Chapter 15 – Sichuan’s Tang Family (5)

“Is, is this a dream!?”

If young miss suddenly starts crying in the forest, showing a completely different demeanor from before, then this must be a dream.

Seeing young miss crying and calling me a savior confirmed that this was indeed a dream.

But young miss shakes her head in response to my words.

Wiping her tears, she replied.

“This is a dream yet not a dream. Savior. It was just a moment of lucid dreaming.”

‘What does that even mean?’

As I looked bewildered by young miss’s words, she spoke while still prostrate.

“I am the mother of those three children you saved, Savior.”

“Three children?”

That reminds me of the three little girls clinging to me.

Looking down, I see them sucking their fingers and looking up at me.

About four or five years old? Very cute children.

I was surprised by a sense of familiarity and responded.

If they’re the three children I saved, they must be the centipede babies.

Although I couldn’t understand it with my head, the only ones I remembered saving were the centipede eggs.

“You, you mean the centipede babies?”

“Yes, Savior. Fearing you might be startled, I temporarily assumed the appearance of this woman after she consuming my inner core. I am their mother.”

“So, you mean the Blue-Spotted Centipede, the, the centipede?”

“Yes, Savior.”

The woman identified herself Blue-Spotted Centipede, a centipede.

No, a woman who had assumed the appearance of young miss.

And the children in my arms, looking at the woman with frightened eyes, were the centipede babies.

‘Wait, were they all girls!?’

Feeling slightly guilty as they used to carelessly undress during baths.

I asked the woman why she had appeared in my lucid dream, whatever that was.

“How come? Why have you appeared in my dream?”

Then the woman, with a face full of deep resentment and crying tears of blood, answered.

“I was ruthlessly killed, leaving my children behind. My grudge reached the heavens, and my spirit remained in the inner core.

Unable to scatter due to the grudge and unable to ascend to heaven.

Thus, my spirit remained in the body of this woman and cursed her, until an opportunity to resolve my grudge appeared, manifesting as this meet. All because you, Savior, showed up with my children.”

“I see.”

The story of a mother deeply resentful for dying and leaving her children behind.

Thinking about it, I was the one who revealed her location, causing cold sweat to run down my back.

Then, as if reading my thoughts, the woman shook her head and answered.

“No. You didn’t know the exact location where I was.

If we trace back in such a manner, wouldn’t everyone in the world be my enemy? The person who gave birth to the savior. The person who helped the savior. Like that.

Therefore, I’m only grateful that you saved my remaining children.

They were destined to die without ever seeing the light of the world.”

“Still, I was reckless.”

I saved young miss, but in doing so, I inadvertently contributed to the destruction of a happy family, leaving me feeling uneasy.

Thinking that these cute children have to grow up without their mother.

I took the children and placed them in the arms of the woman.

Even if it’s just in a dream, let them reunite.

“Here, kids, your mom.”

“Th-thank you, Savior. My children…”

Then the woman, embracing her three children with tears.

As I uncomfortably watched their reunion, the woman, after a while, wiping her tears, made a request.

“If you feel so uneasy, could you please do me a favor?”

I nodded at the woman’s words.

Even if unintentional, I had played a part in it.

I felt the need to take responsibility if there was a part for me to bear.

“Yes, I will fulfill any request you have.”

Then the woman clasped her hands and made a heartfelt request.

“Then, could you please take care of my children until they grow up?”

“What? Don’t centipedes leave their parents’ side after shedding their skin twice?”

I had to ask in response to her request to take care of them until they grew up.

Centipedes are originally animals that leave their mother’s body after hatching and shedding their skin twice.

I was planning to raise them longer anyway…

But the woman shook her head.

“No. That’s true for ordinary creatures. We are different. Please take care of the three children until they grow up…”

I was concerned about them growing as big as a house, but since they seemed to understand me well, I thought raising them wouldn’t be too difficult. Since it wasn’t illegal collection but rather a rational adoption, I quickly responded to her request.

“Understood. Of course, I should.”

“Th-thank you!”

With that, the Centipede babies completely entrusted to me, feeling more like adoption than collection. Now that the mother of the Centipede babies appeared, I decided to ask the questions I had been curious about.

What exactly do the children eat, and how should I raise them?

“By the way, could you tell me what to feed the children and what I should be careful about?”

Then the Blue-Spotted Centipede, wearing young miss’s face, happily answered.

“Indeed. You are the Savior. Caring for the children like this.

Before the children shed their skin twice, they absorb the energy flowing from their mother’s inner core. After shedding twice, they grow by consuming the energy of all things. They can also eat other meats, but…

So you don’t have to worry about feeding them.”

No need to separately prepare food for them.

I was relieved, thinking it would be a problem if these house-sized creatures started eating everything.

But there was one issue: I didn’t have a inner core.

“But, I don’t have an inner core?”

Then the Blue-Spotted Centipede, with young miss’s face, tapped her chest and replied.

“It’s okay. Isn’t this woman here? Since she consumed my inner core, the children can feed on the energy flowing from this body.”

“But then, I would have to be close to young miss…”

To feed the children with the flowing energy, I would have to stay close to young miss with the these babies attached to me. However, my relationship with young miss had become ambiguous.

As I wore a concerned expression, the Blue-Spotted Centipede wearing young miss’s face smiled and said.

“I have a plan. While repaying my gratitude to the Savior, you can feed the children well, and you can win this woman’s heart. Would you like to hear it? Of course, this woman will also be grateful to the Savior.”

Feeding the kids, making young miss mine, and pleasing her too. Intrigued by a proposal that could make all five of us happy, I asked.

Such a sweet-sounding method would be welcome.

Honestly, young miss is also pretty.

“Is there really such a good method!?”

“Of course, Savior. So, I will tell this woman…”

Listening to the story of the Blue-Spotted Centipede mother, it turned out that young miss was currently cursed by the mother, emitting a foul smell from her body.

The grudge from dying and leaving her child was so deep that she cursed to prevent any males from approaching her.

Was it to prevent her from ever having children by stopping men from approaching?

“So, by lifting the curse as a condition, I can make young miss mine, and by sleeping or staying close to her, the children can naturally receive the energy from the inner core?”

“Correct, Savior.”

After hearing this, I felt uncomfortable.

It felt like exploiting a weakness and pressuring young miss.

“But, that doesn’t sit well with me. It feels like taking advantage of young miss’s desperate situation for my own benefit.”

For a man to take advantage of a weakness to demand something, it was a method my righteous heart could not permit.

I have to make young miss fall for me because she likes me.

I am a romanticist, after all.

Hearing my response, the Blue-Spotted Centipede nodded and said.

“You are indeed a very righteous person, Savior.”

“No, not so much righteous… Just kind of foolish, that’s all.”

“This woman desires a strong man, but even though I would like to give you my Inner Core, it has been absorbed into this body’s Dantian…”

“It seems difficult to become strong because of the Ten Poisons or whatever that is.”

“Ten Great Venomous Creatures?”

We were pondering when a sudden thought struck me about the Blue-Spotted Centipede’s mention of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures.

“I have a good idea, would you entrust it to me?”

“A good idea?”

“Just leave it to me. I’ve thought of a good way to feed the children and benefit me as well.”

It seemed like I had to make a deal with young miss tomorrow.

***

Upon hearing that Wei Xiaolong, who was disheartened yesterday after realizing he had the Ten Poisons Physique, had asked to meet her, Tang Hwa-eun was a bit surprised.

She hadn’t shown it during the meal, but she had thought he might be quite depressed.

But it was unexpected that he sought her out right after breakfast the next day.

“He said he would wait at the pavilion in the inner backyard?”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

“Alright.”

Tang Hwa-eun headed to the pavilion with a sense of guilt.

Regardless of the reason, she had wounded the Young Hero’s heart, so it was bound to be uncomfortable.

Although Wei Xiaolong was not yet a martial artist, she had seen the expressions of those who came to the Tang Family to become martial artists and confronted their limitations.

‘Because of my greed, I ended up hurting a young boy…’

With these uneasy thoughts, she approached the pavilion.

Wei Xiaolong, looking the same as yesterday, was sitting in the pavilion.

Seeing Tang Hwa-eun from a distance, Wei Xiaolong greeted her with a smile.

“I apologize for calling you out like this.”

“Oh, no. Young Hero. I was sorry about yesterday.”

“You were just telling the truth. It’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“But still…”

Despite being five years younger, Wei Xiaolong had a strange way of making her feel flustered or genuine.

Tang Hwa-eun, sitting in the pavilion as she did yesterday, asked Wei Xiaolong.

“So, why did you call me here?”

What Wei Xiaolong said next was somewhat unexpected.

A secret that Hwa-eun wanted to hide was revealed by Wei Xiaolong.

“After consuming the Blue-Spotted Centipede’s Inner Core, do you emit a strange smell from your body?”

“How did you know that!?”

It was a story known only to her grandfather and a few others.

Since neither her grandfather nor her father would have spoken of her disgrace, a shocked Tang Hwa-eun asked incredulously.

“How do you know about that?”

“Wouldn’t you want to cure it?”

“Yes? Is there a way!? Of course, I want to be cured!”

“There’s not no way, but… well…”

“What?”

Wei Xiaolong hesitated to speak, looking apologetic.

Seeing his hesitant and apologetic expression, Hwa-eun asked cautiously.

“Is there something you want from me as payment for the cure?”

She wondered if he might demand something from her in return.

Then, surprised by Hwa-eun’s response, Wei Xiaolong waved his hands.

“Oh, no. Young Lady, what could I possibly want? I will just cure you.”

Just offering to cure her.

More surprised than if he had demanded something, a stunned Hwa-eun asked.

“Why? How come?”

Then, Wei Xiaolong smiled warmly.

“How can I become a villain who exploits a woman in a difficult situation?”

– Thump.

Her heart raced at Wei Xiaolong’s words.

It was the third time.

Despite his rudeness, the man responded with a smile and believed her when she expressed concern about him lying. A man five years younger had made her heart race.

That’s why Tang Hwa-eun apologized in a careful voice.

“I’m sorry, Wei Xiaolong… for misunderstanding you, a righteous person, even if just for a moment.”

“No, it’s not that. It seems like my hesitant way of speaking led to the misunderstanding. I hesitated because the method of treatment is a bit unusual.”

“Unusual, you say?”

As Hwa-eun blinked in surprise, Wei Xiaolong looked into his bosom and called out.

“Babies?”

-Tsurururur.

Then, three long, yellow insects emerged.

They looked pretty and almost cute, and Hwa-eun already knew they were the offspring of the Blue-Spotted Centipede. She stepped back in surprise, and Wei Xiaolong awkwardly smiled as he explained.

“It’s because of the centipede’s Inner Core that your body emits a strange smell. These Blue-Spotted Centipede offspring seem to live by consuming the energy flowing from their mother’s body. So, if you attach these centipede offspring to your body, they will consume that energy and naturally eliminate the smell.

Ah, of course, you don’t need to do this forever. Just attach these creatures to your body for a few days at a time, and let them absorb the energy. You only need to do this until they shed their skin twice.”

“You want me to attach these to myself!?”

“Yes.”

The centipedes looked at her, gently waving their heads.

Clearly, if this was the cure, it made sense why he hesitated to mention it.

Hwa-eun gazed intently at Wei Xiaolong.

He comforted her despite her rudeness, reassured her she was a good person, and extended such kindness to her. Wei Xiaolong, who had saved her life and helped her father.

Moved by the weight of his kindness and his consideration, Hwa-eun spoke with a trembling voice.

“I understand what you’re saying. I’ll do it. But I can’t just keep receiving favors from you.

So…

You seem like a very good person. I’ll seriously consider my father’s words. Seeing Wei Xiaolong makes me think that perhaps there’s something more valuable than mere talent.

So, even if you lack talent, can you give me the confidence to trust and follow me, Young Hero?”

Wei Xiaolong smiled warmly.

The boy stood up from his seat and took a step towards Hwa-eun. Standing in front of her, he looked up and spoke.

“It turns out well. I came here with a similar thought.

So, will you give me a chance? Then, I’ll give you the assurance you seek, Miss Hwa-eun.”

“A chance?”

“Yes. A chance.”

“What kind of chance?”

Confused by his sudden request for a chance, she listened to his next words.

Wei Xiaolong, looking at a distant mountain, continued.

“I thought a lot about it yesterday. About me being a Ten Poisons Physique. That I can only accept ten types of poison. You said it’s the highest state a talentless person can achieve, right?”

“That, that is…”

“So, I had this thought. If my body can only accept ten types of poison, what if I fill those ten types with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures of the Central Plains?”

“The Ten Great Venomous Creatures!?”

“Yes, what if I fill my Ten Poisons with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures? Would that give you the assurance, Miss Hwa-eun?

If I promise to fill my Ten Poisons with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, what would you say?”

Though there hasn’t been anyone who has gathered or obtained them, the ten poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures of the Central Plains are expected to be as powerful as the poisons assimilated by someone who has reached the realm of Ten Thousand Poisons within the Sichuan Tang Family. In fact, they are likely to be even stronger.

Theoretically, if one reaches the realm of Ten Poisons with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, it could soon surpass the realm of Ten Thousand Poisons.

It might even lead to becoming the foremost person under heaven.

So, his words meant that with the body of the Ten Poisons Physique, he aims to reach and surpass the realm of Ten Thousand Poisons.

Essentially, he was asking if she would accept him under those terms.

To become the foremost person under heaven for her!

Such a confession.

To her, known as the Poisonous Rose among the Three Beauties of the martial world, men were merely timid beings who could barely speak in front of her, often just blushing. That’s why, despite being praised for her beauty, she had never directly received such a confession from a man before…

Hwa-eun’s heart started to race with the boy’s absurd yet sincere words.

Such a confession, absurd and foolish, but it was her first.

Her heart was racing at the words of a boy five years younger, almost embarrassingly so.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – Roshi]