Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

As I let out a delighted scream, my sister Seol looked at me with an exasperated expression.

“Well, it’s a shame about the Neidan, but... I suppose it’s as good as having consumed it.”

It seemed that Seol was disappointed that Cho had eaten the Neidan.

But whether it was 120 years old, 1,200 years old, or even 12,000 years old, the Neidan no longer mattered.

Seeing how beautifully Cho had grown, nothing else was important anymore.

I immediately lunged forward and hugged Cho tightly.

“Cho! You’ve grown into such a beautiful form! Your dad is overwhelmed with joy! Were you upset that I didn’t recognize you? But Cho, you’ve become so stunning that I couldn’t help it!”

Isn’t it a father’s duty to celebrate his daughter’s growth?

Especially when she looks this amazing, celebrating a thousand, even ten thousand times, would still be warranted.

Ts, tsrurrut...

With a shy noise, Cho burrowed into my embrace, and I felt the smooth yet firm texture of her chitinous exoskeleton filling my arms.

However, Cho’s shell wasn’t just solid and hard.

Within that firmness, I could sense the strange flexibility unique to centipede shells.

A texture that balanced strength and elasticity, allowing her to slip through the narrowest gaps—this was Cho’s new body.

It was reminiscent of the time I held the fully matured Cheon Pan O-Gong in my dreams.

‘Yes! This is it! This is what I was waiting for!’

At that moment, a flood of emotions washed over me, similar to what I had felt in my past life when raising large snakes.

The overwhelming strength that could only be felt from massive creatures was now emanating from Cho’s body as well.

‘This... this feels like going from petting a cat to petting a tiger!’

In my past life, I had filmed at zoos several times.

As a venomous creature YouTuber, zoos were frequent filming locations, and during my final shoot—when my channel was nearing a million subscribers—I had the opportunity to interact with not just venomous creatures but various animals. Holding Cho now brought back the sensation of touching a 100-day-old tiger cub.

When humans encounter the unknown, they instinctively compare it to past experiences.

Before I touched a tiger, I had naturally thought of dogs or cats.

When I reached for its ankle, I had assumed it would feel similar to those animals.

But that had been a foolish assumption.

The moment I touched the 100-day-old tiger’s leg, I was struck by its sheer strength.

The firm bones and dense muscles packed beneath the skin.

Thinking of a tiger as just a big cat was an insult to the tiger.

Dogs and cats have fragile limbs; when you touch them, their softness is immediately apparent.

But the instant you touch a tiger’s leg, the first thing that comes to mind is—‘This is an entirely different kind of powerful creature.’

Its skeletal structure, its muscles—everything about it radiated overwhelming strength.

That was exactly how I felt now, holding Cho in my arms.

She wasn’t as massive as her mother, the fully grown Cheon Pan O-Gong, but at six meters long, she had grown into an enormous size.

Unlike her previously frail body, she now possessed the overwhelming might of a true apex predator.

Though not as thick as Bi-cheon Shin-sa, the sheer strength radiating from Cho far surpassed even that.

Her powerful legs and the solidity of her body exuded an intimidating pressure.

I felt like my chest might burst from the sheer emotion.

‘This is a Ten Great Venomous Creature! And not just any—I raised one with my own hands!’

Of course, I already had one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures—Yo-hwa—but this was different.

Yo-hwa had been given to me, but Cho? I had personally nurtured a creature recognized as one of the most powerful venomous beings in the Central Plains.

To have raised a creature with such overwhelming strength to an almost fully mature state with my own hands—it was impossible not to be moved.

I had cared for her since she was an egg.

I had thought she was just some low-grade creature, but she had evolved.

Cho was now my pride, my treasure.

“Oh, my beautiful Cho. Dad doesn’t regret losing a single Neidan. You did well! You ate well!”

Ts, tsrr...

As I nuzzled my face against Cho in delight, I heard worried voices beside me.

“So-ryong, calm down.”

“They say that being connected to a Ten Great Venomous Creature can mess with your mind! Did Father mean this when he said it could affect your consciousness!?”

“No, I... I think this is just normal for him. He’s always been like this.”

“He’s always been like this!?”

Seol and Hwa-eun were clearly trying to rein me in.

Their conversation ended with Seol looking at me in disbelief, and Hwa-eun pulling me away to sit down.

“So-ryong, please calm down. Now that you’re awake, we need to check on your body. Just sit down for a moment.”

“Oh, right. Ryong’s excitement made me forget we need to check his condition. I’ll go bring Father and Mandok Shingun.”

“Yes, sister.”

At Seol’s mention of calling the elders, I quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

“My body is fine. I just lost consciousness for a moment. There’s no need to bother the elders...”

I had only blacked out briefly, and my body felt perfectly fine.

I was just overwhelmed by emotion.

But Seol firmly held up a finger and shot me a look that said there was no room for discussion.

“You’ve been unconscious for fifteen days, Ryong. We have to check your body.”

“F-Fifteen days?”

I widened my eyes in shock, and both Hwa-eun and Seol nodded.

Seol immediately ran out to call the elders, while Hwa-eun sat down next to me.

“The moment Cho consumed Bi-cheon Shin-sa’s Neidan, you collapsed. Then you were suddenly wrapped up by Cho as she grew, and now, after fifteen days, you finally woke up. Cho woke up after ten days, but you remained unconscious for five more. We were really worried.”

“...Is that so?”

I had thought it was just a short moment, but it had been fifteen days.

Still in disbelief, I turned to look at Cho again.

Then Hwa-eun hesitated before speaking.

“So-ryong, um... there’s actually some bad news.”

“Bad news?”

The sudden mention of bad news made me pause.

But considering that Cho had evolved into a Ten Great Venomous Creature, how bad could it really be?

Big joys always overshadow small misfortunes.

I waved it off.

“I don’t know how bad it is, but Cho has grown into this incredible form, so whatever it is, it’s probably not that—”

Before I could finish, Hwa-eun urgently sent me a telepathic message.

[It’s not minor, So-ryong! You need to be careful with your words!]

“...?”

I blinked at her in confusion, and she sent another telepathic message.

[T-There are two very angry children right now. I think you should deal with them first...]

‘Angry children?’

At first, I didn’t understand what she meant.

But then I saw them.

Hyang and Bin, crawling onto Hwa-eun’s shoulders.

Tsrrr!

Tsrrrrrrr!

Their chittering was clearly filled with rage.

Only then did I realize who she was talking about.

And why they were angry.

That fight on the table had been a battle for the Neidan—a competition.

But thanks to my interference, only Cho had benefited.

I had essentially jumped into a fight between three daughters and only helped the eldest.

「“Whoever wins will become the Bi-cheon O-Gong!”

“Got it! Sister, I won’t go easy on you!”

“I’ll eat it and monopolize Dad’s affection!”

“Eh? D-Dad, this isn’t fair!”

“Sister, that’s cheating!”

“My dear sisters, this is fate.”」

A scene played out in my mind.

I had never had to calm down an upset girl before.

Now, I had to figure out how to appease two at the same time.

‘Damn. Hwa-eun was right. This is a disaster.’

***

”Daddy Was Wrong, Hyang, Bin, Please Forgive Me!”

I was desperately pleading with Hyang and Bin to ease their anger.

Tsrrt!

Tsrrrrt!

But despite my efforts, they remained sulking, turning their heads away sharply while perched on Hwa-eun’s shoulders.

According to Hwa-eun, before I woke up, they had been sulking but still came out to check on my condition whenever she visited.

However, now that they had seen me, the emotions they had buried resurfaced.

Their resentment was clear—I, their father, was showing favoritism to their older sister, Cho.

And on top of that, they had witnessed me holding Cho in joy, which only made them feel even more left out.

“No, that’s not true! Daddy loves you both just as much—”

Tsrrt!

“It’s the truth!”

But before I could finish, Hyang and Bin let out sharp warning cries, effectively cutting me off.

At that moment, Seol, who had gone to fetch the elders, entered the palace chamber with Mandok Shingun and my adoptive father, the Beast Palace Lord.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

“So-ryong, you’ve woken up?”

Both of them hurried over and grabbed my hands.

“Let’s see!”

“Let’s see!”

“Huh?”

With those words, my arms were suddenly seized.

I glanced between my adoptive father and Mandok Shingun, watching as they awkwardly hesitated, each waiting for the other to go first.

“I- Elder, please, you should go first.”

“No, no, the Palace Lord should go first.”

Though they were politely yielding to one another, neither of them was actually letting go of my arm.

It was as if they were two people arguing over who should pay the bill at a restaurant, despite both reaching for their wallets.

In the end, the winner was Mandok Shingun.

After closing his eyes and examining my body, he nodded in approval.

“Your poison arts have undoubtedly advanced. It seems to be related to Cho’s strengthened venom. We’ll confirm the details once we return to the Tang Clan.”

As he said, my internal energy had risen significantly.

I could circulate my Qi much more smoothly, and the poison I had absorbed from Cho had grown far stronger.

The Tang Clan’s poison arts functioned like an alchemical process—internal energy served as the fuel, while poison acted as an additive.

For example, if using internal energy alone was like generating a gust of wind with a fan, then incorporating venom was like adding extra power to create a storm.

The number of venoms within one’s body and their potency were crucial factors.

And according to Grandfather, the efficiency of my venom had increased three to four times compared to before Cho’s evolution.

“Yes, Grandfather. I understand.”

As soon as I responded, my adoptive father spoke.

“Then, is it my turn now? Come here.”

He had been waiting impatiently, and now it was finally his turn.

Just like Mandok Shingun, he examined my body thoroughly, and after a moment, his face brightened.

“Your Beast Heart Arts have reached a realm even I don’t fully understand. This is incredible.”

“Really? I can’t tell any difference.”

He seemed to notice something, but to me, nothing felt particularly different.

My connection with Cho was the same as before, and I felt no change in my interactions with the other creatures.

I even doubted whether my realm had truly advanced.

Sensing my skepticism, my adoptive father turned to Mandok Shingun.

“Elder, would it be alright for So-ryong to stay in the Beast Palace for a while so we can examine his condition in detail?”

“Of course. So-ryong is also part of the Beast Palace.”

“Thank you, Elder.”

Just when I thought the discussion was over, my adoptive father’s expression turned serious.

“Oh, Ryong, have you experienced any hallucinations?”

“Hallucinations?”

His question caught me off guard.

I tilted my head, and he elaborated.

“Yes. If someone with a lower mastery of Beast Heart Arts absorbs too many beasts’ consciousnesses, they can become overwhelmed by the collective instinct. Since you’re linked to a Ten Great Venomous Creature, I wanted to make sure you’re not experiencing anything strange.”

Since Cho was capable of understanding human speech, her consciousness was likely stronger than that of ordinary beasts.

Not to mention, spiritual creatures were already rare, but a Ten Great Venomous Creature? That was on an entirely different level.

“If you ever see anything unusual, come to me immediately. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand.”

His words made me slightly uneasy, but I quickly reassured myself.

Cho would never harm me.

If anything, she had saved me.

Thinking back to the vision of the blue-haired woman while I was unconscious—it was clearly Cho.

Rather than consuming my consciousness, she had healed me.

‘No way. Cho wouldn’t do something like that.’

Once my condition had been thoroughly checked, the two elders exchanged glances and nodded.

“Now that So-ryong is awake, we should resume what we’ve been postponing.”

“Yes, it’s time.”

“Postponed...?”

From their words, it was clear there had been something important they couldn’t do because of me.

As I muttered to myself, my adoptive father nodded.

“The Five Venoms Clan. We’re going to investigate the remains of their base, which was destroyed a hundred years ago.”

So that’s why my adoptive father hadn’t joined our raid.

He had stayed behind to investigate the Five Venoms Clan.