The little centipedes were clearly highly intelligent.

No, they seemed to understand human speech.

In front of the steaming bath water the maids had prepared.

“Kids, I need to take a bath, but this hot water probably won’t be good for you… Want to wait here? I’ll wash quickly and come out.”

As I pointed to the wooden tub prepared at my request from the maids, with flower petals floating in the rising steam, the centipedes scurried along my arms.

They gathered cozily in the wooden tub and watched me enter the water with what seemed like curious expressions.

Like mongooses or meerkats raising their heads to look at something.

This is fascinating.

Most species of centipedes are almost completely eyeless.

Even those with eye-like organs typically lack genes for detecting light.

The latest research shows they only use their antennae to detect heat like eyes.

But that doesn’t mean they can see like eyes do – more like detecting light and dark?

Moreover, our little centipedes were still transparent and yellow, not having molted yet.

Even if they were a new species with eyes, their eyeballs would be transparent and unable to reflect images on the retina, so they shouldn’t be able to see.

“It’s embarrassing when you stare so intently at my naked body.”

At my words, they looked at each other, then carefully curled their bodies inside the tub.

They truly seemed to understand speech.

Seeing their strange behavior, I thought I should figure out what kind of creatures they were as I soaked in hot water for the first time in a long while.

And quietly thought in the water:

I need to ask Uncle Gu Pae exactly what spiritual creatures are. Since they kept mentioning spiritual creatures.

As I was relieving the fatigue from the long journey and drying my wet hair in the cool breeze at the pavilion in the so-called rear garden, that’s when it happened.

Thud thud.

The sound of someone’s footsteps hurrying somewhere came.

The boss’s daughter, no, the Clan Head’s daughter crossed in front of me.

As she was hurriedly moving toward my quarters, she noticed me sitting in the pavilion and showed a startled expression.

Upon discovering me, she quickly changed direction and began rapidly approaching.

Huh?

Then she stopped before me and asked in an urgent voice, her cheeks slightly flushed:

“Excuse me, young hero. I’m in a hurry, but could you give me your hand?”

Whoa… C-could she be a bold lady?

The lady suddenly asking for my hand, saying she’s in a hurry.

We had only just introduced ourselves, yet she was asking to hold hands already.

But this was ancient society by my past life’s standards, like those in historical dramas, so a woman’s hand would be tremendous skinship.

Though I wasn’t opposed, this was awkward with the Clan Head likely nearby.

It wouldn’t be good if the Clan Head caught us, would it?

Since he was the lady’s father.

And no matter how urgent, still.

There are stages to people getting closer.

I want my first experience, whether hands or whatever, to have love. I’m a romantic after all.

“Ahem… I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry, but wouldn’t it be better to do such things after we get to know each other better? Well, I’m not exactly opposed…”

At my answer, the lady who had been wearing a blank expression suddenly turned serious and shouted:

“Wh-what are you saying! Th-that’s not what I meant!”

“Eek! Y-you startled me!”

As I showed a startled expression at her shout, the lady spoke with a reddened face and somewhat angry expression:

“Th-that’s not it. I just wanted to check your pulse.”

“Ah, I-I see. Ah haha… Not knowing even that. I-I’m sorry.”

Pulse? Did the lady study medicine too? Is she trying to make me some medicinal supplements since I had a hard journey? Damn it though. I’m really messing up all my first impressions.

Perhaps because my head was filled with pink thoughts upon seeing the lady, I made this mistake.

But the lady seemed magnanimous, as she immediately apologized to me.

Though it was a somewhat twisted apology, as if she’d eaten a twisted pastry:

“I suppose you could misunderstand since I suddenly asked for your hand. Though I’m not sure exactly what kind of misunderstanding.”

The lady looked at me like she was looking at trash.

She probably thought this little guy was getting fresh.

“I-it wasn’t much of a misunderstanding. R-really.”

As I brushed it off, thinking I’d need to kick myself under the covers several times tonight, that’s when the lady spoke with a somewhat reluctant expression:

“I just heard from Father. You know about it too, of course?”

“What did you hear from the Clan Head?”

“That Father is thinking of you as my match.”

“Ah, I see. I too, j-just earlier at the Sichuan Tang Clan entrance…”

It seemed the reason the lady suddenly came looking for me was because she had heard from the Clan Head about me being considered as a groom.

She must be dumbfounded if her father suddenly picked up an orphan and said he’d marry her off to him.

“I don’t know about you, young hero, but I’m not very pleased with this situation right now. Though I’ll repay the debt of gratitude since you saved both Father’s life and mine. Being sent off like a gift to someone isn’t exactly a pleasant feeling. Though Father seems to be leaning heavily in that direction.”

Indeed, an angry lady.

I tried to play it off understandingly.

Trying to soothe her anger.

“Of course you’d feel that way. I too would wonder if my own father had gone senile if he suddenly picked up some skinny orphan and demanded I get married. Indeed.”

“What!?”

A masterful quip.

However, contrary to my expectation that she would laugh, the lady’s face quickly changed to a flustered expression.

And she immediately bowed her head and apologized.

“Ah, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. It’s not because of your appearance or lack of relatives… This is just an internal Sichuan Tang Clan…”

She seemed sorry that her words might have sounded like she was looking down on me.

Indeed, she was someone of noble character.

“I understand. That you’re not the kind of person to care about such things.”

“…? How would you know that? We’ve only met a few shichen ago.”

The lady blinked her large eyes and asked at my smiling response.

I smiled and answered her question:

“Just, well, I think so. If you weren’t that kind of person, you wouldn’t have apologized.”

Isn’t there a saying that beautiful people are kind?

By that truth, the lady must be close to Mother Teresa or an angel.

At my words, the lady stared at me for a moment, then carefully sat down beside me.

Then she apologized for her rudeness so far and began slowly explaining why she had come like this.

“Hmm… First, let me apologize. For coming here and acting rudely suddenly. And since you seem thoughtful despite not even being of age, I’ll speak honestly about why I came and acted rudely like this.”

“Huh? Yes? Yes.”

From roughly listening to the lady’s explanation, her Sichuan Tang Clan was a family composed of direct and branch lines.

But in this generation, she was the only direct descendant.

Because of this, there had been many suggestions for the Clan Head to take a second wife to continue the family line, but the Clan Head who loved the Madam had refused.

Using the reason that he already had her.

“Can’t women continue the family line?”

“No. We can take in a matrilocal son-in-law. The Sichuan Tang Clan has a tradition of taking in matrilocal sons-in-law.”

“Ah. Matrilocal son-in-law…”

So now the duty of continuing the line had passed to her, she said.

The Sichuan Tang Clan originally had a tradition of taking in matrilocal sons-in-law because it was a family dealing with poisons and had many secrets, and since the Clan Head refused a second wife, the duty of continuing the line had passed to her.

If she took a matrilocal son-in-law and bore children, those children would continue the next generation of the Sichuan Tang Clan?

But the lady, who had suffered from the branch families’ tyranny, wanted something that would put them in their place, whether through martial arts or marriage.

Now martial arts wouldn’t be a problem with my help, but that left the matter of a match.

The lady wanted at minimum a match with outstanding martial arts aptitude.

Aptitude? Like talent?

The lady had reasons for wanting a match with outstanding martial arts aptitude.

Though she had her own ambitions, it was also for their sake.

Martial arts aptitude meant limits.

She said it could be called the limits a person could reach, and since martial arts were the most valuable thing in the martial world, aptitude was also highly valued.

Thus her explanation was that since one’s position in the family changed according to martial arts level, even as a matrilocal son-in-law, one needed outstanding aptitude to hold their head high within the family.

The branch families’ harassment was no small matter…

“…So I’m sorry to say this to you, young hero, but I want to check your aptitude. Of course, even if your aptitude doesn’t match my ambitions, I won’t drive you away. As my benefactor, naturally you’ll be a guest. No, yes, how about becoming sworn siblings? Though I don’t know you well yet, you don’t seem like a bad person. And you seem thoughtful, so I’ll ask Father to let us become sworn siblings and have our manor take responsibility for your lifelong care. So…”

So because the lady was practical, even if someone hadn’t achieved anything yet.

She wanted at minimum a husband candidate with potential in martial arts, which were most valuable in the martial world.

Hmm… The lady was more practical than I expected.

I thought this was possible for a daughter of such a great family.

After all, marriage would naturally be business in such great families.

“I understand what you’re saying. Well then, let’s check.”

I nodded at the lady’s explanation and extended my arm.

The lady became flustered again at my outstretched wrist.

She blinked and asked:

“Are, are you sure? Is this okay?”

“Yes, since you want to check, please check as much as you’d like.”

“What if I lie and say your aptitude is low because I dislike you?”

“You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

The lady stared at me again before carefully extending her hand to grasp my wrist.

At the moment her hand touched my wrist.

Suddenly my vision flashed and I had to shake my head at the sensation of briefly losing and regaining consciousness.

The feeling of something strange slipping deep inside my body somewhere.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing. It’s not over, is it?”

“I haven’t even started yet.”

“Then please proceed.”

Though something strange had happened, the lady closed her eyes and concentrated on something as I gathered my wits.

Then along with a slightly tingling sensation, I began to feel something flowing into my body from the lady’s hand holding my wrist.

What a strange feeling.

After meticulously checking something for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The lady’s first words after checking something for a long while were unexpectedly hopeful.

“Not just anyone can learn our manor’s martial arts. While some people can learn poison arts, others cannot learn them at all.

But fortunately, young hero, you have a body that can learn poison arts.”

Ooh! That sounds hopeful!

But as they say the first burst is a dog’s burst, what followed was somewhat disappointing.

“But it seems your limit would be the Ten Poisons Realm. In our manor, we have various names for bodies that can learn poison arts, and your body seems to be a Ten Poisons Body[1].”

What!? T-Ten Virtues Realm? Ten Virtues Body? I did fanboy over venomous insects and snakes in my past life, but they can tell that?

Though I was startled by the lady’s words, it turned out to be Ten Poisons not Ten Virtues.

So it meant a body that could master up to ten poisons…

“Five Poisons, Ten Poisons, Hundred Poisons, Thousand Poisons, Ten Thousand Poisons. As our manor’s poison arts deepen in internal energy refinement, one must accept poisons accordingly to achieve mastery. But your body can only accept ten poisons. Due to the characteristics of the Tang clan’s internal energy, the more poisons one can accept, the higher and faster they can raise their realm, but you cannot do that. Honestly, having a Ten Poisons Body despite not being from our manor is impressive, but in terms of general martial realm, First-rate would be your limit. It’s just the highest realm an untalented commoner could reach. So… Ah…”

Honestly, it was quite a shock.

It was practically like being directly told I had no talent.

Me being Ten Virtues or Ten Poisons or whatever.

Beyond not being suitable as the lady’s match, it was disconcerting.

From what I’d heard from the Clan Head, you needed to achieve Ten Thousand Poisons or something to catch the Zhen Bird, but with Ten Poisons there were two levels in between.

Just going by numbers, it felt like a difference of a thousand times.

Dreams shattered.

The lady checked my expression and quietly bowed her head and withdrew.

She must have felt I needed time.

As the lady withdrew, I saw the evening sky dyed red, and the usually quiet centipedes poked their heads out from between my clothes.

Tsurururu…

A sound as if they felt sorry for me.

At that sound, I muttered quietly:

“Kids, they say I’m Ten Virtues- no, Ten Poisons… Well, never mind that. Getting rejected without even confessing – is this for real?”

Come to think of it, it seemed I’d become 0 confessions 1 rejection after my past life.

Rather unfairly.

***

There was no mention during dinner.

Though I thought the lady would tell the elders separately, they seemed completely unaware.

The meal was cheerful, and the lady showed no particular signs.

And that night.

Though I was sure I had fallen asleep in the quarters provided by the manor, I woke up in a forest where the lady appeared, made a deep bow, and cried:

“Sob sob… Thank you for your profound grace, benefactor.”

And in my arms were three little girls sucking their thumbs, clutching my clothes and looking at the lady with frightened expressions.

What kind of sorcery is this?