Fabre in Sacheon's Tang

The preliminary coordination was complete, and without a moment to rest, So-ryong spoke in a confident voice to Ji-ryong, Taeheo, the elder of Kunlun, Sister Seol, Hwa-eun, and the Five Dragon Peaks.

He ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) was trying to piece together information and outline what kind of creature they were dealing with.

"Since it’s clear that the Five Venoms Sect is raising some kind of spiritual or venomous creature, we need to focus on identifying exactly what it is."

Speaking like a seasoned expert, he caught the attention of the Kunlun elder, who asked with a surprised expression,

"Oh? You can even determine that?"

"Yes. It won’t be perfect, but we do have a significant amount of information."

"Information?"

"You’re saying you have a lot of information?"

Taeheo and the Kunlun elder seemed unable to comprehend how he could claim to have so much information. However, even without direct traces of the creature, they possessed more clues than they realized. The observations made by the Kunlun sect thus far contained valuable insights—perhaps overlooked due to a lack of expert analysis.

"Of course. Don’t we already know what it eats? That alone is crucial information. The fact that people and camels have disappeared means that it’s a carnivorous creature. It must be large enough to devour humans and camels whole, or it’s a smaller species that hunts in large numbers. However, I highly doubt it’s the latter."

Even from a single detail like its diet, he could infer numerous things.

"I understand the part about it being large, but why do you think it wouldn’t be small?" Taeheo asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

So-ryong wagged his finger as if to emphasize his point, relishing in the rare opportunity to deliver such an excellent lecture.

"This kind of lecture is rare. You won’t get to hear something this insightful anywhere else."

He continued his explanation,

"One person or one camel has been disappearing per day. Now, if it were a small creature hunting in large numbers, that would mean they were swarming a single target at a time, ignoring all others. But that’s not how it works.

Merchants are constantly coming and going, so if it were a swarm of small creatures, they wouldn’t attack just one target and then retreat. Some would break off to attack others. That would be inevitable.

This scenario is simply impossible."

The Kunlun elder nodded in agreement, clearly impressed.

"Ohh, that makes sense. Even trained soldiers charging toward a fortress wouldn’t be able to maintain such perfect coordination. And yet, for mere creatures to do so..."

Though there was a particular phrase in his words that slightly irked So-ryong, he chose to nod in response for now.

Among social insects, ants were one of the best at maintaining order within a group. However, even ants and bees, which were highly disciplined in their colonies, acted based on individual instincts when it came to hunting or battle.

Once an attack command was given, they would engage indiscriminately with everything around them. They wouldn't single out one specific target and ignore the rest.

Thus, if the creature in question were small and numerous, people wouldn't just vanish silently in the night. Instead, they would be swarmed by countless attackers in a chaotic frenzy.

From this, it was clear—the creature was large. Likely, it was just a single one.

"Furthermore, both people and camels have disappeared without a trace during the night. That means it must be venomous. It must have a poison potent enough to either kill instantly or incapacitate its prey before it can react. Otherwise, there’s no way no one would have noticed."

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"So it’s a venomous creature, then? That makes sense. If it could silently kill and carry off a victim without raising any alarm, it must have a strong venom."

"Exactly. Moreover, the larger a creature is, the more venom it typically carries. That’s why I strongly suspect a large creature rather than a swarm of small ones."

From just these small details, two major deductions had been made:

The creature was large.

The creature was venomous.

Sister Seol, who had been quietly watching, finally spoke.

"A large creature with venom?"

"Yes, that’s right."

"Then do you know what it is?"

"No... We still need to examine more information."

"More information?"

While these deductions provided a strong foundation, they weren’t enough to pinpoint the exact identity of the creature.

The next step was to compare additional data.

That meant investigating the creature’s habitat and behavioral patterns.

The first order of business was to map out the locations where people and camels had gone missing.

Kunlun had already conducted a considerable amount of investigation, though it hadn’t been systematically organized. Most of the information was gathered haphazardly through direct interviews, but it had never been compiled into a cohesive study.

So-ryong’s first task was to plot all the known disappearance sites onto a map.

That way, they could determine whether the suspected Five Venoms Sect creature had a fixed territory or if it was a wandering predator.

"Ji-ryong Elder and Taoist Taeheo, may I ask for your assistance?"

"Of course. Ask anything, and we’ll help."

"Naturally, young warrior."

They both nodded, seemingly pleased with So-ryong’s explanation. He turned to Ji-ryong and made his request.

"Ji-ryong, could you bring out a map of Qinghai Province?"

"Ah, certainly."

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They lit several lanterns to brighten the dim room, and Ji-ryong spread a large map across the table. A thin piece of paper was placed on top, allowing them to trace key locations without marking the original.

"The first location where the western merchant reported losing both a person and a camel was a day’s journey from Deokryeom-ha. That should be about here.

Now, based on what Kunlun has gathered, could you mark all the other locations where similar disappearances have occurred?"

"Hmm, if it’s something like that, Taeheo would be more suited to help than me."

"I will assist you, young warrior."

The Kunlun elder stepped back, allowing Taeheo to take over. He picked up a brush and began marking the map with careful precision.

"This incident occurred about half a day's travel north of here... Then the next one should be around here."

"If that’s the case, Taeheo, this location would be about a full day’s journey. If we split the distance in half, this should be the right spot."

"Understood."

Taeheo, Ji-ryong’s companion, had an exceptional memory.

As he worked, he recalled stories he had heard during his investigations and began marking precise locations.

Ji-ryong, standing beside him, helped clarify any uncertainties, ensuring that the data remained accurate.

"Before the desert nomads arrive, this is as much as we’ve managed to investigate."

When Taeheo stepped back, So-ryong carefully examined the completed map.

Something stood out immediately.

All of the marked locations were clustered in the northwestern part of Qinghai.

"The disappearances seem to be concentrated in the northwest?"

"Oh, there’s a reason for that."

Taeheo nodded and, picking up the brush again, drew two long lines across the map, separating the northern and central parts of Qinghai.

At first, it seemed like he was marking mountain ranges, and his explanation confirmed it.

"The northern region is bordered by high mountain ranges, and another mountain range runs through the middle of Qinghai Province.

That’s likely why all of these incidents are happening in the northwest."

The strange occurrences were all happening within the desert, nestled between the two mountain ranges. So-ryong pointed to a specific location on the map.

"And what about this place? Is there anything there?"

"Ah... That’s just the desert. It’s likely because it’s the center of the desert, that’s all," Taeheo responded.

"I see."

The northwestern area was marked with multiple dots, yet there was a single spot left completely blank—a circular stretch of land surrounded by markings, as if it were an empty void. So-ryong nodded at the explanation.

While deserts housed a variety of creatures, they weren’t found in the absolute center but rather in areas where some moisture and food could be obtained.

"Have you figured something out?" the Kunlun elder pressed.

He couldn’t give an immediate answer.

By analyzing the placement of the dots, one thing became clear: the creature's distribution pattern suggested that it wasn’t a territorial animal. Instead, it seemed more like a wandering predator.

The points were spread out over a vast area, making it unlikely that the creature had a fixed habitat. However, the involvement of the Five Venoms Sect complicated matters. If the creature was being raised or controlled by them, it couldn't be ruled out as simply a roaming beast.

So-ryong reconsidered his approach.

‘It seems to be a wandering creature that doesn’t establish a territory... No, let’s analyze it based on what the Five Venoms Sect has done so far.’

Everything they had raised so far—legions of ants, bloodsucking bedbugs, and the terrifying strange mantis—suggested that the creature they were dealing with was most likely something that had been artificially enhanced.

A giant version of an already existing species.

That was their specialty.

The Five Venoms Sect wouldn’t waste their time on spiritual beasts or rare creatures with innate abilities. They were known for taking something mundane and amplifying its lethality.

And above all, considering how much food this creature consumed, a large, conventional beast seemed like the most reasonable assumption.

Setting aside the question of whether it was territorial or nomadic, So-ryong focused on identifying what kind of desert-dwelling venomous creature could kill a person in a single strike.

He ruled out lizards.

If it were a lizard, Kunlun would have at least found tracks. Even in the desert, footprints would have been discovered during their search.

The fact that Kunlun had found no such traces indicated that the creature didn’t move in a way that left typical footprints.

That meant something that either left behind mere marks or trails—a spider or a type of solifuge.

‘If it’s a venomous creature in that category...’

Two particularly dangerous species from his knowledge came to mind: a highly venomous desert spider and a deadly solifuge.

However, one of them had to be eliminated.

It wasn’t native to this region.

He immediately ruled out the Six-Eyed Sand Spider.

That spider was a master of ambush, burying itself in the sand and striking from below. It was native to African deserts, where it thrived in sand dunes.

Despite its small size—only five centimeters—it possessed a powerful necrotic venom that could kill a person if they weren’t treated immediately.

But while there had been cases of foreign insects appearing in unusual locations, this was not likely the case here. There was a far more probable suspect.

And that was the Deathstalker.

The infamous scorpion, often called the "Death Chaser."

Deathstalkers belonged to the Leiurus genus and were known to be widespread throughout Central Asia, including areas close to Qinghai.

While a normal-sized Deathstalker’s venom wasn’t always fatal, it still inflicted excruciating pain, and in rare cases, could be lethal.

But that was when they were small.

If the Five Venoms Sect had been cultivating one to an unnatural size, then its venom would have intensified significantly, turning it into a creature capable of killing in a single sting.

‘A scorpion... This might actually be easier to solve than I thought.’

Having reached a conclusion, So-ryong glanced around at the others and spoke.

"Hmm... Based on everything we’ve gathered so far, I believe we’re dealing with a giant ironclad scorpion."

"Ironclad!?"

"Ironclad... you mean?"

"You’re saying it’s a scorpion, young warrior?"

The Deathstalker was nocturnal, burrowed underground to escape the desert heat, and possessed incredibly potent venom.

"Yes. An ironclad scorpion can dig burrows to hide underground and can easily burrow into the sand, making it well-adapted to desert life.

Given what we know about the Five Venoms Sect, I suspect they’ve been deliberately growing it to an enormous size.

While spiritual beasts don’t necessarily require constant food intake, this creature has been eating at an alarming rate. That suggests it’s an actual biological entity, not a spiritual beast."

Both Hwa-eun and Sister Seol nodded.

They had encountered the Five Venoms Sect numerous times before, so it seemed my theory made perfect sense to them.

"So-ryong’s reasoning doesn’t seem wrong," Hwa-eun agreed.

"It does seem likely... But if it's burrowing underground, won’t it be hard to find?" Sister Seol asked.

That was a reasonable question.

If the scorpion remained hidden beneath the sand, tracking it would be a challenge.

But, luckily, they had experts in exactly this.

So-ryong smirked as he patted the heads of Bini and Cho, who had been dozing off with their heads resting on his thighs.

"There’s no need to worry. We have some very capable experts at tracking ironclad scorpions."

"Cho and Bini?"

"Those two?"

The two centipedes, who had just woken up, twitched their antennae in confusion, clearly unaware of the discussion.

But whether they realized it or not, they were, in fact, the perfect specialists for this task.

Scorpions contained a special fluorescent substance in their exoskeletons, making them glow under ultraviolet light. While invisible to human eyes, it was something that centipedes were uniquely suited to detect.

Centipedes had specialized antennae that allowed them to perceive subtle differences in light wavelengths, meaning they could easily spot scorpions even in total darkness.

"Yes. Scorpions emit a pale blue glow that’s invisible to the human eye.

But these two can see it perfectly."

Tomorrow night, they would head out with torches.

And with the help of Bini and Cho, they would hunt down the Five Venoms Sect’s monstrous scorpion.