Poisonous Insect Valley 1
The weight pressed down from the arms draped over both my shoulders and around my waist.
I stood there thinking it over, but we had to get moving, so I finally spoke up. At this rate we would never leave before the day was out. Behind me, Grandfather Mandok Shingun and the entire Poisonous Insect Unit were lined up waiting.
“Uh… kids?”
Kku-kku?
Tseut?
Kishit?
Came the completely unbothered cries that sounded like What do you want?
Their shameless calm made me smack my own forehead with a loud crack.
“No, you have to let go so Daddy can leave…”
There was a very good reason I was making that face over their behavior.
For days we had prepared for the expedition. Our first stop would be the city of Kunming in Yunnan, after which we would push into the jungles of Yunnan and set our sights firmly on Mt. Aenoe.
“The Poisonous Insect Valley, you say!?”
“Indeed. The Poisonous Insect Valley.”
What? There’s a place with a name that sounds like paradise?
According to Tang Family records, it was a place where bizarre rock formations rose like a forest, and inside it lay the Poisonous Insect Valley—home to countless mysterious venomous insects and snakes.
The poisons of Mt. Aenoe are exceedingly strange. Greatest among them are those discovered near the lake at the heart of the Poisonous Insect Valley······.
Poisonous Insect Valley. There was no way I could pass that up. To this spicy Fabre, “heaven” and “Poisonous Insect Valley” were the same word.
So we decided the surplus crickets and mealworms produced by the Poisonous Creature Garden would be dried and used as snacks or side dishes. Those staying behind looked disappointed, but half the Poisonous Insect Unit had to remain at the Tang estate to keep the Garden running. Roughly half was the minimum needed for proper management.
The person left in charge was Song Na-ok, Vice Captain of the Poisonous Insect Unit. I had stuck a title on her the moment she joined because she needed the authority to give orders to the unit members; without a proper rank it had looked awkward.
Anyway, preparations finished, and the day before departure I gathered O-gong, the Seokcheok, and Yo-hwa to explain things. I didn’t want them wandering around looking for me just because I was gone.
“Daddy has business outside and has to be away for a few days, okay? So stay home and listen to Mom. Got it? Cho, take good care of your little siblings. Hyang, don’t give Mom a hard time. Bing, even if you miss Daddy, hang in there just a few days. Seol and Bing, you two listen to your big sister too.”
Tseurreu…
Kku-kku!?
At the news that I was going somewhere, the O-gongs—who always stuck to my body and already knew the plan—let out deflated little sounds, while Seol and Bing made startled inquiries. The O-gongs understood, but Seol and Bing looked confused, so I roughly explained why I was heading out.
“I’m going to bring some friends back. Wouldn’t it be nice if you kids had friends too? I’ll be back soon, so listen well to Mom and your big sister, alright?”
Tseurreu…
Kku-kku…
When I repeated the instructions, the O-gongs and Seol and Bing answered reluctantly. The five of them were easy enough to persuade. Right after that came Yo-hwa’s questioning cry that basically asked what about her.
Kishit?
“Yo-hwa, the Poisonous Insect Unit uncles who are staying behind will come under the well every morning and give you yang energy, so don’t worry. For a few days…”
Kishishi!
Before I could finish, the false body that mimicked Big Sister’s form crossed her arms and made an expression that said this was absolutely unacceptable—wearing the exact cool, frosty look of the Big Sister I loved most. The sound she made left no doubt she was refusing.
I knew exactly why, of course. Yo-hwa didn’t need yang energy every single day; she only took it occasionally. Ever since coming to the Tang Family she had refused to accept it from anyone but me. According to Father-in-law and Grandfather Mandok Shingun, Tang records said a Human-faced Spider would snatch people, hang them from trees, and drain their yang energy until they died. Strangely, Yo-hwa was picky about one particular person’s energy. Unless she was truly starving, she simply would not take anyone else’s.
I pleaded with her desperately.
“Isn’t there any way, Yo-hwa? I really have to go. I’m begging you.”
Even in my previous life, travel had been an absolute rarity. The insects, reptiles, and amphibians I kept back then didn’t need food every day—a day or two was fine—but long trips had been completely impossible. For the overseas trip celebrating a million subscribers I had only been able to leave after first finding someone to look after my creatures.
Nothing had changed. In my past life I just needed someone to feed them and clean the cages. Now I had to beg intelligent children for permission, which somehow felt even harder.
No, this might actually be tougher than my past life. Back then I didn’t need the kids’ permission. And getting permission from Big Sister—the confirmed future wife candidate—was never this difficult either…
In the end I begged until my hands and feet were raw, soothing Yo-hwa’s mood before I finally, barely, received her consent. I hadn’t known it, but this kid really loved being hugged in her false body. She had been so stubbornly refusing that I had impulsively hugged the false form—and she had bashfully given in.
“Yo-hwa, please, I’m begging you like this.”
Ki, kishi!
A cry that meant she understood, so get off already.
Anyway, after that whole mess yesterday I had finally gotten permission and was ready to set out with the expedition today. The kids had followed Big Sister out, supposedly to see us off. But the moment we reached the main gate they suddenly swarmed me.
Tseurreut!
Kishit!
Kku-kku!
The instant I tried to step outside the gate, Seol, Bing, and the O-gongs rushed in and fought for spots on my body. Ordinarily O-gong and the Seokcheok got along so poorly they would battle for shoulder space on me or Big Sister, yet today they actually yielded to each other. The O-gongs took my right shoulder, the Seokcheok my left. And behind me Yo-hwa wrapped her arms around my waist.
At first I thought it was just a goodbye. I figured they wanted to say farewell since we would be apart for a while.
“Looks like the kids are feeling lonely, So-ryong.”
Grandfather and the expedition members from the Poisonous Insect Unit and Poison Blood Squad all wore thoroughly fond smiles. Even after I gave them plenty of time for farewells, though, they refused to leave my body.
“Uh… kids? No, you have to let go so Daddy can leave…”
When I pleaded again, Yo-hwa—who had been hugging me—hoisted me onto her back in a princess carry and strode to the front of the expedition.
Kishi!
Pointing across the river as she took the lead, she gave off the clear impression that she intended to march at the head of the column.
Big Sister spoke with a startled look.
“So-ryong, it really seems like they mean to come with us.”
“N-no way. I explained everything… the kids all said they understood.”
Surely not, I thought, swiveling my head to check both shoulders—only to find every last one of them nodding in unison.
No, why!? You said you understood! Don’t tell me you’re planning to tag along on Daddy’s business trip?
It looked like these kids were dead set on following me.
No amount of persuasion could pry the children off me, so I had no choice but to take them along. That meant the expedition would have to change both its schedule and its roster. Even so, I could not take every single one of them. The other kids were fine, but Yo-hwa was the problem.
The others could simply hide in my clothes or inside the specimen boxes we would use to bring venomous creatures back. Yo-hwa, however, was another matter entirely. Walking around with a giant spider that had a human upper body would draw every eye in sight. No—it would not stop at mere curiosity.
According to Big Sister, folk tales about monsters were common around here; people might well brand her a yokai. Even the belief that an O-gong could become a dragon rested on those same legends. Mishandle things and a subjugation party could form. As a Human-faced Spider, Yo-hwa was especially plagued by such rumors and therefore especially dangerous. Local officials might even stop us for disturbing public peace.
So once again I had to grab Yo-hwa and plead.
“Yo-hwa, the other kids can hide in my arms, but our Yo-hwa is a bit big. If I take you along, people will panic and I simply can’t bring you. Of course this big brother wants to take you—you’re our pretty Yo-hwa, after all. But Hwa-eun says people might throw stones and call you a monster. Just imagining our Yo-hwa getting hit by stones makes me so dizzy I can’t stand it.”
Even if it hurt her feelings, this was unavoidable, so I explained carefully. Yo-hwa listened in silence, then turned the false body that looked like Big Sister and examined her own form, as if checking herself over.
Can she even see that?
I had assumed the eyes were vestigial, but that no longer seemed true. Just when I thought her self-inspection meant she had been persuaded, a strange sound rose.
Tseurreurreu.
Like an eraser wiping a drawing clean, Yo-hwa’s body vanished.
“Haaah!”
Moments later everything except the pedipalps that mimicked Big Sister had completely disappeared.
“W-what!? Yo-hwa, what did you do!? Where did our pretty Yo-hwa’s beautiful body go!?”
The shocking sight of that magnificent spider form vanishing in an instant sent me rushing forward to fumble through the empty space. Soft, fluffy fur met my fingertips—Yo-hwa’s body. Thankfully she had not vanished entirely. She had simply become invisible.
“Y-you scared me half to death. Wait, Yo-hwa, you can hide your body like this!?”
With the spider body gone from sight, her feet simply appeared to hover a little above the ground. Now I finally understood exactly why the people whose yang energy she had drained at the Namgung estate had claimed a fairy had appeared. Back then I had chalked it up to hallucinations, but a beautiful woman floating slightly in midair really would look like a fairy.
“You kids keep giving me nothing but heart attacks.”
As I pressed a hand to my startled chest, Yo-hwa’s voice came.
Tseut?
Arms crossed, chin lifted, her expression seemed to ask whether this was good enough. She had even pulled out a finishing move to show her iron will to follow. Faced with that silent question, I could only nod. She was clearly coming no matter what.
“Fine. Let’s go. We’re going…”
Two days later.
Our expedition had unavoidably gained one more member: Big Sister. Only she or I could look after the children, and since every last one of them was coming along, she was automatically added. I could not manage all of them alone; her participation was essential.
“In the end it looks like I have to go.”
“I’m afraid so, Hwa-eun.”
“Since all of you ignored Mom’s words and threw a tantrum at Daddy, you will listen properly on this trip. Understood?”
I scratched my head with an apologetic look while Big Sister gathered the kids and scolded them. They nodded as if they understood.
Tseurreu…
Kku-kku!
And so our party—half the Poisonous Insect Unit, half the Poison Blood Squad, Grandfather Mandok Shingun, myself, Big Sister, and the venomous beasts—set out for Yunnan. My chest pounded with the excitement of catching and bringing back a whole haul of poisonous creatures.
Our first destination was the village of Panzhihua on the Sichuan–Yunnan border, the same place from which we had once brought the Golden-haired Bee Kings. From there we would pass through Kunming, Yunnan’s largest city, and head for Mt. Aenoe.
We quickened our pace, passed the Sichuan provincial capital, and were traveling near Mt. Emei when a checkpoint appeared on the official road. As we arrived, female disciples of the Emei Sect walked out to meet us.
“Are you not people of the Sichuan Tang Family? My goodness—Mandok Shingun?”
The nuns looked startled by our appearance. I had wondered why a random checkpoint had sprung up; it turned out that ever since the Blood Cult’s reappearance, such inspections were being conducted midway along the roads. Every major sect was searching travelers on the official routes that passed in front of their gates.
“We have business in Yunnan. May we pass?”
“Of course, Elder Mandok Shingun.”
With Grandfather—a figure who could make the entire Central Plains murim tremble—present, the checkpoint was naturally a free pass. Yet just as we were clearing it, the nun who seemed to be in charge cried out in astonishment.
“L-Lingkong Xudao! Poison Flower has mastered a divine art!”
The other inspecting nuns all looked thunderstruck. The reason became clear when I realized she was staring at Yo-hwa’s pedipalps trailing at the very rear. Because they wore Big Sister’s appearance and floated a little above the ground, the nuns assumed she had learned some incredible light-body technique.
The situation had arisen because of a Central Plains superstition that twins were as inauspicious as monsters. Big Sister was therefore traveling beside Yo-hwa dressed in men’s martial robes with her face completely veiled by a face-cloth. Naturally they mistook the floating figure for Big Sister herself.
Later Grandfather explained that “land flight” was the final stage of light-body arts, allowing one to soar through the sky. With her feet hovering and her form gliding like a ghost, the nuns had simply misread the situation.
A few similar disturbances cropped up during the journey, but nothing prevented us from reaching Yunnan. At last we arrived at a place called Yimen near Mt. Aenoe.
“So that’s Mt. Aenoe? I’m really looking forward to the Poisonous Insect Valley.”
The mountain rose ahead of us. If the Poisonous Insect Valley truly existed, it would be paradise itself for me. My heart raced with anticipation—yet the moment we entered Yimen we were struck by something deeply wrong.
No night-time cricket song, no daytime cicada drone, no birdsong, not even the howl of a beast. As we traveled I had been collecting insects for specimens whenever I could; now not a single insect appeared. Under rocks, in crevices, on trees—nowhere was there any living creature. It was as if the entire area had been sterilized by someone.
“Strange. Why does this feel exactly the same as when we went after the Azure-Spotted Centipede?”
At Grandfather’s words, Commander Gu Pae and the Poison Blood Squad leader both nodded with grave faces. But that was not a grave matter at all—it was excellent news.
No, that’s not serious. That’s fantastic news.