Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 477

Chapter 477
I had nearly surrendered to the thought that it was hopeless—but then the ambition to labor upon the Great Wall was suddenly rekindled.

Because Hwa-eun spoke next.
“So-ryong, when will you be finished?”
She was aware I had promised to be swift, so her question didn’t stem from impatience.
I turned to look. It wasn’t a proper bed, but Hwa-eun was leaning back slightly against a heap of straw, idly twisting a lock of her hair around her finger.
A glimpse of her legs was visible, and in the lantern light, her cheeks held a soft, rosy hue.
When she met my gaze and offered that tender smile—
The reply escaped me before I could think.
“R-Right now. I’ll finish right now.”
This So-ryong… is a man who makes the unachievable happen.
Which meant it was time to settle the children for the night.
If I could just get the kids to sleep, then perhaps history could still be made.
Indeed. What did families in small, single-room dwellings do in the old days? They simply put the children to sleep.
“Alright, Mom is here now, so let’s all get ready for bed.”
— Tsururu. 『Let’s sleep.』
— Tsrut. 『Let’s go sleep!』
— Bii!
I swiftly gathered my notes for So-ryong’s Venomous Creature Log and collected the ink, brush, and inkstone from the desk to move them outside.
With the children living alongside me, I couldn’t keep furniture like desks and chairs out permanently—they were stored outside and only brought in when necessary.
Some might see this as an undue difficulty, and yes, it was somewhat inconvenient. Yet, it was still infinitely more comfortable than my previous life.
I had no droppings to clean, no floors to scrub, no water or food bowls to prepare.
Yeolbi and Lady Jeokwol were looked after by the Venom Blood Squad. The only one requiring my direct care was Yo-hwa.
But after just a few steps, Orange scuttled beneath the desk and spoke.
— Sska. 『Big Brother, allow me to take care of this.』
“You will?”
— Sskaah. 『Naturally. This sort of task is my duty. Big Brother shouldn’t trouble himself with it.』
What a considerate little fellow.
He often assisted me, so I gave a nod.
“Be careful moving it. There’s still some feed inside.”
— Skaska. 『Have no concern, Big Brother. I can manage it.』
With Orange’s help, my only remaining task was to put my journal away.
As I brushed my fingers over the book’s surface to check if the ink was dry, I heard his hesitant voice once more.
— Skah… 『Erm… Big Brother?』
“Yes? What is it?”
He was looking at me, the desk poised steadily on his head.
Under my gaze, he asked with a shy tone,
— Skaah. 『Would it be permissible… if I… spoke with Yeondu for a short while? Merely, that is… perhaps tomorrow…? Ahem…』
Ah. So that was the reason for his unusual eagerness to help. He had an ulterior motive this evening.
Yeondu was presently away with Gun Hye-rin at the Heavenly Demon Cult, expected to return the next day.
He was undoubtedly anxious to know the precise time.
“Of course. You may speak with her whenever you wish.”
— Skaat. 『My thanks, Big Brother!』
The instant I replied, he sped toward the door as if his tail had sprouted wings, nudged it open, and carried the desk and chairs outside.
I smiled at the sight and carefully placed my Venomous Creature Log into the room’s sole piece of furniture: a storage chest.
Rustle, rustle.
Next, I started arranging the dry straw and grass to craft an ideal spot for sleeping.
The floor of my home was covered with a layer of fine hay and straw, and I always slept there with the children under a single blanket. Therefore, preparing the sleeping area was a necessary nightly routine.
— Tsrut. 『Father, I will assist.』
Cho coiled himself into a round shape, forming a snug nest in the room’s center.
A fine nest indeed, offering more than enough room for history to unfold.
Thinking of the Great Wall, I reached a hand out to Hwa-eun.
“Hwa-eun, come here.”
“Yes, So-ryong.”
She had been waiting to the side while the nest was prepared. Now she approached, gently waving a hand to create a breeze that made the lamp’s flame flicker.
“Sleep well, everyone.”
— Tsururu. 『Good night, Mother and Father.』
— Bii. 『Baap.』
— Kkyuit. 『Grandpa, goodbye.』
As the children bid their goodnights and Orange was likely inquiring with Yeondu about her arrival time tomorrow, I guided Hwa-eun down into the nest and drew a blanket over us both.
From the brazier in the room’s corner came the soft, rhythmic crackling of burning charcoal.
— Tak, tak.
The chamber was filled only with the dim radiance and the gentle sound of the fire.
We held our breath, waiting for the children to fall asleep.
It was during that extended hush, broken only by the popping embers, that I must have slipped into a brief doze—
Until a faint rustling sound reached my ear.
— Sa-bjak. Sak.
A subtle motion followed.
Or rather, a motion that intended to be subtle.
I turned toward the noise and saw Hwa-eun slowly inching her way toward me.
Our eyes met, and we both smiled in the same instant.
This—this was genuine mutual understanding.
Once she was near enough, I slid my arm beneath her neck.
And just like that, she nestled against my chest.
Her soft form came into contact with mine in several places, imparting a gentle warmth.
A warmth I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Our children didn’t urinate indiscriminately. They didn’t shed hair.
And although insects and amphibians typically possess a particular odor, spiritual beasts such as them did not.
As venomous companions, they were flawless in every aspect—save for one single shortcoming.
They were cold-blooded.
You could not feel any warmth, even if you held them close.
That is likely the reason most people favor pets like dogs and cats over reptiles or insects.
Certainly, intelligence and emotional bonds are significant—but physical warmth? That provides comfort.
That is why, feeling Hwa-eun’s warmth now, a sense of tranquility settled within me.
As I softly stroked her hair, I asked silently within my heart…
“Feeling sleepy now?”
Naturally, it wasn’t a question I truly anticipated would be answered with “yes.”
Then, in the darkness, I discerned the glimmer of Hwa-eun’s eyes looking up at me—and in my mind, her voice replied.
‘Yes…’
Our lips were gradually, silently closing the gap between them.
Just as they were about to meet—
A tickling sensation traveled up from my leg. I glanced downward.
A pair of red eyes was crawling up my limb.
It was Hyang.
‘Gyaaah!!’
I froze mere moments from the kiss. Hwa-eun blinked in bewilderment, her eyes wide as she looked at me.
Then, following my stare, her expression swiftly shifted to one of tremor.
It was the sort of stunned disbelief witnessed only when a person’s soul seems to depart their body.
“Why… why aren’t you asleep yet…”
I lamented inwardly, but by then Hyang had already comfortably positioned herself directly between me and Hwa-eun and chirped in her infuriatingly adorable voice:
— Tsrut. 『Hehe, you two are still awake! Hyang must sleep between Mommy and Daddy!』
She showed no regard for her “parents’” privacy, though she might have been attempting to be mindful of the other spirit beasts—as she was communicating through the heart-link.
As we both remained frozen in silence, Hyang wriggled a bit and then slipped into the space within Hwa-eun’s cleavage.
She had obstructed the Great Wall project, taken my spot, and claimed the central position for herself.
That was meant to be my sanctuary!
I seethed with frustration—but then she posed another question,
— Tsururu. 『Mommy, Daddy, why are you so quiet?』
“Uh, w-we’re attempting to sleep.”
“Y-yes. Hyang, let’s go to sleep now, alright?”
As we made awkward attempts to coax her to sleep, she asked yet another thing.
— Tsrut. 『Father, what exactly is a wedding? All the uncles and Grandpa have been tremendously busy with it.』
Right. No one had actually explained it to her.
I thought I might stealthily move her and tuck her behind my back once she was asleep. So I answered hastily:
“Ah, well, um… how should I explain this…”
A wedding is a socially recognized ritual for human reproduction—but obviously, I could not say that.
While I fumbled for words, Hwa-eun intervened.
“Well, Hyang… it is when Daddy and Mommy pledge to live together for all time and never part.”
— Tsururu. 『Ooh… so that is what a wedding is…』
If this were the modern era, that would be a falsehood—people dissolve their unions. But in this world, Hwa-eun’s explanation was essentially accurate.
Hyang fell silent, apparently deep in thought.
*Please, just fall asleep*, I pleaded.
Even Hwa-eun’s sentiments reached me through our connection—begging for her to sleep.
But, predictably, Hyang spoke up again.
— Tsruts. 『Daddy! But, you see…』
How could one child harbor so many inquiries?
By the fifth or sixth question, Hwa-eun and I understood.
Understood what?
That this night… had reached its conclusion.
The night dragged on.
***
“Huaaahhh…”
Ultimately, both Hwa-eun and I succumbed to sheer exhaustion following Hyang’s relentless questioning.
I awoke to the early morning.
Faint light seeped through the window.
As I rubbed my eyes and sat up, I saw Hwa-eun bolt upright like a released spring.
“Ah! Oh dear!”
Bleary-eyed, I watched her hurriedly straightening her garments.
“I must prepare for the wedding! I shall go on ahead! I will see you shortly, So-ryong!”
“Uh, alright. Certainly…”
I merely needed to wash and pull on some clothes. But for a bride, there was makeup, hairstyling, ceremonial attire—a far more involved process.
The moment Hwa-eun rushed out, I heard the voice of her personal maid, Unmirang, from beyond the door.
“So-ryong-nim? Are you awake?”
“Yes, Unmirang. I am up.”
“Then please emerge swiftly. We have a great deal to accomplish today.”
“A great deal, you say?”
I rose and stepped outside—Unmirang was there accompanied by several other maids.
The instant they saw me, they surged forward.
“Let us proceed!”
“W-Wait, proceed where?”
“To prepare for the wedding, naturally!”
I had assumed I would simply wash and dress—but clearly, there was more to it. Before I could fully process this, Unmirang was already pulling me along. Our first destination: the ceremonial purification bath.
“You must cleanse your body before the wedding, so we begin with a bath.”
“O-oh… of course.”
They had prepared hot water infused with purifying herbs. I soaked in it, scrubbed myself clean, and emerged to find the maids waiting with towels and garments.
They dressed me in formal robes of the first rank, adorned with embroidered cranes.
“It fits you exquisitely, Lord So-ryong.”
“Wait… is this not official court dress?”
I had only been measured for it—I hadn’t realized that wearing full official regalia was part of the local wedding customs.
The maids gossiped with excitement:
“Yes, it is a first-rank robe with celestial cranes! Commoners wear robes of the ninth rank, but you are marrying into the Tang Clan. It is only fitting that it is of the highest tier!”
After being attended to for some time, I was led to the rear garden near the pond.
We walked past the dwellings of the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings and the Ho-ye, through a pavilion, and arrived at a wall that was supposed to be sealed—but had been entirely dismantled.
On the other side of that wall lay the original Four-Hall Courtyard, now fully integrated with the garden.
In other words, both the courtyard and the garden had been incorporated into my residence.
Upon entering the central hall of the Four-Hall Courtyard, I found the doors thrown wide open. Inside, surrounding the large bed, were red curtains and adornments crafted from crimson paper flowers.
It was the season, after all—so fresh blooms were substituted with artificial ones.
My mother-in-law was waiting within.
“Oh my, just look at my son-in-law. How handsome you are!”
“Haha… Mother-in-law, please…”
I scratched my head abashedly as she directed me to sit on the bed, which was draped in crimson fabric.
I was already familiar with the wedding schedule: I would sit and wait here, Hwa-eun would arrive fully dressed and veiled, then we would proceed to the Tang Clan’s ancestral shrine to perform the rites, returning here afterward to conclude the ceremony.
Just as this crossed my mind, Hwa-eun arrived.
She was wearing a brilliant red dress with a red cloth, known as a gaedu, obscuring her face.
I gathered I would be the one to lift it later that night.
Seeing her like that made my heart beat faster.
She truly seems like a present waiting to be unwrapped.
Shortly after, Grandfather and my father-in-law arrived to escort us to the ancestral shrine. We performed the formal rites, then returned to the chamber. As Hwa-eun and I sat beside each other on the bed, music commenced outside—a signal that the ceremony was beginning.
At that very moment, Grandfather Mandok Shingun entered, prepared to deliver his blessing.
“Congratulations to you both. May you be blessed with many healthy childre—hm?”
He halted mid-word, his eyes fixed on something behind us.
Hwa-eun and I turned to look.
Through the open window behind the bed, we saw light streaming in—and the outlines of several familiar forms.
Then a bright, cheerful voice called out:
— Tsururut. 『Daddy! We wish to live with you forever as well! Promise us too, okay?!』
There stood Hyang, surrounded by Bini, Cho, Yo-hwa, Lady Jeokwol, Hwayang, and Hongdan—aligned behind Hwa-eun like a small battalion.
And just outside the open window, I could discern Cheongwol, Hwanji, Hwana, and the tip of Cheong-yu’s golden spider leg.
…Our wedding night promised to be exceptionally crowded.