Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

—Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz.

One day later.

By the time I returned from the Dianchang Sect and arrived at the ship around lunchtime, the place was buzzing with life.

Perhaps because we had crossed into the warmer region of Yunnan, all the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings—who had been huddled in their hive during the cold—were now wide awake, flying overhead and darting back and forth gathering nectar and pollen.

Back when we had first entered Yunnan, temperatures in the northeast had still been low, so the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings remained tightly clustered inside the ship, not emerging.

That’s what bees do in winter. They huddle together in their hive for warmth and survive by feeding on stored honey.

But now that we’d followed the Lanchang River farther downstream into warmer territory, they were finally active again.

“Oh, looks like the kids are all awake. These are my Golden-Furred Wasp Kings. Please be careful not to startle them. They’re very docile—unless frightened.”

“Understood, So-ryong.”

Though I’d told them it was fine, the disciples from Dianchang Sect had insisted on following me back to the ship, so I warned them to be cautious. As we got closer, the hum of the wasps’ wings filled the air around us.

—Bzzzzzz.

Two Golden-Furred Wasp Kings suddenly flew down from the sky and hovered in front of me.

“Hey there. You doing okay?”

I greeted them warmly, but they didn’t respond like they usually did.

Normally, they would’ve rushed me and clung to me, buzzing excitedly—but instead, the two just hovered in place, flapping their wings in a nervous, confused way.

—Bzzzzz?

—Bzzz.

Just as I was wondering what was going on, Hyang spoke to them as if explaining.

—Tsrurur. 『It’s because Daddy got bigger.』

—Bzzzz?

—Tsrit. 『Yeah. I was shocked at first too, but they say he just grew up.』

—Bzzzzzz.

—Tsrurururt. 『I used to be a baby centipede too, but I grew up. Same thing happened to Daddy.』

“Got bigger”? What were they talking about?

Listening closely, I realized this was the first time the worker wasps were seeing me in my transformed state—after I had shed my old body and reached the form of a young man in his twenties.

Ranghu, being the queen, was strong enough to move around even in the cold, so she’d attended my wedding ceremony—but the other worker wasps had been in hibernation ever since we arrived at the Tang Clan estate.

So to them, my changed appearance was jarring.

I used to be Little So-ryong. Now I was a Great Dragon.

Of course it was shocking—I’d suddenly grown up.

Cho, Hyang, Bini—all of them had shown similar reactions the first time they saw me like this.

—T-Tsrit? 『D-Daddy?』

“Yeah, it’s me, Cho. I’m your dad.”

—Tsrurur. 『...You’re not Daddy.』

“Hey! Come on now, of course I’m your dad! I just got a bit bigger, that’s all!”

I remembered the first time Cho saw me after my transformation, and smiled as I tried to explain it to them.

“Oops, I didn’t tell you, did I? I grew up. Just like a larva becomes an adult wasp. Same voice, though, right?”

My voice had deepened a little, like I’d gone through a second puberty after shedding my old body. But I tried to make it sound as close as possible to before.

The two wasps flew cautiously around me in a circle, inspecting me.

Then they landed gently on my shoulders and wiggled their antennae, sniffing around like they were trying to be sure.

When their inspection was done, they buzzed lightly—like they were relieved—and clung to my shoulders affectionately.

—Bzzzz. Bzzzzzz.

Then they flew off, heading straight for the hive.

Just as I reached the ship’s entrance, a torrent of wasps suddenly burst out from the hive.

The two must have gone back and spread the word: So-ryong got big.

—Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzz.

—Bzzzzzz.

The wingbeats of the swarm created a low, thunderous hum.

The sight of the sky suddenly darkened by the sheer number of Golden-Furred Wasp Kings made the disciples behind me flinch and back away.

They had been fine with one or two, but seeing a whole swarm clearly freaked them out.

“S-So many...”

“A-Are you sure they’re safe, sir?”

Their reactions reminded me of myself as a kid—how I got scared by a dog once, and used to turn back home if I saw one on the way to school.

“They’re fine. They’re as gentle as puppies. If you get close to them, they’ll even share their honey with you.”

“R-Really?”

“Yup. I’ve had some myself. Even boosted my internal energy.”

“Oooh...”

Thanks to Geombong’s explanation, the fear on their faces began to change into anticipation.

That’s when the massive swarm suddenly split apart, and Ranghu emerged from within.

She flew up, raised her chin like a queen, and flapped her wings with an air of “What’s all this fuss over nothing?”

Immediately, the entire swarm turned and bolted back into the hive.

Apparently, they’d come out to gawk at the grown-up So-ryong, only to get scolded for slacking off.

Slackers don’t survive in a wasp society.

—Bzzzzzz.

Once the last worker had vanished back into the hive, Ranghu zipped over and latched onto my head without hesitation.

She’d already seen my adult form, so she wasn’t the least bit confused.

—Bzzz.

“Uh, h-hey Ranghu. I’m glad to see you too. But I’ve got some guests here, so could you maybe move a little?”

She made me nervous, but she looked so happy to see me that I just smiled awkwardly and greeted her.

When I politely asked her to move, she flapped her wings in response.

—Bzzzzzz.

And then, as if signaling the others, some of the worker wasps that had returned to the hive now came flying back.

Apparently on Ranghu’s orders, they started busily setting up tables and chairs on the deck, preparing cups.

They looked practically human the way they moved.

When they finished, they each filled a cup with fresh honey—and then Ranghu flew over to Hwa-eun’s shoulder and buzzed her wings.

“What’s she saying, Hyang?”

Hwa-eun turned toward Hyang, who responded in the group mind channel.

『—Tsrit. (Mom, Big Sister Ranghu says she’s prepared to welcome your guests.)』

“Oh my. Ranghu, you set this up to welcome our guests? Thank you so much! That’s amazing!”

When they heard that the wasps had prepared a welcome banquet, the Dianchang disciples gawked in astonishment.

“I knew they understood speech, but to actually host guests? That’s incredible, So-ryong.”

“Y-Yes... truly remarkable.”

They’d thought the wasps were just obedient like trained dogs—but seeing them offer hospitality was something else entirely.

Honestly, I was just as shocked.

If this keeps up, won’t they start walking on two legs soon?

I wouldn’t mind that—but it’s what comes after that worries me.

***

The next day, we decided to move with the minimum number of people.

Our destination: deep within the jungle, where the transaction was supposed to take place.

We’d already secured the exact location through interrogation, so the plan was for Geombong, her disciple Seonhak, Hwa-eun, and me to go together, since they knew the local terrain well.

“Just the four of you?”

“Yes. If too many people move, we risk being noticed. We’ll proceed with the minimum number necessary.”

“In that case, at least take me with you. You can’t possibly expect someone else to handle a task meant for the Venom Elimination Unit of the Tang Clan.”

But the leader of the Venom Elimination Unit objected to my proposal, arguing that the work of the Venom Elimination Unit couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else.

Why was he so devoted to this kind of thing?

Does he just really enjoy killing people?

Well, I suppose that’s why he ended up as the leader of the Tang Clan’s assassination squad.

I decided to pacify him.

After all, the real fun wouldn’t begin until we found the enemy’s base.

And I had every intention of giving him plenty of people to “eliminate.”

“Surely the place where you’ll shine most is at their base, right? So for now, we’ll handle the task of locating it.”

“Don’t worry—you’ll still get your share.”

That should do it.

I used the kind of lines you’d hear from assassins in old movies, and he looked slightly pleased.

“I see. In that case, I’ll wait.”

Leaving him behind, I went up on deck to make final preparations.

“Cho, Yeondu, Sister Jeokwol, Hyang, Hongdan, Moji, Soji—let’s go.”

Hwa-eun, Geombong, and her disciple Seonhak were already prepared, and the kids were on standby. I immediately gave the signal to depart.

Yeondu darted in quickly, wrapping around Hwa-eun and me, then moved toward Geombong and her disciple Seonhak.

After helping move Gungbong and Gun Hye-rin, Yeondu seemed to have grown more used to working with humans, and she readily accepted this request.

She wrapped around them without hesitation.

“I’ve never done this before... This is exciting.”

“W-Will we be okay?”

“Of course. Little So-hyeop always moves like this.”

Geombong had always wanted to fly, so she welcomed Yeondu naturally. But Seonhak trembled with his eyes shut as she coiled around him.

Yeondu may have had a delicate woman’s voice, but her body was anything but delicate.

Her torso was thicker than a man’s thigh—if she ever decided to squeeze, you’d be crushed to death instantly.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”

I calmed him down, and we immediately lifted off.

Below us, Dianchang Sect disciples looked up in amazement.

“They can fly like that?!”

“Travel safely!”

Just in case, I turned to Sister Jeokwol and made a request.

“Sister Jeokwol, please cloak us right away.”

—Chiiiii.

Her voice answered me, and as the sunset spread behind us, we vanished into it as if melting into dusk.

***

We hadn’t flown far to the south when a mountain appeared ahead. Seonhak informed us we had reached the target.

[Up ahead, So-ryong.]

[This is the place?]

I asked through transmission. Seonhak nodded and pointed toward a specific area.

The sun hadn’t fully set yet, so we could still vaguely see the terrain below.

The location we’d been aiming for was just upstream of a creek running beneath the mountain—a large boulder nearby.

[Do you see that large boulder where the stream splits? That’s it. That’s the Elephant Rock.]

Didn’t really look like an elephant to me, but apparently the target location was this so-called Elephant Rock.

I gave silent instructions to Cho and Yeondu.

‘Let’s head above that boulder, kids.’

—Tsrururt. (Okay, Daddy.)

—Shaaa. (Understood, So-ryong.)

Because of Sister Jeokwol’s limited cloaking radius during movement, Cho and Yeondu were flying in close formation.

I asked both of them at once to head to the rock, and they adjusted their speed to hover in place above the Elephant Rock.

—Tsrururt. (Should we wait here, Daddy?)

“Yes, I think this is a good spot. Will you be okay?”

—Tsrrt. (No problem. This is easy.)

While we maintained position above the site, twilight gradually deepened.

And when the sun finally set completely, the silent jungle began to awaken.

—Chirr chirr.

—Ribbit. Ribbit.

Insects and amphibians began their seductive nighttime chorus.

“Beautiful.”

About roughly 40 minutes passed.

We all remained quietly listening to the seductive calls of the insects and frogs.

—Chirr chir...

—Ribbit. Rib...

Suddenly, all sound around us stopped.

The jungle had gone quiet the moment the sound of footsteps crunching leaves rang out.

—Rustle. Rustle.

『So-ryong, I think it’s coming from over there.』

Hwa-eun pointed in the direction of the sound.

I activated Myo-aam Night Sight, and my surroundings immediately brightened.

But I still couldn’t see the person making the noise.

I closed my eyes slightly, switching to infrared—there, beyond the brush, a red figure approached.

It was a single, well-built man.

He carried a bamboo basket on his back. After checking that no one was around, he clicked his tongue and muttered:

“Tch. Missing that last delivery cost me half my buyers. This is the final batch, and I probably won’t sell all of it.”

From the sound of his muttering, it didn’t seem like he suspected anything regarding the people we’d already arrested.

He must’ve assumed the buyers simply didn’t show up because of production delays on their end.

That worked in our favor—if he had noticed they were missing, it might have raised suspicion.

“Good. That’s a relief.”

I decided to tail him immediately.

‘Let’s follow him, kids.’

—Tsrururt. (Got it, Daddy.)

—Shaaa. ★ ★ (Understood.)

He was moving away from Dali, in the opposite direction.

Judging by his earlier muttering, he’d already met with everyone he needed to, and was probably heading back to base.

The pouch at his waist jingled with coins as he picked up speed, clearly having made a hefty profit.

After  four hours of pursuit, we arrived at an abandoned brickyard.

The place reminded me of the spot I used to live in Haenam.

A few men were posted on guard.

Geombong, watching from above, sent me a transmission.

[So-hyeop, something’s wrong. These guys know martial arts.]

She had only scanned the place briefly, but she had already noticed their internal energy—these men were martial artists.

I had just sensed the same thing and nodded as I replied.

[Then the two of you go bring the others—Dianchang disciples and the Venom Elimination Unit. Hwa-eun and I will keep watch.]

[Got it.]

Honestly, Hwa-eun and I could probably tear through the whole place ourselves, but in case anyone tried to escape—and because I’d promised—I told them to bring the Venom Elimination Unit.

Geombong and her disciple vanished with Yeondu.

Not long after, from the brickyard’s largest building, I saw people dragging something that looked like intestines.

What the hell is that?

Had they caught some kind of shellfish?

I squinted, trying to make out the large lump they were carrying.

And then I saw it—something dangling from the last man’s hand caught the moonlight.

A shimmering teal shell and a pair of long antennae.

The moment I saw it, my vision went red.

“These bastards—!”

I dropped out of Cho’s body and dove straight toward them.

—KWAANG!

They had killed a spirit beast.

These fuckers were all going to be short-of-breath by the end of the night.