Meeting My Debt of Honor in a Motley Guise

Perhaps it was due to that mental preparation. Unlike previous times, I didn’t lose my consciousness and was able to experience the entire transformation as it happened. And honestly, it made me think that passing out would have been much better.

The agony of my body changing was so intense that I genuinely wanted to just drop dead. Would a martial artist who mastered Chukgol-gong (the Bone-Compressing Technique), which requires dislocating and shrinking every bone in the body, understand this kind of pain?

Amidst the horrific torment, I felt my body shrinking. Although I had heard from Great Master Won-hyeon that I was still a hatchling and therefore small, I had assumed that no matter how small, a Dokgak-hwamang would still look like a Dokgak-hwamang.

I never imagined I would become this small. When I saw myself transformed into the size of a mere thread serpent, I was utterly speechless. Not that I could speak anyway.

One thing I discovered upon becoming a snake was that not all typical serpentine traits applied to me.

I recalled features of snakes I had heard from professional serpent catchers in my past life. They said snakes sense vibrations through the ground, making them highly perceptive to movement, but their actual eyesight is poor. They claimed the world a snake sees is completely different from what a human sees.

However, the world visible to me right now was no different from what I had always seen. Either the catchers were wrong about snakes, or I was just fundamentally different from an ordinary serpent.

The part about sensing vibrations through the ground, however, seemed accurate. Come to think of it, I remembered a time when Great Master Won-hyeon and the Abbot were walking and conversing outside the quarters, and I had picked up on their presence instantly.

Holding that thought, I looked up at Great Master Won-hyeon. Sensing that my demeanor was different from usual, the Great Master looked back at me with amazement. Then, he set a bronze mirror against the wall. He seemed to guess that I would be curious about my own appearance.

‘Good heavens! How can a snake look this cute?’

I was someone who used to find snakes absolutely loathsome, but the serpent in the mirror was actually quite adorable. My total length was only about the span of four adult male middle fingers lined up together. My body was an overall dark blue-gray, close to an ink-black hue, but my tiny head was an absurdly vibrant, stark red.

And atop that head, the very horn that granted me the name Dokgak-hwamang jutted out sharply. The horn itself was dark blue-gray, making it stand out in every possible way.

At first, I stared into the mirror thinking it was cute, but the next second, I realized this wasn’t something to be blindly happy about. It would be fine if my entire body were dark blue-gray, but with only my thumb-sized head being bright red, I was a prime candidate to be mistaken for a wild mountain berry if I wasn’t careful.

While I was at it investigating my new form, I decided to flick my tongue out.

‘Oh. My tongue looks pretty sleek too.’

With a sharp shhhk sound, a long tongue darted straight out. I also tried to check the fangs (Dok-ah) that were supposed to spray deadly venom, but it seemed they hadn’t properly developed yet. The shape was there, but it didn’t seem capable of secreting venom just yet.

I spent a good while baring my teeth and inspecting myself in the mirror when a strange sensation washed over me. Looking behind my reflection, I saw Great Master Won-hyeon staring at me with a thoroughly dumbfounded expression. It must have been quite a sight: a baby snake completely infatuated with its own reflection, baring its teeth and tilting its head from side to side.

Feeling incredibly awkward, I slithered toward him sheepishly. I adapted to crawling on my belly surprisingly fast. Still, thinking I needed more practice, I spent a good while roaming all over the room.

“Sorin, just because there is a hole does not mean you should crawl into it. They say that is the habit of a snake, but you are a human, so you must not. Shoving your head into any random opening is something only an uneducated snake would do.”

Because my head was so small, it truly felt like I could slip through absolutely any gap. At this point, a strong urge to peek outside welled up within me.

I slithered around Great Master Won-hyeon’s feet, effectively begging him to take me outside, but my intent failed to register at all. The Great Master simply watched my antics before concluding that he no longer needed to worry.

“This is the first time you’ve seemed this relaxed after turning into a snake.”

Looking up at him, the sheer weight of the mental anguish he must have suffered on my account hit me, and I felt deeply apologetic.

“You must eat something as well, Sorin. It is a pity that your diet is bound to be poor since you are stuck in a temple. Shall we go hunt some frogs?”

Startled by his suggestion, I froze instantly. He caught my reaction and burst into a hearty laugh.

“Sorin. It is quite amusing how even this tiny face manages to display expressions. Your eyes are so remarkably bright and clear, it is adorable. When you opened your mouth earlier to check your fangs, it genuinely looked like you were smiling.”

Laughing in amusement, Great Master Won-hyeon stood up and opened the door. Believing that I might lose my chance to go outside if I didn’t act now, I swiftly darted out right behind him.

“You little rascal, stay in the room! What will you do if you suddenly revert to your human form while wandering around out there?”

However, because it normally took several days to return to my human form once I transformed, I had a certain degree of confidence. As long as I made it back before sundown, nothing bad would happen, so I excitedly slithered out onto the wooden veranda.

Once there, I paused for a brief moment, momentarily confused about how I was supposed to put on my shoes. I had no feet to speak of, but since it was my first time venturing out like this, habits died hard. Realizing my own absurdity, I began pushing myself forward, sliding smoothly on my belly.

I hurried, knowing that if I hesitated for even a moment, Great Master Won-hyeon would easily scoop me up. Once he set his mind to it, catching a single hatchling snake would be child’s play to him. Operating on the belief that his brief lapse in vigilance was my only window of opportunity, I crawled with desperate resolve.

“You little rascal, stop pestering me.”

Even then, his voice carried a relaxed tone. But soon enough, that voice echoed from a considerable distance behind me, and eventually, a distinct note of panic crept into his tone. Having slid into the thick grass, I had completely vanished from his sight, causing him to lose track of me.

Unable to suppress a deep sense of pride, I kept slithering along. It was mind-boggling to think about just how many years I had spent cooped up in that quarters as if I were a prisoner.

I was already eleven years old, yet what had I accomplished? If I didn’t at least figure out the underlying rules governing when I became a snake and when I reverted to a human, I would be utterly ruined.

I didn’t know who was responsible for giving me this second life, but this was a bit much. If they were going to let me reincarnate as a human, they should have done it properly. This wasn’t a full reincarnation as a snake, nor was it a full reincarnation as a human—what on earth was this?

‘I miss Murin too. He must have grown so much. Will I even recognize him if I see him again? Last time he came, I almost failed to recognize him.’

Lost in these swirling thoughts as I made my way forward, a sudden obstacle appeared right before my eyes, bringing me to a grinding halt. I naturally tried to bypass it, but the exact same obstacle blocked my path again.

Since nothing like this had happened before, I felt a sense of anomaly and raised my head. The moment I did, I nearly screamed aloud.

Actually, I might have screamed. It just didn’t make any sound.

“It’s a baby snake.”

The person who spoke those words while crouching down directly in front of me was a young novice monk.

I knew this face. Although he looked drastically younger than when I had last seen him, there was absolutely no way I could fail to recognize his features.

The sole encounter I had ever yearned for from my wretched previous life.

The savior of my life.

Hyeon-geon’s direct disciple.

To think I would encounter him here, of all places.

‘He said I’m a baby snake. He noticed me. He’s talking to me!’

In reality, he hadn’t recognized me, nor was he truly conversing with me as a person, but I was so utterly overwhelmed by the profound joy of meeting Hyeon-geon’s disciple again that I couldn’t contain myself.

“You look incredibly unique. What is this? A horn? Are you not a snake? Having a horn on your head… but you’re certainly not a dragon, right?”

Definitely not a dragon.

I felt immensely frustrated that during this historic, momentous reunion with Hyeon-geon’s disciple, I had to be in this pathetic guise.

The youth before my eyes possessed a face so tender that he looked to be barely fifteen years old. He was likely either the exact same age as Murin or a year or two older. If that were the case, he would be around the stage of passing the Trial of the Eighteen Wooden Men (Sip-pal-gwan) and beginning to learn the Eighteen Arhat Array (Sip-pal-nahan-jin).

‘So right now, he must still be an Arhat Monk (Nahan-seung)?’

When I had first seen him in my past life, he was already a Vajra Monk (Geumgang-seung). One could only attain the rank of a Vajra Monk after passing through the Eighteen Copper Chambers (Sip-pal-dong), and he had been widely renowned throughout the Jianghu for achieving that rank before the age of twenty.

‘So his breathtaking beauty was already in full bloom even at this age.’

As I stared directly at him with gleaming eyes, Hyeon-geon’s disciple extended his two open palms before me. It looked as though he was inviting me to climb aboard, so I eagerly slithered right onto his hands. At that, a brilliant smile broke across his face, and he raised his hands higher.

He was smiling at me. Then, he gently tapped my horn with his finger.

His large, light-brown eyes were impossibly close to me. The touch of his hand, moving from my horn down to my back, was incredibly gentle and warm. From the profound warmth lingering in his eyes to his tender touch, everything felt sublime.

Lulled into a state of pure bliss, I lowered my head submissively. He gazed down at me meticulously, as if trying to engrave every single facet of my unique appearance and movements into his memory.

I channeled strength into the middle portion of my belly, raising my head and the front half of my body completely upright. I thought that if I focused all my strength solely on my tail, I might be able to stand upright all the way to my midsection, but it proved too exhausting, so I abandoned the attempt halfway.

Hyeon-geon’s disciple gently stroked my head a few times before speaking.

“Hello there. I am Gwang-yeon. I’ll give you a name. Let’s place you in the Gwang-generation as well, so Gwang… Hmm. How about Gwang-eum? Yes, let’s go with Gwang-eum. From this day forth, you are my junior martial brother (Sa-je). It is a pleasure to meet you, Junior Brother Gwang-eum.”

He was just making things up as he went.

If one were to strictly look at the generational hierarchy, I was the formal disciple of Great Master Won-hyeon, which put me on the exact same generational tier as the current Abbot. That technically made me his Grand Martial Uncle (Sa-suk-jo), and he was my Grand Martial Grandson (Sa-son).

I desperately wanted to tell this little rascal to stop acting so cocky, but I was strictly forbidden from revealing my generational status to anyone. Furthermore, the fact that I was learning martial arts from Great Master Won-hyeon was an absolute secret, and it could never be leaked that I was still residing within Shaolin.

If even a shred of suspicion arose and the Discipline Chief found out about my existence, it would spark a colossal, unmitigated headache.

Gwang-yeon.

It seemed it took me two entire lifetimes just to finally learn his name.