Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Paeng Gyu-seong swung the brush case he’d placed by his feet, fiercely striking down the gleam of daggers flying toward them.

–Ka-gak-kang!

The sound of steel colliding rang out from the brush case as the daggers were deflected.

The blades, originally aimed at the Five Dragons, were scattered in all directions, and Yang Seong-hu and Geom-ryong both flipped the table to block the remaining daggers.

The rest embedded themselves into the table with a sound like hail falling.

–Thudududuk.

“Blade Dragon!”

The Five Dragons, who had taken cover behind the table, shouted toward Paeng Gyu-seong while still crouched low.

Without the slightest hesitation, Paeng Gyu-seong slammed the brush case onto the table.

“Understood!”

–Kwa-jik.

As the table shattered, the brush case ripped open, and out flew a sword, a sabre, and a three-part spear.

Each weapon found its way into the hands of its rightful owner as if pulled by some invisible force.

They were the weapons entrusted to Blade Dragon beforehand, disguised as ordinary household items, just in case.

–Shing. Shing. Shing.

As the weapons reached their masters, three arrows were loosed from Gungbong’s bow—he had already strung it and fired in quick succession.

Then, a chained weapon shot out in the direction the daggers had come from, followed by the sharp scream of a wounded enemy.

“Keu-huk...”

“Kurgh...!”

With fury, Blade Dragon Paeng Gyu-seong let out a roar and charged outside.

“Who the hell are you!? Who dares to throw daggers at us!?”

Drawing his greatsword, he stormed toward where the daggers had originated.

Behind him followed Yang Seong-hu, Geom-ryong, and Seon-hwa, who had combined the three-part spear into one.

“What... what is this!?”

“This is insane!”

Charging out with momentum, the Five Dragons were met by a swarm of masked martial artists.

The mountain village, now under the evening sun, was teeming with masked warriors.

On rooftops, at doorways—everywhere one looked, there were armed enemies.

The fighters, completely covered to hide their identities, glared silently at the Five Dragons.

Realizing something from their appearance, Yang Seong-hu swung his spear and shouted:

“Don’t tell me—you bastards from the Five Venoms Sect!?”

The masked men flinched at the intensity of Yang Seong-hu’s voice.

Then, one of them pointed at the Five Dragons and gave the order:

“Kill them! They know who we are! Don’t let a single one leave here alive!”

At his command, the martial artists rushed toward them like moths to a flame.

–Kakang.

Ji-ryong deflected two daggers flying from somewhere with a flick of his cotton-sleeved hand and shouted toward Gungbong:

“Gungbong, the signal!”

They had to alert the scattered Sichuan martial artists of the Five Venoms Sect’s presence immediately.

“Understood!”

Then, he turned and issued commands to the Five Dragons and the Tang Clan warriors.

“Alert the other martial artists in Sichuan! Retreat from the inn, slowly! If we fight like this with their numbers, we’ll be annihilated!”

“Understood!”

“Got it!”

As Ji-ryong’s order rang out, the leader of the Five Venoms Sect screamed in rage.

“Don’t let them use the signal! Stop them at all costs!”

“That’s not gonna be easy!”

As the presumed leader shouted, a swarm of warriors from the Five Venoms Sect charged at Gungbong.

But Paeng Gyu-seong, Geom-ryong, and Seon-hwa leapt into their ranks like rampaging tigers, tearing through the advancing formation.

“This is the Hunwon Thunder Blade of the Paeng Clan!”

“Kill the bastards!”

Meanwhile, an arrow soared high into the twilight sky.

–Fwiieeeeet!

The piercing whistle of the signal arrow split through the dusk of the descending sun.

From within the Five Venoms Sect, their leader cursed as he shouted at his subordinates:

“Before the others arrive after hearing that signal, finish this and get out of here! Kill them!”

–Cheng. Chae-kang.

Swords, spears, daggers, and fists clashed, and the melody of Wolyeong Palace played on the flute by Eumbong followed the whistle.

–Bellili. Piiiii.

The song of death played, and blood began to flow along the paths of the small mountain village.

***

–Fwiieeeeet!

The sharp whistle of the signal arrow echoed through the mountains of Paltaesan as the sun dipped below the horizon.

–Kwa-deuk.

Blue Dragon snapped the neck of a snake in his grasp and looked down the mountainside.

“Go check that out! That didn’t sound like one of our signal flutes.”

It was clear something had happened in the village below, where the Five Venoms Sect’s warriors were stationed.

This was the most critical moment—any outside interference had to be avoided at all costs.

Even minor disturbances had to be checked, and a signal arrow like that couldn’t be ignored.

“Understood, miss!”

The Five Venoms Sect had tracked down Sayang through lingering traces believed to be left in the Central Plains. They had even confirmed his appearance recently.

He was still young, but there was no doubt it was him.

Now, Sayang was trying to break through the defensive formations protecting him.

These were formations Sayang laid down himself to protect his body, and luckily, being so young, the dual-heaven barriers had not yet been formed.

Still, they were Sayang’s formations.

They had been slowly weakening them through venomous mists and blood-based incantations, but if he sensed an external threat, the formations could trigger all at once.

And there could still be many more layers that hadn’t yet awakened.

“Ugh...”

As she waited for the scout’s report from below, Cheongyu winced and pressed a hand to her head.

Her fingers brushed against the needle embedded there.

It was a needle she’d received during a mission to Qinghai, planted on orders from her father, and placed by the Tang Clan’s chief communications officer—one that must never be disturbed.

Her body had healed, but the psychological trauma lingered.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Her father had warned her: if disturbed before she had fully recovered, the consequences could be fatal.

That was a terrible thing to do, So-hong. Repaying kindness with betrayal—brainwashed or not.

Feeling the faint mark of the needle on her fingertips, Cheongyu seethed inside.

She had tried to rescue him, believing he was being pitifully used by the Tang Clan—and he had nearly killed her.

She didn’t remember everything clearly, but he had seemed so much like herself... that’s why she had tried to help him.

And now she bore a near-fatal wound for her kindness.

No matter how deep the brainwashing was, this she could not forgive.

And then, suddenly, a thought struck her.

Wait... like myself?

The thought that had suddenly crossed her mind—that they were in the same situation.

Cheongyu couldn’t understand why such a thought had even occurred to her.

So-hong, the Tang Clan’s adopted son-in-law, was only living that way because he’d been deceived by the Tang Clan. But she—she was the Forbidden Sixth Leaf of the Five Venoms Sect.

Their situations couldn’t be more different.

Just as Cheongyu tilted her head, unable to understand why she would think that way—

“Miss? Miss!”

The voice of the Black Serpent Unit’s commander came from beside her.

When Cheongyu turned her head to look, the unit commander was staring at her with a slightly worried expression.

“Ah... What is it?”

“It’s nothing. You just seemed lost in thought all of a sudden.”

“Ah... yes. I was just... thinking about something.”

“I see.”

The Black Serpent commander nodded casually, but Cheongyu could feel eyes watching her from behind him.

It was the Yin Shadow Unit of the Five Venoms Sect—silent, ghost-like.

A special assassination unit directly under her father’s command.

They handled assassinations and secret missions. Though Cheongyu didn’t know their exact orders, she looked at the man who had just become their new leader—Blood Talon Snake—and couldn’t shake the unpleasant feeling in her gut.

It felt like he was sizing her up to devour her whole.

Their eyes really are like snakes...

As Cheongyu locked eyes with the Yin Shadow warriors and then looked away, she brushed her hair back carefully so as not to touch the embedded needle.

At that very moment, just as her gaze shifted toward the forest below the mountain—

A warrior she had sent earlier came running out from between the darkening trees with a stunned expression.

“Big—big trouble, Miss! Somehow, those Central Plains martial artists caught the scent and have arrived in the village at the foot of the mountain!”

“What did you say?!”

“This is really bad, isn’t it?!”

They had deliberately baited the Blood Cult to draw attention elsewhere, and now, # Nоvеlight # suddenly, Central Plains fighters were appearing here?

It had to mean the discarded remnants of the Blood Cult had failed to do their job properly.

Cheongyu questioned the warrior urgently:

“If the signal arrow’s been fired, that means there are more of them nearby, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yes, that seems to be the case!”

And then it happened.

From various points down the mountain, signal whistles began to echo.

–Kiiiiiiik.

–Kiiik.

Shrill and piercing, almost like insect cries—the unmistakable sound of the Five Venoms Sect’s signal flutes.

“From the village to the northeast!”

“And from the west as well!”

The signal flutes were being blown just as they had agreed—to warn of enemy presence.

Cheongyu turned to the Black Serpent commander and ordered,

“Take your men and scatter toward Sanyang. Create confusion and mislead the enemy.”

“What about you, Miss?”

“I didn’t come all this way to turn back without securing Sayang.”

She couldn’t retreat now, not with Sayang just ahead. She had already broken through more than half of the formations.

“I’ll break through the remaining formations and secure Sayang with the Yin Shadow Unit. I know I’m only supposed to follow my father’s orders, but this is still about capturing Sayang. You will assist me... won’t you?”

She turned to Blood Talon Snake as she spoke, and he nodded briefly.

“Of course.”

The Black Serpent commander gathered his deputy and dashed down the mountain using light footwork, while Cheongyu released a cloud of venom mist and shouted to the Yin Shadow Unit,

“We move!”

“Yes, Miss!”

With the venom mist spreading, Cheongyu and the Yin Shadow Unit pushed into the formation toward Sayang’s location.

***

As night fell and silence settled in, the sounds of battle from below began to echo up the mountainside.

The sharp clash of blades carried through the air.

As Cheongyu counted how many venom mists she had left, Blood Talon Snake spoke.

“How much farther do you think?”

“Almost there. We passed the place where the Heaven-Earth Twin Barriers should have been. That means we’re close.”

The Heaven-Earth Twin Barriers were the final line of defense in Sayang’s formation, protecting the most vital point.

But since Sayang was still a child, that most powerful barrier had not been present. That meant the den was near.

“And the venom mist?”

“Three left. That should be enough. But we can’t be sure—it might not work on what’s ahead.”

“In that case, your team will need to handle it.”

“Understood. Miss. You all heard that—be ready.”

“Yes, Commander!”

As they advanced in the dark, raising their night vision, Cheongyu’s group kept taking down snakes while pushing forward.

Then, in front of them, a pitch-black cave appeared—just large enough for a person to crawl into.

Cheongyu motioned for silence and pulled two of her remaining venom bombs from her robes, tossing them into the cave.

–Tsssss.

Smoke billowed out as mist spread into the dark cave, and immediately, snakes began to pour out.

–Hissssss. Hiss.

An even greater number than they’d encountered before.

But perhaps because of the venom mist, the snakes flopped onto the clearing, twisting and writhing as they flipped belly-up.

Once the smoke had cleared, Cheongyu scanned the area.

She was searching to see if Sayang was among the snakes.

But no matter where she looked, there was nothing resembling Sayang.

“Not here?”

“He’s not among these.”

Everyone turned their eyes to the cave as Cheongyu cautiously approached.

–Hiss!

–Thud!

–Kkhh!”

“Miss!”

With a fishy, venomous smell, a pitch-black snake launched from the cave and slammed into Cheongyu’s chest.

She flew back, crashing into bamboo stalks that snapped beneath her.

–Sssssss!

Under the moonlight, a small golden horn sparkled above the creature’s head.

There was no mistaking it.

It was a young Sayang.