Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

As I mulled over how to appease Hyang and Bini, I decided to wait until Cho finished molting.

For arthropods like centipedes and spiders, molting is their most vulnerable moment. They must be watched over carefully.

Their new exoskeleton is soft and pliable until body fluids fill it and it hardens. If they get crushed, bent, or suffer any impact in that state, they’ll remain deformed until their next molt.

If they’re lucky, they might recover in the next molt. But more often than not, such deformities lead to complications, making future molts even riskier.

A deformed limb or section that fails to shed properly increases the likelihood of a "molting failure."

An arthropod’s body is like a metal can—if it gets dented, the contents inside struggle to move freely.

If it can't completely shed its old exoskeleton, the accumulated layers can slow fluid circulation, leading to decay. It could end up like Seol, who nearly died from molting failure.

And the bigger they get, the higher the chance of failure.

—Shrrk.

Two of Cho’s legs had fallen off, which worried me slightly. But he managed to completely emerge from his old shell.

His legs, once transparent in the shed skin, had regenerated fully.

He also seemed noticeably larger.

His body pulsed with each breath, rising and falling like a chest swelling with a heartbeat.

When I gently touched him, he didn’t feel like a typical centipede with a hard, flexible shell. Instead, he was incredibly soft and damp.

All that was left was for his body to dry and harden.

Since I would need to step away for a while, I decided to leave Yohwa in charge of keeping an eye on him.

For a normal, mature centipede, the drying process takes about a day. But since Cho was a spiritual creature, it might take longer. I planned to prepare to stay the night here.

As I watched Cho lying in the grass, slowly drying himself, I turned to Yohwa and asked,@@novelbin@@

"Yohwa, I’ll be stepping away for a bit to get some things ready for the night. Can you keep an eye on Cho?"

—Kishish!

With that, I made my way to the quarters where Seol and Hwa-eun were staying.

I planned to inform them I’d be spending the night here, as well as check in on them.

At the same time, I’d also update them on Hyang and Bini’s whereabouts.

This morning, someone had come asking if they were with me since they’d suddenly vanished after spending the night in my room.

If possible, I wanted to ask for advice on how to cheer them up.

After all, who understands a woman's heart better than another woman?

‘I swear, I can figure out most things, but I have no idea how to soothe a sulking heart.’