Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

As I walked out of the guest hall where Ji-ryong was staying and headed toward my quarters, Hwa-eun caught up from behind and asked,

“What are you making, So-ryong?”

I had said I’d make something necessary, but I hadn’t told anyone what it actually was.

I wanted to surprise them. Besides, outright saying I was going to make lipstick so they could kiss as much as they wanted... that felt a bit too much.

This kind of thing was best done discreetly, handed over with a wink.

‘You get it, right? My feelings. Take care of your health and enjoy yourselves. Until your front teeth fall out.’

That was the message I wanted to send.

I considered keeping it a secret until it was finished, but I needed Hwa-eun’s help, so I decided to tell her.

It didn’t feel right to keep secrets between us anyway.

“Oh, I was thinking of making a poison-free lip balm that’s good for the lips. You know, between a man and a woman... well, some things don’t just go away because you try to suppress them.”

“Th-that’s true. I-I suppose it is something the two of them would need...”

Blushing, Hwa-eun rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand.

As she followed me, still rubbing her face, she asked cautiously,

“But So-ryong... do you know how to make something like that?”

“Oh, you mean lip balm?”

“Yes.”

Did I know how to make it? Of course not. I just knew the ingredients, so I figured I could throw something together.

We had to leave either tomorrow or the day after, so I decided to act right away.

“Yes, I have a rough idea. But I need to get the ingredients. Is there a place where I can buy medicinal herbs?”

“For medicinal ingredients, we can get them from the Medical Hall inside the Martial Alliance. If you ask Master Zhuge Hu, he might give them to you.”

“Well, it’s for those two, after all. It’s also a kind of poison prevention...”

Right, this wasn’t exactly medicine, but it was a form of prevention.

It was a bit late in the evening, but I decided to visit Master Zhuge Hu right away to ask for permission.

Since it was for his nephew, I figured he wouldn’t refuse.

“You need medicinal ingredients?”

“Yes. I’m not sure how to explain it exactly, but... I’m trying to make something for those two...”

Even though the sun was setting, Master Zhuge Hu was still seated in his office, battling a mountain of paperwork.

When ★ ★ I asked for the ingredients, he readily agreed. Since it was for his nephew, he was more than willing to help.

“Medicine? Then you should make it! I’ll write you a note. Take it to the Medical Hall, show it to them, and they’ll give you what you need.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Thank me? You’re the one taking care of my nephew—I should be the one thanking you. Here, take this.”

Armed with his written permission, I headed to the Medical Hall with Hwa-eun.

There, a familiar face greeted us.

It was Won-gyu, the physician sent from the Tang Clan.

“Young miss? What brings you here?”

“Oh, So-ryong is making—um, well, medicine.”

“So-ryong? Making medicine?”

Won-gyu tilted his head, skeptical at the idea of me making medicine.

But when I handed him the letter from Master Zhuge Hu, his expression changed, and he nodded.

“Oh, this is for Ji-ryong? Please tell me what you need, and I’ll prepare it for you.”

‘Let’s see... what goes into lipstick again? Ah! Pearls!’

The first thing that came to mind was pearls.

“Do you have pearls?”

“Pearls?”

“You need pearls, So-ryong?”

“Yes, I need some.”

‘Pearl-infused lipstick is the best. Shiny lips. What’s not to love?’

Back in my previous life, pearls were a common ingredient in cosmetics.

Foundation, lipstick, BB cream—there were tons of products that used pearl powder.

Adding pearl powder gave a subtle shimmer, something called Pearl Bright.

And anything with pearl powder was automatically high-class. Just knowing it was in there made people want to use it.

A gift with pearls? There was no better present.

“We do have some. Please wait a moment.”

Pearls had been used as medicine in the past, so when I asked, Won-gyu looked surprised but nodded.

After speaking briefly with someone inside, he returned with an ornate medicinal box.

—Click.

When he opened it, a variety of natural pearls in different colors were revealed.

I picked out a handful of the lighter-colored ones, and Won-gyu’s eyes widened.

“S-so many?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, no, not at all.”

“Oh, and I’ll need a mortar and pestle as well.”

“Yes, So-ryong.”

‘The most important ingredient is ready. Now for the next one... ah, that’s it.’

With the base material secured, I needed one more thing.

“Do you have Ji-ryong?”

“Ji-ryong?”

“Ji-ryong?”

“Yes, I need its oil and powder.”

Of course, I didn’t mean Ji-ryong as in the person currently bedridden—I meant the earth dragon, or in simpler terms, earthworms.

Earthworm oil and extracts were excellent moisturizers, which was why I wanted to use them.

Even in my past life, lipstick often contained earthworm extracts.

‘Since I’m making this for Ji-ryong (智龍), it’s only fitting that Ji-ryong (地龍) is an ingredient.’

“Of course, we have some. One moment.”

A large medicine box filled with dried earthworms was brought out.

The next things I requested were honey and fragrant herbs.

“I’ll need some beeswax and a pleasant-smelling herb used in sachets. What scent do people in the Central Plains like the most?”

“Hm... Osmanthus, So-ryong. It’s commonly used in women’s sachets.”

‘Osmanthus... is that Hwa-eun’s preference?’

Hwa-eun suggested it without hesitation.

I had learned the basics of fragrance-making from the Tang Clan, so I could recognize some scents. Now that I thought about it, the faint scent always lingering around Hwa-eun was osmanthus.

I decided to respect her taste.

After all, I’d be making a lot of this, so I’d give her some too.

‘Well, ahem. I’d like to live a long life, after all.’

“Then, please prepare dried osmanthus.”

“Honey and osmanthus... I have no idea what kind of medicine this could be.”

Once all the ingredients were gathered, I asked Won-gyu to make it for me.

I could probably do it myself, but I had one last crucial ingredient to find.

And besides, he was bound to do a better job than I would.

“I’ll explain the process. Could you help? I’ve never made this before.”

“Excuse me? What exactly are you making?”

“Well... what should I call it? Oh! I know! A medicinal balm!”

Thinking about it, lipstick was quite similar to a medicated balm.

At my words, Won-gyu nodded in understanding.

“Ah... If it’s a medicinal balm, then the ingredients make sense. Earth dragon (earthworm) is good for jaundice, blood circulation, and detoxification. Pearl powder helps treat skin ulcers, and honey adds moisture and shine. Osmanthus is effective for clearing blood stasis... This actually sounds quite reasonable.”

“This must be a remedy for bruises,” Won-gyu muttered, nodding to himself.

“But Ji-ryong didn’t seem to have any bruises... Is the balm meant to draw out residual toxins from his body?”

He was clearly lost in his own theories, piecing things together in his head. But then, something seemed to click, and he suddenly turned to me with a concerned expression.

“So-ryong, didn’t you say this was for Ji-ryong?”

“Yes, why?”

“There’s something I’m a little worried about...”

‘What now? Did I accidentally mix something poisonous?’

I wasn’t a physician, so I’d just thrown together ingredients that seemed right. But maybe, from his professional perspective, something about it seemed off.

I gestured for him to explain, and he scratched his head awkwardly.

“Well... honey strengthens the body and... boosts vitality, if you catch my meaning... Ahem... Since they haven’t even had their wedding yet... And considering what happened before... Ahem.”

‘Wait, honey has that effect?!’

Now that he mentioned it, this could be a bit of a problem.

But Ji-ryong was practically a lizard in human form, a disciple of the Water Palace. I decided to trust him to handle himself.

Besides, there wasn’t a good substitute for honey.

It was an excellent moisturizer, prevented spoilage, and was one of the best ingredients in cosmetics.

At worst, the only side effect would be Master Zhuge Hu’s grandnephew being born a little sooner than expected.

“Well... we’ll just have to trust that Ji-ryong is a gentleman. Ahem.”

“R-right... So, how do you make it?”

“Oh, right. Here’s the process. First, finely grind the pearls and mix in powdered earth dragon. Use an eight-to-two ratio of pearl to earth dragon powder.

Then, extract the oil from the well-prepared earth dragon and mix it with honey and powdered osmanthus. Use a three-to-seven ratio of oil to honey. The osmanthus powder is just enough to neutralize any unpleasant smell and add a pleasant scent.

Everything needs to be ground so finely that no grains remain visible.

I’m going to get the final ingredient. Once I have it, all you need to do is mix it in.”

“Understood! Leave it to me! I’ll work through the night if I have to!”

Leaving the enthusiastic Won-gyu behind, I stepped outside, and Hwa-eun followed, asking,

“There’s still another ingredient you need?”

“Yes, the most important one.”

“The most important?”

“The dye for the lip balm.”

“Oh, right. I completely forgot about that with all this talk of grinding pearls.”

I didn’t know the exact modern lipstick formula, but I was sure it contained fragrance, moisturizers, and dye.

Won-gyu would handle the mixture, but we needed to find a proper pigment.

“Red dyes aren’t very common. Do you have something in mind? Safflower isn’t in season, and cinnabar is out of the question, so you must have another idea.”

Of course, I had something in mind.

It was the first thing that had come to me.

That was why I even thought of making the lip balm in the first place.

“Yes, of course.”

“What is it?”

Hwa-eun asked cautiously.

Smiling, I answered,

“Cochineal insects.”

“?”

‘Of course, it had to be bugs! I’m Fabre, after all!’

A Discovery

Through this whole ordeal, I realized something.

People here had no idea about cochineal insects.

The history of using them as dye went way back, so they should have known about them. But apparently, they weren’t being used for lip balm.

To be fair, why would they? Extracting large amounts of red dye from safflower or cinnabar was far easier than catching tiny beetles one by one.

“A bug called cochineal?”

“Yes, though it might be known by a different name here.”

Cochineal bugs were scale insects that lived on cacti, mostly in South America.

The females had a hard, shell-like body and produced carminic acid to deter predators—which was bright red.

The extracted pigment was called cochineal dye.

If you think about the color of cactus flowers or dragon fruit, that’s cochineal red.

In my past life, cochineal was used everywhere—in ham, lipstick, lip balm, candy, jelly...

And the most common example? Strawberry milk.

Most brands of strawberry milk didn’t contain actual strawberries. Instead, they mixed strawberry flavoring with cochineal dye to make it pink.

In other words, strawberry milk is just bug-dyed milk.

‘People don’t realize they’re actually drinking bug juice!’

Now, South American species weren’t exactly easy to find here.

But Southeast Asia had its own variant.

The South American species was called Dactylopius coccus costa, while the Asian variant was called Kerria lacca or Coccus lacca.

Both species produced red pigment, and the females were the source.

So, I took Hwa-eun with me and headed to the Martial Alliance’s back gardens.

By dawn, just outside the Martial Alliance, we spotted trees with branches that looked covered in white fuzz, as if they were withering.

Rushing over to inspect them, I saw clusters of bumps along the branches.

In Asia, cochineal insects lived in groups, forming blood-red galls on trees. These were called Blood Red Lac.

I scraped one off and squeezed it—bright red dye dripped down.

With all the lipstick ingredients finally gathered, I shouted in excitement,

“Found it!”

The Next Morning

Before we departed, I stopped by Ji-ryong’s guest hall.

I had stayed up all night making the gift, and Hwa-eun had tested it herself.

It turned out great.

She must have liked it, too, since she was following me with it still applied to her lips.

I knocked and entered. Only Ji-ryong and Eunbong were inside.

After a quick greeting, I got straight to the point.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

The container wasn’t fancy.

It was just a typical golden medicine jar—something martial artists carried around for wound salves.

But when Ji-ryong opened it, Eunbong’s eyes widened.

With a surprised expression, she turned to me.

“This is... rouge?”

She was clearly caught off guard.

I looked at the two of them and explained,

“You agreed to my request, so how could I ignore your predicament?”

“...Our predicament?”

“This has zero toxicity, is good for the body, and even tastes sweet.”

“...”

“...”

Silence.

Eunbong’s neck flushed red as she realized what I meant.

I held up two fingers.

“I’ve saved you both twice now. You owe me.”

It wasn’t like they needed lipstick to kiss.

But for two desperate lovers, this was a perfect gift.

As good as saving a life, if you asked me.

‘Alright, time to go hatch some silkworms.’

I had finished all my business in the Martial Alliance.

Now, it was time to see my adorable little silk babies hatch.