Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The next day, I began going to work.

Where?

To the place where the withered tree and the fruit were.

I called it ”going to work” because I planned to bash my head against it every single day until I succeeded.

That’s why I used the term “going to work.”

‘The Resolute Spicy Fabre never gives up. Especially if it’s a venomous creature we’re talking about.’

Once I set a target, I don’t let it go.

That’s exactly what makes me the Spicy Fabre, isn’t it?

Even the Black Mamba that bit and killed me—I didn’t find it on the first day, but I’d made up my mind to keep trying, even if I had to extend my schedule until I did.

Following the same path I’d taken yesterday, tracing it from memory, I arrived—and was greeted by familiar faces.

“You’ve returned, Heavenly Master?”

“Yes. Thank you all for your efforts.”

Dorje had apparently spoken to them in advance, because no one blocked my way on the road here, and when I arrived at the entrance to what looked like the Central Sanctum, the monks opened the gates with joyful expressions.

They were the same monks who’d opened the door for me yesterday.

One of them spoke again.

“Judging by your expression, it seems something pleasant has happened since yesterday?”

Apparently, when I’d arrived yesterday, I’d looked visibly restless and impatient to know when Dorje would finally show me the tree and the fruit. Guess that had been written all over my face.

Scratching my head a little sheepishly, I replied.

It wasn’t exactly the most dignified look for someone called the Heavenly Master.

“Ahaha. Was my expression that bad yesterday? Well, the reason I look better today is... what was the Buddhist term for it again? Something about the disappearance of worries... Ah, what was it...?”

Since I was about to become a Heavenly Master, and these were senior religious folks, I figured I should use the proper terminology—at least a little bit of Buddhist phrasing when speaking.

Just as I was trying to recall the correct word, the monk who’d spoken offered a hint.

“Ah, do you mean your vexations have disappeared?”

“Yes! That’s it. Vexations. They’ve disappeared.”

Yes, that was the term Buddhists used—when mental disturbances or agonies fade away.

I felt so lighthearted.

To hell with it. I’d decided to just accept the whole Heavenly Master thing, and with that came peace of mind.

“Hehh. So your vexations have vanished. It sounds like you’ve had an enlightenment?”

“Enlightenment? Sure. Let’s call it that. Enlightenment. One of those insights, you know? If you can’t avoid it, accept it?”

“?”

As the two monks raised question marks above their smooth, bald heads, I slipped inside.

I continued walking and stopped beneath the tree.

“Kids, we’re here! Sister Jeokwol, you can show yourself now too.”

— Sssshh.

“That’s the tree.”

At my words, Sister Jeokwol fluttered out from behind me with her wings, while Bini poked her head out from my arms.

Hyang, who had been wrapped around me, and Hongdan on my shoulder, immediately jumped to cling onto the tree.

I hadn’t come alone today—I’d brought the kids with me.

— Tssrr. 『Dad, is it that thing up there?』

“Yes, Hyang.”

— Kkwoo-kkwoo. 『Ah, that one, Father. I’ll go up and take a look.』

Sister Jeokwol had already settled near the top of the tree and was hanging upside down. The other kids were clinging to the trunk and making their way upward.

Once they reached the fruit, just as we’d discussed, they began tapping it gently with their antennae or trying to speak to it.

— Tssrr. 『Hello? Can you hear us?』

— Kkwoo-kkwoo. 『Can you hear me? May I speak with you?』

— Ssshhh.

I had wondered what might happen if these spirit creatures tried speaking to it. So they tried tapping it and speaking to it with their antennae.

But, as expected, the fruit showed no response.

I climbed up and pressed my ear to the fruit, but I didn’t hear a single sound from within.

That meant my first theory was probably wrong.

— Tssrr. 『Dad, it’s not saying anything.』

— Kkii!

“No kidding... there’s no reaction at all.”

The moment I discovered it, I had wondered whether this might just be a gall—a kind of growth or tumor on the tree.

Some insects that live in trees build their homes inside the wood, and it causes the tree to form lumps like this. When I saw it, that’s what came to mind.

So I had theorized that maybe a spirit beast was sleeping inside—but now that I’d tried to check, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Well, I couldn’t be 100% sure, but still.

“So I guess my original theory was wrong.”

For now, I put that theory aside and focused on figuring out what exactly this thing was.

If I wanted to revive it, the first step was identifying it.

For that, I asked Hongdan for help.

“Let’s try cutting off a piece and taking it down for a closer look. Hongdan, try cutting here.”

— Kkii!

Since it was inconvenient to hang from the tree while inspecting it, I decided we’d cut a branch and bring it down.

It would be easier to examine that way.

That’s the whole reason I brought Hongdan along.

I couldn’t cut it myself, but Hongdan might be able to.

— Chakang!

At my request, Hongdan clicked his tail and narrowed his pincers toward one part of the tree.

But then, just like when I’d tapped it with the dagger, the same kind of sound rang out.

— Kang.

— Kkii?

Hongdan looked surprised—as if he hadn’t expected it not to cut.

But thinking about it, maybe his mother could have cut it, but Hongdan still wasn’t fully grown. His pincers weren’t sharp enough yet to make the cut.

I’d wanted to pluck the fruit and examine it more comfortably, but if we couldn’t even cut the tree, then it seemed we’d have to figure out what this thing was in its current state.

“This is a problem.”

Clumsily clinging to the tree, I took another look at the fruit.

The gray fruit that looked suspiciously like a tumor.

“If it’s not a gall, then what is it?”

— Tssrr 『What is it?』

“Could it be an egg sac or a cocoon?”

— Tssrr 『Is it?』

As Hongdan cutely mimicked my words, I patted his head and thought.

If it was that hard, then it must be protecting something.

Which made it more likely to be an egg sac or a cocoon.

“Let’s rule out cocoon.”

I decided to rule that out.

If it were a cocoon, then when we tapped or spoke to it, even if it didn’t talk back, there should have been some reaction.

Even insects in pupal stages sometimes make sounds, and most of them will react in some way to external stimuli.

‘Then what’s left is an egg sac.’

That left only one option—an egg sac.

Like the ones mantises make.

Its gray color and the way it was attached to a tree branch strongly suggested that.

But if it really was an egg sac, things would get complicated.

Because I couldn’t damage an egg sac.

Egg sacs exist to protect the eggs from predators and contamination, so I couldn’t just slice it open to check.

Besides, if it was an egg sac, it would only hatch under the right conditions.

Like the right temperature and humidity—those were critical for hatching.

But right now, we were at the start of winter.

There was no way anything would hatch in this kind of weather. And if this thing had really been in this state for hundreds of years, then who knew when it would finally hatch?

Spending hundreds of years like this meant something about the conditions must have been off.

I’d already drunk the Heavenly Master’s celebration soup in advance, but this was turning into a real problem.

‘Feels like I downed a whole jar of kimchi brine in anticipation, huh?’

With the egg sac in front of me, I sank into deeper thought.

***

“So you’re saying you think it might be the egg sac of some kind of insect, So-ryong?”

“Yes, Hwa-eun.”

“But you don’t know exactly what kind of egg sac?”

“That’s right.”

“And since eggs require specific climate and environmental conditions, there’s no telling when—or even if—it will hatch?”

“Exactly.”

“Maybe it’s just not a fruit from the Rosaceae family? The Tang family records were vague, and there wasn’t any precise information.”

We’d come up empty-handed today.

After returning to our quarters with the kids, I discussed what I’d learned with Hwa-eun. Her take was that the fruit might not even belong to the Rosaceae family at all.

But honestly, her words sounded like sour grapes.

Like the fox that jumps and jumps for the grapes, only to give up and say they were probably sour anyway.

She was saying it wasn’t what I thought—just because I might not be able to wake it up.

But I couldn’t be sure until I saw it with my own eyes.

“I haven’t confirmed that it’s not what I thought, so it feels too early to say anything definite. Monk Dorje did say it’s fine if it takes as much time as needed, so I’d like to keep trying.”

When I responded that I wanted to keep working on it, Hwa-eun said:

“In that case, it’s fine with me. Keep going until you feel satisfied. You said it would only take three days when we first agreed to come here, but the wedding can be a little delayed. Just a little. Hehe.”

She gave a sweet smile, but for some reason, I felt a chill down my spine.

That “it’s fine” didn’t feel fine at all.

Maybe I’d become socialized enough that I could pick up on hidden meanings behind other people’s words now—even as someone obsessed with venomous creatures?

Or maybe it was just a survival instinct.

The way she emphasized “a little” made it clear—if I kept spending all day and night here, there would be consequences. One way or another, I needed to solve this soon.

I’d already long exceeded the deadline. I had, after all, said I’d wrap this up in three days.

And if I was late getting back to Sichuan, I could expect a serious scolding from Hwa-eun.

“Yes, I’ll try to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

The next morning, I got up early, had breakfast, and went back to the tree where the fruit hung.

The Hwa-eun alarm was active—so I had to hurry.

I needed to use every minute I had and revive the fruit as fast as possible.

But whether I clung to the tree and racked my brain, or lay below it staring up at the fruit, I still couldn’t figure out a way to wake it up.

If it really was an egg sac, then touching it was tricky. And if I couldn’t even touch it, and I had no other clever ideas—then what?

And so, another two days passed.

By now, I even slept beneath the tree to save time.

And one night, I was awakened by a voice.

—Shia. 『Sir So So-hyeop, Sir So So-hyeop.』

When I opened my eyes, I saw the eyes of Cheong-yu Sojeo glowing in the darkness.

Since I’d been sleeping out here, all the kids—except for Hwanji and Hwana—were with me as well. Apparently, Cheong-yu Sojeo had woken up after the sun had gone down.

“Oh, Cheong-yu Sojeo. Did I fall asleep before sunset?”

I must’ve dozed off while agonizing over the fruit, even before nightfall.

As I sat up, rubbing my eyes, Cheong-yu Sojeo looked apologetic.

—Shiaaa. 『I’m sorry for waking you while you were sleeping soundly. But I started thinking... maybe things would look different at night?』

“Oh, you’re right.”

Her point made sense.

Maybe things would change at night. I hadn’t checked during the nighttime yet, so I shot up from my spot.

I quickly climbed up the tree and inspected the fruit again—but nothing felt different.

As I climbed down, disappointed, Cheong-yu Sojeo asked:

—Shiiiii. 『Nothing’s changed?』

“No.”

—Shii. 『Hmm.』

She saw the disappointment on my face and rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

In all of the Central Plains, she probably knew more about venomous creatures and insects than anyone besides me. She’d been the heir to the Five Venoms Clan, after all.

She was genuinely thinking hard about it.

A moment later, just as I was starting to nod off again, I heard her voice.

—Shiaa. 『But So So-hyeop... are you sure it’s an egg sac?』

“No. It might not be.”

It was the most likely possibility—but not a guarantee.

I was only guessing based on the data I had on venomous creatures.

“It’s just the most probable guess I could make, based on what I know about venomous creatures and insects.”

—Shia. 『Hmm. I see.』

“Did something come to mind?”

She looked like she’d just had an idea, so I asked. She nodded.

—Shiaa. Shii. 『I started thinking... what if it’s a venomous creature So-ryong has never seen before? Something you’ve never even considered?』

“There’s no way I haven’t seen it...”

It was unthinkable that I’d never seen a venomous creature before.

With spirit beasts, maybe—but if it was based on a venomous creature, then in my past life, I’d gone through encyclopedias, databases, the internet—you name it.

But a combination I’d never thought of?

When I turned my head, I saw the kids tangled up together asleep under the tree.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized—there really was a chance it was a combination I’d never considered.

Take Sandan, for example—she was based on a mantis. But in my past life, I’d never heard of a venomous mantis.

So maybe this was some bizarre hybrid of venomous traits.

A strange combo? A mix I wouldn’t think of?

As I fell into deeper thought, Cheong-yu Sojeo continued.

—Shiiiii. 『And about that roof. It wasn’t there before this tree, was it?』

That was true—I’d heard the roof had been added later.

Even if we didn’t know what the fruit was, replicating the environment from when it was alive was important, wasn’t it?

I shouted toward Cho.

“Cho!”

—Tssrr? 『Yaaawn. Dad, you called?』

I’d already told her she could do whatever it took.

Pointing ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) at the ceiling, I shouted again.

“Break it!”

—Crash!

Our dutiful girl didn’t hesitate even for a second. She punched through the ceiling without a word.

And from that hole in the roof came sound.

—Rumble.

—Ssssshhhhh.

Looked like an early winter rain had started falling.

Then—

—Crack. Crackle.

As I looked toward the fruit, I heard the sound of something splitting.

Between the falling raindrops, I saw pieces of the fruit’s gray shell breaking off.

Even after I’d tapped it with a dagger, it had barely chipped—but now, it was cracking open in an instant.

And what was revealed beneath?

A gleaming pattern of radiant red and black.

“Ooooooooooooh!”

Now I could finally tell what it was.

A spirit beast I’d never even thought of.