Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 98

Chapter 98

“So-ryong, take us the way the bats came from.”
“Yes, Father.”
The moment my adoptive father verified the presence of the bats, he issued a swift command to me.
I was to lead the way.
Given the jungle’s density, we needed a team to clear a path, so warriors from the Beast Palace were assigned to accompany me.
“A few from the Fierce Wolf Unit will go ahead and cut a trail in the direction So-ryong indicates.”
“Understood, Palace Lord!”
“This way.”
“Yes, So-ryong! Move out!”
“Right!”
At my father’s order, I took the lead and pointed the way. Immediately, the Beast Palace warriors charged forward, their blades slicing through the thick jungle foliage to forge a route.
*Swish! Swish!*
As tall plants and heavy vines were hewn down, a path quickly opened. Close behind came Grandfather Mandok Shingun and the fighters of the Tang Clan.
“We follow So-ryong!”
“Yes, Grand Elder!”
I guided the group along the northern ridge of Namna Mountain, heading in the direction we had inferred from the bats’ flight.
Every so often, I would lift into the air with Cho to verify our course.
“There’s a cliff ahead. We need to go down to the right.”
“Understood, So-ryong!”
“So-ryong, Father says we’ll make camp at the cave entrance even though it’s getting dark, so we must hurry.”
“I understand, Sister Seol.”
As I continued to guide everyone, the sun began to set, and my adoptive father decided we would rest at the cave. My elder sister, Seol, relayed his decision.
Using the cave was clearly preferable to enduring the night’s dampness.
Acknowledging her words, I urged the warriors to move faster.
“We need to pick up the pace.”
“Yes, So-ryong!”
*Swish! Swish!*
The warriors’ arms worked even more vigorously, swiftly carving a way through the dense undergrowth.
We had been pushing forward for some time.
By now, we should have arrived, but the cave my father expected was nowhere to be seen.
The sun had fully set, making further searches by splitting up impossible.
“It should be right around here…”
*Chrrrk!*
Cho, who had been at my side, also confirmed this was the correct area, yet the cave remained hidden.
I ascended again, using Cat’s Night Vision Art to scan the surroundings, but the difference between a distant view and being on the ground made it hard to locate the exact spot.
“This should be it, but it’s too dark to see clearly.”
I turned to Hua-eun and Sister Seol, who were behind me, with a look of frustration. Seol nodded in understanding and issued an order to the Beast Palace warriors.
“I will find it from here. Release the Wolf Unit Leader, Rang.”
“Yes, Elder!”
At her command, several wolves that the warriors had brought with them were set loose into the jungle.
A short time later, a long howl echoed through the darkened trees.
*Awooooooo!*
“It must be over there!”
The wolves’ cries signaled a discovery.
Adjusting our direction toward the sound, we pressed on.
After forcing our way through the jungle for a short while, we finally arrived.
There, before the howling wolves gazing upward, was what should have been the cave my father mentioned—or rather, what was left of it.
“So-ryong, I believe this is the place.”
“Hmm… It does seem so. But it’s unusable.”
The reason for my conclusion was that the once-open cave mouth was now entirely blocked by a collapse of boulders and debris.
The entrance was tightly packed with fallen rock, and vines had grown over it, strengthening the seal.
Sister Seol used her lightness skill to inspect the upper part of the collapse. She reported back that while a gap existed that was large enough for bats to enter, it was too small for a person to squeeze through.
“There is an opening, but a person would not fit.”
After a moment’s thought, my adoptive father made his decision.
“It’s already dark. We’ll set up camp here.”
“Understood!”
We hadn’t confirmed this was the Five Poison Clan’s headquarters, and a proper investigation would be best done in daylight.
Even with Cat’s Night Vision Art, the night wouldn’t be as clear as day, and we would need help from the Tang Clan, which would be easier to coordinate when the sun was up.
For now, we decided to wait until morning to investigate further and quickly prepared a resting area near the cave entrance.
Setting up camp simply involved gathering grass for bedding and lighting a fire.
As we sat around the bonfire, eating a simple meal, we left the night watch to the trained beasts the Beast Palace had brought.
Then, as I was drifting off…
‘It’s so cold… so cold.’
A chill seeped into my half-asleep body.
Groggily rousing, I realized my clothes were damp.
Dew had settled by dawn, soaking my garments.
“Ugh… It’s a hot region, but the early morning is freezing.”
Sitting up, I noticed Sister Seol, shivering from the cold, had pulled my banana leaves over herself in her sleep.
Cho, who had been curled against me, was also covered in dew.
I made sure to properly tuck the banana leaves around Hua-eun and Sister Seol to keep them warm, then looked around.
By the bonfire, I saw Grandfather and my adoptive father, already awake, roasting partially dried meat over the flames.
Both were masters who required only two or three hours of sleep, so it was natural they were up before everyone else.
“So-ryong, you’re awake? If you’re cold, come warm yourself by the fire. Being on the north side of the mountain means a heavy dew.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Hearing me stir, he gestured for me to join them.
As I approached, my adoptive father handed me a skewer of warm, roasted meat.
“Here, eat this to get warm.”
“Thank you.”
Then, he glanced at me and made a surprising comment.
“So-ryong, I should get you a beast of your own. It isn’t fitting for someone from the Beast Palace to lack an animal companion.”
His logic was that every Beast Palace warrior had a animal partner, which served as a living, breathing source of warmth.
I had been using Cho for that, but… Cho wasn’t warm.
Being a centipede, he was cold-blooded.
Grandfather chuckled at the exchange and then, with a mischievous smile, said something outrageous.
“You could always just hold Hua-eun while you sleep. You’re a man, so why be so hesitant? The wedding will happen sooner or later, and even if a child comes first, it wouldn’t be an issue… Actually, given how few children the Tang Clan has these days, they’d probably thank you for it.”
“Cough—cough—cough!”
At my grandfather’s words, the greasy piece of meat I had just bitten into went down the wrong way. Instead of my throat, it slid into my windpipe, and I coughed violently.
Cho, sensing my distress, slid over and rested his head on my knee.
The elders laughed softly at the sight.
“Oh, that’s right, those creatures are female, aren’t they? So, So-ryong, are they claiming you as their mate?”
“Hah, well, if that’s the case, assigning you another beast would be difficult. Other animals would be too frightened to function properly around those things.”
*Chrrrk… Chrrrk…*
This sudden, absurd conversation about my supposed relationship with my first daughter—wait, what?!
I quickly waved my hands, trying to deny this nonsense.
“W-what are you saying? Cho and I… It’s, well, more like a parent and child—”
*Clack! Clack, clack, clack…*
Before I could finish, the sound of small rocks tumbling down interrupted me.
It came from the pile of collapsed stones blocking the cave.
In the quiet of the early dawn, the noise was sharp and distinct, instantly capturing everyone’s attention.
In the dim morning light, we all turned to look up at the cliff face above the rockfall.
Then—
My grandfather, Mandok Shingun, who had been gazing up with us, suddenly exclaimed in shock.
“Hm? That—!?”
Without a second thought, he propelled himself up the cliff using his lightness skill, reaching the top of the collapsed rubble.
“What is it?”
“What did he see?”
My adoptive father and I exchanged glances, wondering what had provoked Grandfather’s sudden reaction.
Then, from atop the rock pile, Grandfather’s voice called down to us.
“Beast Palace Lord, you need to see this.”
He was summoning my adoptive father.
He had clearly found something.
Without delay, I followed my father as he ascended to where Grandfather stood.
When we reached him, he was standing before a section of rock where the collapse appeared to have originated.
Grandfather was pressing his hand against a specific point on the stone, and as he pulled it away, he spoke.
“Look at this, Beast Palace Lord.”
“What on earth…!?”
“A handprint?!”
In the faint dawn light, the area Grandfather had touched revealed the shape of a human hand.
A red imprint of a palm was clearly visible on the stone surface of the collapsed cave wall.
And when we pulled back the vines covering the upper part of the rockfall, a set of ancient inscriptions was exposed—characters that had survived for over a century, still as sharp as the day they were carved.
“Here lies the Five Poison Clan, forever sealed.”
Without a doubt, it was a message left by the ancestors of either the Tang Clan or the Beast Palace.
My adoptive father and I stared at the revealed text in amazement.
“Oh…!”
“This is the place!”
It seemed increasingly certain that we had indeed found the final stronghold of the original Five Poison Clan.
“Yes, this is definitely it. And this mark… It is likely from our clan’s Red Carp Divine Palm… To think an ancestor had cultivated it to such a degree…”
“Haha, that is a remarkable level of skill.”
A single palm strike had shattered the cave’s rock wall, sealing the entrance completely.
I had always thought the Tang Clan focused only on hidden weapons and poisons, so this was unexpected.
‘Maybe a hundred years ago, they were actually incredibly powerful?’
Just as I was reassessing my view of the Tang Clan’s forebears, my adoptive father and Grandfather continued their discussion.
“For now, we should rest. Once it’s light, we’ll see if there’s another way in. If not, we’ll have to clear the entrance by hand.”
“Yes, that seems like the only way.”
It appeared we had found the right place, but removing the blocked entrance would be exhausting work for the warriors.
As I prepared to climb down from the rock pile—
*Zzzzzzzeeeeeeee!*
A shrill, high-pitched noise screeched from above.
The sound was unnatural—like the static from an old recording.
Hearing it, my adoptive father’s voice turned urgent.
“Damn! The bats are returning!”
That eerie sound was the homing call of the bat swarm.
As dawn approached, the bats that had hunted through the night were now coming back to their roost.
I looked up.
Against the brightening sky, I saw them—a vast, churning black cloud of bats, descending like a rolling wave.
“Fall back!”
At my adoptive father’s command, I realized something.
The entrance Sister Seol had found—the one the bats used—was right where we were standing.
Heeding his warning, I immediately leapt downward.
If we stayed, we would be engulfed by the returning swarm.
While bats aren’t dangerous, being caught in a dense cloud of them would be… deeply unpleasant.
And truthfully, I’ve never liked bats.
‘I can handle snakes, lizards, and centipedes, but flying, furry things? No, thank you.’
To our surprise, however, the massive swarm of bats did not descend upon us.
Instead, they veered away from our position and streamed toward the upper cliffs.
Noticing this, my adoptive father shouted to me.
“So-ryong! There must be another entrance! Take that one and check it out!”
By ‘that one’, he obviously meant Cho.
I quickly called to my companion.
“Understood! Cho, let’s go!”
*Chrrrk!*
In an instant, Cho coiled around my body.
A moment later, his form lifted me into the air.
As we rose into the flight path of the swarm, the immense wave of bats parted around us, dividing into two streams.
Hovering midair, I watched in awe as the dark tide of bats swirled around us before merging once more—this time, pouring into a large, gaping hole above the collapsed cave entrance.
A new opening.
One that hadn’t existed a century ago.
Time had carved another entrance into the lost sanctuary of the Five Poison Clan.