Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 111

Chapter 111
Bini unleashed a torrent of angry, chattering sounds.
—Tsrurrrt! Tsrrrurrrt!
“You must be incredibly mad at Dad, huh? Okay, okay. That’s enough. Come with Mom now. It’s dark already—time for bed.”
[So-ryong, I’ll take care of this. Anything you say to him right now will just fall on deaf ears.]
Hua-eun, having been filled in by Yang Seong-hu, arrived and softly gathered Bini into her arms.
He was so enraged with me that he’d completely overlooked the fact that he was supposed to be upset with Hua-eun as well.
—Tsst!
With a final, dismissive *hmph!* that clearly meant ‘I’m done with you!’, Bini turned his head away sharply and settled onto his mother’s shoulder.
Then, without a single look back, the two of them departed.
And just like that, the tempest known as Bini was over.
All it left behind was one emotionally devastated man.
Or more accurately…
One emotionally devastated man and six venomous beings.
With Cho still occupied with drying off after his molt, and Hyang having left with Hua-eun alongside Seol and Bing, the only ones remaining were Yo-hwa, the recently christened Yeondu, and myself.
Under the high moon, I gazed blankly at its light for a while before shifting my attention to Yeondu and venturing a careful question.
“Um… Yeondu, it’s not that I doubt you, but… you aren’t concealing anything else, are you?”
—Shaaa?
“I’m referring to Neidans.”
—Shaaaa!
Her response was immediate.
Yeondu jolted as if electrocuted, shaking her head vehemently.
I could almost hear her thoughts: ‘I promise, there are no more! I couldn’t even if I tried!’
And I hadn’t even officially made her my own yet.
“I do trust you, honestly… but you witnessed how furious Bini was, right? I’m at my wit’s end here. I’m just trying anything I can think of.”
—Shaaa. Shaa.
Having already lost two of her Neidans, she ought to have been even more incensed than Bini.
But after observing the entire ordeal from beginning to end, she simply looked at me with a sense of compassion and sighed as if she understood.
‘Perhaps her temper isn’t as volatile as I assumed?’
While I was pondering Yeondu’s surprisingly agreeable nature, another thought occurred to me.
I still hadn’t bestowed a formal name upon her.
Nor had I even inquired if she wished to remain with our group.
“Ah, that’s right. It completely slipped my mind. Have you made a decision?”
—Shaaa?
She tilted her head, perplexed.
“About whether you’ll stay with us, I mean. As I mentioned, the wilderness is perilous. There are predators like hedgehogs and birds that hunt for your kind. I know my methods were a bit harsh earlier, but I give you my word that I’ll treat you well. The others can attest to that.”
Hearing this, she looked toward the other venomous creatures, who instantly began enthusiastically promoting our lifestyle to her like expert promoters.
—Kisit! Kishi-shishi. Kishii.
—Kuku! Kukku!
Seeing her eyes first widen in astonishment and then narrow in contemplation, I had a strong sense that she was seriously thinking about it.
After a few moments, she gave a slow, deliberate nod.
—Shaa…
Well, if she had consented to stay, then there was no longer any reason to keep her confined.
With Yo-hwa and the others present, she wouldn’t be able to flee regardless.
Attempting to appear like a gracious master, I relaxed my hold on her container and moved to retrieve her.
Nothing fostered trust quite like granting freedom.
—Shaaa!?
But the instant my hand neared her, she recoiled and shrank back.
“You agreed to stay, didn’t you? I was going to release you.”
—Shaaa!?
Her reaction seemed to imply she was questioning whether I was truly naive enough to take a venomous creature at its word.
So I simply nodded.
“Well, I can’t very well keep you imprisoned indefinitely, can I? This is simply our custom.”
When I eventually placed her on the ground, she warily coiled herself, her eyes scanning the area to properly observe the others.
I offered her a smile and a nod of welcome.
‘She’s likely thinking, ‘Let’s try to get along.’’
So I nodded in return and said,
“Yeah, I agree. Let’s get along, Yeondu. Oh—that’s right. I need to give you a real name. I can’t keep calling you ‘Yeondu’ permanently. What should I name you?”
Even with the memory of Bini’s outburst fresh in my mind, I pushed it aside to concentrate on naming Yeondu first.
Hua-eun was correct. There was no appeasing Bini’s anger tonight.
But I also couldn’t neglect giving Yeondu a name now that she was a formal member of our family.
As one of us, she deserved a proper name.
“Alright, since you belong to the Twenty-Four Venomous Earthly Creatures and occupy the ‘Heaven’ rank, I should incorporate ‘Cheon’ into your name… If you were male, I might choose something like ‘Ilcheon’ to signify First Heaven…”
Then a sudden notion struck me.
“Wait, are you male or female? Should I… take a look?”
The second I murmured about inspecting her, Yeondu’s whole body bristled.
—SHYAAAAAA!
“So, you’re female then?”
Judging by her flustered reaction, the answer was undoubtedly yes.
When I asked, she gave an embarrassed nod.
My initial idea had been to name her Ilcheon, but now that her gender was confirmed, that no longer seemed suitable.
I needed something more graceful.
A name that would suit her better…
Looking at her jewel-green mane, an inspiration came to me.
“If I render ‘emerald’ into a Chinese-style name, it becomes Yeondu. Yeondu… Oh! That has a rather pleasant ring to it!”
The more I considered it, the more it appealed to me.
I addressed her.
“What do you think of Yeondu? Your emerald-green mane is stunning, so I feel Yeondu fits you well. It also complements your blue scales perfectly.”
When spoken with a Central Plains accent, Yeondu sounded similar to Randou.
Yeondu squirmed bashfully at the name, then promptly nodded her approval.
—Shaaaa!
She was pleased with it.
“Very well, from this moment forward, your name is Yeondu.”
With that, Yeondu’s name was officially decided.
And then… I noticed something.
I had entirely forgotten to include Cheon in her name.
She was the foremost of the Twenty-Four Venomous Creatures, and her title was ‘Heaven’.
Omitting Cheon seemed incorrect.
“Wait, I neglected to add Cheon to your name. Should I treat it as a sort of family name? Let’s see… If I include it, your full name would be… Cheon Yeondu…”
And then I stopped cold.
Because I had inadvertently named her Cheonnyeondu.
Which meant…
Smallpox.
Yeondu, completely unaware, nodded happily.
—Shaaaa!
In the Central Plains, they referred to smallpox as ‘Cheonhwa’ rather than ‘Cheonnyeondu’, so perhaps no one would catch on.
“Y-yes… Let’s simply call you Yeondu for the most part, alright?”
And that was the story of how Yeondu—no, Cheonnyeondu—received her name.
***
The following day, I attempted to reconcile with Bini, but I never got the opportunity.
Something far more significant was awaiting us.
The instant Hua-eun and Seol-noona were sufficiently recovered to travel, a decision was made—we would depart.
They weren’t completely healed, but they had no choice but to leave.
There was no alternative.
“This mission was ours, yet we’re entrusting it to you… I offer my deepest apologies, Lord Mandok Divine Elder.”
Seon-hwa, still confined to her bed, bowed her head apologetically as she passed over a piece of paper stained with blood.
Both Seon-hwa and Yang Seong-hu faced months of recuperation at the Beast Palace.
A minimum of three months for Seon-hwa, and at least two for my hyung.
To make matters worse, Seon-hwa had strained herself the previous day, causing her wounds to reopen, and she had developed a fever through the night.
This meant we had no option but to deliver the intelligence ourselves.
The information that Bang Sun, the vice master of the Flying Dragon Pavilion, had given to Seon-hwa needed to reach the Murim Alliance.
Originally, if even one of them had been fit for travel, we would have brought them along.
Even though we were trusted, delivering such information without a single original recipient present was awkward.
But since that wasn’t feasible, we had to proceed alone.
This was why Seon-hwa appeared so remorseful.
“There is no need for apologies. We are also members of the alliance—taking on crucial missions is our duty. So please, do not apologize. Concentrate on your recovery. We will manage this.”
Mandok Divine Elder’s reply was resolute.
“Furthermore, I intended to journey to the Murim Alliance regardless. Those Blood Cult scoundrels have allied with Oh Cheong-yu’s faction, and I must report this.
Additionally, they have begun manufacturing antidotes—we require strategies to counter them.”
“Thank you, Lord Mandok Divine Elder.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
Both my hyung and Seon-hwa bowed deeply.
Though, it was unnecessary.
We were headed to the Murim Alliance in any case.
During our confrontation with Oh Cheong-yu, we learned that the Blood Cult had formed a pact with the Five Poisons Sect.
The Blood Cult massacred our Tang Clan warriors, making them unforgivable.
The Five Poisons Sect had been our sworn enemy for more than a hundred years.
And now, after this event, our hostility had become absolute.
Our relationship was now one of total and irreconcilable animosity.
This meant we required the Murim Alliance’s full backing.
From what we observed during the pursuit, the enemy’s numbers were much greater than we had originally anticipated.
The Tang Clan and the Beast Palace together would not be sufficient.
And that was not all.
The antidote for the Tiger Squad’s poison was most likely developed by the Five Poisons Sect.
The Murim Alliance needed to be notified so that countermeasures could be prepared.
We had already verified that hornet venom served as a substitute, but it couldn’t be produced in large quantities.
We needed another solution.
And since we had already planned to incorporate the Beast Palace into the Murim Alliance, this presented an ideal chance to do so.
“All of you should devote yourselves to healing. We will meet again upon our return.”
“Take care, So-ryong.”
“Understood, hyung. Once you’ve recovered, you must visit the Tang Clan.”
“Certainly. I must see my little sister, Yeong-yeong, as well.”
After exchanging final farewells with hyung, I turned to Seon-hwa, who bowed her head once more.
“So-So-hyeop… I am eternally in your debt. I cannot imagine what would have become of us without you…”
She seemed profoundly thankful.
Which, naturally, triggered my inner mischief.
Adopting a falsely contrite expression, I said,
“You will heal in time, but… I hope I haven’t burdened your heart with additional anguish…”
At this, Seon-hwa flushed a deep red and shot a furtive glance toward Yang Seong-hu.
“W-Well… It was my decision, so… I must accept the consequences…”
Poor fellow.
He looked utterly bewildered as I patted his shoulder and whispered into his ear.
[Don’t forget, Seong-hu. I saved your life three times.]
And with that, we exited the room.
Outside, Hua-eun and Seol-noona were already prepared for departure.
As the representative of the Beast Palace, Seol-noona was joining us on our journey to the Murim Alliance.
“Let’s depart, Ryong-ah.”
“Yes, Seol-noona. Let’s proceed, Elder.”
“Agreed. First, we will make for Sichuan.
We must verify that all is well at the Tang Clan in our absence.
And more crucially, we need to prepare additional poisons before going to the Alliance.”
Technically, we could travel directly from Yunnan to Wuhan by vessel.
The Yangtze River runs from Tibet, through Yunnan, and onward to the East Sea.
If we halted at Panzhihua, we could board a boat to Wuhan.
But we opted to return to the Tang Clan first.
Because we needed to prepare venom samples prior to reporting to the Alliance.
Since we already knew the serpent’s blood poison was useless, we had to experiment with other poisons to determine effective alternatives.
And who better to produce those poisons than our own Tang Clan?
Therefore, even if it meant a slight delay, we had no other choice.
We quickened our pace, arriving in Sichuan in just under a month.
When we finally reached our destination, Seol-noona’s eyes grew wide with wonder.
“So this is the territory of the Tang Clan!? The whole mountain is yours!?”
It was a natural response.
She was, after all, a country girl from Yunnan.
She had likely never seen anything comparable.
—Buuuuung. Buuuuung.
But before she could complete her sentence, a familiar droning noise filled the atmosphere.
The Golden-Furred Peak Wasps were already gathering overhead.
They had detected my return.
And, based on their behavior, they had come to welcome me.
“The—T-The Golden-Furred Peak Wasps!?”
“They belong to me.”
“You—YOU KEEP THOSE AS WELL!?”
“This is the entire colony. How have you all been?”
—Buuung! Buuuung!
They complained about my long absence, escorted me to the hive for an obligatory audience with the queen, and didn’t release me until I had consumed a spoonful of honey.
And that very night…
The anticipated tranquility of being home at the Tang Clan was disrupted by an unforeseen incident.
Bini had vanished.
“Wh-What!? Is he already going through a rebellious stage!?”
“His what?”
“You know, a rebellious phase. Regardless—where in the world did he go!?”
“Quickly, try to contact him!”
I desperately attempted to reach him with my thoughts, only to receive a cold, obstinate reply:
“I’m not coming home until I’m bigger than my sister.”
“I—He says he won’t return until he’s larger than Hyang.”
“Ah…”
Hua-eun let out a groan, massaging her temples.
Her youngest had run away from home.