Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 149: Fabre in the Four Heavenly Houses

Suddenly, Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol’s eyes went wide as the lantern was snatched away and brought close to the water’s surface.

However, upon witnessing the bizarre sight of a tadpole sucking the flame from the lantern into its mouth, the two screamed in disbelief.

“The flame from the lantern is being sucked into its mouth!”

“It’s eating fire!?”

While the two were panicking, the tadpole continued to gulp down the flames.

A thin, flickering flame danced across the surface, flowing into the tadpole’s mouth.

If I hadn’t seen it myself, I would never have believed that a tadpole could absorb fire in such a way.

‘This is insane!’

The sight of the tadpole devouring fire was hard to fathom.

Even my eyes felt as if they were blazing with sparks.

After all, isn’t fire a man’s romance?

Red symbolizes passion and willpower, and fire, flames, and everything related embodies that essence.

Regardless of what it truly was, if a tadpole could consume fire, it meant that it fed on flames. This implied that upon growing, it would likely become a frog or toad that can manipulate flames, which electrified me.

It was a symbol of manhood, aligning with the fire element.

‘How could it possess the fire element?’

Then I realized, watching the tadpole consume the flames, that the words of the nuns, which I initially thought were trivial, were actually very important.

They spoke of how it was troublesome when the oil in the lanterns ran out as they descended, and now I suspected that it was because this little creature had been secretly feasting on the heat!

Originally, it should have been consuming flames as it did now, but the nuns would hardly bring the lanterns near the water. It seemed that it had been merely surviving by sucking warmth from the lanterns positioned far away.

I began to understand why this creature had remained stunted, unable to grow in the past ten years.

It wouldn’t be easy to find flames in nature unless there was a volcanic area or a wildfire, and that explained why it had to consume as much fire as possible whenever it had the chance to grow into a full form.

In some deserts, certain toads can transform from tadpoles to toads within just ten days of rainfall, and the same seemed true for this little one.

‘What a poor thing. It barely managed to scrape by, huh? Or should I say, it lived off flames?’

Just then, as I looked at the creature desperately gulping down flames, the flow suddenly cut off.

I quickly shined the lantern into the moonlight, revealing that the oil inside was completely gone.

“Were you very hungry?”

“Is the oil in the lantern out?”

“Yes. It seems it hastily consumed the flames because it was starving.”

“Oh dear, that’s pitiful.”

We all had an affinity for venomous creatures and beasts.

Determined to feed it well, Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol started gathering branches.

“Should I go get some oil? Or should we make a bigger fire near the water?”

“Should we? Make a bigger fire?”

The tadpole, having consumed all the flames, swam toward me and began to crawl up on the rocks with a wiggly motion.

“Oh my! That little one is climbing on the rocks!”

“Oh, how adorable! Is it thanking us for the food?”

“This creature can climb up rocks too?”

It was astonishing to consider it could do that.

When I tried to put it back in the water, I felt something sticky on its belly sticking to my hand.

“What the!?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why, Wei So-ryong?”

With wide eyes of surprise, both of them questioned me.

I stroked the creature and replied to their inquiries.

“It’s stuck to my hand!”

“Stuck? Then did it climb up onto a rock to get here?”

Hua Eun wondered if that was why it was in this pond, thinking perhaps it crawled up from somewhere.

But the sticky sensation was likely connected to another reason.

I shook my head and explained.

“No, it seems that its parents must have carried it around.”

“Carried it?”

“Carried it around you say?”

It was an unfamiliar concept to Older Sister Seol and Hua Eun, but amphibians have various breeding methods.

For example, the female Surinam toad, known as Pipa, lays her eggs while tumbling in the water, and then the eggs attach to her back, growing through her skin, with baby toads emerging from the holes on her back.

Occasionally, there are horror memes featuring little toads emerging from holes on toads’ backs online, and that’s exactly the scene.

Additionally, the golden poison dart frog in the Amazon lays her eggs in water and disappears, while the male cares for them.

The male would carry the tadpoles to different flooded areas until they transformed into baby frogs.

Poison dart frogs lay their eggs in small water accumulations on leaves to avoid predators, and they need to transport the young to prevent the water from drying out.

Given the tropical climate, water evaporates quickly.

“So where do you think this little one’s mom or dad went?”

“Who knows? If they had that carrying habit, they usually would take care of it until it becomes a frog or toad… Given that it’s been left alone in this state, it’s possible that both parents died during a storm.”

“Oh, that’s so sad… Today, we have to feed it well.”

While I pushed the creature back into the water as it desperately climbed out, Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol were looking for branches to gather.

I stopped both of them for the time being.

“Wait a moment. Let’s just feed it here for today.”

“Why? It hasn’t been fed properly for ten years!”

“Right! Wei So-ryong, that’s so pitiful. Let’s feed it more.”

Though they were insisting that the creature was poor, I was worried that if we fed it too much and it sprouted extra legs, we might not be able to take it back.

“Some frogs and toads can become adults in just a few days if they eat well. If it grows, it could mean we can’t take it from Botam.”

As it turned out, it wouldn’t matter if it were a frog, but if it became a toad, it would be considered a significant spirit in Buddhism.

“Oh, if it’s a toad, then it certainly….”

Even if a toad isn’t considered a true spirit in Buddhism, a toad itself is treated as a spiritual entity.

While in the water, a toad can move freely like a fish, but once it comes onto land and appears before humans, it’s said to take on the responsibilities and obligations of mankind. Toads are also often depicted as guardians of Buddhist teachings.

Is that all?

Toads are seen as a symbol of wealth due to the phrase “to spit money,” because they are said to bring fortune.

So if it were discovered that this little one was a toad, there would be no way Botam would easily part with it.

No matter how much the princess might request for it to be handed over, the ownership ultimately belonged to Botam.

“Ugh… True, since spirits reside in Spirit Peak…”

“Yes, well, even the monks could become greedy.”

“Right… If this little one is a toad, the temple would find it hard to give it up.”

Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol nodded at my words.

As I stroked the creature’s head, which kept trying to crawl out of the water as if begging to be taken away, I said, “Just hold on for a day or two. We’ll take you home soon. And then I’ll feed you well. Got it?”

Then, the tadpole slipped back into the water, poked its head out, stared at me intently, then turned and disappeared below the surface.

“Do you think it understood?”

“Since it’s a spirit, it probably does.”

“Wei So-ryong, we’ve got to rescue that little one.”

“That seems to be the case.”

As we all decided to rescue the creature that had barely fed for ten years, the sun began to rise on the far eastern horizon.

*

“We will take Hua Ri once our boat is ready.”

As dawn broke, I approached the head monk to announce our decision to take Hua Ri immediately.

The head monk nodded in agreement, saying he had intended to give it to us from the beginning.

“Indeed, since Jiryeon has promised it, we must follow through. So how do you intend to take it?”

“For now, our ship is at the largest island of the Jushan Islands, so one of us will go fetch it. Will you grant us permission to dock at the pier?”

Our plan was to bring the boat close to the pier first.

Once we had done so, we planned to use Chao to fill leather bags with water and transfer it to the ship, like a firefighting helicopter.

When I asked if we could dock, the head monk readily nodded.

However, there were conditions attached.

“Only, you must ensure that no men can ascend to the island. My disciples are worried they might get agitated upon seeing men.”

I wondered why men weren’t allowed on the island, suspecting it was because the nuns might get flustered upon seeing them.

It was true; when I went to deliver my older sister’s umbrella to the high school across the street in my past life, the girls went wild.

“There’s a man! A man is here!” There were even older sisters who shrieked upon seeing me.

‘That was quite astonishing back then.’

“Understood. Ah, may I also have my daughters disembark from the ship when fetching water from Spirit Peak’s Wol-yeong Lake?”

Having solved the boat issue, I now needed permission for Chao to ascend to the Spirit Peak.

When I inquired, the head monk looked confused.

“Your daughters? It’s fine if they’re not men. However, if they are your daughters, will they be of any help? How old are they?”

Given my age, he probably thought they were still infants.

“Oh, they’re young but they aren’t human, so it’s fine.”

“Not human?”

“Yes, they’re O-gongs. I may need to inform your disciples, just so they don’t get startled.”

“O, O-gong? You mean your daughter is an O-gong?”

“Yes, she’s around twenty or so, and she flies through the sky.”

“Wh-what does that mean?”

Every time I answered one of his questions, he responded with an increasingly puzzled expression.

*

Older Sister Seol summoned the ferry, and we rushed to prepare for our journey back.

First, we installed a large water container borrowed from Botam at the pier, and with the help of the nuns from Botam, we began to transport water.

It was said that when Chao arrived, she would help in the water fetching, and the head monk suggested he would allow his disciples to assist as part of their training.

“Are you trying to take water from Wol-yeong Lake?”

“Yes? Yeah, that’s correct.”

We kept our plans regarding Wol-yeong under wraps for the time being.

The head monk seemed to know that his disciples were fond of Wol-yeong, so he had advised us to hurry and take her away at the last moment.

As we filled the water container, time passed until noon when our vessel appeared in the distance.

Chao leaped powerfully from the ship, rushing toward us.

It seemed she had been impatient waiting after not seeing us for a few days.

She had a leather bag I had requested tied to her body.

-Tsurur!

“Yeah, even I missed you. Come on over here.”

-Tsur?

As I gestured to head toward Spirit Peak, she tilted her head, double-checking my outfit with the mention of “father” in my thoughts.

I winced and tried to explain again.

“W-well, they said only women could come here, so I had to borrow mother’s clothes.”

Once we arrived at Spirit Peak and I explained to Chao why I was dressed as a woman, I noticed Wol-yeong waiting for me by the shore, likely realizing it was time for her to be fetched after I collected the water.

“Chao, greet Wol-yeong. She’s your new sister? Or new brother? Either way, she’s older than you, so you must treat her well!”

-Tsur.

Though Wol-yeong looked younger, she was ten, while Chao was only one.

As they exchanged glances, I quickly transferred Wol-yeong into the leather bag along with the water.

“Let’s go!”

We quickly made our way back to the pier.

However, my plan to quickly return and mature Wol-yeong was momentarily halted as we reached the dock.

“Waaah… Wol-yeong…”

“Master, you’re giving away Wol-yeong?”

“Waaah…”

It seemed there was a massive uproar as the little disciples cried next to the dock.

Sure enough, the cause of the chaos was my intention to take Wol-yeong.

It’s entirely normal to shed a tear when sending away a beloved pet, so the head monk looked on at his crying disciples with a helpless expression.

The older disciples were fine, but the younger ones seemed to be in turmoil at the thought of Wol-yeong leaving to another household.

“What’s going on?”

Upon realizing what was happening, I stared at the head monk in disbelief when Older Sister Seol sprinted over.

She whispered in my ear, “Is it okay for this to happen? Can we do something?”

‘Huh, this is a last resort…’

Steeling my resolve, I whispered in Older Sister Seol’s ear, “Please tell them this little one is a ‘male.’”

[!]

Her eyes widened in shock at my words.

Older Sister Seol promptly turned to face the head monk, saying, “E-excuse me, everyone! I have something to say about why we must take this little one away!”

The questions came flying in.

“Why on earth do you need to take Wol-yeong!?”

“That’s right!”

“Why are you taking her!?”

In response to their inquiries, Older Sister Seol stammered out an explanation.

“She says this little one is a ‘male.’ Isn’t it true that males cannot ascend to Spirit Peak?”

The younger nuns wore blank expressions, their faces reflecting disbelief.

Then one of the nuns questioned in disbelief, “How can we trust that?”

“Exactly!”

If they couldn’t believe it, then showing it was the natural course of action.

I took out Wol-yeong, presenting her belly towards Older Sister Seol to explain.

[Now I’ll show you whether it’s a male or female. Please convey that.]

[What!?]

If they didn’t believe me, what could I do?

The only option was to show them.

“Well then. I’m going to show you whether it’s a female or male right now.”

“W-what!? You’re going to show us!? Wh-what will you show us!? Aaaah!”

“Aaaahhhhh!”

I wanted to clarify the situation, but as Older Sister Seol explained, the nuns shrieked and started to run away from the dock.

Seeing this, Older Sister Seol looked utterly stunned as she asked, “Was that really the way to go about it? But is it true? Is this little one really a male?”

Had I been able to distinguish between males and females during the tadpole stage, I could have made a fortune in my past life.

With a smile, I replied, “Well, who knows?”