Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 305

Chapter 305
–Tssrrrr. 『Daddy, it’s morning! How much longer will you sleep?!』
–Kkii!
Half-conscious, I rubbed my eyes as the cries of Hyang and Hongdan reached me.
It felt like Dong was patting my forehead with her small paw, while Seol and Bing were pressing their cool bodies against my face, likely trying to rouse me.
I could feel the refreshing chill on my skin and the gentle touch of the little ones.

–Kkugu.
–Kkuu!
–Kkyut! Kkyut!
Judging by the sounds of Hyang, Hongdan, and the others all calling out, it appeared everyone had finally stirred around noon.
Because of the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly’s scales, everyone except me had only just managed to wake up by midday.

–Tssrut! 『Daddy!』
“Okay, Hyang, Daddy is getting up… Haaahm…”
–Tssrrrut! 『Open your eyes now!』
Giving in to Hyang’s persistent cries, I pushed myself up.
But despite her loud calls and the cool feeling of Seol and Bing against my face, my eyelids were leaden and refused to open.
The light in the room made me squint, which only made it more difficult.
The reason I was struggling was simple—I had been up all night; greeting the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly, conversing with Hwa-eun and Cheongyu, and straining my mind over how to catch the creature… I hadn’t drifted off until nearly sunrise.
While everyone else had pleasant dreams, my night had been utterly chaotic.
‘I was genuinely swamped last night.’
I believed I’d slept for a solid six hours, yet I felt strangely worn out.
Considering it, I’d slept in a bright room without any blackout curtains, so it was no wonder I felt more fatigued.
In my past life, I’d also often gone to bed at dawn after streaming and looking after my nocturnal animals—but back then, I had blackout curtains and never felt this depleted.
‘Blackout curtains are a must for venomous creature enthusiasts like us, right?’
When I lived on the boat, having blackout curtains was wonderful. Now, I truly missed them.

Just then, I heard Grandpa Yakseon’s voice nearby.
“So-ryong, how did it go last night? Please don’t say you fell asleep? Did it not work?”
‘Not work? Ah, that’s right!’
Still drowsy, I turned his words over in my head and suddenly recalled—I’d taken the medicine Grandpa gave me to monitor the situation overnight.
Until dinner last night, we’d all believed someone from the Blood Cult had poisoned us.
Stretching to shake off the sleepiness, I replied,
“Haaahm… No, I managed to remain awake until dawn.”
“Oh! Truly!? Just as I thought! I assumed your poison arts combined with my medicine would offer some resistance. So? Did anything occur? Did anyone come into our room?”
Grandpa seemed sure that my poison training and his medicine had done the trick—but personally, I believed Hwa-eun deserved the credit.
Even with the medicine and my resistance, I was on the verge of sleep when I heard Hwa-eun’s voice—and it jolted me awake like magic.
‘It was truly remarkable.’
Merely thinking about her voice from last night helped me become a bit more alert.
I rubbed my eyes and forced them open as I responded to Grandpa’s question.
“No, something did occur.”
“Something occurred? What was it? Are you injured?”
Grandpa Yakseon’s eyes opened wide in astonishment.
As I rubbed the back of my neck, sore from weariness, his eyes grew even wider—he must have thought I was hurt.
He rushed over to examine me, but I offered a reassuring glance as I answered.
“Yes. Luckily, I was able to discover what took place.”
“You discovered it?”
“You mean you solved the mystery? Tell us—who was responsible!?”
Not only Grandpa Yakseon—Cheon Baek-u, who had evidently woken earlier and just returned from outside, also pressed urgently.

“Ah, it wasn’t a person who poisoned us.”
“Not a person?”
“No. It was a spirit beast.”
“A spirit beast?”
“A spirit beast, you say?”
At the mention of a spirit beast, both elders looked at my companions in surprise.
They were probably questioning if it was one of my own spirit creatures, so I nodded.
“Yes. It was a spirit beast known as the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly.”
“Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly?”
“A enormous butterfly, colored blood-red.”
“Ah! I’ve heard of that one.”
Cheon Baek-u looked unfamiliar with the name, but Grandpa Yakseon seemed to recognize it.
He explained, likely recalling something from an old text he’d read.
“I remember reading about it in an ancient manuscript. It stated the creature could induce sleep. Ah, so the poison that affected us was from the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly?”
“Yes, that’s correct, Grandpa. I woke last night and saw it flying about outside.”
“A spirit beast was behind this…”
“You mean the poison came from a spirit beast?”
Cheon Baek-u’s face became stern.
Grandpa Yakseon, however, was taken aback for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.
“Well, well… We kept discussing spirit beasts, and one finally appears. So, did you get your desire?”
Back in the previous village, I’d repeatedly suggested a spirit beast might be causing the issues—he must have remembered that.
And likely also recalled my disappointed expression when it turned out not to be the Blood Cult.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a desire…”
“You were practically vocalizing your hopes for a spirit beast to show up, weren’t you? Haha.”
‘Alright, I don’t believe I was that apparent… I mean, I was somewhat disappointed, certainly.’
Feeling self-conscious, I scratched the back of my head as Cheon Baek-u interjected in frustration.
“Brother, is this really a moment for laughter? We were poisoned by a spirit beast! If this poison were even half as potent as So-ryong’s creatures, we’d be in grave danger!”
Just as Cheon Baek-u stated, we were all affected by the poison of the spirit beast, the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly.
Since he knew little about it, Cheon Baek-u didn’t find it amusing.
He had witnessed the power of some poisons my companions possessed firsthand, so his worry seemed even more profound.
“Isn’t this more severe than the Blood Cult?”
If it had been the Blood Cult, we could have simply fought them—but with a spirit beast’s poison, the potential harm could be far greater. That was probably his perspective.
After all, spirit beasts in these parts were viewed as akin to natural calamities or mythical Neidan sources.
Then Grandpa Yakseon spoke with a calming expression.
“Don’t fret, brother. The poison of the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly may put people to sleep and create illusions, but it isn’t fatal. Isn’t that right, So-ryong? You’d know more than us, with your understanding of the Tang Clan and venomous creatures.”
Well… not completely accurate, but mostly right.
I nodded in agreement, and Cheon Baek-u’s expression eased slightly.
“Yes, Grandpa. We certainly need to be careful, but from what I know, it isn’t lethal.”
“Truly? Then that’s a relief. Ahem.”
Perhaps embarrassed by his earlier alarm, Cheon Baek-u cleared his throat.
Grandpa Yakseon looked at him with a smile and asked me,
“So then, So-ryong, if it’s a spirit beast, can I leave it to you? We’re in no state to help, except when we’re conscious.”
It sounded like he meant they wouldn’t be able to aid as they had during Geumdo’s treatment. I answered with certainty.
This Wei Su Long—when it concerns venomous creatures—if I lack confidence, I may as well not exist.
“Absolutely.”

***

I stated it with certainty—but two days went by without any advancement.
For two days, I had requested Hwa-eun to communicate with the butterfly and continued waking alone at night to attempt contact.
But the instant I addressed it or it noticed me, it disappeared.
‘No, this is becoming difficult.’
If I couldn’t even get it to stay, how was I supposed to clarify things or establish any rapport?
While my mind was filled with ideas about alternative approaches, I received a message from Hwa-eun.
『So-ryong, have you eaten lunch yet?』
I was the sole person in the village remaining awake at night.
So the only individual I could consult for guidance was Hwa-eun, who was far away, and we had decided to message only at night—but curiously, this time, it was just after lunch, during a brief pause.
『Yes, Hwa-eun. Is something the matter?』
『…Must I have a reason to speak with you?』
‘Gyaaah!’
『R-Right. Certainly not. I merely—uh—was concerned if anything had occurred to you. I was just slightly worried. No, greatly.』
One misplaced word and I almost caused a surge of dismay, so I hurriedly clarified. Her disposition softened immediately.
As I breathed a sigh of relief, she went on.
『Three nights ago, I stayed up speaking with Lady Cheongyu, and there’s something I need to verify. Could you ask the villagers when they first began falling asleep like this?』
『Why is that?』
『Well, something has been puzzling me.』
『Something puzzling?』
When I inquired about the puzzling part, she started explaining her theory regarding the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly’s poison.
『Yes, no matter how I consider it. It’s odd how everyone continues falling asleep at precisely the same time.
Even if the poison is deadly, the effectiveness of venom diminishes with repeated exposure. If we knew precisely when they began being affected, I could develop my theory further.』
『Ah, I understand your meaning.』
Even lethal poison, if diluted and given repeatedly, would eventually lead the body to develop tolerance.
The antivenoms used for snakebites in modern hospitals are created using a similar technique.
Since injecting humans directly with poison is dangerous, they administer it to horses and extract the antibodies from their blood serum.
So if the villagers had been subjected to the butterfly’s poison for an extended period, its potency should have decreased.
Even if it was the venom of a spirit beast, the human immune system would naturally start producing antibodies.
I promptly went outside and headed to the village chief’s main house.
“Elder, are you present?”
I called inside, and the village chief emerged.
Inside, I saw his wife clearing dishes—he must have just finished eating.
“Sir, what brings you here?”
“Ah, there’s something I wish to ask you.”
“You wish to ask me?”
“Yes. Do you recall when the villagers first started sinking into these deep slumbers?”
He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.
Then, as if remembering, he clapped his palm and answered.
“Hmm… Ah! It was just under a month ago. We had selected some lanterns made for the Lantern Festival to test them the night before. The next day, everyone fell into a deep sleep.
We occasionally light them early to check for soot or see their duration. That was when it started.”
The Lantern Festival—one of the major holidays here—was when countless lanterns are lit to illuminate the night.
It occurs around mid-January and is even the origin of the term “sleepless city.”
I’d seen it once myself in Hainan—lantern-lit streets, lion dances, the entire celebration.
“Ah, you mean those lanterns hanging in the courtyard?”
“Yes. Our village earns its living by making lanterns, so we often hang new designs to test their durability.”
Understanding they’d tested the lanterns for quality, I nodded and relayed the information to Hwa-eun.
『Hwa-eun, it was just under a month ago. Since this village supports itself by crafting lanterns, they lit a few to check for flaws, and the next day, people began falling asleep.』
『Then my theory must be correct.』
From her tone, it seemed she’d deduced something—and right then, an idea struck me as well.
‘That’s it! The lanterns!’
Smiling, I asked her,
『Hwa-eun, shall we share what we’ve deduced? I just had a good idea too.』
『You did as well? Excellent!』
The village chief was watching me silently, clearly perplexed, so I made a courteous request.
“Elder, would it be possible for me to have one of those lanterns?”
“Of course! I’d be delighted to make one for you as thanks. What size would you prefer?”
I smiled and answered,
“As large as the moon in the sky.”