Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 164: Fire in the Mountains

“Now, I’ve barely had a chance to hold your hand, yet my lips are chapped. No, it’s not because of my eco-friendly lipstick! I’ve already gone through an entire tube just kissing,” the Earth Dragon sighed, pouting slightly.

I could hardly contain my growing frustration but managed to force a smile in response to his question.

“Ahaha… Looks like you used up that lipstick pretty fast? That, um, requires a pearl. Once I return to my clan, I’ll make some and send it through a messenger.”

“Oh, there’s no need to go that far.”

“Really? No, it’s not that hard to do…”

“No, that’s not what I meant. We were planning to visit the Tang Clan after wrapping up this business, so would it be alright if we accompanied you?”

At first, I thought he was politely declining, but no, the Earth Dragon was actually saying he wanted to tag along with me to the Tang Clan.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit dizzy at his proposal.

Was he going through withdrawal symptoms from not being able to kiss?

‘Has it been a while since the lipstick ran out? Is he that desperate? Why does it feel like everyone I meet lately is piling up on me?’

Turning my gaze over his shoulder, I spotted the approaching figures of the Sword Dragon and the Spear Dragon, both nodding in approval.

I tilted my head and asked, “You two as well?”

“Of course.”

“Well then, we have to go too.”

Even the girl named Eun-bong and Gong-bong were looking our way; it certainly felt like everyone wanted to come along.

‘We’re not close enough for me to invite them to my home, though…’

I do respect them as older brothers, but that’s just a social title.

Just as I thought we weren’t that friendly, the Sword Dragon smiled and said, “Earth Dragon needs to get treated, so Eun-bong can rest easy.”

“Ah, right. There’s that too.”

Thinking back, didn’t the Mandok God say that Earth Dragon needed more treatment?

I remembered that Mercury poisoning required a long-term cure, as the Mandok God had pointed out.

I also recalled that Lord Pang and his group, currently recuperating in the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, should be able to move about soon.

Since they mentioned they would come to the Tang Clan once they regained their health, it might not be a bad idea to bring Earth Dragon’s group along to introduce them.

I recalled how concerned Earth Dragon seemed about Lord Pang’s group when we first met.

“Well then, let’s do it that way.”

“Thank you for allowing us to accompany you, Junior Hero Wei So-ryong.”

Seeing Earth Dragon’s joy at my acceptance, I noticed warriors from the Martial Forest Alliance disembarking from the ship behind him.

‘Right, I need to meet the person in charge.’

“By the way, who’s responsible for this matter?”

Thinking about the person in charge as I spotted the Martial Forest Alliance warriors, I was momentarily sidetracked by Earth Dragon bringing up lipstick right after I tried to greet the lead, but I needed to meet him first.

I had to provide detailed explanations that I couldn’t write in the letter and discuss the guidance of the mountain village or the disposal of the remaining items.

Earth Dragon smiled and replied, “Ah, I’m the one in charge of this matter.”

“Excuse me? You, Earth Dragon?”

With notable figures in the Martial Forest Alliance, I was taken aback to hear that he was in charge of this task.

Even though I heard that because of the Blood Cult’s activities, the alliance had one military officer and two deputy officers, it didn’t make sense that Earth Dragon, who didn’t even have an official position in the alliance, would be designated as the lead.

Earth Dragon explained how he ended up taking charge of the situation.

“The military officer is busy dealing with someone dispatched from the court, and one deputy officer is commanding a dispatch while the other is overseeing supplies, so they couldn’t be present.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yes, usually when such matters arise, a member of our household, the Zhuge Clan, is tasked with assisting, and as luck would have it, I happened to be in the alliance, so I took on this responsibility.

It’s just a matter of cleaning up afterward anyway.”

I was surprised to learn about this rule that allowed someone without an official position to be in charge.

I felt relieved that I could resolve this with Earth Dragon instead of someone unfamiliar, yet I was curious about the court’s involvement.

“Oh, that’s good to hear.

By the way, a person from the court came down, did they? I heard it’s unusual for them to get involved in martial matters.”

Based on his mention of someone from the court, it seemed that the troublesome princess’s lie had actually worked.

However, I wasn’t sure how the court could justify that since they were supposed to be hands-off regarding martial affairs. “Is it really okay?”

Earth Dragon grinned slyly at my inquiry.

“The royal family labeled the Blood Cult as a heretic following reports of an attack on the princess and strictly prohibited the populace from believing in it, claiming it misleads the masses into a plight.”

“Oh ho… So that’s how it works?”

Even though they can’t interfere in martial matters, it was a whole different ball game if it involved religion.

If they categorized it as a religious issue and decided to suppress it, that escalated into the royal family’s domain, and no complaints could be made.

It seemed those Blood Cult folks were in for quite a bit of trouble.

Seeing me smirk, Earth Dragon pointed toward the ship he arrived on.

“I believe we have a lot to discuss. Would you mind if we took the conversation inside? I think it would be helpful for Junior Hero Wei So-ryong to also share his insights.”

“Understood. Then, excuse us.”

Nodding in agreement, he led me onto his ship.

*

Swish swish.

As I entered a space that looked like Earth Dragon’s cabin, I was greeted by a mountain of documents and the aroma of tea.

As Earth Dragon took a seat on the chair he had shown me, Eun-bong poured tea for us.

“Here you go, enjoy. You two.”

“Thank you, Eun-bong.”

Though I preferred cold water over hot tea at my age, I had learned about tea etiquette from Hua Eun while staying at the Tang Clan.

As I savored the fragrance of the tea, Earth Dragon spoke up.

“By the way, it’s alarming to know that the insect type is that large and can harm people. Everyone in the alliance gasped when they saw the letter you sent and the dried specimen of the insect type.”

I figured it wouldn’t be easy for ordinary folks to believe this.

Listening to a hundred tales is no match for witnessing one.

So, I captured two bedbugs as proof and sent them to the alliance, and it seemed that it had quite the impact.

Given how swiftly they dispatched an investigation team, it appeared they took it very seriously.

“I’m relieved that Junior Hero Wei So-ryong handled it all by yourself. Oh, and the leader asked me to express his gratitude.”

“Gratitude? It’s just part of the job.”

Forcing a smile at Earth Dragon’s compliment, I sipped the tea before setting the cup down.

Appreciation is nice, but we needed to dive into the serious matters now.

First up: the Blood Pill.

“By the way, we need to discuss the remaining tasks. Have you made any decisions about the massive amount of Blood Pills left at the mountain village?”

“Yes, the alliance said they would purchase all of them. As it happens, with the fight against the Blood Cult, they are in dire need of Blood Pills, so they’re quite grateful.”

I had a feeling it was a good time to sell the Blood Pills to the Martial Forest Alliance.

Sure enough, they returned my offer with eagerness to buy them all.

The thought of selling this to the Martial Forest Alliance crossed my mind because I remembered how much Blood Pill I ingested when I was drained by the Blood Cult Elder.

Because of that, I thought the Martial Forest Alliance would appreciate having as many Blood Pills as they could get during their tussle with the Blood Cult.

‘It seems I might have a knack for business.’

Among those who raise life forms, it’s common to jest about facilitating distribution; the same rings true for the Blood Pill.

It’s customary to offer services to those looking to distribute.

I extended a generous offer.

“Then, how about you take the Blood Pills first, and you can discuss the payment with my artisan, the clan head?”

“Can we really do that?”

“Yes, we can’t load it on our ship, and I imagine the alliance is in a hurry.”

“Understood. Junior Hero Wei So-ryong. The leader will be exceedingly grateful.”

The biggest batch of Blood Pills was already being arranged, and I had already given half of the remaining valuables to I-che, considering the disaster had burned about a quarter of the town and resulted in some casualties.

Of course, I reminded my recipients not to forget my terms.

In this world, nothing comes for free.

“Remember, this isn’t a gift.”

“What, then?”

“Well, you must absolutely refrain from causing harm to any people in the future. If I hear any reports of harm done, my children’s wrath will be unavoidable. Understood?”

“Yes, I won’t, I promise.”

“Also, I heard there are various rumors floating around the Yangtze River Three Gorges, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct, Junior Hero Wei So-ryong.”

“Then gather the rumors I desire.”

“What kind?”

“Rumors about poisons and venomous insects.”

Just a favor for my hobby.

I had to discuss the remaining two issues too.

“What about the mountain village? And what about the remaining bedbugs?”

If left untouched, more would come and claim the place, so we had to sort out the mountain village.

We needed to precisely discuss how to deal with the pests in the cave.

They would eventually vanish within a year, but still, there was a risk of someone getting killed if they ventured inside, so we had better put some guards in place.

Then Earth Dragon, smiling, replied, “I was thinking of dealing with both at once.”

“Both at once?”

As I tilted my head in confusion, he started to say something that made me think perhaps I heard wrong.

“I’m planning to set fire to the mountain.”

“Excuse me? You’re going to set a wildfire?”

I blinked in shock at such a scale, and he continued.

“If we burn down both the mountain village and the mountain, we won’t have to worry about bandits or bedbugs anymore.”

‘Is this the scale of the Central Plains? Setting a wildfire?’

Hearing him speak so casually about igniting the mountain, I suddenly recalled that the Zhuge Clan was notorious for being fire starters.

‘They say they’ve burned quite a bit at the Red Cliffs, huh? Bloodlines never lie!’

*

It appears people who’ve indulged in theft also have a history with fire.

With Earth Dragon planning the fire, I assumed it would be a reckless undertaking.

But no, it turned out he meticulously defined the area to burn, sending the Sword Dragon and the warriors to trim trees and grass around the perimeter to prevent the flames from spreading.

That wasn’t all, though.

Gong-bong, skilled with a bow, was sensitive to the wind, so he sent him atop the mountain to observe the wind for a few days.

Indeed, there was something different about those with experience.

“We’ll only burn this mountain and the surrounding area. Based on your knowledge, they would have failed to cross the water, so it’s likely the pests weren’t able to get past this route and into the valley over there.”

To illustrate, Earth Dragon pulled out a map of the terrain.

The fire would ignite from four corners around the mountain housing the village, and the flames meeting at the peak would eventually douse out naturally, or so he explained.

‘Even arson has reached a level of artistry.’

As the final checks wrapped up, I nodded at Earth Dragon’s instructions.

“Understood. Then proceed.”

“Gong-bong, fire the signal.”

“Got it.”

At Earth Dragon’s command, Gong-bong drew a massive bow and aimed it skyward.

-Thunk!

-Swoosh!

The signal shot into the air.

The sound echoed, filling the sky, and moments later, smoke began to rise from four directions.

About half a meal later, the giant mountain itself abruptly ignited like a bonfire.

From the ship anchored far away, I could even feel the heat.

As we gazed at the gigantic flames, a familiar voice interrupted me from our ship.

“Seol Hwa-yang!?”

Turning my head, I saw Hwa-yang crawling out of the cabin and clutching the rail of the ship, gazing powerlessly at the burning mountain.

In that moment, an idea struck me.

‘Wait a second! Isn’t this a golden opportunity for Hwa-yang to evolve into her final form?’

Even though I had fed her quite a bit of fire recently, she hadn’t evolved yet, but I thought if it were a wildfire, she could finally reach her peak.

If a big fire was needed, now was the time.

I swiftly executed my lightness skill, leaping onto our ship and rushing toward Hwa-yang, who was captivated by the billowing flames, her eyes shimmering with the fire’s glow.

“Hungry?”

Looking at me, Hwa-yang slowly nodded her head.

Embracing Hwa-yang, I swiftly utilized my lightness skill and dashed toward the blazing mountain.