Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

For someone who inherits the title Shintu, acquiring something without stealing it was simply out of the question.

That was why, after purchasing food for the master silk artisans in place of their master, Yeongryeon suddenly had a thought—what if the two ducks she had prepared earlier weren’t enough?

If it wasn’t enough, her master would just steal some more anyway. But still, it was best to avoid minor theft when it came to stealing from ordinary folks.

Yeongryeon didn’t particularly enjoy stealing from the poor. So, after securing two more ducks and a couple of bottles of liquor, she arrived at the old tree where Geolhwang was residing.

As expected, her master had already taken matters into his own hands—judging by the empty bottles scattered around them, they had already stolen additional liquor.

Just as Yeongryeon was about to quietly leave the ducks and alcohol behind, her master, tipsy from drinking, called out to her.

“Yeongryeon, come here.”

“Do you need something, Master?”

“Yes, that’s right. Yeongryeon, why don’t you make a trip to the Tang Clan in Sacheon?”

“The Tang Clan, Master?”

Out of nowhere, her master was telling her to go to the largest clan in all of Sichuan.

Yeongryeon tilted her head, wondering what kind of errand this would be. Seeing this, her master grinned with satisfaction.

“Yes, take Shintu’s letter to the Tang Clan.”

“To the Tang Clan!?”

Her eyes widened at the unexpected command.

It was only natural—since becoming his disciple, Yeongryeon had never once been sent to deliver a letter to such a major force like the Tang Clan.

Her heart began pounding.

The thought of sneaking into the walls of the greatest clan in Sichuan, one of the Seven Great Families, made her pulse race with anticipation.

This wasn’t about stealing pocket change from commoners—no, this was about stealing something from one of the most powerful and wealthiest clans in all of the Central Plains.

Yeongryeon found that idea thrilling.

Dodging dogs and guards, slipping into the estate unnoticed—just thinking about it was exhilarating. She was also curious to see how one of the Seven Great Families looked from the inside.

“Understood, Master! What should I write in the letter?”

“Tell them I’m coming to take back Wei Su Long, their adopted son-in-law. No, not take—steal him. And for information on the Tang Clan, Geolhwang has already made arrangements with the Sichuan branch of the Beggars’ Sect, so go there and retrieve it before you leave.”

Yeongryeon mentally noted everything and responded immediately.

“Understood, Master! I’ll deliver the letter to the Tang Clan tonight.”

Just as she turned to leave, her master’s voice followed her.

“And one more thing—bring back Wei Su Long yourself.”

“!”

Her eyes widened at the order. Thinking she must have misheard, she turned back.

“M-Master, you mean alone?”

Her master was still smiling as he continued.

“Yes. You can’t just keep running errands or following me around forever, can you? You’ve already mastered eight levels of our sect’s martial arts. Take this mission under the name of Shintu and complete it alone.

Here—Celestial Silk. For this mission, I’ll entrust you with both the name and the sacred artifact of Shintu, so do it well.”

“With—under the name of Shintu!? And the sacred artifact!?!”

Yeongryeon’s hands trembled as she accepted the silk bundle.

Receiving both the name and a sacred artifact of Shintu—that meant, for this mission, she wouldn’t just be acting as Shintu’s disciple.

She would be Shintu.

It wasn’t an official inheritance of the title yet, but it meant her master trusted her enough to act independently.

Her hands shook.

“I-I understand! I will not fail you, Master!”

“Good. Do well. And... if you ever feel the liquor kicking in—no, never mind, that’s not important. Just be careful of Mandok Shingun, that’s all. You should be able to wrap this up in two days, right?”

“Of course, Master!”

Yeongryeon bowed deeply and hurried away, but before she was completely out of earshot, she could hear her master chuckling behind her.

“Haha, if I had known she’d be this excited, I would’ve sent her sooner. Looks like Geolhwang was right.”

“Of course, you fool, do you think this is my first time raising a disciple? By the way, do you still keep Celestial Silk wrapped around you?”

“Of course, I always keep it wrapped around both arms.”

“Does that mean even insects can’t bite through it?”

“Insects? Even blades can’t pierce it. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Let’s just drink more. She even brought ducks—you’ve trained your disciple well.”

Since the conversation seemed unimportant, Yeongryeon paid them no mind and used light footwork to make her way to the Sichuan branch of the Beggars’ Sect.

***

Chirrrp. Chirrrp.

The sun had set, and the moon was hidden behind thick clouds, making the peak of Tangga Mountain shrouded in darkness.

Yeongryeon, after memorizing all the documents she had acquired from the Beggars’ Sect, moved with Shintu’s Shadowless Soundless Art to reach the highest peak of Tangga Mountain, where she could oversee Tang Clan’s Four-Harmony Courtyard.

It was said that this technique made both one’s shadow and sound disappear—and sure enough, no one noticed her approach.

Not even the owls in the trees or the rats on the ground.

Yeongryeon had chosen this location because it provided the clearest view of the Tang Clan’s Four-Harmony Courtyard, where their direct descendants resided. It was also a good vantage point to shoot an arrow.

From her high vantage point, she looked down at the vast Tang Clan estate, which, from this distance, appeared no larger than a fist.

‘Alright... I can do this.’

She had sent plenty of letters before, but this time felt different.

Maybe it was because she was completely alone.

Yeongryeon took a deep breath, calming her nerves.

Then, activating Hundred-League Eyes, she focused her vision on the lower part of the estate.

Slowly, the distant view of the Tang Clan’s courtyard grew clearer. And finally, she locked onto an open window—the room belonging to the adopted son-in-law of the Tang Clan.

Twang.

The tension of the bowstring echoed through the night.

Shiiing!

The arrow shot forward, slicing through the night sky, aimed directly for the open window.

Just then—

A woman suddenly appeared at the window and shouted something.

Another woman rushed out from the quarters.

Piiiiiik!

An alarm whistle pierced through the night.

Almost immediately, warriors carrying torches surged toward the Four-Harmony Courtyard, their movement as synchronized as blood flowing through veins.

Seeing their swift reaction, Yeongryeon felt a shiver run down her spine.

Compared to the smaller families she had seen before, this level of discipline and speed was on a completely different level.

Her heart pounded.

“So this is the Tang Clan of Sichuan...”

For the first time, she thought about what it would feel like to go all out and force her way through their defenses.

Typically, whenever Shintu’s letter was sent, the recipients would leave the target item out in an easy-to-take spot.

That was why Yeongryeon had never had to truly infiltrate a fortress like this before.

She had dodged guards before when stealing from noble households, but those jobs never excited her.

But this?

This was thrilling.

However, her excitement was short-lived.

The warriors, who had initially rushed to the scene, slowly began to disperse.

“...Ah.”

At last, she snapped back to her senses.

Receiving Shintu’s name and a sacred artifact had made her overly excited, but watching the Tang Clan’s warriors slowly disperse reminded her that she had gotten ahead of herself.

The reputation of past generations of Shintu was so overwhelming that even the Tang Clan wouldn’t recklessly try to stop her.

After all, if they simply left what she came for out in the open, they could always call upon Shintu’s help in the future. There was no reason to lose their belongings while also losing their chance to call in a favor.

Judging from their reaction, they were likely preparing to make the Tang Clan’s adopted son-in-law easy to retrieve.

And just like that, her excitement faded.

“Well... I guess I should just focus on the fact that I’m doing this alone.”

She consoled herself with the thought that the true significance of this mission lay in acting alone under her master’s name and with Shintu’s sacred artifact.

Just as she turned away, a sound pierced the night sky.

Flap!

Her head snapped toward the direction of the sound. She spotted a banner suddenly being raised atop the Tang Clan’s Main Hall and at the Nine-Tiered Gates.

The full moon had just emerged from behind the clouds. Activating Hundred-League Eyes, she focused on the banner.

Two ferocious hounds were facing each other, emblazoned on the fabric.

“...Surveillance Arts!”

A shiver ran down her spine from head to toe.

Her eyes burned with anticipation, and her competitive spirit ignited within her.

She had never cared for simple thievery, but the idea of slipping through such a formidable defense—that was something she had long admired.

And then, her master’s words came back to her.

“This is why Master sent me alone!”

She suddenly realized—her master must have anticipated this would happen.

He wanted to test her current skills against the Tang Clan’s surveillance arts.

“So... Wei Su Long or whatever your name is, just wait right there! I’m going to steal you away for sure!”

Clenching her fists, Yeongryeon grinned as she gazed down at the Tang Clan.

***

The Next Day – The Tang Clan’s Preparations

With Surveillance Arts activated, they knew the thief would come prepared.

So, they decided to set a trap.

First, Cho, the giant centipede, would remain on high alert in the air. The moment the thief appeared, Cho would follow and constantly alert the clan of their location.

Even if the thief was quick, a centipede could sense heat.

With infrared-like vision, spotting a thief at night would be easy.

“Cho, you’ll stay in the sky and track the thief, okay? But don’t use venom. The thief is a bad person, but not that bad.”

Chrrr?

“Ugh, how do I explain this...? Ah! He’s a bad person, but we need to catch him alive. If he dies, we can’t properly punish him. Also, never use venom unless I say so, understood?”

Chrrt! Chrrt!

If Shintu was melted into a puddle by venom, it would spark a major incident across the martial world.

Ensuring Cho understood, the next step was confirming if Yo-hwa had completed her preparations.

“Yo-hwa, are you ready? Did you finish setting them up?”

Kiiiish!

The task given to Yo-hwa was simple—cover the area with spiderwebs.

Not just on the ground, but also across the rooftops of the Tang Clan’s buildings.

Grandfather had warned them—Shintu’s movement techniques erased both shadows and sound.

Even he admitted that once the technique was deployed, it would be impossible to track.

But no matter how fast someone moved, they still had to step on something.

By setting up webs, they would have a physical way to detect the intruder.

“With Yo-hwa ready, that just leaves Yeondu. Yeondu, stick close to me. If things go bad, you bite them, okay?”

Shhhhaaah!

Yeondu had a paralysis venom—the perfect choice.

Other creatures had more deadly venom, but since Yo-hwa could mimic a human form, she would be too noticeable. Yeondu, however, could coil around his body and stay hidden.

With everything set, Tang Hwa-eun nodded.

“So-ryong, let’s go over the final plan.”

“Yes, Hwa-eun.”

“First, Yo-hwa will sense the thief’s movements and relay the information to Hyang. Then, Hyang will use telepathy to inform me of where the thief is.”

“Correct.”

“Once we confirm the thief’s position, Cho will track them from above.”

“Right.”

“Now, ideally, we’ll catch the thief immediately, but if they escape Yo-hwa’s webs or Cho’s tracking, So-ryong, you’ll retreat to the Golden Wasp Kings’ lair.”

“We’ll have Seol and Bini guarding the courtyard**. If the thief gets past them and enters the Ancient Tree, the Golden Wasp Kings will block the entrance and capture them.”

“If the thief still manages to get through, and they lay a hand on you, Yeondu will bite them and paralyze them.”

That was the core of their plan.

After Hwa-eun finished explaining, both Mandok Shingun and Tang Cheolsan chuckled.

“Even for Shintu, this will be a tough one. Hahaha!”

“Better start thinking about your three wishes, son-in-law!”

And then—

A concerned voice came from the side.

“...But I think Hyang might be a problem.”

Everyone turned toward Tang Hwa-eun’s mother.

At the center of the round table, Hyang was struggling, twitching its antennae as it hovered over twelve papers.

It seemed it hadn’t fully memorized them yet.

“...Is it still struggling?”

I turned toward Hwa-eun’s mother—who had confidently taken charge of Hyang’s training—but now she forced a smile and spoke awkwardly.

“Hyang, Midnight!”

Hyang hesitated before slowly moving toward Dawn.

Chrrr?

Then, it looked up at us for approval.

When no one responded, it nervously shuffled toward Insi.

Chrrt...?

“Aaaargh.”

I could feel my heart melting at how adorable it was.

But Hwa-eun’s mother seemed determined.

Hwa-eun gently comforted Hyang.

“Hyang, you’re just like your mother, so I know you can do it. Everyone struggles at first. Let’s try again, okay? That was Insi.”

The reason Hyang needed to memorize the twelve hours of the day was simple.

If they all stayed in one place, Shintu could pinpoint So-ryong’s exact location.

Instead, they planned to spread out, with Yo-hwa detecting the thief’s position, Hyang using telepathy to relay it in one of twelve directions, and Hwa-eun coordinating the response.

And so, for the rest of the evening, Hyang’s pitiful attempts to memorize the twelve divisions of time echoed throughout the Tang Clan.

Chrr... chrrt...?