Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

— Kii-kii.

With the baby Black-Clawed Red Earwig crying desperately for its mother, I raced through the lava cave and entered the passage. But no matter how far we went, its cries didn’t stop.

It kept wriggling in my arms.

If I went straight up to the village like this, it would immediately be surrounded by the others, leaving it no time to grieve. It would be overwhelmed before it could even process what had happened.

So, I leaned against the tunnel wall and spoke to it for a while.

“Hmm... Hello? My name is So-ryong. Why don’t we talk for a bit? But where should I even start…”

I introduced myself first, then tried to explain why its mother had no choice but to make that decision.

Unlike the others, this little one had received the most love from its mother, but the rest of its siblings wouldn’t have survived if she hadn’t made that choice.

I also explained that, as per its mother’s request, I would take care of it until it was grown.

Once I finished, the little one seemed to calm down a bit and looked up at me.

I stroked its head and asked,

“Feeling a little better?”

Its shell had dried since it hatched, but it was still soft.

I looked into its moist, glistening eyes and continued,

“We’ll be living together from now on, so… you’ll need a name. What would be a good one… Hmm…”

When a new family member arrives, the first thing they need is a name.

While comforting the little one, I thought about a name that would suit it.

And then, a rather cute name popped into my mind.

Hongdan.

In my past life, I might have associated it with a red flower tile from a card game, but here in the Central Plains, the meaning was different.

I explained my reasoning to the little one.

“Oh! That’s it! Since you received your mother’s love alone, I’ll use the character Dan (which means ‘alone’), and call you Hongdan. What do you think?”

There was deep meaning behind this name.

The one who received the greatest love from its mother.

The one who awakened its intellect alone.

So, Dan (Alone).

The little one hesitated for a moment, as if considering it, then nodded in agreement.

— Kii.

Perhaps because it had consumed its mother’s Neidan, it seemed remarkably intelligent.

I patted its head again and said,

“When we go up, your sisters will welcome you. Let’s go.”

— Kii?

At the mention of sisters welcoming it, Hongdan tilted its head.

I had called them sisters because Hongdan was female.

If it had been male, it would have had pincers, but instead, its tail had two sharp blades, confirming its sex.

It made me wonder—was it just coincidence, or was it because the Tang Clan, with all its poisons and assassination techniques, had such strong yin energy that even the venomous creatures under my care kept turning out to be female?