Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

‘What... exactly are you?’

I wasn’t asking because I genuinely didn’t know.

I was just stunned.

No matter how much variation there was in size or color, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize this creature.

But this thing that the monks of Botaarm had introduced as a Fire Carp...

Its color.

Its sheer size.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Even Hwa-eun and Seol, who were just as bewildered, sent me a telepathic message in disbelief.

[So-ryong, that’s not a Fire Carp, no matter how you look at it. That thing looks more like a...]

[So-ryong, I don’t know if I’m seeing this wrong because of its size, but... isn’t that just a tadpole?]

So it wasn’t just me thinking that.

Even Hwa-eun and Seol, who knew more about animals than the average person, were staring at it like they’d just seen a monster.

And they weren’t wrong.

What lay before us was not a koi carp.

It was a tadpole—no doubt about it.

‘It’s definitely a tadpole. Its color is peachy-pink, and while it’s huge, if you look closely, it just resembles a fat carp at first glance. But the fact that it has no pectoral or dorsal fins, combined with that tiny, adorable mouth... It’s 100% an amphibian’s offspring.’

Tadpoles are the larval stage of amphibians—frogs, toads, and other species.

And as I looked at it...

I felt my heart pounding.

It had a soft, peach-colored glow.

Even at this early stage, it already had such a vibrant color, making it look like a promising candidate for a poisonous frog or toad.

Snakes, centipedes, scorpions, and moths were all great venomous creatures...

But toads?

Toads were legendary venomous creatures.

They were adorable, and their slow, lazy movements had a way of calming people just by watching them.

Was this what they meant by a blessing in disguise?

Yeondu might be disappointed, but the Neidan didn’t even matter anymore.

A giant tadpole?

What kind of frog or toad would this thing grow into?

I was genuinely excited to find out.

‘I almost felt bitter about the princess misleading me, but now? I should be thanking her instead.’

At first, I had been annoyed at the princess for not mentioning that there was no Neidan.

But after seeing this, I had nothing to complain about.

This was a perfect gift.

Before answering Hwa-eun and Seol’s questions, I continued observing the creature that was lazily drifting through the crystal-clear pond at the peak of the mountain.

And suddenly... I realized something.

I had been so distracted by the thought of crossdressing that I had missed several inconsistencies.

‘Wait... there were way too many strange things about this from the beginning.’

1. The Weird Size Description

Usually, when describing a fish’s size, people compare it to something familiar—a palm, an arm, a forearm, etc.

But when they talked about this Fire Carp, they compared it to a human head.

At the time, I thought they just had a strange way of describing things.

But no—it was because this thing actually was the size of a human head, with a long tail attached to it.

2. The Location

Botaarm was an island.

Fire Carp were freshwater fish.

Even if it was a spiritual creature, it didn’t make sense for a freshwater carp to live on an island like this.

But I had overlooked that fact entirely.

3. The Pond’s Name

This pond was called Moonlit Abyss (月映淵).

That name literally meant “a pond that reflects the moon.”

Ponds are stagnant water bodies.

That meant a carp wouldn’t have just appeared here unless it fell from the sky.

For a carp to survive in a mountaintop pond on an island in the middle of the sea?

It was impossible—but I had been too distracted to notice.

As I was about to answer Hwa-eun and Seol’s questions—

They suddenly shouted in shock.

“Choa! W-what are you doing!?”

“M-Monk!”

Startled, they rushed forward and grabbed me, pressing my face against their chests.

I was so shocked that I instinctively tried to push them away, but when I glanced up at their panicked expressions, they frantically shook their heads.

It was as if they were saying:

“You absolutely CAN’T look.”

‘W-what the hell is happening!?’

Just as I was trying to make sense of this bizarre situation, the monk who had guided us here answered in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

“Hm? Well, of course—I was about to bathe. Now, please, remove your clothes as well.”

“WHAT!?”

Even Hwa-eun and Seol flinched at that.

The monk continued nonchalantly.

“Since the Sword Empress sent you here, I assumed she meant for you to cleanse yourselves before returning. This is the Sacred Peak of Botasan, where no males—not even male animals—are allowed. The reason for that is because this is where we purify our bodies.”

I finally understood why men weren’t allowed on the Sacred Peak.

This was basically a public bath for the nuns.

That made perfect sense.

No wonder men were completely forbidden from entering.

Flustered, Hwa-eun hurriedly tried to explain.

“Ah—um! The Sword Empress must have forgotten to mention it! W-we’re only here to see the Fire Carp!”

“Oh? I see. I just assumed you were here to cleanse yourselves. But since you’re already here, why not take a bath? It’s rare to be allowed up here in broad daylight, and washing in this water makes your skin exceptionally smooth. You must be exhausted from your journey.”

“E-even if we’re all women, we can’t just bathe together when we’ve just met!”

“Y-yeah, exactly!”

Judging by how flustered they were, the monk still hadn’t stopped undressing.

I could feel the heat radiating from both of them.

But the monk simply responded calmly, as if stating an undeniable truth.

“This body is nothing more than flesh that will one day decay. Shame is simply a matter of perspective. Come, let us bathe.”

‘Hold on—why does that sound like something a player would say when trying to seduce someone!?’

This didn’t feel enlightened—it felt like something a womanizer would say.

Still, Hwa-eun and Seol firmly refused.

“N-no! We really just came to see the Fire Carp!”

“T-that’s right!”

“The water is really nice, though...”

Despite the monk’s attempts, they remained steadfast.

Finally, the monk sighed and gave up, letting go of my vision-blocking hands.

With the bath fiasco over, the monk smiled and pointed at the tadpole.

“Isn’t it cute? It appeared here about ten years ago, right after a typhoon. Since then, we’ve named it Yeongyeon, after the pond.”

“...Ten years?”

“...Ten years!?”

Just when I thought I couldn’t be more shocked—

Now I learned that this thing had been a tadpole for TEN YEARS.

‘Ten years!? How is that even possible!?’

There was no way any amphibian could remain a tadpole for ten years.

Some species of toads in deserts do exhibit strange reproductive cycles, remaining underground in a dormant state for years until heavy rains trigger their breeding.

Likewise, some frogs have tadpoles that overwinter—meaning they can stay in their juvenile form for months, hibernating in cold waters before growing into adults when spring arrives.

But that’s different.

Those cases involve fully grown adults hibernating or tadpoles delaying metamorphosis only for a single season.

Not a decade.

By all logic, this thing should have already become an adult.

With that in mind, I hurried forward and reached out to touch the water.

If this thing was truly a spiritual creature, maybe its environment was preventing it from fully maturing—forcing it into an extended dormancy.

Tadpoles aren’t usually that active, but even when hibernating, they still move around slightly.

To the untrained eye, it might be hard to tell whether it was actually in a dormant state or not.

‘It’s not that cold...’

The water wasn’t cold enough to suggest hibernation.

And the tadpole?

It was swimming around energetically.

‘Yeah... this definitely isn’t dormancy.’

I discreetly tugged on Hwa-eun’s sleeve, signaling for her to start asking the monk some questions.

We needed to safely transport this creature back to the Tang Clan, which meant gathering as much information as possible about its habitat, diet, and unusual biology.

And, most importantly—why it was still a tadpole after ten years.

[Hwa-eun, ask the monk if they’ve ever fed it anything. Find out if its size has remained the same over the years. We need to know what it eats if we’re going to take it with us.]

[I understand.]

“Choa, may I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course. What would you like to know?”

“Well, it’s about the Fire Carp—I mean, that creature in the pond...”

While Hwa-eun engaged in conversation with the monk, I swiftly began circling the Moonlit Abyss, scanning the surroundings.

‘Time to uncover some secrets about this thing’s ecology.’

***

Later That Night – Guest Quarters of Botaarm

After dinner, I gathered in one room with Hwa-eun and Seol to discuss our findings.

We had requested to stay for a few days to observe the creature’s habits, and since Botaarm assigned three to four people per room, we ended up staying together.

At first, it was a bit awkward, but thanks to Seol, I had already gotten used to this kind of arrangement.

Sitting on the floor near the low table, I began reporting my observations.

“The pond’s surroundings were nothing special. The water wasn’t particularly hot or cold.

Most of it comes from rainfall, with some minor seepage from the rocks, but there was nothing unusual.

It wasn’t high in minerals or contaminated—just pure, crystal-clear water.

There weren’t any strange plants or trees nearby, either.”

After I finished, I looked at Hwa-eun, who nodded and continued with her report.

“When the monks first discovered it, they tried feeding it small portions of [N O V E L I G H T] food, but it refused to eat.

Eventually, they stopped trying and assumed it didn’t require sustenance because it was a spiritual creature.

As for its size... they said it’s grown slightly over the years, but not by much.”

I frowned.

‘Not eating? That’s impossible.’

The monks simply weren’t aware of what it was consuming.

From my experience raising spiritual creatures, there was no way it wasn’t eating anything—it had to be absorbing some form of nourishment.

The fact that it had grown at all was proof of that.

‘It must be consuming something... but what?’

Earlier, I had even asked Seol to check the Qi flow in the area, wondering if it might be absorbing energy like Cho, Hyang, or Bini.

But just like the Sword Empress, she had only confirmed that it had no Neidan.

So, I prompted Hwa-eun further.

“And?”

“Well... apparently, the monks often visit the pond at night with lanterns for bathing rituals.

When they do, the Fire Carp—I mean, the tadpole—greets them excitedly.

Some of them even complain that their lamp oil runs out quickly, but that’s probably not important.”

“...Yeah, that doesn’t sound relevant.”

Neither of us had uncovered anything particularly useful.

Without knowing what the tadpole ate, taking it with us would be pointless.

As we fell into deep thought, Seol voiced her concern.

“So-ryong, I asked around during dinner... and the monks are really attached to the tadpole.

They wouldn’t stop talking about it.

Even if the Sword Empress gives it to us, won’t they freak out and throw a fit?”

Coming from someone who was serious about pets, Seol seemed to think that if we took the tadpole, the monks might break down in tears.

But that wasn’t a problem.

Even if the Sword Empress refused, and even if the monks cried their hearts out, I had already come up with a foolproof way to bring it back.

“That won’t be an issue. I’ve got it covered.”

“...You do?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm... if you say so.”

After nodding in agreement, Seol turned to look outside the window, where the sun was setting.

Then, she suggested something interesting.

“Well, let’s talk to the Sword Empress, and after nightfall, let’s go back up the mountain.”

“At night?”

“Things might seem normal during the day, but animals behave differently at night.

If we want to figure out what’s going on, we should watch it after dark.”

“Oh... you’re right!”

Most frogs and toads are nocturnal.

Seol was definitely someone worthy of being my sister—a true spirit of the wild.

“Good idea. Let’s do it.”

***

Midnight – Moonlit Abyss

After the monks had finished their nightly baths, the three of us retraced our steps, carrying lanterns toward the Moonlit Abyss.

The only reason we were allowed to move freely at night was that this was just a bathhouse, not some highly restricted area.

As expected, the pond’s surface glistened under the moonlight, reflecting its name.

When we approached with our lanterns, the tadpole eagerly swam toward us, just as Hwa-eun had mentioned.

“Little guy, what do you eat?”

Before checking the surroundings, Hwa-eun crouched down, extending a hand toward the tadpole, which didn’t resist her touch.

At that moment—

Yeondu suddenly shot out of my robes, eyes fixed on the tadpole, licking its lips in disappointment.

“Shaaa...”

I could tell from its tone that Yeondu had finally accepted reality—this was not a Fire Carp.

Feeling guilty, I patted its head.

“I’ll find you a real Fire Carp next time. I promise.”

“Shaaa... shaa.”

Yeondu let out a reluctant sigh, but nodded, proving just how good-natured it was.

Then—

Its eyes snapped open in shock.

ShaaaaA!

Yeondu let out a sharp, alarmed cry.

Startled, all of us turned toward it.

“What? What is it, Yeondu?”

Even as Hwa-eun and Seol scanned the surroundings, there was nothing unusual.

No monsters, no hidden threats—nothing that would normally cause Yeondu to react like this.

“What the hell? Yeondu looks like it saw something, but I don’t see anything.”

“Yeah, there’s nothing here...”

‘Saw something? ...Wait.’

Suddenly, something clicked in my head.

I had forgotten something important—Yeondu could see in infrared.

Which meant...

It had spotted something temperature-related.

I rushed forward, grabbing Hwa-eun’s lantern and holding it close to the water’s surface.

Then, I saw it—

The tiny blue flames dancing above the oil lamp suddenly stretched out like thin threads...

And were slowly being absorbed into the tadpole’s mouth.