"Wh-what do you an by that?"
"Well, what I’m saying is that if you need to wrap your body with such a tough thread, it ans there’s sothing out there that must be protected against, sothing that only such a thread can block. It suggests that there’s sothing nearby that could put the creature in danger."
"And if we find that dangerous thing, we might also be able to find what it feeds on more easily, right?"
When I finished explaining, the silk craftsn nodded, their faces indicating they agreed with my reasoning.
"Indeed. If the purpose of the Celestial Silkworm’s thread is to protect its body, then the young master's words seem correct."
"I only thought of it as rely constructing a house, but now it makes sense. The house is ant to protect people from the cold, heat, and beasts, right?"
"Even for insects like these, the idea doesn’t change, does it?"
Although Shintu clearly seed surprised, it appeared that, due to his profession, he was a particularly cautious type of person.
He wiped the surprise off his face and asked again.
"But can you be so sure with just one piece of information? You haven’t confird it yourself, have you?"
‘As expected, his profession makes him especially cautious. If he wasn’t careful, he might be caught in sothing...’
I too hadn’t arrived at this conclusion based on just one fact, so I nodded in agreent.
I also knew that Fabre was a very cautious person.
Without being cautious, you wouldn’t be able to capture poisonous creatures, after all.
"Of course, I’m not entirely sure based on just one fact. There’s another reason I believe this. You ntioned a disciple nad Yeong-ryeon, didn’t you?"
"Ah, yes, Yeong-ryeon. Why do you ask about him?"
"If there are any santcho trees, thorn trees, or wild pear trees nearby, could you ask him to catch a few insects for ? The caterpillar I’m looking for has the color of grass blades."
To explain this, showing them would be best.
When I asked him to send his disciple to fetch the caterpillars, one of the silk craftsn hesitantly stood up.
"Excuse ... Young Master?"
"Yes?"
"I believe there’s a santcho tree in the back yard..."
It just so happened that there was a santcho tree nearby.
I decided to gather everyone and head to the backyard of the abandoned Daoist temple to check if I could find what I was looking for.
"Let’s all go and take a look. This is important."
As we walked toward the backyard, where the tree was, a neglected tree caught my eye. As we got closer, the refreshing scent of the santcho tree filled the air.
"Let’s see... Where could they be?"
The first place I checked was beneath the tree.
As I looked around the area, I soon noticed small, disc-like objects scattered around the base of one side of the tree.
‘As expected, there they are!’
I had been worried that I might not find them, but thankfully, we were no longer in an era that relied on pesticides, so the traces of the caterpillars were visible.
I quickly moved to check the tender leaves above, and near the chewed-up leaves, a few caterpillars, camouflaged in green, were curled up on the branches.
I even spotted a pupa.
I had a feeling that others would soon turn into pupae as well.
‘Fortunately, the perfect tiger swallowtail caterpillars.’
When these creatures first erge from their eggs, they have a form similar to bird droppings for protection, but once they mature into tiger swallowtail caterpillars, they beco the ones I’m looking for.
Pointing to the plumpest and largest one, I spoke.
"Everyone, look here. Do you see it?"
As I pointed at the caterpillar, the silk craftsn nodded in acknowledgnt.
It seed that, being commoners, they had encountered these insects at least once.
"A green caterpillar, right? I’ve seen these on tangerine trees before."
"I’ve also spotted sothing similar on thorn trees."
"Yes, they’re quite troubleso as they eat the tangerine leaves. The ones from the thorn trees are definitely the sa species."
Just as they said, these caterpillars were pests that ate the leaves of tangerine and thorn trees.
But, when they transform into butterflies, they beco one of the most beautiful insects.
The caterpillar I was pointing to was known in the Central Plains as Pyojeop (tiger swallowtail), or the tiger swallowtail butterfly in Korea.
"But why did you ask us to look at this one?"
Unable to wait any longer, Shintu asked why I had them co over to see this particular insect.
I smiled and flicked the caterpillar’s body with my finger.
Thwip.
Imdiately, the caterpillar jerked its head upward, and a yellow horn suddenly popped out from its head before disappearing.
"Oh! What’s this?"
"Doesn’t it look familiar?"
"Oh, yes! I’ve seen sothing like this on the Celestial Silkworm’s larvae. This yellow horn, was this the other clue you were thinking of?"
"Yes, here, take a whiff."
At Shintu’s question, I flicked the tiger swallowtail caterpillar again.
It raised its osterium—a horn-like organ—from its head, and I rubbed it on my fingertip.
A sticky sensation and a strong sll emanated from my fingertip.
When I held it out, Shintu quickly covered his nose and shouted.
"Ugh! What, what’s that sll?"
The osterium, a horn-like organ observed in the larvae of tiger swallowtails and similar species, emits a distinctive scent from the citrus or santcho toxins the caterpillars have consud.
To humans, it slls like a strong vinegar, similar to tangerine vinegar, but for other insects or creatures like birds, it is a repellent that sends them fleeing.
So, when I saw a horn on a dead Celestial Silkworm’s larva, I suspected that this organ might be for a similar purpose.
Tiger swallowtail caterpillars only develop this organ once they beco O-Gong, and the presence of the osterium right after birth suggested that dangerous creatures must be nearby.
This was the second reason I believed there was sothing dangerous around the Celestial Silkworms.
"The larvae of tiger swallowtail emit this foul sll from their horns, which is ant to protect themselves from predators or pests."
"The Celestial Silkworm’s larvae have sothing similar, not to ntion the strong threads, so surely it’s to protect themselves from sothing, right?"
That’s why I thought this way.
After presenting my two reasons, Shintu finally looked at with a respectful gaze.
Whether his skepticism had been cured, Shintu now appeared delighted, his face beaming as he shouted.
"In my entire life of handling Celestial Silkworms, I’ve never thought of it that way. You said you had a different perspective, and indeed, So-ryong, you think differently!"
"So, what do you think they feed on?"
However, with my next words, his respectful gaze turned to one of disappointnt.
"That...?"
"What do you an?"
"Well... we’ll have to look for it ourselves now."
"......"
I’m not a god, how could I find it all in one go?
***
Shintu's expression turned to one of disappointnt, but it was still too early for him to be discouraged.
He didn’t know it yet, but once this spicy Fabre got involved, figuring out what they ate would be easy.
"It’s still too early to be disappointed."
"Who said I was disappointed?"
"I thought you were disappointed... Anyway, I’ll find it soon enough."
"Really!?"
‘He may be small like a thief, but his body is as light as a feather. That’s why his movent is so fast, huh?’
Shintu’s face lit up with hope again at the promise that I would find it soon.
I couldn’t help but feel like I knew the secret of his lightness, so I asked him.
"Do you know where you first found the Celestial Silkworm?"
"The Celestial Silkworm? I don’t know exactly, but I have a rough idea..."
"Yes, the best way to check what it feeds on is to look at the place where it was collected. Let’s go there first."
To be honest, Shintu’s struggle was sothing he had brought upon himself.
Normally, when collecting insects or animals, if you carefully observe their ecology, you wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.
When I raised Seol and Bini, what do you think made travel all the way to the Huangshan where the Namgung clan is located?
It was to check their food source and make sure I had it ready for them, wasn’t it?
So all this trouble started because, in his enthusiasm for the Celestial Silkworm’s abilities, Shintu was only focused on gathering them without properly checking the habitat.
That’s why I suggested that we at least visit the habitat, even if it’s just roughly known, and check it out.
Shintu, however, seed hesitant and replied with an expression that said he didn’t want to.
"You might not find anything there."
"Not find anything?"
"I even went there once, hoping to find more eggs, but it was just a rocky mountain. Nothing there."
"A rocky mountain?"
"Yes, it’s a place called the Red Rock Mountain, full of red rocks. I searched for a long ti, but found nothing."
‘A rocky mountain...’
If what he said was true, that was strange.
I had assud there would be so kind of predator nearby, but if it was just a barren rocky mountain, it didn’t make sense.
However, since they were regular people, it was possible they missed sothing special.
From an expert’s perspective, things might look different, so I decided to check so other things.
"Was what you found an adult, or was it an egg?"
First, I had to clarify whether it was an adult or an egg.
"An adult? You an a fully grown Celestial Silkworm? I didn’t see any, but I did find eggs and the silkworms."
"Eggs and the silkworms together?"
Finding eggs and silkworms together probably ant that he had found the eggs and the cocoons as well.
When I asked for confirmation, Shintu nodded.
"Were the cocoons empty?"
"Yes. The empty cocoon is what I used to make the silkworm thread I’m using now."
From the situation, it seed like the adult had erged from the cocoon, mated, and imdiately laid eggs there.
This ant that there must be so kind of food source around, which I hadn’t considered yet.
I suggested that we go check it out.
"Let’s still go check it out. From an expert’s perspective, we might see sothing different."
"Expert’s perspective?"
Shintu didn’t seem to understand what I ant by an expert’s perspective.
I had explained what an expert was last ti, but it seed that he didn’t quite grasp the concept.
"How should I explain this... Ah, I know."
The best way to explain an expert’s perspective was with a simple example.
I pointed to the ornant hanging from my clothes and asked him.
"Do you know how valuable this is?"
The ornant had a piece of ice jade given to by Namgung Seol.
Shintu glanced at the ornant with the ice jade, seemingly not impressed, and replied casually.
"It’s ice jade. It’s small, but worth at least a thousand silver. But it’s not sothing a thief like would steal."
"Really!?"
‘Wait, it’s that expensive!?’
I didn’t think it was that valuable just because Namgung Seol gave it to , but it turned out to be quite expensive.
I quickly cald my surprised heart and explained.
"That’s what I an by an expert’s perspective. Without soone like you, who would imdiately recognize this as ice jade? Most would just think it’s so regular jade. And who would quickly realize its value?"
"Ah, I see."
I explained it at the level of a thief, and Shintu seed to understand, nodding his head.
His face lit up with excitent again as he said,
"Alright, let’s go check it out right now!"
It felt like he was about to drag along.
I cald him down and asked,
"By the way, how far is it?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I’m just worried that if it’s too far, you won’t let go. You see..."
"Ah..."
I pointed to the two threads tied around my ankle, and Shintu nodded.
The bucket that Yo-hwa had tied was nothing to laugh at, and Shintu had seen it before, so he knew.
‘She’s scarier than my wife, I swear.’
***
Fortunately, Shintu said it was only about a day's journey away.
He explained that he had been trying to hatch the Celestial Silkworms here because he had gotten the eggs from the nearby area.
Shintu looked at the silk craftsn and asked,
"What should the craftsn do? If they can help, I’ll keep them with us, otherwise, I’ll send them ho."
It seed best to finish the work before heading to Yo-hwa for permission.
There was no use keeping them around; they wouldn’t help .
"Send them all back. I don’t think I’ll need them."
"Mm. I see. Then, since they’ve worked hard, I’ll share so of the gold we brought and send them back to Yeong-ryeon."
After saying this, Shintu was about to leave when the old man, who had been introduced as the head of the silk craftsn, approached and asked,
"Young Master, could I have a look at that for a mont?"
"That?"
I thought maybe he wanted to take a look at the ice jade, but his gaze was fixed on my ankle.
The old man was looking at the thread that Yo-hwa had tied.
Thinking about it, the old man was a silk craftsman.
This ant he had an expert’s perspective on the thread.
‘It would be good if I could show these people my opinion on weaving fabrics with Yo-hwa’s thread...’
I nodded, and the old man quickly knelt down and started inspecting my leg.
"Would it be alright to touch it?"
"Go ahead."
When I gave him permission to touch it, the old man’s eyes widened in shock.
"This... This is!"
The old man called over the other craftsn, and they rushed to examine the thread with their hands.
"This... What kind of thread is this?!"
"It’s so light and strong, stretching and then shrinking back into place!"
"It’s shinier and more beautiful than silkworm threads!"
"I’ve never seen a thread like this in my life!"
It seed that Yo-hwa’s thread was incredibly valuable.
Even to , Yo-hwa’s thread seed soft, yet strong and incredibly elastic.
‘I wonder if I could make armor for martial artists out of this and sell it?’
The martial world of Zhongyuan, where getting hit by swords is an everyday affair.
If I made and sold this, it would surely fly off the shelves. Just a thought that crossed my mind.
The illustration of Bi-cheon Shin-sa has been updated.
In the latest update and episode 111, you can see the part where Bi-cheon Shin-sa gets the na Smallpox, along with a cute image of Yeon-du.
For those using the series, please delete the downloaded episode and download it again to apply the changes.
(Today is a rest day, but I wanted to show you Yeon-du’s illustration, so I’m uploading this one.)
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