Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

---

Chapter 3: How to Establish a Clan

I had recently entered the realm of the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill, so I thought the training sessions would continue for a while.

However, Mandok God Grandfather told me to practice my inner strength techniques alone whenever I had a spare moment, and starting today, we would dive into the Tang Clan’s Martial Arts.

“From today, you shall begin the martial arts training of our clan.”

Since everything that moves relies on physical power, I had assumed intense training like “We shall run a hundred laps around the training grounds!” awaited me, but that was merely a misunderstanding.

“Will we really be focusing on physical training?”

“Your body will naturally transform to suit the martial arts as you practice them. The Tang Clan values practicality above all, so we will learn techniques that can be applied to real combat right away.”

For that reason, in front of me in the training area lay a mountain of memorization exercises.

As the finest assassination clan in the Central Plains, the first weapons we would use in our martial arts practice were, of course, memorization techniques.

And among those, we were focusing on throwable memorization techniques.

Assassination is inherently a long-range art.

It seems that the rule stands firm here as well.

“The types of throwable memorization can be broadly classified into five categories.

Needles (針), coins (錢), darts (鏢), sand (沙), and weapons that can be launched by hand such as swords and daggers. Items like short swords (短劍), flying swords (飛劍), and flying daggers (飛刀) as well. There are other variations, but these five form the core.”

“Needles, coins, darts, sand, and swords, right?”

“Yes. Now, can you tell me which of these throwable memorization techniques is the easiest to handle?”

I pondered Mandok God Grandfather’s question and answered thoughtfully.

“Umm… I suppose it would be short swords or flying daggers?”

“Correct. Now, what do you think is the most difficult?”

“Umm… it must be sand, right? Because it requires spreading it around.”

Indeed, it seemed that the easiest would be the short sword type, and the sand referred to was grainy, which I thought would indeed be difficult.

Grandfather shook his head.

“No, the most difficult is the needle.”

“The needle? Ah, because it’s small and thin, making it hard to throw?”

Surely, throwing something like a needle wasn’t the easiest feat.

As I thought about it, sand could be stored in a container and scattered, so I nodded. Grandfather shook his head again.

“No, the reason the needle is the hardest is that you must remember the position of every needle you throw.”

‘Remember the position of the needle? Does that mean I need to confirm whether the thrown needle hit its mark?’

I tilted my head at the thought of needing to remember where the needles landed.

After all, confirming whether my throws hit or missed was a necessary part.

“Isn’t it the same with other forms of memorization?”

Then came a ridiculous response.

“No, it’s not about confirming if it hit. You have to remember where every needle you threw veered off to, where it ricocheted off the opponent’s weapon, and where it landed, which tree it lodged into, as well.”

“Even the ricocheted ones? And what about the ones that hit the ground?”

“Umm, this is better shown than explained.”

-Snap.

Seeing that I was struggling to understand, he pulled out a new brush from his robe and snapped it in two.

Mandok God Grandfather then plucked the bristles and suddenly made them levitate, scattering them across the training ground.

-Swoosh!

The bristles spread and covered the training area in a fine layer.

“What!?”

I had no choice but to be shocked at what I saw. The bristles he scattered stood upright.

Rather than just laying there, they were positioned as if they sprouted straight from the ground.

Soon, Grandfather selected something among the scattered memorization items and held it out to me.

“Here, take a look. This is the Tang Clan’s Flying Needle.”

He presented what looked like a toothpick-sized needle, but the specialty was how much thinner it was, with sharp points on both ends.

“This is the Tang Clan’s Flying Needle…”

“Yes, if it were to be wielded by someone from our clan, it would be a basic yet formidable Flying Needle. Think about it. Our clan has a memorization technique called Mancheon Hwawoo that encompasses the surroundings with thousands of needles. Just like the bristles I scattered.”

“Covering the area with this needle? Oh wow…”

“If the surrounding area were filled with these needles, there would be no room to step! You’d get pricked the moment you stumbled.”

“Exactly. That’s why remembering them is crucial. You can lure the enemy into a spot riddled with needles.

Moreover, if the one who threw the needles has an antidote or if they dye the poison, it would be difficult to fight while being pricked by needles, wouldn’t it? Thus, you must remember them well.

You mustn’t end up in a position where you’re harmed by your own traps.”

‘Certainly, thinking like this is different…’

That’s truly a reflection of the Tang Clan’s clever tactics.

Being in a deadly duel while surrounded by needles scattered everywhere is impressive indeed.

I nodded thoughtfully, both amazed and concerned with rising doubts.

There was one thing I couldn’t comprehend no matter how hard I tried.

“Still, can a person remember the locations of thousands of needles thrown about when the opponent might deflect them? It seems impossible to recall the locations of fallen or deflected needles.”

After a bit of thinking, the notion of keeping track of the positions of countless needles, all while engaging in a battle, felt utterly nonsensical.

However, Mandok God Grandfather nodded as if it were the most natural thing.

“Of course. When Hua Eun reached the level of Ten Needles, she adeptly handled about a thousand needles, so you can certainly manage that much without worry.”

‘Is that truly possible?’

“Oh, but in the domain of Five Poisons, how many can one handle?”

“It would be lovely if it were a lot, but at the very least, you should manage around a hundred, right?”

I made a big boast to my older sister about filling the Ten Needles with the Ten Great Venoms, but I supposed first reaching the level of Ten Needles was essential.

It felt like a daunting challenge to reach the Ten Needle level.

Memorizing a hundred is one thing, but remembering the terrain around me while dodging punches and blades, and being aware of where the thrown items land—all while battling the enemy—would be a completely different story.

Dolphins supposedly keep one half of their brain awake while the other sleeps; I felt I might have to train myself to function in such a manner.

Ah… Becoming part of an assassination clan doesn’t seem easy at all.

‘This is truly what memorization training looks like…’

It seemed I had to buckle up for some serious memorization drills!

*

After finishing what was supposedly the easiest flying dagger practice in the morning, my older sister visited me after lunch.

We had planned to go gather medicine in the afternoon, leaving the rest of the day free for a bumblebee date with her.

“Soryong, let’s go.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“I prepared something just in case. Do you think it will help?”

Despite the Tang Clan’s poison-rearing facilities looking basic, my sister had brought various tools with her.

Since we were going to catch bees, she had donned thick gloves made of heavy fabric, a mesh veil, along with a collection jar, tweezers, and even something reminiscent of a catching net.

Rumor had it the clan regularly caught venomous creatures for harvesting, so it seemed she might have experience with bee venom as well.

After all, there’d be no need for such equipment otherwise.

“Of course! I was planning to wait, but if we have this, we could catch them ourselves.”

“Waiting for me?”

My sister tilted her head at my words but smiled in reply.

“Oh, you’ll understand when we go. By the way, do you know where we might find a bumblebee nest?”

“I’ve found one! It’s over that way.”

Following her, we headed not far from where we stood, toward a stone wall.

Busy bumblebees were buzzing in and out from the ground.

It seemed like quite a sizable colony, as the bustle of bumblebees was abundant.

I quickly turned and told my sister, “Um, I don’t think this is it.”

“Not it? Wasn’t that the one we were here to catch?”

“We need the bumblebee nest, but we’re not trying to catch a bumblebee. Is there a flower patch further away perhaps?”

“We’re not catching a bumblebee? Hmm… If it’s a bit farther, it’s over that ridge.”

I followed my sister toward a flower patch a bit farther afield that wasn’t frequented by the bees.

Finding the expected bumblebee nest was essential—following the bees to their nectar sources would be the best course.

“Here it is.”

“Wow. Beautiful.”

Arriving at the spot my sister led me to, we found trees growing taller than human height, adorned with bright pink and white flowers in full bloom.

As I admired the beauty, my sister raised a finger in warning.

“Just because it’s beautiful, don’t pick the flowers or chew on the branches. They may look beautiful, but it’s Oleander. If you happen to ingest it, your life could be in danger.”

“Oleander!?”

“Yes, it’s a flower cultivated by our clan.”

No wonder they bloomed in such neat rows; it seemed this was a flower grown by the Four Heavenly Houses.

Nothing was normal with the Four Heavenly Houses.

Even the flowers adorning the mountain ridge were anything but ordinary.

While I didn’t know much about oleander, I was aware it was a component of poison, so I couldn’t help but gasp.

‘It’s said to stop the heart, right?’

Calming myself, I began to search along with my sister for bumblebees.

Following their movements, we located two hives and observed the entrances where the bees were flying in and out.

However, I couldn’t find the specific bumblebee nest I sought.

After three fruitless attempts, my sister, clearly frustrated, asked, “Could you clarify what you’re looking for? It seems we’re wasting a lot of time; we might need to deploy the clan’s warriors.”

It certainly would be faster if we summoned people.

I wanted to do that from the very start, but I bit my tongue since I had wanted it to feel like a date.

“Well, maybe we should do that?”

-Swoosh!

As I agreed, my sister released a flying dagger made from a branch down the mountain.

The sharp, long sound emitted from the flying dagger spread out around us.

Soon, a cloud of dust appeared as the clan’s warriors arrived between the Tang clan’s facilities and areas of gathering.

“Did you call, my lady?”

Before long, the warriors who practiced lightness skill landed, bowing down in front of my sister.

The warriors from the Tang Clan adorned with castor bean leaves on their chests appeared before us.

‘What now…’

“Yes, there’s something I need to find for the clan. So, um… could you listen to Soryong’s instructions and help him find what he’s seeking?”

“Understood, my lady!”

‘Wow… this is impressive.’

With my sister’s command, the warriors awaited my orders.

I had been worried because they were from an assassination clan, but seeing their loyalty filled me with unexpected pride.

“Find the bumblebees collecting nectar and pollen from the flowering trees, and if you discover the hive of bumblebees, kindly wait for a while and count how many bees come and go from the hive before reporting back to me.”

“Understood, Soryong! Let’s go!”

Immediately, the warriors dispersed, and about a meal later? The warriors that had gone to search returned one by one to report about the bumblebee nests they found.

“Warrior Wi Pung of the Five Poisons Clan reporting. I found twenty bees over one watch period!”

“Warrior Gwon Ho-chung of the Ten Needles Clan reporting. I found thirty-two bees during one watch period!”

“Warrior of the Four Heavenly Houses…”

“Warrior of the Four Heavenly Houses…”

As the reports from the warriors continued, suddenly a report came in.

“…One bee.”

Only one bee?

‘This is it!’

“Could you guide me there?”

Following the warrior, we arrived at the underbelly of a canyon rock, where digging revealed the bumblebee nest.

The round hive made of small beads appeared, and although a few bumblebees buzzed around, they were immediately subdued by the warriors.

What I had was a specimen of the thrown memorization technique bumblebee.

Now, in that almost ruined bumblebee nest, I caught a glimpse of a black bug with the tweezers.

“I got it! You little pests!”