Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Panda Ant

Common name: Panda Ant.

Scientific name: Euspinolia militaris.

Nickname: Cow Killer.

They’re called ants, but they’re absolutely not ants.

Their true identity? Wasps.

More specifically, they’re mutillid wasps—Mutillidae—insects covered entirely in fur, where only the males have wings and the females are wingless like the so-called panda ant. They resemble ants in appearance but are taxonomically classified under the wasp family.

The reason they’ve earned such an adorable name is simply because their entire body is covered in black and white fur.

But don’t be fooled—they’re not to be taken lightly.

First of all, if threatened or provoked, they emit ultrasonic sound.

The panda ant possesses an organ called a stridulation structure, which produces ultrasonic or high-frequency sounds.

According to biologists, the resulting chirping is sharp enough to serve as a warning signal.

That strange vibration earlier, mistaken for an earthquake, must have been from this creature’s ultrasonic sound.

Amplified by the funnel-like structure of the cave, the sound waves reverberated through the area.

Even an ordinary panda ant can produce that kind of noise—and didn’t even Mama Hoja make a racket?

So yeah, it seemed like a pretty plausible explanation.

The thing also has venom.

Its nickname “cow killer” supposedly comes from the belief that its sting can kill a cow—but let’s be honest, that’s total bullshit.

Sure, the panda ant is ridiculously cute. But its venom? Not enough to kill a cow.

Panda ants are mostly found along the Chilean coast of South America, and personally, I think the Chilean locals are kind of drama queens.

Either that or just prone to exaggeration.

These rumors usually spread from people who’ve actually been stung. But despite the ominous nickname that it can kill cattle, researchers have confirmed the venom isn’t actually that potent.

And how was that confirmed? Well, the story’s kinda funny.

Not by biologists—but by a YouTuber.

If Korea has Spicy Fabre, then overseas, there was a similar guy. Not as big a deal as me, but he was catching up—another venomous-creature YouTuber.

There was this one insane dude among the foreign YouTubers who made it his thing to catch poisonous creatures and get stung on purpose.

“His growth rate was insane back then.”

He did a special broadcast where he intentionally got stung by the so-called cow-killing panda ant. I tuned in with massive expectations, but after two or three stings, all he had was a bit of redness on his skin.

“A cow killer, my ass. I’m never trusting Chilean locals again.”

The average panda ant is about 8mm in length.

Naturally, the small size means the venom can’t be that dangerous.

There’s just not enough total venom to pose a real threat.

But this one in front of me? Yeah, this guy could probably kill a cow just fine.

It was the size of my forearm.

While I stood there trembling, cradling it, I heard the princess’s startled voice.

“Wh-what’s wrong, So-ryong!?”

First time hearing me this excited?

Beside her, Gun Hye-rin calmly reassured the princess.

“He’s just happy. No need to panic.”

“That’s him being happy?”

“First time seeing it?”

“Actually, now that I think about it... maybe not...”

“You’ll get used to it.”

That last line felt a little insulting, but I didn’t have time to react to every quip.

Because right now, the panda ant mattered far more.

“You’ve done well. Let me introduce everyone. This is Sister Cho, that one’s Sister Hyang, this is Big Sis Jeokwol, there’s Sister Suran, and that one’s Cheonhae...”

For young creatures like this one, the best way to bring them in is through other kids.

Rather than logic or persuasion, nothing works better than peer interaction.

Kids don’t have the emotional walls adults build, so things move fast.

No need for any special request either.

It’s a tried and true method, so I just tossed the little thing in among the others.

—Tsruruu. “You’re super cute! I’m Cho.”

—Tsrrt. “She’s adorable, Sis! It must’ve been scary in that cave, huh?”

—Jjirrrr.

The moment introductions ended, the girls surrounded the panda ant, chattering away.

—Chiii.

—Tsrururur. “Really? You lived all alone in a dark cave your whole life? That must’ve been so lonely and scary. What’s that? That’s grass—it grows out of the ground.”

—Tsut? “Wow, you really don’t know anything, huh? That won’t do. The world’s a dangerous place, you know. You should stick with us for now. I’ll teach you everything.”

—Tsrur. “Yeah, Dad saved you ‘cause he’s a good person, but not everyone out there is nice.”

Just like that, even without a single prompt from me, the welcoming committee was already working their magic.

Then I heard Hwa-eun’s voice.

『“So-ryong, how did it go?”』

She was probably waiting for the scouting results.

And after the second “earthquake” earlier, I’m sure she was worried.

So I gave her the good news right away.

『“Ah, Hwa-eun. There was a Thunderquake Earth Ant inside.”』

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The creature is based on the panda ant, but in the Central Plains, it’s called the Thunderquake Earth Ant.

Presumably because of its ability to produce thunder-like sounds or tremors. It holds the “Zhen” position in the Sun-Moon-Star-Quake quartet of the Twenty-Four Poison Branch.

I’m thinking of changing its name in So-ryong’s Guide to Venomous Creatures to Thunderquake Earth Wasp or Thunderquake Earth Tiger Cub instead.

Just then, Hwa-eun’s voice rang out in exasperation.

『“Seriously? Again? It’s like... everywhere you go... it’s starting to feel like someone’s handing these creatures to you on purpose.”』

“Haha. Maybe it’s the heavens bestowing them upon me, moved by my virtuous character?”

Hwa-eun sounded baffled that I kept bringing home new spirit beasts no matter where I went.

Well, even I’ve been starting to think I’m a damn lucky guy.

I mean, I’ve got a gorgeous wife, beautiful daughters and big sisters...

Getting bitten to death by a black mamba in my past life? Totally worth it.

“Reincarnation by truck? That’s outdated. Reincarnation by Black Mamba is the real deal.”

While I was basking in happiness, Hwa-eun spoke again.

『“Then that means there’s only one left now, right?”』

Yeah. Honestly, I’d been thinking it’d be nice to complete the set while still alive—but now, here it was, right in front of me.

I had gathered every single member of the Twenty-Four Poison Branch.

Except one.

Heaven-Earth-Black-Yellow

Heaven: Flying Serpent God – Yeondu

Earth: Swimming Serpent God – Orange

Black: Ink-Black Ghost Centipede – Bini

Yellow: Millennium Golden Turtle – Geumdo

Sun-Moon-Star-Quake

Sun: Twin Red-Petaled Solar Ring Serpents – Hwana and Hwanji

Moon: White Moon Black-Spotted Stingray – Heukjeom

Star: Star-Soul Spider Demon – Soto

Quake: Thunderquake Earth Ant – Panda Ant

Cloud-Rain-Snow-Hail

Cloud: Red Cloud Black Millipede – Ranghyang

Rain: Seven-Colored Sea Wraith – Cheonhae (Jellyfish)

Snow: White Snow Shell – Sunbaek, Baekbaek

Hail: Hail Newt – Ram

Gold-Silver-Water-Fire

Gold: Golden General – Suran

Water: Exploding Jade Aquabug

Fire: Burning Blood Fire Crystal Centipede – Hyang

Red-Blue-White-Black

Red: Black-Clawed Red Earwig – Hongdan

Blue: Azure Steel Immortal Ant

White: Millennium White Serpent – Baekhwa

Black: Millennium Black Serpent – Heukhwa

Flower-Wood-Grass-Fruit

Flower: Twin-Blossom Orchid Mantis – Sandan

Wood: Blackwood Locust King – Changcheon

Grass: Blood-Eyed Green Grass Shrew

Fruit: Crimson Poison Harpoon Snail – Yeoncheon and Yeonji

The only venomous beast left was Silver from Gold-Silver-Water-Fire.

A fish known as the Silver Fish.

『“Yes. Everything’s gathered now—except for the silver fish.”』

I answered with a satisfied tone, and after a short pause, Hwa-eun spoke with a slight laugh.

『“Then I’ll congratulate you when you catch the silver fish too. Knowing you, it wouldn’t surprise me if that happens tomorrow.”』

“Deal.”

Yep, Hwa-eun really knew me well.

Celebrations are meant to come at the very end anyway.

And honestly? I felt like I could find that silver fish tomorrow.

***

“Yes, let’s name her Rimrim.”

The Thunderquake Earth Ant would be named Rimrim.

In the Central Plains, it’s common to give girls names with repeated characters—like Yeongyeong.

Since the panda ant had no wings, it was clearly female.

And though I hadn’t realized it at first, whenever she was in a good mood, she’d emit a pure, ringing sound like the resonance of jade. That’s why I chose Rim, the character for beautiful jade, and used it twice—Rimrim.

Ping.

A sound like a singing bowl, or the vibration of a tuning fork. It just... puts your heart at ease.

I don’t know if that was an actual ability, but still.

After naming her, I looked over at the princess and said,

“Your Highness, since this little one was the cause of the tremors, let’s inform the authorities and the people that the mountain isn’t collapsing after all.”

“To the people?”

“Yes. Now that the cause of the ‘earthquake’ has been identified as a young spirit beast, someone needs to tell them they can return home.”

Normally, I’d just slip away with Rimrim. But this time, people had already evacuated to neighboring cities thinking the mountain was crumbling from earthquakes.

And in this region, natural disasters are seen as a sign of the emperor’s failing virtue—so they were probably blaming him for everything right now.

“Won’t the people just return on their own once the tremors stop?”

The princess looked puzzled as she asked that, implying we could just leave it alone.

But that’s exactly why I had to intervene—because of her.

“Ugh. I’m doing all this for you, Your Highness.”

“Huh? F-for me?”

I nodded and explained.

“Of course. This place is close to the capital, Yeongcheon, isn’t it?”

“Yes?”

“Then the emperor’s bound to have heard about it already. And I guarantee he’s being bombarded by ministers claiming this is his punishment for lacking virtue.”

“Oh... right. That’s true.”

“But then—imagine this: The princess steps in, claiming she was ordered by the emperor to investigate. Turns out, the quake wasn’t a quake at all—just a frightened baby spirit beast trembling alone in a deep cave.

But fear not! The princess herself calmed it down. Everyone can go home now.

Don’t you think people will praise you for that? And naturally, they’ll praise the emperor too.”

And once the emperor’s mood lightens up, maybe he’ll stop acting like such a pain.

It’s not like he’d hand over a spirit beast to me just out of affection.

But if I could smooth things over between him and the princess, maybe my lottery ticket would hit sooner.

That was the idea behind this little ‘service offering.’

If their relationship improved, she’d return to the palace sooner—which was exactly what I wanted.

According to Hwa-eun, the princess seemed to like me due to the effects of the Beast-Heart Technique.

But there’s a saying from my past life:

“When the eyes are far, the heart follows.”

Or in plain modern terms: Out of sight, out of mind.

I wanted to put some distance between me and the princess—at least until I completed my path to the Life-and-Death Stage and discovered a cure.

I even planned to send Gun Hye-rin back to the Heavenly Demon Cult for a bit.

If I stayed out of sight, things would settle.

The princess looked deeply moved.

“I... I see. You did it all for me...”

“Whoa there. Don’t go getting too emotional now.”

She was making a face like she might fall for me again, so I cut her off and said we should move quickly—only for her to offer a different idea.

“Instead, let’s say you handled this mission under the emperor’s command.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Everyone already knows I was with you. Even if I don’t show my face, if you’re the one who resolved the incident, he’ll forgive me.”

“Hmm. That works too.”

And just like that, the plan was finalized.

***

“Ugh...”

After three days of sleep, the emperor awoke to a pounding headache and a pile of crises.

Sure, he’d been flustered when the princess ran off. But learning the man she liked had already reached the Flower Realm—and was casually taming dangerous spirit beasts like babies—at least put his mind at ease.

At least the man could protect his woman.

Not only that...

The Crown Prince adored his sister.

And she, in turn, treasured her brother. So, at least for the next hundred or two hundred years, no one would dare mess with the imperial family.

A martial master and long-lived spirit beasts indirectly guarding the throne? That was a winning equation.

Only problem? That brat was already married, meaning the princess would have to become a concubine.

And then there was the earthquake, which had triggered a flood of memorials.

“We must offer a formal ritual!”

“His Majesty must personally offer a prayer of repentance!”

The ministers were growing louder and more insistent with every plea to conduct a ritual and beg heaven’s forgiveness.

The emperor was frowning, trying to ignore them, when a eunuch’s voice called out from outside the palace.

“Your Majesty! An urgent dispatch has arrived from Hadong County—where Mt. Wangok is located!”

“Bring it in!”

Don’t tell me the mountain’s already collapsed...

The emperor braced for another round of headaches as he ordered the report delivered. A uniformed courier ran in and knelt, shouting,

“Your Majesty! In the villages of Hadong County, a man named So-ryong from the Beast Palace has appeared. He claims to be acting under Your Majesty’s orders.

According to his investigation, the tremors were caused not by earthquakes, but by a frightened baby spirit beast trembling deep within Mt. Wangok.

He has calmed the beast and is spreading word that everyone may return home safely!”

“...What?”

Stunned, the emperor questioned the courier again.

“And the tremors?”

“They ceased more than half a day ago, Your Majesty!”

The emperor grinned.

“So he carried out the command I gave him well.”

...Though, technically, he’d never given any such command.

But if his son-in-law wanted to credit the emperor, who was he to object?

It seemed he’d felt guilty about sneaking off with the princess and had taken care of this troublesome issue as a gesture of apology.

The emperor decided to settle all the messy business at once.

According to the Crown Prince, the princess had been unable to seek formal approval due to “circumstances”—most likely because if she’d mentioned becoming a concubine, the emperor would’ve refused outright.

So he resolved to solve the problem himself.

Turning to his ministers, the emperor thundered,

“So-ryong of the Beast Palace has rendered great service! I shall issue an imperial decree!”

“He has saved the people from the disaster of the earthquake—truly, the bearing of a hero!

And as it is said: A hero deserves three wives and four concubines! I hereby grant So-ryong the right to take three wives!”

Traditionally, no one but the emperor himself was allowed more than one principal wife.

But so what?

If the emperor says it’s allowed—then it’s allowed.

The hastily prepared imperial decree was immediately dispatched to the Sacheon ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Tang Clan.