Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 382

Chapter 382
The water behind the pirate fleet began to churn with intense force.
It wasn’t pursuing them directly—instead, it rapidly shaped itself into a ring.
It seemed to be attempting to swallow the tail end of their formation.
“Alright, let’s think this through…”
I followed the arc of the swirling water with my finger, attempting to predict the full size of the circle.
My rough estimate was that five vessels near the back would be trapped.
These were the ones lagging slightly in the tightened formation, with barely ten meters between each boat on the return trip.
Based on the speed of the current and the scale of the forming ring, those five boats were undoubtedly going to be caught.
The sun wasn’t high enough yet, so from above, the water’s depths were hidden. I turned urgently to Yeondu.
“Yeondu! Stay near us—if any boats capsize, get the crew out of the water right away!”
—Shaaaa. 『Yes, So-ryong!』
“Cho! We’ll circle around from behind! Don’t fly straight over the center of the swirl—got it?”
—Ssrrr! 『Okay, Dad!』
I’m no specialist in fish like I am with poisonous insects, but one thing I know well:
Fish have broad vision and can see what’s above them.
Because of their eye design, they have convex lenses that provide over 160 degrees of sight—a true “fisheye” view.
So if whatever’s down there is a fish-type spirit beast, coming from above would be dangerous. We adjusted our path to approach from behind the vortex’s origin and started our descent.
Even diving birds are easily seen by fish—we had to be cautious.
The only blind spot for a fish is right behind its tail.
“Let’s move!”
Yeondu, Cho, and I dove swiftly, steering toward the churning water.
We’d hoped to reach it before the whirlpool fully developed, but in the brief moments we spent talking, the circle was already half-formed.
Now I could see the rear boats starting to paddle furiously.
—Splash, splash…
They were straining at their oars, trying to break free from the closing spiral.
But the water was moving quicker than I’d anticipated.
We still had some way to go, but the whirlpool had already finished its circle—and as soon as it did, the current’s speed seemed to multiply.
It appeared that once the loop was complete, the flow gained its own reinforcing energy.
That’s how water behaves—once the route is set, the rest follows effortlessly.
Out of the five boats I thought would be caught, four were already being dragged inward. One managed to teeter on the edge and break away.
“Already?”
—Swoooosh…
—KRAAAASH!
Just as a sixth boat pulled free—
The surface erupted into foam, and the whirlpool surged into a full, violent spin.
The water and spray churned so fiercely that I lost sight of where the vortex began. The center was nothing but chaotic froth.
Which meant—I could no longer see the creature.
With all the foam and turbulent water, I had no idea where it was moving.
“It’s too quick… I didn’t expect this much turbulence.”
Inside the whirlpool, the captured boats were in complete disarray.
One boat that had just reached the outer ring of the current was being drawn toward the center, gradually, helplessly—its crew shouting in panic.
“Aaah! We’re in a whirlpool!”
“Pull! Pull harder, you fools!”
“It’s not working—the current’s too strong!”
‘Honestly, you’d think they were being pulled into the underworld… They just saw us save people moments ago!’
Despite seeing our earlier rescue, the pirates were crying out as though facing certain death.
Those being sucked in had flattened themselves against their boats, holding on for their lives.
‘Yeondu can save them if they overturn. For now, I should dive down and locate whatever’s causing this.’
From above, it was impossible to see—but maybe from below, I could spot it.
Breathing underwater would be an issue, of course, so I’d need perfect coordination with Cho.
But Cho and I? Our coordination is second to none.
She could use my shoes as gloves, and I could wear her gloves as shoes—that’s how attuned we are.
After all, we’re father and daughter.
‘Without a question.’
With a safety plan in place for the pirates, I was just about to tell Cho to dive—
When a pirate clinging to one of the outermost boats looked up, saw me, and screamed at the top of his lungs:
“Sir! You need to help us before we’re pulled all the way in! If more boats get caught, they’ll smash into each other and splinter!”
“…What!?”
I halted and ran the numbers.
A whirlpool naturally draws everything toward its center.
Unless there’s a drain at the bottom, nothing gets pulled down—it all spins inward.
That meant the boats were on a collision course for the middle.
And if that happened?
Exactly as the pirate said, they’d crash into one another and break apart.
I recalled something: even metal ships aren’t built to withstand side impacts, especially in storms.
And these weren’t metal—they were wooden boats.
Built in the Central Plains.
‘They might as well be made of paper.’
I had planned to enter the water, but now I had no alternative.
No matter how untrustworthy these pirates were, I couldn’t allow them to be harmed.
‘This isn’t