Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 199: Blue Light (6)

As I stared at the tied grass, lost in thought, Tang Hwa-eun’s voice reached my ears.

“So-ryong?”

“Ah... yes, Hwa-eun.”

I snapped back to reality and found her face much closer than before.

She was crouched down in front of me, staring into my eyes.

It seemed my deep concentration on how to trip the camel spider had made her curious about what I was thinking.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Oh, I just thought of a good way to catch the thing.”

“As expected! What’s the plan this time? It must be something unique, right? Something....”

Hearing that I had come up with a solution, Tang Hwa-eun became overly excited.

Perhaps still flustered from being caught by Cho earlier, she kept rambling, unable to stop herself.

I glanced at her, then swiftly leaned in and gently kissed her lips.

–Chu.

For a brief moment, shock rippled through her gaze, her pupils widening as if staring into the depths of a midnight sky.

Before she could react further, I quickly turned away and ran toward the camp.

It was just the forehead, but still—it was a kiss!

Even for me, the situation felt incredibly awkward and a little embarrassing.

“All thanks to you, Hwa-eun! Now, I should go see Elder Tang Mu-seong!”

With that, I dashed off toward the tents.

From above, Cho’s voice rang out.

There was a strong sense of curiosity in her tone.

–Sluuurp. Sluurp. “Huh? Mommy, why did Daddy headbutt you all of a sudden? And why is your face all weird?”

She was seriously asking why I headbutted Hwa-eun.

A simple question, yet it felt like the hardest life-or-death exam question ever thrown at me.

Or rather, the biggest crisis of my life.

“...No, um, it’s not like that, Hwa-eun. I mean... how should I put this....”

I had kissed Cho on the forehead several times before, so she must have interpreted this as me simply "headbutting” Hwa-eun.

Since arthropods sometimes nuzzle their young, she probably saw it as an extension of that behavior.

Damn it. That’s what happens when you don’t control yourself in front of kids.

Realizing I was trapped, I quickly thought of an answer.

This explanation should be enough.

“Ah! It’s not a headbutt, Cho. It’s a special way to say someone looks really pretty! It’s kind of like patting someone’s head, but even more affectionate. Mommy’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“So Mommy is just embarrassed because you called her pretty?”

–Sluurp?

Cho made a confused sound, clearly struggling to understand why someone would be embarrassed about being called pretty.

Trying to reinforce my reasoning, I added,

“Well, Hwa-eun is just a bit shy. But listen, this is something only people who really like each other do, okay? So you shouldn’t go around doing this to just anyone. Got it?”

I nodded to myself, feeling quite satisfied with my impromptu children’s lesson on affection.

But then—

Suddenly, Cho’s head was shoved right into my face.

Her shiny exoskeleton gleamed, and I could feel her antennae brushing against my hair.

–Cho.

Then came her request.

“Me too.”

“...You want me to do it too?”

–Chorut!

Cho enthusiastically nodded, insisting that since she and Daddy also liked each other, she should get the same treatment.

Why is she only a genius in moments like this?

No, seriously—why do my daughters only get smarter in these situations?!

“So this is why they say you can’t even drink water carelessly in front of kids....”

I was a little flustered, but really, what was so strange about a father kissing his daughter on the forehead?

“Well... okay. If Cho wants it, then Daddy will do it.”

Nodding, I leaned in and gently kissed her forehead.

–Chu.

Her exoskeleton was as hard and cool as polished feathers, giving the sensation of kissing a refrigerator door.

Still, this was about affection, not physical sensation.

Seeing Cho happily wiggling her antennae in satisfaction, I figured my answer had been good enough.

–Chorut!

With that, the crisis was resolved.

Just as I was about to head toward Elder Tang Mu-seong, thinking everything was settled—

I made a grave mistake.

I assumed the trouble had ended.

I was dead wrong.

–Chorut?!

–Kishaaa!

–Chorut?!

Turning my head, I saw Bini and Hyang sitting on Bini’s head, staring at me.

And then there was Yo-hwa.

They had just woken up and come looking for me—

Only to see me kissing Cho’s forehead.

The three of them demanded an explanation.

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And then—

With a completely innocent expression, Cho enthusiastically explained to them,

–Chorut. Chorut. Trurururu.

She detailed how Daddy had kissed Mommy’s forehead earlier, and how it was an even more special way of showing affection than patting someone’s head.

And then—

Right before my eyes—

Three heads were suddenly shoved forward.

Their message was crystal clear.

"No favoritism. Kiss our foreheads too."

At that moment, I vowed to be much more careful from now on.

If it had been anything more than a forehead kiss... holy shit....

This could have been a disaster.

***

After explaining the situation to Elder Tang Mu-seong, we gathered the nomads near the area where the sheep had gone missing the night before.

I had been slightly worried about getting their help, but as soon as they heard that we were hunting the creature responsible, everyone immediately stepped forward.

If this continued, their livestock could be wiped out.

So they were more eager than I expected.

“Will this setup work?” one of the nomads asked.

“Yes, it should be perfect. Just secure these silk threads a little tighter.”

“How far should we extend them?”

“This should be fine!”

“Well, tying grass isn’t exactly difficult. We just need to make sure it stays in place.”

More ropes and Yo-hwa’s silk threads were stretched across the plains, creating a large entanglement trap.

On one side, sharp tension lines were placed, while on the other, sticky secretions were applied.

If the camel spider rushed in, its legs would get caught, making it stumble and fall.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

By midday, the plains were covered with invisible snares, along with long silk tripwires running across the ground.

“To be sure, let’s release three sheep as bait.”

“Agreed. That sounds like the best plan.”

With the bait prepared, everyone ate an early dinner and took a short nap before waking up as soon as the sun set.

We then gathered near the spot where the sheep were tethered, hiding ourselves and waiting in silence.

Crouching low in the lush grass, we positioned ourselves carefully.

“If something other than the sheep gets caught, we need to be cautious. We can avoid it if we spot it in time, but if anyone gets tangled in the threads, they might become a target.”

“Understood! We’ll be extra careful!”

“Yes, Elder!”

“You all heard him? So-ryong said to be cautious, so stay on high alert!”

“Yes, Leader!”

I arranged the Kunlun warriors, the Beast Army, and the Martial Alliance fighters in strategic positions throughout the field. Yo-hwa and Bini were placed a bit further back for safety.

“Yo-hwa, be extra careful. If the thing charges at you, fly into the air, got it?”

“Bini, don’t come this way either. You might get caught in the threads.”

–Kishaaa!

–Chururrr!

With everyone in position, I took Cho and Hyang and ascended into the air to observe the entire field from above.

–Chorut. Churut.

Everyone remained at their designated posts, listening to the chirping of the insects as we waited in tense silence.

The stars had just begun to peek out in the sky when a strange gust of wind reached my ears.

–Choyaya.

It was here.

Where is it!?!

Tonight, there was moonlight, so it wasn’t completely dark.

Focusing in the direction of the sound, my vision enhanced by my Murim training caught sight of something moving at high speed in the distance.

What the hell?! That thing is massive!

From its stride, I could tell that this wasn’t just big—it was colossal.

Considering the height of the grass, the damn thing was well over five meters tall.

Even though Cho was quite long, this thing dwarfed her entirely.

It wasn’t just tall—the width and bulk of its body made it look even larger.

The closer it got, the more it reminded me of...

A freaking elephant.

It wasn’t quite as thick, but the sheer presence was enough to make me instinctively draw comparisons to one.

Can we even stop something like this...?

Sure, spiders weren’t typically heavy, but this one’s size alone was overwhelming.

Would our tripwires and web traps be strong enough?

For a brief moment, doubt crept in.

But there was no turning back now.

Before I could second-guess any further, the creature’s massive legs stepped into the first tripwire trap.

–Chayaaahh!

The grass bent under its weight, but it barely slowed down.

Instead of getting tangled, it just pushed forward as if nothing was there.

Just as I was starting to panic, thinking we might not be able to catch it—

The creature lunged toward the baited sheep, its massive pincers opening wide—

And then suddenly, its legs snagged on something.

Its entire body skidded forward, sliding across the grass.

–Sakaaaaaaaah!

Nice!!!

It completely overshot the sheep, sliding over 100 meters across the field.

Its insane speed, combined with the dense grass, meant that it kept skidding [N O V E L I G H T] uncontrollably.

It didn’t seem badly injured, but at least it had been stopped for now.

"Cho! Let’s go!"

Even as I dove in, I heard voices shouting from the ground.

“Did we catch it?!”

Oh, come on!

Of all times, who the hell says something like that out loud?!

I made a mental note to find out who it was later and give them an earful.

Looking back at the camel spider, I saw it had regained its balance and was starting to move again.

Damn it!

We had to finish this now.

If we lost it tonight, the bastards from the Five Venoms Sect would get more cautious in the future.

Before it could pick up speed, I yelled to the warriors below.

“Don’t let it escape!”

“Yes, sir!”

The martial artists unleashed their qinggong, leaping toward the creature.

I had also prepared ropes and reinforced webbing for the warriors to use, so as long as they got close, they should be able to restrain it somehow.

But as Cho and I closed in—

A sudden shout reached my mind through telepathy.

–Chururrr!?!

“Bini?!”

Then came Seol-nim and Tang Hwa-eun’s urgent cries.

“So-ryong! Bini—Bini’s in trouble!”

Snapping my head around, I saw—

Bini tangled in Yo-hwa’s silk, being dragged behind the charging camel spider.

“Bini!!!”

When the creature had skidded across the field, it must have swept over some of the webbing—and somehow, Bini had gotten caught in it.

Despite being a spiritual beast, Bini’s size was no match for the spider.

Or maybe she had only just realized she was caught and didn’t have time to react before getting dragged away.

Watching Bini struggling, sliding across the field, I turned to Cho.

"Cho! Get ahead of it! Bini's being dragged!"

–Chururrr!

Cho surged forward, putting all her strength into cutting off the spider’s path.

As soon as the creature passed us, I lunged onto Bini’s body, trying to hold her down.

–Churrr!

Even though she wasn’t completely flipped over, she was still being dragged uncontrollably.

She let out a frustrated, panicked cry, clearly angry at the situation.

Despite the three of us now clinging to Bini, the creature’s speed barely slowed.

At this rate, I needed to cut the webbing before she got dragged even further.

Realizing that, Cho bit into Yo-hwa’s silk—

But even with her venomous fangs, the webbing was too tough to sever.

Hyang also jumped in, chewing at the threads, but her fangs weren’t made for slicing.

The silk was too strong to bite through.

Thinking fast, I grabbed a loose strand of Yo-hwa’s silk and rubbed it against the webbing holding Bini.

If Yo-hwa’s silk was this strong, it could cut itself.

In my past life, I had done the same thing when opening stubborn packages.

As we slid across the field, I furiously sawed the strands together.

Then—

–Tick!

The thread snapped.

"We did it!"

Bini was finally free.

Or so I thought—

Because at that moment, I suddenly felt myself being yanked away.

I was the one being dragged now.

As I was pulled into the darkened grasslands, I heard Bini and Cho’s panicked cries.

–Chururrrrrrrr!

Glancing down, I saw Yo-hwa’s silk wrapped around my leg.

At some point, I had gotten tangled up.

And now, I was being dragged straight into the depths of the night—

With only Hyang clinging to me.

Shit.

If I didn’t figure something out fast, I was about to get a face-to-face meeting with the Five Venoms Sect.