Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

There was no way that man could be the leader of the Five Poison Centipede Squad.

At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.

But bad premonitions never fail, and once again, my worst fears were proven correct.

The voices of the two warriors who followed the man into the cave confirmed it beyond doubt.

”Captain! The vice captain has been dead for at least twenty or thirty days! Judging by the dried, red-stained skin around the neck, it looks like she took her own life using Fire Annihilation Poison...”

There was no mistaking it. They were referring to the author of the journal.

Another warrior, who had been scanning the surroundings, suddenly let out a shocked cry.

”The breeding facility—! Huh? Intruders!?”

”Who the hell are they!?”

Their gazes flickered from the wide-open breeding pits to us, their eyes immediately turning sharp and dangerous.

Hwa-eun and I were trapped, like rats in a poison jar.

There were three of them here now, but obviously, the ones who had been outside would return soon—at least three more.

[So-ryong, what do we do?]

Hwa-eun’s tense voice whispered into my ear.

She had sent me a silent transmission, asking what to do, but I couldn’t respond.

My eyes remained locked on the man who appeared to be the leader of the Five Poison Centipede Squad.

If I so much as whispered back to Hwa-eun, it could set them off.

The best thing to do was to stall.

If Cho returned with Lady Seol in time, we could turn this around.

It had taken about half the time of a full incense stick burning to reach this cave from the pit where the breeding facility was located.

Factoring in the time to return, Cho should arrive in about one incense stick’s worth of time.

If we got caught before that, things would spiral out of control.

Even if Cho wiped out the enemy once he arrived, it wouldn’t mean much if Hwa-eun and I were already in grave danger by then.

This leader... he’s at least at the level of a Blood Cult elder, isn’t he?

Judging by his composed demeanor and the aura he exuded, he seemed no different from the Blood Cult elders we had encountered before.

Neither Hwa-eun nor I could take him on directly.

But there’s no such thing as an absolute in combat.

Hwa-eun had Seol, Bing, and Dong hidden under her skirt, and I had Hyang and Yeondu with me.

If we played our cards right, we might be able to hold out.

Just as I was weighing our options, the man jerked his chin toward his subordinates.

”These intruders don’t seem keen on explaining themselves. Capture them.”

”Yes, Captain!”

At his command, the two warriors sprang forward, rushing toward us like a storm.

”Be careful!”

The cave walls echoed with the sound of their charging footsteps.

Hwa-eun quickly warned me before launching herself forward to meet them.

The flickering light of our torches cast overlapping shadows against the rocky cave walls as Hwa-eun and the warriors closed the distance between them.

A collision seemed inevitable.

But at the last moment—

Just as they were about to engage in close combat, before they could even reach each other—

From Hwa-eun’s sleeve, a flurry of silver needles shot forward.

—Shrrrk!

”Poison needles!”

The sudden onslaught caught the two men off guard.

Their faces twisted in alarm, but they reacted quickly, kicking off the ground and leaping onto opposite walls of the cave.

—Thud.

Clinging to the walls, they barely avoided the storm of needles.

But in that brief moment, something else happened.

The movement stirred the creatures lurking in the shadows.

—Chitter, chitter.

The parasites swarmed toward them.

The warriors twisted their bodies, flipping midair, and landed back on the ground.

They had narrowly escaped the trap.

They were fast.

Hwa-eun clicked her tongue in annoyance.

”Tch...”

And then, the leader of the Five Poison Centipede Squad spoke again.

”Poison needles? Girl, what is your connection to the Tang Clan?”

There weren’t many martial sects that specialized in poison needles.

Just using them was enough to give away her identity.

Without answering, Hwa-eun pressed her lips into a firm line and wordlessly drew more needles between her fingers.

The man let out a dry chuckle.

”Hah...”

His laugh carried an unsettling undertone.

And then, without warning—

An overwhelming killing intent surged through the cave.

The sheer pressure of it washed over us like a crushing wave.

So that’s how it is. He thinks we’re beneath him.

As the suffocating bloodlust bore down on us, I instinctively raised my energy in defense.

But before I could do anything, something shot out from inside my clothes.

—Ssssrrrk! ”Who dares!?”

It was Hyang.

Furious, eyes wide and glinting, she glared at the man with venomous rage.

Hyang, you little... I was saving you as my trump card!

She had revealed herself too soon, reacting instinctively to the killing intent aimed at me.

I hurriedly reached out, pressing her head down to keep her from going wild.

But then, to my shock, the man spoke my name.

”Blue-Spotted Centipede? No way... So-ryong?”

What the hell? Why is he acting like he knows me?

Since when did these Five Poison Clan bastards start acting so familiar?

But right now, I needed to buy time.

So I composed myself and responded politely.

”You know me?”

The man nodded and clasped his hands together in a respectful martial greeting, as if I were his superior.

”I am Kwon Sam, leader of the Five Poison Centipede Squad.

As for your question—of course I know you.

You are the master of the Blue-Spotted Centipede, the esteemed So-ryong, and Lady Cheongyu’s beloved.”

The fact that he knew about my centipede wasn’t surprising.

But that last part—

”Beloved”?

What the hell was he talking about?

This could only mean one thing.

That gothic lunatic, Oh Cheongyu, had evolved from ”creepy woman” to full-fledged stalker.

”What? Whose ‘beloved’ did you just say?”

I asked in disbelief, and beside me, Hwa-eun’s expression turned cold as ice.

She had every reason to be pissed.

She was my rightful fiancée, and yet, some random psycho was out here making outrageous claims.

But this was clearly a one-sided delusion on their part.

The leader of the Centipede Squad continued, nodding as if it were obvious.

”Lady Cheongyu, of course.

She personally told us your real name. Surely you haven’t forgotten?

No... That can’t be. Have you?”

”Oh, you mean... Cheongyu. That Oh Cheongyu...”

I responded awkwardly.

Hwa-eun’s eyes went round as she stared at me.

Her gaze practically screamed, ”Why do you remember her name?!”

Because she’s insane. That’s why.

How could I not remember?

I was already trying to think of how to explain this to Hwa-eun later when Kwon Sam continued.

”So you do remember? That’s a relief. Lady Cheongyu would have been heartbroken otherwise.

Ah, and if you are here, then this woman must be from the Tang Clan.

What a stroke of luck.

Lady Cheongyu had made a request regarding her, and now I can fulfill it much sooner than expected.”

”A... request?”

My stomach dropped.

Nothing good ever came from that psycho making requests.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

And sure enough, Kwon Sam’s expression turned cold as he smirked.

”So-ryong is to be captured—no, escorted—back to us unharmed.

As for the Tang Clan woman...

She is to be humiliated before being sent back to the Tang Clan.”

”Humiliated?!”

”There is no need for young Master So-ryong to concern himself with such details. Heh... heh heh. I returned to find that my subordinates had made a grave mistake, but in the end, things turned out quite well.

Humiliating the Tang Clan girl and bringing Master So-ryong back with us—compared to the effort we put into raising these parasites, that much is a small price ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ to pay...”

The bastard licked his lips, his eyes sweeping up and down Hwa-eun’s body. His two lackeys beside him snickered along.

Hwa-eun, feeling the weight of their lecherous gazes, trembled with rage and humiliation.

”Y-you bastards! Just die already!”

Furious, she raised her hand and unleashed another storm of poison needles, filling the cave like a starry downpour under the flickering torchlight.

However, the squad captain merely scoffed, tossing his torch aside and stepping forward. With a casual wave of his hand, the needles were deflected midair, embedding harmlessly into the cave walls.

His triumphant voice echoed through the cavern.

”Did you really think mere poison needles would be enough to deal with me, Kwon Sam, the leader of the Five Poison Centipede Squad? Hah! Go on, struggle some more—it’s always more fun when they fight back.”

Hwa-eun trembled with anger, unable to contain her fury.

I called out to her.

”Hwa-eun, come here.”

But she ignored me, her hands reaching for vials at her waist.

She intended to use every last drop of poison she had to kill them.

I lowered my voice and called her name again.

”Hwa. Eun.”

This time, she flinched and turned to look at me.

She must have sensed the shift in my demeanor.

Because right now, I was furious.

So much so that my mind felt colder rather than hotter.

That saying about true anger making a man silent—it was true.

My wife was beautiful, and these vermin—no, even calling them vermin was an insult to insects—these filthy bastards were drooling over her.

First Lee Tae, and now these trash. It seemed like every piece of scum that laid eyes on Hwa-eun couldn’t help but leer.

Clearly, they needed a lesson. A lesson so severe they would never forget.

The moment Hwa-eun took a step back, retreating toward me, I pulled out a pair of gloves woven from silken thread infused with venom—a gift crafted by Lady Yo-hwa for handling toxic creatures.

I slid them on and looked straight at Kwon Sam.

”So, from what I gather... You were saying you wanted to have your way with Hwa-eun? That was the gist of it, wasn’t it?”

Kwon Sam’s expression wavered for a split second before he grinned.

”Hah! And here I thought you were too young to understand such things. But I see you’re already a man.

Good, that makes things easier.

Hand her over and come with us. Lady Cheongyu is waiting for you.

Surely, she is far better than this girl.”

His smug grin widened as he added:

”And you must be expecting that Blue-Spotted Centipede of yours, but we are the Five Poison Centipede Squad.

Did you really think we wouldn’t have countermeasures in place?”

I smirked.

”Fine.”

Kwon Sam blinked in surprise.

Even Hwa-eun turned to stare at me in shock.

And at that moment—

—CRACK!

With a swift kick, I shattered the crate containing the last of the female parasites.

The flat, round-bodied insects skittered out, five of them landing right in my palm.

Before the others could react, I flung them toward the three warriors like throwing discs.

Instinctively, they smacked the parasites away with their hands.

—SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

The crushed parasites exploded into a fine mist.

Kwon Sam frowned.

”What the hell are you doing, Master So-ryong?”

He had no idea.

But insects communicate through pheromones.

And bedbugs were no exception.

There were three primary pheromones they used: fear, gathering, and mating.

And female bedbugs released a pheromone identical to that of the males—except that its effect was entirely different.

Male bedbugs found it irresistible.

I slipped the two remaining females into my gloves, crushed them, and flung their remains to the side.

Then, with a smile, I turned to Kwon Sam.

”Enjoy yourselves.”

With that, I dropped my torch to the ground, stomping out the flame.

Total darkness swallowed the cave.

And then—

A sound like heavy rainfall.

—Thud. Thud. Thud.

Followed by the deafening screams of the three warriors.

”ARGHHH!”

”AAAAAGH!”

”NOOOO!”

Hwa-eun clutched onto me in terror.

”So-So-ryong! What is happening!?”

I wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered:

”Those who insult and covet my woman must be punished accordingly... And what better punishment than giving them exactly what they desired?”

Hwa-eun blinked, confused.

Because bedbugs were strange creatures.

Especially in the way they mated.

Female bedbugs had no reproductive organs.

And male bedbugs?

They didn’t care about gender.

Or species.

As long as they smelled the mating pheromone, they would stab their barbed, hook-like genitals into anything—and release their seed inside.

Anything.

Male, female, insect, human—it didn’t matter.

They would drill into whatever was closest.

And now, in this cave, thousands of them had been drawn toward Kwon Sam and his men.

I could still hear their screams echoing, their agony never-ending.

I smiled.

”Rest in pieces.”