Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 401

Chapter 401
Bzzzzzz.
I stood motionless, staring blankly at Ranghu, who had materialized without warning.
After a sharp buzz, Ranghu issued a series of commands to the worker wasps before leaping onto my shoulder.
Tang Hwa-eun, who had entered behind me, finally noticed Ranghu and her eyes widened in shock.
No one had anticipated finding her here, of all places.
“Ranghu?”
Bzz.
As if stating, “You mentioned it yesterday—I’m coming with you now,” Ranghu lifted her head proudly, and at once, Hwa-eun’s voice reached me through sound transmission.
[So-ryong, what’s happening? Why is Ranghu here?]
[You’re the one who said you wished she could join us… and now you’re surprised?]
[What? I said that?]
[Yes. Yesterday, you told Ranghu it was too bad she couldn’t travel with us…]
She had no memory of her words from the day before. After I reminded her, her face flushed with embarrassment.
[Oh no! What should I do?]
To clarify the situation, I called for Do Sagong to get an explanation.
“How did this come about?”
“Was it not your instruction, Lord So-ryong? She approached us late last night, inspecting the area, and when I inquired if you had sent her, she nodded. She matched the description of the young lady you spoke of, so I escorted her to the prow.”
“I recalled your stories about the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings. Was I incorrect?”
“Should I have arranged a cabin for her instead?”
“No, that’s alright.”
Do Sagong must have seen Ranghu and assumed I had sent her. As a spirit beast, she was given a place on the ship without question.
As he finished, I massaged my temple where a headache was forming, just as the Dragon Fangs arrived and stared at Ranghu in surprise.
“I’ve only ever seen a Golden-Furred Wasp King from a distance. You’re taking her with us this time?”
“You had the ability to bring her all along?”
“She looks different from a typical Wasp King, though. Fluffier, perhaps?”
“Right? I don’t know much about them, but she seems… more elegant?”
They had clearly concluded that I intended to bring Ranghu on the journey. As Brother Kwon-ryong remarked on her beauty, Ranghu crossed her arms and gave him a sidelong look, lifting her chin with a dismissive sniff.
Bzz!
Yeah, yeah, I’m well aware I’m beautiful.
That was likely the meaning behind it.
Even so, she seemed pleased, her antennae curling gently.
Then she turned back toward the prow and beat her wings again.
Bzz.
A moment later, a worker wasp flew over from the prow and bowed deeply before her, antennae twitching in a gesture of deference.
Bzzzz. Bzz.
Ranghu then gestured with her wing toward Brother Kwon-ryong, and the wasp—clearly under orders—zipped over and latched onto him.
“W-What? H-Hey! S-So-ryong?!”
Given his martial skills, he could have easily knocked it away, but recognizing it was under my protection, he froze in panic instead.
As the wasp clung to the collar of his robe, he flailed his arms in alarm, tripped over a rope on the deck, and landed flat on his back.
Thud!
The wasp paid no attention. It simply continued its path toward his mouth.
Abruptly, I recalled a previous experience.
“It can’t be…”
I turned to Ranghu, my eyes wide.
She nodded.
“Oh no!”
Understanding what was about to occur, my eyes widened further just as Brother Kwon-ryong shouted for help.
“S-So-ryong! Help me! Please!”
But I was torn about whether to step in.
Why?
Because she was likely rewarding him for calling her pretty by offering him honey.
And the honey of the Golden-Furred Wasp King—however slight—could boost one’s internal energy. For martial artists, that was akin to a heavenly blessing.
Should I save him? Or allow him to receive this fortune?
As I hesitated, Tang Hwa-eun’s calm voice sounded beside me.
“She doesn’t appear hostile. Let her proceed.”
And that settled his fate.
“…V-Very well,” he stammered nervously.
The wasp climbed onto his face and used four of its front legs to pry his mouth open.
Brother Kwon-ryong’s eyes bulged as he looked desperately at Hwa-eun.
His expression seemed to shout, ‘I thought you said to let it happen?!’
Then, positioned above his open mouth, the wasp adjusted itself and began releasing honey, drop by drop.
Plop.
A large golden droplet landed directly on his tongue.
His throat convulsed as he swallowed it audibly.
“W-What is that…?”
“Isn’t that the honey of the Golden-Furred Wasp King? I heard it slightly increases internal energy?”
“And she’s feeding it to him directly? T-This… this is a divine blessing!”
The onlookers burst into excited chatter, calling it a miraculous opportunity. Though some of the women shuddered at the sight of an insect dripping honey into a person’s mouth.
“Well… that’s not the kind of luck I desire.”
“M-Me neither.”
After depositing roughly three portions of honey, the wasp flew back to the prow, and Brother Kwon-ryong remained on the deck, circulating his energy.
The effects weren’t overwhelming, so he finished quickly. But with honey smeared around his lips, his mouth glistened as he turned to me with tear-filled eyes.
“Sniff… So-ryong…”
The ordeal had clearly unsettled him. I gave his shoulder a comforting pat.
“Come now, hyung. You only had to drink it. When I went through it, I had to lock lips with the creature.”
Honestly, crying over being fed honey?
Back in my day, it was a full-on kiss.

***
Although Ranghu’s impulsive decision to feed Brother Kwon-ryong had caused quite a stir, once things calmed down, I focused on the real issue—reasoning with Ranghu.
It wasn’t that I objected to her joining us.
There was no issue whatsoever with Ranghu coming along.
She had already settled herself in the prow, which was a perfectly suitable location.
Some might question how anyone could travel with bees, but even in my past life, there were beekeepers who journeyed across the country with their hives.
When acacia trees began to bloom, they would migrate from the southern coast up to northern Gyeonggi, following the flowers to harvest honey. Then, when chestnut trees flowered, they would move again to follow those blooms. That was how acacia and chestnut honey were produced.
I had seen documentaries about it and even included them in my own videos. So traveling with the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings wasn’t strange at all.
Besides, bees hibernate during winter. As long as there is honey stored, they can endure in confined spaces for months.
So then—what was the problem?
The concern was that when we reached the prow, only about a hundred worker wasps were there.
Golden-Furred Wasp Kings, due to their size, do not form large colonies—typically only a few hundred members in total.
Even so, a hundred wasps of their size was already a formidable group. If Ranghu had brought only a hundred, it meant she had left the rest behind in the hive.
The hive must be in turmoil right now.
And that was a serious matter.
The survival of a hive hinges entirely on its queen. Without her, it is a crisis.
Normally, if a queen dies or vanishes, the workers attempt to raise a new queen—but if conditions aren’t suitable, the colony falls apart.
When a queen disappears, bees often grow agitated. They may drum on the hive or perform unusual dances to signal that something is wrong.
That hive was likely in a state of pure panic at this very moment.
Until a new queen could emerge.
Ordinary honeybees feed royal jelly to a larva to develop a new queen.
But the Golden-Furred Wasp King lineage doesn’t operate that way. Their queens directly birth new queens, so it wasn’t a straightforward process.
The remainder of the hive might remain in distress until Ranghu returned.
So I asked Hyang to interpret and addressed Ranghu.
“Ranghu, what happened to the others?”
Bzz.
Tsrriiip.
『She says… she swapped them, Dad.』
“Swapped? What do you mean, swapped?”
Bzzzz.
Tsrriiip.
『The home. She exchanged homes.』
“Wait, you left a perfectly good hive to move here? Why?”
Bzz.
Tsrriiip.
『She says that isn’t what happened.』
Even with Hyang translating, I still didn’t understand what this “swap” entailed. So I apologized to Hu-gae Makgok and prepared to return to the Tang residence.
“My apologies. Would you mind waiting a short while? I believe I need to check on the hive.”
“Understood, So Sohyeop. We will be traveling by boat regardless, so there is time. Please do not rush.”
With permission from Makgok, representative of Lord Geolhwang, I enveloped myself in Cho and headed for the Tang residence.
Bzz.
Tsrriiip.
『Why are we returning? She asks if she isn’t permitted to come as well.』
On the way back, Ranghu buzzed irritably from my shoulder.
“I just want to see what’s happening at the hive. You didn’t simply abandon them, did you?”
Bzz!
Tsrriiip.
『No. She says she swapped.』
Still insisting on this “swap,” she guided me to the pond.
Just as I was about to look inside through the fifth-floor window, another queen emerged to greet me.
Bzz?
I recognized her immediately.
“Nanghu?”
It was Ranghu’s daughter, Nanghu, who had now taken over the original hive.
So this was what she meant by “swapping homes.”
“She took over your hive?”
Nanghu beat her wings and gestured behind her.
Tsrriiip.
『She brought everyone here, Dad.』
Finally, the situation made sense.
Ranghu had brought about a hundred wasps to accompany me on the boat, while Nanghu had led the rest of the colony here and assumed the role of queen.
It made perfect sense—this structure was far more spacious than the hollow tree they had previously inhabited.
In beekeeping, it’s common to merge a weaker, queenless hive with another. And since these were spirit creatures, they had managed it on their own.
I never imagined I would see a hive merger firsthand.
“So that’s what you meant by swapping.”
Bzz!
As I observed the merged hive thriving inside, amazed, I heard Hyang translate again, this time with an offended tone—something along the lines of, “Did you truly believe I would abandon my children?”
I pretended not to hear it.
With the hive now secure, and Ranghu still nudging my shoulder as if awaiting my decision—
I decided I may as well welcome her as a companion.
I was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ still somewhat uneasy about whatever Hwa-eun had said to her the previous day, but it felt wrong to leave her behind.
After all, my experience with Yo-hwa had taught me this: as long as the spirit beasts that favored me felt emotionally content, they generally didn’t misbehave or cause issues.
Besides, at this point, I might as well consider it like adding a few more fighter jets to an aircraft carrier.
I already had three bombers. Adding a hundred fighters didn’t seem like a bad arrangement—unless, of course, some major event occurred that required the bombers.
Yeah… there’s no chance they’ll ask me to marry them or something. Just consider it reinforcing the aircraft carrier.
“Alright, alright. You can come. We’ll go together.”
When I said this, Ranghu’s antennae perked up.
She must have thought I would leave her behind, but now that she had permission, she buzzed happily and glanced back toward the old tree.
Bzz bzz.
Tsrriiip.
『Then I can take all the honey from the old tree too, Dad!』
“Really?”
Apparently, the honey stored in the hollow tree by Nanghu’s hive was now available for the taking.
Ranghu truly possessed the magnanimous and decisive heart of a queen.
When I hurried to inform Father-in-law and Grandfather Tang Mu-seong of the situation, they immediately went to the tree to see for themselves, and their faces brightened with delight.
And for good reason.
The interior of the tree was filled to bursting with honey, meticulously stored in hexagonal combs.
I had heard that martial artists typically used smoke to drive out the wasps to collect honey, but the wasps would swallow most of it to protect it, so only small amounts could be gathered. They had never seen such an abundance of honey before.
“A-All of this…?”
“I-It’s astonishing…”
Really, is this something to become emotional over?
With an entire hive’s worth of honey secured, we returned to the boat.
“Alright then, everyone—let’s depart!”
Before setting off, I distributed some of the honey to the others.
And as I handed out cups, Brother Kwon-ryong muttered with a mournful expression:
“I… I had to drink it straight from the source…”
He truly was the most theatrical man I had ever known.