Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Two images alternated in the scent’s vision.

The split bead, rolling across the table, spinning slowly.

And the golden antennae of Moji and Soji, crawling toward the bead, flickering with tiny bursts of light that appeared and disappeared.

—Churut!

But the moment the scent realized that their destination was the bead, it had no time to think. It swiftly darted around the table and launched its body forward.

A living red barrier suddenly stretched between the bead and Moji and Soji.

The scent had raised its antennae and thrown itself forward, blocking the way between the bead and its younger siblings.

Since the bead was releasing a sinister aura, it had to stop them from getting any closer.

—Chorururung!

However, even though it had moved quickly to block their path, it couldn’t stop them.

Moji and Soji, who had been crawling toward the bead, merely tilted their heads in confusion at the red obstacle in front of them. Then, as if it didn’t matter, they continued wriggling forward, climbing over the scent’s body.

—Chururut! 『No! It’s dangerous!』

The scent tried to stop them again, warning that the energy seeping from the bead was ominous.

But they simply climbed over its body once more.

Each time the scent blocked their path, they would crawl over it. When it moved them aside, they would wriggle back toward the bead.

This cycle repeated several times.

Eventually, Moji and Soji seemed to grow frustrated. They began releasing an energy similar to that of the bead.

—Chorut!

A force where bright light and murky darkness coexisted.

The scent was so shocked that it stumbled backward in alarm.

And just like that, Moji and Soji resumed their crawl toward the bead.

The scent realized that stopping them was no longer an option.

It quickly scanned the table.

It had to put the bead back into the wooden box.

It grabbed the box with its mouth.

At that moment—

Suddenly, something tapped against its body.

—Tap. Tap.

—Pii?

A soft touch and a cry.

Startled, the scent flinched and dropped the box from its mouth.

—Choruru!?

It turned its gaze to see who had suddenly touched it.

What it saw in the darkness was a pair of sleepy, half-lidded eyes.

—Pii?

It was none other than Hyang, who should have been either sleeping or eating.

Somehow, she had quietly slithered next to the scent, still clutching something in her sleepy grip.

—Choru... 『Wait, it was you, Hyang?』

The scent calmed its startled heart and spoke.

Hyang tilted her head.

—Piiing? 『What are you doing? Food?』

—Choruru! 『Sigh... This isn’t the time for that. It’s Moji and Soji!』

Hyang had simply asked if there was food involved, making the scent sigh in frustration.

It grabbed the fallen wooden box again and moved swiftly.

Then, it quickly swept up the two halves of the bead and placed them back inside.

”...!?”

Just as it was about to retrieve the bead—

The bead suddenly vanished before its eyes.

Moji and Soji, seemingly flustered, waved their antennae, searching for it.

Eventually, they realized that the scent had taken it.

They turned to look at it, bewildered.

”......”

Then, an unsettling energy began to seep from them once more.

Their golden antennae flickered, radiating that same ominous energy.

And just then—

Hyang’s voice sounded again.

—Pii?

A soft sensation pressed against the scent’s body once more.

Hyang clung to it, whining and asking what was going on, demanding to see whatever it was.

To her, hunger made even short moments feel like an eternity.

—Piiit!

The scent protested, saying that they couldn’t just feed her something without knowing what it was.

But Hyang boldly insisted that everything was fine once it was in the stomach.

The scent’s antennae stiffened in exasperation.

It was impossible to reason with her.

From the scent’s perspective, hunger wasn’t that big of a deal—just eat less!

But in the end, Hyang dismissed the concerns and demanded the box, saying she would take care of it herself.

Left with no choice, the scent handed it over.

At Hyang’s request, the scent also lowered Moji and Soji onto the floor.

Hyang nudged the wooden box toward them.

Then, just as she was about to open the lid—

—Chorut! 『Wait, sister!』

The scent quickly climbed onto the bed beside its father and spoke.

It declared that it was no longer responsible.

Since Hyang insisted she would handle it, she had to take full responsibility.

And she couldn’t tell anyone that the scent had helped her.

—Chorurururu!

—Piiit!

Hyang merely nodded as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Then, she opened the box and pushed the bead halves toward Moji and Soji.

—Clatter.

A sound echoed as the bead pieces hit the stone floor.

Moji and Soji immediately embraced one half each.

The energy seeping from the bead was drawn into their bodies.

Their antennae flickered with alternating light and darkness.

And then—

The energy from the Neidan began engulfing Moji and Soji.

Flashes of bright light and shadow pulsed in rapid succession.

Amid the chaos, a voice rang out.

”Gasp! W-what is happening!?”

The commotion woke Father, who sat up in bed with a startled expression.

Through half-lidded eyes, pretending to be asleep, Hyang watched as his gaze landed on Moji and Soji, his eyes widening in shock.

Father, now fully awake, leaped from the bed and rushed over. He stared at the empty wooden box and the two shining creatures before shifting his gaze to Hyang’s sister.

It felt like she was about to get scolded for feeding the younger ones something dangerous.

Hyang silently hoped that she wouldn’t mention his involvement, as they had agreed.

Then, Father spoke.

“They... they ate the artificial Neidan? Are they okay? Ah! A Neidan containing both impure energy and pure energy! I see! Hyang, did you do this? Were you the one who split the Neidan for them?”

—Pii!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

With a surprising show of loyalty, Hyang’s sister took full responsibility.

Her innocent and overly cheerful response made Hyang worry for her.

—Choruru. 『Sister... you’re in big trouble now...』

But instead of the scolding Hyang expected, Father suddenly pulled her into an embrace, rubbing his cheek against hers as he spoke.

“Well done, my Hyang. Oh, how clever you are. I thought all you could do was eat, but that wasn’t the case, was it? How did you know this was the best thing for them?”

—Pii!

“Yes, well done. Very well done. As expected of the eldest sister, taking care of her younger siblings.”

Hyang’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

He had been certain that his sister was about to be scolded.

Instead, she was being praised.

***

Wandering through a dream, it suddenly felt like he was in a club in Jiangnan.

A flashing strobe light flickered overhead.

Still half-asleep, he frowned and opened his eyes to find the entire room glowing.

“What... what the hell?”

Startled, he bolted upright.

“Wha—what is happening!?”

At the center of the alternating bursts of bright light and shadow—

Were Moji and Soji.

The two little ones were pulsing with flashes of radiant light and abyssal darkness.

Rushing out of bed, he stumbled over something at his feet.

Shielding his eyes from the brightness, he looked down—

And found the wooden box rolling near his foot.

The same wooden box that Grandmaster Gunryong had given him yesterday.

‘Why is this here?’

He was sure he had put it safely inside his robe.

It must have fallen while he was asleep.

As he checked the contents, his gaze was drawn to the source of the glowing light.

Two split pieces of the Neidan.

Moji and Soji each held a piece, absorbing the energy flowing out of them.

‘Wait, did they... eat it!?’

“They... they ate the artificial Neidan? Are they okay?”

His eyes widened at the realization.

Beside him, he sensed another presence.

Turning his head, he saw Hyang staring at Moji and Soji with a seriousness he had never seen before.

‘No way...’

Even if he had dropped the box in his sleep, Moji and Soji wouldn’t have been able to move it all the way to the table.

Which meant—

It had to be Hyang.

And now, seeing the compatibility between the Neidan’s nature and the traits of his little ones, it all made sense.

The Neidan contained both impure and pure energy, which gave it its silvery glow.

That was exactly what Silver Silkworms were.

The traits of the Neidan and the traits of Moji and Soji perfectly matched.

“Wait a second... Ah! A Neidan containing both impure and pure energy! I see! Hyang, did you do this? Did you find the Neidan for them?”

—Piiit!

When he asked if it was her doing, Hyang proudly answered.

He had thought she was nothing but a bottomless pit of hunger—

Yet she had done something so thoughtful.

Without hesitation, he pulled Hyang into a tight embrace and rubbed his cheek against hers.

This was deserving of a hundred million points of praise.

“Well done, my Hyang. Oh, how clever you are. I thought all you could do was eat, but that wasn’t the case, was it? How did you know this was the best thing for them?”

—Pii!

“Yes, well done. Very well done. As expected of the eldest sister, taking care of her younger siblings.”

As he continued to praise Hyang, he noticed Hyang trembling near the bed.

‘What’s wrong? Is he cold? Maybe it’s because of the rain from a few days ago?’

That thought briefly crossed his mind.

***

The sudden burst of light had drawn the attention of the Gunryong disciples, who burst into the room.

“L-Lord Hero! What’s happening!?”

“Ah, it’s nothing serious. My spiritual creatures are, um... Ah! That’s right! They’re undergoing Rebirth Transformation. My apologies for causing a disturbance.”

“R-Rebirth Transformation!? I-I see! In that case, we’ll stand guard outside!”

“Wait, that’s not necessa—”

“We cannot leave a Rebirth ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Transformation unattended!”

The warriors had been patrolling when the sudden flash of light from the room alarmed them.

But upon hearing his explanation, they respectfully withdrew.

Not only that, they even insisted on standing watch outside.

At first, he had hesitated, unsure if he had chosen the right term.

He had simply picked a martial arts term his grandfather had mentioned before.

‘Did I use the wrong phrase?’

But regardless, now he could quietly observe the transformation.

Time passed.

The Neidan had been completely absorbed by Moji and Soji.

Their shells cracked, one after another.

And then—

The little creatures, once mere larvae, had entered the form of the Five-Spirit Pupae.

—Buuuu.

The Five-Spirit Pupae.

The stage right before their final metamorphosis.

It wouldn’t be long now before they became true Silver Silkworms.