Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Five Poisons Sect

– Tch!

A thread that began from Yo-hwa’s backside shot toward the second entrance of the hourglass-shaped valley, near the cliff where people were gathered.

As a spider silk connected the central sharp rock and the cliff, Yo-hwa immediately hugged me and started to climb the web as soon as the line was finished.

– Kchit! Kchit! Kchit!

Even while riding the thread, she kept nagging away, probably saying something along the lines of, “If only you could understand Yo-hwa language!”

‘I’m so upset! I’ll make sure to tell on you to my sister!’

She had quite the wife-like demeanor.

Seeing her like that as an older sister made me feel a bit annoyed.

– Swish!

At that moment, Chao, seemingly understanding Yo-hwa’s words, nodded along from Yo-hwa’s shoulder.

After being bitten by Chao, we had grown somewhat distant but now felt as if we were best friends.

‘Yeah, go on and group up. For the sake of family peace, I shall offer myself as a sacrifice.’

– Whoosh.

Riding the spider web, Yo-hwa gracefully crossed over the swirling wave of giant army ants, nagging all the while.

As she dropped down from the thread onto the heads of the people below, the first to leap forward was none other than my older sister.

“Soryong! Are you okay? Was there any poison in that Ant’s fangs? I told you to be careful… Blood!?”

It wasn’t a serious injury, but seeing my wound made my sister fret like crazy.

Even though I was just a bit scratched, thanks to Iron Cabinet Skill, it protectively held my muscles together so no severe damage was done.

As my sister fussed over me, the surroundings began to darken gradually, and upon turning my head, I saw the figures of the Southern Barbarian’s people surrounding us, who had approached at an unknown time.

Just as my sister was about to pull my pant leg up high, a thunderous shout from the Beast Palace Lord rang out.

“Southern Barbarian Beast Palace has received a great grace!”

“““We have received grace!”””

Behind us, a massive whirlwind of ants surged, and the Southern Barbarian’s crowd offered their thanks and respect with gratitude in their eyes.

‘Sister, let’s not embarrass ourselves by raising our legs so much…’

This moment was supposed to be a grand scene worthy of my life, but because of my sister, I felt utterly shameful.

*

– Whoosh.

– Whoosh…

If the sound that first reached my ears was that of bamboo swaying violently in a strong wind, now it was more of a light breeze.

That breeze too was slowly dying down.

By the second day, the once furious whirlwind of ants began to show signs of falling behind at the edges.

By the third day, the circular clearing was blanketed with the corpses of ants.

Ants can survive without food for about fifteen days, but without water, their limit is around five days.

Yet here, with neither food nor water, they were constantly moving, and one by one they collapsed, leaving only a handful still active.

The influx of ants into the hourglass entrance had completely ceased since the first day.

Once those inside meet their end, this colony would be extinct, leaving behind only the faint pheromone residue of the somewhat melancholy ants in the valley.

– Stumble.

An ant wobbled toward my foot after falling out of line, curling up weakly as it neared.

The Beast Palace Lord’s voice rang out as it got crushed underfoot.

“Is it slowly coming to an end?”

“Yes, probably….”

Then a tone of dissatisfaction followed.

“But… since it’s the benefactor’s request, we’ll go but…”

The reason the Beast Palace Lord’s tone was unresolved was that we were headed toward the heart of a dying army ant colony to fulfill my request.

Originally, it would have been fine to move after all the ants were dead, but alive ones still persevered, so we headed into the throng of aroused ants for no particular reason.

As the collector of ant colonies, I was going for nothing less than a ‘Queen Ant Collection.’

Most of the ants had died, leaving no one to protect or tend to the queen, which meant it was another chance to face her alone.

We could decide whether to keep her after capturing her, so we journeyed forth.

Ants were creatures that typically provided maximum protection for their queen.

For now, she was still alive.

Though I specialized in venomous insects, ants indeed have a place close to home, so I couldn’t resist the thrill of catching them.

What child doesn’t hold memories of catching and raising ants?

‘Ants are childhood dreams!’

– Crack.

Ants’ heads moved weakly as they were stepped on everywhere, and my eyes fell on the pupae that were dying unattended.

Finally arriving at the sharp rock beneath the circular clearing, there they were, a heap of ants piled up.

I shouted toward the warriors following me.

“Look for the one with a belly bigger than the others.”

“Understood, benefactor! Everyone heard that?”

“““Yes!”””

Including the Beast Palace Lord, Seol-pyo, and the Southern Barbarian warriors began to scatter, securing the living ants and searching for the queen when it wasn’t long before we heard a warrior’s voice from the opposite side of the sharp rock.

“Benefactor! You need to come this way!”

‘Did they find something?’

Thinking they seemed to have discovered something, I hurried around to the other side of the rock.

What greeted my eyes was a large ant, about the size of a six-year-old child, ravenously devouring the dead ants around it.

– Crunch. Crunch.

This enormous ant, blissfully unaware of our approach, gnawed industriously on its fellow kin.

– Drip.

From its belly flowed a mound of white eggs.

Perhaps due to neglect, most of the eggs were dark and dying, yet it didn’t stop stuffing its mouth as it laid.

‘This is strange…’

Except for those few ants that start parasitically, normally, any ant’s rise to royalty begins alone.

After mating during a nuptial flight, they descend to burrow alone and lay eggs to nurture a colony.

This way, ants wouldn’t be cannibalistically inclined.

Initially, when they were alone, they had no worker ants to bring food; thus, they would eat some of their own eggs to increase their numbers.

If they laid five eggs first, they would eat one and rear four, and in the meantime, they would use one as a meal for another baby ant, gradually building their colony.

Such behaviors only occurred during the infancy of the colony.

Once the colony grows larger, the queen would absolutely never eat her own kind.

But this one devoured its kin like it was nothing?

Even more bizarrely, the queen ant was shoving dead ants into its mouth, but since it was eating living ants, that was even harder to comprehend.

Ants never consume the living of their own kind.

“An ant queen consuming her own kind, especially while they’re alive, there’s definitely something off about this!”

“Soryong, that ant is eating the already dead ones!”

In response to my claim that she was consuming living ants, my sister, who was accompanying me, called out from behind.

However, the reason I stated that the queen ant was eating living ants was clear.

Although the current queen was munching on dead ants, she didn’t recognize them as dead, as ants can’t perceive the death of their peers immediately.

It usually takes about three days for ants to sense that a fellow has died.

Once three days pass after death, something called oleic acid is created by the corpse, which is when they finally realize they have lost someone.

Hence, the queen, who was consuming her children not long after they had died, was clearly exhibiting an abnormal condition.

She was practically jamming living offspring into her mouth.

While everyone stared in a daze at her absurd and almost mad appearance…

“Soryong, over there.”

My sister pointed to the ant’s forehead where something glimmered.

At first, I thought it was a shell or a simple eye, but it was something distinctly golden.

Something was shining right between the ant’s antennae on its forehead.

“What’s that?”

“It’s strange; it seems like a golden needle.”

Regarding the golden needle associated with the Tang Clan’s Medicine Hall, it was sometimes used in various treatments.

My sister cautiously reached out towards the queen ant’s head.

“Be careful.”

As I said this, my sister nodded and carefully moved the golden needle, soon pulling out a needle that must have been about ten centimeters long from the ant’s head.

Thus, the queen ant dropped limply, still in the act of devouring.

This was the sad moment when the queen of a massive kingdom of army ants, ruling over a flock capable of bringing down an elephant, breathed her last.

“Why is there a golden needle in the queen ant’s head…?”

“Does the Little One from the Tang Clan know what that is?”

In response to the Beast Palace Lord’s inquiry, my sister wiped the needle on her sleeve, examining it closer while shaking her head.

“I don’t know. Our Tang Clan does use such golden needles, but this one’s length and shape are rather unusual. Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

As my sister inspected the golden needle, a look of confusion spread across her face.

“There’s a hollow space in the center of the needle. Seems like some substance or poison might have been inside…”

This revelation brought forth a rage-filled roar from the Beast Palace Lord.

The Beast Palace Lord bellowed like a major beast.

“Don’t tell me this means there’s a foul play in all of this!? How dare someone do this to our Southern Barbarian Palace!”

It was clear that the ant showed signs of human intervention.

Upon contemplating the Beast Palace Lord’s shout, it was undoubtedly peculiar.

If they had been living in the Venomous Insect Valley, there would be no reason for them to suddenly burst forth and exit the valley.

“If they had human intervention, I will surely find that foul play and not let those scoundrels go!”

Just as the Beast Palace Lord seethed in anger…

Figures flew into the venue.

With Mandok God and people from the Four Heavenly Houses arriving!

“Hua Eun! Soryong!”

“Soryong-nim!”

Both my grandfather and Gu Pae swiftly approached, checking my condition.

It seemed that despite having sent word via Southern Barbarian’s owl, they were still worried.

They had rushed over immediately after sensing the disappearance of the ants.

“Grandfather.”

“I caused you worry, didn’t I? Grandfather.”

“Yes, Soryong appears to be in a bit of trouble. Not too serious, right?”

“Yes, thanks to Iron Cabinet Skill.”

After this brief reunion, the Beast Palace Lord began to greet us.

“Our Southern Barbarian palace has received a significant grace from the son-in-law of the Tang Clan. For this, I, the Beast Palace Lord Maeng-ho, am grateful.”

“No, it is too much to thank me like that…”

Grandfather appeared quite taken aback by the lord’s praise, and my sister quietly informed him why.

[Even if Grandfather’s status is higher in the Martial Forest, such a heartfelt greeting from the Lord of the Southern Barbarian Palace is exceptional.]

“I am Mandok God. I thank you for the respect shown to an old man by the Palace Lord.”

“It is but a humble deed. The elders of the Tang Clan shall be treated with utmost hospitality, so please, enter the Southern Barbarian Palace.”

“Then, thank you.”

After wandering through the jungle for several days, our Tang Clan members were in need of rest.

Naturally, the invitation was accepted, and as we stepped further inward, Grandfather smiled and asked.

“There seems to be no day of calmness when Soryong is around. Haha! I have many things I’m curious about, so you must tell me everything. By the way, what were you all doing here?”

It felt like I was being viewed as a troublemaker bringing about incidents, and scratching my head awkwardly, my sister presented the golden needle she held to Grandfather.

“Soryong threw a fit to find the queen ant, and this was found sticking in the queen’s head, Grandfather. It appears similar to the golden needles of the Tang Clan; have you seen it before?”

My sister handed the golden needle to Grandfather.

After examining the needle briefly, Grandfather’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Where did you find this!?”

“In the queen ant’s head…”

Grandfather rushed to the spot my sister indicated, examining the queen ant once more, and found two more golden needles hidden on her head that hadn’t caught our eyes.

They seemed to be tucked away near her cheek.

“Elder, do you know what this is? This appears to belong to the culprits causing all this trouble?”

The Beast Palace Lord’s icy inquiry came forth.

Grandfather answered in a serious tone.

“Looks like there are those harboring enmity against both the Four Heavenly Houses and the Southern Barbarian Palace.”

“Are there those who harbor enmity against both the Four Heavenly Houses and the Southern Barbarian Palace?”

‘Wait, someone who is bold enough to harbor grudges against both our Tang Clan and the Southern Barbarian Palace? Such a cheeky individual?’

As I stared at Grandfather with disbelief, a familiar name slipped out of his lips.

“Five Poisons Sect…”

At the same time, the Beast Palace Lord’s eyes widened in disbelief.