Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 498

Chapter 498
『“Both of you, stay alert.”』
After seeing Gun Hye-rin to her position, I swiftly guided Hwa-eun to a concealed location behind a stack of large boulders that offered a clear view of all four riverside watchtowers.

Her assigned spirit companion was Cho.

There was a specific logic behind pairing Yeondu with Hye-rin and Cho with Hwa-eun.
I took the central position, with Hwa-eun on my right and Hye-rin on my left. The center allowed me to support either side quickly, an advantage they didn’t have.
If trouble arose on one flank, the other would have to cover too much ground to help in time.
Therefore, Cho and Yeondu were placed with them to facilitate a swift regroup if necessary.
My central post wasn’t because I was the most powerful.
On the contrary.
It was the most secure spot, enabling me to dash to their aid wherever needed.

『“Alright. And you too, So-ryong. You’re still not completely accustomed to the Flower Realm. If you see the enemy, call out before you attack, understood?”』
“I will. Try not to fret. Hyang is here. Heukhwa and Baekhwa are also with me.”
Tsureureu. (Correct. Mother Hyang is here.)
Kishaah. (We are here as well—there is nothing to fear.)
Shakii. (Indeed.)
Even with Heukhwa and Baekhwa present—beasts that even Gun Hye-rin could not overcome—Hwa-eun still felt the need to add more.
『“Even so, one can never be certain. So-ryong, you have a habit of doing the most unpredictable things. Hyang, you two—I am relying on you to keep an eye on him.”』
Tsurut. (Yes, Mother.)
Kisha. (Naturally.)
Shaki. (We will.)
“I should get going now. Oh, wait—”
Perhaps I was being excessively cautious, but as I prepared to depart, I suddenly grasped Hwa-eun’s earlier concern.
Looking at Cho, I felt a similar urge to give her one more warning.
『“Cho, remember what we discussed? If a battle starts and your mother is part of it, you must not intervene. Do you understand?”』
Cho was strong, but her defenses were insufficient to withstand the internal force of a Flower Realm master’s strike.
Her own mother, the Azure-Striped Centipede, had perished from such a blow. Only spirit beasts like Hyang and Cheongwol, or those who wield inner strength like Heukhwa and Baekhwa, could contend with that power.
So my worry was inevitable.
Cho gave a soft nod in response to my words.
Tsuret. (I understand, Father. I promise.)
“Good. If you get injured, it hurts me even more. So you must not get hurt under any circumstances.”
Tch. (Do not worry, Father.)
I gave Cho’s head an affectionate pat before departing for my own post with Sister Jeokwol.
She rode on my back while Moji and Soji clung to her shoulders. Together, the three of them could carry me for brief flights.
Our chosen ambush point was a towering tree that overlooked the central watchtowers.
Myumyu.
Myuu.
They set me down softly on a broad branch, their wings visibly tired.
Moji and Soji let out quiet cries—their meaning clear without translation. They were complaining about my weight.
I thanked them with a pat, settled against the trunk, and focused my gaze on the towers.
Now, all we could do was wait and watch.
The night was serene, filled only with the gentle chirping of insects and the distant call of an owl.

***
Bwooong. Bwooong.
Abruptly, an owl landed on a nearby branch and began hooting incessantly.
The noise was so intrusive that every cricket and frog in the vicinity fell silent.
Hesitating, Cho asked her mother,
『-Tsureureu. (Mother, shall I drive it away?)』
The owl’s calls were drowning out the sound of the nearby stream.
Hwa-eun began to turn toward Cho, but my voice reached them first through our mental connection.
『“What’s happening over there, Cho?”』
“It’s nothing serious. An owl landed nearby and will not stop calling. Cho was asking if she should scare it off.”
“I see. Everything else is quiet?”
“Yes.”
“What about Gun Hye-rin’s side?”
“All quiet here as well. It is so dull I am fighting sleep.”
Hwa-eun answered before Cho could.
While the adults conversed, Cho kept her attention fixed on the owl.
It continued its relentless hooting.
“Do not drop your vigilance.”
“Me? I never neglect my duties. I, Gun Hye-rin, Successor of the Heavenly Demon Cult, would never be lax in my work. So-ryong, what low opinion do you hold of me?”
“Well?”
“Well!? Are you making fun of me? You warn me not to be careless and then just say ‘well’? Sigh. The man tied to me can be so frivolous.”
“Your man!?”
“I meant… the man connected to my fate!”
“Both of you, please stop.”
“What absurd notion are you entertaining!? So-ryong, don’t tell me you…”
Seeing that the discussion was dragging on, Cho decided to act on her own.
She quietly slipped away from her mother and crept toward the tree holding the owl.
Flying was too risky; it might draw the attention of any hidden foes.
So she moved out from behind the rocks and skimmed low through the tall grass, ensuring she disturbed nothing.
Upon reaching the tree, she clung to the far side of the trunk and began a slow, careful climb.
As she ascended, a few insects, startled by her movement, skittered away.
She finally reached a branch level with the owl and peered around the trunk.
It was still there, hooting.
『-Tsureu… (What should I do?)』
She didn’t want to startle it into a noisy panic.
Her father had stressed the importance of silence until the enemy showed itself.
After a moment’s consideration, she decided to try gently shaking the branch.
Just enough to unsettle the bird, not frighten it.
She pressed her head lightly against the branch…
Fss.
Flapflap.
It worked.
The branch trembled faintly, and the owl, disturbed, took flight with a soft rustle of feathers.
Back in the mental chat, Hwa-eun had finally managed to settle the bickering.
Cho peeked out and called softly to her mother.
『-Tsuret! (Mother, I made the owl leave!)』
“Did you? How did you manage it? Weren’t you just—”
Hwa-eun started to glance toward the source of the voice but was still looking toward Cho’s original hiding spot.
She hadn’t noticed that Cho had moved.
At that exact moment—
From the very spot where Cho had been concealed…
Something of a similar size emerged without a sound.
Hwa-eun was completely unaware of the substitution.
Tsureureureu! 『Mother!』
Cho screamed a warning.
And in that same heartbeat—
The creature’s maw gaped open—and a whip-like appendage shot out toward Hwa-eun, uncoiling with a sharp snap.
CHRAK!

Just as the tension from my near-disastrous joke to Gun Hye-rin had been soothed by Hwa-eun, Cho’s cry shattered the night’s peace.
Tsurururu! 『Mother!』
The jungle erupted at her shout.
Birds took flight in alarm, and an instant later, Hwa-eun’s scream echoed through our mental link.
『“Kyaaah!”』
“What happened!?”
“Hwa-eun!”
As Gun Hye-rin yelled, I shouted Hwa-eun’s name and threw myself from the tree toward the riverbank where she was hidden.
Pushing off from the tree, I soared through the air. In the distance, I saw Cho plunging down toward Hwa-eun’s position.
Seeing her mother in peril, she had thrown herself into the fight.
Even though I had ordered her not to, our Cho would never stand by if Hwa-eun was threatened.
『“Cho, be wary!”』
I didn’t know the details, but if Hwa-eun had been overcome so quickly, then Cho rushing in was in grave danger.
I shouted the warning through our link—and received a startling reply.
『-Tsuret! (Father, it is alright! That creature—it is not a person!)』
“What!?”
KWAANG!
A tremendous impact followed as Cho was violently thrown into a cluster of large rocks.
Stone shards flew outward, and a thick cloud of dust billowed into the air.
‘Not a person?’
I had no time to ponder her meaning before I began to fall.
“Ugh!”
I desperately looked for something to land on, but I had jumped from the highest point around—there was nothing below.
The ground sloped sharply down from Gun Hye-rin’s mountainous position toward the river, making it a dangerous drop.
Even with Flower Realm strength, a fall from this height could be catastrophic.
I needed something to step on, immediately.
“Everyone! I need a step!”
In my rushed leap, Moji and Soji had clung to me. The moment I called, Moji spread her wings beneath my feet.
I kicked off from her back, propelling myself forward again toward the river.
Next, I used Soji as a stepping stone—but even with both their assists, I hadn’t covered the full distance. I began to fall once more.
Sister Jeokwol had remained in the tree and was too far behind to help.
‘Damn it. What can I use now?’
As I scrambled for a solution, something seized me around the waist, bending my body backward.
“Khgh!”
“You—fool! Even in a crisis, a fall from this height would shatter your legs, Flower Realm or not! Hwa-eun was correct—you truly do create impossible situations!”
It was Gun Hye-rin. From her tone, Yeondu must have brought her.
Shaah. 『Are you unharmed, So-ryong?』
“Y-yes. I am fine.”
A deep ache resonated in my lower back—a man’s most valued area—but nothing seemed broken.
Gun Hye-rin then released her grip and surged forward.
“You see to Hwa-eun! I will deal with this thing!”
Yeondu, with her speed, had undoubtedly arrived first. I dismounted from Yeondu and sprinted into the slowly settling dust cloud, shouting,
“Hwa-eun! Hwa-eun!”
I searched desperately—and then Hwa-eun’s faint voice reached me from within the haze.
“So-ryong… please, help me.”
She was calling for aid, which likely meant her injuries weren’t fatal.
Relief washed over me as I followed her voice and found her lying in the dust.
Something was coiled around her, and she was feebly trying to pull it off.
“So-ryong, be cautious. It carries a venom.”
As I reached to grab the thing constricting her, she warned me.
I swiftly donned the gloves crafted from Yo-hwa’s silk—and the instant I pulled the object away, I felt it squirm across my hand like a living tendril.
Then I recognized it.
It was a memory from my previous life.
‘A proboscis!?’
The thing slithering over my glove like a network of veins was a feeding tube—a proboscis.
In that moment, I finally understood the nature of the pale, noodle-like thing found in the corpse’s mouth.
“Hwa-eun! Use Sammae Flame Bloom!”
“Understood.”
Upon reaching the Flower Realm, one can wreathe their entire body in flame. This would quickly burn away the appendage.
I also yelled to Gun Hye-rin.
“Gun Hye-rin! Do not sever it!”
Slash.
But I was too late. The distinct sound of a clean cut reached my ears.
A moment later, Gun Hye-rin emerged from the dust and gave her report.
“So-ryong, I do not know what that was, but it fled. I almost cut it completely in two—it cannot possibly survive that. But why did you tell me not to cut it?”
“Almost cut it in two?”
“The blow was not perfectly clean, but its lower section was hanging by a thread. It escaped in that condition.”
She believed it to be dead or dying—but I knew the truth.
There was a reason for my warning.
Why?
Because if you cut it—it divides and becomes two.
“If you cut it, it splits into two separate entities.”
“What!?”
Gun Hye-rin’s eyes opened wide in stunned disbelief.