Chapter 96: Reunion

To get straight to the point, I ended up having a private audience with the father of the little ones—that is, the Palace Head of the Palace of Southern Beasts.

“……Uh, hello?”

Despite being told it’d be nothing special, the village had gone into an uproar over the visit of an unfamiliar outsider.

“Hmph.”

A rough-looking man, draped in gray wolf hide, scanned me up and down.

His piercing gaze seemed intent on figuring out just what kind of stray had rolled in.

“You’re the Palace Head Maeng Hogon…… right?”

The atmosphere was so heavy, I felt I had to say something—anything.

But instead of responding, the man in the wolf pelt just glanced sideways.

“You lot… did you even tell him my name?”

There stood Maeng Pyo and Maeng Seol, hands raised, each with a lump on their heads.

He clearly wasn’t pleased that they’d spilled so much to an outsider they’d only met a day ago.

“Blood Panda saved him from the river, Father.”

“So that means he’s not a bad person.”

The kids seemed to hold deep trust in Blood Panda, their reliable companion.

If a spiritual beast of that caliber had chosen someone, there’s no way they could be evil.

“Chosen, my foot. That thing probably pulled him out without a thought.”

Maeng Hogon scoffed. His tone suggested the beast fished me up thinking I was just a big catch.

“No thoughts? Blood Panda is a smart spiritual beast. It understands everything.”

“That’s right, Father! Apologize to Ungmyo!”

The kids immediately jumped in, protesting at full volume.

Shaking his head at their outburst, Maeng Hogon turned his gaze toward me.

“You said your name was Dan Mujin?”

“Yes, I’m Dan Mujin, a troubleshooter from Beijing.”

After all, he was the head of a faction. He could very well be a future client, so I introduced myself properly.

“I heard earlier… you came to hunt the Human-faced Spider, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

It seemed the kids had already told him the reason for my visit.

Maeng Hogon narrowed his eyes, as if trying to gauge my intentions.

“You may already know this, but that horrific beast bizarrely has a human face… and it has a strong taste for human flesh.”

That was something I’d already heard from Tang Yeo-hye on the way here.

Why would a centuries-old monster have a human face? Like a deep-sea anglerfish, it lures in prey with its deceptive appearance.

“Our village has suffered greatly at its hands. So if you’re truly sincere in wanting to destroy it… the Palace of Southern Beasts is willing to assist you.”

Since their territory overlapped with the creature’s—and its appetite was for humans—it was clear that terrible things had happened.

Without even realizing, the Palace Head of the Palace of Southern Beasts had raised his energy, revealing fierce hostility toward the Human-faced Spider.

“But I do have my doubts.”

His sharp gaze fell on me once again.

“What sort of doubts?”

“That monster constantly emits a vicious poisonous mist. That’s why we’ve never been able to even approach it, let alone kill it. And yet, a young martial artist like yourself thinks he can handle it?”

Because of that poisonous mist, the Palace of Southern Beasts, unlike other sects, who lacked poison immunity, hadn’t even been able to attempt revenge.

Even for a trained martial artist, one wrong breath would fog the mind and put one’s life at risk. So of course he didn’t believe that some scholar from the Central Plains could manage it.

“But Father, this hyung is different!”

“That’s right, he has insane resistance to poison!”

Right then, the kids jumped in with sparkling eyes to defend me.

Maeng Pyo and Maeng Seol excitedly explained what they had witnessed in the forest.

“He was eating any poisonous bugs or creatures he could find!”

“He even picked only the poisonous mushrooms and gobbled them up!”

“Not just that! He swallowed Blood Frog, the very embodiment of venom, twice! Anyone else would’ve had their organs melt instantly!”

Due to the sudden demand for physical recovery, I’d started shoving anything I could find into my mouth on instinct.

Wait, Blood Frog melts your internal organs? Damn it, if you see me eating that, at least stop me halfway!

No wonder my whole body felt mushy and I was seeing red auras.

“……Huh. So beneath that appearance, you’re a poison arts master? If you survived Blood Frog, then you’re at least at the level of Myriad Poison Immunity……”

Not even close. I hadn’t achieved Hundred Poison Immunity, let alone Myriad. I didn’t have any poison resistance—I’d just half-dissolved and then regenerated.

But come to think of it, with all I’ve been stuffing into my face lately, maybe I was developing some tolerance. If your own body’s going to keep getting poisoned, it’d better adapt to survive.

“And I’m a Peak Martial Artist, for what it’s worth, Palace Head.”

I infused both fists with white Fist Qi and unleashed the Hundred-Knot Divine Fist.

A thunderous punch that split the air, unleashing a burst of Qi in front of me.

Seeing it up close, the Palace Head and his children couldn’t hide their shock.

Maeng Hogon, in particular, looked like he had just found the key to a problem that had long eluded him.

“See, Father? I told you he was amazing!”

“This oppa can definitely take on that spider!”

The kids who had been doing their punishment leapt up and clung to their father’s arms, whining about how he hadn’t believed them.

Yet Maeng Hogon kept his gaze fixed on me, wearing an intense expression, unfazed by the children clinging to him.

“If the kids are right, then maybe… you really could take down that monster.”

What could’ve happened in the past for him to consider that thing a sworn enemy?

With eyes burning, he strode toward me and grabbed both of my hands.

“Won’t you join us in exterminating that creature? With your help, we’d be an unstoppable force.”

All his earlier suspicion had vanished without a trace.

Instead, he wore the expression of a man who’d finally found the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

“That was my goal from the start. And besides, I owe these kids my life—I’ll definitely help.”

If they hadn’t saved me from that fierce current, I might’ve already been fish food at the bottom of the river.

“Oppa, don’t forget about Blood Panda too.”

“If you leave him out, he’ll get upset, hyung.”

“……Right, right. He was there too.”

I added the mention of the subtle yet aggressive panda.

“Excellent, very excellent. The Palace of Southern Beasts will give you our full support.”

Exactly the reaction I’d hoped for.

The bridge connecting the mountains was gone, and I didn’t even know the way back up.

Plus, I had to find my scattered companions. If these people, who roamed this region like their own backyard, helped out, it would be a huge boon.

“Speaking of which, I’ll need some manpower to locate my missing group……”

That’s when a loud crashing noise erupted from outside.

“Palace Head! Palace Head!”

One of the Palace of Southern Beasts’ martial artists burst into the Palace Head’s room, accompanied by a massive wolf.

He was gasping heavily, having clearly run here after seeing something urgent.

“What is it?”

Maeng Hogon raised a brow and asked.

“An outsider has appeared!”

At that shout, everyone in the room turned to glance at me—the pale-skinned outsider.

“There are two young women and one middle-aged man!”

“Huh?”

A group of outsiders with a strangely familiar lineup.

“One of the women is short and has a fiery temper… but she seems to be a top-tier martial artist! She’s causing a scene, demanding we hand someone over, claiming to be tracking a trail!”

Short, foul-tempered, and a top-tier fighter?

I got to my feet and spoke toward Maeng Hogon.

“That sounds like my group.”

They must’ve gotten caught by the Palace’s outer sentries while persistently tracking my trail without giving up.

“You mean the companions you mentioned who came to hunt the Human-faced Spider?”

“Yes, that’s right. But I think I should go right away.”

“And why is that?”

“That woman—when she’s upset or in a rush, she tends to throw poison first and ask questions later.”

In this deep jungle, I’d just barely started building a foundation of trust.

I immediately stood up and activated Whirlwind Steps.

“Captain! Captain!”

The tearful ultra-pretty boy dashed in and threw himself into my arms.

Only after touching my face up close did he seem to truly believe I was alive and begin to relax.

“Did you think I died?”

“I honestly thought… my heart was going to stop. How did you even survive that?”

The cliff I fell from wasn’t as high as the one on the first day. I’d figured I could survive and took action.

Of course, they didn’t know that and seemed properly shaken.

“You bastard, you…”

Then came a beautiful woman—petite in height but radiating venom—striding toward me.

“If you ever pull that kind of death stunt again… I-I swear I’ll k-kill you myself…”

What the hell was she even saying? She was mumbling something that didn’t make any sense.

“You may have noticed by now, Young Master, but this is just her way of showing affection.”

Next to her, her handmaid Neungsam kindly provided a translated version.

“She was so anxious, chasing your trail along the river. When it faded midway, she cursed while crying these huge, chicken-poop-sized tears…”

Thwack!

Neungsam’s words were cut off as he went flying through the air. With a grunt, he tumbled across the ground.

Tang Yeo-hye, cheeks flushed bright red, was breathing hard through her nose as she shot a glare at me.

“I didn’t cry, damn it! I never cried!”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

I nodded along, thinking I might get sent flying too.

The moistness around her eyes was probably just my imagination or something.

“Anyway, did that crazy man in black just disappear? And who the hell was he?”

I brought up the black-clad figure who had suddenly appeared and launched a threatening sabotage attack.

“Tang Heroine, the explosive sound and the design of the device… they were clearly Tang Clan hidden weapons, weren’t they?”

Ilhong, who’d reverse-engineered Tang Clan hidden weapons before, seemed to recognize them immediately.

“Could it really have been my brother…?”

Tang Yeo-hye bit her lip hard, seeming to have some idea who the suspect might be.

How long had someone been shadowing me? That was surprising.

“But Captain, where the heck are we? Who would've thought there’d be a village hidden in this rough, barbaric jungle?”

“Right? I was shocked too. And what’s with all these massive beasts in the village… Is this the palace I’ve only heard about in stories?”

Usually, it’s dogs that roam around a neighborhood. But here, they had wolves the size of grown men roaming freely like pets.

Seeing the kids playing with wolves, Tang Yeo-hye seemed to grasp the nature of this place.

“Yes, this is the Palace of Southern Beasts. The village is tucked away perfectly in a basin.”

If someone hadn’t pulled me from the river and carried me here, I never would’ve known this place existed.

And if they hadn’t followed my trail, they wouldn’t have found it either.

“But how did you even track my trail?”

I’d fallen into the river, and halfway through, I was clinging to the back of some beast running like the wind—it shouldn’t have been easy to connect those dots.

“Ilhong here stuck something like a scent marker on you.”

Tang Yeo-hye casually pointed to the side, revealing something I hadn’t known.

One ultra-pretty boy suddenly jumped in surprise.

“T-That’s not what it looks like, Captain.”

“What’s it not, huh?”

I gave her a pointed look, demanding an explanation.

“Just in case something like this happened. I lightly tucked a bit of Hundred-League Incense I got from the Hao Sect into your coin pouch…”

Hundred-League Incense. That must’ve been the tool commonly used by bounty hunters in the Central Plains.

Since she’d recently used Gudok to pressure the Pavilion Master of the Mysterious Pavilion and gained access to the Hao Sect’s latest tools and intel, she must’ve stocked up before the trip.

I had just assumed my body had started to stink something awful lately.

So that was the smell. I’d have to remember it moving forward.

“Hmph.”

“B-But thanks to that, we were able to reunite like this, so isn’t that a good thing…?”

Seeing me staring silently, she stammered out an excuse like someone caught red-handed.

“Compose yourself, Ilhong.”

“Y-Yes.”

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