Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 247

Chapter 247
–Shhhhh!
A sharp shriek came from Yeondu, who was tucked inside my robes, the moment she witnessed the burst of light.
Then, as if in reply, an identical cry reverberated from the direction of the explosion, echoing all around us.
–Shiaaa!
Though similar, this cry carried a deeper resonance—something far more substantial. I had never heard this specific sound before, yet its low, vibrating tone made the hairs on my neck stand on end.
But even if it was unfamiliar—how could I, Spicy Fabre, ever mistake a noise like that?
It was unmistakably the sound of a snake.
Snakes lack vocal cords or a larynx and have no organs for creating voice. The sole noise they can produce is a hiss—a “shhhh” made by air passing over the glottis. And the sound we were hearing was precisely that.
“Is this!? Cho, head that way! Now!”
–Chrrrrrr!
A tremendous blast and a brilliant flash.
And that sound. It could only be a spirit beast.
Yelling out, I pointed toward the origin of the explosion and light, and Cho shot upward into the sky, speeding toward it.
‘Another snake spirit beast? It can’t be the Serpent King, can it? That would be unbelievable. I just got here, and the Serpent King appears? No. That would be too crazy, right?’
As Cho flew through a cluster of trees and my view became unobstructed, the situation came into sharp relief.
Heavy rain was falling, and the valley beneath was flooded. In the middle of a freshly torn crater littered with broken rocks, I saw a recently molted black snake thrashing wildly.
The figures encircling it resembled those assassins from the Five Venoms Sect who had previously attempted to kill me. But that was irrelevant at the moment.
The snake they had surrounded—
It was all that held my attention.
‘It’s so short!’
My initial impression upon seeing it was its surprising lack of length.
It was roughly the size of a human’s torso, but appeared more stout than anticipated. It was perhaps three meters long, yet for a snake of that length, it seemed unusually thick and solid.
It was bulky and condensed, similar to an African Gaboon viper I had once seen.
Gaboon vipers are stout and heavy, but they never exceed 1.2 meters in length. They are famous for being thick and short—and this creature was the spitting image of one.
But was I let down by its size?
Absolutely not.
The brevity of its body was a minor shortcoming.
It was like… if someone claimed Hwa-eun’s smallest toenail was imperfect—yes, that caliber of “flaw.”
Totally unimportant.
Because perched on top of this being’s head… was a brilliant golden crown.
‘A crowned beauty!’
It wasn’t merely gold—it looked like a legitimate crown. No, it was even more than that. It resembled the headband worn by Sun Wukong.
In that instant, I knew without a doubt what it was.
“The Golden-Crowned Serpent King?”
I had always been curious about how it would look wearing that golden crown. And it wasn’t a Western-style royal piece—it was a long, coiled circlet, like Wukong’s headband.
There was no time for further contemplation.
Action was all that mattered now.
Because those scoundrels were menacing my snake.
‘Cho, descend! Dive toward the snake, but direct your poison only at those bastards—keep it away from the snake!’
–Chrrrr!
I mentally shouted the order to Cho, and he cried out in unison.
Our minds linked, Cho plunged toward the snake’s location.
“Stop! You bastards! Who dares to assault a venomous beast right before So-ryong, in the Tang Clan’s own territory!?”
–Chrrr! “Yeah, stop right there!”
‘You’ve gone too far, you fools. You’ve threatened my snake!’
As I yelled, the enemies started and looked upward. That was the moment Cho opened his mouth and spewed venom down toward them.
“P-poison mist! Pull back!”
“The Tang Clan!?”
“What—how are they here already!?”
As the green cloud of venom billowed forward—avoiding the snake and targeting the assailants—the stunned attackers scrambled backward.
Wanting to appear impressive for the Golden-Crowned Serpent King, I made a dramatic landing directly in front of Sayang, then turned and offered him a confident grin.
In a soothing voice, I said,
“Don’t be afraid! I’m here to help! These scoundrels—”
–Shia?
Sayang stared at me with a puzzled look, as if wondering, “Who exactly are you?”
But then, collecting himself, he slid back a bit and lowered his body into a defensive stance.
–Shiaaa!
He remained cautious, but at that moment, a weak voice came from behind him.
It wasn’t loud, but I heard it distinctly.
“Heh… oh, Primordial Lord… th-thank you. Thank you so much. Heh… i-it’s all right. He is the one I mentioned to you.”
‘That voice—?’
While Cho continued to spray venom to keep the attackers at bay, I looked past Sayang to see behind him—and there she was.
Lying in a heartbreaking condition—just as her voice suggested—was Oh Cheongyu.
Her face was drained of color, and a huge hole was torn through her chest.
Blood gathered at her lips, and thick, dark blood seeped from the wound in her chest.
It was a devastating injury.
“What—!?”
Those assassins that Cho was holding back were indeed from the Five Venoms Sect.
Yet Sayang was clearly guarding Cheongyu.
I quickly checked her head—just to be sure.
And I saw that almost all the acupuncture needles were removed, except for two that were still lightly embedded.
It was now obvious—Cheongyu had freed herself from the brainwashing.
“Hey—you! Miss Cheongyu! Are you okay!? Did your memories return? Wait—did you break the mind control!?”
Hearing my words, Oh Cheongyu turned to the Golden-Crowned Serpent King and said,
“I-it’s fine. He will assist us. Cough.”
With every cough, more blood surfaced.
The Serpent King moved aside slightly, and I rushed to Cheongyu, who was lying on the ground near him.
“Hold on!”
Using the acupressure method I learned from Grandpa and Hwa-eun, I applied pressure around the pouring wound. But the hole was too large—as if someone had punched through her chest.
Even with pressure, the bleeding wouldn’t cease.
I couldn’t rip my clothing to make a plug because I was wearing the special gear Yohwa had crafted for me—and there was no time.
Frantic for a solution, I reached out to Cheongyu and said,
“Forgive me.”
Then I placed my bare hand directly on the center of her chest.
Warm blood flowed over my palm.
With eyes shaking, Cheongyu looked up at me.
But then, with an air of acceptance, she spoke.
“I-it’s all right. Kuhhk… I won’t last much longer anyway.”
“What happened to you!?”
“I—I removed… my own Neidan.”
“What!?”
At her words—that she had taken out her own Neidan—my eyes widened in astonishment. Just then, the ones monitoring Cho exchanged looks and shouted.
“Forget this, let’s retreat! More Tang Clan fighters will be here soon! We secured the Serpent King’s vital essence!”
But before he could finish, the Golden-Crowned Serpent King released another fierce cry.
–Shiaaa!
Along with it, a golden mist sprayed from its mouth.
The serpent’s energy spread out and settled over the ground like a delicate fog.
–Shhhhhh! Shhh! Shhhhhh!
Then, abruptly, hissing came from all sides.
Snakes started to raise their heads from concealment all around.
A huge number of snakes that had been hiding everywhere emerged, and the Five Venoms assassins stood frozen, unable to escape.
“A s-snake formation?! D-damn it! Don’t move!”
Their faces whitened as they understood they were encircled by a genuine serpent formation.
So the Serpent King truly could command other snakes…
‘Incredible. This is unbelievable!’
At that moment, it occurred.
Yeondu erupted from my chest with a roar.
–Shaaa!
The golden mist coming from the Golden-Crowned Serpent King started to flow into Yeondu’s body.
–Brrrddddd…
As if resonating through her, her body shook, and at the same time, her old skin cracked and fell away.
Yeondu had abruptly begun to molt, and like a balloon being filled, she absorbed the golden vapor and swiftly started to expand.
Within seconds, she was back to the full adult size she had when I first encountered her.
–Shaaa!
Now grown again, Yeondu roared at the Five Venoms villains.
In reply, all the other smaller snakes around her—every one—dipped their heads as if in reverence.
The Golden-Crowned Serpent King was different from any snake I had ever seen.
‘Wh-what is this? Can it cause other snakes to evolve simply by being their king?’
Then I sensed it—a cold feeling creeping through my fingertips.
Alarmed, I turned and saw Oh Cheongyu struggling for air.
“Ch-Cheongyu!”
I shouted in dismay. Her face contorted with pain, she still forced a smile.
“Haah… ah… I—I believe I did something awful without even knowing it. Cough… I-I’m sorry…”
She apologized between labored breaths.
It seemed the bleeding from her chest had ceased—but the ground was soaked.
And then I saw—blood was still trickling from her back.
“Damn it! It’s okay. It isn’t your fault, right? What matters is you got away from them.”
I gritted my teeth to suppress a curse as I spoke. Cheongyu blinked slowly, then gazed at Sayang.
“I-I’m in no place to request this, but… I have a plea.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“The Five Venoms Sect is hunting Sayang… p-please… bring him to the Tang Clan. Keep him safe. He is the one who restored my mind…”
So Sayang had been her savior. That was evident, even without the full story.
“Naturally. I will take him and look after him.”
That was unquestionable.
As I nodded, she reached out and put her hand over mine—my hand still on her chest.
Her grasp was feeble, her life fading, but she held on firmly.
Then came what seemed to be her last words.
“And… please… ensure… that no one like me… ever appears again… Hah… hah… Eradicate the Five Venoms Sect… from the Central Plains… please…
I… do not wish to die in this manner…”
Her grip weakened.
Her shaking ceased. Her chest lifted once, then released a last, long breath.
“…Haa.”
And the light left her eyes.
Despite everything she had done to me… this was a tragic, cruel death.
My sight tinted red with fury.
“Cho?”
I thought it was necessary to let Cho unleash his anger today—but just as that thought came—
–Shiaaa!
The Golden-Crowned Serpent King cried out before I could act.
He was clearly enraged by Oh Cheongyu’s death.
Then every snake—including Yeondu—turned and charged toward the Five Venoms villains like a powerful wave.
–Shhhhhh! Shhh! Shhhhh!
“Gyaaahhhh!”
“Guahhhhk!”
“P-please, have mercy!”
The deluge of snakes consumed them.
Only occasionally did a hand or face emerge from the swarm—only to be dragged back under.
Their shrieks echoed through the valley like a dirge for Oh Cheongyu.
***
As I extended a hand to shut the eyes of Cheongyu—now finally liberated from the Five Venoms Sect—
–Shiaa!
Sayang called out next to me.
Turning, I saw Sayang gently push me aside.
“Huh? Oh… yes. You should certainly bid her farewell.”
I didn’t know their history, but he had earned the right to mourn her.
As I moved back, the Golden-Crowned Serpent King opened his mouth and brought his head near to Cheongyu’s lips.
‘Wait… what—surely, he isn’t—?!’
A spirit beast like him wouldn’t do that—but it appeared he was about to consume her whole, starting with her head.
Shocked, I almost jumped in to prevent him.
But then something began to emanate from Cheongyu’s mouth.
Something beyond description.
Something that floated out like a shining mist and entered the Serpent King’s mouth.
–Shiaaaa!
His eyes ignited with a combination of gold and blue light, exploding with power.
His eyes, his scales—everything gleamed with a golden radiance.
Then, suddenly, his skin started to shed, beginning at the head.
–Churrrrrk.
Even though he had just shed—the discarded skin was still close by—he began molting again. That was peculiar in itself.
Gradually, the skin separated from the top of his head, exposing underneath a glowing golden crown… and hair.
“H-hair!?”
What stunned me wasn’t only that he was shedding again—but what was emerging from within.
It was a snake.
But not merely a snake.
It was a glorious being with the upper body of Oh Cheongyu—glistening and wet—crowned with a magnificent golden circlet.
That…
That was the genuine form of the Golden-Crowned Serpent King.
“Ch-Cheongyu?”