Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 131: In the Four Heavenly Houses

“He, is this really inside…?”

Shin Tu rubbed the red peak, his eyes wide in disbelief.

I nodded in response to his question.

“Yes, didn’t the previous Shin Tu say that he found the eggs and cocoons here?”

“Is that so?”

“I imagine that when the previous Shin Tu discovered the collapsed house of the white ants, he must have found both the cocoon and the eggs that had spilled out for some reason.”

Thinking about it, it seemed almost like a coincidence; after all, someone utterly ignorant about insects like the former Shin Tu would have difficulty finding the eggs and cocoons in one place.

The cocoons would be at the deepest part of the white ant’s nest, while the eggs would typically be located outside, near the entrance of the hole.

So, if I considered the possibilities, there was only one likely scenario.

For some unknown reason, a side of the ant’s nest must have collapsed, causing the cocoon to spill out and the Heavenly Silkworm to lay its eggs nearby.

In my past life, the twin-tailed butterfly laid its eggs at the entrance of the Matsumura Tail Ant’s nest, so it seemed those conditions had to overlap for that to happen.

Afterward, the previous Shin Tu probably stumbled across it by sheer luck.

After listening to my explanation, Shin Tu nodded his head, possibly finding it plausible.

“Hmm… indeed.”

Just then, Huani’s urgent shout interrupted us.

– Tsuru! Tsurut!

I turned my head to see Huani, who was supposed to be on my shoulder, loudly crying in front of the ant tunnel.

He was rolling around on the ground, trying to sweep his head with his feet.

“Huani, what’s wrong? Did you get hurt!?”

I had warned him about the dangers, but by some miracle, he crawled down and was again confronting the ants.

Ignoring Dad’s advice would definitely earn him a spanking, but first, I hurried to check on Huani.

I hoped he hadn’t been seriously bitten by a soldier ant.

“Where are you hurt? Hold still, Huani.”

“Huani got bitten? Wei So-ryong?”

I calmed him down with a worried voice, and he began acting like it was seriously painful.

– Tsurut. Tsururut…

Yet, after checking Huani’s body thoroughly, I didn’t see any noticeable injuries.

“There’s nothing injured here?”

– Churu. Churur…

“Are you really hurt?”

There didn’t appear to be any injuries, but Huani continued to whine.

Just as I thought I had missed something, I noticed something odd about his antennae.

Fortunately, they weren’t cut or bent, but his antennae did look strange.

They were always moving nonstop, constantly smelling things, and that’s how he got his name “Huani.”

For some reason, they were stuck together.

“Why are your antennae like that, Huani? Is it painful here?”

– Tsururu.

After calming him down again, I touched his stuck antennae and felt a sticky liquid.

‘Oh, this little guy got hit by the sticky liquid!’

Huani, it seemed, had provoked the white ants and ended up getting sprayed with their sticky substance.

Some soldier ants can spray a sticky liquid during battles or explode to spray a gooey liquid from within their bodies.

Worker ants use this to mix with dirt to build their homes, but because Huani annoyed the white ants, his antennae ended up stuck together due to the goo.

After wiping his antennae with my sleeve, his whimpering finally subsided.

“Huani, remember what Dad said earlier? You shouldn’t go near the ants anymore because it’s dangerous, got it?”

– Tsurut…

His antennae drooped down like a puppy’s ears, looking utterly dejected as I scolded him.

It broke my heart to see him like that, but he could end up in real trouble if he got hurt again, so I had to be stern.

Shin Tu, shaking his head at Huani, commented, “That kid sure is something else.” Then, turning serious, he wondered, “How on earth do we sell this?”

After the commotion caused by Huani calmed down, Shin Tu pondered how to sell the ant mound, and both Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol expressed their concerns.

“But, Long, do you think we can sell this? It looks more like we need to call the stonemasons to break it down.”

“That’s right. Wei So-ryong. I don’t know how the white ants made this, but it’s as hard as a rock. Can we even sell it?”

It was certainly a worrying issue, just as Older Sister Seol and Hua Eun had said.

The ant houses of white ants in my previous life were notoriously sturdy, and these guys were massive—in fact, dozens or even hundreds of times bigger.

These were the lowest-grade, if not the absolute lowest-grade, spirit creatures, so their homes had to be that much tougher.

The sticky liquid I had touched earlier was anything but ordinary; if they used it to build their house, the toughness would be substantial.

If Shin Tu and others mistook it for rock, it wouldn’t be unusual to consider it stronger than concrete.

But Shin Tu belonged to the Wulin’s group of legendary warriors—the Five Sovereigns.

I had heard that the Five Sovereigns were incredibly skilled martial artists, had I not?

Moreover, Shin Tu was quite a robust figure, resembling a cunning thief.

I wondered if he could smash the mound just with his martial techniques and gazed at him expectantly.

“We’re likely looking for the center of this column, just slightly below the ground. The inside should be softer than the outside, so if we can break the outside, it will be easier to break the inside. Is there any chance you can do that with your martial arts?”

“Of course, it’s possible. Then, shall I put in some effort?”

“Oh, as expected!”

“It’s my first time seeing Master’s martial techniques!”

“It’s a rare opportunity to witness Lord Shin Tu’s skills!”

At my question, Shin Tu rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

Although my companion Yeongryeon expressed anxiety about seeing Shin Tu’s martial arts for the first time, Shin Tu began to gather his energy with a nonchalant expression in front of the massive red ant mound.

– Flutter.

As he started to mobilize his significant energy, the edges of Shin Tu’s clothing began to flutter.

Then, with an invisible speed, Shin Tu’s hand shot towards the column.

– Bang!

A sound of impact echoed.

It was lighter than I’d expected, but it was certainly Shin Tu’s strike.

I held my breath while waiting for the ant mound to crumble, but the unyielding red column stood firm.

At first, I thought it was a situation like the “permeation technique,” where the outside remained intact while the inside was decaying.

So, I anticipated the next scene, yet the ant mound didn’t budge an inch after a little while.

“What the heck?”

Dumbfounded, I, along with Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol, stared at Shin Tu as he coughed awkwardly and said, “I, this isn’t my strong suit. My specialties are lightness techniques, shin techniques, and blood control. This… this is quite tough.”

‘Then why on earth did you strike such a dramatic pose?’

Shin Tu truly was an unbelievable old man.

*

“Now that we’ve located it, I should find a method; I might seek help from a master in martial arts, or as you suggested, call a bunch of stonemasons.”

With the input from Hua Eun, Older Sister Seol, and even Shin Tu’s disciple, we had tried tapping the mound with various martial arts, but it remained immovable.

It seemed we had no choice but to search for a different method to open it.

The walls were too solid, and we needed an alternative approach.

Just like Older Sister Seol had suggested, we could either bring several stonemasons or request help from a skilled martial artist.

I pondered whether we should bring out the warriors from the Tang Clan, but due to the Five Poisons Sect and the Blood Cult, that seemed implausible.

It was decided that Shin Tu would find a solution.

“Understood. Then, once you’re ready, let’s meet again.”

“Right, by the way, it seems like we might have to camp here for the night.”

When Shin Tu said that, I glanced at the ridge of the basin, and the sun was already setting.

The sun hanging at the ridge was casting a crimson glow.

“I guess it can’t be helped.”

“What if they attack us at night?”

While I worried about the white ants launching a night raid, it was unnecessary.

White ants wouldn’t likely venture outside of their homes under normal circumstances.

Even if they did emerge, it would be near the edges of the basin.

Since they foraged nearby for trees and grass, it made sense that this basin was formed that way; they certainly wouldn’t come out to a place with no greenery.

“Yes, you don’t need to worry. The white ants never come out of their homes. If they do, it will be towards the ridge.”

“Then, I’ll go hunt. I’ll just need to catch a wild pig.”

As I explained, Shin Tu nodded and mentioned that he would catch a wild boar.

I tilted my head and asked, “Do we really need to hunt when we have plenty of food here? If we can gather some twigs from up there, that’s fine too?”

“Hmm? There’s still food? Where are you talking about? Did the Tang Clan’s food stay uneaten?”

At Shin Tu’s question, I smiled and replied.

“They say the white ants are quite delicious.”

“Eh!? You mean you’re going to eat the white ants?”

“Are you serious!?”

Both Shin Tu and his disciple Yeongryeon were taken aback, but Hua Eun, who had already tried the Yellow Powder Bug, and Older Sister Seol, from the south, thought nothing of it.

“So that’s edible?”

“Well, in the south, they eat bamboo worms, locusts, and even cicadas, so…”

“I wonder if it’ll be savory?”

They even looked somewhat excited.

‘I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve always wanted to.’

Honestly, I’ve heard the Queen Ant is the most delicious, and I wish to try it, but having the mounds for sale isn’t an option currently.

In Uganda, they catch the white ants to fry, sauté, or roast.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to level up my Spicy Fabre.

*

Even though he looked reluctant, Shin Tu and his disciple Yeongryeon brought back some twigs.

Meanwhile, Huani, along with Chao and Yo-hwa, captured the white ants.

Since Chao and Yo-hwa were considerably larger, they weren’t as threatened by the soldier ants. Whenever Chao or Yo-hwa poked at a white ant with their forelegs, they threaded them one by one into skewers.

Of course, they didn’t catch the soldier ants.

Those guys had stronger exoskeletons than expected, making them unfit for consumption.

– Sizzle sizzle.

So, after threading the caught white ants onto the branches, we gently roasted them over the charcoal fire.

As the juices from the roasting white ants dripped into the fire, it released a savory aroma.

“Wow, that smells delicious.”

“Indeed.”

As I roasted the white ants on skewers, the legs and antennae burned off, transforming them into something resembling a rice cake, and the aroma was delightful.

“Elder, please go ahead and eat.”

I first offered the nicely roasted skewer to Shin Tu, who seemed startled.

With an awkward smile, Shin Tu said, “Y-You can eat first. I’ll take my time. You had it the hardest, being the youngest.”

“Is that really alright? There’s a tradition in the Martial World.”

“Ah, it’s perfectly fine.”

I extended the skewer toward him again, but he hesitated and waved his hand away.

Realizing I needed to set an example, I decided to take a bite of the appetizing skewered white ant first.

“Well then, I’ll happily dig in.”

– Crunch.

As I bit down on one of the white ants, the savory juice burst inside my mouth.

I hadn’t expected it to taste this good; it truly was a delicacy.

Finishing the white ant, I smiled at everyone and said, “This is delicious! Everyone should eat…”

And at that moment, my mind suddenly felt hazy, as I began to hear Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol’s voices echoing in my ears.

“W-Wai So-ryong… Wai So-ryong… ”

“Long!? Stay conscious…!”

‘Poison… I checked for poison before cooking, so why…?’

I found it strange because I was confident there had been no poison in it.

Moreover, it felt strangely reminiscent of something I had experienced before.

As consciousness faded and my sight blurred into darkness, the world melted away.