Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 2: The Personality of My Ogong

“Personality, huh?”

When discussing personality, it refers to the specific behavioral patterns developed by an individual in response to their environment. This applies to people, but pets aren’t that different either!

Anyone raising pets knows that they exhibit different reactions depending on the situation.

So, let me explain the personalities of our three Ogong sisters.

First up is Chao.

One noticeable feature about Chao is her incredibly long antennae. Her personality exhibits strong leadership and charisma.

I refer to Chao as the eldest, but honestly, since they all hatched from eggs while I was asleep, I can’t tell who is the eldest and who is the youngest!

However, when it comes to actions, it’s clear that Chao is the eldest.

– Tsururu! Tsururu!

The warning sound from the Ogong jolts me awake like a rooster before dawn.

I don’t even need to look; it’s definitely Chao.

Chao’s way of waking me up is a signal that it’s time for my morning training, but I desperately beg her while hiding under the blanket.

“Chao, just a little longer… Daddy has to grow, you know…”

I claim I need to sleep more because I’m in my growth phase.

If they want a tall and handsome dad, I need my beauty sleep!

– Tsururu!

But Chao’s urgent warning sounds like she’s saying, “Hurry up and get up or grandpa will scold you again, and mom will be mad too!”

Despite her persistent teasing, I finally get out of bed.

“Alright, alright, I’m up, Chao. Sigh… What kind of martial artist only sleeps four hours a day? And Chao, you’re way too diligent! You wake me up every single day.”

Since I struggle to wake up in the mornings, my older sister joked once, “Chao, please wake Dad up in the morning,” and now here’s Chao, my earnest little alarm clock.

Eventually, with Chao’s insistence, I light the extinguished lantern and splash my face with the water prepared by the servants.

Only then do I manage to wake up the lazier Hyang, who joins Chao and climbs on my body.

Seeing how Chao looks after me and her siblings makes it clear she’s the oldest sister.

Is that all?

When we finally arrive at the training grounds with the now considerably heavier trio, my older sister is already waiting to take care of them. This is where Chao’s eldest sister personality shines through again.

In the distant, dim darkness, my sister stands with a lantern.

Because my sister takes charge of their feeding, the little ones adore her, and when they see her, Hyang and Bin seem ready to leap off my shoulders to run towards her.

– Tsurut!

A warning sound rings out.

The two of them immediately freeze and look at Chao.

At first, I didn’t understand what that meant, but later I realized it was her way of saying not to climb onto my sister’s body if they crawl in the dirt first.

Since the Ogong crawl like insects, they would get dirt on them, and if they climbed onto my sister in that condition, it would ruin her clothes. So, it’s Chao’s way of keeping the younger ones in check.

“So-ryong.”

“Hua Eun, good morning, or rather, good dawn.”

“Yes, So-ryong. Come here, everyone.”

After the other kids pass, Chao jumps across to my sister with a final cheek rub, as if saying “See you later,” the responsible eldest daughter looking after Dad and her siblings.

Chao is definitely the eldest!

“Ah, I feel so secure. She’s a solid support for the household.”

As I bid farewell to my sister and the kids, the time for my morning training arrives.

After finishing my training in the early dawn, I head to the pavilion where my sister is waiting with the kids.

“So-ryong, you’ve worked hard.”

“Was everything alright today?”

In response to my sister’s greeting, I ask if anything unusual happened since these days, the Ogong have been quite the troublemakers.

My sister gazes silently at her skirt, her eyes fixed on one of the little Ogong.

Even with the rising sun shining down, one of them peeking out from between her dress layers must find the light intolerable.

Out pops antennae wiggling, and the most shaking one is our second, Hyang.

I have a suspicion that Hyang has done something troublesome again.

‘It’s you again, isn’t it?’

Hyang is quite a unique character.

If I had to describe her personality in two words, she’d be a curious yet lazy troublemaker.

Though they seem at odds, I can’t help but think of her that way.

Hyang spends most of her time sleeping, but when she’s awake, she can’t sit still for a moment!

It’s as if she recharges her energy while sleeping and then fully discharges it with mischief.

When my sister looks away for even a second, you might find her high in a tree or chasing a fluttering butterfly, only to scare the servants when she lands too close!

She is a sleepyhead, always blissfully unaware even when someone is carrying her off.

For that reason, it’s usually Chao who gets into the biggest trouble lately, but Hyang is often the little mischief maker!

“Today, while talking to the servants, I barely caught Hyang crawling towards the Golden Hair Bee King’s den.”

“Oh no, that sounds serious!”

“Yes, all the Golden Hair Bees swarmed out!”

“Ah, that buzz earlier while training was because of this little rascal, huh?”

As I tickle Hyang’s antennae, my sister lets out a sigh, as if realizing something.

Hyang’s antennae droop in the comfort of my touch; she’s likely fallen asleep again.

My sister’s expression turns to one of bewilderment.

I once heard that when a baby is born, parents have to feed them every few hours and change them, leading to jokes about wishing the kids would grow up quickly.

But when that child starts walking, they begin roaming everywhere, making their parents even more anxious! I can’t help but think my sister’s experience resembles that.

When they finally walk, it seems resting was the happiest time!

I remember when our Ogong were best kept close, getting into trouble all over the place after their first molts!

“Ha-ha, you’ve had it tough! Let’s go eat.”

“Ahh, yes, So-ryong. You must be famished.”

Leaving the sleeping Bin and the others stuck to my sister’s skirt, we head towards the dining area.

Suddenly, one of them scurries up my sister’s side and begins stretching out its little legs towards me as if trying to cross over.

They move back and forth, gauging the timing as they approach.

Seeing this makes my sister smile softly.

‘Oh no, not again!’

The one trying to cross over is our youngest, Bin.

Taking advantage of my sister’s smile, I subtly inch towards her, pretending not to notice.

I do this because if Bin realizes I’m aware, he’ll hesitate to cross over.

It’s a situation where Bin, though mischievous, is also shy about showing his affection outright.

He once reacted more violently than anyone when he fell into a rat cave, and even knowing I might be too hot for him being a warm-blooded creature, he still sleeps snuggled up to me at night.

Sure enough, as I move closer to my sister, Bin believes he’s stealthily sneaking over.

With his size, he could never do it without making a sound anyway!

As we walk toward the dining area, he begins subtly revealing his presence.

Leaning over from my shoulder, he playfully tickles my cheek with his antennae.

Ignoring it would prompt him to let out a little sound or apply gentle pressure with his tiny legs, as if saying please recognize that I’m here now.

– Tsurut.

It’s that cute sound again.

If I were to translate that into words, it would probably go something like, “Dad, I’m here, so hurry up and pet me. I grant you permission!”

Chuckling in my heart, I pet his head with my fingertips, and his teasing sound suddenly shifts into a joyful tone.

– Tsururu.

A charismatic eldest, a lazy little rascal for a second, and a tsundere youngest.

Though they may look alike, my Ogong embody three distinct personalities.

I find myself hoping they grow up to be amazing, just like their mother, the Blue-Spotted Centipede!

‘It was a dream, but the body of the Blue-Spotted Centipede mother was indeed alluring…’

Not that it means anything else; it just felt different when holding my Ogong compared to a large dog—both cuddly but in their unique ways!

I deeply wish to experience that feeling while awake someday.

*

After Na-ok settled in the Tang Clan, the feeding system in the Venomous Insect Garden began operating smoothly.

She was surprisingly meticulous, never letting anything messy slip by her!

While the warriors of the Tang Clan cleaned the house and fed the insects once a day, Na-ok dedicated herself wholly to the Venomous Insect Garden, continuously feeding and tidying up.

Moreover, she seemed like a former breeder, as she progressed to selective breeding, filtering out weak or deformed insects to gather healthy, larger ones.

Thus, it was only natural for the crickets, who usually devoured each other, to start reproducing explosively, a favorite term among breeders!

Mealworms were also breeding well, and crickets now provided a stable supply.

Additionally, plenty of Chinese hamsters were born, so previously feeding little frogs or toads to the Hoban Yusa, we’ve switched entirely to pinkies, which are now overstocked!

However, while I might have frozen them for use if I were in my past life, they didn’t have refrigerators in this era, so now we’d run into problems!

While the Mealworm, known as the Yellow Powder Bug, had already proven its edibility to the clan, and crickets could also served if needed, hamsters were a different story altogether!

“Is it a problem if you excel at your job too well?”

After glancing around the interior, I stepped outside. Following me was Gu Pae, the Deputy Commander.

“So-ryong, it seems there will be plenty of pinkies left?”

Nodding in agreement with his remark, I responded.

“Looks like we’ll need to collect more ferocious pests for the Venomous Insect Garden soon.”

“Are you finally going out to collect venomous insects!?”

Excitement radiated from Gu Pae.

The warriors of the Venomous Insect Team, following Gu Pae, also wore eager expressions.

“Yes, while the crickets and Yellow Powder Bugs can be consumed as snacks, pinkies can’t be eaten by most of the warriors. We could stop breeding them, but the best option is to feed them to the insects. It’s high time we increase our numbers.”

“I can’t wait!”

“However, we’ll have to wait for news from the Martial Forest Alliance first.”

“Indeed.”

At my words, Gu Pae and the warriors of the Venomous Insect Team exchanged hopeful then serious nods.

To gather the venomous insects, we’d need to form an expedition team, but currently, receiving permission to go out was a tricky matter.

It was all the fault of those blood-cult bastards, which is why the news from the Martial Forest Alliance is a crucial first step for us.

We needed the success of an expedition to bring down the Blood Cult to be communicated.

According to my father-in-law, the Alliance’s leader captured an informant from the Blood Cult during a recent raid near Muhan and discovered the location of the Blood Cult’s primary base. Now, depending on how that expedition turns out, we might soon receive permission for our own.

If that major base in the Central Plains is destroyed, the cultists would likely go into hiding, and then our clan would feel safe enough to allow us to embark on our expedition.

*

Three days later, morning time.

– Crack!

“Ugh!”

A firm slap resounded through my back.

– Crack!

Another loud sound echoed from my thigh.

Grimacing, I tried to suppress my screams as I circulated my inner energy.

Right now, I was practicing the Iron Cabinet Skill, the unique martial arts of the Fist Emperor.

The Iron Cabinet Skill truly was an absurd martial art.

When someone gets hit, their muscles reflexively tense, making it impossible not to flinch at such strikes, which ultimately ends up hardening the body through the repeated strikes.

Meaning to say, one must take a beating to improve their martial arts!

That’s why, aided by the warriors of the Venomous Insect Team, I began to take my licks.

The only silver lining? My proficiency was rising rapidly.

Just with the right timing, I could harden my body like rock!

That’s when, after breakfast and intense training, I noticed a commotion coming from the vicinity of the Clan Head Hall.

Suddenly, my father-in-law appeared.

“Son-in-law!”

“Father-in-law, what brings you here today?”

I was puzzled to see him show up during this busy morning.

With a grin on his face, my father-in-law stroked his beard and said, “I have news you’ve been itching to hear.”

“News I’ve been wanting to hear? What do you mean?”

The explanation followed as confusion crossed my face.

“Finally, a message has arrived from the Martial Forest Alliance! The expedition was a rousing success! The leader stormed a village at the Great Yue Kingdom’s border and smashed the Blood Cult’s base to pieces! Half of their members were either killed or captured, and the rest fled to the Great Yue Kingdom!”

“What!?”

“Indeed, it means you can finally head out to gather venomous insects!”

“Oh wow! If I had known it would go this quickly, I should’ve thought about our destination earlier. Where should we go?”

As I realized I should have planned a destination if things turned out this way, my father-in-law chimed in.

“Well, for the first outing of the Venomous Insect Team from the Tang Clan, wouldn’t it naturally be best to head to Yunnan, where venomous insects abound?”

“Oh, right! Yunnan!”

A tropical region, Yunnan.

Just at the entrance lived the Golden Hair Bees, and I could only imagine what kinds of venomous pests lie within!