Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Suddenly, I snatched the lantern and lowered it close to the water’s surface. Hwa-eun and Seol, who had been wide-eyed in shock, gasped in disbelief at what they saw.

”The tadpole is sucking in the fire!”

”It’s eating the fire?!”

Despite their astonished cries, the tadpole continued to devour the flickering flame without hesitation. Thin streams of fire rippled across the water’s surface, vanishing into the tadpole’s mouth with gulping motions.

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.

‘This is insane!’

A tadpole swallowing fire—it was beyond belief.

Watching this, I felt like sparks were flying in my own eyes. After all, fire is the ultimate symbol of a man’s passion, isn’t it?

Red, fire, flames—these things represent intensity and determination.

I didn’t know what kind of creature this tadpole would grow into, but if it consumed fire as food, then it would likely mature into some kind of flame-wielding frog or toad. The very thought sent shivers down my spine.

Not only was it a representation of a man’s spirit, but it also meant this creature possessed the fire attribute.

‘How am I supposed to ignore that?’

And as the tadpole devoured the flames, I realized that the nuns’ earlier remarks—about struggling when their lamps ran out of oil—were far more important than I had initially thought.

They had mentioned that while bathing, they always ran out of lamp oil.

This little thing must have been secretly absorbing the heat.

It should have been consuming open flames like it was doing now, but since the nuns wouldn’t have brought their lanterns close to the water, it had been surviving by leeching off distant sources of heat.

I had a faint suspicion as to why this creature had remained in its tadpole state for ten whole years without growing.

If fire was its food, then it would have trouble finding sustenance in nature unless there were volcanic regions or wildfires nearby. That meant it likely had the ability to consume large amounts of fire whenever possible to accelerate its growth.

Some toads in the desert undergo metamorphosis from tadpoles to adults in as little as ten days when it rains. This creature was probably similar.

‘Poor thing. You’ve barely managed to scrape by all these years. Or should I say, you’ve barely managed to ”fire-feed”?’

At that moment, as I looked at the tadpole greedily gulping down the last of the fire, the flame suddenly snapped off.

I quickly lifted the lantern to check it under the moonlight—sure enough, the lamp oil had completely run out.

”You were starving, huh?”

”Did the lamp run out of oil?”

”Yeah. Looks like it was so hungry it devoured the flames in a hurry.”

”Oh no, poor thing.”

We were all people who had an affinity for venomous creatures and beasts.

As Hwa-eun and Seol hurriedly gathered branches, planning to start a fire and feed the creature properly, I interjected.

”Should I fetch some oil? Or should we just light a large fire by the water?”

”Should we? A big fire might be better.”

Just then, the tadpole, having devoured all the flames, swam towards me, then wobbled its way onto a rock.

”Oh my! It’s climbing onto the rock!”

”How cute. Is it thanking us for feeding it?”

”So it can climb rocks too, huh?”

I had thought it could only eat fire, but it seemed to have quite a few tricks up its sleeve.

As I reached out to return it to the water, I suddenly felt a sticky sensation on my palm.

”What the—?!”

”What’s wrong?”

”What is it, So-ryong?”

Seeing my startled expression, they both looked at me with concern.

I rubbed my palm against the rock and explained,

”It’s sticky. My hand is sticking to its belly.”

”It’s sticky? Then... could it have crawled here from somewhere else?”

Hwa-eun speculated that the tadpole might have climbed up from another location.

But there was another explanation.

Shaking my head, I clarified,

”No. More likely, its parent used to carry it around.”

”It was carried?”

”By its parent?”

To them, it was an unfamiliar concept, but amphibians have various unique reproductive methods.

For example, the Pipa pipa frog, also known as the Surinam toad, tumbles in the water while laying eggs, pressing them onto its own back. The mother’s skin then grows over the eggs, and later, tiny toads emerge directly from holes in her back—a process that often triggers trypophobia when seen online.

Similarly, the golden poison dart frog in the Amazon rainforest leaves after laying eggs, and the father takes care of them instead.

The male carries the hatched tadpoles on his back, searching for water-filled leaves where they can grow safely.

Because the Amazon is so hot, water evaporates quickly, so the father frog relocates his offspring whenever necessary.

”So... where did this one’s parents go?”

”Hard to say. Normally, species that carry their young do so until they mature into frogs or toads. But judging by how this one was abandoned, maybe its parents died in a storm or something.”

”Oh no... How tragic... We should at least make sure it eats well today.”

As the tadpole repeatedly crawled out of the water, Hwa-eun and Seol prepared to gather more branches.

But I stopped them.

”Wait. Let’s not feed it any more today.”

”Why not? It’s been starving for ten years!”

”That’s right! So-ryong, come on, let’s give it more!”

They were adamant, thinking it was pitiful.

But if we fed it too much at once and it suddenly grew legs, we might not be able to take it with us.

”Some species of frogs and toads can reach adulthood within days if they have enough food. If this one grows too fast, we might not be allowed to take it from Bota Monastery.”

If it was just a frog, it wouldn’t be a problem. But if it turned out to be a toad, Buddhist monks would likely consider it a sacred creature.

”Oh... Right. If it’s a toad...”

In Buddhism, toads are sacred beings, even if they’re not divine creatures.

There’s a belief that a toad lives freely underwater like a fish, but once it comes ashore and is seen by humans, it must assume responsibility and obligations.

In Buddhist iconography, toads are sometimes depicted as divine guardians protecting the Dharma.

And more than that—

In folklore, the three-legged toad is believed to spit out money, symbolizing wealth and prosperity.

So if people discovered this thing was a toad, there was no way Bota Monastery would willingly part with it.

Even if the princess had requested they hand it over, the monastery technically owned it.

”Oh... If it’s sacred, the monks won’t let it go easily...”

”Yeah. Even monks might get greedy.”

”True... If it’s a toad, the monastery won’t give it up.”

Hwa-eun and Seol nodded in understanding.

As I stroked the tadpole’s head, which had once again crawled onto the rock as if begging us to take it away, I reassured it.

”Just hold on for a day or two. I’ll take you with me soon. I promise I’ll feed you plenty when we leave. Okay?”

The tadpole looked at me for a moment, then dipped back into the water and disappeared.

”Did it understand?”

”Probably. It’s a spiritual creature, after all.”

”So-ryong, we need to rescue it as soon as possible.”

”Yeah... We really do.”

As we made up our minds to rescue the little creature that had barely survived for a decade, the sun began rising on the eastern horizon.

***

”We’ll Take Huali as Soon as the Boat Is Ready.”

At dawn, we went straight to Sword Mistress and informed her of our decision to take Huali immediately.

She simply nodded as if she had intended to give it to us from the start.

”Of course, Ji-ryeon made a promise, so I must honor it. How do you plan to take it?”

”Our ship is docked at the largest island of the Zhoushan Archipelago. One of us will go retrieve it. May we have permission to dock at the pier?”

Our plan was straightforward. Once our ship reached the pier, we would use Cho to transport Huali, carrying it in a water-filled leather pouch like a firefighting helicopter.

Sword Mistress readily agreed but attached a condition.

”Very well. However, do not allow any men to set foot on the island. I worry that my disciples may be disturbed by their presence.”

I had been wondering why men weren’t allowed on the island, but it seemed the nuns feared that their disciples might become flustered or distracted.

I remembered when, in my previous life, I had visited an all-girls’ high school to return an umbrella for the neighbor’s sister. The upperclassmen had lost their minds.

‘A man! A man is here!’ they had screamed.

I had been utterly stunned back then.

”I understand. Oh, and I also need to collect some water from the Moonlit Spring on Yongbong Peak. May I bring my daughters ashore for that?”

With the ship issue settled, I now needed permission for Cho to land on Yongbong Peak.

Sword Mistress looked puzzled at my words.

”Your daughters? As long as they are not men, that should be fine. But how old are they?”

Given my age, she must have assumed my daughters were still infants.

”Oh, they’re young, but they’re not human, so it’s fine.”

”...Not human?”

”Yes, they’re O-gong. I just need to inform your disciples in advance so they don’t get startled.”

”O-O-gong? You mean your daughter is an O-gong?”

”Yes, she’s about twenty spans long and flies through the air.”

”W-What are you saying?”

As the questions continued, I explained in more detail.

But the more I explained, the more Sword Mistress blinked in increasing confusion.

***

My senior sister summoned a ferry to take us back to our ship, while we made preparations in the meantime.

First, we placed the large water containers we had borrowed from Bota Monastery at the pier, then, with the help of the nuns, filled them with water.

Cho was supposed to fetch the water for us, but Sword Mistress decided to use the opportunity to have her disciples carry it as part of their training.

”The water from the Moonlit Spring is special, is that why you’re taking it?”

”Uh... Yes. Something like that.”

We kept our true reason—taking Huali—a secret.

Sword Mistress, aware of how much her disciples adored Huali, suggested that we take it quickly once the moment arrived.

By midday, our ship finally appeared in the distance.

From its deck, Cho soared powerfully into the sky, flying straight toward us.

Having not seen me for a few days, it seemed eager to reunite.

Strapped to its body was the leather pouch I had prepared in advance.

— Tsrururur!

”Yeah, I missed you too. Now, head over there.”

— Tsrru?

I instructed it to fly toward Yongbong Peak, but when I called myself dad in my thoughts, Cho tilted its head, then scanned my outfit suspiciously.

I flinched and hurriedly explained.

”L-Look, they don’t allow men here, so I had to borrow Mom’s clothes.”

After quickly clearing up that misunderstanding, I led Cho to Yongbong Peak, where Huali was already waiting for me by the water’s edge.

Had it realized from the water-fetching preparations that today was the day?

”Cho, this is Huali. Say hello. This is your... uh, new older sibling? Older brother? Whatever it is, they’re older than you, so be respectful.”

— Tsrur.

Huali looked younger than Cho, but in truth, Huali was ten years old, while Cho was only one.

As the two stared at each other, we transferred Huali into the water-filled leather pouch.

”Alright, let’s go!”

We swiftly moved toward the pier.

However, just as I was about to execute my plan of taking Huali back and helping it reach maturity, I froze at the scene awaiting us at the dock.

”Waaah! Huali...!”

”Master, you’re really giving Huali away...?”

”Sniff... sob...”

It looked like a funeral.

The disciples of Bota Monastery were weeping uncontrollably at the pier.

Clearly, they were devastated that I was taking Huali away.

It was completely understandable. Even when people give away a pet dog, they often cry. These girls had raised Huali for ten years, so of course, they were heartbroken.

Standing before the sobbing disciples, Sword Mistress wore an awkward expression.

The older disciples were managing, but the younger ones had completely broken down in tears.

”What in the world...?”

As I disembarked, baffled by the dramatic scene, Seol quickly ran up to me and whispered in my ear.

[”You said this would be fine. Do something about it.”]

‘Damn, I didn’t think it’d be this bad...’

Taking a deep breath, I whispered back.

[”Seol, say this:”]

[”What?”]

[”Tell them... that Huali is male.”]

[?!]

Seol’s eyes widened.

She then «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» turned to the grieving disciples and spoke.

”L-Ladies! Miss Tang So-eun has just informed me that there’s an important reason why we have to take Huali with us!”

At that, the sobbing disciples looked up.

”What reason?!”

”Yeah! Why are you taking Huali?!”

Seol hesitated for a moment, then explained,

”Um... well... it turns out Huali is male. And... well, isn’t it forbidden for males to be on Yongbong Peak?”

Silence.

The young nuns froze, looking dumbfounded.

Then, one of them asked skeptically,

”How do we know that’s true?”

”Yeah! How can we believe that?!”

If they wouldn’t believe it, there was only one way to prove it.

I whispered to Seol again.

[”Tell them we’ll check Huali’s gender right now.”]

[”What?!”]

What else could we do? If they didn’t believe us, we had to show them.

Seol swallowed hard, then announced,

”Then... we’ll show you! Whether Huali is male or female!”

”W-What!? Show us?!”

”Wh-What are you going to show?! Kyaaah!”

”Aaaaah!!!”

I had genuinely meant to properly confirm it for them.

But before I could even begin, the nuns screamed in horror and fled from the dock.

Watching them scatter in terror, Seol turned to me, stunned.

”...That was your plan? But... is it really true? Is Huali male?”

If I could tell the sex of a tadpole, I would have been a billionaire in my past life.

I simply smiled and shrugged.

”Who knows?”