Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 208

Chapter 208
“That is…”
“Ah, Sister Seol, wait a moment. Let me stop the children first.”
Just as Sister Seol was about to explain the methods of mental cultivation, I decided to pause the children’s training first.
It was strange that they were leaping from high places simply because they wished to become stronger.
Hyang, cradled in my arms, twitched her antennae, not understanding why she was being held so securely.
I spoke to her softly,
“But Hyang, why are you all jumping from such high spots?”
She replied with firm resolve, without a moment’s pause.
“To become stronger.”
• Churur.
“What? To become stronger?”
• Chururut!
• Kiiik!
• Krrr.
Hyang, Hongdan, and even Cheongwol.
All of them answered in agreement, saying they were hurling themselves from heights to harden their backs.
‘So it’s because Cheongwol saved them, and it made a huge impact… Hyang must have wanted to be like Cheongwol, too.
They all must have wished to be as resilient as Cheongwol.’
It appeared Cheongwol’s rescue had profoundly affected Hyang.
Certainly, if Hyang saw Cheongwol in the dead of night, she would resemble a radiant angel.
A massive, luminous figure had emerged from nowhere, reducing monsters to mincemeat and saving her—naturally, it must have seemed like a dream.
It was completely logical that Hyang now referred to Cheongwol as her big sister.
Even so…
This sort of training would not benefit Hyang in the slightest.
Falling from heights would not toughen a centipede’s or an earwig’s exoskeleton.
It wasn’t as if repeated impacts would develop muscle the way they do in humans.
Their physical forms were wholly dictated by heredity, passed down from their parents.
“But Hyang, won’t you just injure yourself like this?”
• Churut!?
“Huh? Cheongwol? She told you this would make you stronger?”
• Churut!
I glanced at Cheongwol after hearing Hyang’s utterly guileless reply.
Even Cheongwol was nodding in agreement.
Initially, Hyang must have pestered her, begging to be taught how to gain strength, and Cheongwol, exasperated, likely just assigned her a meaningless task to get her to go away.
But observing her now, it seemed Cheongwol had been completely sincere.
She was either a warrior whose head was full of muscle, or she was just a touch simple.
Because she had taught this to Hyang in earnest, I needed to choose my words carefully to avoid offending either of them.
‘I need to phrase this just right so no one’s feelings are hurt.’
A misstep wouldn’t only give Cheongwol a poor impression—it could also damage the bond of trust between her and Hyang.
“Perhaps when you’ve grown a bit more, like Big Sister Cheongwol. But right now, you’re still too small, and you could get injured doing this.
If Hyang gets hurt, it would pain Daddy’s heart far more than if I were injured myself…”
• Tsu, tsurut?
“Right, Cheongwol? Our Hyang hasn’t even molted out of her ‘yellow’ infant shell yet, has she?”
I persuaded her gently, and Cheongwol tapped her own forehead with her pincer.
She conveyed a sense of having entirely overlooked a critical detail.
• Krrrr!
Well, naturally.
A yellow shell was the clearest marker of youth among scorpions and centipedes.
Even though Hyang had already molted twice, developing blue speckles on her body,
Cheongwol still perceived her as an infant.
Young centipedes usually molt twice before achieving the same hue and proportions as their parents.
After that, they simply increase in size with each successive molt.
But Hyang had not yet reached that point, remaining in her juvenile phase.
• Krr, krrr.
Cheongwol looked at me as if to elaborate—likely on the number of molts required before she could properly instruct Hyang on gaining strength.
Then, Hyang’s legs sagged dejectedly.
Her disappointment was plain for anyone to see.
She must have been pushing herself since sunrise, only to learn it was all for nothing.
Her reaction was so endearing that I squeezed her tightly once more and comforted her.
“Hyang, Daddy will discover a method for you to become strong. So please don’t be too disheartened, alright?”
• Churut? 『Really?』
“Absolutely.”
With that, I ended Hyang and Hongdan’s training and brought them back to the medical hall.
Then, I inquired with Sister Seol about mind training.
Hyang was so determined to grow stronger; I wanted to demonstrate that Daddy could do it as well.
“Sister Seol, could you elaborate on what I asked about earlier?”
“Of course. You are my little brother, after all.”
She affirmed my request.
Holding the tea that Hwa-eun had served her, she looked at me and asked,
“Do you recall when Father first instructed me in the Beast Heart Art? He said I must not absorb too many beasts at one time.”
“Yes, certainly. He cautioned that their collective consciousness could overwhelm my own mind.
He advised extreme care, given they are spirit beasts.”
Exactly as she stated, that was the warning I received during my initial lessons in the Beast Heart Art.
Registering too many beasts simultaneously risked my mind being subsumed by theirs.
Since all my children were spirit beasts, the need for caution was even greater.
“Correct. You remember your lessons well, little brother.”
I nodded, remembering the teaching, and Sister Seol smiled, glad I had not forgotten.
“Therefore, the greater the number of beasts you absorb, the more you must cultivate your mind to remain steady.
When the disordered thoughts of the beasts surge inward, you must be capable of maintaining your own.
It isn’t a particularly unique form of training.
Simply meditating beneath a waterfall, or drilling yourself to remain composed even in tumultuous circumstances.”
‘Ah, so it’s resilience training for the mind.’
Meditating under a waterfall—I had seen monks do that on television programs in my previous life.
But I was intrigued by what she meant by “training to stay calm in chaotic situations.”
“I understand the waterfall meditation, but what does training to sustain a powerful mind entail?”
At that, Sister Seol’s kindly expression shifted abruptly.
Her gaze became piercing and icy, as if remembering something from long ago.
“This is an extremely demanding method. Are you certain you wish to proceed?”
I gulped.
This felt profoundly serious.
But I could not retreat now—not when Hyang was striving with all her might to protect me.
A father is more powerful than a mere man!
A father is the most formidable entity in the world!
Sister Seol nodded, then shifted closer and sat down right beside me.
“Very well. Let us first test your capability.”
“Huh? Test it?”
“Yes.”
I blinked, puzzled by her meaning.
Then, abruptly, Sister Seol leaned in even nearer.
Her lips grazed my ear as she spoke in a frigid, unsettling whisper.
[You abandoned creature.]
[!]
At my sister’s abrupt cruelty, my eyes shot wide in astonishment, and she herself recoiled.
She studied my face, then, appearing deeply flustered, apologized with a look of profound guilt.
“W-was that too severe, even for training? I-I apologize, So-ryong. I didn’t mean it. It was merely… merely part of the exercise.”
She seemed to be asking if labeling me abandoned had been excessive, but that wasn’t the cause of my shock.
‘No, that’s not it. That wasn’t an insult—it was a form of praise!’
A bug, she said.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
That described a being capable of leaping many times its body length and lifting many times its own weight—like a superhero.
It signified a perfect life form with a magnificent shell and an immensely powerful body.
My surprise stemmed only from receiving such unexpected acclaim.
‘So Sister truly does love me sincerely, doesn’t she? But wait, does that mean… this training is just about enduring compliments that make you want to shrivel up from embarrassment?’
If this was the extent of the training, could it genuinely be considered training?
***

With assistance from my sister and Hwa-eun, I did commence mental training, but a significant issue arose.
Do people truly comprehend the nature of the internet?
It is a jungle where only the most hardened beasts endure.
And I had been cast into that jungle and compelled to survive there.
The taunts and sharp words known to my sister and Hwa-eun were far too gentle to unsettle the mental resilience of someone like me, a veteran of innumerable online conflicts.
“So-ryong… y-you idiot! Sniff… H-how could you utter something so vile to your own sister? I feel like a monstrous person now…”
She hadn’t even said anything truly severe, yet her own psyche was fracturing.
In my past life, online disputes always commenced with slurs about the other’s family—that was simply the norm.
This wasn’t mental training in the slightest.
To make matters worse, my sister somehow persuaded Brother Gyu-seong to participate and insult me as well.
And the best insult he could muster was:
“You wretch with two fathers!”
‘Why are you just stating a fact? How is this supposed to be training?’
All he accomplished was reminding me that I possessed both a birth father and a foster father.
Ultimately, I avoided the waterfall entirely, fearing my psychological wounds might deepen, so I primarily devoted my time to meditation.
The central issue with mental training was the absence of any tangible means to verify advancement.
With internal energy, you could sense its growth. With martial techniques, your strikes gained power. But mental training? There was no gauge for improvement.
“Sister, how do we precisely determine if this mental training is effective?”
After close to ten days of meditating beneath a tree, I finally posed the question.
My sister smiled.
She picked up a creature she had brought along—apparently something she intended to play with—and approached me.
Holding it up for me to see, she explained.
“You can verify it like this. Beasts linked via the Beast-Mind Technique can be directly infused with energy in this manner. When that occurs, the energy provides a temporary enhancement, rendering them quicker and more powerful, much like a person utilizing internal energy.
By noting the duration of the enhancement and the degree of strength gained, you can assess how much your mind has developed.”
“Wait, that was possible?”
My expression doubtless questioned why she hadn’t mentioned this earlier.
Smiling, my sister replied.
“I omitted it because this is an enchanted beast, and it already contains a vast reserve of energy. We were entirely uncertain what might happen if we channeled the Beast-Mind Technique’s energy into it.
It could have been perilous, so how could I instruct you to attempt it?”
She hadn’t intentionally kept it secret—it was merely that there were no enchanted beasts at the Beast Palace upon which to experiment, so she hadn’t been able to describe it before.
“But now that I can conduct the test personally, I can finally explain it to you.”
She smiled at me, as if to say, You wouldn’t have wanted me testing this on my own little brother, would you?
‘Gaaaah! Sister!’
Just as I was once again overcome by her fraternal devotion, she channeled the Beast-Mind Technique’s energy into the creature she held.
Suddenly, it shivered and sprang from her grasp.
Then something unforeseen occurred—long tendrils of fur erupted from its back like rigid spines.
Shrrkk!
“What… is this!?”
Its fur had sharpened and extended like the quills of a porcupine.
My sister’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief as she turned to me.
She had anticipated only increased speed and strength, but this—this was verging on evolution.
She rapidly shook off her surprise and issued a command.
Since the effect was transient, she wanted to test it without delay.
“Grasshound Chain Formation!”
It seemed she was employing a tactic akin to the Wolf Army’s renowned assault formation, but with a unique, barking twist.
The creature coiled its body and hurled itself at the log she indicated, rotating like a wheel.
Shrrk!
With a sinister slicing noise, the log was sheared diagonally and tumbled to the earth.
Then, upon landing, the mane it had generated disappeared.
My sister, astounded, exclaimed.
“S-So enchanted beasts don’t merely grow stronger—they undergo physical transformation as well!?”
Chirrrp!
At that instant, I heard Cho’s voice from above—she had come to observe my training.
The moment our eyes locked, a notion occurred to me.
‘Just how astonishing will my daughter appear when she transforms?’