Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 5: The Strange Disease

“It seems the moon is especially bright tonight.”

“Right? A moon this bright is quite rare. But it’s a bit chilly. After this duty, I should go to the kitchen and ask for a warm soup.”

“Then let’s share a drink of huangjiu. I have a bottle hidden away. What do you say?”

“Just like you. Is that what you mean? Hehe.”

The two guards, standing watch, exchanged idle chatter as they paced near the wall, catching the attention of Nangong Seol, who was hidden in the shade of a separate chamber.

Nangong Seol watched the movements of the two guards and quickly pulled a acorn from her pocket, hurling it towards the distant wall.

– Thud!

The small acorn hit the wall and dropped to the stone floor.

The sound of the acorn rolling across the stone echoed through the quiet night, breaking the stillness of the Nangong Clan.

– Thud thud thud…

“What was that noise!?”

“Did something make a sound over there!?”

“Let’s check it out!”

Though not a loud noise, it was enough for the guards nearby to hear.

Sure enough, the two guards rushed towards the sound.

They quickly picked up the acorn that Nangong Seol had thrown.

“An acorn? Did a squirrel pass by?”

“I was startled for no reason. It is autumn, so squirrels must be gathering acorns.”

“Those pesky squirrels don’t sleep! What a surprise it was!”

While the guards picked up the acorn, discussing the innocent squirrel, Nangong Seol took the opportunity to leap over the wall like the creatures they spoke of.

With no chance of getting help from her younger sister, she decided to scale the Nangong Clan’s wall alone.

Using the technique known as Golden Carp Crossing Waves, she kicked off the wall, spinning through the air like an arrow, landing softly like a squirrel on the other side.

Nangong Seol achieved her goal without being detected and quickly made her way to the hill where she practiced martial arts with her sister.

Once there, she picked up a suitable branch.

Her own sword had been confiscated by her father, and with no chance to borrow her sister’s sword, she figured a branch would do.

After all, legendary masters practiced with branches, didn’t they?

Though she didn’t consider herself one of those legendary masters.

On this disturbingly bright night, amidst the petals that fell and bloomed, Nangong Seol began her training, using her life force as kindling.

Before unleashing her sword techniques, she focused on the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.

As her energy surged, a tingling sensation coursed through her body.

With the influence of her meridians, the energy flowed rapidly from her dantian to her fingertips and toes.

The vitality began to pulse throughout her body.

Feeling the rising power, Nangong Seol couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Though the Taiji was essential, the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art leaned more toward Yang energy than Yin, meaning that just raising it this much consumed the little remaining Yin energy from the Spirit Herb within her.

However, Nangong Seol shook off the melancholy and wielded the branch like a sword, starting the first form of the Emperor Sword Form, the ‘Emperor’s Dominance.’

The first form of the Nangong Emperor Sword Form, ‘Emperor’s Dominance,’ has each motion adding weight to the opponent met with the sword, and when the forms converge, they generate overwhelming pressure at their culmination, showcasing the true danger of the first form.

– Whoosh! Swish!

With every swing of the branch, waves of sword energy radiated outward.

The flowers, feeling the pressure of the sword energy, began to bow slowly, as if recognizing a ruler.

Just when the stems of the flowers seemed ready to snap, she moved on to the second form.

This was the part where Nangong Seol often faltered.

The third form, ‘Emperor’s Suppression,’ was an uncomplicated strike that merely needed to burst forth with the weight built from the first form. Yet, this second form called her to concentrate all that weight at a single point.

It was this second form that troubled her, as energy dispersion at the third form led to errors.

– Poke! Poke!

Unlike the slicing motion of the first form, Nangong Seol’s branch turned into a thrust, gathering the surrounding energy to drive it into a single point.

– Crack!

But before she could execute the thrust more than a couple times, the branch broke with a loud snap.

The gathered energy dispersed rapidly around her, and the petals on the ground soared and fluttered as they fell.

It was a failure.

Just another one of the many failures she had experienced.

“This is!”

However, Nangong Seol’s surprise arose from sensing something different amidst this failure.

Though she had certainly failed, she found herself staring at the broken piece of branch she had held, her eyes wide with surprise.

When wielding a sword, she couldn’t grasp why she failed, but now with the branch, she faintly realized where the mistake was.

The branch broke not because it was faulty but because she had misallocated her strength.

The error occurred when guiding the energy flowing around her with the ‘sword’ into her technique.

Filled with joy, Nangong Seol dashed down the hill and swiftly broke off another branch.

Determined to uncover the end of the Emperor Sword Form before she exhausted her own life force, she felt she might have found a clue tonight.

With the newfound clue, she threw herself back into the frantic dance of swordplay.

How quickly she spun and flailed!

– Rustle!

As the bright moon hiding behind the peaks of yellow mountains cast a darker shadow over the surroundings, she felt an unease lurking in the bushes marking the boundary between the hill and the forest.

Startled, Nangong Seol ceased her training and cautiously called out toward the source of the sensation.

“Is that you, Eun-i?”

Wondering if her younger sister, Nangong Eun, had come to check on her during the night, as she often did, being a bit mischievous.

But there was no response from the bushes.

“Who goes there? It’s impolite to watch others practice martial arts from the shadows!”

Thinking it might be a lost herbalist or a hunter, she searched for traces near the source of the sensation but found none. Suspecting it could just be a squirrel, she tightened her grip on the branch, dismissing any other thoughts.

After all, she couldn’t afford to miss out on her training due to a mere squirrel.

*

After that first night of catching a hint,

Nangong Seol’s life became one of secretly practicing her swordsmanship at night while spending most of the day weaving with her sister.

To train effectively at night, she had to display a respectable demeanor during the day.

Besides, there was nothing more fulfilling than pondering the insights gained during her nighttime practice while quietly weaving.

Hours of stitching the peony, revered as the Flower King, and receiving tender care, Nangong Seol’s hands moved swiftly as her mind overflowed with the questions raised since last night.

‘Why did I suddenly feel like I was wearing the wrong clothes?’

That almost-successful second form filled her with thoughts of regret in that close moment.

As she completed two pieces of peonies, profound thoughts took over her mind when suddenly, a loud noise broke through her concentration.

The first to react was not Nangong Seol, but her sister Eun-i.

“Why is it so noisy? Kya, go see what’s happening.”

“Yes, Miss.”

The servant girl, Kya, watching over Nangong Seol and her sister Eun-i, promptly obliged when Eun-i instructed her to check the cause of the commotion outside.

Before long, a servant rushed into the Clan Head Hall with urgent news for Nangong Seol.

“Miss, you are urgently summoned to the Clan Head Hall by the Clan Head.”

“My father is calling for me?”

“Yes, Miss.”

With a glimmer of hope that perhaps her father was ready to return the sword confiscated from her lately, she hurried to the Clan Head Hall.

As she entered, she noticed the training area beyond the hall bustling with activity, but she pushed those thoughts aside and approached her father.

“Father, did you need me?”

“Oh, yes. Seol, take a seat.”

As she followed his command, she heard her father’s cautious voice.

“Have you heard why it’s so noisy outside?”

“Is it the training area? No, I haven’t heard anything.”

Nodding at her response, her father hesitated before continuing with a serious tone.

“Well, I need to ask you something. It’s not that I suspect you, but it’s something I need to clarify, so please answer truthfully. Villagers’ involvement with the culprit makes it so I cannot just punish them without consequences.”

Blinking in confusion at her father’s vague words, Nangong Seol responded.

“Um? Yes. Of course, Father. I will answer honestly.”

Her father nodded, a look of embarrassment washing over his face as he asked the anxious question.

“Ah, it’s not that. How should I put this… Ah! Yes. The villagers claim to have seen you in the Huang Mountains these past few days. Is that true?”

“Yes!?”

The mention of the villagers’ remark brought to mind the faint sensations she’d felt during her training sessions.

It seemed she’d been spotted secretly training, leading it to reach her father’s ears. With a pained expression, she closed her eyes and replied.

“I-I’m sorry, Father.”

Then his voice crashed down like a thunderbolt!

“What!? Is that really true!?”

The Clan Head Hall vibrated with her father’s furious shout, thunder rumbling through as his energy surged within the hall.

– Rumbles!

In the past, when he’d quietly seized her sword after discovering her secret training, he hadn’t reacted so fiercely.

The violent response made Nangong Seol flinch.

As she blinked in shock, her father continued to shout.

“You, how could you! I… I can’t…!”

He grasped his neck, staggering.

Nangong Seol rushed to support him, but was met with rejection and more furious words.

“Step back! Is there no one outside!?”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Nangong Seol, the eldest daughter of the Nangong Clan, is to be locked in the confinement room! No food except for water and biogdan is allowed, and all contact with others is prohibited!”

“F-Father!”

Without hesitation, Nangong Seol was taken to the confinement room, reserved for only direct descendants of the Nangong Clan. A few days later, news from her younger sister, who managed to charm the guards into sharing the gossip, left her in disbelief.

“Sister, no way! You enchanted the herbalists or hunters of the Huang Mountains to steal their Yang energy!?”

“What!?”

Nangong Seol was outraged by her sister’s accusation.

Though it seemed her father thought she had done something wrong, she hadn’t even touched a man’s hand, for heaven’s sake!

*

“That’s absurd!”

“Yikes! I-I’m just repeating what I heard!”

While the servant girl tried to explain, Nangong Seol’s older sister shouted angrily, her face flushed.

“That’s utterly ridiculous!”

She repeated it not once, but twice.

Having heard snippets on their way here, it seemed that, while not particularly close, there was some acquaintanceship with a few of her friends, who found it hard to believe the rumor about one of them having a one-night stand.

‘Isn’t it said that a usually timid cat jumps onto the stove first?’

“That’s the saying, isn’t it? One can know the waters yet not comprehend human nature.”

Deciding to comfort her sister with a bit of wisdom, she was interrupted by her sister’s sudden shout.

“That’s not true!”

Startled by the outburst, she immediately apologized, but still exclaimed.

“I-I’m sorry, So-ryong. But that’s absolutely absurd. Come with me for a moment. So-ryong, I can explain.”

Appearing quite flustered, her sister grabbed her hand and dragged her into her room.

Once inside, her sister pushed her onto the bed and began speaking quietly.

“Nangong Seol, you’re not supposed to be near men.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Her sister pointed to her own chest.

“The matter we possess. It’s because of Nangong Seol’s strange disease. Without Yin energy, your lifespan is shortened, so Yang energy is poison to you.

That’s why Nangong Seol avoids even the proximity of men, and the notion of Yang energy is clearly a false accusation.

Nangong Seol once tearfully admitted to me how envious she was of me; this is surely not a lie.”

‘What!? A lady with such a fantastical illness?’

It seemed that Nangong Seol, fitting the mold for a fantasy heroine, bore the stigma of a succubus, according to her sister.

Even so, under these circumstances, wouldn’t they chase her away when she tried to visit the Nangong Clan? It sparked worry within her.

Normally, when a child misbehaves, parents might blame their friends, and if her sister was involved, it would create a complicated situation.