Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

—Thud.

“So-ryong! So-ryong! What’s wrong with him now? Ah! He must’ve been affected by Hwa-eun’s growth! Didn’t Cheong-yu Sojeo say that when So-ryong’s spirit beasts evolve, he can open the next gate?”

Just as Sister Seol realized the reason behind my collapse, my consciousness began to scatter slowly.

And when I came to—I was, as expected, back in that familiar stone chamber.

The moment I regained my senses, I shouted,

“Wait, I didn’t even think about what to choose next!”

This wasn’t my first time entering the inner realm, so I wasn’t exactly surprised—but there was a problem.

I hadn’t decided which spirit beast to choose next.

During the First Gate, it had been a chaotic situation, but the decision itself had been obvious. There was no option but to choose my daughters.

And during the Second Gate, although I briefly hesitated in front of the stone tablet inscribed with Hwa-eun, I ultimately chose Cheong-yu Sojeo without issue—because of our promise.

But the opening of the Third Gate had completely caught me off guard. I hadn’t given any thought at all to whom I would choose.

I’d assumed it would take quite a bit longer to reach this point—so I hadn’t even imagined it.

“This is bad...”

As I looked up at the ceiling with a troubled expression, I realized something was off.

Something that should be there... wasn’t.

“Wait, where did all the tablets go!?”

The stone tablets representing Cho, Hyang, and Bini—who symbolized centipede and snake—and the one for Cheong-yu Sojeo were gone.

The two that had once shone like constellations from the ceiling had vanished without a trace.

Startled, I looked around, and the whole chamber looked completely different.

“What the hell? Why did everything change so much?”

From what I remembered last, the chamber had a round ceiling engraved with Cho, Hyang, Bini, Cheong-yu Sojeo, and walls etched with Cheongwol, Hwayang, Seol, Bing, Dong, and Hwa-eun.

But now, the interior layout had completely changed.

The stone chamber now held six tablets evenly arranged around the inner wall: Cho, Hyang, Bini, Cheong-yu Sojeo, Cheongwol, and Hwa-eun—representing the centipede, snake, scorpion, lizard, toad, and human respectively.

Even the two stone tablets that had previously risen to the ceiling had returned and were now embedded in the wall with the others.

Beneath Cheong-yu Sojeo’s tablet, the names Yeondu, Orange, Hwanji, and Hwana were newly inscribed.

“What is this? Why has it changed so much?”

Among the six tablets, the ones for Cho, Hyang, Bini, and Cheong-yu Sojeo were emitting light from their eyes.

Cho, Hyang, and Bini sparkled in their respective body colors—blue, red, and black—while Cheong-yu Sojeo’s tablet gleamed with golden pupils.

Beneath her, Yeondu, Orange, Hwanji, and Hwana were also emitting lights in matching hues.

The tablets with shining eyes likely indicated which beings had opened gates.

It felt like everything had been reorganized to make this easier to understand.

“Ah, right... I had registered Yeondu, Orange, Hwanji, and Hwana. That’s probably why Cheong-yu Sojeo’s tablet updated. As for the rest... maybe the layout shifted because the Third Gate opened? Or because of Hwa-eun?”

Originally, the Five Poisons Returning to Origin Art focused on five types of venomous creatures.

But what I had mastered wasn’t just the incomplete form of Beast Heart Art included in that—it was the complete Beast Heart Art.

That’s likely why Hwa-eun was registered as well.

Under normal circumstances, you couldn’t register more than five.

So maybe that’s why the tablet layout and categories were adjusted. Still, the new setup was much easier to read—so I decided to just adapt.

“If the operating system got an update, well, I’ve got no choice but to adjust, right? Let’s see if anything else changed.”

I meticulously examined the surroundings but found no further changes.

So now it was time to decide: who to choose for the Third Gate?

The remaining options were Cheongwol, Hwayang, Seol, Bing, and Dong.

First, I shifted my gaze to the previously selected centipede and snake—represented by Cho, Hyang, Bini, and Cheong-yu Sojeo’s tablets.

Their eyes gleamed with brilliance.

I nodded, pleased.

‘Choosing the snake and centipede... was absolutely the right call.’

Seeing those two tablets made my heart swell with satisfaction.

After all, I could now handle snakes and centipedes without injury. Their potent venom significantly boosted my combat capability. I had no regrets about those choices.

In practice, the snakes had proven invaluable for scouting, searching, and even combat—and hadn’t the centipedes played a crucial role back in the imperial palace?

“So... what should I choose now?”

Turning my gaze to the remaining four tablets—

Excluding Hwa-eun’s, I was left with the ones symbolizing the scorpion, lizard, and toad: Cheongwol, Seol, Bing, Dong, and Hwayang.

But even after staring for a while, I couldn’t make an immediate decision.

Each of them had distinct strengths, which made the choice difficult.

If I chose Cheongwol, I’d likely be able to commune with scorpions.

According to this venom-savvy Fabre’s compendium, there were five families and fifty-three species of scorpions in the Central Plains.

From the widely spread Buthidae to the Isometrus species of Hainan, and the Lychas species in Yunnan and Shanghai—all would come under my command.

Scorpions favored hiding places, often nesting in courtyards or wall crevices.

The Tang Clan would love this. After all, they’re perfect for assassinations.

Since they lived in people’s homes, even if someone was stung, no one would suspect a thing. You couldn’t ask for a better tool for stealth kills.

Few scorpions had venom potent enough to kill, but that could be solved by selecting the most venomous species and breeding them—so there was no need to worry.

“If I could control venom, centipedes, and scorpions... I could definitely puff up the family reputation a bit more.”

On the other hand, if I chose the lizards—Seol, Bing, and Dong—the advantage ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ would be sheer numbers.

With that choice, I could potentially connect with 12 families, 44 genera, and 230 species of lizards.

This data came from my previous life, where environmental destruction had already wiped out many species. There were likely even more undiscovered ones.

Though the lizards of the Central Plains weren’t venomous—which was unfortunate—they had one major benefit: surveillance.

It wasn’t unusual to see a lizard or two crawling around even inside private homes.

So if I unleashed a few to watch someone, it’d be easy and discreet.

People would kill a snake or centipede on sight, but lizards? Most folks didn’t give them a second glance.

Also, given that the Five Venoms Clan and the Blood Cult had gone underground and stopped making moves in the Central Plains, there was a solid reason to choose lizards for reconnaissance.

“Since the Five Venoms and Blood Cult are both lying low, I could scatter some of these guys through the forests to keep an eye on them.”

Lastly, when it came to toads—

There were three families, eight genera, and ninety-four species of toads in the Central Plains.

Taxonomically, toads and frogs weren’t clearly distinguished even in the modern world I came from, so if the classification expanded to all amphibians, I’d gain access to three families, ten genera, and 346 species.

Species like the poison toads and fire-bellied frogs were venomous, which meant they qualified as toxic creatures—so the lack of venom, as in the case of lizards, wouldn’t be an issue here.

The only drawback? Amphibians could only survive in moist environments.

So their utility would be severely limited.

Their range of activity and viable habitats were too restricted.

I spent quite some time deliberating before finally walking over to the tablet engraved with Seol, Bing, and Dong.

Choosing Cheongwol wouldn’t have been a bad decision either, but I really needed to keep an eye on the Five Venoms bastards.

“If not for those damned Five Venoms scum, I would’ve picked Cheongwol for sure. They really don’t even let me choose what I want. Ugh—may they all die and be reborn as cockroaches—no, as rats—to serve as food for my kids!”

After cursing the Five Venoms Clan to hell and back, I placed my hand on the tablet.

—Drrrrrk.

The stone began to tremble, and then, starting with Seol, the eyes of the three carved lizards lit up one by one.

Once all three were illuminated, a piercing chill—an icy blue glow—shimmered in their eyes.

“Pretty.”

I hadn’t picked them entirely of my own volition, which was a bit disappointing—but still, seeing their eyes light up after my selection felt great. I waited a bit in front of the tablet for the next step.

Usually, after making my choice, I’d return to reality.

But nothing happened.

“What the? Why am I not going back?”

Normally, completing the purpose of coming here would trigger my return from this inner realm. But it remained still.

Was there something left to do?

As I looked around again—

—FLASH.

The images of the children engraved on the tablets began to glow.

More precisely, the outlines of their images on the stone tablets began emitting light.

Cho, Hyang, Bini, Seol, Bing, Dong, Cheongwol, Cheong-yu Sojeo, and Hwayang—all of them shone with radiant light.

“What now?”

I backed away from the wall and took a full look around. All the images on the tablets were outlined with glowing energy.

After thinking for a moment, I walked up to the tablet of Cho, Hyang, and Bini—my first Gate selection.

Just like back then, I placed my hand on the tablet.

But it didn’t react at all.

I thought maybe the lights meant I could touch the tablets again and activate some kind of process—like opening a new gate or enhancement—but there was no response.

“What, this isn’t it?”

As I slowly lowered my hand, my fingertips brushed against Hyang’s image—specifically her feet—and something flashed in my mind.

Speed.

With that single character, I instantly understood: this would enhance Hyang’s speed.

Surprised, I moved my hand to her antennae, and another word appeared in my mind.

Perception.

It seemed to enhance detection range—likely strengthening the sensory functions of her antennae.

Touching her head revealed another character:

Awareness.

That meant it would make her more intelligent.

And that wasn’t all.

When I touched her carapace, I saw:

Shell.

This one enhanced her outer shell’s toughness.

Touching her fangs revealed:

Fang.

This increased the potency of her venom.

“P-Partial enhancement?! Hooooooly shiiiiiit!”

Apparently, now that the Third Gate had opened, I’d unlocked a new feature—partial enhancement of my kids’ individual abilities. I immediately began examining all the parts I could strengthen.

From what I could tell, the basics—legs, antennae, shell, fangs, and abdomen—were shared enhancement zones across all of them. The abdomen, in particular, seemed to improve physical endurance and durability.

In addition to that, I discovered something even more intriguing: I could apparently raise unique traits depending on how I interacted with two or more areas simultaneously.

Though I didn’t know the exact details yet, touching two enhancement zones together triggered a kind of “special enhancement.”

“Crazy—partial enhancement and special enhancement?”

On top of that, a method for entering and exiting the inner realm was also imprinted in my mind.

Until now, I hadn’t been able to enter this place at will—but now the method for leaving had become instinctively clear.

‘Honestly, deciding which part to strengthen right now would be tough, so this works out perfectly.’

Partial enhancement was great, but choosing which part to upgrade first was no easy task.

I didn’t know whether I could strengthen more than one area. If I chose something hastily, I might lose the chance to enhance others.

Besides—my kids were intelligent.

They might have their own opinions on what they wanted.

So it’d be best to step outside and discuss it with Sister Seol, Hwa-eun, Cheong-yu Sojeo, and the others.

Learning how to exit the inner realm was a major win.

“I’d better get out and talk to everyone. The kids’ll want their mom’s input too—wait... Hwa-eun?”

Just as I was thinking about getting out quickly and discussing things, I realized—

I hadn’t even touched Hwa-eun’s tablet.

I’d subconsciously avoided it, thinking of it as forbidden territory.

I’d assumed that interacting with her tablet might trigger some sort of deep emotional imprint toward humans or awaken some kind of overwhelming affection—so I hadn’t dared lay a finger on it.

But now that I thought about it, I could still check her enhancement zones—even if I didn’t open her Gate.

So I carefully approached the tablet with Hwa-eun’s image and lightly touched her foot.

The word that appeared was:

Leg.

Her running speed would increase, her legs would grow stronger, and she’d be more adept at footwork techniques.

But there was a downside.

“Stronger legs are great, but... does this mean she’ll grow muscles? I can’t have my Hwa-eun turning into Thunder Thighs, so this is a no-go.”

If she were a spirit beast, muscle growth wouldn’t matter.

But she was human, and appearance did matter—so leg enhancement was off the table.

Next, I touched her thigh.

Skin.

This one would enhance skin durability.

But this, too, had a flaw.

The essence fluid from Yeoncheon and Yeonji seemed way better than this.

Thicker skin wasn’t ideal—for women, that kind of hardening could be an aesthetic issue.

“Didn’t they say female martial artists avoid external techniques because the skin gets tough? Yeah, this one’s a no.”

Then I touched her hand.

Claw.

Her nails would harden, and she could secrete venom from them—just like me.

But again, this raised a problem.

If we ever got married and had a spat during our honeymoon, a scratch across the face could turn into something fatal.

‘Way too dangerous. Not that Hwa-eun would ever do that, but... better safe than sorry, right?’

There were other enhancements too—sharper intellect, improved eyesight, heightened sense of smell—but her brain was already sharp enough.

If she got even smarter, she might start noticing all my little schemes—and that wouldn’t end well.

What if I told a harmless little lie while collecting venomous creatures? She’d catch me in an instant.

I’d seen veteran anglers get busted on YouTube for this kind of thing.

‘That’d be war at home for sure.’

Eyesight? Not needed—she’d get that naturally through Rebirth.

Her sense of smell was already great.

Finally, I cleared my throat and decided to check one last spot.

“Ahem.”

No other meaning behind it—just for the sake of confirmation.

I brushed my hand lightly over that area.

The word that came to mind was:

Beauty.

“Her body scent becomes more alluring, her appearance becomes more captivating, and her chest...”

—Click.

A choice made for the sake of family peace.