Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

After taking care of Tang Cheolsan for about two days, just as he had said, the warriors of the Tang family arrived here.

I had thought it would take them a few weeks to treat their injuries from catching the centipedes, but they appeared after only two days.

The warriors, upon seeing the body covered with a cloth at the entrance of the air duct, were startled, thinking it might be the body of Tang Cheolsan, but they were guided by me into the hall where he was resting.

"Master! What is going on here?!"

"Such severe internal injuries!"

The warriors were shocked, seeing Tang Cheolsan’s pale face and the dark circles under his eyes. As I helped him sit up, he began to explain to his warriors what had happened a few days ago.

"Blood-Handed Rakshasa, Tak Wonyang appeared."

"Eh!? Tak Wonyang, the Blood-Handed Rakshasa!? The one who fell from the cliff below the coast in Qinzhou after receiving a beating from Lord Tang Mu-seong over ten years ago?"

"Yes."

"Ah! So... the body at the entrance is...?"

"It was almost a disaster. He had been living in seclusion, focusing on martial arts, and had reached a level close to my father’s."

The three warriors, after hearing the explanation, looked at each other with disbelief but quickly smiled brightly and congratulated Tang Cheolsan.

"Then!? Master! If you defeated such a man, it means you’ve reached the level of Master of Venoms. Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

They must have thought that if he could defeat such a strong foe, his skills must have been even higher. It seemed like they were congratulating him for his achievements.

‘But it was actually my pet that did it...’

Tang Cheolsan shook his head.

With a smile on his face, he pointed at me.

"No. It was not me who killed him. It was this young hero here... He saved my life."

"Eh!? This young hero?"

"This hero killed Tak Wonyang!?"

Well, it wasn’t exactly me, but my pets did the work. Since they were my pets, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Accidents caused by pets are the owner's responsibility, after all.

However, the warriors seemed to misunderstand something and politely bowed to me in the traditional Central Plains manner, showing respect.

"Thank you for saving the head of the Tang family."

"Thank you!"

"Uh... Was this... a resurrection of some sort?"

They asked if I had somehow returned from the dead.

‘What are they talking about? What is this? I should’ve watched more martial arts movies in my past life to understand what they’re saying...’

Seeing their reactions, Tang Cheolsan couldn’t help but chuckle. As he raised his eyebrows, a cold chill ran down my spine, and I could hear noises coming from my chest.

‘No, not now...’

• Tsurru!

That sound was a warning from my pets when they were angry.

Suddenly, my three centipedes burst out from my chest like snakes, shaking their heads as they glared at Tang Cheolsan.

"Ah! What... is this!?"

"Ah, the centipedes!?"

The warriors were wide-eyed at the sight of the three yellow centipedes.

After a moment, once the cold sensation had passed, the centipedes slowly returned into my clothes.

"What... what is that!?"

The warriors, surprised by the sight of the centipedes, had stepped back a little.

Tang Cheolsan answered for me.

"They’re the offspring of the Blue-Spotted Centipedes. We found eggs in the hole where we captured the Blue-Spotted Centipedes. This young hero hatched them, and those little ones took down Tak Wonyang."

"Really!? Are they... safe?"

"He... He tamed the Blue-Spotted Centipedes!?"

Tang Cheolsan demonstrated how the centipedes could be made to appear, which was the result of the information we had gathered over the last few days: the mechanism by which my centipedes attacked people.

We had learned under what circumstances they attacked.

‘They react to hostility. Fascinating and impressive, huh?’

The day after we had defeated Tak Wonyang, the centipedes hadn’t moved at all. Normally, the young centipedes didn’t move much until they molted twice, so it was expected. But Tang Cheolsan was curious about why they hadn’t moved and why they had attacked Tak Wonyang.

He had asked me about it while lying down, curious.

"Why are they so quiet now? Do you know why they attacked Tak Wonyang?"

"Well... I’m not exactly sure."

"Do you remember anything?"

I had noticed that they were venomous, and since there was a possibility of being bitten, I tried to recall what happened.

If I had made a mistake and been bitten, I would have died too.

‘I was definitely washed off... I was grabbed by the neck... They didn’t react back then... so...’

"Well... I tried to remove them by washing myself with cold water, but that doesn’t seem to be the reason. Ah! I remember now, when Tak Wonyang grabbed my neck, I felt a chill down my spine, and I started sweating... Could it have been the sweat?"

It was common for insects or animals to react to human sweat.

I wondered if they had reacted to the smell of sweat, but Tang Cheolsan seemed to have a different theory.

"Eh? A chill down your spine? Could it be...?"

Tang Cheolsan looked as though he had had an epiphany.

Then, just as Tak Wonyang had tightened his grip on my neck, I felt that same chill down my spine.

• Tsurrururur!

Interestingly, the centipedes made warning sounds and emerged from my clothes, staring at Tang Cheolsan.

"To hostility...?!"

"Eh? Hostility?"

Tang Cheolsan seemed to have realized something great as he became excited.

After hearing his explanation, I learned that hostility, or "killing intent," was a kind of energy that could be felt from a person’s expression or attitude. It was something that could make others feel intimidated or even killed.

However, martial artists were different. The "killing intent" of a martial artist was an invisible force that could intimidate or even kill a person.

Tang Cheolsan explained that the centipedes seemed to react to this kind of energy.

The energy I felt earlier, that chill running down my spine... was it killing intent?

‘Wait, if that’s true, then that’s dangerous, right? It feels like I got shot by an invisible gun!’

Even though I was curious about this, the idea of killing intent being shot at me made me feel uncomfortable, but Tang Cheolsan assured me that it was only a weak reaction.

After some further experiments, I managed to figure out the exact mechanism behind the centipedes’ attacks.

According to Tang Cheolsan, killing intent could be used in two ways: it could spread around the person or be aimed directly at a target. The centipedes, however, reacted only to the killing intent directed at me, not the general atmosphere around them.

They were like automated turrets.

I was still scared they might bite me, but at the same time, it was comforting to know that they were guarding me.

This secret about their attack mechanism was something that Tang Cheolsan and I decided to keep between us.

It felt like we were secret allies, which was a strange feeling.

Just as I was thinking about the centipedes’ attack mechanism, I overheard a conversation.

"... So he plans to recruit me into his family."

"Eh!? Family? Does that mean... the beautiful young lady, the 'Yuejie'...?"

"Yes. The young hero hasn’t decided yet, but..."

"Ooohhh!"

The conversation shifted, and it seemed like Tang Cheolsan was trying to recruit me into his family. I had asked for a few days to think about it, as it felt like I was being offered a lifelong position, and I couldn’t make such a decision hastily.

But the word "Yuejie," which I hadn’t heard before, made me curious. It seemed like it was related to joining the Tang family.

"If you don’t mind me asking, what is Yuejie?"

Everyone looked at me with surprise.

Tang Cheolsan and the warriors stared at me, and the oldest of the warriors, with a mischievous smile, answered:

"You’ve never heard of 'Yuejie,' young hero?"

"Eh? No... Is it one of the Ten Deadliest Venoms?"

At my repeated questions, everyone smiled even more.

The warrior continued explaining:

"No, no. Yuejie is a flower. It has thorns, but it’s a beautiful red flower. Have you never seen it?"

"Ah! I see what you mean now."

Yuejie seemed to be the Central Plains term for a rose.

Since it was red and thorny, it was likely a rose.

"Yes, exactly. People call the peony 'The King of Flowers' or 'The National Beauty and Fragrance,' but those are just things said by people who don’t know. The greatest flower, no matter what anyone says, is the Yuejie. The peony blooms for just one season, but the Yuejie blooms year-round, bringing joy to everyone. Of course, it’s the best flower. How red is it?"

The warrior, who seemed to be a rose enthusiast, gave a long speech.

I was a bit embarrassed, but since I couldn’t criticize him for his passion for venomous creatures, I decided to smile and respect his preference.

"I also like Yuejie the most."

Suddenly, the Tang family members became excited.

"Oooh! Really!?"

"You like Yuejie the most!?"

"Yes? Yes... I was taught that the thorns on the Yuejie are noble and proud, so no one dares to pick them."

"Oooh! You know something, don’t you!?"

The warrior, clearly passionate about roses, almost grabbed my hand before hesitating, remembering the centipedes.

He looked at Tang Cheolsan and said:

"Then, it’s settled. I heard you haven’t made up your mind yet, but if you do, Master will offer you the most beautifully bloomed Yuejie from our Tang family."

"Eh? For me?"

‘Oh, is this some sort of welcome gift?’

I knew that the people of the Central Plains liked red flowers and believed they were auspicious.

It seemed like they wanted to offer me a red flower as a sign of welcome.

But even if I did become a member of the Tang family, there was no need to pick a flower unnecessarily.

"Elder, even if I decide to join the Tang family, there’s no need for you to pick a Yuejie for me. Flowers are alive, after all. Shouldn’t they be respected?"

But something strange happened.

The Tang family members were all grinning at my response.

And Tang Cheolsan, wiping the smile off his face, said seriously:

"No, young hero. You’ve misunderstood. I will give you the Yuejie as a gift. But you’ll have to pick it yourself. Don’t worry, though. You may think it’s fine now, but when you go to Sichuan, you’ll want to pick it yourself. Be careful of the thorns."

"Eh?"

They were saying strange things.

‘Is there some meaning to this rose I don’t understand?’

***

After the conversation with the Tang family members, the news that followed was a bit unexpected.

"You’re saying you’ll search Hainan Island?"

"Yes. As soon as I recover, I’ll move right away. I don’t think we can afford to wait."

"Why? Is there something still left to find?"

I had thought Tang Cheolsan would leave for Sichuan as soon as he recovered, but instead, he said he wanted to search Hainan Island as soon as he was able to get on his feet.

When I asked him why, Tang Cheolsan replied with a serious expression.

"It’s about that Blood-Handed Rakshasa, Tak Wonyang. He has been living in seclusion and increasing his martial prowess. I want to find his hidden lair."

"His lair?"

I gave him a confused look, wondering why we would need to search for the lair of someone who was already dead, and he explained.

"His martial arts are known as 'Blood Water Poison Claws,' a horrific and vile technique. To increase his skill, he must use human blood and marrow."

"Human blood, blood and marrow?"

"Yes. The technique requires him to immerse his hands in blood and marrow and suck them in..."

‘What kind of insane martial art is that?’

"So then?"

If this person had used a martial technique that required human blood and marrow, it probably meant he had committed mass murder to increase his skill.

I looked at Tang Cheolsan with disbelief, and he nodded.

"Yes. If he left any secret techniques or had disciples, we need to handle them and remove the threat. We can’t allow such a cruel technique to resurface in the martial world. And if there are any captives left, we should help them."

It made sense. If someone had learned a technique that turned them into a serial killer, like Tang Cheolsan said, it was definitely best to find and eliminate it.

I nodded in agreement, thinking that Tang Cheolsan was more righteous than I had initially expected.

He then asked for my help.

"Can you assist us? You’re familiar with the Hainan jungles, after all."

As Tang Cheolsan said, I was familiar with the area around Hainan.@@novelbin@@

Without hesitation, I nodded at his request.

"Understood. I’ll help as soon as you recover."

The reason I immediately agreed to his request was simple: this felt like a decision that would impact my future, so I figured I might as well follow along and consider it an internship.

When you’re applying for a company, you usually take the internship to get a feel for the company culture and figure out what the boss is like, right?

Besides, didn’t people always say that you learn the most about someone when they’re going through tough times?

So, I planned to thoroughly evaluate the Tang family during this journey.

‘Just wait. I’ll evaluate you thoroughly.’

After all, competent people are the ones who go through reverse interviews.