Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 263: Where the Spirit Beast Went (7)

A dark and damp night, thick with heavy fog.

As the four spirit creatures hurried through the underbrush, Bini, brimming with excitement, tried to explain the whole story to Cho.

– Tsururur. Tsurut... 『Sister, here’s what happened earlier...』

Normally, Bini didn’t call Cho “Sister” since their dad usually gave that title to her and she didn’t like it much. But now that Cho had stepped in after hearing her little sister had been hurt, it felt strangely reassuring.

Honestly, when Bini yelled at her earlier, she hadn’t expected much—she thought they’d get scolded by Mom for sure.

‘Dad definitely told you not to go out, and you snuck off anyway? At night, too? You kids are really...’

Mom’s nagging already echoed in her head.

Just as Bini was about to explain everything that happened to Cho in detail—

Before she could even get the words out, Cho replied.

– Tch. 『No need.』

– Tsurut. 『Huh? No need?』

Bini tilted her head at the unexpected response and looked at Hyang. Hyang mirrored the look as they both turned toward Cho, when her indifferent voice followed from behind them.

– Tsurut. Tsururur. 『The reason doesn’t matter. What matters is my sister got hurt.』

– Tch!

– Tchut!

Both Bini and Hyang let out small gasps of awe.

A kind of cry that welled up from deep within.

They’d always been a little annoyed that Dad insisted Cho was the “Sister,” but now—now they were starting to think maybe calling her Sister wasn’t so bad after all.

She was absolutely right.

What did the reason matter, anyway?

The important part was that Hongdan had gotten hurt—sprayed with poison, no less.

She was always flying around with Dad, eating the good stuff first, and honestly could be super annoying... but after this? Bini felt like maybe she could forgive her for getting first dibs on Yeongdan.

Then, as they followed the trail, Cho turned mid-air to ask Hongdan,

– Tsurut? 『Hongdan, are you hurt anywhere? I heard you got sprayed with poison.』

Something about her voice was so solid and dependable.

Hongdan, feeling it too, responded in an extra small voice.

– Kkii... 『My antennae still sting, Sister... oww...』

At Hongdan’s whiny little voice, Hyang and Bini chuckled to themselves.

Earlier that evening, she’d said she was fine—but clearly now, she wanted to milk it a little.

Her voice was oozing with pitiful charm.

– Tsururur. 『Let me take a look.』

At Cho’s gentle command, Bini stopped walking, and Hongdan held out her antennae toward her.

Cho inspected the antennae carefully in the dark.

She soon spotted the faint reddish tint at the tip—barely noticeable unless you were really looking.

Not broken, no damaged outer shell—nothing serious.

Honestly, once Hongdan shed her skin a few more times, the injury would probably vanish completely.

But still—if her little sister said it hurt, what else could she do?

Cho spoke in a kind, reassuring voice.

– Tsurut. 『If it hurts even a little, you have to tell Dad. Don’t hide it. I’ll stay with you so you don’t get in big trouble, okay?』

– Kkiii. 『Okay, Sister...』

Cho gently stroked Hongdan’s head with her antenna, then turned to Bini.

– Tsururur. 『Let’s go.』

– Tsurut. 『Okay, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Sister』

With dependable Cho hovering overhead, the three marched confidently back to the damp forest clearing.

They first arrived at the edge of the swamp and began retracing their steps to follow the creature’s trail.

– Tsurut. 『Hongdan said she saw it here, and we followed her, so...』

– Tsururur. 『Ah! That’s where Hongdan cut the grass!』

– Kkii. 『Yeah, I cut that grass.』

– Tsurut. 『Then it must be just ahead.』

The cut stalks looked like flattened vines, and not long after, they spotted a round impression in the grass.

Hyang jumped off Bini’s head, scanned the clearing, and began explaining to Cho.

This was definitely where Hongdan had been sprayed with poison.

– Tsurut. Tsururur. 『We were chasing it and caught up around here. Hongdan ran ahead to ask its name, but it sprayed her with poison. She backed off, and while we were checking on her injury, it vanished.』

– Tsururur? 『It vanished?』

– Tch! 『Yeah, completely disappeared!』

At their words, Cho began scanning the area.

If it vanished so suddenly, she needed to look for other clues.

She’d done many searches like this with Dad, so she already had a few ideas just from what they’d said.

If it disappeared that fast, it either moved incredibly quickly or burrowed underground.

But after examining the ground, Cho concluded it probably hadn’t gone underground.

Aside from the flattened grass, there weren’t any other signs.

Which left two possibilities—it was fast, or it had wings.

Cho, widening her search radius, gave instructions to her sisters.

– Tsururur. 『Let’s search the area. I’ll go alone. You three stick together, okay? Just in case.』

– Tchut! 『Got it!』

The thick fog made visibility awful, so Cho rose low into the air.

From below, Bini called up with a question.

– Tsurut. 『But Sister, what do we do if we find it?』

Cho looked down to see Bini tilting her head curiously.

It was a good question. They couldn’t exactly talk to each other the way they did with Dad.

After thinking for a moment, Cho responded.

– Tsururur. 『If we could speak through the mind like with Dad, that’d be best—but since we can’t, just let out a cry. I won’t be far.』

– Tch. 『Okay, Sister.』

– Tsurut. 『Got it, Sister.』

Cho felt quietly pleased to hear her little sisters calling her Sister so earnestly.

They didn’t usually do that, but tonight they were downright obedient.

At first, Cho, Hyang, and Bini had all thought “Sister” was just a nickname Dad used.

But he’d once explained it meant the leader who took care of her siblings.

That finally clicked with Bini and Hyang, who’d always been annoyed by the title.

But now that Cho was leading the charge to punish the one who’d hurt Hongdan, they were totally on board.

Feeling just a little smug from her sisters’ newfound respect, Cho moved decisively.

If she could track this thing down and punish it, maybe her siblings would stay this respectful forever.

She was determined to show them what being an Sister really meant.

***

They searched the swamp all night, but couldn’t find the creature that had sprayed Hongdan.

The fog had only thickened, to the point they couldn’t see even a step ahead.

From the sky, Cho saw nothing and eventually landed back on the ground.

She turned to Bini.

– Tsururur. 『Bini, are you feeling any vibrations in the ground?』

– Tsurut. 『Not here, Sister. The ground’s too soft to feel anything.』

Hoping to pick up some tremors through Bini’s sensitivity to the earth, Cho asked—but Bini shook her head.

There was too much water here to sense anything.

At Bini’s response, Cho grumbled.

– Tsururur... 『Tch. Of all times, the fog had to roll in like this...』

She didn’t know what that thing was, but she’d planned to find it, rough it up, and make it apologize right in front of her sisters to prove her greatness as an Sister.

But that was looking impossible now.

Just then, Cho noticed the faint light around them beginning to shift.

Dawn was breaking.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Her antennae were clearly detecting the change in light.

– Tsurut? 『Is it already morning?』

Hyang approached Cho, who was scanning the area, and pointed toward the sky.

The sun was coming up—and once it did, Mom and Dad would wake up. That meant they had to get back quickly.

– Tsururur. Tsurur. 『Dad and Mom will wake up. We should hurry back, Sister.』

– Tch. 『You’re right, Sister.』

At Hyang’s words, Cho responded with a tone of reluctant agreement. Bini, growling in frustration, added,

– Tsurururrr. 『Ugh, whatever that thing was, it got lucky. If it weren’t for the fog, we’d have found it and made it pay. Sister, there’s no point in searching more, right? We still have to wash up before Mom and Dad notice...』

Bini was clearly saying the search was over—for today.

Probably because they’d gone out secretly. Getting caught meant serious scolding, and five rounds of nagging weren’t worth the risk.

But Cho thought differently.

How could she possibly forgive something that hurt her sister?

She had to find it. Had to punish it.

That was the only way to show what being an Sister really meant.

Dad said Moji and Soji were still cocooning, and that they should stay quiet in the meantime.

Which also meant... they had a few more days before anything would draw too much attention.

Cho turned to her sisters and declared,

– Tsururur. 『It’s too early to give up. We’ll find it no matter what and make it pay. I don’t forgive anyone who hurts my sister.』

– Tch!

– Tchut!

At Cho’s words, the eyes of Bini, Hyang, and Hongdan filled once again with respect.

***

Those little brats who disobeyed me and went out wandering yesterday...

Hwa-eun wasn’t satisfied with how lightly I scolded them, but I knew better: love alone was enough to teach them.

Just look at them now—so calm and quiet this morning. That was proof of how effective my method was.

“They understand perfectly even with just a light scolding, see? Look how still they are. No need for harsh punishments—love is the answer...”

Munching on skewered grilled meat for breakfast, I proudly preached to Hwa-eun about my wise, loving parenting method. She shook her head.

Hwa-eun insisted the kids were being calm because she’d scolded them later on her own.

“That’s only because I properly scolded them afterwards.”

But she was wrong. So wrong.

Didn’t the sun win when it challenged the wind to see who could make the traveler take off his coat?

“It’s not that at all. It’s my martial... I mean, parental philosophy...”

“No, no, it’s absolutely because I scolded them.”

Just then—

Nui, who was munching on a pretty big crab skewer beside us, pointed at the kids and said,

“So-ryong... don’t you think they’re not reflecting... but sleeping? They look like they’re asleep.”

“Huh? Sleeping? No way. They sleep at night!”

“They’re sleeping.”

“Come on. No chance.”

They used to be nocturnal, sure, but ever since they started living with me, they’d become active in the daytime.

They might sleep in a bit, but by now they should definitely be up and moving around.

Yet... their limp antennae caught my eye.

No way.

After boasting so loudly to Hwa-eun just now, if they were sleeping, I’d look like a fool. Honestly, both of us would.

Because that meant we were both wrong.

I gently approached Bini and gave her a little shake.

“Bini?”

“......”

Her antennae drooped against my hand.

I brought my finger to her mouth—and she started gently sucking on it in her sleep.

Yep. No doubt about it.

They’d definitely done something last night.

And today, they were just a little bit... embarrassing.

GyaaAAaaaAAaah!

***

Cho, Bini, Hyang, and Hongdan continued their search for three whole days, but the thick fog kept them from finding anything.

The mist was too dense to search from the sky, forcing them to crawl across the ground—but visibility was so poor they couldn’t see even right in front of them.

Then came the third night.

Nut, who had spent all day sleeping, finally opened her eyes.

And saw it—clear stars sparkling in a cloudless night sky.

– Tsururur! 『Finally!』

For the first time in days, the full moon shone bright, and the stars lit up the heavens.

After checking that Dad was still asleep, and avoiding the patrolling uncles, Nut rushed toward the swamp.

She left Bini waiting in the same spot they’d encountered the creature before, and then Cho flew into the sky with Hyang and Hongdan.

They needed to search from the air—three sets of eyes were better than one.

Up in the sky, scanning in all directions with sharp hawk-like vision—

Hyang spotted movement below.

Something round was squirming in the grass.

– Tsururur! 『Sister! There! That’s it! That’s the thing!』

– Tsurut!? 『You’re sure that’s it!?』

– Kkii! 『It is! That’s the one, Sister!』

At her sisters’ confirmation, Cho immediately relayed the sighting to Bini and shot down like an arrow from the sky, landing right in front of the creature.

Hovering above it, keeping a bit of distance, she shouted down with fury in her voice,

– Tsurururur! 『You’re the one who sprayed poison on my sister, aren’t you?!』