Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 156: Absorption (4)

The moment I realized what Lee Tae meant, I scowled. The river bandits, who had been on edge since I appeared, now looked even more terrified.

The dead man had been walking around just fine yesterday, yet now he had been found as a dried-up corpse.

It clearly wasn’t a normal death.

The sheer unnaturalness of it made my creatures the prime suspects in their eyes.

A person’s body shriveling up like that wasn’t something that happened under normal circumstances. It was the kind of thing supernatural beings might be responsible for, so it was only natural that their fear turned to my creatures.

And since I was the one commanding those creatures, they were obviously afraid of me as well.

To them, I probably looked like a demon summoner commanding actual demons.

‘This is annoying... but it’s way too coincidental. I’ll have to clear up the misunderstanding.’

I had been deliberately spreading the idea that my creatures ate people to keep the river bandits in line.

But of all times, something like this just had to happen now.

And with the situation regarding the shipwright still unresolved, this misunderstanding was a serious problem.

Just as I was about to speak and clear things up, the tension among the bandits escalated into sheer terror at the sound of a voice behind me.

— Tsrrr? 『Dad?』

I had told Bini we would go outside after the mist cleared, but since I had rushed out without an explanation, it had followed me.

The moment Bini’s cry echoed through the mist, the river bandits staggered back in horror.

“H-Holy shit!”

“Aghh!”

A seven-meter-long black centipede slithering out of the mist was a terrifying sight.

Especially since I had already scared them half to death yesterday, and now they thought my creatures had actually killed someone.

Some of the bandits fell flat on their asses trying to back away.

To me, Bini’s voice sounded adorably tiny, but to them?

It was pure nightmare fuel.

I had to act quickly before this got out of hand.

I called Hwa-eun over and quickly discussed what to do.

If we didn’t clear things up now, the misunderstanding could become irreversible.

“It seems they think our creatures are responsible for turning that corpse into... whatever that is. We need to explain.”

“Our creatures!?”

Hwa-eun looked completely baffled.

She hugged Bini and frowned.

“How could they even think that? Bini and the others are so small, so gentle and sweet...”

Honestly, from our perspective, Bini and Cho still looked small and adorable.

But if you removed the affection filter, they were seven-meter-long monsters.

So I just gave her an awkward smile and turned back to Lee Tae, stroking Bini’s head as I spoke.

“It looks like they believe my creatures did this to the corpse. That’s not the case.”

“This is a misunderstanding?”

“Our creatures don’t eat people.”

“...What!?”

Lee Tae’s reaction was priceless.

His expression screamed: I don’t believe you.

After all, just yesterday, I had made it very clear that they could end up as creature food.

“But—but yesterday, you literally said you’d feed us to them—”

“That was just to scare you. These creatures are spirit beasts. They don’t eat anything.”

At my words, Lee Tae and the bandits exchanged uncertain glances.

They were debating whether to believe me or not.

Seeing their hesitation, I decided to give them some cold, hard logic.

It was better to be blunt than let the misunderstanding spiral out of control.

“You don’t have to believe me. But think about it. If my creatures really did eat people, why would I even bother explaining?”

If Cho, Bini, or Yo-hwa actually ate people, what could Lee Tae or the bandits do to stop them?

Nothing.

If my creatures really were man-eaters, the bandits would have no way to fight back.

They would just sit here and get devoured one by one.

The moment I pointed that out, Lee Tae visibly flinched and hesitantly nodded.

“Y-yeah... If spirit beasts went on a rampage, no one could stop them. There’s no reason to do it secretly either...”

The bandits shuddered, clearly remembering last night.

Then one of them spoke up.

“B-but then... How did Beom-gyu die?”

Just as they asked, footsteps approached from behind.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Through the lingering mist, Seol appeared and answered.

“That’s exactly what we’re about to find out.”

***

With Seol’s help, we decided to examine the corpse first.

She mentioned that wild beasts always leave traces on a body.

It made sense—tracking predators through their kills was a skill practiced in the Beast Palace, and Seol seemed confident in her abilities.

I wasn’t completely convinced at first, but watching her work quickly changed my mind.

She examined the corpse with a surprising level of professionalism, inspecting the pupils, mouth, and skin—details that felt more fitting for a modern forensic investigator than someone from this era.

Lacking gloves, she used chopsticks to shift the body, carefully searching for clues.

With the help of the river bandits, she checked every inch before finally tilting her head in puzzlement.

“This isn’t actually a mummy.”

“What?”

Hwa-eun blinked in surprise at Seol’s statement.

Seol nodded.

“Mummies are completely dried-out bodies, but this one is different. All of its blood is gone. That’s why it looks shriveled and pale, but the skin isn’t fully dry yet.”

“All of its blood is gone?”

I had assumed the body was simply desiccated, but Seol's explanation made it clear that wasn’t the case.

She continued, nodding again.

“Yeah. Normally, when someone dies, rigor mortis sets in, and blood settles, leaving livor mortis stains. But this body has none.”

“Wait... You mean the blood was drained before livor mortis could set in?”

“That’s right. Blood pooling starts about an hour after death, but this body shows zero signs of it. That means all the blood was sucked out either while they were still alive or within an hour of death.”

“...Then could it be the Blood Cult?”

The moment I mentioned the Blood Cult, the atmosphere grew tense.

If I was right, that meant a Blood Cultist might be hiding in this village.

Seol frowned.

“Well... the Blood Cult does deal with blood, but—”

“H-hold on! The Blood Cult?! Those monsters?!”

One of the bandits paled at the mention of them.

But Seol quickly shook her head.

“The Blood Cult cuts their victims first and then drains the blood through the wounds, like mosquitoes. But there aren’t any wounds on this body.”

I thought back to the Blood Cult elders I had encountered before.

Seol was right. They always cut their victims open first.

This body had no such wounds.

“So, it’s not °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the Blood Cult...”

That was a slight relief.

Still, if it wasn’t them, what else could it be?

“Did you find anything else?” I asked.

Seol shook her head.

“Well, if the blood was still there, I could’ve figured something out. But since there’s no blood left, there’s not much else I can determine.”

That was disappointing, but it meant only one thing—we needed to check the crime scene.

A body alone could only tell so much.

“The victim’s house. We should check it. There might be some evidence left.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

“So-ryong, I’ll stay here and see if there’s any poison residue left in the body. It’s weird that someone died inside the village, and no one noticed.”

“Alright, Hwa-eun.”

Leaving Hwa-eun to check for poison, I followed Lee Tae into the village.

As we moved, I could feel the uneasy stares of the villagers.

Their whispered conversations followed us.

They feared us.

Soon, we arrived at a small hut at the base of the mountain.

The roof was thatched with reeds, and the walls were made of bamboo slats—a simple but sturdy home.

“This is the place, So-ryong.”

Inside, a bamboo bed sat against the far wall.

The room itself was messy, likely from people searching through it after the victim’s death.

“My men said he was lying there, looking like he had just gone to sleep... except, you know... dead.”

I walked closer and immediately noticed a faint scent of coriander.

It wasn’t unusual for Southeast Asian villages to use coriander to mask the smell of fish.

But something about this felt off.

“Lying on the bed... completely still?”

“Yes. His body was already stiff.”

Aside from a ragged blanket, there weren’t any signs of a struggle.

Lee Tae, Seol, and I thoroughly checked the doors, windows, and entryways for any signs of forced entry, but we found nothing.

“No real clues here.”

“Yeah...”

We returned to the ship, hoping Hwa-eun had found something.

She had.

“There’s paralytic venom in the body. I need more time to figure out the source, though. Maybe by tomorrow.”

I frowned.

“...No one else will die before then, right?”

“D-don’t say that, Seol! That would be terrible!”

But deep down, I had a bad feeling.

And I was right.

At dawn, a panicked bandit came running to us.

“S-So-ryong! Another body! Two people are dead this time!”

“Two?!”

The mystery was only getting deeper.

***

Seol and I rushed to the new crime scene.

It was a different hut near the first victim’s house.

Inside, we found a young couple, lying on their bed—dead.

They hadn’t struggled.

They were still holding each other, as if they had simply fallen asleep.

“No one touched them, right?”

“No, Lady Seol.”

Seol hurried forward, inspecting the bodies.

Her face darkened.

“Same as before. No blood.”

Another bloodless corpse.

But then—Seol frowned.

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“What’s this?”

She reached toward the blanket, feeling along the fabric.

Then, she brought her hand to her nose.

“Something’s wet.”

“Wet?”

“It’s not urine, is it?”

“No, it doesn’t smell like that. It’s got a slight... fishy scent.”

Something about that detail nagged at me.

Then—the wind blew through the open window.

And that same coriander scent filled the room.

That scent.

It had been everywhere.

‘Wait... Why didn’t I notice it before?’

Despite hours of investigation, we had found nothing.

The villagers were growing restless.

Even after explaining the truth, some still didn’t believe us.

By the afternoon, Hwa-eun confirmed that she had found paralytic venom in the victims.

But she couldn’t pinpoint what kind of creature had done this.

And that night—

As Seol and I sat together, trying to predict what would happen next, Lee Tae came aboard our ship.

He was carrying a fish dish.

“It’s not much, but...”

“You said food was scarce. Why bring this?”

“We just wanted to show our gratitude. You’re actually trying to help us.”

“...The patrols. You told your men to watch the village tonight, right?”

“Yes. I split them into three groups of two, making rounds.”

It was a freshwater fish dish, lightly fried and braised in soy sauce.

I had already eaten dinner, but since he brought it with good intentions, I took a bite.

And immediately regretted it.

“...Ugh.”

The muddy taste of freshwater fish hit me like a punch.

I almost gagged.

Lee Tae panicked.

“O-oh! I forgot, outsiders can’t handle the fishy smell! I’ll cook something else—”

“No, it’s fine... It’s just missing something.”

“Missing what?”

“Coriander.”

Lee Tae gave me a confused look.

“We don’t use that here.”

“...You don’t?”

“No. We haven’t eaten coriander in years.”

The moment he said that, something clicked.

The coriander scent.

The wet stain on the blanket.

The paralytic venom.

My entomology knowledge kicked in.

‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!’

“Bini!”

— Tsrrr?

Bini emerged from the cabin.

I grabbed a lantern and sprinted toward the first victim’s house.

Holding the light up, I scanned the walls.

And there it was.

Something dark and slimy, running down the walls.

Then—

—Plop. Plop. Plop.

Giant bedbugs started raining down from the ceiling.

Bini coiled around me, slashing them apart.

The killer had been here all along.

Giant blood-draining bedbugs.