Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Reverse Interview 4

A bolt from the blue.

No, not just any night—this was a night filled with unexpected chaos.

I had finally fallen asleep, not on the street but in a bed, but clearly, it wasn’t meant to last.

I was dozing off earlier, but a martial artist from the Tang Clan must have carried me to this room.

Honestly, I woke up during the move, but I pretended to stay asleep.

I was just that tired.

But perhaps the reason for my deep slumber was that someone was getting beaten just for being too carefree?

I had no choice but to wake up after receiving a slap from Dang Cheolsan’s hand.

And the first thing I saw was a creature that looked like a bug—specifically, a Kiss Bug (접문충).

The name basically means “the bug that kisses.”

One might think with such an erotic name that it’s something scandalous, but in my past life, this creature was also called Kissing Bug. It was indeed a Kiss Bug.

‘Wait, why on earth are these little bastards here?’

Kiss Bugs, or Kissing Bugs, come in various species and can be found all over the world, but the one that bit me had an orange and black pattern on its abdomen.

The most dangerous and cautious one to deal with.

Forget the fact that I got slapped; that was nothing compared to the threat posed by this bug.

Being slapped was a trivial concern if it meant avoiding a bite from this creepy crawly.

This little guy from my previous life was counted among the world’s top ten venomous insects.

‘Hold on!? Swelling around the eyes, slight fever, localized lesions, heart syndrome. Arrhythmia!? Why didn’t I think of that sooner!?’

As soon as I verified the Kissing Bug, I understood the cause of the strange disease plaguing the villagers.

Kissing Bugs, belonging to the Assassin Bug family, suck blood around people’s eyes and lips, earning their name.

However, these bugs themselves aren’t really the issue.

They’re so stealthy that they approach people silently, sucking blood without their notice.

Even the sites of their bites rarely cause significant problems.

That’s why they’re also called vampire bugs and sometimes assassin bugs.

They’re truly discreet in their approach.

But here’s the kicker: the pathogens they host and their venom.

To be precise, it’s the parasitic Trypanosoma Cruzi that inhabits these bugs’ bodies that causes the real trouble.

In my previous life, it was estimated that about fifty percent of the population was infected with that parasite, which leads to the disease we barely know—Chagas disease.

These little bastards bite and poop at the same time, and that excrement contains the parasites that cause the infection.

It’s occasionally said you can get infected just from being bitten, but actually, it’s the bugs’ excrement that’s the real culprit.

“Elder, quickly fetch the baijiu for the village chief!”

“Baijiu? No, even if you’re furious… you’re still too young to be drinking…”

As I suddenly demanded the baijiu, Dang Cheolsan looked flustered, but the truth was I wasn’t asking for it to drink; I needed it for disinfection.

I wasn’t sure if the distilled baijiu would be effective, but it had to be better than doing nothing at all.

This is why in other countries, there’s a warning never to crush these bugs with your bare hands, as parasites will come spilling out.

You’re advised to catch them with a container and put them in the fridge to kill them instead.

“That’s not it! We need to wash that bug off with the baijiu because it’s poisonous!”

“What!? This bug is poisonous?”

“Yes, hurry and get the baijiu for the village chief!”

“I might be okay, but you might be the problem. Gu Pae! Quickly ask the village chief for the baijiu.”

“Yes, Clan Head!”

A martial artist from the Tang Clan dashed out quickly, and soon after, he returned with the village chief and a bottle of baijiu in hand.

“Junior Hero, here it is!”

“Thank you!”

I quickly soaked a cloth in the baijiu and wiped my stinging cheek and Dang Cheolsan’s hand as well.

Then, using a twig, I picked up the Kissing Bug that had fallen to the ground and placed it onto a container.

“This is the first venomous insect I’ve seen. Is it really that poisonous? From what I see, if you’re fine, it can’t be that toxic, right?”

Dang Cheolsan and the martial artist watching me had curious expressions.

Even the village chief, who had come along, was blinking in disbelief.

He had rushed here in the middle of the night, after all.

“Yes, however, we have to check, but this bug likely causes the strange disease the villagers are suffering from.”

“What!? The girl’s strange disease?”

“Junior Hero, is that really the case!?”

“Is it really true, Junior Hero!? Is our Maejin affected by this bug!?”

In response to my statement, both Dang Cheolsan and the martial artist from the Tang Clan, as well as the village chief, looked at me as if they couldn’t believe it.

Having identified the Kissing Bug, the first thing to confirm was about animals.

I asked the village chief about the village dogs.

If Chagas disease was the cause from the Kiss Bugs, then it would also affect animals just as much as people.

Because as a parasitic disease, it can be transmitted to both beasts and humans.

“Village chief, have the village dogs been having trouble breathing or showing similar symptoms to people? Have any died struggling with illness?”

“Indeed! How did you know!?”

As expected, the village chief confirmed that the dogs had shown similar symptoms.

This meant it was definitely Chagas disease.

‘Wait, isn’t this a bug that should only appear in South America, and a disease that only manifests there? Why is it here?’

In my previous life, Chagas disease originated in South America and then spread to North America.

There are various species of Kissing Bugs globally, but those carrying the Trypanosoma (T) parasite only come from that region.

In a time like the one I lived in, which had so much travel across the globe, they could be found everywhere, but now was not that time.

“Then, is there any hope for our Maejin!?”

Honestly, Chagas disease is a perilous illness, but the initial treatment is relatively simple.

Just taking antiparasitic medication will do the trick.

While severe cases lead to heart or organ deformities that are hard to fix, the initial symptoms are easily treatable with antiparasitic medicine.

It requires taking the drug for more than two months, but it does assure a full recovery.

So in my previous life, knowing just the symptoms meant treatment wouldn’t be a major issue…

The problem was, I had knowledge of poisons, venomous insects, and snakes; I knew their toxins and how to cure them, but I didn’t have a way to make any of those medicines.

I knew that Benznidazole was the medicine, but I had no clue how to produce it.

Thus, when the village chief asked me, I had to respond with an apologetic expression.

“Umm…”

That’s when Dang Cheolsan looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong, Junior Hero? You say it’s because of this bug, but why such a face?”

I wondered if he would understand that it was the parasite in the bug causing the illness; I decided to explain it.

If I could make him understand, he could explain to others why I couldn’t create a cure.

It would be better if others understood as well.

“Actually, this Kissing Bug doesn’t possess venom.”

“Huh? But didn’t you just say a while ago that it had poison? Were you not going to wash it off with the baijiu!?”

People were looking at me with expressions of confusion since it seemed contradictory.

Of course, they’d react like that when I switched from claiming it had venom to saying it didn’t.

“Yes, its body has something other than poison.”

“Something else?”

“What else could it be?”

“Actually, inside this bug, there are countless tiny parasites that are invisible to the naked eye. When they bite people and defecate nearby, that excrement mixed with the parasites enters the person’s body. It then breed inside, settling in the heart.”

“Parasites!? Invisible ones?”

“You can think of them as akin to roundworms.”

“Oh! Roundworms!”

The term I used to refer to roundworms resonated with the people in the Central Plains.

There was a nod of understanding from Dang Cheolsan upon my explanation.

“Yes, like roundworms, they rapidly multiply inside the body and settle in the heart, obstructing its function until ultimately, the person dies. But since I lack the specific medicine…”

As my words hung in the air with disappointment, the village chief began to weep profusely.

His lament echoed through the room, realizing he had no way to save his granddaughter.

“So, does that mean we can’t save our Maejin!? Elder, is that really the case!? Huuu… Maejin!”

But contrary to him, I could hear voices from Dang Cheolsan that seemed oblivious to the atmosphere.

A voice that felt somehow proudly confident.

“Gu Pae, can you see this? This is the true value of our Junior Hero. Didn’t I tell you?”

“Indeed. It seems I’ve been foolish for a moment. I will have to accept the punishment for doubting the Clan Head’s insight later.”

After exchanging some cryptic banter, Cheolsan patted my shoulder and said.

“Junior Hero, what troubles you? We have the Tang Clan in Sichuan.”

“Yes?”

“The Tang Clan in Sichuan.”

‘And? What on earth does that mean!? Why do you keep boasting about your clan from some corner of Sichuan at this moment!?’

Whether it’s the Sichuan Clan or the Three Thousand Clan, it doesn’t justify the fact that we currently can’t save a person!

This guy must have some serious personality issues; I was contemplating giving him the worst scores on the reverse interview.

Dang Cheolsan smiled and asked, “Junior Hero, do you know what ‘Gu’ (蠱) is?”

‘Surely it’s not that ‘Gu’ from the Three Gu and Piaobakwe, right?’

The sudden mention of ‘Gu’ caught me off guard.

When I blinked in confusion, Dang Cheolsan explained further.

“Gu refers to the art of witchcraft, or the poison of Gu, practiced by evil folks in the Central Plains. It comes in various sizes, and if you feed it to a person, it can invade their body, causing them immense pain or even controlling them.”

“Controlling people sounds amazing, huh?”

The fact that they can breed parasites that control people was truly not the world I’d known, and the variety of insects was astonishing.

Understanding the random appearance of the Kissing Bug in this place became clearer as well.

Responding to my remark, Dang Cheolsan gave an unfortunate expression.

“Right, it may seem grand, but many martial artists have lost their lives to it. People have killed their own children under its influence or betrayed their parents and families, becoming slaves to evil men.”

“Oh no…”

“Maejin! Waaaaah!”

Even as the village chief wailed, Dang Cheolsan continued his calm explanation.

“So, martial artists strove to create antidotes to counteract Gu. The kind that can expel or dissolve the Gu from the body.”

“Given all the harm it caused, it’s only natural to think that way, huh?”

“Exactly.”

‘Is it something like anti-parasitic medication? No matter the era or world, people’s thoughts are all alike.’

As I contemplated this, the subsequent question from Dang Cheolsan came.

“If martial artists were to develop such medicine, where do you think they would make it?”

“Uh, I’m not sure?”

Not knowing about the martial world made it hard to answer, but at that moment, Dang Cheolsan pulled something out from his chest pocket with a smile.

“Of course, from our Great Tang Clan in Sichuan. We have a medicine that can dissolve Gu as large as a fist inside the body, so what’s a mere invisible critter to us?”

“Wait, what!?”

“That’s right. Our Tang Clan has created many medicines to counteract Gu, and even a small dosage can dissolve parasitic entities like the ones that can’t be seen with the naked eye. While it may not work for all types of Gu, for a critter like this Kissing Bug, just a bit of our Gu Poison Dissolving Elixir (무고용화단) should be enough.”

“Gu Poison Dissolving Elixir!”

In essence, it’s an antiparasitic medicine, but what a badass name for it!

My whole body tingled at the thought of the pill that supposedly dissolves all parasites.

After all, isn’t there an inherent romanticism among men, no matter how foolish?

That feeling of playing soccer in the rain, laughing like a madman, wishing to be strong regardless of age.

Thus, following Dang Cheolsan, when I arrived at the room where the little girl lay, he gently placed a small pill in her mouth.

The medicine flowed like water, melting seamlessly as it entered her mouth.

Moments later, her irregular and anxious breathing calmed down, and her eyes began to flutter.

“M-Mae Jin!”

“…G-Grandfather?”

“M-Mae Jin! You’re alive!”

The village chief’s choked voice triggered an emotional pang within me.

And I found myself thinking it wouldn’t be bad to secure a formal position at the Tang Clan in Sichuan.

‘That felt kinda cool, didn’t it?’