Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 160: Mountain Hideout (1)

Typically, amphibians grow their hind legs first, followed by the front legs. The hind legs begin as small buds between the tail and body and grow slowly, taking shape over time. The front legs develop inside the body behind the gills and, once they are sufficiently grown, burst through the side to emerge.

However, right after the front legs have broken through the side, they are still short and not yet useful for swimming.

Instead, they just dangle like decorations, shaking as the amphibian swims.

But Hyang's front legs, which had grown, were clearly functioning as legs.

I could see Hyang gripping the edge of the water barrel tightly.

‘Gyaaaah!’

I knew that Hyang grew by consuming fire, but I didn’t expect such a drastic growth spurt after consuming a large amount of fire.

Seeing Hyang’s front legs gripping the barrel, I instinctively reached out with my hand to get a better look.

There was a lot to learn from just one part of the amphibian's body, like its front legs.

For instance, if the front legs had suckers, that would suggest it could climb; if it had webbing, it could swim; or if it had hooked claws, it would be able to dig.

Though I couldn’t immediately determine whether Hyang was a frog or a toad, I could tell whether it was an amphibian with claws for land use, like a tree frog, or an aquatic species good for swimming.

But before I could analyze it further, I was stopped by Hwa-eun and Seol.

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“So-ryong! The poison!”

“Ah, oh no!”

I had been distracted by Hyang’s growth and almost forgot the risk of poisoning. I quickly withdrew my hand.

It hadn’t been long since I had suffered from the effects of poisoning.

“So-ryong, have you forgotten about the incident not long ago?”

“That’s right. So-ryong, be careful. How could you forget?”

“W-Well, I’m not a fish or anything...”

I tried to joke with Hwa-eun and Seol, saying I wasn’t some fish to forget about the danger, but the truth was, the sight of Hyang’s front legs had made me momentarily forget.

‘How could I stay sane looking at that?’

If something like the word "transformation" or "metamorphosis" were applied to Hwa-eun, I could have stayed calm, but if the kids were undergoing shedding or transformation, I’d probably lose my mind.

Hwa-eun and Seol, realizing my excuse wasn’t convincing, gave me a look that suggested they weren’t buying it.

“I... I didn’t mean to...”

I gave them an apologetic look and turned my gaze back to Hyang.

If I had known it would grow so quickly, I regretted not feeding it more.

‘I should have just fed it more. Why did I try to control its food intake?’

Some amphibians have hearty appetites, and I was concerned that it might burst from overeating. So I had been controlling the food amount, but it seemed I had made the wrong call.

Hyang clearly grew according to what it ate.

Normally, food would be stored first in the stomach, so I thought it could burst if there was too much. But with Hyang, I realized that the fire was probably a source of Yang energy.

It wouldn’t burst from overeating if the energy came from Yang, right?

Cho, Bini, and Hyang absorbed natural energy, while Bingi, Seol, and Dong fed on the cold energy from the Bingyok.

Yo-hwa fed on my Yang energy.

Of course, some creatures, like the Golden Wasp King, fed on honey, but that was an exception. Most spiritual creatures absorbed energy, so there seemed to be no problem with them eating a lot.

Perhaps a large intake of energy would lead to metamorphosis or evolution?

That idea seemed reasonable since most of the venomous creatures I had raised showed similar patterns of growth.

‘If that’s the case, I should feed it more to help it evolve into an adult.’

Now that I knew Hyang would grow based on its food intake, the next step was clear.

I needed to feed it as much as possible to ensure it grew into an adult.

Kneeling down to Hyang’s eye level, I asked,

“Would you like some more food, Hyang?”

Then Hyang bubbled happily in the water.

Bubble bubble.It seemed that Hyang could now breathe through its lungs, not just its gills.

***

I instructed the workers to cut more reeds and started a massive fire in the village square.

Now that Hyang had developed front legs, I hoped that today we might see the final stage of Hyang’s transformation.

Since the front legs had already appeared, I thought that if the tail just shortened, the whole process would be complete—so I didn’t think it was an impossible task.

‘Let’s see Hyang reach the final stage.’

I felt a little guilty using the workers for personal tasks, but if Hyang ate enough and produced more poison, it would help with both the village’s defense and the bedbug control. So, it wasn’t just for my own benefit.

Therefore, I had the workers bring in logs and dry wood to feed Hyang, but while enough poison was being generated, unfortunately, Hyang's tail didn’t shorten immediately.

It felt like a step-by-step growth process, almost as if it needed to eat a certain amount before completing the transformation.

If I had more time, I would’ve kept feeding it all night, but I couldn’t.

The bedbugs were coming.

As the sun set and the deep night approached, the bedbugs started emerging from everywhere.

The bedbugs that /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had entered the village were dealt with earlier by Hwa-eun’s scent tracking, so only a few appeared. But on the other side of the waterway, they were swarming again.

We usually think of cockroaches as breeding endlessly, but honestly, cockroaches can’t compare to bedbugs.

A single bedbug can lay around 500 eggs in its lifetime, and because they hide in the corners of houses, they multiply exponentially.

“So-ryong, just like you said, they’re swarming!”

“So-ryong, is everything really okay?”

“They probably won’t be able to cross the water.”

People watched the waterway with anxious expressions, and as the bedbugs reached the edge, they stopped, unable to proceed.

The reason they feared the water was that their bodies were so light, and they were vulnerable to the surface tension of the water. As soon as they got near, they would stick to the surface.

“They’ve stopped! They’ve stopped!”

“The pests have stopped!”

“We made it!”

Seeing the bedbugs halt at the edge of the water, the people exhaled in relief and celebrated.

I threw a rock at the bedbugs from the other side, taunting them.

“Want to eat? Want to eat? Come here, you pests!”

And so the standoff continued into the early hours of the morning.

As I dozed by the campfire, Lee Tae and several of the workers who had been on lookout came to report the situation.

“So-ryong, as you predicted, the bedbugs are moving more actively now!”

Slurp. “In that case, get the water ready.”“Understood!”

Wiping the drool from my mouth and rubbing my eyes, Yo-hwa came over and gently lifted me onto her back.

It seemed like she didn’t want me to get up and was coaxing me to sleep longer.

Her soft fur made my eyes feel heavy again, but I quickly snapped out of it and said,

“Yo-hwa, no, I have things to do.”

Kiss.It seemed like I was growing, but still, there were tasks to be done.

If I missed this moment, I'd have to wait until tomorrow, so I shook myself awake, rubbed my eyes, and got up.

People often think bedbugs bite at night, but they’re actually most active at dawn.

So, when we move, it’s right before the sun rises, in the early morning.

While changing the water in the tank where Hyang was kept, I carefully scraped the sides and brought it near the water path, then immediately began spraying insecticide.

"Lord So-ryong, it's ready. Shall we begin?"

"Ah, what about the bamboo water container?"

"It's here."

I put on gloves made from Yo-hwa’s thread with both hands, then sucked water into the bamboo water gun.

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I aimed it at the bedbugs gathered on the other side of the water, spraying them with Hyang's venom-laced water.

Ssss.The stream of water shot out from the bamboo nozzle, splashing over the bedbugs’ heads.

I carefully sprayed the insecticide along the water path, and soon, as the sun began to rise, just like the day before, the bedbugs scattered in all directions.

"They’re retreating!"

"They’re scattering!"

After they scattered, a few hours later, while we were gathered in the village clearing, eating breakfast amidst the early morning mist, something caught my attention.

"Ryong, look over there!"

Suddenly, Seol stood up mid-meal and pointed toward the mountain.

I turned my head to follow her finger, and from the snow-covered peaks, it looked like blue flames were flickering on and off, like little blue lights twinkling on a Christmas tree.

It seemed like Hyang’s poison was definitely working.

The blue flames also appeared in the nearby forest, and seeing the glow, Seol and Hyang both stared in awe.

"It's beautiful."

"Really."

It was an incredibly extravagant and beautiful death, one that didn’t fit the bedbugs at all.

***

After repeating the same task for about two days, the number of bedbugs had definitely decreased.

Now, only a few stragglers were arriving at the village.

As I checked the ones coming in and the dead ones, I realized something strange.

"Something’s definitely odd."

"What’s wrong now?"

Seol, frowning, asked, perhaps thinking it was more bad news.

I smiled at Seol and answered.

"It’s about the bedbugs. The ones that came to the village... there are no females at all."

"Not a single one?"

"Yes, not a single one."

Bedbugs are one of those insects where it's hard to tell the males from the females.

The reason is that their appearance is almost identical, making them difficult to distinguish.

They’re similar in size, and there’s no clear difference between them.

The only feature you can spot is that the males tend to be slightly sleeker, while the females are a bit rounder.

But unless you observe them side by side, you won’t see much of a difference.

"That’s strange."

"Well, if someone’s controlling them, that could be why. If these guys had bred naturally, who knows how many there would be."

It seemed like someone had intentionally excluded the females to keep the bedbug population in check, making it easier to control.

Looking toward the larger mountain beyond the village, I said, "I think we need to check over there."

The village was nearly tidied up, and repairs would be done soon, so I figured it was time to visit the mountain hideout of the bandits.

***

At the bandits' hideout, since we had no idea how many bedbugs might still be in the forest, Hyang and I decided to go cautiously on a broom.

"Be careful, Ryong."

"Yes, Seol."

After Seol’s repeated warnings, I flew off with the broom, growing smaller as I ascended until Seol became a tiny dot on the ground.

"Fly toward that mountain, Cho."

Zzzrrrrt!Once we had gained some altitude, I asked Cho to fly toward the mountain where the hideout was, and slowly, Cho started moving toward it.

After days of vibrant blue fireworks, the mountain was eerily quiet.

The thick trees made it impossible to see anything, but after a little maneuvering, I saw a clearing that resembled the hideout below.

The hideout was cleverly hidden by trees and foliage, but from above, it was clearly visible.

I asked Cho to hover nearby and circled around, scrutinizing the place, but the hideout was eerily silent.

"Do you think it’s safe to land?"

"Yes, there’s no sign of anyone."

We landed boldly in the center of the deserted hideout, but no bandits greeted us. We inspected a few wooden huts and found only decomposing bodies with exposed bones.

When we entered the largest log cabin, there were herbs and medicinal pills scattered about.

On the floor, a decomposing corpse greeted us.

"This looks like where the leader lived."

"Is this the leader?"

"I’ll check the medicine first."

"Got it. I’ll look around for anything unusual."

Zzzrrt!As Hyang examined the medicinal pills, Cho and I started investigating the other things inside the cabin.

While Cho was examining everything, suddenly, from under a table in front of a fallen corpse, he crawled out holding a book in his mouth.

Zzzrrt!"Good job, Cho."

Since Cho wasn’t literate, I knew it wasn’t anything particularly important, but when I petted his head and took the book, I noticed something familiar.

On the cover of the book were illustrations of the five poisonous creatures I had seen in the underground chambers of O-dok Clan.