Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 161

Chapter 161
A book marked with the insignia of the Five Poison Clan. That symbol alone was incontrovertible proof—regardless of whether the Five Poison Clan was deeply entangled in this affair or the direct architects of it, my earlier suspicions had now solidified into fact.

Confronted with such undeniable evidence, I instinctively began to turn to Hwa-eun.

“Hwa—”

Ah. She seemed occupied.

I had been about to call her name, but she was completely absorbed in inspecting a collection of medicinal pills and herbs, her attention wholly captured by whatever she was studying.

Since she was so focused, I opted to examine the book myself first.

The cover alone screamed of the Five Poison Clan, but it wasn’t as if the book would vanish while Hwa-eun was busy. There was also the chance it could simply be a blank ledger.

I would have felt guilty for pulling her away if I had summoned her over only to find the contents were trivial.

Naturally, the presence of the Five Poison Clan’s emblem meant it held some importance, but its actual worth would be determined by what was written inside.

Let’s have a look…

—Flip.

“Journal of Dan Mok-seo, Vice Captain of the Five Poison Centipede Squad of the Five Poison Clan.”

The first thing I saw upon turning the page was an individual’s name.

Based on the title, this person was evidently the vice-captain of the Five Poison Centipede Squad—one of the specialized units under the Five Poison Clan, similar to the Five Poison Scorpion Squad we had previously encountered.

Oh, I’d thought this might be significant… It’s just a personal journal? Perhaps it was for the best that I didn’t disturb Hwa-eun after all.

The Five Poison Clan’s emblem had raised my hopes, but it appeared to be nothing more than a private diary.

Why would a simple journal carry an official insignia? Then again, thinking in contemporary terms, it was probably akin to a company-issued notebook with the corporate logo stamped on the front.

Mildly disappointing… but then, there’s a unique excitement in reading someone else’s private thoughts. Heh heh…

The name implied the author was female.

And everyone knows diaries are the most riveting reads—particularly those of younger or older sisters.

Of course, she wasn’t related to me, but I anticipated a similarly entertaining account.

What truly grated on me, however, was that this diary belonged to a member of the self-styled Five Poison Centipede Squad.

How could they dare call themselves the Centipede Squad without even boasting a proper mascot?

I felt entirely justified in my indignation.

I was the one who possessed Cho, one of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts. I had Bina, one of the Twenty-Four Venomous Insects. I even owned the original archetype, the Blue-Spotted Centipede.

And yet, these fools from the Five Poison Clan, who likely cultivated nothing but common centipedes, had the audacity to name themselves the Centipede Squad? The sheer arrogance.

For someone like me, the keeper of actual legendary centipedes, this felt like a blatant theft of intellectual property.

This is a gross infringement of copyright!

Naturally, I didn’t legally own the naming rights, but given the creatures under my care, I was certainly the more deserving party.

They ought to be paying me royalties.

Snorting at their impudence, I turned to the first proper page. A date at the top signaled the diary’s commencement.

“Start of Spring. Summoned by the Clan Lord, I accompanied the Captain to an audience. Our Lord has issued a new command.
Having consistently failed to locate the One Poison Master, we have been ordered to set that quest aside for the time being. Now, the Centipede Squad is to assist the Blood Cult in spreading disorder throughout the Central Plains.
The Blood Cult has been growing its power in the shadows, but they are incapable of overthrowing the Tang Clan alone.
The Tang Clan is, after all, allied with the Martial Alliance and the Seven Great Houses. To challenge the Tang Clan, we must first redirect their attention elsewhere.
Just as the Five Poison Scorpion Squad employed their Grand Poison Technique to mutate the Army Demonic Soldiers into monstrous creatures, we too must identify another species to transform into a weapon.”

Huh. This is surprisingly useful intelligence.

I’d expected a personal diary to lack strategic importance, but it was proving to be a treasure trove.

The author was remarkably meticulous. The journal was filled with exactly the type of information we required.

Not only did it verify my theory—that the Army Demonic Soldiers were indeed the Five Poison Clan’s creation—but it also detailed the names of their different operational squads.

Eager to discover what other gems were hidden within, I quickly turned the page.

“Two days before the Spring Equinox.
For a month, the Captain and I have been debating which creature to utilize. Today, Lady Cheongyu visited us briefly and proposed the Blood-Sucking Parasite.
The instant she said it, it was like a lightning bolt illuminated my mind.
Blood-Sucking Parasites are tenacious. They unremittingly plague their hosts.
If they are this vexing at their natural size, consider what they could achieve enlarged. The mere idea made my pulse quicken with anticipation.”

“The day after the Qingming Festival.
We successfully applied the Grand Poison Technique to enlarge the Blood-Sucking Parasites. However, a problem arose.
The first clutch of eggs hatched, but the larvae would not progress to adulthood. Why?
We directly channeled energy into them using the Grand Poison Technique, so in theory, they should have matured without requiring sustenance.
What was the error?”

“Grain Rain Festival.
A subordinate acted carelessly with the parasites and was assaulted. He fainted from severe blood loss. Fool.
He required a Blood Restoration Pill to regain his strength.”

“Two days after the Grain Rain Festival.
We found several parasites beginning to molt.
Why now? What initiated this sudden change?
The Captain and I will need to work through the night to determine the cause.”

“Five days after the Grain Rain Festival.
We have finally discovered the secret!
They require blood consumption to molt!
We seized villagers from the border regions and allowed the parasites to feed on them.”

“Later that same day.
We ascertained that the parasites must feed five times to achieve adulthood.
But to lay eggs, they require a sixth feeding.
The issue is, nurturing just one group to adulthood necessitated capturing more than a hundred villagers from two border towns.
If we wish to expand their numbers further, how many more people will be needed?”

“Still during the Grain Rain period.
As one would expect from Lady Cheongyu.
The Captain asked for her advice, and she recommended the use of Blood Restoration Pills.
Her reasoning was flawless—instead of executing our prisoners immediately, we should let the parasites drain them to the brink of death, then administer Blood Restoration Pills by force.
This way, the same captives could be used repeatedly.”

Here, I paused my reading to collect myself.
The details were so horrifying I needed a moment to order my thoughts.

From what I could comprehend, this verified Oh Cheongyu’s true identity and the technique they had used to cultivate the Blood-Sucking Parasites.
If this “Lady Cheongyu” from the diary was indeed the same Oh Cheongyu—the deranged goth who had stabbed Geombong and attempted to abduct me—then it meant she was from the Five Poison Clan’s direct lineage.

And based on their methods, these Five Poison Clan villains were utterly depraved.
Feeding people to insects as if it were routine?
They showed no hesitation, treating human lives as expendable cattle.

Just then, I heard Hwa-eun’s voice nearby.
“These are all Blood Restoration Pills? Why is there such a vast quantity here?”

Turning, I saw Hwa-eun surrounded by crates. Even the large open containers near her were packed with medicinal pills.
From her puzzled expression as she examined one, she had clearly identified them.
It appeared every pill she had inspected so far was a Blood Restoration Pill, just as the book described.

I should propose we read this together.
It seemed wise to review the journal with her.
It would instantly answer all her questions.

So, I called out to her immediately.
“Hwa-eun, would you come and look at this with me?”
“Did you discover something?”
“It’s the diary of the vice captain of the Five Poison Centipede Squad, a military unit within the Five Poison Clan.”
“The Five Poison Clan!? A diary?”

The moment I mentioned I had found a diary from a Five Poison Clan member, Hwa-eun hurried over.
After catching up to where I had stopped reading, her eyes grew wide with astonishment.
“T-this is…”

Clearly, she had understood the grim purpose of the Blood Restoration Pills she’d been inspecting. With a look of alarm, she swiftly turned to the next page I was about to read.

“Start of Summer.
Now that we have successfully reared the first batch to maturity, the next step is to find a suitable base. I intend to reach out to the Blood Cult and have them locate an appropriate site.”

“A few days before the Grain in Ear period.
With support from the Blood Cult, we assaulted a Green Forest stronghold close to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges is an ideal location to disperse the Blood-Sucking Parasites, and we needed a blood source. The Green Forest outlaws were a perfect target—their disappearance would go unnoticed.”

“Grain in Ear.
We have moved into the stronghold and begun breeding them in earnest. We severed the tendons of the captured bandits and allotted a fixed number of parasites to feed on them continuously.
We provided the bandits with Blood Restoration Pills and sustenance at scheduled intervals, and as a result, the parasite population is expanding swiftly.
I believe we will be successful in the mission assigned to us.”

“Lesser Heat.
In a month, the parasites reproduced at an uncontrollable pace. Their numbers are increasing too rapidly for us to handle. We elected to poison a segment of them to reduce their population.
At this rate, we will be overwhelmed.”

“Grain in Ear…
We poisoned three of the four breeding chambers, exterminating all parasites within.
In the final chamber, we manually removed all but the fully grown adults, segregating the males and females. The majority of the females were also destroyed.
To prevent overpopulation, only male parasites are to be released into the Central Plains.
Our objective is to instigate chaos, not utter annihilation. If too many are released, we would not be spared either.”

“Grain in Ear…
We believed we had eradicated all parasites in the three treated chambers, but a few endured.
Four subordinates who entered to dispose of the remains were killed.
They survived exposure to numerous poisons. We had to employ a rotation of different toxins to eliminate the last of them.”

“Lesser Heat.
The mission was nearly finished, but then the door to the breeding chamber containing the male parasites was forced open by one of the maimed bandits.
We had cut their tendons, so how did they manage this? Was our work not thorough enough?
The majority of our personnel stationed here have been eliminated.
And of all possible times, this occurred while the captain was absent.
The parasites have only begun to emerge from the cave, so we still have an opportunity to flee.
But if we return having failed in our duty… will we be allowed to live?”

That was the final entry.
Given the condition of the corpse in this cabin, the woman who authored this likely ended her own life.

Shutting the book, I rose to my feet and resolved to investigate the nearby breeding facility.
I needed to assess the operation’s scale and determine how many parasites remained.
Above all, I had to ensure any surviving females were destroyed.

“Let’s inspect the area where they bred the parasites.”
“Understood, So-ryong.”

As we moved outside, I turned to Cho with a request.
“Cho, could you please retrieve Lady Seol? I suspect we will require her assistance here.”

—Tsk!

With the Five Poison Clan’s role confirmed, and the stronghold still containing a considerable stock of supplies and medicine, it was prudent to involve someone of authority.
Although Hwa-eun was a daughter of the Tang Clan, someone of higher standing, like Lady Seol, was better equipped to manage this situation.

I secured the book inside my clothing and stepped out. Cho launched into the air, flying down the mountain to complete his task.

“They referred to a cave, so it should be in that direction.”
“Then let’s proceed that way.”

Hwa-eun indicated a slope.
Walking that way, we soon found a cave mouth partly concealed by trees.

As we drew near, a faint but unmistakable odor emanated from within.
It seemed a substantial number of parasites were still inside.

“What is our plan?” Hwa-eun looked to me for direction.

“Let’s prepare torches and enter. The escaped males will perish within a year, but we cannot be complacent. Every single female must be eliminated without exception.
As the journal noted, the escape of even one could lead to catastrophe.”

“Will we be safe?”

Even if we didn’t eradicate them all, the males that had gotten out were incapable of reproduction and would die off naturally within a year.
However, if any captive females broke free, the consequences were unimaginable.

After I reassured Hwa-eun, we took torches from the stronghold, lit them, and ventured cautiously inside.

—Step, step.

Progressing deeper into the cave, I could sense the parasites skulking in the shadows.
Our torches made them reluctant to approach, so they stayed hidden in the darkness.

After a brief walk, we encountered desiccated corpses littering the ground and four large wooden doors set into the cave floor.
“It seems they excavated pits into the ground and sealed them with these wooden doors to contain the parasites.”
This appeared to be the breeding facility constructed by the Five Poison Clan.

But now, every door stood wide open.
The females that were supposed to be confined within were absent.
Where could they have gone?
The cave wasn’t excessively deep, and the ceiling was fairly high.
If they had been imprisoned here, they should still be present.

As Hwa-eun and I searched the area for any indication, a suspicious heap of parasites in one of the breeding pits drew my attention.
“Wait, what is that!?”

Raising my torch, I moved closer, and the mass of parasites swiftly dispersed.
“It looks like they were concealing themselves there.”
“Here?”

It was at that exact moment it happened.
“Who the hell are you!?”

Just as we were about to examine the spot, a harsh male voice echoed from the cave entrance.
Startled, I turned to see a man standing there, glowering at us with intense, hostile eyes.
He held a torch, his gaze sharp and aggressive.

No… It can’t be… The journal stated the captain of the Five Poison Centipede Squad was away at the time…
Don’t tell me… it’s him?
The timing was disastrous.