Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 178: Tengchong Volcano (1)

As I sat in front of a map of the Central Plains—one that was even less detailed than something I could’ve drawn with my foot—I was deep in thought.

Then, Hwa-eun pointed to a specific location.

“So-ryong, if we’re heading out, we should go here first.”

She was indicating a spot near the border between Sichuan and Qinghai—one of the villages that had come up from the information I received in exchange for the Queen Bee Royal Jelly Wine.

“Here?”

Hwa-eun nodded and explained.

“Yes. The Governor of Sichuan said he would help gather information about the Tiger Salamander, but since we’re looking for someone who actually saw it ten years ago, it’ll take quite some time to find the right person.

And Qinghai is the farthest destination.

But this village—we already know exactly where it is, and it’s on the way to Qinghai. So it makes the most sense to check it first.

Besides, it’s impossible for us to visit all the locations in one trip.”

Her reasoning was logical and well-structured, and I couldn’t help but nod along.

It was the same conclusion I had reached.

The area with the salt lakes in Qinghai was incredibly far, and since we couldn’t travel there by boat, it would be a long journey.

On top of that, we’d need a carriage for such a trip—but whether I could even bring Cho and Bini along was still uncertain.

And as for the Tiger Salamander, while the Governor of Sichuan had taken it upon himself to gather information as repayment for the elixir, it wasn’t going to be easy to pinpoint its exact location.

Even my father-in-law had taken a deep interest in the creature, given the rumors of its deadly venom.

But tracking down the place where it had been spotted a decade ago? That was no easy task.

Sichuan was a vast province. Searching for the Tiger Salamander could take a long time.

So that left only one viable option—the place where the Governor had already provided a precise location.

The mountain village near Seokjip, on the Qinghai border, where the giant insect had been spotted.

We already knew exactly where it was. ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) All that was left was to go there and investigate.

“You’re right.”

“And besides, we’ll be able to go there on our own without needing permission.”

Hwa-eun was right again.

It would be much easier to get permission to leave for that location.

Up until now, I hadn’t been able to leave without my grandfather or father-in-law accompanying me, thanks to the Blood Cult and Five Venoms Sect.

Those lunatics were still out for revenge, and if they managed to capture us while we were traveling alone, it would be an absolute disaster.

But Seokjip was in the northwest of Sichuan, a much safer area.

Sichuan was divided into three main territories:

The Tang Clan controlled the east, centered around Chengdu.The Qingcheng Sect controlled the northwest.The Emei Sect controlled the southwest.The village near Seokjip fell under Qingcheng’s jurisdiction.

And since I had treated the Head of Qingcheng Sect to a round of Queen Bee Royal Jelly Wine recently, this was one of the safest places I could visit.

Even more than that, security across the Central Plains was at an all-time high due to the ongoing crackdown on the Blood Cult.

It was safer now than ever before.

“Alright, then we’ll stop by there first. There’s no way we can check everything in one trip.”

“Exactly, So-ryong.”

Just as we finalized our plan to start with the mountain village near Seokjip, we heard hurried footsteps approaching from outside.

A servant ran up to the entrance of Hwa-eun’s residence, looking absolutely distraught.

I turned to face him, shifting my gaze away from the map.

The servant, looking as if he was on the verge of tears, called out to me.

“So-ryong-nim...”

“...Again?”

“Yes... It’s happening again...”

“Haa...”

At his words, Hwa-eun pressed her temples, clearly feeling a headache coming on.

I couldn’t help but sigh as well.

It seemed that the problem we had been dealing with recently had struck once more.

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“I understand. I’ll go take care of it.”

“I’m sorry, So-ryong-nim.”

“No, we should be the ones apologizing.”

The servant apologized as if it were his fault, but in reality, the ones at fault were us.

Because this was already the third time.

Sighing, I led the exhausted Hwa-eun to the kitchen, the site of the latest terror attack.

Or, more accurately, the place where Hwayang had been causing trouble lately.

More specifically, the Tang Clan’s main kitchen, which prepared meals for the direct bloodline.

Ever since his first offense, Hwayang had been committing culinary crimes every three days.

Whenever he got scolded, he’d act innocent, pretending not to hear a thing—only to strike again as soon as we let our guard down.

‘What am I supposed to do with this guy?’

The moment we arrived at the kitchen, the atmosphere was eerily cold.

A place that should have been filled with steam and the warm aroma of freshly cooked rice... was instead silent and lifeless.

Looks like dinner would be delayed again.

Or worse, we’d have to eat at the soldiers’ mess hall.

I peered inside and called out in exasperation.

“Hwayang, get out here. Now.”

-Beep!?

A startled squeak came from one of the stove openings.

A moment later, a cloud of ash puffed out as Hwayang squirmed his way forward.

Completely covered in soot, the overgrown toad tried to sneak out of the kitchen, carefully avoiding eye contact with me.

He closed his eyes tightly, as if pretending not to see me would make him invisible.

Then—

-Thump.

His head smacked into the kitchen’s threshold.

Feeling embarrassed, Hwayang immediately rolled onto his back, dramatically pretending to be in pain.

-Beeeeep... Beeee...

The overgrown amphibian flopped around like a giant potato, rolling pitifully across the floor.

Each time he rolled, his plump belly jiggled like a water balloon.

“Hah?”

Hwa-eun stared at him, utterly baffled.

This idiot.

An actual spiritual beast—a creature whose skin was so tough that even blades couldn’t pierce it—was pretending to be in pain.

His belly was so soft and plush that it felt like a pillow when you rested your head on it...

But in terms of durability, he was just as solid as Cho, Bini, or even Yo-hwa.

There was no way Hwayang could have been hurt from bumping into the stone threshold.

Not only had he been moving at his usual slow pace—far from running—but even if his skin was as soft as pudding, his speed alone would never be enough to actually injure him.

“Look at this little troublemaker.”

“Hwayang! You keep this up, and—!”

Hwa-eun’s voice lashed out like the Tang Clan’s infamous poison needles.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Startled, Hwayang scurried toward me and clung to my leg, pulling at my pants with his short limbs, begging to be picked up.

-Beep...

He had clearly learned by now that I would save him whenever he got scolded, and he seemed to expect me to do the same now.

Hwa-eun’s nagging genuinely scared him.

But today, I wasn’t having it.

Once? Maybe.

Twice? Pushing it.

But three times? Not happening.

“Nope. Not this time. You’re on your own.”

“Hwayang, I warned you, didn’t I? Even So-ryong won’t help you now.”

Determined to let Hwa-eun discipline him properly, I crossed my arms and sent the oversized amphibian a cold stare.

That was when we heard the signal from the Tang Clan’s gates.

-Beep! Beep! Beep!

Hwa-eun sighed and shot Hwayang an annoyed glare.

“Lucky little thing.”

“Haah... Hwayang, this isn’t over. We’ll deal with you later.”

It seemed we had guests.

We needed to head to the Nine-Tiered Gates immediately, meaning today’s punishment would have to be cut short.

As Hwa-eun started preparing to leave, one of the servants handed me a dusting brush.

“Here you go, So-ryong-nim...”

Looks like they had it prepared in advance—probably because this was the third time this had happened.

The second time, we had to spend forever getting the soot off that damn toad.

“Oh, thanks.”

Before heading out, I pulled Hwayang off my pants and gave him a proper dusting.

-Thwack, thwack, thwack!

-Beeeeeep!

The little bastard whined as I aggressively brushed the soot from his head and face, but I wasn’t going to let up.

I needed to get him clean before letting him sit on my head again.

Once that was done, I hoisted him up and leapt into the air, racing toward the Nine-Tiered Gates alongside Hwa-eun.

“Who do you think it is? Maybe we already got news about the Tiger Salamander?”

“That’d be great, but...”

Given the current state of the martial world—what with the Blood Cult being hunted down—it wasn’t likely that anyone was visiting the Tang Clan for good news.

If anything, it was more likely to be bad news.

However, when we arrived at the gates, we were greeted by familiar faces.

“So-brother!”

“So So-hyeop!”

“Hwa-eun!”

Standing in front of the Nine-Tiered Gates were none other than Brother Gyu-seong, Yang Seong-hu, and Seon-hwa—all in good health.

They had mentioned they would stop by to visit Yeong-yeong after recovering, and judging by their appearance, they had fully recovered from their injuries.

“Brother Gyu-seong!”

“Seon-hwa! Are you doing well?”

After going through life-and-death situations together, it was only natural to feel overjoyed at the reunion.

Especially since Yang Seong-hu and Seon-hwa had been the ones I had played matchmaker for.

Even Hwa-eun, who usually struggled to make friends, now seemed comfortable enough to refer to Seon-hwa’s martial title as if it were her given name.

Rushing forward, I clasped hands with them—only to be pulled into a hug by Brother Gyu-seong.

Patting my back, he laughed warmly.

“You look healthy. That’s a relief.”

“I should be the one saying that to you, Brother.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“I’m really glad you’re here. You’ve fully recovered, right?”

“Yes, I have.”

During our escape from the Blood Cult and Five Venoms Sect, Brother Gyu-seong had suffered a severe wound to his side, while Seon-hwa had taken a sword through the back.

Both injuries had been life-threatening, so naturally, I was relieved to see them well.

Hwa-eun and Seon-hwa spoke up from the side.

“There’s a bit of scarring, but they’re fully healed.”

“Oh no, in that case, I’ll prepare some of the Tang Clan’s best medicine for you.”

“You’re always helping us. Oh, and by the way, I heard something interesting from Yang-rang—about you playing the role of the Matchmaker Beneath the Moon for us.”

“...Wait. Yang-rang? Matchmaker Beneath the Moon!?”

I was guessing “Yang-rang” was a pet name for Yang Seong-hu.

And Matchmaker Beneath the Moon—that was a title given to someone who helped arrange marriages.

Hold on... did that mean...?

I turned to Yang Seong-hu, who scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Aha... Haha...”

So they were officially engaged now?

Damn, that escalated fast.

I smirked at him.

“I think I have a lot to hear about, don’t I? Well, let’s talk inside. Ji-ryong and the rest of the Five Dragons and Three Peaks are already here.”

“Oh? Ji-ryong and the others? That’s great! Let’s go in, then.”

Hearing that their comrades were inside, the three of them eagerly followed me and Hwa-eun through the gates.

However, we hadn’t even taken a few steps before Brother Gyu-seong clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. Seriously, at least have some shame. You’re at the Tang Clan, for heaven’s sake.”

Hwa-eun and I exchanged glances before turning to look behind us—

—where we saw Seon-hwa practically hanging onto Yang Seong-hu’s side.

In the Central Plains, it was already considered shamelessly bold for a woman to simply hold a man’s sleeve in public.

But this?

She was practically glued to him.

‘Damn... leave them alone, and they might just throw down a mat and lie down together right here.’

They say late bloomers go wild, huh?

And judging by this...

late-starting lovers are just as terrifying.

***

Inside, the rest of the Five Dragons and Three Peaks greeted us warmly.

Gathered in a pavilion, we drank tea and caught up on everything that had happened.

When the conversation turned to how Yang Seong-hu proposed, Seon-hwa placed something red on the table and spoke.

“Actually, we went to a hot spring near Tengchong Volcano to recover. While we were there, Yang-rang found this and gave it to me...”

I had been leaning forward, more interested in this than the men’s war stories, when—

-Beep!

Hwayang suddenly leapt off my head, launching himself into the group of women—

—and snatched the red item from the floor with his mouth.

‘Oi, you little bastard!’

That was someone’s proposal gift!