Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The sight of the wolves staring up at me with blank, stunned expressions...

It fit that saying perfectly—like a dog chasing a chicken and then only looking up at the roof.

Those huge golden eyes rounded toward the empty air as if they couldn’t believe it.

Even the sharp fangs showing between their slightly parted jaws weren’t threatening right now. If anything, they looked like some hollow, helpless laugh.

Baek-a’s disappointed expression was especially clear.

Her once-sharp gaze was now stained with frustration and emptiness, like she’d just let a precious prey slip away right in front of her eyes.

The other wolves lined up beside her were the same. Every one of them had their ears pulled slightly back, tails drooping, and in the way they looked at me, you could feel the raw emotion of “we’re screwed” spilling out.

In their golden pupils, the reflection of me was already wavering faintly, like an illusion fading into a place their hands could no longer reach.

I was just about to laugh to myself, thinking serves you right—

When a bizarre sensation suddenly washed over me, like my whole body was stretching out.

It felt like an invisible hand was pulling my body apart thread by thread, sucking me into some tiny point far, far away.

Probably the start of the move.

My skin pulled tight, my bones stretched long, and there was a crushing pressure like every organ in my body was being dragged in one direction.

Then, after ripping through space and moving in an instant, I felt like I was tossed down with a dull thud at some fixed spot.

And the solid feel of hard earth came through clearly against the soles of my feet.

As my vision slowly recovered and stabilized, the place we’d arrived was a quiet clearing in the woods.

The trees around it rose silently into the sky, and soft sunlight seeped between the leaves, lighting the clearing in a gentle glow.

When the breeze rustled the grass, the scents of green leaves and soil tickled my nose.

Nearby, the sound of a small stream burbling carried peacefully through the air.

It felt like a hidden paradise that had completely fallen away from the world’s noise—nothing but stillness and rest living here.

‘Oh, this is pretty nice? I thought it’d be somewhere underground.’

I was nodding, thinking it was a decent spot—

When Myoran, who’d been perched on my shoulder, lightly twisted its body and leaped down behind me with a graceful hop.

Turning to follow it, I saw a strange house standing on one side of the clearing.

It was a three-story building, and it had been prettily painted in five colors—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—based on the Five Elements.

And oddly enough, the entire building was round.

Because it had been built in a circle, there wasn’t a single corner. Smooth, rounded curves wrapped the whole structure.

‘Was this what they called a tulou?’

A type of house I’d seen at least once in a past life came to mind.

A tulou—a circular building, and aside from the entrance, the windows were placed high, a structure specialized for defense.

That famous tulou the Hakka people built to stop raids by outsiders.

In my old life, what I’d seen in photos and documentaries were huge, almost like fortresses, big enough for hundreds of people to live in.

Compared to that, this one was much smaller and more compact.

Myoran slowly walked toward the entrance, flicking its tail lightly as it spoke.

-Miyawoong. 『Elder, this is a secret hideout of the Black Night Palace. No matter how carefully spirit creatures weave their territories, gaps can still form along the borders, and sometimes spirit creatures suddenly rise to the Eight Heavens, creating blind spots. This is a space built inside one of those blind spots.』

“I thought ‘secret hideout’ meant something like a cave, but it’s surprisingly sunny.”

-Yawoong. 『There’s a barrier, so there’s no need to build it in some dark place.』

Once again, I found myself admiring how convenient spells were.

Blocking outside threats with a single barrier, and turning the inside into an ideal environment—something humans in the lower world couldn’t even imagine.

We’d just reached the entrance—

When it walked ahead and raised its voice toward the inside, shouting loudly.

-Miyaang! 『Is there nobody inside!? There should be at least one left!』

Then a familiar sound drifted out from within.

-Shiiik. 『Lord Myoran?』

A sound like air leaking out, like a tongue slicing through the air in quick flicks.

My heart started pounding.

How could Spicy Fabre ever forget that sound?

It was that classic sound a snake spirit creature made when it flicked its tongue to taste the air.

That distinctive behavior—its forked tongue sensing particles in the air.

A sound I’d heard hundreds of times in my past life, raising and observing countless snakes.

When we stepped into the building, an open central courtyard came into view.

In the middle there was a large well dug into the ground, and sunlight reflected off the stone floor around it, scattering a soft glow.

Then, from °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the stairs up on the second floor, a huge black serpent wriggled and slid down toward the entrance—only to lock eyes with us.

Its thick body was covered in black scales with an ink-dark sheen, and it had brown stripes running along it.

It looked easily over five meters long.

The way it moved was so flexible, sliding down and brushing the floor, it was a spectacle.

The serpent froze on the spot. Even the tongue-flicking motion stopped, and its round eyes stared straight at us.

‘Ohhh! A rat snake!’

A Korean rat snake.

Scientific name: Elaphe anomala.

It was the largest snake among the snakes that lived in Korea.

I was genuinely happy to see it.

The Korean rat snake was a large, nonvenomous snake that lived across the Central Plains and the Korean Peninsula. It was a reptile that tended to be familiar with humans, often found near stone walls, field ridges, riversides, and around farms.

“Familiar” didn’t mean it came up to people and acted cute.

It just meant it was often spotted near human settlements, so it naturally became something people saw up close.

It was an animal people could be grateful for.

The rat snakes that lived near homes ate rats and other rodents, protecting people’s grain stores.

Because they reduced damage from mice, farmers treated them like welcome guests, and in Korea they were considered a “good” animal—so they showed up constantly in folktales and legends as a friendly, familiar presence.

They were sometimes regarded like a guardian spirit protecting the home, and there was even a belief that a house with a rat snake living in it would receive good fortune.

I liked reptiles in my past life too, so I opened my mouth to greet it warmly.

“Ah, h-hi...”

But before I could even finish, it startled violently, coiling its body slightly and shouting at Myoran in a panic.

-Shiiiii. 『A human!? You brought a human here!? You’re always singing about how you miss a human’s touch—so y-yeah, you finally did it! You caused an incident!』

It recognized me as human instantly.

I flinched, but Myoran rushed over and smacked it as it spoke.

Not a real hit—more like a cat punch.

-Miyang! 『W-will you shut up!?』

-Shiik! 『W-what are you going to do!? No matter how desperate you are for a man, a human man!?』

-Miyaang! 『It’s not like that!』

While they bickered, I figured out how that snake spirit creature had recognized me so quickly.

That thing was probably an acquired spirit creature—something that became a spirit creature after starting as a normal rat snake.

So it was likely sensing opponents by temperature rather than eyesight.

‘Damn. Snakes sense temperature, don’t they?’

I’d been thinking wolves might sniff out my identity, so I should’ve kept in mind the same thing could happen with other spirit creatures too, but... what an idiot.

Snakes could sense a prey’s temperature, and I hadn’t thought at all that the moment one met me, it would realize I wasn’t a cold-blooded animal.

If it was any other spirit creature, maybe not, but when I met a reptile I actually liked, I should’ve realized I’d be exposed instantly. What a mess.

‘What do I do.’

Originally, I’d planned to have Myoran tell the ones here that it had received orders from above to hide me here temporarily.

Until Myoran went out and gathered information about that sea of venom and disaster.

This was a hidden space of the Black Night Palace, perfect for avoiding outside eyes, and if they were Myoran’s subordinates, I figured they’d cooperate naturally.

As long as they didn’t find out I was human.

But I’d been exposed from the start.

While I was worrying about what to do, their bickering kept going.

-Miyayang. 『Just wait. I’m telling you I’ll explain!』

-Shiik. 『Explain what? That Lord Myoran went into heat and brought home a human man? And don’t even start telling me you’ll pair me up too.

We’re not like warm beasts that go into heat all the time. And I’m not interested in humans. Especially since they only have one...』

The conversation had gone straight into R-rated territory, and that “only one” was probably about a snake’s genitals.

Snakes have two.

-Miyang! 『I said it’s not like that! Just listen to me!』

-Shiiiii. 『No. I’m reporting this to the Black Night Palace main base.』

The moment I heard that last line about reporting to the Black Night Palace main base, I moved immediately.

The rat snake had a bit of a “humans are untrustworthy” vibe, and once it said it would report, I couldn’t just let it.

I wasn’t trying to kill it.

Even if Spicy Fabre knew it was nonvenomous, how could I kill a reptile?

I just figured if I wanted to persuade it, I’d need to subdue it a little first.

‘Seriously. Why is a rat snake this impatient?’

With no choice, I shot forward fast.

Then I put my hand on its body and immediately pushed my energy in.

Cold body temperature.

Yeah—just like I thought. As I sent energy in, I sealed its pressure points.

-Shii!? 『Th-this!?』

Its body went limp.

That massive body slowly lost strength and slid down to the floor.

The muscles that had been writhing loosened, and I could see the strength drain all the way to the tip of its tail.

A panicked voice came out of it.

-Shiiiii. 『Th-this...! It’s so fast...』

It probably hadn’t expected me to be a high-realm cultivator.

Or maybe it hadn’t realized I was a brute-force type.

Myoran darted in fast.

It wasn’t attacking.

As soon as the snake was subdued, Myoran clung to my waistband and begged me.

-Miyaaaang. 『E-Elder, no. Mongyeong is someone I cherish. P-please don’t harm him. I-I can persuade him. Hurry and apologize! This person is a Golden Core Stage cultivator!』

-Shik! 『G-Golden Core!?』

-Miyaaaang. 『Yeah, Golden Core. Just stay quiet for a few days. Once I get the information he wants, we’ll leave quietly. Please.』

-Shiiik!? 『You’re leaving? Don’t tell me Lord Myoran is going too!?』

-Miyaong. 『Yeah.』

-Shiii. 『M-my god...』

Myoran seemed to think I was going to hurt the rat snake.

What a hurtful thing to assume.

I gave a small smile and said,

“I’m not going to hurt him.”

-Miya. 『Th-then?』

“He wouldn’t listen, so I just made him behave.”

-Miyaong. 『I see. Th-that’s a relief. I’ll persuade him again.』

Myoran said it would persuade the rat snake again, but I shook my head.

“No. I’ll do it.”

-Miyang? 『You will, Elder?』

“Not exactly me. But when I think about it, if he’s a snake, we don’t really need to do this the hard way.”

-Myang? 『?』

Myoran tilted its head, looking like it had no idea what I meant.

But if the other side was a snake, I didn’t need to wear my mouth out persuading it.

We had someone with persuasion built into their existence.

The kind of person whose mere entrance secured the plot logic.

『“Cheong-yu Sojeo? Can you come out for a moment?”

-Shia? (What is it?)

“There’s a rat snake here, and I think we need to talk. He’s not listening.”

-Shii. (Ah, I’ll come right away.)』

Come to think of it, Cheong-yu Sojeo was the Snake King—the king of all snakes.

Even if this was a different world after ascending, if that thing was a rat snake and Cheong-yu Sojeo was truly the existence called the king of the snake species, wouldn’t her dominance apply equally here too?

It looked exactly like a rat snake.

A moment later, Cheong-yu Sojeo came out of Dokmul-hyang in a wisp of smoke, and when the rat snake saw her, its eyes started shaking violently.

-Shiik. 『Th-this... g-great one is...?』

Sure enough, even if it didn’t know exactly who she was, Cheong-yu Sojeo looked like a noble, exalted being to it.

And in that moment—

‘Wait. Spirit creatures seem to have territories by species, or move together by species, right? Then wouldn’t snakes have a territory too?’

If I took Cheong-yu Sojeo and went to the snakes’ territory, I was really curious whether other snakes would react the same way.

It felt like it’d be insanely profitable.