Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The day after we captured the Chinese hamsters, Grandfather was still busy hosting guests and discussing strategies to counter the Blood Cult.

The fact that the cult had boldly revealed themselves and even attacked the Tang Clan suggested they were ready to make a resurgence in the Central Plains. After lying low for thirty years since their fall, they must have regained enough strength and confidence to strike again.

It was clear that their target was the Blood-Water Venom Claw. Discussions revolved around how to protect it and perhaps use it to lure the cultists into a trap.

“How about we entrust the Blood-Water Venom Claw to the Martial Alliance?”

“There’s no guarantee it’ll be safer there than it is here. Too many people come and go at their headquarters.”

“Fair enough. For now, let’s wait for the representative from the Martial Alliance to arrive. He’s from the Zhuge Family, so I’m sure he’ll come up with a good idea. After all, he is a Zhuge.”

The original text of the Blood-Water Venom Claw technique was safely stored in the secret vault within the Mandok Pavilion, while Grandfather personally carried the copy. Nevertheless, the Tang Clan was on high alert, fearing another attack.

The news of the Tang Clan being assaulted had caused an uproar in the Sichuan martial arts world.

"I thought this was supposed to be the most formidable assassination clan in the Central Plains. But they get scammed, robbed, and attacked? Maybe the Tang Clan isn’t as infallible as they seem."

Grandfather was also preoccupied with preparing to host the arriving reinforcements.

Since there weren’t any nearby inns or lodging facilities, the Tang Clan had to provide food and accommodations for all their guests. Meeting Grandfather even once a day had become a rare occurrence.

“I hope Grandfather is holding up…”

I wasn’t too worried, given his experience as a former clan leader, but he was still an old man.

With such a significant incident, it felt like Father-in-law needed to return quickly. The clan had already dispatched a few of their fastest warriors to fetch him, so he should be back soon.

While I was lost in thought inside the Venomous Creatures’ Garden, a warrior called out to me.

“Sir So-ryong, we’ve brought bark from dried oak trees and sawdust from the carpenters. We also loaded shavings onto the cart. What should we do with them?”

“Ah, store them all in sacks after drying them thoroughly.”

“Yes, Sir So-ryong.”

“Oh, and the planed shavings should be prepared today. We’ll use them as bedding for the mice.”

“Understood, Sir!”

Just like Grandfather, my Venom Squad and I were busy setting up the Venomous Creatures’ Garden.

We needed to finish as soon as possible so we could bring in the tiger-striped pit vipers.

We also needed to prepare venom samples to present to the Martial Alliance’s representative. For that, a proper breeding system for pinkies was essential.

“Sir So-ryong, we’ve received the cleaned and heated sand. Where should we store it?”

“Hmm, place it over there.”

That day, I divided the Venom Squad into two teams: one to continue setting up the facilities, and the other to capture more Chinese hamsters.

Thinking back, I realized I had gotten so excited about catching the mice that I’d skipped a crucial step—we should’ve prepared their habitats first.

To raise rodents like Chinese hamsters, the most important things were proper bedding and individual enclosures.

For bedding, I used the sawdust and wood shavings we had gathered. As for enclosures, I opted for large clay jars, similar to what I had used in Hainan.

Glass aquariums or plastic enclosures weren’t an option here, and wooden boxes, while easy to make, risked being gnawed through. Clay jars were the safest bet.

“Once we’ve dewormed the hamsters we caught yesterday, we’ll set up their clay jars with wood shavings and house them individually,” I instructed.

“Yes, Sir So-ryong.”

Chinese hamsters have nasty tempers and need to be housed separately. If not, the females might attack and kill the males.

After emphasizing this, I headed to the quarantine area where the hamsters we caught yesterday were being held.

Quarantine involved checking for parasites like mites, fleas, or bedbugs and using insecticides to eliminate them. Wild rodents often carried diseases or parasites that could cause mass deaths in a breeding facility. Worse, they could infect the reptiles that ate them.

While I didn’t have disinfectants or antiparasitic medicines like in my past life, the Tang Clan grew pyrethrum flowers, which contained natural insecticidal properties. I used them to remove external parasites.

When I arrived at the holding area, Gu Pae greeted me with a bright smile.

“Sir So-ryong, we caught about thirty today. A few of them look like they’re pregnant, too.”

“Oh, that’s great! Keep the pregnant ones separate from the others. Don’t forget to use the pyrethrum on them.”

“Understood, Sir So-ryong.”

The setup of the Venomous Creatures’ Garden and the production of pinkies were progressing steadily. Things were finally coming together.

***

I had a newfound respect for the warriors of the Tang Clan—or rather, for martial artists in general.

They had completed the setup for the Venomous Creatures’ Garden in just three days.

In my previous life, I’d heard it could take nearly a month to properly set up a shop, yet these guys managed it in record time.

I hadn’t realized it before, but martial artists were perfectly suited for manual labor. With their endless stamina and incredible strength, they were practically geniuses when it came to physical work.

If they’d been in the military in my previous life, they’d have been the quartermaster’s favorites—able to dig, haul, and move heavy loads without complaint. They even excelled at what we’d called "bear work"—moving unbearably heavy items without breaking a sweat.

Looking at the finished Venomous Creatures’ Garden, I nodded in approval.
“Well done, everyone.”

“It’s nothing, Sir. This was our duty.”

“From now on, make sure these mice have clean food and replace the bedding whenever it gets dirty.”

“Understood, Sir. By the way, a few of the mice have already had babies.”

“Is that so? Be careful not to check on them too often. The mothers might eat their young if they get stressed.”

“Yes, Sir. We’ll be mindful of that.”@@novelbin@@

Now that everything was ready, tomorrow we would head to the Snake Pit to bring back the tiger-striped pit vipers.

For now, we couldn’t feed them the newborn mice since we needed to increase the hamster population, but I’d find something else to feed the snakes temporarily.

“Well done, everyone. Tomorrow, we’ll head to the Snake Pit to catch the vipers. Oh, and I’ve already spoken to my mother-in-law, so feel free to have a drink tonight.”

“Dr-drink, Sir!?”

Captain Gu Pae’s eyes widened at the mention of alcohol.

I cautiously asked, “Do you not like drinking?”

“No, Sir! I love it! Thank you, Sir!”

“Thank you, Sir!”

“Good. I’ve arranged for you to pick up drinks from the kitchen attached to the reception hall. You’ve all worked very hard.”

In my past life, I would’ve joined them for a drink and claimed to share in their hard work. But now, as a fifteen-year-old, I wasn’t of drinking age. Instead, I left them to their celebration and headed off to see my sister.

The reason I sought her out was to check on Cho, Hyang, and Bini. Ever since I collapsed, my sister had been taking care of them for me.

She told me they had clung to her and refused to leave her side.

“Lady Hwa-eun, are you in?”

This was my first time visiting her quarters.

From within the dimly lit room, my sister’s voice called out.
“Come in, So-ryong.”

As I stepped inside, I was greeted by black curtains draped all around.

The reason for the heavy curtains was Cho, Hyang, and Bini.

Ever since my collapse, they had stuck to my sister, refusing to leave her side. The problem now was that they had started burrowing into her clothes instead of clinging to her outer garments.

To prevent them from crawling inside, my sister had kept the room dark, knowing centipedes preferred dark, enclosed spaces.

I didn’t mind when they crawled on my skin, but my sister wasn’t as comfortable with it.

“How are they today?” I asked as I stepped further inside.

By the light of a small lantern, I saw my sister seated at the table, Cho, Hyang, and Bini clinging to her shoulders and back.

“They seem to just sleep all the time,” she replied.

“They must be tired.”

“I didn’t realize venomous creatures get exhausted after using their venom.”

The reason Cho, Hyang, and Bini were sticking to my sister wasn’t that they’d chosen a new master—it was because of food.

Most people assume that venom is simply saliva or bodily fluid produced naturally, but that’s only partially true. Venom is a complex substance composed of enzymes and proteins, and producing it consumes an enormous amount of energy.

When venomous creatures expend all their venom, it can take weeks to replenish it. For snakes, it can take up to a month. Scorpions, if stressed while caring for their young, might even eat their offspring to recover the energy needed to produce more venom.

I had noticed that Cho, Hyang, and Bini’s venom had become even more potent after the encounter with the Blood Cult, to the point where their prey melted entirely. It seemed they had used every ounce of venom they could produce in that fight.

Now, they were clinging to my sister, absorbing the aura of their mother, the Blue-Spotted Centipede Queen, to recover.

“By the way, so this is your room,” I remarked, looking around.

“Yes, it’s your first time here, isn’t it? Traditionally, unmarried women’s quarters in the inner courtyard are off-limits to men,” she said, her voice faltering slightly as she seemed to realize the implications.

It was a woman’s room—quiet, fragrant, and dimly lit.

“Ah-hem…”

Standing there alone with my sister in this private space, I could see her starting to grow flustered.

“Well, you see… So-ryong, you’re, um… I’m…”

Just as she was stumbling over her words, a voice called out from outside.

“Lady Hwa-eun, Captain Gu Pae is here to see Sir So-ryong.”

“Captain Gu Pae?”

My sister sighed, draping a black cloth over Cho, Hyang, and Bini before saying, “Let’s go, So-ryong.”

“Of course.”

As we reached the entrance of the inner courtyard, I saw Captain Gu Pae waiting with four other Venom Squad members. They all looked uncharacteristically serious, heads bowed as if in shame.

“Gu Pae?”

At the sound of my voice, Captain Gu Pae looked up, his face filled with regret.

“I’m sorry, Sir So-ryong. The warriors have made a grave mistake…”

“Mistake?”

I tilted my head, confused, as Gu Pae shot a glare at one of the warriors behind him. The man flinched, his mouth smeared with something red that looked suspiciously like sauce.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Gu Pae took a deep breath and finally confessed.

“I apologize, Sir So-ryong. Half of the baby mice born yesterday… are gone.”

“Gone? What happened to them?”

Gu Pae hesitated, avoiding my gaze. Then, in a near whisper, he said something that I couldn’t believe.

“Well… some of the warriors—uh, the ones from Guangzhou—started reminiscing about their hometown. While I stepped away, they… um… tried making san zi er with the baby mice. It’s a delicacy back home, and they said they got carried away…”

“San zi er?”

Blinking in confusion, I turned to my sister, who explained with a disappointed look.

“It’s a dish where you dip live baby mice in soy sauce and eat them. They’re called san zi er because they squeak three times—when you pick them up with chopsticks, dip them in sauce, and bite into them.”

“Wait, you’re telling me they ate the baby mice?”

“Yes. Alive.”

My first thought wasn’t anger, but utter disbelief.
“Does the Tang Clan not feed its warriors properly? What kind of lunatics eat live baby mice dipped in soy sauce?”

It seemed adjusting to life in the Tang Clan—or maybe the Central Plains as a whole—was going to take longer than I thought.