Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The Tang Clan was in utter chaos due to the sudden appearance of the Blood Cult.

Not only had many of the clan’s warriors been killed or injured, but numerous allied sects from the righteous martial world had arrived under the guise of offering assistance, further adding to the commotion.

According to my older sister, the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, both located within Sichuan, sent their representatives as soon as they received our carrier pigeons. Warriors from the Wudang Sect in Hubei and the Zhuge Family were also on their way.

Apparently, the Blood Cult was a vile group that captured people to extract their essence blood and had been branded a scourge on the martial world after committing a mass slaughter thirty years ago.

This so-called "evil cult" was said to be even more despicable than the Black Path or unorthodox sects.

Even the Tang Clan, infamous for their unflinching use of poison in their arts, referred to them as nuclear-grade trash.

"Seriously, if the Tang Clan—who have no qualms about using humans in their experiments—call them trash, just how bad are these guys?"

Even the Martial Alliance, a coalition of martial artists based in Wuhan, was sending people to investigate the matter.

Apparently, this was a huge deal.

That was why so many people were showing up. For now, a strategy meeting of sorts was being held in the Xuanwu Hall, the main gathering hall of the Tang Clan, with the first arrivals from the Qingcheng and Emei Sects in attendance.

“How did the search of the surrounding area go?”

Grandfather, who had requested the meeting, addressed the question to the head of the Qingcheng Sect, Bai Hezi, who had arrived with dozens of disciples. Bai Hezi reported their findings from the past three days.

The Tang Clan had already conducted an initial search, but with so many of our warriors injured, a thorough investigation hadn’t been possible. Once the Qingcheng and Emei Sect members arrived, Grandfather had asked them to search the area again.

“Senior Mandok Shingun, it seems the cultists crossed the Tang River. We found evidence of moss scraped from rocks near the water. However, we couldn’t determine where they came from because most traces were washed away by the rain.”

After hearing this, Master Hwajeong from the Emei Sect shared their findings from searching the mountains where we had fought.

“Amitabha. We searched for three days as well, but the rain washed away all traces. We could not confirm where they came from. It is truly unfortunate. It seems another bloodstorm is about to descend upon the martial world.”

Grandfather, clearly displeased, scowled and raised his voice.@@novelbin@@

“So, we’re unable to trace those bastards at all!”

Thud!

He slammed the table in anger, causing the teacups placed on top to wobble precariously.

As the trembling cups finally settled, Grandfather sighed and turned to Master Hwajeong with a request.

“Master Hwajeong, could I trouble you to perform the memorial rites for our fallen family members? It would ease my heart greatly if you could.”

“Amitabha. Of course, Senior Mandok Shingun. If you entrust this to me, I will do it with the utmost sincerity.”

“Then I leave it to you. Thank you.”

The memorial rites must refer to a Buddhist funeral ceremony.

The bodies of those who had died in the recent incident were temporarily buried in the Tang Clan’s cemetery for warriors. It seemed Grandfather was planning to hold the rites there soon.

The total number of fatalities was eight.

The cultists hadn’t killed their victims outright. Instead, it seemed they intended to prolong their suffering by draining some of their blood and then leaving them to die from excessive blood loss. All eight had died this way.

Given the brutal battle, eight deaths were relatively few, but it was still a painful loss for the Tang Clan.

Among the dead were warriors I had scouted the mountain paths with, which left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

I couldn’t quite understand it yet, but losing someone you’d shared a home and daily routines with was an unsettling feeling.

“Is this what it means to be family?”

As the short meeting seemed to be wrapping up with the arrangement for the funeral rites, I was standing beside my sister, trying to gauge when we could leave.

At that moment, I made eye contact with one of the nuns standing behind Master Hwajeong.

“Ah!”

The nun flinched in surprise upon seeing my face.

“Wasn’t her name Yeonsu?”

Seeing her startled reaction, I offered her a slight nod, guessing that she only remembered how I looked before consuming the Bongwang Pill of the Golden Centipede King.

“Have the two of you met before?”

Master Hwajeong, noticing Yeonsu’s reaction, asked her directly why she seemed so surprised.

Realizing her mistake, Yeonsu quickly lowered her head and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I briefly saw him while returning from alms rounds. He looks quite different now, so I was startled…”

“I see. Now that you mention it, this is my first time seeing this young warrior. Senior Mandok Shingun, would you introduce him? Judging by his presence here, he must be a direct descendant of the Tang Clan, but I’ve never heard of such a young warrior in the family.”

At Master Hwajeong’s request, Grandfather smiled and called out to me.

“So-ryong.”

It was clearly an instruction to step forward and introduce myself.

Quick to pick up on the cue, I stepped away from my sister’s side, clasped my fists, and bowed politely to the group.

“I am Wei Su Long. It is an honor to meet you all.”

Despite my polite introduction, the gathered members exchanged puzzled glances.

I couldn’t figure out why until murmurs started to ripple through the room.

“Wei?”

“Wei?”

It seemed odd to them that someone with the surname Wei was present at a meeting restricted to the Tang Clan’s direct lineage.

Sensing the confusion, Grandfather smiled and gave a concise explanation.

“He’s my grandson-in-law.”

“Grandson-in-law?”

“Senior Mandok Shingun, do you mean…?”

At Grandfather’s words, my sister’s cheeks flushed bright red, and the others began glancing back and forth between us. It didn’t take long for them to connect the dots, and they exclaimed in astonishment.

“Wait, you mean Tang Hwa-eun’s…?”

“Good heavens! One of the Three Beauties of the martial world, given to such a young warrior?”

All eyes in the room turned toward me and my sister, now brimming with curiosity.

“Senior Mandok Shingun, could you tell us more about this young warrior? It’s hard to believe you entrusted your beloved granddaughter to him. I thought you swore you’d never give her to anyone…”

“Yes, I’m quite curious as well. The Tang Clan’s son-in-law must have exceptional skills. Just how remarkable is he to have earned Tang Hwa-eun’s hand…?”

The guests’ curiosity was palpable, their questions all but asking how someone like me could end up with a beauty like my sister.

Unless I saved the country in a past life, it would be impossible to meet someone like her.

Well, in my past life, I couldn’t even save myself.

Grandfather finally rose from his seat, lightly tapped my shoulder, and answered their questions with a smile.

“This boy here captured two of the Blood Cult’s members who had infiltrated us.”

At this, the guests exchanged surprised looks, nodding in acknowledgment.

“To take down two of the Blood Cult’s warriors? That’s quite impressive for such a young age. Their skills must be formidable.”

“Amitabha. To achieve such a feat before reaching adulthood… Truly a blessing to the martial world.”

Apparently, in this world, killing people effectively earned you recognition.

I had started off strong in this regard, as evidenced by the guests’ approving nods.

But Grandfather wasn’t finished. His next words left everyone in the room wide-eyed in disbelief.

“No, So-ryong didn’t take down just any warriors. He killed a Blood Cult elder.”

Silence filled the room.

At first, the guests seemed to think they had misheard. They tilted their heads and stared at Grandfather in confusion.

But when he nodded again, confirming his statement, they cried out in shock.

“An elder? This young warrior killed a Blood Cult elder?”

“Amitabha! Senior Mandok Shingun doesn’t strike me as someone who would joke about such matters, but how…?”

The stunned guests looked at me with newfound respect, while I silently pondered the absurdity of it all.

In this world, as long as you were good at killing, you were automatically celebrated.

By those standards, I seemed to be off to an excellent start.

***

“So-ryong, I have a favor to ask. Would you be able to help me with it?”

That evening, Grandfather called me quietly to his quarters.

Sitting me down in front of him, he abruptly mentioned that he needed my assistance with something.

“What is it you need? If it’s something I can do, I’ll dedicate myself fully to it.”

Nodding, Grandfather began to explain the situation.

“It’s about the people arriving soon from the Martial Alliance.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about that.”

I had already learned from my sister about the Martial Alliance, the collective organization of martial artists. They were sending representatives to investigate this incident, so I nodded in acknowledgment.

“That’s right. They’ll likely bring one of their military commanders with them. I want you to present the poison you discovered to them. It’s important to let them know you’ve found a poison that can exploit the weaknesses of those Blood Cult bastards.

It’s a crucial discovery, and while it’s important to us, we can’t keep this information to ourselves if it could serve the greater good, don’t you agree?”

Grandfather’s words were clear: sharing the information for the sake of the greater good.

It made sense. If those unnaturally strong cultists were allowed to roam unchecked, the lives lost would be immeasurable.

Considering the damage already done to the Tang Clan, sharing the information was the right choice. It could save lives.

So, I quickly nodded in agreement.

“I understand. If it’s for a good cause, it’s only right to do so.”

“Good. Now, there’s something specific I want you to take care of.”

I had assumed the request was about sharing the information, but it seemed the real favor was yet to come.

When I asked what it was, Grandfather glanced toward the open window of the Mandok Pavilion and spoke.

“Well, what is it?”

“I believe we’ll be needing more venom from the tiger-striped pit vipers soon. I understand from what you’ve told me that keeping them alive and harvesting their venom is more effective than killing them outright. Is it possible for you to handle that?

Even if we reveal that the viper’s venom is effective against the cultists, it will still be up to our Tang Clan to manage the venom properly.”

So that was the real favor: breeding tiger-striped pit vipers and collecting their venom.

That was exactly the kind of project I had been waiting for, so I responded enthusiastically without hesitation.

“Of course! If you entrust it to me, I’ll make it happen without fail.”

“Good. I heard the renovations on the Mandok Pavilion have just been completed, so you can start working there tomorrow. Think of it as a task for the sake of the martial world and give it your all.”

“Really? Understood, Grandfather!”

Hearing that the long-awaited renovations to the Mandok Pavilion were finished filled me with excitement.

Tonight, I felt like I could finally sleep soundly.

Or maybe I wouldn’t sleep at all, too thrilled at the thought of what was to come.

***

The day after Grandfather asked me to produce tiger-striped pit viper venom in large quantities for the martial world, my new career officially began.

Early in the morning, my sister arrived to escort me to my new workplace.

Where, you ask? None other than the Mandok Pavilion.

As Grandfather had mentioned, the renovations were complete. Additionally, I had been granted a separate sunlit building, perfect for setting up an optimal environment for breeding venomous creatures. Today marked the beginning of this ambitious project.

“So, So-ryong, have you decided on a name for your building yet?”

As we walked together, my sister suddenly brought up the question.

She was asking about the name for the new building that had been assigned to me. Grandfather had said it was mine to name, so the decision was entirely up to me.

“Could she be hoping to name it herself?”

Or maybe she wanted to suggest a name because she had some grand idea?

The thought of her unleashing her infamously poor naming sense gave me a sense of urgency. I couldn’t let that happen.

This was a battle I absolutely couldn’t lose.

“Of course, I’ve already thought of one,” I replied confidently.

“Oh? What is it? Since it’s a building dedicated to handling venomous creatures, I’m sure it’ll have an imposing and impressive name, right?”

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, and she gazed at me with an eager expression.

I nodded, preparing to reveal the masterpiece of a name I had come up with.

“Of course. How about ‘Venomous Creatures’ Garden?’”

“Venomous Creatures’ Garden?”

My sister blinked, her wide eyes filled with curiosity as she repeated the name.

“Isn’t it perfect? It doesn’t get better than this,” I thought to myself with pride.