Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 120: Stolen Goods 6

Shin Tu and I were both paralyzed, caught in a mutual defeat situation, yet here we were inside the Four Heavenly Houses.

This was practically a sure catch.

As I rejoiced in my heart, I heard Yeon-du’s shout.

– Shyaaah!

Was it surprised by my collapse? The little guy was licking my face and nudging my cheek with its head.

It seemed to think I was hurt, but since my blood flow was restrained and the only movement I could manage were my eyes, I couldn’t tell it I was fine.

“I wish I could say not to worry, but I can’t speak.”

Suddenly, Yeon-du, who had been shaking me, got mad and slapped my face with its tail a few times as it crawled away toward the Clan Head Hall.

It seemed like it wanted to fetch Hua Eun or the others.

I considered sending my thoughts to Chao or Hyang, but Yeon-du had gone, so people would be coming soon.

In the meantime, I decided to take joy in the fact that I had caught Shin Tu.

“Three wishes, huh? What should I ask for? But if a thief grants wishes, isn’t it just going to steal something for me? It makes me hesitate to ask…”

I was pondering what to make my three granted wishes about.

A woman’s unique scent wafted gently over my chest.

“But is this woman wearing some kind of perfume? By the way, it’s a bit heavy… Woman!? Wait, is Shin Tu a woman!? ”

A sudden doubt crossed my mind.

I was sure I had heard from Mandok God grandfather that Shin Tu was a man around the same age as him.

“So what is she? It doesn’t seem like she is using Disguise Technique…”

I briefly thought that maybe the tricks he mentioned while he was teaching me about the Martial Arts Theory — like Disguise Technique, which changes one’s face, and Shrinking Bone Technique, which adjusts height or muscle at will — were in play here with some voice modulation art for a total Transformation effect.

But thinking it over, the woman had already transformed her face from Older Sister Seol’s into this one.

Moreover, the unique scent radiating from the woman collapsed over my chest strongly affirmed that she was a real woman.

Besides, putting aside the face, if she had lost consciousness and the techniques were undone, she should revert to her original form, yet she remained in this woman’s shape.

I quickly sent my thoughts to Chao and Hyang.

“Hey, Hyang! Chao! Bring anyone, even mom, to the entrance of Golden Hair Bee King’s house! Dad has collapsed! Hurry!”

The urgent reason for my message was because I had a feeling the woman might be a bait.

The real Shin Tu might be somewhere else.

So I couldn’t relax despite being collapsed inside the Four Heavenly Houses.

Since there were no warriors dispatched here to detect my position, if the real Shin Tu were to find us, he could scoop us up like a fisherman scooping up clams while fighting.

“Please… don’t let me be stolen! Don’t let me become stolen goods!”

As I impatiently waited, thankfully, familiar faces appeared.

From the entrance of the clan came Older Sister Seol in a tattered outfit and Hua Eun, carrying Hyang and Yeon-du over her shoulder along with clan elders and warriors.

– Cock-a-doodle-doo.

As dawn broke and the sound of a rooster crowing echoed, the people rushing in stopped and turned towards the direction of the crowing.

“It’s a rooster!”

“The rooster has crowed!”

Shin Tu’s warning signal was before the first rooster crowed.

I didn’t know the woman’s identity, but since the first rooster had crowed, Shin Tu would withdraw.

That was the unspoken rule of the Martial Forest.

“By the way, if Shin Tu leaves, will there be no compensation?”

It was said that if you caught Shin Tu, you’d get three wishes granted, but I was curious if there were no rewards if he retreated.

And also, I wondered about the identity of the woman I caught.

*

The woman, unconscious and bitten by Yeon-du, lay on the bed.

The grandfather who had freed my blood flow glanced at her briefly and ordered that she be moved to the guest accommodations. Thus, it seemed that she was more of a guest than a captured thief.

“But who is that woman? At first, I thought Shin Tu had used Shrinking Bone Technique and Disguise Technique, but that was not the case?”

As I asked, gazing at her, my grandfather walked closer to the bed and grabbed her wrist.

He then showed us her wrist with a smile.

“It seems that old Shin Tu has passed on a nickname to his disciple. This kid is probably the new Shin Tu.”

“She is Shin Tu!?”

“That woman!?”

My grandfather’s words indicated that the woman who looked to be around the same age as Hua Eun was the new Shin Tu.

As Hua Eun and I looked at Grandfather, startled, he pointed again at the woman’s wrist and spoke.

“Isn’t there a thread of Heavenly Silkworm wrapped around her wrist? Heavenly Silkworm is Shin Tu’s divine artifact. This means that this child is Shin Tu. I wanted to teach that old man a lesson, but I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with just having a disciple?”

Grandfather confirmed that the woman was indeed Shin Tu based on the thread wrapped around her wrist.

Just as he said, a fine thread resembling Yo-hwa’s silken thread was wrapped around her wrist.

And there was immediately a chilling change in Hua Eun’s expression.

“Why would a young female Shin Tu come to steal our Wei So-ryong? It doesn’t seem to be because of the Venomous Insects, right? Could it be that there’s some other intention?”

“Other intention?”

“Like she was interested in Wei So-ryong?”

“Come on, it can’t be. She hasn’t even met him before.”

When I made a dumbfounded expression at Hua Eun’s opinion, she nodded her finger and said.

“It’s quite plausible for a woman or man seen from afar to find someone attractive and be abducted. Just think of the case of Spear Dragon. Wei So-ryong. If Spear Dragon were to have a bit of a bad thought, wouldn’t that happen?”

Hua Eun’s statement suggested that if Spear Dragon were to go dark, that could be a possibility.

Although I thought it was absurd, somehow, when she mentioned Spear Dragon, I nodded slightly.

That’s because Hua Eun had also said she had never had a conversation with Spear Dragon before.

‘No, talking about it like that makes it seem plausible? But on second thought, in this world, the former me is admired by both the only daughter of the Four Heavenly Houses and Shin Tu? This might not be so bad?’

Just as I was looking back at the woman while contemplating whether Hua Eun’s words could be true, another uncomfortable voice from beside me suddenly broke in.

“If she’s Shin Tu, then that’s even better! A hero of the Central Plains Martial Forest daring to touch my clothes while I’m restrained! Just wait until I wake up! I’ll challenge the martial tournament!”

The reason Older Sister Seol was angry like that was simply because the woman at the training ground where the Golden Hair Bee King lived definitely resembled Older Sister Seol.

From her face to her figure and her clothes.

I wondered how the woman was wearing the distinctive outfit of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.

The truth was that after capturing Older Sister Seol and restraining the warriors who were moving along with her in the bushes, they had dragged her in there and stripped her of her clothes…

The outfit of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was similar to mini skirts worn by ethnic minorities in Yunnan, unlike the Central Plains.

Unlike the Central Plains women who wore a layer of white innerwear and undergarments once their outer garments were stripped off, the Southern Barbarian women had nothing beneath their outer garments aside from thin underwear, making it similar to being exposed naked when dragged into the bushes. Hence, Older Sister Seol was that furious.

She was even angrier because Shin Tu’s size didn’t fit her outfit…

Receiving the sharp glares from Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol, Shin Tu on the bed started sweating profusely.

It seemed like he was having some nightmarish visions.

*

The next day, an unexpected guest arrived at the Tang Clan.

After finishing lunch and resting, I heard the sound of the rooster crowing from the Nine Entrance Gate.

As Hua Eun and I rushed out, a shabby-looking beggar grinned at us.

It was Geolhwang.

“How have you been?”

“Geolhwang Elder!?”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Geolhwang Elder.”

The smiling person was the same Geolhwang Elder from whom we had once received help.

First, we offered polite greetings and cautiously asked.

“What brings you to the Tang Clan, Elder? Is there any chance that the external warriors have been treated poorly?”

“Has anything been overlooked? Elder?”

Although Hua Eun and I indirectly inquired, the content was almost like, “Did the Yellow Powder Bugs drop by?”

Since he was one of the three strongest figures in the Martial Forest, I was subtly offering a gift disguised as a small treat, worried that perhaps it had fallen into disfavor.

I had heard once that the warriors were being well taken care of, but I was wondering if more was needed or if anything was unsatisfactory.

Geolhwang chuckled, slapping my shoulder.

“Ha! How could that be? The warriors are doing excellently. And your hearts are finely received by me. Today, I just came by to see you.”

“To see me?”

I blinked at the sudden news of his visit, and then a voice rang in my mind.

[You caught Shin Tu’s disciple?]

‘Disciple?’

The woman collapsed and bitten by Yeon-du, according to my grandfather’s words, was said to be the latest Shin Tu. Yet, Geolhwang referred to her as Shin Tu’s disciple.

According to Hua Eun, the Geolhwang clan gathers information.

It was probable that they had more accurate information than Mandok God grandfather, which meant the identity of the woman was likely Shin Tu’s disciple.

“Yes, um, how…”

[Don’t answer, just listen. That guy is hiding nearby, you see.]

‘?’

Upon hearing that something was lurking nearby, I flinched at the subsequent telepathic message.

[I wanted to do you a favor, so I sent my agenda, Shin Tu’s disciple, instead. But do you know how surprised I was when she raised her martial arts up before I could give her a hint?

In any case, it seems our hearts resonated well as I observed, but who would have thought you would really catch her? Hehe.]

It was a voice filled with delight.

Now I realized that Shin Tu had not directly come, but rather his disciple had appeared due to Geolhwang’s information scheme.

It seemed Geolhwang lavished credit on her arrival as part of his information scheme.

[You don’t need to be too thankful. I only intended to reward you because of my matter with Na-ok. Even if my agenda is a thief, if he has exceptional skills, three wishes would be a great help.]

As I listened, it seemed Geolhwang was trying to reward me for helping Na-ok.

Since he instructed me to simply listen, I would hold off on thanking him for now, but I also planned to guide Geolhwang inside.

It was also nice to have someone looking out for me, and I couldn’t leave him standing at the door all day.

“Geolhwang Elder, please come inside. You have come, so let’s have a meal and take a look around inside…”

Just as I was about to lead Geolhwang inside, he suddenly looked back and shouted.

“What are you doing! You brat! Hurry and go get your disciple!”

When Geolhwang shouted towards the other side of the river, a gust of wind seemed to blow, and then a robust-looking elder appeared, scratching his head.

“Nice to meet you, Junior Hero. I’m Tuje, the new Shin Tu Gal Ji Hong.”

No way, this famous thief of the Martial Forest had a physique that resembled that of a small-time thief!

He looked so much like a beggar that I began to doubt his surname.

“Nice to meet you, Shin Tu Elder. I’m Wei So-ryong.”

‘Whoa! Is this guy Tuje? Wait, isn’t he the thief? Is this beggar actually a thief in disguise!?’

After exchanging greetings with the beggar-like man, I heard a questioning voice.

Geolhwang seemed perplexed by my introduction.

It must have struck him as strange that I didn’t mention my surname while introducing myself to an elder.

“Wei So-ryong? Weren’t you the Wei from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace?”

“Ah, I’ve become the adopted son of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace now. So my name became like this.”

“Southern Barbarian Beast Palace!?”

Upon hearing that I was now the adopted son of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, Geolhwang’s eyes widened, and Tuje smacked Geolhwang on the side.

“Brother, you didn’t mention this!”

“No, brat, I’m hearing this for the first time too! I heard you went to the Southern Barbarian recently but didn’t expect you’d become an adopted son in the meantime? No way, how many miraculous people are there? I heard not too long ago that you became the captain of the yellow-haired gang, and now you’re also the adopted son of the Beast Palace?”

Geolhwang looked at me with a gaze filled with wonder.

I thought it wouldn’t be that hard for a guy who had serious intentions with venomous insects to become the adopted son of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, but just as I was about to answer, another question cut in.

“By the way, has Yeongryeon gotten hurt? If the old man Mandok thinks I’m him and didn’t hold back his strength, it could be a big deal. Seems like his martial arts have increased lately. I thought he wouldn’t get captured even if Mandok God finally stepped out. So, did my Yeongryeon get caught by Mandok?”

It seemed that he was assuming his disciple had been caught by Mandok God, and I called for Chao in my mind and brought others too.

“Hyang, Seol, Bin, Yeon-du!”

– Tsuru?

– Ggukgu?

– Shyaaah?

As the little ones echoed back at my call, Tuje widened his eyes in surprise.

It seemed that he wasn’t surprised enough to miss anything considering his martial arts were strong enough to sense something out of ordinary in my hold, but he became astonished when they responded back.

Soon after, a shadow cast upon us, and when Chao showed up, I spoke towards Tuje.

“Your disciple was caught by these kids. Elder.”

“!”

“!”

Both the beggar and the thief stared wide-eyed in shock.

*

“Sniff… I apologize, Master.”

“It’s alright. It’d be strange to not get caught between such creatures… I wouldn’t have guaranteed my own safety either…”

“Sniff…”

Because Tuje wanted to check his disciple’s condition first, we brought him into the room just as the disciple woke up.

We facilitated the reunion between the master and disciple and moved to the Clan Head Hall for greetings with the elders and a discussion about why they attempted to steal me.

“… So you were trying to get some help from me?”

“Ah, so you wanted to grow a spirit insect, the silkworm, to get cocoons, and you needed my help?”

“That’s correct! Since you caught Yeongryeon, of course, I’ll grant you the three wishes, so don’t worry about that and please also help with this request. This is a separate reward!”

‘Silkworm…’

After listening closely, I understood what they meant.

It seemed he desperately needed help regarding the special silkworms, yet he didn’t know how to do it, which meant he was asking for my assistance.

Nodding my head in agreement with the request, I asked, “How many eggs are left?”

“Only three.”

“Ah, so for the wish of capturing your disciple, can it be any wish at all?”

“Of course, as long as it’s not against what is right, I can steal anything you want, or even take any life! Just say the word!”

He thumped his chest as if he could fetch the stars and the moon from the sky.

With a smile, I responded, “Then, would you please hand over those eggs?”

“Eh? You want to see them? Are you doing this for me!?”

He happily exclaimed at my response.

“Of course, I’ll make sure you can get your cocoons. But, my first wish involves those eggs.”

“?”

‘Why is he asking a question like that? Of course, it’s an egg seizure.’

The moths are venomous insects.

First, it was seized.

He did say he would grant any wish, after all.