Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

---

Venomous Insect Garden (독물원) 2

Upon hearing my answer, “Venomous Insect Garden,” my older sister tilted her head in confusion, prompting me to explain what it meant.

I had to convey just how magnificent and splendid that name really was.

“It means a garden where all the poisons of the Central Plains gather, with ‘Poison’ being the subject and ‘Garden’ as the location. The vision is to gather all the poisons scattered across the Central Plains here. Isn’t that wonderful? A dreamlike garden where all poisons, no, all venomous creatures frolic!”

“All poisons collected in one place… All the poisons gathered…”

My sister responded with a wistful tone.

She was quite perceptive about the atmosphere, noticing my whimsical intentions.

What a perfect moment for such a dreamy reply!

I smiled, recalling that I had named the creatures Oil, Cucumber, and Three-Pig out of pure laziness, but if I set my mind to it, it could certainly be something grand like this.

It seemed my sister liked the name as she repeated it softly.

“Venomous Insect Garden… Venomous Insect Garden…”

So, instead of heading straight to the breeding facilities inside Mandok Hall, we directed our steps to the separate chamber known as the Venomous Insect Garden.

The reason I requested a separate chamber was that the cave-like environment of Mandok Hall was not ideal for raising creatures.

Perhaps I’d only use it during the winter?

Aside from that, the cave was not the best for breeding purposes.

While it maintained a stable temperature, there were even ice caves within the Mandok Hall where ice would form even in midsummer, making the summertime too cool and humid for comfort.

The ventilation system inside Mandok Hall could control humidity, but the biggest problem was the complete lack of direct sunlight.

To raise venomous creatures, reptiles and amphibians are essential, and for vertebrates like those, they need to bask in sunlight to synthesize Vitamin D from UV rays. Without sunlight in the cave, that wasn’t possible.

You might think sunlight isn’t a big deal, but for reptiles, basking is absolutely essential.

Vitamin D plays a critical role in calcium absorption.

So, if they can’t bask in the sun, they can’t absorb calcium, and then they run the risk of diseases like rickets.

Back in my previous life, I used to provide UV lighting for reptiles, but without that, breeding venomous creatures inside a cave was impossible.

“Over there, people are waiting. So-ryong.”

As I was chatting with my sister, we suddenly arrived at the front of the separate chamber.

When I turned at her remark, I saw a line of warriors waiting for me in front of the Venomous Insect Garden.

They must be the ones assigned here, as my sister had mentioned on the way.

These were the warriors who would be in addition to those tasked with the insect exhibition in Mandok Hall, as someone had promised more personnel would be assigned to help me.

But the first familiar face that caught my eye upon arriving was none other than—

I blinked in disbelief and called out his name.

“Deputy Commander Gu?”

Standing at the front with a big grin was Gu Pae, looking happy and cheerful.

“Yup! So-ryong! Deputy Commander Gu Pae of the Venomous Insect Team is here!”

He responded enthusiastically to my question.

When I tilted my head at the mention of the Venomous Insect Team, he beat his chest in pride and explained.

“The Venomous Insect Team?”

“Yes, it’s the team that gathers and raises venoms alongside you, So-ryong! Your very own Venomous Insect Team!”

I’d heard that people were being sent to care for things like venomous insects or vipers, but I had thought they were simply workers. I hadn’t expected there would be a team of warriors like the Poison Blood Team or Extinction Poison Squad dedicated to it.

I looked at my sister, who, with a motherly smile, said, “Now you have to learn how to lead and command them, as Father decided that before we set off. The elders of the clan unanimously agreed on this for some reason. I don’t know what’s gotten into them.”

And then, because it was a team directly under So-ryong, I could command them just as I wished.

So these were my personal subordinates now.

‘Wow, they’re really pushing me hard here!’

They promised to support my hobby, and this was a solid push.

Honestly, my dream in my previous life had been to open a shop specializing in venomous creatures.

Hobbies are great and all, but there’s a limit when raising them alone, especially when babies are born and distribution is required—doing that alone is tough.

Having staff to pay and care for them while I just enjoy it sounded heavenly.

And now, it seemed like that dream might just come true here.

I gazed in awe at the twenty warriors lined up before me, filled with excitement for what was to come.

Then my sister lightly pushed my back and said, “So-ryong, you should say a few words.”

‘Gulp! A speech!’

My sister was urging me to do the one thing I’d always wanted: give an inspiring talk.

With a proud heart, I began to pace in front of the warriors, ready to share my words.

Since it was the first day, it felt necessary to say something motivational.

“Ahem! I am Wei So-ryong. You will share in the joys and sorrows with me.

You all will be responsible for managing the Venomous Insect Garden alongside me.”

I could see the warriors’ eyes light up at the phrase “sharing joys and sorrows,” but then a few stiffened when I continued, “Why do I have to clean up after small creatures and feed them?”

Clearly, given their pride in being warriors trained in martial arts, they wouldn’t be thrilled about being forced to do menial tasks.

Indeed, many of them seemed to have that thought as I spoke.

“But I want to convey how valuable the work you’ll be doing is. Didn’t you see? I defeated the Elder of the Blood Cult.

All of that came from our poisons! You will be doing work of immense value!”

Consider this—

Though we may start by raising small creatures like snakes, lizards, and spiders, the experience you gain here will lead to raising the Ten Great Venoms, and with that, we’ll be able to conquer even greater threats than the Blood Cult! Our Tang Clan will flourish with poisons, warriors!”

The rumor of my victory over the Elder of the Blood Cult had already spread.

As I spoke of it, the warriors erupted with enthusiasm.

“Wowww!”

“Long live So-ryong! Long live the Four Heavenly Houses!”

And indeed, my sister and Deputy Commander Gu Pae were applauding with joy.

“Bravo! Bravo!”

“That’s a great speech! So-ryong, talking about developing the clan—what a thrilling remark!”

With both my sister and Gu Pae generating excitement, the warriors grew even more jubilant.

“Wow!”

“Yay!”

‘Oh dear, this is quite the situation.’

With so much enthusiasm, I couldn’t just talk and leave, could I?

With such an overwhelming response, rewards were in order.

I decided to toss out a few thrilling lines.

‘Well, I’m at least a squad leader now, so I can afford to give out some rewards, right?’

I couldn’t just end my first speech with bare words after all.

“And I will speak to the Clan Head, so for those who work hard, they’ll be the first to enjoy the honey of the Golden Hair Bee King as it becomes available…”

“WOW!”

“Whoa!”

As soon as I finished speaking, a roar of cheer erupted.

It seemed that the mention of rewards was definitely the crowd-pleaser.

*

After the speech, we entered the depths of the Venomous Insect Garden to explain what needed to be done next.

The warriors already working in Mandok Hall were primarily involved in butchering, transporting, and maintaining things, so I felt it was necessary to clarify what we’d start with.

“So-ryong, what will be our first task?”

The most eager among them was none other than Deputy Commander Gu Pae.

He had volunteered for the Venomous Insect Team and was bouncing with enthusiasm.

After the incident with the Golden Hair Bee King, Deputy Commander of the Poison Blood Team had avoided me like the plague.

Perhaps he feared another ordeal.

But Gu Pae, who had been tossed aside with me, seemed to enjoy the chaos as he now looked at me with a admiring gaze, having volunteered to lead the Venomous Insect Team on the words of my father.

He must have either discovered a deep fascination for the creatures or simply enjoyed chaos; either way, it would be a pleasure to put him to work.

“First, we have to go catch something.”

“Woohoo! What will we be hunting first? The Hoban Yusa? The Lizard? Or maybe the Spider?”

“Perhaps the Hoban Yusa? After all, grandfather mentioned them and they are indeed venomous, being the most potent of poisons.”

As Gu Pae and my sister appeared to be excitedly waiting for my answer, I smiled back, knowing I had to set a different focus for our catch.

“We’re actually going to catch rats first.”

“Huh!? Rats?”

“Rats?”

That’s right! What we’d be catching wasn’t snakes, but rats.

In the Central Plains, “rat” translates to a small creature in their tongue.

That’s right, we had to begin our Venomous Insect Garden by catching rats.

The most crucial element in raising reptiles is ensuring they have a source of food, and in this case, it’s baby mice—known as pinkies.

‘No matter what, food is the most important factor in animal husbandry.’

*

If someone were to ask why venomous creatures have developed venom, I’d say it splits into two main purposes.

The first is for hunting, and the second is for defense.

Hunting is usually about swiftly overpowering enemies, while defense is to cover their own frail bodies. Thus, those that develop venom for different reasons tend to have unique diets.

Typically, those that evolve venom for hunting are carnivorous.

In contrast, those that develop venom for defense tend to be herbivorous.

There are exceptions, like poisonous frogs, but that’s the average observation.

Thus, some herbivorous venomous creatures developed for defense may not pose much difficulty in captivity since one can simply cultivate plants to feed them.

The real issue arises with the vast majority of venomous creatures that evolved their venom for hunting.

They need to be fed a diet high in animal protein, which is why cultivating a source of animal feed is a crucial step before beginning any breeding operations.

In Hainan Island, I hadn’t raised snakes, so I didn’t require large prey; I’d simply raised crickets, which I fed to lizards or spiders instead. But here, in the Four Heavenly Houses, we were dealing with quite the nasty venomous creatures—especially needing to raise the Hoban Yusa.

Regardless of the creatures I wished to raise in the future, I had to ensure that I had a steady supply of pinkies ready to go.

Pinkies refer to newly born baby mice, which are hairless and pinkish when first born, hence the nickname.

Of course, once they grow and develop a bit of fur, they’re known as fuzzies.

Once they are fully furred, they’re called hoppers, all of which are great sources of food for reptiles as they provide essential protein and calcium.

Chirp! Chirp!

“So-ryong, what do you think? Is this okay?”

One of the warriors brandished the tail of a massive sewer rat, glistening in the sunlight, as he asked me.

I had already said “no” multiple times, so I shook my head in response.

“No, that’s not the type of rat. I told you it should be smaller, with a short, thin tail.”

“This is small, though!”

“Smaller than that.”

“Uh… Then maybe we should throw this one away then?”

With that, the warrior tossed the sewer rat back into the fields and ran off to look for others.

“Is he not getting it? He keeps handing over ones thicker than my arm.”

“Is it smaller than this?”

If this were the past, perhaps I’d have to worry about plague—they could not be used for feeding reptiles.

Sure, all wild-caught animals pose some risk of bacteria, but I personally couldn’t handle such a large rat.

There’s just something oddly unsettling about them.

So we were searching for something cuter and smaller.

In my previous life, I was looking for a Chinese-striped hamster, or what’s commonly known as a Chinese hamster.

Records show that before they were genetically modified for laboratory use, these hamsters were commonly used for experiments and posed less resistance compared to these big sewer rats.

So, while looking for rats, what we were really after were hamsters.

“So-ryong…”

Just as I was recalling the silliness of some of the warriors, my sister’s voice broke through.

“What? Do we really have to raise rats? Can’t we find something else?”

“Yes, if they don’t eat those, the snakes will fall ill or die.”

“Oh, I see…”

It felt like a daunting task given my sister’s nature, as she could erase a person’s presence like erasing pencil marks, but when the warriors finally found a few Chinese hamsters after rummaging through the fields, she looked at the adorable creatures in disbelief.

“Are we really going to feed these to the snakes? These don’t even seem like real rats…”

It seemed the cuteness had surprised her; after all, truthfully, Chinese hamsters do look more like rats than hamsters.

In my previous life, this hamster was even debated to be called a hamster in China, attracting all kinds of doubts.

In such scenarios, if they claim that a cat is a rat, it could very well become one.

In some places, they even classify these hamsters as something else entirely.

“Yeah, they’re still considered rats.”

Now that we had secured a source for pinkies, it was time to shift into full production mode!