Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

“As expected... it’s big. Truly big.”

Gun Hye-rin’s awed voice reached my ears.

Big, she said.

“Really? I don’t quite notice it myself.”

“It is. To have grown this much... I’ve never even heard of such a thing reaching this size.”

Her words somehow carried a hint of pride.

And since it was my wife’s praise, I couldn’t help but feel pleased.

Especially when she said it was big.

Well, isn’t everything better when it’s bigger?

Suppressing my puffed-up shoulders, I asked Gun Hye-rin,

“Then, do you think it’s fine to proceed now?”

“I’m fully prepared, and it seems you are as well. So yes, it should be fine. But we must be careful. This will be my first time, after all. You understand what I mean?”

“Of course. Then let’s connect right away.”

Finally, Gun Hye-rin, who had been observing the inside of my body while holding my wrist, gave her permission.

After pestering her day after day, I’d finally gotten her approval.

And what exactly had she given me permission for? It was the Eight Poisons.

She had agreed she was ready to pass them to me.

A few days earlier, while examining my body, she had noticed something unusual—an odd sensation between my brows.

The space between my brows had begun to itch faintly, with a pulsating throb.

I considered asking Elders Uiseon and Yakseon to examine it, but first asked Gun Hye-rin to take a look. She gave me a surprising answer.

“Your Upper Dantian is opening.”

“My Upper Dantian?”

Yes—she said my Upper Dantian was opening.

I had heard that the Lower Dantian gathers qi, and the Middle Dantian is for managing and circulating it efficiently.

But I’d never heard much about the Upper Dantian. When I asked, she explained it was the energy center located in the middle of the forehead, linked with spirit, will, and intuition.

Her guess was that my body was preparing to enter the Realm of Manifestation. And what she meant now was that this swelling Upper Dantian had finally stabilized.

At first, I thought “opening” meant a hole forming there, but in martial terms, when a dantian “opens,” it means the energy has settled into place, ready for use.

So, the Upper Dantian opening meant the qi had gathered at the center of my forehead and stabilized. The surging energy had finally come to rest today.

“Let’s go fetch Moji and Soji.”

“Let’s go together, Master.”

I sprinted out to fetch Moji and Soji, Gun Hye-rin following behind.

It had been ten days since she told me that near her hometown, close to the Demonic Cult, there was a colony of Pagoda White Ants.

The reason we hadn’t left immediately but waited ten days was because of something she had said.

“Let’s go at once, Gun Hye-rin.”

“We could, but it would be better if you ascended to Realm of Manifestation first.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Self-respect. You may already be more than adequate as you are, but if you stand as a master of Realm of Manifestation, the old men of the cult will accept things much more easily.

They’ll have less room to protest the fact that I... that I have become your woman.”

Even if Gun Hye-rin now sat as Heavenly Demon, taking me—an outsider from the righteous side—as her husband was bound to stir up resistance among the Demonic Cult’s elders. But if I were a cultivator of Realm of Manifestation, standing far above her, their opposition would be greatly reduced.

That was why we had chosen to wait and have me break through first, delaying our departure by ten days.

Of course, during those ten days, I had been pestering her daily.

「“Hye-rin, could you check me again today?”

“Didn’t I already check just before bed yesterday?”

“Come on! A man can change drastically overnight, you know.”

“Haah. Fine.”」

We dashed across the Beast Palace grounds until we reached a round clearing near the entrance, where children were tumbling in the grass.

Hwanji and Hwana lay flat on their bellies, while Cheongwol watched fondly as the others climbed up and down their bodies.

“Kids!”

—Grrr. 『You’re here?』

—Chiik. 『So-ryong.』

—Tsrr! 『Dad!』

As I appeared, they all flocked toward me.

I patted each one on the head as I asked,

“Where are Moji and Soji?”

From atop Hwanji and Hwana’s heads came their cries.

—Myuu.

—Myu-myu.

Apparently, they’d been resting there. The two fluttered down, but instead of clinging to me, they latched onto Gun Hye-rin.

“Ugh. A-alright, alright.”

It seemed they were asking for food.

Hye-rin discreetly let a trickle of demonic energy flow from her fingertips, and the little ones eagerly licked it up. While they ate, I spoke to them.

“Moji, Soji—today we finally got the green light. So let’s register right away.”

—Myuu.

—Myu-myu.

They stopped sucking on her fingers long enough to nod eagerly.

I had already explained clearly what “registration” meant.

Then they resumed eating.

While the children fed, Hwa-eun, the princess, and Sister Seol arrived in the clearing.

I had sent word through the group communication channel, and they’d come running out of curiosity.

“So it’s finally been approved?”

“Yes, Hwa-eun.”

“Our So-ryong is going {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to become even more amazing.”

“So-ryong, stepping into Realm of Manifestation? When I first met him, he was just a third-rate who could barely use martial arts.”

“Hey, Sister, third-rate is a bit harsh.”

“But it’s true. Third-rate.”

Well, when I first met Sister Seol, I really had been about that level. At least in terms of internal strength.

As I scratched my head, Sister Seol asked,

“Should we head to the underground cultivation chamber?”

She must have been asking where I intended to carry out the registration. But Hye-rin shook her head.

“No, better outside than in a place like that.”

“Outside?”

“Isn’t Realm of Manifestation known as the realm of harmonizing with the great natural energies? Then an underground chamber is less suitable than under the open sky.”

“Then where outside? Should we go into the mountains?”

As Sister suggested mountains or valleys, I dropped onto the grass with a plop and said,

“Let’s just do it right here.”

“Here?”

“You’re really going to do it here?”

Honestly, the inside of the Beast Palace was the safest place imaginable so long as its entrance was blocked.

Hadn’t we almost been trapped with no way out during the army ant incident, when the entrance was sealed?

If you simply blocked off the entrance, there was no safer place than this.

Now, because of the Martial Alliance conference, people were coming and going, but all I had to do was tell the children to guard this side and not let anyone approach, and there was nothing to worry about.

“Yes, if we keep people from coming this way and ask the children to watch over me, where could be safer than here?”

“That’s true.”

“With the three of us guarding as well, then here will do just fine.”

The decision came faster than I expected.

I sat cross-legged and placed Moji and Soji, who had just finished eating, on my thighs.

Then I asked my wives and children for a favor.

“I’ll be back soon, so please look after the surroundings.”

“Understood. Don’t worry about this place.”

“Kids, guard this place until your father comes back out.”

—Kishishi! 『Got it!』

—Tsr-r-r. 『Don’t worry, Mom.』

At Hwa-eun’s words, the children began to form a circle around me.

First Hwanji and Hwana coiled around me at some distance.

Then Cho and Yeondu rose into the sky, circling round and round.

Jeokwol enveloped me in her crimson mist, concealing me, while the other children spread out to form a perimeter.

Between them, my wives also took their positions. At that moment, Ranghu flew in, tilting her head at the sight.

—Buuuung.

“So-ryong is registering Moji and Soji right now, so we’re standing guard.”

—Buuung? Buuuung!

Soon enough, the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings filled the sky, and naturally that drew even more attention from others.

But with the children on guard, no one would dare approach.

When all preparations were complete, I took the saliva of Moji and Soji and placed it in my mouth.

’Let’s go. Eight Poisons.’

It was time to ascend to the Realm of the Eight Poisons.

Closing my eyes, I circulated the Beast-Heart Technique. My vision blurred, my consciousness grew hazy.

***

When I opened my eyes, it was night.

A pitch-black forest at nightfall.

“Oh, night? That’s new.”

The forest itself was nothing unusual—just the sort you’d see anywhere in the Central Plains. But for the mental world to be night was something I’d never experienced before.

Until now, only the scenery had changed, but it was always daytime.

But if Moji and Soji were the owners of this mental world, then it made sense.

After all, weren’t they moths?

Though they adjusted their rhythm to mine and mostly stayed active during the day, they were nocturnal creatures at their core.

So, for their mental world to be night—the time they felt most at ease—was only natural.

Even so, I felt a twinge of worry—about visibility.

It was pitch dark, with barely any moonlight.

’If I draw up the Beast-Eye Art even here, will it brighten my sight?’

Since other martial arts worked in this mental space, would a vision technique like the Beast-Eye Art also work? With some doubt, I activated it—and my vision brightened.

Fortunately, the Beast-Eye Art functioned in the mental world too. Quickly, I leapt onto a nearby boulder and surveyed the surroundings.

And there, in the distance, came into view a familiar shape.

It was the towers of the Pagoda White Ants, the very place I had planned to investigate with Gun Hye-rin.

“That must be it.”

Most likely, Moji and Soji’s main dwelling was near the colony of Pagoda White Ants.

It matched—their egg-laying, and now its appearance in their mental world.

I swiftly ran across the terrain with light footwork until I reached the white-ant mound. At its center, what caught my eye were radiant figures glowing white.

Silver hair and pale skin.

Unlike the other children, who had more humanlike appearances, these two shone with a luminous whiteness.

They looked like five-year-old children. Moji was a boy, Soji a girl.

But they had identical faces, like twins.

The only differences were their clothes—one in boys’ attire, the other in girls’—and their hairstyles.

“Moji! Soji!”

—Myuu. 『Dad!』

—Myu-myu. 『So-ryong Daddy.』

They had been marveling at their newly sprouted hands and feet, but when I called their names, they ran over and threw themselves into my arms.

“So this is what my Moji and Soji look like?”

I held them close, stroking the children who resembled silver moths.

From within my embrace, Soji poked Moji’s side.

—Myuu. 『Hey, we have to do it. How long are you going to cling to him?』

—Myu-myu. 『Oh, right. Says the one who’s been clinging until now.』

Perhaps because they were twins, they spoke to each other in casual tones.

Then they slipped out of my arms, took a step back, and bowed deeply in a childishly solemn way.

—Myuu. 『Thank you for making it possible for us to become Silver Moths, and for raising us until now, Dad.』

—Myu-myu. 『Thank you, Dad.』

For Heavenly Moths to become Silver Moths, they had to devour the queen ant of the Pagoda White Ants.

But that was no easy task.

Even in the nest I had discovered, only one had managed to reach the stage of Silver Moth.

Now, they were expressing gratitude that I had safely guided them through the process, and that Gun Hye-rin had raised them until now.

Though they looked like little children, inside they felt perfectly mature.

I pulled them back into my embrace.

“No need to thank me. Watching you two grow has been my joy.”

The two of them pressed kisses to my cheeks.

—Chup chup.

I wanted to savor this moment a little longer, but my vision grew hazy from their kisses.

Before I could even explain that a kiss would end the connection and eject me from the mental world, it was already happening.

As my sight dimmed, I spoke with regret.

“Ah, too soon. I wanted to see you both a little longer... When you kiss me, the connection ends and I get sent out.”

At that, Moji and Soji looked up at me and smiled brightly.

—Myuu. 『Even if we don’t look like this, Dad still loves us.』

—Myu-myu. 『That’s right.』

True enough. Honestly, I thought they were even more beautiful in their moth forms than in this shape. Smiling back, I said,

“Of course.”

The children hugged me tightly, and at that instant, my vision went dark.