Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 266

Chapter 266
Yeolbi’s period of settling in proved to be difficult.
The girls had likely frightened him during his initial capture, leaving him deeply distrustful of Cho, Hyang, Bini, and Yo-hwa. Perhaps because of the earlier pirate skirmish, he was also very cautious around unfamiliar people.
To be more accurate, he was suspicious of everyone but me, and outright terrified of the other girls.
Fortunately, I wasn’t on his list of threats. However, his constant panic whenever the others approached, combined with his fear of strangers, forced me to house him inside one of the abandoned structures the pirates had used.
My plan was to introduce him to the group little by little and carefully control his interactions.
He needed to slowly get used to both people and other venomous creatures.
‘It’s logical. He was taken from the wild—adjustment will take time.’
In my past life, we categorized dogs based on their background into three types.
Those bred on farms were known as farm breeder dogs.
Those bred by private individuals were personal breeder dogs.
And finally, those taken directly from nature were termed wild specimens.
Each type had its own advantages and disadvantages.
Dogs from farms and personal breeders were simpler to care for.
They were already used to processed food, would eat without fuss, and had learned to accept simple commands. They also tended to have fewer health problems.
The drawback?
Their coloring and genetic strength.
Selective breeding for specific colors could produce a more striking coat, that was true—but the constant inbreeding weakened their overall genetic health.
Litters that weren’t specifically selected for color often had much less vibrant coats.
In nature, males must fight and display themselves to win a mate—so they naturally evolve brilliant and showy colors.
Males raised in captivity didn’t face that pressure.
Owners kept them separated to avoid conflict, so there were no rivals to outperform. Therefore, no reason to be dazzling.
So, for those seeking vivid colors or more robust genetics, wild-caught animals were often the preferred choice.
But wild specimens? They always required a much longer period to acclimate.
That’s why I had a full acclimation plan ready for Yeolbi—he needed time to become familiar with the food, his new environment, and the people around him.
My original intention was to search for him after resolving the situation with Moji and Soji.
But since he found us first, we had some extra time.
After about three or four days, he slowly started to get comfortable.
By the ninth day, not only was his fear of the girls gone—he was beginning to become friendly with people as well.
This was probably because he was no ordinary creature, but a clever divine beast.
A typical venomous beast would have needed many months to reach this point.
—Tski.
“Seems like he’s doing much better, doesn’t it?”
Yeolbi’s antennae quivered as he took a piece of meat from the Island Sister.
She gazed at him with tender, caring eyes.
It was understandable—there’s a unique satisfaction that comes from hand-feeding an animal you’re caring for.
Of course, our other children were magnificent divine beasts from the heavens, and raising them was an incredible experience.
But the one thing I missed? I never got to feed them.
Aside from the odd instance where Yo-hwa needed to consume a flower for stability, none of them needed to eat regularly.
This little one, though? Feeding him was truly enjoyable.
Like most beetles, his diet consisted of meat.
“Right?”
I observed Yeolbi contentedly shredding the fresh goat meat the Island Sister provided—and then I spotted the silk strand tied around his back.
That was unmistakably Yo-hwa’s doing.
She must have put it there to prevent him from flying away.
It was now time to remove it.
He appeared to have truly grown accustomed to living here.
“Yeolbi, if you stay with us, we’ll always feed you and polish your shell every day. You remember I already pulled all those ticks off your back, yes?”
—Tski!
“Doesn’t it feel better without them?”
—Tski!
“Then it’s decided—you’re going to live with us permanently, alright?”
—Tski tski!
Yeolbi nodded vigorously as he continued to chew.
I promptly called for Yo-hwa to come and take off the thread.
Because the foundation of any bond… is trust.
If he promised to remain with us forever, I couldn’t justify keeping him restrained like a captive.
“Yo-hwa! Yo-hwa!”
I walked outside and called her name.
She was perched on the roof but slid down elegantly on her silk line.
After landing near the doorway, she tilted her head curiously.
—Kisit?
“It’s not an emergency. I was just hoping you could undo the thread on Yeolbi’s back now.”
—Kishiit!
“He’s well-adjusted now and has chosen to stay. So I thought we should remove it.”
—Kishishisit. Kishi?
“I can’t understand you, so wait a moment—let me get Cho to translate.”
She kept looking over at Yeolbi and whispering things I couldn’t decipher.
From her tone, she was almost certainly advising against untying him so soon.
But I needed to be certain—so I requested that Cho come and assist.
‘Cho! Where are you? Can you come to the pirate building quickly?’
It didn’t take long for Cho to arrive, still dripping wet.
She must have been in the water swimming.
She placed a large carp next to me and inquired:
—Tsrut? “Dad, did you need me?”
‘Yo-hwa is trying to tell me something, but I can’t make it out.’
—Tsrrr? “Yo-hwa unnie?”
She faced Yo-hwa, and the two started a conversation.
—Tsrrr.
—Kisit. Kishishi.
After a short exchange, Cho turned back to me to explain.
—Tsrut. Tsrrrut. “She says Yeolbi still seems untrustworthy, and we should wait before untying him.”
‘I suspected as much.’
The instant I heard “untrustworthy,” I glanced at Yeolbi—just in time to see him scamper over and press against my leg, nuzzling it with his face.
He gazed up at me with an expression of utter misery.
As if he’d been wrongfully blamed.
—Tskiya…
He then turned to Yo-hwa and Cho, waving his limbs pleadingly.
Yo-hwa stared him down, her arms folded, then nonchalantly raised a foreleg and severed the thread.
—tuk. tuk tuk.
The movement was incredibly swift and accurate—as if her leg concealed a blade.
Just like that, the spider silk was cut.
As she finished, Yo-hwa delivered a final warning to Yeolbi.
—Kishi…
Yeolbi shuddered intensely.
He then looked back at me, shaking his head fiercely as if to say, I would never dare!
—Tski!
No translation was necessary.
Even unspoken, I could imagine what she had told him.
It was likely something along the lines of, “If you ever betray our trust and try to escape again… I will bend you in two and put you in the ground.”
Yeolbi’s frantic, stammering denials made it all the more clear.
I was genuinely concerned he might lose control out of fear.
Yo-hwa could be truly frightening—even to me.
***
“Yeolbi?”
I had intended to introduce him to the rest of the children this morning—but when I awoke, Yeolbi was missing.
Considering he might have gone out early, I exited and asked Yo-hwa, who was watching from above.
“Yo-hwa, has Yeolbi come out through here?”
I had never allowed him out alone before, but since I’d granted him permission to go outside starting yesterday, I thought he might have taken the opportunity.
And because Yo-hwa had been keeping watch at the entrance, she would have seen him if he’d left that way.
—Kisit?
Hearing my question, she lowered herself on a thread and examined the building.
We had sealed the windows with Yo-hwa’s silk to block mosquitoes, and the doorway was covered with a mat.
Concerned he might have found a gap, Yo-hwa checked everything, but the silk on the windows was still intact.
We looked everywhere, but he was simply gone.
Then I heard sounds at the entrance—Bini, Hyang, and Hwayang came into the building.
—Tsrrr!?
—Kkii!?
—Tsrut?
They were asking what was wrong.
I quickly informed them.
“Yeolbi is missing. I’m trying to find him.”
—Tsrrrut!?
—Kkii!
Hearing this, their antennae all shot upright in alarm.
They instantly began to search the entire building.
Hyang scaled the ceiling to check every rafter, while Bini scrutinized the floor.
As everyone was meticulously searching, a sharp cry came from Hwayang.
—Kkii!
Startled, we all looked toward the sound. Her scream had come from under the pile of dried grass we used for bedding.
She was whining from under the lifted covering of the bedding.
When we pushed the dry grass aside, we discovered it—a neatly drilled hole, going straight through the wooden floorboards.
“What is this!?”
—Kkii?
—Tsrrr!
Drilling through wood like that should have created noise.
To do it silently would have taken days—it was clear this hadn’t been done in a single night.
“That little traitor! He pretended to be so affectionate and sweet yesterday, all while preparing his getaway!”
All that endearing, clinging behavior from the day before—nothing but a performance.
As I simmered with anger over Yeolbi’s disappearance, someone else was even more enraged.
—Kisit!
Yo-hwa.
She was absolutely incensed that he had used a tunnel to escape.
Wondering why she was so angry, I asked Cho—and her explanation was clear: Yo-hwa was furious because Yeolbi had deceived me.
“Y-yes… I understand.”
Even without any order from me, Yo-hwa instantly assumed command and coordinated a search team.
—Kishishishi!
—Tsrut! Tsrrr!
—Shyaa!
Cho and Yeondu launched into the air.
Bini, Hyang, and Hwayang started combing through the nearby grasslands.
Even Cheongyu participated, spreading food around in an attempt to lure him out.
If Yeolbi was found, he was certainly in for severe trouble.
“Yeolbi, your big sisters are furious. If they find you, you’re finished!”

Meanwhile, back in the swamp, Yeolbi’s cry disturbed something deep inside a cave.
The area’s ruler opened his eyes.
Hearing Yeolbi’s distressed call, he gradually uncurled and slid out with a majestic air.
—Ska? “What is it?”
As the ruler came out from the cave, light glinted off his gleaming scales.
His crimson body and vivid orange horns shone brilliantly in the sun.
Yeolbi’s answer echoed back:
—Tski! “Big Brother, help me! Strange beasts have come into my land and captured me!”
The regional ruler scowled at this.
—Skaat!? “Other beasts?”
—Tski tski! “Yes, Big Brother! They invaded my territory and attacked me…”
—Ska? “They came into your domain? After I forbade any private battles? Who would disobey my order…”
At first, the ruler thought it was a internal conflict.
He had just proclaimed an edict to stop territory disputes—such clashes were frequent among the island’s creatures.
But then Yeolbi shook his head firmly.
—Tskit! “No, Big Brother! They aren’t from here—they are outsiders! I’ve never seen their kind before!”
—Ska? “Outsiders?”
—Tskiii… “Yes, Big Brother. Foreigners… from beyond the island…”
—Skaat? “What?! Foreigners?!”
The mention of strangers made the ruler frown—but when Yeolbi said “foreigners,” his scales stood on end.
It had been decades—or even longer—since he had encountered one.
This island seemed cursed; visitors were exceptionally rare, if they ever came at all.
—Tski! “Yes! One resembled an O-gong, and another looked like a Ji-ju or some sort of Spider Maggot—”
But Yeolbi’s description quickly dampened his interest.
He had been initially startled by “foreigners,” but now he understood they weren’t serpent-folk—just beetles and insects.
—Ska… “Oh, I believed—”
—Tski? “What?”
—Skaat. “It’s nothing.”
Attempting to conceal his letdown, he responded vaguely.
—Tskit! “Regardless, Big Brother! Please help me chase them away!”
If they were truly new creatures from outside, it was his responsibility as the local ruler to inform them whose domain they were in.
Squabbles over territory were normal—but they needed to learn whose land they had entered.
—Skaya. “Very well, lead the way.”
—Tski tski! “Thank you, Big Brother!”
With that, the ruler propelled himself from the cave, gliding directly down the slope.
His enormous body plunged through earth and rock, burrowing like a missile headed for Yeolbi’s territory.
After a lengthy journey, he arrived at the swamp.
And when he got there—he stopped dead.
Hovering in the air… was a light green serpent he did not recognize.
A strange, stunningly beautiful snake addressed him.
—Shaya? “Pardon me, but that one appears to have escaped from our care. May we retrieve him?”
—Tski! Tsk—! “Don’t listen! She’s one of them! They imprisoned and hurt me! I came to ask my Big Brother for help—”
Yeolbi’s tirade was suddenly interrupted as the regional ruler coiled his body around him.
Then, in the most courteous tone he could muster, he addressed the green snake:
—Skaya… “It seems I have just apprehended him myself after learning of his actions.”
It was perfectly clear.
His little brother had undoubtedly made a grave mistake.