Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Crack.

It felt like someone had glued my joints together.

As I moved my hand, every finger joint made this brittle cracking sound—like something snapping inside.

“Ugh.”

A groan slipped out of me before I could stop it, and right on cue, urgent voices followed.

“So-ryong!”

“Dear So-ryong!”

“Hwa-eun, massage him!”

“Yes, unni!”

“S-Seol Sister?”

And then came the massage.

Judging by the hands, it had to be Sister Seol and Hwa-eun. Four hands began kneading my body like dough.

Crack. Craaack.

With every squeeze and press, more creaking and popping came from my stiff joints.

I tried to open my eyes, but the light was blinding—so much that I had to keep them shut. Something felt off, not just with my joints but my eyes too.

So I kept them closed and focused inward, assessing my condition, when Sister Seol spoke up, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» her voice tight with worry.

“Are you okay, So-ryong, my dear? We were afraid you might fall into Qi Deviation since your cultivation was rising so quickly. We didn’t dare touch you. But this time... it took way too long. I’m going to fold your leg now, so tell me if it hurts.”

“Nngh... How long was I out? Nngh...”

Crack.

There was a strong resistance in my leg as she moved it.

My jaw creaked when I opened it to speak again, but the answer I got left me speechless.

“A whole month!”

“A month?!”

What the hell—a month?!

I’d only spent a day in the inner realm, or so I thought. But out here, twice the usual time had passed.

Normally I come right back from the inner realm and never notice a thing. But this time, one day in there... had apparently equaled an entire month in reality.

It wasn’t like one of those rooms from a comic in my past life, where time flows slower. No—this was the reverse. Time in the mind flowed thirty times faster.

I made a mental note to get out as fast as possible next time. Seriously—my body had stiffened like a corpse after just a month. Who knows what would happen if I stayed longer?

‘Okay, note to self: Don’t linger in the inner realm. This stuff could kill me.’

As I was mentally kicking myself, I suddenly felt... something odd.

Of the four hands massaging me, two were definitely doing more than just helping.

They were pressing deeper, like they were asserting their presence.

As if to say: “Hey, I’m right here. You better not ignore me.”

I didn’t even need to look. There was only one person who’d be bold enough to squeeze me like that.

Hwa-eun.

‘Ah shit. She’s pissed.’

I had a bad feeling. Real bad.

Sure enough, now that I thought about it, Hwa-eun hadn’t said anything since I woke up—aside from calling my name.

I cracked my eyes open and turned to her.

“Nngh... Hwa-eun?”

“Yes?”

She finally answered—but her tone? Flat. Cold. One-word answer. She was mad.

I gave her the most apologetic voice I could muster.

“I was wrong, Hwa-eun.”

The reply came sharp and fast.

“What exactly were you wrong about?”

‘Oh no.’

‘She’s pulling the “You tell me what you did wrong” card...’

I froze. Totally blanked.

In my past life, the internet sages used to say that this was the emotional landmine. It didn’t matter what you said—your odds of saying the right thing were zero.

But I had no choice. I had to try one of those pre-approved responses. One that required max courage and full cringe-resistance.

‘Please let this work. Please be universal, even across dimensions...’

I took a deep breath and answered:

“Hurting Hwa-eun’s heart... deeply?”

...And then silence.

I braced myself for the awkwardness—but then...

Her hands suddenly softened.

Her voice came out shy, almost flustered.

“H-How can you just say something that embarrassing...”

‘Wait—IT WORKED?!’

Her tone still had a trace of irritation, but her touch was way gentler now.

Not fully forgiven, but it was a win. I exhaled in relief.

That’s when Seol Sister huffed.

“Oh, so now it doesn’t matter if I’m here or not, huh? I guess you’ll start making out in front of me next.”

“Unni!”

“I’m not deaf, you know?”

At Sister Seol’s comment, Hwa-eun blushed and rubbed her cheeks. Then Seol turned to me with a more serious question.

“Anyway, So-ryong, why did it take so long this time? What happened in the inner realm? This never happened before. Even Golden Crown Death King Cheongyu woke up a while ago. And the others—didn’t they all come out way before you?”

“Oh, that. Just a sec.”

Before I answered, I mentally sifted through what I remembered.

‘Let’s see how much I can recall. So, the Five Venoms Sect spy hiding in Sichuan’s Red Blood Chamber was... wait, what the—why is all this so vivid?’

I hadn’t planned to memorize everything—just the important bits—but suddenly I could remember everything in insane detail.

Even the parts I’d skimmed over before were clear as day.

Eyes wide, I stared in disbelief.

‘What kind of sorcery is this? Don’t tell me... thirty times the time meant my memory time multiplied too?’

Sister Seol tilted her head.

“What is it?”

I grinned.

Because honestly—I was psyched.

If I told her all the stuff I’d memorized inside, Sister Seol would totally praise me. And Hwa-eun too—once she realized how valuable it was.

I mean, if a month of heartache led to me bringing back high-level intel on the biggest threats to the Tang Clan... forgiveness would come fast.

“The moment I entered the inner realm, Cheongyu and the girl—Lady Cheongyu—were waiting for me. Apparently, they both exist inside Golden Crown Death King Cheongyu. So I talked to her and learned the locations of the Blood Cult and Five Venoms Sect, plus all their secret agents active in the Central Plains.

Oh—and I got some insight on the Five Poisons Returning to the Origin Art, too.”

“What? That woman was in the inner realm?!”

“Yeah. Thanks to that, I was able to get all this rare intel.”

“Wow, that’s crazy. They say she devoured souls of the dead... but she was really inside Cheongyu?”

Seol Sister was still reeling, marveling aloud.

And then... goosebumps.

‘Huh? Why do I feel a chill...?’

Was my body still messed up? I shivered slightly—but no. This was emotional frost.

A familiar coldness creeping in from nearby.

‘So-ryong... so you were late because you were off chatting with that woman?’

‘Oh no.’

‘Wha—wait, no! I wasn’t chatting! I was gathering vital—’

I should’ve known. Of course she’d interpret it that way.

I scrambled to explain—how I’d stayed laser-focused, how I was thinking of the Tang Clan’s future, how I was doing this for her and her family...

But then came her final blow.

‘Okay. So I get that. But then how exactly did you leave the inner realm? If both of them were in there with you... wouldn’t you need to link with both to exit?’

‘Uh... that is...’

I hadn’t planned to tell her about human Cheongyu kissing my forehead to send me back. That was gonna stay secret.

But she already knew.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Without a word, she knew the whole plot. As if there was a damn camera in my brain, installed by Hwa-eun herself.

‘How the hell does she know?! I’m dead. I’m so dead. AAAAAARGH!’

***

After explaining for a good hour that it was a situation I couldn’t avoid and barely earning forgiveness, I was finally let off the hook.

Even though she was clearly annoyed, Hwa-eun hadn’t stopped massaging me—guess she was still worried. With my limbs loosened up, I stepped out of the cabin.

That’s when I saw it—way off in the distance, a campfire.

The sky had turned orange; it was evening. Dinner prep must’ve been in full swing.

My joints were still creaking like rusty hinges, but I had to get moving.

As I carefully made my way toward the campfire, a few surprised voices welcomed me.

“So-ryong, you’re awake?”

“Did Young Master So finally regain his senses?”

“Ah, Brother Gwiseong. Yeah, just now.”

Then came the sudden onslaught of my kids.

—Ksshit!

—Trrrrrr!

—Kku-kkku!

—Piiiii!

They came flying into my arms without restraint.

Cho, Hyang, Bini. And also Seol, Bing, and Dong, along with Hwayang, Yo-hwa, Hongdan, Cheongwol, and even Cheongyu, who had escaped the inner realm with me.

They all swarmed me—licking my face, climbing up my body.

“You missed me, huh, little ones?”

—Ksshishee!

—Trrrrrrr.

I hugged each one, gave them all head pats... but then realized something was off.

Two were missing.

“Wait—where are Yeondu and Orange?”

‘And... where’s Yeolbi?’

Yeondu and Orange were nowhere to be seen. And neither was that little firebomb beetle, Yeolbi.

As I glanced around, I felt a tug on my shoulder.

Turning my head, I saw Yo-hwa silently pointing.

“Over there?”

—Ksshit!

She was pointing to the largest of the half-built structures the pirates had abandoned. The roof was up, but only two walls had been finished.

Curious what was going on, I headed that way.

If it were just Yeondu and Orange alone, I wouldn’t have interfered—let them have their fun—but since Yeolbi was with them, I figured I should take a look.

“Yeondu? Orange? Yeolbi?”

I called out as I approached. Orange peeked his head out from inside the structure.

He rushed up to me, gently tapping my arms and legs with his tail, checking if I was okay.

—Ska?

Seemed like he was asking if I was alright, so I nodded.

“Yeah, my body’s okay. But what were you doing in here?”

Instead of answering, Orange wrapped his tail around my wrist and led me toward the structure.

—Skaaa.

Inside, I was greeted by an unexpected sight.

Several animals I’d never seen before.

No—more accurately, they were spirit beasts. Mammals and birds of some high grade.

A massive mountain goat, about the size of a horse. A white cloud leopard—not an albino, but a true spirit beast. A pheasant-looking bird with dazzling colors. And a blood-red bat hanging from a tree branch inside the building.

“What’s this? You brought friends?”

I asked, wondering if he’d found some playmates.

But Orange shook his head.

He tapped Yeolbi nearby with his tail.

“Ah... so you brought underlings? Or siblings?”

—Skaaa!

I asked again, and this time he nodded.

This guy—always so tactful and quick-witted—must’ve figured bringing in some recruits might help me out. But I’d totally misread the situation.

“This is all the spirit beasts that live on Yizhou?”

—Ska!

I asked if there were more, but he shook his head. A bit disappointing, but I praised him anyway.

Even if they weren’t directly helpful to me, Sister Seol might like them.

Not that she probably didn’t already know they were here.

“Well, I do appreciate it... but I’ll leave these guys to Sister Seol. Me? I prefer venomous creatures—snakes, insects, that kind of thing.”

—Ska!?

The guy looked startled.

I gave him a pat on the back.

“You still did great.”

Just to make sure he didn’t feel discouraged, I showered him with praise and turned to leave.

Crack.

“Agh, my knee...”

Yeah. Walking any farther wasn’t gonna happen. I decided to call over Cho and Hyang for help.

『“Cho, could you bring Hyang over here?”

“So-ryong, you sent that to the wrong one. That should’ve gone to Cho, not to me.”

—Trrr. (Dad? You want Hyang?)

—Piii! (Food?)

—Trrrrt. (Dad? You called?)

—Shiaa? (What’s going on?)』

The moment I sent out the thought, a whole chorus of replies came back.

Followed by rapid-fire back-and-forth between the creatures.

『“No way... Cho? Was that Cho?”

—Trrr. (M-Mom?)

—Trrrrt? (Did she just say Mom?!)

—Grrrrng. (What is happening right now...)』

Chaos erupted inside my head.

One thought became crystal clear:

Now that I’d entered the Four-Poison State, and my Beast Mind Art had advanced along with it, I had apparently opened up... a group chat inside my brain.