Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 224: Qiong Lake (4)

And that didn’t match the current situation.

“But, Hwa-eun, earlier you said there was no poison in the body, right?”

Sister Seol, picking up on the strange contradiction, asked Hwa-eun with a confused expression.

She had clearly confirmed earlier that there was no poison left in the corpses.

Right. Even though tetrodotoxin is an extremely potent toxin, it should still leave traces in the body.

It’s known for being incredibly stable—so stable that even boiling it for hours doesn’t fully eliminate it.

Which meant it couldn’t have just disappeared from the bodies.

“That’s right. There definitely wasn’t any poison. That’s what seemed off to me.

Is there any way to find out when exactly they went out fishing?”

Tilting her head, Hwa-eun turned to Officer Ye, who’d been standing nearby.

“I’ll check on that right away.

Apparently, one of their relatives came to claim the bodies. I’ll go ask them.”

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Ye Masahun rushed off toward the magistrate’s office, and in the meantime, Hwa-eun gave the next order to the examiners:

“Now that you’ve checked the lungs, please move on to the stomach.”

“Yes, my lady. What exactly should we check for in the stomach?”

“Look for any food residue. If there is any, estimate how much is left.”

“Understood.”

The soft scraping and cutting sounds from inside continued.

Just then, Ye Masahun returned, panting slightly.

“I’ve just confirmed with the family.

The two were cousins who made their living fishing with nets.

They left early this morning to check on the nets they’d set the day before.

Apparently, fishermen typically collect their nets at dawn...”

“I see.”

“They were found around midday today.

Another group of fishermen noticed their boat drifting unattended and discovered the bodies floating near it.”

Just as we nodded at his report, a voice came from inside the autopsy room.

“My lady!

There’s still quite a bit of undigested food in the stomach.

Looks like they had dumplings and stir-fried vegetables for breakfast—it’s all still intact.”

“So they must have died not long after heading out at dawn.”

Judging from the undigested food, Hwa-eun was able to estimate the time of death.

The examiners inside voiced their amazement.

“Oh! That makes sense!

If the food is still whole, it means they died shortly after eating—early morning, then.”

“Wow, truly the Tang Clan’s expertise...”

Hearing the praise, I couldn’t help puffing my chest a little,

though I also felt a chill run down my spine—after all, this was still about corpses.

I glanced awkwardly at Hwa-eun, and she gave me a soft smile.

That alone made the uneasiness melt away.

Yeah... just think of her like a nurse or a doctor from this era. That’s what she is.

Sure, she knew a little too much about dead bodies,

but then again, doctors and nurses also know this kind of stuff, don’t they?

The difference was that Hwa-eun didn’t study this to save lives—she studied it to take them.

But I chose to believe she was the medieval version of a nurse or doctor.

Besides, she’s beautiful.

And we’re already engaged. If I can’t get used to this now, when will I?

She’s just... really intelligent. That’s all. Really smart. That’s it.

Just as I was using her beauty to block out all my concerns, Hwa-eun issued her next order.

“Finally, check the liver.”

“Yes, my lady!”

“It’s located deeper inside. Will you be alright?

Once you take it out, place a sliver into the reagent and tell me what color it turns.”

“Understood.”

As the officer disappeared into the examination room,

Hwa-eun turned to me and Sister Seol to explain:

“If I had to guess, this was a toxin that paralyzed or anesthetized the victims almost instantly.

If that happened around dawn, it’s likely that after three hours or so, the poison would’ve already broken down in the body.

But even if the poison is gone from the blood and organs,

it still passes through the bloodstream—

so there should be traces left in the liver.

That should tell us what kind of poison it was.”

Even toxins that disappear from the rest of the body tend to leave something behind in the liver.

The reagent she had likely tested for hepatic toxicity.

Soon, a voice came from inside:

“My lady, the color turned red. Is that what we expected?”

“Red? Can you bring it out here?”

“Yes, my lady.”

The door opened, and the officer returned with a bowl of water.

Inside was a chunk of liver. The water had turned a reddish tint, likely from blood—

but there didn’t seem to be any particular or unusual color change.

Hwa-eun added a few more reagents,

but her face slowly turned to confusion.

“It... it really doesn’t seem like there was any poisoning at all.”

It was a truly strange case.

***

We were confused, but the Seochang Magistrate didn’t seem to be in any better shape after hearing Hwa-eun’s assessment.

“It appears they drowned, but there’s no trace of poison? And yet... if their lungs were full of water, it suggests they were paralyzed and drowned while conscious.”

“Yes, Magistrate.”

“Hah... what a bizarre case...”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t be of more help.”

“No, no. Lady Tang, you’ve already helped immensely.”

After relaying the results of the autopsy and Hwa-eun’s expert opinion, we stepped outside the magistrate’s office.

That’s when Sister Seol turned to me and said,

“Why don’t we just go try and find it ourselves?”

It was true that finding the creature might be the most straightforward option.

But at that, Hwa-eun frowned slightly, clearly uneasy.

“We can’t go running around blindly when we don’t even know what it is.

If it’s really a spirit beast with some unknown venom, we wouldn’t know how to prepare or defend ourselves.”

She had a point. If it was something even Hwa-eun had never encountered, then we couldn’t afford to be reckless.

Poisonous creatures were never something to take lightly.

Even with the ones you do know, a single mistake can cost you your life.

Let alone something unknown.

“I agree with Hwa-eun,” I said.

“So what, we’re supposed to ignore this and just head back to the Tang Clan?”

“What? No way.”

Going back? What kind of thunderbolt-from-a-clear-sky nonsense was that?

I didn’t come all the way to Sichuan for the spicy food just to retreat now.

“No matter what it is... I will catch it,” I declared firmly.

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Sister Seol gave me a teasing grin, clearly trying to rile me up.

“Oh really? And how exactly are you going to do that?”

“Well, there are plenty of fishermen here—surely someone’s seen something.

Even a rough idea of its appearance is enough. Let’s ask around the fish market before heading back to the port.”

“Alright then. I’m in.”

We quickened our pace toward the market.

By the time we arrived at the entrance, the lake had transformed into a breathtaking sight.

Evening was falling, and the red sky reflected off the water, painting both sky and shore in warm crimson tones.

It gave the whole scene an otherworldly feel.

We stood there for a moment, quietly taking in the view—

then agreed to split up and do some asking around before sundown.

“Let’s meet back in front of that place we ate earlier, in about an hour.

We’ll need dinner anyway, and the food was actually pretty good.”

“Alright, So-ryong. Sounds good.”

As Hwa-eun nodded at my plan, Sister Seol’s excited voice rang out beside us.

“Okay! ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Let’s make it a competition—whoever finds the best lead wins!”

“...Huh?”

“Starting now!”

“W-wait, Sister Seol!”

“Unnie!”

Come on! If you’re going to make it a contest, at least say what the stakes are!

You can’t just yell “game on” and run off like that!

Watching her dash away, I couldn’t help but laugh.

She really could be cute sometimes.

Hwa-eun smiled too, clearly thinking the same thing.

“So-ryong, then... should the winner get to make the loser grant that wish you protested about?”

“...Really!?”

“Yes.”

Maybe Hwa-eun had secretly wanted to say yes to that wish all along?

Either way—this was perfect.

<Heh... Hwa-eun, can you handle what you’ve just done? You’ve made a grave mistake.>

Your fiancée tells you she’ll grant you a wish if you win a competition?

Of course I’m going to say yes.

“Understood!”

I couldn’t lose either way—

If I lost, it would still end in a cute one-on-one dinner.

And if I won... just thinking about it made me giddy.

“Then... starting now!”

Just like Seol, Hwa-eun quickly turned and dashed off in the opposite direction,

leaving me to move fast myself.

I started with the closest spot: the fish market just next to us.

I walked up to the nearest stall and asked,

“Excuse me.”

“Oh! Welcome. Looking for some fish?”

“Ah, no. I’m not here to buy fish. I wanted to ask you something—”

“Eh? Not buying fish? Hmph... well, if you want to ask questions, you should at least buy something first...”

Ah—right.

If you want information from a vendor, you should at least pretend to be a customer.

No wonder he wasn’t thrilled.

Among the three of us, only Hwa-eun had any money.

Sigh... was this an unfair game from the start?

It was beginning to feel like Hwa-eun had this in the bag.

But then again... Sister Seol wasn’t one to underestimate either.

Come to think of it—she probably didn’t have any money either.

But she was a member of the Beast Palace, and that carried weight with the local tribes.

Sigh... am I the only one totally unqualified for this game?

And to think, the reward I was gunning for was a kiss.

If I wanted that, I’d have to aim for a romantic atmosphere during the dinner instead.

Wait a second... I’m from the Beast Palace too, aren’t I?

That’s right!

I quickly looked around for a stall run by someone from the Black-Clad Tribe and approached a man there.

“Excuse me. I’m So-ryong of the Beast Palace.

Lord of the Palace is my father. May I ask you something?”

“Gasp! The son of the Beast Palace Lord!? P-please, come right in!”

Ha! Looks like the Beast Palace reputation really does mean something here!

Just as I was mentally patting myself on the back, a booming voice cut in:

“Oh, you think you can get away with that!?

How dare a Han boy, not even wearing proper robes, impersonate a member of the Beast Palace!”

Ah, crap.

I, unlike Seol, wasn’t wearing any of the Beast Palace’s traditional clothing.

...Damn it.

***

“Huff... Huff...”

I bolted at the man’s thunderous shout.

Without Sister Seol by my side, I had no way to prove I was actually part of the Beast Palace.

Maybe I need to start carrying a family register or something...

While I was catching my breath beside someone’s fish stall,

a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

“Well, well, if it isn’t our young master.

What are you doing here, panting like that?”

I looked up to see the fish stall owner—the kind lady from the restaurant earlier—watching me curiously.

Looking around, I realized, of all places to flee to... I had ended up right at our agreed meeting spot.

Her shop, which doubled as both a fish market and a restaurant.

“Ah, I—I’m just here to meet someone,” I said, forcing a smile.

No way I was going to admit I ran away in a panic.

“Oh, is that so? Come in, come in!”

She cheerfully pulled me into the shop.

“Didn’t you enjoy the food this morning?

You’re sweating like crazy—here, have a glass of water.”

I was still catching my breath, just accepting the water she offered,

when I suddenly felt someone’s eyes on me.

I looked up—and sitting inside the shop, staring straight at me—

was the old sangmu, the mourning shamaness from the harbor.

“...Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“That woman...”

“Oh, she’s our tribe’s sangmu.

Today’s the day she’s being honored with a meal.

In the Black-Clad Tribe, we take turns serving the sangmu food.”

“Oh... I see.”

This was perfect.

If there was anyone who might know what the lake’s so-called “spirit” actually was,

it would be her.

After all, a shaman wouldn’t be clueless about the being she worships.

“You’re the young master who was with the ladies from the Beast Palace and the Tang Clan, right?

Why are you so interested in the lake spirit?”

“I was just... curious. You called it a spirit, so...”

“Hmph. Your eyes. They’re full of greed.

I cannot reveal anything to someone with such a gaze.”

Ouch.

Greedy? My eyes?? These are the eyes of pure wonder, thank you very much...

Luckily, the shop owner, perhaps grateful for my morning purchase, spoke up in my defense.

“Come on, elder. This young man bought five why-why fish from me this morning—

and insisted they all be kept alive.

Said it broke his heart to think they’d be eaten.

He doesn’t seem like the kind to have bad intentions.”

“The spirit, you say?”

“Yes, elder.”

“Hmmm... so, you like animals, do you?”

Her gaze was still skeptical, but I could tell her attitude was softening.

Time to bring out the big guns.

“I know I’m not dressed like it right now,

but I am from the Beast Palace.

The young lady you saw earlier is my sister,

and I’m So-ryong, son of the Beast Palace Lord.”

But unlike the Black-Clad man earlier, this wasn’t enough.

With her tribal way of thinking, the old shamaness still wasn’t convinced.

“You? The son of the Beast Palace Lord? Hmmm...”

“Please, just wait one moment!”

I left her and sprinted back to the ship,

where the others were still playing in the cabin.

I grabbed Yeondu, the least conspicuous of my companions.

Bringing Hwayang would’ve been more impressive, sure—

but a giant, glowing toad perched on my head would draw way too much attention.

Returning to the shop, I gently placed Yeondu in front of the sangmu.

Her expression changed instantly.

“Ohhh... To tame a snake this calmly...

You really are the Beast Palace Lord’s son, aren’t you?

No wonder you care so deeply for creatures.”

Showing her Yeondu while reaffirming my Beast Palace identity did the trick.

Now the sangmu fully trusted me.

She must have thought: If he cherishes animals this much, and he’s the son of the Beast Palace Lord, then he must be sincere.

The shamaness reached into her robes,

pulled out a carefully folded piece of cloth, and slowly unfolded it before me.

“This... is the lake spirit.”

Embroidered onto the fabric was an image of a large, yellow salamander-like creature—

its body crossed by bold, black stripes.

I gasped.

“That’s...!”

It was Ho-ye.

There was no mistake.