Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Just as I finished my conversation with my father-in-law, Seol, still chewing on dried ginger, turned to me and asked,

“Chomp... So, Ryong. Where exactly is this Fire Carp?”

“Oh, it’s at the Sacred Peak of Botasan.”

At that, both Hwa-eun and Seol exchanged shocked glances, their eyes widening.

“The Sacred Peak?”

“If it’s the Sacred Peak, then...? I remember my father telling me that Botaarm is normally a monastery for nuns and strictly off-limits to men. They make rare exceptions for certain guests, but the Sacred Peak itself... No man is allowed there under any circumstances! How are you planning to get in? Are you just going to ask the nuns to bring it down for you?”

‘Wait, what? So it’s basically a martial arts girls’ high school or women’s university?’

When the princess first mentioned the Sacred Peak, I thought it was the only area where men were forbidden. But now it turned out Botaarm itself was already an institution that only allowed women.

I hadn’t told them about the whole crossdressing situation yet, so Hwa-eun and Seol were both staring at me with expressions demanding an answer.

“The Fire Carp is the size of a human head. How exactly are the nuns supposed to transport it alive? They’ve probably never handled a living fish before. The only ones who could manage something like that are our Tang Clan, maybe—but definitely not Botaarm.”

The Fire Carp was supposedly located near the Sacred Peak of Botasan.

And the thing I needed to retrieve was a carp the size of a human head.

Sure, our Tang Clan was used to catching all kinds of poisonous creatures—including pufferfish on occasion—but expecting a group of nuns to catch and transport a massive live fish?

That was out of the question.

It wasn’t like they had water tanks in this era. And I highly doubted they understood how aquatic respiration worked.

“...So what’s your plan?”

“Yeah, So-ryong. What exactly are you going to do?”

Both Hwa-eun and Seol stared at me with piercing gazes, as if demanding a proper answer instead of dodging the question.

Seeing no way out, I squeezed my eyes shut and admitted,

“Th-the princess told me to... to dress as a woman. She said she’d send a letter to the head of Botaarm to inform them in advance...”

“...Crossdress?”

“...Dress as a woman?”

At my words, Seol and Hwa-eun turned to look at each other, their eyes widening.

Then, almost simultaneously, they grinned.

“That sounds like fun.”

“That sounds really fun.”

‘Why!?’

I had no idea what was so amusing about this situation, and their reactions left me completely baffled.

***

We docked our ship at the largest island of the Zhoushan Archipelago before transferring to a smaller boat that would take us to the island where Botasan was located.

“That over there is Botanaga Mountain.”

“Botanaga Mountain? Isn’t it just Botasan?”

“Since Naga Mountain and Botasan are connected, people usually refer to the entire place as Botanaga Mountain.”

It was an unusual twin-island formation, rising to an estimated height of around 300 meters.

As we approached, the female ferryman rowing the boat scanned the three of us—me, Hwa-eun, and Seol—before speaking with a teasing smile.

“I suppose none of you are men, right? If I were to bring a man along, I’d be in serious trouble. Haha, but looking at how beautiful you all are, I doubt that’s the case.”

At her words, Hwa-eun and Seol exchanged smug glances, clearly pleased with the result of their handiwork.

Since morning, they had been forcing me into different outfits, styling my hair, and turning me into this “masterpiece.”

Judging by how naturally the ferryman accepted my disguise, it seemed they ★ ★ had done an alarmingly good job.

‘Then why do I feel so miserable?’

Maybe it was the Royal Jelly I had eaten before, which had smoothed my skin, but even I had to admit—I looked like Hwa-eun’s younger sister.

As soon as we reached the small dock, two nuns with long hair flew down using lightfoot techniques and clasped their hands together in greeting.

“Avalokiteshvara’s blessings be upon you. Who might you be, and where do you come from?”

“We are Tang Hwa-eun and Tang So-eun from the Tang Clan of Sichuan, and this here is Seol Pyo from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.”

“Ah, the sisters of the Tang Clan and a lady of the Beast Palace? What brings you here?”

Just as planned, Hwa-eun introduced me as her younger sister, and the disguise passed without any suspicion.

‘Should I be happy about this... or not?’

As I silently struggled with an existential crisis, Hwa-eun handed over the letter from the princess to the nun.

“Princess Guando has sent this letter. Could you deliver it to the Sword Empress?”

“The princess!?”

The two nuns visibly flinched at the mention of the princess.

One of them quickly took the letter and flew off toward Botasan, while the other turned back to us.

“Please wait here for a moment. You will receive a response shortly.”

It seemed that not only were men forbidden from entering, but even visitors were heavily scrutinized.

After waiting for about half an incense stick’s time, the nun returned and relayed the decision.

“Avalokiteshvara’s blessings, the three of you have been granted permission to enter. Please disembark and ascend to Botasan. The Sword Empress is expecting you.”

Inside a hall of Botaarm, an extremely stern-looking middle-aged woman was waiting for us.

Her expression was anything but welcoming.

“...That troublesome child must have caused another mess.”

She let out a sigh, clearly burdened by whatever was written in the letter.

Gesturing at the letter, she muttered,

“...Ah, I suppose introductions come first. Amitabha. Young ladies... and young master.”

She looked exhausted, but she still attempted to be polite. Then, she turned to one of us and said,

“But before that... I need to confirm something. This letter claims you assisted the princess. You, young master, please explain.”

I was about to answer—

But then I noticed something odd.

She wasn’t looking at me.

Instead, she was staring at Seol.

Seol instinctively placed a hand on her chest, as if to confirm if she was the one being addressed.

The Sword Empress nodded.

“Yes, you. Speak.”

Seol’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Then, realizing her mistake, the Sword Empress gave an apologetic smile.

“...Ah, you exposed your legs, so I assumed you were a man. Hahaha. Well then, the real young master must be... you?”

This time, her eyes landed directly on Hwa-eun.

Hwa-eun and Seol, who had been enjoying my crossdressing misfortune, suddenly scowled.

‘Why do I feel annoyed too?’

I had no idea why, but I felt genuinely offended by this turn of events.

The letter detailed the princess’s plan for her fake marriage and her ambitions to become the successor of the Sword Empress.

Clearly, this was the first time the Sword Empress had learned of the full scheme.

That day, I realized even martial arts masters could collapse from high blood pressure.

Because the moment I nodded in confirmation, she visibly staggered.

“This... this is ridiculous...”

But it was too late.

With a resigned sigh, the Sword Empress muttered,

“...So this is fate...”

Yeah, it’s probably better to think of it that way.

After rubbing her temples for a while, she finally calmed down and addressed us again.

“Well... regardless, thank you for assisting my disciple. Since you’ve helped secure my successor, I should reward you. However, I must apologize.”

“...For what?”

For a moment, I panicked, wondering if she was about to refuse to hand over the Fire Carp.

But what she said next caught me completely off guard.

She informed us that—

The Fire Carp had no Neidan.

“The Fire Carp that Jiryeon wants to gift you out of gratitude... I believe they assumed it possessed a Neidan. But it doesn’t. It’s still too young.”

—Shaaa!?

‘Wait, WHAT!? I crossdressed for THIS!?’

From inside my robes, Yeondu let out a horrified cry, just as stunned as I was.

It was like ordering a red bean bun and getting one without any filling—or buying a fish-shaped pastry, only to find out it had no fish inside.

After all that suffering, to hear there was no Neidan left me momentarily speechless.

Still, I quickly composed myself and forced out a polite response.

“I-it’s fine. I wasn’t after the Neidan anyway. I just enjoy raising rare creatures, so I was hoping to receive it.”

Even if there was no Neidan, I had come to study its habitat—and if I took it with me and raised it properly, maybe it would develop one later.

Even if it was tiny, there was still a chance...

The Sword Empress nodded approvingly.

“I see. If that’s the case, then there shouldn’t be an issue. It won’t be easy to transport, but you should at least take a look at it first. Choa, escort them to the Moonlit Abyss of the Sacred Peak.”

“Yes, Sword Empress.”

Following the young nun, we ascended to the Sacred Peak, where a vast pond awaited us.

After hearing that the Fire Carp had no Neidan, Yeondu had been sulking in my robes, so I didn’t have high expectations.

But the moment I saw the creature swimming in the pond—

I froze in shock.

“Th-this is a Fire Carp!?”

Because this was no ordinary Fire Carp.