Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Return

On the way back to Sichuan, I was seriously contemplating one matter.

Now that I had acquired the Ice Orb, I had to go fetch the Lizard creatures, but the problem was how to plan the journey.

‘Non-stop? Or should I drop by the Tang Clan first?’

I thought that if I stopped by the Tang Clan, I would lose even more time, so I felt I should head straight to where the Lizard creatures were waiting. However, the issue was with Yo-hwa.

Would she be able to endure the longer journey? After all, Yo-hwa was the most intelligent among all the Venomous Insects I’ve encountered so far. How would she react if I just left her behind to go off somewhere?

I worried about taking her with me, and even if I left her behind, it troubled me that I would have to be away for nearly ten days, leaving the poor thing who still hadn’t adjusted to the Tang Clan all alone.

Thus, it seemed awkward to either first stop by to see the Lizard creatures or to leave Yo-hwa behind.

Having raised various creatures back in my previous life, I had almost never dreamed of taking a vacation, and it appeared that the nature of my worries hadn’t changed, just the circumstances.

‘What can I do? This is all something I have to bear.’

As I contemplated the schedule while guarding Yo-hwa, who was wrapped in cloth on the ship’s deck, we suddenly heard chatter from the passengers as our boat briefly docked at Infinity.

“Did you hear that the Clan Head went personally leading the Qinglong Team this time?”

“Oh, you heard too! They ambushed the Blood Cult’s hideout near Infinity the other day and took down some of their men. They spilled the beans on their other hideouts!”

It seemed that the fight with the Blood Cult was about to intensify.

In other words, it meant our Tang Clan and the Venomous Insect Team would have a lot of work ahead.

We needed to extract poisons diligently.

And it also meant danger could loom.

The more intense the fight with the Blood Cult became, the harder it would be to go out without risk; that was obvious.

As I thoroughly checked on Yo-hwa’s condition, I resolved that it would be wise to deal with the Lizard creatures too while I was out there.

Then, I overheard the continuation of the chatter.

“By the way, did you hear why the ambush near Infinity had minimal damage?”

“Reason?”

“Yes, apparently someone made the Dispersing Power Poison that works particularly well against the Blood Cult!”

‘That’s me, isn’t it?’

My ears perked up at the sudden mention of my story.

So I focused on what they were saying.

It seemed there had been a real-time ripple effect from this conversation.

“The Dispersing Power Poison that works well against the Blood Cult!?”

“Exactly. From what I heard, those who get poisoned can’t move at all. They become like a bait, lying still like a frog waiting for a snake to swallow them up?”

“Oh wow! That sounds like an amazing poison! Is it payback for the trials the Martial Forest faced from the Blood Cult? So, which junior hero discovered such a remarkable thing? A hero of the Martial World?”

“Then, it must indeed be a hero.”

There were no negative comments, only positive ones.

Flushed from the praise calling me a hero, I glanced to the side and spotted the approving smiles on the faces of the members of the Venomous Insect Team, Deputy Commander Gu Pae, and my sister.

“But who is it?”

“Well, they mention it’s a young Junior Hero, and they’re keeping their identity secret for fear of the Blood Cult retaliating.”

“If a young Junior Hero can accomplish something so great, of course, they must be protected. I’m really curious to find out who the Junior Hero is when their identity is revealed. If they’ve done something so significant at such a young age, they must become an incredible person! If you hear more about this Junior Hero, you must let me know.”

“Is this real? I don’t know who it is, but I’ve decided to respect that Junior Hero.”

‘Whoa, so this is what it feels like to get subscriptions and likes?’

An outpouring of positivity associated with my achievements made me wonder how many subscriptions and likes I could accumulate in this world.

*

Contrary to my worries, Yo-hwa adapted to the journey faster than expected.

I had been concerned she might suddenly become unwell, but she was consuming Yang Energy well, surprisingly sociable, and obedient.

The only issue was that she was picky about which Yang Energy she consumed.

What I meant was, she wouldn’t eat just any Yang Energy.

Perhaps because the Old Man had raised her by sharing his Yang Energy for almost her entire life, she was resistant to consuming Yang Energy other than mine.

Upon reflection, when she was really hungry, she could even be aggressive enough to forcibly take someone else’s Yang Energy, but normally she was just a picky eater.

Other than that, I was relieved to find we could reach our destination, Gongga Mountain.

-Kwaaa!

A massive waterfall, with torrents of water crashing down.

Beyond the mist rising from the turbulent surface, I pointed towards the cliffside and shouted, “There are your friends over there, Yo-hwa!”

-Ki-shi?

Yo-hwa tilted her head at the mention of her friends waiting for her.

Having become quite close during our journey, I was about to pat her cute head but hesitated, instead opting to gently stroke her pedal-like legs that had transformed into an appearance akin to my sister.

The reason I didn’t pet her real head was that she, in her sister form, was uncomfortable with hands between her legs.

Though it was just her lower legs, seeing them bare was considered quite scandalous in this world.

It may not have been her real body, but since it resembled it, I had to be considerate.

Gently stroking Yo-hwa, I then looked beyond the cliff and said, “I don’t think I can cross, so could Hua Eun and the Deputy Commander go get the kids?”

While I should have gone myself, the reason I asked my sister and the Deputy Commander to fetch the Lizard creatures was that this time, the Peng Clan Head wasn’t here to throw me over to the other side.

To get over there, I would need to jump across, but my lightness skill wasn’t good enough for that just yet.

Then came the question from beside me.

“Without So-ryong, would we follow?”

“Should we try throwing a vine over to the other side?”

This was the quandary of whether the kids would follow without me and a suggestion from Deputy Commander Gu Pae to throw a vine across.

As we exchanged various concerns, suddenly a startled shout from one of the Venomous Insect Team members pierced through the cacophony of the waterfall.

“Gaah!”

Clearly taken aback, the warrior’s voice was filled with surprise.

As we simultaneously turned our heads towards the sound, we saw the warrior pointing with wide eyes across the cliff.

When my gaze shifted to where he indicated, Yo-hwa was already magnetically clinging to the cliff!

“Gaah! Yo-hwa! How did you even get up there? Come down!”

It was only natural that I would react similarly to the member of the Venomous Insect Team, but I couldn’t help but shout louder out of concern for Yo-hwa’s safety.

Yet, even amidst my cries, Yo-hwa skillfully climbed the cliff, then, using the fist-shaped rock I pointed at, she leaped lightly over to me.

The thread trailing from the back of Yo-hwa as she jumped over resembled the flowing locks of my sister.

With the wind carrying her along, she gracefully crossed the raging river, soaring right above my head.

‘Yo-hwa, so you can indeed fly like a spider!’

I marveled at the sight of Yo-hwa soaring through the air.

Unbeknownst to many, spiders, despite having no wings, can fly.

While they lack wings, they can ride the wind to travel dozens to hundreds of kilometers, a phenomenon referred to as ballooning.

It appeared that Yo-hwa possessed such an ability as well.

My gaze trailed after her, caught in a daze.

The flight of the spider was simply breathtaking.

-Ki-sit!

Yo-hwa landed lightly like a feather not far from me.

She scurried toward me, seemingly asking for praise with her head held high.

While it was intriguing that she needed Yang Energy to survive, the paralysis poison she had didn’t seem particularly powerful, and her pheromone ability was surprisingly strong, yet throughout our journey, she had been quite gentle.

I wondered why Yo-hwa was categorized as one of the Ten Great Venoms but given her lightweight and strong physique, it seemed she was justified in that classification.

One reason creatures in an ecosystem don’t grow beyond a certain size is that if they exceed a certain limit, they cannot support their own weight.

The fact that a spider of Yo-hwa’s size could fly meant she was extremely light and had high physical strength.

“Yo-hwa!”

-Ki, ki-shi!?

“P-please, So-ryong. I feel so embarrassed, it feels like I’m being held!”

I was caught up in joy at Yo-hwa’s incredible ability and was halted by my sister.

A while later, after calming down with my sister, we rode Yo-hwa’s web to cross the river and ascend to the cliff.

“Little One, could you please look after the kids for a bit?”

“Sure! So-ryong.”

After handing over the Ogongs to my sister at the cave entrance, I dashed off towards the Lizard creatures’ home.

How long did I traverse to fetch their food?

Now that everything was ready for adoption, all that was left was the actual adoption process.

My heart raced; the moment before adopting the kids was always an exciting moment, sending adrenaline through my chest.

In my previous life, the time when I prepared the breeding grounds and planned the food supply before setting off to fetch the creatures had been the most thrilling moment.

-Kyah!

-Kyaa!

As I swiftly approached the Lizard creatures’ abode, I heard their alerting sounds in response to my footsteps.

Feeling delighted at their warning sounds, I dashed into the thick underbrush.

“Hey, guys!”

Then, as I pushed through the bushes and called out my voice, there they were, initially hunched down, now widening their eyes in surprise.

Their clear eyes reflected my figure, and I heard their adorable sounds of astonishment.

-Kwokku!

-Kku!

The two little ones stretched out forward to check if it really was me.

Like pups welcoming their owner back from work, they zoomed through the foliage and leaped into my arms.

-Kwokku!

-Kuuuu!

They seemed to chide me about why I was so late.

Holding the two of them tightly, I presented the Ice Orb I had brought out and said to them, “Let’s go together! I can finally take care of you now. What do you say?”

-Kuu!

-Kkuk!

The two little ones kept licking my cheeks like playful puppies.

I assumed they were agreeing to come with me and told them, “Then, you will be Bing-i, and you will be Seol-i. Let’s get along well, okay?”

Finally, I could call them by the names I thought up a long time ago.

*

Arriving at the Gu Jin Gate of the Tang Clan in the middle of the night.

The warriors in the clan gawked at the sight of us.

“T-there are two ladies!?”

“How could there be two ladies!?”

Yesterday, after sharing Yang Energy and being startled by the sudden appearance of scales on my legs, the warriors’ voices echoed in astonishment upon seeing Yo-hwa returned to her original appearance.

Two figures of my sister appearing from out of nowhere in the dark had led the warriors to an incredulous expression.

With Yo-hwa’s silhouette still hidden in the shadows, it felt as if there were two of my sister standing there.

As the lanterns flickered, illuminating the dark, Yo-hwa’s figure gradually came into view, and the warriors gasped in surprise once again.

“Gah! Upon closer inspection, isn’t that a Lady’s form?”

“Lady!”

I proudly shouted back at the stunned warriors.

By bringing Yo-hwa with me, I had officially become the son-in-law of this family.

Due to the pact I made with my sister, I no longer had to worry about appearing reserved.

Thus, I could declare boldly.

“Would you kindly inform the elders of the clan that the proud ‘official son-in-law’ of the Tang Clan has brought back the Ten Great Venoms?”

“T-the Ten Great Venoms!?”

Turning my head, I caught wind of my sister’s crimson face illuminated by the lanterns.

Covering her face with her sleeve, she wore a flustered expression.

‘Our Hua Eun is so cute.’

I turned my gaze from my blushing sister and looked at Tang Clan Mountain.

This was truly my home and my in-laws.

Even in the dead of night, news of the son-in-law bringing back the Ten Great Venoms was quickly spreading throughout the entire Tang Clan.

How did I know that?

Because I could see the news spreading in real-time.

The lights that had been extinguished in the Tang Clan flickered back to life one by one.

Thus, numerous lanterns blazed beautifully, illuminating Tang Clan Mountain.

Soon after, the people of the clan began to converge to celebrate the son-in-law’s achievement of bringing back the Ten Great Venoms.