Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

It had been quite a long time since Cheong-yu Sojeo conveyed her feelings to me.

That even if she’d been brainwashed, those feelings had been real.

She’d said that herself before.

Back then, her eyes had been clear without a tremor, and without a single speck of falsehood, they had been fixed on me.

But unlike the other kids who acted on instinct, after that she’d stayed quiet for a while.

She didn’t openly launch an affection offensive like Yo-hwa, and she didn’t honestly rub up against me like Ranghu.

She was mixed with Gold-Crowned Snake King Cheong-yu, but since a human heart took up an important part of reason, she’d probably been considering me and trying not to make things harder for me herself.

She always stayed quietly by my side, quietly helping and supporting me.

But once an opportunity had shown up, Cheong-yu Sojeo once again casually revealed her feelings.

The moment that rat snake bastard said “husband,” I saw her pupils quiver slightly.

That trembling was a very human emotion, with fluster and joy mixed together.

It made me think that this So-ryong’s lot in life was doomed to woman trouble—no, poison-creature trouble. Anyway, something like that was definitely stuck to me.

‘My fate...’

While I was sighing inwardly, a voice came.

-Shii. 『Elder, please come this way. I’ll guide you to a place you can stay comfortably.』

When I turned my head, Mongyeong was looking at me with a respectful face.

That guy who’d been full of distrust toward humans just a moment ago had now completely changed his attitude.

With his head slightly lowered and his tail moving carefully, he looked like a loyal retainer.

Yeah, well, hadn’t one complicated problem gotten handled, at least?

I decided to handle what was right in front of me first.

There wasn’t really anything else I could do right now, anyway.

Using this secret residence safely was the priority.

“All right. Guide me.”

When I spoke in a stern voice too, Mongyeong led me up to the second floor.

The place Mongyeong guided me to was a room on the second floor. It was small, but clean, and there was a soft, fluffy bed inside.

It wasn’t fancy, but it looked like the best room in this secret branch.

-Shiik. 『You can stay here, Elder.』

“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”

Then a dumbfounded voice came from behind.

When I turned around, Myoran was shouting sharply.

-Miyang! Hey, this is my room!

No wonder the middle of the bed was dented down.

That was probably a mark left from a cat sitting there for a long time.

Between that sound and that dent, it seemed like this really had been Myoran’s room.

At that, Mongyeong said with a stiff face,

-Shiih. 『This is the best room, so of course we should give it to Elder. Should we give him another room instead?』

-Miaw... 『No, I mean, that’s true, but...』

-Shiik. 『And don’t you have something you need to do, Lord Myoran?』

-Miyang? 『Something to do?』

-Shiiik. 『You said there’s information Elder needs.』

-Miyaang! 『Ah! Right!』

-Shii. 『Move quickly. If the other kids come back, it could get complicated. Until you return, I’ll try to handle things somehow.』

-Myangmyang! 『O-okay. Then please take care of Elder. I’ll hurry to the main palace and go find information. Elder, then I’ll be back.』

“Yeah, okay. Good luck.”

After Myoran rushed out, used a talisman, and disappeared, Mongyeong let out a sigh as he stared at the space where Myoran had vanished.

In that sigh, you could feel all the love-hate toward a companion he’d been with for countless years, and plain exhaustion.

Mongyeong said like he was venting,

-Shiiiii. 『He really is a cat, aren’t he... He’s always doing whatever he wants. Where he’ll bounce, when he’ll cause an incident, I seriously can’t predict it. Every time I have to clean up after him... Ah, I’m so tired I could die.』

It seemed like Myoran was the type of person—no, spirit creature—that was hard to serve as your boss.

The kind who could jump anywhere, so the employee had to babysit them.

There was something deep in Mongyeong’s words, but maybe he felt my gaze, because he turned back and flinched.

He bowed his head and said,

-Shiik. 『Just in case, I’ll lay down a formation and withdraw. Rest well. Ah... what about a meal?』

“I’ll handle meals myself, so don’t worry. More importantly, close the door and come in for a moment.”

-Shi? 『Pardon?』

When I told him to come inside for a second, Mongyeong’s eyes went round.

He probably wondered why I was calling him, but there wasn’t any special reason.

According to Myoran, the information about that sea of fierce poison might take a few days.

Just sorting information and finding what I wanted could take that long.

So while I waited for Myoran, I planned to take Mongyeong into our family and open the honey pot.

‘Boom-cha-cha. Boom-cha-cha. Whew. My heart’s pounding.’

Mongyeong had received Cheong-yu Sojeo’s grace and seemed like he’d almost come over to our side, but he still hadn’t completely decided where he’d stand.

So we had to decide that, and next, we needed the honey pot opening ceremony.

I meant the process of checking information about places like factions or sects of snake and spider spirit creatures—places where tons of snake and spider spirit creatures were gathered.

I wanted to confirm the information about where I could sweep up spirit creatures with Yo-hwa and Cheong-yu Sojeo.

They said that in this Nine Heavens spirit-creature territory along the river, spirit creatures were divided by species and fought power struggles, so I wanted to check where the snakes and spiders gathered, basically.

Wasn’t Mongyeong also part of a Black Night Palace information group?

At this level, if I asked, he’d obviously spit out an excellent answer right away.

-Sh... 『Ah...』

When I smiled and patted the spot beside the bed, Mongyeong hesitated, then came toward me.

He gently perched himself on the bed beside me, then lifted his tail slightly and said,

-Shiih. 『Th-then please enjoy.』

“Huh?”

Damn it.

At his actions and words, I smacked my forehead.

I was trying to hear some information, but he’d misunderstood when I told him to come up onto the bed.

That I meant we should mate.

Since I’d said close the door and come up on the bed, it was understandable.

If this were humans, he might think, how could someone like me dare to a great person’s husband, but this was the domain of spirit creatures where males were rare.

He probably thought I was trying to grant him a great favor, like what Cheong-yu Sojeo had done earlier.

That stuff earlier about not being interested because human males only had one was definitely bullshit.

‘Spirit Creature Land really is a place you can’t let your guard down in.’

Calming myself, I spoke carefully.

“N-no, it’s not that. I just meant we should talk.”

I absolutely had no such intention.

I was just trying to get a little information.

I said that, but Mongyeong smiled softly and spoke like it was fine.

-Shia. 『It’s okay, Elder. I know that humans, unlike spirit creatures, want to mate at all times, whenever and wherever.』

What the hell is wrong with humans’ reputation?

It felt like I was about to get anemia, so I pressed my temples and said,

“It’s not that. I just have something to ask, so p-put your tail down.”

A brief silence.

It felt like the red patterns on his body turned even redder, and then a flustered voice followed.

-Shiih. 『Ugh. Hah. Eugh.』

Mongyeong looked like he didn’t know what to do, probably embarrassed by his own behavior.

He curled his body slightly, pressed his tail to the floor, and rolled his eyes around, and it was pitiful.

Of course he’d be embarrassed.

In human terms, it was like the other person had just said, let’s talk for a bit, and you misunderstood, climbed onto the bed, lifted your skirt, and pulled down your underwear.

How embarrassed would a grown young lady be?

It was basically a reservation for death by shame.

‘Tonight’s blanket-kick reservation, huh.’

“Ahem. I-I think I made you misunderstand. Sorry.”

-Shiit. 『N-no. I-I misunderstood Elder’s intentions.』

My face turned red too, and it looked like his did as well.

It felt like we couldn’t keep this atmosphere going, so I quickly changed the subject.

I asked whether he intended to follow us.

He wasn’t a poison creature, but he was a reptile, so if I thought of it as gaining a subordinate, it wasn’t bad.

“It’s nothing else. I just wanted to ask if you’re going to follow us too.”

Then he answered right away.

-Shia. 『O-of course. How could I send only Lord Myoran? If I don’t help at his side, he can’t even do the work of one person.』

‘Th-that bad?’

He used Myoran as his excuse for following us, but that made sense.

Isn’t there a saying that cats would’ve gone extinct if they weren’t cute?

So this was solved immediately, and I nodded and asked right away.

“Next, there’s information I want to ask.”

-Shiik. 『Information?』

“Yeah. Didn’t you say that in this Spirit Creature Land, spirit creatures gather by species and form sects or factions?”

-Shii. 『Yes, Elder.』

“Then do you know where the land or sect of snakes is?”

The long-awaited moment of opening the first honey pot.

In my heart, the sound of a drum pounding echoed noisily.

-Dududududu.

‘Come on. Hurry and tell me.’

I waited for his answer with a face that said give me happy news and hope—

And then he finally opened his mouth.

-Shiih. 『Snakes didn’t form separate sects or factions.』

“What? Why?”

When I made a blank face at news like a bolt out of the blue, Mongyeong explained like it was obvious.

-Shiiik. 『Well, unless they’re beast spirit creatures that form packs, snakes don’t form packs in the first place.』

So only spirit creatures with a pack instinct formed factions and fought for territory?

‘Gyaaaah! You bastards said you broke free of instinct!’

They said they’d broken free of instinct, but it seemed like that still wasn’t easy.

Only the ones with an instinct to form packs seemed to be the ones trying to seize territories and groups.

Well, this place only had lower-tier cultivators, so that could be how it was.

With one last bit of hope, I asked again.

Because spiders were still left.

But my heart had basically given up already.

There were spider species that formed groups, but that was only when they were the same species.

There was no way dozens of the same species would ascend together.

“Then what about spiders? Do spiders not have factions either?”

-Shia. 『Yes, Elder. Spiders are the same. And it’s even a secret how many any group has. They can weave silk that holds spiritual energy, so they’re treated as precious.』

In that moment, my chest went cold.

Snakes didn’t form packs so there was nowhere they gathered, and spiders produced strategic materials so they were treated as classified, so you couldn’t even know where they were.

‘What is this Spirit Creature Land?’

My honey pot was an empty honey pot.

When my expression turned cold, Mongyeong tilted his head.

He read the room and asked,

-Shiih. 『Why is that?』

“It’s nothing.”

I was making a face like, damn it, it was going so well, when Mongyeong—who had served Myoran for a long time and seemed quick on the uptake—asked in a cautious voice,

-Shiik. 『Are you perhaps looking for snake spirit creatures or spider spirit creatures?』

As I nodded at the question—

Mongyeong, like a rat snake who worked in information, asked a clear question based on that fragment of info.

-Shia. 『Or poison creatures?』

He was guessing that I was collecting poison creatures.

Thinking he was pretty competent aside from not having poison himself, I asked,

“Ahem. It is poison creatures. I need capable poison creatures...”

Then he smiled faintly and answered.

-Shiik. 『There’s one poison creature I know. Should I try to lure her in?』

“Lure?”

-Shiih. 『The leader of the Black Night Palace Inspection Unit is a poison creature.』

“Yeah?”

I hesitated for a moment.

Then I patted his head and said,

“When Myoran comes back, do it right away.”

-Shiiik. 『Understood, Elder!』

It sounded like luring and kidnapping, but thinking about it, this was a land that was hostile to humans, so if you got technical, wasn’t it just wild harvesting?

Wild harvesting.

That was what I liked the most.