Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 182: Tengchong Volcano (5)

—Crackle.

"So-ryong, what’s going on?"

"So-ryong, what’s all this commotion? Did something appear?"

"W-what happened, young master?"

The sudden disturbance had woken everyone, and soon, the area around the well was as bright as midday.

Torches and lanterns carried by the villagers gathered in one place, their flames pushing back the darkness.

My eyes, unadjusted to the sudden flood of light, could only make out blurred figures through the glare.

Turning my face toward the deeper darkness of the well, I answered their questions.

"Something just disappeared into the well, carrying off a pig."

I hadn't seen it happen directly, but the short, sharp cry of a pig being slaughtered had been unmistakable.

That meant whatever it was had definitely dragged the animal into the well.

Next to me, Hwa-eun and Seol, along with the village chief who had rushed over with the others, all stared into the well and asked in unison.

"Into the well?"

"Into the well?"

"Th-the well?"

"Yes, take a look for yourselves."

The three of them looked confused, as if unable to comprehend my words.

The village chief, in particular, had an especially perplexed expression, likely because he used the well daily and was well-acquainted with its structure.

But when I held my lantern over the well again, illuminating the massive hole in one of its walls, his eyes widened in shock.

"W-when did that appear?!"

"A huge hole... So-ryong?"

A large piece of basalt was lying at an angle at the bottom, making it seem as though it had been used as a door—opened and closed when necessary.

But in its rush to escape, whatever had gone through had apparently failed to close it again.

"T-the well... T-this is a disaster..."

The chief stared into the well with a look of sheer despair before dropping to the ground.

He looked like a man who had just lost everything.

"What’s wrong, chief?"

Seol asked, and the chief, still slumped on the ground, answered in a hollow voice.

"Our village has only one well, and now that it's blocked... this is the end for us."

As he said, the well was the only source of water on this hilltop village.

The water from the volcano flowed far downstream, far beyond their reach.

And even if they could retrieve it, drinking it wasn’t an option.

I recalled hearing that the volcanic water had such a high limestone content that drinking it caused severe diarrhea.

No wonder the chief looked so devastated.

With the bottom of the well blocked by such a massive stone, the village had effectively lost its only water source.

Looking at the chief and the villagers, I turned to Bini, who was still halfway inside the well, wiggling her antennae.

"Bini, do you think it's still inside?"

—Chrrr!

An immediate no in response.

Centipedes could sense vibrations exceptionally well, so if Bini was certain, then whatever it was had already left.

Without hesitation, I asked Bini to clear the stone blocking the well.

If anyone could do it, Bini could.

"Bini, could you move that stone down there? The villagers are in serious trouble because of it. Can you do it?"

I asked, but the question was mostly rhetorical.

This was the same Bini who had ripped apart termite nests as solid as concrete.

Basalt was nowhere near as tough—on the Mohs hardness scale, it was only a 4 or 5 at best.

—Chrrrrrr!

Bini let out a strong reply before scuttling down into the well headfirst.

For a moment, she vanished into the depths.

Then, a thunderous noise erupted from below.

—Crunch! Crack!

It seemed the stone was too large to lift in one piece, so she was breaking it apart instead.

Moments later, Bini slowly crawled back up, carrying a large fragment of basalt in her mandibles.

She repeated this process several times, until the well bottom was finally clear.

Then, instead of retreating, Bini approached me and nudged her head forward.

She wanted a reward.

—Chrrt.

"Alright, alright, you deserve a reward."

I patted her head as I lowered the lantern again.

There were still some small fragments left, but the biggest ones had been removed.

The rest could be cleaned up by the villagers later.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I turned to the village chief, who had been watching in stunned silence.

"It’s clear now. Have a look for yourself."

The chief rushed over, peering into the well by the lantern light.

Then, suddenly, he dropped to his knees and bowed deeply toward Bini.

"T-thank you, great spirit! T-thank you! This is a miracle!"

"““Thank you!!”””

The other villagers, who had been frozen in shock moments ago, also prostrated themselves before Bini.

When we first arrived, they had looked at her with suspicion, but now their faces radiated pure reverence, as if they had just witnessed the return of a lost loved one.

—Chrrt?

I could hear Bini’s confusion in my mind.

She had never been bowed to before, and she had no idea what was happening.

The only human gesture she had ever learned was a greeting bow, so this was completely foreign to her.

"This is... uh, Bini, it’s their way of expressing gratitude. It means they’re really, really thankful."

—Chrrt!?

Her antennae twitched in surprise, as if she was contemplating something.

Then, after a brief moment, she crawled straight to the chief, climbed up to his head, and gently placed one of her front legs on his bald scalp.

The chief’s eyes widened in shock as Bini then started patting his head.

‘Bini, what are you doing?’

I asked, bewildered, and her innocent reply echoed in my mind.

『I’m telling him he’s a good boy.』

...Oh no.

So, since the villagers were really grateful, she assumed they were like small creatures who needed to be praised.

She thought they deserved a head pat—the ultimate form of affection in her mind.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse...

『Should I scratch his chin too?』

...It was probably time to explain that not all humans liked having their chins scratched like Dad did.

***

As dawn broke, the villagers gathered once more around the well.

Thick ropes, woven from vines found in the subtropical jungle, had been prepared near the well.

We were finally going to confirm the identity of the creature that had stolen away a pig the night before.

Since the thing that had come last night was clearly nocturnal, daytime was the best time to investigate—while it was most likely asleep.

Moving while it was inactive would be far safer than confronting it at night.

"Do you need torches?"

The village chief approached and asked, to which Ji-ryong responded in my stead.

"My companion and I have Night Pearls, so we won’t need them."

Torches and lanterns were inconvenient to carry, so it was fortunate that Ji-ryong and Eunbong had Night Pearls.

"Here you go, So-ryong. Since you'll be leading, take this."

"Thank you."

Taking the Night Pearl Ji-ryong handed me, I placed Hwayang on my head and was the first to descend into the well, with Bini and Cho following right behind me.

—Splash.

The water in the well reached up to my ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ thighs, and right before me, I saw the horizontal tunnel leading deeper inside.

I raised the Night Pearl and shone it into the tunnel, revealing a passage filled with shallow water, stretching toward the volcano.

It seemed like the excess water from the well had flowed into it over time.

The tunnel itself was of an awkward size.

It wasn’t tall enough for an adult to stand upright, meaning anyone entering had to hunch slightly.

For me, my head barely avoided scraping the ceiling.

The walls were smooth and polished, making it clear that something had dug this passage out.

Without hesitation, I decided to head in deeper.

"Let’s go, guys!"

—Chrrr!

—Chrrt!

At my call, Bini and Cho immediately slithered into the tunnel without hesitation.

Since I couldn’t walk with Hwayang on my head in the confined space, I cradled him in my arms and followed after them.

"It doesn’t seem to be nearby, so I’ll go in first. Be careful—this tunnel isn’t very tall."

I called back toward the entrance, my voice echoing slightly through the tunnel.

"Understood, So-ryong. We’ll be right behind you."

Walking ahead with Cho and Bini moving on either side of me, I soon heard their voices in my mind.

—Chrrt! Chrrt!

Something was up ahead.

Squeezing between the two as they pressed themselves against the walls, I moved forward and finally stepped into a vast open space.

‘Ah, so it’s a lava cave!’

—Splash.

Stepping down about a meter, I landed in a large cavern where shallow water pooled across the floor.

The high ceiling stretched above, and from various spots, water droplets fell, making rhythmic plopping sounds that echoed like the notes of a musical instrument.

—Plop. Ploop. Plop...

It was clear that we had exited the tunnel into a section of a lava cave—formed from the path left behind by flowing magma.

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Something had burrowed through the cave walls to connect this place to the village well.

The passage stretched into the darkness on either side, large enough that a subway train could probably fit through.

"It’s best if we wait for the others before moving forward."

As I waited for Wu-ryong Trio, Hwa-eun, and Seol to arrive, I shone the Night Pearl around, trying to determine which way the creature had gone.

‘Since there’s water on the floor, it might have climbed along the walls or ceiling instead... Also, the cave is warmer than I expected, probably due to the volcano.’

I examined the walls and ceiling for any traces the creature might have left behind.

I wasn’t sure what I was dealing with, but I needed to study the environment—if I was going to capture it, I had to replicate its living conditions later.

‘The anticipation is killing me. What kind of creature will it be?’

Normally, caves were cool and damp, but this one was unexpectedly warm, likely due to its proximity to the volcano.

Jungle nights were usually chilly, but this cave maintained a stable, warm temperature—a perfect environment for something that thrived in heat.

Soon, the others emerged from the tunnel, awkwardly hunched over as they stepped out.

"Ugh, my neck! I can finally straighten up!"

"Move faster! My back is killing me!"

Everyone had struggled with the awkward tunnel height, and now that they had jumped down into the lava cave, they stretched and rubbed their sore necks.

The passage hadn’t been long, but not being able to fully stand or crawl had made it incredibly uncomfortable.

"I waited here so we could move together."

"Good thinking, So-ryong. Now, which direction?"

The Wu-ryong Trio usually relied on Ji-ryong to make strategic decisions, but now he was looking to me for the next step.

"I thought about it while waiting. It should be that way. I can feel a warm breeze coming from that direction, meaning it leads toward the volcano."

"Got it. So-ryong, Do-ryong, stick close together. Yang Seong-hu, you’ll stay directly behind them. After that, Gungbong will take position.

At the rear, Geom-ryong and Kwon-ryong will cover us, while the rest of you stay between them."

"Understood."

"Alright."

It seemed Ji-ryong had some experience with strategy games in his past life because his formation was textbook fantasy RPG party balance—putting the tanks at the front, mid-range fighters behind them, and keeping ranged attackers and melee fighters positioned accordingly.

‘Nice, very well done.’

With water droplets continuing to fall from the ceiling, Cho and Bini clung to the walls as they moved ahead, leading the way.

As we traveled deeper, the dripping water gradually faded away, and the air became humid rather than outright wet.

Eventually, we reached the end of the tunnel—a large chamber lay before us.

And there, crouched between two lava pillars, was something massive.

—Chrrr...

Bini let out a low warning sound, and everyone froze in place.

[W-what is that!?]

[So-ryong, do you recognize it?]

The others had clearly seen the creature lurking in the shadows and sent me frantic mental messages.

[I’ll move closer and check it out.]

Using the lava pillars as cover, I crept forward, inching toward the huddled mass in the darkness.

As I got close enough to fully make out its shape, an excited gasp nearly escaped my lips.

‘Ohhhhhh!’

And at that moment...

For some reason, Hwayang suddenly tried to leap out of my arms, forcing me to grab his hind legs to stop him.

—Beeeep!

The sound echoed through the cave.

The creature in the shadows turned its head—

And locked eyes with me.