Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

—Kish! Kishishi!

I had never been nagged by Hwa-eun before, but the moment I arrived, another relentless round of scolding began.

And as expected, the culprit was Yo-hwa.

The moment I reached the Nine-Tiered Gates, Yo-hwa somehow knew and flew over from the Tang Clan’s mountain.

Just like last time, she had taken on Hwa-eun’s appearance, crossing her arms and pouting as she scolded me.

She pointed at the red thread tied around her ankle and then at the inner quarters, clearly demanding why I hadn’t kept my promise.

That red thread was a symbol of our promise—or rather, a shackle.

“Yo-hwa, why? I told Grandpa Xintu to let you know I’d be a little late. You should let this slide, right? Sometimes, when a man is working outside, these things happen.”

...Wait. Saying it out loud, this felt weird.

Why was I making excuses to her?

—Kissit!

But Yo-hwa’s reaction was icy cold.

At first, I thought she was just upset that I had only left a message instead of telling her directly.

But then I noticed something strange.

Xintu, who was standing beside me, was staring off into the distance, avoiding my gaze.

‘Wait... don’t tell me...?’

Judging by his guilty look, it was clear he hadn’t passed on my message.

When I turned to Yo-hwa and asked if she really hadn’t heard anything, Xintu flinched.

“You... you really didn’t hear it?”

“...Ahem.”

I shot Xintu a look that said, tell the truth, but he refused to meet my eyes.

He must have been too busy arguing with Grandfather Mandok Shingun about carrying me on his back and completely forgot to inform Yo-hwa.

Sigh...

No wonder she was so upset.

From her perspective, I had broken my promise without saying a word.

In times like this, a quick apology was the best strategy.

“I had something urgent to take care of. I was completely in the wrong.”

—Kissit! Kishishishi!

I shot Xintu a glare before apologizing to Yo-hwa again, but she still wouldn’t forgive me.

Normally, this should have been enough.

Why was she this angry?

I only found out after Gu Pae arrived to greet us.

“So-ryong!”

“Oh, hey, Gu Pae. How have you been?”

“Hurry! You must feed Yo-hwa! She hasn’t taken in a single drop of Yang energy all this time!”

“...What!?”

I had noticed that Yo-hwa was still in Hwa-eun’s form.

The Tang Clan warriors must have been hesitant to be /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ too forceful with her because she looked like the most beautiful woman in the martial world to them.

But not everyone shares the same taste.

Even if she looked like Hwa-eun, some warriors probably had their own lovers or preferred someone else.

So Yo-hwa hadn’t been able to feed on any Yang energy.

It had been fifteen days since we left and returned, and she still hadn’t reverted to her original form.

If Gu Pae was right, she hadn’t eaten a single speck of Yang energy.

Panicking, I grabbed Yo-hwa.

“Yo-hwa! You have to eat! Why haven’t you eaten!?”

—Kishishi!

She usually couldn’t go more than two or three days without feeding before she got hungry enough to hypnotize people.

But she had held out for fifteen days.

Shocked, I offered her my finger, pushing it toward the pedipalps of her mouth.

But Yo-hwa turned her head away sharply.

It was clear she had decided: if she couldn’t drink my Yang energy, she’d rather wait.

She had been starving, annoyed, and left without a word, and she was too stubborn to admit it was because she was hungry.

But she was absolutely furious that I had taken so long to return.

“Come on, Yo-hwa, let’s talk after you eat. You’ll get sick if you keep this up.”

—Kish!

‘Ugh... As if the turf war between Cho, Hyang, and Bini wasn’t enough, now Yo-hwa is on a hunger strike?!’

No matter how much I pleaded, Yo-hwa refused.

Then, Hwa-eun stepped in.

“Yo-hwa, So-ryong is telling the truth. He was helping someone who was seriously ill, which is why he was delayed. I saw it myself, so please don’t be upset. I think Elder Xintu just... forgot to tell you.”

—Kissit?

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. So-ryong isn’t lying.”

Only after Hwa-eun vouched for me did Yo-hwa reluctantly take my finger into her mouth.

—Kishi...

‘Phew... finally.’

Now that Yo-hwa’s crisis was resolved, it was time to deal with the next problem child.

As Yo-hwa absorbed Yang energy, I turned my attention to Bini, who had run away.

Had he returned while we were gone? Had anyone spotted him?

“What about Bini? Has he come back?”

“No, So-ryong. We’ve searched all over Tang Mountain, but...”

Gu Pae explained that he and his warriors had been searching everywhere, even checking between rocks.

But they still hadn’t found him.

Which meant Seol’s theory was probably right.

According to her, Bini had burrowed into a hidden spot for a long sleep.

Running away from home just to take a nap?

Did he not care about how worried his parents were?!

I was definitely smacking him when he came back.

Just as I was stewing in frustration, Gu Pae’s eyes widened.

“S-So-ryong! Your... your nose!”

“My nose?”

I instinctively touched my upper lip.

A warm, sticky liquid was trickling down.

Drip.

Nosebleed.

And then, a wave of exhaustion hit me.

Apparently, Yo-hwa had been so hungry that she was draining a lot.

‘Wait... all I did was stand here, but I feel completely drained...’

Then, my legs gave out.

***

After feeding Yo-hwa until she was full, I was completely drained and had to rest for an entire day.

Two things became painfully clear after reaching my limit with Yang energy. First, it saps all my physical strength. Second, it induces post-clarity.

I hadn’t done anything, yet I felt like I’d entered a strange state of mental clarity and existential emptiness. It was an odd experience—like drinking ten cups of coffee at once.

And so, I had no choice but to take a full day to recover.

The next morning, my morning started noisily.

”Alright, you’ve rested for a full day. That should be enough, right?”

Xintu arrived at dawn, urging me to hurry up and hatch the Heavenly Silkworms. He had fulfilled my requests, so it was time for me to keep my promise.

Of course, I was going to do it, but after Yo-hwa’s excessive feeding, I needed to get a little revenge.

I flopped back onto my bedding, feigning weakness.

”Agh... I lost too much energy yesterday. Maybe I need another day to recover... Elder, I’d love to help, but my body is just too weak...”

”What!? Why is your body so frail? Just what kind of training do they do at the Tang Clan? That kind of thing should heal overnight! Bah! That’s what happens when you rely on poison arts instead of proper martial training...”

Xintu grumbled, criticizing the Tang Clan’s training methods.

But before I could respond, a booming voice echoed from inside.

”What did you just say, you old fossil!? Are you insulting the Sichuan Tang Clan!?”

Grandfather Mandok Shingun stormed in, furious.

He must have overheard Xintu speaking ill of the Tang Clan.

”N-no, that’s not what I meant—”

”Don’t even try to deny it! I heard you clearly!”

One of the unspoken rules of the martial world was that no matter how close you were, you never insulted another sect’s martial arts or traditions.

At first, I thought Xintu might apologize.

But I had forgotten something: these two were bitter rivals.

Instead of backing down, Xintu went on the offensive.

”Heh! Eavesdropping like a thief, are you?”

”What!? A thief?! If anyone here is a thief, it’s you!”

”Oh yeah? Well, you’re just a poisonous old bastard!”

This was getting dangerous—they looked like they were about to start throwing hands.

I quickly stepped in.

”Please, both of you, calm down. You are both respected elders of the martial world. What would people think if they saw you fighting like this?”

”Bah!”

”Hmph!”

They both begrudgingly backed down, but I knew that if they stayed together, they’d start bickering again.

So, I decided to take Xintu with me to inspect the hatching site he had prepared in Sichuan’s outskirts.

”Let’s put this aside. Elder Xintu, since my body is feeling a bit better, why don’t we go check out the facility you built for the Heavenly Silkworms?”

”Hmph... Fine.”

Of course, before leaving, I made sure to reassure Yo-hwa.

”Yo-hwa, I’m just heading out with Grandpa Xintu for a bit. I’ll be back today, alright?”

—Kishi.

She nodded, but to make sure I didn’t forget, she tied another red thread around my ankle.

Xintu led me to an old, run-down martial arts hall in Sichuan’s outskirts.

It reminded me of the dilapidated Daoist temple I had first woken up in after reincarnating.

The buildings were half-collapsed, and weeds had grown wild over everything.

However, deeper inside, there was one relatively intact building, where a group of people had gathered.

As we entered, several men—who had been lounging around—quickly stood at attention.

”Elder Xintu, welcome!”

”Have you all been well?”

”Yes, Elder! Is this the young lord you mentioned?”

”That’s right. So-ryong, introduce yourself.”

I could tell Xintu had already spoken about me to them.

A group of men approached, studying me closely.

Among them, the oldest man stepped forward and bowed slightly.

”We heard you are a young lord of the Sichuan Tang Clan. It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Baekga.”

”Ah, Elder Baekga, I’m So-ryong. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I could tell Baekga was their leader.

He led us inside and began explaining.

”Would you like us to go over our past failures? It might help you understand the situation better.”

”I would appreciate that.”

Xintu had already told me some details, but hearing directly from the people who attempted the hatching process would be more useful.

Besides, I was curious to see how much this era knew about moths and silkworms.

Baekga pointed to some dried-out plants inside the facility.

”At first, we assumed they were silkworms, so we tried feeding them mulberry leaves.”

”But they didn’t respond.

”So, we tried feeding them mulberry stems, roots, and even the entire tree, but still—nothing.”

That made sense.

Normal silkworms feed on mulberry leaves, so their first instinct was to try that.

They had assumed the Heavenly Silkworms would be no different.

”When that didn’t work, we thought about other types of moth larvae.

”So we gathered leaves from all kinds of trees that matched the season when Elder Xintu’s ancestor first obtained the eggs and tried feeding them those.

”But again—nothing.”

They had realized that not all moths eat mulberry leaves, so they expanded their approach.

Not bad.

”For a while, we were at a loss.

”Then, after Elder Xintu left, we had another realization—not all moths eat leaves.

”There are moths that feed on grain, like grain moths.

”And some moths that eat fabric, like clothes moths.”

I nodded.

It seemed they had considered various possibilities, even bringing up grain-eating moths and cloth-eating moths.

But it was too late—by then, they had already failed.

Still, this level of understanding was impressive for this era.

They had correctly identified different types of moths, which was a step in the right direction.

But there was a crucial flaw in their thinking.

Even after realizing their mistakes, they still would have failed.

Why?

Because they were only considering moths they had seen before.

”You would have never succeeded thinking like that,” I said.

Both Baekga and Xintu looked surprised.

”You... figured something out?”

”When?”

Xintu’s eyes widened in shock.

Did he really think I wasn’t paying attention all this time?

Even when he was carrying me to Wuchang, my mind had been working the whole time.

”I thought about it on the journey to Wuchang,” I replied.

”...Alright, then let’s hear it,” Xintu said, crossing his arms.

Everyone gathered around, waiting for my answer.

I looked at them and asked,

”Do you know why fully grown larvae spin silk?”

”To build a cocoon, of course,” someone replied.

”Right. But that’s only half the answer.”

I smiled.

”I’m not asking what they make. I’m asking why they make it.”

”...Why?”

”The answer is simple.

”They spin silk to protect themselves while they transform into adults.

”And Heavenly Silkworm silk is harder than steel, right?”

”Yes,” Xintu nodded. ”With enough internal energy, it can even cut through limbs.”

”Exactly.

”Now think about it—what kind of predator would require that level of defense?”

The realization hit them.

Especially Xintu, whose eyes widened in shock.