Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

With a stunned expression, I stared blankly at the transformed figure of the Golden-Crowned Death King, now bearing Cheongyu’s upper body.

And who wouldn’t be surprised? It was my first time seeing a snake with a human torso.

“This is insane! It’s not even Lamia...”

At first, the form of the Golden-Crowned Death King reminded me of a Lamia straight out of Greek or Roman mythology.

Sure, we’re in the Central Plains, but even a Kissing Bug from America showed up once—so that kind of thing isn’t exactly off-limits here.

At first glance, it didn’t feel like a native spiritual beast or venomous creature of the Central Plains, but more like an imported oddity or something that crossed the border.

But the more I looked at the Golden-Crowned Death King, the more it became clear—this appearance absolutely fit the profile of a legitimate spiritual and venomous beast from this world.

“I almost let myself think the wrong thing. If it’s one of the Four Kings, shouldn’t it look like that?”

Exactly. If it’s a king of the Central Plains, it should look like that.

After all, this world may resemble ancient China, but it’s a strange one where martial arts and strange beasts exist, and that’s completely normal here.

Geography and culture aren’t that different from the ancient Central Plains I once studied, and many legends and stories here are nearly identical.

That’s why this world also has myths of the Sovereign Five Emperors—and if there’s a king of serpents in the Central Plains, of course it would resemble Cheongyu’s current form.

And this isn’t just conjecture. In the myths of the Sovereign Five Emperors, there’s the story of Fuxi and Nuwa—known as Sanghwang and Sanghai.

They were said to have the bodies of serpents and the upper bodies of humans. So a true king of serpents in the Central Plains couldn’t possibly appear any other way.

The current form of the Golden-Crowned Death King could easily be described as a descendant of Fuxi or Nuwa.

“A traditional, properly documented Four King, historically and culturally accurate!”

As I stood admiring the Golden-Crowned Death King instead of deciding whether to attack or burn it, I suddenly heard a strange sound from its body.

—Chrrrrk.

I widened my eyes and looked toward the sound. The creature’s scales, which had been standing upright, began to press back down neatly.

At first, I thought the scales were just drying after shedding. But then something odd began happening.

Starting from the head, the scales that had bristled now settled down uniformly, and then—astonishingly—they began to recreate the outfit Cheongyu wore when she was alive.

It reminded me of how Yo-hwa had once recreated Hwanok’s robes, that same sort of transformation. In the blink of an eye, luxurious black silk robes wrapped around the Golden-Crowned Death King’s body.

And as I saw that transformation, a thought crossed my mind:

That must be the Golden-Crowned Death King’s fully matured form.

There was not a single detail out of place.

“Wow... this is the true King of Serpents!”

I was completely captivated by the Golden-Crowned Death King, now in its perfect, adult form. I found myself just staring, examining it from every angle.

And then it roared.

—Shaaaak!

Snapping out of my daze from its cry, I looked around. Somewhere along the way, I’d stopped hearing the [N O V E L I G H T] shrieks and groans from the Five Venoms Sect—they had fallen silent like echoes fading into space.

Only the strongest one had resisted a bit, but his body had turned a sickly, bluish hue, poisoned beyond saving.

Everyone in the mountain pass had already been burned away.

“Holy hell.”

And then, as I stood there in awe, another strange sight unfolded.

In response to the Golden-Crowned Death King’s cry, Yeondu and the other nearby snakes began gathering the corpses into a pile. Then, all at once, they bowed their heads to the king.

As if reporting: “The mission is complete.”

—Sss. Sss.

—Shaaaa!

If anything could embody a true King of Serpents, it was this.

“Kyaaaah!”

***

As I closed Oh Cheongyu’s eyes and waited for the others to arrive, a voice stirred in my mind.

“So-ryong, all of the Five Dragon Peaks have been met. It seems we missed you—where are you now?”

It sounded like the warriors from the Five Dragon Peaks had crossed paths with me, and Grandfather Tang Mu-seong had met Hwa-eun’s group first.

“Ah, I’m over by the valley,” I answered quickly through Hwa-eun’s body.

I had to respond quickly—I was nervous she’d get worried if I didn’t.

Sure enough, her next words were filled with concern.

“The valley? Alone? That’s dangerous. Come this way. Let’s stick together.”

“No need to worry, Hwa-eun. The Five Venoms Sect are all dead.”

A moment of stunned silence, followed by a shocked question.

“What? They’re dead?”

“Yes. Hwa-eun, just follow the valley upstream.”

I needed help retrieving Cheongyu’s body, so I told her to come up the valley, but her anxiety didn’t subside.

“So-ryong... you didn’t do anything dangerous, did you? So-ryong? So-ryong?”

“I’m fine. Just come carefully.”

After a short while, I sensed people approaching from the lower part of the valley.

Voices of confusion reached my ears—people startled by something. Then I felt Hwa-eun’s presence again.

“We’ve reached the valley where the Five Dragon Peaks were searching, but something savage is blocking the way. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Ah, just a second. Don’t attack the snakes. Wait there. I’ll ask them to open a path.”

“Huh? Open a path? So-ryong? What do you mean?”

This snake’s territory was at least three meters wide in all directions.

I couldn’t see well from where I was, but it seemed Hwa-eun’s group had arrived just outside the valley. I turned to the Golden-Crowned Death King, who had been staring at me for a while.

“What should I call you? Every person has a name, you know.”

—Shaaa?

“Yeah. A name. I can’t just keep calling you ‘hey you.’

So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to call you Cheongyu—after Oh Cheongyu. Since you’ve taken on her form.”

—Shaaaa.

The Golden-Crowned Death King nodded at my words. It seemed to like the idea. Just in case, I confirmed again.

“You really like the name Cheongyu? I dropped the ‘Oh’ since that was something the Five Venoms Sect gave her. That okay?”

—Shaaa!

It let out a loud response, as if saying “Obviously!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Smiling at the reply, I turned to the snakes and asked them to open a path for the group.

The illusion-like territory hadn’t expanded yet, so they needed a path to reach me.

“My friends are down there. Can you open a path for them? They say they can’t come through because of the snakes. They’re probably here to retrieve the body of the deceased Cheongyu. When a person dies, we bury them—either in the earth or someplace warm.”

—Shaaa.

As expected of a spiritual beast, the King of Serpents understood perfectly.

In response to my request, the Golden-Crowned Death King gave a command-like cry toward Yeondu.

—Shaaaaaaa.

—Shaaa!

Then, like a trained field medic, Yeondu responded and moved through the barrier of snakes.

As Yeondu stepped forward, the snakes parted to either side, forming a path as if a sea were splitting open.

Black, blue, and brightly speckled snakes slithered aside in both directions.

Soon, through that path, Hwa-eun’s group.

The moment they arrived and laid eyes on Cheongyu, their eyes widened in shock.

“What... what is that!?”

“Is that... Nuwa!?”

“W-What the hell is that!?”

“That woman—who is she!?”

“So-ryong, what is going on here?”

“So-ryong, what is that, and what happened?”

Just as I expected, upon seeing the Golden-Crowned Death King’s form, everyone immediately thought of Nuwa.

Anyone from the Central Plains would naturally associate that image with the old legend.

I decided to introduce Cheongyu and ask for help with retrieving the body.

“This is Cheongyu, the Golden-Crowned Death King. I’ve promised to take care of her. I’ll explain more when we’re back at the clan. For now, could you help me collect her remains?”

“What kind of nonsense is that, saying it like you know what that thing is?”

Grandfather Tang Mu-seong seemed to be referring to the way the snakes had regurgitated the bodies of the Five Venoms Sect men, but he kept his eyes fixed on Cheongyu.

“Cheongyu, would you mind stepping aside so we can retrieve the body?”

—Shaaa!

As Cheongyu the Golden-Crowned Death King moved aside, the human body of Cheongyu was revealed.

Upon seeing the horrific state of the corpse, Hwa-eun gasped and covered her mouth.

“This woman... why?”

“It seems she recovered her memories after being released from the grand formation and fled. I heard she extracted her own Neidan with her own hands.”

“T-That’s...”

The area fell into a stunned silence, as if time had stopped.

My father-in-law stepped forward and spoke to the warriors.

“Have the women bring her body in carefully.”

Several warriors quickly cut down wood to craft a stretcher.

A few female martial artists quietly lowered their heads, approached Oh Cheongyu’s body, tied her clothes properly, and lifted her gently onto the stretcher.

Behind them, the corpses of the Five Venoms Sect warriors—tied like bundles to poles—were dragged away toward the Tang Clan grounds like garbage.

***

As soon as we returned to the Tang Clan, I explained everything I had seen and heard.

When they heard the horrifying story of how she had extracted her own Neidan while fleeing, everyone was both outraged and deeply saddened.

“This is too cruel.”

“Those bastards from the Five Venoms Sect!”

Because of this, Chang-ryong, Geom-bong, and Brother Gyu-seong took charge.

The human Cheongyu was gently washed, dressed in clean clothing, and laid to rest in a coffin.

A stark contrast to the other Five Venoms Sect men, whose remains were burned like trash after a brief investigation.

—Shaaa...

Under the mourning gaze of the Golden-Crowned Death King, she was buried in a warm, sunlit area among the graves of ordinary Tang Clan civilians.

When I explained that she had gone to see the Original Celestial Immortal in her final moments, a Taoist priest from the Cheongseong Sect—who had taken part in the search—conducted her funeral rites.

The Five Dragon Peaks mourned her death with heavy hearts.

“If I hadn’t asked Gungbong to do that favor... She only fled because she remembered.”

“I should have adjusted the formation... ngh...”

Was the arrow in her chest one Gungbong had shot?

It was Ji-ryong who gave the order.

But ultimately, the fatal injury wasn’t the arrow. It was her extracting the Neidan from the area near her heart with her own hands.

If you really think about it, everything was the fault of the Five Venoms Sect.

“Please, don’t blame yourselves. It wasn’t your fault. It’s all because of them. If you truly want to make it up to her, then help me fulfill her final wish.”

“Her final wish?”

“She asked us to erase the Five Venoms Sect from this world. So that no one else has to suffer like she did.”

The Five Dragon Peaks solemnly nodded at my words.

Each of them planted their weapon into the ground in front of her grave and spoke with heavy voices.

“We, the Five Dragon Peaks, will take responsibility for this death and do everything in our power to fulfill her final wish.”

“If we fail to wipe out the Five Venoms Sect as she asked, none of us will be able to rest in peace.”

And so, Cheongyu’s funeral ended quietly.

But the Tang Clan grounds became a bit chaotic—because of the Golden-Crowned Death King.

Not the King itself, but the swarm of snakes it had brought.

Apparently, because of Cheongyu’s request—and maybe because it liked me—the King began following me without resistance.

But the problem was the dozens of snakes it had summoned.

Not just them. Along the way to the Tang Clan, more and more snakes joined in, and by the time we arrived, there were hundreds scattered all over the estate.

Naturally, people started freaking out.

“You can make sure they don’t bite anyone, right?”

—Shaaa.

Of course, I asked the Golden-Crowned Death King to tell them not to bite people.

Plus, now that Yeondu had fully matured, she was able to issue commands just like the King. So the risk of anyone being bitten was low.

Still, with venomous snakes slithering here and there, it was easy to startle someone. So I made sure to repeat the request several times.

After all the precautions were in place, we held a private family meeting.

Only direct members of the Tang Clan and my poison sect attended.

Since Cheongyu was now one of us, we wanted to greet her properly and introduce her to everyone.

I brought her before the gathered family and introduced her.

“This is Cheongyu, now one of our own.”

“Cheongyu, these are your new family members. Say hello.”

—Shaaa!

At my words, Cheongyu brought her hands together and bowed her head.

Seeing her respectful greeting, Grandfather smiled with joy.

“Ohh, good. Be well.

So that’s what the Golden-Crowned Death King looks like. I’ve never seen it described in the Venomous Creatures Compendium—it’s truly fascinating that it resembles Nuwa.

And So-ryong, now that you’ve gathered all five poisons, you should be able to fully master the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art.”

“Yes! Finally!”

Just as Grandfather and I were celebrating the breakthrough, Cheongyu, standing beside me, suddenly showed interest in the book before him.

She climbed onto the table and began crawling toward him.

In an instant, she reached the front, propped her chin up, and stared at the Compendium of Venomous Creatures lying open before him.

Startled, I tugged at her sleeve.

“Ch-Cheongyu? You can’t climb up there... Come down, okay?”

To pull a stunt like this during your first introduction?

Still too wild, huh?

But as I reached for her sleeve, Cheongyu turned a few pages of the book with her hands.

Then, golden mist flowed from her slightly opened mouth.

The mist spread over the Compendium of Venomous Creatures, and suddenly the book began to emit a golden glow.

“Wh-What is this!?”

Golden letters began appearing on the newly opened page.

It was none other than the page of the Golden-Crowned Death King.