Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 348

Chapter 348
“Male?”
“You’re claiming every single one is male?”
“Every last one is a male?”
“Wait, all of them? But how can you possibly tell, So-ryong? I’ve been staring, but I can’t see any difference. They aren’t like regular animals—it’s not something you can just see.”

A chorus of questions echoed, everyone wanting confirmation that the deceased millipedes were indeed all male.
Sister Seol, equally curious about how I could discern such a thing, added her own query.
I looked toward Ji-ryong.

“Ji-ryong, would you build a fire for us? I can show everyone how to differentiate the males from the females.”

As martial artists, we had been using our enhanced night vision to see in the dark, which is why we hadn’t lit a fire before now.
But that ability only sharpens outlines; it doesn’t provide clear, detailed sight. A proper demonstration required better light.
Sister Seol and I, with our Myoaham Night Arts, could see perfectly well, but the others could not.
To teach them effectively, we needed a good flame.

“You’re going to show us how to tell them apart?”
Ji-ryong asked, his expression one of confusion.
Seeing his look, I gave a slight smile and elaborated.

“The ones I’ve examined so far have all been male, but there’s a chance some females are among the others. I believe we should fan out and conduct a proper inspection. To do that, we all need to know what to look for. We’ll require a strong light for the examination. If it turns out every millipede in the village is male, that fact alone will be very revealing.”

“Understood.”
Nodding, Ji-ryong then addressed Eum-bong.
“Eum-bong, let’s collect some firewood.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll assist as well, Ji-ryong.”
“Thank you, Sister Seol.”

Following my suggestion, Ji-ryong, Sister Seol, and Eum-bong went off to gather branches.
Once they had assembled a sufficient pile, Ji-ryong produced a fire starter from his sleeve and swiftly ignited the kindling.

—Fwoosh.

As flames leaped up from the embers, washing the area in a warm glow, I selected a millipede I had placed on a leaf and prepared to explain.
“The method for distinguishing male and female millipedes is quite straightforward. You need to look at their underside. Pay close attention.”

I turned the creature I was holding onto its back.
Its plump, rounded form and its multitude of tiny legs were now clearly visible, the unique configuration of its limbs coming into focus.

“They somewhat remind me of our children,” Hwa-eun remarked.
“Yes, they are a bit rounder, but I can see the similarity,” Sister Seol agreed.

Hwa-eun and Sister Seol were drawing a comparison between the millipedes and Cho, Hyang, and Bini—though, in all honesty, the comparison seemed a little unjust.
Centipede and millipede.
The names sound alike, and biologically they are categorized near one another, but they are fundamentally distinct creatures.
Centipedes are predatory, aggressive hunters that consume meat.
Millipedes, conversely, are plant-eaters, primarily feeding on decomposing vegetation.
While some millipedes might occasionally scavenge dead animal matter, their diet is overwhelmingly based on plants.
Their temperaments are also opposites.
Millipedes are nervous, docile, and scare easily, a stark contrast to their ferocious relatives.
Their physical builds are different, too.
A centipede’s legs protrude from the sides of its body.
A millipede’s legs extend from the center of its belly, arranged in an X-shaped formation—four legs grouped tightly together in a bundle.
Beyond the shared trait of “many legs,” the two are entirely separate types of animal.

“No, they are not the same ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) in the slightest. Regardless, direct your attention to the belly. Do you see these rows of legs?”
“Yes… it looks like four legs are tied together in a bunch,” Hwa-eun observed.
“You are correct, Sister,” Eum-bong nodded.
“It’s unsettling, yet quite intriguing,” Sister Seol added.

While everyone was scrutinizing the legs, Hwa-eun tilted her head, perplexed.
“Huh? But right here, there are no legs?”
“You’re right. There is a space here, with only two legs instead of four,” Sister Seol confirmed.

Hwa-eun had spotted the absent legs before I had a chance to point them out.
Both she and Eum-bong appeared astonished.
“Why are the legs missing in that spot?”
“Did they fall off?”

It was a reasonable assumption, since the standard pattern was a continuous line of legs: XXXXXXXXXX.
But just behind the head, the arrangement was more like XXXX＊〈XXXXX.
Meaning, in one specific segment, there were only two legs instead of the usual four.
I pointed again to the gap.

“Do you see the small, rounded protrusion just ahead of where the legs are absent?”
“Ah… that little round spot?”
“I see it, So-ryong. What is that?”
“What is it?”

Sister Seol, Hwa-eun, and Eum-bong crowded in, studying the millipede’s underside with intense focus, practically blocking Ji-ryong’s view.
A mischievous grin spread across my face. I could already anticipate the response from at least two of them.

“That small bump… is the mark of a male.”
“Mark of a male?”
“The mark of a male?”

Hwa-eun and Eum-bong blinked, still not fully comprehending.
Sister Seol, however, understood immediately and leaned in to whisper an explanation to them.
Instantly, the reaction I had foreseen erupted.

“Eek!”
“T-that thing!?”

Startled, Hwa-eun and Eum-bong flushed crimson, fanning their faces with their hands and gazing off into the middle distance in profound embarrassment.
Indeed, for the majority of millipede species, the males possess a gap in their legs located between the fourth and tenth body segments.
The legs aren’t broken off; the creature is naturally structured that way.
This is because something critically important is situated there.
Their reproductive organs.
In millipedes, the male’s reproductive organs are positioned near the head, within the abdominal section.
If humans were designed similarly, it would be as if those organs were located on one’s neck or chest.
Centipedes have theirs near the rear, but millipedes are built differently.

With the awkward atmosphere now lightened, I addressed the group.
“Alright then. I need everyone to spread out and examine the remaining bodies. Be thorough and check the entire village.”
“Understood, So-ryong.”
“Will do, So-ryong.”

With nods of agreement, everyone dispersed. I remained behind to continue inspecting more of the corpses myself.
With each one I examined, my understanding grew clearer.
Observations I had previously overlooked began to make perfect sense now that I viewed them through the lens of them all being male.

“This is becoming truly fascinating.”
A smile touched my lips as the clues started falling into place.

***
Roughly an hour later, the individuals who had spread throughout the village began to return one by one, bringing with them the confirmation I had anticipated.

“S-Senior, all the ones I looked at were male.”
“So-ryong, the ones I found were all… all males as well.”
“So-ryong, it’s the same for me. Every one was male.”
“M-me too.”

Perhaps because they had spent the last hour intently studying millipede reproductive anatomy, Hwa-eun and Eum-bong looked extremely flustered.
I smiled at their reports.

“Just as I suspected. I expected this outcome.”

Hearing my reply, Ji-ryong inquired with a curious expression,
“But earlier you mentioned that if they were all male, it would be very revealing. What exactly did you mean by that, So So-hyup?”
“Ah, that?”

Naturally, I had deduced a great deal.
But before answering him directly, I decided to first share the foundational information we had gathered from these dead insects.
It wasn’t just that they were all male; I had discovered something else as well.
What was it?
Not only were they exclusively male, but each one was also a fully developed adult.

“Before I answer, let me share another detail I confirmed from these remains.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“What did you find, So-ryong?”
“All of these are male, and simultaneously, they are all fully mature adults. Each one is capable of reproduction.”
“Fully grown?”
“Yes, completely developed and ready to fulfill their role as males, so to speak.”
“I-I see…”

Ji-ryong seemed momentarily flustered by my direct choice of words, despite being composed moments before.
Given his reaction, it felt like we were comrades in this peculiar situation.
‘Still a comrade!’

As I stated—every one of these millipedes was male.
And fully mature.
So, what did this tell us?
Primarily, it indicated these creatures did not originate from a local population surge.

“Let me explain using these two facts: they are male, and they are adults. Under normal circumstances, millipedes deposit their eggs in compost or rotting plant matter near settlements. The offspring that hatch would naturally be a random combination of males and females.”
“Right, that stands to reason. It’s like not knowing if a human newborn will be a boy or a girl.”
“Precisely. But if they are all male? That means they were not born here in this village. If they had been, there would be a natural mixture of genders. The fact that they are all fully mature males indicates they were brought here from elsewhere.”

How could I be sure of this?
Because if a true, natural mass-hatching had occurred here, it would be biologically impossible for only males to be present.
Millipedes proliferate by laying eggs in compost or leaf litter.
Even one fertilized female or a single breeding pair can trigger a swift explosion in numbers.
Normally, a random blend of males and females is produced.
For the casualties to be exclusively male?
This would be an inexplicable occurrence—unless someone intentionally collected only males.
At the very least, among the dead, there should have been a natural distribution of both genders.
In certain reptiles, like turtles and crocodiles, gender is influenced by incubation temperature—warmer nests yield females, cooler ones yield males.
In those species, single-gender groups are possible.
But millipedes hatch with a natural, mixed gender ratio.
The birth of only males?
An impossibility.

Therefore, someone had deliberately attracted only the males to the village.
And the method? Almost certainly pheromones.
Why?
Because there were no young or half-grown individuals among them—only fully mature males.
Humans might express feelings based on emotion, regardless of gender. But for millipedes, upon reaching maturity, males instinctively pursue females by tracking their scent trails.
Thus, the sole method for gathering only adult males would be to utilize female pheromones.

“And in the world of insects, when females become mature, they emit a particular scent to draw in males. I suspect that is the precise technique the Taoist employed.”
“Ah, so he used a female’s scent to attract the adult males?”
“Exactly.”
“Then…”

Ji-ryong’s eyes gleamed, as if he had just connected the dots.
Nodding, I continued.

“Yes, a few possibilities exist. First, the Taoist might be someone skilled in extracting and utilizing pheromones from female millipedes. However, based on the village chief’s earlier account, I find this unlikely.”
“Why?”
“If he had used pheromones, he would have needed to lead the group from the front. But according to the chief, he was following behind the millipedes. Furthermore, the talismans he used didn’t appear to have any particular effect. He wasn’t employing them in any special way.”
“Then what option remains?”
“I pondered whether he might be using a martial art that replicates a female’s scent… but that doesn’t align either. His described movements were too sluggish for that.”

For a moment, I considered if he might know a technique akin to Beast-Heart Arts, but based on the village chief’s description of a rotten odor in the vicinity, my suspicions shifted in another direction.

“He may have learned an art similar to mine, but there is another, more suspicious possibility.”
“What is it, So-ryong?”
“What could that be?”

Just as everyone waited for my answer—
—Tsrrrrr!
—Kissit!

From beyond the dimming embers of the campfire, the children who had been concealed in the woods began to emerge.
I had quietly instructed Cho to lead them back.
Among the group, I turned to Bini and made a request.

“Bini, could you please dig in the ground around this fire pit?”

I had a powerful intuition that something akin to a ‘queen millipede’ might be concealed nearby.