Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 315

Chapter 315
Of all the carnivorous insects, the mantis stands as a supreme apex predator—a hunter of perfect and deadly beauty.
Its status as one of the insect world’s most formidable killers comes from its evolution into a near-flawless instrument of death.
Powerful, barbed forelimbs guarantee that anything seized is never released. Should prey sense peril and attempt a final-moment escape, the mantis can still capture it.
This is due to its astonishing agility, allowing it to alter the trajectory of its attack in an instant to follow a fleeing target.
Furthermore, while professional gamers are known to react to a shift of a single pixel on their screens, a mantis’s compound eyes perceive such minute alterations with equal sharpness.
Beyond that, mantises do not merely detect motion; their eyes also calculate distance with perfect accuracy. Their large compound eyes and three ocelli grant them innate depth perception.
And as if that were not sufficient—
A mantis can see behind itself.
It can rotate its head a full 180 degrees to survey what is happening at its back.
Rapid reflexes, hyper-sensitive and panoramic vision, and impeccable natural weapons—these three traits cement the mantis’s position as the undisputed top predator among insects.
Therefore, even without venom, a mantis is a profoundly captivating being. And now this particular one possessed venom?
A single thought surged through my mind:
‘Absolute jackpot.’
Among all mantises, the Orchid Mantis is considered the most exquisite.
It earns its name because its form perfectly mimics an orchid flower, and in my previous life, they were often kept as pets.
They appeared in white, pink, and red—each variation stunning.
Mantises are also highly motivated by food, making them simple to care for. When they are this attractive, demand is immense.
Naturally, in my homeland, keeping them was prohibited.
‘Truly, nothing was ever permissible there. For enthusiasts like me, it was a nation of utter disappointment. Well then… should I name this one a Lily Mantis?’
The individual I had captured appeared to be a spirit creature modeled after an Orchid Mantis.
Yet, it didn’t quite resemble an orchid—if a comparison must be made, Lily Mantis seemed more appropriate.
It looked precisely like two wild lilies fused together.
‘Perhaps Lily Mantis is suitable?’
It was currently about the same size as Hongdan, so it was evidently not fully grown.
Young mantises are termed nymphs, and based on its wing development, this one certainly was.
Mantises are classified as adults or nymphs depending on their wing growth. This one possessed wings, but they were not yet mature.
Mantises develop their wings progressively through molts. As a spirit creature, its process was likely unique—but judging by its size, I estimated it had undergone three or four molts.
Still, mantises experience incomplete metamorphosis, so they closely resemble adults from a young stage. Aside from the wings, it was probably a mirror image of its mother—poised and magnificent.

–RUMBLE. KWA-BOOM.
–Ssshhhhhhhh.

With every flash of lightning, the creature’s gorgeous hues were briefly illuminated before vanishing again into the dark.
A milky white body brushed with soft pink—utterly mesmerizing.
‘It’s so beautiful.’
Still drowsy from Sister Jeokwol’s venom, the creature lay in a bewildered state.

–Tsrurur!
–Piiiii!

Behind me, the frantic cries of the kids cut through the sheeting rain—but I heard none of it.
My entire attention was fixed on the being before me.
‘Its tail resembles a blossom—perhaps the venom is produced there?’
It was at that moment it happened.
Abruptly, my ear was pulled sharply.
“Ow ow ow ow ow!”
A sudden force jerked my head to the side. Looking over, I saw Hyang on my shoulder, my ear held firmly in her mouth.

–Tsrut! 『It’s dangerous, Daddy!』

Only then did her voice break through my focus. Even while clamping my ear, she was reprimanding me with a parent’s severity.
Exactly like her mother.
This was precisely how Hwa-eun would chastise me as well.
“Alright, alright! Hyang, release me… I told you I’m fine!”
She was cautioning me about the lightning. It was a sensible warning—a prudent measure—but honestly.
The odds of being hit by lightning were lower than winning the grand lottery.

–FLASH.
–KWA-RRROOOM.

The instant I claimed to be fine—
Another lightning bolt slammed into the same stone pagoda as before.
‘Naturally. This is exactly my sort of luck. Or… is this actually fortunate?’
It always seemed that “prudent measure” scenarios had a way of finding me. The jolt of the impact caused Hyang to release my ear.

–Tsu?
–Huh?

Of course. The second strike on the pagoda produced a flare of light so intense that our sight was completely bleached white.
The pagoda’s peak had already been shattered by the first strike, making it shorter—which only served to make this subsequent hit feel alarmingly closer. The flash left us momentarily blinded.
As my vision cleared, I glanced around and yelled to the others.
“Everyone, on me—now!”
In a burst of panic, I gathered the mantis and the children huddled near it and dashed for the main hall. Sensing the threat, Sister Jeokwol descended from her flight and fastened herself to my back.
That was when I felt it—
The hair on my body rising straight up.
There was no metal on my person, yet I felt a static charge tingling across my skin?
An unmistakable warning of an imminent lightning strike.
It was a sign I had learned to identify during my time foraging.
‘Why here, of all places!?’
Employing my lightfoot techniques, I bolted under the overhang of a partially ruined pavilion nearby—but the instant my feet touched down—
Lightning connected with the roof of that very shelter.

–RRUMBLE! KWA-BOOM! CRACK!

The already damaged pavilion gave way further, collapsing inward and hurling a massive cloud of dust into the air.

–THUD.

Stunned, I clutched the kids and Sister Jeokwol tight against me.
As dust churned around us, I quickly assessed everyone’s state.
“Cough, cough—is everyone okay? Sister, are you unharmed?”

–Tsrurur.
–Chii.
–Kkyut!

The responses indicated they were all fine. Forcing our way out of the dust cloud, I saw the wreckage of the roof had landed a hair’s breadth from us.
We had avoided it by a whisper.
The shattered wooden structure smelled strongly of ozone and char.

“Ahaha… that terrified me down to my bones.”
I wiped my forehead—whether it was sweat or rain was impossible to tell.
We had skirted disaster by the narrowest margin.
If Hwa-eun had witnessed that, I would never have heard the end of it.
‘That was far too close.’
But she was not here, and we were ultimately safe. I allowed myself to exhale in relief.
We went back to the hall. I revived the fire and began the process of drying off.
Everyone was drenched. I squeezed the water from my clothes and used them to towel down the kids, then did the same for the mantis before placing it carefully on the reed mat.
I considered having Sister Jeokwol rouse it from its dream—but fearing it might panic and become aggressive, I resolved to wait until morning.

–Tsrururur! 『Daddy, are you really going to do something like that again!?』

‘I apologize, Hyang. It was my mistake.’

–Tsrut! 『You ran off even when I was shouting for you to stop!』

‘I was wrong. Please pardon me, my princess.’

–Tsk! 『Well… since you put it that way, perhaps Hyang will—hee…』

Though her scolding persisted for some time, as I scratched beneath her chin and offered my apologies, Hyang’s antennae started to quiver with happiness.
Once her lecture concluded, I sat by the fire to dry off, nibbling on some roasted lily roots—when the reason for the mantis’s assault finally dawned on me.
Upon reflection, the lilies served as both camouflage and dwelling for this being.
And we had been relentlessly excavating and consuming its home. Its agitation was perfectly understandable.
For the first time, I felt a genuine empathy for the witch from Hansel and Gretel.
One must imagine the sheer shock of having a group of youngsters arrive and begin devouring your house.
‘Regardless… the true question is—how do I bring it with us?’
That was the pressing issue.
How could I persuade it to join our group?
As I pondered this, the first hints of dawn began to lighten the sky outside.
The mantis seemed to have a healthy appetite, so perhaps an offering of food and a calm discussion would suffice. But with the rain still pouring down, hunting was presently out of the question.
After some deliberation, I chose to wake it and attempt an introduction.
Perhaps it would proceed more smoothly than anticipated. Besides, I was immensely eager to see it in motion.
I was burning with curiosity to observe how a mantis that looked like a flower would move.
“Sister Jeokwol, if I wake this one and it attempts to flee, can you make it sleep once more?”

–Chii.

She gave a nod.
That was assurance enough for me. It was time to wake it.
“Sister, please rouse it.”

–Chii.

A faint crimson glow shimmered over her form—and then, the mantis’s antennae began to quiver.
They twitched slightly, and its legs started to shift. Soon, a dark, shadowy spot manifested in its eyes.
A false pupil.
Insects such as dragonflies, grasshoppers, and mantises form these—they mimic pupils but are not true ones. They are merely sections of their compound eyes that absorb light differently, creating the impression of a black dot.
This meant—it was conscious.
Its head, moving with the characteristically precise, robotic grace of a mantis, rotated to take us in.
Behind it, the fire crackled.
To its left, Hyang. To its right, Sister Jeokwol.
Directly in front—myself, Seol, Bing, Dong, and Hongdan.
It shrank back a little and emitted a faint sound.

–Pipi…

It was undoubtedly frightened by our presence.
And who could fault it?
It had been the initial aggressor—and now it had awoken encircled by intimidating older figures.
“Uh… hello there. I mean you no harm—”

–Piiiii!

The moment I spoke, it scrambled backward in alarm, only to halt abruptly as it sensed the fire’s heat at its back.
It was juvenile and clearly nervous. I needed to proceed with caution—
But then, Hyang moved forward.

–Tsrurur! 『Hey! Why are you crying? You’re the one who attacked us first while we were sleeping! Do you understand how wrong that was!?』

The mantis recoiled, rubbing its forelegs together in a gesture of contrition.
Still just an infant—frightened and readily apologetic.
‘Should I intervene before she is too harsh?’
I nearly stepped in, yet… spirit creatures likely have their own methods of communication.
It was better to watch a little longer.

–Pi. Pipiii.
–Tsr! Tsrut! 『An apology alone isn’t enough! You hurt our Dad because of what you did!』

–Piiiii…
–Tsrururut! 『Do you have any idea how risky that was? Humans might have started hunting for you!』

She was echoing, verbatim, a lecture I had once given to Sister Jeokwol. Whose daughter was she? So articulate and severe.

–Pii?
–Tsrut? 『You didn’t know? Didn’t your mother or father ever teach you?』

–Pipii.
–Tsrut? 『No mother? No father? No brothers or sisters? No older sisters?』

–Pii.
–Tsr? 『No one at all?』

Well, of course. Mantises deposit their eggs and depart. They do not rear their offspring.
And if the siblings fail to disperse after hatching, they cannibalize one another—so naturally, it would not know them either.

–Tsrutsru? 『You’ve been completely alone? Hmm…』

Hyang tapped her chin with a small front leg, then regarded the mantis.

–Tsrurur. Tsutsu. 『Then, how would you like to become a little sister? Hongdan is our sibling too, you see? Look—we all have different appearances, right?』

–Pii?
–Tsrut. 『If you become our sister, then whenever a villain appears, we will fight them for you. And Daddy will tell you that you are beautiful and wonderful.』

–Kkii!
–Kkukkkuu!

Hongdan, Seol, and Bing all nodded in vigorous agreement with Hyang’s words. The mantis looked up at me, apparently deep in thought.
It was sincerely contemplating the proposal.
And then—it gave a small nod and let out a soft chirp.

–Piii.

Hyang stepped closer and gently patted its head.
Negotiations concluded successfully.
I supposed it must have been profoundly lonely. It accepted Hyang’s offer without a trace of doubt.
‘Did… did that really work?’
They say that as children mature, they naturally begin to assist their father. And here was my Hyang, effortlessly winning over spirit creatures.
Just like her father.
‘AHHH! My incredible daughter!’
As I swelled with paternal pride, a name from the Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures surfaced in my memory—
The Twin-Blossom Lily Mantis of Soft Crimson, one of the Twenty-Four Poison Branches.