Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 183

Chapter 183
It had clearly locked eyes with me. But aside from that initial lift of its head, the beast stayed completely motionless, as if petrified.
The strange pressure in my mind persisted, yet I resolved to withdraw silently for the time being.
Since it hadn’t made a move, the ideal scenario was for me to escape without disturbing it.
‘Perhaps… it didn’t actually notice me? That would be perfect, however…’
I firmly pressed the sound-producing sac under Hwayang’s jaw to keep it quiet.
As I did, Hwayang attempted another chirp, resulting only in a sad, airy wheeze as its cheek pouches collapsed.
I swiftly yanked the wriggling beast tight to my chest, pinning it down with both arms.
Even as a mystical creature, its stubby legs made it hard to generate much power when held like this—a minor blessing given the circumstances.
For the first time, its useless little form was actually serving a purpose.
-pp!
‘Stop moving, you idiot! This is no joke!’
『Food. Food. Food. Food. Food. Food.』
‘Ugh, in my previous life, you’d be getting the lowest-grade rations right now!’
Just as I was backing away, clutching the small beast that was endlessly repeating “Food” in my mental interface, an icy sound came from the creature’s tail.
-Scrape. Scrape.
‘Right. Of course it wouldn’t just remain still at a moment like this…’
That noise—the kind to make any man’s legs go weak.
A piercing, rasping sound, like the edge of a finely sharpened blade dragged across another. The sound of a pair of keen scissors. The sinister noise reverberated through the cavern, sending a cold shiver through the air.
I had wished for a lucky break, but the sound filling my ears rendered that hope void.
I stood frozen for a heartbeat, inwardly cursing my misfortune—an instant before the beast sprang forward, its scythe-like pincers aiming for my skull.
-Shing! Scrape!
“Eeek!”
I dropped to the floor just in time, the massive scissoring claws whistling over my head.
The tips of my tied-up hair were sheared off cleanly, and the blades, missing me by a hair, slammed into the stone column I’d been using for cover—cleaving it neatly in two.
-Crack! Rumble!
A natural formation that had endured for centuries, if not millennia, was destroyed in a second.
As the pillar shattered, I lunged sideways, narrowly evading the rubble tumbling from the cave roof.
“Haaaah!”
“So-ryong!”
“Ryong!”
I’d been so intent on fleeing while holding Hwayang that I hadn’t glanced back. Before I knew it, Tang Hwa-eun and Seol had rushed over and grabbed me.
Their well-known voices, thick with concern, rang in my ears.
“Are you hurt?”
“Are you okay, So-ryong?”
Hwayang, in its foolish recklessness, had managed to attract the notice of a creature in its most savage and hostile state.
Because of that, I had a grim预感 we were in for a very long chase.
As they held me up, I yelled out urgently.
“I’m alright! Everyone, retreat!”
Simultaneously, I shouted to the Oryong Three Peaks, stationed farther back, ordering them to run.
The moment I stepped back with Tang Hwa-eun and Seol, the creature covered the distance in a flash.
Its glistening pincers gaped open directly before the three of us.
“So-ryong!”
“S-Sir So!”
Our dire predicament made Gyu-seong and Ji-ryong cry out from behind us, their shouts bouncing off the cave walls.
Neither of my two supporters had a chance to avoid the attack, and stuck in the middle, I was equally trapped.
My eyes, along with those of Tang Hwa-eun and Seol, flew wide open in alarm.
-Crack! Thud!
A dark shape abruptly shot past us like a projectile, smashing into the monster.
-Chrrrrr!
-Chrrr!
I landed heavily on my backside, shocked by the sudden turn of ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) events. Looking up, I recognized two very familiar forms.
Bini had rammed the monster with a fierce headbutt, driving it back, while Cho held her ground nearby.
Ah… they say a dutiful daughter is a family’s greatest asset.
I couldn’t stop myself from mentally shrieking my bursting affection for the two of them.
‘Aaaaaaah! My girls! You’re amazing!’
“Bini! Cho!”
“Good job, Bini! Cho!”
Even after being hurled into the cave wall, the monster swiftly regained its footing and began advancing toward us once more.
Right then, Bini and Cho’s antennae, which had drooped slightly at my praise, instantly stiffened again.
They were clearly getting ready to engage.
Seeing this, I instantly ordered a withdrawal.
Fighting that thing now would mean a battle to the finish.
And if the conflict prolonged, Bini and Cho could easily get caught in the middle.
“Cho, Bini, pull back!”
-Chrrrt!
-Chrrrr!
Unlike Hwayang, my girls actually obey me.
Bini turned at once, while Cho coiled around Tang Hwa-eun and Seol, yanking them away rapidly.
In a heartbeat, they had blown past the momentarily stunned Oryong Three Peaks.
-Scrape! Scrape!
From behind, the noise of furious, incessant scissor slashes filled the cavern.
Gyu-seong and Ji-ryong’s voices called out again.
“So-ryong! Why are we running? Shouldn’t we just finish it off now?”
“S-Sir So! It’s quick, alright, but with your O-gong, we can manage it. Why not just handle it here?”
Since I’d brought up capturing it earlier, they apparently thought we might as well do it now.
Having witnessed Bini’s power, they believed that combined, we could surely defeat it.
But I shook my head at once.
If Yo-hwa were present, it might be feasible, but the passage was too tight to bring her in, leaving us no safe method to overpower the beast.
With Yo-hwa’s silk, catching it would be simple. But lacking that, the situation was different.
Moreover, now was neither the time to capture it, nor was it advisable.
“No. At this moment, that creature will never yield. It will fight until its last breath.”
Both of them stared, wide-eyed, at my words.
Ji-ryong, keeping pace with me, looked puzzled as he questioned me.
“Why? Is there a specific reason it would fight so desperately?”
They hadn’t been close enough to see.
But I nodded and replied.
“There is. That thing has recently laid eggs.”
“Eggs?”
“It was protecting its eggs?”
“There were eggs? So-ryong?”
They all spun to look at me, astonished.
Yes. Right before Hwayang caused trouble, I had seen the creature tending to the eggs beneath its abdomen.
That meant it was ready to fight to the last.
“If it has eggs, that explains it.”
“Nothing is more dangerous than a mother defending her brood.”
“So that’s why it was so hostile…”
The others nodded, comprehending.
They were correct—mothers protecting their young are always fierce. But this case was more severe.
This specific beast turns considerably more vicious when protecting its eggs compared to other creatures.
‘One must always exercise caution around nesting earwigs.’
The beast we encountered is named Gu-su in the central regions.
In English, it is called an earwig.
The earwig is an arthropod long shrouded in myth—said to creep into the ears of sleeping people and consume their brains.
That was precisely why I stated the creature would resist unto death.
Similar to centipedes, earwigs exhibit maternal behavior. But unlike most insects, they grow extraordinarily aggressive while guarding their eggs.
After laying eggs, they are notorious for savagely assaulting anything that intrudes upon their nest.
In truth, an earwig’s maternal drive is even more intense than a centipede’s.
And there was another motive behind my instruction to avoid combat.
“Yes, and if we aren’t cautious, we could be in for an unpleasant shock.”
“An unpleasant shock?”
“What does that mean?”
My statement caused bewilderment within the group.
And at that exact moment—
Before I could respond, Hwayang squirmed free from my grasp.
It must have loosened its hold when my arms relaxed for a split second. The small beast dropped onto the cave floor.
-Toktok… roll…
The orange potato-shaped creature rolled directly into the path of the pursuing earwig.
Alarmed, I yelled Hwayang’s name and signaled for Bini to stop.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
But before I could act further, a vibrant blue flame burst from Hwayang’s small form.
“Bini, stop! Hwayang!”
-Whoooosh!
The whole cave was bathed in a shimmering azure glow.
The abrupt flare of fire gave the earwig pause. It halted for a moment, taken aback, then scrambled backward.
-Screeech!
Hwayang advanced a step on its short legs.
The enormous earwig shrank back again, withdrawing further.
Then—Hwayang turned to me with the most conceited, smug look I had ever witnessed.
I could almost hear its taunt: See? I can do this too.
So it wasn’t solely fixated on food? It actually felt a rivalry with Bini and Cho?
But while Hwayang was overflowing with pride, I could only regard it with apprehension.
Because that ‘unpleasant shock’… was imminent.
“No, Hwayang, you… if you continue like this…”
And then—
Before I could complete my warning, just as Hwayang’s smug look peaked—
-Fwoosh!
The earwig abruptly lowered its tail, lifted its forelegs, and from its abdomen, ejected a stream of viscous yellow fluid directly at Hwayang.
A rotten odor saturated the air.
“Kyahhhh!”
“Urghhh!”
Screams broke out around me.
The overwhelming stench flooded in, compelling everyone to clamp their hands over their noses.
The potency of the smell was enough to induce retching.
-Screeeee!
Hwayang, now soaked in the malodorous liquid, thrashed wildly on the cave floor, its blue flames sputtering.
It waved its tiny forelimbs helplessly, attempting to clean its face, but without success.
The earwig paused briefly, then gradually retreated.
After a final look in our direction, it melted into the darkness of the cave.
Once the beast had completely vanished, Tang Hwa-eun, still pinching her nose, inquired anxiously:
“So-ryong, if that’s venom, cough… what should we do?”
“No, I believe it’s not poison. Most likely…”
Certain earwig species can emit a foul-smelling liquid from their abdomens.
That was probably what had occurred.
Ji-ryong gestured at Hwayang and asked:
“That’s the ‘unpleasant shock’ you mentioned?”
“Yes… That’s why I said not to fight it. Sigh… Bini, can you break off one of those ceiling pillars?”
-Chrrrt.
With a sigh, I used the column Bini had just loosened to roll Hwayang under the dripping water at the rear of the cave.
That stench needed to be rinsed away.
“Consider this your penalty.”
While I felt a bit sorry, it was also somewhat gratifying.
Hwayang released a miserable, elongated screech.
-Screeeech… Screeeeeech…
***
By the time Hwayang was finally free of the smell, it sat on the cave floor looking like it had lost all will to live.
Just then, Ji-ryong asked:
“But honestly… what was that thing?”
Now that the creature was gone, curiosity was finally taking hold.
“That was a large gu-su… essentially, a giant earwig.”
Hearing my reply, Tang Hwa-eun, who had been observing Hwayang with pity, spoke up.
She seemed to possess some knowledge about the creature.
“It must be a Black-Clawed Red Earwig (Hong-gu), counted among the Twenty-Four Venomous Beasts recognized by the Tang Clan.
The Tang Clan organizes poisons into twenty-four classifications:
Heaven and Earth, Black and Yellow
Sun, Moon, Stars, and Thunder
Clouds, Rain, Snow, and Hail
Gold, Silver, Water, and Fire
Red, Blue, White, and Black
Flowers, Trees, Grass, and Fruits
The Black-Clawed Red Earwig falls under ‘Red.’ It resembles a common earwig, but has a sharper, blade-like pincer on its tail’s end. In the darkness, its crimson body likely seemed even more vivid.”
Earwigs usually possess simple pincers, akin to a stag beetle’s, meant for seizing prey.
But this one had genuine blades.
So it was one of the Twenty-Four Venomous Beasts…
This marked the third one I had come across.
Gathering these was proving to be unexpectedly enjoyable.
‘Oh? I thought it seemed notable… So it’s one of the Twenty-Four Venomous Beasts?’
Just as I was delighting in this discovery, Seol, who had been沉思, suddenly spoke.
“But Ryong, what are your intentions regarding it?”
“What do you mean?”
I inclined my head, which prompted her to deliver a small speech.
“From a hunter’s perspective, it is improper to seize both parent and offspring together.
Even if it is merely an animal, parting a mother from her child is a harsh act.
We cannot capture the mother before her eggs hatch, yet we also cannot take the eggs from her.
Conversely, if we do nothing, it will continue preying on livestock…”
Classic logic from a Beast Palace disciple.
I smiled and set her mind at ease.
“Earwigs cease eating after they lay eggs, so it won’t be an issue.”
“Truly?”
Earwigs begin a fasting period as soon as they deposit their eggs.
After I clarified this, Seol’s face lit up.
“Yes, and we will likely need to collect the young once they hatch.”
“Well… I guess that is reasonable. If their numbers are great, that is the wisest course.
But what of the mother? Once the young hatch, she will resume hunting.”
Seol appeared concerned, but there was no cause for worry.
“She will perish when the eggs hatch, so there is nothing to fret about.”
“What!? The mother dies?”
Seol’s eyes bulged in astonishment.
But it wasn’t a typical death.
Earwigs with powerful maternal instincts sacrifice themselves after their eggs hatch.
The mother permits her young to consume her body, furnishing them with a first meal before they venture out into the world.
The ultimate act of maternal sacrifice in the arthropod world.
“Yes, once the young emerge, she presents herself as their nourishment.”
“…”
“So even a base insect can possess such profound love for its offspring?”
“That is… astounding.”
Tang Hwa-eun and the rest looked dumbfounded.
Simultaneously, I could sense Bini and Cho’s emotions swirling in my mind.
They were pondering if I loved them sufficiently to allow them to devour me as well.
“….”
If I said ‘no,’ would that imply I didn’t love them?
But I certainly couldn’t say ‘yes’ either.
…Perhaps I would suggest they just lick me like a piece of candy instead.