Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 162: Chaos in the Four Heavenly Houses

“Could that man be the Deputy Commander of the Centipede Division? I had a bad feeling, and as usual, my intuition proved correct.”

The sound of soldiers rushing into the cave confirmed my suspicions.

“Deputy Commander! It appears that the Sub Commander has been dead for over thirty days! The dried, reddened skin around the neck suggests he succumbed to Fire Destruction Poison…”

The soldiers speaking were clearly referencing the owner of the diary.

A startled shout from another soldier interrupted.

“W-wait! It’s a breeding facility! Huh? Intruders!?”

“How dare they!”

Two soldiers, with eyes gleaming in cold surprise after seeing the open breeding pit, focused on us.

It seemed like Hua Eun and I had become trapped mice in a poison chamber.

Though there were only three of them visible right now, it was obvious that three more would soon return.

[So-ryong, what should we do?]

Hua Eun’s tense voice echoed in my ears.

She discreetly sent a telepathic message asking for a plan, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the man who looked like the Deputy Commander.

I couldn’t send any telepathic messages, so I worried that my whispers or actions might provoke them.

But if Chao returned with Older Sister Seol, I hoped we could manage to escape this crisis—even if it meant we had to try our best to avoid capture until then.

Earlier, it took about half a meal’s time to reach here from the Water Bandits’ waterway.

Considering the time taken back and forth, if I waited about one meal period, Chao should arrive. But if we got caught before that, things would spiral out of control.

Even if Chao came and wiped out the others, if we had been captured and our lives threatened, the aftermath was uncertain.

‘That Deputy Commander is probably at the level of an Elder of the Blood Cult, right?’

Judging by his focused gaze and the intense energy radiating off him, he felt reminiscent of the Elders of the Blood Cult I had encountered previously.

Hua Eun and I certainly couldn’t deal with that, but there was no absolute certainty when it came to a fight.

With Seol, Bin, and Dong-i concealed within Hua Eun’s skirt, and Hyang and Yeon-du safely in my arms, I thought we had to endure somehow, depending on that secret weapon until the right moment.

The menacing man looked over at us and motioned to the soldiers with his chin.

“It seems they have no intention of revealing who they are. Bring them to me!”

“Yes! Deputy Commander!”

With that command, two soldiers dashed toward us like the wind.

“Be careful!”

As they ran deeper into the cave, their footsteps echoing against the stone walls, Hua Eun warned me, rushing forward to intercept them.

In the dimness of the cave, the flickering light illuminated the charged atmosphere as Hua Eun leaped, arms outstretched, to take them on.

The distance between them was closing rapidly.

Just as they appeared ready to engage, something else happened—a lethal distance established.

Hua Eun’s flying needles shot out from her sleeves, piercing the air ahead.

-Whirr!

“F-flying needles!”

Caught off guard by the sudden barrage of needles, the two soldiers froze, but then they kicked off each other and clung to the walls of the cave in a swift maneuver.

-Thunk.

As the soldiers clung to the walls, a swarm of bedbugs came pouring out.

-Crunch, crunch.

The soldiers quickly flipped and landed back on their feet, dodging what seemed to be a rapid-fire attack as they adeptly evaded.

Hua Eun clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“Tch…”

And amidst all this, the voice of the Deputy Commander thundered through the cave walls once more.

“Flying needles? You wouldn’t have any ties to the Tang Clan, would you?”

It seemed that there weren’t many sects in the Martial Forest that effectively utilized flying needles, as the mere use of one had already compromised our identity.

Without a word, Hua Eun stubbornly shut her mouth, her expression resolute as she prepared to fire another needle between her fingers.

“Ha…”

The Deputy Commander’s smile abruptly sent shivers down my spine.

In an instant, a killing aura erupted from him, rushing toward us.

‘Ugh. How laughable… is that what he’s implying?’

At that moment when I tried to raise my energy to resist the overwhelming pressure bearing down upon us, Hyang sprang out of my arms, furious at the aura directed at me.

-Zip! “Who are you!?”

With an indignant glare, Hyang shot a fierce look at the Deputy Commander, demanding to know who dared to challenge her father.

‘Hyang, you’re cute and dependable, but you can’t be my secret weapon…’

She gave away our card too early, reacting to the pressurized energy.

Startled by Hyang’s sudden outburst, I instinctively reached out to calm her down.

“Be still, Hyang.”

Just then, the Deputy Commander suddenly uttered my name, which I hadn’t introduced yet.

“Cheong Yu? Could it be? So-ryong?”

‘What? Why are you being friendly with me all of a sudden?’

I wondered when the Five Poisons Sect had ever been on such friendly terms with me. But I had to buy more time until Chao arrived.

I quickly corrected my expression and asked the Deputy Commander, maintaining a polite tone.

“Do you know me?”

He nodded eagerly, pretending to show deference.

“First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I am Kwon Sam, the Deputy Commander of the Centipede Division.

And to answer your question, of course, I know you! You are the owner of the Flying Heavenly Centipede and So-ryong, the man of Miss Cheong Yu!”

While it was fine that my connection to the Flying Heavenly Centipede was acknowledged, how absurd that he called me the man of that gothic girl.

That Miss Cheong Yu surely seemed to have evolved from a mere gothic girl to a full-fledged stalker, considering the way she fixated on me.

“Excuse me? Whose man did you say I am?”

As I stumbled over my words in confusion, I noted Hua Eun’s expression turning icy.

It was understandable; she must have been furious as the possession to which she was tied was being transferred without her consent.

However, it was merely one-sided reasoning from their side.

Responding to my question, the Deputy Commander firmly nodded again and continued.

“I meant Miss Cheong Yu! She said she told you her real name. Did you perhaps forget? Surely you didn’t forget that!”

“Ah, Cheong Yu. That Miss O Cheong Yu…”

I stammered awkwardly, and Hua Eun gaped at me in astonishment.

Of course, she was shocked that I still remembered her name. But what could I do? That woman was too crazy to forget about.

I thought I should explain myself to Hua Eun later when the Deputy Commander spoke again.

“Looks like you remember her? That’s a relief; she’d have been sad otherwise.

And since So-ryong is here, that means that girl is from the Tang Clan. How timely to meet, as Miss Cheong Yu had requested—very fortunate indeed.”

“W-requested?”

A cold sweat broke out as I asked again, surprised that the gothic girl had asked for something on my behalf.

It was only natural that whatever kind of request it might be, it would undoubtedly be outrageous given her state of mind.

True to form, the Deputy Commander grinned with a chilling expression.

“So-ryong will be captured… No, to put it more politely, we intend to welcome you, while the Tang Clan lady will be humiliated and sent back to the Tang Clan.”

“Humiliated!?”

“What a child like So-ryong wouldn’t need to know. Hehe. While I was out and about, I panicked at the mistake my subordinates made—this all works out perfectly.

If we humiliate the Tang Clan’s lady and bring you in, all that effort spent raising those insects will be…”

He let his tongue graze his lips, lewdly scanning Hua Eun up and down.

Hua Eun felt the three leering gazes directed at her and was filled with rage.

“Y-you bastards! You will all die!”

With fierce anger, Hua Eun shot out another round of flying needles, filling the cave.

While it may not have been as impressive as the full bloom of the Mandok God, there was still enough to fill the passage with needles sparkling like stars under the torchlight.

However, the Deputy Commander was nonchalant as he tossed aside the torch, mockingly swatting his hand forward, causing Hua Eun’s needles to miss their target and embed themselves in the walls of the cave.

His gleeful laughter echoed.

“Did you truly think mere flying needles were enough to face me, Kwon Sam, the Deputy Commander? Haha, come on now, I need some real entertainment.”

Unable to hold back her fury, Hua Eun stumbled back toward me.

“Hua Eun, come here!”

But Hua Eun didn’t respond to my call, still staring ahead intensely, producing poison vials from her waist.

She seemed intent on dousing everything in poison to kill regardless of the cost.

I softly repeated her name.

“Hua. Eun.”

At the sound of her name, Hua Eun jolted and turned to me, sensing a change in my demeanor.

As it happened, I was furious right now.

That fact was just hidden beneath the calm of my facade.

I felt a storm brewing; I was beyond angry.

With worthless scum glaring at Hua Eun, I knew I had to deliver some proper punishment to ensure they wouldn’t haunt her again.

So when Hua Eun cautiously backed into my protective space, I pulled out the gloves crafted from the silk of the Yo-hwa I had made to spray Hua Yang’s poison, smiling at the Deputy Commander.

“It seems from what I gathered, you want to indulge with Hua Eun, is that right?”

The Deputy Commander looked taken aback, then smirked at my question.

“I didn’t think you’re so young and wouldn’t understand, but clearly, you’re grown now!

Then let’s get straight to business! Just hand over that girl and come with us; Miss Cheong Yu is waiting. She’s far more deserving than that girl.”

He smiled, adding, “And I suppose you expect us to be unprepared for the Flying Heavenly Centipede?”

When I replied with a grin, “Understood,” the Deputy Commander looked surprised, and Hua Eun stared at me wide-eyed.

-Crack!

At the same time, I kicked the box containing a female bedbug, shattering it.

I grabbed five flattened male bedbugs that came tumbling out and flung them like discs straight at the trio.

Despite this, they chose to swat them away instead of fleeing.

The three bedbugs burst mid-air with a satisfying smack.

-Splat, splat, splat.

They didn’t dodge because I had sent the bedbugs flying like frisbees.

“What in the world are you doing, So-ryong?”

The Deputy Commander looked bewildered, seemingly unable to comprehend why I was hurling bedbugs at them.

You see, bedbugs communicate through pheromones just like common insects do, and the bedbugs use pheromones too.

Their main pheromonal languages are fear, gather, and seduction.

The female bedbug emits a potent scent to attract the males, but its effect is entirely different; the female scent is meant to lure them in.

I wrapped the two I held in gloves and tossed them aside, smiling at him.

“Well then, I hope you enjoy your time.”

Dropping my torch onto the ground and extinguishing it, total darkness enveloped the cave.

And in the darkness, something began to rain down like hail toward them.

-Thud, thud, thud.

Almost immediately, the screams from the trio echoed off the cave walls, reverberating endlessly.

“Aaaah!”

“C-crazy!”

“Uwaaaaaah!”

“What’s happening!? So-ryong!”

As Hua Eun clung to me in fear in the dark, I smiled and whispered, “I merely seek to punish those who disrespect and covet my woman, giving them what they desire.”

“Excuse me?”

What did that even mean?

Bedbugs are truly bizarre creatures.

Especially, their breeding habits are exceptionally strange; the female bedbug has no reproductive organs, and the males can’t even tell whether a partner is male or female.

Thus, their reproduction process is brutally chaotic; when the female pheromone is released, male bedbugs indiscriminately stab anything they can with their hook-like, enormous appendages.

Regardless of gender or species, male bedbugs appropriated anything in their path, showcasing their violent mating behavior.

What could I do with those scum from the Five Poisons Sect that had piled up?

They needed to receive their just desserts.

But for today, my role would primarily be defensive.

‘Goodbye now.’

The trio’s screams echoed macabrely throughout the cave.