Entomologist in Sichuan Tang Clan Chapter 404

404
Cordyceps sinensis 2

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When I faced the guy, an unbearable scream burst from the depths of my heart, like a spring gushing out of the desert, or like an underwater volcano erupting from the depths of the ocean.

Almost like a reflex.

‘Gyaaaah!’

But the guy seemed angry, so I could only cover my mouth and admire him inwardly.

‘That’s crazy. It’s definitely based on that, right?’

The thing that suddenly appeared in front of us was a grasshopper the size of an adult’s forearm.

It was a creature with a body color that was a mixture of black and orange, and the texture of its wings gave off a tree bark-like feeling.

There are bright orange spots between the black body and red bumps on the back, as if to prove that it is poisonous.

Judging from its appearance, it was clear that it was a spirit and a poison.

That too, based on an insect I know.

That is why cheers of excitement, admiration, and wonder burst forth.

‘Rainbow milk grass spirit!’

Rainbow milk grass.

It sounds like a name that appears in a children’s story, but it is a real name.

Rainbow Milkweed Locust, translated into Korean, is rainbow milkweed locust!

It was a poisonous locust that lived in Madagascar.

Most people would be surprised to learn that a locust is poisonous.

Because I don’t think grasshoppers are poisonous.

Most locusts are poisonous, although there are differences in toxicity.

What are you talking about? What kind of poison are locusts? You may ask, but anyone who caught a locust as a child will know.

It is said that when you catch a grasshopper, it spits out black water from its mouth.

This is the poison of locusts.

This is one of the self-defense mechanisms that the locusts have, and this black substance has a foul smell and taste.

These include summoning-related substances such as digestive fluids, as well as components of some of the plants they feed on, including the Milkweed Locust, whose toxin is so potent it can kill a human.

The reason is because of the milk grass.

The milkweed included in the name Rainbow Milkweed Locust is a general term for plants in the genus Asclepias, as this grass is highly poisonous.

Just as the emperor butterfly, a poisonous butterfly, is poisonous because its caterpillars feed on Asclepias plants,

‘They say that Asclepias plants contain cardiac glycosides.’

Although other neurotoxins are also included, the main toxin is the cardiac glycoside cardenolide contained in Asclepias plants.

If you eat too much, your heart contractions will become more severe, causing a heart attack and you will just pass out.

Where?

The rainbow bridge.

‘Whoever named it really did a good job?’

So, whoever came up with the name, Rainbow Milkweed Locust is a really well-named name.

Milk grasshoppers that will send you across the rainbow bridge if you mess with them.

Because it feels dangerous no matter how you look at it, from both the East and the West.

I was momentarily overcome with emotion when I came to my senses.

At the guy’s appearance, I noticed that the back of the head was slightly moving its knees as if it was trying to bounce back in surprise.

It seemed like he was trying to retreat from the guy with light air.

-Tch, tch, tch.

The sound of the guy’s wings flapping once again sounds like anger at that sight.

Hwa-eun and I shouted at Makgok at the same time.

“Stop!”

“Stop! Huh?”

I couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying because there were no children, but it felt like they shouldn’t move.

Hwa-eun, who had lived with children for a long time, seemed to have felt similarly to me.

As the posterior fin stopped in its tracks, the sound of its wings came again.

-Clang.

When I looked at the wings of the creature that was making the sound, I realized that what I initially thought was the sound of wings flapping was not the sound of a grasshopper flying in, but the sound of it rubbing its legs together.

Grasshoppers have protrusions on their legs, and they rub these against the veins on their forewings to make a sound. Grasshoppers communicate by rubbing their wings.

So, the story was that the grasshopper spirit was trying to communicate with us, so we stopped everyone, including Hougae.

“Everyone, stay still.”

It was because I felt like we had made a big mistake.

A spirit appears when you dig up the shallowly buried locusts.

‘Is this a grave?’

I didn’t know who buried the dead grasshoppers, but if it was that spirit, it would have been able to do something like that.

Since the spirits themselves are intelligent just like humans, it would be understandable if they buried their dead compatriots.

First, he apologized to the grasshopper in a cautious voice.

“Let me apologize first. I guess you were the one who buried these ignorant people here. It seems like a graveyard, so I’m sorry for disturbing it. I’ll put the ignorant people back.”

A moment of silence.

The blind man nodded after hearing what I said.

As expected of a spirit, it seemed to understand what was being said.

“Well, have you heard the story? It looks like that guy made the grave. Let’s put all the Cordyceps Militaris back.”

“Okay, Little Dragon.”

“Okay, okay. Okay, okay.”

“Amitabha. That’s right. No matter how good a tomb is, it’s a shame to touch it. Even if it’s the tomb of a small creature.”

“Ugh… What a pity.”

The group looked disappointed at first, but at my words, they started burying the grasshoppers in the ground again.

Meanwhile, Hwa-eun’s voice is heard in my head.

『“It looks like it’s definitely the Black-Wooden Yellow Insect King, right?”

“Maybe.”

I agreed in my heart to Hwa-eun’s question.

Then, at the guy’s appearance, her heart, which had been beating wildly and then calming down, began to pound again at Hwa-eun’s words.

The world’s most poisonous substance, even among the twenty-four poisonous plants of flowers, trees, grass, and fruits, it is the poison that occupies the left side of the throat.

Black-wooded yellow insect king.

Because that seemed to be the guy’s true identity.

Surely he was the king of all locusts?

‘You said he was the king of all locusts in the world? Wow. I’m so tired.’

If you are the king of all locusts in the world, isn’t that similar to Qingyou, the queen of all snakes in the world?

That’s why my heart was beating so fast.

“You said he was the king of all locusts?”

“Yes, Hwa-eun.”

“Then are those the people’s tombs?”

“I guess you could think about it that way?”

After talking to Hwa-eun, I was able to understand why she was angry.

Wouldn’t it be natural for a monarch to be angry if his people’s graves were dug up?

I asked Cho because I thought I might need an interpreter.

‘Hey, where are you now?’

-Tsururut. 『I found my orange brother and I’m looking for the other kids. Oh, I found my fairy sister over there.』

It seemed that Yeondoo and the two were still looking for the children, and since they needed proper interpretation services, they asked Cho to come over.

I wanted to have a conversation with the guy before I left, leaving all the Cordyceps Militaris behind.

Things like why they are guarding the tomb here.

And it was because I thought that if it was King Huang Zhong, he would know things like the reason for the appearance of the Huang Zhong that we were curious about.

‘Can you leave the search for the other kids to Yeondoo and come to Dad? A new spirit has appeared here and I’m frustrated because I can’t communicate with him.’

-Tsurut. “Okay, Dad.”

That’s why I told Cho to come back here quickly.

I heard a reply from the side that Ji-ryong’s Cordyceps Militaris had been buried again.

“I buried everything about the Little Dragon and Little Axe.”

“Oh, the small talk is over.”

When I turned my head, I saw my brother and the people who had really buried all the yellow bugs and were shaking their hands.

‘It’s too early.’

The work was finished much faster than expected.

I told the guy that I had no choice but to step back and visit him separately with Cho.

“The bodies of the blind have been returned to the ground, so can they step aside?”

Then, King Huang Zhong looked around more carefully than expected to see if it was really a tomb.

The guy who had been looking around for a while was about to nod.

The guy suddenly turned his head and looked at the guide.

-Clang!

The uncomfortable sound of flapping wings heard at the same time, and the interpreter and guide flinching at the sound.

‘what?’

Even the Cordyceps Militaris was returned to the tomb, but it felt like King Huang Zhong was angry, and the interpreter and guide were watching him closely.

At the moment when I tilted my head wondering what the connection was, Huang Zhongwang jumped up and rushed at the interpreter.

-Choosh!

Huang Zhongwang spreads his wings wide and jumps into the interpreter’s chest.

The speed was so great that none of us could react.

The same goes for the interpreter who was a party to the matter.

-Bam!

“Ugh.”

The beggar who had his chest hit fell backwards, and then Huang Zhongwang climbed onto the interpreter’s body and tore the beggar’s front part open with his forelegs.

-Squeak.

The interpreter’s front legs are torn apart in an instant by the grasshopper’s sharp front legs.

At that moment, a few Cordyceps sinensis sprouts flowed out from inside.

“That!?”

That was the moment.

The shrill screams of the grass that came crashing down on me struck my head.

-Tsuru! 『Dad! Mom! Aunt! Get out of here!』

“Everyone, please dodge!”

“Avoid!”

When everyone, startled by my warning and flying away, heard the first cry of the morning,

A thick yellow fog rose around King Huang Zhong.

-Phew!

The surrounding area was instantly covered in yellow fog.

***

“Oh my gosh, I’m dying.”

The dog was running towards the river, carrying the interpreter on its back.

The interpreter on his back is screaming that he is dying.

It was because he was poisoned by King Huang Zhong’s poison.

“You idiot! How dare you be greedy for something like that!”

“I’m sorry. Sob.”

We arrived at the riverbank after running quickly.

The tail was then thrown into the water as an interpreter.

-with a splash!

And he jumped into the water too.

The blood vessels were blocked, so first of all, the poison in the body was washed away.

“What about everyone else?”

I asked the group as I watched the two washing their bodies in the water.

I wonder if anyone came into contact with the yellow fog from earlier.

“We’ll back off quickly and it’ll be okay.”

“Yes, Little Dragon. Because I quickly pulled away at the shouts of you and Lady Hwa-eun.”

“What about your sister?”

“I’m okay too, Soryong.”

“I was the one on the inside, and since I was okay, everyone else should be okay. Except for the guy who carried him.”

It was safe because Hwa-eun and I took over the body together, and Seol-nu was also next to us, so it wasn’t a dangerous situation.

The wind was blowing against us, and the most dangerous place was Gungbong, which was next to Huang Zhongwang and Tongyeok, but it seemed that Gyeonggong was able to escape more safely than expected.

He checked on the well-being of his party and asked Hougae, who had been exposed to poison while carrying his men.

He had just crawled out to the riverbank.

“Hey, are you okay?”

After throwing the soaking wet interpreter into the riverbank, Makgok let out a ragged breath and answered.

“I think I’m okay. This one first.”

“All right.”

First, I decided to approach Hwa-eun and find out information about the poison.

We need to know what kind of poison it is so we can try to detoxify it.

“It hurts. Please bear with it.”

Hwa-eun brings a large needle from somewhere and makes a scary expression.

“Am I going to die?”

“Well, I don’t know what kind of poison it is, so I have to check.”

“Kuuuuu.”

“If you knew your life was precious, you should have listened to me! No, what are you doing that is so shameful!”

As the interpreter bursts into tears at Hwa-eun’s words, Hoo-gae shouts from the side.

It seemed that he was embarrassed and had complicated feelings because his subordinate had ended up like this while twisting Cordyceps Militaris.

“Stop it. It’s already come to this. Aren’t you sick?”

“No, if you are good at stealing, you should ask the god to accept you as a disciple. Why are you a beggar?”

“Truly.”

Only when Monk Jaheo stepped in was he able to stop his anger, and in the meantime, Hwaeun, who had been poking the beggar here and there with a needle, let out a sound that sounded like something she couldn’t understand.

“hmm?”

“Why are you like that? Hwa-eun.”

In response to my question, Hwa-eun once again dipped a needle into her bottle, took it out, and answered with an expression of disbelief.

“This isn’t poison?”

“It’s not poison?”

“Yes, it is non-toxic.”

The interpreter, who was groaning in pain as if he was going to die, felt around all over his body after hearing Hwa-eun’s words.

Soon he blinked with an expression that said he was still alive.

“Oh, really? There’s nothing that hurts?”

“This, this author! I carried you here because you said you were dying of pain!”

But when Hukai found out that he was fine, he couldn’t help but get angry again.

I carried you here and ran screaming that you were going to die.

When you can’t hold back your anger and your back starts trembling.

Orange nodded as he brought a thick piece of wood that could be used as a club and put it in Hougae’s hand.

-Scar.

Then the two nodded in agreement.

A silent conversation took place between the men, followed soon by the sound of beatings.

“Keuhuuk! Sa, save me!”

***

I had dinner by the river and went to sleep.

In the midst of the chaos, King Huang Zhong disappeared, and as the sun was setting, we decided to camp here and look for him again when the sun rose.

-Knock knock. Knock knock.

It was while everyone was sleeping in the tent of the fairy godmother around the crackling campfire.

-Thump thump. Square square.

A strange sound is heard amidst the crackling sound of a blazing campfire.

I woke up without realizing it.

‘Who are you?’

Who practices martial arts in the middle of the night?

It was a moment when I curled up a little closer to Hwa-eun, who was lying next to me, thinking, “What are you doing in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep?”

I heard a voice in my head.

‘-Tsuru. ‘Dad, that guy is weird. He eats dirt.”

‘what?’

As I sat up, rubbed my eyes and looked around, Cho popped his head out of the tent.

Other children were also looking outside with the sky.

I also stuck my head out of the tent entrance and looked where the grass head was headed.

‘What’s the first thing?’

‘-Tsuru. ‘Excuse me.’

Then, under the moonlight, I saw the interpreter digging the ground with his hands.

‘What is this?’

I felt a little creeped out by the sight of the interpreter suddenly digging the ground with his hands in the middle of the night, so I approached him.

“Hey, what are you doing now?”

“Curious···.”

Then a snoring sound is heard.

‘What? Are you sleepwalking? You’re really doing all sorts of things. But if you shake it, will it wake up?’

I thought it was probably sleepwalking, but I shook him thinking that it was a bit strange.

I’ve heard that sleepwalking is something that doesn’t wake you up easily, but I can’t just leave it like this.

The interpreter woke up after shaking him a few times.

“Huh? Little Dragon? What is this? Huh? My, my body?”

He woke up quickly, but as soon as he woke up, his voice seemed a little flustered and then suddenly the interpreter started screaming.

“Oh, Little Dragon, please, spare me! My, my body moves as it pleases!”