Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 153

Chapter 153
‘These scum are finished! Mere river trash, who do they think they are?!’

Though Wolyeong’s poison had been purified, it felt like fire was blazing from my eyes. A volcanic fury burned within me as I stared down the river bandits.

“Khehehe.”
“Boss, I love the confidence! Gahaha!”

The bandits were roaring with laughter, thoroughly enjoying themselves. But my all-consuming anger? That was a job for Cho, my daughter, the one who carried her father’s spirit. I didn’t merely want their boats overturned—I wanted them shattered to splinters.

‘Cho, slice their boats in half!’

I could already picture their arrogant grins vanishing, their laughter twisting into shrieks of terror—

But then, a sliver of uncertainty wormed into my thoughts.
‘Hold on, why hasn’t she moved?’

By now, Cho should have already been upon their boats. And then, a voice echoed inside my mind.

– Tss? 『Why?』

A bizarre, tingling sensation shot through my head.
‘W-what… is this?!’

Instead of leaping out to rend the boats apart, Cho had simply asked… why? Every hair on my body stood on end. At this very moment—the moment she was meant to be a heroic whirlwind—she had chosen to question me. There was only one explanation. Cho had hit her ‘Why?’ stage.

‘Why did it have to be now, of all times?!’

The “Why?” phase was something that supposedly struck children around four or five years old. It began with simple, innocent queries and eventually bloomed into the ultimate existential trial—an endless torrent of why, why, why, why? Parents knew it as the Question Mark Killer Phase for how it demolished their sanity. And it appeared Cho had arrived at that milestone. Even though her intelligence had evolved to that of a teenager, she had still been conscious for less than a year.

‘No, no. Get a grip, So-ryong. Maybe she’s just being inquisitive. That’s positive, right? It means she’s developing properly. She shouldn’t just blindly attack… That would make her a killing machine, not a daughter!’ I attempted to reassure myself. This surely couldn’t be the full-blown phase. I was on the verge of patiently explaining the circumstances to Cho—

But before I could, an incensed voice erupted beside me.

“Those wretched fools?! River scum dare to—?! I’ll exterminate them all!”

Seol was already pushing up her sleeves, looking prepared to vault over the railing and slaughter every single one of them. She must have found this entire situation as baffling as I did, particularly since she wasn’t from the Central Plains.

“Seol, w-wait! If we confront them, we might take out a few, but they’ll board the ship and sink it! As much as I detest it, we should just pay the toll and move on. It is our fault for losing the clan’s flag.”

“Damn it all. If this were Yunnan, I’d have fed their corpses to the hounds by now.”

It was exactly the type of ‘we avoid filth not out of fear, but out of disgust’ response I had anticipated from Seol.

Hwa-eun, struggling to contain her own rage, turned back to the bandits.
“Fine. What is the toll?”

“Hmm… well, this is a fine, large vessel. Let’s say… one hundred silver taels.”

“A hundred taels?!” Hwa-eun’s voice shot up in disbelief.

The bandit leader smirked.
“Oh? The lady has a sharp tongue. Perhaps we should charge even more! Kehaha.”

“Tsk… Fine. Wait here.”

The wretch must have heard Seol’s earlier outburst and was using it as a pretext to inflate the price. One hundred silver taels was an enormous sum. I’d never even glimpsed that much money back when I was stranded on Hainan Island. We weren’t penniless, but I’d sooner dump money into a gutter than give it to these lowlifes.

While Hwa-eun went into the cabin to get the money, I rushed to explain things to Cho.
“Uh… So, you’re asking why we should do this? Well… Aha! Those men said terrible things about Mom!”

I couldn’t possibly repeat what that brute had actually said—it was unfit for a child’s ears. But despite my careful wording, Cho persisted.

– Tssr? 『Bad things?』

“Uh, well… Aha! They said Mom isn’t beautiful!” I selected the one issue I knew Cho and Bini were most sensitive about.

But Cho just blinked, glancing between Hwa-eun and herself, and tilted her head in confusion. Then she sent me another thought. It was something like: Mom doesn’t possess enough legs or antennae, so isn’t it logical for some humans to find her unattractive?

“…Oh. Oh no.”

Not only had Cho discerned my exact preferences, but she had also assumed all men shared the same view. If those bandits had radiated even a hint of killing intent, Cho would have struck without a second thought. But since they hadn’t, she was simply… curious.

I briefly entertained the idea of provoking the bandits into cursing again to give Cho a reason to attack, but if they just kept escalating their monetary demands, that plan would fail. Then, a stroke of genius hit me.

‘Ah! That’s it!’

“Cho, what if we play a game with those uncles?”
– Tssr? 『A game?』
“Yes. It’s called tag. When you reveal yourself, those uncles will scream and try to flee. Your task is to catch them before they get away. Does that sound enjoyable?”
Cho seemed to perk up at the idea.
– Tsst! 『I want to play!』
“Alright, but first, let’s ensure they can’t escape. Overturn their boats!”
– Tsssshh!

The instant I finished speaking, Cho gradually rose into the air behind me. The bandits, who had been watching us, suddenly went rigid, their eyes bulging, their mouths hanging open.

“Th-th-that…”
“Th-th-th-that thing…!”
“I-it’s…”

They pointed, utterly speechless. The bandit leader, who had been grinning like a fool, finally glanced up. And then, his breath caught in his throat.

Six meters of monstrous, flying centipede. Its mere presence was overwhelming.

Cho tilted her head in an almost cute manner and chirped.
– Tssr? 『Shall we begin?』

At the sound, the bandits shrieked and scrambled frantically toward the sides of their boats, desperate to put distance between themselves and her.

Grinning, I issued the final command.
“Go on, start the game.”

– CRACK! SPLASH!

The moment I spoke, Cho swung her enormous tail. One of the boats was cleaved neatly in two, hurling the bandits into the water with their screams echoing.

“Aaaaaaaahhh!!”
“M-m-monster!”
“Noooooo!!”

For Cho, it was a game of tag. For the bandits, it was the start of a living nightmare.

***

For Cho, a six-meter-long giant centipede, playing tag was an amusing diversion. For those being pursued, it was a struggle for survival. It followed the same logic as to why grandparents often wound up in the hospital with broken ribs or limbs after playing with their young grandchildren. Children couldn’t moderate their strength. What they considered playful jumping could result in a fractured rib if they landed on their elderly grandparent.

– CRACK!

Cho shattered another boat in half, then used her tail to scoop up a bandit desperately trying to swim away, hurling him back toward the ship.

– THUD! SPLASH!

The bandit slammed against the hull, slid down, and tumbled back into the water with a loud splash. A gleeful squeal came from Cho.

– Tsssshh! 『This is fun!』

“Aaaaaaahhh!!”
“R-run for it!!”
“Yeah, Cho! Eliminate them all!”

With Seol shouting encouragement, Cho moved among the bandits like a raging dragon, smashing their boats, herding them toward the center, and ensuring they were completely trapped. The entire scene descended into pure bedlam.

Then, Hwa-eun burst onto the deck, clutching a pouch of silver, her eyes wide with shock.
“So-ryong! Stop Cho! T-the Martial World’s unspoken rule…!”

She seemed anxious about breaching some kind of law. But did that truly matter right now? Taking hold of Hwa-eun’s shoulders, I stated calmly,

“Hwa-eun, what I despise most… is when people attempt to take what belongs to me.”
“W-what?!”
“Them. They require a lesson.”
Hwa-eun’s face flushed red, and she stood frozen for a second before nodding vacantly. Judging by her reaction, she had comprehended exactly what I meant by *mine*.

With her tacit approval obtained, I began pondering methods to make this experience even more instructive for these wretched fools. That was when new participants joined the game.

– Ksshh?
– Tssssr?

Yo-hwa and Bini had emerged at the cabin entrance, as if asking to participate in the fun.
‘It seems we have more hunters now.’

***

As the bandits tried to flee from Cho, Yo-hwa shot out silk threads, pulling them back onto the ship like fish on a line. Then, once they were hauled aboard, Bini towered over them, immobilizing them with her presence. One by one, the river thugs were subdued in an instant.

With all of them kneeling in terror, Cho and Yo-hwa began tallying how many captives each had caught. The bandits, completely misreading the situation, began to wail.

“P-please spare us!”
“W-we didn’t know you were warriors of the Martial World! We profoundly regret our actions!”
“Forgive us!”

Bound in Yo-hwa’s silk, they pleaded for their lives, under the impression that Cho and Yo-hwa were deciding whom to consume first. In reality, they were just comparing their scores.

I yelled at them,
“Quiet! If any of you speaks another word, I’ll let my beasts have a taste of you.”
– Tssssr!?
– Ksshh!?

Ironically, Cho and Yo-hwa were the ones who appeared startled. After assuring them I was only joking, I turned to Hwa-eun. Now that we had captured them, the question remained: what were we to do with them?

“Incidentally, Hwa-eun, what precisely is this ‘unspoken rule’ of the Martial World?”

Hwa-eun took a breath and elaborated,
“The bandits of the Yangtze function under an arrangement with the Nine Great Sects and the Seven Great Clans. They do not attack ships bearing their banners, and in exchange, we do not hunt them.”
“…Ah. But if a ship has no banner, they demand a toll?”
“Yes, So-ryong.”
“So, since we technically violated the agreement, what occurs now?”
Hwa-eun’s expression turned grave.
“The Yangtze Waterway Stronghold isn’t merely this band of bandits. They are part of a larger organization composed of multiple river gangs. If word spreads that we assaulted one of their groups, the others will begin targeting Tang Clan ships and individuals who travel the Yangtze.”
“And we would have to send them tribute as an apology?”
“…Yes. Because even though they are bandits, they are still considered martial artists.”

My face hardened.
“…Even after they insulted you? These scoundrels deserve death, not an apology.”
“I-I value the sentiment, but… th-those are the rules…”
Hwa-eun’s cheeks reddened once more, but I had more pressing issues. I might have scored significant points with her, but we were now in a position where we might have to pay off a gang of vile bandits for their silence.

‘Martial artists, my foot. First, we had beggars pretending to be martial artists. Then thieves. Now river rats? This is absurd.’

After some contemplation, I decided to experiment. The bandits were already terrified. If I maneuvered correctly, we might be able to conclude this neatly.

I gave Hwa-eun a significant look and spoke in an icy tone,
“Where I originate, there’s a saying: if no one remains alive, there is no one left to talk.”
Then, I glanced at the bandits. Their leader visibly flinched before promptly throwing himself to the deck.
“W-we witnessed nothing today! Nothing whatsoever! If you spare our lives, we will never speak a word of this! Y-you have my oath!”

They were evidently terrified. But merely frightening them was insufficient. People often altered their stories once they felt safe.
‘How did people manage these situations in my past life…? Oh, correct. Accidents, insurance… Settlements! That’s it!’

In my previous life, the simplest way to resolve an accident was through an on-the-spot settlement. Instead of involving the police or an insurance company, people frequently settled with cash to avoid future entanglements. And if a settlement included a written agreement, the other party couldn’t renege.

“Hwa-eun, what if we simply… settled this right here?”
“Settle? How?”
“One moment.”

Turning to the bandit leader, I spoke in a low, threatening voice.
“You claim nothing occurred? That’s amusing. Because from my perspective, it appears a horde of greedy rats attempted to board a Tang Clan ship, destroy its banner, and plunder its cargo.”

Oh, and naturally—
The settlement terms were overwhelmingly in our favor.