Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 408

Chapter 408
As the golden haze began to lift, the wingbeats of the Locust King resonated through it—each one carrying a peculiar, sorrowful quality that spread across the valley.

Cho offered no translation, meaning the sounds held no specific message. Yet to my ears, they resembled a lamentful funeral song.

The amber mist coiling like ritual smoke, the rhythmic pulse of the Locust King’s wings—it all seemed like a ceremonial goodbye.

It was logical.

Anyone enveloped by that gilded fog would surely perish.

If it were mere poison, an antidote might exist. But this was no venom. It was a fungal spore, born from the Locust King and part of a symbiotic existence.

Without the Locust King’s direct intervention, the spores would germinate and kill their hosts—sprouting mushrooms within their still-living forms.

And yet, even encircled by this mist of death, the swarm did not cease its feeding.

Inside that spore-laden cloud, the locusts continued to rend one another—savaging wings and bodies.

Whenever fluid was spilled, it acted like a summons. Dozens, then hundreds of them converged on the wounded, pulling it to pieces.

More fell, and the frenzy propagated like a tide.

They showed no reaction to the spores, on the surface.

The mist presented no immediate danger they could sense.

But that did not mean it was safe.

This mist was inevitable death—spores that would embed themselves upon contact.

The locusts were oblivious to their fate. But death was already seeding itself inside them.

“Perhaps they feel no threat because they are desert locusts, not the Korean field variety?”

Desert locusts are born of sandstorms. To them, golden dust is not an omen of peril—it is merely part of the environment.

But the instant the mist thinned, spreading through the valley, a shift occurred.

The swarm, which had been consistent until then, abruptly began to jerk and leap—movements that were erratic, then ceased entirely.

Then they became completely motionless. Not a single shudder.

Moments later, they stirred again—but now, with a creepy unison.

As if under a spell, they positioned themselves apart and started to dig.

The very same mandibles and limbs that had just been used to dismember their own were now scratching at the soil.

Death had arrived far more swiftly than I anticipated.

“What in the world…?”

The potency of the Cordyceps spores released by the Locust King exceeded my expectations.

The infected man (the translator) had taken hours to begin digging. But these locusts?

The change was almost immediate.

The fungus had commandeered their muscles and nerves—and now, it fully directed their bodies.

“That is horrifying. Is it due to their smaller size? Or are insects simply overwhelmed faster? Wait—Cho!”

Suddenly, I recalled something crucial.

I turned to Cho, who was observing the swarm with fixed attention.

“Cho, just to be safe—hold your breath like you did when we were underwater, okay?”

—Tsrrr. 『Understood, Dad.』

The spores were unlikely to reach us from this far, but I couldn’t risk it.

Since her transformation, Cho could hold her breath for half an hour.

And the very last thing I desired was to see fungi emerging from my daughter’s skull.

Even if, hypothetically, a little mushroom cap on Cho’s head might be somewhat endearing.

“But still—she’s my daughter. She’s adorable regardless.”

—Tsrrt? 『What is, Dad?』

“Ah—it’s nothing! I didn’t say a thing.”

I had accidentally broadcast my private thoughts to Cho’s channel and quickly tried to disguise it.

When I looked back down, the locusts had vanished.

Only a handful of mangled corpses and smears of fluid remained.

The rest had interred themselves.

“So that is how those Cordyceps fields were created… One was nearly barren, and I assumed someone had buried the locusts. But no—they consumed everything, then excavated their own graves.”

At that moment, the Locust King started to move.

He paced slowly across the now-vacant field and halted at a specific spot.

There, he used his jaws to retrieve something from the earth.

A flicker of light gleamed from his mouth.

“What is that?”

I leaned forward, straining my sight.

But in doing so, I knocked a loose stone from the ledge.

—Tak. Tadat. Tak. Tak-tak…

The noise began softly but rang out sharply in the valley as the rock cascaded down the incline.

“Wait—this seems familiar…”

Then I glanced down—and met the gaze of the Locust King.

He propelled himself directly toward us.

—CHWARRRRRRRR!

***

He touched down on a boulder close to us, right beside Cho.

I was astounded by his proximity.

The last time I’d seen him, it was from maybe ten meters away or more. Now, he was mere steps from me.

I could observe every detail.

His back was armored with red spines and a resilient chitinous plate.

His delicate, glistening wings shone like ground glass.

He possessed the robust, noble build of a stag beetle, unlike any ordinary locust.

The sight made my heart race uncontrollably.

“Good grief. He is stunning.”

As I watched him, he studied us in return.

His eyes moved between me and Cho.

It must have been bewildering for him, seeing a human and a spirit beast together.

People and beasts often responded to us that way.

I raised a hand in an awkward gesture.

I hadn’t intended to introduce myself so soon, but this unexpected encounter forced my hand.

“Uh… Hello.”

Startled, he rasped his legs and wings together to generate sound.

—Chwarrrk! Chwarrk!

—Tsrrrrt. 『You dare come back?! You should have counted yourself fortunate to leave with your life yesterday—and yet you return?! Why?!』

His anger had not faded.

I immediately lowered my head.

If I wished to communicate, I needed to placate him first.

“I apologize. My people broke their word yesterday, and I accept the blame. As their leader, I should have maintained control…”

—Tsrrt. 『I am also sorry.』

Cho bowed next to me, and the Locust King recoiled—then took a step backward.

He seemed to hesitate, pondering, and then produced a softer, lower-pitched scrape from his wings.

—Chwarrrr…

—Tsrrt. 『You… you are the one I glimpsed at the end yesterday, are you not? It was not my imagination. What are you? You do not appear to be human…』

As anticipated, the Locust King was fascinated by Cho.

Likely because he had dwelled in solitude for so long—he had no concept of what she might be.

I softly patted Cho’s head.

“This is Cho. It is true, she is not human. She is a different kind of being—but I have adopted her as my daughter. And I did not get to [N O V E L I G H T] introduce myself properly yesterday, but my name is So-ryong.”

—Tsrrr. 『I am Cho.』

—Chwar.

—Tsrrrt. 『Cho… So-ryong… Those are your names?』

“Yes. Do you… perhaps have a name yourself? Could you share it?”

Surprisingly, for a spirit beast who seemed to have lived alone in these highlands, the Locust King understood the concept of a name. When I asked, he faltered, his wings producing a timid melody.

—Chwarrrt.
Tsrr. 『I… I am called Changcheon.』

“He shared it just like that? He must be genuinely guileless, probably has never encountered anyone before.”

Despite the previous day’s events, he answered with such shyness that it was clearly the first time he had ever given his name to another.

He must have listened to travelers and named himself from their language.

So I complimented the name immediately—his rear legs were quivering faintly, as if he were nervous.

“He’s feeling embarrassed, is he?”

“Changcheon… That is a lovely name. It signifies ‘Blue Sky Above the Heavens,’ correct? It suits this location perfectly.”

Tsrrr. 『It is truly beautiful!』

Changcheon—Blue Sky Above the Heavens.

As I stressed how appropriate it was, his previously stiff antennae relaxed gently to the sides.

Then came his quiet, self-conscious reply.

—Chwarrr…
Tsrr. 『Truly?』

But almost at once, he shook his head and clicked his wings again, this time with a more severe tone.

—Chwarrrk!
Tsrrrr. 『Setting that aside—why have you returned here? If you are here to pilfer more mushrooms and believe an apology will excuse you, then I will not be lenient.』

His defenses were raised once more. Our conversation about names and Cho had briefly put him at ease, but now his distrust returned.

I waved both hands hurriedly.

“No, consider this. If we wanted your mushrooms, wouldn’t we have returned to the original site—or a different one? This area hasn’t even fully matured yet.”

Hearing this, he looked toward the new Cordyceps field he had just seeded.

He appeared to concede the point.

—Chwarrr…
Tsrrt. 『Then… why are you here?』

To explain fully, I told him everything—our original purpose for coming, and what truly occurred the day before.

“We initially came here to locate the locust swarms.”

Chwar?

“Yes. There were multiple reports of locust activity here.
If they invade the central plains, they will devastate all the crops. People could starve. That is why we came to prevent it. Yesterday, while searching for them, we accidentally discovered your Cordyceps—so that is how it unfolded.
Cordyceps, the mushrooms you grow, are in fact used as medicine to heal the sick.”

—Chwarrr…

He nodded while I spoke. He seemed to comprehend.

Now it was time to ask the true reason for my return—to save the infected man.

“And the purpose of my visit today… was to find you.”

Chwar?

“Yes. Last night, a man who breathed your spores began to dig into the earth with his bare hands.
I know he was at fault, but we wish to save his life.
If there is any possible method to reverse it… could you inform us?”

—Chwarrr…
Tsrrt. 『So you came to rescue that foolish man from yesterday?』

“Yes.”

The Locust King was silent for a moment, then gave a grave nod.

—Chwarrr.
Tsrrt. 『Very well. I will save him. But in return, I require a favor.』

“A favor?”

—Chwarrrk.

“What sort of favor?”

—Chwarrrk.
Tsrrr. 『I will tell you after I save him.』

“…Alright.”

I sensed that the infected man’s time was running short.

I promptly turned back toward the campsite with Cho beside me, calling out mentally to the others.

『Hwa-eun, the locusts are all eliminated. I have spoken with the Locust King, and it went positively. Everyone, return to the campsite. Now, please.』

“Understood, So-ryong. Everyone, regroup.”

Tsrrrt. 『Coming, Dad.』

Kyuu. 『On my way, Grandpa!』

We reached the camp first.

No one else had arrived yet—only Sister Seol was there, watching over the infected man.

She hurried to me as soon as she saw me.

“So-ryong! It is serious!”

“What?”

“Something is beginning to protrude from his head!”

I rushed over.

The infected man’s convulsions had ceased—but now a swelling was rising from the base of his skull, pushing upward.

—Chwarrrrrrr.

Seeing this, the Locust King alighted next to us.

With wings spread wide, he hovered for a second, then landed, stepping close to the infected man.

Then—he raised a foreleg and struck the back of the man’s neck.

—Smack!

The skin ruptured.

From the base of the neck, a red mushroom stalk erupted, seeping like blood.

“So that is the method—if you provide a new path for the fruiting body, it will not attempt to emerge from the skull.”

Before the mushroom cap could unfurl completely, the Locust King cleanly broke it off.

It was done. The procedure was over.

Then he gently placed the severed stalk beside him—and spat something out onto the ground before me.

A tiny, gleaming object.

—Chwarrr. Chwarrk.
Tsrrt. Tsrrr. 『Now that I have excised the stalk, it will not regrow. His body will heal shortly, and he will regain command. The internal growth will dissipate in time—do not concern yourself.
And in exchange… I want you to tell me what this is.』

He had spat out a silver needle.
Not exactly like any I recognized—and yet, somehow known.