Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 245

Chapter 245
“Miss!”
Cheongyu heard the sharp call of Blood Talon Snake, commander of the Yin Shadow Unit, through the shattered bamboo.
Clutching her throbbing chest, she pushed herself up from the wreckage of splintered stalks. The blow had been severe, but an instant before Sayang’s strike landed, she had managed to shield herself with defensive qi. The bamboo grove had absorbed enough of the impact that she could still stand on her own.
“I’m alright! Concentrate on Sayang!”
Just as she called out her reassurance to Blood Talon Snake, an unearthly shriek tore through the air.
—Sssshiiiaaaa!
The piercing, frigid sound made the surrounding bamboo tremble.
—Chaarrr…
Cheongyu looked toward the source of the noise. From her position amidst the broken stalks, she saw Sayang near the cave entrance, coiled and seething with pure fury.
He was glaring down at the other serpents lying motionless in the clearing, his entire body radiating a wrath that seemed to condemn the harm done to his kind.
Encircled by ten Yin Shadow warriors, Sayang displayed no trace of fear. Instead, he began to advance.
The sheer pressure he emitted forced several of the warriors to recoil and step backward.
“What are you gaping at? Shall I offer you to him as a meal?”
“F-forgive us, commander!”
Enraged by their cowardly reaction, Blood Talon Snake snarled at his subordinates, but Cheongyu turned and offered a warning:
“Be cautious! He probably hasn’t developed venom yet, but his raw power is a serious threat. Do not take him lightly.”
“Understood!”
From her brief exchange with him, Cheongyu knew Sayang was formidable. Though small and not fully mature, he was more than a match for the lower-ranked Yin Shadow warriors.
The historical records indicated a juvenile Sayang should not yet possess venom. His initial attack—a powerful ramming strike instead of a bite—seemed to confirm this.
Despite being no bigger than a man’s forearm, Sayang’s body was incredibly resilient. During the collision, Cheongyu realized that without her timely defensive qi, she could have been gravely wounded. His form was as hard as a masterfully forged weapon.
Even as a juvenile, he already carried the bearing of a king.
Seeming to comprehend her warning, Blood Talon Snake yelled to his unit:
“We will exhaust him using rotating formation tactics!”
“Yes, Commander!”
The Yin Shadow Unit moved in unison. Employing a stride that mimicked a tiger’s gait, they began to circle Sayang, forcing him to divide his attention while they closed in from all directions.
Their footwork was swift, yet their upper bodies remained almost still—a deliberate mix of slow and fast motions intended to disorient their foe.
This method, the Tiger Armor Step, was rumored to have been created by a past master of the Five Venoms Sect after studying a tiger’s movement. It was crafted to overwhelm an opponent’s senses.
True to its design, as the warriors orbited him, Sayang’s focus began to waver and blur with disorientation.
Then—a blade cut through the air.
—Ka-kang!
—Sssshiiiaaaa!
The dagger hurled by Blood Talon Snake ricocheted off Sayang’s scales with a sharp metallic ring. In retaliation, Sayang shot toward him like a streak of lightning.
A golden horn on his head glinted, briefly dazzling Cheongyu’s sight—and signaling the true beginning of the fight.
***
The thick bamboo forest that once enclosed them was now gone.
Sayang’s fury and the combat with the Yin Shadow warriors had shattered most of the stalks, leaving behind only a field of broken, jagged stumps.
Perched on one of the toppled bamboo trunks, Blood Talon Snake surveyed his unit.
“Hah… Injuries?”
“One warrior has a broken arm, but the rest are unscathed!”
After verifying his men’s status, he turned his attention to Cheongyu.
“What about you, Miss? Are you unharmed?”
“I’m fine. Other than the first blow to my chest, he didn’t attack me again.”
She replied offhandedly, feeling it was nothing to be concerned about.
But Blood Talon Snake persisted.
“The needle—are you certain it wasn’t dislodged? That was a powerful impact.”
“Ah…”
At his words, Cheongyu gingerly raised a hand to check.
She had indeed been anxious that being thrown into the bamboo might have shifted the implanted needle.
Yet she felt no pain in her head, and a careful probe confirmed the needle was seated correctly.
“It appears to be fine. Nevertheless, we must make haste. I can no longer hear the clash of weapons from the village below.”
“Understood. Please rest for now. I will begin gathering the blood.”
“Be wary—just as a precaution.”
“Yes, Miss.”
As Blood Talon Snake moved to collect Sayang’s blood, Cheongyu leaned back against a surviving clump of bamboo and observed the wounded creature.
Sayang was soaked in blood, his scales cracked and flaking away in sections. But even in this broken state, his eyes blazed with undiminished hatred.
His blood had been drawn gradually through attacks using internal force that penetrated his scaly armor.
The process had taken close to an hour, and now, burning with anger and powerlessness, Sayang could no longer stir.
Lying helpless on the ground, his eyes remained fixed on Cheongyu.
“That rage… yes, it is unjust. But it cannot be helped. This is for the Five Venoms Sect. You must accept it with gratitude. It is an honor.”
Cheongyu told Sayang he should welcome his destiny joyfully, even as he stared back at her with agony and bitterness.
Then, abruptly, a new sound emerged from Sayang’s mouth.
—Ssshhia…
It was not the fierce, terrifying cry from before—but a faint, almost sorrowful hiss.
And in that instant, Cheongyu perceived it.
His grief was not for his own impending death.
It was directed at her.
When their eyes met, the resentment in Sayang’s gaze had transformed into something else.
A deep, aching pity—aimed squarely at her.
The realization hit her with the force of a lightning strike.
He isn’t mourning for himself—he pities me.
W-what is this thought…?
As she shook her head to dismiss the irrational idea, a voice interrupted.
“He has lost too much blood. Should we simply kill him and gather the remainder now? He will die regardless at this rate. It is odd, is it not? He is not even fully grown, yet he perishes like this.”
One of the Yin Shadow warriors had approached Blood Talon Snake, suggesting they execute Sayang.
“That may be wisest.”
Blood Talon Snake pulled a dagger and leveled it at Sayang’s head.
Watching this, Cheongyu suddenly cried out without thinking.
“W-wait!”
Every Yin Shadow warrior turned to look at her.
Blood Talon Snake inquired calmly, “Miss? What is it?”
“I—I mean… We should take him back alive. We will still harvest his blood, of course, but killing him here could damage the specimen. Even with our finest preservatives, blood from a corpse is never as reliable.”
She stumbled through an excuse, the words tumbling out before she could reconsider them.
“My father would be far more pleased if we delivered him alive. Yes, I am certain of it.”
Cheongyu had never behaved this way before, and she herself did not understand her own motives.
Blood Talon Snake questioned further:
“But what if he succumbs to his wounds before we return?”
“Oh, he won’t… He is a spiritual beast. He will not die so readily.”
“Hmm… if you insist. Then I concur—your plan does seem superior.”
The warriors approached Sayang, pried open his jaws, and administered a paralytic agent.
Sayang’s body went slack.
Blood Talon Snake collected his blood, filling a vessel. Once finished, he placed Sayang into a specialized pouch woven from Azure Silkworm thread.
“Let’s move out.”
He hoisted the pouch onto his shoulder and made ready to depart.
At that, Cheongyu stepped forward and extended her hand.
“I will carry Sayang. He is my responsibility. I will deliver him directly to my father.”
Blood Talon Snake paused briefly, then handed her the pouch.
Cheongyu shouldered the burden and immediately employed her light body technique, moving to the front of the group.
And still, she did not comprehend why she had done it.
***
—Ssshhhaaa.
Rain sheeted down outside the cave.
“At least the rain will wash away our trail. A small mercy.”
“But it also blinds our senses to anything around us. That is the danger.”
Three days had passed since they had captured Sayang.
Cheongyu, the Yin Shadow Unit, and several warriors from the Five Venoms Sect had been traveling relentlessly and were now skirting the edges of Tang Clan territory.
Thanks to decoy operatives from the Five Venoms Sect deployed earlier, most martial artists had been lured away. Still, cautious of any possible followers, they picked a careful path southeast, a route that brought them alarmingly close to the Tang stronghold.
“We have no other option. Post two sentries at the entrance on rotating watch. The remainder of us will rest inside and recuperate. This pursuit may last a while longer, so we must conserve our strength while we can.”
“Understood, Miss.”
Drenched and shivering, Cheongyu and the Five Venoms Sect warriors hurried into the cave, wringing out their soaked garments and preparing to sleep.
In such weather, neither they nor any pursuers could see or sense clearly. It was a rare chance to recover.
“I will sleep now.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Deep within the shadows of the cave, Cheongyu set down the pouch holding Sayang and curled up against the wall, unaware that Sayang had opened his mouth in her direction.
Something imperceptible slipped from between Sayang’s lips and began floating toward Cheongyu’s ear.
「Cheongyu dreamed.」
It was a child’s dream.
A child who looked sweet and ordinary with pitch-black hair—and yet, also something more. Something distinct.
At nine years old, critically ill, the child’s parents had given him snake broth.
It was made from a giant serpent that had wounded many villagers during its capture, all to create a remedy for their sickly son. After consuming it, the child awoke something within called internal energy. And with every medicinal draft that followed—typically brewed from venomous creatures or toxic accessories—he became stronger, healthier, and more resilient.
Then, one day, they arrived.
Terrifying strangers who had caught the rumors violently stormed the village. They slaughtered the boy’s parents and every other villager.
Then they offered a cold smile to the trembling boy and declared:
“To imagine we would find someone with the rare constitution to absorb even the faintest qi from a venomous beast’s jade core. Starting today… you are my daughter.”
In the darkness, several of the needles embedded in Cheongyu’s skull loosened and dropped onto the cave floor.
A single droplet landed beside them.
It was a tear that had welled in the corner of Cheongyu’s eye.
Her eyelids fluttered.
As she slowly opened them, she found a pair of luminous eyes watching her in the dark.
Sayang was gazing at her.
Those same sorrowful eyes, full of mortality.
Now, finally, Cheongyu understood why Sayang had looked at her that way.
He had been nurtured by the one who murdered his own parents and kin. Raised for no other purpose than to be consumed when the time was right.
He had existed like livestock, waiting for feed.
A life that was never his to choose.
[Yes… That is it. Now I see why you looked at me like that. I am sorry. And… thank you.]
Cheongyu whispered softly, understanding that Sayang had fought against the constraints of the Venomous Silkworm Repression Technique.
Without a second thought, she reached into the pouch, took Sayang’s hand, and started walking toward the cave entrance.
—Step. Step.
The cave was silent, lost in the depths of night.
—Ssshhhaa.
The rain continued to pour. As the sound grew louder near the entrance, a voice called out from behind.
“Miss? Where are you going?”
Cheongyu turned her head and saw Blood Talon Snake watching her.
From the auras she detected, the other Yin Shadow warriors—his subordinates—were also alert, not just the sentries posted earlier.
Their true mission, she now understood, had likely been to monitor her.
She answered with composure.
“I wanted to see if the rain was stopping.”
“Ah, then I will accompany you.”
“Very well.”
Because her reply was so casual, the others appeared to lower their vigilance. Those who had been poised to spring into action relaxed, and Blood Talon Snake followed her toward the mouth of the cave.
The moment he lifted his head to scan the sky—
Cheongyu darted out of the cave and unleashed her internal energy.
“You wretched Five Venoms scum! I will remember this betrayal even after death!”
—Rumble!
“W-what!?”
Startled, Blood Talon Snake crossed his arms and released a defensive burst of qi, but Cheongyu’s target was not him.
Her attack was aimed at the cave’s entrance—at the overhanging ceiling above it.
—Boom!
The strike landed perfectly. Boulders from the cave roof thundered down in a crushing landslide.
—Kwarurururung!
In seconds, the cave opening was completely blocked.
It would grant her a little time.
Hurling herself into the storm, Cheongyu activated her light footwork, holding Sayang securely against her shoulder.
“Just hold on a little longer. I know of someone who can heal you… someone who can protect you until you come of age.”
The Tang Clan was nearby.
If she could make them understand, even if she faced punishment, they would save Sayang.
With that hope, Cheongyu sprinted through the woods, vaulting over the rain-swollen rocks of the gorge.
She was running toward the Tang Clan.
—Ssshhhaa.
—Shing!
—Gghh…!”
An arrow sliced through the rain.
She never heard it—not over the roar of the downpour.
A single arrow. That was all it took.
It struck her in the back and erupted through her chest.
“The Tang… I must…”
—Splash.
Cheongyu’s body was carried away by the violent, rushing waters of the engorged gorge.
And disappeared.