Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Spider Web 2

A sense of unease filled my heart about what might happen next, but having followed my older sister, Nangong Eun, I moved alongside Junior Hero to search for any traces as instructed.

There was only one way to escape our father’s wrath.

According to my sister, finding out the truth about whether it was a ghost or something else would be the only way to avoid father’s fury.

If I succeeded, he might even reward me instead of scolding me.

So, I, Nangong Eun, searched diligently for any signs, keeping my distance as close to my sister as possible.

The inner woods felt unnaturally dark, sending chills down my spine.

As I kept glancing at my sister nearby while searching for something, I raised my ‘Eye Technique’ and scanned the area.

Just when I felt the darkness around me thickening, by the time I realized what it was, the surroundings had become enveloped in dense fog, obscuring even a step ahead.

“Sister?”

The revelation that I was alone sent my heart racing.

Engulfed in fear, all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart.

—Thump-thump.

It felt as if I would reveal my location, and tightening my grip on the sword I drew in fear.

—Swish.

I thought drawing the sword would help me feel better, yet something felt off.

At first, I assumed it was just fear, but as time passed, my heart began to race even more.

Something was definitely wrong.

I realized something was amiss when I found myself sweating unexpectedly.

Even if I wasn’t at the level of ‘Cold and Heat Unsurpassed,’ it shouldn’t lead to sweat just due to fear.

Moreover, it felt as though I could taste sweetness in my breaths, as if I had drunk alcohol.

Each time the fog surrounded me, my heart raced even faster.

And then, the image of the Junior Hero, who I thought was charming despite his young age, popped into my mind.

It was a sensation similar to when I thought of the ‘Knife Dragon,’ who I had briefly admired as a child.

‘What, what is this?’

In the midst of fear and strangeness, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with one hand while holding the sword with the other.

The surroundings seemed to clear slightly, and I began to see something faintly ahead.

Focusing my ‘Eye Technique’ revealed the blurry form of a person.

I felt a presence.

—Rustle.

“Is that you, sister? Seol?”

The silhouette resembled my sister, and I had a feeling it was her from afar.

As I steadied my sword and slowly moved toward the figure, the fog and clouds seemed to clear slightly due to the breeze, revealing the face of the person.

Standing before a thicket was my sister.

For some reason, she held a finger to her lips, signaling silence, then beckoned toward me silently.

As if to say, “Come here quickly.”

Upon seeing her gesture and expression, a sense of relief washed over me.

I hurriedly sheathed my sword and dashed toward her, covering my mouth.

“Sister, what’s going on? Phew… I was so scared. By the way, where are Junior Hero and Hua Eun…?”

As I clung to her, relieved to find her, I began to chatter away.

My sister placed a hand on my shoulder, as if to tell me to calm down.

Feeling more at ease, I placed my hand on her palm.

However, the sensation I felt was not relief, but discomfort.

Why was I feeling this unease? A sudden thought struck me.

My sister’s hand felt unusually cold.

‘What’s this? Why does my sister’s hand feel so cold? Almost like a… dead person…?!’

When the idea that her hand felt like that of a corpse crossed my mind, every hair on my body stood on end.

I dared not meet her gaze, feeling too fearful to look directly into her eyes.

But my decision to simply avoid eye contact turned out to be less wise.

As I shifted my gaze downward, I noticed my sister’s bare feet.

Shockingly, her feet hovered slightly above the ground.

—Screech!

Startled, I instinctively shrieked and pulled back.

Yet, the grip on my shoulder remained firm.

Something shimmered between her legs, and with a prick on my thigh, I felt all the strength leaving my body.

Then, I collapsed like a log.

—Thud.

With a stinging sensation in my thigh, although my mind was perfectly clear, I couldn’t move my body.

Within me, a scream akin to being ripped apart was ready to burst forth, but while I could blink my eyes, I was utterly mute.

It felt as if everything below my nose had gone numb.

The only thing betraying the extreme terror I felt wasn’t the scream escaping my lips but the beads of sweat cascading from my entire body.

—Drip.

Gazing down at the fallen form of me, I caught a glimpse of my sister’s silhouette, or whatever she had turned into.

Something crimson slowly emerged from behind my sister and grabbed me.

‘This, this is!?’

I was caught by what looked like a red leg.

As white threads spilled from behind my sister’s legs, they enveloped my body, spinning me around.

It was like being a roast pig on a joyous family day.

As soon as Nangong Eun’s body was ensnared by the white threads, I shot up skyward.

Like that, I soared upwards, hanging from the top of a tree, about three spans high.

When I looked down from mid-air, the form of whatever had taken my sister’s guise was finally in full view under the moonlight.

‘A… spider!?’

Yes, that thing resembling my sister was a massive spider.

It was the largest spider I had ever seen, one that bore no resemblance to something from my past.

The form of the spider was even bigger than a human, with a human body perched atop its head.

I had no idea why it had assumed my sister’s appearance, but it was likely the mastermind behind everything that had transpired until now.

Once again, the hair on my body stood on end, and my heart raced wildly.

Now that I had confirmed the true nature behind this incident, an even greater fear consumed me.

Thus, in utter horror, I darted my eyes around from the top of the tree.

I wished for someone to come rescue me.

As I scoured my surroundings, I noticed the eerie fog formed a circular shape around the spider, and far outside, my sister was doing her utmost to cut through the mist with her sword.

Hua Eun, too, was struggling to ward off something near the fog.

The thought that they might take ages to help me surged through me, turning my fear into despair, knowing that at this rate, I didn’t know what that thing might do.

Suddenly, as the mist parted, it seemed like the Junior Hero rushed toward my location.

Straight for me.

‘Junior Hero!’

I previously thought he was superficial, falling head over heels for my sister, but now he was charging at full speed towards my place.

Though young, I felt a hint of admiration for his boldness.

‘So this is how Hua Eun fell for him,’ I thought.

I couldn’t help but ponder how they had met when it seemed Hua Eun had a deep infatuation with him.

The way she looked at the Junior Hero felt like she was completely captivated by him.

However, hope was short-lived.

The nasty spider concealed itself in the thicket, assuming my sister’s appearance, exposing her shoulders.

It revealed so much that it showed part of her upper chest.

I wondered how the missing people knew about the mark on my sister’s chest; it was likely for this very reason.

‘How shameless!’

But the Junior Hero, being a fiancé to Hua Eun, was bound to be wise enough to dismiss my sister’s beauty, right?

There was no way he would easily fall for her, so I held onto that hope.

But the closer the Junior Hero got, the stronger the sweet fragrance that filled the air.

With that scent, my heart began to race, making me realize just what that deceitful spider was planning.

If I, as a woman, felt such excitement, surely a man would find it hard to resist.

Soon enough, my assumptions were proved right.

Upon reaching the vicinity where I had discovered my sister, the Junior Hero spotted her and began to approach slowly with a trance-like gaze.

He seemed bewitched by my sister’s alluring form.

Even the youngest of boys was ensnared by her beauty.

Ultimately, as he slowly approached, the Junior Hero buried his face in my sister’s breast.

No, rather, it was the breast of the spider disguised as my sister.

I looked to the side, realizing what awaited next was that he would likely come to me too.

*

—Screech!

A woman’s scream split through the darkness of the mist.

That voice was definitely not my sister’s; it had to be Nangong Eun or Nangong Seol.

I freed Bin, who was clinging to my left hand, and Hyang, wrapped around my waist.

“Bin Ah, Hyang, can you find your mother?”

I asked, hoping they could sense my sister’s energy, and they nodded, moving their antennas in response.

“Well then, go find her and protect her. Got it?”

—Swish.

With a knowing glance, Hyang and Bin darted into the fog.

In this terrifying scenario, I couldn’t leave my sister behind, and I couldn’t send them alone into an unfamiliar darkness.

Even though my own safety was somewhat assured, I still had to act.

It was time to hurry toward the source of that sound.

As I rushed toward the source, my mind was filled not with worry for Nangong Eun or Nangong Seol but with that spider web.

Why on earth was there a spider web here?

That question dominated my thoughts.

‘What could it possibly be?’

After all, spiders are typically classified into stationary web spiders and wandering spiders.

Being stationary means they build a home, while wandering spiders roam around, so laying out long strands like this was an odd behavior.

While earth-tunnel spiders dig holes and lay webs inside, they don’t usually lay lines like this, which made it hard to comprehend.

Thus, while heading toward the source of the sound.

As the light momentarily broke through the clouds, illuminating the darkness, a captivating scene came into view.

‘What is this!?’

Underfoot, all around me, gleaming spider webs glistened with droplets due to the fog, shining brightly; then, as the moon retreated behind the clouds, it vanished.

Like a thread of light flickering on, then off.

As the afterimage of the spider web lingered in my mind, I found myself staring at Nangong Seol, who was grinning with a seductive smile at the center of it all.

‘So that’s what it was!’

A massive spider.

There it was, a spider I had never seen before.

The creature spun webs like a tree-dwelling spider, yet somehow it was on the ground.

This could only be a new species!

Now, I finally understood just what had been happening up until now.

The being that was currently enchanting me in the form of Nangong Seol was likely the spider’s mimicry—its Pedipalps.

Pedipalps are like specialized appendages; they may resemble spider legs but serve functions like sensing, mating, or hunting.

It wouldn’t be accurate to call them legs since they are attached to the head.

Scorpion pincers are technically not legs, either, since they are also Pedipalps attached to the head.

I could see that it had bared its shoulders and was trying to entice me into submission.

There was no real need for any of that.

I’ve already fallen under its spell.

If it had revealed its true self instead, I would have been even more captivated.

I did my best to calm my racing heart and approached it with a dazed expression.

As I drew closer, I caught sight of its sparkling eyes peeking through the legs that masqueraded as Nangong Seol and the red limbs showing faintly from the bushes.

Pretending not to notice, I arrived just before the Pedipalps disguised as Nangong Seol and pulled it into a close embrace.

I had been enchanted, and indeed, I had fallen under its spell.

Then I called out to Chao.

“Chao, bite it!”