Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 182

Chapter 182
—Crackle.
“So-ryong, what is it?”
“So-ryong, what’s all the noise about? Did something show up?”
“W-what’s going on, young master?”

The abrupt noise woke everyone, and in moments, the area around the well was illuminated as if it were noon.
The darkness was driven back by the flames of torches and lanterns carried by the gathering villagers.
My eyes, not yet used to the sudden brightness, could only distinguish hazy shapes through the overwhelming glare.
Turning toward the deeper blackness of the well, I answered their questions.
“Something just vanished into the well. It took a pig with it.”

I hadn’t witnessed it directly, but the brief, piercing shriek of a slaughtered pig had been unmistakable.
That could only mean something had dragged the animal down into the well.
Beside me, Hwa-eun and Seol, along with the village chief who had hurried over with the others, all gaped into the well and spoke at once.
“Into the well?”
“Into the well?”
“Th-the *well*?”
“Yes. See for yourselves.”

All three looked bewildered, as if my words made no sense.
The village chief, in particular, wore an expression of deep confusion, probably because he used the well every day and knew its structure intimately.
But when I held my lantern over the well again, lighting up the enormous gap in one of its walls, his eyes shot wide open in astonishment.
“W-when did that get there?!”
“A giant hole… So-ryong?”

A large slab of basalt was lying tilted at the bottom, giving the impression it had been used like a door—opened and shut when needed.
But in its hurry to flee, whatever had passed through had seemingly forgotten to close it behind itself.
“T-the well… T-this is a catastrophe…”

The chief stared into the well with pure hopelessness before collapsing to the ground.
He looked like a man who had lost everything he owned.
“What’s the matter, chief?”
Seol asked. The chief, still sitting on the ground, answered with a hollow tone.
“Our village has just this one well. Now that it’s blocked… it’s over for us.”

He was right. The well was the sole water source for this village on the hill.
The water from the volcano ran far downstream, completely beyond their access.
And even if they could get to it, drinking it was out of the question.
I remembered hearing that the volcanic water was so high in limestone that it caused terrible stomach illness if consumed.
No wonder the chief appeared so crushed.
With the well’s bottom obstructed by such a huge rock, the village had practically lost its only water supply.

Looking at the chief and the distressed villagers, I turned to Bini, who was still partly inside the well, her antennae twitching.
“Bini, is it still in there?”
—Chrrr!
An instant denial.
Centipedes were excellent at sensing vibrations, so if Bini was sure, then the creature was already gone.
Without a second thought, I asked Bini to clear the stone blocking the well.
If anyone could manage it, Bini could.
“Bini, can you move that stone down there? The villagers are in a bad way because of it. Can you do it?”
I asked, though it was almost a rhetorical question.
This was the same Bini who could tear apart termite nests as hard as concrete.
Basalt wasn’t nearly as tough—on the Mohs scale, it only rated a 4 or 5.
—Chrrrrrr!
Bini gave a vigorous reply before scurrying down into the well headfirst.
For a moment, she disappeared into the depths.
Then, a tremendous noise boomed from below.
—Crunch! Crack!
It appeared the stone was too big to move whole, so she was breaking it into pieces.
Shortly after, Bini slowly climbed back up, a large chunk of basalt held in her mandibles.
She did this a few more times, until the bottom of the well was finally accessible again.
Then, instead of pulling back, Bini came to me and pushed her head forward.
She was asking for her reward.
—Chrrt.
“Okay, okay, you’ve earned it.”
I gave her head a pat as I lowered the lantern again.
A few smaller fragments remained, but the largest obstacles were gone.
The villagers could handle the rest of the cleanup later.

I faced the village chief, who had been watching in silent amazement.
“It’s clear now. See for yourself.”
The chief hurried over and looked into the well by the light of the lantern.
Then, abruptly, he fell to his knees and bowed deeply to Bini.
“T-thank you, great spirit! Thank you! This is a miracle!”
“““Thank you!!”””
The other villagers, who had been standing frozen in shock moments before, also bowed down to the ground before Bini.
When we first arrived, they had watched her with distrust, but now their faces shone with pure awe, as if they were seeing a beloved family member return from the dead.
—Chrrt?
I could sense Bini’s confusion in my thoughts.
She had never been bowed to before and had no clue what was going on.
The only human custom she knew was a greeting bow, so this was entirely new to her.
“This is… well, Bini, it’s how they show they are grateful. It means they are extremely thankful.”
—Chrrt!?
Her antennae quivered in surprise, as if she was thinking it over.
Then, after a short pause, she crawled directly to the chief, climbed onto his head, and softly set one of her front legs on his bald scalp.
The chief’s eyes bulged in shock as Bini began to pat his head.
‘Bini, what are you doing?’
I asked, completely puzzled. Her guileless reply rang in my mind.
『I’m telling him he’s a good boy.』
…Oh dear.
So, because the villagers were so grateful, she assumed they were like little creatures that needed praise.
She believed they deserved a pat on the head—the highest form of approval she could imagine.
And just when I thought it couldn’t become more awkward…
『Should I scratch his chin too?』
…It was likely a good time to explain that not every human enjoyed a chin scratch like Dad did.

***

At daybreak, the villagers assembled again around the well.
Thick ropes, braided from vines found in the subtropical jungle, had been laid out near the well.
We were finally going to find out what creature had made off with a pig the previous night.
Since whatever came last night was obviously nocturnal, daytime was the safest period to explore—while it was most probably asleep.
Investigating while it was inactive would be much safer than facing it at night.
“Do you need torches?”
The village chief came over and asked. Ji-ryong answered for me.
“My companion and I have Night Pearls, so we won’t be needing any.”
Torches and lanterns were awkward to carry, so it was good that Ji-ryong and Eunbong possessed Night Pearls.
“Here you are, So-ryong. Since you’re taking the lead, take this one.”
“Thank you.”
Accepting the Night Pearl from Ji-ryong, I settled Hwayang on my head and was the first to climb down into the well, with Bini and Cho following close behind me.
—Splash.
The water in the well came up to my thighs, and directly ahead, I saw the horizontal tunnel leading further in.
I lifted the Night Pearl and directed its light into the tunnel, revealing a passage filled with shallow water, extending toward the volcano.
It seemed the overflow from the well had gradually drained into it over time.
The tunnel itself was an awkward size.
It wasn’t high enough for a grown person to stand up straight, meaning anyone going in had to bend over slightly.
For me, my head just missed scraping the ceiling.
The walls were smooth and worn, clearly showing that something had dug out this passage.
Without pausing, I decided to press onward.
“Let’s go, everyone!”
—Chrrr!
—Chrrt!
At my call, Bini and Cho immediately slid into the tunnel without any delay.
Since I couldn’t walk with Hwayang on my head in the tight space, I held him in my arms and went in after them.
“It doesn’t seem to be close by, so I’ll lead the way. Be careful—the ceiling in this tunnel is low.”
I called back toward the entrance, my voice carrying a slight echo in the tunnel.
“Understood, So-ryong. We’re right behind you.”
Walking forward with Cho and Bini on either side of me, I soon heard their voices in my head.
—Chrrt! Chrrt!
There was something ahead.
Slipping between them as they pressed against the walls, I moved forward and finally entered a huge, open space.
‘Ah, so it’s a lava cave!’
—Splash.
Stepping down about a meter, I landed in a large cavern where shallow water covered the floor.
The ceiling soared high above, and from various points, water droplets fell, creating rhythmic plopping sounds that reverberated like music.
—Plop. Ploop. Plop…
It was obvious we had left the tunnel and entered part of a lava cave—formed from the passage of molten magma long ago.
Something had tunneled through the cave walls to link this place to the village well.
The cavern extended into darkness on both sides, so spacious that a subway train could probably pass through.
“We should wait for the others before we go any further.”
As I waited for the Wu-ryong Trio, Hwa-eun, and Seol to catch up, I moved the Night Pearl around, attempting to figure out which way the creature had gone.
‘Since the floor is wet, it might have traveled along the walls or ceiling instead… Also, the cave is warmer than I thought, probably because of the volcano.’
I inspected the walls and ceiling for any signs the creature might have left.
I didn’t know what we were up against, but I needed to understand its habitat—if I planned to capture it later, I’d have to recreate its living conditions.
‘I can’t wait to see. What kind of creature will it be?’
Usually, caves were cool and moist, but this one was unusually warm, likely because of its nearness to the volcano.
Nights in the jungle were typically cold, but this cave held a steady, warm temperature—an ideal home for a heat-loving creature.
Soon, the others came out of the tunnel, bending awkwardly as they emerged.
“Ugh, my neck! I can stand up straight again!”
“Hurry up! My back is agony!”
Everyone had found the low tunnel height difficult, and now that they had jumped down into the lava cave, they stretched and massaged their sore necks.
The passage hadn’t been long, but the inability to stand or crawl properly had made it very uncomfortable.
“I waited here so we could proceed together.”
“Good idea, So-ryong. So, which way now?”
The Wu-ryong Trio normally depended on Ji-ryong for tactics, but now he was turning to me for direction.
“I considered it while waiting. It should be this way. I can feel a warm draft coming from that direction, which means it leads toward the volcano.”
“Understood. So-ryong, Do-ryong, stay close. Yang Seong-hu, you position yourself right behind them. After that, Gungbong will take his place.
At the back, Geom-ryong and Kwon-ryong will provide cover, while the rest of you stay in the middle.”
“Understood.”
“Alright.”
It seemed Ji-ryong had some past experience with strategy games, because his formation was classic fantasy RPG party layout—tanks at the front, mid-line fighters behind them, with ranged and melee fighters placed accordingly.
‘Nice, very well done.’
With water droplets still falling from above, Cho and Bini clung to the walls as they advanced, guiding the way.
As we went deeper, the dripping water slowly faded, and the air grew humid instead of wet.
Finally, we arrived at the end of the passage—a large chamber lay ahead.
And there, hunched between two lava pillars, was something enormous.
—Chrrr…
Bini emitted a low, cautioning sound, and everyone stopped moving.
[W-what is that!?]
[So-ryong, do you know what that is?]
The others had clearly spotted the creature hiding in the shadows and sent me anxious mental messages.
[I’ll get closer for a better look.]
Using the lava pillars for cover, I edged forward, slowly approaching the hulking shape in the dark.
When I got near enough to see its form clearly, an excited sound almost slipped out.
‘Ohhhhhh!’
And right at that moment…
For some reason, Hwayang suddenly tried to jump from my arms, making me grab his back legs to hold him back.
—Beeeep!
The sound reverberated through the cave.
The creature in the shadows turned its head—
And its eyes met mine.