Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Thread of Hope (3)
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A single flower stalk had risen up from the reinforced radish's green tops.
At its tip, small pale purple flowers began to bloom one by one.
A radish was actually blooming.
And quite pretty flowers at that.
They had been called long-leg flowers since ancient times.
Watching the long-leg flowers bloom in heavy clusters like plump bunches of grapes, dangling and spilling downward...
'What the hell?!'
His brow furrowed like a crumpled can.
Irritation surged up.
'Running around wild is one thing. But flowers? Why the hell is it blooming all of a sudden?'
There was a reason for his rage.
A radish that blooms has no flavor.
The nutrients and energy should stay in the root, but they all rush to the flowers and seeds.
In that case, the flesh softens, the texture turns mealy, and the taste becomes bitter and astringent.
In other words, all show and no substance.
Moreover, blooming meant the radish was at the end of its life cycle.
It was a signal that it had lived out its season and was heading toward its final moments.
"...!"
But in that instant.
The blooming pale purple flowers flashed with light and vanished along with the stalk in the blink of an eye.
'What...? It looks plump again. No, even fresher than before.'
It was strange.
But he pushed the question aside for now.
He had to make radish-filled flatbread for restoring his granddaughter's vitality.
"Thwack!"
He sliced off the top of the radish with a Chinese cleaver in one stroke. Then, he carefully took a bite of the cut section.
He was worried because it had flowered.
'Oh, delicious. Sweet and crisp like a perfectly ripe apple.'
He shook off his concerns and dove right into the cooking.
He julienned the reinforced radish lengthwise, sprinkled it lightly with salt to draw out the moisture.
He mixed in finely chopped braised pork belly, along with ginger and Sichuan peppercorn powder to whet the appetite.
Then he tossed it all together.
That finished the filling.
But the question of the vanished flowers lingered somewhere in his mind, sticky and chilling.
He tore off a piece of fermented dough, rolled it out round and thin on a wooden rolling pin. He piled the filling generously on top, then gathered the edges to the center and sealed it.
'Five of them.'
He placed the five sealed dough balls one by one onto the oiled hot iron griddle. They spread lazily, the dough settling down.
Then he pressed them flatter with a ladle.
It looked just like the hotteok from his past life.
Sizzle, sizzle—the oil spat as the pale dough swelled and turned golden brown.
The filling hidden in the center peeked through faintly.
As the savory aroma of oil rode the wind, the waiting customers all tilted their heads back like cats basking in the sun, their faces relaxing in unison.
'This should do.'
He removed the perfectly cooked radish-filled flatbreads from the wok. Then he slipped them into a paper pouch made of oil paper.
Just then, Elder Jang finished his meal and sidled up quietly.
He lifted the pouch lightly and said,
"Elder, here are your five radish-filled flatbreads."
He wanted to add some flowery words as he handed over the food, but held back lest he say something foolish.
"Ah, wait a moment, Elder."
As he was about to hand it over.
He belatedly noticed that Elder Jang's hands were already full of things.
Candy and a medicine packet.
He quickly tied the pouch shut with straw.
He made the remaining cord into a long loop like a necklace and carefully hung it around Elder Jang's neck.
"There we go."
"...?"
The elderly man had gone out to the market for his granddaughter's sake, and he worried she might drop it on the long way home.
Even in his past life, kids on their first errand from their parents would sometimes drop takeout, so he'd often hang light foods around their necks.
It was a small gesture to build their confidence.
The corners of his eyes crinkled in a pleased smile.
He couldn't offer warm words, but he was pretty good at things like this.
"Th-thank you. Here, take this."
Touched by the thoughtfulness, Elder Jang bowed his head, hurriedly handed over the money, and left the shop.
"Take care, Elder."
He offered a silent bow of encouragement toward the man's retreating back.
Elder Jang unleashed his lightness skill and shot like lightning to the house near the Qinhuai River where his granddaughter waited.
"Ryeongwol, are you asleep?"
Elder Jang whispered as he carefully opened the door to Jang Ryeongwol's room.
Having dozed off because he was later than usual, Ryeongwol sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.
"Ah... um, Grandpa's back."
"My dear, you were sleeping."
Ryeongwol opened her cute little mouth wide and let out a long yawn.
She rubbed her eyes again with the back of her hand, still not fully awake.
"Yaaawn... Pfft!"
Spotting Elder Jang with the pouch around his neck, the child burst into laughter.
"Hee hee, Grandpa, what's that?"
The man called the "Supreme of the Jianghu" and "Martial God" appeared dangling a snack pouch like a three-year-old toddler...
The sight must have been too ridiculous.
Ryeongwol clutched her belly and giggled.
Tears soon gathered in her eyes.
Like a monkey, she stretched her philtrum downward and rolled her eyes up.
Then she wiped away the tears.
"I got radish-filled flatbread from a place called Waiting People's Restaurant, and the owner hung it around my neck like this. At first I thought he was messing with me, so I looked into his eyes... they shone clear and true, so I came like this. In my whole life, no one's ever treated me this way."
His granddaughter was laughing for the first time in ages.
Feeling good, Elder Jang stroked his long white beard and spoke like he was recounting a tale of valor.
"Candy and radish-filled flatbread. The flatbread's fresh and hot, so first..."
"Wow, grape candy."
Elder Jang quietly handed his granddaughter the freshly made radish-filled flatbread.
But the child grabbed the candy she usually loved.
It was disappointing, but unavoidable.
"Eat whatever... as much as you can. Still, Ryeongwol, have just a little candy, and when your appetite returns, try the flatbread too."
Ryeongwol had lost her appetite lately.
She hadn't eaten properly. So order didn't matter.
"Okay, Grandpa."
Elder Jang didn't explain that the radish-filled flatbread was a medicinal cuisine good for her body.
He'd tried feeding her all sorts of "good for you" things before, but they always ended in vain.
He worried this time might add another small scar to her heart if it failed.
Ryeongwol, blooming with laughter after so long, chomped down on a grape wrapped in black sugar.
As she chewed hard enough to make a crunch.
"Cough, hack, hack."
The child coughed and spat out the candy she'd put in her mouth.
"Ry-Ryeongwol, are you okay? Look at Grandpa."
With a startled face, Elder Jang snatched the candy from her hand. He lightly patted her back.
"Heh, I thought candy would be fine... Guess not."
The child gave a wry smile and lay back down under the covers.
For days now, Ryeongwol's body had been rejecting food like this. A sign that her life was nearing its end.
"Ryeongwol, rest. I'll be back soon."
Elder Jang took the medicine packet to the kitchen.
The "medicinal cuisine radish-filled flatbread" in his mind had long evaporated like steam.
He pulled out the decoction pot from the kitchen corner and added the herbs bought from Benevolent Heart Hall.
Then he gripped the pot with both hands.
He planned to brew the medicine quickly using Heart Fire Skill.
Yang energy poured from his fingertips, and the water in the pot boiled in an instant.
A bitter woody scent piercing the nose, mingled with an earthy sweet aroma, rose from the pot's spout.
It was just like herbs simmered carefully for a long time.
"It's done."
Elder Jang strained the decoction finely through cotton cloth.
He poured it into a porcelain bowl and headed back to his granddaughter's room.
"Ryeongwol, sit up for a moment."
As he quietly opened the door and entered, he saw the child's state.
"Ry-Ryeongwol, what's wrong?!"
"Hack hack."
Ryeongwol, who had been lying on the bed, had somehow sat up clutching her chest in agony.
Crash—
In that moment, Elder Jang dropped the bowl from his hand as if he'd lost his reason.
Normally, he would have used his martial arts to set the bowl on the table and rush to her.
But this time, he was too shocked to even think of that.
Cold sweat beaded one after another on his wrinkled forehead.
"Ar-Are you okay? L-Look at me. Ryeongwol, look at Grandpa."
As Elder Jang gently gripped her small shoulders and asked, the child cleared her throat and slowly lifted her drooped head.
"Hack hack, Grandpa. What's wrong? It was so good I ate too fast... and it went down the wrong way."
"Wh-What?"
Only then did he notice his granddaughter holding the radish-filled flatbread.
Bite marks all over it—she must have eaten quite a bit.
"Haa, I see. That's what happened."
Two long streaks ran down Elder Jang's cheeks, sweat or tears, he didn't know.
His granddaughter looked puzzled and quickly changed the subject.
"This is super chewy. So sticky it clings to your mouth. Look, when you bite it, it stretches like taffy."
Elder Jang hurriedly wiped the moisture from his face. He raised the corners of his mouth in a kindly expression.
"Three bites already? It must suit your taste."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
His granddaughter grinned and lifted the oil paper pouch. She shook it gently to show it was empty inside.
"No, heavens. Ryeongwol, did you eat everything in here?"
"Yeah, four whole ones... and this is all that's left in my hand. Sorry, Grandpa. I should've saved some, but I ate it all."
Indeed.
Jang Ryeongwol had devoured four of Woonsik Oh's radish-filled flatbreads, and while eating the fifth, it had gone down wrong.
"Was it that good?"
"No, I lay down to sleep, but this savory smell kept poking my nose from the bedside. I knew I'd just throw it up again, so I pulled the blanket over my head, but saliva kept pooling in my mouth, so I got up."
"And then?"
"Just one bite... I took a nibble."
"And?"
"The moment I ate it... I saw endless green meadows stretching out. And something white running through the grass."
"What?"
"Anyway, it was so good it felt like an illusion. So I kept eating... and finished it all. Hee hee."
"Good job, good. Eat it all, Ryeongwol. All of it."
Elder Jang gently stroked the head of his bashfully smiling granddaughter.
The child, still hungry, stuffed the remaining flatbread into her mouth and grinned happily.
It had been days since Ryeongwol had a proper meal. Elder Jang was satisfied with that alone.
As he softly stroked her puffed cheeks.
"My Ryeongwol, color is returning to your face."
Elder Jang's eyelids shot up as high as they could go.
He channeled thin, delicate internal energy into his fingertips.
To sense his granddaughter's pulse using True Qi Sensing Method.
"...!"
Ryeongwol's faint pulse was stronger than before, if not quite at a normal person's level.
He detected a subtle flow of yang energy in her qi and blood, her pulse.
Proof that qi and blood were circulating through her meridians, generating warm energy.
"Heavens."
Elder Jang's mouth gaped open.
He quickly laid Ryeongwol back on the bed and hurried to prepare to go out.
"Ryeongwol, rest. Grandpa has somewhere to go."
"Again? Okay. Be careful, Grandpa."
Elder Jang unleashed his lightness skill toward Yanyun Market. To meet Woonsik Oh of Waiting People's Restaurant.
His robes fluttered as they cut the wind, the passing scenery blurring softly to the sides.
The thread of hope he still clutched shone faintly in his wrinkled hand, fluttering like a dance.