Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 433

Chapter 433
My gaze was fixed on the harvestman under the rock, its front legs thrashing wildly, when Eunbong’s voice cut through the quiet.

“H-Hic… Young Master, is that creature truly in there?”

I glanced up to see Eunbong marching toward me, her sound-combat flute gripped tightly in her hand. I could see her fingers shaking with anger.

Gungbong was gone—so it was obvious she intended to destroy the harvestman right then.

It made sense. Among the Three Peaks of the Five Dragon Brothers—Geombong, Eunbong, and Gungbong—Eunbong had always been closest to Gungbong.

I’d heard they became friends because both used unusual weapons—bow and sound—in a Murim world still obsessed with old arguments like “the sword is supreme” or “the spear is king.” Anyone who used anything else was often seen as less skilled.

It was natural for outsiders to stick together. That’s how Eunbong and Gungbong grew close.

That’s also why no one—not Ji-ryong, Elder Brother, or even Hwa-eun—made a move to hold her back.

All the while, the harvestman continued waving its legs desperately from within the crack in the rock.

It was clearly attempting to convey: No. No. That isn’t true.

What wasn’t true?

Gungbong was dead—but this thing was stubbornly claiming otherwise.

As much as I adored spirit beasts, I couldn’t justify protecting one that had killed someone. If this being was the reason Gungbong died, then pity or not, I couldn’t shield it.

Even if it hadn’t meant any harm—even if it was only following its nature—if a person died because of it, I had to stand firm.

And this wasn’t just anyone. This was Gungbong—someone who had journeyed with us through Qinghai, Yizhou, and even to Elder Brother’s hometown.

Yes, he sometimes behaved strangely, but he always lightened our travels and made sure we were well-fed.

I was about to look away—when suddenly, the creature rolled onto its back and started trembling with one leg.

Almost like… it was feigning death?

What in the—?

Surprised, I bent closer for a better view. The creature promptly righted itself and went back to waving its second set of legs—the ones that worked like antennae.

It had just acted out a false death, but it wasn’t arbitrary. It was trying to show me something.

Was it… trying to communicate?

“Not pretending to be dead?”

I hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but the harvestman responded with an eager nod.

But it wasn’t done—it repeated the gesture.

That’s when I understood.

Ah! It’s telling me Gungbong isn’t dead!

As unbelievable as it seemed, the creature was clearly suggesting Gungbong was still alive.

Just then, a memory surfaced from my mental archive of beasts.

I recalled reading about certain parasites in the insect world that use venom to induce a zombified condition in their hosts.

Not spiders, but parasitic wasps like braconids and emerald cockroach wasps are known for this. Braconids deposit eggs in caterpillars, while emerald wasps target living cockroaches.

So how do they implant eggs into a living creature?

First, they sting to paralyze the body. Then they deliver another sting to the brain to shut down higher functions.

The result is total paralysis—the host enters a dormant, death-like condition. It breathes faintly, and all life signs slow, but it isn’t truly dead.

The wasp then carries the “fresh” host to its nest and lays eggs inside.

And this harvestman? It was a type that controls bodies.

If the host could still resist consciously, body control would be impossible.

So what if it placed the host in suspended animation before taking over?

That would fit perfectly.

I broke from my thoughts just in time to see I had to intervene with Eunbong.

She had come up next to me and was lifting her flute to her mouth.

She meant to execute it then and there using her sound-based arts.

“Wait—Eunbong, stop!”

I moved quickly to stand in her way, blocking her line of sight. She shook her head, tears starting to fall.

“Young Master… Gungbong is lost. I know how you feel about spirit beasts, and I’ll always be grateful you saved Ji-ryong and me… but… hic…”

Then—SLAP! SLAP!

My sister struck me on the back.

“Ow! Ah! That hurts!”

“Ryong! Is this what your sister taught you? I told you—no matter how fond you are of venomous creatures or spirit beasts, you don’t keep ones that harm people!”

“No, listen, that’s not—”

“YOU—BRAT—!”

“Ow! Ow! Stop!”

As Sister Seol continued hitting me in a fury, Hwa-eun stepped in and softly restrained her.

“Unnie, that’s enough. So-ryong understands.”

Then she looked at me.

“So-ryong, I know you want to protect that being… but I suspect it may be a Seonghon Juma. I’m not sure if you recall, but the Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures described the Seonghon Juma as something that imprisons people in endless sleep.”

So that’s it—Seonghon Juma.

Hwa-eun’s comment helped me place it.

I remembered the entry from the Secret Compendium:

Among the Twenty-Four Deadly Spirits, under the celestial stars: “Seong” — Seonghon Juma. A spider-like spirit beast that consumes the soul. Beware, for once the soul is eaten, the victim falls into an eternal sleep.

Back then, I assumed “eternal sleep” meant death. But perhaps… it meant precisely what I was witnessing now. A state resembling death—but not true death.

To correct the misunderstanding, I went straight to the most important point.

“No, it’s not like that! Gungbong may still be alive!”

If I said anything else first, Sister Seol might slap me again—so I led with the crucial claim.

But instead of comfort, everyone only gave me troubled, skeptical looks.

Then—SLAP!

“You fool! You’re only saying that because you want to keep that thing!”

What does Sister Seol take me for…?

Rubbing my sore back, I tried to clarify.

“N-No, it’s not that. The creature—it showed me that Gungbong isn’t dead.”

“What? It did?”

“Yes!”

To be accurate, it didn’t “say” it—but it communicated clearly through its movements.

Sister Seol looked toward the crevice. The creature was nodding vigorously.

“But Gungbong isn’t breathing. There’s no pulse!” Hwa-eun objected.

I replied by sharing what I knew about parasitic wasps.

“Some parasitic wasps lay eggs inside other insects. Before they do, they inject venom to paralyze their prey. That venom preserves the victim alive—but in a death-like condition. Breathing faintly, barely any signs of life—but still alive.”

The harvestman under the rock seemed to burst with excitement.

Its head nodded so fast it resembled a phone vibrating on a surface.

Beside me, Eunbong dried her eyes and asked:

“Is that… really possible?”

“We have to verify. Elder Brother—can you carry Gungbong here?”

“Right away!”

At my ask, Big Brother quickly brought Gungbong over and set him down on a smooth stone nearby.

Gungbong looked completely pallid—like a lifeless body.

I spoke to the creature beneath the rock.

“Can you wake him? If you’re telling the truth and he’s still alive?”

Again, the creature’s head nodded rapidly.

Worried it might attempt to flee, I issued a warning.

“Alright. Then please, wake him. But if this is a trick to escape, I won’t prevent the others from acting against you.

However, if Gungbong is truly unharmed, I give you my word we will not harm you.”

The creature nodded once more, looked around warily, and slowly crawled out.

That was when I saw it fully.

Looking at its form, I was reminded of a particular type of harvestman.

“Is it modeled after the Bunny Harvestman?”

The knot on the cord around Gungbong’s head—which I’d mistaken for tied string—was actually the creature’s horns. Seeing them triggered a memory from my past life.

Metagryne bicolumnata.

Commonly called the Bunny Harvestman, this species is found in Ecuador. It has two pointed structures on its back that look like rabbit ears—hence the name.

Maybe that’s why it was categorized under the Star aspect in the Sun-Moon-Star-Quake system.

The creature carefully emerged from the crevice, scanned the area, and gradually approached Gungbong.

Then it moved over his head, settling like an ornamental knot.

Next, it began inserting its second pair of legs into his scalp.

Harvestmen use their second legs like antennae, and this one was sliding them deep into Gungbong’s head.

A moment later—

Once the second legs were fully inserted, Gungbong’s eyes slowly opened.

“G-Gungbong!”

“You’re awake? Gungbong?”

“Gungbong? Can you hear us?!”

People exclaimed in shock, but Gungbong—now sitting up—bowed his head toward me.

“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t truthful.”

Everyone drew back instinctively, on guard again.

From the apology, it was clear this wasn’t Gungbong conscious—it was still the creature operating his body.

The mood grew tense again, so I asked:

“What did you lie about? You’re not saying Gungbong is actually dead, are you?”

“N-no! Not at all! She is alive. It’s just… the poison requires a few days to wear off. When I said I could wake her immediately—that was the untruth…

I wasn’t honest because I knew I couldn’t explain clearly unless I was back in her form.”

What the creature meant was this: the poison takes several days to clear before Gungbong can wake naturally. But since it couldn’t convey that, it had nodded as if it could revive her right away—and was now apologizing for the deceit.

“How many days?”

“If no more venom is added, she will awaken in three days.”

“She is truly alive, yes?”

Eunbong broke in, asking again whether Gungbong was really alive.

The creature, still within Gungbong’s body, answered cautiously.

“Certainly. I cannot control a dead body—never.”

“May I examine the body myself?”

“Yes.”

Hwa-eun came forward, checked Gungbong again, and nodded.

“Incredible. Her heart is beating again.”

That meant she was alive.

Unlike before, even Hwa-eun could detect it now.

For the moment, the creature didn’t appear hostile—but the others were still cautious.

Maybe because it had hijacked a human body?

Still, to really grasp what kind of being we were dealing with, I kept questioning it.

The goal was to help everyone else understand its nature too.

So I began with the most delicate topic—body possession.

“Why did you take over Gungbong’s body?”

“I-I didn’t mean to! If she hadn’t killed the monkey I was using, I wouldn’t have considered entering a human.

My body is frail, so I need a host. But I don’t prefer humans. Their bodies aren’t resilient, and it’s difficult to deceive those around them…”

“You mean the monkey Gungbong supposedly missed with her arrow?”

“Yes. That was the host I had occupied… but she killed it unexpectedly…”

“Then… the fever she developed after eating the monkey meat?”

“Yes, that was due to my venom. I was only trying to escape. But there were so many frightening people nearby…

So I intended to use her body to slip away quietly, then switch to another animal later…”

Hearing this, I understood. The creature hadn’t taken over Gungbong’s body with ill intent.

It was vulnerable and needed a host—but Gungbong had accidentally killed the monkey it was using.

Then, when it arrived in our camp inside Gungbong’s body, it saw our whole group—and was so frightened it decided to sneak off using her form.

That tracked. If I were it, and I saw all the venomous beings in our camp, I’d be terrified too.

I asked it again:

“So Gungbong will wake in three days?”

“Yes. So… may I leave now? You gave your word not to harm me…”

The creature begged to be freed, but Ji-ryong shook his head.

“Little Hero So, Gungbong isn’t awake yet. We can’t simply release it. We can’t be sure it’s being truthful.”

“I-I am not lying!”

It asserted its honesty, but there was no real certainty until Gungbong actually awoke.

I didn’t believe the creature was lying, but I had no option. I agreed with Ji-ryong.

Until we verified Gungbong’s state, we couldn’t let it go.

No—more than that, we couldn’t let it go.

“It came into our group freely… but leaving isn’t so simple.”

“As Ji-ryong said, we can’t release you yet. Gungbong hasn’t awakened. You’ll remain with us until then.”

“O-okay. Then what about this body? If I leave it, she will appear dead again…”

“Wait. Let me discuss with the others.”

After talking it over, I delivered the answer.

“We are still traveling. If Gungbong can’t move, it will be an issue.

And letting her return to a death-like state probably isn’t healthy. So… until she wakes, we would like you to keep her body functioning.”

While the creature was inside, her body was warm again, her heart beating.

If it left, Gungbong would return to that near-death condition.

And we all knew—remaining comatose wasn’t good for a person.

Even in my previous life, full-body anesthesia was considered harmful.

So we agreed to let the creature stay with her for now—and it officially became a provisional member of our team.

Well, provisional likely means permanent.

Others had joined us temporarily too—but none ever actually left.

So that was one more added to the Sun-Moon-Star-Quake collection.

—
**TL Note**: From this point forward, I will translate Seon-hwa as Geombong.