Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 6: The Unexpected Encounter

As soon as Seol-i shredded the guy, she dashed towards my older brother.

This guy had a gaping wound in his side, so we had to check on him quickly.

“Brother, are you okay!?”

“Ugh… Check on Geombong and Chang-ryong first…!”

He had the biggest wound, but he was telling us to check on the others first. Truly a model tank!

Immediately, I shouted towards Hua Eun and Seol-i.

“Hua Eun, Seol-i, check on Geombong and Chang-ryong!”

“Got it! Long!”

“Understood. Wei So-ryong.”

At my request, Hua Eun rushed to Geombong, while Seol-i began to inspect Chang-ryong’s wounds.

But both of them had only fainted from the Blood Cult Elder’s power, while my brother was the one in serious condition.

“They’re being taken care of by Hua Eun and Seol-i. Now, hurry!”

I reassured my brother and examined his injury.

“I’ve stopped the bleeding by applying pressure on the blood vessel.”

“Well done.”

His side was punctured by a human hand, but it felt like his organs were intact.

Hearing his words about blocking the blood flow, I hurriedly applied a healing ointment to his side and ripped his clothes to bandage the wound.

Just because he said he was stopping the bleeding didn’t mean it was total.

The wound was too large, and blood was still oozing out relentlessly.

– Whump!

But as I tore the fabric, I was greeted by a thick layer of grime.

He hadn’t washed himself in weeks because he’d been too busy gathering information, so it was no wonder his clothes were in such a state.

Plus, I remembered that people from the Central Plains typically didn’t bathe much.

Although Sichuan has a warmer climate, so they should bathe often, the Nangong Clan residing in Huangshan didn’t bother to cleanse themselves either.

And the area further north where my brother lived, well, that was a given!

‘This seems likely to get infected…’

An infection appeared to be a genuine concern.

It was difficult to tear off my own clothes because I’d been soaked in sweat from running for two days straight, so I had to think of another way.

Just then, I heard a sound.

– Kishi?

Yo-hwa stepped closer to tend to the wound, and in that moment, a brilliant idea struck me.

“Yo-hwa, wrap my brother’s abdomen with threads!”

– Kishi!

Spider silk is the best fiber as it doesn’t trigger any rejection from the human body.

With its excellent elasticity, wrapping it around would surely help to stop the bleeding through pressure!

In my previous life, the most expensive medical implants utilized spider silk!

“Y-you mean spider silk?”

My brother was startled by his first experience with spider silk, but as Yo-hwa wrapped it around his side, the trickle of blood gradually stopped.

“Done!”

The spider silk had such good elasticity that my brother now felt as if he was wearing a compression bandage.

He even mentioned that the spider silk wasn’t so bad after all.

“The wound feels tightened, and it’s much easier to move now.”

“Then let’s move quickly.”

“Yes, we need to.”

With the treatment done quickly, we had to hurry up and leave.

We needed to escape before the brown-clad warriors got too close.

If we kept wasting time here, more enemies might show up.

Some of them could come towards us since they were only focusing on holding back Chao.

But strangely, they weren’t approaching us at all; it felt like they were trying to buy time.

Even though the Blood Cult Elder was dead, there were no signs of panic.

“Chang-ryong, please assist. We need to help my brother!”

“Understood. Are you okay?”

I asked Chang-ryong to help support my brother and sent a mental request to Chao.

“Chao, keep those guys at bay, but make sure you just hold them off while following us. Don’t come down!”

Then, I sensed Chao’s understanding. As it held back the fighters clad in brown leather, I prepared to create distance.

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound coming from afar.

– Wooong. Wooong.

A resonating buzzing sound began to fill the air.

It was a deep sound that rattled the chest, reminiscent of a bass drum, like the buzzing of the earlier wasp.

As the noise began to swell, I heard the shout of what seemed to be the leader among the brown-clad warriors.

“It’s the ‘Hooong’! The Toad Squad has done enough to stall them, so retreat!”

‘Hooong?’

It must refer to that sound, and Toad Squad means the Frog Squad.

I quickly grasped fragmented information about them and saw the brown warriors start to pull back.

Since they were retreating, it surely couldn’t be for good reason, so we decided we should widen the gap too.

“Let’s go for now!”

Just as I called out while looking towards the river—

“Soo-ryong! Look up!”

“What? The sky?”

At Hua Eun’s shout, I looked up towards the sky she was pointing at and saw a dark and yellow spot far above.

As the black and yellow dot drew closer, the noise was getting louder.

– Wooong! Woooon!

And then, pain struck my head and chest.

“Gaaaahh!”

“Uugh…”

My brother, clutching his bleeding side, crumpled down, his face squeezed as he struggled to contain his rising nausea. Hua Eun’s urgent mental message followed.

[Th-this is one of the Ten Great Venoms, the Gwingmyung Hoja! Soo-ryong, use your energy to protect your ears! Otherwise, your vital energy will get twisted, and you won’t be able to move!]

‘Ten Great Venoms!? Gwingmyung Hoja? Hoja, huh?’

She sent a desperate warning, aiming to avoid that horrific sound.

Following Hua Eun’s advice, I drew up my energy to shield my ears, and the noise vanished, calming my turbulent stomach.

And at that moment.

A strong wind poured down from the sky. I covered my face with my hands and looked up to see a colossal hornet!

The massive hornet hung in the air, resembling a giant Asian giant hornet, staring down at us.

‘This is insane.’

Surveying around, I saw my brother, Chang-ryong, Geombong, and now even Seol-i, all clutching their ears and sitting helplessly.

Only I, Hua Eun, and Yu-hwa were barely holding on.

The enormous hornet landed slowly next to the already-dead Elder of the Blood Cult.

A tyrant and thug of the insect world— the gigantic hornet had made its debut!

*

As the car-sized hornet landed, a woman in a flowing black dress jumped down from its back.

She exuded an eerie, gothic-like vibe.

“…”

The woman opened her mouth and looked towards us.

It seemed like she was about to say something, so I focused my energy to hear her voice.

“…Oh dear, it seems he’s dead. Is it any wonder with such trash-like martial arts? To be taken down by such pathetic poisons causing mere bleeding…

Why did he alliance himself with such fools?

By the way, I did provide an antidote, so why on earth did he die?”

This woman, who appeared to be on our side, was now mocking the dead Elder of the Blood Cult.

As Chao raced back towards us, the woman smiled at the sight and collected the blood flowing from the Elder’s corpse into her mouth.

She then seemed to recognize the poison mixed in the blood.

“This is Hornet Venom? While both of them trigger bleeding, I can’t believe he was weak against all blood toxins.

Well, they’re filthy creatures that suck others’ blood… I suppose it’s time to reconsider our alliance with the Blood Cult.”

The seemingly deranged woman rambled on by herself, completely unfazed by the situation, but Hua Eun and I were frozen in place, unable to move.

The gigantic hornet was eyeing us warily.

Moreover, Hua Eun had warned me that the woman seemed exceedingly strong.

[Soo-ryong, be careful. She may not be as strong as Grandfather, but she’s at least as strong as Father.]

– Tsurr…

Then, as if a dog growled defensively, Chao stepped forward as if to shield us from the bizarre woman.

At that very moment.

Finishing her monologue, the woman stomped on the lifeless Blood Cult Elder’s face and smiled at us.

“How quaint, an antidote practitioner following alongside a person… how charming.”

“An antidote practitioner?”

“Oh, in the Central Plains, you’d call it the Flying Heavenly Centipede, wouldn’t you?”

The woman was clearly referring to Chao, who had stepped forward to protect us.

It looked like conversation might lead somewhere, but suddenly, the woman wiped the smile off her face and shouted towards the hornet.

“Grab them!”

Without delay, the hornet lunged towards Chao, who was standing guard in front of us.

It swooped in between Hua Eun and me and twisted around with Chao.

“Chao!”

– Wooong!

– Tsrrr!

It seemed the buzzing of the hornet could no longer replicate its earlier effectiveness as the two fought, the sounds only registering as noise.

Chao’s furious cry was heard as the two tangled in the air.

I felt worry rise up as I considered their fight.

While it was clear that Chao was a potent venom creature, if it was a hornet-based toxin, Chao was at a disadvantage.

Chao was just a young individual who had shed its skin four times, while the hornet was a thug of the insect world with thick skin and sharp mandibles—plus venom!

There was a chance Chao’s fangs wouldn’t pierce through the hornet’s much tougher shell.

Quickly, I turned to Yu-hwa, who had been sitting patiently beside Hua Eun.

“Yo-hwa! Help Chao!”

– Kishi!

Revealing herself from hiding, Yu-hwa shot spider silk at the two battling in mid-air.

– Pwoosh!

The silk struck the hornet’s wing.

With a deft movement, Yu-hwa pulled it down, allowing Chao to escape and charge at the hornet.

“Human-faced Spider!”

Seeing Yu-hwa reveal herself shocked the woman.

“Y-you’ve tamed a Human-faced Spider too? What on earth is your identity?”

Seeing my commands acted on as if the children were obedient, the woman wore an incredulous expression.

When I didn’t respond, she suddenly reached down, causing Chang-ryong to drop his spear into her hand.

“You don’t have to answer. I’ll make you tell me.”

As she approached Hua Eun and me, thinking we were the next targets, the woman instantly drove the spear into Chang-ryong’s abdomen.

– Pwoosh!

“Gyaaah!”

But what came next was a pitiful scream.

Surprisingly, the spear lodged in Geombong’s back, as he had shielded Chang-ryong.

“G-Geombong! W-why!?”

As if sensing the gravity of the situation, or maybe after coming to terms, Chang-ryong widened his eyes, realizing what transpired.

Geombong caressed Chang-ryong’s face, giving him a look of disappointment.

“Y-you fool…”

And with that, she quietly closed her eyes.

“G-Geombong! You wretched woman! Aahhh!”

“Shush! Be quiet, fly!”

– Pwoosh!

Chang-ryong, thrown into a rage, leaped at the woman but was swiftly knocked out by a blow to the nape.

Tired of the excitement, the woman tossed away the spear, seemingly bored of the loss of Geombong.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter who it was. What’s essential is that you are an antidote practitioner and a Human-faced Spider’s master. I find you intriguing. Consider becoming mine.”

‘What?’

Out of the blue, she wants me to belong to her?

I looked at Hua Eun in disbelief at the woman’s insane behavior, only to hear Hua Eun’s voice erupt with fury.

“How dare you speak like that to my fiancé!”

Having warned me to be cautious now stirred her emotions as she couldn’t hold back her anger.

The woman tilted her head in confusion.

“Fiancé?”

In the blink of an eye, she lunged toward Hua Eun, aiming to stab a hole in her chest.

“Hmph! Sounds like she won’t be around for much longer!”

Hua Eun hurriedly stepped back, but the woman’s claws were digging into her chest.

– Bang!

In that instant, two blue lights shot forth from Hua Eun’s skirt, striking the woman.

“Gaaah!”

– Kueek!

– Kwoo!

Seol-i and Bin, who had been hiding beneath her skirt, revealed themselves just as Hua Eun was in danger.

The woman stumbled backwards, ice forming on her arms and chest.

The woman stuttered in disbelief.

“S-Sa-Dok-Ju!?”

It seemed she was either shocked or simply overwhelmed.

“Seol-i, Bin, you did well!”

I praised them, and the woman widened her eyes further in astonishment.

“You’ve tamed an antidote practitioner and a Human-faced Spider!?”

At this point, I began to piece together the woman’s identity.

The fact she arrived riding a venomous hornet, as well as the earlier brown-clad warriors called themselves ‘Toad Squad’, and how she mocked the dead Elder of the Blood Cult…

Even how Chao and the Lizard were referred to as antidote and four poison masters.

It all pointed toward her being a descendant of the Five Poisons Sect.

Seeing the woman being pressured by Seol-i and Bin, I turned towards Hua Eun.

“The adopted child of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace and the only son-in-law of the Tang Clan. Wei So-ryong.”