Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 447

Chapter 447
A quiet laugh escaped me as I considered what type of ant might dwell within that hole, and I had my reasons.

Out of all the spirit beasts I had managed to acquire so far, not one had been an ant. For an insect breeder to lack an ant is a fundamental failing—the mark of an incomplete venomous-creature enthusiast. Ants are the cornerstone, the essential beginning, the very basics of all insect rearing and the foundation of working with venomous creatures. It is akin to being a coin collector who possesses none of the basic denominations—no ten-won, fifty-won, one-hundred-won, or five-hundred-won coins. What kind of collection has no base currency?

I had procured some termites back in Sacheon Tang, but those creatures were more akin to mindless roaches than true ants; they were too low-tier and barely sentient, offering no real interaction. Their absence had been felt. Now, with the prospect of ants finally appearing, I couldn’t suppress the grin spreading across my face. An ant of this size could only be a spirit beast, and a specific name was already forming in my thoughts: ‘It must certainly be the ch—’

“Hehehehehe…”

My amused chuckle, prompted by the thought of that name, caused Hwa-eun and Sister Seol to recoil and voice their disgust.

“S-So-ryong, why are you making that unsettling face again?”
“Honestly. You look like some lecherous old man!”

My good mood was instantly soured by the insult. Granted, if you include my past life, I am technically in my forties, but to call me “creepy” is simply uncalled for. This was the innocent, thrilled excitement of a venomous-creature fanatic on the verge of a new discovery! It was a pure and radiant feeling—like the first light of dawn! To label that “creepy” was nothing short of defamation.

“Creepy? This is the smile of happy anticipation—the joy of meeting a new companion!” I protested, waving my hands, but the two only exchanged looks of utter bewilderment, as if they couldn’t comprehend what I was saying.

“A smile?”
“Ryong, if you made that expression while looking at a woman, you would absolutely be accused of… indecent intentions.”

“Indecent intentions!? Now just a minute!”

Really now. This So-ryong is not a man who entertains such impure thoughts. This is a serious matter. I had merely smiled at the idea of encountering a new spirit beast, and now I was being accused of vulgarity? As I was internally lamenting the injustice, Sister Seol pressed on.

“So, why were you making that weird face? What’s so interesting about the dirt?”

Still misunderstood, I answered with the full gravity of a venomous creature devotee. “It appears this burrow is inhabited by Ma-ui—ants.”

“Ma-ui?”
“Indeed. Look closely; the soil within is gathered into small pellets, like this.”

I dug a little deeper into the earth by my feet. Just as I thought, the interior was packed with tiny clumps of dirt, each about the size of a chestnut. When I pointed this out, everyone nodded in agreement, seeing that all the pellets were uniformly sized.

“Yes, we noticed that earlier. I even mentioned it looked man-made.”
“That’s right, So-ryong.”

Ordinary ants do not produce such dirt clumps. For them, a single grain of sand is a substantial burden to move. However, larger ants cannot efficiently transport individual grains, so they collect damp soil, form it into pellets, and deposit them near their nest entrance. The result is these uniform mounds that act as classic ant hills, which help control humidity and protect against flooding during rains. Some species even mix in chopped twigs, but regardless, these particular soil pellets were unmistakably the work of ants.

“Correct. While the surface is dry and sandy, these moist, evenly-sized clumps around the entrance are clear evidence of recent Ma-ui activity. They are made from soil excavated from within and deposited here.”

“So what? It’s just ants living here. That’s not particularly special,” Sister Seol dismissed, likely assuming they were common ants.

However, while she was brushing it off, Hwa-eun—who had picked up one of the chestnut-sized pellets—began to murmur as a realization dawned on her.

“Wait, these clumps are far too large for a normal ant to carry. How big would the ants have to be?”

That offhand comment made me beam with pride. Did they truly think I would get excited over an ordinary ant nest? This So-ryong deals exclusively with notable specimens.

“As expected of you, Hwa-eun. Yes, they are large. Therefore, the ants must also be sizable, correct? By my estimate… they are likely at least five chi in length.”
“Five chi!?”

If one Chinese zhang is approximately thirty centimeters, then one chi is about three—making five chi equivalent to fifteen centimeters. A stunned Hwa-eun suddenly connected the dots.

“Oh! And didn’t we say there was Azure Steel Stone inside? Then—!?”
“Yes, almost certainly.”

Then she said it—the very name I had been thinking of: “Azure Steel Immortal Ant!”

Exactly. The Azure Steel Immortal Ant. The Celestial Azure Steel Ant. Its name shares the term ‘Azure Steel’ with the incredibly durable Azure Steel Stone. It is one of the Twenty-Four Venoms, specifically holding the Blue Seat among the Red-Blue-White-Black group. It is reputed to exude a corrosive venom capable of dissolving metal—likely an acid-based toxin. Within the Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures, it is illustrated in blue and described as “bluer than the sky.” I had always imagined it to be a vibrantly blue ant.

And now, it seemed that very creature resided inside this rocky mountain. Now that I considered it, the compendium did note it was found in a rocky mountain. It seems it wasn’t just any mountain, but one veined with Azure Steel Stone.

“Most likely, yes. The Secret Compendium stated its name came from its resemblance to Azure Steel Stone, but I now believe it was named for inhabiting Azure Steel-rich areas.”

After my explanation, Hwa-eun’s face lit up. “Wow! Another one of the Twenty-Four Venoms?! At this rate, you will complete the entire set—even the Ten Great Venomous Beasts! Honestly, I never thought you would manage to collect all Ten…”

Then she gave me a look—a gaze that unmistakably said she had fallen for me all over again.

…This is a problem.
That look made me feel like a true sinner. I should be winning her affection gradually and steadily, not making her heart skip a beat every other moment. This cannot be good for her health.

“Aha… well then.”
Amitabha. But wait—if I pray to Buddha for forgiveness of my sins… since I am the Buddha, am I not just praying to myself?

As I tumbled down that peculiar philosophical rabbit hole, Sister Seol asked from beside me: “But if there are Ma-ui here, shouldn’t we be able to see them? Ants are active day and night, aren’t they? Could this nest be abandoned?”

A reasonable question from an expert on beasts like herself. After all, the entrance was merely dirt—no ants in sight. If this were an animal’s den, that would suggest it was deserted. But ant nests are different.

Common ants are nearly incessant workers. They rest for only about a minute at a time, doing so around two hundred and fifty times a day, which is why they appear perpetually active. So if ants were present, we should have seen them. However, when temperatures fall below ten degrees Celsius, ants become inactive. And although Sichuan is warm, it is currently early winter. This meant the ants would all be nestled deep within. Even spirit beasts such as these could likely withstand the cold for longer, but unless something urgent arose, as it sometimes did with my own children, sleeping through the cold was the wiser course.

“It is due to the cold. Ants cease their activity around this season. Had this nest been abandoned, all the dirt would have dried out and crumbled into sand by now. The fact that these pellets remain moist proves that Ma-ui have been active here recently.”

Only then did Sister Seol nod in understanding. But soon, her voice took on a nervous edge. “Still… I feel a bit uneasy knowing it’s Ma-ui…”
“Why?”
“It reminds me of the Army Ant Incident…”
“Ah…”

She shuddered, recalling when the Beast Palace was nearly destroyed by enhanced army ants. But that had been the doing of the Five Venoms Clan. These were natural spirit beasts. They would not be dangerous. Because we would be able to communicate with them.

“Do not worry, Sister Seol. These are spirit beasts. They will understand us.”
“I hope you are correct…”
“Besides, it is not like before. We have plenty of our own little ones now. What is there to fear? Anyway—shall we begin our ascent?”

At my words, everyone turned to look up at the cliff face, toward the rock ledge protruding from the mountainside. Our next step was to climb up there. Well—everyone except for me, that is.

***

“Thank you, Yohwa.”
—Kii-sit!

The final member of our group to be hoisted up by Yohwa’s thread offered his thanks. While Hwa-eun, Sister Seol, Gungbong, and I were carried up to the ledge by Cho or Yeondu—likely due to Soto’s parasitic possession—the others had to be lifted via Yohwa’s silk.

“I thought I was going to die…”

My sister-in-law collapsed inside the rock alcove, gasping for air, her face as white as a sheet. She had screamed each time Yohwa’s silk swayed in the wind—this was clearly her first experience scaling a cliff in such a manner.

“Are you alright?”
“Yes…”

I nudged my brother and shot him a look that plainly said ‘go comfort her,’ then walked over to the broad stone wall at the rear of the platform. I turned to Senior Yeoncheon.

“So… how do we proceed from here?”

Senior Yeoncheon rotated his eyeball, scanning the area. After a moment, his gaze fixed on a spot and he gestured toward the stone wall with his eye.

[Over there. Right there, Benefactor.]

I followed where he indicated, and he added,
[Remove that mushroom.]
“Understood.”

The cliff face was covered in rock mushrooms—stone ear fungus. As I peeled one away, a constellation was uncovered beneath. It looked as if someone had taken the night sky and carved it directly into the rock. Below the stars was a single line of text: “Destroy the Five Stars.”

“Destroy five stars?”
Oseong Paheo—literally, “Destroy the Five Stars.”

I looked to Senior Yeoncheon, uncertain which stars I was supposed to break. The wall was covered in countless constellations. How was I to know which ones?

“Senior, which stars do we break?”

Senior Yeoncheon scratched his head with his eyeball and answered vaguely.
[I do not know that either, Benefactor…]
“…Pardon?”

Wait—he was the one who had proposed we enter via the Nine-Gate Trial. I thought he knew all about it… He had stated:
[If I remember correctly, the first six gates evaluate one’s fundamental qualities. The final three assess whether the challenger is worthy of inheriting Hwamu-jin’s martial arts. Hwamu-jin did not wish harm upon people, so it likely will not be life-threatening.]

Recalling that now, I realized he hadn’t sounded very confident even then. He hadn’t said “it will not be,” but “it probably will not be.” He wasn’t sure at all.

And just as I began to worry that this might pose a serious issue—
Ji-ryong spoke up beside me.
“Young warrior, even if Senior does not know, there is no cause for concern. I comprehend this part.”
“Truly?!”
“Yes. The term ‘five stars’ here does not literally refer to five distinct stars. It denotes Bukshin—the Northern Star.”
“The Northern Star?”
“Precisely. This one right here.”

He pointed to a specific star—the brightest in the constellation. Polaris.
“I have read that in ancient times, this star was also known as Oseong—the Five Star.”
“Oooh.”

Naturally, Ji-ryong would know this. I nodded, impressed. Then the men—my brother included—began rolling up their sleeves.

“Shall we place a wager on who gets to shatter it?”
“Agreed.”
“Let us take turns, then.”

As befitting martial artists, they seemed to relish this kind of challenge. A casual bet was made on who would succeed. Though nothing of great value was at stake, everyone’s eyes suddenly gleamed with competitive spirit.

One by one, our group took turns striking the carved Polaris on the rock wall.
—BANG!
But despite the impact, the star did not so much as shift.

After everyone had taken a turn, exclamations of disbelief arose.
“Wait… could this be made of Azure Steel Stone as well?”
“But it isn’t blue?”
“How is it that our strongest attacks did not even leave a mark? Is this some unique type of stone?”

No one could believe they had failed to damage it. Then, as the Three Peaks of the Five Dragons, Hu-gae, and Jaheo looked on silently, Bini stepped forward with a heavy sigh.
—Tch. 『Sigh…』
She moved through the group, opened her mandibles, and clamped down on Polaris.
—Crunch! CRACK!
Before everyone’s astonished eyes, the carved star fractured into pieces.
And then…
—Drrrrrrumble…
Centered on the shattered Polaris, the gate to the tomb began to open.