. I think... it’s calcified.”
—Shia? 『Calcified?』
Cheong-yu Sojeo looked puzzled.
But it made sense. Human, beast, or insect—when a foreign object stays lodged in the body for a long time, the surrounding tissue reacts.
A needle is clearly a foreign body. Over time, the cells can react, fibrous tissue can form around it, and it can become embedded—nearly impossible to pull out.
And I knew this because I was once a man deeply into venomous creatures—Spicy Fabre, remember?
Sometimes we’d find injured wild venomous animals and run emergency broadcasts under “Spicy Fabre 119.” Once, we rescued a giant boa constrictor with a nail stuck through it—clearly the work of a human.
We took it to the animal hospital, and the vet had said:
“This isn’t going to come out easily. It’s been a long time.”
“It won’t come out?”
“No. Foreign bodies like this, when left in the body for long periods, provoke inflammatory or fibrotic reactions. The body forms tissue around them. It can get stuck so deeply that it won’t move or come out without damaging surrounding tissue.”
So I relayed this knowledge to Cheong-yu Sojeo.
“If something stays embedded long enough—whether in a human, beast, or insect—flesh starts forming around it. It becomes locked in place. That’s probably why it won’t come out.”
—Shiia. Shii. 『Then what should we do? It’s in the head—we can’t force it. The needle might be touching the brain.』
Cheong-yu Sojeo stared anxiously at the head of the needle.
Just then, Gun Hye-rin spoke up.
“So it won’t come out?”
“Yes, Lady Gun. You heard the explanation, right?”
“Of course. Then... how about this?”
“There’s a method?”
Curious, I looked to her. She picked something up from the prepared tools—a needle similar to the ones embedded in Hoja’s head—and said:
“Do it like this.”
As she held it up, it shimmered faintly.
I could feel it even without consciously focusing—this one was emitting faint qi.
She’d infused the needle with internal energy.
“You’re saying to coat it with qi?”
“Yes. If you carefully envelop it like this, only the needle will come loose. It won’t damage the tissue.”
“I’m... not totally convinced...”
Using qi on a needle embedded in someone’s head made me hesitate.
If something went wrong and it caused trauma, the consequences could be irreversible.
The brain is not something you can mess with.
But then, Hwa-eun—who had been quietly listening—offered a better idea.
“So-ryong, what if we ask Moji and Soji to heal him while we pull it out?”
Her proposal: use the healing powers of Moji and Soji on the body while gently extracting the needle.
Even if there were injury, the wound would heal immediately.
“Ohhh! That’s brilliant!”
It really was a great idea.
We had to pull the needles out to break the Five Venoms’ brainwashing, and this would let us do it safely.
“Let’s do a test first, just in case.”
“A test?”
“I’ll embed this needle in my arm and try coating it with qi to see if it hurts.”
No matter how good the idea, this Fabre wasn’t going to just approve it blindly.
If I had to be the test subject to make sure it was safe, so be it.
Obviously.
