Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Spirit Medicine 5

“So-ryong, this is Han So Hwa. It’s a flower that’s commonly found around Sichuan or Yunnan.”

While wandering through the jungle with my older sister, we easily found a patch of Han So Hwa blooming on a gentle hill.

The Han So Hwa was a shrub about the height of a person, its yellow, purple, and white flowers mixing together joyfully across the hill.

“So this is Han So Hwa? Let’s see…”

Just as my sister had mentioned, to confirm if it really had that fragrance, I picked a flower and inhaled its scent.

A sweet aroma rushed in through my nose.

A very familiar and sweet fragrance washed over me.

‘I used to eat one every day in my past life. If I search carefully, there must be more around here somewhere.’

Nostalgically nodding, I recalled the memories of my previous life.

“It really is quite similar.”

“Right? It’s not completely identical, but very much alike! The Tang Clan trains its members to distinguish scents from poisons, so once you’ve smelled it, you’ll never forget it. There’s a saying that when it comes to scents, the Tang Clan’s noses are reliable.”

“Do they really undergo such training?”

“Yes, you need to remember a total of four thousand two hundred and six different scents.”

“F-four thousand two hundred and six?”

What absurdity! It’s not like I’m a perfume maker who needs to remember that many!

I was already worrying about how to pass that memory-based training, and now I also had to learn about scents—that made cold sweat trickle down my back.

‘Honestly, I thought I could somehow handle a bad guy like Tak Woon-yang just because of my sister’s beauty, but now… this whole training situation…’

Would I even be able to manage when the training itself was this ridiculous?

While I was deep in thought over how complicated and difficult everything seemed, I heard a voice calling us from below the hill.

“So-ryong! Miss!”

“This way!”

“This way! Sub Commander!”

The Sub Commander swiftly leaped up to the hill using his lightness skill.

We were looking for Han So Hwa, while the Sub Commander seemed to have come running after discovering the banana plant’s fruits.

“Miss, coincidentally, there’s a lot of banana plants over that way too. I found ripe yellow banana fruits.”

The Sub Commander presented us with a cluster of yellow fruits he claimed were bananas.

But what he held was something very familiar, something I hadn’t expected.

He said it was a banana, but what he showed us was a very unmistakable fruit—a banana!

‘Huh? This is definitely a banana! Oh! Right, bananas are part of the banana family! So this banana is…!’

The fruit he picked was not the typical banana we were used to seeing but more akin to a short monkey banana, and when I broke it in half, it was filled with seeds.

‘Is this like a wild banana or something?’

When I tasted it, the incredibly astringent flavor from the fibrous layer between the banana flesh and peel hit me and, not wanting to eat that, I spat it out and immediately inhaled its aroma.

Taking in the scent of the banana fruit brought back that familiar smell.

“So-ryong, is this it? Is this what you were looking for?”

Seeing me confirming the scent, my sister asked with sparkling eyes, filled with anticipation.

Eager to settle things, I nodded slowly.

“Yes, I think this is sufficient.”

“Just as I thought! Then let’s hurry and tell the Sub Commander!”

“Indeed. Little One.”

Once we returned to the camp, being carried on the Sub Commander’s back again, I gathered the martial artists from the Tang Clan and made my request.

“Please gather the banana fruits and Han So Hwa flowers.”

“You want us to gather the banana fruits and Han So Hwa flowers?”

“Yes, since it’s not far from Mokri, let’s find a jar and collect them inside.”

“Why the Han So Hwa flowers and banana fruits? I don’t understand the flowers, but the banana fruits are filled with seeds and quite astringent, aren’t they?”

The Sub Commander tilted his head, questioning my request.

Did he think I was like a major coming from the frontlines asking for a special dinner item like a delicious root plant?

Come to think of it, I hadn’t explained the details except to my sister.

After glancing at the Sub Commander and the martial artists, I pointed toward the direction where the black-haired gang was hiding.

“Over there, those guys lurking. Don’t you want to sweep them away?”

“Sweep them away?”

“Yes, completely wipe them out.”

Just as you’d expect from a notorious assassination clan, their eyes lit up at the mention of sweeping them away.

However, following the ethical guidelines of the Tang Clan, the Sub Commander addressed the ongoing issue.

“Some of those rumors speak of abductions and selling women or using them as courtesans, and others dealing in bad drugs, so while I’d love to wipe them all out, we are a clan walking the path of justice.

So-ryong, while we appreciate your suggestion that aligns with our clan’s values, we cannot engage in actions that violate our principles.”

Surprised by his unexpected response, I shook my head.

Didn’t I just suggest we scare them off a bit?

Thinking I meant we should deal with them directly was stoking fear.

“Of course not! Do you think I’d suggest we take them down ourselves? I’m only saying we should give them a little scare and drive them off, so don’t worry.”

“Really? Just a little scare to chase them off? How exactly?”

“Um… how should I put it? Maybe we should say that the Golden Hair Bee King could meet with an unexpected accident?”

“Unexpected accident?”

“That term works really well for me.”

Hearing that phrase, my sister nodded with approval, while the puzzled Sub Commander and other martial artists looked between my sister and me, confusion clouding their faces.

*

[So-ryong, I’ve spread it as you instructed!]

[I’ve completed my task too!]

The Sub Commander along with the Deputy Commander, who excelled in lightness skill, proudly showed off the empty jars that they had perfectly executed the commands.

It seemed they were looking forward to what would happen next.

Despair and screams…

[Of course, you made sure to sprinkle the most over their encampment, right?]

[Absolutely. I scattered everything from one jar beyond their encampment.]

[And you, Sub Commander?]

“Yes, I started from the nearest place where the bees weren’t reacting and laid a trail leading toward their camp.”

What they had sprinkled was a mixture of the ripe banana fruit and Han So Hwa flowers, combined with water to increase the amount.

Now, the preparations were complete.

I signaled my sister, who had been tossing a fist-sized stone repeatedly since earlier.

[Hua Eun, we’re ready!]

[I got it! So-ryong!]

As the signal was given, my sister caught the stone thrown into the sky and hurled it toward the Golden Hair Bee King’s hive beyond the clear ground.

-Swoosh!

Was she pitching it as if in a baseball game? She could easily attract a million subscribers with this performance from her past life.

-Thwack!

The stone, released from my sister’s hand, soared straight toward a massive old tree with a thunderous noise, wedged in tightly.

The sound echoed loudly, bouncing off the cliff.

-Thwack… Thwack… Thwack… Thwack…

And just like déjà vu from before, the terrifying sound of wings began filling the open area.

The buzzing of the Golden Hair Bee King echoed.

-Whoosh! Whoosh! Buzz! Buzz!

What followed was a scene I had seen before, a golden flood spilling from the entrance of the hive.

Illuminated by the sunset, the bee king, sparkling with its golden fur, began to swarm out of the hive.

-Buzz! Buzz!

The bees that spilled out of the hive immediately took to the air, circling ominously around the hive’s vicinity.

And just like that, they began heading towards the wind’s direction—the black-haired gang’s camp.

The area surrounding the hive cleared away.

“Unbelievable!”

“Truly amazing!”

My sister threw another stone, but there was no response from within the hive.

It was clear that all but the queen bee and a few drones had headed toward the dark-haired gang’s camp.

Since I had given the signal for a full-on attack, after all.

“So-ryong, how on earth did you pull this off? I didn’t expect the bees to be so enraged by such a flower scent. Don’t bees love flowers and honey?”

My sister continued with intrigued questions.

“Well, that’s because I commanded them to go for a full-on attack.”

“A full-on attack!? You commanded them? But we just crushed and scattered some flowers and fruits!”

My sister stared at me with widened eyes.

It seemed she found this whole situation very fascinating.

To truly understand what was happening, one would need to dive deeper into the nature of bees and how they communicate.

“That scent signifies an order to attack.”

“That scent from Han So Hwa and banana fruit?”

While my sister marveled, the source of this magnificent phenomenon was pheromones.

Pheromones are the chemical signals used by animals of the same species for communication.

These substances can make animals fall in love, become furious, or remain calm.

Creatures respond almost instantaneously to these pheromones, and many species, particularly social insects like bees and ants, use pheromones extensively for communication.

Therefore, the scent signaling attack was the very essence of banana fragrance I had provided.

Although not widely known here, one of the pheromones honeybees use for signaling an attack is isoamyl acetate.

Isoamyl acetate makes honeybees agitated and prompts them to attack more fiercely.

Biologists studying isoamyl acetate discovered an enchanting fact—this compound emits a banana scent.

Thus, the key component of the banana esters we refer to as synthetic banana fragrance, and the natural banana scent is isoamyl acetate.

This compound is found in all fruits of the banana family.

It was the same compound used by the bees to signal their readiness for an all-out attack.

That’s why, in many places overseas, they advise caution when consuming bananas where bees might be present.

Because it can provoke aggressive bee behavior.

“I’ll explain the details later, but for now, let’s collect some honey before the Golden Hair Bee King returns! Sub Commander, keep a lookout for us!”

“Understood, So-ryong.”

“Roger that, So-ryong!”

The sun was about to set.

Knowing we had to hurry before the enraged bees returned, I told the Sub Commander to keep watch and ran toward the entrance of the hive.

I peeked inside first.

But again, silence met me.

There wasn’t a single worker bee left inside.

“Let’s go in.”

“I’ll lead the way!”

The Sub Commander held his dagger in both hands, leading the charge while my sister and I followed closely.

To prepare for any unforeseen situations, I brought in the incense burner filled with dried mugwort, its acrid scent wafting up.

Just in case any bees remained inside, we planned to calm them down.

As we entered the hive’s entrance, we saw the upper part filled with honeycomb made from wax…

But there was a problem.

The issue was, there was not a drop of honey to be seen.

“Huh? There’s no honey at all?”

“That can’t be right!”

“Really, just as the Junior Hero said, there isn’t any at all.”

The hive was empty.

Every bee should have stored honey if they were of the honeybee kind, yet not a single drop was visible.

I asked the Sub Commander to let me ride on his back to check the upper part, but again, no honey was found.

“How is this possible?”

The Sub Commander had seen a hive once before but had never encountered such bizarre circumstances.

However, as I inspected the hive, I realized immediately why there was no honey.

There were no eggs in the hive whatsoever.

Those bees must have been preparing to relocate from the very start.

Bees never relocate when raising young.

The reason was likely us.

Seeing so many humans nearby must have prompted them to decide to move.

At that moment…

I noticed something.

Leaning down, I asked the Sub Commander, “How long can you use lightness skill without a break?”

“Why do you ask that suddenly? If I pace myself, I can manage it for half a day or so?”

The Sub Commander wondered why I was inquiring, but before I could answer, a voice called out from the entrance.

The Deputy Commander shouted urgently, “So-ryong! The Golden Hair Bee King is coming back!”

I shouted what was visible straightaway to the Sub Commander.

“Let’s get out of here!”

“Yes, So-ryong!”

We arrived at an open area.

Just as the Sub Commander was about to catch his breath, my sister’s panicked voice rang out.

“What, So-ryong? Why are you—!?”

-Buzz, buzz.

Cradling the squirming creature in my arms, I responded.

“I brought back someone to make honey since there’s no honey here. Let’s go, Sub Commander! Before they catch up! They won’t chase us in the dark, so hurry!”

A life-or-death dash was about to begin.

Between the Golden Hair Bee King and us.

After all, I had just borrowed the queen bee from the hive.