Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 491

Chapter 491
I hurried back into the great hall.
Beneath the glow of the moon pouring through the open window, the corpse of the Jade Armored Water Beetle lay upon the large table.
Its shell, bathed in the pale, cold light, shone with a frosty radiance.
I moved swiftly to its side and picked up the bundle I had left near the body.
It was the captive’s shirt, which I had used to contain the creature’s entrails.
Just then, Hwa-eun’s voice came from behind me as she entered.
“So-ryong! What is it?”
Having seen me suddenly run from the questioning room, she had naturally followed to see what was wrong.
“Ah, well…”
I started to answer, but then thought of the children. After parenting youngsters who reason and speak like people, perhaps I’ve truly grown into a father.
I had asked Hwa-eun earlier to keep the children from seeing anything disturbing—was she bringing them here now?
“Where are the children?”
I turned my head to ask. Hwa-eun looked over her shoulder and replied,
“I left the little ones with Cho.”
“Ah, good. You handled that well, Hwa-eun.”
I’d had a fleeting concern that she might have forgotten my earlier instruction, but that fear was clearly misplaced.
Just as I was their dad, Hwa-eun had, in every way, become a truly wonderful mother to them.
“But So-ryong, why did you rush in here so suddenly? What are you doing?”
As I hastily worked at the damp, soft bundle, struggling with the knot, Hwa-eun watched, perplexed—why was I reopening something I had already wrapped?
Still wrestling with the tight knot, I explained.
“I need to know if this one had produced eggs.”
“Eggs?”
“Yes. That man outside, from the Female Venom Sect, claimed he found a spirit beast near death, correct?”
“He did… though I find his story somewhat doubtful.”
Hwa-eun seemed to distrust the man’s account, but I was inclined to believe it.
I had a basis for my belief.
“It’s likely true.”
“Why do you think so?”
“That elderly man—the sect leader—appeared to be only at the peak master level. If he is the strongest in the Female Venom Sect, how could they possibly have subdued a spirit creature like this?
Without Inner Qi, harming a spirit creature is almost unthinkable. And this is a beetle. It is undoubtedly more resilient than Hwayang, Seol, Bing, or Dong.”
Not every spirit creature is identical, but the majority cannot be injured without Inner Qi.
Even our gentle-looking Hwayang is that way. So how could a sect with merely one peak master defeat such a beast?
“Ah, I… understand.”
“Who tied this so tight? It won’t come loose.”
“…So-ryong.”
“Yes?”
“You tied it yourself. I saw you do it from across the room…”
“Ah. Right… I did.”
In my haste, I grew annoyed with the person who had tied such a firm knot, only to realize that person was me.
Complaining under my breath at my past self, I finally drew my dagger and cut through the knot. I laid the organs out beside me.
—Squelch.
“They look quite different from human intestines.”
“Yes, these are an insect’s. An insect’s digestive system is typically a straight tube like this.”
“Is this its stomach?”
“For insects, food moves through this entire passage, so in a way, all of it functions as the stomach.”
“How interesting.”
Geombong had been disgusted earlier by the sight of these innards, but Hwa-eun appeared genuinely fascinated. What kind of upbringing did she have to be so inquisitive about such things?
An ordinary man might have felt some pity or sorrow seeing this. But her curiosity made me think, my father-in-law truly raised her excellently.
To have a wife who can discuss your interests so naturally? That alone makes her a partner worth ten thousand points.
As expected of my father-in-law… but it’s not here.
While quietly commending my father-in-law, I inspected the organs, but what I sought was not among them.
I had looked before, but it was now evident—nothing was present in this section.
It seemed I would need to open the abdomen to be certain. I pressed my hands together and addressed the deceased creature.
“I apologize. I must open you up.
But it is only to see if you laid eggs. If you did, I will find them and ensure they hatch safely.”
Just in case, like with Hwayang, Cho, or Bini’s mother, a spirit remained—so I offered my apologies before beginning.
I took apart the body I had roughly put back together earlier: I set the head aside, detached the wings I had reattached, and gathered the legs into one pile.
Then Hwa-eun inquired again.
“So-ryong, what precisely are we searching for?”
I pulled my dagger from my sleeve and answered,
“An egg sac.”
“An egg sac?”
“Yes. Inside female insects, there is a sac where eggs mature. But the intestines are only for digestion and waste. To verify that man’s story, we need to find the egg sac.”
“Oh, so… similar to a womb in humans?”
“Precisely.”
As I responded, I turned over the belly of the Jade Armored Water Beetle for a closer look. Now I noticed details I had missed before.
Even with the intestines removed, the abdomen and thorax were fully intact.
To extract the intestines, wouldn’t they have needed to open the abdomen?
Hwa-eun seemed to notice this too, for she said,
“But the intestines are out, and the body is still whole?”
“It appears they pulled the organs through the opening where the head was.”
“Oh, there is a mark here near the back. As if they tried to cut it with a blade but only scratched it. They likely attempted to use Inner Qi and failed.”
So they must have drawn the guts out through the neck.
Meaning, aside from the digestive tract, the other internal organs were probably still inside.
I instinctively began to focus energy into the dagger to summon Inner Qi.
Ah. Right. I don’t actually know how to sheath a weapon in Inner Qi, do I?
It occurred to me then—I had never tried to channel Inner Qi into a weapon before.
I looked up at Hwa-eun with an apologetic grin.
“Ahaha. Hwa-eun, could you assist me?”
“Certainly. I just need to cut the belly open with Inner Qi, correct?”
“Yes.”
Hwa-eun rolled up her sleeves, took the dagger, and asked as she positioned the blade against the beetle’s abdomen,
“Shall I make a vertical cut?”
“No. Please cut along here and here, on both sides.”
“Understood.”
She assumed a single vertical slice would suffice, but I asked her to remove an oval section from the belly.
When opening a human abdomen, a retractor is needed.
Because the abdominal wall naturally wants to close, a tool is required to keep it open.
If that is true for soft human flesh, consider how much more difficult it would be for an insect with an exoskeleton.
That is why I asked her to simply remove the “lid.”
“Alright, I’ll begin.”
“Yes, Hwa-eun.”
As Hwa-eun started, the dagger gleamed.
Inner Qi enveloped the blade, and from the rear tip, she sliced cleanly along the side of the abdomen—as smoothly as cutting through soft custard.
Her movement was fluid and exact, like a surgeon guiding a scalpel.
She performed the same cut on the other side, and when finished, the abdomen depressed slightly.
It resembled a lid being lifted off.
Working quickly, I turned over the removed section—and found it.
“Ah, here they are!”
“These are the egg sacs? There are two?”
Female insects possess two egg sacs within their reproductive system. This is where eggs are formed and nourished.
Much like how a woman’s ovaries produce eggs.
“Yes, eggs are generated from these two points. And this is the oviduct, where the eggs travel to leave the body. Want to know something interesting, Hwa-eun?”
“What is it?”
“See this part right here?”
“Yes, So-ryong.”
I indicated the two sacs connected to the oviduct—
one was fixed to the abdominal wall, and the other hung like a small pouch.
“This area produces the scent that attracts males. They can detect it from dozens of li away and will come seeking it.”
“This part?”
“Yes, it’s linked to the abdomen. The scent is released through a tiny pore here.”
I was describing the pheromone gland.
Then I pointed to the hanging pouch.
“This is where the male’s seed is kept. After mating, the sperm is stored here until the eggs are laid, when fertilization happens.”
Most people assume insect eggs are fertilized internally—but that is incorrect.
Unless they bear live young, fertilization usually occurs as the eggs are being laid.
As an egg moves through the oviduct, it passes the pouch holding the sperm, and that is when it is fertilized.
“I… see. The… seed for the young…”
It had essentially become a biology lesson, so Hwa-eun became slightly embarrassed.
Having already participated in the “practical” aspect but blushing at the explanation was endearing.
Smiling at her, I retrieved the dagger.
Then I carefully cut open the two egg sacs.
Inside was a single, underdeveloped egg.
The sacs were largely hollow, indicating it had indeed laid eggs.
“So this is an egg.”
It was small and faintly yellow—resembling a grain of Thai rice.
About two segments of my index finger in length.
Common Qinggaroes and Southern garoes lay bright yellow eggs, so this pale color confirmed it was immature.
At that moment, a voice called from the doorway.
“So-ryong-nim?”
It was the Venom Extermination Squad Leader. Since Hwa-eun and I had not returned, he must have come to find us.
“Ah, yes, perfect timing, Squad Leader. Let’s go.”
I had discovered what I needed, so I headed out immediately.
Outside, the prisoners still knelt, waiting for interrogation.
The sun was just starting to crest the horizon.
I walked over to the man who said he had found the spirit creature and spoke in a severe tone.
“You people are in grave danger. If you wish to live, you will tell me precisely where and when you discovered that spirit creature!”
“R-Really?!”
“Certainly.”
His face lit up instantly at the prospect of being spared. He answered promptly.
“Y-Yes! I found it close by, in a—”
As he began to explain, a voice reached me via sound transmission.
[So-ryong-nim, did you promise to spare them!?]
It was the Venom Extermination Squad Leader, his tone full of dismay.
I replied with a mild reprimand:
[What, will you execute fifty people for not killing a spirit creature? The sect leader is already dead. Is it not sufficient to punish the followers appropriately? Furthermore… we require manpower.]
[Manpower?]
[The front line is just ahead—where the Martial Alliance and the Beast Palace face the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult. Do we not need fighters there?]
Lately, things had quieted down. But merely a few months prior, the border was in turmoil, with lives lost on both sides daily.
I fully intended to let them live.
Naturally, surviving would be up to their own capabilities.

***
“Haah… why has nothing turned up yet?”
I let out a long sigh, slumping over the table on the ship’s deck.
Although I was relieved the spirit creature hadn’t been killed, another concern preyed on my mind—like a persistent hex.
When a collection effort fails, it becomes exceedingly difficult to recover what you seek.
In this instance, we had found neither the young, the eggs, nor even the discarded molts.
And three days had already passed.
“Perhaps they haven’t hatched yet?”
“It’s difficult to know.”
Three days prior, we had reached the valley where the Jade Armored Water Beetle was reportedly found dying.
It was near the abandoned pipeline, not too distant from our location.
I was told the creature had been discovered three months ago.
While the Tang Clan views venomous creatures as somewhat specialized, the Female Venom Sect lacks the expertise to create refined poisons, so they frequently harvest toxins directly from wild beasts.
That was why they had come to Yunnan on a gathering expedition—to collect local venoms. It was then they chanced upon the beetle.
Being a spirit creature, it did not perish immediately. It lingered in a weakened state for three months, periodically producing venom.
The Female Venom Sect leader studied this venom and tried to replicate the famous Ji-dam Pill—which sparked this whole disaster.
Most people, upon hearing “Ji-dam Pill,” do not realize the name derives from Ji-dam, the Central Plains term for Garoes.
But the Female Venom Sect, working in the same domain, deduced it. After testing the venom on a dog—which promptly transformed into obsidian jade—they saw a potential profit.
But we have scoured this valley thoroughly. So why can we find nothing…?
Three months had passed, so it might be too late. But I had clung to hope.
Typically, garoes and Qinggaroes hatch three weeks after the eggs are laid. But since this was a spirit creature, I presumed hatching might take longer—so I commanded an extensive search.
Back when we handled Moji and Soji, it took much longer than with ordinary silkworms as well.
But this time, there was no indication—not a hint—of eggs or hatchlings.
We had enlisted not only the Three Peaks of the Five Dragons and the Dianchang Sect, but even the children.
We could not continue scouring this place indefinitely. I was beginning to feel frustrated.
—Bzzzzzzzz.
Abruptly, Ranghu flew in from the bow and seized me.
“What is it?”
—Bzzzzzz.
“Back to your hive? No, that’s… I’ve been there quite enough already.”
She tugged persistently, clearly intent on pulling me back to her domain.
I resisted—entering likely meant encountering something I was unprepared for.
But Ranghu summoned worker bees, and together they dragged me forcibly toward the bow.
—Bzzzzzz.
“H-Hey, wait! Everyone, stop!”
I was pulled into the hive.
Inside, it had transformed into a veritable bee civilization.
Ranghu guided me to a particular area and indicated a specific cell.
“What? You want me to have some honey? It’s morning—I’m not really wanting sweets right now…”
—Bzz.
“No? Then what… you want me to see?”
I initially thought she was offering honey, but she shook her head.
Puzzled, I peered into the cell.
And then I saw them—four minuscule, yellowish, rice-like forms within a single cell.
Why would she place them all together?
At first, I assumed Ranghu had begun laying eggs again due to the rising temperatures, but something seemed off.
Bees normally lay one egg per cell.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, one of the rice grains shuddered.
“Whoa!?”
Startled, I gripped the edge of the hive opening.
Then I saw them clearly—those “grains of rice” were consuming nectar and pollen.
They were not grains of rice at all.
They were larvae—already emerged—and they were not bee larvae.
“What in the world? Why are they here?”
So what were they?
They were the infant Qing Ji-dams.
The Qinggaroe larvae I had been searching for so desperately—they were here all along.