Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

”So-ryong, lead us in the direction the bats flew from.”

”Yes, Father.”

As soon as my adoptive father confirmed the sighting of the bat swarm, he gave me an immediate order.

To take the lead and guide the group.

Of course, given the nature of the jungle, it was necessary to have people clearing the path ahead, so he assigned warriors from the Beast Palace to accompany me.

”A few members of the Fierce Wolf Unit should go ahead and clear the way in the direction So-ryong is leading.”

”Yes, Palace Lord!”

”This way.”

”Understood, So-ryong! Let’s move!”

”Yes!”

At my adoptive father’s command, I took the lead and pointed in the right direction. Immediately, the warriors of the Beast Palace rushed forward, hacking away at the dense jungle vegetation to carve out a path.

Slash! Slash!

As towering plants and thick vines were cut down, a passage quickly formed. Following right behind were Grandfather Mandok Shingun and the warriors of the Tang Clan.

”We follow So-ryong!”

”Yes, Grand Elder!”

With that, I led the group along the ridgeline of the northern slope of Namna Mountain, heading in the direction we had deduced from the flight of the bats.

Occasionally, I would rise into the air alongside Cho to double-check our bearings.

”There’s a cliff ahead. We should descend to the right.”

”Understood, So-ryong!”

”So-ryong, Father says that even though it’s getting dark, we’ll make camp once we reach the cave entrance, so hurry.”

”Got it, Sister Seol.”

As I continued guiding the group, the sun began to set, and my adoptive father decided that we should camp at the cave. My older sister, Seol, relayed his decision.

It was obviously better to use the cave rather than be exposed to the nighttime dew.

Acknowledging her words, I urged the warriors forward.

”We’ll move faster.”

”Yes, So-ryong!”

Slash! Slash!

The warriors’ arms swung even faster, quickly opening a path through the dense jungle.

We had been advancing for quite some time.

By now, we should have already arrived, but the cave my adoptive father had anticipated wasn’t appearing.

The sun had already set, making further search efforts by splitting up impossible.

”It should be around here...”

Chrrrk!

Cho, who had been following me, also confirmed that this was the right place, yet the cave was nowhere in sight.

I ascended once more, activating Cat’s Night Vision Art to check the area, but the difference in perspective between seeing from afar and arriving in person made it difficult to pinpoint the exact location.

”This should be it, but it’s too dark to see clearly.”

As I turned to Hua-eun and Sister Seol, who were following behind me, with a troubled expression, Seol nodded as if she understood and gave an order to the warriors of the Beast Palace.

”I’ll find it from here. Release the Wolf Unit Leader, Rang.”

”Yes, Elder!”

At her command, several wolves that the warriors had brought along were released into the jungle.

Moments later, a distant howl echoed through the darkened jungle.

Awooooooo!

”It must be that way!”

The wolves’ howls signaled that they had found something.

Adjusting our course towards the sound, we pressed forward.

After pushing through the jungle for a short while, we finally arrived.

There, in front of the howling wolves staring at the sky, was what should have been the cave my adoptive father had spoken of—or rather, what had been a cave.

”So-ryong, I believe this is the place.”

”Hmm... It does seem like it. But we can’t use it.”

The reason I thought so was that the once-open cave entrance was now completely sealed off by collapsed boulders and rubble.

The entrance was tightly packed with fallen rocks, and vines had grown over them, reinforcing the blockade.

Sister Seol used her lightness technique to check the upper part of the collapsed entrance. She reported back, saying that while there was a gap large enough for bats to slip through, it wasn’t big enough for a person to crawl through.

”There’s a space, but it would be difficult for a person to fit inside.”

After pondering for a moment, my adoptive father made his decision.

”It’s already dark. We’ll set up camp here.”

”Understood!”

It wasn’t as if we had confirmed that this was the headquarters of the Five Poison Clan, and a proper investigation would be best done in daylight.

Even if I used Cat’s Night Vision Art, it wouldn’t make the night as bright as day, and we would need assistance from the Tang Clan, which would be easier to arrange during the day.

For now, we decided to wait until morning before investigating further and quickly prepared a resting area near the cave entrance.

Setting up camp merely involved gathering some 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 brought by the Beast Palace.

Then, as I was dozing off...

‘Cold... so cold.’

A chill seeped into my half-asleep body.

As I groggily woke up, I realized my clothes were damp.

Dew had begun to settle by dawn, drenching my clothes in moisture.

”Ugh... It’s a hot place, but the early mornings are freezing.”

As I sat up, I noticed that Sister Seol, shivering from the cold, had pulled my banana leaves over herself in her sleep.

Cho, who had been curled up against me, was also covered in dew.

I made sure to properly tuck the banana leaves around Hua-eun and Sister Seol so they wouldn’t get cold, then looked around.

At the bonfire, I saw Grandfather and my adoptive father, already awake, roasting half-dried meat over the flames.

Both of them were experts who only needed two or three hours of sleep, so it made sense that they were up before anyone 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 there’s a lot of dew.”

”Yes, Grandfather.”

Hearing my movements, he gestured for me to come over.

As I approached, my adoptive father handed me a skewer of warm, roasted meat.

”Here, eat this to warm yourself up.”

”Thank you.”

Then, he glanced at me and made an unexpected remark.

”So-ryong, I should get you a beast of your own. It wouldn’t make sense for someone from the Beast Palace to not have an animal companion.”

His reasoning was that all Beast Palace warriors had an animal companion, which they used as a living, breathing bed warmer.

I had been using Cho for that purpose, but... Cho wasn’t exactly warm.

Being a centipede, he was cold-blooded.

Grandfather chuckled as he watched the exchange and then, with a knowing smile, said something outrageous.

”You could always just hold Hua-eun while you sleep. You’re a man, so why are you being so reserved? The wedding will happen eventually, and even if a child comes before then, it wouldn’t be a problem... Actually, considering how few children the Tang Clan has these days, they’d probably praise you for it.”

”Cough—cough—cough!”

At my grandfather’s words, the greasy piece of meat I had just bitten into slipped down the wrong pipe. Instead of my esophagus, it went straight down my windpipe, and I dramatically coughed it back up.

Cho, noticing my distress, slithered over and placed his head on my knee.

Seeing this, the elders chuckled.

”Oh, that’s right, those creatures are female, aren’t they? So, So-ryong, are they claiming you as their own?”

”Hah, well, if that’s the case, it’d be difficult to assign you another beast. The other animals might be too scared to act properly around those things.”

Chrrrk... Chrrrk...

The sudden and absurd conversation about my supposed relationship with my first daughter—wait, what?!

I quickly waved my hands, trying to refute this nonsense.

“W-what are you talking about? Cho and I... It’s, uh, more of a parent-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 entrance.

In the stillness of early dawn, the sound was sharp and clear, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

Under the dim light of dawn, we all turned to look up at the cliffside above the rockfall.

Then—

My grandfather, Mandok Shingun, who had been gazing up alongside us, suddenly cried out in shock.

“Hm? That—!?”

Without hesitation, he launched himself up the cliff, using his lightness technique to reach the top of the collapsed rock pile.

“What’s going on?”

“What did he see?”

My adoptive father and I exchanged glances, wondering what had caused Grandfather’s sudden reaction.

Then, from atop the rock pile, Grandfather’s voice rang out, calling down to us.

”Beast Palace Lord, you need to see this.”

Summoning my adoptive father.

He had clearly discovered something.

Without hesitation, I followed behind my father as he ascended to where Grandfather stood.

When we reached him, he was standing before a section of rock where the collapse seemed to have begun.

Grandfather was pressing his hand against a particular spot on the stone, and as he pulled it away, he spoke.

”Look at this, Beast Palace Lord.”

“What in the world...!?”

”A handprint?!”

In the dim light of dawn, the area Grandfather had touched revealed a human-shaped handprint.

A red imprint of a palm was clearly marked on the stone surface of the collapsed cave wall.

And when we pulled away the vines draping the upper section of the rockfall, a set of ancient inscriptions was revealed—letters that had endured for over a hundred years, still as vivid 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 the Tang Clan or the Beast Palace.

My adoptive father and I stared at the revealed text in astonishment.

”Oh...!”

”This is the place!”

It seemed more and more certain that we had indeed found the final headquarters of the old Five Poison Clan.

”Yes, this is definitely it. And this mark... It’s likely from our clan’s Red Carp Divine Palm... To think that an ancestor had refined it to such a level...”

”Haha, that’s an incredible display of mastery.”

A single palm strike had fractured the cave’s rock wall, sealing the entrance completely.

I had always assumed that the Tang Clan only specialized in concealed weapons and poisons, but this was unexpected.

‘Maybe a hundred years ago, they were actually pretty badass?’

Just as I was reconsidering my impression of the Tang Clan’s ancestors, my adoptive father and Grandfather continued their discussion.

”For now, we should rest. Once daylight comes, we’ll check if there’s another way inside. If not, we’ll have to clear the entrance manually.”

”Yes, that sounds like our best option.”

It seemed we had come to the right place, but removing the blocked entrance would be a grueling task for the warriors.

As I prepared to descend from the rock pile—

Zzzzzzzeeeeeeee!

A piercing, high-pitched noise rang out from above.

The sound was unnatural—like the static interference from an old audio device.

Hearing it, my adoptive father’s voice turned urgent.

”Damn! The bats are coming back!”

That eerie noise was the return call of the bat swarm.

As dawn approached, the bats that had gone out hunting during the night were now returning to their roost.

I turned my gaze upward.

Against the brightening sky, I saw them—a vast, swirling black mass of bats, descending like a rolling tide.

”Fall back!”

At my adoptive father’s command, I quickly realized something.

The entrance Sister Seol had found—the one used by the bats—was right where we were standing.

Heeding his warning, I immediately launched myself downward.

If we stayed there, we’d be completely surrounded by the returning swarm.

While bats weren’t dangerous creatures, getting caught in a dense swarm of them would be... unpleasant.

And honestly, I wasn’t fond of bats to begin with.

‘I can deal with snakes, lizards, and centipedes, but flying, furry creatures? No thanks.’

However, to our surprise, the massive bat swarm didn’t descend upon us.

Instead, they bypassed our position and surged toward the upper cliffs.

Noticing this, my adoptive father shouted at me.

”So-ryong! There must be another entrance! Take that one with you and check it out!”

By that one, he obviously meant Cho.

I quickly called out to my companion.

”Got it! Cho, let’s go!”

Chrrrk!

In an instant, Cho coiled around my body.

The next moment, his form lifted me into the air.

As we rose into the swarm’s flight path, the immense wave of bats parted around us, splitting in two.

Hovering in midair, I watched in awe as the dark tide of bats swirled around us before converging once more—this time, pouring into a large, gaping hole above the collapsed cave entrance.

A new opening.

One that hadn’t existed a hundred years ago.

Time had carved out another entrance to the lost sanctuary of the Five Poison Clan.