Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 2: My First Kiss

With a tightly clenched fist, the sour liquid slid down my throat.

The queen bee’s offering hit directly in my stomach.

It was like taking a shot of harsh whiskey, leaving a burning trail through my esophagus, reminding me of just where my stomach was.

Amidst the chaos in my mind, one thought occupied my head.

Above all, I had lost my first kiss to a queen bee.

Yes, that was the sole thought swimming in my brain.

‘More than anything, I wanted my first kiss to be a heartfelt moment… My romance…’

The bees clung on, making escape impossible, and the tighter they held me, the more they constricted.

Ultimately, as I ceased my struggles and felt my energy drain away, the liquid gifted by the queen continued to flow down my throat.

-Glug. Glug.

And then, a short while later.

The fleeting yet drawn-out kiss came to an end, and I felt the queen bee’s antenna gently patting my head.

-Slush

As soon as her mouth parted from mine, a long string of liquid connected and then snapped between our lips.

With a feeling of emptiness, I collapsed to the ground as the bees dragged me out from the old tree, scuttling back into their hole.

‘Was that all the fun I was supposed to have…? Is the queen bee really royalty…?’

I was bewildered by the sudden, absurd turn of events, but I took a step toward the entrance of the training ground.

-Thud. Thud.

As I walked dumbfounded toward the training ground’s entrance, it hit me that I hadn’t comprehended the fact that I had lost my first kiss to a queen bee; the sour taste still lingered in my mouth.

‘What was that…? Wait!? Did I just consume what I… ro…?’

But before I could fully recall what I had eaten, a strange discomfort started to settle in my body.

With every step I took, an odd unease enveloped me.

It was a peculiar, tingling discomfort.

At first, I thought it was just the emotional blast from kissing the Golden Hair Bee King, but then nausea began to churn from below my belly.

-Thump. Thump.

As I focused my nerves, I sensed something tiny pulsing down low, a light, rhythmic beat.

By the time I neared the entrance of the training ground, that small feeling amplified, and various symptoms began surfacing within me.

My vision turned crimson, and I felt a rush of heat throughout my body.

No, my vision was really turning red, and heat was radiating from me.

The tiny thump in my lower belly had transformed into a definite pounding.

-Thump thump.

The heat surging from my body, coupled with the rhythmic thumping below my belly.

My vision began to blur.

And along some path in my body, I felt something stretching persistently.

‘Wait a minute, this was definitely the sensation I got while practicing the Five Poisons Return to Origin Skill!? They said the honey from the Golden Hair Bee King could boost my internal energy by two months; then, if the queen bee’s…’

Just as the thought that the source of this pulsing was my dantian crystallized in my mind, I finally noticed the blurry figure of Mandok God and my older sister rushing toward me.

“Soryong!”

“Soryong!”

Then a wave of intense heat began to envelop me.

*

Upon hearing that Soryong had been taken by the Golden Hair Bees, Mandok God and Tang Hua Eun rushed over.

As they hurried, their faces bewildered, they spotted Soryong staggering out of the training ground.

-Thud.

Soryong seemed to wobble before toppling over like a log.

“Soryong!”

“Soryong!”

Somehow, Tang Hua Eun darted in like a swallow with more speed than even Mandok God, scooping Soryong into her arms.

She quickly examined Soryong.

His face was flushed, and there was a sweet fragrance about him.

And she could feel an otherworldly heat emanating from his body.

The warmth radiated was palpable, enveloping her.

“This is!? Grandpa, something’s wrong with Soryong! He’s burning up!”

“Step aside!”

Grandpa rushed over, checking Soryong’s pulse, then exclaimed in surprise.

“It seems he’s suddenly ingested a massive amount of spirit medicine, even though he’s only just begun training!”

“Spirit medicine?!”

“Yes, I don’t know what he’s consumed, but it feels like he’s taken in something substantial. There’s no time. I’ll channel the energy of my medicine; you must assist!”

“Understood! Grandpa!”

According to Soryong, the honey from the Golden Hair Bee King takes quite a while to be produced again, so what could he possibly have consumed?

Grandpa hurriedly removed Soryong’s outer attire and began guiding the energy of the spirit medicine.

I had no idea how extraordinary this spirit medicine was, but even as he sweated and worked hard, it felt as if Soryong’s entire blood network was tightening.

Like it was about to burst at any moment.

The troublesome trio—Chao, Hyang, and Bin—clung to Hua Eun, seemingly anxious as they clambered over her.

“Don’t worry. Your dad will be okay.”

Despite Hua Eun’s calming words, the three centipedes were restless.

When she warned them that moving to Soryong’s side could be more dangerous, they finally calmed down.

They truly were mysterious little critters.

*

-Groan.

As I regained consciousness, the first thing I felt was the cool sensation on my forehead.

Opening my eyes slightly, I glimpsed my older sister’s concerned face as she wiped my forehead with a damp cloth.

Then, I heard her worried voice.

With a furrowed brow, my sister asked about my condition.

“Soryong? Are you awake?”

“W-Where is this?”

Since it wasn’t my room, I asked where I was, to which my sister replied, still wiping away sweat from my forehead.

“This is the Tang Clan’s Medicine Hall. When we heard you were taken by the Golden Hair Bees, we rushed to the training ground, but you walked out and suddenly collapsed. So Grandpa and I brought you here. Do you remember what happened?”

‘Right. I was taken by bees and lost my first kiss… I’m so sorry, older sister! Ugh…’

I wanted to share my first kiss with her instead…

My head hung low as I contemplated the sorrow of having my first kiss stolen by a creature, not even a person, making my sister ask in shock.

“Soryong, are you okay!? Why are you like this? Is something wrong? Should I call Grandpa?”

But I knew revealing it to my sister would only lead to more trouble, so I pulled myself together to respond.

“N-No, it’s nothing. Just a moment…”

But then, my sister persisted, her face full of concern.

“What on earth did you consume? Grandpa mentioned that it felt like you ingested a spirit medicine between intermediate and advanced levels. You definitely ate the honey from the Golden Hair Bees or something else unusual, right? Did you perhaps eat an Inner Dan?”

‘Spirit medicine? Right! It felt like I ate royal jelly!’

Hearing my sister’s words reminded me of what I had forgotten.

What the Golden Hair Bee Queen had fed me was royal jelly.

And thinking back, what transpired between the queen bee and me felt less like a kiss and more like a nutritional exchange done amongst bees.

I had set up my home, so it was like entertaining a guest with a meal or perhaps a welcome feast!

Since she had fed me royal jelly, it felt more akin to a meal than a kiss.

Especially one that didn’t involve any sentiment.

‘Thank goodness, it was just royal jelly.’

I thought it was indeed just royal jelly and answered my sister’s query.

“Ah, it turns out what I ate… The queen bee fed me something she herself eats; I don’t really know what to call it, but if I had to name it, perhaps it would be bee milk?”

“Bee milk?”

Since explaining royal jelly would require a basic understanding of bees, I eagerly explained to my curious sister.

“What should I say? In a hive, there are three types of bees.”

“Three types? Didn’t you say there were only the queen bee and the worker bees before?”

I had already disclosed the existence of the queen at the time of bringing the Golden Hair Bee along.

Nodding, I clarified.

“Yes, worker, drone, and then the queen bee. As I mentioned before, the queen lays eggs her entire life, while the worker bees labor continuously.”

“And the drone then?”

Seeming curious about the drones, I couldn’t help but smile inwardly, knowing what her reaction would be.

“What do you think? Naturally…”

“Naturally?”

“They… um… engage in romantic frolic with the queen bee… Outside of that, they can do nothing.”

“…”

My older sister went silent, contemplating this newly presented knowledge.

She spoke with a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Hm, yes. About that, can you tell me more about bee milk?”

It seemed she had developed a slight tolerance and had rapidly regained her composure.

Thinking it was cute, I replied.

“Sure! The reason worker bees collect nectar and pollen is that they live off them. However, only worker bees consume nectar and pollen.”

“And what about the queen bee?”

“The queen survives on bee milk produced by worker bees from the day she is born until her death.”

To be precise, worker bees only consume royal jelly for a short period during their larval stage, after which they feed on nectar and pollen for the rest of their lives.

Nectar serves as their energy source, while pollen provides protein.

But the queen bee consumes only one type of food for her entire life: the royal jelly made by worker bees.

Worker bees undergo a change in their roles as they age, becoming glandular during the larval stage to produce royal jelly.

Consider it a kind of bee-milk, if you will?

“Oh, I see. The sole food for the queen bee throughout her life.”

While my sister nodded at my explanation, she suddenly focused with more strength.

“However, bee milk possesses extraordinary properties.”

“Extraordinary properties?”

“Typically, a regular worker bee has a short lifespan of about a month and a half, but the queen bee, feeding on bee milk, can live up to sixty times longer. Isn’t that magnificent?”

“Ahh… So that’s why…”

I anticipated my sister’s reaction would be like, ‘Oh my! Is the worker bee’s life that remarkably short? And the queen lives sixty times longer than the worker bee!?’ while being somewhat shocked.

But my sister remained calm, nodding thoughtfully.

Feeling slightly discouraged by her nonchalant response to my explanation…

Soon after, she brightened up with a cheerful smile.

“I’ve figured it out! Congratulations, Soryong! Since the honey from the Golden Hair Bee King is said to boost one’s internal energy by two months, if you consumed the royal jelly, then you gained exactly sixty times that! You’ve obtained ten years’ worth of internal energy!”

“Ten years of internal energy?”

“Congratulations on your good fortune.”

Upon hearing that, I focused on feeling the internal energy again; it was a small dantian, but the massive energy pulsated in a way that felt entirely different from before.

“This is?”

“You, Soryong, have now gained strength comparable to the Ten Poisons Realm. Once you pass the Tang Clan’s tests, you’ll be officially recognized as a master of the Ten Poisons!”

The joy of acquiring immense internal energy like my sister’s skill in martial arts was fleeting.

No, I was clearly just preparing to follow a structured course, but it felt like I’d suddenly been told I had to take an entrance exam.

I had to remember the scents of over four thousand types of poisons and the positions of ten thousand mnemonic notes! It left me feeling abruptly panicked.

In my past life, I was praised as a genius regarding venomous insects, yet my academic experiences were met with different evaluations.

‘Studying is never an easy thing…’

As I basked in horror at the upcoming college entrance exam, my sister’s voice broke the spell.

“Um… You should check a mirror later. It seems the bee milk might have some other effects.”

“A mirror?”

She told me to look in the mirror.

I tilted my head, and my sister’s cheeks turned as red as they had when I first woke.