Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“Is that truly the manual for the Blood-Water Venom Claw?!”

Gu Pae’s shocked exclamation cut through the air.

I gave him a confirming nod.

“I believe it is a copy made by my grandfather, Mandok Shingun. I recall seeing him studying it.”

It was unmistakably the same book I remembered.

The memory was vivid because I had once tried to sneak a look, only for Grandfather to sharply warn me against showing any interest in it.

He had explained that he was only examining the section on how to employ the Venom Claw technique from the Blood-Water Venom Claw, curious if it could be adapted for the Tang Clan. Therefore, it was likely an incomplete version.

He had mentioned something about it missing a mnemonic verse and containing only the external forms, though I hadn’t really grasped what that meant.

Then Gu Pae yelled at the masked intruders, his face contorted with fury.

“What right do you scum have to infiltrate the Tang Clan and attempt to steal that accursed manual?!”

Back when they recovered the Blood-Water Venom Claw in Hainan, they had stressed to me and the craftsmen how evil and cursed it was—a technique that demanded both blood and bone marrow to wield.

Yet, just as expected, the middle-aged man offered no response to Gu Pae’s challenge.

The man took the book in the rain, secured it inside his robe, and then spread his hands wide with a cold smile.

“The cowards in the cult instructed us to avoid confrontation and simply retrieve the Blood-Water Venom Claw, fearing the insects here… but it seems we have a serious pest problem, don’t we?”

“M-my apologies!”

“No, this is preferable. Others may protest, but isn’t this an ideal justification?

Though it is somewhat ahead of schedule, we now possess the Blood-Water Venom Claw. And that relic, Mandok Shingun, is not present. What better tribute to proclaim the cult’s resurgence?

Regardless, we must eliminate all of them to escape. Blood Talon Eagle Claw of the cult, I grant you permission to utilize the cult’s martial arts! Show no mercy! Leave none alive!”

“By your order!”

‘Cult?’

That term usually referred to a religious sect.

I was puzzled by the word “cult” and tilted my head in confusion.

Just then, the man who had been clutching his injured shoulder behind the one in crimson martial robes reached toward one of his fallen comrades nearby.

*Squelch!*

Blood abruptly erupted from the fallen masked man’s body.

Bizarrely, the blood began to flow—slithering between the falling raindrops—into the hand and wounded shoulder of the man who had reached for it.

“What in the—!”

‘What is this!? Is he a vampire!? I thought this was a Murim world, not a supernatural fantasy!’

It looked exactly like a scene from a vampire film in my previous life.

As the man absorbed the blood, Gu Pae muttered in a dazed voice.

“The… Blood Cult…”

‘Blood Cult? That name…’

At Gu Pae’s words, a recent memory surfaced.

I recalled the horrified expressions of some elders from the collateral branches when I showed them the original copy of the Blood-Water Venom Claw.

「“T-this is unmistakable! The words Blood Cult and Blood-Water Venom Claw are written on the cover! And the script in blood! It is definitely the Blood-Water Venom Claw!”
“Indeed. We had heard rumors it originated from the Blood Cult…”」

And then, as if to confirm all our suspicions, the man in the red blood-cloak nodded and spoke.

“Correct. I am the Elder of the Blood Cult—Blood Talon Eagle Claw, Gu Cheon-ak! Become the sacrifice that heralds the return of the Blood Cult!”

“An Elder of the Blood Cult…”

Gu Pae’s face twisted in frustration at the man’s proclamation.

But he quickly composed himself and shouted to the warriors and to me.

“Assume the Five Poisons Fire-Extinguishing Formation! So-ryong-nim! Fire the signal dagger!”

“Understood!”

At Gu Pae’s command, the Tang Clan warriors rapidly moved into a battle formation, and I swiftly reached into my robe.

I was retrieving the signal dagger the Tang Clan used in place of signal arrows.

That’s when the cult elder pointed at me and snapped an order.

“Blood Talon, it will become problematic if they all converge at once—stop him! However, do not kill him. There is nothing more rejuvenating than the vital blood of a young boy.”

“Yes, Elder!”

“Stop him! Do not let him reach So-ryong-nim!”

“Let’s see you try to prevent me! Kahaha!”

*Boom!*

“Aaagh!”

Even as Gu Pae led the Tang warriors to block the enemies, the cult elder’s projected force shattered their formation—and the one called Blood Talon shot toward me.

He had been quick before, but this time his speed was like an arrow loosed directly at me.

Before I could even fully draw the signal dagger from my robe, his hand was already clamped around my wrist.

“Rest for a moment. The Elder appears very keen to drain your vital blood.”

“So-ryong-nim!”

Even while locked in combat with the cult elder, Gu Pae’s voice rang out in alarm when he saw my predicament.

But he was unable to break away and assist me.

The instant Blood Talon raised his hand to strike my neck—

*Crunch.*

He was no longer among the living.

Because the O-gongs, concealed in my sleeve and around my waist, suddenly surged out and mercilessly sank their fangs into his abdomen, arm, and neck.

“Khuhk…”

His eyes, once blazing with killing intent, now met mine as the life faded from them.

Perhaps because the O-gongs had molted and their venom had intensified, but unlike when Tak Wonyang simply turned black and died, this man called Blood Talon met a far more gruesome end.

The areas where he was bitten were visibly dissolving, piece by piece.

*Splat.*

The Blood Cult warrior crumpled into a puddle formed by the heavy rain.

Toxins leaching from his corpse began to seep into the surrounding water.

*Boom!*

A powerful blast echoed behind me. Turning, I saw the man in blood-colored robes had repelled the Tang Clan warriors with a shockwave—and was now staring at me in stunned disbelief.

“A spirit beast? This has become intriguing.”

His expression showed he had not anticipated Blood Talon’s death.

Ignoring his gaze, I fired the signal dagger high into the sky.

*Piiiii! Piiiii! Piiiii!*

Soon, answering the signal, more Tang Clan warriors began pouring in from every direction.

***

*Squelch!*

“Urgh!”

“You seemed so confident, firing that dagger. But without Mandok Shingun, you are all doomed. Kahaha!”

Another warrior suffered a long, deep gash across his chest from the cultist’s claws. He staggered back, clutching the wound, before collapsing.

Urgent warnings followed immediately.

“Do not close the distance!”

“His inner energy is tremendous! Avoid direct engagement!”

The injured warrior was pulled to safety by others, who tore his robe to apply pressure and stem the bleeding.

I couldn’t remain idle.

What I had learned so far consisted of internal energy cultivation, light footwork, and basic dagger techniques.

I had not yet been taught movement techniques for combat, so in this chaotic melee, my ability to contribute offensively was limited—my older sister had instead assigned me to provide medical support.

“Grgh!”

“Just hold on a little longer!”

Already, twenty Tang warriors had fallen around me.

Along with one elder from a collateral branch.

Barely a quarter of an hour had passed since I fired the signal dagger, yet the situation had deteriorated critically.

Initially, we believed victory was assured once reinforcements arrived.

But the cultist had erupted into a frenzy, cutting down Gu Pae and the warriors before they could fully reorganize—nearly halving our defensive strength.

Still, no matter his strength, I assumed we could overwhelm him if we treated this like a coordinated raid.

Among those who answered the signal were people I trusted—my sister and several of the family elders.

「“So-ryong! The Five Poisons Fire-Extinguishing Formation!? What in heaven’s name is happening here?”

She had asked, aghast at the scene of chaos.

“That man is an elder of the Blood Cult! We must support Deputy Commander Gu Pae!”

“The Blood Cult!?”

“An elder of the Blood Cult!?”

Their faces were masks of disbelief.

But after quickly assessing the situation, my sister issued immediate orders.

“Everyone, assist Deputy Commander Gu Pae!”

“Understood, Young Miss! Move! Shift the formation from the Five Poisons Fire-Extinguishing Formation to the Nine Poisons Fire-Extinguishing Formation!”」

With the Deputy Commander of the Venom Blood Squad and even family elders joining the fray, the battle began to even out.

But that equilibrium was short-lived.

One of the clan elders, lying wounded near me, muttered with a bitter expression.

“Damn it all! If only it weren’t for this rain…”

The reason for his frustration was a clear and significant disadvantage.

That disadvantage was the sudden, torrential downpour.

The rain was falling so heavily that visibility was blurred, and it had washed away most of the poisons coating the Tang Clan’s hidden weapons.

Some weapons had been treated to be waterproof, but the rain made it impractical to draw and throw them in time—rendering them ineffective.

Furthermore, combat formations like the Five Poisons or Nine Poisons Fire-Extinguishing Formation, which relied on poison smoke or powder, were impossible to deploy in this weather.

This meant we were forced to rely solely on physical martial prowess. And the problem was that our enemy was continuously regenerating.

“Ugh! Aaaaaagh!”

Turning from a patient I was treating, I saw one of our warriors seized by the enemy, the cultist’s claws buried in his stomach, draining his blood.

‘Damn it, he got another one.’

Our forces were being worn down minute by minute, while that monster regained strength with every person he drained.

To make things worse, the sound of the signal dagger did not carry far in the rain, so reinforcements had not fully arrived.

Only about half of those the clan had dispatched were present.

As I moved the frustrated elder further under a tree for shelter, I heard my sister’s commanding voice from the heart of the battle.

“Nine Illusions Kill!”

With her cry, a storm of daggers shot toward the enemy.

It appeared to be an advanced version of the technique Gu Pae had used earlier. Seeing this, the elder clenched his fist and shouted.

“Did we hit him!?”

‘Ah, damn it.’

A phrase that should never be uttered in battle—spoken by the elder.

As if on cue, the dagchers that should have struck the enemy reversed direction the moment he flicked his wrist, shooting back toward my sister.

*Clang!*

“Tch!”

“You have vicious hands for a woman! Judging by that lovely face, you must be the Venomous Flower Moon Rose? Let’s see you block this!”

*Boom!*

My sister barely evaded the returning daggers, but the enemy had already closed the gap.

Struck by a single palm strike, she was sent sliding backward toward me.

She had crossed her arms to block, but a trickle of blood still escaped her lips.

I rushed to catch her and pulled her under the tree.

She looked on the verge of collapse.

“Hwa-eun, my lady!”

“So-So-ryong! Ngh… urk!”

She tried to push herself back toward the fight, but after one step, she coughed up blood again.

As I hurried to support her, she glanced briefly at my hand, then grasped it tightly and pleaded.

“So-ryong, it’s n-no use! You must return to the clan and bring more forces! The Blood Cult absorbs vital blood to restore their internal energy and stamina. We cannot overcome them with our current numbers.”

She was telling me to run back and bring reinforcements.

Truthfully, that was about the only useful thing I could do in this situation—but I hesitated.

It felt wrong to abandon them here.

Because of my hesitation, I began to hear the voices of others around me.

“So-ryong-nim, please! For the sake of the Tang Clan!”

“We will hold them off by any means necessary until you return with reinforcements. Go, quickly!”

From Gu Pae to the Division Commander—

Even the family elders nodded in agreement.

At that point, I had no choice but to go.

I was clearly the only one whose absence would not diminish our combat strength.

“Understood. But… I am still not proficient in my light footwork…”

I nodded and turned to leave—when I suddenly felt my sister’s arms, soaked and burning with feverish heat, encircle me.

She pulled me into an embrace and whispered in my ear.

“So-ryong, you remember what I taught you, right? You will be fine. And once this is over… let us train together again at night.”

Then she immediately turned and leapt back into the fray where the Blood Cult elder was battling the Tang warriors.

My first hug with my sister.

I was still reeling, but I quickly turned my back and sprinted toward the Tang estate.

There was no time for doubt.

*Tak tak tak tak.*

In my mind, I recalled the fastest techno dance beat I knew.

To run as fast as possible, I needed a rhythm—and techno was fast.

How long had I been running like that?

*Tak tak tak.*
*Tak tak.*
*Tak.*

My frantic sprint gradually slowed to a halt.

Something felt wrong—a feeling I couldn’t dismiss.

We had been pursuing the masked men for two days.

We hadn’t used light footwork continuously through the night, but we had covered a significant distance.

At a full sprint, it would take at least half a day to reach the clan and return with help.

Would those I left behind truly survive until then?

Another thought occurred to me.

The clan’s most powerful martial artists were already absent—with my master and Mandok Shingun.

Would anyone strong enough to defeat that monster even be left at the clan?

More numbers alone wouldn’t suffice.

They would only become fuel for him. What we needed were genuine masters—like Grandfather or my master.

All these thoughts led to a single, chilling conclusion.

Was it possible that… when the situation turned desperate, they sent me away under the guise of calling for reinforcements… simply to save me?

Because I was the youngest… they wanted to ensure that at least I survived?

I recalled Gu Pae, the Division Commander, and the looks in the elders’ eyes as they sent me off. And the words they all shared:

「“From now on, you are one of us.”
“Naturally! Even in death, you are part of the Tang Clan!”
“So-ryong-nim, please! For the sake of the Tang Clan!”
“We will do everything possible to hold them until you return. Go, quickly!”」

“‘Family’… Did that word truly carry such weight? Or was this simply the code of the martial world? Was it because I was weak and they sought to protect me?”

A family of assassins—one of the most formidable in the Central Plains.

I hadn’t fully contemplated what that meant. I didn’t yet feel like a complete member of the Tang Clan—but they clearly felt otherwise.

Everyone except for me already considered me part of the family.

Such warmth, coming from an assassin clan, made me let out a soft, unintended laugh.

And I began to think.

Of a way to reverse this situation.

No—I *had* to think of one.

‘Should I try to gather the scattered Tang warriors in the vicinity? No, that would be too slow. And even then, there’s no guarantee of victory.’

I was honestly afraid.

I had never been in a real, life-or-death battle like this before.

But perhaps because I had watched too many hero movies in my past life…

I didn’t want to become the coward who ran away, abandoning those who had treated me as family.

Blood Cult. Blood. Vital blood. Recovery.

A torrent of thoughts rushed through my mind.

Amid this storm of thought, a chilling sound reached my ears.

*Shiiiiiik!*

“That sound…?”

I hurried toward it—and found a dark sinkhole, its black maw gaping open.

It was the same pit I had almost fallen into earlier. The sound was coming from the snakes within.

I cautiously approached the edge and peered down.

The snakes were hissing up at me.

“Wait here for a moment. It’s alright.”

I hesitated briefly as I looked at them, then set the O-gongs down beside me. I cut some nearby kudzu vines and tossed them down into the sinkhole.

Then, I, too, leapt into the pitch-black cave, following the vines down.

“Spicy Fabre handles things the Spicy Fabre way.”

‘Haa… if this ends with me dying from a snake bite all over again, that would really be the worst…’

I shouted with forced bravado, but in truth, my heart was hammering wildly against my ribs.

The yawning darkness below resembled the enormous jaws of a serpent, ready to swallow me whole.