Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 57

Chapter 57

As the soft hissing of my golden centipedes signaled their return, I swiftly caught Bin-ah just as she was about to jump down and take another bite out of Yang Seong-hoo. Her small legs squirmed with a fierce resolve to chase after the “odd man” who had provoked her. Keeping a firm grip, I spoke gently to soothe her.

“Easy now, Bin-ah. Did that strange man upset you? It’s alright, settle down… You can’t kill him—Daddy would get into serious trouble. Come on, now, Bin-ah.”

Just as I settled her back around my wrist, a cold voice cut through the air, freezing me in place.

“What is the meaning of this?”

I turned toward the voice and felt a shiver run down my spine. It was my sister, Tang Hwa-eun. Her face was sterner than I had ever seen, her eyes sharp enough to pierce Yang Seong-hoo as she walked toward us.

‘Oh no… This isn’t good,’ I thought, the truth dawning on me like a heavy weight.

For a moment, my mind went blank. My sister’s icy presence struck something deep within me. Could it be that I was drawn to cool, intellectual women? The way she looked at him—so severe and controlled—it was almost captivating. Her sharp gaze, her confident stride, the disdain she showed Yang Seong-hou—all of it held my attention.

‘They say contempt is its own reward,’ I reflected, filing this rare glimpse of her away in my mind.

When she reached me, she held out her arm, and my centipedes obediently crawled onto her. Even then, their antennae twitched angrily in Yang Seong-hoo’s direction. My sister gently stroked them, her voice softening only slightly as she spoke to me.

“So-ryong, what happened here? Why are the centipedes so upset, and what does Yang Seong-hoo have to do with it?”

Her direct questions put me in a difficult position. I saw two paths ahead of me:

The first was to act like a victim. I could put on a pitiful face and say, “Sister, that man came out of nowhere and tried to pressure me into a duel, even though I’m still young and untrained. When I said no, he even released killing intent! Boo-hoo…” That might stir her protective nature, and maybe she’d even hold me to console me.

The second was to be the bigger person. Yang Seong-hoo was from the Yang Family, one of the Seven Great Clans. My sister had told me that every three years, the heirs of these families met at an event called the Seven Families’ Bonds—a gathering of the most influential young masters. Since we were bound to cross paths with him again, making an enemy of him now wouldn’t be wise.

After a brief pause, I went with the second option. Yang Seong-hoo was probably already broken after my sister rejected his confession. He’d likely imagined their future together, picked out names for their children, only to have it all fall apart. There was no reason to make it worse.

I tugged lightly on my sister’s sleeve and said, “Sister, I think it’s a misunderstanding. After leaving Tianwu Pavilion, I got lost. Yang Seong-hoo found me and offered to guide me back. We were walking together when all this happened.”

“You got lost? And Yang Seong-hoo was just there?” she asked, her look doubtful. “Then why are the centipedes so agitated?”

I smiled and continued, “We were talking as we walked, and we actually got along quite well. To thank him, I decided to show him something interesting and asked him to release a bit of killing intent. It was meant to be a small joke, but I think Yang Seong-hoo was more startled than I intended.”

Eventually, my sister nodded, though her face gave little away. She turned to Yang Seong-hoo and spoke in a flat tone that somehow felt sharper than open contempt.

“Thank you for guiding So-ryong. I will take over from here. You may leave.”

With that, she turned away, dismissing him as if he were insignificant. Then she looked back at me with a warm smile, as if her earlier coldness had never been.

“So-ryong, let’s have lunch. You can tell me what you and the Alliance Leader talked about. I’m interested.”

“That sounds good,” I replied, smiling back. “I was actually craving some hot dumplings.”

As we began to walk away, I paused as a thought came to me.

“Oh, wait, Sister. One moment.”

“What is it?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Just a quick word between men,” I said.

I walked over to Yang Seong-hoo, who still seemed dazed and overwhelmed, and motioned for him to bend down. Since he was taller, I had to pull him toward me.

He complied, looking utterly lost. I leaned close to his ear and whispered, “That’s the second time I’ve saved your life.”

His eyes went wide, and he nodded quickly, his head bobbing up and down.

***

While sharing dumplings with my elder sister near the reception hall, I mentioned that the alliance leader had given me the Iron Vault Technique. Her eyes widened in surprise.

After looking around cautiously, she leaned in closer, as if even that wasn’t enough to calm her nerves. Gripping her dumpling tightly, she sent a private message with a stunned expression.

[You’re saying you received the secret manual for the Iron Vault Technique—the personal martial art of the Fist Emperor!?]

From her reaction, it seemed I had made a very good choice. I whispered back.

[Yes. He said we were alike… Do you think I did the right thing?]

[Without a doubt! I’ve heard the training is harsh, but once mastered, the Iron Vault Technique can block swords and even Qi attacks. Some compare it to Shaolin’s Vajra Indestructible Divine Art. This is the Fist Emperor’s own martial art…]

As my sister explained, the Iron Vault Technique was an external style that trained the muscles and bones, hardening the body until it was as strong as steel. It was said to be so powerful that it could make one impervious to sharp weapons.

‘If I master this, does that mean I’d be bulletproof?’ It reminded me of ideas from my previous life.

She added that the Blood Sect, known for using hidden weapons or their nails to draw blood, would be helpless against someone who had mastered this technique. When the alliance leader was active, he was considered a disaster for the Blood Sect—they couldn’t wound him, and he would overwhelm them without giving them a chance to recover. In short, he became their natural counter.

[And since this is an external art, it won’t interfere with your cultivation, So-ryong. Most techniques conflict with internal energy methods, but external ones like this are more flexible. Even someone with limited talent like you can achieve great things through hard work.]

Everything she said confirmed that this martial art was perfectly suited for me. It was a kindness from the alliance leader I wouldn’t forget.

Then, in a slightly eager tone, my sister added:

[I can help you train for it. They say the Fist Emperor whipped himself every morning to toughen his skin—I can do that for you!]

[Wh-whip me?]

[Yes, So-ryong. It’s to strengthen your body.]

In other words, she was offering to whip me as part of my training. As painful and worrying as the idea sounded, I had to admit it might be a valuable experience. My parents always said that the more experiences you have, the better.

‘I’ll treat this as a learning opportunity,’ I told myself.

***

The next morning, just as we were preparing to leave, Chang-ryong showed up at dawn with Geom-bong.

The night before, Dol-ryong had invited us to dinner, and I thought he might apologize then. But he stayed quiet, only to appear unexpectedly at daybreak.

Claiming he came to see us off, Chang-ryong avoided my sister’s eyes and sent me a private sound transmission.

[Thank you, my friend.]

Surprised by his sudden gratitude, I glanced his way. Geom-bong, standing beside him, smacked the back of his head and sent a message of his own.

[This fool told me everything. Thank you for your generosity.]

It seemed Chang-ryong had confessed his foolish actions to Geom-bong the previous night and been dragged here for a scolding and an apology. True to form, Chang-ryong followed up with another message.

[I am truly sorry, my friend. Thank you for your kindness yesterday. After talking with Geom-bong, I realized how foolish I was. Seeing your grace has made me understand. I apologize again.]

‘Well, it seems you’ve learned your lesson. Don’t forget—I’ll be keeping an eye on you from now on.’

I gave a slight nod to both Chang-ryong and Geom-bong before boarding the Zhuge family’s ship once more.

It took ten days to travel from Wuhan to Anqing. There, we switched to a smaller ferry and eventually arrived at a place called Seoktae. We journeyed by road for another five days before finally reaching Huangshan.

The mountain, with its thin trees perched atop stone peaks, looked like it had been lifted from a painting in my past life. The summits glowed beautifully in the light of the setting sun.

Gu Pae, our team leader, pointed toward a distant peak.

“It’s late. We should spend the night at the village inn below the mountain. The slopes of Huangshan are steep—it’ll take at least half a day to reach the Namgung Clan’s residence.”

The mountain was much larger than I had imagined, and the Namgung Clan’s estate was supposedly situated atop one of its peaks. Grumbling to myself about why anyone would build a home so high up, I followed the group into the only modest inn in the village.

“Innkeeper, we need four rooms,” Gu Pae said.

“Welcome! Four rooms… One for the young lady, one for the young master, and two for the other gentlemen. Pal-rang! Pal-rang, come down here!”

The innkeeper called out, and soon a young boy with a round nose and freckled face hurried down from the second floor.

“Yes, sir?”

“Take the guests to their rooms. Two nice ones for the young lady and gentleman, and the other two for the rest.”

“Right away. Please follow me.”

I felt slightly uncomfortable listening to the boy’s nasal breathing as I followed him upstairs. After everyone was shown their rooms, the boy rubbed his hands together and asked:

“What would you like for dinner?”

“What’s good here?” Gu Pae asked.

“Our inn is famous for deer meat dumplings, soup made from deer bones, and stir-fried mountain herbs. We also serve yellow wine brewed with herbs from Huangshan. And you must try the Huangshan Stewed Pigeon—it’s made with pigeon and mountain yam. It’s our specialty.”

Deer and pigeon… It seemed there were skilled hunters nearby. Gu Pae ordered several dishes, and as we were about to return to our rooms, the boy hesitated and turned back.

“Oh, I almost forgot. How long will you be staying? Should we prepare breakfast for tomorrow?”

“We leave for Huangshan at dawn. Just one night,” Gu Pae replied casually.

The boy’s face went pale, and he stammered.

“You’re going to Huangshan?!”

His reaction made all of us—my sister, Gu Pae, the Zhuge family escort, and me—exchange curious glances.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Pae asked.

“You’re not going to the Namgung Clan, are you?”

“That’s exactly where we’re headed. Why? Has something happened there?”

Though we’d heard rumors, Gu Pae played ignorant, gently pressing for information. The boy glanced around nervously before finally speaking.

“Well… people have been going missing on the mountain for the past few months.”

The boy’s tongue loosened after Gu Pae slipped him a few coins.

“Missing? Has a tiger been sighted?”

“No, sir. They disappear, but then they’re found again.”

“Then it’s not so serious, is it?”

Gu Pae looked skeptical, but the boy shook his head emphatically.

“No, sir, please listen. Those who went missing were gathering wood or herbs when they vanished. Search parties find them in bushes or caves, or they stumble back down after three or four days, acting dazed.”

“Strange, but what does that have to do with the Namgung Clan?” Gu Pae asked, frowning.

The boy glanced around again and lowered his voice.

“Well… when these people came back, they all acted odd. For a day or two, they’d just say the word ‘fairy’ over and over, with empty looks in their eyes.”

“Fairy?”

“Yes. After a couple of days, they’d return to normal, but when asked, they all said they’d spent the night with a beautiful woman who looked like a fairy…”

‘Was this kid a YouTuber in his past life?’ I wondered.

“So what does this have to do with the Namgung Clan?” Gu Pae pressed.

The boy nodded as if he’d been waiting for the question.

“Well, sir, we couldn’t just ignore it. When the villagers took them to a doctor, the diagnosis was always the same: they’d lost a great deal of vital energy all at once…”

“Vital energy?” Gu Pae’s brow furrowed.

“Yes, sir. And here’s the strange part: one of them claimed the woman he was with was a lady from the Namgung Clan. Since our village depends on the Namgung Clan, we couldn’t let such a claim slide.”

The boy’s voice dropped even lower.

“We reported it to the Namgung Clan. They questioned those who returned, and to their shock, every one of them insisted the woman was indeed from the Namgung family.”

“What?! Are you saying a lady from the Namgung Clan has been roaming the mountain, draining men’s vital energy?” Gu Pae exclaimed.

“Yes, sir. Because of it, the young lady has been confined to the estate, and none of the men who were taken have been released yet.”

A story about a noblewoman having secret trysts in the mountains. Confined by her family after being discovered—it made me wonder whether we would even get to meet her.

Given the circumstances, I doubted her back or calves had been spared from punishment.