Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 232: Return (5)

She just stared at Cheongwol, unmoving.

“R-Ranghu? She said hi, didn’t she?”

It was common courtesy to acknowledge a greeting, and I knew Cheongwol wouldn’t take it well if she got ignored.

I prompted Ranghu again, just to make sure she’d noticed, and finally her wings began to move—but strangely, they made no sound at all.

‘Weird... but hey, as long as they exchange greetings, it should be fine, right?’

I’d done my part introducing them. Once they got through the initial awkwardness, I hoped things would settle down.

Unfortunately, Ranghu’s next move wasn’t quite what I expected.

She folded her forelegs—arms, maybe?—and began pacing slowly around Cheongwol, eyeing her from top to bottom.

It was the kind of slow circle you’d expect from someone who didn’t quite like what they were seeing.

I could feel it—disapproval, irritation, something unpleasant in the air.

None of the others had reacted this way when we brought new companions into the group. It was... odd.

Ranghu had joined us after Cho, Bin, and Hyang. When Yoha, Yeondu, Seol, or Bing-i came along, she hadn’t batted a wing.

‘Could it be... is she feeling threatened by Cheongwol?’

Maybe it was Cheongwol’s size—after all, she was a ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) massive scorpion—but then again, Ranghu hadn’t reacted like this when we brought in Yoha, a giant spider.

In fact, Yoha and Cheongwol were practically relatives.

So if Ranghu didn’t flinch at Yoha, why was she acting like this toward Cheongwol?

It made no sense.

‘Am I just imagining things? Maybe it’s nothing.’

Maybe I was misreading the situation. I wasn’t an expert on insect behavior, and these spirit beasts had subtle ways of communicating I couldn’t fully grasp.

But then Ranghu completed her slow circle around Cheongwol and flew right up to her face—stopping just a fist’s length away—locking eyes with her.

Buuuuung...

Finally, the sound of her wings returned.

Cheongwol and Ranghu stared each other down.

‘Yeah no, this is definitely not just awkward tension.’

This was a full-blown standoff.

Even Father-in-law seemed to notice something was off. I remembered the puzzled look he gave me.

‘Son-in-law, something feels strange here... are they about to fight...?’

It definitely felt like something was going to blow. I forced a nervous laugh and jumped in to diffuse it.

“H-hey, uh... interesting way to say hello, huh? Ahahaha...”

Krurrrng. ‘Hmph.’

As I tried to push Ranghu gently away from Cheongwol, I heard a low growl rumbling in Cheongwol’s chest.

Buuuung?

Ranghu’s wings trembled—or maybe they were always that twitchy? Either way, she suddenly landed softly in front of me and turned to face Cheongwol again.

Then she leaned in and rubbed her cheek against mine, very deliberately.

Buuung.

This time, Cheongwol flinched.

Clack.

She snapped her pincers once, then held them trembling—like she really wanted to smack someone but was holding back.

And Ranghu wasn’t done.

Satisfied by Cheongwol’s reaction, she suddenly flicked her head and started licking my cheek.

Churup.

A wet, slimy sensation spread across my face.

I turned my head and saw her tongue darting out, licking me.

This wasn’t a kiss—it wasn’t even some ceremonial nutrient exchange like before. This was just... an ambush.

Kh!?

Cheongwol froze.

Ranghu, still licking me, threw smug little glances her way.

Her wings buzzed with a smug, taunting rhythm.

Buuuung. Buuung. Bzzzzz.

Cheongwol didn’t move. Which meant I had to.

This was definitely the calm before the storm.

If I didn’t act now, I knew something catastrophic was about to happen.

“Ranghu! Hey, stop! What are you doing licking my face?!”

Buuuung!?

I shoved her away, but it was already too late.

Cheongwol’s pincer shot out and grabbed me.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Before I could react, she hoisted me onto her head and immediately stormed off toward the path leading to the pond.

“S-Son-in-law?!”

Father-in-law’s startled voice rang out behind us.

But Cheongwol ignored it, her footsteps pounding forward toward the rear garden.

Buuuung. Buuung.

Realizing something was wrong, Ranghu flew ahead to block her path—but it was useless.

With that size difference, there was no stopping her.

Even the worker wasps tried to form a barricade, clinging and buzzing in front of her—Cheongwol just bulldozed through them.

Like a massive bicycle with no brakes, she shoved aside the not-so-small wasps without slowing.

She reached the main gate to the pond, shoved aside Ranghu and the workers with her pincers, and locked eyes with Ranghu.

Krurrrng. Krurrrng.

“No—Cheongwol, stop!”

I tried to stop her, panicking.

She gave Ranghu one final smirk, as if to say “You asked for this,” and then—

She rammed the gate. And the walls.

Crash. Boom!

The gate leading to the pond toppled backward, and part of the surrounding wall crumbled with it.

Through the rising cloud of dust, I saw Father-in-law staring at me, face frozen in horror.

“H-holy... the gate... it’s...”

I squeezed my eyes shut and avoided Father-in-law’s gaze.

Yes, it was a mess... but hey, rich families can rebuild anything, right?

Once the dust began to settle, the jagged remains of the entryway came into view.

Cheongwol, stepping over the shattered gates and broken wall, calmly entered the rear garden where the pond lay.

She walked to a large tree beside the pond and plopped herself down, belly to the ground.

Buuuuuuung!

Ranghu’s furious buzzing echoed behind us, but truthfully, there was no world in which she could actually win against Cheongwol.

It wasn’t just the rarity gap between a low-grade venomous creature and one of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts—Cheongwol also had the highest defense among all ten.

No matter how many wasps attacked her, they couldn’t even scratch her.

Sure enough, a few worker wasps buzzed toward her in a panic, but the “battle” fizzled out almost immediately.

It was like throwing honeybees at a boulder.

Still, the wasps circled around Cheongwol restlessly, clearly not over it.

Seeing Ranghu and the other wasps fully occupied with Cheongwol, I decided to slip away while I could.

‘Yeah, I’m gonna get out of here before I have to deal with more of Ranghu’s sulking.’

If I stuck around the pond, I’d probably end up with more than just physical injuries.

There had been a bit of a power struggle, but nobody got hurt.

Well... unless we count Father-in-law.

‘Sorry, Father-in-law...’

I slowly backed away, then dashed off with a quick burst of light footwork toward the Medical Hall.

I needed treatment.

Even if I didn’t, I definitely did now.

***

The next day, after Cheongwol forcibly claimed her spot by the pond, the whole area was in an uproar.

Cheongwol had just straight-up flopped there and stayed.

Hongdan had come out with the others to settle into a shared space.

Now, all that was left was to help Hohae move in.

Tang Clan servants and warriors were working to clear away the broken gate and wall from yesterday’s chaos, and were catching the carp in the pond to move them elsewhere.

Since the pond was fed by fresh mountain water, it was clean and cold—perfect for a salamander.

But the carp had to be relocated.

If Hohae so much as let out a single jolt, those timid fish would all die on the spot.

“So-ryong, we’ve almost caught them all.”

“Then have the warriors exit the water.”

“Yes, sir!”

“All men out of the water!”

At Deputy Commander Gu Pae’s command, the warriors who’d been wading around herding fish climbed out.

I made one last visual check to confirm no one was left inside.

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Then I reached out mentally to Cho.

『Cho, go ahead and bring them.』

『Chorrr!』

I would’ve liked to bring Hohae myself, but after that electrocution incident... yeah, never again until we got much closer.

Also, Hwa-eun would never allow it.

‘One near-death experience is enough, thanks.’

I sat down at a pavilion near the pond and waited.

Cho, who had vanished toward the well where the water jar was kept, appeared overhead, spiraling down through the sky with two salamanders wrapped in her silk.

Wehhh...

Chorrrt!

The two were growling softly, seemingly irritated by the restraint—until Cho chirped back at them, and they froze.

When they arrived at the pond, Cho set them down gently in the grass.

The two salamanders squirmed for a moment before wriggling into the water.

Plop.

Hohae paddled around, checking out the pond.

I had arranged a small shaded area by piling rocks on a little island in the middle.

After swimming around for a while, the two salamanders clung to that shady spot and kept watch on the humans nearby.

They were still hesitant, clearly scared.

Probably debating whether to stay today or make a run for it.

I called to Cho again.

“Cho, can you ask them to come over? Dad wants to talk to them.”

Chorrrt!

She flew to the island and seemed to say something to them.

They looked over at me, sighed like they’d been roped into something, and started inching toward the shore.

Slowly, grudgingly, dragging their bellies like sulking kids.

Chorrrt!

Wehhh!

Only after Cho scolded them from behind did they finally pick up the pace.

They reached the water’s edge, poked their heads out just a little, and stared at me.

Even with all these people around, they showed themselves.

Which meant they weren’t brave—they were just afraid of Cho.

I crouched near the pond and spoke gently.

“The one with the 王 mark on the forehead is the male, right? And the one with the flame-like pattern is female? Anyway, since you’re part of the family now, you should have names.”

“I go by So-ryong, by the way.”

Wehh.

Whehh.

I had no idea what their growling meant, but I’d already decided on names.

“Okay, the male will be Byeok, from the word Byeokryeok—thunderclap. The female will be Seom, from Seomjeon, lightning flash. Byeok and Seom. You like them?”

I’d taken one character each from thunder and lightning—simple, powerful names: Byeok and Seom.

The two glanced at each other and then gave a little nod.

Wehhhh.

Wehh.

“Alright. Let’s try to get along, okay? No one here will hurt you, so let’s avoid using lightning breath unless absolutely necessary. Got it?”

They nodded again, seemingly content.

“You can rest now.”

With that, the two swam back to the island.

Amid the red and white lotus blossoms floating on the clear pond, the bright yellow salamanders slipped beneath the surface.

It was... breathtaking.

‘Damn. That’s majestic.’

I let myself admire the scene for a moment, watching them swim in peace.

But before long, another problem came creeping back into my mind—

Would these two be able to get along with the rest of our crew?

And more importantly, how the hell was I going to patch things up between Cheongwol and Ranghu?

The two of them were still pretending the other didn’t exist—spirit beast-level cold war.