Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Fabre in the Four Heavenly Houses Episode 168

Centipede Poison Tooth Claw 1

– Slurp. Slurrrp.

The sticky, cold sensation on my face jolted me awake.

Next, I felt something slimy trickling down from my right eyebrow, rolling down my cheek to my chest.

As I opened my eyes, the right side of my vision was blurry due to the sticky liquid.

Instead, as I opened my left eye wider, a large pink thing was approaching my face.

– Plop.

Before I could fully gather my senses, the pink blob suddenly stuck to my face.

Familiar cries and a new languid voice flooded my ears.

– Peeei. “Food…?”

‘So this is Hwa-yang’s voice.’

True to form, Hwa-yang’s first request was for food.

Hwa-yang must have woken up before me and was now eagerly licking my face, pleading for food.

It was a touching first conversation connected through the Beast Heart Technique, but still, it was all about food.

I couldn’t help but smile at Hwa-yang’s consistent love for food as I replied to her.

I felt like my face might wear away from all the licking.

“Got it! Just wait a second, you little rascal.”

As I wiped away Hwa-yang’s drool dripping down my mouth, voices surrounded me.

– Slurp! – Slurrr! – Slurp!

– Kshhh!

– Kkookku! – Kuu!

“Wei So-ryong! Is it a success? How are you feeling? What about your inner power?”

“Long, you’re awake!?”

Chao, Bin, Yo-hwa, and even Hua Eun along with Older Sister Seol — their voices flooded in as I turned my head towards them.

They must have been worried and were all gathered around me.

“Yes, aside from feeling a bit sluggish, I’m okay. How many days have passed since then?”

I responded to Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol’s questions as I quickly circulated my inner power to start internal observation.

Since I had regained consciousness, I needed to check the second stage of the Five Poisons Return to Origin Divine Skill.

Focusing on the flowing energy, I traced my way back to the Dantian.

Inside the Dantian, two poisons were slowly rotating in the same direction.

The two poisons were balanced, forming a shape that resembled the Taiji symbol.

When I learned about martial arts from Mandok God, I was taught that the Taiji is like Wuji; it’s chaotic yet represents the beginning of all things, hence the most stable state. So this must be a representation of stability.

It was clear that Chao’s poison had safely taken its place alongside Hwa-yang’s new poison in the Dantian.

I had briefly worried that Hwa-yang’s poison, which burns inner power, might not be accepted, but thankfully it had settled in safely.

There seemed to be no side effects.

It appeared that the absolute resistance provided by the Venomous Power allowed it to be recognized as Hwa-yang’s own poison, without any effect on me.

Had I been poisoned too, Hwa-yang would have likely been the first to die.

As I moved the two spiraling poisons according to the breathing technique, a different kind of power surged within me.

With the inner power extending from the Dantian, the poisons spread out from my fingertips to my toes.

The sensation of energy extending from my fingertips was thrilling.

‘So this is the realm of the Two Poisons’ Domain? Whoa… Awesome!’

Until now, I hadn’t been able to dream of using martial techniques due to a lack of inner power, but with the high-level skills, I felt confident I could at least practice some energy blasts.

It seemed I could now manage some practice with enough inner power.

With joy bubbling in my heart, I finished my internal observation and looked around at the surroundings, the first thing that caught my eye being a bamboo shelter.

It must have been a while since the bamboo frame and straw roof were constructed to cover me and Hwa-yang.

Perhaps it was built to shield us from the sun, as even though the harsh sunlight was blazing down, the shade felt pleasantly cool.

“Ten days. Wei So-ryong.”

“It’s been ten days since that day. Long.”

As I finished my internal observation, Older Sister Seol and Hua Eun answered.

According to Older Sister Seol, when registering beasts with the Beast Heart Technique, ordinary beasts take a few hours, but for spirit venomous creatures like Hwa-yang, it’s a basic ten-day wait for each registration.

Without me even realizing it, ten whole days had passed again.

Setting Hwa-yang aside for a moment, I rose my creaky body.

This was already the third time, so the hunger pangs and sore joints felt familiar.

As I stretched, my stiff joints and muscles groaned in protest.

“Ow. Each time it’s like my body is falling apart.”

“Are you okay? Wei So-ryong?”

“Yes, I’ve gotten used to it since it happens often.”

Just as I finished stretching, I heard a sound as if something was dropping.

– Thud. Plop.

Thinking I had dropped something, I bent down to check my feet and noticed several translucent shells scattered on the ground mixed with ash and dirt.

‘What is this?’

It definitely looked like something that had fallen from my body but felt unfamiliar.

Just as I reached out to grab one of them, I felt a strange sensation at my fingertips as they touched the ground.

Noticing a dulled sensation, I picked up one of the shells to inspect it more closely, revealing it to be a translucent, round object.

Upon examining it closely, it turned out to be a fingernail.

“My fingernail?”

“Is that a fingernail?”

It wasn’t a mere clipped fingernail; it was as if the entire fingernail had fallen off in one piece.

As I stared at the fingernail resting in my hand, I saw Older Sister Seol tilting her head in confusion and heard Hua Eun’s astonished voice.

“Wei So-ryong! Your fingernails…”

Flipping my hand over to check as Hua Eun shouted, I saw my formerly invisible fingernails were all gone.

So that’s why my fingertips felt strange.

Oddly enough, all ten of my fingernails had been completely lost.

The sound I had heard earlier as something dropped must have been my fingernails falling.

“W-what happened to my fingernails!?”

I was startled as I looked at Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol, who rushed over to grab my hand to examine it.

While Hua Eun inspected my fingernail-less fingers, she puzzledly remarked.

“This is strange. Your fingernails have completely fallen off, yet they’re growing back.”

“Growing back?!”

As it turned out, all my fingernails had re-grown; Hua Eun stated the obvious with a curious tone.

Next to her, Older Sister Seol voiced her bewilderment as she joined the analysis.

“This isn’t just a transformation; it’s odd for fingernails to fall out. Why are they coming back? It surely must be related to martial arts…”

But if it’s not the Beast Heart Technique, then it could be due to the Venomous Power, Older Sister Seol suggested.

Hua Eun frowned, replying to Older Sister Seol’s suspicion.

“I’m not well-versed in the Five Poisons Return to Origin Divine Skill, so I don’t know why this happened. We may need to consult my father—no, my grandfather.”

In response to Older Sister Seol’s query, Hua Eun, evidently worried, examined my hand once more and asked.

“Wei So-ryong, didn’t you notice any other unusual symptoms?”

“Yes? No. Nothing seems off.”

While Hua Eun looked very worried, I wasn’t able to discern anything wrong when I checked internally, so I could only shrug in confusion.

At that moment,.

A familiar cry sounded from below.

– Peeei!

Hwa-yang demanded food again.

“Okay, okay! Let’s go down and get you some food.”

Aside from the lost fingernails, everything seemed normal, but since I had delayed the journey for my companions due to my condition, it was time to head down the mountain quickly.

Of course, I had to make sure Hwa-yang was fed after ten days of fasting.

“Since there’s no major issue aside from the lost fingernails, I’ll return to the clan and consult my grandfather. For now, let’s head down the mountain. I need to make sure Hwa-yang gets fed.”

As I quickly decided to head back, I picked Hwa-yang up in my arms, who was attempting to crawl over my shoulder and onto my head.

Seeing her struggling with her short legs in a comical manner, I chuckled and helped her onto my head.

Hwa-yang had shrunk a little after maturing, making her sit on my head as if she were a hat.

I could feel her soft belly resting against my head.

The slight weight felt like a solid helmet on my head.

However, as I still felt that soft belly, I smiled and said.

“Let’s go!”

Just as I declared to head down the mountain and took my first step…

– Plop.

I sensed two hands gripping my shoulders.

Slowly turning my head in response to the sudden halt, I found Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol staring at me with icy expressions.

“Wei So-ryong, I’m pretty sure we had some things to discuss?”

“Long, didn’t my sister tell you she wanted to have a talk with you after you got better?”

What? They hadn’t forgotten at all?

I thought I might sneak past, but it seemed there was no way to brush this off smoothly.

“Ah, haha… uh, discussion… right, we need to talk.”

I should quickly meditate again to see if I can channel my inner power to shield myself from being cornered like that.

*

It was a relief.

Just when I thought I’d be stuck having a lengthy heart-to-heart with Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol, Hwa-yang’s irritated cries reminded us we needed to get down the mountain quickly.

That little brat was on my head, fuming as if she was about to set fire to the place.

‘Any creature that obstructs my food will be my enemy.’ The aura she was emitting was unmistakable.

– Peeei!

“Uh, uh, yes, Hwa-yang. Sure, let’s go. I think we should save that talk for later; Hwa-yang seems pretty upset.”

“Sigh… Long, don’t think this is over. I won’t let it slide this time.”

“Ah, of course.”

We finally reached Lee Tae’s waterway after ten long days.

The place had changed dramatically compared to ten days prior.

They had rebuilt a few houses that had burned in the bedbug war, and the Martial Forest Alliance ship that had anchored at the village had already set sail.

From what Hua Eun explained, they wrapped things up quickly on this side and needed to rush to the Blood Pill for the Martial Forest Alliance, along with Jirong’s reports.

“Wei So-ryong, are you alright?”

“Are you feeling fine?”

“Junior Hero, are you alright?”

When we arrived by boat, waiting for us onboard were Jirong and the rest of the Three Dragons and Two Phoenix group.

They had been waiting for us since we had agreed to go to the Tang Clan together.

“I apologize for worrying you. My body is fine, so don’t trouble yourselves.”

I was about to apologize for causing any concern as a matter of courtesy when…

Hwa-yang’s annoying cries erupted again.

– Peeei!

“Okay, okay! I’ll be right back. I need to feed this rascal before we talk.”

“Right, when I saw her sleeping atop the mountain, I thought she was gentle, but she’s got quite the fiery personality.”

It seemed I had to prioritize feeding Hwa-yang.

I sought permission and called for Lee Tae.

A moment later, Lee Tae arrived.

Remembering that a lighted lamp wouldn’t suffice for Hwa-yang’s appetite, I asked him to light a bigger fire.

“Lee Tae, could you cut some reeds and make a big fire? Hwa-yang needs to eat.”

“Of course, Wei So-ryong. Please wait a moment.”

A great fire was soon lit, and satisfied, Hwa-yang came up to me, tapping my legs with half-closed eyes.

“Ready to go?”

– Kiiiii.

Once I placed her on my head, where she seemed pleased, she began to drowse off, her belly full from the meal.

As I stepped back inside the cabin, Jirong and the other brothers quickly stepped up to pat my shoulders and said.

“Ah, you’re back again?”

“Yes, it seems I’ve delayed everything quite a bit. We need to set sail right away.”

The boat was already thoroughly repaired, so I asked if we should depart immediately for the Tang Clan, to which they both smiled.

“Today or tomorrow, what does it matter?”

“Well, that’s not the important aspect right now.”

I furrowed my brow at their relaxed demeanor as their words continued on both sides.

“You might be wondering what we’re getting at, but when we witnessed your martial prowess ten days ago, we decided we can’t just let this slide.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s remarkable to see someone plunge from the heavens to the mountain peak like that. With such martial prowess, we couldn’t possibly overlook this.”

“Exactly! Seeing you from the sky ten days ago, we were overcome by the urge to bestow upon you a title. You don’t have a proper title, do you?”

What on earth are they talking about? Apparently, my spectacular fall from the sky had left such an impression that they were itching to give me a title.

I felt my interest pique, sensing they were serious about bestowing a nickname on me.

“I would be honored to receive a title from you, brothers.”

They exchanged glances, grinning, and simultaneously replied.

“How about ‘Tang Jia Kuang Long’ (唐家狂龍)?”

The meaning of that title is the ‘Mad Dragon of the Tang Clan.’

Since my name is Long, it was practically a title for a madman from the Tang Clan.

‘Wait, what are these guys thinking?’

Then again, they had called me “Wall Demon” after I had only kissed Jirong, so expecting a simple title would have been naive of me.