Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

파브르 in 사천당가 167화

산불 4

“Wait, this doesn’t match at all!”

I turned to look at Hwa-yang, my hair on fire with unexpected intensity. The name, dripping with coolness, seemed to clash with that loser’s pitiful face.

Caught in the glare of those foolish, vacant eyes, the flames dancing on his back flickered violently, expanding and contracting.

For a moment, I thought the ridiculous name “Cheonghwa Amjangseomseo” suited that spaced-out face much better than something like “Deungsaek Mareungseomseo” (Orange Toad).

The reason I thought of that name was the utterly potato-like appearance of that guy; in my past life, that was what we called a potato in the Central Plains: “Mareungseo.”

It was a name so peculiar that it could have been the subject of a fantasy story. But potatoes took on the name “Mareungseo” simply because they resembled oval-shaped bells that horses wore.

So, “Deungsaek Mareungseomseo” meant “Orange Bell Toad,” a ridiculously cute name.

There was absolutely no implication of a different kind of bell.

“Now that’s an adorable and realistic name,” I mused to myself and asked Hwa-eun why our Hwa-yang had such a grand name.

“Cheonghwa Amjangseomseo?”

The term “seomseo” means toad, so it seemed that in the Central Plains, Hwa-yang was classified as a toad, but even Fabre wasn’t entirely sure about that classification.

Classification was something to ponder later, so I brushed the thought aside.

Then, Hwa-eun hurried over without answering my question, her voice frantic.

“How much power does So-ryong have left?”

Although I was more curious about the name’s origin, I prioritized Hwa-eun’s urgent question.

It felt like something important was at stake, and I didn’t want to get into trouble.

“Uh… About half? Why the power?”

Hwa-eun wiped the cold sweat off her forehead with her sleeve and stepped closer, taking a couple of deep breaths before explaining.

“Listen carefully, So-ryong. Don’t be surprised, and try to calm your mind as much as you can. You need to be at peace.”

“Wha? Sure.”

I nodded, knowing that if my mind got anxious, I would consume energy faster.

Then Hwa-eun revealed an unbelievable fact.

“Hwa-yang is Cheonghwa Amjangseomseo. The king of toads ranked among the Ten Great Venoms.”

“Whaaaat!? Hwa-yang is one of the Ten Great Venoms!? The king!? Is that for real!?”

I couldn’t believe that such a loser was not only a member of the Ten Great Venoms but also a toad king.

Seeing my incredulous expression, Hwa-eun nodded firmly.

“Yes, I’m sure. This is my first time seeing it, but it says, ‘Blue flames rise while magma flows on its back.’ That’s from the Tang Clan’s Secret Record of Venomous Creatures, which you asked me to check last time. So it’s confirmed.”

“If you hadn’t seen it… there could be some confusion with something else…”

No matter how similar it seemed to what was written in the book, the notion that an orange potato was a Ten Great Venom and a toad king was beyond belief.

I raised the question if there were other similar venoms, but Hwa-eun pointed at the flames atop my head.

“Cheonghwa, those poisoned, humans or beasts, will have the blue flames rising on their heads. It says it burns away all the energy of those poisoned. And when all the energy burns out…”

“When it burns out?”

After trailing off, Hwa-eun softly clenched her hand as if gripping an egg, then opened it wide, exclaiming one word.

“Boom.”

“Yikes!”

—Hwa-geureureuk!

At Hwa-eun’s words, the flames on my head blazed fiercely.

No matter how much I tried to calm down, this situation was impossible to relax in.

I had worried about going bald before, but at least I would have had some hair left. But this? It meant everything would disappear, not just my hair.

The flames above my head continued to fuel themselves with my internal energy; when all my energy vanished, they would explode.

Though beasts and humans had energy, surely theirs was less than those from the Martial Forest, making them likely to burst instantaneously, while Martial Forest dwellers received a death sentence.

With this level of poison, it would definitely qualify as one of the Ten Great Venoms.

As the flames surged, my energy quickly depleted, so I asked in a hasty tone.

“W-what should we do?”

“Hwa-eun, what are we going to do about our Dragon then!?”

In response to my and Seol’s desperate questions, Hwa-eun rolled up her sleeves and said.

“There’s no method. I’m a bit worried since Grandpa and Dad aren’t here, but with me and Seol here, I’ll do my best to handle anything that happens. Let’s accept Hwa-yang’s venom.”

I nodded at Hwa-eun’s words.

“Oh! That method!”

“Right!”

Seol and I both panicked, realizing we had overlooked that possibility, but upon thinking, it clicked.

Five Poisons Return to Origin Divine Skill; thus, if we were to accept Hwa-yang’s poison as one of the five poisons based on its origin, the poisoning would be resolved.

Venomous Power provides absolute immunity to the poisons taken in to raise its level.

I had excluded that thought because Hwa-yang looked way too much like a loser, but if it was indeed one of the Ten Great Venoms, that simple fact would solve everything.

“Then why on earth did I go through such a hard time last time?”

It struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Returning to the suffering I endured during the torrent of floods when trees were swept into the boat suddenly flashed in my mind.

I should have just listened to Hwa-eun’s words.

If I had accepted Hwa-yang’s venom back then, there would have been no reason to suffer like this.

I realized I had been receiving torment upon torment—the heavens were probably trying to prevent me from choosing a difficult path when an easy one was right in front of me.

“Didn’t I tell you that you were going to suffer?”

The skies had been signaling me all along while I had comforted myself into taking the most dangerous route.

“There was a reason the wise told me to listen to my Nevi, my mom, and my wife… Boo hoo…”

Feeling tears that flowed like a waterfall, I spoke to Hwa-eun.

“Alright, I understand, Hwa-eun.”

“Chao-ya, be on guard around you. Don’t let anyone get close. Sister, please check on me and So-ryong and be ready to respond if anything happens.”

“Got it! Hwa-eun!”

—Tsureut!

As Chao rose into the air, circling around at Hwa-eun’s request, I pulled Hwa-yang into my arms.

Although she had matured into an adult, it only meant she had transformed from a tadpole to a frog, and her size was still small.

Sitting cross-legged, I placed the Hwa-yang, who was just slightly bigger than my head across my knee, and recalled the techniques of the Beast Heart Technique in my mind.

As I did so, the flames rising from Hwa-yang merged with the flames blossoming from my head, creating a massive blue flame around us.

—Hwa-geureureuk!

As my eyes closed, my consciousness began to fade.

*

Chanting the tenets of the Beast Heart Technique, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in front of a large pond.

However, unlike any ordinary pond, it was filled to the brim with bubbling lava.

—Bubble, bubble.

It was a bizarre sight, but having experienced it twice through Chao and Bin, I was no longer surprised this time.

This place must represent something significant.

‘Now I just have to find Hwa-yang here?’

Recalling moments with Chao and Bin, I thought the next step was to locate Hwa-yang.

Chao had held me when I regained consciousness, but I had to seek out Bin since she had been separated from me.

I didn’t know why Hwa-yang, whom I had in my arms, wasn’t nearby.

‘Hwa-yang is a toad, so she should be in the pond, right?’

Since Hwa-yang was a toad, she was likely to be somewhere in the pond, so I decided to take a look at it first.

As I searched briefly around the pond, I spotted a small island at the center, visible through the flames rising from the lava.

Focusing my Eye Technique on the island, I saw a person lying in the center, shimmering through the flames.

‘That must be Hwa-yang!’

From the experience of Chao and Bin, if a person appeared in this mental realm, it was likely Hwa-yang herself.

I shouted towards the closest part of the island.

“Hwa-yang! Hwa-yang!”

But Hwa-yang, lying still on the island, didn’t even flinch.

I figured I needed to go there myself.

“How do I cross this?”

Though I needed to get there, all I saw was the bubbling lava-oozing pond.

What on earth was I supposed to use to cross this? While I pondered, I noticed rocks rising sporadically like stepping stones in the pond.

That seemed to be the only way.

It occurred to me that I had to use my Lightness Skill to leap from rock to rock to reach Hwa-yang.

‘Well, it’s a mental realm, so let’s give it a shot.’

After calculating the stepping stone route, I memorized the optimal course and took a running start, leaping into the pond.

—Tats!

As I soared over the lava towards the rising rock, the heat radiating from the boiling lava reached me.

The boulders were raised enough between the lava, so crossing it wasn’t impossible, enabling me to reach the island in the middle of the pond with ease.

Upon arrival at the central island, what entered my view was a woman with orange bobbed hair, lying on her side, fast asleep.

‘Hwa-yang is a female! Nice!’

As I laid eyes on Hwa-yang, an instinctive cheer erupted within me: “Nice!”

If there was a woman here, it indicated that Hwa-yang was indeed female.

Reflecting on the cases of Chao and Bin, seeing a woman in this mental space meant that the corresponding venom was female, leading me to admiration.

Of course, it wasn’t just that I liked that Hwa-yang was a girl; amphibians generally showcase that females are larger and more impressive than males.

Typically, female amphibians produce a large number of eggs, making them bulkier and more fascinating than their male counterparts.

The fact that she was a female of one of the Ten Great Venoms? Excluding her rather loser-like appearance, she was truly a delightful creature.

“Hwa-yang?”

I approached the sleeping creature with a cheerful heart and called out her name, prompting a slight twitch from her.

“Hwa-yang, wake up. It’s me.”

As I repeatedly called her name and sat beside her, she groggily propped herself up, staring at me with sleepy eyes.

Her expression mirrored the vacant look she had when she was in her true form.

Seeing her gaze, I was sure this was Hwa-yang.

‘Now that I’ve found Hwa-yang, what’s the next step…?’

I had woken her up, but I couldn’t recall what to do next. Reflecting on Chao and Bin’s moments, what came to mind was a hug.

But staring at her made me feel awkward.

Jumping straight into a hug seemed a bit over the top.

Chao and Bin had been raised from eggs, so the idea of them being my daughters felt natural, even if they were now women. But in Hwa-yang’s case, being an adult female struck me as rather awkward.

Since she had only been in the container, we hadn’t built up much intimacy.

‘What should I do?’

In an effort to hug her without it seeming odd, I decided to formally greet her first.

Since we were connected through martial energy, I thought expressing a simple sentiment would suffice.

“Hwa-yang, uh, we’re about to connect through martial energy, and that means we…”

But just as I started speaking, her eyelids began to droop heavily.

“Wait, is she falling asleep on me?”

To wake her up, I decided to speak the word she loved most.

“Food!”

As soon as that word left my lips, Hwa-yang sprang up and charged at me without warning.

“Gah!”

Then she leaped right onto me, knocking me over.

My vision darkened slowly.

This level of physical contact seemed more than enough to qualify as a hug, and in the blinding darkness, I couldn’t help but think that Hwa-yang truly was a consistent character.