Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The village began to stir with the crowing of a rooster in the dim pre-dawn light.

—Tchirrr. Tchirrr.

It started with the sound of crickets somewhere, then was followed one after another by the chirps of click beetles and katydids.

Perhaps because of the coming rain, or just the high humidity, the chorus of frogs from a nearby stream could also be heard.

The village that had been as silent as the grave was now filled with the sounds of life breathing again.

‘Now it finally feels like a place where people live.’

I was still lying in the clearing.

I lifted my body from the soft grass and looked around for the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly.

“Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly?”

She had been perched on top of my body, but somehow she was no longer in sight.

Only red powder, left behind by her, remained scattered across my chest.

As ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) I glanced around, I heard her faint whimpering from a short distance away.

—Chii.

When I turned my head toward the sound, the space shimmered, and she emerged from it.

She pointed with her antennae toward the still-burning lantern.

Seemed like she was telling me to hurry and put it out.

Though dawn was breaking, the light from the lantern must have still been bothering her.

“Got it. Just a second.”

Maybe because I’d seen her like that in a dream, but I found myself speaking unusually politely. As I moved toward the lantern, a random thought crossed my mind.

Cheongwol seemed pretty old, but her manifestation in the mindscape looked to be in her early-to-mid twenties.

Then, what about the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly? The matured version of her from the blood-red illusion dream—what was her real age?

That mature appearance might’ve just been an illusion.

It might be due to biological rhythms, like with our Cho, Hyang, and Bini, who each have different life cycles.

But still, the image and demeanor from the illusion—something told me it wasn’t just fantasy.

I started to suspect the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly might even be older than Geumdo or Cheongwol.

The eldest, perhaps.

‘I should try asking her someday when the timing’s right.’

But the urgent matter now was putting out the light, so I untied the rope holding the pot suspended and slowly lowered it.

—Whooshhh.

—Thud.

As the pot landed on the ground with a dull thunk, the body beneath the lantern—now burned to white charcoal—crumbled into ash.

It had burned like a candle; all that remained of the pig was just the rump area. But then, something that made my heart drop happened.

As the pot fell into the pit dug beneath the lantern, the rope around it had burned and snapped from the heat.

If the rope hadn’t held and had burned through faster, things could’ve gotten a lot more complicated.

‘Wow, that incense really is potent. That could’ve ended badly.’

I exhaled deeply and collapsed the soil around the pit to bury the pig.

Since it burned with poison, burying it like this would keep it smoldering underground while blocking the light.

Once the pig was completely covered in dirt, smoke and heat began to rise faintly through the soil, but the light had vanished completely, and the surroundings fell into darkness.

Only the faint glow of the coming dawn softly filled the area.

“Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly, it’s done. You have to keep your promise, okay? Don’t run off or anything, alright? You’re coming with me, remember? We made a promise?”

Just in case, I reminded her again. Her antennae gently wavered as if laughing.

—Flutter.

Her wings spread wide, and the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly floated up gently.

She fluttered toward me and tapped my forehead with her antenna like she was flicking a cute little sibling.

Then she soared into the air.

She flew above the village, then opened her wings wide and came to a stop midair.

‘What’s she doing?’

Her wings weren’t flapping, yet she was hovering there in the sky—an unbelievable sight.

But something even more astonishing, something I had never seen in my life, began unfolding before my eyes.

It looked like time was being reversed.

‘Wh-What is this!?’

Of course, time wasn’t actually reversing.

What I meant was—normally, you’d expect a butterfly to shed powder from its wings, right?

But here, the red powder that had been scattered all over the village was being pulled upward—back into her body.

The red scales scattered throughout the village were gathering around her.

Come to think of it, earlier, when she’d gotten angry, she’d scattered those scales in the air to form illusions in three dimensions.

Apparently, she could control them at will.

The scales that rose from the ground were being sucked back into her body from all directions, sticking to her once more.

After a bit of time, the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly’s appearance had changed.

No—she had changed a lot.

Her wings, which had resembled a swallowtail, now had long trailing tails, like those of a longtail butterfly.

Not just one, but several streaming tails that shimmered like they were on fire.

‘GYAAAAHH!’

Right. Just being a big butterfly had always felt a bit lacking for a divine creature, and this must’ve been her true form.

I was stunned by her appearance, screaming internally in awe... but then my admiration turned to a silent wail.

‘GYAAAAAAHH! No! My graceful, elegant companion—what happened to you!?’

Her wings were longer and more majestic than ever. But I couldn’t help feeling bewildered at her transformed figure.

A slender waist. Elegant wings.

A smooth, streamlined body.

Adorably dainty antennae.

That had been her beautiful figure... but now?

She’d turned fluffy.

Yes—fluffy.

In my past life, we used to call long-haired cats, dogs, and even owls or other birds like that ”fluffy.”

Not fat, just covered in lots of fur—so much that before getting wet, it looked like they were fat. That’s what we called “fluffy.”

‘Wait, where did my butterfly go, and why is there a flying poodle coming at me...?’

My lovely butterfly was gone, and a poodle-looking creature was flying toward me.

It was probably because the scales had reattached...

She flew close, tilted her head as if puzzled by my expression. I gave her an awkward smile.

“Ahaha... Th-That’s a new look for you.”

‘Yeah... just think of it as her wearing a fur coat.’

I decided to convince myself she was simply wearing a fur coat.

In my past life, elegant ladies like the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly loved their fur coats, after all.

***

The village had returned to its previous state, and it seemed the poisoning symptoms had all vanished.

As soon as he woke up, the village chief came running to the clearing, greeted by the rising sun.

“You did it, So-ryong!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The symptoms must’ve disappeared when the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly reabsorbed her scales. The chief, seeing that he had awakened at dawn, was convinced that I had succeeded.

Smiling, I asked,

“Yes, it seems the poisoning has cleared up completely. Heh. Now then, who am I again?”

“?”

The village chief hesitated for a moment, then gave a perfect answer.

Granted, I gave him a small hint.

“Heavenly...”

“Ah! Heavenly Venom Demon Mama—no, Papa!”

“Correct.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much! Thanks to you, we’re all alive!”

The people who had followed the chief to the clearing wore puzzled expressions, as if they didn’t understand why he was thanking me. But the chief, delighted, asked,

“Now that everything is over, may I explain it to the villagers?”

“There shouldn’t be any panic now, so I think that’ll be fine.”

Earlier, I’d told him to keep it under wraps in case people panicked and caused an uproar. But now it was all over.

Yesterday, some villagers had grumbled behind his back about why he’d even hung the lantern, so it was time to explain everything.

The chief gathered the villagers and explained why he was so grateful to me.

“Everyone, gather round. This young lord saved our village, so we must give our thanks.”

“?”

“So, here’s what happened...”

He gave a brief explanation, but the villagers were still full of doubt.

“You’re saying that... thing is a divine creature!?”

“A di–divine creature?”

“Yes, but it’s over now. The venomous creature has been dealt with by So-ryong, who bears the title of Heavenly Venom Demon Papa. We even heard that the reason we fell asleep was because of the poison, and it seems we’ve all been cured.”

You’d think they would cheer, but there was no reaction.

Everyone just blinked and looked around at each other.

Divine creatures must’ve felt too distant, too unreal.

I see them daily, but for most people, encountering one even once in a lifetime is rare.

Just then, I heard Hyang coughing.

—Tchu-kit. Tchu-kit.

Looking toward the bushes with a worried expression, I saw Hyang licking her side and asking:

—Tsrut? 『Dad, I think I’ve been spotted? Should I stay hidden?』

A few red scales stuck to her side.

I must’ve hidden her in the bushes a bit too early. Some of the leftover scales had clung to the vents on her side.

“Hmm?”

“In the bushes over there?”

“Gasp! What is that!?”

“Eeek! It’s an O-gong! An O-gong!”

The villagers broke out in panic.

‘Wait... does my Hyang have an allergy to butterfly scales or something?’

If a child has an allergy, of course the parent would worry.

I called out to her with concern.

“Come here, Hyang.”

—Tsrurut. 『Okay!』

Hyang crawled out of the bushes and climbed up my body, and the villagers’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

Then, in perfect unison, they all exclaimed:

“““So that’s why he’s the Heavenly Venom Demon Papa!”””

Soon, the nickname I’d been waiting to hear echoed across the village.

“Long live So-ryong, the Heavenly Venom Demon Papa!”

“Long live!”

“Long liiiive!”

‘Heh. So my reputation spreads across the Central Plains once again?’

When I was learning martial arts, my grandfather always talked about righteousness, virtue, and chivalry—it all sounded so old-fashioned to me.

But now that I’ve tried this “chivalry” thing... I gotta say, it’s not bad at all.

***

We were treated to a lavish welcome in the village.

The chief even slaughtered three pigs for us.

The celebration lasted two whole days.

On the first day, the Immortal of Medicine and the Immortal of Herbs thoroughly examined everyone to make sure no traces of the poison remained and that there were no other sick villagers.

By the time the feast was over, three days had passed.

On the third day, at the village entrance—

As we were leaving the village, saying our goodbyes, my brother and sister-in-law spoke up in disbelief.

“So-ryong, are you really not coming to our home?”

“Uncle Wi... this makes no sense. You’re our Moonlit Matchmaker. How could you not come with us...?”

That’s because I told them I wouldn’t be going to their house.

I had expected this, which is why I didn’t say anything until the very last moment.

Then I made up a quick excuse.

“Well, you see...”

“Oh, I see...”

The two of them looked visibly disappointed by my reply.

But there was no helping it.

The Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly didn’t seem like the sociable type. Sometimes she’d show herself if I called, but most of the time she vanished without a trace.

It was clear she was avoiding people.

“It’d be bad if she caused people in your household to fall asleep.”

After thinking for a moment, my brother nodded regretfully.

“Yeah. If she hasn’t adapted to people yet, it might be tough to bring her along.”

“Then we’ve no choice.”

“It’s a shame, Uncle Wi.”

Truthfully, I was lying.

It wasn’t that I was worried about her personality or appearance.

The real problem... was her preferences.

She didn’t suck blood every day—only once every three days.

When I offered to find a volunteer for her to feed from, the one she chose... was my brother Gwiseong.

Probably because of his big build.

She seemed to like big guys—even in dreams.

A macho preference.

It was... very problematic.

You might think, “How is that a problem?” But anyone from the Peng Clan knows—my brother isn’t even that big.

The clan head is a huge guy. Even the warriors who visited from the Tang Clan were massive.

And what if I brought the Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly there?

She might throw a fit and refuse to leave.

She could end up staying just to feed on all those muscular men.

‘She doesn’t realize—it’s the small peppers that are spicier. She’s got no idea.’

Anyway, with that settled, I gave my goodbyes.

“Then I’ll see you after your visit to the Peng Clan—around two months from now, at the port. My boat should be done by then. And I’ll see the two grandmasters again at the Tang Clan.”

“Yes, it was a pleasure, So-ryong.”

“Out of all the trips I’ve made to treat the sick, this was by far the most fun. Take care. As promised, I’ll stop by the Tang Clan.”

“Got it, So-ryong.”

“But Young Master So, will you be all right traveling alone?”

“Well, I’m just going back the same way I came.”

The Dragon Fangs were staying behind to watch my brother’s wedding negotiations, so of course they had to go that way.

That meant the trip back to the ship was a solo journey.

As I parted ways and walked down the road alone, Dong crawled out of my robe and perched on my shoulder.

She must’ve been looking forward to what awaited us back on the ship.

—Kkyuit!

Scratching her under the chin, I said,

“All right, let’s get back and see what being an O-dok is all about. What kind of surprises are waiting for us?”

—Kkyuii!

Dong chirped back cheerfully, as if in agreement.