Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

‘No, I’m an alpha male in a 1000:1 gender-reversed world, and they’re saying I’m even giving off a sexy smell? If I go out and walk around, I’ll definitely get found out and it’ll turn into a huge mess.

Wait... don’t tell me they already found me out?’

This spirit creatures’ land was a place with an extreme 1000:1 gender-reversed worldview, and I was like an alpha male here.

And when they said I was giving off a crazily sexy smell, at first I was dumbfounded, but then cold sweat slid down my spine.

My heart pounded, and it felt like an ominous premonition was wrapping around my whole body.

Wolves have a good sense of smell, so the thought that I might get found out as a human stabbed through my head.

No, I might already have been found out.

That possibility kept getting bigger, and it felt like my chest was tightening.

I’d been thinking I only had to fool their eyes, but when I thought about it, aren’t beast-types—especially canines like wolves—famous for having a strong sense of smell?

A canine’s sense of smell is hundreds of times stronger than a human’s—no, sometimes it’s thousands of times stronger.

They have the ability to catch even a single tiny odor molecule soaked into the air without missing it.

So the thought that I might already have been found out came to me.

I forced myself to hide my flustered feelings, and tried to keep my voice as calm as possible as I asked,

“M-my smell is th-that... s-strong? Since I just tussled with humans, it feels like there should be a lot of other smells too...”

I loosely covered it by implying that the human smell on me wasn’t my original smell, but something that had rubbed off today while I tussled and fought with humans.

As I made excuses like that and tried to smooth the situation over, Oran gave a small nod and answered.

Her voice held certainty.

-Wowoo. “There’s definitely a strong human smell, but like Elder said, that seems like it’s because you tussled with humans earlier, and there’s also a very strong stone-armored centipede smell and male scent. Earlier you said stone-armored centipede, right?”

At those words, a corner of my chest relaxed a little.

The human smell probably meant the smell of me and my wives—people like Hwa-eun or Gun Hye-rin—and the centipede smell seemed to be Cho’s smell.

Usually when I was flying around I was together with Cho, so it felt like Cho’s intense stone-armored centipede-type spirit-creature smell and my smell mixed together and got perceived as the smell of one unique existence.

That was why it seemed she was readily believing my introduction earlier as a stone-armored centipede.

Or maybe because I was a male that had shown up after a long time, she’d already assumed I was a male spirit creature and was excluding other possibilities.

Either way, for me both were okay situations.

I thought that for the time being, when I was alone, I should call Cho over and hold her for a bit.

It was because I needed to smear Cho’s smell on me more strongly and perfect my disguise.

‘I’m relieved for now, but just in case, I should call Cho over and hold her from time to time.’

It felt like I really needed to act extremely carefully in this spirit creatures’ land.

If I stepped wrong by even one step, a So-ryong seizing battle could break out—this was a place where that kind of tension hung in the air.

“Anyway, then what do we do?”

While I worried about what I should do going forward and drew up plan after plan in my head, Baek-a wiped the drool at the corner of her mouth with her forepaw and made a suggestion.

There was a subtle expectation in her eyes.

-Wowoo. “Elder, don’t worry and do it like this.”

“Like what?”

-Wowoo. “If you trust me, I’ll ask around in your place for the spirit creature you’re looking for.”

“Ask around?”

-Awoo. “Here in the spirit creatures’ land of the Ninth Heaven River, there’s a sect called the Flying Wing Gate, made up of birds. They mainly gather the world’s information and sell it, or deliver important items and documents, and through them, I’ll try to find the spirit creature you’re looking for.

And when it’s found, we’ll ask that territory’s lord for permission to visit. It’ll be better than Elder going out and showing yourself to countless females.”

I wanted to wander around and look at this and that spirit creature, but that seemed realistically difficult, so it was a pretty good suggestion.

If my appearance became widely known, needless commotion would break out, and if that was the case, it was much safer and more efficient for Baek-a to move quietly and gather information.

If Baek-a handled most of the work, I wouldn’t need to show myself in front of females—I could just get the results reported to me and move only when necessary.

The number of spirit creatures I came into contact with would be minimized, so I wouldn’t need to worry about annoyance, and the risk of being exposed as human would also be greatly reduced.

Thinking about the situation here, it felt like the best choice.

‘Still, it’s a bit of a shame.’

But exploring spirit-creature territories to see what venomous creatures there were was one of the main points of this adventure, so it was a disappointing situation.

After hesitating a little, I made my decision.

First, I’d handle Sister Seol’s business.

It was right to handle Sister Seol’s business first.

If something went wrong right now, I wouldn’t be able to find the fiercely poisonous jellyfish that could fix Sister Seol’s condition, so first I’d find the jellyfish, and later I’d come back after finding Law Arts that could erase my scent or Law Arts that could transform me into a woman.

‘I don’t have a choice. I have to endure it. What else can I do?’

My mind was set like that, but what worried me was the price for this.

From what Oran had said earlier, it was obvious Baek-a would ask for something similar. It strongly felt like she’d make some instinctive demand—dual cultivation or mating, something like that.

After taking a deep breath, I steadied my mind and asked Baek-a. What would she need as payment for that work?

While trying to keep my voice as calm as possible.

“Th-then what... do you want in return?”

I half-expected the answer, but I couldn’t not ask.

Then Baek-a answered with a very apologetic expression, like she was making an embarrassing request. I could even see her white fur tremble slightly.

-Wowoo. “Th-that is. Of course it feels natural to do it for free, but if possible, would it be possible for me to serve Elder?”

“Serve?”

That word “serve” had multiple meanings.

There was the physical meaning—serving with your body—and there was also the meaning of loyalty, like Hwangwoo who revered me like a god.

So inside, I desperately °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° hoped it was the latter as I asked, and fortunately, a reassuring answer followed and relief washed over me.

-Wawoong. “Elder ascended as a half-human half-beast, so won’t you soon leave the Ninth Heaven River and rise to the Middle Heaven?

In the cultivation world, the higher you go, the more you need those who serve you. It’s because you need the service they offer. If I and the wolf clan offer you our service, I hope you’ll bestow protection on us. Of course, we’ll also offer tribute.”

“So it wasn’t mating?”

With an expression like it was a huge relief, I couldn’t hide my relief as I asked, and Baek-a’s complexion visibly changed.

Even though Baek-a was white, it felt like her complexion brightened and vitality filled her.

Her eyes sparkled, dyed with joy.

In a very bright voice, in a tone full of expectation, Baek-a said,

-Kkiing? “Do... do you like mating? If you want mating, of course I’ll allow mating too. No, I, with gratitude...”

At her offer, I waved my hands.

I needed to correct the misunderstanding quickly.

“N-no. Like I told Miss Oran earlier, our species only stays with one wife for our entire lives...”

-Kkkiiing. “Right, you said it hasn’t been long since you ascended...”

Baek-a made an expression full of disappointment.

Regret and frustration flickered through her eyes.

When Oran, who’d been watching from the side, tapped Baek-a’s flank with her tail, Baek-a snapped back to her senses, smoothed her attitude, and said,

-Wong. “Miss Baek.”

-Wiuuu. “Ah, r-right. Then Elder, for the time being, I’ll host you here in Changrang Fortress as an honored guest. I’ll check the information and let you know, so please wait just a little.”

“Ah, okay.”

For the time being, I decided to become a guest in this place full of wolves in heat.

It was kind of a funny thing to say, but compared to outside, this seemed relatively safe.

***

Baek-a said she would lend me a good place close to her own residence, but I asked for a secluded, quiet place with few traces—no, few footprints—of spirit creatures.

That was because inside Changrang Fortress was bustling with wolf-clan spirit creatures and other spirit creatures, so I needed a quiet place to stay while waiting for Baek-a’s information.

And more than that, I had to make my wives grow through dual cultivation training, and staying near where Baek-a was staying was something I didn’t want to do.

Because that faintly heated, disappointed gaze I felt from her eyes kept coming back to me.

It felt like she might sneak into my sleeping quarters at night.

Considering the extreme 1000:1 sex ratio, that imagination wasn’t an excessive worry at all.

If Baek-a slithered up at dawn and came in saying, ‘Elder, I came to serve you,’ how was I supposed to respond? I’d be in trouble.

-Wowooong. “Then how about this place? It’s a training spot attached behind my residence, and since you can’t come in without passing through my residence, it’ll be safe.”

The place I got assigned was a big cave on the hill behind Baek-a’s residence, and my first impression was like one of those earthen dens wild wolves used.

But the entrance was narrow enough that you had to duck to go in, yet once I went inside, a fairly spacious area opened up.

Soft moss and dry grass leaves were spread on the ground, so every time I stepped, I felt a cushy sensation, and the air was cool with a moderate humidity, so it was an environment that couldn’t be better for staying for a while.

“I like this place.”

When I said I liked it, Baek-a lit up.

-Wowoo. “Then make it this place. I’ll personally attend you.”

“C-can the lord of the fortress do that? There’s no need for attendance, so it’s fine.”

-Wowoo. “Meals and laundry and baths?”

“My clothes are a magic treasure, so they don’t need washing, and I don’t need meals because I’ll be training. Baths can be done with Law Arts, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

The lord of the fortress personally attending me?

That was nonsense.

Rather than her treating me with the utmost respect, it was obvious she had other intentions.

So when I blocked her approach thoroughly, Baek-a’s ears drooped back, flop.

It felt like beast spirit creatures were easier than expected to read.

Because you could clearly see what emotions they were holding through their tail, ears, and cries.

When they spoke normally, they went wowoo, with a wolf-howling feel, and when they were scared or upset, they went yip-yip, and when they were angry, they growled, didn’t they?

Maybe her feelings were hurt, because Baek-a said with a kkiing.

-Kkiing. “Ah, okay, Elder.”

“Ah, and I’m planning to focus intensely on training(?), so unless it’s unavoidable, please keep the surroundings quiet.”

-Kkking. “Yes...”

After I prepared thoroughly so she couldn’t approach, and Baek-a left, I spread my energy barrier and checked the surroundings, and just like Baek-a said, there were no other living beings around here.

Like Baek-a said earlier, there was only one entrance, so I settled in deeper inside the cave and explained to my wives what had happened.

“...So that’s what happened.”

“Then we just wait until that wolf called Baek-a brings back information, right?”

“Yes, Hwa-eun.”

“It seems it went well. You got someone who will handle annoying work for you.”

That was when I finished telling my wives about the situation up to now.

Today I was thinking I needed to raise Hwa-eun’s realm through dual cultivation, when I sensed a presence.

I definitely told her not to come unless something unavoidable came up, so I thought maybe Baek-a couldn’t stand it and came anyway.

But what I felt at the cave entrance was a small presence I’d never felt before.

I focused and looked that way, and a small black cat padded toward me and greeted me.

Greeted me.

-Meow. “Oh my, so there was an amazing Elder here? Those sly doggies, trying to have all the fun to themselves. Hello, Elder. I’m Myoran.”

‘And what the hell are you?’

I came to find venomous creatures, but only furry ones kept showing up.