Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

My first impression of Yakseon hadn’t been all that great—but our relationship improved faster than the speed of light.

Partly because I had venom from a spirit-grade O-gong, but more importantly, because Bini’s venom turned out to be exactly the kind he’d been searching for.

Though Bini looked reluctant as she handed over a sample of her venom, Yakseon took out a few acupuncture needles and dripped some into a vial he had.

The moment he observed it, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed joyfully:

“This is the exact venom I’ve been looking for! Stronger than a normal O-gong’s venom, and a much higher quantity!”

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

I had all kinds of venomous creatures in my care, which meant I possessed numerous unclassified substances with potential as future medicines.

Even better, I had knowledge—information and results that someone like him would go nuts over.

Most of these were things I’d already figured out in my previous life, results gained from actual toxin research. Just sharing some of them with Yakseon while he was isolating Bini’s venom led us to bond faster than I could’ve imagined.

“For example, Master Yakseon—what do you think about strokes?”

“I told you to call me Grandpa, didn’t I? But sure, you mean the kind where you suddenly collapse and your body gets paralyzed, yes? Usually because a blood vessel in the brain bursts or gets blocked.”

“Exactly. But when that happens—there are venoms from snakes that affect blood. Some thin the blood, and others cause clotting. What if we used the blood-thinning venom to dissolve blood clots in the brain?”

In my previous life, that was an active area of research—using snake venom to develop thrombolytics. Some had even made it into practical use.

When I brought that up, Yakseon’s eyes sparkled.

“Oho! I knew snake venom could thin blood, but I never thought of that. Brilliant! That’s a completely new way to look at it!”

“And the coagulating venom could be used for trauma medicine, right? Like to stop bleeding from stab wounds.”

That too had been researched in my past life. When I added that, Yakseon looked at me like he loved me more than Hwa-eun.

“Gasp! That’s right! If it makes blood clot faster, adding it to trauma medication would stop bleeding in an instant! I must look into snake venom as soon as I get back with my disciples!”

It wasn’t just Yakseon who was falling under my spell—Euisun was too.

“Ah, Master Euisun—there’s a venom that could be useful to you as well.”

“To me?”

“Yes. Didn’t you say you sometimes cut open the patient’s abdomen to treat internal illnesses?”

“I did.”

“Well, I have a venom that induces paralysis—rendering a person unconscious and immobilized. I imagine that’d be incredibly useful during surgery, wouldn’t it?”

The venom I was referring to was Yeondu’s. It wasn’t as powerful as Yo-hwa’s, but it was still a potent paralytic.

It knocked the victim unconscious and made their body go limp. In other words, it was the ideal anesthetic venom.

When I offered some to Euisun, his eyes lit up.

“Is that true?!”

“Yes, Elder. And it has minimal aftereffects, even with repeated exposure.”

“Ooh! Ma-bi-san has the issue ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) of leaving patients bedridden for ages if misused—and you can’t use it often. Would you be willing to share some with me?”

“Of course. It’s very stable, too—it won’t degrade over time, so you can store it long-term.”

“Amazing!”

So, while Yakseon worked on isolating the active components from Bini’s venom, we waited... three full days.

And with one week left until the disease progressed beyond treatment, the pressure was on.

After dinner, Yakseon checked the filtered venom in his clay jar, then nodded.

“I removed the impurities with an oil filter. It’s ready for treatment.”

“Finally! So... are we administering it orally?”

I assumed it would be given as a pill since Yakseon had made the medicine—but he shook his head.

“No. To ensure fast recovery, acupuncture injection is best. Just like you mentioned earlier—venom acupuncture.

It’s also the best method to monitor the medicine’s response in real time.”

“To observe the response?”

“Yes. I want to confirm it’s working. I’ve already removed all toxins, so I’ll inject a small amount into the turtle’s lung—the area with the inflammation and pus—and observe the effect.

Even if there’s an adverse reaction, a tiny dose shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Let’s do it that way, then. And the acupuncture...?”

“Of course, my brother here will administer it.”

So this treatment would be a perfect combination of my idea, Yakseon’s medicine, and Euisun’s acupuncture—a triple threat, a treatment from the peak of Murim!

‘Damn, what a lineup.’

Before starting, I suggested we wait until nightfall, just in case.

“Let’s wait until it’s dark, so Elder Geumdo doesn’t get startled or start coughing. Best if as few people as possible witness it.”

“Agreed.”

We had dinner early, then everyone turned in for the night.

We’d wake at midnight to begin the treatment.

And the alarm?

Hyang was on that.

“Hyang-ah, Daddy and the elders are going to sleep now. When it gets dark and the moon’s directly overhead, wake us up, okay?”

—Tsruruu! 『Okay, Daddy!』

I sent Hwa-eun and Sister Seol back to the inn to rest, then fell into a deep sleep myself.

Sometime later, I felt a wet tickling sensation on my face.

As I reached up to wipe it, I felt Hyang’s smooth, polished exoskeleton.

It was the alarm.

“Okay, okay, I’m up.”

—Tsrut!

Apparently, her idea of an alarm was to lick my face. My cheeks were sticky, but I rubbed them dry and sat up.

Through the glow of the Night Pearls, I spotted two silhouettes ahead, both sitting in lotus position.

Euisun and Yakseon, meditating silently.

‘If I ever become a martial master, I swear I’m still going to sleep lying down.’

Even the Heavenly Poison Deity slept like that. But come on—eating and sleeping are half of life’s joys. If I had to sleep upright too? No thanks.

I made my way over and called to them softly.

“Elders, the moon’s up. Time to wake.”

Apparently, they weren’t actually asleep. At my voice, both of them opened their eyes immediately.

They looked out the window, nodded, and said:

“It’s late. Let’s begin.”

“I’ll prepare the medicine. Brother, stay focused.”

“Understood.”

They bickered constantly, but when it came to treatment, they were dead serious. Yakseon got up and walked off to prepare the medicine, while Euisun stood and stretched his limbs.

Warming up for the procedure, most likely.

Soon, Yakseon returned holding a small gourd flask.

“The medicine’s ready.”

“Then I’ll need the acupuncture needles.”

Euisun opened a wooden case—something he’d brought from the inn—and inside was a set of glittering needles.

They came in all colors and lengths, and under the glow of the Night Pearls, I could see they were made of gold, silver, and other precious materials.

“Given the patient’s size, I’ll use a long needle.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He pulled out the biggest one—at least 30 centimeters in length, and thickest of all.

Well, the patient was huge.

“So-ryong, could you open the wound?”

“Yes, sir. One moment.”

I took down one of the Night Pearls hanging from the ceiling and disinfected my hands with strong liquor.

Then I peeled back the oil paper patch covering the wound, and a pungent, fishy odor hit me.

Inside, I could see the dark-red, inflamed tissue where the pus had spread.

Didn’t seem like the infected area had expanded.

I stepped back and addressed Elder Euisun.

“All done, Elder. Ah—could someone go tell Elder Geumdo we’re about to begin the treatment? It might hurt a little, but please ask him to bear with it.”

—Tsrurut!

—Tsrut!

—Tsh!

All three of them responded in unison, then glanced at one another—before bolting off in a mad dash, as if it were a race.

The smallest of them, Hyang, slipped nimbly through a bamboo slit and vanished into the darkness.

—Brrrrgle...

Soon after, a gurgling noise echoed back toward us—suggesting the message had been delivered successfully.

I gave a nod, and Elder Euisun filled a small gourd bottle with the venom-acupuncture solution.

He then sealed the hollow end of the specially-made needle and inserted its tip into Elder Geumdo’s inflamed tissue.

With the Night Pearl lighting the wound, he lowered his hand carefully toward the infected area.

“I’ll place the needles in three locations, as discussed.”

“Yes, Elder.”

The target points were predetermined: the center of the lesion, the edge, and one in between.

If the treatment were only applied to the edge and the results were mild, we might miss visible changes—so we agreed to treat all three sections to track any progress.

The center, where inflammation was most severe; the edge, where it had spread; and the point where infection had just begun.

Euisun’s hand moved to the center first.

The lung flinched at the needle’s prick—but after it sank in about one centimeter, it quickly settled again.

He waited briefly, then withdrew the needle.

Once the other two points were done, the test procedure was complete.

“Phew... This is more nerve-racking than treating my first human patient.”

“You too, Brother? I feel the same.”

First time treating something non-human—no wonder they were tense.

“You’ve both done a great job. Let’s cover the wound and check back later.”

“Yes. Two days should be enough to see the results.”

Just as I reached for the oil paper and ointment to reseal the wound, the Night Pearl revealed something unusual.

A bright crimson spot had appeared at the center.

‘Huh? Did something fall in?’

At first, I thought I’d imagined it. Or that something had accidentally dropped into the wound.

But then I spotted another dot off to the side—and I noticed a rosy hue slowly spreading out, like ink in water.

“Wh-what is this?!”

I blurted it out without realizing. The elders heard my alarm and called down:

“What’s wrong, So-ryong?”

“Is something happening?”

“Take a look at this!”

They rushed over and peered into the wound.

Their expressions went wide in astonishment.

“This—this reaction is happening this fast?!”

From where the needle had entered, the vivid crimson color was radiating outward, seeping into surrounding tissue.

“Could it be because it’s spirit-grade venom?”

“I never expected it to work this fast!”

“And not just the speed, Brother—the dose was minuscule. That means the potency is tremendous!”

Indeed—Bini’s venom, coming from a spiritual creature, was having a near-miraculous effect.

—Tsrut?

When Bini noticed the commotion and tilted her head in confusion, I instinctively scooped her into my arms.

“Aaahhh! Bini, you’re the best!”

—Tsruru. 『Daddy, why are you like this...?』

As she squirmed to escape my hug, I caught a glimpse of the healing area expanding visibly from the wound in Elder Geumdo’s shell.

***

By morning, Elder Geumdo’s lungs—once murky and ash-gray like a chronic smoker’s—had become the clear, rosy pink of a child’s.

I was curious if the internal tissue had fully healed as well, but the kids relayed that Elder Geumdo’s condition had significantly improved.

He still couldn’t move yet, though—so I had Euisun drive the needle a little deeper and administer a second dose.

Three days later, he was completely cured.

The treatment itself had taken just two days. The extra day had been for recovery of energy.

—Brrrrgle...

That night, we received word from Elder Geumdo that he had tested his limbs and felt fully mobile again.

—Tsruru. 『He says he can move now.』

“He’s fully cured.”

“That’s great news.”

“I’m so glad, So-ryong. Everyone did a wonderful job.”

As Cho relayed Elder Geumdo’s message, everyone cheered.

Our multi-disciplinary miracle treatment had been a grand success.

But...

There was one small issue.

“So-ryong, what do we do about that?”

Sister Seol pointed toward the riverbank on the Taeyan side.

A crowd had gathered—tons of people staring at the island.

Only three days remained until the promised departure date.

Apparently, word had spread, and curious onlookers wanted to see what would happen to the giant floating island.

The riverbank was packed.

We’d planned to slip away at night toward the Ak Clan, but this... this was a problem.

“Maybe they’ll go home at night to sleep?”

I clung to that hope.

But even at midnight, the riverbank was still crawling with people.

The crowd kept a constant watch on the island—making it impossible for us to leave undetected.

As I fretted over what to do...

—Brrrrgle...

We looked over toward Elder Geumdo’s head, where the sound had come from.

Cho turned to me and said,

—Tsruru. 『Geumdo says not to worry! He’ll handle it.』

“Handle it?”

Just as I blinked in confusion at that...

Mist began to swirl around Elder Geumdo.

He was back in top shape now, and the haze rolled out faster than ever before—blanketing the area in seconds.

Soon, we couldn’t see a thing beyond a meter.

“...Wait. Isn’t this that sleep mist?”

Yup. The same one that knocked me out the first time we met.

At the time, I’d tried to cover my nose and mouth, but it hadn’t worked—it was a systemic toxin.

I braced myself for unconsciousness as I lay down on the bamboo mat...

But strangely enough—I didn’t feel sleepy.

Apparently, Elder Geumdo could control the potency of the mist now.

Then, it happened.

—Ppop.

His old joints creaked as he started moving again—and we began gliding forward, shrouded in fog.

With the mist concealing us and silencing the sounds around us, the great turtle set off.

That was the moment when Spicy Fabre became the proud owner of a stealth-mode amphibious battleship.

“Gyaaaaaaah!!”