NOVEL WEB Chapter 133
Chapter 133: Fabre in the Four Heavenly Houses
“Bi, Bin Ah!”
Chirrup…
Right now, Bin’s color is Real All Black.
What kind of evolution makes it so luxurious?
I was completely captivated by Bin’s shiny black chitinous exoskeleton.
From the eyes to the tips of the antennae, not a single spot was left untouched by black.
The luxuriousness radiating from that black color completely ensnared me.
When one thinks of the rarest and most luxurious colors in nature, pure white and pure black undoubtedly come to mind, with pure black being the rarer of the two.
‘So rare! Too rare!’
The intricate reason why pure black is the most precious color, especially among animals, is because it doesn’t occur naturally; it is the result of increased melanin that causes albinism to manifest.
While white can appear through two mutations—albinism and leucism—black exists solely through albinism, making it far more precious.
Albino or leucistic individuals can be born or discovered by sheer luck during breeding, but I’ve never seen a black individual in my life.
Thus, if I had to pick the rarer color, it would undoubtedly be black.
That’s why I was completely captivated.
Because Bin is my own little black gem.
‘Ah, how beautiful!’
As I stared blankly at Bin, our eyes met.
In that shimmering moment, we gazed into each other’s eyes.
And when the sunlight reflected off Bin’s blackness, making my vision hazy, we raced toward each other without a moment’s hesitation.
“Gyaaaah! My daughter! You’ve grown so beautiful!”
Chirp, chirp…
A tearful reunion of a father and his daughter who had gone astray.
Even the tsundere Bin couldn’t help but feel bashful at this moment.
As I rushed to embrace Bin, I felt an overwhelming heaviness.
While Chao was solid, having a slightly lighter feel since she was flight-capable, the weight of Bin’s sturdy chitinous exoskeleton felt even more substantial.
The robust form wrapped in blackness added to Bin’s immense weight, completely defining her body.
If Chao felt like a fighter jet, then Bin felt like a tank, or something equally bulky.
And at that moment, it dawned on me that I had misunderstood Bin.
She loves her dad, yet I had thought she ran away.
“That’s right, she didn’t run away! It was me who misunderstood! Our daughter could never do such a thing.”
I had assumed Bin’s sudden disappearance was because she was sulking, but it seemed that I was wrong.
Being originally a wild animal, no matter how much she adapted to humans, some wild instincts would remain.
I had begun training our Chao, Hyang, and Bin the moment I was born, but it seemed those wild instincts were still lingering.
So, Bin’s departure was not an act of rebellion but rather akin to a domesticated wild animal seeking a hidden place when giving birth; she was likely searching for a secret space for her evolution.
Chao’s transformation had happened suddenly from consuming Inner Dan, but Bin’s evolution seemed to require solitary effort, thus she needed a private space.
I had no clue how she had evolved, but it seemed plausible that she might have fallen asleep, as Older Sister Seol suggested.
If that wasn’t the case, what could it be?
Surely, my sweet and lovely daughter wouldn’t do anything crazy, right?
As I enveloped Bin in my embrace, she crawled out from the burrow, wrapping her body around me as if she would never let go again.
And everyone around us, including Hua Eun, Older Sister Seol, and all members of the Tang Clan, looked on in confusion, unsure of what to do.
*
“Bin’s back!?”
When Bin and I had calmed down, the voice of Mandok God echoed from the entrance of the Four Harmonies Courtyard.
Turning my head, I saw the three of them standing there with blank expressions.
Perhaps they had followed the commotion caused by the warriors—Mandok God, my father-in-law, and mother-in-law raced over from Clan Head Hall, eyes wide in astonishment at the change in Bin.
“Bi, Bin? Is that really you?”
“No way, our cute Bin?!”
It seemed Bin’s transformation was quite astonishing.
“Yes, Bin has returned, and she has become so beautiful!”
As I bragged while petting Bin, Mandok God quickly circled around her, his expression shocked.
“Could it be, Hyun?”
“Hyun?”
Mandok God suddenly mentioned ‘Hyun.’
As I, Hua Eun, and Older Sister Seol tilted our heads in confusion, Mandok God shouted for us to wait a moment and soared into the air using Lightness Skill.
“Warriors, retreat! You all wait here for a moment!”
Before long, he appeared again with an old book, noticeably four times larger than any book I had seen.
Feeling a sense of wonder at its size, I watched as he placed it on the pavilion.
Once laid down, the title 天下一毒物秘錄 (Tang Clan’s Secret Record of Venomous Creatures) vividly caught my eye.
“Oh! This is the Tang Clan’s Secret Record of Venomous Creatures!”
“Yes, this is the very book you were so eager to see.”
The tome, said to have been passed down within the Tang Clan, is somewhat like a detailed bestiary of venoms in the Central Plains.
Though I had only asked to see it once, they had insisted I dedicate much more effort to martial arts before allowing me a glimpse.
The book was quite old and tattered, showing signs of wear.
As Mandok God opened the first page, it seemed he was finally ready to show it to me.
“Come, Wei So-ryong, take a look.”
“Yes, understood!”
“Should I step aside?”
Upon hearing the request to scrutinize the book, Older Sister Seol wondered if she should leave, but Mandok God shook his head.
“While it’s called a record, it’s not exactly martial arts; there’s really no need for that. Just come and look.”
With my heart racing, I approached the pavilion and eagerly checked the first page.
The words jumped at me:
“I, the youngest son of the third Clan Head of the Tang Clan, Tang Mun-ryong, leave this record for future generations.
The name of this record is the Tang Clan’s Secret Record of Venomous Creatures.
I have documented the creatures I encountered while seeking out venoms throughout Central Plains, noting their appearances, habitats, and peculiar behaviors.
The reason I committed these details to writing is that the Tang Clan overlooks the significance of poisons.
In the mountains, fields, and forests where life and death coexist, I recognized potential in these creatures.
I sincerely hope what I have recorded will aid the future generations in their mastery of Venomous Power.”
“What’s this?”
“This is a message from the ancestors who recorded this record.”
Though the Tang Clan might not be famed, the serious words expressing faith in the boundless potential of poisonous creatures began with the name Tang Hwa-seong, prompting me to pray for his blessings.
Turning the page, it contained sketches drawn in ink with simple descriptions and habits listed alongside them.
It felt genuinely like a bestiary of venoms from the Central Plains.
“When spread, wings reach five feet. The beak is a coppery color with sharpness, and the body covered in purplish feathers. When angered and spreading its wings, everything around it turns black and dies, becoming a venomous creature. It wears a golden crown upon its head, embodying the majesty of a king. This is known as the Jin (鴆) or Jinbird (鴆鳥).”
The first entry was indeed the Jinbird.
The creature bore a striking resemblance to the Jinbirds we were familiar with, illustrated quite meticulously with a fine brush.
But before I could examine the first page thoroughly, Mandok God rapidly flipped the pages.
The turned pages finally halted at a pitch-black one.
‘What’s this?’
As I scanned through the pages quickly, while the illustrations were generally outlined in ink, this venomous creature was depicted with bold strokes—almost as if it had been painted in thick ink.
Upon closer inspection, it depicted a centipede completely coated in darkness.
The inscription beneath it read: 이십사독지 (Twenty-Four Poisons Branch) 묵현귀공 (Mugyeongguigong).
As I shifted my gaze to the description, something astonishing was written there.
「The Mugyeongguigong occupies a grand position as one of the legendary Twenty-Four Poisons, the black centipede. It can suddenly emerge from the ground to attack people or beasts. Its appearance is that of a vast, black centipede, resembling a dark apparition, hence known as Mugyeongguigong.
It appears to listen keenly to the sounds of people and animals on the ground, and even if it hides beneath rocks, one should not feel secure.
Do not underestimate it, for it can break through rocks and spring up.」
“Whoa!”
The explanation in the book was precisely about our Bin.
While she wasn’t one of the Ten Great Venoms, it was remarkable that she had become a significant poison under the Twenty-Four Poisons category.
“Our Bin may not be one of the Ten Great Venoms, but she’s the Mugyeongguigong of the Twenty-Four Poisons!”
It didn’t matter that she wasn’t one of the Ten Great Venoms.
To me, Bin was as honorable as one.
Overwhelmed by the revelation of my daughter evolving into such a remarkable poison, I exclaimed toward Bin.
“Bin, our little Bin has become the third of the Twenty-Four Poisons, the Mugyeongguigong!”
But it seemed Bin didn’t approve of the name Mugyeongguigong, as she screeched in protest.
Chirp!
“Why? Do you dislike Mugyeongguigong?”
Chirp!
Feeling the sentiment of ‘I don’t dislike it, but…’ through my heart at that moment.
Chirp!
A different low sound of centipede echoed from above.
Looking up, Chao was slowly descending from the sky.
Come to think of it, Chao had been missing when I woke up.
Her affection for her dad was no less than Bin’s, so it wouldn’t have been strange for her to remain by my side while I was down.
At that moment, I felt curious about where she had been, but I then heard Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol’s explanation.
“I thought we’d have to find Bin, so I asked Chao to search for her.”
“I thought the reason you collapsed might be related to Bin, so we were trying to find her since Chao was growing alongside Bin before.”
As Hua Eun wrapped up her explanation, Chao landed right before Bin, checking her from top to bottom.
It seemed that Bin was trying to push Chao away as they began to wrestle.
Chirp!
Chirp!
Though Bin was a bit bigger, Chao held her ground firmly, likely because of her association with the Ten Great Venoms.
Just as I thought a serious battle might erupt, I oddly began sensing the words shared between them.
Previously, I could only feel each other’s feelings when they sent messages to one another, but now I could sense conversations going back and forth.
‘What? Does this telepathy ability evolve too?’
What I could sense being exchanged.
『Dad thinks I’m prettier than you.』
『Dad said I’m the prettiest of all.』
With that revelation, both heads abruptly swung my way, and in unison, they inquired telepathically.
Chirp?
Chirp?
“So, who do you think is the prettiest among us, Dad?”
‘Gulp!’
A beauty ranking between daughters felt exceedingly important.
If I didn’t answer correctly, it seemed like a massive fight could break out between them.
And such a fight might resemble a battle of monsters.
If two Ten Great Venoms clashed, it might wipe out everything in a cloud of poison.
Could this scenario usher in an all-out war within the Tang Clan?
As I swallowed hard, hesitant to reply.
Chirp.
From the sleeve of Hua Eun, while fidgeting her antennae, Hyang crawled out, gazing pointedly at Bin and Chao.
She must have looked like she just crawled out of sleep; so it was trouble upon trouble.
If Hyang began to cry because she hadn’t evolved like the other two, it’d be pure chaos.
One was crying, the other two were squabbling; just as I began to lose my mind over the chaotic reality—
Assuming there would be crying and chaos, Hyang suddenly leaped off Hua Eun and landed on my shoulder.
Hyang wrapped around my neck and looked at Bin and Chao, delivering a victorious message.
She had realized that she was the one to monopolize her dad now.
Thinking it over, she decided not to grow too big as it would burden me, pledging to stay attached to me for life.
‘So, you’re saying you won’t marry and will live with Dad forever?’
As that thought crossed my mind, the antennae of Bin and Chao perked up, directing their focus.