Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 1: The Predicament of Life

The martial artists gathered before the Nine Entrance Gate at the command of the Artisan.

They were martial artists I had never seen since arriving at the Four Heavenly Houses.

It was because I had inquired about their whereabouts, those who sold us information about the locations of people who had fled from the place that was like a beggar’s union called Gaebang.

Their location? The capital city of this country, Yeongcheonbu.

It seemed they had fled to a place crowded with people.

In my past life, the safest place to hide meant finding the bustling streets of Seoul.

It appeared these fellows had put some thought into it.

But what was the use of thinking?

We were from the most psychopathic family in the Martial Forest, and the opponent wasn’t favorable.

There was no way they could escape their fated demise.

After all, it was because the news of their location being specified caused the eyes of the Tang Clan members to turn quite fierce.

Before the expedition, the atmosphere within the clan was filled with a sense of predatory anticipation, just like wild beasts preparing for a hunt on the very day of the operation.

“I’ll be off now, so take care of yourself, my son-in-law.”

“Understood, Father-in-law. Please be careful.”

“What do I have to be careful about? They should be the ones cautious. Ha ha. Don’t worry.”

“R-right. Ha ha… Ha…”

That was a truth we all knew.

As I awkwardly smiled, my father-in-law yelled at the martial artists.

“Those who dared to disgrace the Tang Clan will face a hundred punishments and a hundred admonitions! Let’s go!”

“Yes! Clan Head!”

With my father-in-law’s shout, the martial artists rushed out of the Nine Entrance Gate.

I caught sight of the large white castor bean pattern on their backs.

The ordinary martial artists I had seen in the clan usually wore green clothes embroidered with castor leaves shaped like maple leaves, symbolizing poison. But those following my father-in-law wore black attire with large white castor leaves covering their backs, creating a striking image.

Another peculiar point was that the martial artists all had remarkably clear eyes.

Like madmen with crystal-clear eyes.

In my past life, the elders often warned to be cautious of people with such eyes, and it surely didn’t feel normal. So, I turned to my older sister to inquire about what kind of people they were.

“By the way, who are those people with Hua Eun? I’ve never seen them since coming here?”

“Oh, they do a bit of rough work.”

“A bit of rough work?”

“Yes, they mostly handle… people erasing tasks. That’s why they’re called the Extinction Poison Squad.”

‘That’s quite more than a bit rough…’

The martial artists my father-in-law had led belonged to the Extinction Poison Squad.

Apparently, they were the ones who did rough work in the assassination clan of Central Plains, according to my sister’s explanation.

‘That’s definitely more than a bit, though… And erasing with a pencil doesn’t mean people, but love instead…’

With my sister’s words about erasing people sounding like a scribble from a poorly written note, cold sweat ran down my back.

And once again, my stomach dropped at the thought of the Tang Clan’s true nature.

Though my sister was beautiful, she often reminded me of Tang Buhou, the name I set for my third daughter, every time I saw her.

The Tang Clan, however, I hadn’t fully adapted to yet, especially with how my sister’s words were so grim.

‘Family, that’s a rather dangerous term, isn’t it?’

*

A few days passed after my father-in-law left, and my break came to an end as training resumed.

The first training was, of course, inner energy cultivation.

Today was the day I would start with a new inner technique that was said to be highly efficient.

But there was an issue right from the beginning.

Learning the specific names and meanings of the lower dantian was incredibly complicated.

It wasn’t just the names; when it got mixed up with concepts like the Taiji and the Eight Trigrams, my head was all jumbled up.

It was impossible for me, who had no prior knowledge in this field, to grasp it by instinct.

Something about combinations of Yin-Yang and internal contemplation and so on.

I had been learning as much as I could from my sister and grandfather, but suddenly the amount of inner energy surged and created a problem.

Initially, I was told to slowly build my inner energy with the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill, and the theoretical study would follow that pace.

So, once the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill reached a certain level of mastery, I would naturally transition into the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill, but I was already at a point where all my inner energy had gathered before accumulating enough mastery.

The theory became muddled because my inner energy was all there before I reached the required level.

Having not fully learned about the human body’s dantian and meridians, I struggled to understand my grandfather’s words, and ultimately, I had no choice but to resort to a shortcut again.

What that shortcut meant was, just like when learning the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill, my grandfather Mandok God would channel his true energy into me.

When Mandok God infused his energy into my body and made it flow, I would remember it and imitate it.

Despite lacking aptitude, enlightenment was essential to think about the future, and it was better for me to learn both the theory and practice thoroughly and proceed on my own. I had no choice.

With my inner energy overflowing, I had to switch to an inner energy technique that could utilize it more efficiently.

“Feel closely what I lead you in. If the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill turns the energy in your body significantly from left to right to reabsorb into the lower dantian, then the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill will create two flows within that.”

“One moves from left to right, and the other from right to left, right?”

“Don’t spout nonsense! The energy should move only from left to right; if it starts moving from right to left, it’ll cause a catastrophe!”

“A catastrophe?”

“Just ignore it; it’s something those Black Dao fellows or malevolent fellows would be concerned about.”

“Ah, so, the two orbs rotate in the same direction?”

“Correct. Both flow from left to right, so you’re absorbing the rotating energy back into the lower dantian.”

‘So, in essence, the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill is a singular flow, while the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill is like a double core engine of that flow?’

Having grasped what my grandfather was explaining, I divided my body and followed his flow, making two orbs rotate within me.

Soon enough, the slightly unnatural feeling dissipated, and the two flows began to rotate, using each other as energy.

It felt like one slow and massive current transformed into two rapid and fierce flows within the large wave.

I could hear my grandfather’s praise in my ears as I followed along properly.

“Good, you’re doing well. Strangely, you’ve caught on quicker than with the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill.”

Back then, it took almost half a day for me to sense anything, but this time, I succeeded in just two or three tries.

Once I completed the session, I thanked my grandfather for his help.

“Thanks to your guidance, grandfather.”

“Ha ha, lad.”

According to my sister, etiquette was crucial when learning martial arts.

Thinking of my sister’s words about having etiquette even in killing techniques, I expressed my gratitude and my grandfather smiled broadly with joy.

‘Good job, me.’

With my entry into the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill completed, my grandfather handed me a Flying Dagger and spoke.

“Now, try to toss it using your inner energy. It will feel different from when you used the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill.”

“Understood, grandfather.”

Receiving the Flying Dagger from my grandfather, I activated the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill and circulated my inner energy throughout my body.

The overwhelming power bursting forth from this engine-like core!

My inner energy technique, now emancipated from the confines of the basic Five Poisons skill, spewed energy throughout my entire body like a runaway train.

And when that energy enveloped me, I hurled the Flying Dagger towards the scarecrow as I had been taught.

-Whizz!

The speed was entirely different from that of the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill.

The Flying Dagger pierced through the scarecrow and flew directly against the back wall, bouncing off the stone.

-Crack!

A natural exclamation escaped me at that sight.

“Whoa!”

‘That’s legendary!’

As I stared at my hand with a surprised expression, my grandfather smiled and asked, “How does it feel? That’s the difference between the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill and the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill. You will be able to withstand even the usual poisons much better. To further explain, accepting poison…”

“This is the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill…”

I thought it might just be twice as powerful as the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill, but this was not just double; it was almost quadruple.

After my grandfather finished explaining, I was impressed by my own brilliance when he continued,

“Now, we’ll start learning about lightness skills and weapon techniques like the Long and Fist. Having entered the Ten Poisons Dual Origin Skill, you’ll be able to infuse your energy into weapons or shoot it out.”

Though I didn’t know much about martial arts, I certainly knew of things like shooting energy blasts or techniques from the Shaolin Temple. So the notion of shooting energy excited me to the point that I could barely contain my enthusiasm for the training tomorrow.

Shooting energy blasts!

Isn’t that every man’s dream?

Because of that, I was barely able to suppress my urge to beg my grandfather to let me start right away.

“Then, can I just start right now…?”

“Ha ha, don’t be hasty! If you rush into things, you’ll end up injuring yourself. Your body needs to adapt to the new skill, so be patient. If you’re bored, you can practice throwing the Flying Dagger more. I need to read some books now.”

But as he told me to wait, my grandfather pulled out a book from his robes.

The book he revealed was bound with red paper and tied with yellow strings. As I leaned closer to sneak a peek, my grandfather fixed a serious gaze upon me.

“I sense your curiosity, but you must absolutely not concern yourself with this.”

“What could it possibly be?”

“This is a copy of the Blood Water Poison Claw technique. The reason I’m examining it is to see what martial principles are contained within. There’s nothing good for you here.”

My grandfather was examining a copy obtained from a sailor he met on Hainan Island.

When he acquired that, my father-in-law told me that he should take whatever was useful and discard what wasn’t, so it seemed my grandfather was doing research on it.

At that moment—

A definitive déjà vu flashed across me as my sister appeared.

“Grandfather! You need to go to the Clan Head Hall right now!”

When I turned to look at the entrance of the second training hall, which only my grandfather and the direct descendants used, my sister was gripping the doorpost with a serious expression, gazing towards us.

“Why the Clan Head Hall? Your father isn’t here, so your mother will take care of any trivial matters.”

Since my father-in-law was absent, my mother-in-law was supposed to handle everything, so why call my grandfather?

At my grandfather’s question, my sister answered again with urgency.

“Someone from the Sichuan Province Lord’s family has sent a message.”

“From the Sichuan Province Lord’s family?”

“Did you mean the Sichuan Province Lord?”

If it was the Sichuan Province Lord, he was the VIP who needed my medication for erectile dysfunction.

My sister and I exchanged glances as we sensed the peculiar reason behind the communication from him.

“What on earth could he want?” I wondered with curiosity, only to see my sister’s face flush a shade red with embarrassment.

“Uh… Because the Sichuan Province Lord has taken in a new concubine, he—uh, consumed more medicine than we advised, and now he’s hanging by a thread…”

“What?!”

‘Oh no…’

I thought we had clearly instructed his medication dosage, yet there had been a mishap.

With a startled expression, my grandfather rushed off towards the Clan Head Hall, and eventually, one of the elders from the Tang Clan who was in Chengdu was delaying the Sichuan Province Lord’s poisoning. It became imperative for Mandok God to act personally.

If he died, they could hold us accountable for it.

Even though we weren’t really responsible, do those high-ranking people ever consider that?

Typically, these VIPs loved to blame the manufacturer even for their own errors.

‘Surely, I’m not going to be in major trouble, am I?’

I was worried about whether they would question me, but surprisingly, the Tang Clan bore a strong sense of loyalty.

Seeing my pale expression, my grandfather patted my shoulder and said, “So-ryong, don’t worry. What you did is done in the name of the Tang Clan. You’re one of our family, so the clan will take responsibility.”

“Ah, understood.”

With a bit of reassurance from the clan’s loyalty, I could alleviate some of my anxiety. Once preparations were complete, Mandok God, just like my father-in-law, stepped out of the Nine Entrance Gate.

“I’ll be back in a hurry, so count on you to handle things here.”

“Yes, Father. Don’t worry, and go attend to your matters.”

“So-ryong, you’re the only man left in the house, so you must protect the women.”

Asking us to guard the place while he ventured off to treat an old man was quite a remarkable instruction from my grandfather.

Surely he was just a worried elder, I thought as I smiled and answered, “Of course. I will protect Hua Eun and my mother-in-law until your return.”

“Good, good. And you should know that Hua Eun will be helping you with your training.”

“Hua Eun will?”

“Yes.”

With that, my grandfather hurried towards the capital city where the Sichuan Province Lord resided, and as I waved him off, I turned only to find my older sister smiling beside me.

“So-ryong, you must work hard. I will be strict with you.”

“Of course, Hua Eun.”

My older sister indicated she would teach with strictness.

When I decided to work hard, her next words followed.

“If you study hard, I’ll teach you how to use the Tang Clan’s whip along with the lightness skills and the fist techniques.”

“A whip, you say?”

“Yes, I’m probably the best Tigress in the Tang Clan at handling the whip.”

When my older sister mentioned her proficiency with whips, my past life’s knowledge of the forbidden quickly came to mind.

Leather, whips, and a queen-like…

‘But I don’t want it to hurt…’

I wished my sister’s tastes were somewhat more conventional.