Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The largest hidden stronghold of the Blood Cult in the central plains was discovered in the jungles of Funing, Yunnan, as revealed by the confessions of the captured cult members from Wuhan.

Just a bit further east lay Guangxi, and heading north led to Guizhou and Sichuan—an essential strategic point.

Because of this, Zhu Jung-hak, the leader of the Martial Alliance, acted swiftly.

The captured cultists admitted that apart from a small branch monitoring the Martial Alliance in Wuhan, the Blood Cult hadn’t yet spread its influence too far. This meant now was the time to strike.

If they delayed even a little, the Blood Cult’s power could spread uncontrollably across Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangxi.

The Blood Cult’s martial arts allowed its practitioners to grow stronger rapidly by drinking or absorbing blood.

For degenerate aristocrats and some lowlife martial artists, this was a very tempting prospect.

Even thirty years ago, during the Blood Cult Rebellion, the cult recruited scoundrels like them to swell its ranks in an instant.

So Zhu Jung-hak quickly assembled a punitive force and marched toward Funing.

As a result, a village of over a thousand Zhuang people deep in the Yunnan jungle found itself under siege by martial artists.

Fwoosh.Flames engulfed the Zhuang village as the martial artists surrounded it. Zhu Jung-hak’s face twisted in fury as he shouted. “Those bastards disguised themselves as Zhuang people! They are a blight upon the central plains—leave none alive!”

The reason the Blood Cult hunters attacked a village of Zhuang, one of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities, was because the cultists had cunningly disguised themselves as Zhuang people.

Their houses, their clothing, everything looked like a regular Zhuang village.

“Yes, Alliance Leader! Let’s go! Don’t let a single one of these Blood Cult bastards live!”

“““Understood!”””

At the furious command of Zhu Jung-hak, the noose tightened.

Leading the charge was the Azure Dragon Squad, directly under the Alliance Leader’s command.

Behind them, disciples from various sects followed in a relentless tide.

“Waaaaah! Kill them all! Leave none alive!”

“Exterminate the Blood Cult!”

“It’s the Martial Alliance! We’re under attack—khuek!”

“H-how did they find us?! Guuhh...”

Inside the burning village, a brutal battle between the Blood Cultists and the orthodox martial artists erupted.

But the fight did not last long.

Thanks to the scattering poison that was especially effective against the Blood Cult, the battle quickly turned into a one-sided massacre.

“M-my internal energy!”

“Damn those orthodox bastards! They poisoned their weapons—be careful!”

The Blood Cultists who were struck by the poisoned weapons collapsed like ordinary people, unable to use their martial arts.

“Alliance Leader!”

Zhu Jung-hak snapped the neck of a Blood Cult elder in front of the dying flames.

As he wiped the blood off his forehead, the captain of the Azure Dragon Squad fell to one knee before him.

The battle seemed to be over.

“Is everything taken care of?”

Zhu Jung-hak assumed this was a report on the casualty count.

But the urgent tone in the captain’s voice said otherwise.

“We captured or killed about half of them—five hundred in total. But the other half... they vanished without a trace!”

According to the scouts, over a thousand Blood Cultists had been living in this village.

Yet now, only five hundred bodies had been recovered.

The village had been completely surrounded by martial artists and alliance warriors.

There was no way for the cultists to have escaped.

This made no sense.

“What did you say?! Find them! There’s no way they just disappeared into thin air! We cannot let them escape!”

“Yes, Alliance Leader!”

Immediately, alliance warriors and disciples from various sects began searching every inch of the battlefield.

An hour later, they found it.

A small tunnel hidden inside a dried-up well in the center of the village.

“A tunnel? Send in the tracking team! Choose those skilled in confined combat and those with exceptional eyesight!”

“Understood!”

The pursuers were sent in.

But inside the narrow, labyrinthine tunnels, the battle turned into a bloodbath.

For three days, a brutal slaughter took place inside the pitch-dark underground lair.

And at the end of it—

The pursuers finally reached the exit.

What they found waiting for them wasn’t Blood Cultists.

It was the soldiers guarding the border of the Great Yue Kingdom.

The tunnel led straight beyond the border.

Sizzle.The rabbit’s belly split open, its organs removed. Its skin was peeled away and laid over the heated stone, producing a mouthwatering sound. Yang Seong-hu (Azure Dragon) inhaled the aroma of the roasting meat, a pleased smile spreading across his face.

“Hmph. Not bad.”

Catching six rabbits usually required quite a bit of effort.

But today, they’d found a burrow nearby and easily snatched six.

That meant they could eat three tonight and save two for breakfast.

A good haul.

But his good mood did not last long.

“Again with the damn rabbits? I swear, I’m gonna start smelling like one.”

Do-ryong Paeng Gyu-seong had just returned from scouting for edible plants outside.

As soon as he saw the roasting rabbits, he grimaced in disgust.

“You should be grateful we have anything to eat at all! Seriously, what were you two even thinking when you volunteered for this mission?!”

Yang Seong-hu’s irritation exploded.

It wasn’t just Do-ryong—he shot a glare at Sword Master Seon-hwa, who was walking in behind him.

Seon-hwa frowned.

“Why are you dragging me into this? I didn’t say anything.”

Yang Seong-hu’s frustration had been building for days.

Do-ryong and Seon-hwa had volunteered to track down the escaped Blood Cultists beyond the border—

Yet these two were completely useless in survival situations.

They couldn’t hunt.

They couldn’t cook.

They couldn’t even start a fire.

Even basic tracking skills were beyond them.

Back in the central plains, when they were just roaming martial artists, this wasn’t noticeable.

But out here?

It was a nightmare.

Yang Seong-hu came from a family with many military officers, so he had been trained in wilderness survival.

But these two?

They were spoiled beyond belief.

Do-ryong’s Paeng clan was a well-known martial arts family, but they only cared about combat.

Seon-hwa was from Zhencheng Sect, a sect located in the jungles of Yunnan.

Yang Seong-hu had assumed that meant he knew his way around a jungle.

He did not.

“Tch. I should just shut up and eat...”

Shaking his head, Yang Seong-hu flipped the roasting rabbits over.

Sizzle.He had already tried to teach them some survival skills days ago. Their response?

“A swordsman only needs to know how to wield a sword. Who has time for anything else?”

“Exactly! A saber wielder just needs to swing his saber well!”

That was when he gave up.

As he turned the rabbits over, he sighed and asked Seon-hwa:

“Anyway, any news from the other teams? We should check the rendezvous point soon.”

Twelve teams had crossed into Great Yue.

It had already been fifteen days.

It was time to check in.

“You’re right. We should go tomorrow.”

Do-ryong and Seon-hwa both nodded in agreement.

“Alright. Let’s eat well tonight and check in tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Just before the meal, as they finished their brief meeting and were checking on the roasting rabbit meat, a clear voice suddenly rang out from somewhere.

“Excuse me for interrupting!”

—Shiiiing.

“W-Who’s there?!”

Azure Dragon Yang Seong-hu was startled by the sudden voice and quickly stood up. He grabbed the spear he had leaned against the cave wall and looked around.

The moment he realized the sound was coming from above, his gaze shot toward the ceiling.

Descending slowly from the cave ceiling was something large...

Something huge...

“O-Ohgong?!”

Riding atop an enormous centipede—one he had never seen before—was a familiar warrior, gracefully making his way down.

“T-That warrior?!”

“No way, how is he here?!”

Both Sword Master Seon-hwa and Blade Dragon Do-ryong, just as shocked as Yang Seong-hu, shouted in surprise at the sight of the warrior appearing like some kind of celestial being.

Meanwhile, the man riding the enormous blue centipede smiled and spoke.

“Yang Seong-hu, I’ve saved your life twice now, yet you still haven’t broken that habit of drawing your spear at the slightest provocation.”

At those words, Dok-hwa, who had been sitting behind the warrior, widened her eyes and looked toward Yang Seong-hu.

Realizing what he had done, Yang Seong-hu quickly hid the spear behind his back.

After all, he had already resolved to let go of his grudges, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be disliked.

***

[Do you know those people?]

[Yes, Sister. I do, but...]

[Then, are those bastards the hidden members of the Five Venoms Sect in the martial world?!]

Since they were gathered outside the underground passage of the Five Venoms Sect, Seol naturally suspected that they might be remnants hiding within the martial world.

However, those men were from the righteous sects.

Not just any members either—they were some of the most distinguished warriors among the younger generation.

There was no way they could be affiliated with the Five Venoms Sect, so I shook my head and answered Seol.

It was more likely that they had simply ended up here by coincidence.

[No, Hwa-eun knows them.]

[They are not my friends, So-ryong.]

The moment I finished speaking, Hwa-eun immediately denied any association with them.

Lately, she had started talking a lot more, probably because she’d been hanging around me and Seol, raising our pets together, but her personality hadn’t changed one bit.

If Yang Seong-hu had heard her say that, he would have been heartbroken.

Smiling, I turned to Seol and Hwa-eun.

[Sister, considering that those guys are here, this place doesn’t seem dangerous. Let’s go down and get that roasted meat you wanted so badly.]

[You want to ask for food?]

[Yes, I saved Yang Seong-hu’s life twice. He won’t be able to refuse.]

[You saved his life?]

[It’s just one of those things between men.]

While Hwa-eun and Seol were reacting to my words with surprised expressions, I called down to the men below.

“Excuse me for interrupting!”

—Shiiiing.

“W-Who’s there?!”

As Yang Seong-hu shouted and both Sword Master Seon-hwa and Blade Dragon Do-ryong recoiled in surprise, I descended from the ceiling, riding on Cho.

“Yang Seong-hu, I’ve saved your life twice now, yet you still haven’t broken that habit of drawing your spear at every little thing.”

Immediately, Yang Seong-hu flinched and quickly hid the spear behind his back.

All eyes turned toward him.

***

“But wait, So-ryong. Ah, since you’ve joined the Beast Palace, should we call you Young Lord So now?”

“Just call me So-ryong.”

“Alright then, So-ryong. But what was that about saving Yang Seong-hu’s life twice?”

After we introduced Cho and Yo-hwa and exchanged explanations about why each of us was here, we finally settled around the fire.

As we received roasted rabbit meat, Sword Master Seon-hwa curiously asked about my earlier comment regarding Yang Seong-hu.

Smiling, I looked at Yang Seong-hu.

“It’s just something between men. Isn’t that right, Yang Seong-hu?”

“R-Right! That’s exactly it, So-ryong!”

Yang Seong-hu, his face turning pale, nodded frantically.

I figured I could milk this for a while.

Taking a bite of the rabbit’s hind leg, I was pleasantly surprised.

‘Damn, why is this so good? Yang Seong-hu cooked it, didn’t he? Why is his cooking this delicious?’

Apparently, food always tastes best when you steal it right before someone else eats it.

As I finished one rabbit leg and tossed the bones into the fire, Do-ryong spoke up beside me.

“You sure have a healthy appetite. Here, take this too.”

“No, Brother Gyu-seong, you should eat as well.”

Do-ryong, sitting next to me, tore apart another rabbit and handed it to me.

I waved my hands in refusal, but he just grinned and shoved it into my hands.

“Hah! Watching you eat is enough for me. Just take it, don’t argue.”

This was only my second time meeting Do-ryong. The last time, we had barely exchanged greetings. And yet, he was treating me incredibly well.

And I knew exactly why.

‘Turns out, he’s Yeong-yeong’s older brother.’

When I first met him at the Martial Alliance through Hwa-eun’s introduction, I had just assumed he shared the same surname. But no, he was Yeong-yeong’s eldest brother.

Earlier, the moment he saw me, he had greeted me warmly, acting as if we were lifelong friends.

“So you’re the one! So-ryong, right?! My father told me all about you. Thank you for saving my sister! I never expected to meet my benefactor in a place like this!”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about Yeong-yeong! My little sister!”

“Oh! Yeong-yeong! So you’re... the heir of the Paeng family?”

“That’s right! I’m the eldest son of the So Family.”

Apparently, after dropping Yeong-yeong off at the Beast Palace, Paeng Family Head had stopped by the Martial Alliance and mentioned that I had saved her and even formed a sworn sibling bond with her.

Since I had sworn brotherhood with Yeong-yeong, Do-ryong basically saw me as his younger brother.

“My sister told me you treated her like real family and even became sworn siblings. That makes you my little brother now!”

“Huh?”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about suddenly gaining an older brother, but after thinking it over, I figured it wasn’t so bad.

After all, the Paeng family was known for one thing—being born tanks.

While fighting the Venomous Gentleman, I had realized something: If I wanted to take down more poisonous beasts in the future, I needed a list of tanks.

So, I politely accepted the rabbit leg from him and spoke.

“Thank you, Brother. Oh, and soon, Grandfather Myriad Venoms Divine Lord will be arriving. Since we’re also tracking down traces of the Five Venoms Sect, we might as well team up.”

“Oh, right! If we follow the Five Venoms Sect’s trail, we might even uncover traces of the Blood Cult! That’s a solid plan.”

It seemed like teaming up would be beneficial for both sides.

However, even after two more days, neither my adoptive father nor Grandfather Myriad Venoms Divine Lord had arrived.