Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

After making a good bit of money in Sosang Village, Taiheo immediately headed for the brothel in Goechon.

With that much money, he could spend another month living in luxury.

At a high-class brothel in Yeongcheonbu not far from here, that amount wouldn’t have even been enough for a single night, but Goechon was just a small fishing village.

The brothel here catered mostly to fishermen, so the prices were low.

Moreover, the courtesans were mostly older women or girls lacking in beauty.

Thus, with just five silver taels, one could spend an entire month in a private room.

”After staying in that stinky place, I should at least take a proper bath tonight.”

Hurrying along the night road, Taiheo arrived by the river in Goechon.

Ahead, he could see the brightly lit lanterns of the brothel.

Upon reaching the entrance, Taiheo shouted loudly inside.

”Ahem! I’ll be staying in the private room for another month, prepare it for me!”

”Oh my! Master Taoist, you’re back! You returned early this time!”

”Kyaa, it’s the Taoist!”

When he ordered the best private room where he usually stayed, the courtesans cheered and clung to him.

Taiheo squared his shoulders with pride.

And no wonder — even the courtesans who had been sitting with other customers abandoned them to come greet him.

The faces of the abandoned customers, twisting like they had eaten something foul, were a sight that pleased Taiheo immensely.

Thus, with two courtesans by his side, Taiheo entered the private room, drank heavily, and fell asleep with them.

”Nngh.”

When Taiheo woke up the next morning with a heavy head from last night’s drinking, what greeted him was the fragrant, soft sensation of two bodies pressed against him.

Opening his eyes, he saw the two courtesans still asleep, their robes loosened and falling open.

”Heheh, you little vixens.”

Just as his lecherous hand was about to slip into the sleeping courtesan’s bosom, a woman’s voice came from outside.

”Master Taoist, did you cough?”

”Ah, yes, I’m awake.”

”I’ll bring in breakfast.”

It seemed breakfast was coming in.

Retracting his wandering hand, Taiheo decided to eat first.

-Smack!

”Wake up now.”

”Mmm...”

He smacked the courtesans’ backsides lightly to wake them, and they slowly stirred.

While having breakfast with another round of liquor, one of the courtesans giggled and said,

”Try this too, Master Taoist.”

”Mm, tasty. It’s even better when you feed me.”

”This too, Master Taoist.”

As the courtesan fed him a piece of meat, another voice called from outside.

”Master Taoist, may I come in?”

Ruju — an older courtesan who rarely showed herself — was speaking.

If she appeared, it was usually for only one reason.

She must be here about money.

The brothel’s policy was to collect the initial fee in advance.

Any extra charges could be settled later, but one had to pay upfront for however many days they intended to stay.

Since Taiheo had returned last night without paying, it made sense that she had come for it now.

”Yes, come in.”

Taiheo answered while taking a duck leg from a courtesan’s hands and stuffing it into his mouth.

The door to the private room opened.

He expected her to come alone to collect money, but instead, Ruju entered accompanied by a young courtesan.

And at that moment, Taiheo’s eyes widened.

A slender waist and pale skin.

Slightly upturned eyebrows.

And an abundant figure.

She was a woman who embodied the phrases ”noble peony” and ”snowy skin and floral beauty.”

”Noble peony” referred to a voluptuous and beautiful woman, like a peony flower.

”Snowy skin and floral beauty” described a woman with skin as white as snow and a face as beautiful as a blossom.

She fit both descriptions perfectly.

Taiheo had never seen a courtesan this beautiful in this village.

’How could such a beauty end up in a place like this?’

As Taiheo was inwardly marveling at her beauty, Ruju politely bowed and introduced the girl.

”Thank you for returning, Master Taoist.”

”Yes, what is it? Is it about payment?”

”Oh no, you’ve been staying with us for months now. It’s not about that. Today, I brought this girl to greet you. She’s newly arrived.”

”Greeting?”

At the mention of a greeting, Taiheo’s face lit up.

Here, if you stayed in the private room, you could call for any courtesan you liked.

If this new girl pleased him, he could certainly summon her to serve him.

”Alright, you, move aside. Let her pour me a drink.”

Taiheo cheerfully pushed aside one of the courtesans.

The new girl approached gracefully and filled his cup.

”My name is Gae-ae.”

”Good, good.”

Feeling very pleased, Taiheo reached out — one hand for the cup, the other slipping toward Gae-ae’s slim waist.

Then Ruju spoke in a half-laughing tone.

”Do you like her?”

”Of course! How could I not?”

How could he not?

This was a level of beauty you’d expect only in the capital’s top brothels, like Yeongcheonbu!

Naturally, he was delighted.

The feel of her slender waist under his palm, the soft fragrance rising from her skin.

He thought he could truly enjoy this month.

Then Ruju added,

”But, Master Taoist, as you can see, her beauty is exceptional. We can’t let just any fisherman handle someone like her — it would devalue her. So if you wish to have her serve you, there’s an additional fee.”

”An additional fee? Well, certainly...”

Indeed, such beauty couldn’t be treated like the others.

Taiheo nodded, considering.

He had earned five silver taels recently, and with the leftover from before, he had about ten.

How expensive could a brothel in a tiny village like this be anyway?

Keeping a casual face, Taiheo asked,

”Alright, how much?”

”Ten silver taels for a month. Payment upfront, of course.”

Five silver taels for the private room, and ten more just to have her serve him?

Even in this fishing village, that was a hefty amount.

Still, Taiheo kept a neutral expression.

As he pondered, Gae-ae, nestled in his arms, leaned closer and whispered softly into his ear.

[Master Taoist, you’ll buy me, right? I’ve been longing so much to serve you.]

Her voice was enough to melt the soul, her breath hot against his ear.

Unable to resist, Taiheo hugged her tightly and declared,

”Don’t worry, I just need to retrieve some money, but I’ll definitely have you serve me.”

Taiheo made up his mind.

He had to go visit that creature he had stashed in the mountains.

It had been disobedient lately, but right now, he desperately needed money.

”Just wait a few days!”

***

As soon as the sun set, the fake Taoist hurriedly rushed out of the brothel.

I quickly roused Geom-ryong and Kwon-ryong, who were trembling from the fear of the brothel and its courtesans, and we immediately began our pursuit.

At the same time, I sent a message to Hwa-eun through the group chat.

It was news that the Taoist had left.

“Hwa-eun, the Taoist has left.”

“Less than a day and he’s already leaving?”

Hwa-eun, not understanding why the Taoist had left so quickly, sent back her disbelief.

In my past life, men who were crazy for women were often called “yeomisae” (meaning a bird obsessed with women), and I thought this one was probably of that kind, so I understood why he was acting like this.

“Yes, the courtesan we brought to him seems to have done a good job.”

But this worked in our favor.

He had always moved in intervals of a month, so now we didn’t have to wait.

The Taoist was in such a rush that he didn’t even bother to look back, making it easy to follow.

It seemed like he had no idea anyone was chasing him.

‘Why, then, is he moving at night?’

“I understand. Let me know when he enters the forest. I’ll leave immediately with the kids.”

“Understood.”

We quickly passed through the marketplace, the village entrance, and entered the forest trail.

The Taoist’s hurried steps made it easy for me to keep up and relay updates to Hwa-eun.

“Hwa-eun, he’s heading north from Goecheon, towards the slopes of Sungsan. I’ll send Jeokwol to the sky.”

“Got it! I’m heading out with the kids now.”

Looking back at the group, I said,

“Jeokwol, if you spot Cho or Yeondu in the sky, let me know.”

Chi! With a flutter, Jeokwol soared into the sky to lead Hwa-eun and the others toward us.

I was with Hyang, Hongdan, Seol, Bing, and Dong, but I needed the bigger kids for this mission.

The Taoist seemed to have a millipede queen-sized creature with him, and if it was already trained to follow him, it might even challenge us.

If the Taoist got cornered, he might command the creature to attack us.

That would lead to a battle with a spiritual beast, and catching one of those was no easy feat. That’s why I wanted the bigger kids’ help — to fight against a spiritual beast of the same kind.

‘It would be great if there’s no fight.’

Of course, I had brought the kids just in case, but I was hoping a fight wouldn’t happen. After all, the younger ones like Cho, Hyang, and Bini could heal from molting injuries, but there were some of the older kids like Jeokwol and others who couldn’t recover so easily.

If they got hurt and permanently lost parts of their body, that would be tragic. I couldn’t even bear the thought.

There’s a saying in my past life.

A parent who leaves scars on their child’s body will regret it for life. No matter how the injury happens, a scar from childhood is something that can never be erased, and it constantly reminds the parent of their mistake.

So, if something happened to one of the kids, I would {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} probably feel that pain for the rest of my life. That’s why I hoped a fight wouldn’t happen.

“Heading in that direction.”

Geom-ryong’s words snapped me out of my thoughts. Looking ahead, I saw the Taoist’s back come into view.

He had veered off the road and was heading down a path leading to the mountains where wild beasts roamed.

We quickly followed his trail, and soon we came upon a graveyard.

“This is a graveyard?”

“Yeah, it feels kind of eerie.”

In Korea, anyone could create a round burial mound, but here in Zhongyuan, only high-status individuals could create burial mounds.

Usually, people were buried directly in the ground with wooden tablets or stone tablets marking their graves, and here, countless wooden tablets were stuck in the ground across the wide area.

If ordinary people were here, they’d probably be scared, but the Taoist’s footsteps continued into the graveyard.

Suddenly, Hwa-eun’s voice echoed in my mind.

“So-ryong, Cho has spotted Jeokwol.”

It seemed like Hwa-eun had arrived, and looking up, I saw Jeokwol soaring high in the sky, with Cho circling around her.

Tsrrr. Kssst! Then, I heard the cries of the kids nearby. Cho had attached herself to Hwa-eun, and Yeondu had wrapped herself around Seol.

Bini and the others were arriving as well.

Pii! Tsrrut! [Alright, everyone is here.]

I paused for a moment to wait for the kids, then resumed the chase just as Kwon-ryong, who had been ahead following the Taoist, sprinted toward me through the darkness.

[So-ryong, it’s just ahead. He’s stopped.]

It seemed like the Taoist had halted.

Looking where Kwon-ryong pointed, I saw burial mounds clustered together — they were the graves of high-status individuals.

[Everyone, stay quiet.]

I warned everyone as we approached the mounds. Soon, the Taoist’s voice could be heard from within the burial mounds.

“Have you been well?”

Kyu-ki. “First, eat this. I’ve brought some cabbage.”

In the middle of the burial mounds, the Taoist stood, gazing down at the earth, pulling out a bundle and offering a couple of cabbages from it.

It was hard to see clearly, but it seemed like something was eating them.

Crunch. Crunch. The sound of cabbage being chewed came from within.

To confirm what was happening, I had to move closer.

I silently slipped to the side and climbed up one of the mounds, slowly making my way up.

“Come out and eat.”

Just as I positioned myself near the Taoist’s side, something dark and large shot out of the ground in front of him.

It was a massive millipede, about the size of Bini, coiling up before the Taoist with red stripes on its body.

‘Gyaaaah!’

The creature, with its black body and red markings, was a fearsome sight indeed.