Fabre in Sacheon's Tang

After her confession, Yo-hwa didn’t bring it up again.

Which left my head in a complete mess.

Should I give her an answer? Or was she just satisfied with having confessed?

This guy So-ryong really does like insects, reptiles, and amphibians—especially the venomous kind.

So yes, I do like Yo-hwa, but that’s within the boundaries of being a beloved venomous companion. I’d never considered her as a romantic partner.

Actually, it was only natural that I hadn’t. Who would?

Even in my past life, there were furries who were into beastmen with fur and animal ears. But bug people? Amphibian people? Reptile people? I don’t remember anyone being into that.

Yo-hwa’s pedipalps are so similar to a human’s that it’s hard to tell the difference, and being a spiritual beast, she’s smart—about on par with human intelligence. But as a lover?

It kind of felt like if I crossed that line, there’d be no returning to humanity.

So I avoided poking that beehive and didn’t mention it again. As a result, our relationship ended up in a sort of Schrödinger’s cat situation.

What’s that mean?

It means the answer’s there, but you don’t know it until you open the box.

Or rather, there is a conclusion, but it hasn’t been revealed yet.

Either way, we were in that limbo. But since Yo-hwa didn’t say anything either, I just treated her normally during the day her body was drying out.

That day felt like an entire year.

“Yo-hwa, anything different today?”

— Kissit. 『Ah, I think I can change into that form now, big brother.』

“That form?”

— Kishishi. 『The one from inside the mental world.』

“Ooh, really?”

Hearing the martial artists say that Yo-hwa was moving again after her molting had finished, I returned to the cultivation chamber.

It seemed like she had evolved. When I asked what had changed, she replied that she could now take on the form I saw inside my mind.

“Try it, Yo-hwa.”

— Kishi. 『Yes, big brother.』

Having not yet taken on anyone’s appearance after molting, Yo-hwa’s pedipalps looked like an unfinished ball-jointed doll.

When I told her to try it, she slowly began transforming from her face.

Hair began to grow, facial features took shape, her eyes and lips came alive with color.

It was like watching a lifeless doll being filled with breath.

Before long, Yo-hwa’s pedipalps had perfectly mimicked the face I’d seen in the mental realm.

The completed transformation had no golden facial markings—just the face of a stunningly beautiful woman, with cold eyes that resembled Tang Hwa-eun’s. She could easily be mistaken for Hwa-eun’s sister.

But as I looked her over carefully from head to toe, something felt... off when my gaze reached her chest.

Wait a second? That chest looks awfully familiar...

The woman Yo-hwa had transformed into had a chest I definitely recognized.

Sure, maybe it just looked similar in size, but the shape too? Too familiar.

When I looked up at her face, I immediately understood why.

I had crafted that chest myself. Of course I’d recognize it.

Looking over Yo-hwa’s current form more carefully—

The eyes were Hwa-eun’s.

The eyebrows belonged to Seol-noona.

The lips were Eumbong’s.

The beauty mark near the mouth matched Eunbi from Baekwolru.

The facial structure was that of Namgung Seol, the Flower King Peony, one of the Three Blossoms of the Martial World.

In other words, Yo-hwa had created her current form by piecing together the most beautiful features of all the women she’d seen so far.

It seemed like she’d chosen the prettiest parts from each and put them together.

Or maybe it was instinct. Animals that mimic others usually choose forms that help them survive best—maybe she instinctively thought this form would help her survive.

Since she’s a spiritual beast that absorbs Yang energy, this might be the optimal form to seduce men?

Still, even though she took only beautiful features, did that mean she was more beautiful than Hwa-eun?

Not quite.

Even if you combine the prettiest parts, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll end up with the most beautiful result.

Still, she was plenty beautiful—and the mix gave her a unique identity.

Until now, she had been borrowing Hwa-eun’s appearance. But now, it felt like she finally had a form to call her own.

I congratulated her.

It was the first time she truly had a face of her own.

“Looks like you’ve finally got your own appearance now, Yo-hwa. Congratulations.”

— Kissit. 『Thank you, big brother...』

“That's the outside. Anything else different?”

I asked if there were any other changes.

It didn’t seem likely that only her appearance had evolved.

Her spider face had turned gold, so I figured something else must’ve changed too.

— Kishi... 『Hmm... I think I can spin a different kind of thread now.』

“Thread?”

— Kishishit. 『Just a moment.』

In response, Yo-hwa brushed one of her hind legs lightly across her rear and showed me something.

At first, I saw nothing and blinked—but as I looked closer, I saw a fine golden thread between her feet glimmering in the flickering light of the cultivation room.

“Ooooh!”

“Ooooh!”

— Kissit! 『No, big brother!』

The moment I reached out my hand, Yo-hwa grabbed it with her pedipalps in a hurry.

Her movements were far more fluid now—evolution, clearly.

Startled, I looked up at her, and she exhaled in relief.

— Kishishi. 『It’s sharp, big brother.』

“Sharp?”

Hearing her say the thread was sharp, I looked around.

There, near the entrance, was a large bowl with some bamboo chopsticks laid on top. Maybe left by Hwa-eun or Grandpa while I was gone.

I grabbed one and brought it over.

— Sssht.

The bamboo stick sliced cleanly in half, like it had been cut with a blade.

Insane cutting power.

“Whoa. This is...”

I pulled out my dagger to test Yo-hwa’s golden thread—but as I tried to slice it, the blade got caught and snapped.

That fine thread was sharper and tougher than steel.

No doubt now—Yo-hwa wasn’t a Human-Faced Spider Queen, but a Golden-Faced Spider King.

Here’s what I mean—

Last night, while talking with Grandpa, I had asked something that had been bugging me.

“Grandpa, you said you used to hunt Human-Faced Spiders. Was there a particular method? The ones like Yo-hwa have bodies as tough as steel and move super fast...”

“Huh? What are you talking about? They’re hard to catch because they can transform into humans and their venom mist bewitches people. But their bodies aren’t all that tough.

Some elders even questioned whether they really belonged among the Ten Great Venomous Beasts.”

“But Yo-hwa’s body is as hard as steel.”

“What?”

My clan usually studied venom and molted skins from spiritual beasts I brought back, but since we already had some data on Human-Faced Spiders, we hadn’t done much on Yo-hwa.

So no one had noticed the difference until now.

But comparing notes with Grandpa, we realized the truth.

Maybe the one originally designated as a member of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts wasn’t the Human-Faced Spider, but the Golden-Faced Spider King, which just looked the same in childhood.

Because their appearances matched, we had assumed the monstrous stats and danger level were from the Human-Faced Spider and gave it that title.

But now it seems likely the truth is that it was the Golden-Faced Spider all along.

In my past life too, I often thought I’d discovered a known species—only to find out later it was actually a new one.

That would also explain why the Human-Faced Spider was relatively easy to kill.

Seriously, how lucky am I?

What kind of luck does it take to stumble across a Golden-Faced Spider King?

Whether it was fate or Yo-hwa herself, I turned to ask,

“Yo-hwa, can I just touch it for a second?”

After reassuring her, I carefully pressed my fingertip to the thread—sting, a drop of blood.

If she wove this thread into a web, anyone who got caught would probably lose their limbs on the spot.

So this is why Tang warriors in the past got wiped out?

“What the—Yo-hwa, this is amazing!”

—Kishishi. 『R-Really? If big brother likes it, then Yo-hwa is happy.』

I praised her with an astonished expression, and, as expected, she beamed with joy.

“Yo-hwa, is there anything else?”

—Kissit. 『Uh... I think there might be one more thing.』

“What is it? What is it?”

I urged her with a look full of excitement, hoping it was another awesome ability—when suddenly, footsteps echoed from the entrance, and Hwa-eun entered.

“So-ryong. I heard Yo-hwa’s body is done drying? Huh? Her appearance changed?”

“Oh, welcome, Hwa-eun. Yeah, she looks different now.”

Hwa-eun approached and froze in surprise when she saw Yo-hwa’s new appearance.

But soon, her expression shifted to something like disappointment.

“I should be happy for her, but I feel a little sad.”

“Sad?”

“Yeah. Until now, I kind of felt like Yo-hwa and I were sisters... but now that her appearance changed, I feel a little distant.”

Ah. Right.

Yo-hwa had been borrowing Hwa-eun’s appearance until now.

To an outsider, the resemblance would’ve been enough to think they were twins.

So Hwa-eun probably felt a subconscious closeness toward a creature who looked just like her. Now that the appearance had changed, that feeling must’ve faded.

I remember a famous experiment from my past life at a major university.

Participants were shown a group of faces, including their own but altered to be the opposite sex. They were asked to pick the most attractive one.

And most people ended up choosing their own face, just modified.

Humans are drawn to what they’re familiar with.

So even if Hwa-eun felt a little off at first seeing a creature mimic her, over time she’d grown fond of it. Now that the mimicry was gone, the unfamiliarity crept in.

In response to her sadness, Yo-hwa promptly changed her form.

Hwa-eun walked up, gently patting Yo-hwa’s head.

“It’s okay, Yo-hwa. It just felt a little awkward at first. But no matter what form you take, I still like you.”

—Kishishi. 『Sister...』

“What were you two doing, anyway?”

“Oh, we were checking out Yo-hwa’s new abilities. Just as Grandpa said, the Human-Faced Spider and the Golden-Faced Spider King must be different species.”

“She’s gained multiple new powers?”

I showed her the form-shifting and the golden thread.

Hwa-eun was amazed.

“This thread is incredible. Unlike Yo-hwa’s past silk, this doesn’t stretch—but it’s incredibly sharp, isn’t it?”

“Seems like it.”

“It could be dangerous to handle, but with the right technique, it could be used as a throwing weapon.”

In that brief time, she’d already confirmed the lack of elasticity and was excited by the potential as a trap or tool.

Then, despite it being winter, the heated cultivation chamber drew in another spider to Yo-hwa’s shoulder.

Round belly. Colorful markings.

A spider I knew well.

From the family of orb-weavers—specifically the house orb-weaver. About one centimeter long. The kind that spins a messy web in the corners of your ceiling.

Yo-hwa raised a finger, and the spider crawled on. She brought it to her mouth.

Startled, I thought she might eat it—but then a drop of gold liquid fell from her lips onto the spider.

A shimmering drop of golden fluid landed on her finger, and the house orb-weaver began drinking it.

“What the—?”

“What is that?”

Hwa-eun and I widened our eyes at the strange sight. Yo-hwa smiled.

—Kishishi. 『Big brother, this is one of my new powers.』

“A new power?”

“She says it’s a new ability.”

At first there was no change. I figured maybe it was some kind of feeding trick. But this was Yo-hwa—we weren’t dealing with just any creature.

As we both stared at the spider on their hands, a golden light suddenly flashed from the orb-weaver.

It wasn’t a huge burst since the spider was small—but then its body bulged, molted, and grew to the size of a fist.

“Wooooaaah!”

“It—it grew!”

Molting naturally causes growth, but this far exceeded any known limits.

It was now the size of a tarantula I’d kept as a pet in my past life.

“Incredible...”

I gawked at the newly transformed spider. Yo-hwa handed it to me.

—Kishishishi. 『It’s tougher now. Faster. Smarter. And its venom is stronger too.』

“Really?”

—Kishi. 『Yes.』

The name Golden-Faced Spider King, given arbitrarily by the Tang Clan, truly fit Yo-hwa now.

After all, even the Golden Crowned Spider Monarch that shared a body with Cheong-yu Sojeo had some kind of servant beasts, didn’t it?

If those beasts were young, they could be raised to become powerful guardians. That’s a trait fit for royalty.

If Yo-hwa could raise ordinary spiders into monsters—maybe not spirit beasts, but still threats to humans—then yeah. That’s a power worthy of a king.

Gyaaah!

It had been a while since my patented So-ryong shout came out.

I looked at the spider again, half-dazed in awe, and Yo-hwa nudged it toward me.

—Kissit. 『I’m giving it to you, big brother.』

“Really? You’re giving it to me?”

—Kishishishi. 『It’ll stay close and always protect you.』

“Seriously?”

Honestly, I missed raising normal spiders. I’d been surrounded by spiritual beasts for so long.

But this? A buffed-up version? Even better.

Sure, it wouldn’t be as strong as a spirit beast, but as a bodyguard?

I carefully reached out, and the spider climbed onto my hand.

It scurried up my arm and perched on my shoulder. Then Yo-hwa spoke again.

—Kissit. 『With that spider’s eyes, I can see you no matter how far away you are.』

A thought crossed my mind.

Yo-hwa, isn’t that just stalking?

It felt like she was setting up to spy on me.

***

In total, Yo-hwa’s three new powers were: