Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The sight of the cobalt-blue snake leisurely swimming through the sky, its body undulating like waves, felt truly alien.

It was as though a sea snake was gliding through the blue sky, just like it would through the ocean.

As it glided and turned to show its side, I noticed two emerald-colored horns on its head and something along its back, shimmering in the sunlight as it stretched from its head to its tail.

‘Is that a dorsal fin?’

It had something resembling a dorsal fin, and though I couldn’t determine its exact size since it was floating between the valleys, it appeared to be about the size of the python I had captured recently.

Its size, appearance, and the fact that it could fly—all of it was impressive.

But even though it was majestic, catching a snake that could fly, glide, jump, and lunge was beyond my experience. I had no idea how to capture such a creature.

As I absentmindedly stared at it, Grandfather’s voice came, telling us to move back.

“We’ll need to move back, about 100 paces.”

The creature had appeared, and we had scattered to hide. Grandfather instructed us to move about 300 meters back. Everyone quickly followed his orders.

But even after hearing Grandfather’s command, my mind was full of the question of how to capture the flying snake. I kept looking back, unable to stop thinking about it.

Seol, noticing my distracted expression, approached and urged me.

“Ryu, what are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Oh, Sister. Yes, of course.”

I snapped out of my thoughts with Seol’s prompting and turned to follow Grandfather.

After all, staring at the snake wouldn’t help me figure out how to catch it.

Seeing something in my expression, Seol, with a smile on her face, asked,

“You look so different from when you were excited. What’s wrong? Do you think you can’t catch it? Or do you think it’s too hard to catch?”

“Well, it’s not that I lack experience, but catching a flying snake is a first for me. I just don’t know how to bring it down.”

I still couldn’t figure out how to approach it.

With a playful smile, Seol grabbed my cheek and shook my face as she spoke.

“You’ve been catching mystical creatures all this time, so I thought you’d know what to do, but it looks like you don’t even know the basics? Is it because you’ve only been catching mystical creatures?”

“Know the basics? What do you mean?”

I was about to get upset at Seol’s teasing, but after listening to her explanation, I realized that I was the one who lacked the basic approach.

“Not sure how, but it can’t fly forever. Eventually, it will land. It’s a living creature, so it must eat and sleep, right?

In the Beast Palace, we tame wild beasts like that. No matter how fierce they are, when they eat or sleep, they lower their guard, and that’s when it’s easiest to capture them.

Grandfather must have made us move back because he plans to observe it for a few days and learn when and where it eats and sleeps, to figure out its habits.”

‘Oh... why didn’t I think of that?’

Thinking back, Seol’s advice was exactly the basic approach.

When I was catching Seol and Bini, didn’t I watch them for days to find out what they ate and where they lived?

This was simply about waiting for the right moment during that process.

As Seol said, it was a living creature, so it would need to sleep and eat. Even if it fed on energy like the little centipedes, it would still need to land to sleep.

When hunting in the past, the enemy was always most vulnerable at the moment of feeding.

‘It’s definitely when they’re distracted by food that they’re most vulnerable.’

Now I understood why Grandfather had us move back, rather than panic.

“That’s it! How could I not think of that!?”

“Yeah, so just trust me. I’ll catch it and put it right on your shoulder, just like I said.”

Seol’s confident words made me feel reassured.

‘Wait, what were my friends in my past life talking about when they said sisters were a burden?’

And now, remembering what friends with sisters had said in my past life, I realized those words couldn’t be trusted.

***

As Seol predicted, after we moved back 100 paces, Grandfather immediately began scouting for a new campsite.

Until now, we had been camping under trees, moving around as needed, but since we now knew where the snake appeared, we had to establish a base and move accordingly.

“I think we’ll need to set up a place to stay for a few days. Is there a cave nearby, or maybe a large rock in the valley where we can shelter from the rain?”

“We need to follow the snake for a few days to figure out when and what it eats, and where it sleeps. It would be best if we could avoid the dew at night, so we need a spot where we can stay for a few days.”

Grandfather asked Seol, who had brought warriors from the Beast Palace, if there was a place nearby where we could stay for a few days.

Seol responded by asking him,

“Could we set up here?”

“Here?”

“Yes, we can make it quickly.”

“Well, this place is fine, but... you can make it?”

The valley’s entrance was good, as it had flowing water for drinking, and there were fish swimming in the water.

Grandfather, nodding in approval, gestured to the warriors.

“Prepare it.”

“Yes, Elder!”

Seol was not only the daughter of the Beast Palace Lord but also held the position of Elder. From what I heard, her father was the chief, so she had taken on the role of Elder to gain experience before officially becoming the Palace Lord.

Following her orders, the warriors quickly moved into the jungle, cutting through the vines with their large swords, which proved to be very useful.

They began constructing the temporary shelter from bamboo, palm leaves, and vines, and in just a few hours, the shelter was ready.

It seemed that living in the jungle had made them very skilled at this.

‘These guys could get a lot of views if they made a tutorial about this.’

Within a few hours, the shelter was built, and Grandfather immediately gave the order.

Grandfather was serious about capturing the snake.

Just like me, he was eager to catch it as soon as possible.

“Heh, I didn’t expect it to be built so quickly. Now, we can start the next phase without worry. First, let’s move up the valley and secretly observe the creature. For the night, Beast Palace will take over.”

“Yes, Elder. We’ll handle the night watch.”

“So, we’ll watch during the day, and Beast Palace will take over at night. Gu Pae, take two men and follow the snake to find its location.”

“Yes, Patriarch!”

During the day, the Tang Clan would watch the snake, and at night, the Beast Palace would take over. At Grandfather’s command, Gu Pae, with two members from the Venom Blood Squad, quietly moved up the valley, heading in the direction the snake had disappeared.

Soon after, Seol gave another order.

“Then, Beast Palace warriors, rest until nightfall. A few of you, go prepare dinner.”

“Understood, Elder!”

Half of the Beast Palace warriors disappeared into the bamboo shelter, and the rest headed out of the valley to hunt for food.

As this was happening, Seol quietly signaled for me to come over.

“Ryu, come here.”

“Did you call me?”

Seol, after reading something from my expression, nodded and spoke.

”Alright. So-ryong, tonight when the warriors are following the Bicheon Snake, do you want to go check it out with me? Let’s take Hwa-eun too, the three of us.”

”Tonight?”

Seol was suggesting we go out while the warriors were monitoring the Bicheon Snake at night. I hesitated for a moment, and seeing my delay, she blinked at me and asked.

”Don’t want to?”

She asked as though it was clear that I wouldn’t refuse, but I waved my hands and quickly responded.

”Of course not! Why would I refuse? I’m definitely not going to say no to seeing the Bicheon Snake.”

Even if I didn’t like someone, I’d still follow along if they suggested coming. Why would I refuse seeing a creature I’ve been waiting to observe?

But the reason I hesitated wasn’t because of the snake. It was another matter.

”I... I’ve learned how to draw energy, but I’m not quite used to doing it at night.”

Seol immediately recalled that I had mentioned being a martial arts newbie.

”Ah, right. You haven’t been a martial artist for long, huh?”

”Yes, Sister.”

”Then, until nightfall, you should practice drawing energy with me.”

”I already know how, Seol.”

I knew how to draw energy, but I wasn’t used to doing it at night. Still, Seol suggested I practice, and I didn’t mind, even though I wasn’t sure I needed more practice.

With a teasing smile, Seol flicked her finger and asked,

”Do you know why Grandfather assigned the Beast Palace to watch at night?”

”Hmm? No, I don’t.”

Seol smiled and pointed to her own eyes as she said,

”Watch closely.”

I awkwardly met her gaze, and slowly, Seol’s pupils dilated until her irises disappeared, leaving only the blackness of her eyes, almost as if they had gone blank.

”What?!”

I thought pupils only adjusted automatically to light, but Seol was controlling hers on purpose.

Her pupils were now wide open, allowing her to take in more light, and in the moonlight or starlight, it was clear she could see much better than normal.

”Impressive, huh? This technique was inspired by the owl. It’s called Myo-a-am-ya-gong.”

‘Such a useful technique?’

The creatures I wanted to capture were mostly nocturnal. Centipedes, scorpions, snakes, toads, and frogs—most of them were active at night.

If I could learn a technique like that, it would be incredibly useful, like having night vision.

”You want to learn it, don’t you?”

Seol’s question, accompanied by a bright smile, made me nod eagerly.

***

Chwaaaa!The dorsal fin-like structures on the Bicheon Snake’s back folded as it dove into the moonlit valley water, causing a splash. Moments later, it soared back into the air, holding a carp in its mouth.

As the Bicheon Snake started swallowing the large, flapping carp, Seol and Hwa-eun marveled at the sight and spoke in low voices.

[As expected, it’s a Hwa-ri!]

[It was like this three days ago. So, it’s definitely hunting Hwa-ri here in the valley.]

[Why does it only hunt Hwa-ri though? That doesn’t seem like a special Hwa-ri or anything.]

[Who knows? Maybe it tastes particularly good?]

The snake had caught a red Hwa-ri carp, not just any ordinary carp. I had checked earlier and confirmed it wasn’t a mythical-grade carp.

While Seol and Hwa-eun were fascinated by the fact that it was hunting Hwa-ri, my immediate thought was, ”That thing must be expensive to feed.”

‘It’s not just any carp, but a red Hwa-ri...’

I’d never be able to raise it in my past life, but since the cost of feeding it wasn’t on me, I decided to focus on capturing it.

I quickly summarized what we had learned so far.

[So far, we know that the Bicheon Snake eats Hwa-ri every three days and sleeps on warm rocks during the day.]

[It also can only fly for about one meal’s worth of time.]

[Ah, that’s true.]

As Hwa-eun said, the snake’s flight time had a limit. The maximum was about thirty minutes of gliding.

Its speed wasn’t particularly fast, and after each flight, it would need to rest for about the same amount of time.

From watching it hunt Hwa-ri, I could see that its venom wasn’t as powerful as I had thought. The Hwa-ri stiffened when it was bitten, showing signs of paralysis venom.

We had gathered most of the information we needed. The next day, we would gather everything we had learned so far and begin hunting it when it went after Hwa-ri again.

The information we had was fairly basic, but now, seeing the creature in action, I could understand why it was the leader of the Twenty-Four Poisons.

Shaaah! Bang! “Ahhh!”

The snake’s massive body, nearly six meters long, slammed into the rocky ground with a shockwave of energy.

It wasn’t venom that made it a Top Ten Poison, but the physical impact it caused when it fell onto the ground, sending rocks flying in all directions, resulting in injuries.

‘It’s like a missile!’

”Everyone, move back!”

The first attempt to catch the Bicheon Snake had ended in failure.

Chwaaaa!The dorsal fin-like structures on the Bicheon Snake’s back folded as it dove into the moonlit valley water, causing a splash. Moments later, it soared back into the air, holding a carp in its mouth.

As the Bicheon Snake started swallowing the large, flapping carp, Seol and Hwa-eun marveled at the sight and spoke in low voices.

[As expected, it’s a Hwa-ri!]

[It was like this three days ago. So, it’s definitely hunting Hwa-ri here in the valley.]

[Why does it only hunt Hwa-ri though? That doesn’t seem like a special Hwa-ri or anything.]

[Who knows? Maybe it tastes particularly good?]

The snake had caught a red Hwa-ri carp, not just any ordinary carp. I had checked earlier and confirmed it wasn’t a mythical-grade carp.

While Seol and Hwa-eun were fascinated by the fact that it was hunting Hwa-ri, my immediate thought was, ”That thing must be expensive to feed.”

‘It’s not just any carp, but a red Hwa-ri...’

I’d never be able to raise it in my past life, but since the cost of feeding it wasn’t on me, I decided to focus on capturing it.

I quickly summarized what we had learned so far.

[So far, we know that the Bicheon Snake eats Hwa-ri every three days and sleeps on warm rocks during the day.]

[It also can only fly for about one meal’s worth of time.]

[Ah, that’s true.]

As Hwa-eun said, the snake’s flight time had a limit. The maximum was about thirty minutes of gliding.

Its speed wasn’t particularly fast, and after each flight, it would need to rest for about the same amount of time.

From watching it hunt Hwa-ri, I could see that its venom wasn’t as powerful as I had thought. The Hwa-ri stiffened when it was bitten, showing signs of paralysis venom.

We had gathered most of the information we needed. The next day, we would gather everything we had learned so far and begin hunting it when it went after Hwa-ri again.

The information we had was fairly basic, but now, seeing the creature in action, I could understand why it was the leader of the Twenty-Four Poisons.

Shaaah! Bang! “Ahhh!”

The snake’s massive body, nearly six meters long, slammed into the rocky ground with a shockwave of energy.

It wasn’t venom that made it a Top Ten Poison, but the physical impact it caused when it fell onto the ground, sending rocks flying in all directions, resulting in injuries.

‘It’s like a missile!’

”Everyone, move back!”

The first attempt to catch the Bicheon Snake had ended in failure.