Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

It was the moment Gun Hye-rin said those words that both Hwa-eun and I froze in place.

As my gaze instinctively slid down from her face to her neck and then her chest, Hwa-eun quickly cut in telepathically to get ahead of me.

She tried to reframe what Gun Hye-rin had said—rewriting it in my head as “leg hair.”

『“L-leg hair! She must’ve been talking about leg hair! So-ryong, you might not know, but a lot of young ladies worry about that.”』

“A-ah... I-I see.”

“Of course. You didn’t misunderstand anything, right? I mean, what woman would talk about... something private like that—anyway! It’s gotta be leg hair!”

“Ah-ha... haha... must be smooth.”

“So-ryong!”

“R-right, leg hair.”

“R-right...”

We were both definitely thinking that wasn’t just about leg hair, but we agreed anyway.

There was no way we could directly acknowledge that.

Then, with Gun Hye-rin’s hopeful gaze fixed on her, Hwa-eun unwittingly gave a response.

“Y-yes. Same body type.”

Gun Hye-rin’s look was practically screaming “You’re one of my kind, aren’t you?”—and Hwa-eun, clearly flustered and unsure of what to say, blurted it out as her brain misfired.

As I stared at Hwa-eun in shock and began to lower my gaze down her body, her telepathic protest followed immediately.

『“N-no! That’s not it!”』

“It’s not? Then... full and fluffy...”

“No! I just said that to agree with the Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor!”

I blinked, not sure whether that meant she did or didn’t—and then Gun Hye-rin’s voice came again.

“So it was true! Anyway, for a martial art that connects minds, it must be quite a rare one—and you’re willing to teach it to me. I’m so grateful you trust me this much. I’ll never betray that trust.”

Gun Hye-rin lit up with joy at Hwa-eun’s reply.

She’d {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} clearly spent her life isolated due to being from the Demon Cult, and now, not only was Hwa-eun offering her friendship, she was even offering to teach her a precious martial art.

In a modern analogy, it’d be like a gang heir with zero friends suddenly being befriended by the heiress of a martial arts conglomerate and taught her family’s secret technique—how could she not be moved?

But still, that was that—and because Gun Hye-rin’s misunderstanding had been further reinforced by Hwa-eun’s mistaken response, the situation had gone completely off the rails.

So I asked Hwa-eun telepathically what she planned to do now.

There was no rolling this back anymore.

『“Hwa-eun, what now? Gun Hye-rin totally misunderstood!”』

『“W-well...”』

A moment of silence passed before her response came.

『“...Let’s just do it. I mean... she did say she doesn’t have any hair. So isn’t that fine?”』

“...What?”

I stared at Hwa-eun in disbelief—that wasn’t the problem here.

But she avoided my eyes and looked off at some distant mountain.

As I turned my head in response to the heated stare beside me, I saw Gun Hye-rin beaming radiantly at us.

‘We’re screwed.’

***

In the end, we decided to register Gun Hye-rin.

The misunderstanding had already gone too deep, and honestly, registering her meant I’d also be safe when it came to aiding the Heavenly Demon Cult.

If anyone inside the cult tried to harm me or undermine my reputation, Gun Hye-rin would likely defend me with everything she had.

And at this point, I figured... maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just go along with Hwa-eun’s logic and consider this as adopting a magical-energy-spewing venomous creature.

‘Yeah, maybe it’s fine. I needed a nanny anyway, didn’t I?’

Truthfully, I had considered using Gun Hye-rin as a nanny.

I’d wondered if I could somehow lure her in with a martial pill—but thinking it over again, the conclusion was: too difficult.

To feed Moji and Soji, I needed someone with magical energy. But I couldn’t just bring in random demon cultists, spraying magical aura everywhere—it would be the same as openly declaring that we housed demon cult members.

Only Gun Hye-rin, having reached the Flower Realm, could completely restrain her aura, making her ideal to have around—but she was the Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor.

After this whole affair, she’d soon become the Heavenly Demon, so there was no way to keep her with the family.

But if she were registered, she wouldn’t be able to refuse me. I could just tell her to claim she was in closed-door training and hang around here.

And this had absolutely nothing to do with hair.

‘How did things end up like this all because of hair...’

As I tried to shake the word hair out of my head, Gun Hye-rin spoke up.

“So, do you have an incantation?”

The reason she asked was because we were now seated in the underground sandpit with the other new additions, ready for registration.

“No, just a drop of saliva...”

“Blood.”

I was about to say I just needed a drop of saliva—no fancy incantations—when Hwa-eun cut in fast.

Was it because she thought if I drank someone else’s saliva, it would count as an indirect kiss?

At the word “blood,” Gun Hye-rin tilted her head and asked,

“Blood? That sounds more like a trick than martial arts. Understood.”

Then she quickly pulled out a dagger and pricked her fingertip.

A drop of crimson blood rose from her skin.

I quickly dabbed that blood onto my fingertip and, with my other fingers, simultaneously inserted them into Baekhwa’s and Heukhwa’s mouths, who were waiting beside me.

Preparation complete.

Now I just had to put the fingers in my mouth and channel the Beast Heart Art’s energy.

As I casually placed all three fingers in my mouth at once—

Gun Hye-rin’s shocked voice rang out.

“Wait! Is this—!?”

‘What the hell?’

Her voice was alarmed—and at the same moment, my vision went blurry as Baekhwa, Heukhwa, and Gun Hye-rin all slumped to the ground at once.

***

Inside the mindscape was a desert.

The same one we’d seen as we arrived here.

Scorching sun and searing heat.

And wind-blown sand sweeping across the dunes.

“Damn, it’s really hot in here.”

Even though this was a mental world, the desert heat felt very real. I quickly used light footwork to jump up onto a tall dune, and in the distance, I spotted an oasis.

A crescent-moon-shaped lake, just like Yueyachuan.

Given my past experience, that was likely my destination.

I took to the air with light footwork and soared toward it.

—shfft, shfft.

Only the sound of sand crunching beneath my feet echoed as I ran across the desert.

I arrived at the oasis after a good sprint.

Though it was the mindscape and I wasn’t sweating, the moment I felt the sun’s heat bearing down, I dove into the shade of a nearby tree.

—splash.

Hearing a sound near the water’s edge, I looked over and saw two women soaking in the shallows, clothes still on.

One with white hair and porcelain skin, the other with black hair and a deep, healthy tan.

Each was wearing a robe matching her hair color. They had an air of elegance, a bit aloof and noble.

Their faces matched their manner of speech.

“Baekhwa and Heukhwa?”

Those two had to be them.

I used light footwork to land nearby, and as they noticed me, they flicked their heads and stepped out of the water.

- Kisha. “So-ryong, you’ve arrived? We were just cooling off in the water because of Heukhwa.”

- Shaki. “It was hot, so we dipped in for a bit. Even if it’s the mindscape, it still feels hot.”

Even though they lived in the desert, they’d made their home underground, so it didn’t seem like they were particularly resistant to heat.

I nodded and asked the two of them.

“Тhe Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor?”

– Kisha. “That woman? Haven’t seen her.”

– Shaki. “Didn’t see her.”

She was supposed to be in the same place with us. I found it odd and told the two of them,

“Let me go look around in case she’s nearby.”

– Kishat. “Then let’s look together.”

– Shaki. “Right. Time flows quickly here, doesn’t it?”

Before we came in, Cheong-yu Sojeo had already given them a rough explanation.

That once we entered this place, time would pass more quickly—so we had to register as soon as possible.

Naturally, the two agreed to search together.

I nodded and decided to start by checking the area around the oasis.

“Got it. Let’s go.”

So the three of us split up and began scouring the area for the Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor.

That’s when I spotted a hole in the ground not far from the oasis.

“Huh? What’s that?”

It looked like the entrance to the Heavenly Demon Cult’s sacred grounds.

I ran over quickly and peered inside the entrance.

What came into view looked just like the first time I’d seen the sacred ground’s entrance—an entryway made of sandstone.

As I stepped forward slowly, a passageway appeared once again.

I had the feeling Gun Hye-rin was probably inside, so I moved further along the corridor.

Sure enough, beyond the tunnel was a chamber.

It resembled the sacred ground’s inner chamber, but this place was completely different.

The actual sacred ground shimmered mysteriously, with sand falling from the ceiling like magic—but this place was pitch black.

There was no sign of anyone.

As I stepped into the chamber and looked around, I was just about to call out to see if the Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor was there when—

Someone leapt out of the darkness and tackled me.

“Urgh. Pft. Gah—”

A flash of blonde hair blocked my view for a second.

It looked like Gun Hye-rin’s golden hair, so I figured I’d found her after all.

She must’ve been startled by suddenly ending up in a strange place, hence the ambush.

But after we rolled a few times in the sand and came to a stop, Gun Hye-rin’s voice came, full of reproach.

“Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time!?”

“Huh? Tell you what?”

“This isn’t just connecting minds, is it!?”

Now that she said it, I remembered she’d shouted something just before entering the mindscape. It seemed that, as a Flower Realm master, she’d sensed something even then.

I couldn’t exactly tell her that I’d left out the details because I thought she’d refuse, so I scratched my head and was about to come up with something.

“Well, that’s—”

– Kisha. “What do you think you’re doing?”

– Shaki. “How dare you lay hands on So-ryong?”

A sharp, angry voice echoed from the entrance.

Gun Hye-rin and I both looked toward the sound—Baekhwa and Heukhwa were standing there, arms crossed, staring at us.

“N-no way!”

Gun Hye-rin recognized who they were and jumped back in alarm.

The two approached and helped me to my feet.

Though the registration process wasn’t finished, their loyalty seemed stronger than expected. But then I realized the reason for their anger:

– Kishat. “How dare you lay a hand on someone belonging to Hu. Should we punish her like before?”

– Shakit. “Yes, unni. I think some punishment is in order.”

It wasn’t loyalty to me, but rather that I belonged to Cheong-yu Sojeo, and Gun Hye-rin had dared to act aggressively toward me.

Gun Hye-rin backed away in shock at their words.

As Heukhwa rolled up her sleeves and approached, Gun Hye-rin flinched and shouted, stumbling over her words.

“This isn’t the time for this! Do you even know what you’re doing here!?”

Heukhwa tilted her head, then looked at Baekhwa. Baekhwa nodded as if to say, Go on, explain.

Gun Hye-rin continued,

“This isn’t just connecting minds! This is a connection of souls and spirits using blood and bodily fluids! It binds both parties to each other!

Why didn’t I realize this the moment you said blood!?”

‘Wait, what? That’s what the Beast Heart Art actually is?’

I hadn’t known what Gun Hye-rin was saying either, so I was just as shocked.

So that’s what the true principle of the Beast Heart Art was?

Sister Seol did say that if a beast connected through the technique died, the practitioner could suffer mental damage—but I hadn’t realized it was because of this.

At the same time, I started worrying that Baekhwa and Heukhwa might refuse the registration too—but the moment Gun Hye-rin finished speaking, an unexpected answer came from Baekhwa.

“So what?”

“...What?”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“L-like I said, it means we’re bound to each other!”

“I have no interest in what it means. If Hu commands it, I obey.”

It seemed that while the two could express opinions to Cheong-yu Sojeo, once an order had been given, it was absolute.

Gun Hye-rin shouted,

“T-then... then I won’t do it! Let me out!”

She was saying she wouldn’t go through with it and wanted to leave—but there was a problem.

“There’s no known way to let just the Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor out from this state.”

“...What?”

I had learned how to leave the mindscape before—but not during the registration process.

As far as I knew, the only way out was to finish the process.

Gun Hye-rin looked stunned at my answer, and then Baekhwa asked a question.

– Kishaat. “So-ryong, Hu told us to hurry. Do we really have time to waste like this?”

She was asking if we could afford to delay any longer.

“Well... I am a little worried, but...”

– Kisha. “And the only way out of here is for all three of us to complete registration, right?”

“As far as I know, yeah...”

Time flowing faster here was definitely a concern, just as Baekhwa said.

At my answer, Baekhwa rolled up her sleeves.

– Kit! “Then let’s hurry. Heukhwa, let’s go!”

– Shaki! “Got it, unni!”

“Hiiiik!”

“W-wait!”

I tried to stop them, and Gun Hye-rin resisted too—but I’d already heard that Heukhwa alone was tough to handle. There was no way Gun Hye-rin could deal with both of them.

On top of that, Baekhwa emitted pure energy imbued with purging force—natural counter to magical energy.

She wasn’t good with her hands, so she fought only using her legs—but Gun Hye-rin was instantly overpowered and pinned before me.

“Grrrgh...”

– Kisha. “Go ahead. Do it quickly.”

But it felt too forceful, so I told the two to back off and took some time to speak with Gun Hye-rin.

“Don’t worry. I’ll never do anything that would endanger the Heavenly Demon Cult or bring you harm.”

“...Really?”

“Yes. Hwa-eun just genuinely liked you and wanted to stay friends. She didn’t mean anything bad.

It’s just that... because staying in touch would be dangerous, we thought of this as a solution.”

Gun Hye-rin looked a little relieved at my explanation.

After thinking for a bit, she made a cautious request.

“There’s no way around this... You’re the center of this mindscape. If I killed you in here, I might be able to escape—but there’s no way to handle those two...

Please... keep your promise. They may call us the Demon Cult in the Central Plains, but everyone there is my precious family.”

“Of course.”

Starting with Gun Hye-rin, I kissed each of their hands in turn.

My vision blurred—and the next thing I saw was the dark ceiling of the underground chamber.