Fabre in Sacheon's Tang

My footsteps came to a complete stop at what that little thing said.

So that’s why Sister Seol suddenly acted like that—there was no doubt it was because of this guy.

If this little thing hadn’t put weird ideas in her head, there’s no way Sister Seol would’ve suddenly said something like “Let’s have sex once” to her own little brother.

“So that’s why Sister Seol said something so crazy...”

I spun around and quickly reached to grab Myoran by the scruff of the neck.

I was going to properly teach this guy a lesson.

He’d whispered nonsense to a perfectly sane person and turned her into a sex fiend—of course he deserved to get scolded.

‘How dare you turn Sister Seol into a sex fiend! A ya-mi-crazed little freak!’

Sister Seol is like a warm, gentle mother—overflowing with kindness and understanding.

Sure, she’s got a mischievous streak and loves to tease, but when I get in trouble, she always covers for me. She’s that kind of generous, benevolent person.

Back in the Central Plains, when I caused serious problems or got into it with Hwa-eun, she was the one who fixed everything.

Okay, sure, sometimes she and Hwa-eun teamed up to scold me, but that was only because they were worried.

But for her, in the middle of the day, stone sober, to say, “So-ryong, let’s have sex once!”?

Impossible if she were in her right mind.

So it had to be this little guy—he must’ve gaslit her somehow.

“This is the Cultivation World. Sex doesn’t mean much here.”

“Your cultivation will shoot up if you do it with So-ryong!”

“You’re lonely now, aren’t you, Chief Seol?”

I was sure he’d whispered stuff like that—telling her that dual cultivation with me would raise her realm, or that sex was no big deal here in the Cultivation World. Stuff like that to manipulate her.

I reached out to grab him—but my hand sliced through empty air.

Right. I couldn’t use physical force here.

I’d gotten so angry I forgot for a second.

I stopped trying to pick him up and instead shoved my face right up close to his.

Glowering, I spoke in a low, threatening voice.

“You really need to be punished. What exactly did you say to make perfectly normal Sister Seol act like that?”

When I threatened him, his eyes went wide and he started flailing his front paws, scrambling to explain.

—Miyang!? 『Huh!? N-no! Elder, I didn’t say anything—I didn’t do anything! I swear!』

“Lies. And yet Sister Seol just comes up and asks me to mate—no, have sex—ugh, whatever, that, with her? That Sister Seol? Don’t be ridiculous! You obviously said something weird and manipulated her!”

There’s no way I could believe he did nothing.

As I pressed him again, Myoran’s eyes welled up like he was seriously wronged.

—Miyaang. 『I really didn’t! I swear! All I did was listen to Chief Seol talk!』

At the sight of tears welling in his eyes, I hesitated for a moment.

It wasn’t that I was swayed by the tears.

Cats tend to be cunning by nature, so I couldn’t trust everything he said—but this guy wasn’t the cunning type.

He was more of the “airhead charm” variety.

Maybe I should call it the Gungbong type?

Like one of those ditzy gal characters from Japanese anime or something.

Didn’t know much, hated hassle, and acted entirely on impulse—that kind of character.

Because of that, I was starting to think he probably wasn’t lying.

I hadn’t known him that long, but it was clear he wasn’t sharp enough to hide his true thoughts and say something else.

“Really not you?”

—Miyawng! 『R-really, I didn’t do anything.』

Even when I pressed him again, he insisted it wasn’t him.

I propped up my chin and fell into thought.

Then why had Sister Seol suddenly done something so ridiculous?

It came out of nowhere, but there ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) had to be a cause.

There’s no such thing as an effect without a cause.

That was one of my core beliefs.

So I thought it over for a bit, and the most likely possibility came to mind.

‘Wait a second. The Beast-Heart Technique... Heavenly Heart Linked Venom Peach Grove...?’

Come to think of it, this guy had a higher realm than Sister Seol.

Maybe because of the registration, Sister Seol had been affected by the spiritual beast’s mental state.

This guy had said he wasn’t interested in mating with humans, but the spiritual beasts of the Beastlands didn’t have males, so when it came to males, they went weak in the knees.

So his psychological state might’ve influenced Sister Seol.

He said he wouldn’t sleep with a human, but he never said he’d reject another cat.

When you register a large number of beasts or spiritual creatures, you’re supposed to be careful not to get influenced by their primal instincts—one of the key warnings of the Beast-Heart Technique, Heavenly Heart Linked Venom Peach Grove.

These guys had lost their wild instincts, so instead of their primal urges, it was possible Sister Seol had been affected by his thoughts.

Sister Seol couldn’t summon Dokmul-hyang like I could, but she had reached a state where she could communicate with Myoran through the mind.

As their minds connected, their thoughts might’ve influenced each other.

Also, it might just be that this was Myoran’s mating season.

I didn’t really know when cats went into heat, but there could be a time difference.

If the wolves in the Beastlands were in heat, there was a good chance the cats were too.

Since animals needed to give birth and raise their young in spring when food was abundant, the mating season typically came any time except during pregnancy.

‘Well, either way, it’s this guy’s fault.’

Bottom line: because this guy’s a sex-crazed freak, Sister Seol ended up a sex-crazed freak too.

But even though it was his fault, it wasn’t exactly something I could blame him for.

If it was mating season, that was a physiological thing too.

I asked him with a serious look on my face.

“You’re not... in heat right now, are you?”

—Miyang!? 『Huhhh?』

“I said, are you in heat? The Heavenly Heart Linked Venom Peach Grove that links you and Sister Seol can influence each other. So if you’re in heat, it might’ve made Sister Seol act like that.”

—Miyawng! 『T-that’s not it!』

“Then... is it that? I saw other spiritual beasts in the Beastlands doing this too. Do you maybe have dirty thoughts a lot? Like, really want to mate or something?”

At that, Myoran made a completely baffled expression—then shouted in protest.

—Yawng! 『I’m telling you, all I did was listen to Chief Seol talk! That’s it!』

“Oh, so you’re saying no?”

When he said all he did was listen, I figured I might as well ask exactly what the two of them had talked about.

I mean, he claimed he just listened—but could that really be it?

I had to find out what kind of talk it was, and what kind of encouraging noises he might’ve made while “listening.”

He said he just listened, but that was his perspective. From a third-party point of view, it could be a totally different story.

“So what kind of conversation did you have that made Sister Seol suddenly act like that? Come on, tell me what you talked about.”

—Miyaaang. 『W-well, the thing is...』

Myoran squirmed under the pressure, hesitating when I told him to just hurry up and say it.

I gave him a look that said caught red-handed, and spoke.

“So you did say something you can’t repeat to me, huh? I knew it. Come on, spill it!”

In response, he gave me another one of those ‘I swear I didn’t do anything’ looks.

—Miyang. 『No! I swear, I didn’t say anything like that!』

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

—Yaong. 『Ahh, I shouldn’t... Okay, but if I say it, it has to stay secret, okay?』

“A secret? Fine. Go ahead.”

What kind of conversation could it possibly be that he was saying it had to be kept secret?

While I was making a face like I didn’t get it, the little guy glanced nervously around and started to explain.

—Miyang. 『So, here’s the thing. Humans, when it comes to us myo... they’re kind of... prone to sharing what’s on their minds, you know? It’s a little annoying, but they always spill their secrets and inner thoughts to us, you know?』

“Why the hell is your preamble so long? Anyway, secret talk? Ah... I get it.”

Couldn’t he just skip to the conclusion? Why did he always take the scenic route?

Still, I figured out what he meant from his rambling intro.

Humans have a tendency to talk to their pets about what’s on their minds.

When something’s weighing on them and they can’t tell another person, they end up spilling to the living creature they keep by their side.

Because people can repeat what you said, but animals can’t. And since they’re still living beings, people end up treating them as someone who can listen.

They talk to their dogs or cats, like they’re confessing to a therapist.

That must’ve been what this guy meant.

—Yaong. 『Yeah, it was yesterday. Chief Seol’s expression looked really down lately, so I asked if something was bothering her... and then she started talking about herself. Like...』

That was the moment it happened.

With terrifying speed, Sister Seol launched herself through the air, screaming.

“KYAAAAH! Hey! Myoran, are you out of your mind!?”

The shriek was so loud it nearly split my eardrums, making me jump and Myoran flinch in terror.

Sister Seol swooped in like a missile, grabbed Myoran, and slapped a hand over his mouth as she yelled.

“You—! You! H-how much did you say!? How much did you tell him!?”

—Mmph! Mmph!

She was demanding to know how far Myoran had gotten.

But she had her hand clamped over his mouth—how was he supposed to answer?

Whatever it was that embarrassed her so much, Sister Seol’s face had turned bright red.

Redder than when she asked her own younger brother to sleep with her?

Myoran flailed his front paws, looking like he was choking, with her hand smashed over his mouth and even his nose.

I told her:

“Sister Seol, he’s going to die like that. Let go of him. He hasn’t said anything yet.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. He was just about to start when you came flying in.”

At my words, Sister Seol finally relaxed her grip with a little thwip.

Myoran tumbled free, panting and gasping for breath.

—Miyaaang. 『I-I almost died...』

What a drama queen over that little thing.

I glanced at Myoran once, then turned to Sister Seol and asked,

“Sister Seol, earlier I stepped away because I thought it might embarrass you—but actually, this works out. I think it's best if I hear it directly from the person involved.

What exactly did you and Myoran talk about that made you say something like that to me? Could you tell me?”

Since Sister Seol had stormed in and shut Myoran up, there was no chance I could get the rest out of him now. That meant the only way to learn what had actually happened... was to ask Sister Seol directly.

So I did.

At my question, Sister Seol’s gaze trembled slightly.

She clenched both fists, hesitated for a moment, and then turned to Myoran.

“My... Myoran, can you give us a moment?”

—Yaong. 『Ah, understood, Chief Seol.』

Myoran quickly launched himself away to give us space, and Sister Seol led me not toward the village, but off to a quiet spot.

A bit into the woods, away from town.

She sat down on a big tree stump and patted the spot beside her.

“Come. Sit here.”

“Yes, Sister Seol.”

I did as she asked and perched next to her on the cut stump.

Sister Seol looked at me once, her face completely red, then after a long, deep breath, kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke.

“S-so... what I mean is... When you first became my little brother, So-ryong, I... I was really happy. Finally, someone I got along with, who also loved animals.”

“I was happy too.”

“Kugh. D-don’t reply. Just listen.”

“...Okay.”

When I shut my mouth at her request, she continued.

“Where was I...? Right. When I traveled with you and Hwa-eun, spending time together like that... I realized my little brother was a really good man. Kind, a bit of a troublemaker who sometimes made my heart stop, but in the end, it all became fond memories. Hehe.

At some point, I started thinking, would there ever be another person in the world I clicked with like this?

In my whole life?

But back then, you were the adopted son of our Beast Palace, right? And I was your older sister?

So I never let myself think beyond that. Because of Confucian rules and all.

But then, when you said you were leaving, I felt like I was going to die if I couldn’t see you anymore.

When Hyang came and brought me here, I was so happy.

Right then I made up my mind. Even if I can’t be your wife like the other girls, I’d stay by your side until the end and die in your arms when the time came.

Because you’re kind, you’d definitely let me.

But after ascending, they say all ties from the lower world are severed, right?

And then... I got a little greedy.

Because here, you’re just a man, and I’m just a woman.

Still, I felt sorry to Hwa-eun, and I was embarrassed in front of the other girls, so I kept it to myself. But... b-but then that woman showed up, and I panicked, and...”

Her confession left my head spinning.

I’d always thought Sister Seol was unusually fond of me, but now I realized it wasn’t sibling affection—it was romantic.

On one hand, I was wondering how the hell I was supposed to handle this, but I couldn’t help but ask what had been nagging at me.

Who was the woman Sister Seol had mentioned?

If she said “that woman showed up,” then it had to be someone I’d recently brought in.

The only ones I’d added to Dokmul-hyang lately were Mongyeong and Myoran.

There was no one else Sister Seol would’ve seen as a threat.

“That woman?”

At my question, Sister Seol clenched her fist tightly and answered.

“Your Junior Sister.”

At that, my head went completely blank.