Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 269

Chapter 269
Cheongyu’s form took on a pale, almost see-through quality before clouding over into a dull opacity.
This was the clear indication that her shed was beginning to separate.
—Rustle.
A soft, rustling noise followed as a split formed around her lips and began to peel back.
Without warning, a brilliant golden radiance burst forth, flooding the area with light.
The horns on Cheongyu’s head glowed, casting a gilded sheen over everything in sight.
“Is that…”
“Gold…”
While the appearance of the constellation had been impressive, this was on another level entirely—this was one of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts, the Golden-Crowned Snake King.
The entire scene was illuminated as brightly as a lavish Gangnam nightclub.
A typical snake, having no hands, would scrape its mouth against a rock or a branch to start removing its skin.
But Cheongyu, being a spiritual beast, possessed arms.
She raised both hands to her mouth, worked them into the opening that had formed there, and started to pull the skin downward from her head.
As if she were undressing, the molting layer slipped down over her arms and torso.
The decorative headpiece and the high collar she used for her human disguise—these too were revealed to be part of her scales, sloughing off along with the rest of her skin.
The shed that began at her crown traveled over her shoulders, down her arms and waist, and continued along the length of her serpentine body.
The skin came away like a ring sliding off a finger. Cheongyu began to crawl forward, commencing the full molting process common to all snakes.
As she advanced, the old skin continued to peel back.
Lizards shed in tattered, messy pieces, but Cheongyu’s skin came off in one clean piece from the head down, much like turning a stocking inside out.
That is simply how a snake molts—far neater than any lizard.
‘Maybe I should help her out?’
In my past life, I often aided my snakes by pulling the stubborn back half of their shed off for them.
Pet snakes, lacking rough surfaces to rub against, often need their owners to provide a gentle tug.
I moved in swiftly, took hold of the coiled, partially detached skin, and pulled. She ceased her forward movement.
—Shrrrriiip.
The crisp, satisfying sound of snake skin peeling away echoed through the clearing.
‘There, perfect and clean.’
Even back then, I’d found a peculiar gratification in helping a snake shed—and Cheongyu’s was so large, it delivered a satisfaction akin to cracking open an ice-cold bottle of soju.
But there was no time to linger on the feeling.
Assisting a snake isn’t just about pulling off the skin.
One must also verify that the brille—the protective scale covering the eye—has been removed correctly.
Occasionally, this clear lens remains stuck like a forgotten contact lens, and if not addressed, it can lead to infection or blindness.
So, I carefully inspected the area around her eyes to ensure the skin had cleanly detached.
Although Cheongyu’s upper half was humanoid and she had eyelids, she was still a serpent—naturally, she possessed brilles shielding her eyes.
‘Let me check… did it come off clean? Ah, good.’
I examined the discarded skin and found the transparent brille still attached to the eye sockets of the face-shaped peel.
Her eyes were clear. Now, the task was to finish by pulling the shed completely off, right down to the very tip of her tail.
In a snake’s molt, the two most critical areas are the brille and the tail tip.
If the tail tip doesn’t shed entirely, it can restrict blood flow and lead to rot—so extreme care is needed.
‘Wow. Stunning.’
—Shrrriiip.
—Pop.
I drew the skin clean off to the tail’s very end. The luminous glow gradually dimmed, signaling the completion of Cheongyu’s molt.
Then, her beauty truly struck me.
Not in any romantic sense—don’t misunderstand just because she’d been clingy before.
What I mean is, a snake is at its most beautiful immediately after shedding—its scales gleam, its colors are incredibly vivid.
That precise moment, following a reptile’s shed, is when its hues are most spectacular.
Cheongyu’s lustrous black scales resembled polished ebony, while the pale scales of her underside were a pristine, snowy white.
The only noticeable change from before the molt was that her horns had elongated.
If the golden crown on her head had once resembled a delicate tiara, it now looked more like a majestic imperial crown.
She radiated the aura of an empress.
Her horns shone with a deeper, more profound luster.
“So this is the mature form of the Golden-Crowned Snake King.”
“Her horns truly look like a golden crown now…”
As the others voiced their admiration for her new appearance, Cheongyu approached and nuzzled her cheek against mine—likely a gesture of thanks for my assistance.
—Shaaa…
“Yes, Cheongyu, congratulations. Now, show me your fangs. I need to check if you’ve developed venom.”
I gave her head an affectionate pat, congratulating her on her adulthood, and carefully pried her mouth open to inspect her fangs.
A snake only grows its venomous fangs upon reaching the Fourth Poison Level.
Until now, Cheongyu had possessed no venom, meaning she couldn’t be officially registered or progress in the venom arts.
Now that she had matured, I suspected she might have developed her venom—and I needed to confirm it.
—Shaaa!
At my request, she warily opened her jaws.
I tilted her head down and peered inside. Her canine teeth had elongated.
Much like Dracula, Cheongyu’s upper canines were now lengthy and sharp.
The last time I’d looked, I’d thought her first molars were somewhat pointed—but it turned out those were her developing canines.
Looking closer, I could see minuscule openings near the tips of those fangs.
“How is it, So-ryong? Does she possess venom now?”
“Yes. Without a doubt. The canines have fully grown in, and there are clear venom ducts present.”
“I’m curious about the venom’s nature. Would you be willing to extract a sample from your snake?”
“Of course. Cheongyu, we need to examine your venom. Could you deposit a small amount on Hwa-eun’s arm? Or perhaps let me collect it myself?”
—Shaaa?
Just as I made this request of Cheongyu, she abruptly turned her head and began slithering toward the bound pirate nearby.
That man—the one Muhan intended to deliver to the spear-wielding crocodile.
He remained loosely tied, capable of little more than feebly kicking his legs, secured near the makeshift structure the pirates had assembled.
Cheongyu moved toward him, and I called out, puzzled by her behavior.
“Cheongyu, where are you going?”
But she didn’t stop; she left only her lower half behind as she advanced directly toward the pirate.
She typically comprehended human speech perfectly, making her actions now seem very odd.
The pirate, seeing her approach, recoiled in panic.
“W-Whoa…”
But his hands were bound before him, and his body was tethered to a tree like a dog.
He couldn’t retreat far before the rope went taut—and in that moment, Cheongyu struck.
She drove her fangs deep into his forearm.
—SHAAA!
“Aaaargh!”
The pirate shrieked the instant Cheongyu bit him.
Startled, I dashed over and yanked her back by the arm.
“Cheongyu! No! You don’t put things like that in your mouth!”
“P-Please! Have mercy!”
This was Cheongyu’s first venom… and to squander it on such garbage? What a terrible waste.
Just as I was lamenting this, Gyu-seong hyung ran over and shouted, his tone filled with alarm.
Not alarm for the pirate, obviously—he was concerned about the potential state of the pirate’s body, not the man himself.
“I-It’s one of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts… Is his body going to dissolve? I was supposed to deliver him to the Ak Clan…”
Having endured the venoms of Hwayang and Cho before, Gyu-seong hyung undoubtedly remembered how perilous they could be.
He looked at the bitten pirate with a severe expression.
“The venom of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts is extraordinarily powerful. It could definitely dissolve him.”
“Damn it. If we’re to present him to the Ak Clan, we at least need his head to be recognizable… Should we sever it now and preserve just the head?”
“What?”
“If the venom travels to his chest and begins circulating through his body, we’ll have to amputate the limb immediately.”
They were discussing decapitating someone as casually as if they were discussing pruning a vegetable.
Seriously. I doubted I would ever grow accustomed to this aspect of the martial world.
Even though I was now a part of it, I still found it difficult to accept how lightly they treated such matters.
The pirate clutched his arm, moaning in agony, his eyes wide with horror.
—Srrrip.
“P-Please! I-I’m fine, really—!”
Gyu-seong hyung was already unsheathing his broadsword, prepared to secure at least the man’s head… when a realization occurred to me.
If Cheongyu’s venom was truly that potent, shouldn’t the pirate have already begun to dissolve by now?
From my knowledge, the venoms of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts—Hwayang, Cho, Chohwa, Cheolhyeol—could melt or scorch flesh…
Hwayang and Cho’s venom could liquefy flesh or set it on fire—truly catastrophic.
But Yo-hwa and Cheongwol? Their venoms weren’t nearly as deadly.
Cheongwol’s was a strange toxin that warped the body.
Yo-hwa’s was a powerful paralytic.
They weren’t the type of venoms that killed outright.
They inflicted status ailments.
So what if Cheongyu’s venom wasn’t lethal, but instead caused… a specific condition?
Like Cheongwol’s or Yo-hwa’s.
“Wait a moment, hyung. This venom might not be fatal. He might not melt.”
“Huh? It’s not that powerful?”
“Right… it’s probably similar to Yo-hwa’s or Cheongwol’s.”
“Tch, then why did you stop me? Scum like that is better off dead.”
And so the execution was put on hold.
Though, to be honest, everyone looked somewhat disappointed.
They were only keeping him alive to hand over to the Ak Clan, and even then, feeding him seemed like a waste of resources.
And then it happened.
The pirate Cheongyu had bitten suddenly began to convulse violently.
“Grrrhhhhh…”
He thrashed on the ground like a broken massage chair that had been hurled into a fighting ring.
His eyes rolled back into his head, and then—the convulsions ceased.
Wait… is he dead?
Just as I moved to check his pulse, Gyu-seong hyung reached out and seized the man’s wrist.
He was probably also checking for a pulse.
Now that Cheongyu had venom, I could officially register her under the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art.
But if the pirate died from the poison, there would be nothing we could do for him.
I possessed a method to counteract it—but hyung did not.
“I’ll check. Even if I’m poisoned, I can withstand it using the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Technique. But you can’t, hyung.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
“So-ryong, you should probably put on the suit, just to be safe.”
“Understood.”
Would it actually block the venom? Unlikely.
But I slipped into my thin, reinforced suit—crafted from Yo-hwa’s flesh.
Just as my fingers neared the man’s neck—his body began to tremble once more.
“Ughhh… grhhh…”
With a profound gasp, the whites of his eyes returned to their normal position, and he blinked.
He regained consciousness.
“Ugh… damn, I thought I was dead.”
“Huh? He survived a bite from one of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts?”
“He’s alive?”
What in the world? Why is he still alive? And why do I feel… somewhat disappointed?
Everyone else appeared astonished.
But for me… it was rather anticlimactic.
I hadn’t expected something on the level of Hwayang or Cho—a top-tier, devastating venom.
But still, Cheongyu is the Snake King!
I had been hoping for something classic: a hemorrhagic or a neurotoxin.
Instead, this seemed like… a sedative? Or a minor seizure? That’s all?
As I stood there, brooding,
—SHAAA!
Cheongyu hissed behind me.
Jerked from my thoughts, I spun around—
The pirate, who had been staring at the bite on his arm, went completely still at the sound of her hiss.
I waved a hand in front of his face. His gaze was empty.
—Shaaa.
Cheongyu hissed again.
The pirate slowly rose to his feet.
—Shaaa! Shaaaa!
Cheongyu issued another hiss, and the man stood up straight, facing her like a marionette awaiting its strings.
Everyone looked back and forth between Cheongyu and the pirate.
It can’t be… is this…
A sudden insight ignited in my mind.
Cheongyu’s venom—it didn’t kill. It dominated.
It transformed the bitten into puppets.
Is this… the venom of a Snake King?!
A venom that bestows control over its victims?
Incredible. That is phenomenal.
My disappointment evaporated instantly.
This venom wasn’t deficient in any way—it was utterly perfect for the King of Serpents.
“GaaaAAAAHH!”