Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 503

Chapter 503
Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter, adhering to all the specified requirements.

The fact that they had already bred was startling enough—but the sheer size of the young that had been discovered was even more astounding.
“They’ve mated and the offspring are already this large!?”
At my stunned exclamation, Tang Hwa-eun and Sister Seol of, who had stepped out to bid farewell to Cho and Heukjeom, reacted with immediate concern in their tones.
“You mean to say they’ve given birth and the newborns have grown this much already?”
“What? They’ve already had young?”
“It appears so. But the speed of their development is unnaturally rapid.”
“Too fast? But So-ryong, didn’t you suggest that if our luck was bad, the eggs might only be hatching around now? You referred to it as a worst-case scenario.”
“No, Hwa-eun. What I actually said was that in a true worst-case, the eggs might only be laid around this time. But these… these seem to have already hatched and developed significantly.
Given the size of the mother, the eggs would have been no larger than a fingernail. Even if they were born on the very day Lady Gun Hye-rin cut the mother in two, it is impossible for them to have reached this size.”
It was unbelievable.
Comprehensive research on stickyworms is limited, so my own knowledge is not complete. However, I am familiar with the fundamental stages and timeline of their development from egg to adult.
When a female stickyworm deposits her eggs, they hatch into zooplankton almost instantly.
In marine environments, plankton represents the most basic unit of the food web—plant-based types like algae are phytoplankton, while the larval young of animals are zooplankton. The larvae of stickyworms, which do not yet resemble their mature form, remain in this larval state, drifting within the water.
They typically develop while floating among other plankton, eventually settling onto muddy riverbeds or similar areas to mature further. Merely progressing beyond the plankton stage requires over a month.
But these things? It has been scarcely more than fifteen days since their mother was severed in two, and they are already as thick as a man’s forearm.
This size defies any natural growth process.
Even if the two halves had split on the day of Gun Hye-rin’s strike, instantly mated, laid eggs, and those eggs hatched all on the same day, this size would still be unachievable.
Regardless of their speed, they should currently still be in the plankton phase.
“Didn’t Cheong-yu Sojeo mention these creatures were mutated by the dark arts of the Five Venoms Sect? So shouldn’t we expect the unexpected?”
“She did. Nevertheless, this is excessively fast.”
Could this be a result of those Five Venoms Sect dark arts?
Already grown to the thickness of a full-grown adult’s forearm.
As I stared at them with a severe expression, another question was voiced.
“So what is our course of action now? Is this not the worst-case scenario So-ryong described?”
“What do we do, So-ryong?”
Contrary to what I had anticipated, the mothers were not the immediate concern—it seemed the young were already here.
Action was required, and it had to be swift. I reached a conclusion.
‘We must operate under the presumption that the worst has indeed occurred.’
To be truthful, I had entertained this possibility for roughly ten days.
Even today, when I sent the children out on their scouting mission, I instructed them to search for the mother stickyworm—but privately, I held a hope that they might discover eggs, if any existed.
Consequently, I had already devised a plan for this eventuality, and now was the moment to voice it.
“For the present, I believe an investigation is necessary. We must discover how many were born and the extent of their spread. We need to evaluate the territory.”
At this juncture, I was convinced it was absolutely critical to establish the scale and precise location of their emergence.
We needed to know where the offspring were residing and what they were doing.
If these were normal stickyworms, the mothers would have dispersed their eggs, and the flowing current would have carried some to our river guards, who monitor the water’s flow.
They even keep torches burning through the night to observe the current for anything unusual—as a precaution.
But thus far, not a single hatchling had been sighted—only one deceased one had drifted downstream. The situation was not adding up, and we needed to determine why.
Without a definitive understanding of their present condition, we could not devise an effective countermeasure.
“Then… will you send the children out immediately?”
Cho and Heukjeom, who had been waiting in the water after their departure was interrupted by the dead stickyworm, turned their gazes toward me.
I looked back at them and answered.
“Yes. However—”
“No.”
I had scarcely begun to explain when Hwa-eun cut me off decisively.
I blinked, asking again.
I had not even articulated a specific plan.
She was refusing me before a proper request could be made—completely unsolicited.
‘This feels like being turned down before you’ve even confessed.’
“Huh? I haven’t stated my intentions yet.”
Then, almost in unison, Seol and Hwa-eun responded.
“We don’t need to hear it to know. You intend to take Cho and Heukjeom and go investigate personally, correct?”
“We don’t need to hear it to know. You’re planning to take Cho and Heukjeom and go yourself, aren’t you?”
“Gasp! How could you tell!?”
I, So-ryong, am not a man of simple motives—how could they decipher my thoughts with such ease?
I looked at them both with an expression of pure betrayal, like a man whose secret affections have been exposed before he could declare them.
Then came their self-satisfied replies.
“We knew without even having to see.”
“Precisely, sister.”
“But even so…”
“No. The answer is absolutely not.”
“No, that isn’t what I—”
They were correct, of course. I had been planning to venture into the territory of the Daewol Nation—directly into the domain of the Five Venoms Sect.
The situation was simply too grave to dispatch only Cho and Heukjeom.
The findings of this investigation could dictate the trajectory of this unprecedented biological catastrophe.
It required someone with direct experience.
As intelligent as Cho and Heukjeom are, locating stickyworms and properly observing them are two entirely separate tasks.
Aside from my internal justification, the official mission for those two was merely to find the stickyworms.
Their orders were to locate the two invisible mothers in the river just beyond the Daewol border and return at once if spotted by any Five Venoms operatives.
It was a simple reconnaissance duty that anyone could perform.
But what we needed now was far more intricate—the number of offspring, their dispersal patterns, their diet, their movement.
That necessitated my going personally. Yet the response I received was an outright refusal.
“Did I not say no?”
“At least allow me to explain!”
Their worry was probable, and understandable.
The location in question was Five Venoms territory.
Until very recently, both sides had been exchanging scouts across the border, with minor clashes and assassinations still occurring.
And now, the area was swarming with rapidly breeding stickyworms, some of which wielded tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin.
It was no wonder they were apprehensive about me going accompanied only by the children.
Hwa-eun, in particular, had a habit of being extremely overprotective of me.
‘It is endearing, though occasionally excessive.’
To alleviate her anxiety, I tried asking her for a different favor first.
“Then, Hwa-eun.”
“It does not matter how many times you ask; the answer remains no.”
“No, that is not it. I mean, please examine this first.”
I pointed toward the carcass of the infant stickyworm.
Hwa-eun tilted her head at the request to inspect it.
“That one?”
“Yes. Can you verify if it carries any venom?”
“Venom? But even newborn snakes possess venom from youth—would it not be the same for this creature?”
“These could be an exception.”
Most venomous beings do indeed produce venom from birth, making it a logical assumption. However, this case might be different.
It is uncommon for creatures to synthesize tetrodotoxin or saxitoxin within their own bodies.
Particularly for aquatic species—those inhabiting the sea or freshwater—when these toxins are present, it is usually not due to internal production.
More often, these poisons accumulate naturally through their diet.
That is, they store toxins generated by marine or freshwater bacteria inside their bodies, thereby becoming venomous.
“Understood.”
Tang Hwa-eun moved closer to the creature, pierced several parts of its body with a silver needle, and then let a drop of one of her chemical agents fall onto the needle’s tip.
A reaction would be normal—any presence of venom would trigger a visible response.
But there was none.
She blinked in surprise as she studied the inert needle.
“There is… there is truly no venom present whatsoever.”
“Just as I suspected.”
Exactly what I had thought. Either the bacteria that produce the venom or the toxins themselves had not yet been accumulated, or the creature had not developed the capacity to synthesize them.
In any case, it meant this particular one was not venomous yet—a fact that might reassure Hwa-eun slightly.
But knowing her, this alone would not persuade her to let me proceed.
I swiftly went to my foster father and requested he send a reconnaissance unit beyond the border.
“Would it be possible to dispatch a reconnaissance team?”
“Reconnaissance?”
“I am convinced the stickyworms have already reproduced. An infant was found dead in the river.”
“What!? Then what is our current strategy?”
“For the moment, I will infiltrate further to evaluate the situation. But I must request surveillance along the river on the Five Venoms side of the border to monitor their movements.”
“Hm? What is the matter with you?”
“N-no, it is nothing.”
“Regardless—understood!”
I had not even consulted Hwa-eun before announcing my plan to cross the border, which resulted in a sharp elbow to my ribs from her that forced out a very undignified squeak. But at least the reconnaissance team was dispatched promptly.
And while they were gathering intelligence—
I pleaded with Hwa-eun.
“Very well, then… but only if I accompany you.”
I had been attempting to both apologize and seek permission simultaneously—and though I had not uttered a word, she granted her approval.
On the condition that she joined me, naturally.
‘So this is what people mean when they say marriage has its privileges.’
The next morning, at dawn—
The martial scouts returned from their reconnaissance. As anticipated, they brought dire news.
The Five Venoms and Blood Cult patrols along the upstream waters had disappeared entirely. They had even seen a large deer being pulled into the river by a mother stickyworm at the bank.
The absence of Five Venoms forces indicated the upstream region had deteriorated critically.
As soon as dusk fell, I made my decision.
“We move tonight.”
And so, that evening, we returned to the riverbank and commenced preparations to depart.
Just as we were about to leave, Hwa-eun spoke up, her voice laced with worry.
“So-ryong, please take care.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve reached Huagyeong now…”
I was about to say that Cho, Heukjeom, and I were all martial artists at the Huagyeong level—so there was little cause for concern—when another voice interjected from the side.
“You are a Huagyeong… but not quite.”
It was Gun Hye-rin.
She had been added to the mission by Hwa-eun, likely because if a conflict arose, Hwa-eun would be unable to concentrate on both fighting and protecting me simultaneously.
“Wait, what does that mean—‘a Huagyeong, but not quite’?”
I mean, admittedly, I only attained Huagyeong through rather unconventional means, but still.
Was it necessary to say it so bluntly to my face?
Gun Hye-rin emerged from the shadow of a tree and stated it as if it were the most obvious fact.
“You haven’t properly stabilized your cultivation base yet, have you?”
“Well, I suppose… that is accurate, but…”
I pouted slightly at her assessment, which was both painfully accurate and insulting.
Then she gestured toward her own form and snapped, “Do not look.”
“I was not looking!”
We were all clad in leather diving suits—garments assassins use for aquatic operations.
They fit tightly to the body, outlining every contour, which explained Gun Hye-rin’s sudden irritation.
We wore these because the loose, layered robes common in the Central Plains are completely impractical underwater.
At my sharp reply, Gun Hye-rin released a long sigh.
“Truly… ever since I met you, I have been compelled to participate in the most absurd activities.”
A short time later—
With only our heads above the surface, Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin floated silently in the water while Cho and I rode on Heukjeom’s back, carried by the current.
Our destination was the location where the scouts had reported sighting a mother stickyworm.
Upon arrival, we spent a considerable amount of time surveying the area.
But neither Cho’s senses nor Heukjeom’s detected any trace of the creature.
『“Should we proceed further upstream?”
“Yes, I believe we should.”
“Then let us go.”』
As we continued our advance upriver—
We almost missed it. But then, nestled under a shadowy incline where the river took a sharp bend, I saw it: a cave entrance, partially concealed.
The current flowed directly into it—it was connected to the water.
A dark, foreboding maw.
All caves are dark, of course, but the instant my eyes found that opening, an instinctual feeling of wrongness settled over me.
『“Does something feel strange here?”
“Yes. We should investigate.”』
We approached cautiously, moving with utmost stealth as we examined the cave’s interior.
Inside, we saw a small, clear pool.
The water within was so transparent that even Muam’s eyes could easily see the bottom. Initially, nothing out of the ordinary was apparent.
Then, a single drop of water fell from the ceiling and struck the surface.
*Plop.*
The entire floor of the cave… shuddered and shifted.
『“W-what is that!?”』
As I concentrated my inner vision on the cave floor, I perceived that the fine, hair-like structures covering it—resembling the microvilli in an intestine—were all undulating in unison.
It did not take long to comprehend:
The entire floor of the cave was carpeted with infant stickyworms.