Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 127: Heavenly Silkworm 1

– Kishi! Kishi!

Hua Eun had never faced such scolding until now, but as soon as we arrived, the bucket of nagging began again.

As usual, the one leading the chorus was Yo-hwa.

The moment I reached the Nine Entrance Gate, Yo-hwa flew in from the direction of the Tang Clan, as if she already knew I was there.

She stood there, arms crossed like last time, mimicking Hua Eun’s demeanor, and scolded me in a sulky voice again.

Noticing the red thread around her ankle pointing toward the main hall, it was clear she was definitely asking why I hadn’t kept my promise.

That red thread was a token of our promise.

No, it was more like a shackle, really.

“Yo-hwa, why? I told you through Shin Tu Grandfather that I’d be a little late. You should let things like this go! It happens when a man is working outside!”

‘Huh, saying that makes it feel… weird. Why do I have to make excuses to her?’

– Kishi!

But my words earned a cold response from Yo-hwa.

At first, I thought she’d just be giving me a one-sided lecture, but there was something off about Shin Tu’s atmosphere.

Feeling strange, I glanced beside me, where Shin Tu was awkwardly staring off into the distance.

‘No way? Did he not say anything?’

Given Shin Tu’s vibe, it felt like he hadn’t conveyed what I asked him to tell Yo-hwa.

When I cautiously asked Yo-hwa if she hadn’t heard from him, Shin Tu looked surprised.

“What, you didn’t hear?”

“Cough, cough….”

I glared at Shin Tu until he redirected his gaze and avoided looking at me.

It was apparent that while I was fighting with Mandok God over being carried, Shin Tu had failed to deliver my message to Yo-hwa.

‘Sigh…’

It seemed that Yo-hwa was really miffed because I didn’t keep my promise without saying a word.

In times like these, a speedy apology is the norm.

“There was an urgent matter! It’s all my fault!”

– Kishi! Kishi-shi!

I shot a cold glare at Shin Tu and again apologized to Yo-hwa, but she remained unmoved.

With a reaction this strong, I was starting to wonder how angry she really was, but it wasn’t until Gu Pae, the Deputy Commander, came over that I understood the reason.

“Lord So-ryong!”

“Oh, yes, Gu Pae. How have you been?”

“Quick! Miss Yo-hwa hasn’t eaten a single bite of Yang Energy until now!”

“What?!”

Since she was in the guise of Hua Eun, it seemed I couldn’t treat her casually anymore. Somehow, the guards had started calling her “Miss Yo-hwa,” but more shocking was the fact that Yo-hwa had been starving.

Thinking back, we had left the Four Heavenly Houses and returned in fifteen days, yet Yo-hwa was still in Hua Eun’s form.

It wasn’t odd that the Venomous Insect warriors thought Hua Eun to be the most beautiful woman, but not everyone shared that sentiment. Even if Hua Eun was beautiful like an actress, one’s true love is always the prettiest in the world.

For that reason, it was no surprise that Yo-hwa still appeared as Hua Eun.

As Gu Pae said, it seemed she hadn’t eaten a spoonful of Yang Energy.

Startled, I grabbed Yo-hwa and said, “Yo-hwa, you need to eat! Why haven’t you eaten anything?!”

– Kishi!

Yo-hwa, who typically got hungry and would secretly charm someone if she didn’t eat Yang Energy for a few days, had now gone fifteen days without.

I was shocked and reached toward her mouth, but she abruptly turned her head away.

It seemed she preferred to wait for my Yang Energy rather than eating anything else, but without saying a word, she felt hungry and irritated because I was late returning.

But still, she wouldn’t want to admit she was sulking due to hunger, so she rejected any food.

“Don’t do that! Let’s eat first and then talk, okay? You’ll get sick!”

– Kishi!

With the ongoing power struggle between Cho, Hyang, and Bin, now Yo-hwa was on a hunger strike!

No matter how much I begged, Yo-hwa remained unmoved.

“Yo-hwa, So-ryong is right. I got delayed because there was someone injured that I needed to help. I really asked Elder Shin Tu. I saw it myself, so please calm down. It seems Shin Tu didn’t say anything.”

– Kishi?

“I-I saw it clearly. So-ryong wouldn’t lie.”

Finally, after Hua Eun stepped in to support me, Yo-hwa reluctantly let my finger into her mouth.

– Kishi…

‘Phew, did we somehow get this resolved?’

For now, Yo-hwa’s anger was eased, and it was time to figure out the next problematic situation.

While Yo-hwa was busy consuming Yang Energy, I checked on the whereabouts of the missing Bin.

I wondered if she might return while we were gone or if the warriors had found her.

“By the way, hasn’t Bin returned?”

“Yes, Lord So-ryong. We’ve searched every corner around Tang Clan Mountain…”

Gu Pae had led the warriors to search each nook and cranny, and since they hadn’t found her, I started to think that Seol, my older sister, was right.

As Seol said, Bin was definitely hiding somewhere and sleeping deeply.

To leave home and sleep peacefully without worrying about Mom and Dad was something I couldn’t wrap my head around.

I decided that when she returns, I’d give her a good smack on the back!

Gu Pae was looking at me with a surprised expression.

“L-Lord So-ryong, your, your nose…”

“My nose?”

At the mention of my nose, I touched the area above my upper lip, where blood was dripping down.

Soon the feeling followed, and my energy felt drained.

It seemed that Yo-hwa had been starved for a whole fifteen days!

‘What? I’m feeling this weird without doing anything…’

Then my legs started to shake.

*

After feeding Yo-hwa until she was full on Yang Energy, I eventually drained all my energy and had to rest for an entire day.

Two things I learned while rapidly feeding her: first, that I was losing my stamina, and second, that a sage time was upon me.

To feel sage time without doing anything was quite mystical.

It was an extraordinary feeling of emptiness all of a sudden? Then I became alert, as if I had just downed ten cups of coffee!

Therefore, I had no choice but to rest for a whole day.

The next morning after my much-needed rest started a bit noisily.

“All right, I’ve rested for a day, so now it’s time, right?”

Shin Tu came bright and early urging me to hatch the Heavenly Silkworm.

Since he had fulfilled all my requests, it was time to keep my promise.

In a way, I couldn’t deny that a significant portion of my troubles lay with Shin Tu, so I decided to act a bit pitiful on the bed.

Of course, I’d keep my promise, but I needed to repay a little for what I went through yesterday with Yo-hwa.

“Oh dear, since I was drained of energy yesterday, maybe I need another day to rest. Elder, I really want to help, but my body is like this…”

“What? Why is your body so weak? How is it that the Tang Clan trains their children like this?”

As I feigned illness, Shin Tu grumbled about the Tang Clan’s training methods.

Suddenly, Mandok God burst into my room shouting.

“What? This old man!? Where did he even mention our Tang Clan?”

He must have overheard us talking about the Tang Clan.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“No? What do you mean by ‘no’? I heard clearly.”

It’s generally a rule that you must never slander the opposing family or martial arts, no matter how close you are.

Thinking Shin Tu might apologize, I suddenly remembered that they were actually rivals!

Shin Tu’s reaction wasn’t an apology but instead a retort!

Like a thief blaming the victim, Shin Tu called Mandok God a poison peddler!

“How dare you eavesdrop like a thief…”

“What? A thief? You must be the thief here!”

“What? You poison peddler!”

It seemed like they were about to grab each other by the collar.

I quickly stepped in to mediate.

“Both of you, calm down. What would people say if two esteemed elders of the Martial Forest squabbled like this?”

“Ugh!”

“Cough!”

Though their quarrel halted, I feared that if I left them alone, it would happen again, so I decided to check the hatching facility that Shin Tu had mentioned he set up on the outskirts of Sichuan.

“Enough of that, and my body has gotten a little better in the meantime. Elder Shin Tu, let’s go together to the place you set up for hatching Heavenly Silkworms.”

“R-Really? Okay.”

Of course, before departing, I didn’t forget to promise Yo-hwa that I would definitely return today.

“Yo-hwa, I’m heading out with Elder Shin Tu for a bit. I’ll be back today, okay?”

– Kishi.

It seemed like an acknowledgment, but Yo-hwa added yet another strand of red thread around my ankle, as if to remind me not to forget my promise.

*

Shin Tu brought me to a dilapidated old sewer.

It reminded me of my hometown, or rather the place where I first lived after my reincarnation, the Hae Nam Sewer.

Half-collapsed buildings with overgrown weeds everywhere.

As we entered, there was a relatively intact building like the one I used in Hae Nam, and people had gathered there.

“Elder Shin Tu, you’ve arrived?”

As we walked into the old sewer, the people nearby scrambled to their feet in a hurry.

“Yeah, have you all been well?”

“Yes, Elder. Is this the young master you mentioned?”

“Yes. So-ryong, greet them. This is Baek Ga.”

It seemed Shin Tu had given them a heads-up about me, as the people gathered around to look at me closely.

The oldest man among them stepped forward and bowed his head toward me.

“I’ve heard you are the young master of the Tang Clan. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Baek Ga.”

“Ah, Elder, my name is So-ryong. It’s nice to meet you.”

He seemed to be the leader of this group.

The elder guided us deeper inside and said, “Shall we explain our failures? It might help you.”

“Oh, would you do that?”

I had heard a rough outline from Shin Tu, but it was certainly better to hear the details from a practitioner.

I was curious to know why they had failed.

While I doubted their findings would be beneficial for me, I was eager to see how much these people understood about moths or silkworms.

Nodding, the elder pointed toward the dry plants inside and began explaining.

“First, we tried feeding mulberry leaves to the larvae. However, there was no response, so next, we tried feeding them various parts of the mulberry tree like the leaves, stems, and roots, but they refused to eat anything.”

It seems they thought of feeding them mulberry leaves at first because usually, silkworms are raised on them.

Having claimed to be craftsmen of the Silkworm Affair, it seemed they believed these silkworms were no different from ordinary ones.

“Next, as Elder Shin Tu instructed, we attempted to feed them the leaves of the trees during the season when one of the past Shin Tus had gathered eggs.”

Thinking back, silkworms are the larvae of moths, and not all moths eat mulberry leaves.

This explanation indicated that, having failed at the mulberry leaves, they recalled that there were moths that ate different leaves and tried to give them those.

I was impressed; for people professing to be craftsmen of the Silkworm Affair, they seemed to be progressing quite systematically for their time.

“But every attempt ended in failure. The disappointing part is that we realized after the last failure that moths also do not only feed on leaves.”

They were trying to feed the silkworms various food options, but after the last failure, they had a realization that moths don’t only eat leaves.

They pondered on it, and realized that moths could eat everything from grains to clothes, indicating they knew quite a bit.

However, it seemed to suggest their understanding was limited to the moths they had seen directly.

It became clear to me that simply sticking to what they knew wouldn’t lead them to success.

Looking at the elder and Shin Tu, I decided to share some of my insights.

In an educational manner, of course.

“I have discovered a few things from what I saw in the Heavenly Silkworms and the withered larvae. Would you like to hear them?”

“Discoveries? What did you figure out?”

“What? What did you discover? When did this happen?”

Shin Tu’s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of something I discovered.

He had a look of disbelief, as if he thought I would forget what I had come to learn just as he had.

Even while I was riding on his back, a part of my mind was still pondering the implications of this journey.

“While coming and going to the Infinite Realm, I had a few thoughts.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, you might want to hear this.”

“Okay, go ahead and tell me what you’ve found.”

With that, I glanced around at the gathering people and began explaining.

“First, can anyone tell me why fully grown larvae produce silk?”

“Certainly, it’s to build a house, right?”

“Correct! We know that much.”

When one understands silk is used to make a house, they usually think they know two sides of the coin.

Smiling, I continued my explanation.

“No, what I asked wasn’t what they create but rather why they build it.”

“Why?”

“Yes, the larvae produce silk to build a house as a means of self-protection until they transform into adults.”

The Heavenly Silkworms are known to be incredibly sharp and solid when infused with inner energy, right?

“Indeed. When infused with inner energy, they can slice limbs like a blade. But… huh!?”

They can become sharp enough to sever limbs when infused! The Heavenly Silkworms are denser than iron on their own.

While others might not understand, to me, that fact of the Heavenly Silkworms hit home.

What kind of threats required such robust silk for protection?

‘Surely there must be food nearby when they’re forming their cocoons. I must emphasize this point!’

Realizing the implication of my words, the crowd—especially Shin Tu—looked startled.