NOVEL NEXT Chapter 185
Chapter 185: Fabre in the Four Heavenly Houses
“Every day, it’s not easy to be forced into enjoying the hot springs.”
While submerged, a lot of energy was being consumed, so it was no wonder that we ended up famished after getting in and out.
“Wow, I’m hungry.”
“Wei So-ryong, should we grill some of the leftover deer meat from yesterday?”
Having just returned after searching for Hwa-jeong since morning, my stomach was grumbling.
As I rubbed my belly and expressed my hunger, Hua Eun quickly offered to grill the deer meat.
“Will you really?”
“Yes, Wei So-ryong.”
Before long, Hua Eun returned with some deer ribs that Gong-bong had caught yesterday.
The aroma wafting from the deer meat was delightful.
Thinking back, it dawned on me that my connection with Hua Eun started with this very deer meat, and various thoughts crossed my mind.
Eating the deer meat reminded me of the conversations I shared with the Artisan and Grandfather, which laid the foundation of our bond.
As I reminisced, just when I took a bite of the deer meat, the oil began to drip onto my tongue, and the savory flavor was about to explode in my mouth.
“Deer meat is delicious, no matter when you eat it!”
Leaping up with the Lightness Skill from the well, the Earth Dragon exclaimed in a frantic voice.
“Huff huff. Junior Hero! It seems like it’s about to hatch! I saw something like a thread moving inside the egg!”
Soaked from the raindrops falling, he seemed to jump here directly, droplets trickling down from his hair.
We, who had just finished our time in the hot springs, looked just as wet.
“Really?”
“Yes! Hurry and check it out!”
After a month of staying in a local village of the ethnic minority near the volcanic region in Yunnan, the hatching of the huge Earwig was finally beginning.
While the main objective might be difficult to achieve, there was no doubt that we had to capture the hatching scene and at least one of its offspring.
The search for Hwa-jeong had been quite troubled.
We had checked the upper and lower waterways for an entire month, but we hadn’t found even a trace of Hwa-jeong.
From the stream flowing through the valley of the hot springs to the nearby rocks and stones, we scoured every inch, yet Hwa-jeong did not show herself.
That’s why I had almost given up halfway on finding Hwa-jeong.
Well, since they said it was a treasure like the Ice Orb, it was just good luck for the Spear Dragon, not bad luck for us.
Anyway, we had agreed that if the search failed, we would claim the Spear Dragon’s items, so I had somewhat relinquished my hopes.
At first, I hadn’t planned to accept it, but it seemed I had no choice for Hwa-yang’s sake.
“Thank you! Let’s go, Bin Ah, Chao Ya! Hua Eun, please take care of Hwa-yang.”
-Whirr!
-Whirr!
With a deer rib in my mouth, I tossed an orange potato I had in my arms to Hua Eun.
-Whooosh.
Caught mid-air, Hwa-yang made a surprised expression.
Hua Eun received Hwa-yang like a ball and placed her gently in her arms.
“Got it. Wei So-ryong.”
The reason for leaving Hwa-yang behind was that I was worried she might cause a ruckus again if taken along.
I still hadn’t figured out why she had gone berserk, calling the Black-Clawed Red Insect ‘food.’
I suspected it was either filled with fiery energy or something like Inner Dan, so I decided to leave Hwa-yang behind.
It seemed her reaction was similar to when Bin and Chao saw the Inner Dan of Yeon-du from the Flying Heavenly Snake.
If that was the case, it would explain Hwa-yang’s sudden outbursts.
Even the once-gentle Chao, Hyang, and Bin had morphed into beasts when faced with the Inner Dan.
With Hwa-yang entrusted to them, I planned to dash towards the place where the hatching was happening beneath the well.
It was the moment I had been waiting for, and I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“I’m off!”
“Long, wait for me! I’m curious too!”
-Whirr!
-Whirr!
Bin and Chao chased after me, along with Older Sister Seol, who wanted to witness the hatching scene.
-Splash.
As I jumped into the well, the water rose to my thighs.
I took out the glowstone to light up and quickly launched myself through the hole beside me.
-Tap tap tap.
“Long, let’s go together!”
“I’ll wait outside the passage!”
“Oh, okay!”
While running in a hunched position due to the low ceiling for a bit, I immediately stumbled into an open space.
After pausing for a moment, Bin and Chao caught up with me.
Older Sister Seol descended and clutched her neck.
“It’s tough every time we pass through.”
The passage height was indeed a struggle for an adult like her.
Smiling at Older Sister Seol, I said, “Let’s go, Sister.”
“Yeah. Let’s hurry.”
After running for a while and arriving at a spot where the echoes of a month-long wait still lingered, I halted my steps.
A pungent smell filled my nostrils.
From here on, we had to proceed slowly.
The cave would amplify any sound we made.
Stowing away the glowstone, I spread out the Beast Palace’s Cat’s Whisper technique with Older Sister Seol.
It felt like the energy converged in my eyes before the surroundings brightened.
Looking at Older Sister Seol, her pupils seemed to swell, as if she wore circle lenses.
[Let’s move quietly from now on.]
[Got it.]
After whispering softly into Older Sister Seol’s ear, I mentally urged Bin and Chao to keep quiet as we resumed our steps.
And after walking for a while.
Ahead, I spotted the cluster of stone pillars that had collapsed previously.
That place hidden behind those stones was the breeding ground for the Black-Clawed Red Insect.
We stealthily crawled behind the stone pile with Older Sister Seol, Chao, and Bin.
Then, in the corner before us, the Black-Clawed Red Insect (黑鉗紅蠷) came into view.
Focusing more, I realized that beneath its abdomen were yellow eggs, no, the little ones were scuttling around, just hatching from the eggs.
Just like the yellow ones when Chao, Hyang, and Bin were first born.
They were bustling around beneath their mother.
[Wow. Wei So-ryong, it’s crawling everywhere.]
Charmed by the sight, Older Sister Seol exclaimed.
While I was delighted, watching the newly hatched creatures, her curiosity continued.
[Huh? Wei So-ryong, but the little ones don’t have pincers?]
Just as Sister Seol said, the yellow little Earwigs sported two long hairs instead of pincers as tails.
There was a reason for their appearance.
The pincers at the back of the Earwig, in fact, aren’t true pincers—it’s a transformed appendage called cerci.
Cerci are tails seen at the back of dragonflies or cockroaches.
That was essentially the cerci (尾毛).
Thus, the freshly hatched Earwigs only have long cerci in place of pincers.
As they grow, those would eventually turn into pincers.
[Those long hairs will sprout and as they molt a few times, they’ll transform into pincers.]
[Oh, really?]
[Yes, Older Sister Seol.]
[Between beasts and insects, the latter seems so much more mysterious.]
With my explanation, Older Sister Seol’s eyes sparkled.
Just when I felt it was time to give a lesson, my excellent student continued with more questions.
[But Long, I’m curious. Why is that species named Black-Clawed Red Insect? The tail pincers look more like knives or swords than claws? Shouldn’t it be named Double Sword Red Insect (雙劍紅蠷) or Twin Blade Red Insects (雙刀紅蠷)?]
Wow! What a great question!
Truly worthy of someone like the Spicy Fabre’s sister.
“Claw” refers to the blade used for executing criminals, yet the mother chasing us had a tail that, while a pincer, looked much more like a scalpel or knife.
Perhaps the reason they were called Black-Clawed Red Insects was something substantial.
Usually, female Earwigs have sharp pincers, but males tend to have a hook shape, resembling the blades used to execute criminals.
So the differences between males and females determined the form of their pincers.
[Ah, the males of that species originally have hook-shaped tails, while females have knife-shaped tails, so the one who named them probably only saw the males.]
[As expected of you, Wei So-ryong! You know such trivial things!]
Receiving a gaze of respect from Older Sister Seol after a long while, I thought I could afford to let her be proud of having such a sibling.
Suddenly, a lightbulb seemed to go off in Older Sister Seol’s expression as she shifted her gaze back to the Black-Clawed Red Insect.
“!”
She abruptly turned pale and gripped my shoulder tightly.
As I blinked in surprise at her sudden action, she whispered in a trembling voice into my ear.
[Hya, Hyang!]
[Hyang?]
If it was Hyang, she must be the one sleeping in my arms.
I fumbled through my sleeves but couldn’t find Hyang.
Could she have dashed off crazily and left behind in the commotion? My eyes grew wide with disbelief.
With both hands, Older Sister Seol grabbed my head and forced me to turn it toward the Black-Clawed Red Insect.
What in the world does this mean?
In that instant, I spotted a yellow and blue spot on the cave wall beyond the distant Black-Clawed Red Insect…
‘Hyah, Hyang!? Hyang! What on earth are you doing there!’
Hyang had somehow slipped out of my grasp and was now plastered to the wall behind the Black-Clawed Red Insect.
With my mind going blank from the sudden sight of Hyang, her innocent voice rang loud and clear.
‘Whirr!’ “Daddy, I found something here! Hyang found it!”
At that moment, while I was sending out thoughts urging her to come back, it seemed Hyang took a grip on something stuck to the cave wall, wriggling as if in excitement, and with a loud noise, something popped free from the quiet cave wall.
-Clatter.
-Tap, tap, tap…
As the stone dropped from Hyang’s mouth and hit the floor, the silence in the cave shattered like a thunderclap.
The Black-Clawed Red Insect’s head turned instantly.
Its claws began to rattle as it spotted Hyang.
-Creak, creak.
Then suddenly, the Black-Clawed Red Insect’s pincers shot forward.
-Crack!
With its pincers pinning Hyang firmly against the cave wall.
“Hyang!”
“Ahhhhh! Hyang!”
-Whirr!
I yelled and dashed out to find Hyang caught between the pincers of the creature.
Hyang was struggling against the grip of the Black-Clawed Red Insect, attempting to escape while biting the pincers.
If left as is, our Hyang might…!
It was Dad’s duty to save his daughter.
“Wait, just a moment!”
The Black-Clawed Red Insect slowly turned its gaze toward me.
I wasn’t sure if it would understand me, but I raised my hands to signal that I meant no harm.
“Calm down. I understand what you’re about to do. Just know, my daughter was only curious about your appearance.”
-Tink?
The giant Earwig let out a sound it had never heard before.
Maybe it truly was a spirit beast as it seemed to grasp the intent behind my words.
It was making a confused expression.
“I know it may be hard to believe but that’s my daughter right there. These kids here are also my daughters.”
Mentally, I called Bin and Chao over.
They quickly crawled closer.
Seeing them made the Black-Clawed Red Insect flinch, instinctively shielding its babies with its body.
“We won’t harm you. So you don’t need to worry.”
At my words, while it still seemed on high alert, the Black-Clawed Red Insect didn’t make a move.
I proposed to it.
“You’ll know soon that you’re about to meet your end. If you let my daughter go unharmed, after you’re gone, we’ll ensure your little ones grow up just fine.
I understand your plight as a parent. I can grant you that much. What do you say?”
If Hyang were to be harmed, I’m certain Chao and Bin would make sure the Black-Clawed Red Insect and its offspring wouldn’t be safe either.
However, we needed negotiation, not a threat.
-Whirr!
-Whirr!
It sounded like Chao and Bin chimed in as well, and upon hearing my request, I noticed the mother Black-Clawed Red Insect’s gaze subtly change before she cautiously lowered Hyang with her tail in front of her head.
It seemed negotiations were successful.
“Thank you. I promise I’ll keep my word, and I may come to visit sometimes, so please understand. I need to know when you’re gone.”
As I uttered my final words, I felt the mother Black-Clawed Red Insect nod slightly.
I scooped up Hyang, making sure she was okay.
It didn’t seem she had suffered any serious injuries.
As I retreated with Chao, Bin, and Older Sister Seol, her expression still indicated she hadn’t entirely calmed down.
“Did you see?”
Nodding, I understood what she meant.
“Yes.”
I had seen the magnificent Hwa-jeong embedded within the broken rock wall after Hyang had clung onto it, and Hyang’s antennae and toes were stained crimson.