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Lifting the silk pajamas I was wearing, I found countless centipedes.

I was sure I had hidden my insect-like body well within the ruins of the city that was being disassembled in real time.

Right now, Park Jinseong’s body felt like it had simply switched places with that insect-made form.

“Hmmm.”

Was I transformed into a bug-like version of Won Yeongsin, meditating with closed eyes at a shrine in Japan? I felt my body, like the “Shinju,” a clone made of insects, bubbling over with centipedes both on the outside and within.

“They’re trying to wound me and burrow inside. Tsk.”

Does my body think it’s some kind of nest?

Even seeing tasty prey, it wouldn’t go this crazy.

Park Jinseong clicked his tongue and stood up.

Thud thud.

He threw off his pajamas and roughly brushed away the centipedes clinging to his body.

Then, muttering a small invocation, he closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, flames danced vibrantly within his pupils.

The movements were like a moth weaving in the air. The flickering sparks that could only exist within his gaze shared their presence with his vision, dancing as if they really existed in the space around him.

“What is connected to my body is mine, and so is what has been plucked off.”

Whoosh.

Fire was starting to ignite from the centipedes he had knocked off.

As if trying to reproduce the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion without any warning, the flames attached to the centipedes began to blaze fiercely, leaving no ashes behind. The fire quickly spread to other centipedes, turning the room into an inferno.

Beep—

Beep—

Beep—

Whooooooosh!

The sprinkler system installed on the ceiling began to screech loudly as it detected the high temperature, spewing water mixed with fire-fighting powder crazily from the pipe.

From above, it was like a torrential downpour.

From below, it was the hellish sulfur flames.

Park Jinseong’s room turned into sheer chaos in an instant.

The massive quantity of foam and smoke generated from the collision of the high-temperature flames and the fire-fighting mixture quickly engulfed the room, filling it with thick, white smoke reeking of chemicals. Simultaneously, the foam spread, threatening to fill the floor, started consuming the centipedes in an effort to extinguish the fire, leaving them to struggle helplessly against both the flames burning their bodies and the foam trying to drown them.

Thus, the centipedes on the walls and floor began to be exterminated rapidly.

Plop.

Plop.

The centipedes on the ceiling managed to cling on a bit longer, but to no avail.

Desperately clinging to the ceiling, they couldn’t withstand the scorching heat and the explosively pouring smoke, slowly falling one by one. And just like the centipedes eliminated earlier, they either burned to death or drowned in the foam….

Amidst the pandemonium, Park Jinseong smiled satisfied.

It seemed that the destruction of his dwelling was a secondary concern, as he focused solely on the centipedes.

Centipedes filling every corner, and the ones he hadn’t managed to shake off yet.

“Ah. It seems all the centipedes have disappeared.”

He could feel it.

Every centipede stuck to his body was dead.

Of course, with the foam rising to below his neck, how could the centipedes possibly survive?

Even the one that had been hiding in the blind spot would have been swept away by the foam and perished….

Park Jinseong thought this as he looked around.

Then, after a moment’s contemplation….

“The foam won’t settle easily, so I guess I’ll need to sleep elsewhere for a while.”

* * *

“…So that’s why you came?”

“Exactly.”

“Really? The pest problem at home got so bad because of magic that you had to run away and end up covered in foam?”

Two steaming cups of tea.

The contents of the cups, imported directly from England, were warm and exuding rich aromas.

The scents of warm ion drinks and black tea filled the room, reminiscent of a guest room from the Victorian era, trying to soothe the spirits of the two sitting at the table.

But despite the inviting atmosphere, the face of the person sitting across from Park Jinseong showed no signs of relaxation.

To be precise, the expression of disbelief refused to leave their face….

“My brother is staying at the mansion for the same reason as my friend who’s living alone….”

Iarin looked at Park Jinseong with a look typical for someone hearing an absurd story.

“Brother. One of my friends is living alone, you know? But one day, he started showing up at school looking disheveled for three whole days. So I asked him why he looked that way, and he said he couldn’t sleep at home and was crashing at a friend’s place.”

“Well.”

“So I asked him if there was a problem, and he said enormous cockroaches had infested his place. So he couldn’t sleep in there at all and ended up wandering outside for three days.”

Iarin chuckled silently.

“When I heard that, I felt just like now.”

Her lips curled into a smile, indicating her amusement.

“Well, it’s nice to see your face again after a while~”

Iarin grabbed the ion drink in front of her, warmed to just the right temperature, and after taking a sip, she tried to brush back some damp strands of hair sticking to her forehead.

But perhaps due to being thoroughly soaked in sweat, her hair wouldn’t cooperate. She put down her teacup, gathered her hair with both hands, and twisted it up. It was a folded ponytail, not the usual kind she wore.

“Ugh, having long hair is such a pain. I wonder how Serin and Asha manage with their long hair?”

The force keeping her hair in place came from a type of Qi known as “Yin Energy.”

It was a cool, yin-based chi, although it couldn’t compare to someone trained in martial arts using yin as a foundation, it seemed enough to exert physical force to secure her hair.

“Hmmm. So, brother. Don’t you have anything to say?”

Iarin, after elegantly (and somewhat nonchalantly) showing off her technique for styling her hair with Yin Energy, began to give Park Jinseong subtle hints. To her, it was discreet, but to any outsider, it was evident.

Park Jinseong, smiling at Iarin’s antics, expressed the thoughts that were on her mind.

“You weren’t actively practicing yin-based martial arts until recently, so I wonder how you achieved this level of mastery in such a short time. Or is it that this technique, while not high in accomplishment, allows you to exert some physical force…. Is it a martial art more supportive in nature rather than offensive?”

“Hehe. You see right through me? This thing~ It has good compatibility, it’s pretty useful, and it even has beauty effects~”

Iarin’s eyes sparkled as she began to boast about her newfound technique, as if she was waiting for this very moment.

She looked like a child bragging about a new toy.

If her sister Iserin had seen her now, she would have remarked that Iarin resembled a cat proudly bringing a mouse or bird to its owner.

“Whenever I work out, I always felt like I was going to overheat, but this technique helps cool my body down! Sure, it’s not super efficient, but you can think of it like using a portable ice pack~ Plus, you know? This technique reduces skin issues caused by heat and makes your skin a bit fairer! They say it doesn’t tan easily in the sun either….”

As Iarin continued her bragging, she began to recount how she acquired her martial arts technique.

“I mentioned Sara, right? The Huashan Sect warrior? I got this technique thanks to her…. After you left school, Huashan Sect warriors came from China. Since Sara is from the Huashan Sect, it seems they visited in the capacity of parents due to some issues at school.”

Huashan Sect warriors. School visit.

Hearing this, Park Jinseong naturally recalled what he had observed at her school.

Wind Hound Steel.

Head Roll Yard.

Facilities created with questionable intent.

“They were made of low-quality tungsten sourced from China….”

So, the Huashan Sect warriors visited after that facility melted down, did they?

Is that truly a coincidence?

“But their attitude was so annoying. They even scolded Sara after claiming they came to see her! Seeing that annoyed me so much that I challenged them to a duel. I ended up beating two people called ‘Senior Sara,’ and then suddenly, a guy claiming to be the Grand Master announced he would take revenge. On top of that, he said he’d grant me three seconds of mercy, which made me so mad I unleashed three Volcanopunches in a row….”

“So the facilities were related to the Huashan Sect.”

“…But even after I lost, they refused to accept it. They were pulling at some ‘international issues’ or ‘sect issues,’ which just ticked me off, but then a Master guy showed up and set things straight! Warriors should value victory and defeat without becoming obsessed with them; if defeated, one should accept it and use it as fertilizer for growth—he admonished solemnly. I wondered if that was the dignity of the Plum Blossom Guardian.”

‘…Sending just a disciple wasn’t enough, and for the Plum Blossom Guardian to show up means it was categorized as a pretty significant project.’

“Then he apologized to me, saying he would bestow a martial art as a gesture of goodwill. Although it was a technique that only the disciples of Huashan Sect could learn, he gave it to me as one that would be helpful in daily life, and even Serin expressed envy over it!”

‘…It seems there’s an effort to avoid friction. Given that even the Grimoire couldn’t find anything suspicious, it doesn’t seem like there were any tricks involved….’

Huashan Sect, Huashan Sect.

It must have been in Shaanxi.

Park Jinseong felt an instinctual hunch that this was also related to ‘Performance.’

‘Ah, there are so many enticing things in China.’

Park Jinseong lifted his cup with a grin.

The black tea was cool enough now.

‘Sorcerers, wizards, armies… When the chaos they create ripens to perfection….’

His anticipation mirrored this.

Just like the slight wait that allowed the tea to cool enough to be drinkable, the chaos arising from events in China would also allow him to obtain information more easily.

What was needed was just a little time.

And fortune.

 

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