Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 319

Chapter 319
A man and a woman sprinted toward me without giving a reply to my question.
Just as they did when they were lizards, the two of them jumped into my embrace simultaneously.
“Wahahaha! So this is how you both appeared within your mind-space?”
Then the man I assumed was Bing hoisted me high into the air with his arms.
“Whoa! How is Bing so incredibly strong!?”
I was supposed to be the father figure, but I was being tossed around like a toy airplane—it was momentarily startling. Nevertheless, I had already fully embraced this “dad” persona, so I went along with it.
Truthfully, he appeared both taller and more mature than me, but what else could I do? I had already established myself as the dad.
I simply acted as if everything was normal and carried on as usual.
It was far too late to change how we referred to each other now, and besides, the children didn’t seem to have any issues with it.
“I never imagined Bing would grow up to be so handsome. And Seol is absolutely gorgeous, too.”
The two of them were truly breathtaking.
They had silver hair, silver eyebrows, very pale skin, and blue eyes.
They looked foreign, almost as if they were from the Western regions.
‘Can these really be our Seol and Bing?’
For an instant, I genuinely questioned if they were different people.
Their Western appearance was entirely unexpected. Furthermore, this sort of registration involving an entire family had never occurred before.
Yet there was no cause to believe they weren’t my children—the moment Bing set me down and I embraced them both, a familiar coldness spread through my arms.
It wasn’t a feeling of warmth or softness, but a definite, penetrating chill.
This was partly due to their nature as lizards, but also because, living up to the name I had given them—Seolbingseokcheok—they were spiritual beasts imbued with the essence of ice.
They possessed a unique cold aura that ordinary lizards would not emit, and I could sense it clearly now.
Without a doubt—these were our Seol and Bing.
After our happy reunion, I felt a small pull on the edge of my robe.
I glanced down and saw a young girl, unmistakably female, tugging at the fabric.
She had silver hair cut in a bob, plump cheeks with a pink flush, and was sucking one thumb while holding my robe with her other hand.
She was utterly endearing—similar to how Cho, Hyang, or Bini might have looked when they were still little yellow centipede larvae.
I immediately crouched down to her level, met her gaze, and asked,
“You must be Dong. So you’re our little granddaughter, yes? May Grandpa hug you?”
Wordlessly, she put her small arms around my neck.
Dong responded to my question with an embrace.
As her tiny arms held onto me, a smile of pure joy spread across my face.
“What a relief. To be honest, I had planned to register Dong first, but I was afraid she might be frightened and cry all alone. I’m so glad she was with her mom and dad.”
I patted her head as I spoke, and Seol and Bing looked back at me with smiles.
I was still very curious about how all three of them had ended up here together, but… did it really matter?
If I could complete everything in a single session, that was far more efficient.
Registering just one beast usually took over ten days. Doing three would typically consume almost a full month.
To get it all done at once? That was a tremendous stroke of luck.
‘I certainly won’t complain.’
“Alright, let’s go over there and I’ll talk you through it. I’ll explain why you were suddenly brought here. I attempted to explain before we entered, but you likely didn’t understand everything, correct?”
We all moved to the large rock that Seol and Bing had once used as a home. I began to explain what this realm was and what was going to happen next.
They didn’t appear overly alarmed, but they still warranted a full explanation.
Earlier, I had only told Dong that she might wake up somewhere unfamiliar and that Grandpa would find her, so she shouldn’t be scared.
Settling onto the familiar rock the children had once lived on, I started to talk.
“This area is known as the ‘mind-space.’ It is a world within your own hearts. You may have been surprised by the sudden change, but I was the one who brought you here. After I register you within this space, we will be able to speak to one another through our thoughts.
Up until now, I couldn’t comprehend anything you said, but once this is done, I will be able to understand you perfectly.
That is the reason I needed to bring you here.”
I explained everything carefully and at a measured pace. Both Seol and Bing nodded in understanding.
They were visibly excited by the prospect of being able to converse with me.
By the time I had finished the explanation, courtesy of «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t», Dong had already wandered away. I scanned the area and spotted her smelling flowers and examining strands of grass.
The place must have captivated her.
Even as a spiritual beast, a child is still a child at heart.
‘She is so adorable. Still, the explanation is over. I should return soon. Time moves at a different pace here compared to the outside.’
I desperately wanted to keep watching Dong play, but I had resolved during the previous visit that I ought to leave as promptly as possible.
“Dong, come over here now. It’s time to go back.”
She was sniffing a blue flower when I called her, and she hurried over with short, quick steps.
Concerned she might stumble, I stood up to intercept her—and just as I feared, she caught her foot on some grass and tumbled forward with her arms out.
I dove forward and snatched her by her clothes, catching her just in time. She hung from my grip, swaying lightly.
“My little Dong nearly took a fall.”
I smiled as I gathered her into my arms, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek.
It was likely her way of thanking me for catching her.
Smiling, I glanced at Seol and Bing and requested kisses on both of my cheeks as well—and the moment their lips touched my skin, my sight started to haze.
“Let’s all see each other again on the outside.”
The three of them beamed radiantly, and that lovely sight etched itself warmly into my memory.
***
Five days had passed since So-ryong had entered the mind-space.
When Hwa-eun walked into the room to check on him, she was taken aback.
All three of the beasts who had entered the mind-space with So-ryong—Seol, Bing, and Dong—were already awake.
They were all licking So-ryong’s face.
“You’re all awake already?”
–Guuu.
–Gyuit. Gyuu.
–Ggukggu.
With So-ryong still unconscious, they couldn’t use the group communication that had been possible before, so she couldn’t verify through words if the registration had been successful or if the children were well.
However, they certainly appeared to be in good health.
Hwa-eun hurried outside and called for Seol.
“Unni Seol! Unni!”
She yelled toward a large tree outside So-ryong’s room, and abruptly the space beneath it wavered. The concealed room became visible, and Seol emerged from it.
The place she had come from was a hidden annex, once obscured by Jeokwol’s illusions—so perplexing initially that they had hardly been able to locate it.
Seol tilted her head at Hwa-eun’s anxious tone.
“What’s the matter? Has something happened?”
“The children woke up first!”
“Is that so?”
“Is something the matter?”
Hwa-eun looked concerned, as if she wasn’t certain this was normal, but Seol gave a soft smile and patted her shoulder.
“You’re still worrying after I told you not to? Have you forgotten? The children always awaken before So-ryong does.”
“Oh… that’s right!”
Hwa-eun’s eyes widened as understanding dawned, and she nodded rapidly.
Now that she considered it, Seol was correct—every time So-ryong returned from the mind-space, the children always woke up first.
This had held true for Cho, Hyang, and Bini as well.
The children always roused first. So-ryong always followed afterward.
Hwa-eun then realized—she had been anxious this entire time.
Because buried deep in her heart, the fear that So-ryong might end up like Seokcheok had never truly faded.
“Yes… I suppose you’re right.”
She scraped her foot against the floor awkwardly, and Seol folded her arms and stated,
“Let’s go. He will wake up today. We should just wait inside the room.”
“Okay, Unni.”
Since the children always awoke a few hours before So-ryong, they chose to wait together.
They made themselves comfortable in the room and waited for him to awaken.
But So-ryong did not.
An entire day passed.
Then a second.
Then a third.
On a night just before the full moon, with a large, imposing moon hanging over the mountain peak, Binghyeol Nanhwa, commander of the Bloodshade Unit, stared up at the mountain and quietly addressed the warriors kneeling behind her.
[Is this the location?]
[Yes, Commander.]
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
This was the base of the mountain where that scoundrel Wei Su Long—son of the Beast Palace and son-in-law of the Sacheon Tang Clan—was reported to have rented a house.
Looking up toward the slope where the house was supposedly situated, Nanhwa asked another question.
[Has his presence been verified up there?]
The warrior at the front inclined his head and answered.
[There are three individuals in the house. Villagers observed them going up nine days ago.
They mention two women residing with him—one appears to be a woman from the Sacheon Tang Clan, the other probably from the Beast Palace.
One of the two has descended to the village twice to purchase food and provisions, but nobody has seen the bastard himself.
Considering he selected such a picturesque location, perhaps he’s simply secluded himself, enjoying time with the women, wouldn’t you agree?]
[And when was this intelligence gathered?]
[Three days ago.]
[Three days?]
[Is there a problem?]
Nanhwa thought about reprimanding the man, but observing the assembled group, she chose not to.
These were not her Bloodshade Unit warriors.
If they were, they would never speak with such assurance unless the information was from yesterday at the very latest. But these individuals weren’t from the Bloodshade Unit—they didn’t grasp that confirming the target’s status daily was a fundamental procedure.
For her unit, that kind of practice didn’t even need to be verbalized. It was assumed.
Bottling her irritation, Nanhwa commanded the warrior,
[You stationed someone to observe the house, correct? Summon them.]
[Yes, Commander.]
—Screeech.
At Nanhwa’s command, one of the warriors scraped a metal plate—a signal used within the Blood Cult.
Soon after, a similar screech echoed back from the mountainside.
—Screeech.
Shortly after, two masked warriors came down from the mountain, moving through the shadows to kneel before Nanhwa.
[Blood-for-Blood! We greet the Commander!]
Still gazing toward the mountain summit, Nanhwa inquired,
[Well? Is the bastard in the house?]
[Th-that is…]
The warrior hesitated, unable to provide an answer.
Hearing his nervous tone, Nanhwa finally shifted her focus from the mountain and looked directly at him.
And then, she heard something completely astonishing.
[Forgive us, Commander. Something unusual has happened on the mountain—we could not even locate the house.]
[What? You couldn’t find the house?]
[The area where the house should be was merely covered in grass and trees—nothing else was there.]
[What? What are you saying? Are you telling me you have the wrong place?]
Her eyes wide in the darkness, she pressed him further, and the warrior bowed even deeper as he responded.
[It appears… a formation has been activated.]
[A formation!?]
A formation.
And if it was projecting an illusion different from reality—then it was a high-level formation.
The kind that only clans like the Zhuge Clan, masters of formation arts, or heaven-sent geniuses could deploy.
The realization that such a formation was active caused Nanhwa’s eyes to widen in shock.
***
“What in the world is this?”
I was sure I had just finished registering the children and was beginning to lose awareness—but when my senses returned, I found myself standing in an odd location.
A peculiar space with no visible way out—enclosed on every side, including the floor and ceiling.
The walls and the high ceiling were constructed from stone, creating a circular room.
It should have been pitch black, but strangely, it was illuminated. And if this was a mind-space, there should have been children or something else present—yet there was nothing.
Only a stone floor and stone walls. That was all.
I examined my surroundings and resolved to check the walls. Perhaps there was an exit.
I trailed my hands along the wall as I walked and eventually found that there were doors.
Five doors.
Each one was engraved with an image of one of the Five Venomous Beasts.
And, most peculiarly, each door displayed the likeness of one of my children.
The first door featured the centipedes: Cho, Hyang, and Bini.
The second door showed the snake: Cheongyu.
The third door displayed the lizards: Seol, Bing, and Dong.
The fourth door depicted the scorpion: Cheongwol.
And the fifth door bore the toad: Hwayang.
Every carving was intricate and lifelike.
—Thrum.
When I pressed my hand against one of the carvings, the door swung open.
It wasn’t only that door—all five of them would open when touched.
It felt as though I was being prompted to select one to enter.
So I sat down in the middle of the room, pondering deeply, attempting to make a decision about which way to go.