Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: On the Way to the Residence (1)
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“Urrp, boss. Ate well today, be seeing you. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
The last middle-aged customer let out a hearty belch as he left the shop.
Both his hands were laden with bags stuffed full of Radish-Filled Flatbread. He said it was for his wife stricken with wind-cold and his elderly mother.
“Take care, customer.”
Before the latter half of the 未時 had even arrived, all the prepared ingredients had sold out.
If every day was like today, my dream of owning my own shop in a year or two might actually become reality.
“Now, where did I put my money pouch~”
A little tune was humming from my nose unbidden.
At that moment.
Bam, bam.
A status window appeared against the cloudless blue sky.
Today feels a bit tense.
It was a status window I saw every day.
But today was a little different.
Whether the medicinal cuisine I made had truly helped with his gravely ill granddaughter’s condition.
The results were about to appear.
I stopped what I was doing and slowly raised my head to look at the status window.
Jang Ryeongwol, afflicted with the Nine Yin Absolute Pulse, consumes the ‘Medicinal Cuisine Radish-Filled Flatbread’ and recovers her vitality. The cold syndrome in her body fades, and her inner yang energy begins to slowly regain its strength. Jang Ryeongwol regains her appetite. She begins secretly searching the kitchen while her grandfather is away, looking for more food. Jang Mucheon is convinced he owes Woonsik Oh a life-saving debt. He enters a stance of absolute loyalty, staking his own life as collateral. Jang Mucheon declares himself an unsparing giving tree to Woonsik Oh. As reward, Food Virtue Points have been granted!
+50,000
The Spirit Medicine Map has been added to your special abilities.
A status window tinged with red energy floated against the deep blue sky.
The blend of blue and red created a shimmering purple hue.
It was like the spider lilies that bloomed in the reinforced tomb during the day, now embroidered across the sky.
Good. My medicinal cuisine… it helped the young lady after all.
I wasn’t a martial artist with peerless skills, nor a physician who saved lives.
Yet the fact that I’d been able to help, even a little, a child whose life hung by a thread—it strangely tugged at my heart.
Like being pricked by needles, a sharp ache bloomed in one corner of my chest, only to swell grandly, as if filled to bursting with wind.
For a moment, I flopped about like a single sea bream, then startled myself and shook off the emotion.
Whoa, whoa. Not like me.
Whether in my past life or this one, maintaining rational thought was far more advantageous for survival.
The Spirit Medicine Map added to special abilities. That means I can experience ingredients I’ve never even heard of in my life. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
I was curious, but after a full day of business, my body had no energy left.
I’d check the rest at home.
Even now, Hye-yoon, Somi, and I were trembling on shaky legs like doing the doggy dance while cleaning up the shop.
Hye-yoon and Somi worked so hard. Gotta pay them generously today too.
With the three of us moving together, the cleanup finished smoothly.
I wondered how I’d managed alone all this time.
I paid Hye-yoon and Somi their wages.
As always today, the startled mother and daughter bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
I waved them off firmly and ordered them to head home.
I had to be this decisive, practically shoving them out.
Because those two—aka ‘seal-summoning Hye-yoon’ and ‘cat-possessed Somi’—had no doubt spent the whole day showering me with praise.
“Maban, time to head home.”
“Miyaaa—”
I set off for home, pulling the cart.
Today too, this guy Maban sprawled atop the cart like a middle-aged man after overtime, snoring away.
He looks more exhausted than me.
What a ridiculous guy.
Who knows. Maybe he’s up to something on his own where I can’t see.
I barely escaped the bustling market square.
Winding through crooked alleyways, I finally entered the mountain foothills.
My residence was at the foot of the mountain slope, so going up and down this path was a daily routine.
But every time I passed this way, a chill ran down my spine for some reason.
Rumor had it this place was swarming with resentful spirits of the unjustly dead.
In simple terms, it was a haunted spot.
The silver lining was that I’d never personally encountered one of those spirits so far.
Probably thanks to Maban, a feline creature, I cautiously guessed.
Cats ward off evil spirits, right? Even if Maban was a fat, mottled raccoon dog.
Entering the mountain path, I paused the cart.
Then I gazed fondly down at Maban sleeping atop it.
More precisely, at the ‘money pouch’ he was lying on.
No matter how many times I look, it never gets old.
I couldn’t resist.
I gently lifted the pink belly of the sagging, skirt-wearing Maban.
There, beneath it, the carefully hidden money pouch revealed itself.
Tough mountain trek or not, these days I could probably go back and forth a dozen times a day.
I covered the pouch again with Maban’s belly fat so it wouldn’t show.
The moment I raised my head.
“...!”
The bushes flanking both sides rustled and parted, and ten men burst out.
They quickly blocked my path and bellowed.
“Halt.”
They wore sleeveless dark blue robes, stained with bloodstains that could be from animals or people.
In their hands were weapons like hooked swords, axes, and iron maces.
Bandits.
“Thanks to the rumors of resentful spirits and evil ghosts haunting this place, not even an ant stirred for a while. Looks like our luck’s finally turning.”
The boss-looking one bared his pitch-black rotten teeth as he spoke.
“Keh keh, you said it, boss.”
The nine underlings beside him chimed in with sleazy laughs.
The man called boss was a giant around six shaku three sun tall—about 190 cm.
His massive build exuded a beastly pressure on anyone facing him.
His long hair flowed like a lion’s mane over his shoulders.
A red eyepatch crossing his left eye made his face even more chilling.
The boss strode forward and growled in a low voice.
“Do you know where this is, barging through fearlessly?”
The hulking figure towering before me cast a huge shadow, making the bright daylight feel pitch black.
He thrust his head forward and slowly lifted his red eyepatch.
“This is Guksan Stronghold territory—our turf. You dare try to cross this pass without permission?”
His empty eye socket beneath the patch met my gaze.
In that instant, cold sweat poured down my back.
My whole body bristled as if soaked in rain, breath catching.
“M-my lord, please spare me.”
I trembled like an aspen leaf, collapsing to my knees without a hint of resistance.
I prostrated flat on the dirt, begging for my life.
Pride didn’t matter.
I couldn’t let this second life end at the hands of mere bandits.
And bitterly, I had neither the martial arts nor the wits to fight them.
“Oho, at least you understand quickly. Good. Drop everything you have as toll and go. I’ll spare your life.”
Pleased with my submissive posture, the boss feigned mercy.
Whether he’d keep his word was doubtful, but I had no choice now.
“Thank you. Y-yes, I’ll do that.”
Money could be earned again.
First, sling Maban on my back and hand over the whole cart. Then run like hell.
I was confident in my running.
Fortunately, Maban had just woken, yawning hugely.
Worried he might foolishly bare his fangs at the bandits, I quickly hid him behind me.
I shoved the cart hard toward the bandit group.
Soon, a few rushed over and began rummaging through it.
One picked up a money pouch.
“Boss, this one’s pretty heavy.”
“Let’s see.”
At the boss’s gesture, the underling nodded and untied the pouch, spilling its contents onto the dirt.
Coins poured out in a clatter.
Easily over 1,000 mun by rough count.
“Haha, today’s our lucky day.”
“Yes, boss. Haha, even the heavens are on our side.”
The bandits burst into satisfied guffaws.
“Then, my lord, I’ll be going now.”
I turned to flee at this opening.
As I reached to sling Maban on my back.
“Hold it.”
A massive shadow swallowed me. The boss had blocked me.
He drew a worn hooked sword from his belt and instantly pressed it to my nape.
“Eek...”
“Changed my mind. What’s one more wandering spirit in these hills?”
As expected.
The boss had planned to take everything and kill me from the start. A sleazy grin played on his lips.
The hooked sword he held was a saw-toothed blade, curved and irregular.
Even a graze would tear flesh like ripping, leaving fatal wounds that wouldn’t heal easily.
The tip was close enough that a sheet of paper could barely fit between it and my skin.
Soon, part of the sharp iron edge pierced my skin, a thin line of red blood trickling down.
“Miyaaa—”
Maban sprang out from behind like a coiled spring.
He sank his sharp fangs into the boss’s wrist and tore viciously.
True to a savage beast with predator’s blood, Maban clenched his jaws with all his might, ripping out a chunk of the man’s flesh.
“Argh, you mangy mutt!”
The boss clutched his exposed muscular forearm and roared. Then he kicked Maban hard.
Thwack—
“Kyaaak— haaak—”
Maban’s scream mixed with a wail echoed through the mountains. He was flung onto the dirt.
“You fucking bastards!!”
Without a second thought, I lunged to cradle Maban.
Soon, several bandits approached.
They snickered, then began stomping on my huddled form.
Bruises bloomed across my body, pain surging through crushed muscles.
The dull thuds suggested something had broken.
It was the first time.
I’d hated my powerless self this much.
From within my arms came his warm body heat and the frantic beat of his tiny heart.
Still… alive.
This guy who only gorged on food and piled on fat.
Yet every time I was in danger, he jumped in first.
“Miyaaa—”
What did he think he could do?
What a ridiculous guy...
As death nears, everything slows down.
How do I know?
It happened in my past life too.
When that massive monster’s foot crushed me to death, the moment it descended on my head, it moved in slow motion.
And now, the hooked sword’s tip flying toward my nape was the same.
Ha, so it’s really over.
The instant I sensed death.
I mustered my remaining strength and hurled Maban toward the bushes.
I was dying anyway.
At least he should live.
Thanks to the arm strength from swinging the iron wok daily? Maban flew far into the bushes.
The moment I squeezed my eyes shut.
Clang—
The hooked sword flew from the boss’s hand into the air, then thudded deep into the dirt.
“Who’s there?!”
His eyes narrowed sharply, veins bulging as he bellowed.
The boss’s gaze was fixed beyond my shoulder.
“...?”
Dream or reality, I couldn’t tell. With a blank face, I slowly turned my head.
Then a familiar face entered my view.
“Sorry. I’m a bit late.”
It was none other than Elder Jang.