Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

”Bini!”

Tsrrut...

Bini was now a real All-Black—a stunning, pitch-black creature.

What kind of evolution made her look so refined?

I couldn’t take my eyes off Bini’s gleaming black exoskeleton. It was a luxurious, polished carapace, black from her eyes to the tips of her antennae.

The blackness itself exuded an aura of elegance that completely captivated me.

In nature, the rarest and most luxurious colors are pure white and pure black, and among them, the pure black is considered the most precious.

So rare! So incredibly rare!

Pure black is one of the rarest colors in the animal kingdom because it’s not naturally occurring—it results from an increase in melanin, a condition known as melanism.

While pure white is rare and difficult to find, it can sometimes appear due to leucism or albinism, making it somewhat more accessible than black, which only occurs due to melanism, making it much rarer.

I had never even seen a melanistic creature in my previous life, so pure black was truly a precious phenomenon.

And now, here was my own black Bini.

Ah, so beautiful!

As I stared at her, our eyes met.

In that moment, our gazes intertwined, both of us holding each other’s stare.

The sunlight reflecting off her black exoskeleton caused a shimmering, distant blur in my vision, and before I knew it, we both lunged toward each other without hesitation.

”Ahhh! My daughter! How could you be so beautiful...!”

Tsrrut... Tsrrut...

Bini, who had left home, and I, sharing this emotional reunion.

Even Bini, who often acted aloof, couldn’t resist showing her affection at this moment.

As I embraced her, I could feel her overwhelming weight.

While Cho was sturdy, she was lighter due to her flight capabilities, but Bini felt much heavier—her solid exoskeleton wrapped in black gave her a stronger, more grounded presence.

Her body, firm and dense with that black exterior, felt like a force of nature.

If Cho’s transformation felt like a fighter jet, Bini felt like a tank.

At that moment, it hit me—I had completely misunderstood why Bini left.

She had never run away from home. I had been wrong in thinking that.

Bini, who loved her father so much, would never leave like that.

No, she didn’t leave! I was mistaken! Our daughter would never do that.

I had assumed Bini left because she was upset, but I now realized my mistake.

Though they had been tamed, the wild nature of creatures like Cho, Hyang, and Bini would always remain within them. I had started training them since they were born, but their wild instincts were always present.

Bini’s disappearance wasn’t because she ran away—it was more likely that, like any wild creature looking for a safe place to evolve or give birth, Bini had gone off to find a secluded spot for her own evolution.

Cho’s evolution had happened unexpectedly because of the Neidan, but Bini’s was something she probably had to work on alone, needing a secret space for herself.

I wasn’t sure how she had evolved, but it seemed like Bini had accomplished something incredible on her own.

Seol had suggested that Bini might have been asleep, which made this assumption even more likely.

If not? Then what?

She’s my daughter, after all. She wouldn’t have done anything wrong, right?

As I clung to Bini, she wrapped herself around me like she was never going to let go.

It felt as though she would never separate from me again.

The others—Hua-eun, Seol, and everyone from the Tang Clan—watched us in confusion, unsure of what to do with this unexpected reunion.

***

”Bini... you’re back!?”

When Bini and I had calmed down, the voice of Mandok Shingun rang out from the entrance of the Four Harmonies Hall.

I turned my head to see the surprised faces of the three figures standing there.

They had apparently followed the commotion of the warriors, as it seemed that the head of the Tang Clan, my father-in-law, and my mother-in-law had rushed over from the main residence and were now witnessing Bini’s transformed appearance. Their eyes widened in shock.

”Bini? Is this Bini?”

”No... is this... the cute Bini?”

It was clear that Bini’s transformation had left them astonished.

”Yes, Bini’s back. And she’s looking even more beautiful than before.”

As I proudly petted Bini, Mandok Shingun quickly circled Bini and then asked in shock,

”Could it be... Hyeon?”

”Hyeon?”

Suddenly, Mandok Shingun was talking about ”Hyeon.”

When I, Hua-eun, and Seol tilted our heads in confusion, Mandok Shingun told us to wait and then leaped into the air with lightness skills.

”All warriors, stand back! You all wait here for a moment!”

A short time later, he returned carrying an old book.

The book was about four times the size of any normal book I had seen.

As he set it down on the pavilion, the large book made me feel intrigued.

When he opened the first page, the title written on the cover was clear: The Secret Compendium of Poisonous Creatures.

”Oh! This is the Secret Compendium of Poisonous Creatures!”

”Yes, this is the very book you’ve been longing to see.”

This was the legendary book, passed down in the Tang Clan—the Secret Compendium of Poisonous Creatures.

It was a type of poison bestiary that the Tang Clan had kept. Even though I had begged to see it once, they refused, saying I needed to focus on martial arts. This book had long been a mystery to me.

The book was old, with some parts worn away and torn.

Mandok Shingun opened the first page and called me over to show it to me.

”Come, So-ryong. Look at this.”

”Understood!”

”Shall I step aside?”

Seol, upon hearing that I was to look at the book, asked if she should leave, but Mandok Shingun shook his head.

”There’s no need to step away. Although this is a secret text, it’s not related to martial arts, so feel free to join us and observe.”

With my heart pounding, I approached the pavilion, eager to see what was inside.

The first words on the page caught my attention:

”I, the youngest son of Tang Clan’s third-generation head, Tang Mun-ryong, leave this record for the descendants of Tang Hwa-sung, for the future.”

”The name of this compendium is the Secret Compendium of Poisonous Creatures.”

”I traveled across the Central Plains, capturing poisonous creatures and documenting their appearances, habitats, and unusual behaviors. I began compiling this record because, in the Tang Clan, the dangers of poisons are often overlooked. These creatures, which live and die in the mountains, fields, and forests—eating and being eaten—hold potential.”

”I hope this will be of help to the future generations of poison practitioners.”

”This?”

”These are the words of the ancestor who recorded this compendium.”

The text began with a statement full of passion, albeit from a somewhat unconventional figure in the Tang Clan who believed in the unlimited potential of poisonous creatures. I couldn’t help but feel moved by these words, as they mirrored the sentiments I felt toward Bini’s evolution.

Turning the page, I found illustrations of poisonous creatures along with simple descriptions of their habits. It really felt like a poison bestiary of the Central Plains.

”When it spreads its wings, it spans five feet. Its beak is bronze and sharp, and its body is covered in purple-red feathers. When enraged, it spreads its ★ ★ wings and causes everything around it to die, turning to poison. On its head is a golden crown, giving it the majesty of a ruler.”

”This creature is called Zhen, or Zhenbird.”

The first page was dedicated to the Zhenbird, a creature we had encountered before, but this time it was beautifully illustrated with detailed descriptions of its features.

However, I barely had time to examine the page before Mandok Shingun quickly turned the page.

The next page stopped abruptly, revealing a blackened illustration.

What’s this?

While flipping through the pages quickly, I had noticed that most of the illustrations were done with fine ink lines, but this particular poisonous creature was drawn with bold strokes, almost as if it had been painted with thick ink.

As I looked closer, I saw a blackened centipede.

The text below it read: The Twenty-Four Poisons of the Dark—Ink Dark Ghost Centipede.

I moved my eyes to the accompanying description, and what I read astonished me:

”The Ink Dark Ghost Centipede is one of the Twenty-Four Poisons and a creature of great power. It appears suddenly from the earth and attacks both humans and animals. Its appearance is a massive, black version of a centipede, with an ominous aura, earning it the name Ink Dark Ghost Centipede.”

”It is said to have an exceptional ability to hear the sounds of creatures above ground, and it can even break through rocks. No matter where you hide, it will rise from beneath the earth.”

”Whoa!”

The description in the book was about none other than Bini.

Though she wasn’t classified as one of the Ten Deadly Poisons, this creature, occupying the third position of the Twenty-Four Poisons, was formidable.

”Bini isn’t a Ten Deadly Poison, but she’s the Ink Dark Ghost Centipede of the Twenty-Four Poisons!”

I didn’t care that Bini wasn’t one of the Ten Deadly Poisons.

Even though she wasn’t one of the Ten Deadly Poisons, she was still a creature of incredible power in my eyes.

I couldn’t help but admire Bini’s transformation, so I shouted out to her:

”Bini, our Bini has become the third of the Twenty-Four Poisons—Ink Dark Ghost Centipede!”

But Bini seemed to dislike the name, shrieking loudly in protest.

Tsrru!

”Why? Do you not like Ink Dark Ghost Centipede?”

Tsrrut!

I felt a sudden realization, as though Bini wasn’t completely averse to the name, but rather...

Tsrrurrr.

Another deep, low voice echoed from above.

Looking up, I saw Cho descending slowly from the sky.

I had noticed Cho wasn’t by my side when I woke up. Cho, who loved me as much as Bini did, would surely stay close if I had collapsed, so it was a bit odd that she wasn’t there.

With a curious look on her face, Cho fluttered down to me.

Hua-eun and Seol explained what had happened as Cho landed.

”I told Cho to find Bini. We thought Bini was the reason you collapsed, so we asked Cho to look for her.”

”We suspected Bini had something to do with your collapse since Cho and Bini had grown up together, so we thought Bini was the cause.”

As Hua-eun finished explaining, Cho landed right in front of Bini and began inspecting her from head to toe.

Bini seemed to want to push Cho away and leaned forward, leading to an amusing standoff between them.

Tsrrut!

Tsrrurrr!

Though Bini was slightly larger, Cho, being one of the Ten Deadly Poisons, wasn’t giving in easily.

I felt like a fight was about to break out, but strangely enough, I began to sense a kind of telepathic exchange between them.

Previously, they only communicated through emotions, but now it felt as if they were actually conversing in their minds.

What is this? Does their telepathic ability evolve too?

The thoughts being exchanged between them were clear:

”Dad says I’m the prettiest. More than you.”

”Dad says I’m the prettiest.”

As their thoughts collided, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine.

The tension between them felt like it could erupt into a fierce battle.

”So? Who’s the prettiest in dad’s eyes?”

”So? Who’s the prettiest in dad’s eyes?”

Ahh!

It seemed that their ”prettiness ranking” was a highly serious issue between them.

I felt like a disaster was imminent if I didn’t answer carefully. The fight between them might even turn into a battle of poisons, causing an all-out war!

I swallowed nervously just as I felt another shift.

Tsrru.

From Hua-eun’s sleeve, Hyang wriggled out and looked at Bini and Cho.

As if she had just woken up, she now saw the commotion between them.

I was about to lose my mind at the impending chaos. But instead, Hyang crawled up my neck and seemed to settle in, giving a victorious stare at Bini and Cho.

It felt as if she had claimed me as her own, deciding that she wouldn’t grow big and would stay with me forever.

Is she saying she’s going to stay with me for life and never leave?

At that moment, both Bini and Cho’s antennae stood up straight.