Entomologist in Sichuan Tang Clan Chapter 226

226
He quickly grabbed the oar that the boatman had put down for a moment and lifted the largest fish that had surfaced onto it.

Then, people opened their eyes wide in surprise.

At my sudden action, Grandma Sangmu, Sister Seol, and Hwaeun looked surprised and shouted in silence.

Because I suddenly put a poisoned fish on the boat.

[Oh, Your Majesty, didn’t you decide to listen to what I said!? Put it down quickly! There’s poison! The poison of the lake spirit will poison up to ten or so people around you!]

[Dragon! It’s poisonous! Put it down quickly!]

[Little Dragon! Put it down! We don’t know what kind of poison it is yet.]

I thought I might be poisoned, but no matter how much I thought about it, it wasn’t poison, so I didn’t have to worry.

No matter how many times I thought about it, there was no such poison.

[You don’t have to worry too much. This definitely doesn’t seem to be poison.]

[It’s not poison?]

[It’s not poison?]

[Huh!? You’re saying it’s not poison? What the…. People are dying like that?]

The disbelieving expressions of Grandma Sangmu and Sister Hwa-eun Seol, who heard what I said, were clearly visible under the moonlight.

Just to be sure, I had to check one last time, but this was definitely not poison, and Hwa-eun was too surprised to notice it at the moment, but if I gave her a little hint, she would quickly realize that this was not poison.

He asked Hwa-eun with a smile.

[Yes, I’ll have to check, but it’s definitely not poisonous.]

[Little Dragon, uh, why do you think so?]

[Hwa-eun, I have a question. What would happen if one of the poisons that Hwa-eun has was poured into the lake here?]

[Yes? Well, heavy poisons sink to the bottom, and light ones like oil float on top of the water, or they spread out slowly······!]

Hwa-eun opened her eyes wide and looked at me instead of answering my question.

Hwa-eun then shouted under her breath as if she had realized something.

[Oh, I see! This isn’t poison! Yes! It was! Why didn’t I know that!?]

[What is it, Hwa-eun? It’s really not poison?]

As expected, Hwa-eun quickly figures it out when given a hint.

With a hint like this, there was no way the woman from the Sacheon Dangga who handled poison would not know.

In order to spread poison, the company must have manufactured it in various forms, such as powder and liquid, and studied the environments and conditions under which it spreads well.

But if you don’t notice this strange thing, you will be disqualified.

[Yes. It’s not that the poison disappeared from the bodies of those who died from poisoning. It wasn’t poison in the first place.]

[That’s right. It’s not poisonous, so it’s not addictive.]

As Hwa-eun said, this was absolutely impossible.

If Hoye had poison and the lake was really sprinkled with Hoye’s poison, the scene where the fish floated up just now could not have been created.

Apparently, Hoye stuck his head out, but then dove into the water in surprise at the sound of our boat hitting the cliff.

And at that moment, a fish within ten meters rose up almost simultaneously.

Well, here’s the question.

The movement of particles in water is called diffusion, but no matter how fast a toxin diffuses, can there really be a toxin that can spread dozens of meters in water in an instant?

Even poison and water can have different specific gravity and density, so as Hwa-eun said, perhaps the poison would sink, float, or, since it was cold lake water, spread slowly?

Yeah, poison couldn’t possibly spread that fast in water.

Diffusion in liquids flows from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, so if the concentration of a toxin is high, it will diffuse into water with a low concentration, but this is absolutely impossible in the blink of an eye.

‘Of course, how can a liquid move ten meters in an instant?’

What substance can spread dozens of meters in water in an instant?

That was something that could never happen according to the laws of physics.

The poisons I raise are all so smart and excellent that they would not have been seen in a previous life, but their poisons do not deviate greatly from the laws of nature.

The liquid they have has a special effect, but it doesn’t go beyond the physical properties of the liquid itself.

To relieve other people’s fears and curiosity, he offered Hwa-eun a fish he had put on a boat.

[Could you please check if this is poisonous?]

[all right!]

As he spoke, holding out a large fish that was strangely hardened on top of a wooden board towards Hwa-eun, Hwa-eun quickly nodded and took out a silver needle, a gold needle, and something that looked like a reagent from her bosom, and began to rub the surface of the fish and soak it in the reagent.

And after a while, he checked them and, as expected, smiled and said.

[What Xiaolong said is right. There is no poison in fish.]

Then, Sister Seol asked with an expression on her face as if she was frustrated and told me to explain in detail quickly.

[If it’s not poison, then what is it? Then why are the fish and people dead?]

[That, that too, I know well···.]

People of this era knew that Hwaeun was not poison, but they did not know why it died.

Of course, you have probably never encountered this directly.

No, you must have come across it a while ago because of me?

I now held the fish on the boat with my hand and shook it slightly as I spoke.

[Do you know why this fish’s body is so stiff?]

[well?]

[well?]

The two tilted their heads at my question.

[Have you ever seen something like this?]

When I asked again, Seol said with a frustrated expression.

[The fish is like the dragon that hugged the grass that was struck by lightning last time, but don’t act so stuffy and be cool······.]

‘Oh no? All at once like this?’

Is this what they mean by catching a rat while backing away?

Sister Seol, who answered my question exactly.

He said with an expression of admiration.

[That’s right! That’s it!]

Then Seol-nu’s eyes widened at my answer.

[Huh? You’re the one who hugged the grass? Uh… Then… This is being struck by lightning!?]

[So does that mean Hoye emits lightning!?]

[Ah! Yeah, brainwashing!]

Yes, that’s right.

Why people die in an instant and fish float up.

Hoya, these guys were like electric eels, spewing electricity.

That’s a fairly strong current, too.

[Yes, that’s right. It’s probably brainwashing.]

‘Oh my, I’m so pissed. An electric salamander…’

You might think that fish aren’t my specialty, but the venom does include some fish, cephalopods, and jellyfish.

Because blue-ringed octopuses, jellyfish, and pufferfish are poisonous creatures with deadly venom.

But other than that, I don’t know much about them, except for the electric eel.

That makes sense. If you think about it, electricity can harm people, so isn’t it a type of poison?

‘Of course. Electricity is poison too.’

I nod my head and combine the information I have to unravel the causes of the events that have occurred so far. Now, all the incidents are finally being solved.

The electric eel from the previous life could spread about 900 volts of current up to 10 meters, and when I saw what Grandma had said earlier, Ho-ye could spread the current about 10 volts, up to about 30 meters, so it seemed like it really had a strong current.

If it’s electricity, then everything that’s happened so far has been explained.

The story of the ancestors of the Black Tribe, as told by my grandmother, suddenly appearing and killing all the warriors of the enemy tribe who were pursuing them as they crossed the stream, and the strange state of the corpses that were recently discovered, can all be explained with one word: electricity.

The ancestors of the Heukyi tribe were electrocuted after surprising a fisherman while crossing a stream, and since fishermen had no choice but to dip their hands in the water when pulling up their nets, if they surprised a fisherman and were electrocuted in the process, it would all be explained.

It was clear that he had pulled out his body and pulled up the net when Ho-ye emitted a strong electric current, paralyzing his body and drowning him to death.

If you were to suddenly become paralyzed by a strong electric current and fall into the water, you would drown immediately.

‘Ha, are you saying I should just leave without holding on to this?’

All the secrets were revealed, but in my heart there was only melancholy.

That’s understandable, because if you were to give Hoye’s name in a previous life, it would be a name that fans would never be able to give up.

Electro Giant Salamander.

Giant Electric Salamander!

What man wouldn’t feel his heart race at the sound of that name?

But since it was something that the shaman grandmother’s tribe treasured, I thought I should console myself today’s regret with something else.

“Mr. Fisherman.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Are you full today?”

“Huh? Oh! Oh, I see!”

At my words, the fisherman quickly began to catch the fish with something like a net.

‘I guess I should say something like ‘Let’s do it together…’

Since Hoye caught it for me, I thought I should at least eat that instead.

***

The next day the supplies were finished, but we stayed for three more days.

Since I couldn’t take him with me, I filled my eyes with joy and left a record of the poison in the dragon’s mouth.

[Little Dragon, look over there. There are two of them!]

[Oh my! Why a pair of them···.]

But the more I investigated the guys, the more my heart broke.

The mere fact that they were electric salamanders was heartbreaking, but what a coincidence that they happened to be a pair.

‘Oh, I really want it.’

-Tsrrrr!

After observing them for two days with Hwa-eun, I found that they came in pairs, and only when the sun set and the moon rose high in the sky did they come out of the water, swim around for a while, and then disappear.

Unlike other spirits, it doesn’t seem to eat anything in particular.

As the shaman grandmother said, they were very timid guys.

At the slightest sound, he would dive into the water and never reappear again that day.

I wanted to stay a few more days, but eventually I had to leave.

Our original destination was the volcanic region of Yunnan, but we had only sent a letter to Tangga saying we were going to Qinghai, and since we had already been to Qinghai, we had to turn back quickly.

I went all the way to the dangerous Cheonghae without permission, and the later I went, the more likely I was to get in trouble.

“Haaah···.”

“Little Dragon, don’t be too sad. This is inside Sichuan, so you can come back next time, right?”

“Please, Little Dragon. The Black Tribe will always welcome you, Little Dragon.”

On the day of departure, a fishmonger and a Black-Eyed Tribe shaman grandmother saw us off at the dock.

“Ha… My steps are not moving.”

“Hahaha. You’re already that attached to each other?”

“Yes. Then, both of you stay healthy. I’ll stop by soon.”

“Yes, Little Dragon, then, please be careful on your way back.”

I greeted the shaman at the dock and boarded the boat, just as it was leaving the dock.

The large ship I see in front of me is being washed.

It was a port where many ships came and went, but I had never seen such a large ship before, so I strained my eyes and heard Hwa-eun’s voice next to me.

“Is it a military ship?”

“Military ship?”

If it’s a military ship, it means a ship for government officials and soldiers.

As Hwa-eun said, when the ship passed us, we saw that it was full of soldiers.

“It’s amazing. For a military ship to come all the way to a place like this to wash its clothes.”

Listening to Hwa-eun’s words, it didn’t seem like a common thing.

I waved my hand without thinking much of it, until the figures of the shaman grandmother and the black-haired woman disappeared beyond the horizon.

It was when the boat slowly reached the end of the lake where the water drained away.

While I was playing with the children in the cabin, a boatman came running and said.

“Little Dragon! You should come out!”

“yes?”

As I ran out onto the deck, I heard a voice shouting urgently, as if something urgent had happened.

“Little Dragon! Little Dragon!”

When I looked to the back of the boat at the sound I heard, I saw a boat rowed by a dozen or so Heukyi tribesmen, fiercely pursuing our boat.

The one sitting at the very front of the boat was a shaman grandmother.

He ordered the Taoist priest to listen to the grandmother’s urgent cries.

“Can you stop the boat for a moment?”

“Understood, Little Dragon! Fold the sails and lower the five stones!”

“Yes! Taoist priest!”

-Wind!

The ship finally stops when the sails are folded and the rudder is lowered at the master’s command.

The Black Clan, who had been pursuing us quickly, stopped their boat right next to ours.

And then I heard my grandmother’s urgent voice.

“Little, Little Dragon, please help me!”

“Huh? What?”

When I wondered what was going on when he suddenly asked for help, my grandmother continued speaking urgently.

“The Seochang Jihyeonsa has called in the military ships to be washed! If anyone harms anyone, he will be caught and killed···.”

“yes!?”

There was probably no ill will towards them, but it seems that the Seo Chang Ji Hyeon Sa summoned a warship because so many people had died.

It feels like they asked us for help, but when that didn’t work out, they just called in the soldiers.

“This is a big deal!”

The Black Tribe has been blocking the rumors so far, but once the warships decide to go, it won’t be hard to find them.

When I thought this was a really big deal, my grandmother made a desperate request.

“Little Dragon, didn’t you clearly create a place for this old man where poisonous creatures and spirits can live without being harassed by humans, and didn’t you call that place the Poison Garden?”

“Yeah, right?”

I definitely said something like that when I introduced the kids.

I nodded and heard a sound that was hard to believe.

“Then, please take our spirit to the poisonous paradise called the Poison Garden!”

Seo Chang-ji was a truly wonderful person.