Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 425

Chapter 425

“Oh, he’s stirring. He’s coming around.”
As feeling began to return to my body, I heard Seol-noona’s voice close to my ear.
Then Hwa-eun’s.
“So-ryong, are you awake?”
“Nnngh… how long was I out this time?”
I asked, extending my stiff and heavy limbs. Hwa-eun softly kneaded my arm as she replied.
“Three days.”
“That’s quicker than normal. No wonder my body doesn’t feel completely locked up.”
“Yes, you regained consciousness remarkably fast.”
It usually took a minimum of ten to fifteen days. Only three?
It must be related to my advancement in cultivation stage—or perhaps the flow of time within the mental realm is changing.
I was fine, but I needed to check on the others.
“How are they? The kids—are they okay?”
“They woke up just yesterday. They’re both doing well.”
The two had apparently regained consciousness a full day before I did.
I reached out to them with my thoughts.
Yeondu.
—Shaaa. 『Goodness, I can truly hear your thoughts! Ah—but that’s not important right now! So-ryong! You’re awake? I was so concerned!』
The moment I focused my mind on Yeondu, her voice rang out clearly in my head.
Next, I reached for Orange.
Orange, Big Brother is awake.
—Skah! 『Big Brother! You’re up!? I was keeping watch but moved aside for a moment. I’ll be right there!』
Whether it was the mental bond or the kiss they shared, I could sense their loyalty had increased tremendously.
With a playful thought, I asked:
Orange, you’re going to take good care of Big Brother, right?
He hesitated for the briefest moment—then answered with a voice overflowing with devotion.
—SKAAAH! Big Brother is my eternal Big Brother!
Yeah. He definitely enjoyed that.
***
Three days later, we assembled under the bodhi tree to register Hwanji and Hwana.
We waited three days and chose the bodhi tree again for a few reasons.
First, Hwa-eun had advised me to wait at least two days to let her body recuperate from its fast before proceeding with Hwanji and Hwana.
Second, I had initially wanted to use the cave for privacy, but Hwanji and Hwana absolutely refused to go inside.
Even though the cave opened up further in, the narrow entrance seemed to make them too uncomfortable.
So we went back to the bodhi tree and got ready to enter the mental realm.
As I was completing the final preparations, Tenzin came closer and inquired in a hushed, respectful tone:
“Heavenly Master… might I ask a question? When you bring them into your mental world… are you instructing them in the Dharma and guiding them toward enlightenment?”
By now, Tenzin was wholly convinced I was the Heavenly Master.
I had learned a lesson from the Nāga incident in that Indian village:
It makes no difference how often you refuse a title—people will believe what they choose to believe.
Once someone decides to believe something, they only register information that confirms it and dismiss everything else. Reasoning with them is futile.
So I stopped trying.
Whether I was the Heavenly Master, a Tolku, or something else entirely, I just offered a non-committal response and continued with my task.
“Hmm. You could say that.”
“I thought as much!”
It doesn’t matter. I’m taking the spirit beasts and leaving anyway. Arguing is pointless.
I turned my attention back to Hwanji and Hwana.
“You both understood the instructions, correct?”
—Shuuu. 『Understood, So-ryong.』
—Shhh. 『Yes, So-ryong.』
I had already prepared their saliva samples.
Ignoring Tenzin’s gaze—he kept looking at me with far too much reverence—I quietly summoned the energy of the Beast Heart Art.
As my sight started to blur—
—one last thought occurred to me.
Hold on. What will their forms be like inside the mental realm?
A combination of excitement and apprehension churned within me as the mental connection started to take hold.