Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Sacheon Tang Clan.

The main family of Tang Hwa-seong, located in a place called the Central Plains murim.

A mysterious clan well-versed in poison, martial arts, and poisonous creatures.

It meant that another cultivator might have ascended from the main family of Tang Hwa-seong, Tang Cheongcheong’s father.

It was surprising news, but a disappointed look flickered across Mong-a’s face.

That was understandable. What she wanted wasn’t another cultivator from the main family, but information about another artifact Tang Hwa-seong had left behind.

That was the kind of news they desperately needed.

Mong-a quietly sent a mind-message and asked Tang Cheongcheong.

[Then doesn’t it mean nothing to us?]

The reason Mong-a so desperately wanted another artifact left by Tang Hwa-seong was because White Night City was in the middle of a serious crisis.

What kind of crisis?

The barrier around White Night City, maintained by an artifact Tang Hwa-seong had left behind, had grown severely weakened.

They didn’t know why, but they discovered it barely holding the barrier together, with almost all of its energy gone.

If word got out that the barrier had weakened, it was obvious other forces would pounce on the opening, so whenever she had a spare moment, Tang Cheongcheong absorbed spirit stones, converted them into her own energy, and breathed that energy into the artifact.

But in this state, it would be hard to hold out for long.

Because energy was draining faster than it could be replenished.

For that reason, they had been secretly investigating, searching for any other artifact Tang Hwa-seong might have left behind.

If there was another artifact, they might be able to repair White Night City’s artifact using the energy Tang Hwa-seong had stored within it.

And then, when Hwangwoo mentioned Tang Hwa-seong’s whereabouts, they took it for the very clue they had been waiting for.

A clue, just possibly, about another artifact Tang Hwa-seong had left behind.

At Mong-a’s disappointed question, Tang Cheongcheong instead sent back a mind-message filled with bright energy.

[No. If that person ascended using the method Father left behind, Father said they’d be no different from his disciple. That means they should be able to breathe energy into the artifact, too. Since I, who learned the same martial art, can breathe energy into it, that person should definitely be able to as well—even if they can’t repair it completely.]

Father had definitely said something like that before.

That he had left behind his martial art and the secret to ascension with the main family, so if someone from the Sacheon Tang Clan ascended to the immortal realm, that person would be the same as his disciple.

Of course, it might not be true—but if it was, then they would have a body that had learned the same martial art as Father.

In that case, they could breathe energy into the barrier in Tang Cheongcheong’s place.

At Tang Cheongcheong’s answer, Mong-a spoke with a brightened face.

[Ah! Then even if we can’t fix the artifact, at least miss can get some rest, right?]

[Yes. If Lord Hwangwoo’s words are true, that person is a Golden Core Stage cultivator. Not just rest—we’ll be able to live without worry for a while.]

Even if it wasn’t direct news about Father’s artifact, if the person Hwangwoo met truly had ascended from the main family, they could calm this crisis enough.

And if they were a Golden Core Stage cultivator—someone who had reached the realm of breathing with heaven, earth, and nature—

they might even be able to fill the artifact’s depleted energy completely.

The two of them, joy coloring their expressions, turned their gaze to Lord Hwangwoo.

Mong-a couldn’t hold back any longer and asked,

“So... where is that person right now?”

***

Just as I was thinking I should finish deciding Gun Hye-rin’s appearance and head to the entrance, my body moved to the entrance in an instant.

Up until now, I hadn’t been able to move like this, but it seemed I could because I wasn’t corporeal and this place was a space created inside my upper dantian mindscape.

It wasn’t my body moving—it was my thoughts moving.

As soon as I appeared, Hwa-eun, who spotted me first, said,

“Husband.”

“Hwa-eun, where’s Hye-rin?”

“Right now, the black energy is getting sucked back in again.”

When I looked toward Gun Hye-rin, just as Hwa-eun said, the black energy was being drawn into her.

As if a shell were crumbling apart, it flaked away and was absorbed into Gun Hye-rin’s skin.

Maybe because I’d finalized Gun Hye-rin’s outward form, the process of stabilizing her realm was also finishing in step with that decision.

‘Oh, the horns are good. The tail isn’t visible yet—maybe it’s pinned under her butt?’

It was after all the fragmented energy had been sucked into Gun Hye-rin’s skin.

Gun Hye-rin’s eyes flashed open.

I hurried close and checked her condition.

“Hye-rin, are you okay? How’s your body?”

The process toward the Life-and-Death Realm had gone forward without a hitch, but I still had to check.

At my question, Gun Hye-rin felt around her body with her hands and said,

“I’m fine. Better than ever.”

I know because I’ve been through it—when you cross from the Profound Realm into the Life-and-Death Realm, heaven and earth and your own existence feel completely different.

So I thought it might be that sense of dissonance, but it didn’t seem like it.

First, Gun Hye-rin stroked her head, then made a startled expression.

Because small black horns, like little ram horns, had grown from her head.

It looked like she was checking what had changed.

“H-horns appeared.”

“Yes, horns appeared. Pretty, right?”

At my saying they were pretty, she seemed somewhat reassured.

But when she realized something was swishing and flicking behind her back, she made a startled expression again.

“A-a tail appeared too!”

“Yes, a tail appeared too. Cute, right?”

The tail I chose for Gun Hye-rin was a long black tail.

Smooth, with a black heart at the tip.

Not some messy, furry tail.

Like a succubus.

Since I’m genuinely single-minded for poisonous creatures, I couldn’t possibly resist my wife doing a succubus cosplay.

What man in all heaven and earth could resist his wife’s succubus cosplay?

If she asked me for vital energy in that form, I, So-ryong, would pour it out until the day I die.

‘Of course. Even if she drains me dry, if you’re a man, you can’t resist this.’

Still, even though she now looked extremely similar to a succubus, I didn’t add wings.

They wouldn’t even be positioned for her to fly, and wings are an organ that exists only to accept demonic energy—and besides, they’d make getting dressed harder, and would probably be inconvenient.

If I made those, she’d naturally have to punch holes in clothes or wear something like a tank top, so I didn’t add them.

Maybe in a previous life, but a tank top in this era?

It was obvious lecherous creeps would see it and lose their minds.

‘No way.’

Gun Hye-rin touched her tail and horns, looking somewhat reassured.

She probably felt relieved it was only this much.

In her heart, she’d decided to leave it all to me, but it seemed she’d still been a little worried.

“I-is this much a relief? I was worried I’d end up looking like a poisonous creature.”

“A poisonous creature?”

“Master likes that kind of thing. I thought I might grow scales or something.”

No, me liking poisonous creatures is a hobby, and the way I changed Gun Hye-rin is a matter of taste.

Those are completely different things, but it felt like she’d misunderstood.

With an awkward expression, I said,

“No. Liking you and that are different.”

“Different?”

“Of course. How could I...”

How could you put those on the same level?

I was about to say there was no way I’d put Hye-rin and poisonous creatures on the same line—but then I heard Hwa-eun’s startled voice.

“Hye-rin, but your pupils changed too?”

“My pupils?”

“Yes. They’re split vertically, like a snake’s.”

At that, I froze.

And at the same time, Gun Hye-rin looked at me.

Her eyes were saying I was a liar.

After I’d said liking spirit creatures and liking her were different, I’d gone and slapped poisonous-creature eyes into her like contact lenses, so of course that was the look she gave me.

But I had something to say, too.

There are moments when hobby and taste line up—and how could anyone possibly resist slit snake eyes?

“I-it was because they were cute...”

Gun Hye-rin stuck out her lower lip, like she was offended.

But I wasn’t worried.

If she seemed truly upset, I could just do dual cultivation one more time.

Now that I’d tried it once, it felt like solving marital problems through dual cultivation would be the fastest way.

***

Everyone found Hye-rin’s changed appearance fascinating.

With horns and a tail and different pupils, it really did feel like she’d become another being.

I knew what a succubus was, so I thought she looked similar to that, but none of them had ever seen one, so it seemed fascinating to them.

“It’s amazing. This tail is cute.”

“I think so too. The horns are cool.”

Hwa-eun and Ji-ryeon, who’d been guarding my body outside and came to look, fussed as they poked and fondled Gun Hye-rin’s horns and tail, calling them cute.

“Cute? It’s nothing but a hassle.”

“Why? It’s so cute.”

“It’s light, but my balance has changed because of it, so I think I’ll need some time to adapt.”

“Ah, so there’s a downside.”

It seemed there really were downsides, even if she’d gotten cuter.

That slight distortion in balance from growing horns and a tail felt pretty uncomfortable.

For an expert, even tiny sensations matter—and if you’ve grown horns on your head and a tail right above your butt, it’ll take time to adjust.

Then I heard Hwa-eun’s question.

“Ah, but why didn’t that lightning strike? So-ryong kept getting struck by lightning.”

Come to think of it, she was right.

Hadn’t lightning been striking me since the Profound Realm?

They called it something like a heavenly tribulation.

It wasn’t like they were discriminating against people—was I someone the heavens rejected, but Gun Hye-rin wasn’t?

That was a bit much.

As I made a disgruntled face, Zihwa, holding Jayo at her side, explained.

“Even here in the river of heaven, heavenly tribulation naturally exists. No—more precisely, the tribulation on this side is what you’d call a proper heavenly tribulation. But the one in the lower realm is a little different.”

“How so?”

“In the lower realm, heavenly tribulation is relatively weak, like a warning telling you to hurry up and ascend. But in the river of heaven, heavenly tribulation is far more powerful and comes in many types.

There’s lightning tribulation, earth tribulation, water tribulation, blade tribulation, and more. It’s characterized by its many types and overwhelming power, and the first heavenly tribulation begins at the Nascent Soul Stage.

And it comes every time your realm rises. It’ll keep doing that until you become an earth immortal.”

“Man, they really won’t leave people alone.”

I was thinking I’d suffer a lot in the future if tribulation came every time my realm increased—

when Jeokwol’s voice echoed through the mindscape.

『-Chii. (So-ryong, there’s something like paper fluttering up from inside your arms and burning! I can hear a person’s voice too!)』

“Yeah. I got it!”

“Is it Hwangwoo contacting you?”

“Probably. That was fast—was Senior Tang Hwa-seong famous here too?”

It had only been about a day since I asked, but had he already found traces of my master?

Was Master actually pretty famous here?

With those thoughts, I quickly sprang out of Poison Fragrance.

In front of my eyes, a talisman was burning with a blue flame, spilling out a voice.

It was Hwangwoo’s voice.

[Uh, elder? Elder?]

“Yeah, Hwangwoo. Did you already find news about the person I asked you about?”

Just as I was thinking he seemed like a crafty bastard but also capable, Hwangwoo’s voice trembled.

[T-that is...]

“What is it?”

[I... I have something I want to tell you first.]

“What is it?”

[I... I held out... until I became a eunuch!]

“What?”

I was wondering why he was suddenly talking about being a eunuch, when another voice cut in.

[Hello. It’s our first time speaking. I am Cheongcheong, the ruju of Blood Market Tower and the lord of White Night City. I’d like to talk for a moment—would that be all right?]

“White Night City? Blood Market Tower? Don’t tell me...?”

In that instant, I understood what Hwangwoo was talking about.

It seemed he’d gone to make a deal with Blood Market Tower and gotten caught.

This Hwangwoo—he is capable, sure, but he has no loyalty. I’d thought he was useless, too, and then the next question came.

[May I ask your name?]

Thinking they might be able to deduce my location from my name, I decided to hide it.

“Well.”

Then, from the other side, I heard a slightly gentle voice.

[You seem very wary, but I didn’t contact you with bad intentions. I heard you were looking for the whereabouts of someone named Tang Hwa-seong—if we can learn the reason, we may be able to help, so I reached out.]

“Hm. In my current situation, that’s hard to believe...”

If Hwangwoo said he’d become a eunuch, that meant he’d been tortured, didn’t it?

That was why I said it was hard to believe, but then I heard Hwangwoo’s voice.

[I-I did get promised compensation because it turned out to be a misunderstanding. Sob.]

He sounded like he was about to cry, looking absolutely miserable.

Still, it didn’t seem like he was being threatened at this moment.

I hesitated briefly, and then I heard the woman calling herself Blood Market Tower’s ruju again.

[Then let’s do this. If you swear—by the martial art you practice and by your clan—that you are not in a blood feud with us, we will provide information first.]

‘Hm. This much is acceptable.’

For some reason, it felt like they were conceding a lot.

All I had to do was say one sentence, so I decided it was acceptable and said,

“Fine. I’ll swear. We’re not in a blood feud.”

Then, from the other side, I heard something shocking.

“My name is Tang Cheongcheong. The one who uses the characters Tang, Hwa, and Seong is my father. Why are you looking for my father?”

“Huh?”

If she was my master Tang Hwa-seong’s descendant’s daughter, then of course she would have learned Father’s martial art.

Then she was my junior martial sister—no, she was older than me, so she was my senior martial sister.

“Senior martial sister?”

At my words, a startled voice came from the other side as well.