NOVEL NEXT Chapter 174
Chapter 174: Buzzing Chaos
“Buzz. Buzz. Wheeeee!”
As I crawled out of the ancient tree with Langhu in tow, the worker bees of the Golden Hair Bee King, who were waiting inside and outside the hive, began to flutter their wings as if starting an engine.
Probably, the ones starting to flap their wings now were the bees set to follow out for the split swarm.
The hive splits (분봉) begin when the queen leaves the home, so it seemed my exit with Langhu had served as the signal for the split.
‘Is it about half?’
The ones looking ready to take off seemed to amount to roughly half of the total bees.
The moment I took a step out towards the training area entrance, the bees finally kicked into gear and soared into the sky en masse.
– Wheeeee. Whee.
As the bees readied themselves outside and poured out from the entrance, a shadow loomed around me.
Soon, the bees flew above and began to spiral around me, filling the sky.
The buzzing of countless bees echoed in my ears, merging with the flurry of wings.
– Buzz. Whee.
‘I need to move quickly.’
Having verified that all the following bees had taken off, I hurried out of the training area.
It was vital to finish the split as soon as possible.
Worker bees usually carry a decent amount of honey when they leave home, but if finding a new one takes too long, they’ll consume all the honey they’ve stored.
Before they can make a new hive and fill it with honey, they must survive on the honey they took from their original home, so the shorter the search for a new abode, the better.
However, barely past the training area, a few bees suddenly latched onto me.
The swarm of spinning bees charged at me.
– Buzz! Buzz!
“Ah, no, guys, just a little longer…!”
Of course, they weren’t attacking me.
When the queen lands somewhere during a split, it’s a habit for the worker bees to settle there. Since Langhu was perched on my shoulder, it seemed they all decided to cling to me.
One by one, I soon found myself surrounded by bees.
I could barely manage to get my hands free amidst the swarm.
In a bit of a panic, caught in the bee clump, I suddenly had a thought:
Right now, this situation felt like a scene I had longed for in my dreams.
‘Kyaaaah! Could this possibly be bee whiskers?!’
Back in my past life, bee whiskers were a recurring theme in content involving bees.
Trapping the queen in a small container and hanging it around the neck caused the bees to stick to one’s body. That’s what bee whiskers were all about.
Little bees clinging to you, making it look like you had whiskers—it was a sight I had always wanted to experience.
Bee whiskers made from bees; a whole hive could hang from my body—what man wouldn’t want to experience that at least once?
But these weren’t small bees; they were these massive ones! A bee graveyard?
Even as I was being crushed by bees, I couldn’t help but feel absolutely euphoric.
Not bee whiskers, but a bee graveyard! This was the ultimate grave for the spicy Fabre.
‘I checked off another item on my life wish list today. Even if I die now, I have no regrets…’
I wanted to spend a bit longer in this bliss, but the heat pouring off the clumped bees was becoming a tad uncomfortable, and finding a home was of the utmost urgency.
Getting closer to Langhu and Nangu, I could always have a bee graveyard later.
Though I was a bit worried about the process of getting close, I decided to find a home first.
“Langhu! Tell the others to take to the skies! We need to find a home, this isn’t the time for this!”
I shouted toward where Langhu might be, and gradually, the weight around me lightened.
Rising through the disappearing bees, I spotted Langhu hovering near me.
It seemed she had decided to fly to remove the worker bees.
“That’s it, that’s a good idea.”
Langhu looked a bit tired, but I had slimmed down a bit.
As I barely reached outside the training area, the warriors gathered ahead hesitated to approach the swarm of bees and asked:
“Are you alright, Wei So-ryong?”
The one asking was Gu Pae, who stepped forward from among the warriors.
Since the Golden Hair Bee King was under the jurisdiction of our Venomous Insect Team, it seemed he had come out to check on the unusual situation.
“Yes. I’m fine. But the bees seem to need a new home. Is there a vacant old tree nearby?”
“Are the bees abandoning their home?”
“No. A new queen has been born, and the swarm has split in two.”
“Oh! So now there will be two swarms of the Golden Hair Bee King?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Oh! Then I will gather the clan’s warriors to quickly search for a new home!”
– Beep!
The sound of the flying dagger, the Tang Clan’s emergency signal, filled the sky, and soon, people began to rush in.
“What’s going on? Why are the Golden Hair Bee Kings—!?”
After explaining the situation to the Mandok God, my grandfather, he brightened and said:
“Oh, so now there are two swarms of bees?”
“Yes, grandfather.”
“Then we naturally need to find a new home. Everyone, move out!”
“““Yes! Great Clan Head!”””
The clan warriors responded energetically, swiftly dispersing around the Tang Clan mountain to find a new residence for the Golden Hair Bee King.
*
In front of the ancient tree, Gu Pae asked:
“How about here?”
It was a small valley within the Tang Clan mountain.
Although it was a bit far from the cluster of the clan’s buildings, it wasn’t a bad spot since all the surrounding mountain ranges were in our territory.
Turning my head to look at Langhu, she shook her head vigorously while sitting on my shoulder.
– Buzz!
A clear indication of discontent.
“It seems too small. Even I can see it’s too small.”
The location wasn’t bad, but compared to the previously used ancient tree, this was pathetically small.
If the tree was this small, they couldn’t establish a significant presence, so Langhu swiftly rejected it.
Gu Pae, with a sincerely apologetic expression, asked:
“What should we do? There are no larger ancient trees left.”
His demeanor made sense.
There were a total of three ancient trees found within the Tang Clan mountain.
I had looked over all three with Langhu, and none were suitable as homes.
But given that ancient trees hundreds of years old with hollow centers were rare, maybe this result was inevitable.
– Buzz. Buzz.
While we were conversing, another bee clung to me, prompting me to leap back toward the clan.
“Let’s return to the clan for now. Searching in the mountains just isn’t going to work.”
“Understood, Wei So-ryong. Everyone, let’s move!”
“““Yes! Deputy Commander!”””
Due to the sudden split, I hadn’t preemptively found a place for them to settle.
In a rush, I sent the warriors to scour the Tang Clan mountain, but we were in a situation with no suitable location in sight.
With Langhu tiredly perched on me, I decided to head back to the clan, thinking about solutions to find an ancient tree.
Without any luck finding an old tree, I began to consider alternatives.
‘Could we use rock hives instead?’
Wild bees primarily establish their homes in two places:
Inside trees and crevices in rocks.
The honey produced by bees that build hives in trees is known as 목청, while the honey from those in stone crevices is known as 석청.
If the Golden Hair Bee Kings had the characteristics of all bees, they could indeed build hives in stone crevices instead of just wood.
Given the current situation, looking for ancient trees was impossible, so considering rock crevices seemed a valid alternative.
‘However, the Tang Clan mountain isn’t a rocky mountain to begin with.’
The issue was that the Tang Clan mountain wasn’t rocky. Even if it were, finding rock crevices suitable for them to build in would also be unlikely.
The only option remaining was caves, but the issue was that there was only one cave in the entire Tang Clan mountain.
The only cave that could accommodate them.
That was Mandok Hall.
There was no doubt it was a spacious and excellent location for them to settle in, but it would be difficult to ask for the most important place in the clan to be emptied out for raising bees.
‘If I were to say we were raising bees in Mandok Hall, everyone would go into a frenzy. How did I manage bee colonies in my past life?’
Recalling memories from my past life, when I finally emerged from the valley and reached an open mountain ridge, I spotted the Golden Hair Bee Kings buzzing overhead.
As I scanned the open landscape for suitable locations, a particular place suddenly caught my eye.
‘High, made of wood, and large?’
This spot fit perfectly with the criteria I had in mind!
“I found it!”
At my shout, the warriors following me turned toward me, with Gu Pae stepping forward in excitement.
“Wei So-ryong, did you find it!?”
“Oh, yes! I wasted time looking too far when it was close by.”
“Really? It was nearby?”
“Yes, very close indeed. Let’s go!”
“Where are we going? Wei, So-ryong!”
I did not respond to Gu Pae’s inquiry, rapidly heading back toward the Tang Clan.
It seemed better to seize it before asking about it.
‘Whatever I think of, it’s the only place I can choose. It would be troublesome if I asked and got turned down.’
With Langhu perched on my shoulder, I sprinted quickly towards the Tang Clan.
As I leaped over the fences, I was met with sudden, surprised expressions from Hua Eun, Older Sister Seol, Gong-bong, and Eun-bong, who were wandering nearby.
“Whoa, you scared me.”
“Wei So-ryong.”
However, they quickly gathered themselves and asked where I was headed.
“Wei So-ryong! Haven’t you found the Golden Hair Bee King’s home yet?”
“Long, where are you going? Did you find it? Oh, wait! You still have the queen bee on your shoulder!”
“Ah, I found it. I’m just about to secure a home!”
“Really? Where is it?”
“Can we come to take a look, Wei So-ryong?”
Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol showed interest at my mention of having found a place for the Golden Hair Bee King’s new home.
Startled by their questions, I pointed toward the destination while saying, “It’s that way. You can come if you want.”
– Buzz. Buzz.
The buzzing of the following bees filled the air as I answered and swiftly unleashed my Lightness Skill toward the destination.
“Wei So-ryong, wait for us!”
“Long, we’re coming too!”
Even as the voices of Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol called out from behind, I maneuvered quickly between the separate chambers and arrived at my intended destination.
In front of the large pond in the Tang Clan.
“I’ve arrived.”
– Buzz.
Upon hearing my arrival, Langhu tilted her head.
She seemed to be questioning where there was any tree for a hive.
As I approached the point I had in mind, I gently tapped on it.
– Tap. Tap.
“This is made of wood, is quite high, and also large. Can’t this be used?”
– Buzz?
Langhu looked up at the spot I tapped.
At that moment, Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol arrived behind me.
Hua Eun glanced around, then spotted the spot I was tapping and exclaimed in disbelief:
“W-Wait a minute, Wei So-ryong. That can’t be what I think it is?!”
She seemed to be wishing it wasn’t the case.
But no, Hua Eun wasn’t wrong.
It was precisely that five-story pavilion (누각) near the pond that could qualify as a bee hive.
Constructed from wood, it was empty inside and high, and it was certainly a building.
Isn’t this sort of like a hollowed-out tree?
“Y-You mean this is just for guests, but it’s the tallest five-story pavilion of the Tang Clan, the Poison Flower Tower?”
“Oh, is that so? Ahaha…”
Just as I awkwardly laughed at Hua Eun’s comment—
– Buzz.
Langhu took off from my shoulder, soaring to the top of the five-story pavilion and zooming in through the open window.
The swarm of Golden Hair Bees, which had followed us, began disappearing inside as if being sucked in through the open window at the top of the pavilion.
‘If they need it, surely they’ll put another one up if needed. Well…’
Though Hua Eun’s expression mirrored disbelief, I hadn’t touched Mandok Hall, had I?
Regardless, it seemed the split was a success.