Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 5: The Ghost Village

When the girl finally regained her senses, Dang Cheolsan was the first to check on her condition.

He quickly asked the village chief to gather the sick once more.

“The effect is surprisingly good for such a small creature. Can you please gather the sick again?”

“Ah, understood!”

Just as the chief was about to rush out after receiving Dang Cheolsan’s request, I shouted to hold him back.

“Wait a moment!”

Chagas disease has a latent period, and even if infected, only about 20-30 percent of people show severe symptoms. Therefore, everyone in the village needed to take the medicine together.

It’s clear that there were far more carriers than those who had fallen ill.

“What are you saying, Junior Hero?”

“Elder, if we can give the medicine to everyone in the village, we must do so. It’s not like symptoms appear immediately after being bitten. We can’t know who is sick or when they’ll fall ill.”

At my words, Dang Cheolsan checked on the girl’s condition again and nodded.

“Hmm… Then we should mix it with water and distribute it. It seems the dose was a bit excessive for the girl.”

He likely concluded from the earlier examination that it didn’t need such a toxic component to dissolve parasites rather than the Gu.

Under the chief’s directives, people gathered in front of the chief’s house in the middle of the night.

With the Gu Poison Dissolving Elixir from the Tang Clan’s leader, Dang Cheolsan, they mixed it with water and distributed a spoonful to each villager.

To treat both patients and carriers at the same time.

“Whoa! They’re coming to their senses!”

“The fever is going down, and their minds are clearing!”

“We’re alive! You’re truly the benefactor of the village!”

“Boohoo…”

Even after distributing the mixed medicine as Dang Cheolsan suggested, quite a few people recovered their senses or regained their condition.

Though he might’ve been a bit overboard with his village pride, this was enough to warrant some cheers.

As praises for Dang Cheolsan’s medical skills filled the air, he shook his head and said,

“I merely passed out the medicine. You all owe it to this Junior Hero; without their identifying the cause, it would have been a tough challenge. So truly, the one who saved you isn’t me, but this Junior Hero.”

“Thank you, Junior Hero!”

“Thank you, Junior Hero!”

“You’re our village’s benefactor, Junior Hero!”

It’s common for bosses in black companies to steal the achievements of interns, but here was Dang Cheolsan deflecting credit to me despite treating everyone with his own medicine.

My evaluation of the Tang Clan took a positive turn.

Yielding credit to subordinates demonstrates excellent character.

It means they could be considered as a boss.

‘+100 points. Dang Cheolsan seems like a good person. He slapped me once, though.’

The village that was about to die regained its vitality.

Of course, while many had regained consciousness, it didn’t mean everyone had fully recovered.

Chagas disease causes organ deformities and enlargement due to parasitic invasion, leading to serious permanent issues with the heart or other organs for those who had collapsed.

Even if we exterminated the parasites causing Chagas, the already enlarged hearts and organs couldn’t simply revert back to their former state.

In my past life, the only treatment for an enlarged heart was a transplant.

But during this era, the notion of a heart transplant was ludicrous, and most people would have to live with disabilities.

The chief’s granddaughter was relatively lucky.

She had fainted due to her weak constitution but hadn’t suffered significant issues with her heart, so after taking the Gu Poison Dissolving Elixir, her discomfort faded.

After checking her pulse multiple times, Dang Cheolsan concluded that there were no issues with her heart, which was a relief, I suppose.

Addressing the chief with a forlorn expression after giving a spoonful of the medicine to every villager, Dang Cheolsan said,

“For those whose hearts have already been severely affected, there’s likely nothing we can do. I’ll have to mention it to the Divine Doctor and the Herbalist when I return to Sichuan. They might come out of curiosity since this illness is caused by worms infesting the human body.”

According to Dang Cheolsan, there are two renowned medical practitioners in the Central Plains, the Divine Doctor and the Herbalist.

He intended to ask them to check on the villagers, but the chief responded apologetically.

“Oh, no. Just this is a blessing. I thought we would slowly… end up watching everyone die… It’s a blessing just to be alive.”

The atmosphere warmed.

The joyful voices of villagers who had regained their senses and those recovering filled the night, yet it reminded them that their work was not over.

The most crucial task still lay ahead.

“Elders, it’s not time to celebrate yet. The work isn’t finished.”

“What do you mean, Junior Hero?”

“Oh, true. It’s not over yet.”

The chief tilted his head at my words.

Dang Cheolsan seemed to grasp my intent quickly and wanted to determine how long the effects of the Gu Poison Dissolving Elixir would last.

Hoping it had a lasting effect.

“Yes, elder. How long does the Gu Poison Dissolving Elixir’s effect last?”

“Normally, if consumed, it would not only dissolve the Gu but also prevent it from establishing itself in the body for about three months. However, since we mixed it with water, it should last about fifteen days.”

Fortunately, it lasts fifteen days.

I turned to ask the chief.

“This illness is contracted through insect bites. What happens if there are bites again in fifteen days?”

“Oh, that’s right. We need to eliminate the bugs!”

Yes, the Kiss Bug resides in rooftops and crevices of houses, coming out at night to bite people.

The Yeojok on Hainan Island weave their roofs with leaves from palm trees, where many Kiss Bugs are likely hiding.

Though they may resemble bedbugs, they belong to the same family, making rooftops or cracks near homes their primary habitat.

I asked the insect expert, Dang Cheolsan.

“Yes, elder. Do you have any poisons for killing insects?”

Since he boasted about his knowledge of poisons, I expected he’d have something to deal with them.

We needed to create an insecticide.

And something to repel the insects too.

Dang Cheolsan smiled at my question.

“Are you talking about insect-repelling substances? We have wormwood brought from the Western Regions back at my place, but I doubt you have that here. Instead, we could brew a solution using the bark of cinnamon and the fruit of Sichuan pepper.”

“They work quite well for bugs. They would become poison to them; if they come into contact, they’d die, and just the smell would keep them at bay. That should suffice.”

‘Oh, right! I remember that they used cinnamon and Sichuan pepper as insecticides long ago!’

I recalled from my past life when I studied insects and venomous creatures.

Dang Cheolsan’s mention of eugenol in cinnamon and the killing properties of Sanshol in Sichuan pepper came to mind.

“Ah, indeed, I recall that too. Chief, can you gather the cinnamon and Sichuan pepper? Just as the elder suggested, we should brew a solution and sprinkle it all over the house and roof, as well as the gaps between the stones around the village.

And let’s hang cinnamon and Sichuan pepper by the beds, so the Kiss Bugs can’t come too close when we sleep.”

“Understood, Junior Hero. I’ll tell them to gather cinnamon and Sichuan pepper!”

With the chief’s urgent shout, a large-scale pest control operation began throughout the village.

“Gather cinnamon and Sichuan pepper! Today! We will eradicate these vile insects!”

The villagers, filled with enthusiasm, began the operation to exterminate the Kiss Bugs that creep in with a sly kiss at night, and soon the whole village was enveloped in the subtle fragrance of cinnamon and Sichuan pepper.

*

After a night of chaotic pest control, the morning village felt like a complete festival.

No, it was a festival.

There was a village celebration underway, as if the previous day’s disrespect had never occurred.

Having gone to bed late and feeling fatigued, we were invited to what resembled a village hall as soon as dawn broke.

A long table was adorned with a Bamboo Sieve.

Upon it lay a feast of meats, fish, fruits, and vegetables.

“This is our Yeojok’s welcome banquet, the Jangtakyeon. You benefactors, please enjoy yourselves. We sincerely apologize for yesterday!”

“““We’re sorry!”””

The Jangtakyeon, renowned for its deep history and tradition.

As the name suggests, it’s about sitting at a long table and eating the food prepared for each guest. This was a real delicacy for me, who had only eaten snake and lizard meat, or rice gathered from the village.

Having only mended snake skins to purchase rice, it was a true taste of home cooking after a long time.

‘How wonderful. I never knew home-cooked meals could bring so much happiness.’

As I hungrily devoured the food spread before me like when I had the deer meat, the village women gathered around, smiling as they offered more food.

“Junior Hero, would you like some more meat?”

“Uh? Yes, thank you!”

“Try some more fish. Isn’t it cute?”

“Oh, fish too!”

And just as Dang Cheolsan and the warriors were getting cheerful from the songs of the Yeojok and the drinks served, the chief, who was sitting at our table, asked cautiously with a very apologetic expression.

“Elder, about what you said at the village entrance yesterday…”

“What did I say at the entrance?”

“It’s about the people looking for the missing villagers.”

“Oh, that’s right. But why do you ask?”

While it had taken a backseat because of healing the Yeojok, our original purpose was to find the Blood Hand Demon, Tak Woon-yang, and his lair.

To learn the martial art of the Blood Water Poison Claw, he needed a large supply of human blood and marrow, so we were searching for villages with mass disappearances.

As Dang Cheolsan nodded at the chief’s question, his face brightened as he responded.

“I had no way to repay the kindness shown, so I tried to learn about it, and I heard something strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes, among the women who regained their senses last night, there was a girl who had married from another village. Her home village had experienced strange disappearances some years ago…”

We all turned to each other at the chief’s words.

It seemed we were all on the same page.

‘That’s it!’

“Where is that place!?”

“It’s over there in the west…”

As Dang Cheolsan’s inquiry became frantic, the chief’s hand pointed towards the western direction.

*

The Ghost Village.

After discovering it from the chief, the village of the Yeojok was settled in the southeastern mountains of Hainan Island, and there was not a single living soul to be found.

“There’s not a single person to be seen?”

“It feels as though they fled in a hurry. Although it looks old, their belongings are still inside the houses.”

“Yet if there were strange disappearances, people would have likely fled and raised the alarm surrounding the area, which seems odd…”

Though he might be a vicious creature, the size of this village suggested there could have been at least a hundred people living here.

As we felt the strangeness of all villagers having vanished, we continued our search deeper into the mountain.

Just as we approached the peak, a foul odor drifted toward us.

At the pungent smell, Dang Cheolsan muttered darkly to himself.

“Stench of corpses…”

And he swiftly used his lightness skill to dart into the woods at high speed.

If it’s the smell of corpses, we all ran through the brush, following the direction Dang Cheolsan had disappeared.

Soon enough, a large cave appeared.

A massive cave entrance barred by bamboo bars came into view.

“What’s this?”

“Gah! This, this is!?”

Next to the cave was an area filled with skeletons from long dead to corpses that had only recently perished.

Countless bodies lay stacked in heaps.

Twisted insects crawled, maggots writhed, and many more insects and venomous creatures gathered, even snakes looking to feast on the dead.

There were even dead snakes and poisonous insects layered there, hatching their eggs in this hellish cycle of life and death unfolding before us.

“Reeking of dead bodies…”

“It’s horrific! Junior Hero, don’t look!”

‘If you’re going to shield me, do it sooner…’

The guards from the Tang Clan shielded my view, but the haunting scene had already seared into my memory.

To witness something akin to a live documentary of a massacre in a real-life scenario was beyond surreal.

After a brief moment of shock, we broke free from our daze and tried to kick down the bamboo bars to check for any survivors inside the cave drenched in filth, but we found no one alive.

According to Dang Cheolsan, the fresh corpses in here suggested that the last survivor had been here until very recently, but it seemed like he had killed them all to enhance his martial capabilities.

So, he probably attacked Dang Cheolsan as a precaution.

As Dang Cheolsan said, his grandfather was evidently a terrifying individual, which meant he feared him.

‘Good riddance to that bastard.’

The ghastly sight and inability to find any survivors dampened our spirits for a moment, but as we discovered a makeshift building presumed to be his lair next to the cave, while Dang Cheolsan and the guards searched for any secret techniques, a sudden sound of wings flapping echoed through the air.

-Flap flap.

Turning my head to the loud noise, I caught a glimpse of a rather large bird landing on the mound of corpses with a significant thud.

“Hmm? I’ve never seen a bird like that.”

I might not be a bird expert, but I knew quite a few species, yet this was something I’d never encountered before.

The bird, as big as an eagle, had long legs and purple feathers that shimmered with green hues under the light, while its golden crest resembled a crown atop its head.

Initially, it appeared to be pecking at the bodies, but as I watched in silence, it walked among them and started consuming only the heads of the wriggling snakes.

Just as I was dumbfoundedly staring at the peculiar spectacle, a warrior who had finished the search approached.

“Junior Hero, what are you doing? Huh!? What’s with that bird? We can’t let it desecrate the corpses!”

The warrior assumed the bird was there to feast on the dead and took a few steps forward to throw a stone at it.

Perhaps he thought it a crow-like creature preying upon the bodies.

-Thud!

-Caw!

Rather than fleeing, the bird screeched loudly and locked its red eyes on the warrior.

It felt like it was staring daggers into him.

The warrior picked up another stone to throw at the ravenous bird.

“A beast like you shouldn’t stay here!”

-Flap flap!

The bird took flight, dodging the stone, and along with that, a strange phenomenon began to unfold.

As if a shroud of darkness fell upon the ground, the instant the bird began to flap its wings, everything in its vicinity turned black from its rising ascent.

As the wings beat against the air, the snakes and insects began rolling on their backs.

No, not just rolling over; they started to melt away.

From the corpses to the insects and snakes, everything began to ooze as if they were hot butter melting away.

-Sizzle!

And from the warrior who had thrown the stone, a thick white smoke began to waft into the air as he neared the bird.

It appeared as if he had somehow stashed some dry ice within his robes.

“Wuh, Wuhuang!”

The warrior, startled, hastily pulled out the Wuhuang, but its size shrank mysteriously within moments.

From what I had learned over the past few days, Wuhuang was known for revealing if substances were toxic and temporarily warding off poisons, but seeing such a reaction meant it was undoubtedly of terrifying potency.

The Wuhuang emitted fumes in a frenzy.

At that moment, I felt a hand grab me by the nape of my neck.

“Gah!”

As I was being pulled towards the cave, Dang Cheolsan shouted at the guards of the Tang Clan.

“Get inside the cave! That must surely be a Zhen bird!”

‘Zhen bird?’