Entomologist in Sichuan Tang Clan Chapter 345

345
When the village chief, Gugil, accompanied the Taoist priest, he arrived at the village entrance where the sunset was taking place.

“Here it is, Taoist priest. This is our village, Sosangchon.”

“Hmm. It’s not that big of a town. Huh? That strong smell?”

“Ugh···.”

A foul odor mixed with the wind blowing from the village.

This was all a foul odor coming from the land. When I left the village earlier, there was no wind so the stench wasn’t very strong. But now that the sun was setting, the wind was blowing and the stench was really strong.

As Gu-gil’s face wrinkled at the stench, the worried voice of Taoist monk Tae-heo continued from beside him.

“But wow, this energy is strong. It won’t be easy to gather it all in one place.”

“Is that so?”

“Well then, what a stench. There must be a lot of people here, and it’s probably spread throughout the village.”

“Then is it difficult?”

Gugil asked worriedly at the serious-looking expression.

Of course, the Taoist priest had been confident when he left Goae Village earlier.

But, as soon as I entered the village, I saw that kind of sight, so I thought that it might be difficult.

“Hey, how could that be? Nothing is impossible for this Taoist monk.”

“Phew… I… Then that’s fortunate.”

Fortunately, they were relieved to hear that it wasn’t difficult, but Gu-gil and Jo-ga’s eyes widened in surprise at what they heard next.

“But the cost will go up because we need to use more talismans. With so many of them, it takes a lot of talismans to gather them all in one place.”

“yes!?”

There was continued talk of rising costs.

I was happy to get a good price for the sewage, but it turned out that I had to spend more money.

The village chief, Gugil, asked with a look of both worry and disbelief.

“I’m sure you said there were three silver coins when you left earlier···.”

“I told you so. But this would require a lot of talismans. And I would need stronger ones.”

“If I need more talismans, does it cost more?”

It’s a talisman that was just attached to the bodies of gisaengs to play with, so why does it cost more to put it in?

When Gu-gil and Jo-ga showed expressions of not understanding, Taoist Master Tae-heo explained with a serious expression.

“I’m afraid you might misunderstand, but do you know why I put talismans on the bodies of my courtesans?”

“Is there a reason for that?”

“Then, you guys, could it be that a Taoist who has transcended the secular world is crazy about women?”

“Well···.”

The village chiefs, Gu-gil and Jo-ga, nodded their heads without realizing it, but then flinched.

That would be the case, because from what I heard from inside Kiru’s annex earlier, he seemed to be crazy about women.

This was because there were clearly more than one or two gisaengs in the room.

Only about five of the ones Gugil has seen?

Then, Taoist Master Taeheo looked at the distant mountains and lifted his backpack.

“There’s a reason for all that. These demons are weak to yin energy, and in order to drive them out, you have to gather yin energy into the talisman.

So, it costs a lot of money to collect yin energy by giving money to gisaengs in expensive restaurants.”

“Well… if you need a woman, there are many women in our village….”

If it’s just a talisman attached to your body, why not just have another woman do it?

When Jo Ga said that, Taoist Master Tae Heo snapped his fingers.

He said it with an expression that said, “That’s absolutely not possible.”

“These people, would they use expensive kisaengs when there are other options? They do that because not just any woman will do.

It is generally known that men have yang energy and women have yin energy, but that ordinary yin energy is not enough.

“To chase away the devil, you need strong yin energy. That’s why you choose gisaengs who have such strong yin energy that they have to meet many men to gather yin energy. Wouldn’t it be insufficient if you don’t have that much yin energy?”

“Oh, I see.”

“Is it that deep of a meaning?”

“Then, you guys. And the reason I put up talismans like I’m playing around is to keep the yin energy from being extracted. Wouldn’t the gisaengs be terrified if their yin energy was extracted?”

I thought it was just because the Taoist priest was crazy about women, but it turns out there was a deeper reason for it.

Gugil and Joga nodded their heads loudly.

And after a while, when Jo Ga poked Gu Gil in the side, Gu Gil came to his senses and asked in a cautious voice.

Whatever the reason, the most important thing is how much silver goes into it.

“Then how much is that?”

“In a village this size, with this smell, you would need twice as many amulets. Normally, you would need six silver coins, but do you think you would be able to do that, knowing your dire situation?

“Please give me exactly five silver coins. Seriously, five coins won’t be enough… I’m making this sacrifice because I think of your difficult situation.”

“Oh my, thank you, Master.”

“thank you.”

It was a lot more spending than I thought, but I guess it’s fortunate that I still have two silver coins left?

How lucky I am that they cut it there.

The village chief, Gugil, quickly took out a silver coin from his pocket and gave it to Taoist monk Taeheo.

Now don’t say anything else.

“Please take good care of me, Master.”

A Taoist monk who quickly snatches the silver coin that Gugil offers and puts it in his bosom.

The Taoist answered with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry. And I need to use a strong talisman, so catch a white rooster, get some blood, and boil the meat well. It takes a lot of energy to use a strong talisman. Ahem.”

“Okay, sir.

After finishing speaking, the village chief Gugil, Joga, and the Taoist priest began to enter the village where the smell was coming from.

***

Before we talk about the future, there was something I had to point out.

Why did the name Maruk, or Noraegi, pop up out of nowhere?

There was good reason for that.

What does that mean?

I asked Hwa-eun.

“Hwaeun-do, you’ve seen a lot of Maruk, right?”

“Yes, they sometimes show up in large numbers at the party and cause trouble.”

“Isn’t the mosquito a pest that harms people?”

“That’s right. They suddenly appear in large numbers and make people suffer. I don’t like Maruk either.”

Hwa-eun vehemently agrees with what I say.

In my previous life, I was familiar with the name of the songbird, but I never saw it as an insect that was harmful to humans.

Because it is an insect that is difficult to find commonly.

But the reason Hwa-eun agrees so vehemently is because it is a truly serious pest in this era.

If someone were to ask me what pests are harmful to humans, I would say that it varies slightly depending on the time and environment.

As times change, people’s living environments also change, and the insects that cause harm also continue to change accordingly.

For example, as agriculture developed and grains began to be mass-produced, insects that lived on the grains began to be considered harmful to people, and as people began to raise animals and raise livestock, parasitic fleas on animals began to be harmful to people.

Also, when we were young, we often saw children with head lice on their heads, but didn’t head lice disappear thanks to the development of pesticides and quarantine?

So, in my previous life, cockroaches were the most hated insects by women, and mosquitoes, flies, love bugs, and mayflies that occur in large numbers were pests that were harmful to humans, but in this era, things are a little different.

Of course, cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, etc. are still serious pests here, and fleas, bedbugs, and head lice, which were all gone in the previous life, are also serious pests.

In addition, in these ancient societies, there was another insect that was representative of lowering the quality of life for people, and that was the Mallukin songbird.

Scientific name: Diplopoda, class: Diplopoda, phylum: Myriapoda, phylum: Arthropoda. Name: Millipede.

This guy is called a songki in Korean.

“Then do you know why demons appear in large numbers and cause suffering to people?”

“No. Only Xiaolong would know that.”

“They feed on rotting grass, so when the weather is warm, if you pile up fallen leaves, they will grow quickly.”

“Oh, come to think of it, it seems like there were always a lot of them in the place where the fallen leaves were collected.”

This insect would have been hard to see in a previous life, but in this day and age, it is a common insect seen anywhere in a home.

Even when they occur in large quantities, they lower people’s quality of life. There is a reason for this.

Since they eat the organic matter of rotting plants as food, rotting plants are essential for their survival and reproduction, but conversely, they have a hard time surviving in places without rotting plants.

So, in the city center of the previous life, there was little grass, so it was difficult to see the songbird, so people did not think of it as a pest.

However, in these times, it is rare to find a city or village without trees or plants, and there are always places to collect fallen leaves or make compost, so it is easy for songbirds to breed in large numbers and are recognized as serious pests.

Because they reproduce in large quantities in a short period of time and cover the house.

Of course, you can’t call these guys pests just because they’re scurrying around, but songbirds are insects that occupy the bottom of the food pyramid, and their defense mechanisms include curling up their bodies to protect their legs and releasing a foul odor.

The double problem is the poison these guys use for defense.

Although they are not venomous to humans, their venom has a strong, foul odor, which is what makes them problematic.

This question may come back:

It’s the insect’s self-defense, so it will only emit it when it is in danger, so why is that a problem?

The answer is because those guys are fu*king cowards.

They are so timid that they often get startled and emit a foul odor even when they are touched, so when they occur in large numbers, the smell continues to spread without stopping, creating a foul odor in the surrounding area.

Would it explain if I said that they were surprised and kept farting amongst themselves?

The reason it is called a songi is because it emits a stinging smell, just like a stink bug.

Of course, the fundamental substances of the two smells are completely different.

The stench of the songbird is mainly composed of benzoquinone and phenol, and the stench of the stink bug is mainly composed of decenal and octenal.

So while the smell of the stink bug can be defined as a spicy coriander smell, the smell of the songbird is precisely that of concentrated rotten eggs.

Yes, you could say it smells similar to the smell of the lowest ranking bomb-dust bug in our house.

Because the source material is similar.

So how can people live if that kind of smell fills the town around their house?

“Then, if I just clean up the fallen leaves and grass, I don’t have to worry too much about the moss?”

“That’s right. Hwa-eun. The best way to get rid of the demons is to gather them up and burn them, and clean up the rotten leaves and such. Burning them would be the best.”

Now, answering Hwa-eun’s question, let’s get to the main point.

Could this be a story about a future eastern country?

No, maybe now.

“But I heard that in the eastern country, they clean their houses thoroughly in the spring, and as if that wasn’t enough, they put up talismans in each house.”

“A talisman? You’re saying you can drive away evil spirits with a talisman?”

Our ancestors in a previous life suffered similar damage from songgi, so they cleaned their houses in the spring and hung talismans on their houses.

That’s the songi talisman.

It is called the talisman “Hyangranggaksi Cheonri Sogeo”.

It is a culture that is known to have been popular during the Joseon Dynasty. At that time, Joseon people called the singing instruments found in homes “Hyangnang” or “Hyangnang Gaksi”.

The talisman was attached to the house to indicate that the songbird that came into the house like a magpie would not cause any harm, and that people should also refrain from causing any harm and leave.

I remember it because it was broadcast once and it was an interesting culture.

“Hello, viewers! Today, I brought you a magical talisman. Just stick this on and you’ll get rid of pests!”

-Bee Buzz: Fabre, are you now creating a pseudo-religion with your viewers?

-Butterfly Dream: A talisman? Amulets?

-Turtle is turtle: Did I hear that right?

The reaction at the time was also funny, and Hwa-eun also had her eyes wide open, so I smiled and answered.

“It’s not like I’m kicking them out. I guess I’m just keeping them in my mind so they don’t show up again.”

“Ah… Then?”

“Yes, Maruk and Taoist priests. That’s what came to mind. Perhaps Taoist priests sell expensive talismans or something.”

“That could be true. By the way, what kind of a talisman is it?”

“It says, ‘Hyangranggaksi Cheonri Sokgeo (香娘閣氏千里速去)’…”

“Hyangranggakshi, are you going to go a thousand miles away? Hyangranggakshi, are you going to go a thousand miles away quickly? What is Hyangranggakshi?”

“Ah, in that eastern country, they call a maiden ‘Hyangrang’, and ‘Gaksi’ means a woman who has recently been married. So they say that the Hyangrang found in a house is called ‘Hyangrang Gaksi.’

It’s a talisman that is put on to make the demons leave quickly.

If it was considered serious, they even added a decree at the end saying, “Hyangranggaksicheonri sokgeogeupgeupyulryeong (香娘閣氏千里速去急急如律令).”

“I thought it would be scary because it was a talisman, but it was actually more interesting than I thought.”

The boat returned after talking with Hwa-eun.

Inside, a bundle of papers and a letter were spread out, and the story we had heard when we returned to the ship was written down in it.

“Little Dragon, isn’t the real Taoist a Little Dragon?”

Hwa-eun looked at me with surprised eyes, saying, “That was a perfect fit.”

The last chapter had a story about a fake Taoist priest going around the village and making a quick buck with the talisman “Hyangranggaksi Cheonri Sogeo.”

And our mission was to find out if it was a scam.