Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It had been three days since Cheolsan had regained his composure.
During that time, we had been traveling to the villages surrounding the abandoned Daoist temple, collecting whatever information we could.
Our objective was to locate the lair of Tak Wonyang, the Blood-Handed Rakshasa (혈수나찰).
Cheolsan had clarified that to practice the Blood-Water Poison Claw (血水毒爪), one needed human blood and bone marrow. By looking into accounts of disappearances from the local villages, we could determine the rough location of his hideout.
My part would come later.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, elder. From time to time, someone is lost to the jungle—perhaps one person a year, maybe two. But we have never experienced consistent disappearances, nor have large numbers of people vanished together. Even when someone is missing, they are usually found later for ordinary reasons.”
“My thanks, Village Chief.”
“No thanks are necessary. It is a privilege to aid the head of the renowned Tang Clan.”
“In that case, we will take our leave.”
This was the final village located within a day’s journey from the abandoned temple.
Just as in all the others, we departed without any meaningful information.
We were searching for news of mass disappearances or other irregularities. Yet, every village told us the same thing: occasional losses in the deep jungle, but no consistent patterns or large-scale events.
“There is nothing unusual in this village either, it seems.”
“It is peculiar, is it not, young one? If that monster showed himself after seeing our Tang warriors, then his den should be nearby….”
If Tak Wonyang had spotted the Tang Clan members and decided to reveal himself, logic dictated his base would be close to our abandoned temple. However, after searching every village within a day’s travel, we had found not a single lead.
Not one person had seen him—or at least, no one who was willing to talk.
“Something is amiss.”
I had agreed with Cheolsan’s reasoning and joined the search, but the complete absence of any trace was becoming deeply suspicious.
As we left that last village, I found myself thinking back to what Tak Wonyang had said when he first appeared.
People often reveal details about themselves without meaning to.
“What did that wretch say at the time… Ah!”
Concentrating on the memory, I clearly recalled his first words as he seized me by the neck.
“I heard the Tang Clan entered Hainan, so I came to see… and found the Heavenly Poison Deity’s son injured and alone.”
The moment he appeared, that is what he said. A thought occurred to me, and I quickly asked Cheolsan.
“Elder, do you remember what that fiend said when he first showed himself?”
“What he said? Hmm… It escapes me. Do you recall?”
‘Ah, that’s right. The elder was too disoriented after being thrown into the stone steps to remember anything.’
Everyone has their moments of shame, and some are better left unmentioned. There was no reason to bring it up, so I simply nodded.
“Ah… You do not recall? Well, it just came back to me. That villain said, ‘I heard the Tang Clan entered Hainan, so I came to see….’”
“And?”
Cheolsan, who seemed unacquainted with even simple deductions, looked completely bewildered.
Holding back my irritation, I patiently elaborated.
“Now, pay close attention. He said, ‘I heard the Tang Clan entered Hainan.’ Correct?”
“Yes, that is right.”
“That means someone must have told him the Tang Clan had come to Hainan. If we retrace the steps the Tang Clan took, we might find the person who informed him. With a description—a sketch or details of his appearance—we could ask if anyone has seen such a man.”
“Oh! That is brilliant! Young one, I believed you only knew of venomous creatures, but you are truly wise. How did you reason that out? You remind me of a member of the Zhuge family!”
‘What could I say? Hours spent in escape rooms and playing detective games with other streamers sharpens the mind.’
With that, our questioning began anew.
Luckily, the Tang Clan’s path through Hainan was straightforward: from the northern port, to a village famous for its herbalists, and finally to the area near the abandoned temple.
In the end, at the port, we discovered a promising clue.
“Ah! You must mean the man with the red hands?”
“Oh! You know him?”
“Yes, he comes here every month without fail to buy grain. He mentioned it takes him three days to get here, so he must live further inland. Every time he comes, he buys enough supplies to last about forty days.”
“Oh-ho! Thank you!”
This critical information was verified at the grain shop: the fiend purchased rice on a regular monthly schedule.
“So, we should check every village within three days’ travel from the port?”
Tak Wonyang had unknowingly given a hint to his whereabouts. Investigating villages within a three-day radius seemed the obvious next move, but Cheolsan shook his head.
“No, I have been contemplating your earlier point. It is not that straightforward.”
“Not straightforward?”
His remark sounded like a slight dig.
Noting it mentally, I asked again.
“What then?”
“He is a martial artist, young one. It is not three days of walking—it is three days of travel using qinggong.”
Cheolsan went on, “If he comes monthly to buy grain, why would he buy a forty-day supply? Considering his martial arts and the time needed for the round trip, his base is likely a seven-day journey on foot. That is a more sensible calculation.”
“Ah, I understand….”
I suddenly remembered the exhilarating feeling of holding onto Cheolsan’s back as he used qinggong. Each step carried us several meters in a flash.
‘His qinggong was exceptional. That earns him +10 points.’
“And he probably has no disciples,” Cheolsan added.
“Ah, that fits. He only buys enough food for one person for forty days.”
“Exactly.”
Cheolsan, ever the instructor, had managed to deduce a great deal from one clue.
In a past life, he could have been a master of escape rooms.
***
“Strange.”
Ten days later, in the western part of Hainan.
After hearing the same unhelpful accounts from another village, Cheolsan rubbed his chin with a baffled expression.
Hainan Island was enormous, its size comparable to combining Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do.
With only Cheolsan and his three warriors conducting the search, pinpointing the location was vital. Yet, even in the area we had identified, we found no signs of the fiend.
“If it is a seven-day journey, it must be to the west. It is strange, is it not?”
“Clan Head, since you noted the fiend’s martial arts are similar to the Heavenly Poison Deity’s, should we search further west, toward the coastline?”
“No. Even when going to buy rice, he would not have used his full effort. This must be the right area.”
A seven-day journey from the port meant the east and south were bounded by ocean, while the north held the port itself.
That left only the west.
The conclusion seemed almost certain, yet there were no reports of missing people here, either.
As we stood at the village’s edge, debating, the hurried voice of the village chief called out to us.
“Ah, there you are, elder!”
“Why the hurry? Have you remembered something?”
At Cheolsan’s question, the chief nodded, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.
“Well… please… check the Lizu village near the coast. I had forgotten, but I heard some odd things have been happening there….”
“Odd things? Lizu?”
Strange events could very well be what we were looking for.
Cheolsan turned to me with a confused look, clearly unfamiliar with the term “Lizu.”
Knowing his knowledge of Hainan was limited, I explained calmly.
“In Hainan, besides the Han people, there are two other native groups: the Lizu and the Yuezu (畲族). The Lizu are not very welcoming to Han people, but the Yuezu differ from village to village. Some are quite friendly toward the Han, even offering food and shelter to travelers.”
The Lizu and Yuezu were the indigenous minority peoples of Hainan.
Unlike the Lizu, who often forbade outsiders from entering their villages, the Yuezu were generally hospitable. A visitor could typically expect to be given food and a place to sleep.
I myself held a favorable opinion of them, having once been aided by the Yuezu when I became lost in the jungle while hunting snakes.
“Is that so? Then we must visit that village. Thank you, Chief. Do you know where this incident occurred?”
“Yes, it is a day’s journey to the northwest from here.”
“Thank you!”
Riding on Cheolsan’s back, it took us half a day to reach the jungle near the coast. After some travel along the shoreline, we saw smoke rising in the distance.
On a ridge near the coast, tucked within the jungle trees, were rooftops visible like mushrooms.
“That must be it!”
“At the village entrance, the Yuezu will probably welcome us as guests.”
“Understood. Let us find the way in.”
Going down the ridge and searching the coastal area, we eventually found what appeared to be a wooden gate. As we approached, people began to gather at the entrance.
They wore black clothes embroidered with red thread, decorated with jangling metal ornaments on their chests. Both men and women had on short skirts paired with black thigh-high socks. These were the Yuezu.
“What brings Han people to a Yuezu village?”
From the gathering crowd, an old man emerged, accompanied by two or three younger men. He appeared to be the village chief or leader.
“I am Tang Cheolsan, Clan Head of the Tang Clan in Sichuan. We have come here to…”
As Cheolsan began to speak with the Yuezu chief, I observed the assembled villagers.
From the moment we arrived, something felt wrong.
The mood was profoundly heavy.
How to describe it? The village seemed to lack any life force.
There were no children playing, no women chatting, not even the common sound of birds. Everything was unnervingly quiet.
Moreover, while the hot climate of Hainan often made people lethargic during the day, there was something especially unusual about the Yuezu here.
More than half of them had empty stares and looked completely exhausted.
‘What is this? They look like they are all under some influence.’
They seemed dazed, as if drugged or intoxicated.
Just as I was considering the oddity of it all, the chief’s firm voice rang out.
“We know nothing of any disappearances, and nothing unusual has happened here. You should leave.”
“But with so few people for the number of houses… And what of the rumors of a strange sickness?”
“That is no concern of the Han people!”
Normally, when visitors came to a Yuezu village, women would hurry out to greet them and lead them inside. This was far from the warm reception I had described to Cheolsan.
As I turned toward the conversation, I noticed Cheolsan giving me a look that suggested my explanation had been unreliable.
‘Hey, I did say it varies from place to place….’
And then, suddenly—
Thud.
The sound of a collapse broke the tense atmosphere. One of the villagers who had been watching us had fallen to the ground.
‘A child?’
The crowd moved aside, revealing a young girl lying on the earth, her chest heaving as she fought for air.
The chief ran over, gathering the child into his arms as he cried out.
“No… no, Meijin-ah! You are all I have left in this world! How can this illness take you, too?”
Tears streamed down his face as the chief wept over the child.
Cheolsan rushed over and made an offer.
“Elder, I have some knowledge of medicine. Allow me to examine her.”
“Medicine? You have studied the medicine of the Central Plains!?”
“Yes. I am not a physician, but I have studied medical texts and techniques. Let me see her.”
The village’s hostility toward us transformed instantly.
The unwanted outsiders had suddenly become potential saviors.
“P-please! Save our Meijin! A horrible sickness is killing our children, and even the strong among us are fading away. We tried to bring a Han physician, but no one would come all this way!”
“Understood. Let us take her into a house first.”
“O-of course! What are you all standing around for? Escort the physician and his party to my home!”
It seemed that even in this era, physicians—sometimes called “medical lords”—were held in the highest regard.
And with Cheolsan’s proclamation of medical knowledge, the Tang Clan gained a new level of respect in my eyes.
For a family infamous for its poison arts, this was an unexpected revelation.
‘A medical lord gets bonus points.’