Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

”You plan to kill him deliciously?”

”Deliciously?”

Both my sister and Geol-hwang looked at me in confusion after my statement. It’s not surprising—saying you’re going to kill someone deliciously isn’t something that makes sense to most people.

They didn’t understand, but I knew that using yellow powder worms (Huangfenchong) would allow us to eliminate the target safely without needing to poison just his food. If we added the powder worm to the food of everyone at the gambling house on the day he arrived, he’d be the only one to die, without anyone else suspecting a thing.

It was a perfect plan, leaving no trace of suspicion.

”Too delicious, he’ll eat it and just die.”

The reason I was so confident about using the powder worm was simple. If the man had a shellfish allergy—an allergic reaction caused by Tropomyosin found in crustaceans—then he would die if he ate anything with high levels of Tropomyosin. In fact, powder worms contain even more Tropomyosin than shellfish, so consuming them would be lethal for him, just like anaphylactic shock.

”We just need to get the Huangfenchong first and then we can talk,” I said, smiling to myself as I felt the plan was going smoothly.

”Understood, So-ryong.” Gu-Pae, ready to assist, left to bring back the powder worms.

Despite agreeing, my sister and Geol-hwang’s questions were still lingering in the air.

”So-ryong, from the way you’ve asked for Huangfenchong, it seems you plan to use it to kill him?”

”Yes, and what exactly is this Huangfenchong? It doesn’t seem like a poisonous insect.”

The woman, too, seemed confused, likely referring to the beggar’s earlier mention of Huangfenchong.

But I couldn’t explain everything without them tasting it for themselves, so I urged them to wait for a moment.

”Once the Huangfenchong arrives, I’ll explain everything properly. Please be patient, Huaeun.”

”Well, alright then.”

”I understand, So-ryong.”

As we drank tea in an awkward silence, Gu-Pae returned, hurriedly entering with a squirming pouch.

”I brought them, as you ordered, but…”

He handed me a bag filled with wriggling powder worms.

”Let me see... Ah, they’ve grown well.”

I examined the contents of the bag, which was full of plump and well-fed powder worms.

I could eat them as they were, but to make them more palatable, I turned to my sister and asked, ”Where’s the kitchen?”

”My kitchen? Over there…” She led me with an unsure look.

Following her into the kitchen, I quickly boiled some water and blanched half of the powder worms. Afterward, I stir-fried them in a Chinese-style pan.

The best way to prepare edible insects is often by drying them—either steaming or boiling them first and then drying them through air or sunlight.

After a short time, the powder worms became glossy and delicious-looking, and I brought the finished dish back to the reception room, ready to serve those eager to try it.

”Here, this is Huangfenchong. Please, everyone, try it.”

”What, eat this?”

”Eat this?”

”This... really?”

While the woman seemed bewildered, I nudged Gu-Pae, whose discomfort was clear, to try it first.

Of course, I demonstrated myself.

I popped one of the crunchy worms into my mouth and chewed.

Crunch

”See? It’s quite delicious. Ah, so savory.”

The flavor of the powder worms was quite unique. When eaten raw, they had a peanut and bean-like taste, but after drying and cooking them, they gained a shrimp-cracker-like flavor, making them even more savory.

In Korea, we called them ”Gosoe,” meaning savory insect snacks.

Gu-Pae, despite his reluctance, took one and reluctantly put it in his mouth. His eyes widened and he quickly grabbed another.

”Why... why is it so tasty? Even savory?”

As the others—Geol-hwang, my sister, and even the woman, Na-ok—tasted the worms, their surprised expressions grew.

”Is it really that delicious?”

”How can a bug taste so good?” ”This is incredible.”

They kept taking handfuls and munching away, clearly impressed.

”Well? Isn’t it quite savory?” I asked, looking at all of them.

They all nodded in agreement.

”Yes, it’s very savory, but are you really adding poison to it?”

”So-ryong, it’s really tasty, but…”

”Yes, So-ryong. It’s very savory.”

Now that everyone had tasted it, it was time to explain.

I looked around at the group and said, ”With Geol-hwang here, I’ll explain in detail. Some things may seem harmless to some, but for others, they can be lethal.”

”Is it similar to how Na-eun was sensitive to bee stings?”

”Ah, exactly. Geol-hwang, you mentioned that the man reacts badly to shrimp and crab, right?”

”Yes, our kids must have figured it out for sure.”

”Yes, exactly. It’s not just shellfish—this Huangfenchong also contains something that’s harmless to most people, but for him, it’s poison.”

I explained in terms everyone could understand, and they nodded in agreement.

”So, the Huangfenchong acts like shellfish for him, creating the same deadly reaction?”

”Yes, exactly, Elder.”

Everyone seemed fascinated by my explanation, but Geol-hwang held up a powder worm and asked,

”But how will you feed this to him? It doesn’t look like something that would be easy to give him, much harder than feeding him shrimp or crab.”

Indeed, he had a point—it looked far more repulsive than shrimp or crab.

After thinking for a moment, I told Gu-Pae, ”Go borrow a pestle from the apothecary. We’re going to grind it up.”

Soon, I had ground the powder worms into a fine powder and showed it to Geol-hwang.

”We don’t need to feed him the worms whole. If we grind them up and mix them into food, it will only make the food tastier. The more we use, the more certain it is that he will die.”

”Oh, I see. Grinding them up? That should work.”

The amount of allergic reaction will vary from person to person, but our goal was simply to feed him a large enough quantity to ensure his death.

My sister then had an idea.

”Ah! I have a good idea, So-ryong!”

I looked at her, curious, as she shouted toward the door.

”Is anyone out there?”

A voice called back from outside.

”Yes, Miss, I’m waiting outside.”

”Perfect. Go out and get me some Lye-tagon with and without the filling.”

”Lye-tagon?”

At my sister’s request to bring in donkey rolls, I tilted my head, confused. Na-ok, the woman, explained.

”It’s a type of snack. Made from glutinous rice with red bean paste inside.”

”Ah, I see.”

‘Is it like rice cakes?’

Shortly after, a servant brought in two kinds of rice cakes, one rolled in yellow soybean flour and the other plain.

My sister took the plain ones and, while rolling them in the powdered Huangfenchong, said,

”Lye-tagon, like the dust kicked up when a donkey rolls, is a simple, comforting food that’s perfect for gambling houses. If we coat them in yellow soybean flour and mix the Huangfenchong powder in, it should work perfectly.”

”Ho-ho...”

As I was thinking about whether to add it to a soup or some other dish, I discovered that there was such a perfect dish for assassination.

This was truly a dish made for murder.

A sticky rice cake soaked in Huangfenchung powder.

And on top of that, a sticky syrupy coating?

As the cake slid down my throat, it would surely stick to the sides, and what would happen to the airways nearby?

One of the leading causes of death from anaphylactic shock is suffocation due to blocked airways.

I looked at my older sister with love in my eyes and thought to myself,

”Ah, so this is what they mean by ’husband leads, wife follows’?”

Just then, I heard the voice of Geolhwang, who seemed to find it quite amusing.

“The last meal of a martial artist, a rice cake coated in insect powder? Isn’t this the perfect death for a trashy bug like him? Rolling around on the floor, covered in dust, and dying—this meal is truly fitting for his situation.

Hehe. I’m glad I came to watch this.”

Thinking about it, this was the place known for its ”Lazy Donkey Roll,” a method of punishment often despised here.

From what I heard, if you died from a fight and ended up rolling on the floor, it was considered disgraceful. In that light, if a martial artist died from eating this rice cake, it was definitely a dishonorable death.

”Hey, have you heard how the third son of Taehwa Mun died?”

”No, I haven’t. How?”

”He died suddenly while eating the rice cake.”

”A martial artist dying from rice cake? Pfft!”

I wondered if rumors like these would spread.

And just as the dish was decided, Na-ok, the spirit who had been relatively quiet until then, spoke up.

”I know how to make the rice cake! Please let me make it!”

Her words showed that she wanted revenge with her own hands.

Since everything was set in motion, the people at the guest house nodded in agreement.

”Well, revenge is best served by your own hands.”

”Indeed.”

”Thank you so much!”

The detailed plan began to form.

”Then, let’s ask the owner of the gambling house to let us work in the kitchen for a day in exchange for bringing a woman. If we say that the man will follow us after working in the kitchen for a day, that should work, right?”

”Ah, that works.”

”Just in case, let’s also gamble with that guy at the gambling house that day. If he collapses...”

”Hehe. Even just hearing this is exhilarating and fun! Ah! It’s such a pity I can’t go into the gambling house anymore!”

The plan was in motion, and it was one where the man was certainly not going to escape death.

***

When Taehwa Mun’s third son, Jin Dae-seung, arrived at the top floor of the gambling house that dealt with only the big players, the people waiting for him were unexpected.

”Hwa, Hwa-eun sojeo?”

”Who are you?”

”Oh, I’m Jin Dae-seung, the third son of Taehwa Mun.”

”Oh, you’re the great Jin of Taehwa Mun?”

A boy who didn’t fit the gambling house and Tang Hwa-eun, a direct descendant of the Tang family, were sitting at the gambling table, playing the game of dice gambling, or Tuba, a game they always played when Jin Dae-seung came.

I had heard they came a few days ago, but I didn’t expect them to be here today.

”Ah! I was right!”

”Wow, So-ryong, you’re amazing!”

”Ha-ha, really?”

Tang Hwa-eun, one of the Three Blossoms of the Martial World, sat beside the young boy, acting coy.

When Jin Dae-seung asked the martial artist who the boy was, the martial artist whispered quietly.

[The Poison Master has a fiancé, and I think this is him.]

[Fiancé? That little brat?]

[Yes, my lord.]

For someone like Tang Hwa-eun, who was so beautiful, to be with such a frail little boy, Jin Dae-seung was seething with anger.

He had never been with such a beautiful woman before.

And it didn’t seem likely that he ever would.

The only woman Jin Dae-seung could think of was a girl from Songgachon a few years ago.

But because that day he got caught by his older brother wearing bloodstained clothes, he was banned from leaving the family home alone, and the only place he could go was the gambling house. Now, the only women Jin Dae-seung could be with were the prostitutes of the gambling house.

”Damn it.”

He sat down, feeling regret that the older sister, who was rumored to be even prettier than his younger sister, wasn’t here.

But as he rested his arm on the table, focusing on Tang Hwa-eun, the gambling was doomed to fail.

Since he was too distracted by Tang Hwa-eun, it was no wonder that the gambling went badly.

For an hour, Jin Dae-seung kept losing.

He lost about half of the money he had brought, and he thought he should get his head back in the game when he heard voices from nearby.

“Why is this so savory?”

“This rice cake is really delicious today.”

“It’s much better than the one they sell at the vendor!”

From the table near where they were gambling, Jin Dae-seung could hear people savoring food and talking about how good it tasted.

”Is it really that good?”

”Yes, my lord. Why don’t you try it? It’s strangely savory and tasty.”

Since he was feeling a bit hungry and didn’t mind food, Jin Dae-seung took a rice cake from the plate that was handed to him by a guard and took a big bite.

The savory taste hit him immediately.

Just as they had said, the rice cake was surprisingly delicious. Enchanted by the chewy and savory flavor, he quickly swallowed the first bite and bit into the second one.

”Ugh... Ugh. Cough... cough.”

A foreign sensation in his throat.

A coughing fit.

His hands and feet began to feel numb, and soon, he was gasping for air.

It felt like when he had eaten a bad crab as a child.

”Help... help...”

”My lord! My lord!”

As he collapsed, the guards rushed to him, but as he struggled to breathe, they tried to help him, putting their internal energy into him.

Then, a woman’s voice reached his ears.

”What happened?”

”My lord has collapsed!”

”Oh no, let me take a look. I’m from the Tang family.”

As his vision blurred, he saw the faces of Tang Hwa-eun and the young boy.

People from the Tang family were skilled in medicine.

Tang Hwa-eun’s hand touched Jin Dae-seung’s chest as he lay on the floor.

And then he heard her words.

”I will try to use my internal energy to open his airways.”

”Yes, thank you!”

The guards thanked Tang Hwa-eun and waited for his breathing to improve, but the internal energy did not seem to work.

Instead, just as the energy didn’t enter his body, a cold voice echoed in his ears.

[Did you think you were going to survive? You are destined to die today, choking on this rice cake and rolling around like a donkey in the dirt.]

Suddenly, a chilling voice, full of murderous intent, assaulted his mind. Jin Dae-seung’s eyes widened, but the last words he heard were:

[Songgachon]

”Ughhh!”

Though he didn’t understand exactly what was happening, he had the feeling that everything he had done was known to someone.

Thinking that the Tang family was after his life, Jin Dae-seung struggled with the last of his strength, hoping to get the word out to the guards nearby.

But then, the young boy’s voice reached his ears.

”If a sick person keeps struggling, we can’t use internal energy on him. Everyone, hold him down!”

And just like that, the last hope of help became a binding force, and soon Jin Dae-seung’s vision was completely consumed by darkness.

The last taste of the rice cake left in his mouth became his final memory.