Chapter 39 – Venomous Creatures Garden (2)

At my answer, ‘Venomous Creatures Garden’, Nunim tilted her head in curiosity, so I explained the meaning behind the name.

I wanted to show how grand and cool this name truly was.

“The character ‘毒’ means venom, ‘物’ means creature, and ‘園’ means garden. It symbolizes a garden-like place where all the venomous creatures of the Central Plains are gathered. The name reflects the intent to collect every venomous creature scattered throughout the Central Plains. What do you think?

A dreamlike garden where not just animals, but venomous creatures, roam freely.”

“A garden where all venomous creatures are gathered… Gathering all venomous creatures…”

Nunim responded with a wistful tone.

Nunim was someone who understood the atmosphere.

To give such a wistful response at this timing.

I gave Nunim a smile that said, See? This is what I can come up with when I put my mind to it, instead of naming things lazily like Oil, Oi, and Osam.

It seemed she liked it too, as she repeated the name of the Venomous Creatures Garden to herself.

“Venomous Creatures Garden… Venomous Creatures Garden…”

With that, rather than heading straight to the breeding facility inside the Myriad Poison Hall, Nunim and I first made our way to the pavilion, the Venomous Creatures Garden.

The reason I specifically requested a separate pavilion was that the cave-like environment of the Myriad Poison Hall wasn’t exactly ideal for raising living creatures.

Perhaps it could be used during the winter, but otherwise, it was an ambiguous place for breeding due to its location inside a cave.

Although a cave has the advantage of maintaining a stable temperature, the problem was that the cave where the Myriad Poison Hall was located had an ice cave, where ice remained frozen even during the peak of summer. As such, the environment was too cool and damp during the summer months.

While the Myriad Poison Hall’s interior had ventilation facilities to control humidity, the biggest issue was that it did not receive direct sunlight.

To raise venomous creatures, reptiles and amphibians were a must, and for reptiles and amphibians, as well as other vertebrates, exposure to ultraviolet light from sunlight was necessary to synthesize Vitamin D. This was something that could not be achieved inside a cave.

Sunbathing might not seem like a big deal, but for reptiles, it was an essential condition.

Vitamin D played a crucial role in calcium absorption. Without sunbathing, they couldn’t absorb calcium, which could lead to diseases like osteomalacia.

In my previous life, when I raised reptiles, I always provided UV lamps. Here, however, that wasn’t an option, so raising venomous creatures inside the cave was not feasible.

“There are people waiting over there, Soryong.”

While talking to Nunim, we arrived at the front of the pavilion without realizing it.

At her words, I turned my head and saw a group of martial artists lined up in formation, waiting for me in front of the Venomous Creatures Garden.

They were probably the people Nunim mentioned earlier, the ones assigned to this Venomous Creatures Garden.

These were the martial artists who had previously been in charge of managing the venomous creatures at the Myriad Poison Hall, as well as additional people sent to assist me.

However, as soon as I arrived at the front of the pavilion, the first thing that caught my eye was a familiar face.

Blinking in surprise, I called out to him.

As far as I knew, he wasn’t someone who was supposed to be assigned here.

“Vice Commander Gu?”

Standing at the very front, Uncle Gu Pae was grinning widely.

“Yes! Young Master Soryong! Gu Pae, Commander of the Venomous Creature Squad, is here!”

His enthusiastic voice answered my question.

When I tilted my head at the mention of the “Venomous Creature Squad”, he patted his chest proudly as he explained.

“Venomous Creature Squad?”

“Yes, Young Master Soryong! It’s a squad dedicated to collecting and raising venomous creatures with you. Young Master Soryong’s Venomous Creature Squad!”

I had heard they would send people to take care of venomous creatures like insects or snakes, but I thought they were simply sending workers. I never imagined they would form an entire team of martial artists, like the Poison Blood Squad or the Poison Extermination Squad, and assign them to me.

I looked over at Nunim, who spoke with a motherly smile.

“This was Father’s decision before your departure, saying you should start learning how to lead and command people. Even the elders of the family unanimously agreed, for some reason. I have no idea what got into them.

And since this is Soryong’s personal Venomous Creature Squad, you can treat them as your own hands and feet.”

In the end, they were my direct subordinates, assigned to me.

Wow, they’re really giving me full support here.

They said they’d support my hobby, and this was some serious backing.

Honestly, in my previous life, this was my dream.

To open a dedicated shop for venomous creatures.

Hobbies are great and fun, but there are limits to raising creatures by oneself. Also, when the creatures start reproducing, you need to distribute their offspring, and that’s hard to manage alone.

A paradise where I pay employees a salary to raise them for me while I just enjoy the process.

It felt like that dream might actually come true here.

Resolving to realize the dream I couldn’t achieve in my past life here in the Central Plains, I looked at the twenty martial artists lined up before me with a sense of gratitude.

Then Nunim gave me a gentle push on the back and spoke.

“Soryong since it’s your Venomous Creature Squad, you should say a few words.”

‘Gasp! A motivational speech!’

Nunim, asking me to give a speech I had always wanted to try at least once in my life.

Feeling proud, I started pacing back and forth in front of the martial artists and began to speak.

Since it was the first day, it felt like I had to give some sort of motivational speech, considering the atmosphere.

“Ahem! I am Wei Soryong. The one who will share life and death with all of you.

You will be responsible for managing this Venomous Creatures Garden with me.

Some of you may be thinking this: Why should I be cleaning up after insignificant creatures and feeding them?”

At the mention of sharing life and death, the martial artists, as expected, looked slightly encouraged, but when I brought up cleaning up after and feeding insignificant creatures, a few of them flinched.

Having lived within the Tang Family for some time, I had realized that the martial artists here were brimming with pride over training in the Tang Family’s martial arts.

Naturally, they wouldn’t be happy about being assigned to do such menial tasks. That’s why I brought it up, and as expected, many of the martial artists seemed to harbor such thoughts.

“However, I want to tell you all that the work you are doing is incredibly valuable. Haven’t you seen it recently? How I defeated the Elder of the Blood Cult?

It was all thanks to the venomous creatures! You are about to engage in work of immense value!

Think about it!

Right now, we may be raising small creatures like snakes, lizards, or spiders, but with the experience we gain here, we’ll be able to raise the Ten Great Venomous Creatures. And when that happens, even worse enemies than the Blood Cult won’t stand a chance against us! Our Tang Sect will grow even stronger with venomous creatures. Everyone!”

The story of how I had defeated the Elder of the Blood Cult had already spread like wildfire.

When I brought it up, the martial artists became ecstatic.

“Woooaah!”

“Long live Young Master Soryong! Long live the Sichuan Tang Family!”

Even Nunim and Uncle Gu Pae clapped their hands in delight.

-Clap clap clap!

“Well said, Young Master Soryong!”

“That’s right, Soryong. Advancing the Tang Family… That’s amazing. Your words made my heart race.”

Nunim and Uncle Gu Pae clapped together, raising the energy even further among the martial artists.

“Woohoo!”

“Yeahhh!”

‘This is quite troublesome.’

With all this enthusiasm, how could I just step down after giving a mere speech?

Such fiery responses demand rewards.

I decided to throw out a line that would excite everyone.

‘I’m at least a small squad leader now, so surely I can afford to offer a reward, right?’

There was no way I could end my very first motivational speech with just empty words.

“Ah, and I will speak with the Family Head about ensuring that the most hardworking among you will be the first to enjoy the honey gathered by the Golden-Furred King Bee when it’s collected….”

“Wooaaahhh!”

“Uwaaahhhh!”

Before I even finished my sentence, thunderous cheers erupted.

As expected, the mention of rewards always gets the best response.

***

After the speech, we moved deeper into the Venomous Creatures Garden, where I planned to gather the martial artists and explain what needed to be done.

From what I heard, even the martial artists who previously worked at the Myriad Poison Hall only handled tasks like slaughtering, transporting, or basic management. So it seemed necessary to explain what to do from the beginning.

“Young Master Soryong, so what exactly will we be doing first?”

The most enthusiastic one, as always, was none other than Uncle Gu Pae.

He had apparently volunteered to join the Venomous Creature Squad, which explained his overflowing enthusiasm.

Ever since the Golden-Furred King Bee incident, the Commander of the Poison Blood Squad would avoid me whenever he saw me, quietly sneaking away.

He probably didn’t want to get involved with me again and go through another grueling ordeal.

However, unlike others, Uncle Gu Pae, who had also been stranded to the side of the road with me back then, seemed to almost enjoy the hardship. Ever since then, he had been looking at me with eyes full of admiration. When my father-in-law announced that they were recruiting a commander for the Venomous Creature Squad, Gu Pae personally volunteered for the role.

Either he had discovered the charm of venomous creatures, or he enjoyed being pushed around, one of the two.

Whichever it was, I decided I’d make good use of him either way and responded.

“First, we need to head out and catch something.”

At this, the commander was visibly excited.

“Ooooh! As expected! So, what are we catching first? Tiger Keelback? Lizards? Or maybe spiders?”

“Wouldn’t it be the Tiger Keelback? Grandfather mentioned it as well, and when it comes to venomous creatures, isn’t the snake the most venomous of all?”

The commander and Nunim both looked at me with excitement and curiosity, prompting me to smile as I replied.

But my answer wasn’t quite what they were expecting.

“First, we’ll go catch rats.”

“Wha-what!? Rats!?”

“You mean rats!?”

Yes, what we needed to catch wasn’t snakes (사(蛇)), but rats (서(鼠)).

In Central Plains language, ‘서(鼠)’ meant rat.

That’s right, we had to start the Venomous Creatures Garden by catching rats.

For breeding reptiles, nothing is more essential than rats, particularly newborn ones called pinkies.

‘No matter what you’re raising, food is always the most important thing.’

***

If someone were to ask why venomous creatures evolved to possess venom, the answer could be divided into two main reasons:

First, for hunting. Second, for defense.

Venom used for hunting is generally designed to quickly and efficiently subdue prey. On the other hand, venom used for defense compensates for the creature’s otherwise fragile physical body. Thus, venomous creatures that evolved for these two different purposes tend to have different dietary habits.

In general, creatures that developed venom for hunting are carnivorous, while those that developed venom for defense are herbivorous.

Of course, there are exceptions, like poison dart frogs, but that’s the general rule.

For this reason, herbivorous venomous creatures that developed venom for defensive purposes are relatively easy to raise. You can simply grow a large quantity of plants to use as their feed.

The problem lies with the vast majority of venomous creatures, which evolved venom for hunting. These creatures must be fed animal-based food. As a result, raising animal-based feed for these creatures is an essential step before even attempting to breed them.

Back on Haenam Island, since I didn’t raise snakes, there wasn’t much demand for large prey. I bred crickets to feed the lizards and spiders, but this was the Sichuan Tang Family.

When it comes to venomous creatures with potent venom, snakes reign supreme.

And since I needed to raise Tiger Keelbacks immediately, and considering that venomous snakes would be the primary focus of our breeding efforts moving forward, ensuring a steady supply of pinkies was absolutely essential.

Pinkies refer to newborn rats, hairless, pink, and just a few days old, hence the nickname.

If you let them grow a bit more until they develop sparse hair, they’re called fuzzies. Fully grown ones with all their fur are called hoppers. All three stages are commonly used as reptile feed.

They’re an excellent source of protein and calcium for reptiles.

-Squeeak. Squeak!

“Young Master Soryong, what do you think? Is this the right way?”

A martial artist held up the tail of a large sewer rat he had caught from a paddy field and shook it as he asked me a question.

This was the umpteenth time, despite me already saying it wasn’t the right one earlier.

Shaking my head in response to the martial artist’s question, I answered.

“No, not a rat that big. Didn’t I say it should be smaller and with a shorter tail?”

“But this one’s small too.”

“It needs to be even smaller.”

“Hmm… In that case, I guess we’ll just have to throw this one away.”

The martial artist tossed the sewer rat back into the paddy field and ran over to the others who were digging through the fields with their hoes.

“He says it’s still not the right one! It has to be smaller than that.”

“Smaller than that one?”

Given the conditions of this era, there might still be outbreaks of plague, so we couldn’t use such large sewer rats for feeding reptiles.

Well, any wild-caught rodents could carry the threat of disease, but personally, I had a strong aversion to those large sewer rats.

They were strangely clever and, for some reason, just creepy.

That’s why the creature we were looking for had to be smaller and cuter.

What I was really after were Chinese Hamsters, also known as striped hamsters in my previous life.

There were records of them being used as laboratory animals before regular rats were bred for laboratory use, and they would be less repulsive than large field rats, so they’d be good for producing pinkies.

So although we came out to catch rats, more precisely, what we were looking for wasn’t so much rats as Chinese hamsters.

“Soryong…”

After sending away the warrior who was scratching his head, I heard Nunim’s voice behind me.

When I turned around, Nunim looked hesitant as she asked.

“Do we really have to raise rats? Isn’t there… anything else we could use?”

“Yes, without feeding them these, the snakes would all fall ill or die.”

“I see…”

She could take lives as easily as erasing words with an eraser, but when it came to rats, she seemed to have trouble adapting to the idea.

However, when the martial artists, who had been scouring the paddy fields and nearby village areas, finally caught a few Chinese Hamsters and brought them back, Nunim looked at them with an expression of disbelief.

“Are you really going to feed these little ones to the snakes? They don’t even look like rats…”

It seemed their unexpectedly cute appearance was affecting her. Honestly, though, Chinese Hamsters were so mouse-like that calling them hamsters almost felt like an insult to actual hamsters.

Even in my previous life, some people used to joke that these hamsters were only called hamsters because someone in China insisted they were.

After all, it was a place where even cats could become rats if you called them rats.

It was the kind of place where you could beat up a cat, declare, “From now on, you’re a rat” and everyone would just go along with it.

There were even discussions in some circles about whether Chinese Hamsters should be classified as hamsters at all, so I simply nodded.

“Yes, these are still rats, after all.”

Now that we had secured the rats needed to produce pinkies, it seemed like it was time to officially begin full-scale pinkie production.

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – bjgoofy]