Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 130: Heavenly Silkworm (Part 4)

“Ah, no! Hyang, just spit it out! Tu-tu! Quickly!”

I was surprised and instead asked where she had caught the bug in her mouth, but that was a bit out of order.

As a father, I was worried that Hyang might get bitten, so I insisted she spit it out, and she did just that.

-Thud.

Then, the bug that Hyang had ejected, flapping its legs upside down, righted itself and revealed its true form.

The bug was about the size of an egg, with a translucent white body, antennae, and short legs.

Though it was magnified dozens or hundreds of times, it was undoubtedly the bug I recognized.

‘Isn’t this a white ant!?’

It was certainly plump and fairly large, but there was no denying it was a white ant.

What Hyang had caught was what was called 백의 (Baek-ui) in the Central Plains tongue—a white ant.

‘But why is there a white ant here when there aren’t any trees around?’

As I blinked in surprise at the fact that Hyang had brought a white ant, another thought seemed to echo in my mind.

『Dad, there are many over there! I saw them!』

‘Gah!’

Even amidst my shock at where on earth Hyang had found a white ant, I couldn’t help but be captivated by her sheer adorableness.

My daughter’s heart attack was squeezing my heart dry.

There’s no way a father could keep his sanity in such moments.

Sometimes the three of us would argue, and one would run away, shattering my mental state, but this utter cuteness was part of the joy of raising a daughter.

‘But what kind of crazy cuteness is this in this situation…?’

Flinching at Hyang’s cuteness, I asked again.

“S-so where is it?”

I thought Hyang had a carefree personality, but she was surprisingly determined.

Without missing a beat, she pounced on the white ant she had spit out and scurried under Red Rock Peak.

Then, she turned to look at me from near the root of the rock where the peak began, shouting.

-Zwip!

『Dad! Over here!』

As I quickly ran to where Hyang was pointing, I crouched down, discovering a hidden space beneath a rock, created like a low roof.

A cleverly concealed hole between the rocks appeared in front of me, and as Hyang had said, several white ants were poking their heads out.

‘Wow!’

Shivers ran down my spine from the sight!

I stared blankly at the many towering rock peaks that surrounded me.

Suddenly, the over a hundred red rock peaks began to look different than before.

Now I could clearly recognize what those peaks were.

These red peaks weren’t just ordinary peaks.

The many red rock formations jutting up from this basin were not just simple peaks; they were undoubtedly all the nests of the white ants.

And I started to figure out what kind of creatures they were.

While it’s known that white ants generally live in trees, not all species of white ants do.

‘So these must be the Cathedral Termites!’

Scientific name: Nasutitermes triodiae.

Commonly known as Cathedral Termite.

The ones in front of me were certainly similar to what’s referred to as Cathedral Termites or Church Termites.

Cathedral Termites naturally grow in Australia’s desert regions, and there’s a reason they have received that name.

They build towering homes that resemble the famous Sagrada Família cathedral in Europe, designed by architect Gaudí.

There’s a reason for such tall structures, as they are optimized for heat and air circulation.

The cathedral-like homes of the termites may look thrown together, but they are very scientific buildings.

Living in hot regions, these termites suck in cool air through ventilation holes spread across the ground when it’s hot, while guiding warm air out through tall chimneys.

And when night falls and temperatures drop, they block the holes at the top, minimizing heat loss.

‘If a Cathedral Termite that’s 6 millimeters can build a home over 6 meters tall, and the one that Hyang caught looks like it’s about 6 centimeters…’

The mounds were enormous simply because they had built larger homes in proportion to their size.

“So-ryong, is there anything of note over there, or did you discover something?”

“Long, did you find anything? It’s just similar peaks over here!”

When I realized that these red rock columns were the nests of the giant white ants, Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol approached me, sensing that I had figured something out.

“Did you discover something?”

I even heard Shin Tu’s voice as he jumped down from the peak.

“I found something, but…”

“You found something?”

“Yeah, over there…”

Instead of answering, I pointed toward where Hyang was pulling the white ants out one by one, like plucking a gray hair from an old man.

Each white ant was motionless, likely injected with just a bit of venom, silently resting.

Hyang’s determination to earn praise was evident in her earnest actions.

“T-This is!?”

“What’s this, Long? Hyang, what are you doing? Why are more of them coming out?”

“Hyang, what’s going on?”

The three of us were wide-eyed at the sight of the large white ants.

Even Yeongryeon, Shin Tu’s disciple, joined in, her eyes wide with astonishment.

“What on earth is this?”

“Well, uh…”

‘Wait, but what should I call this?’

Finding these was secondary; I needed to name them, but structures like cathedrals or cathedrals don’t exist in the Central Plains.

I pondered what to call it until a brilliant idea struck me.

‘Oh, right!’

“B-Buddhist Stupa Termite! (불탑백의)”

Now that I thought about it, the only tall structures that resembled that around here were the stupas erected at temples.

I must say, it was a rather clever translation on my part.

Similar to Cathedral Termites, the name had a religious connotation that felt splendid.

A perfect translation that matched the local context.

“Buddhist Stupa Termite?”

“Buddhist Stupa Termite?”

At the questions from those around me, I knocked on the red peak.

-Tap tap.

“I thought this was just a red rock peak, but it isn’t! This is all the home of the Buddhist Stupa Termites. The entirety of this giant peak is their nest.”

“Whaaat!?”

“This giant peak is their home!?”

“This giant peak? All of it? Really?”

The revelation that the peaks were vast homes for the white ants made everyone recoil in awe.

Nodding, I confirmed.

“Yes, this giant peak was indeed the nest of those Buddhist Stupa Termites.”

“Then, does that mean these guys…?”

When I explained the nature of the red columns surrounding us, suddenly Hyang’s sharp cry pierced through.

-Zwip!

Looking toward Hyang at the sound, a large white ant emerged from the ant mound, resembling my father’s graying hair.

Several large-headed white ants began to block the entrance with their heads, looking to confront Hyang.

“Hey, Hyang! No! Get back!”

-Zwip?

Startled by my voice, Hyang stepped back, her expression showing she was surprised by my sudden shout.

She must have thought I was scolding her after she had worked hard to impress me.

I quickly lifted Hyang onto my shoulder and said, “No, I’m not scolding you, but it’s dangerous to approach those!”

The white ants blocking the entrance must be soldier ants.

It seemed they had rushed out because the worker ants kept disappearing, and the clicking of their strong jaws began to fill the air.

-Clink! Clink!

The soldier ants of the white ants possess powerful jaws that can deliver severe damage to other ants, so one must be very cautious.

That’s why I urgently warned Hyang.

If she recklessly rushed in to fight those soldier ants and got bitten, she could get seriously hurt.

Though she might not seem that fragile, given her spirit, the strong jaws of the soldier ants are something to not be underestimated—especially for Hyang.

To prevent her from feeling upset, I decided to give a bit of praise while gently tickling the soldier ants with my fingers.

“Our Hyang did great! Because the white ants were found by our clever Hyang!”

“Oh, so Hyang found them? Our Hyang did an amazing job! You’re really clever, Hyang!”

After showering Hyang with praise as Hua Eun quickly caught on, Shin Tu pointed to the soldier ants with their heads peeking out from the mound and the white ants lying around.

“So, are these the ones posing a threat to the Heavenly Silkworm? If so, where is their food?”

His inquiry was probably about the ones that had halted due to the presence of soldier ants, asking where their food was now that we had found the ones threatening the Heavenly Silkworm.

I had mentioned that if we found the threats to the Heavenly Silkworm, their food must be nearby as well.

“Hmm… I guess we’ll have to check that out.”

“We have to check it out? What do you mean?”

There was a 99% chance that the Heavenly Silkworm was related to the white ants.

There are many creatures that either coexist with or parasitize white ants or ants.

In response to Shin Tu’s question, I took out the container that had been acquired—or maybe seized—from him.

Then, smiling, I said, “With this.”

*

After all returning Hua Eun and Yo Hwa, I first led everyone to the tallest, central peak.

To determine what the food for the Heavenly Silkworm was, we needed to hatch an egg, so it seemed best to do it from the oldest peak here.

Thus, we all approached the largest peak in the center of the basin and sought out the ventilation holes Hyang had discovered earlier.

“We need to find a hole like the one before.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

-Zwip!

At my command, everyone spread out to search for the ventilation hole, and shortly after, they found one similar to the previous one.

“So-ryong! Here!”

Rushing toward Hua Eun’s voice, I discovered a concealed hole similar to before.

Crouching down to look into the hole, just as expected, the white ants were peeking their heads out as well.

“Then let’s check it right away. We should instill our internal energy, right?”

“Correct,”

Taking one of the now remaining three eggs from the container, I placed it in my palm.

I then began to infuse internal energy into the egg, which was roughly the size of a ping-pong ball.

Immediately, the color of the Heavenly Silkworm’s egg began to shift.

It turned bright blue, and soon, a white larva burst out from the eggshell.

Its osmeterium kept protruding from its head like horns, a unique trait.

Having only seen dried versions, seeing a living one drew awe from me.

‘Wooow! So cute!’

The plump white form was the epitome of cuteness.

Though the Ogong were adorable, the innate cuteness of the Heavenly Silkworm surpassingly shone through.

With its plump segments and the soft texture felt from its hands.

It had a distinctive wiggly, adorable charm.

“So-ryong?”

“Ah, yes!”

Caught up in the cuteness of the Heavenly Silkworm, I lost track of time until Shin Tu called me back to reality.

I then gently placed the hatched Heavenly Silkworm a short distance in front of the white ant mound.

It seemed to take a moment, glancing around, before rushing towards the white ants.

Interestingly, as it approached, the osmeterium of the little one began to change shape.

What was initially perceived as horns spread wide, transforming almost like yellow sprouts.

This prompted the white ants to rush in, beginning to lick the yellow leaf at its center.

From their reaction, I began to understand the ecology of the Heavenly Silkworm.

‘Oh! They must have an ecology similar to that of the swallowtail butterfly!’

The Heavenly Silkworm might indeed possess an ecology akin to the swallowtail butterfly.

Swallowtail butterflies have a rather unique life cycle.

The adult swallowtail butterfly lays eggs near the nest of the Matsumura ant, and once the eggs hatch, the ants carry the larvae back to their nest.

The larvae of the swallowtail butterfly produce nutritious secretions from glands in their rears, which the ants extremely favor.

Thus, they nourish the swallowed larvae within their nest, even going so far as to occasionally feed them their own young.

Whether my assumption was correct, the white ants, having suckled the sweet secretions from between the larva’s leaves, carried the Heavenly Silkworm deep into their mound.

“So-ryong, the ants are taking the Heavenly Silkworm!”

“Wait, So-ryong, those guys are taking the Heavenly Silkworm away!”

While Hua Eun and Shin Tu appeared shocked at the sight of the ants carrying away the Heavenly Silkworm, I knew there’s no need to be concerned.

This was the situation I had anticipated, and soon we would need to dig.

If the Heavenly Silkworm truly had an ecological system like that of the swallowtail butterfly, they would require the Buddhist Stupa Termites to grow them, meaning we would have to dig underground and capture the Queen Ant.

‘Although the army ants had been quite dangerous and I couldn’t capture them, Cathedral Termites are helpful for farming and pose no threat!’

I turned to Shin Tu, smiling, and asked, “Elder, are you good at digging?”

“Digging? Don’t tell me?”

“Yes, it seems we need to dig some.”

“No, you must keep what you capture safe! What are you saying—didn’t you just say you found things out?”

Upon hearing we needed to dig, Shin Tu grumbled.

He must have thought I was suggesting we dig to catch the Heavenly Silkworm again; that was my intent.

I decided to provide a compelling reason that left him with no choice but to dig.

“No, I’ve understood everything we need to.”

“Understood!?”

Seeing me say that I had figured everything out left Shin Tu wide-eyed in shock.

He pointed toward the ground, saying, “Yes, of course. But didn’t you say we needed to dig for the Heavenly Silkworm?”

“Of course, that’s a given!”

“Did you not see? The Heavenly Silkworm was taken by the Buddhist Stupa Termites! That means there might be a wealth of those cocooned Heavenly Silkworms just below the ground.”

“What!?”

Shin Tu’s eyes widened in shock, turning toward the red column.

It was as if he understood that a treasure he desired so dearly might be buried beneath the ground.