Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Because my father-in-law made it sound so casual, I let my guard down. But of course—it was another one of those smooth-voiced assignments.

I’d fought battles against the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult, where life-and-death struggles made killing unavoidable. When they’re trying to kill you, you’re not exactly going to be a saint and let them walk away.

But capturing a criminal and then executing them on the spot?

I wasn’t an executioner or a butcher. It gave me a bit of pause—until I had a thought.

Wait... do I even need to do it myself?

And if someone insisted I do it myself, I could always strike a pose and say something cool like, “I don’t dirty my hands with such filthy blood,” and let someone else handle it.

In the martial world, all you need is a little flair, and people usually let it slide.

So-ryong, that was smart for once. Must be because I’ve merged minds with smart Hwa-eun.

So I decided to quietly delegate the whole “Tang Clan justice” thing to the Venom Extermination commander. After breakfast, I called him in to discuss the operation.

Forget the punishment for now—first, we had to track them down.

If someone was smearing the name of Beast-Papa of Venomous Creatures, they had to be caught immediately.

It might not be a crime worth dying for, but it was damn close.

“So should we head directly to Dali first? Oh, and I heard we need to send word to the Dianchang Sect too, right? What’s your plan there?”

“Yes, I was planning to send a formal notice myself upon arrival.”

“Let’s send it ahead now.”

We agreed to notify the Dianchang Sect first. But just then, Geombong spoke up from the side.

“Rather than just a notice, young warrior, how about visiting Dianchang in person?”

“Dianchang?”

“Yes. Since you’ve come all this way, we’d be honored to have you stop by our sect. From the supplies you’ve provided on this journey to helping match me with Chang-ryong... not inviting you properly would be shameful on my part.

Of course, I know a single invitation doesn’t repay the debt.”

She was clearly asking out of sincere gratitude—for matching her with Chang-ryong, and for how we’d treated her all this time.

Chang-ryong nodded in agreement beside her.

“We’d love to invite you to our family home as well, but since Dianchang is closer, please visit us first.”

There was no need to rush the Beast Palace ceremony. We’d already held the main wedding with the Tang Clan.

The wedding at the Beast Palace was more ceremonial.

And let’s be honest—marriage is society’s way of officially recognizing that two people are allowed to have kids. We’d already got that official recognition, and we were actively working on the next step.

Besides, the ban’s been lifted anyway, right?

I glanced at Hwa-eun and Sister Seol to see what they thought. They both nodded.

“Well, since it’s nearby, there’s no harm in stopping for a bit.”

“Geombong’s gone out of her way to invite us, So-ryong. Let’s go.”

It was only about twenty-five li—roughly ten kilometers. Not far at all. So we decided to visit the Dianchang Sect first.

“Alright then. We’ve had breakfast. Let’s head to Dianchang.”

“You’ve made a good decision, young warrior.”

We were just about ready to set off.

Since this was business, most of the kids would be staying behind. I planned to bring only Hyang and Hongdan along for the visit.

But just as we were about to leave the ship, someone called out from the riverbank.

“Is the ship’s master aboard?”

The young voice reached my ears just as I was stepping out of the cabin.

Do Sagong hurried toward the gangplank, and I followed after him.

“What is it, sir?” he asked.

Sir?

I tilted my head at the word “sir,” but the next words clarified things.

“Ah, I’m Seonhak, a disciple of the Dianchang Sect. I only came to ask—since this is our sect’s territory—where your ship came from and where it’s headed.”

Judging by the voice, they were indeed from the Dianchang Sect.

Geombong had said this was their territory, and it seemed they’d noticed our arrival quickly.

“So-ryong?”

“I’ll speak with them.”

As I stepped down the gangplank to respond, I heard an excited voice from behind.

“Oh, we’re—”

“Seonhak!”

“Sister Geombong!?”

“Sister!”

There were four young men in total, and they rushed to Geombong, grabbing her hands in delight.

“Wait, what happened? Last we heard, you were recovering at the Beast Palace, and everyone was worried sick! Then we sent someone and heard you had left for the Tang Clan... Are you alright now?”

“Yes, I’ve recovered. And you’re all doing well?”

“We’re fine, of course.”

“You all look good.”

Geombong had a warm smile, while her junior disciples looked happy—but also very concerned.

They must’ve received her last letter around the time she was attacked by Cheong-yu Sojeo and nearly died. She probably hadn’t sent any messages since then—how could she, as a guest relying on others?

Still... she really should’ve sent word. They must’ve been worried.

As I thought about how worried they must’ve been, the disciple named Seonhak asked,

“By the way... what’s that huge ship? One of the villagers said a massive vessel docked here, and we ran over right away.”

Turning back, Geombong looked a little sheepish as she introduced me.

“Oh, that? It’s our young warrior’s ship. Or maybe I should say... his turtle?”

“Turtle?”

The disciples from Dianchang blinked in confusion at the word “turtle.”

Geombong continued.

“I’ll explain that later. First, introductions. This is So-ryong, son of the Beast Palace and son-in-law of the Tang Clan. He treated my wounds and helped me live comfortably until now.

Since he happened to be nearby, I invited him to Dianchang. He’s a dear comrade who fought beside us against the Five Venoms and the Blood Cult—treat him with the utmost respect.”

Hearing her words, the four young men cupped their fists and bowed. Seonhak ★ ★ stepped forward as their representative.

“It’s an honor to meet you, young warrior. Our sister owes you a great debt.”

“The pleasure is mine. I’m So-ryong.”

“We’ve heard your name far and wide. It’s an honor to meet you in person. Since our sister invited you, please allow us to escort you. Anyone who’s her guest and benefactor is a great benefactor of the Dianchang Sect.”

And just like that, we made our way to Dianchang.

***

We walked for about one hour before arriving at Mount Dianchang, which turned out to be quite the scenic view.

The tall mountain wore a belt of clouds wrapped around its waist like a sash, and Geombong, walking ahead, turned back and explained.

“That’s one of Dianchang’s famous sights—Yokdaeyun, the Jade Belt Cloud. It’s named because the white cloud wraps around the mountain like a jade sash.”

“I see.”

“And the cloud hanging on the peak over there is called Mangbuyun, the Longing Husband Cloud.”

“The Longing Husband Cloud?”

“Yes. The story goes that the daughter of the Southern Kingdom’s king fell in love with a hunter, and they fled to this mountain. But the summit of Mount Dianchang is bitterly cold in winter. Her husband tried to steal a monk’s robe said to block the cold and was punished by being turned into a mule. She missed him so dearly, she turned into a cloud waiting for him.”

Wait, she became a cloud over a thieving husband?

Geombong wore an expression full of pride while explaining the legend, though the tale didn’t exactly tug at my sensibilities.

Since martial world legends are often like this, I activated some basic social skills.

“Oh, that’s impressive!”

We continued up the mountain, exchanging chatter like that—until we encountered a large deer.

“Ah! It’s a Sabul-sang!”

“A what?”

“Sabul-sang! It’s a beast with the body of a donkey, the face of a horse, hooves of an ox, and antlers like a deer. But since it doesn’t really resemble any of them, it’s called the ‘Sabul-sang’—the beast that resembles nothing. Isn’t it fascinating?”

She was all excited as she pointed at the creature, but having seen many similar things, I wasn’t all that impressed.

Where had I seen such a thing?

Yo-hwa.

The spirit creature Yo-hwa, whose appearance was a mashup of several women—Hwa-eun, Sister Seol, Geombong, and others—yet didn’t truly resemble any one of them.

That was Yo-hwa—basically the Sabul-sang of the spirit world.

Geombong continued explaining how the creature was considered rare and not hunted. The disciples of Dianchang probably fed them, because when they approached, Sister Seol lit up with joy.

“Ahh! So-ryong, look at them! They’re so gentle! One just licked my hand!”

Even though it was a furry beast and likely had a strong odor.

I never really liked furry things—except Hwa-eun—so I gradually stepped away from Sister Seol, now covered in animal saliva.

Yeah... furry animals are still not for me.

After some time, we managed to pry Sister Seol away from the creatures, and just as we passed through the Jade Belt Cloud midway up the mountain, we finally arrived at Dianchang’s Nine-Tiered Gate.

It was a grand structure—nine archways emerging alongside the sunlight, as if drying the damp clouds from our clothes.

The disciples stationed at the entrance warmly welcomed Geombong, treating her like a returning idol.

—Beeeeep.

A horn echoed through the mountains, signaling Geombong’s arrival, and people began to flood out to greet her with genuine joy, not a single hint of pretense.

“Geombong!”

“Master!”

“You brat! Do you know how worried we were when we heard you were injured?!”

“I’m sorry, Master.”

“Come on! Your senior brother nearly fell ill from worry!”

“Wait, Master. Let me first introduce someone. This is So-ryong, heir to the Beast Palace and son-in-law of the Tang Clan. He treated me when I was injured and made it possible for me to recover and live comfortably.”

“Oh? A pleasure to meet you, young warrior. I’ve heard quite a bit about you. The rumors don’t do you justice. You’ve done a great service to our Geombong.”

“A pleasure to meet you as well.”

Geombong was clearly someone deeply loved in Dianchang.

“They all really adore Geombong, huh?”

I whispered, watching as we walked on, observing her popularity. Chang-ryong, wearing a proud smile, explained beside me.

“Well, that’s because she was the one who raised Dianchang from being considered the weakest of the Nine Great Sects to being held in equal regard again.”

“What do you mean?”

So Chang-ryong explained.

Among the Nine Great Sects, Dianchang was the only one located in the southern frontier of Yunnan, and their sword techniques were uniquely practical compared to the others.

Instead of flashy forms, they pursued single-strike lethality.

Rather than refining endless forms to attain enlightenment, they specialized in piercing vital points with precision and ending fights instantly.

That meant they weren’t held in high regard. Their martial arts were seen as crude, as though they were killers practicing purely to take lives, not cultivate.

And to make it worse, Dianchang hadn’t produced a notable new master or high-level disciple for nearly fifty years, reinforcing that image.

Then, like a comet, Geombong appeared—defeating disciples from other Great Sects one after another, eventually placing second in the martial world tournament.

Her style refined thrusting to an extreme, linking techniques that pierced only vital points—transforming their reputation from savage killing techniques to genius precision.

“So naturally, Dianchang treasures her deeply.”

“I see... that explains it.”

Under those circumstances, Geombong being revered here made perfect sense.

But as I watched Chang-ryong proudly explain all this to me, I couldn’t help thinking—

This guy’s in serious trouble.

“Chang-ryong, doesn’t that mean you’re in danger?”

“Huh? Me? Why?”

He looked puzzled by my question, but I was pretty sure of it.

Because right now, Geombong was clearly the daughter, sister, and idol of the entire Dianchang Sect.

And she’d brought home a boyfriend?

Could the uncles, brothers, and father-figures here possibly be okay with that?

Would they approve?

“Yeah, now that you’re her man... but she’s someone so precious to the whole sect—wait.”

I paused mid-sentence.

I could feel it.

Turning around, I saw them. The ones who’d gathered to welcome Geombong were now all frozen in place, staring directly at Chang-ryong as we walked toward the sect leader’s residence.

Gulp.

I watched as Chang-ryong swallowed hard.

Told you so.

Their stares were far from friendly.