Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 107

Chapter 107
As Seol finished tearing the elder to pieces, she sprinted to Paeng Gyu-seong’s side. A grievous wound had been slashed across his torso, and stopping the bleeding was the most urgent matter.

“Brother, are you okay!?”

“Grr… D-don’t worry about me, see to Geom-bong and Yang Seong-hu first…”

Even while bearing the most severe injury, his first thoughts were for his comrades. The mark of a true protector.

I quickly shouted to Tang Hwa-eun and Seol.
“Hwa-eun! Seol! Tend to Geom-bong and Yang Seong-hu!”

“On it, So-ryong!”
“Understood, So-ryong.”

At my direction, Tang Hwa-eun rushed to Geom-bong while Seol moved to check on Yang Seong-hu. Luckily, they had merely been knocked unconscious by the Blood Cult elder’s attacks. The serious case was Gyu-seong.

“Hwa-eun and Seol are with them. Now let us look at you.”
I tried to calm him as I assessed the damage.
“You’ve been applying pressure to stem the blood.”
“Yes… I closed my meridian points to slow the flow.”

Though the gash was deep, it appeared his organs were untouched. He had already taken measures to reduce the bleeding, so I swiftly applied Golden Wound Medicine to the injury, then ripped part of his robe to use as a bandage.

But slowing the bleeding was not the same as stopping it. The wound was too large, and blood continued to ooze out.

—Rip!

As I tore the cloth, I noticed a serious problem. His robe was caked in layers of black filth. After weeks of deep undercover work with no chance to wash or change, his clothing was far from clean. It reminded me of the infrequent bathing customs in Zhongyuan. While the heat in Sichuan meant people washed more often, in regions like Huangshan, home to the Namgung Clan, it was less common. Gyu-seong was from even farther north, where bathing was undoubtedly a rarity.

‘This… this will cause an infection…’

I paused, uncertain. I thought of using my own robe, but after two days of non-stop running, it was drenched in sweat and equally dirty. I needed another option.

Just then, I heard a soft sound.
—Ki-sii?

Yo-hwa crept closer, observing my efforts. An inspiration came to me.
“Yo-hwa! Use your silk to bind Brother’s waist!”

—Ki-sii-sii!

Spider silk—an exceptional natural material, perfectly compatible with the human body. Not only was it flexible, but it would also provide compression to help stifle the bleeding. In my previous life, the most advanced surgical implants had utilized spider silk.

“Wait, you’re using spider web!?”
Gyu-seong looked utterly confused, but as Yo-hwa meticulously wrapped his midsection with layer upon layer of fine silk, the bleeding ceased almost immediately.

“It’s working!”
The silk’s elasticity made it function like a superior compression wrap. Even Gyu-seong had to concede it was effective.
“This actually makes it easier to move.”
“Then we should get going.”
“Yes, we must leave.”

With his wound stabilized, we needed to depart quickly. Cho was still holding off the warriors in brown leather, but we could not delay any longer. If we stayed, more enemies would surely come.

Oddly, even though a few of them had evaded Cho’s defenses, they were not pressing an attack. They seemed to be buying time. Despite their elder’s death, they showed no panic or disarray.

“Yang Seong-hu, assist me. We need to help Gyu-seong.”
“Understood. Can you walk?”
Now awake, Yang Seong-hu helped me support Gyu-seong. At the same time, I sent a mental command to Cho.
‘Cho, prevent them from advancing, but do not commit fully. Just keep them occupied and follow us. Stay airborne.’

Cho’s acknowledgment echoed through our connection as he continued to obstruct their path. Just as we began to put distance between us, a peculiar noise reached our ears.

—Uuung. Uuuung.

A low, resonant drone. It vibrated in our chests, akin to the deep throb of a war drum. It was familiar. It sounded exactly like the buzzing of the hornets we had encountered before.

As the sound intensified, the leader of the brown-leathered warriors suddenly yelled—
“It’s Thunderous Roar (轟)! The Toad Squad (蟾蜍隊) has bought enough time. Withdraw!”

‘Thunderous Roar?’
If that was the name of the sound, and Toad Squad meant a unit of “toads,” then…
A dreadful understanding dawned on me.

The warriors in brown immediately began their retreat. That could mean only one thing—whatever approached was nothing good.

I turned to my group and shouted—
“Move!”

We broke into a run toward the river. Then, Tang Hwa-eun’s alarmed voice cut through the air.
“So-ryong! Look up!”
“The sky?”
I followed her pointed finger. High in the sky, a black and yellow speck was visible. And it was growing larger.

—Uuuung! UUUUUUUNG!
A deep buzzing, now overwhelming. Pain lanced through my ears, and my chest shuddered with the vibrations.

“Arghhh!”
“Urgh…!”
Paeng Gyu-seong clutched his bandaged side, blood weeping through the silk as he fell. I fought down a wave of nausea just as Tang Hwa-eun’s desperate voice transmission reached me.

[So-ryong! That—that’s one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures! It’s a Dread Buzzing Tiger Wasp (怪鳴虎子)! You must use your inner energy to protect your ears, or your meridians will be thrown into chaos and you will be paralyzed!]

‘One of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures!? A Tiger Wasp!?’
That explained why she was using a transmission instead of speaking aloud. I immediately circulated my internal energy to shield my hearing. The moment I did, the noise dulled and the sickness vanished.

Then—
A powerful gust of wind slammed into us from above. Shielding my face, I looked up.

Hovering in the air was an enormous hornet—one that looked like an Asian Giant Hornet, but monstrously larger.

‘This can’t be happening…’
I glanced around. Paeng Gyu-seong, Yang Seong-hu, Geom-bong, and even Seol were all clutching their ears, collapsed on the ground. The only ones still standing were me, Tang Hwa-eun, and Yo-hwa.

The giant hornet hovered for a beat before descending toward the corpse of the Blood Cult elder. It was an aerial sovereign, the emperor of poisonous insects. A Giant Tiger Wasp.

***

As the car-sized hornet landed, a woman dismounted from its back. She was dressed in a long, flowing black gown—almost gothic in style—exuding a peculiar and disquieting aura.

“…”
Her lips moved as though she were speaking to us. I lowered the inner energy guarding my ears to let her voice through.

“Ah… my, my, he’s already dead. I suppose that’s what one expects from such inferior martial arts. A technique that leaves you weak to a simple hemorrhagic poison? How pitiful.”

She spoke with disdain about the fallen Blood Cult elder, despite having been his ally moments before.
“Why did we ever join forces with them? I even provided an antidote, and he still died? How utterly disappointing.”

She clicked her tongue and turned away from the body. At that moment, Cho, who had been circling at a distance, flew toward us with urgency. Seeing him, the woman smiled. Then, in a ghastly motion, she dipped her fingers into the elder’s pooled blood and tasted it.

Instantly, she identified the poison within.
“This is Asian Giant Hornet venom? So both poisons induce bleeding, but… to think they’d be vulnerable to all hemorrhagic toxins.”
She scoffed again.
“Well, I suppose it fits. Revolting creatures that suckle on the blood of others… Perhaps we should rethink our alliance with the Blood Cult.”

She seemed to be musing to herself more than addressing us. Tang Hwa-eun and I remained motionless, watching her cautiously—not because of her bizarre actions, but because of the massive hornet that was clearly her guardian.

[So-ryong, be careful. She is not as powerful as Grandfather, but she is at least as strong as Father.]
Tang Hwa-eun’s voice held a slight tremble in my mind.

—Tssssrrr…
Sensing the threat, Cho slid forward, emitting a low, threatening hiss—like a guard dog’s growl.

The woman, finished with her soliloquy, ground her heel into the dead Blood Cult elder’s face, then smiled at us.
“How intriguing… a Monarch Venom Lord choosing to follow a human.”
“A Monarch Venom Lord?”
“Oh, of course. In Zhongyuan, you call them Supreme Venomous Centipedes.”

She was referring to Cho, who had positioned himself protectively in front of us. It seemed she was about to continue speaking, but abruptly, her smile disappeared. She snapped her fingers toward the hornet and commanded—
“Seize them.”

Instantly, the hornet shot toward Cho. It darted between Tang Hwa-eun and me, crashing into Cho and sending them both tumbling through the air.

“Cho!”

—BZZZZZZZ!
—TSSSSRRRR!

The hornet’s wings roared as they clashed, but unlike before, the sound no longer carried the paralyzing vibration. It seemed the disabling buzz was not active during combat. Cho released a furious screech, and the battle between the two titans of venom erupted in the sky.

I gritted my teeth. Cho was powerful—there was no question. But a hornet is a natural predator of centipedes. Cho had only molted four times; he was still youthful. That wasp possessed a thicker exoskeleton, razor-sharp mandibles, and its own potent venom.

I immediately turned to Yo-hwa, who was waiting patiently beside Tang Hwa-eun.
“Yo-hwa! Aid Cho!”

—Ki-siiit!
Yo-hwa unfolded her body, emerging from the shadows. She shot a web directly at the two combatants.

—Whoosh!
The strand caught on the hornet’s wing! Yo-hwa pulled hard on the web, dragging the hornet off balance. Freed from its grasp, Cho twisted in mid-air and slammed into it.

The woman’s eyes widened in shock.
“An Azure-faced Spider King!?”
Her voice quivered as she stared at Yo-hwa in utter disbelief.
“Y-you… you have tamed an Azure-faced Spider King as well!?”

She whirled to face me, her expression now filled with sharp suspicion. But before I could respond, her fingers twitched. With a swift motion, she summoned something toward her with an invisible force—it was the spear Yang Seong-hu had dropped.

“Don’t trouble yourself… you needn’t answer.”
She suddenly drove the spear downward—not at me, but toward Yang Seong-hu.

—THUNK!
A sharp cry echoed.

But…
It was not Yang Seong-hu who was hit.
“G-Geombong!?”

I stood frozen. Geom-bong had thrown himself over Yang Seong-hu, and the spear was now buried in his back. His blood poured onto the earth.

“Why… why would you!?”
Yang Seong-hu’s eyes snapped open in shock. Geom-bong simply gave him a weary, exasperated look.
“You… fool…”

Then, his eyes slowly closed.
“G-GEOMBONG! YOU WITCH! AAAAAARGH!”

Yang Seong-hu erupted, lunging at the woman in a blind fury. She clicked her tongue in irritation.
“So noisy. Be quiet, little gnat.”

—SMACK!
She struck him on the neck, rendering him unconscious instantly. As if bored, she tossed the spear aside and said—
“Well, no matter. Who you are is irrelevant. What matters is that you… possess a Monarch Venom Lord, an Azure-faced Spider King, and…”

She glanced at Yo-hwa and paused. Then, suddenly, she grinned.
“I like you. You will be mine.”

‘…What?’
I stared at her, completely baffled. She had just killed one of my comrades, and now she was saying this!?

I looked at Tang Hwa-eun, whose face was a mask of fury. Her voice boiled with rage as she snapped—
“How dare you say such a thing to my fiancé!?”

It appeared she could endure danger, but not this. The woman tilted her head.
“Fiancé?”

The instant she spoke, she disappeared. She reappeared right beside Tang Hwa-eun, her claws shooting out toward her chest.
“I doubt you will remain a fiancé for long.”

Tang Hwa-eun leaped backward, but the woman’s hand pursued, aiming to pierce her heart.

—CRACK!
Suddenly, two streaks of blue light shot out from under Tang Hwa-eun’s skirt—
—slamming into the woman’s torso.

“Gah!”
—Kkuku!
—Kkuuuu!

Seol and Bini had been concealed beneath Tang Hwa-eun’s skirt, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The woman was thrown back, ice crystallizing over her arms and chest. She stared at the frost forming on her, her expression now one of stunned amazement.

“A… Four Venom Lords?”
Her hands shook.
“You tame a Monarch Venom Lord… a Four Venom Lords… AND an Azure-faced Spider King!?”

It was then that I finally understood who she was. She had arrived riding a venomous hornet. The retreating warriors had called themselves the Toad Squad. She had scorned the Blood Cult elder, though an ally. And… she had referred to Cho and Seol as ‘Venom Lords.’

There was only one conclusion. She was a scion of the Five Venom Clan.

I looked at Tang Hwa-eun and murmured—
“The adopted daughter of the Beast Palace… the sole heir of the Tang Clan… and me, So-ryong.”