‘These bastards... letting them just die quickly is too light a punishnt. I need sothing harsher. Sothing that ensures their very souls suffer, even in death.’
In the depths of my fury, I racked my brain over how to punish them.
Death felt like too rciful a sentence.
Sure, brutally killing a spirit beast was a cri worthy of execution on its own—but there was a cri even worse: these scum had interfered with my own Twenty-Four Venoms Collection.
The very fuel that kept alive in this world was the pursuit of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures and the Twenty-Four Venoms. Interfering with that was an unforgivable, capital-level offense.
‘Even in my past life, whenever I ca close to completing a collection, sothing would always go wrong and ruin it. Damned cursed timing.’
Out of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures of the Central Plains, I’d already collected seven:
Cho, the Flying Centipede.
Yo-hwa, who was mistaken for the Human-Faced Spider but was actually the Golden-Faced Spider King.
Hwayang, the Azure Fire Magma Toad.
Cheong-yu Sojeo, the Golden-Crowned Serpent King.
Jeokwol, the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly.
Moji and Soji, the Silver Silkworm Moths.
Cheong-wol, the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Armored Scorpion.
Of the three remaining:
Hoja (Shrieking Tiger Cub) was currently held by the Five Venoms Sect.
Zimjo, the toxic bird, had left behind traces in Hainan, though I wasn’t sure if it was just passing through or actually inhabited the area.
And only one creature still had its location completely unknown.
I was so close to completion I’d already drawn up a plan.
Once I found the unknown one, I’d retrieve Hoja from the Five Venoms Sect. That would give nine. Then finally, I’d go after Zimjo to finish the set.
A perfect circular completion.
Since Zimjo was the one that introduced to the concept of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, wasn’t it fitting that it should be the last?
‘Every true collector knows you start and end with the sa card. That’s the rule.’
But the heavens, perhaps thinking ten wasn’t enough, had handed a side quest—the Twenty-Four Venoms.
The concept is similar to the twelve-hour zodiac of the Central Plains. Just like each hour is matched with an animal, the Tang Clan had designated 24 venomous creatures—not as powerful as the Ten Greats, but still highly dangerous.
They were divided across 24 symbolic "positions":
Heaven–Earth–Mysterious–Yellow
Sun–Moon–Star–Quake
Cloud–Rain–Snow–Hail
Gold–Silver–Water–Fire
Red–Blue–White–Black
Flower–Tree–Grass–Fruit
The ones I’d already secured were:
From Heaven–Earth–Mysterious–Yellow:
Heaven: Yeondu, the Flying Divine Snake.
Earth: Orange, the Earth-Swimming Divine Snake.
Mysterious: Bini, the Ink-Black Ghost Centipede.
Yellow: Geumdo, the Millennium Golden Turtle.
From Red–Blue–White–Black:
Red: Hongdan, the Black-Clawed Red Earwig.
Blue: the Azure Steel Immortal Ant.
White: Baekhwa, the Millennium White Snake.
Black: Heukhwa, the Millennium Black Snake.
From Flower–Tree–Grass–Fruit:
Flower: Sandan, the Twin Orchid Mantis.
Tree: Changcheon, the Blackwood Locust King.
Grass: Yeongryeon, the Blood-Eyed Green-Furred Shrew.
Fruit: Yeoncheon and Yeonji, the Crimson Poison Harpoon Snails.
So that left just six:
Quake from Sun–Moon–Star–Quake.
Rain and Hail from Cloud–Rain–Snow–Hail.
Gold and Silver from Gold–Silver–Water–Fire.
And lastly...
Water, which was supposed to be the Exploding Jade Water Beetle.
Now? Found dead.
To a casual outsider, they might say, “Just find another one.”
But those people don’t know. In collection culture, when you lose sothing right before it’s yours, it curses the entire effort.
Sa thing happened in my past life. Just when I was about to get a rare piece, sothing would always happen: the pet would suddenly die, or the seller would back out.
And those were the ones I could never replace.
If I sohow managed to complete the Ten Greats and the rest of the Twenty-Four, but this one beetle was missing?
I’d never rest. Not even in death.
How could that not be a capital offense?
‘Obviously.’
Do you know when collectors go the most insane?
When they’re missing just one.
It’s that one that drives you mad. Just one, and it’d be perfect. But it refuses to be found.
It’s like lottery addicts who hit second prize. They beco obsessed. One more number and they’d have had it all.
It’s the sa kind of madness.
‘God. I already feel like I’m going crazy.’
Just as the swirling fury and grief were reaching their peak—sowhere between twelve executions and spiritual implosion—Geombong and the Commander of the Venom Elimination Unit spoke up beside .
“So-ryong, do you happen to know the na of this spirit beast?”
“Y-Young Hero, what should we call this one?”
They were probably curious what exactly this creature was.
I took a breath and explained.
“It’s most likely one of the Twenty-Four Venoms. The Exploding Jade Water Beetle.”
“Exploding Jade Water Beetle?”
“Exploding Jade Water Beetle?”
The two of them peered down at the dead beast again.
Geombong looked thoughtful, but the Commander of the Venom Elimination Unit wore the expression of soone hearing it for the first ti.
“You’ve never heard of it either, Commander?”
“No, So-ryong. I’ve been part of the Venom Elimination Unit ever since I entered the Tang Clan. I’ve never focused on venomous creatures.”
Damn. How much of a murder machine do you have to be to be placed in the Venom Elimination Unit from day one and never leave it?
Shaking off that thought, I turned back to him.
“Anyway, let’s start tying up the ones Hwa-eun caught and prep for interrogation. Looks like it’ll be dawn soon.”
“Oh! Yes, So-ryong! Do you have any other orders?”
The commander grinned, excited to interrogate soone.
At his question, I glanced at the two n behind him and gave a command.
“You two—head to the boat and bring back a jar of strong baijiu.”
“Baijiu, sir?”
“Yes. One whole jar.”
“Understood, So-ryong!”
They shot out like arrows.
Once they were gone, the commander tilted his head curiously.
“So-ryong, if I may ask... why baijiu, all of a sudden?”
Baijiu—a strong, distilled liquor.
It made sense he’d be confused why I’d suddenly need that.
To clear it up, I pointed to the corpse of the Exploding Jade Water Beetle.
“I need to preserve the body. Otherwise, it’ll rot.”
Baijiu is high in alcohol content. It’s the easiest way in this era to get alcohol for disinfection.
Since I’d already dissected the thing, it was sure to spoil soon. I’d need to sterilize and dry it.
Back in my past life, preserving rhinoceros beetles or stag beetles was normal—you’d make specins to rember them, since you couldn’t emotionally connect with insects anyway.
But now?
Now I was raising creatures like Hongdan, Cho, Hyang, and Bini.
There was no way I could turn one of their kind into a lifeless specin.
Out of respect for them, I wouldn’t preserve this one for display.
However, spirit beasts’ remains are often used as material for armor or weapons. This was a rare and valuable resource.
So burial wasn’t an option either.
I was part of the Tang Clan, after all.
“Everything in the Tang Clan is mine, but the reverse is also true—what’s mine is also the Tang Clan’s.”
That’s why I needed to take it back and discuss it with the elders first.
“Then perhaps you should preserve it in salt? The head, too—it’s usually salted, isn’t it?”
At my explanation, the Commander of the Venom Elimination Unit offered his suggestion as if it were the perfect idea.
Why not just preserve it in salt?
“No, salting it could damage the shell with its acidity. Baijiu is better.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“No, I don’t think I’ll need much assistance.”
“I see. Then, since you’ll be handling this, I’ll proceed with the interrogation preparations!”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes, So-ryong!”
I was a little stunned to learn that people typically salted heads for preservation.
While I watched over the dead Exploding Jade Water Beetle, the commander returned and inford that the interrogation preparations were complete.
“So-ryong! Everything’s ready!”
“Understood.”
Since the baijiu hadn’t arrived yet, I stepped outside. In front of the building were several captives, all kneeling.
They’d clearly been detoxified from Hwa-eun’s paralysis poison—they were conscious now.
Which ant Hwa-eun must’ve personally purged the poison. It’s said only a master in the Fla Realm could neutralize such venom.
“Kgh...”
“P-please spare us...”
As I stood before the building, I looked down at the prisoners, now utterly defeated—so even crying.
They must have assud they were dead the mont the Tang Clan captured them.
‘You really didn’t see this coming?’
If you’re making counterfeit Tang Clan dicine, this kind of consequence shouldn’t co as a shock.
If they hadn’t killed the spirit beast, I might’ve had a sliver of sympathy. But the mont they interfered with my collection, any rcy I had evaporated.
I stood before them with a cold expression.
“Ahem.”
At that mont, Hwa-eun approached and discreetly handed sothing.
“So-ryong, take this. Hide it so the kids don’t see.”
“What is it?”
She handed a blue bead—misshapen like a deford natural pearl.
After giving it to , she spoke softly.
“We found this inside the woman. Looks like the spirit beast’s Neidan.”
So that’s what it was—the internal core of the dead spirit beast.
‘These bastards didn’t just kill it—they stripped it clean.’
They’d drained the venom for dicine and even harvested its Neidan. Rage surged again.
I kept it bottled inside and began questioning them.
“Well, let’s start with introductions. You, over there.”
I pointed to one of the n among the last to be caught. He looked around, then hesitantly answered.
“M-?”
“Yes, you. An organization this big must have a na. Why don’t you tell who you are?”
Was the woman ranked higher?
Instead of answering, he looked toward her and fumbled his words.
“W-we are...”
But the woman looked half-mad, likely because her sect leader had died at my hands.
As the silence dragged on, the commander rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, prompting the man to speak quickly.
“Are you forcing my hand?”
“W-we’re from the Dark Poison Sect.”
“Dark Poison Sect?”
I’d never heard of it, but judging from everyone else’s reactions, I was the only one who didn’t know. They all looked surprised.
Hwa-eun, standing beside , asked with narrowed eyes.
“Why would the Dark Poison Sect produce and sell counterfeit Tang Clan dicine? You know the laws of the martial world.”
When no further answers ca, I turned to the commander.
“What exactly is the Dark Poison Sect?”
“They’re a minor faction, part of the Unorthodox Path. They use venomous creatures’ toxins to create dicines or coat weapons—similar to us in so [N O V E L I G H T] ways, but definitely smaller and less reputable.”
Unorthodox Path—those who do whatever it takes to gain power. Not well-loved in the martial world.
So they were basically a lesser mirror of the Tang Clan.
I spoke coldly, annoyed at their stubborn silence.
“You killed a spirit beast—one of the Central Plains’ rarest treasures—and used its venom to mimic my own Jidamhwan formula. That’s a serious cri. And you refuse to cooperate? Maybe I should take two heads to start things off.”
The commander cracked his knuckles.
“Excellent idea. Drag two of them out!”
“Yes, Commander!”
As his subordinates moved in, the man suddenly scread toward the woman.
“Senior Sister! Let’s just tell them! Our master is dead—if we don’t talk, we’ll all die too!”
Then he turned to us and shouted.
“F-fine! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
“Junior!”
The woman scread, but the commander had already struck her pressure point.
He clearly believed she’d silence the man if she stayed conscious.
The mont she collapsed, I stepped forward.
“Good. Now explain everything we want to know. Where did you find the spirit beast? And why use it to make fake Jidamhwan?”
The man nodded and answered.
“Understood. But... we didn’t catch the spirit beast.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, we found it while it was already dying.”
“You found it?”
At his words, I glanced back toward the building with the corpse.
There are only three reasons a fully grown insect would be dying.
First — Old age.
But the one we found wasn’t old. Beetles nearing death from age show it: missing leg segnts, worn-out body hairs. But this one was intact.
Second — Disease.
But there were no signs of illness. Its shell was clean, its organs intact.
Its color had faded a bit, sure—but otherwise, it looked fine.
Which left the third possibility — Post-reproduction.
The creature might’ve just laid its eggs before dying.
And the mont that thought struck—
“Wait... no way!”
“So-ryong!”
“So-ryong?!”
I dashed back toward the abandoned building where the Exploding Jade Water Beetle’s corpse lay.
That third option felt the most likely.
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