Three days passed.

Gradually, the mountains and forests began to give way, and villages started appearing on the horizon. By now, people were beginning to feel a sense of relief.

Since the mission was to transport goods, the journey had been filled with tension, always prepared for a possible ambush. But now that they had reached an area within the influence of the Tang Clan, there were no expected issues with the transportation.

Those who hadn't shown a hint of relaxation before now appeared visibly relieved.

Some cracked light-hearted jokes, and even sparring matches, which they had previously avoided to conserve strength, became a common sight.

Watching those sparring matches was quite entertaining, confirming that the journey was nearing its end.

However, unlike everyone else who seemed to be at ease, my thoughts were growing more complicated.

I circulated my inner energy throughout my body. The energy, starting from my dantian, flowed through various parts of my body.

‘Tsk.’

I had been monitoring my condition steadily, but there was no real progress. This issue had arisen after I hatched the Red Water Serpent from the magic stone.

Although the energy lost at that time was slowly being restored, the pace was frustratingly slow. It wasn't just me who noticed this; even Paejon had realized the problem.

When my training progress was hindered, he scolded me, asking what kind of nonsense I had been up to.

‘Damn it.’

Getting scolded at my age wasn’t exactly great for the self-esteem.

Shh...

The snake, sensing my frustration, poked its head out from my sleeve, observing me.

“What are you staring at? You’re the one who messed up my plans. What are you going to do about it?”

Shh...

Whether it understood me or not, the snake licked my fingers as if apologizing. I sighed deeply at the sight.

‘Good grief, my head hurts.’

Taking out my frustration on a demonic creature like this—it wasn't a good look. After all, I had willingly hatched it, so blaming the creature was rather absurd.

I rubbed my throbbing forehead and gazed out the carriage window. The carriage was still moving, and the scenery continued to change without pause.

As I looked at the passing scenery, I thought about what lay ahead.

Soon, we would reach the Tang Clan’s territory. When that happens...

‘First, I need to get the White Magic Stone.’

Originally, after arriving at the Tang Clan, the plan was to settle in, then visit the Wudang Sword Saint with Jang Rong. After that, we were supposed to visit Paejo’s family.

The plan was to complete all of that and then go after the White Magic Stone.

But now, I needed to prioritize the White Magic Stone above everything else.

‘My body isn’t in good shape.’

It wasn't a physical issue, but rather an internal one.

The energy that had been drained wasn't replenishing properly, making it difficult to use Tua Pacheonmu or martial arts techniques.

‘Ugh…’

On top of that, I hadn’t even managed to resolve the instability caused by reaching the Hwagyeong stage amidst the rapidly changing situation. For now, restoring my energy with the White Magic Stone took precedence.

Shh...

The Red Water Serpent flicked its tongue repeatedly, staring at me.

“What is it?”

That’s all this snake did when it emerged—either tilting its head and staring or flicking its tongue. If that could be considered work, then I guess it was doing its job.

“Well, this is still better.”

It was certainly better than the creature whining for food or the old man who constantly babbled noisily.

If the snake had started draining my energy out of hunger, I would’ve tossed it aside without a second thought. But fortunately, it didn’t seem to sap my strength.

It only occasionally craved demonic beast meat.

‘What a strange creature.’

It didn’t eat regular food, only the flesh of demonic beasts. Typically, demonic creatures devoured anything in their path, so I couldn’t understand its picky eating habits.

‘Well, I suppose it's not too bad.’

If it had eaten magic stones, that would’ve been a problem, but meat was manageable. After all, hunting for magic stones often resulted in finding demonic beast meat anyway.

At least it didn’t whine for food.

One day, the snake had been slumped over, and I wondered what was wrong, only to realize it was hungry. I hadn’t known because it didn’t ask for food.

‘As if I ever raised a demonic beast before.’

I had never raised a demonic creature, let alone a regular animal, so there were many things I didn’t know.

“Couldn’t you just speak up when you're hungry?”

Shh…

The snake lowered its head, looking slightly dejected, which made me feel a little guilty.

The image of the snake being too scared to ask for food came to mind.

‘…This is irritating.’

Every time I thought about it, frustration welled up inside me. It reminded me too much of my younger self, and that was far from a pleasant thought.

“Next time, just say something. I’ll feed you.”

Shh.

I wasn’t going out of my way to feed it; I’d just feed it while eating magic stones. I didn’t have any intention of raising it. That’s what I told myself as I nodded.

The snake, seemingly pleased, flicked its tongue even faster. I waved my arm in disgust.

“Hey, stop it! You’re getting spit everywhere!”

Startled by my outburst, the snake quickly retreated back into my sleeve.

Was this thing really a demonic beast? Why was it so easily frightened?

As I wiped the spit from my hand, a voice came from the top of the carriage.

“Oh! Looks like we’re almost there!”

It was the voice of Baekryeongeom, who had been lying on the roof of my carriage. I had no idea why she was up there instead of inside the comfortable carriage, but her voice prompted me to stick my head out of the window.

In the distance, something came into view, and I furrowed my brow slightly.

“Damn… That was a long journey.”

We had set off in the spring, and now, as we approached our destination, it was already summer.

What a coincidence. The last time I came here, it was summer as well.

Funny how it turned out to be the same season. The thought made me chuckle.

Back then, my body had barely been at the third-rate level, but now, within just a few years, I had reached Hwagyeong, and my reputation in the martial world had changed significantly.

It was nostalgic, in a way.

‘Not really.’

It was more like a realization of how much time had passed.

Leaning back in my seat, I took a deep breath.

Finally, after months of traveling, we had arrived at the Tang Clan’s territory.

   ******************
   

I remember when I first came to Sichuan in search of the Golden Heavenly Flame.

It would be strange not to remember, considering everything that had happened back then.

That was also when I first discovered Wi Seol-ah hidden in the carriage and when I met Namgung Bi-ah for the first time in this life.

I had been so shocked upon seeing Namgung Bi-ah’s face. I was internally screaming, wondering what that crazy woman was doing there.

In hindsight, it seems that was the point when everything started to change.

It was when my relationship with Wi Seol-ah began to shift significantly and when my dynamic with Namgung Bi-ah took a completely different direction.

The slow changes in my life had started to accelerate around that time.

That was when I first set foot on Sichuan soil.

Creak.

The enormous gates began to open. They were at least twice the size of a regular gate. Compared to the Gu family’s gate, this one was massive.

Back home, even the elders or my father had to bow their heads to pass through our gate. As the gate opened, rows of people stood in a straight line inside.

“Welcome back, Lord Poison King!” —“Welcome back!”

As soon as the Poison King appeared, a cheer erupted from the crowd.

…Wow.

Seeing all the servants clapping and cheering non-stop, I couldn’t help but think:

‘What the hell is this circus?’

That was the only thought that came to mind.

Even the busy workers had come out to participate in this… what exactly was the point of this?

Judging by the reactions of the Poison King and Tang So-yeol, this seemed normal to them.

Was this really normal?

‘Maybe I’m just not used to it because my father always kept things simple.’

Neither Moyong Hee-ah nor Namgung Bi-ah showed any signs of surprise, so it seemed like most noble families conducted welcomes like this.

Creak.

As I walked forward, I heard an odd sound. It was Tang Deok clenching his fists tightly in frustration.

Noticing this, I quickly sent him a message through inner energy.

—Relax your grip.

Hearing my command, Tang Deok trembled slightly before loosening his grip. His reaction was understandable, given that we were walking right into the den of his enemies, but that didn’t concern me.

I had to keep things in order, as any carelessness could cause problems.

‘In hindsight, I should’ve told him to wait outside.’

But since we were already here, there wasn’t much else I could do. Shifting my gaze back to the front, I saw several elderly men with white hair stepping out to meet the Poison King.

‘They must be the elders.’

It seemed clear they were the elders of the Tang Clan.

“We welcome the return of the Lord Poison King.”

The elders greeted the Poison King, who nodded lightly in response.

Observing this, I could tell one thing:

‘The Poison King holds significant power here.’

The fact that the Poison King’s authority as the head of the family was so well-respected was evident. In families where the elders held more power, the head of the family wouldn’t act this way.

For example, in the Namgung family, the elders had significant influence.

‘More precisely, the strength of the Heavenly Exalted One.’

In that family, the absolute ruler wasn’t the head of the family, which was the core issue in the Namgung family.

‘The Tang Clan is somewhat different, though…’

While it wasn’t entirely focused on business like the Moyong family, the Tang Clan still held substantial influence, particularly with their iron craftsmanship.

The Iron Clan.

The Tang Clan was responsible for supplying the highest quality iron tools across the entire central plains. It was widely known that their influence extended beyond just military strength.

But for now, I pushed those thoughts aside.

‘I really want to get inside.’

I was mentally and physically drained, and I just wanted to unload my things and rest. At least for today, after this long journey, I needed some time to relax.

As I was wondering when this welcome ceremony would end…

“This is dragging on. When is it going to finish?”

Someone muttered those exact words, and the people behind us gasped, turning to look at the source.

There was someone who had spoken out loud what I was thinking in my head.

Did she really say that out loud? That was pretty bold.

It was Baekryeongeom.

‘This woman is truly insane.’

Saying something like that in this atmosphere? Even I wouldn’t dare.

“I’m starving… Ugh…”

“Please, Auntie, not now…”

As Baekryeongeom sighed, Moyong Hee-ah, standing beside her, blushed bright red, trying to quiet her down.

Honestly, I felt a bit relieved.

While Moyong Hee-ah continued to scold Baekryeongeom, I turned my attention back to the Poison King. It looked like the conversation was wrapping up.

Then, one of the elders said something to the Poison King, causing his shoulders to flinch slightly.

It seemed like something important had been said.

Swoosh.

The Poison King raised his hand, and the cheering crowd immediately fell silent.

If he could’ve ended this sooner, why didn’t he?

I looked at him, feeling somewhat irritated, but the Poison King turned his head toward us and spoke.

“The journey must have been exhausting. You’ve done well.”

His tone was formal, with his hands behind his back as he welcomed us.

“We’ve prepared rooms for the guests in advance, so please rest well today. We will host a banquet when the sun sets. How about we meet then?”

A banquet, huh?

I wasn’t particularly interested, but since he had officially invited us, it seemed like skipping it wasn’t an option.

Despite the grand welcome ceremony, the conclusion felt somewhat anticlimactic.

The Poison King apologized to us and left with the elders. The rest of our group followed the servants to the quarters prepared for us.