Love 3
Geolhwang’s explanation was that insects of unknown origin had massively proliferated in Akyang, causing the people tremendous harm, and that the newly appointed governor—husband of Princess Gwando—was in an extremely difficult position because of it.
In an age like this, every natural disaster was either dismissed as some spiritual affliction or pinned on a convenient scapegoat. It seemed the new governor was being put through a full-blown witch hunt over the whole affair.
In short, he wanted me to go and help.
If I did, the princess who enjoyed the emperor’s favor would lend her support to the Murim Alliance, which currently could not dispatch troops because of imperial constraints. Or so the story went.
From the Alliance’s point of view it was rain after a long drought, and since the imperial family was involved they had even sent one of the nearby Three Emperors—Geolhwang himself—to make the request of me.
“So in the end you want me to go to Akyang, discover why so many black insects have suddenly appeared, or teach them how to deal with the things, and then come back?”
“Exactly that.”
In other words, through the Murim Alliance’s introduction they wanted me to accept Princess Gwando’s commission and provide expert advice or services on the insect problem. It was a consulting proposal.
A consulting job, huh? Ha… I only showed about a tenth of what I can do and they’re already offering consulting work. Did I look that competent?
I had displayed only a fraction of my ability, yet here they were proposing consulting work. A little high on my own competence, I still found the situation rather awkward.
Right now I was in no condition for a long journey.
With the imperial family involved and Geolhwang himself arriving on the Alliance’s behalf, refusal felt nearly impossible. The problem was that our silver silkworm moths, Moji and Soji, would darken the moment they were separated from me.
I could not leave them behind, which meant taking them on a long trip, and Seol was so close to giving birth that any extended travel was… complicated.
A month and a half had already slipped by while we visited the Murim Alliance and helped with the Divine Thief’s affairs. If the mating we had witnessed had not been their first, it would not have been strange for Seol to lay eggs even today.
I gripped my chin and let out a heavy sigh, face serious. Without a clear plan there was nothing I could do.
“Haa… But what am I supposed to do about this…”
“What’s the matter?”
Geolhwang tilted his head. I answered with an apologetic look.
“I’d like to help, but there are children about to give birth… and I brought the silver silkworm moths on my shoulders this time. If they leave my side they start leaking toxic energy. On top of that, the other children I’m raising hate being apart from me, so if I go I’d have to take them all—and I can’t exactly bring them into a crowded place…”
I kept the fact that Moji and Soji leaked turbid energy a secret and simply explained that I wanted to help but it was difficult. Geolhwang smiled.
“Don’t worry about that. The strategist already said that if we want Princess Gwando’s trust it would be best to bring some venomous creatures along, so he sent a ship from the Zhuge Family.”
“A ship!?”
Wait—they even chartered a ship?
My eyes went round. Geolhwang continued.
“Yes. Of all the Zhuge vessels it’s the fastest on the Yangtze and also the largest, so the journey won’t be hard. And that ship will carry no one but you.”
A large ship would not rock much, and the cabins would have little temperature variation. If it carried only me and my kids—like a livestock transport—then the arrangement was reassuring. No risk of running into other people.
They had prepared quite thoroughly for this request. The next part was enough to startle me further.
“And to repay the help you’ve given so far, they said they’ll give you the ship if you need it. Crew included. You’ll probably have to travel to the Murim Alliance often because of the Blood Cult, and moving with venomous creatures is difficult. If necessary, they’ll even remodel the ship however you like.”
“Huh!?”
A personal livestock transport ship. No—a personal venomous-creature transport ship. This was an offer I truly could not refuse.
Seven of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures still remained. I already knew who held one of them, and I had once found the Poison Feather Bird, absolute sovereign of all poisonous creatures. Only the five I had never seen were still unaccounted for, and to hunt them a ship would be ideal.
When I went after them I would have to bring the other children along; for traveling while keeping them hidden, nothing beat a ship. And the last one I would catch was almost certainly the Poison Feather Bird. To reach Hainan Island I would need a vessel no matter what.
If I asked my father-in-law he would build me a ship, but getting one through my own ability feels different from having the in-laws provide it, you know?
It was a good offer, so I first glanced at my father-in-law. Leaving the ship aside, I wanted to know what he thought. With the royal family involved this was a family matter more than a personal one.
Then the sound transmission reached me.
Son-in-law, if possible it would be best to accept. Even though we married you off and you have left the house, this is a chance to place a favor with someone of the imperial family. Even if it does not help us right away, someday it will help in some fashion.
Even the father-in-law who led the family wanted me to do it. They spoke of non-interference between officials and martial artists, yet that principle seemed limited only to matters that required force. Come to think of it, last time we had sent medicine to turn the Sichuan provincial governor into a more confident man, hadn’t we?
My heart had already tilted toward the venomous-creature transport ship, so I thought to myself,
Yeah, when you live you end up getting involved—that’s inevitable. How can I pretend I know nothing under the pretext of non-interference? Then should I leave Seol and Bing with Hwa-eun and go once?
I worried about missing the birth of the young, but a personal venomous-creature transport ship was hard to turn down. First I decided to confirm whether the problem was something I could actually consult on. If I went and it turned out to be beyond me, I would feel bad accepting the ship.
“I’ll consider going, but do you know what kind of insects they are?”
Geolhwang nodded eagerly.
“Oh! So you’re going? Then I’m relieved. Ah, and they said the insects are black and have wings.”
Really rough. But how many black, winged insects exist in the world? What looks the same to an ordinary person can be an entirely different species. I had no choice but to start listing possibilities. To most people, insects are all more or less the same.
Yeah, as the expert I should be the understanding one.
“Black with wings… Could it be flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, or locusts?”
Insects that mass-reproduce and harm human life are usually flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, or locusts. When I asked if it was one of those four, Geolhwang shook his head.
“They said it isn’t those. If it were, they would have said so. They clearly said it was an insect they had never seen before.”
“An insect never seen before…”
Black winged insects… What mass-reproduces like that?
Nothing particular came to mind. I was thinking I would probably need to see the real thing when a voice drifted in from outside.
Hwa-eun’s voice.
“Father, excuse me for interrupting your conversation.”
“What is it?”
“I know you’re discussing something important, but it’s a bit urgent. May I take So-ryong for a moment?”
There was already tea inside, so I thought she might be bringing more refreshments because of Geolhwang’s visit. Instead Hwa-eun was calling for me, her voice tightly reined in with urgency.
Me?
My father-in-law looked at me. Even knowing the Beggar King had come seeking me, she still needed me badly enough to interrupt. I decided to ask their understanding and check what was going on.
“I’ll go see what it is for a moment and return.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Go on, son-in-law.”
I obtained their leave and opened the door of the family head’s hall.
Standing in front of it was Hwa-eun, her face pale, biting her nails as she stared at me. Her hands trembled, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead—unusual for a martial artist who rarely perspired.
The moment she opened her mouth, the emotions she had been holding back burst free.
“So-So-ryong! Quickly! Hurry!”
Without explanation she seized my hand and dragged me.
“Hwa-eun, calm down and tell me. I was talking inside—I need permission to leave.”
I had said I would check and come back, so even to go I needed leave. When I stopped and told her that, she turned a dazed look on me. Then she shouted.
“She’s giving birth!”
“Giving birth?”
Hwa-eun was suddenly yelling that someone was giving birth. The explanation that followed made my eyes fly wide.
“Se-Seol clung to Bing-ok right after you headed for the family head’s hall and wouldn’t let go. At first I thought she was just eating. But something felt wrong, so I kept watching…
“Sister Seol came over and examined her… and Sister looked at Seol and said something seemed off—asked if she might be laying eggs!”
Sister Seol was not a specialist in this field, but she was utterly sincere about animals. She had delivered any number of puppy and wolf pups since childhood. If Sister Seol said so, the odds were high she was right.
It was a first birth; Hwa-eun was shaking with tension. I interlaced my fingers with hers and shouted. Permission or no permission—eggs were coming out. That was what mattered.
“Let’s go!”
We sprinted and burst into Hwa-eun’s quarters. Seol sat frozen on the table, tightly hugging Bing-ok. Startled by Seol’s state, Bing was spinning frantically around the tabletop, licking Seol’s face.
“So-ryong! Come quick—it definitely looks like she’s trying to give birth to something!”
The moment Hwa-eun and I rushed in, Sister Seol sprang up from her seat. As I approached the table Bing dashed over and tugged at my sleeve.
-Kukku! Kuku-woo!
Since I had once saved Seol, he seemed to believe I could fix anything.
“I know. Bing, step back for a moment.”
I made him retreat, yet Seol’s condition left me tense as well. In my past life I had received countless eggs, but nearly a full shichen—two hours—had passed since I entered the family head’s hall. Laying eggs could take a long time, yet because this was a first birth there was also the risk of egg binding.
Egg binding is a common condition among egg-laying birds, turtles, lizards, snakes and other reptiles: the egg forms too large inside the body, or, especially in first-time mothers, becomes stuck and cannot exit. If that was what we were facing, it was serious. If the egg was not laid, uric acid and toxins could reverse-flow and destroy the organs—potentially fatal.
Please, just don’t let it be egg binding.
“It’s okay, Seol. It’s Daddy. Daddy’s going to take a look.”
-Ku-woo.
If she was in labor I should not touch her, but if it was egg binding we were in real trouble. The moment I carefully lifted her tail to examine her—
-Slurp.
Fluid streamed from near Seol’s tail.
“Water?”
A little fluid is normal when laying, but this was a lot for an egg-layer. I was just thinking, Is this because she’s a spirit beast? when Seol’s twitching cloaca opened and something slid free.
I widened my eyes. What emerged was not the egg I had expected—it was a baby.
“A-A baby!?”
“So-ryong, it’s not an egg. A ba-baby came out!”
“So, so cute!”
What Seol had given birth to was no egg. A tiny lizard, identical to Seol and Bing, wrapped in a transparent membrane. I had assumed Seol and Bing would lay eggs, yet like certain lizards that give live birth, Seol had produced a baby instead.
“A cl-cloth! Hwa-eun, a cloth!”
“H-Here!”
The live birth was startling enough, but the baby was still enclosed in the fetal membrane. With the cloth Hwa-eun handed me I quickly peeled it away and wiped the little one’s nose. The newborn drew its first breath and let out a valiant first cry.
-Kweet.
The sound was so fiercely adorable that the three of us listening collapsed in helpless delight.