Chapter 138: Silver (5)
Translator: bjgoofy
When I presented the two Silver Silkworms, evolved at the Pagoda Termites' habitat, to the family, everyone marveled at their exquisite coloring.
"Oh my, so this is a Silver Silkworm?"
"Doesn't it look as though someone dusted them with silver powder?"
"They're like jewels."
And rightly so. I had imagined something like polished aluminum, a dull metallic sheen, but in reality they looked as if their bodies had been coated in silver glitter, catching the light and sparkling like gemstones.
Of course, even though they looked glitter-dusted, they were still larvae, so it wasn't as if any powder was actually flaking off.
It only appeared that way.
To be precise, it was like having glitter slime, the kind children love to play with, contained inside a slightly translucent body.
The fluid inside kept shifting, reflecting light and producing that sparkling effect.
They apparently also emitted a faint glow of their own.
I had wondered how such a thing was even possible, but the shimmering substance inside the Silver Silkworms turned out to be energy.
Since the Silver Silkworms had consumed Queen Termites brimming with Natural Earth Energy, which itself contained large amounts of Turbid Energy, I had naturally assumed the silkworms would be full of the same.
But according to the Divine Thief, who had accompanied us, the Silver Silkworms strangely harbored two coexisting energies: dense, pure energy, and Turbid Energy of similarly high density.
At first, I thought he was just repeating himself.
After all, if pure energy and Turbid Energy were mixed together, wouldn't that just be Natural Earth Energy?
But when he explained further, it turned out they weren't blended together like water. Instead, they were intermingled like grains of sand made of two different particles.
That was why the bright, white pure energy and the pitch-black Turbid Energy blended together to produce that silvery color in the silkworms, or so he theorized.
"The Divine Thief said that the pure energy and Turbid Energy are mixed together like grains of sand, which is what gives them that appearance."
When I explained this to the elders, who had been admiring the sparkling creatures, their eyes went wide.
"That's absolutely absurd...."
"W-would you mind if I examined them?"
I nodded at the request to take a closer look.
The Silver Silkworms were perfectly docile, after all.
"Of course, Father-in-law."
It was a well-established truth among all martial artists that one body could not hold two types of energy simultaneously.
Upon hearing that the creatures even contained Turbid Energy, Father-in-law and Grandfather, the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons, touched the silkworms' backs with disbelieving expressions, then turned to stare at each other with rounded eyes.
Similar energies merge and muddy one another's purity, while opposing energies repel each other and cause the Dantian to burst. This was common knowledge among martial artists.
At the very least, for two energies to coexist inside a Heavenly Silkworm, the pure energy and the Turbid Energy would need to be gathered separately, divided neatly in half, but that wasn't the case here either, making it all the more astonishing.
"It... it really is true!"
"The Divine Thief's words were accurate? How is this even possible...."
"Ha ha, so this is what makes them one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures? They simply cannot be measured by human standards?"
As Grandfather said, if they behaved according to common sense, would they really qualify as one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures?
They shattered common sense. That was precisely what made them one of the Ten.
Yohwa transformed into a human, and even behaved like one.
Cho was a centipede that could fly.
So it stood to reason that the Heavenly Silkworm, also counted among the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, should be extraordinary in its own right, even as hatchlings.
As I was nodding to myself, a question came from the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons beside me.
"By the way, why did it take so long? The Divine Thief went with you, but it dragged on so long that I was worried."
It was only natural that Grandfather had been concerned.
After all, we had started with a simple plan: travel to the basin about two days from the Tang Family estate, confirm whether a Heavenly Silkworm truly became a Silver Silkworm after consuming an Queen Termite, and come back.
If everything had gone according to plan, it should have been over quickly.
Naturally, he must have expected us to return in no time.
I had thought the same.
But the reason it had taken a full fortnight was that hatching the new ones and evolving them into Silver Silkworms had taken some time.
The one that had hatched previously had sucked an Queen Termite dry in a single day, but the newly hatched ones, perhaps because they had just been born, took five whole days to finish consuming one.
Well, there had been various other things occupying my time as well.
"Those creatures clung to the Queen Termites' bodies and absorbed their energy for five whole days?"
"Yes. The larger one that hatched before finished absorbing all the energy in a single day, but perhaps because these ones had just been born from eggs, it took them five days to take in everything."
"But didn't you say you weren't going to hatch any more because of the feeding issue? What are you planning to do about their food? The mushrooms should be ready for cultivation soon enough, but what about the termites? Are you going to keep making trips out there?"
As Grandfather said, I had originally had no intention of hatching more because of the feeding problem. The reason I had gone ahead and done it anyway was for additional research.
What I meant was this: when a hypothesis is proven through experiment, it ceases to be a hypothesis and becomes a theory.
A solid conclusion had been reached.
But did the research end just because a hypothesis became a theory?
Absolutely not.
To firmly establish a theory, multiple supporting studies were needed to back it up.
So rather than heading back immediately after the first one became a Silver Silkworm, I had planned to spend a few days observing it.
Since I would need to raise Silver Silkworms myself, I needed to study their habits and ecology.
And that was when I made a remarkable discovery.
What I found was that once they became Silver Silkworms, the creatures that had previously fed on termites and mushrooms stopped eating them entirely.
Since Cho and Yohwa, fellow members of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, also subsisted solely on natural energy and Yang energy, the Silver Silkworms had likely undergone a similar transformation. Whatever the reason, the one that had evolved showed no further interest in termites or mushrooms.
After three days of observation with no sign of it eating, I went ahead and proceeded with hatching the new ones.
"Once they become Silver Silkworms, they no longer eat mushrooms or termites."
"Oh ho. So there was a reason you went to the trouble of hatching them."
"Yes, Grandfather."
And that wasn't all.
I was a modern person who knew how to divide time efficiently.
During the five days it took the Heavenly Silkworms to drain the energy and evolve into Silver Silkworms, I had seized the opportunity to examine the creatures closely, and the results had yielded several findings.
First, infusing Internal Energy to force a hatching was not the proper method.
It was a kind of accelerated incubation.
I had found several eggshells inside the ant colony that I had missed on my previous visit, and after discussing it with the Divine Thief, Hwa-eun, and Sister Snow, all of them skilled martial artists, we concluded that natural hatching likely occurred over a very long period by absorbing the energy emanating from the mushrooms.
I had also made another discovery, one that stung quite badly. The one I had hatched before...
Now that the feeding problem was solved, I should have brought that one back with me, of course, but there was a reason I couldn't.
The thing was ferociously aggressive.
Well, how ferocious could a little wriggling creature really be? But it turned out the horn on its head didn't just emit a sweet fragrance. Just like a Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillar, it also released a noxious energy.
It was spewing pitch-black Turbid Energy in thick clouds, so there was no way I could bring it along.
According to the Divine Thief, silkworms hatched through infused Internal Energy were supposed to bond closely with the person who had done the infusing. But after living in the wild for so long, it seemed to have gone feral.
My little ones, on the other hand, had been hatched with my own Internal Energy and raised on my shoulder from the moment they were born, so thankfully they were very gentle around people.
"......That is everything I was able to discover."
When I organized all my findings and reported them to the elders, the two of them gazed at me with warm, pleased smiles.
After watching me in silence for a moment, the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons turned to Father-in-law and spoke.
"Family Head, that thing."
"Yes, Father."
"?"
At Grandfather's instruction, Father-in-law walked over to a bookshelf on one side of the Family Head's Hall and retrieved a single, very fine-looking book.
He slid the book he had taken out toward me.
"What is this?"
A book roughly the same size as The Compendium of Venomous Creatures Under Heaven I had seen before, its cover made of red silk.
Wondering if it might be another bestiary, I asked with eyes sparkling in anticipation, and Father-in-law gestured and said:
"Have a look. See if it suits you, son-in-law."
It felt like a gift for uncovering the secrets of the Silver Silkworm.
Heart brimming with anticipation, I eagerly reached out.
-Flutter.
But when I opened the first page, there was nothing written there, not even a title.
Come to think of it, I now recalled there hadn't been a title on the cover either.
Wondering if it was some sort of secret text, I flipped through page after page in quick succession, but every single one was blank.
'Wh-what is this?'
Bewildered at being given an empty book as a gift, I looked up at Father-in-law, who still wore a broad smile as he spoke.
"What did you think of The Compendium of Venomous Creatures Under Heaven that I showed you before?"
"Hmm? Well, it was a fine book. Though it was rather worn."
As I said, The Compendium was good, but it was so old it practically needed rebinding.
Much of the writing and many of the illustrations had faded away.
At my answer, Father-in-law nodded, then held out an inkstone, an ink stick, and a water dropper to Hwa-eun with a request.
"Hwa-eun, would you grind some ink for me?"
"Yes, Father."
Soon the Family Head's Hall was filled with nothing but the sound of Hwa-eun grinding ink.
The Man of Ten Thousand Poisons, Mother-in-law, and Father-in-law all watched her work with smiles on their faces.
-Swish swish.
It felt like an act carrying some deeper meaning.
'What on earth? Wait...!? C-could it be!? A marriage contract!?'
The thought that struck me in that moment was the red book.
And the fact that he had asked Hwa-eun to grind the ink.
Could this be some kind of marriage vow?
After all, in the Central Plains, red was an auspicious color symbolizing matrimony.
They had originally said the wedding couldn't take place until I came of age, but since I had been producing good results, perhaps they were trying to make us legally husband and wife for now?
Though the matter of the wedding night remained unclear.
'S-so, does that mean starting tomorrow, I'll have to call Hwa-eun... my wife?'
Setting everything else aside, the mere thought that I might have to call Hwa-eun "my wife" starting tomorrow set my heart pounding.
I was waiting there, tense as a bowstring, when Hwa-eun's voice reached me.
"It's all prepared, Father."
The ink was ready, it seemed.
Now, I figured, the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons would say a few words of blessing, Father-in-law would write up some sort of marriage certificate, and then Hwa-eun and I would sign it? I was still following that train of thought when Father-in-law held out a brush and said:
"Son-in-law, Father and I gave it careful thought, and we came to a certain conclusion. Your wisdom and knowledge surpass even our family's Compendium of Venomous Creatures Under Heaven. What would you think of compiling it all into a book to pass down to future generations?"
"What!? A book!?"
Not a marriage vow at all. This was an invitation to write and publish.
Well, it would probably end up in the family's library, so "publish" was a stretch, but I glanced over at Hwa-eun, then back down at the blank book.
The disappointment that it wasn't a marriage vow was completely plugged up by how good this proposal was.
'No, wait. Maybe this is even better than a marriage vow?'
They were telling me to create my own bestiary of venomous creatures, using everything I knew and everything I would discover.
The Compendium of Venomous Creatures Under Heaven I had so desperately wanted to see, I had only skimmed through it and set it aside. The entries were too brief, just illustrations and sparse lists of facts. It was useful for looking up names, but offered no practical help.
That was why the invitation to write my own was a proposal that hit me right in my sweet spot.
'Father-in-law -- what a terrifying man.... You always know exactly where to aim....'
From his daughter, who was exactly my type, to this book, he seemed to know me far too well.
I asked again, my voice rising in surprise.
"D-do you really mean it!?"
"Of course, if that's what you wish."
No need to think twice; asking again would only waste breath.
"I, I do!"
At my loud exclamation, the elders nodded.
"Then write your name on the very last page. If you already have a suitable title, you may write that now as well, though I'd imagine that requires careful deliberation?"
He was telling me to inscribe my name in the book and take it away to begin my records.
He suggested I take my time with the title, but this Fabre had, of course, already thought of one.
"N-no, I already have a name in mind. May I write the title now?"
"Oh? That's just like you. Very well then. Hwa-eun, dip the brush in the ink and give it to Soryong."
At Father-in-law's request, Hwa-eun dipped the brush in ink and handed it to me. Taking the brush she offered, I began to write the name I had been thinking of on the red silk cover.
One character at a time.
With the utmost care.
Soryong's Record of Venomous Creatures.
After all, when you think of Fabre, you think of his Book of Insects. [TL Note: Referring to Jean-Henri Fabre's famous entomological work, "Souvenirs Entomologiques", commonly known in East Asia as "Fabre's Book of Insects" (파브르 곤충기). The protagonist likens his own work to Fabre's magnum opus.]
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