Wrapped around by Yeondu, I traveled through nearby villages and shouted at the gathering of evacuees.
That the cause of the earthquakes in the mountain was just a young spirit beast, and that it had been coaxed properly, so it was safe to return home.
“I am So-ryong, son of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace and son-in-law of the Sacheon Tang Clan, the Father of All Venomous Creatures! Those who evacuated due to the commotion on Wangok Mountain may now return home!
By order of His Majesty the Emperor, I personally investigated the earthquakes. It turns out they were caused by a frightened young spirit beast that fell into a deep burrow on Wangok Mountain.
I have calmed it down and sent it elsewhere, so the earthquakes will stop!”
The official document written by the commander on our ship had also been delivered to each government office.
“Is this really true?”
“Yes, you may now post notices informing the people that it’s safe to return.”
“Th-thank you, Lord Venomous.”
“It’s Papa...”
“Ah, right...”
Although I hadn’t yet confirmed the reaction from the Imperial side, I had handled a troublesome matter for them, so ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) they weren’t likely to be displeased.
Surely, it would help hasten the princess’s return at least a little.
With our business here wrapped up, we quickly decided to head to the next location.
Because we still hadn’t checked all the marked areas north of the Yangtze.
There were still three remaining places to investigate.
But as soon as we began moving toward the next location, I sensed a strange atmosphere.
It wasn’t anything dramatic, just that Gun Hye-rin and the Princess had both become oddly cold.
“Gun Hye-rin, could you take a look at this? I can’t quite get this technique right.”
“Hmph. Do it yourself. Can’t be helping you all the time. Some things you have to do on your own.”
“...Huh?”
Gun Hye-rin, who always used to come running like a puppy when I asked for help, had just refused to look at my martial arts technique. And the Princess had also turned a bit chilly.
While eating, I brought up the latest events, hoping to chat, but only got scolded.
“I do hope His Majesty will be pleased with this outcome and forgive Your Highness...”
“So-ryong, it sounds like you just want His Majesty to calm down quickly so I can hurry back to the palace?”
“Eh? Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. I just thought, since he’s your father, there’s the whole sacred bond...”
“Keep talking like that and I might kick you out.”
“What? No, no! Kick me out? I told the Crown Prince I’d take responsibility!”
“Responsibility? Res! Pon! Si! Bi! Li! Ty! Hmph!”
“Your Highness?”
“I don’t care!”
'What the hell? Did I do something wrong?'
I was confused, but after a few days, things began to thaw.
“Ahem. Didn’t you ask me a few days ago to look at that martial art? I could help now, if you still want.”
“Oh, well, I tried doing it myself like you said, and I actually managed. It’s fine.”
“I-I see? W-well, if you get stuck again, let me know.”
“Okay.”
As I lay in the cabin while Hyang wiped me down, Gun Hye-rin sidled up awkwardly and suddenly offered to look at my martial arts. That evening, the Princess also apologized for being cold the past few days.
“So-ryong, I’ve been a bit cold lately, haven’t I? I was just thinking too much, and something upset me.”
“Ah, that happens. Sometimes things just well up out of nowhere.”
“Thanks for understanding, So-ryong.”
At first, I couldn’t figure out why they’d been like that, but seeing the two of them act that way at the same time made it pretty obvious.
It was that time of the month when women get irritable.
Otherwise, they had no reason to be mad at me.
They even said they liked me now, because of the effects of Beast-Heart Technique, so if anything, their behavior made even less sense.
I made a mental note to remember the dates and be cautious around those days.
'Now that I think about it, Hwa-eun had her sharp periods too.'
'If it’s already this tough when it’s just one, and if all three end up syncing like Hwa-eun joked about...'
'Wow. That would be horrifying. I wouldn’t even be able to breathe at home.'
***
The next location was Mount Jura.
A mountain on the border between Shanxi and Shaanxi.
It flanked the Yellow River and wasn’t particularly rugged, but once we arrived, searching proved impossible.
Even though the capital had entered early spring, this place was farther north, and amphibian activity was still sluggish.
Some had just begun to stir from early hibernation, half-awake and groggy.
“We’ll have to come back here in summer.”
While the World-Destroying Golden Toad might be a spirit beast and thus active, thinking of my children, it was more likely they’d be hibernating too.
So we decided to leave it for another time.
We couldn’t afford to wait until the weather warmed.
If we lazed around here for a couple months, Hwa-eun would tear me apart in my dreams every night.
'And that would mean wearing diapers for daily life.'
The next destination was Nangnang Mountain, near Sammun Gorge, which we had already passed by.
Because of the many ponds scattered through the mountain, I had high hopes.
Even in early spring, the weather here was much warmer, and all the amphibians had already woken up.
Spring is the season when amphibians lay eggs.
They’d be more active than ever, preparing to spawn.
But even after nearly a month of searching, we found nothing.
We discovered East Asian frog, Asian toad, Mongolian toad, and East Asian narrow-mouthed frog, but the World-Destroying Golden Toad I was looking for remained elusive.
Gun Hye-rin, examining one of the specimens I’d caught in the cabin, asked:
“Even if it’s not what you’re looking for, didn’t you still catch something rare?”
Her face lit up with excitement as she held it, thinking it was a spirit beast.
“This is a Liua shihi, a rare salamander found in some mountainous regions of Shanxi Province. It’s not a spirit beast. I just brought it back because I found it beyond the Yellow River, near the border of Henan and Shanxi, and wanted to observe it more closely.”
I had only planned to study it for a bit and then release it, since it was unusual to find it so far out of range.
As mentioned earlier, I asked Yeondu to take it back to where we found it.
“Yeondu, could you take this friend back to where we picked it up?”
Shaaa. 『Got it.』
As Yeondu carried the salamander out, the Princess, sipping tea beside me, remarked,
“So it’s not here either, huh?”
“Well, it’d be weirder if it showed up every time we searched.”
“True. That’s how things usually go, isn’t it? That’s why I’ve been preparing another method...”
“Another method?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
In the end, we had no choice but to move on to the final location.
Once again, it was a bust.
We searched for half a month but found nothing at all.
“Three misses in a row... not a good sign.”
“But didn’t you say there are still two places left south of the Yangtze? If His Majesty declares the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult as traitors again, we’ll investigate those next. Plus, we haven’t really searched Jura Mountain either.”
Seeing me look troubled, the Princess consoled me.
She was right—Jura Mountain still remained, and we hadn’t yet explored the two southern Yangtze locations either.
“Yes, we should. For now, let’s return to the Beast Palace. Hwa-eun said she wants to see me, after all.”
"All right."
"Let’s do that."
"Commander, then now..."
I was about to suggest to the commander that we head toward the Beast Palace, but a thought suddenly occurred to me.
"Ah, before that—I’d like to meet an old friend first."
"A friend?"
Gun Hye-rin and the Princess tilted their heads at the idea of visiting a friend on the way.
They were clearly interpreting it in a way unrelated to my past life, but I still felt a little annoyed.
In my previous life, whenever someone gave that kind of expression or asked that kind of question, the underlying meaning was something like, “You? A loner like you has a friend?”
‘Hey, I do have friends, okay?’
"Yes. His name is Geum Gi-ryung, head of the Geumjeok Merchant Guild based in Taean, the city at the foot of Mount Tai."
"You consider him a friend?"
"Yes. I helped him out a bit in the past."
Now that I thought about it, our return path passed by the Geumjeok Guild headquarters, so I figured it was a good chance to stop by and see him.
"Then let's set our next destination as Taean."
"Please do."
We traveled for about three days past Yeongcheon, the capital, and soon Taean came into view.
It was a far more vibrant city than when the waterways had been completely blocked by Geumdo.
As we docked the ship at the harbor, a few military officials approached to confirm something, but the commander took care of it on his own.
"Well then, shall we?"
"Let’s go."
"Let’s."
I headed toward the Geumjeok Guild with Gun Hye-rin and the Princess, but we kept getting delayed because the two of them were fussing over strange things they saw along the way.
"Isn’t this pretty?"
"It’s got a shape that looks quite practical."
"Seems perfect for slicing meat when camping. Might be worth picking one up."
"This one’s nice too. The blade’s narrow—easy to conceal on the body."
"That one’s pretty too."
I just wanted to hurry up and meet Geum Gi-ryung, but we happened to pass through the blacksmithing district, and the Princess and Gun Hye-rin kept getting distracted by daggers and short swords.
They say a woman’s window-shopping is something no man can endure, and after an hour of it, I finally gave in.
Gyaaaaaaah!
"Do you want me to buy one each, if you need it?"
"Really?"
"You mean it?"
"Yeah, pick one each. I’ll buy it for you. I wonder if Hwa-eun would like something like this too?"
"Of course. Hwa-eun would definitely like it."
I figured if I just bought them one each, we could get out of here faster. But after picking through a few, they each asked me to choose one for them.
"So-ryong, you choose one of these for me."
"Me too."
I picked one for each of them, plus one for Hwa-eun, reading their expressions carefully. But—damn.
That was a mistake.
"I’ll treasure this, So-ryong."
"I’ll hold onto mine dearly as well."
They both clutched their daggers to their chests, smiling blissfully.
'Oh shit. That’s a heroine move, isn’t it!?'
I was startled by the looks on their faces.
In my past life, there was a term for this in web novels, anime, or movies—when the side female characters gave meaning to a gift the protagonist had given them for no reason. It was called a heroine move.
The protagonist gives a gift without thinking, but the girl attaches meaning to it and deepens her feelings for him—that kind of thing. And that was exactly the look they had.
Honestly, if it were something like a trinket or an ornament, I wouldn’t have offered.
You buy someone a trinket just casually, but then they treat it as a token of affection and hold onto it like a keepsake.
But I had overlooked the fact that both of them were martial women—trained swordswomen at that.
Even if it was just a dagger bought off the street, it now felt like they’d assigned some great significance to it.
Clearly, I needed to speed up my plans.
As we approached the Geumjeok Guild headquarters, I brought it up.
"Gun Hye-rin, don’t you think it’s about time you stopped by the Demonic Cult’s main base? You know, to check on how your subordinates are doing?"
"Yeah, it’s probably about time I did."
"Then go ahead and take the kids with you or something."
"Sure, I’ll do that when I return from the Beast Palace to the Tang Clan."
First, I’d separate Gun Hye-rin. Next, the Princess.
"Your Highness, shouldn’t you stop by Bo-ta Temple as well?"
"No. I made a promise to His Majesty. I won’t visit it while he lives."
"Not even a little sneaky visit?"
"The imperial secret division is probably watching me."
‘Tch. This one’s not going to be easy.’
Gun Hye-rin, I could probably find a way to send off. But the Princess... she had nowhere to go.
‘Then I guess I’ll have to leave her at the Tang Clan while I move with Hwa-eun.’
I needed to find a way to shake them off, gather the Ten Venoms quickly, and raise my cultivation realm.
Just as I was thinking that, the Geumjeok Merchant Guild’s headquarters came into view.
I approached and addressed the guard at the gate.
"Is Guildmaster Geum here? Please let him know that So-ryong, son-in-law of the Sacheon Tang Clan, has come to visit."
"The Tang Clan!? Understood!"
A guard quickly ran inside, and not long after—
Geum Gi-ryung came rushing out with a bright expression, nearly tripping over himself.
“Y-Young Hero—no, you’re a Great Hero now, huh? Sir So-ryong the Great Hero. Hah?”
"Come on, what kind of friend calls someone the Great Hero? Just call me by name."
He ran up, looking delighted, and was about to shake my hand when he abruptly froze and dropped into a deep bow with startled eyes.
"Geum Gi-ryung of the Geumjeok Guild greets Princess Gwan—"
"Shhh. I’m here personally. Let’s keep this quiet, please."
"A-ah, understood!"
As expected of someone known as one of the top merchant lords in the Central Plains—Geum Gi-ryung recognized the Princess at once.
Once he’d composed himself, we moved to a private room and began chatting over tea. True to his role as a friend, he brought good news.
"So-ryong, I was just about to contact you. This worked out well."
"Contact me?"
"Yes. I’ve secured an ancient aquatic spirit beast known as the Yuan-Tuo. I was going to inform you."
"Yuan-Tuo?"
I had asked him to keep an eye out for spirit beasts or news of them—and now he’d secured one with a name I’d never heard before.
