Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 211: Segment (1)

-Whooosh!

Flames erupted from the assassin’s ears, eyes, nose, and mouth as he collapsed backward like a felled log.

The sheer heat ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ made me instinctively jump back.

-Thud.

It was as if he had turned into a human torch or a welding torch, with blue flames bursting from every opening in his face.

In Murim, the seven orifices of the face were called the Seven Apertures.

It was said that when someone suffered a severe internal injury or fell into Qi Deviation, blood would simultaneously gush from all seven.

But here, instead of blood, flames spewed forth.

And the only one who had bitten him—was Hyang.

Which meant—this was definitely Hyang’s poison.

“H-Hyang! Are you okay?!”

The assassin was clearly dead.

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His face was already drenched in blood—if he were somehow still alive, that would be the truly unbelievable part.

I left his burning corpse where it was and immediately checked on Hyang.

She had shielded me from the assassin’s attack—how could I not be worried?

Last time, when I had been treated for the assassin’s wound, the elders of the Gunmun Sect had confirmed that it had been caused by Qi-infused energy.

Even though Hyang had evolved, I hadn’t thought she would be able to block Qi-infused attacks.

After all, the only venomous beast known to resist Qi attacks was the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Armored Scorpion.

-Chorurrr...

But Hyang, completely oblivious to my concerns, refused to let go of me and continued clicking her venomous fangs threateningly at the assassin.

Even now, she glared at his corpse, her fangs gleaming with venom.

I had to untangle her from my body and check for injuries immediately.

“Calm down, Hyang. Hold still, let me see if you’re hurt anywhere.”

I carefully unwrapped her long body from myself and examined her thoroughly from head to tail.

No injuries.

Not even a single scratch on her gleaming, blood-red exoskeleton.

Her polished carapace shimmered under the light, making me stare in awe.

I was sure that only the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Armored Scorpion could withstand Qi-infused attacks, but...

Hyang’s body was completely unscathed.

“...Thank god.”

I let out a long breath of relief.

I almost wanted to kick the assassin’s corpse, but at this point, the bastard was burning like a bonfire.

I stared blankly at the eerie sight, but then—

I finally realized what had happened—

And my voice shot up in shock.

“Wait a minute—Hyang! You’re not just pretty on the outside, are you?! You’ve got insane poison and a body tough enough to block Qi attacks?!”

Hyang had evolved using Fire Crystal.

And the trigger?

She had been blazing mad about me checking Cho’s abilities instead of hers.

Her rage had been colossal, terrifying.

And in the end—she had made me promise her a hundred wishes in exchange for forgiving me.

“...Phew. I really got off cheap for just a hundred.”

But even though she forgave me, she still wasn’t over it.

She had refused to let me inspect the result of her evolution.

Clearly, she had forgiven—but not forgotten.

That’s why I had no idea that Hyang’s evolution had granted her not only flame venom, but a body that could withstand Qi-infused attacks.

-Chor... Chorut?

“Damn, Hyang, you’re amazing!”

From what I could see, her evolved form was that of a long, gleaming centipede with a Fire Crystal-infused exoskeleton.

Her glossy, crystalline carapace shone like a precious gem.

Unlike Cho or Bini, she wasn’t acting shy at all—but strangely, her length had increased drastically.

How long, exactly?

Well—

Even when she wrapped around my ankle, coiled up my leg, past my waist, across my chest, and around one of my arms, there was still some of her left over.

She looked like living armor, wrapping around my body.

With one leg, my torso, and one arm covered, it really looked like I was wearing armor.

At first, this worried me.

I had no idea this had been her plan all along.

Her anger and her devotion to me—

Had those emotions somehow influenced her evolution?

Was this her way of staying close to me forever?

‘Hyang... did you really evolve just to stay wrapped around me forever?’

The thought made chills run down my spine.

‘Oh god... Hyang, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize... sniff...!’

It was clear now.

Her entire evolution was designed to protect me.

Her long body allowed her to fully shield me.

Her hardened carapace could block Qi-infused attacks.

And as a bonus—she had developed an unbelievably lethal fire venom.

“...HYANG!!!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, I clung to her, rubbing my face against her exoskeleton.

I was sobbing in gratitude when—

I heard footsteps rushing toward us.

Disciples of the Gunmun Sect had arrived, drawn by the smoke.

“T-this... what in the world?!”

“Sir So-ryong, are you alright?!”

“Report to the elders immediately! We have an intruder at the entrance of Gunmun!”

***

"You did so well, Hyang! Mommy is so proud of you!"

"Yeah, Hyang, you did an amazing job. You protected Dad and even caught an assassin. That’s incredible!"

-Chorururut...

Curled up on the dining table, Hyang let out a satisfied hum at the wave of praise from Hwa-un and Sister Seol.

Her antennae made subtle, circular movements—

Like a human shrugging their shoulders in delight.

Today, Hyang was undoubtedly the star.

After all, her brilliant new form had been revealed, she had defeated an assassin, and she had protected her father—all of which resulted in an overwhelming tsunami of compliments flooding in.

Sure, this all started because she threw a fit about wanting to go on a walk alone with me, but regardless of the reason—

The fact remained that she had taken down the bastard who left a wound in my side.

-Ting. Ting.

Sister Seol tapped lightly on Hyang’s exoskeleton, producing a clear, bell-like sound.

"So, you really evolved to be tougher just to protect your dad, huh?"

-Chorut!

"That’s so admirable. So admirable."

Hyang flicked her antennae triumphantly, casting a smug glance at Cho and Bini.

Meanwhile, Cho and Bini?

They snorted in disdain.

-Choo!

-Chorut!

‘What is this, a honeybee? Why is she acting like that?’

Their cries made their disbelief clear.

With a dramatic huff, both Cho and Bini turned their heads sharply and stormed out of the room.

Cho even draped several legs over Bini’s body as if putting an arm around a friend’s shoulder, the two of them leaving together.

It wasn’t long before their voices echoed in my head.

-Chorurut! 「Dad, come outside!」

-Chorut! 「Dad, get out here.」

They were calling me outside.

‘Come outside?’

It wasn’t like I had a problem with that, but—

Right now, this was Hyang’s moment of celebration.

And, well—after spending some time as a dad, I had learned to trust my gut feeling about these things.

And as expected—

-Chorurut! 「Auntie taught us something! Hurry up and come outside so we can try it! Go to that place from last time!」

-Chorut! 「Dad, hurry up! We need to try what Auntie taught us!」

It had been three days since I escaped from Hyang’s mental domain.

And in those three days—

I had already learned how to imbue energy into the Beast Heart Art.

It was a relatively simple process of infusing Qi while touching a venomous beast, similar to practicing an internal cultivation technique.

But up until now, Hyang’s watchful glare had prevented me from trying it out.

And now?

Cho and Bini wanted me to sneak outside and finally do it.

It seemed like they had conspired together—

Now, they were eagerly pressuring me to leave.

And the place?

The training ground where I usually practiced.

-Chorurururut!

-Chorut! Chorut!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

‘You’ve spoiled Hyang for three days straight—how much longer are you going to ignore us?!’

Their resentment was practically suffocating me.

Ah... the eternal struggles of a father stuck between his daughters’ feuds.

If I snuck out to do this, and Hyang caught me—she would be furious.

But if I ignored Cho and Bini, they would also be furious.

‘Ha... how did my life end up like this?’

Most of the time, our family was so peaceful and loving.

But now?

Hyang’s gleeful expression as she basked in compliments clashed violently with the mental echoes of Cho and Bini screeching for me to hurry up.

This was nothing short of hell.

And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse—

A voice called from outside.

"Dong, are you in there?"

"Senior Gyu-seong?!"

"Ah, Senior Gyu-seong. Of all times, you show up right now?"

I wasn’t particularly fond of hanging around hairy males, but at this moment, I felt like I was reuniting with my long-lost parents from my past life.

I practically ran to open the door, eager to greet him.

At least now, I had a solid excuse to slip away.

"Oh wow, Senior Gyu-seong."

I was always happy to see him, but today? Even more so.

The moment I swung the door open, he stood there, slightly startled.

"Wait a second... you’re unusually happy to see me. Am I really that exciting?"

"N-no, of course not. You must be imagining things, Senior. Anyway, what brings you here? Oh, should we talk outside?"

"There’s no real need to go out—"

"No, no, Senior. A talk between men should be done somewhere quiet."

"But we can just chat inside while having some tea—"

Since when was Senior Gyu-seong this oblivious?

I was practically screaming with my eyes for him to help me escape, and he just wanted to sit down and sip tea.

With zero hesitation, I grabbed his arm and pulled him outside, calling back into the room.

"I’ll be stepping out to talk with Senior Gyu-seong for a bit, Hwa-un!"

"Huh? But we’re all having tea together—"

"No, no, it’s better to have this conversation quietly."

Once we were safely outside, Senior Gyu-seong blinked in confusion.

I dragged him a little further and dramatically clutched my chest, sighing in relief.

"Senior, how could you do that to me? I was giving you every signal to save me, and you just ignored them?!"

"...Huh? That’s what that was? Oh. I thought you were just feeling sick or something—"

Seriously.

This man had loyalty beyond measure.

He had carried that heavy Fire Crystal all the way here without a single complaint.

He was genuine to the core.

‘This guy... he’s like a pot of corn tea—the longer it brews, the richer it gets.’

But according to Hwa-un, people from Pyeonggang weren’t exactly known for their intelligence.

And it seemed like she hadn’t been just talking about raw smarts.

Because right now—

This man was clueless beyond belief.

Still, at least he made it here in time, so I decided to let it go.

"Either way, Senior, you saved me."

"...Saved you? Did something happen? Wait, don’t tell me—you got into a fight with Hwa-un?"

Before he could say anything else, I grabbed his arm again and started pulling him along.

Right now, I needed to get to my training area before Cho and Bini caught me.

They were already pestering me non-stop, but if I at least pretended I was heading to Senior Gyu-seong’s place, I had an excuse.

"No way, this is about the kids. Let’s just get away from here for now. But really, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I just thought I’d stop by for some tea with you."

"Perfect. Then let’s head to your place."

If I could make it there before Cho or Bini doubled back, I might still have a chance—

But just as we started slipping through the pavilion halls—

-Chorururut! 『Dad’s outside!』

A shrill cry echoed from above.

I froze.

Slowly, I looked up—

Cho was hovering right above me, gleefully staring down.

"A-ah, Cho, I was just about to have a word with Senior Gyu-seong—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Cho dove straight down, coiling tightly around me.

Then, with perfect manners, she even bowed slightly toward Senior Gyu-seong.

-Chorurur!

She was asking for his understanding.

Someone had definitely been teaching her how to be polite.

‘Damn it... is there truly no escape?’

Forget manners—

I had just lost my last chance to run.