Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 4: The Thief’s Request

A thief with the alias Shin Tu really can’t pass any normal item to someone without stealing it first.

So, after the artisans of the Silkworm Affair brought back food they’d stolen for the master, the thought that popped into Yeongryeon’s head was whether the two ducks she prepared earlier might not be enough.

If they were lacking, she could always steal some more, but it was better to avoid the petty thievery of snatching someone else’s possessions.

When she arrived under the ancient tree where Elder Geolhwang was residing, bearing the two ducks and a couple of bottles of wine, she found them surrounded by empty wine bottles — it looked like the two had already stolen some more booze, and her master, blissfully intoxicated, called out to Yeongryeon as she tried to leave quietly with the ducks and drinks.

“Yeongryeon, come here.”

“Is there something you wish to say, Master?”

“Uh, yes, Yeongryeon, why don’t you go visit the Four Heavenly Houses?”

“The Tang Clan, Master?”

Suddenly, her master wanted her to visit the biggest clan in Sichuan, the Four Heavenly Houses.

Wondering what kind of errand it could possibly be, Yeongryeon tilted her head and looked at her master, who smiled warmly.

“Yes, send a letter to Shin Tu at the Tang Clan.”

“To the Tang Clan!?”

Her eyes widened in surprise at the notion of sending a letter to Shin Tu at the Tang Clan.

It was no ordinary matter; she had never sent a letter to a prestigious clan like the Tang Clan since becoming the master’s disciple.

Her heart raced with excitement as she considered the prospect of crossing over the walls of one of the Seven Great Clans.

It wasn’t stealing petty change; she was heading to one of the most affluent clans in the Central Plains—it was definitely going to be thrilling.

Sneaking past guards and dogs was always fun, and she was curious about what the Tang Clan members might be like too.

“Understood, Master! What should I write in the letter?”

“Write that you’re going to steal away the junior hero Wei So-ryong, the son-in-law of the clan. Also, the elder Geolhwang has already arranged for information about the clan with the Sichuan branch, so go retrieve that.”

Yeongryeon quickly committed her master’s instructions to memory and responded eagerly.

“Got it! I’ll send the letter to the Tang Clan tonight, Master.”

And just as she was about to leave…

“Also, you should try to bring back that Wei So-ryong all by yourself.”

“!”

Her eyes widened at the command to do it alone, prompting her to ask, just in case she misheard.

“W-wait, did you say alone?”

Turning back in disbelief as she caught her master’s smiling face, he continued.

“Right! How long are you going to be moving alongside me or running small errands? You’ve now learned enough of our clan’s martial arts. With the name of Shin Tu behind you, go handle this on your own.”

“Here, take this Heavenly Silkworm Silk. I’ll be handing over my name and a precious item for this task, so make sure you do well.”

“The n-name of Shin Tu!? And a precious item too!?”

As Yeongryeon trembled, she took the silk bundle handed to her with quaking hands.

Receiving the name of Shin Tu along with a precious item meant that for this mission, she would be acting as the very Shin Tu himself.

Though this didn’t imply that her alias would be fully passed on just yet, it was a sign that her master trusted her enough to handle this solo task, which made her hands shake with excitement.

“Y-yes! I won’t let you down, Master!”

“Good luck! If you run into any trouble… wait, no need to waste words! Just be careful of the Mandok God. You have two days, right?”

“Of course, Master!”

After deeply bowing and departing, a chuckle echoed behind her.

“Hahaha, if I’d known you’d respond this way, I would have sent you on a mission sooner. Truly, my brother is never wrong.”

“Really, how many times have I trained a disciple? By the way, are you still wrapping that Heavenly Silkworm Silk around your arms?”

“Yes, I keep it wrapped around both arms always.”

“Can’t that attract bugs?”

“Bugs? Not a chance! It’s like an iron sword! Why ask?”

“Never mind. Let’s just drink some more. You’ve really done a great job of raising a disciple.”

With such seemingly trivial talk, Yeongryeon quickly activated her lightness skill and dashed towards the Sichuan branch.

*

—Zing! Zing!

With the sun setting and the moon hidden behind clouds, the dark peak of the Tang Clan was before her.

Yeongryeon stood atop it, having thoroughly familiarized herself with the documents obtained from the Sichuan branch, utilizing Shin Tu’s Shadowless and Soundless Technique.

Because of this skill that made shadows and sound disappear, no one noticed her approach from the back.

Not even the owl perched in the trees or the mice running along the road.

Yeongryeon chose this spot because it provided the best view of the Four Harmonies Courtyard used directly by the clan, making it a perfect sniper position too.

From the summit, she gazed down at the distant Four Harmonies Courtyard that appeared as small as a fist.

‘Hoo… I can do this.’

Sending a letter was something she had done quite a few times alone, but today, her heart raced with trepidation.

It felt like it was mainly due to being alone, so she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Then, as she focused her Hundred-League Eyes on the courtyard below, the scene became clearer.

Moments later, she could see the figures inside the courtyard, and the open window of the residence belonging to her target, the son-in-law of the Tang Clan.

—Thwip!

The sound of a bowstring being pulled came from her Thousand-League Bow.

—Whoosh!

As Yeongryeon released the arrow with a clear sound, it shot forth and darted in a flash towards the window she aimed for.

At that moment, a woman appeared leaning out of the son-in-law’s residence, yelling something, and then another woman rushed out.

—Woooooosh!

Suddenly, a signal horn blared through the night, and torch-bearing martial artists rushed along the path, their internal energy soaring like flowing blood toward the courtyard.

The rapid response, the hustle and bustle triggering alarms sent a thrill down her spine.

The systematic approach and swift movements were astonishingly beyond what she had witnessed in small clans before.

“Of course, this is the Tang Clan!”

She couldn’t help but wonder how exhilarating it would be to break through such a stronghold with full force.

Except for commoners, items usually placed out for grabs when sending a letter from Shin Tu’s name were piled up perfectly.

Because of this, Yeongryeon had never stolen anything with all her might before.

Although she had evaded guards a couple of times while stealing from larger households, it had never seemed exciting.

But that thrill was short-lived. As the martial artists approached, they began to disperse gradually.

“Ah…”

Reality dawned on her.

Despite her excitement about receiving the name of Shin Tu and that precious item, watching the guards slowly scatter reminded her that she had been too carried away.

Given the notorious reputation of previous Shin Tus, the Tang Clan surely wouldn’t bother stopping her, especially not for her.

They wouldn’t dare throw away their items when they could readily seek help from Shin Tu at any time. There was no advantage in letting the goods be stolen while refusing assistance.

From their actions, it was obvious they were preparing to take the son-in-law away easily.

And the thrill fizzled out.

“Okay, I’ll take the meaning of going solo as my only resolve.”

When she thought to take pride in going out alone with her master and the item bestowed upon her, she was suddenly distracted by a noise from afar, clear as day even under the night sky.

—Flap!

Turning towards the sound, she noticed two flags suddenly raised near what seemed to be the Clan Head Hall and Nine Entrance Gate.

As the moonlight illuminated the scene, she raised her Hundred-League Eyes to see the flags depicting ferocious-looking dogs.

The flags with two snarling dogs faced each other hung over the Clan Head Hall and Nine Entrance Gate.

“Martial arts!”

An electric jolt ran through Yeongryeon from head to toe at that sight.

Seeing those martial arts for the first time sparked a flame in her eyes and a surge of competitive spirit within her.

Although she detested petty theft, she actually longed to sneak past such a strict security.

Then, while recalling how her master had mentioned martial arts before sending her out on this expedition…

“So that’s why Master told me to go alone!”

It must be that her master had anticipated how this would all unfold, wanting to evaluate her training performance through the Tang Clan.

“Whether it’s Wei So-ryong or whoever, just wait! I’ll be stealing you for sure!”

With fists clenched, Yeongryeon smiled as she looked down at the Tang Clan.

*

The next day, the clan members decided to make some final preparations.

With martial skills enlisted, even a thief would go all out to do his best.

It was time to set up a few surprises for the thief.

First, Chao would wait in the high sky, trailing behind the thief and signaling others once spotted.

No matter how swift a thief was, a centipede could still sense temperature.

It was akin to having infrared vision, so finding the thief from the night sky should be easy.

“Chao, wait in the sky, and if you spot the thief, follow closely and alert the others, alright? Do not let anyone spray poison. Bad people do not qualify as bad people.”

—Tsrrr?

“How should I explain this… Ah! I mean to say, he’s a bad person but we want to capture him alive! If he dies, we can’t interrogate his spirit later, right? And don’t use poison recklessly unless Dad tells you to, got it?”

—Tsrrt! Tsrrt!

If she ended up poisoning him to death, it would create a huge incident in the martial world.

After thoroughly educating her about caution around toxins, they moved on to check with Yo-hwa to see if her tasks were completed.

“Yo-hwa, are you all set? Have you laid everything out?”

—Kishi!

What she needed from Yo-hwa was to weave spider silk everywhere.

Not just the ground, but also concealing spider webs on the roofs of the separate chambers.

According to Grandfather, Shin Tu’s martial arts left no shadows or sounds.

Grandfather had mentioned that once it was unleashed, it was easy to lose track of.

But no matter how fast one moved, they still had to step on the ground, so they decided to lay out webs to catch any sneaky thief.

“With Yo-hwa ready, that leaves us with Yeon-du. Yeon-du, stay closely attached to your brother and be ready to bite if your brother is in trouble, alright?”

—Shyaa!

Others like Hyang and the younger ones had potent toxins, but for any poisons, it had to be either sedative toxins from Yeon-du or Yo-hwa.

However, with Yo-hwa taking on a human form, she would likely be more guarded. So, they entrusted the final defense to Yeon-du, who could comfortably hide on her body.

After confirming preparations with the three, Hua Eun nodded and said, “So-ryong, let’s go over our final checks.”

“Sure, Hua Eun.”

“First, So-ryong, relay the information that Yo-hwa detects to Hyang, who will be with me. Based on that, Hyang can guide us on where the Shin Tu emerges.”

“Got it.”

“While it’s best if we manage to catch him like that, if Shin Tu slips past Yo-hwa’s silk or out of Hyang’s view, So-ryong will retreat to the home of the Golden Hair Bee King.”

In the yard, Seol-i and Bin would hold them off while, if Shin Tu breached the ancient tree, the Golden Hair Bee King’s workers would block the entrance to capture him.

If Shin Tu managed to touch So-ryong, Yeon-du would jump out and bite him to paralyze him.

That was the gist of Hua Eun’s plan.

Once she wrapped up her explanation, both Mandok God and the Artisan smiled.

“If it’s just that level, capturing Shin Tu should be a certain thing. Hahaha.”

“Think very well about your three wishes, son-in-law.”

At that moment, a concerned voice from the mother-in-law filled the air.

“But, I think Hyang might be a bit of a problem.”

Everyone turned their heads to look at her, noticing Hyang trembling at the center of a dozen chart papers laid out on the circular dining table.

It seemed she still hadn’t fully memorized the material yet.

“Are you still struggling?”

Looking at her as Hua Eun recalled her experience, the mother-in-law had previously volunteered to take charge of Hyang’s training, but now faced her with a strained smile.

“Hyang, the time of the子 (Zi)!”

Observing the mother-in-law, Hyang peered anxiously at her, subtly shifting toward the si (Si) direction.

—Tsrr?

Then she looked at them, shedding tears like asking if that was wrong.

When they failed to reassure her, Hyang extended her antennas, moving toward the in-shi (Yin) direction.

—Ts, Tsrrt?

“Gyaaaah!”

Even though their little darling’s actions melted their hearts, the father felt a bitter sweetness, while the mother looked a tad greedy.

Hua Eun comforted Hyang, saying, “Hyang, you can surely excel just like your mother! Everyone starts somewhere. Now, try again! It should be in-shi.”

The reason why Hyang was memorizing the twelve hours was to inform Hua Eun about her direction.

If everyone grouped together when giving orders, Shin Tu would easily pinpoint their position, so they had to split up, letting Yo-hwa indicate directions while dividing Hyang’s telepathic signals across the twelve directions to inform Hua Eun.

As evening approached, the plaintive cries of Hyang struggling to memorize the twelve hours continued.

—Ts, Tsrr?