Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

“What does this mean?”

Hwa-eun tilted her head, pointing at the cryptic line in the journal.

But while her face clearly showed complete confusion, both Sister Seol and I let out a heavy sigh at the exact same time.

Because to us, the situation was obvious.

“Hmmm...”

“Oh dear...”

Watching us alternate sighs, Hwa-eun looked back and forth between our faces, then puffed out her cheeks in frustration, her expression turning sulky.

“Why am I always the only one who doesn’t get it? I was so happy I could finally communicate with So-ryong through thoughts... but now I’m the only one who doesn’t understand... You two just keep it between yourselves...”

This—this was the real Hwa-eun behind her usual cool, proud beauty.

She was so adorable I wanted to bite her. It felt like something grabbed tight around my heart.

But her grumbling was starting to turn into sniffles, so I had to hurry and calm her down.

“Uh, Hwa-eun, this is... well, you’d probably only understand it if you’d raised something for a long time, like me or Sister Seol.”

“Y-Yes, exactly. Hwa-eun, this is something you can only relate to if you’ve experienced it.”

“Still, don’t act like it’s just something between the two of you. It makes me sad.”

“Ah, alright, alright. I’ll explain it now, okay?”

“Yes, Hwa-eun, please calm down. I was going to tell you.”

After soothing her, I pointed to the line in the book and started explaining.

If I didn’t hurry, it felt like a tear might really fall from her eyes.

“Here—it says, ‘Yesterday, I left it out for the sake of Hwa-seong, but today, Hwa-seong too is gone,’ right?”

“Yes...”

Hwa-eun responded with a flat tone, clearly still sulking.

She was too cute. When I glanced at Sister Seol, she was also looking at me, clearly holding back a laugh.

Stifling a chuckle, I continued.

“Ahem... It’s written in a refined way, but if you interpret it, it basically means this: ‘Because Hwa-seong wouldn’t listen, I threw it out. And now, Hwa-seong has left home.’ Ahem.”

“That’s right, that’s exactly what it says. It’s unfortunate, really. He clearly tossed out a venomous creature or something his son had been raising. That kind of thing happens if it’s not a place like our Yaksoo Palace. He must’ve gotten too deeply attached.”

“Right, Sister Seol. Truly a tragic situation.”

Seol nodded along, looking a bit dazed.

Even though the clan leader had used elegant phrasing, the meaning was simple:

he’d thrown something away—most likely a venomous creature—and that led to the person who wrote the Heavenly Flame Venom Bestiary running away from home.

At that explanation, the tears brimming in Hwa-eun’s eyes instantly dried up.

Then she spoke in a flustered voice.

“T-That’s what it meant?”

Of course she was startled.

Learning that her ancestor was kicked out—or left—because a venomous creature he loved was thrown out would definitely shake her.

This was the kind of story that would go down as a black mark in the clan’s history.

“Yes, almost certainly.”

“Without a doubt.”

“But why...”

Still not convinced, Hwa-eun looked puzzled.

So Sister Seol turned to me and asked,

“Hwa-eun, wouldn’t you be upset if So-ryong only doted on Bini all the time?”

“Wouldn’t you want to throw the creatures out?”

“W-What? Just because he dotes on them? They’re our children. How could I ever throw them out?”

She was probably trying to explain by analogy, but Seol had chosen the wrong example.

To us, the creatures were no different from our children—who would throw their own children away?

“Ah, I gave the wrong example, didn’t I? Um... okay! Let’s say So-ryong becomes obsessed with swordsmanship all of a sudden, because of something he said, and you two end up spending all day together because of that—wouldn’t you want to toss that aside out of jealousy?

The Tang Clan only teaches poison arts, right?”

“But... if it’s my husband’s path, why would I interfere with that...?”

Even with the revised example, Hwa-eun wasn’t giving Seol the answer she wanted.

Finally, Seol let out a groan.

“Ugh, forget it! This is too hard to explain! So-ryong, you try!”

With the baton tossed to me, I picked it up without hesitation.

“Okay, Hwa-eun. Imagine we have a child, and instead of doing martial arts ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) training like he’s supposed to, he just plays Go all day.

Wouldn’t you be tempted to throw the Go board away?”

It was the classic “parent throws out the game console because the kid won’t study” situation.

Explaining it that way, using something like Go—which could be considered this era’s version of a game console—seemed to work.

Hwa-eun’s expression brightened and she nodded.

“Oh... so our ancestor didn’t train in martial arts and only raised venomous creatures, and that’s how it turned out?”

“Exactly. Since it says ‘left it out,’ or ‘let it go,’ that’s most likely what happened.”

“That makes sense. He probably wrote the Heavenly Flame Venom Bestiary, after all.”

Just like Hwa-eun said, this was someone who had seen the potential in venomous creatures long ago and wandered across the world collecting data about them.

But what must the clan have thought of him back then?

If you looked at how venomous creatures were regarded within the Tang Clan even up until now,

people probably said things like:

“What’s the point of raising such useless things?”

“Why waste clan resources on such lowly creatures?”

In that kind of environment, a father might very well think:

This is enough. I have to put an end to it. And throw the creature out.

– Flip. Flip.

We turned the pages eagerly, searching for any more details—

but after that, nothing noteworthy appeared.

Just records of mundane, everyday matters.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

In the end, we couldn’t uncover anything about the Golden-Crowned Four Kings.

All we discovered was that the person who wrote the Heavenly Flame Venom Bestiary was, essentially, a runaway youth.

***

The border where Shaanxi, Zhongjing, and Sichuan met.

Paeng Gyu-seong of the Earth Dragon, along with the three of the Dragon Fangs and two Tang Clan warriors, questioned a passing herbalist they encountered on the road.

“Excuse me! May we ask something? Is that Mount Paltae?”

“Yes, that’s right, young master.”

“Then it seems we’ve found our destination. Thank you for the help.”

It had been six days of combing the area in scattered groups.

When the herbalist confirmed that this was indeed Mount Paltae, smiles spread across the faces of the Dragon Fangs.

It wasn’t far now, and since this was today’s destination, they’d finally be able to rest.

Even for martial artists like the Dragon Fangs, six straight days of searching without pause had left them a bit worn down.

They had just turned away from the herbalist and resumed walking when his voice called out from behind.

“Are you planning to climb Mount Paltae?”

At that, Paeng Gyu-seong turned and asked,

“What makes you ask?”

“Oh, I just wanted to give you a word of warning.”

“A warning?”

Paeng Gyu-seong tilted his head at the herbalist’s words, and the man continued in a cautious tone.

“You all look like noble sons out to sightsee, so I’ll just say this—

for the past few years, it seems the snakes have been breeding like mad.

They’ve become so numerous they even show up along the paths, and their venom is potent.

I just wanted to warn you to be careful.”

“Snakes?”

“Yes. Even as an herbalist, I’ve stopped climbing that mountain—too dangerous.

So many snakes these days. Only the trappers are happy about it.”

“Thank you for the warning. I appreciate it.”

“No need to mention it, young master. Safe travels.”

As the herbalist disappeared down the path, the group began walking again.

Ji-ryong smiled and said,

“We’ll have to remember this and tell Young Master So. I’m sure he’ll love the news.”

After all, if there were snakes, it was definitely something So-ryong would be excited about.

The two Tang Clan warriors who were leading the group nodded with smiling faces.

“Haha, he certainly would.”

“Yes, if it’s Young Master So-ryong, he’d absolutely love this kind of news.”

They clearly understood how much So-ryong liked venomous creatures.

Anyone who’d spent even a little time traveling with him would know.

On their recent trip to the volcanic regions of Yunnan and Qinghai, the Dragon Fangs had seen firsthand just how much So-ryong adored such creatures.

But could it even be called simple “liking”?

The image that came to all five of their minds was So-ryong dashing over to inspect every insect or venomous creature they passed,

then excitedly explaining what it was—even the spirit beasts raised by the Tang Clan weren’t exempt.

“Hyung-nim! Look at this! This is the Pyeon-gyeol! (Whip-knot)”

“Pyeon-gyeol?”

“Yes, it’s also a kind of whip, but unlike others, it doesn’t pass down inherited traits.

Here—if you touch it like this, see how it reacts?”

“Ugh? Ack! What is that smell? Like vinegar?”

“Hahaha. Yes, Pyeon-gyeol sprays vinegar like that.”

“You really know all kinds of strange things, huh?”

At the same time, smiles crept onto all five of their faces at the memory.

But then, they all recalled the last news they’d heard from the Tang Clan—

the incident that had taken place with So-ryong.

They’d tried to visit him before departing, just to check on his condition,

but they hadn’t even been allowed into his quarters.

They’d pleaded, but Elder Seol So-chan had flatly refused.

Some of them owed So-ryong their lives, having crossed the line of death and back,

and now that they’d heard something serious had happened—and hadn’t even been able to see him—their worry was intense.

“I wonder if he’s alright...”

Paeng Gyu-seong murmured under his breath, concern etched on his face.

Geom-pung and Cheong-ryong picked up on his words.

“Didn’t Elder Seol say he’d be fine? I doubt anything serious—”

“Right, surely nothing serious could’ve happened?”

“Well, it’s just that both of them collapsed at the same time. I was worried it might be poison or something...”

“Oh, come on. Worrying like that—Tang Clan warriors collapsing from poison? That’d be a joke.”

Chatting about So-ryong and the mountain full of snakes, the ten finally reached a small village at the foot of the mountain.

It was a quiet place with few signs of life, but thanks to Mount Paltae’s presence,

they managed to find a small inn.

“Is anyone here?”

As they stepped inside, the shabby inn was quiet—likely hadn’t had customers in days.

Dust coated several tables.

After a moment, a man with a thick beard emerged from the back and greeted them.

“Welcome, guests.”

Normally, Paeng Gyu-seong led the group,

but when it came to dealing with merchants or innkeepers, Ji-ryong took the lead.

Ji-ryong stepped forward and addressed the man.

“We’d like three rooms and a meal.”

“Are you staying the night or just resting?”

“We’re planning to climb Mount Paltae, so just for the night.”

“You’re climbing Mount Paltae?”

“That’s right. I heard it has beautiful views, so we came to see it together.”

“Understood. Then let’s get your meal started.

All we have are dumplings stuffed with venison. Will that do?

And for drinks, we have Heukgeunju.”

“Heukgeunju? ‘Black Root Wine,’ huh? Sounds like a first-brew type.

Alright, bring enough dumplings for ten and three bottles of that wine.”

“Right away.”

The innkeeper didn’t seem like a particularly friendly man—

he didn’t even show them to their seats before vanishing again.

The ten of them spread out across two tables and waited for the food.

“These tables could use a wipe-down.”

They weren’t filthy, but it looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a few days.

One of the Tang Clan warriors called toward the back.

“Innkeeper! These tables could use a cleaning!”

A short while later, the bearded innkeeper returned with a damp cloth.

He wiped the tables down, placed a teapot and cups, bowed silently, and disappeared again.

“Man of few words, isn’t he?”

“Sure is.”

The group began pouring tea and raising their cups—

when suddenly, just as one of the Tang warriors was about to take a sip, another shouted:

“Don’t drink that! It’s poisoned!”

“What?!”

– Shiiing! Shiiing! Eeeing!

And at that exact moment—daggers began flying toward all ten of them from every direction.