Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 179

Chapter 179
*Swish!*

In a flash, something crimson was drawn into Hyang’s mouth. The sound marked the disappearance of the stone it had been holding.

“My stone! My token!”

“Hyang! Spit it out! Spit it out now!”

I threw myself forward, trying to force its mouth open, but the little creature only muttered stubbornly as it worked its jaws, refusing to release the stone.

“Hyang! Can’t you just spit it out!?”

*Gulp.*

A distinct, clean sound echoed as something slid down its throat. Even with my efforts to hold its mouth open, the stone was gone.

“No, no… my token… The stone Yangrang gave me…”

Seon-hwa could only stare in shock at where the engagement gift had vanished. It was a deeply meaningful present, and now Hyang had consumed it.

Yet, there was no cause for alarm. I didn’t know the exact nature of the stone, but Hyang wouldn’t be able to digest it. It was bound to come back out. Amphibians like frogs or toads can expel their stomach contents entirely, a process known as “amphibian stomach washing.” After a brief wait, Hyang would likely regurgitate it.

“Don’t worry, Seon-hwa. I don’t know why it did that, but it will spit it out soon. It can’t digest a stone.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. It should come out shortly. It knows that isn’t food.”

The entire group watched Hyang with tense anticipation. Suddenly, its body began to squirm. Much like a cat hacking up a hairball, Hyang writhed for a moment before expelling its stomach entirely.

Then came the sound of something hitting the stone floor.

*Thud. Clink.*

“It’s out!”

“It’s out!”

“…Huh!?”

“…Huh?”

The stone Seon-hwa had been waiting for rolled onto the ground, but upon inspection, confusion rippled through everyone. Hyang had clearly swallowed a vibrant red stone, but the one that emerged, glistening with saliva, was entirely transparent and unexpected.

“W-What is this…?”

“Uh…”

“My… my stone…”

The voices of Seon-hwa, Hyang, and myself were laden with bewilderment.

“It must be the saliva. I’ll clean it off.”

I hastily wiped the stone with my clothes, but the once-red stone was now a small, hexagonal, and completely transparent crystal. Hoping it was just the moisture was futile; the stone had lost all its color, and wiping it changed nothing.

“I’m… sorry, Seon-hwa.”

“I’m sorry, Seon-hwa.”

The little one had made a huge mistake. What else could we do? It was only right for us, as its caretakers, to apologize. And this was no ordinary trinket—it was an engagement token, now seemingly ruined. When I’d glimpsed it before, it was a beautiful red stone, but now it resembled clear crystal. Seon-hwa looked utterly heartbroken as he picked the pale stone up between his fingers.

“Yangrang’s token… My token… It was red, the color of my lips. Yangrang said we should remain unchanging, like the stone’s color, but now…”

The stone, now faded and pale, seemed to drain the color from Seon-hwa’s lips as well. It had been a gift full of meaning, and now that meaning felt lost. Seon-hwa was lost in devastated thought, and both Hyang and I felt profoundly sorry.

‘Hyang, you little troublemaker!’

I knew having a youngster around would mean occasional apologies, but I never thought the first one would be because of Hyang.

Just then, a voice from the side, which had been observing the scene, spoke up.

“Seon-hwa, the stone is merely a gift. My feelings for you remain unchanged, so please do not place too much significance on the object itself.”

“Yangrang…”

‘Oh, the chills.’

Yangrang was a simple, straightforward man by nature, so who had slathered him in butter? Had he fallen into a cheese fondue? Or perhaps chugged the grease from a pan of grilled pork? Was he now some sweet, smooth-talking charmer? They say love turns you into a poet, but this was… excessive. Yangrang’s overly sentimental words made us all shudder with secondhand embarrassment, but he continued.

“And was it not the foolish So-Sohyeop who taught me and brought us together through the Moonlight Elder? Please do not judge too harshly.”

“Alright, Yangrang.”

His words seemed to lift Seon-hwa’s spirits a little. He shook his head and spoke.

“As Yangrang says, the stone isn’t truly important, so do not worry over it too much. You two.”

“Thank you, Seon-hwa, Yangrang.”

“Thank you. Both of you.”

“Thanks? The debt I owe to my little So-Sohyeop could not be repaid with this much.”

Yangrang, surprisingly loyal, had hidden depths. Although Seon-hwa, who had guided us through the Yunnan jungle to the border, had become a bit more simple, it worked to our advantage in many ways.

After another exchange of gratitude, Hyang and I simultaneously turned our heads toward one individual. The apologies were over; now it was time for a serious conversation.

“Hyang?”

“Hyang?”

It must have thought we were too preoccupied with apologizing to notice, but both Seon-hwa and I had been watching it closely. So when Hyang, attempting to sneak away from the altar and crawl home, flinched at our call, we immediately moved into action.

*Squeak… Squeak?*

The rotund creature couldn’t simply turn its head, so its entire body slowly swiveled toward us at the sound of our call. But before it could complete the turn, we each seized one of its front paws. Then, with its limbs firmly in our grasp, it was promptly dragged off to my quarters.

“Let’s have a chat, Hyang.”

“Hyang, we need to talk.”

“Seol, please watch over our guest. I’m taking Hyang for a discussion; we will return shortly.”

“Alright. Do not worry about things here.”

With both its arms captured, Hyang looked back and forth between Seon-hwa and me with a bewildered expression as it was hauled away.

***

“Come on, eat.”

*Squeak…*

There was no need for me to intervene so forcefully. After just the first round with Seon-hwa, Hyang’s spirit was already broken. I tried to offer it dinner, lighting a lamp and bringing the food over, but Hyang, who normally adored eating, pretended not to see the meal.

“It’s alright, you know?”

I kept trying to coax it, but it showed no interest in the food. Seon-hwa gave a cool, approving nod.

“I am glad to see Hyang demonstrating some remorse. That is good. In that case, let it go without food today.”

Truly, Seon-hwa was fearsome when angered. She simply took the food away as Hyang hesitated. Whether it was sulking or truly remorseful didn’t matter; once it refused the meal, Seon-hwa swiftly removed the lamp. She clearly intended to use this chance to teach it a lesson, though I couldn’t help feeling a little concerned. I perceived a different aspect of the situation, so while I couldn’t be as stern as Seon-hwa, I still felt uneasy seeing it refuse food. Certainly, in my previous life, if my little sister refused to eat, the family would quickly order fried chicken to lift her spirits.

‘Is this really okay?’

I was worried, but a part of me also hoped this would finally curb its habit of snatching things to eat. The night passed.

The next morning, Seon-hwa came to us early and announced cheerfully:

“Seon-hwa, look! It seems the color was only faded temporarily. I apologize for overreacting yesterday.”

For some reason, the stone in Seon-hwa’s hand had returned to its original bright red hue. I felt a wave of relief seeing it restored.

“I’m glad. Seon-hwa.”

“I’m glad too, Seon-hwa.”

As we expressed our happiness for Seon-hwa, a sudden thought occurred to me.

‘Why did Hyang swallow that stone?’

It wasn’t something Hyang would normally eat—there was no reason for it to swallow a rock. I hadn’t pondered it earlier, focused on the apology and discipline, but now it seemed peculiar. Then I recalled something Seon-hwa had mentioned offhandedly the day before.

‘I stopped by the Tengchong Volcano hot springs in Yunnan, and Yangrang found this there and gave it to me…’

The stone Seon-hwa treasured so much. I remembered it was discovered near the volcanic hot springs.

‘Could it be?’

Turning it over in my mind, I realized something was odd about Hyang consuming fire. Naturally occurring fire usually stems from wildfires, which require lightning strikes or trees rubbing together in strong winds. I had initially thought Hyang might just wait underwater for a natural fire, but such wildfires are rare, happening only every few decades. That didn’t seem feasible. Actually, since Hyang inhabited a lava zone and its diet consisted of such elements, its behavior now made sense. I also understood the reason for the stone’s color change.

‘Could this be… the opposite of the Ice Crystals that Seol, Bini, and Dongi consume?’

If that were the case, the fading color made perfect sense. Seol, Bini, and Dongi use Ice Crystals for sustenance, which absorb the surrounding cold and store it within. If this stone attracted the opposite energy and absorbed Yang Qi, it would explain why its color returned so rapidly.

“Seon-hwa, sorry, but could I borrow that stone for a moment? I suspect there might be a hidden nature to it, and I wish to investigate.”

“THIS? Investigate it?”

“Yes, I just want to confirm a theory.”

“Alright.”

Thanks to Seon-hwa’s unexpectedly quick agreement, likely influenced by Yangrang’s words, I hurried to my grandfather’s quarters with the stone.

“Grandfather! Grandfather!”

“What is it, So-ryong?”

I rushed in to find my grandfather reading at his desk; he looked up at me curiously. I showed him the stone borrowed from Seon-hwa and recounted the previous day’s events: how Seon-hwa found it near the volcano, Hyang swallowed it, and now, a day later, the color had returned.

“Found it near the volcano?”

My grandfather listened, then pulled a book from the shelf, flipped through several pages, and pointed to an entry.

“Could it be this one?”

“Wow?”

He indicated a line in the text.

Huajing (Fire Crystal).

It was a term for a fire crystal, a type of fire mineral. The stone’s hexagonal shape seemed to match the description.

“Huajing, a crystal infused with Yang Qi…”

In that moment, everything clicked into place.

‘Could it be… Hyang didn’t swallow the stone out of mischief, but because it had overeaten yesterday and now refuses food?’

I finally understood. No wonder Hyang had appeared so remorseful earlier. If Seon-hwa knew the truth, she’d be horrified, so I resolved to keep it secret. But it seemed I would need to find another stone like this. If I asked Seon-hwa or Yangrang, they would probably give it to me, but I couldn’t just take their token. It seemed I required something a bit larger.