Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

–Shhhhh!

Yeondu let out a piercing cry from inside my robes as she saw the explosion of light.

And then, as if answering her, a similar cry echoed from the direction of the blast, ringing out in all directions.

–Shiaaa!

But even though it was the same type of cry, this one had a different weight to it—something heavier. I’d never heard this particular sound before, but the low, rumbling pitch sent chills down my spine.

Still, even if I’d never heard it before—how could I, Spicy Fabre, not recognize that sound?

That was definitely the cry of a snake.

Snakes have no vocal cords or larynx and don’t possess any organs for phonation. The only sound they can make is a hiss—a “shhhh” sound produced by air moving across the glottis. And the sound we were hearing now was unmistakably that.

“Th-this is!? Cho, that way! Hurry!”

–Chrrrrrr!

A massive explosion and a flash of light.

And that sound. It had to be a spirit beast.

As I shouted, pointing toward the site of the explosion and flash, Cho surged upward into the sky toward the source.

‘Another snake spirit beast? No way that’s the Serpent King, right? That’d be ridiculous. I just barely arrived, and then the Serpent King shows up? No way. That’d be absurd, right?’

As Cho passed through a patch of trees and my view cleared, the scene snapped into focus.

It was raining hard, and the valley below was swollen with water. Amidst a crater blasted open with scattered stones, I spotted a freshly shed black snake writhing in a frenzy.

The ones surrounding it looked similar to those Five Venoms Sect assassins who once tried to tear me apart. But that didn’t matter right now.

The snake they were surrounding—

That was all I could see.

‘Short!’

The first thing that struck me when I saw it was how short it was.

It was about the size of a human torso, but shorter than expected. Probably around three meters long—but for a snake of that size, it looked stocky.

It was thick and compact, like the African Gaboon viper I’d seen before.

Gaboon vipers are thick and heavy, but they don’t grow longer than 1.2 meters. They’re known for being fat and short—and this thing looked exactly like that.

But was I disappointed in how small it was?

Not at all.

The shortness of its body was a trivial flaw.

Like... if someone said Hwa-eun’s pinky toenail wasn’t perfect—yeah, that level of ”flaw.”

Completely insignificant.

Because resting atop that creature’s head... was a shining golden crown.

‘Crowned beauty!’

It wasn’t just golden—it looked like a true crown. No, not even that. It looked like the headband worn by Sun Wukong.

At that moment, I knew exactly what it was.

“Golden-Crowned Serpent King?”

I had always wondered what it would look like wearing that golden crown. And it wasn’t some Western royal thing—it was a long, coiled band, like Wukong’s headband.

There was no time for more thought.

What mattered now was action.

Because those bastards were threatening my snake.

‘Cho, go down! Drop toward the snake, but spread poison only in the direction of those bastards—not toward the snake!’

–Chrrrr!

I shouted the command to Cho in my heart, and he screeched in sync.

Together in thought, Cho dove toward the snake’s position.

“Stop! You bastards! Who the hell dares to attack a venomous beast right in front of So-ryong, in the Tang Clan’s own yard!?”

–Chrrr! “Yeah, stop right there!”

‘You crossed the line, assholes. You messed with my snake!’

As I shouted, the enemies flinched and looked up. That was the moment Cho opened his mouth and sprayed venom downward.

“P-poison mist! Fall back!”

“T-the Tang Clan?!”

“What—how did they get here already!?”

As the green venom cloud surged forward—not toward the snake but just past it—the shocked attackers retreated.

To look cool for the Golden-Crowned Serpent King, I landed right in front of Sayang with flair, then turned and flashed him a smile.

In a gentle tone, I said,

“Don’t worry! I’m here now! These bastards—”

–Shia?

Sayang blinked at me with a confused expression, as if thinking, ”Who the hell do you think you are?”

But then, regaining composure, he slithered back a little and lowered his body in a wary posture.

–Shiaaa!

He still kept his guard up, but just then, a faint voice came from behind him.

It wasn’t loud, but it reached my ears clearly.

“Heh... oh, Primordial Lord... th-thank you. Thank you so much. Heh... I-it’s okay. He’s the one I told you about.”

‘That voice—?’

While Cho was spraying more venom to hold off the attackers, I peeked past Sayang to check behind him—and sure enough, there she was.

Collapsed in a pitiful state—just like I remembered her voice—was Oh Cheongyu.

Her face was pale, her chest pierced with a massive hole.

Blood pooled at her lips, and thick, dark blood oozed from her chest.

It was a catastrophic wound.

“Wha—!?”

Those assassins Cho was suppressing were from the Five Venoms Sect.

Yet Sayang was clearly protecting Cheongyu.

I quickly checked her head—just in case.

And saw that most of the acupuncture needles were gone, save for two embedded in shallow wounds.

It was clear now—Cheongyu had broken free of her brainwashing.

“Hey—you! Miss Cheongyu! Are you all right!? Did your memories come back? Wait—did you break free from the brainwashing!?”

At my words, Oh Cheongyu turned to the Golden-Crowned Serpent King and said,

“I-it’s okay. He’s going to help us. Cough.”

Every time she coughed, more blood bubbled up.

The Serpent King shifted aside slightly, and I ran to Cheongyu, who lay on the ground beside him.

“Hang on!”

Using the acupressure technique I learned from Grandpa and Hwa-eun, I pressed down around the gushing wound. But the hole was too big—like someone had shoved a fist through her chest.

Even applying pressure couldn’t stop the blood.

I couldn’t even tear a piece of clothing to plug it, because I was wearing the special outfit Yohwa had made me—and there was no time.

As I scrambled for a solution, I reached toward Cheongyu and said,

“Pardon me.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Then I pressed my bare hand against the center of her chest.

Hot blood poured out onto my palm.

With trembling eyes, Cheongyu looked up at me.

But then, with an expression of resignation, she spoke.

“I-it’s okay. Kuhhk... I won’t live much longer anyway.”

“What happened to you!?”

“I—I pulled out... my Neidan.”

“What?!”

At her words—that she had extracted her own Neidan—I widened my eyes in shock. That’s when the ones who’d been keeping an eye on Cho suddenly glanced at each other and shouted.

“Damn it, screw this! Let’s just retreat! More Tang Clan warriors will arrive soon! We got the Serpent King’s vital essence!”

But even before he finished, the Golden-Crowned Serpent King let out another piercing cry.

–Shiaaa!

And with it, a golden mist sprayed from its mouth.

The snake’s energy radiated outward and settled across the ground like a fine vapor.

–Shhhhhh! Shhh! Shhhhhh!

Then suddenly, hissing echoed from every direction.

Snakes began lifting their heads one by one from hiding places all around.

Massive numbers of snakes that had been hiding everywhere emerged, and the Five Venoms assassins were frozen in place, unable to flee.

“A s-snake formation?! D-dammit! Don’t move!”

Their faces went pale as they realized they were surrounded by a true serpent formation.

So the Serpent King really could control other snakes...

‘Goddamn. This is insane!’

That’s when it happened.

Yeondu burst out from my chest with a roar.

–Shaaa!

The golden mist emanating from the Golden-Crowned Serpent King began streaming toward Yeondu’s body.

–Brrrddddd...

As if reverberating through her, her body trembled, and at the same time, her old skin split away.

Yeondu had suddenly begun molting, and just like a balloon filling with air, she absorbed the golden vapor and rapidly began to grow.

And in a matter of seconds, she returned to the full adult size from when I first met her.

–Shaaa!

Now fully grown again, Yeondu roared toward the Five Venoms bastards.

In response, the other smaller snakes around her—all of them—lowered their heads as if bowing.

The Golden-Crowned Serpent King was unlike any snake I had ever encountered before.

‘W-what the hell? Can it evolve other snakes just by being the king?’

That’s when I felt it—coldness creeping in through my fingertips.

Startled, I turned and saw Oh Cheongyu gasping for breath.

“Ch-Cheongyu!”

I cried out in shock. Her face twisted in pain, she still managed a smile.

“Haah... ah... I—I think I ended up doing something terrible without even realizing it. Cough... I-I’m sorry...”

She apologized through ragged breaths.

It looked like the bleeding from her chest had stopped—but the ground was wet.

And then I noticed—blood was still flowing from her back.

“Shit! It’s all right. It’s not your fault, is it? The important thing is you escaped their hands.”

I clenched my jaw to hold back a curse as I spoke. Cheongyu blinked slowly, then looked at Sayang.

“I-I’m not in a position to ask this, but... I have a favor.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“The Five Venoms Sect is targeting Sayang... p-please... take him to the Tang Clan. Protect him. He’s the one who brought me back to my senses...”

So she’d been saved by Sayang. That much was clear, even without the details.

“Of course. I’ll take him and care for him.”

That much went without saying.

As I nodded, she reached out and placed her hand over mine—my hand still pressed against her chest.

Her grip was weak, her life slipping away, but she held on tightly.

Then came what felt like her final words.

“And... please... make sure... that people like me... never exist again... Hah... hah... Wipe out the Five Venoms Sect... from the Central Plains... please...

I... don’t want to die like this...”

Her grip loosened.

Her trembling stopped. Her chest rose once, then released a long final breath.

“...Haa.”

And the light faded from her eyes.

Despite all she’d done to me... this was a pitiful, brutal death.

My vision went red.

“Cho?”

I felt like I needed to let Cho vent some rage today—but just as I thought that—

–Shiaaa!

The Golden-Crowned Serpent King cried out before I could move.

He was clearly furious over Oh Cheongyu’s death.

Then all the snakes—Yeondu included—turned and rushed toward the Five Venoms bastards like a tidal wave.

–Shhhhhh! Shhh! Shhhhh!

“Gyaaahhhh!”

“Guahhhhk!”

“P-please, spare us!”

The flood of snakes overwhelmed them.

Only for brief moments did hands or faces burst up from the tide—only to vanish again beneath it.

Their screams rang out through the valley like a funeral song for Oh Cheongyu.

***

As I reached out with one hand to close the eyes of Cheongyu—now finally free from the Five Venoms Sect—

–Shiaa!

Sayang cried out beside me.

Turning my head, I saw Sayang gently nudge me aside.

“Huh? Oh... yeah. Of course you should say your goodbyes.”

I didn’t know how they met, but he deserved to send her off.

As I stepped back, the Golden-Crowned Serpent King opened his mouth and brought his head close to Cheongyu’s lips.

‘Wait... what the—no way, is he—?!’

There’s no way a spirit beast like him would do that—but it looked like he was about to swallow her whole from the head down.

Startled, I nearly lunged to stop him.

But then something began to flow out from Cheongyu’s mouth.

Something indescribable.

Something that drifted out like a [N O V E L I G H T] glowing mist and into the Serpent King’s mouth.

–Shiaaaa!

His eyes began to blaze with a mix of golden and blue light, bursting outward with energy.

His eyes, his scales—everything shimmered in golden brilliance.

Then suddenly, his skin began to peel, starting from the head.

–Churrrrrk.

Even though he had already shed recently—the cast-off skin was still nearby—his molting began again. That was strange in itself.

Slowly, the skin split from the crown of his head, revealing beneath it a radiant golden crown... and hair.

“H-hair?!”

What shocked me wasn’t just that he was molting again—but what emerged from inside.

It was a snake.

But not just a snake.

It was a magnificent being with Oh Cheongyu’s upper body—soaked and shimmering—adorned with a glorious golden crown.

That...

That was the true form of the Golden-Crowned Serpent King.

“Ch-Cheongyu?”