I couldn’t just ignore the pain of my kin, and if we were going to search Dayosan, then resolving this dispute quickly was clearly the best course of action.
As I said earlier, a crowded mountain would only interfere with the search.
‘I’d better contact Father through Hwa-eun and resolve this issue as soon as possible.’
So I answered that I’d seek advice through Hwa-eun and get this °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° situation handled quickly—but Gun Hye-rin chimed in with a very demonic sect-style suggestion.
‘What if we just let each side send out a representative for a duel, and whoever wins is considered to be in the right?’
Apparently, over in the Demonic Sect, they go by medieval-style trial by combat, where the winner’s version of events is taken as truth.
As expected, it was a very on-brand suggestion for someone raised in the Demon Cult—absolutely obsessed with combat.
But could I really use such a barbaric idea here?
Especially since the Beast Palace is regarded like an elder among the minority tribes. If someone acting as its mediator proposed something so idiotic, I’d be scorned.
“Yeah, let’s just have you two fight it out, and whoever wins is right.”
How fucking stupid would that sound?
Obviously, the side that’s weaker would find it unfair and that could easily spark an even bigger conflict later. It was the worst possible solution.
I fired back at Gun Hye-rin.
If we were going to keep living together, we’d need to align emotionally at some level.
She’d have to change her speech patterns too.
‘No, the Beast Palace is like a respected elder figure here. If someone from the Beast Palace says something like that, what do you think will happen?
This isn’t the Heavenly Demon Cult—we need to do this with fairness and upright conduct.’
‘R-right. I’ve barely left the palace, so I didn’t know. Sorry, Master. Then what... just pick a side and support them?’
‘No, no need to apologize or anything.’
Even after I mentioned fairness, Gun Hye-rin was now talking about outright favoritism.
It started to feel like it would be faster for me to adjust to her than the other way around.
It was like trying to talk to someone from a totally different culture.
‘Good grief...’
Of course, I wasn’t actually planning on being biased—but honestly, my heart had already tilted toward one side.
I mean, they like spiders, don’t they?
Finding people with that kind of taste in bulk is rare.
Still, I had to remain fair and couldn’t openly take their side.
But I wasn’t worried.
Even if I didn’t show favoritism, people who like spiders are kind and don’t lie.
‘No need to take sides. People who like spiders don’t lie.’
I’d never met a spider lover who was a bad or dishonest person.
Seriously, it’s practically science.
So even without taking sides, the White-Trousered Yao were bound to win.
‘What does that even...’
Leaving a baffled Gun Hye-rin behind, I turned to the old man and reached out to Hwa-eun through Beast Heart Transmission to speak to Father and offer assistance.
“I have a method similar to Beast Palace’s internal voice transmission, so I’ll contact my father right now. Please wait a moment.”
“R-really?”
“Yes.”
And then I spoke to Hwa-eun, explaining the situation.
『“Hwa-eun, do you have a moment?”
“Yes, So-ryong. Go ahead.”
“We’ve arrived near Dayosan, and it seems like there’s a tribal conflict happening. They’re asking for the Beast Palace to mediate, and since I’m already here, I thought I should help. Could you pass this on to Father and Sister Seol and ask what we should do?”
“Got it. I was actually having tea with Father right now, so I’ll let him know immediately. Please explain the details.”
“Oh, perfect timing. So, what happened is that the White-Trousered Yao...”』
I explained the story I’d heard from the old man to Hwa-eun.
And after a short wait, a reply came back—
And it completely caught me off guard.
『“So-ryong, Father said to observe carefully so that a fair life-and-death duel can take place.”
“A... life-and-death duel?”』
A life-and-death duel basically meant a duel to the end, so I turned to Gun Hye-rin with a stunned look.
After I’d just scolded her so harshly, this was no different from what she had suggested.
Letting the winner decide? Unbelievable.
Hwa-eun’s explanation continued.
『“Since they requested Beast Palace mediation, it’s likely two of the tribes’ experts will duel. Father said just make sure they don’t use poison, hidden weapons, or any cowardly tricks.”』
After she finished explaining, Gun Hye-rin asked with a genuinely puzzled expression,
“What’s the difference between a duel and a fair life-and-death duel? I mean, sure, the word ‘fair’ is added, but still...”
If she wasn’t trying to mess with me, then she seriously needed to learn how to read the room.
***
Anyway, I got myself together and explained what I’d heard from Hwa-eun to the old man.
This whole life-and-death duel thing.
‘God, I feel embarrassed just saying this.’
“Father said to ensure that a... a fair life-and-death duel can proceed. I may not look like much, but I’ve reached the Flower Realm, so there’s no need to worry about fairness on my end.”
Just like a professional gambler can spot amateur cheats at a glance in a card game, in the martial world, high-level experts can easily spot clumsy tricks from the unskilled.
Even if you thought Flower Realm was something I achieved through dumb luck, once you reach it and undergo rebirth, the first things to improve are your dynamic vision and reflexes—so spotting tricks becomes second nature.
So anyone trying shit in front of me would get caught immediately.
And even if I missed it, Gun Hye-rin was right there—she’d definitely catch it.
The old man replied with joy in his voice.
“Ohhh! So you’re a master who’s reached the Flower Realm? And the rightful heir to the Beast Palace? This is wonderful news. Please, let’s head to our village right away.”
“Understood.”
With my Beast Palace credentials confirmed, I tucked the silly-looking hat back into my robe for now.
Then I followed the old man toward his village.
I was worried that people might get scared if they saw who was with me, so I quietly told the hidden children to follow at a distance.
『“Kids, looks like we’re heading to this elder’s village. Follow us to a good vantage point over the village, and wait there, okay?”
—Kishishi. Got it, big brother.
—Tssrrrk. Yes, Daddy.』
The old man’s village was near the river, and it seemed like their main livelihood came from rice farming and fishing.
Rice fields stretched out around the village, and fish were laid out here and there to dry in the sun.
As we entered the village, the smell of fish wafted in.
People we passed greeted the old man as we followed him to his house.
“Chief, where’ve you been? Who are the guests?”
“Oh, this is Young Master So-ryong from the Beast Palace. Just happened to be passing nearby.”
“The Beast Palace?”
“The Beast Palace?!”
It seemed the old man was the village chief, and though he introduced me as a Beast Palace representative, because I was dressed like someone from the Central Plains, people looked at me skeptically.
So I quickly took out the silly hat and shoved it on my head again.
Immediately, cheerful voices rang out.
“Ooh! So you really are from the Beast Palace?!”
“The Beast Palace?!”
This hat looked exactly like the thick shell of an acorn.
So when you wore it, it made you look like you had a bowl flipped upside down on your head.
That’s why I hadn’t wanted to wear it—it made me look kind of stupid. But around here, without that hat, no one would believe I was actually from the Beast Palace.
Since I had the appearance of a Central Plains man, and I was dressed in Central Plains attire, even with the village chief introducing me, people had trouble believing it.
So I put on the hat I didn’t want to wear and crossed through the village to arrive at the chief’s home.
While a message was sent to the Red Yao tribe saying someone from the Beast Palace had arrived and was proposing a life-and-death duel, I got to rest at the house for a few days and learn more about the situation.
“The shrines of the Red Yao and our White-Trousered Yao are very close together, and the shamans from both sides are quite close. Aside from when they’re performing rituals, shamans usually don’t meet anyone except the attendants who serve them up on the mountain, so they rely on each other as friends and companions.
They each raise a few dogs, and one day, one of the Red Yao’s dogs was found dead in the spring they share. Apparently, our shaman was holding the dog at the time. That’s likely what led to the suspicion.
She said she was only examining it because it wasn’t breathing, but...”
“I see. That does sound rather unfair.”
The shaman had currently taken refuge in the village.
Among small minority tribes like these, instead of receiving court rulings, things were usually handled by customary law. In this case, someone who killed a dog would be given ten lashes with a cane.
But supposedly that was considered extremely humiliating?
Even women would have to bare their buttocks and receive ten lashes, and it was said that once a woman was caned, she was socially ruined.
Since she would’ve been exposed to public shame, most women were said to commit suicide afterward.
I also got to meet the young man from the Red Yao tribe who would be participating in the duel. According to Gun Hye-rin, he was at about first-class level.
“He’s around a first-class master. That’s decent for his age.”
“Oh ho.”
Those eligible for the duel were unmarried people under thirty who had trained in martial arts.
Only those at the later stages of internal development were allowed to participate, so she said someone of his level wasn’t likely to lose.
It would be painful to see the tribe that loved spiders lose.
So I felt relieved.
Then, on the third night after arriving at the village—
In the middle of the night, I suddenly heard Cho’s urgent voice near my ear.
‘—Tsssrrrk! Dad! S-something bad happened!’
‘What?! What is it?!’
I rushed out of the chief’s house and sprinted toward where the children were hidden—only to find a man trembling in front of them, his face pale as death.
“P-please spare me! Young Master So-ryong!”
As soon as he saw me, he darted behind me to hide.
I recognized him immediately.
It was none other than the young first-class martial artist from the Red Yao tribe—the one who was supposed to duel.
Had he gotten into a fight with the children or something?
No, unless he had a death wish, he wouldn’t pick a fight. Besides, the children had been in hiding.
What the hell happened?
I turned to the children and asked what had gone on.
“What happened? What’s going on?”
The man trembled as he answered, thinking I was talking to him.
“I-I was training, practicing my light movement... and s-suddenly! They just appeared right in front of me!”
I glanced back and forth between the kids and the man. Then Cho stepped forward, scratching her head with her antennae as she explained.
—Tsssrrrk. 『No one else was awake. I was on night watch, and that guy suddenly came flying in with light movement and slammed his head right into Sister Hwanji and Hwana’s sides. He dropped like a rock.』
“What?”
Listening to the details, I was able to piece it together.
I’d hidden the children on a hill that overlooked the village.
Inside one of Sister Jeokwol’s illusions.
Since it was so close to the village, I’d warned them to always have one person awake at night just in case.
It looked like that young man had been practicing light movement for training and flew right into the sleeping Hwanji and Hwana—slammed into them and crashed.
He must’ve hit hard, because under the moonlight I could see his face was covered in blood.
Both nostrils were gushing blood.
“Let’s calm down. These are children I raise. You know the Beast Palace raises beasts, right? It’s like that. I kept them hidden so people wouldn’t panic, but I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“W-what? You... raise them?”
“Yes. So no need to be frightened.”
The man blinked in confusion at the fact that I “raised” them.
The children had done nothing wrong, but since he was so shaken, I asked them to apologize just to calm him down.
“Looks like you really scared him, so let’s apologize.”
The children all bowed their heads with apologetic expressions.
—Tssrrrk. 『I’m sorry, Mister.』
—Kishishi. 『Sorry.』
—Shia. 『Sorry for scaring you.』
I awkwardly smiled as I translated for the man.
“They say they’re sorry for frightening you. Come on, let’s get you up. Are you hurt anywhere serious?”
I reached out to help the man up from where he was clinging to my pants—
But as soon as I grabbed his arm and gave it a tug, he screamed and rolled over in pain.
“Gyaaaahhh!”
I quickly examined his body. His right wrist was broken and twisted at a strange angle.
