Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 186: Motherly Affection

Once we returned to the village and found a bright spot, Hyang took another look at the creature.

Had it been injured anywhere?

I was checking if Hyang’s shell or legs had been harmed by the surprisingly sharp pincers of the Black-Clawed Red Insect.

Hyang was much sturdier than an ordinary centipede, with a tough shell like the difference between an egg and a rock. But still, its weak legs could have broken off.

Although Hyang was a spirit creature, it was still a low-grade one.

After all, it faced the Twenty-Four Poisons Branch.

Unless the injury was life-threatening, a leg that fell off would regrow by the next molt.

“Hyang, you scared Dad! That was a close one! Why did you go there!?”

Still shaken, I scolded Hyang while carefully inspecting it, and suddenly Hyang piped up.

– Cheh… “But…”

Hyang’s feeble excuse drew sharp rebukes from my older sister and younger sibling.

– Tsrrrr! “What? But?”

– Tsurt tsurt! “But no way?”

Soon, comments about whether Hyang was reflecting or needed more scolding started to fly around, and Hyang’s antennae drooped right down.

Normally, Hyang would be a bit more brazen or indifferent, but considering it had nearly lost its life, it seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and accepted the scoldings surprisingly quietly.

“I heard it from Aunt Hyang. They said you almost got into big trouble, right!?”

But then Hua Eun rushed over, having heard the story from Older Sister Seol. Hyang curled up like a pill bug, hiding its head inside its shell.

Was it blocking its ears and going, “I don’t wanna hear it!” while all the family scolded it?

Seeing Hyang like that made Hua Eun’s eyes widen, and Chao and Bin’s antennae perked up.

With our mother, sister, and younger sibling all nagging, the door had been closed.

I sensed that the scolding could go on for ages, so I decided to step in to calm everyone down.

Although I was a bit startled, I also had to praise Hyang for finding Hwa-jeong; it was an achievement worth celebrating.

“Alright, everyone, calm down. There’s no injury, and Hyang is sorry, so let’s end it here.”

“So-ryong, you’re being too soft. You need to be stern in these situations. What if something really happens again…”

“Hyang seems to have found Hwa-jeong too.”

At my words, Hua Eun’s eyes went wide.

It seemed she hadn’t heard about this from Older Sister Seol yet.

She must have rushed over after I mentioned that Hyang had almost died.

“You found it!?”

“Yes, Hyang was looking for that, and behind where the Black-Clawed Red Insect settled, there was a big Hwa-jeong embedded in the wall.

I think Hwa-yang must’ve charged in last time because of that.”

As I explained, Hua Eun’s gaze shifted toward Hyang.

A sigh escaped her lips, followed by a softer tone.

“Phew… That’s definitely worth praising. But Hyang, you shouldn’t do dangerous things from now on. Mom and Dad were scared.”

At that, the slightly curled-up Hyang’s antennae perked up a little.

I picked up the Hyang lying on the floor.

Then, showing Hyang to Hua Eun, I said, “And there’s something to celebrate too.”

“Something to celebrate?”

“Look at the tips of Hyang’s antennae and legs.”

“The antennae and legs? Huh, this is!? It’s definitely Bin…”

With wide eyes, Hua Eun stared at me.

It seemed she thought it looked similar to when Bin had grown.

“Yes, I think if Hyang absorbs Hwa-jeong’s energy, it could become a higher spirit like Chao or Bin.”

Just imagining it, I pictured a fire centipede.

A fire-breathing centipede like a legendary dragon! My chest swelled with excitement.

Fire was one of the four fundamental elements that usually appear in fantasy: fire, water, wind, and earth, right?

Hwa-yang felt less like a fire attribute and more like a special attack using inner power, which was a bit disappointing. Being a fire attribute child would be different.

This would make her a fire .
‘No, just a .’

“That’s great! Now, our Hyang can take her rightful place!”

At my words, Hua Eun joyfully exclaimed.

In that moment, the Hyang that had uncoiled in my hand suddenly dove into my sleeve in panic.

Saying she’d never leave Dad’s side, she was probably thinking she absolutely didn’t want to grow up.

– Tsrrr! “No! I don’t wanna!”

‘What!?’

I felt like raising the Hyang would be a hassle.

Our Hyang seemed to have Peter Pan syndrome.

*

Two weeks later, we returned to the Lava Cave.

In the cave’s darkness, I called out to the Black-Clawed Red Insect.

Last time, I had been checking its condition for the past two weeks, but it was the first time I spoke since Hyang had nearly been hurt.

“Hey, I stopped by to find out where the entrance is on the other side. I want to check beforehand to see where the exit is. The back is blocked, you see? I want to ensure it’s safe for your offspring to leave later. Is it okay if I pass through?”

The reason I was insisting on talking to it now was different from the original plan.

Initially, I had intended to check the passage after the creature was gone, but now felt it was the right time since the babies were sticking close to their mother.

If the mother died, those babies might scatter in fear.

I also had the feeling that the timing of the mother’s death wasn’t far off.

Newly hatched earwigs, like centipedes, would molt once or twice before their bodies turned brown, starting to feed in earnest.

That was the time when the mother would provide her body to her young.

It seemed that the second molt was fast approaching.

The young ones’ yellow bodies appeared slightly restless.

“…”

As I walked, the Black-Clawed Red Insect gazed toward the direction we came, then lay back down upon hearing my voice.

That was probably a sign saying it was okay to pass through.

I signaled to the people following me, and the brothers, So-ryong and the Earth Dragon, along with the Sword Dragon and the Fist Dragon, dashed past me toward the other hole.

I decided to sit on a nearby rock, waiting for the brothers to return and check on the Black-Clawed Red Insect.

“By the way, your kids have grown a lot, huh? Is it fine if I wait here till everyone gets back?”

Without waiting for an answer, I perched myself down.

I noticed it slightly moving its antennae, but there wasn’t any response.

Well, it probably couldn’t move.

The earwig larvae had clung tightly to their mother’s body after having molted once.

In the brightness brought by the Mystic Shadow Illumination, I found myself lost in watching the wriggling little ones, completely absorbed for about an hour.

Out of nowhere, one of the babies shuddered, and its back burst open, yellow goo shooting out like popcorn.

‘It’s molting!’

I had thought their shells looked a bit loose and hurried, and indeed, the second molt was beginning.

– Thud. Thud. Crack.

In the quiet cave, the sound of the babies’ exoskeletons splitting echoed.

From the mother’s back, the young ones shed their old bodies like yellow flowers blooming.

Once their bodies dry, it would be the time for them to part from the mother, Black-Clawed Red Insect.

That’s when it happened.

I heard footsteps approaching from where the brothers had disappeared, and the search party returned into view.

The first to arrive was Brother Gyu-seong, reporting on his reconnaissance.

[Long, I found the cave near a low cliff by the volcano. It’s concealed by trees, so it’s not easy to see.]

[What else?]

[As you said, I checked the surroundings carefully; there’s a small stream flowing, and the forest is dense with thick layers of leaves.]

People often mistake the earwig for a carnivorous insect, but they’re omnivores. They can even consume decaying leaves and other organic matter to get nourishment.

If the outside environment is like that, it means there are plenty of hiding spots and the chances of finding food are pretty decent.

I nodded when I noticed my brothers gasp in surprise as they spotted the babies molting.

[Is that what you meant by molting, Long?]

[How fascinating.]

[They look like large yellow flowers.]

[Let’s back away for now. We shouldn’t disturb them while they’re molting.]

[Understood.]

[Right then.]

As I thought it best not to make noise and to back away, I suggested to my brothers that we retreat, and we began to move toward the village.

– Thud.

From the direction of the Black-Clawed Red Insect came a sound.

I turned my head to see it beckoning with its front legs.

It seemed to be urging me to come closer.

Puzzled, I asked, “Come closer? Or not to come?”

– Thud.

It was a crucial moment for the babies as they were molting, so I wondered why it was insisting I stay.

I sat back down in the same spot I had been before.

[Brothers, you can go ahead first. It seems that it wants to say something.]

[Are you sure it’s okay?]

[Well, nothing has happened so far.]

[Got it.]

With that, I sent the brothers back and sat down to watch it, but afterward, the creature remained silent.

As time passed, the newly emerged babies began to cling to their mother to dry themselves.

Could they be getting ready to fly? Their wings unfolded.

The young bodies were slowly changing from brown to a red similar to their mother in the darkness.

Their tails’ pincers became distinctly visible as well.

While I was pondering why it wanted me to stay, I blankly watched as they dried off.

– Whirr. Whirr.

With the sound of fluttering wings, the babies’ wings began to fold one by one.

It usually takes several hours to a couple of days for them to dry off, but perhaps because they were in the warm lava cave or due to their nature as spirit creatures, it seemed to be happening faster than normal.

In that moment, the Black-Clawed Red Insect picked out one of the fully dried babies and placed it in front of its head.

Though born from the same brood, it looked bigger than the others, perhaps because it had absorbed more nutrients during its time in the egg.

However, something felt off.

Even after two molts, it didn’t quite resemble the Black-Clawed Red Insect.

Typically, after two molts, they should look identical to their mother, but this one definitely looked like an earwig, but there was something about it that made it seem different.

‘Is it possible for the difference to be so drastic between juvenile and adult forms?’

As the baby attempted to crawl back to its mother, the Black-Clawed Red Insect caught it with a leg.

It started flailing beneath her.

– Kkii. Kkii!

‘What’s going on?’

A behavior I couldn’t comprehend.

Why would a nurturing earwig treat her young like that? I was lost in thought when suddenly—

– Hack!

The mother trembled, and a red orb was expelled beside the baby.

The light was like flashbangs going off in the source of my Mystic Shadow Illumination.

‘Ugh.’

For a moment, my vision vanished, but when it returned, a marvelous scene was unfolding before my eyes.

The baby that had gulped down the gem spat out again started its molt once more.

– Thud. Crack.

Not long after its last molt, it surprisingly glowed red and then burst open once more.

From its shell emerged a smaller version of the Black-Clawed Red Insect.

‘Ohhh! This is something between Chao, Hyang, and Bin, yet different.’

For a low-grade Blue-Spotted Centipede to become a Flying Heavenly Centipede or a Misty Ogrefly, it needed to absorb the right energy, and it seemed that to evolve into a Black-Clawed Insect instead of a regular one, it had to consume the mother’s Inner Dan.

The other babies would have to survive on their own and compete naturally.

I realized I could definitely nurture one while letting the others grow in the wild.

I was in awe of its ecology at that very moment.

The babies clinging to their mother were leaning forward, perhaps due to the Inner Dan, and once the heir to the mother fully finished molting, it instantly sank its teeth into the mother’s body.

– Crunch. Chomp.

The final meal offered by the earwig mother.

She seemed to accept the situation calmly, but suddenly, a sound like a scream burst forth from the mouth of the newly molted young one.

– Kkii!

Then, it dashed toward the mother, perhaps trying to stop the others from chewing on her.

The other young ones seemed to lack intelligence, but this one definitely gave off the sense of being different from a mere beast.

However, the mother stopped it with her legs.

In that moment, the mother looked my way and let out a single cry.

– Thud.

Now I understood what was happening.

When I had told the creature that I would look after its offspring, it clearly meant for me to care for the successor.

– Thud!

As the mother cried, the baby glanced at me.

The young one shook its head, but the mother was insistent.

– Thud!

Then, urging me again, I quickly moved to take the baby that was trapped beneath her legs.

As I took the little one in my arms and nodded, the Black-Clawed Red Insect pointed toward the cave.

“I understand. I know what you mean.”

This baby wouldn’t mind the Inner Dan it had received, but the other babies would definitely have to absorb the little bit of energy left in the mother for survival.

It was conveying a message for me to take it out without interfering.

“I promise to keep my word.”

I held the baby and turned my body, and from behind me, a faint sound of the mother collapsing echoed throughout the cave.

Indeed, a true matriarch of the insect world.