Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Scrunch.

As the two freshly roasted ducks were placed on the floor, Galjihong, the younger brother-in-law, eagerly tore off one of the duck legs, holding it up and asking, his expression showing he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Come on, Hyung, stop stalling and tell me already. My life’s slipping away here.”

He had been anticipating this moment, clearly anxious about the situation.

He needed to find the Heavenly Silkworm for his disciple, but it had been months with no results.

From what he heard, in order to produce the Heavenly Silk, one had to hatch the eggs, feed them, and wait for them to grow into moths, at which point they would create cocoons from which the silk would be harvested. However, they didn’t know what kind of food the silkworms needed, and the precious larvae kept dying.

“Ah, kid, eat first. Let’s talk later.”

Slurp.

The rich, savory taste of the duck oil filled his mouth as he bit into the leg.

With a satisfied expression, Geolhwang sucked on the first duck leg before grabbing the second leg and asking, “But if you’re planning on making these Heavenly Silkworms, your disciple must not be lacking in skill, right?”

“Skill? My daughter, at first, I worried about her, but her body’s flexible and smooth. I’m sure she’ll surpass me by the end. She’s already handling most of my work. In fact, she’s the one who brought these silkworm craftsmen from all over.”

“Hmm... So, if my people from the Gu Daemun Sect or the Seven Great Families are involved, would your disciple still go?” Geolhwang asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Isn’t it a good chance for her to experience Gu Daemun or the Seven Great Families firsthand? If someone from the Gu Daemun Sect or the Seven Great Families is involved, even better,” Galjihong replied.

Thinking back to the possibility of stealing from those families, Geolhwang smiled and asked, “But if she’s caught stealing from the Gu Daemun Sect or the Seven Great Families, even if she’s your disciple, you’ll have to grant her three wishes. Are you still sending her?”

“Oh, that’s a deal with the martial world, of course I’ll follow it. But do you think that’ll happen? They won’t come after me if I take something from them,” Galjihong argued.

“Still, if you’re caught, you’ll have to honor the deal,” Geolhwang said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, sure. But even if my disciple is only 70-80% of my skill, there’s no way she’d get caught. She’s not fighting people from the Gu Daemun Sect; she’s just taking things,” Galjihong explained confidently.

Geolhwang nodded in agreement, considering the idea of rewarding that young one for her help.

The girl had assisted Geolhwang with a woman he had been investigating for some time. The matter had been complicated, involving members of the martial world’s righteous factions, with no concrete evidence, so he hadn’t been able to act. But thanks to her, the problem had been handled cleanly, and it was time to reward her.

Geolhwang had heard that the girl had also contributed to defeating members of the Blood Cult by retrieving the San Gong Du poison.

Not only that, but she had helped retrieve the secret technique of the Blood-Water Venom Claw as well.

Geolhwang was more than willing to reward her for such feats.

Though he had sent her some yellow-spotted centipedes, the real reward would be much greater.

Thinking to himself, Geolhwang smiled and continued to enjoy his duck leg.

As the second leg was reduced to just the bone, he turned to Galjihong.

“Now, listen carefully.”

“Ah, yes. Who is it?” Galjihong asked eagerly.

“I’ll tell you, but the girl is still young, so you must ensure she doesn’t get hurt while helping you. Understand? You need to take extra care when you bring her along,” Geolhwang warned.

“Of course, Hyung. But young, you say?” Galjihong asked, curious.

“Yes, she’s just barely past the age of 15,” Geolhwang replied.

“15? That young? Will she even be of any help?” Galjihong asked skeptically.

“Don’t worry. With her, she’ll definitely be of help to you,” Geolhwang assured him.

“Still, she’s too young...” Galjihong muttered.

“You fool, if this girl can’t help you, no one in the Central Plains will be able to. Don’t worry. Just focus on making sure she doesn’t get hurt,” Geolhwang said, his tone stern.

“Who is this person you keep warning me about? Is it the Emperor’s son or something?” Galjihong asked, scratching his head.

Geolhwang threw a duck bone at Galjihong’s forehead, laughing.

“It’s the disciple of the Martial Alliance leader and the son-in-law of the Tang Clan,” Geolhwang replied.

“Wait, the Martial Alliance leader’s disciple? But I heard the Martial Alliance leader doesn’t have any heirs! What’s going on here? And she’s the Tang Clan’s son-in-law?” Galjihong asked in surprise.

His eyes widened as he tore into the third duck leg.

“Yeah, you idiot. So you’d better handle this carefully,” Geolhwang warned.

“Of course, I’ll be careful. But if I go, it might be better, right? If anything goes wrong, it could be troublesome for Young Yeongryeon,” Galjihong said, considering the situation.

Geolhwang scolded him, “You fool. That’s not how you raise a disciple! You need to let them handle important matters so they can grow. If you keep taking everything on yourself, how will the child grow? And how do you think the child will feel? I never raised my disciples that way.”

“Ah, so you think if I do it myself, she’ll think I don’t trust her, and that would make her upset?” Galjihong asked.

“Exactly, you fool. You should leave it to her, and you can just drink with me for a few days,” Geolhwang replied with a smile.

“Well, then, it’s been a while, so maybe I will. Hehe,” Galjihong chuckled.

He then made his final request.

“By the way, Hyung, you need to provide some solid information about the Tang Clan. Got it?”

“Of course, I’ll make sure to prepare everything,” Geolhwang promised.

But there was one thing he would leave out: the information about the poisons in the Tang Clan.

And when Galjihong’s letter arrived at the Tang Clan, Geolhwang would quietly send someone to raise the flag of vigilance.

After all, this girl, who carried the O-Gong with her, would be able to stop Galjihong’s disciple if things went awry. Geolhwang was confident that the poisons could be managed and kept under control.

***

Chew?

Chomp?

The sharp words from Hwa-eun startled Cho and Yo-hwa, who made surprised sounds. It was no wonder, for being told to bite whoever they saw in the dark must have been a shock to the mild-mannered children.

They weren’t the kind of kids who would harm others unless it was to protect themselves or me.

And it wasn’t just the children who were shocked. I, who had become the target of theft, naturally felt alarmed as well.

Being targeted meant they were coming to abduct me.

It was the threat of human trafficking.

That’s why I asked with a startled voice, ”Does Xintu really steal people?”

”Sometimes,” came the reply, ”Xintu does take people when he needs help. It’s not a big deal. He probably just needs your help. It’s just because of his code that he steals things.” The elder continued, ”I think he may need something from you. I wonder what it is?”

”My help?”

I looked puzzled, unsure what I could offer Xintu. Why would someone want to steal me? I couldn’t figure it out. The reply came as if to clarify.

”Maybe it’s because of your skill with poisons,” he said.

”Oh, right, that makes sense. That’s probably it. Other than that, I can’t think of any reason Xintu would come for you.”

According to the elder and the master, they thought it was likely because of my ability to handle poisons that Xintu was coming after me.

Meanwhile, the children’s voices were heard nearby.

Chew chew?

Chomp chomp?

Cho’s mind was racing. Is she really going to bite? Should she really bite? Won’t that kill him? She kept asking in a nervous loop.

‘Right, if Hwa-eun isn’t acting normal, at least you two should be normal.’

I was happy that my children were growing up more properly than I had expected, but even as I felt that joy, I saw Hwa-eun nodding, as if she understood Cho’s worries despite her own actions.

”Wait a moment. I’ll talk to the adults, and I’ll let you know what’s going on.”

Hwa-eun seemed to be very angry at the idea that Xintu might steal me, but she controlled her anger, turning to the elders of the family with a serious expression and asking.

”Grandfather, Father, Mother, I want to raise the military flag.”

”The military flag?”

”You want to raise the flag?” The elders responded with surprise.

”What does this mean?” I wondered, looking at Hwa-eun as she gave me a cold smile, explaining.

”The military flag,” she said. ”It’s a flag with a dog on it. The character 戌 for ‘dog’ looks similar to 戍, which means to defend. It’s a flag for protection.”

”When Xintu plans to steal, the families who received his letter have two choices. They can either leave the valuable items in plain sight, letting Xintu take them easily, and then later ask for his help, or they can raise the military flag to stop him. If they choose to stop him, and fail, they lose their property and get no compensation. But if they succeed, they’ll be able to make three requests to Xintu that he can’t refuse.”

What? A thief granting three wishes?

I almost laughed out loud. The idea that if we caught the thief, we’d get three wishes was absurd.

But then, remembering the saying that even ten men can’t stop a thief, I realized it probably wouldn’t be so easy. After all, Xintu was a thief with connections to the Five Emperors, and his martial arts were likely no less impressive than his stealing skills.

”But if Xintu is such a great thief, and the Five Emperors are involved, do you think we can stop him?” I asked.

Hwa-eun grabbed my arms tightly as she answered, ”If Xintu steals someone, they might be gone for a month, a year, or even ten years. Do you want to be stolen?”

”No, no, I don’t want that...” I replied.

”And like my mother says, you’re mine. What woman would just give up what’s hers? I’ll make sure to stop him, no matter what!”

Wait, what? She just admitted that I’m hers?

While I felt happy about that, I was still worried.

With a cautious voice, I asked again, ”But has any other family or sect ever stopped Xintu?”

Hwa-eun hesitated, her face showing discomfort as she stammered, ”No, no one.”

Of course, no one had ever caught Xintu. If they had, he wouldn’t be known as Xintu—he would just be another criminal.

I understood her frustration, but I was still worried that if we tried to stop him, we might fail and end up with nothing.

Seeing my concern, Hwa-eun hugged Cho and said, ”But we can definitely catch him. We will stop him!”

”How can you be so sure?”

Her words were full of conviction, so I tilted my head, and she looked up at Cho before answering.

”We have these kids with us, don’t we? No matter how sneaky Xintu is, he’s used to avoiding human eyes. But do you think he’d imagine that Cho and Yo-hwa will be guarding us? He won’t stand a chance.”

”Oh?”

As I thought about it, Hwa-eun’s words made sense. Even if Xintu was a great thief, he was used to avoiding human eyes, but with Yo-hwa’s keen senses, and Cho’s ability to see in the dark, we’d be able to catch him. Moreover, if I stayed in the hive, the Golden Wasp Kings would protect me, and with Bini and Seol’s close defense and Hyeong’s ambush, we’d be well-guarded.

‘This could work, couldn’t it?’

At first, I thought Hwa-eun was just angry and venting, but she was clearly an intelligent woman. Her reasoning wasn’t just something I thought of alone—my grandfather, father, and mother all nodded in agreement.

”Indeed, as Hwa-eun says, Xintu is good at avoiding people’s eyes, but how would he know about these kids? They’ll be our eyes and ears.”

”My disciple was defeated ten years ago at the Four Hundred Seventy-Five Enclosures, and couldn’t become the Poison Emperor. It’s time to pay that old man back for all the trouble,” my grandfather laughed.

”This could be a fight worth having.”

”Sounds interesting.”

”The warriors I brought from the Beast Palace brought wolves, and those wolves will help protect So-ryong,” my mother added.

Like the Dragon Pond Tiger’s Lair, or the Spider’s Web Pit, this was a place protected by poisons and beasts—the Tang Clan.

”Raise the military flag on the Nine-Tiered Gates! Let’s catch that thief!” my grandfather called out, his voice full of excitement.

Thus, the battle to catch the thief began, and the joyous shout of Mandok Shingun echoed through the dark Tang Clan mountain.