Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 424

Chapter 424
My vision was filled with the intense glare of the sun in a cloudless sky.
Pushing myself up, I felt the heat of the sunlight on my skin, tempered by a refreshingly cool breeze that drifted by.
—Ssshhhhh.
The distant, rhythmic crash of waves reached my ears.
As my sight focused, I saw the familiar, gently swaying form of a somewhat exotic palm tree, greeting me like an old friend. I recognized this scenery.
“An… island?”
Perhaps it was the result of connecting with both Orange and Yeondu simultaneously—the vista unfolding before me was unmistakably an island landscape.
Since mental realms typically mirror either the owner’s dwelling place or the inherent nature of the spirit beast, this one seemed heavily influenced by Orange, who had resided in Yizhou.
It was a near-perfect replica of what I remembered from there.
“Now then… where exactly am I?”
I had awakened beside a stream that cut through a valley, its waters eventually meeting a far-off beach. Knowing Yeondu had made her home in a valley, I reasoned that following this stream upward was the right course.
If this world was modeled after Orange’s Yizhou, it stood to reason the two would be in a setting reminiscent of Yeondu’s valley.
Even though each mental world is unique, I had done this enough times to have a good sense of what to do.
“Alright, time to find Orange and Yeondu.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
With a buoyant spirit, I hopped from one rock to another in the stream bed, employing light footwork to travel quickly upstream.
After the arid, dusty environment of eastern India, this sudden shift to Yizhou’s lush, subtropical atmosphere—even if it was just a mental construct—felt unbelievably invigorating.
It was like a gulp of fresh air after breathing in dust.
Progressing along the valley, the rocky bed of the stream where I’d first encountered Yeondu came into view. Not long after, I arrived at the spring, the water’s source.
Smooth stones were arranged at its center.
Pristine water bubbled vigorously from a fissure in the rock.
And there, just as expected, were Yeondu and Orange.
“Hey, you two!”
Their heads were close together, utterly absorbed by something. When I shouted, they glanced up with bright, cheerful faces and responded:
“So-ryong!”
“Big Brother!”
Wait—they could talk?
I stopped dead, completely taken aback.
I had anticipated their happy expressions, but hearing them speak was something I had not prepared for.
Up until now, none of the other beasts I’d connected with had ever spoken within the mental space. Communication had only become possible after the bond was fully established.
Maybe it’s because I opened the Serpent’s Gate?
That was the only explanation I could think of as I touched down beside them.
“You look surprised.”
“You have no idea, Big Brother. Hearing my own voice is so strange. Is that really me?”
“It is most peculiar…”
It turned out they had been peering into a calm section of the spring, captivated by their own reflections. Orange, especially, kept shifting his position to examine his face from different angles.
“Even here, Orange is a good-looking fellow.”
“You as well, Big Brother! Come on—how could I possibly compare! Ahaha.”
Orange had the relaxed appearance of a rugged, sun-tanned man. His loose orange garments matched the color of his scales—perfectly fitting the bold, cheerful, and charismatic image I always had of him.
But as he talked and moved, something was noticeably wrong.
He wasn’t using his hands.
His arms hung limply at his sides like useless decorations, swaying in an ungainly manner.
Even the way he moved his body seemed uncoordinated.
I gave him a questioning look—what’s going on with your arms?—and Orange tilted his head in confusion.
“What is it, Big Brother? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Well… why are you holding your arms like that?”
“Oh, this? I suppose… I don’t actually know how to operate them?”
As he replied, I looked over at Yeondu. She nodded in quiet agreement.
Yeondu carried herself with the poise of a well-bred young lady—someone raised in comfort and elegance, far from any struggle.
She seemed like the type who would speak in a soft, cultured tone.
Her demeanor suddenly made sense of the unusually refined expressions I’d sometimes sensed from her.
And then, a sharp pang of guilt hit me.
When I first captured Yeondu, I had basically ambushed and threatened a noblewoman. The realization landed like a physical blow.
I really was a piece of work back then.
I muttered a silent apology: “Yeondu, your oppa is going to make it up to you from now on.”
But first, I needed to solve the mystery of their clumsy movement and unused limbs.
Had something malfunctioned in the mental world?
Let me think… my previous connections were with Cho and his siblings, Hyang and Bini.
Then Seol, Bing, and Dong from the Snow Armored Stone Gecko clan.
Then Cheong-yu, the Golden Wasp Queen, and Cheongwol the Stone Armored Scorpion.
And naturally, Hwayang, the Azure Fire Magma Toad.
With the exception of Cheong-yu—who had a split human and beast form—every single one of them had legs. Several pairs, in fact. This meant they had a natural instinct for moving with limbs.
They adjusted to human-like motion inside the mental realm almost instantly.
But Orange and Yeondu? They had no legs whatsoever. No forelimbs, no hindquarters—nothing.
Of course they had no idea how to use arms and legs. They’d never possessed any.
Snakes don’t have hands or feet.
They were attempting to shuffle along using their tails—doing their absolute best to “walk”—but they had zero muscle memory for operating arms.
For multi-limbed creatures, moving hands was instinctive. For limbless ones, learning to use arms and legs was an entirely foreign concept, like teaching a fish to climb.
“Ah, this must be your first time having hands and feet. Okay then… I’ll teach you. Let’s start by learning how they work.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
“Understood, So-ryong.”
We couldn’t remain in the mental realm indefinitely, but we still had some time for a basic lesson. And if we met here again, I didn’t want them struggling like this.
I took their arms and carefully manipulated them, bending their wrists and flexing their fingers, demonstrating which muscles to use.
True to their nature as spirit beasts, they were quick learners.
“Wow, hands are really useful, aren’t they?”
“Aren’t they just?”
“Yes, So-ryong.”
Yeondu watched her wiggling fingers with a sense of marvel in her eyes.
Then I noticed Orange starting to move his hand toward Yeondu’s shoulder—only to jerk it back when he saw me watching.
He clearly wanted to put his arm around her. He probably just wanted to feel her closeness. Isn’t that what you do when you care for someone?
You better appreciate her, Orange. I mean it.
Determined to give him a nudge later, I decided it was time to conclude our session.
“Alright, let’s finalize your registration and head out. Time moves differently here—if we stay too long, days will pass outside.”
“Understood, So-ryong.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
Orange looked utterly heartbroken.
The kid wore the most tragic expression imaginable, fighting hard to conceal his disappointment.
I acted as though I didn’t see it and spoke in a casual tone:
“I need both of you to kiss me on the cheek at the same time.”
“Not on the hand?”
“Well, that was the plan last time, but the cheek seems more suitable. It didn’t work out too well with Cheong-yu, if you recall.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Outside, I had instructed them to kiss the back of my hand—but I changed it to the cheek for this.
Even so, the two of them obediently moved to either side of me, showing no sign of doubt.
I glanced at both of them and gave the command.
“On the count of three—kiss me immediately, understood?”
“Yes, So-ryong.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
“One, two, three.”
Just as they leaned in to press their lips against my cheeks, I abruptly pulled my upper body forward—
—and tugged them into the space I had just occupied.
And so, with their lips still slightly pursed, the two of them ended up kissing… each other.
‘Incredible. So-ryong truly is the master of orchestration.’
To devise this kind of play even within a mental realm—that’s So-ryong for you.
“Oh my…”
“WHAAAAT!”
Snakes naturally have no concept of kissing, so when Orange’s lips met Yeondu’s, she could only blink in stunned surprise.
As for Orange, the instant he felt the softness of her lips against his, his face went completely rigid with disbelief.
Even without a cultural context for kissing, he had just made contact with the most delicate, tender part of the one he cherished.
The most intimate place to feel another’s warmth without overstepping—what might be called ‘the perfect point’ by those in love.
It was likely the softest sensation he had ever experienced in his life.
Orange… you had better remain loyal to your Big Brother forever.
I allowed him to savor the moment for a little while.
Then, once he started to regain his awareness, I gave him a knowing wink and drew both their hands toward me, pressing my lips to the backs of them.
Slowly, my awareness started to dissolve.
***