Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 522

Chapter 522
—Buzzzzz.

The moment I concluded the introduction with Mama held close, the hum of beating wings cut through the air.
Everyone who had been ready to depart turned to look behind me. I glanced back and saw Ranghu standing there, her head tilted in a puzzled expression.
It was that classic look of, *what is everyone doing here without me?*
‘Oh no! I completely forgot about Ranghu!’
I had said I was gathering everyone, so of course that should have included her. But it wasn’t just my mistake—everyone else had overlooked her, too.
My thoughts froze solid.
Ranghu had already been upset once on this trip for being left out. If we excluded her again, she would absolutely not let it go.
I had no idea what kind of retribution to expect, and the thought filled me with dread.
‘Wh-what should I do?’
I was desperately searching for a solution when—
Sister Seol’s voice carried from the plank bridge connecting the shore to the ship.
“So-ryong, my apologies for being late. Yeoncheon and Yeonji, who were with Bini, suggested I join as well, but Father needed me for something, which delayed me. You haven’t begun yet, I hope?”
This was technically a matter for the adult family members.
I hadn’t considered inviting Sister Seol, but her timing was impeccable.
I answered as casually as I could, feigning nonchalance.
“Not at all, we were just about to start! Actually, I was just going to call for Ranghu, and see—she’s arrived on her own.”
“Alright, but what is this gathering for?”
“Hoja has formally become part of our family, and I was making the introductions. Come, everyone, please take your seats.”
I flashed a series of frantic winks at the children who had been ready to leave, attempting to guide Seol and Ranghu to their spots—
When Hyang’s voice piped up:
—Tsrut. 『Dad, but the introduction already… Hey! Why are you pulling my antenna, sis?!』
—Tsr… 『Mind your manners, Hyang.』
—Tst? 『What did I say?』
—Tstsrr… 『Think… ahem. Choose your words more carefully.』
—Tss… 『Oh…』
Cho sharply interrupted Hyang before she could finish her thoughtless remark.
‘Well done, Cho!’
I sent her a silent word of praise through our private connection.
Then, before Seol and Ranghu could process the exchange between Hyang and Cho, I swiftly reintroduced Hoja.
“This is Hoja, now named Baekmo. Starting today, she is my Mama. Please welcome her warmly.”
—Buzzz?
“M-Mama?”
“That’s correct. She has consented to be my Mama. Yes, Sister Seol—my Mama.”
Both Seol and Ranghu appeared taken aback by the declaration.
Their reactions gave me pause.
Sister Seol might be shocked to learn I had a Mama now, but that was likely the extent of it.
After all, in the beast realm or among animal enthusiasts from my previous life, people often referred to themselves as the “parent” of their pets. So the reverse couldn’t be that unusual, could it?
And I’d certainly done far stranger things before.
The actual concern was Ranghu.
She had a history of reacting… intensely… whenever a new female spirit beast joined our group.
If her hostility was directed at any female, that would be a genuine problem.
In the insect and animal kingdoms, after all, incest isn’t a taboo. A female might not differentiate between a mother, a sister, or a stranger—they are all potential mates or rivals.
I was sincerely hoping she wouldn’t have another negative outburst.
And then—a strange buzzing noise.
—Buweeeeng.
Alarmed, I spun toward Ranghu, fearing she was about to attack.
But what I witnessed… was entirely unforeseen.
Ranghu was rubbing her forelegs together like a fly and dipping her head in a gesture of deference to Baekmo.
It was verging on obsequious—something she had never done before.
This was the same Ranghu who had once bravely commanded her children into combat. But since wasps are natural predators of honeybees, perhaps she was now paralyzed with fear.
Baekmo tilted her head and inquired with a confused tone:
[You claim to be the second?]
Then all hell broke loose as Yoha, Cheong-yu Sojeo, Cheongwol, Sister Jeokwol, and Hwayang immediately surrounded Ranghu and began shouting angry rebuttals.
—Kissit! 『What nonsense are you speaking?!』
—Krrrng! 『You! Do not spout such lies in front of Mother!』
—Sia. 『Be careful. I will not show restraint this time.』
—Bbee! 『You disgraceful—Baap!』
It seemed a full-blown fight was on the verge of breaking out.
I moved to intervene, but Sister Seol casually threw an arm around my shoulders and drew me away.
Was I… not supposed to get involved?
As I stood there bewildered, she asked me in a hushed tone:
“So-ryong… I understand what you’re doing, but did you speak with Father about this?”
“Father?”
“Yes.”
Why would I need to consult my adoptive father about this?
Certainly, I was adopted into the Beast Palace, but I was an adult merely arranging a family matter.
I tilted my head and asked:
“Is it really necessary to discuss this with him?”
“If you are making Hoja your Mama, then yes.”
“…Why is that?”
I stared at her blankly, clearly not grasping why I needed authorization for this.
She gave me a look that said *I knew you would say that*, then clarified:
“If she is your mother, that means she is also my mother, correct?”
“…That’s right.”
“And that would make her Father’s wife, would it not?”
“…”
‘Oh… no. She’s correct.’
I had not even considered that.
My mother… would legally become my foster father’s spouse.
Sister Seol’s birth mother was deceased, and Hoja wasn’t a mere concubine—she would now be the official lady of the Beast Palace.
I managed a strained smile.
Without realizing it, I had just wedded my father to a sentient giant hornet.
Or perhaps I had wedded Mama to my father?
“…Hahaha.”
“What do you plan to do?”
I looked over at Mama, who was trapped awkwardly amidst the bickering children and visibly uneasy.
Then I answered Seol’s question:
“Uh, how about… we just allow them both to remain in the dark? It would be best if neither of them ever found out, right?”
Seol looked at me, pondered for a second, then let out a soft laugh.
“True… I suppose I don’t know anything about it either. Just ensure they never discover the truth.”
“Yes, Sister Seol.”
And so, I inadvertently became the first martial artist in Murim to unknowingly arrange a marriage between his adoptive father and a gigantic magical hornet.
To be fair, the Mama of my spiritual realm possessed an ample bosom and an extraordinarily beautiful face, so technically… Father had come out ahead.
But maintaining the secret—from both parties—was for Mama’s own good.
Because I was fairly certain she would be far more dismayed than Father if she ever learned the truth.
‘Father isn’t exactly handsome… She’ll see what he looks like, won’t she?’
Yes. She would undoubtedly have regrets.
I only wanted her to be happy.
And that meant… ensuring she never found out.
***

While the two individuals in question remained oblivious, the process of integrating her into the family continued.
There were no significant complications.
I simply never informed Father that I had designated Hoja as my Mama, and when I introduced him to Mama, I described him as my foster father.
I explained to her that among humans, a foster relationship exists, where someone who isn’t your biological father cares for you as if they were.
I stressed that he definitely was not my real father.
[Then isn’t that the same as our situation?]
“No, no! Completely different!”
[Different?]
“Yes! In our case, we started as strangers and chose to become true parent and child, correct? But a foster relationship is more like… an arrangement. It’s superficial, not rooted in the heart.”
[It still sounds somewhat similar to me?]
“What! I’ve always considered you my true parent! I even imagined myself as your little Hoja larva! Wait—Mama, were you not sincere about this?! Was I the only one who was serious? Is that it?!”
[N-no, I… I truly do see you as my child. Yes. Now that I consider it, it is entirely different. You are right. What matters most is the intention.]
She may have experienced a flicker of uncertainty, but ultimately, she accepted it.
Beyond that, Ranghu had begun to constantly hover around Mama, fluttering her wings obsequiously, which irritated the other girls immensely.
—Buweeeng.
—Krrrng. 『Could you please reduce the overfamiliarity?』
—Kissit. 『Yes, it’s truly excessive.』
So while the family integration was successful, the genuine issue emerged from another quarter.
“So-ryong, you didn’t employ Soul Binding Arts on her, did you?”
“Huh? No, absolutely not!”
“Then how did she regain consciousness in that state?”
“I believe… my Beast-Heart Cultivation has effects comparable to soul binding. It must have been effective.”
“That’s absurd!”
A few evenings later, Grandpa Yakseon paid a visit, and the instant he saw Baekmo fully awake and aware, he confronted me.
He suspected I had used the Soul Binding Technique to resurrect her.
He insisted that without such a method, it was impossible to restore her awareness.
I denied it with a pained expression—because I truly had not done it.
Hwa-eun stepped in to support me.
“Grandpa, be serious. So-ryong doesn’t even know the Soul Binding Arts. How could he possibly use them?”
“No, wait. What about that woman from the Blood Cult he apprehended earlier? Didn’t she utilize those techniques? What if—?”
“That vile creature would never have taught him anything of the sort.”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true…”
“Anyway, let’s change the subject. Grandpa, please have some tea.”
“Ahem. Well, I suppose I’ll sample a cup of Hwa-eun’s tea for the first time in a while.”
Hwa-eun, lying with such effortless grace it seemed rehearsed, even included a sweet, angelic smile that instantly softened the old men’s hearts. The two masters—Ui-seon and Yak-seon—relinquished their suspicions.
‘Honestly, who is the real demoness here?’
Just as I began to suspect my wife might be the actual wicked sorceress, Hwa-eun inquired why the two had really come.
“By the way, what brings you both here today? You are, of course, always welcome if it’s for my tea~”
“Ah, there was something we wished to ask you and So-ryong.”
“Us?”
“Yes.”
I tilted my head, curious about what they could want.
Then Grandpa Yakseon asked:
“You two are aware of why we’ve come, correct?”
“Here…?”
They abruptly asked why they had come, so I asked for clarification—but it turned out they weren’t referring to my quarters, but to the Beast Palace itself.
“We mean here, to the Beast Palace.”
I nodded.
“Yes. Because of the poison those Five Venoms Sect scoundrels used, right?”
“Correct.”
“I heard the elders from the Tang family are also assisting.”
Initially, the Tang Clan elders were tasked with analyzing the poison employed by the Five Venoms Sect.
Since the Beast Palace’s current poison specialists were from the Tang family.
But the toxin was so powerful that even they could not properly identify it.
The Five Venoms Sect members had used their characteristic flasks, so the poison was recovered in identical containers.
But merely uncorking one of those bottles would melt their tools and strip the skin from their fingers from the vapors alone. The two old masters didn’t possess sufficient poison resistance to study it.
Even with the lids tightly sealed, slight traces of poisonous gas seeped out, compelling them to bury the samples far underground.
Eventually, Hwa-eun volunteered—but even she could not determine its composition.
Although her poison resistance had reached the Flower Realm, allowing her to endure the fumes, neither she nor the Tang elders had the sophisticated reagents required to analyze it.
Their equipment consisted only of basic field kits, not proper laboratory apparatus.
Ultimately, the Murim Alliance summoned Grandmaster Mandok Singun—but before he arrived, Ui-seon and Yak-seon came first and commenced their investigation.
And now, Yakseon revealed their findings.
“We identified the foundation of this poison.”
“Really?!”
“Yes.”
The Murim Alliance was treating this with such gravity for a simple reason: imagine if this poison were released inside the Alliance headquarters or the Imperial Palace.
Hence, they initiated this comprehensive inquiry.
And now, these two had answers.
Both Hwa-eun and I leaned in and asked at the same time:
“So what poison is it?”
“Yes, what kind?”
Yakseon turned to me and stated,
“You’ll appreciate this. It’s the venom of a Poison Beast. One we’ve never encountered before.”
“It’s a Poison Beast’s venom?!”
A shiver went down my spine.
Poison Beasts—monsters conceived from toxic energies.
“Yes. If a poison is artificially made, it typically contains elements from earth, metal, or other mineral traces. This one had none. No signs of any inorganic material.”
In other words, it wasn’t a manufactured poison but a natural one. Biological in origin.
I asked eagerly:
“Then—what kind of Poison Beast is it?!”
But the two old masters looked perplexed and replied:
“Well… that’s what we were hoping to ask you.”
“We were thinking you might recognize the venom.”
“No, I’ve never encountered it before…”
Still, I wracked my brain.
‘Could it be Jimjo? No… this is fundamentally distinct.’
I had seen Jimjo’s poison once—but it was chaotic and formless, spreading like a mist in every direction.
This one was spherical, like expanding bubbles.
As I pondered this, Hwa-eun suddenly exclaimed:
“Ah! Myeolse?! Why didn’t it occur to me?!”
Had she figured it out?
Everyone turned to her, and from Hwa-eun’s lips came the name of the final member of the Ten Great Poison Beasts.
“Myeolse Geumwa! (World-Ender Golden Frog)!”
Even I was familiar with that name.
It was the mythical golden frog prophesied to bring about the apocalypse.