Landslide and the Hidden Trove
A child lay there amid the ruins, flushed red with fever, in the only part of the building where the foundation hadn't burned away. I looked at my father and asked, "How is he?"
"The fever's severe. Dehydrated too. Looks like he's been like this for over a day—if we leave him as is..."
My father lifted the child's wrist and ankle to check his pulse.
"We need to get him to the village, fast."
"No, it won't help." I grabbed my father as he started to move. "There's no doctor in the nearest village."
"Right, that's true." He'd mentioned it the first time Namgung Wan brought up Manshin-ui—there was a doctor, but only in a village more than three days from Palgwaechon.
"Even so, hauling him all the way to a bigger town... I'm not sure he can hold out."
My father's face grew grave. The child had to wake up so we could ask about Manshin-ui, about the raiders who attacked this village. He probably couldn't speak or read, so we'd only get simple answers—but even those were crucial right now.
As I pondered, an idea struck me, and I hurriedly pulled it out: a small box adorned with a ruby ornament.
"Father, try giving him this first."
"What's that?"
"Medicine from Physician Seok. He gave it to me for when my energy dips. I don't know how well it works exactly, but anything's better than nothing, right?"
I'd been given it to take myself, but I could never keep it down—just riding in the carriage made me hurl.
"And earlier, I saw some herbs left in that half-burned house. I'll check if any are usable!"
"Can you tell the good ones from the bad?"
"Of course! With all the meds you've fed me over the years, I could open my own clinic."
I'd seen plenty up close. His room was stuffed with treatment books and herbs.
Plus everything I studied before my regression.
Desperate to get better, I'd crammed it all, and the memories lingered sharp.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you. I'll channel some internal energy to help him recover his strength."
"Got it! I'll be right back!"
I asked Yahul, who was following me, to fetch a cloth and water for the child's head. By the time I'd swept up every last herb still intact, Father was gone, and only Yahul remained. He was wiping down the child's head, neck, and limbs with cool water—a sight that felt oddly familiar.
"Where's Father?"
"Said he had to fetch something."
"Oh?"
"..."
"..."
Awkward...
The silence was suffocating. I scratched my neck and glanced at Yahul. I still hadn't decided how to treat him. It's all in the future—forget the past, be kind, I'd resolve, only for his face to drag those memories back.
I spoke first. "You look like you've done this before."
"My mother was often ill."
"She... was around?"
"...?"
Stupid question. Who isn't born to a mother? I brushed it off awkwardly.
"Oh, mine wasn't. She was gone before I could even remember her."
Why was I telling him this?
"But you've got your father."
"Yeah."
A smile came unbidden. So what if I had no mother? Having a father like this was luck beyond measure. I absolutely couldn't lose him this time.
His mother was sick, though?
The hidden backstory of the novel's black villain piqued my curiosity.
"And now?"
"She's passed."
"I'm sorry..."
Silence fell again, heavy. Then the child's eyelids fluttered, slowly opening.
"Hey! He's waking up. You with us?"
His forehead was cooler already.
Whoa, that medicine packs a punch.
The child's unfocused eyes wandered the air, then locked on me and widened. I explained slowly, so he'd understand.
"We found you collapsed inside a tree root. We're—"
Rumble.
The ground shook like thunder crashing down. I whipped my head around.
"What was that?"
The child suddenly clamped onto my arm with surprising strength for someone who'd just been out cold.
"Can you stand?"
He staggered up anyway. Another boom—closer this time.
Roooar.
I nearly toppled with him, dragged off balance. But as I looked, it wasn't him staggering—it was me. A chill prickled my spine. I jerked my head up.
Trees on the mountainside were toppling in a chain. The earth trembled.
Landslide.
Drip, drop, drip, drop.
The rhythmic patter slowly roused me. Every inch of my body throbbed—no spot left untouched. Through the pain, realization dawned.
I'm... alive?
And sprawled on what felt like a stone floor. I'd thought the landslide would bury me for good... Hopefully Father got the others out safe.
"Ugh."
Pushing up slowly, pain stabbed through my arm where it hit the ground, drawing a groan.
"Not broken, but cracked maybe?"
Better than dead, at least.
Scanning around, I frowned.
"Where... is this?"
Flat stone floor and walls—man-made. Faint light from somewhere let me make out shapes dimly.
"Ah. Echoes like this... a cave?"
Looking up at the ceiling, I scrambled away. Massive boulders choked what looked like a collapsed wall from the landslide. If they'd hit here...
"Nngh."
Arm throbbed again. After a few steps, I slumped against the wall, panting.
"No landslide last time, that's for sure."
Rummaging in my bosom, I found the medicine box intact. The clasp was bent, taking a bit to pry open. Chewing and swallowing a dose, the pain ebbed after a moment.
"Definitely works."
Gritting my teeth, I stood using the wall. A short walk revealed the light's source: luminous pearls embedded in the walls at intervals, piercing the gloom.
Beyond the rubble, only musty ancient dust—no mold.
Good ventilation, then...
And the more I walked, the stronger a familiar scent grew.
Herbs.
Herbs down here?
I followed the thickening aroma skeptically. Soon, half-open stone doors appeared. Inside was far brighter than the dim corridor.
Pushing through, my eyes went wide.
Shelves crammed the room floor to ceiling.
Library? No—a storeroom?
Books, scrolls, wooden boxes of unknown contents, dozens of finger-sized porcelain jars filling compartments. One wall's drawers overflowed with herbs, many unrecognizable. Shelves too high for me to reach.
An underground vault like this...
Manshin-ui's storeroom?
Most likely. I tugged out a jar, struggling to uncork it. A foul stench hit— I slammed it shut, replacing it. The hexagonal box beside held pills. Box after box yielded more medicines. Some labels named rare elixirs.
Taecheonghwan? They have this? Incredible.
It purified internal energy and cleared meridians, but ingredients were so scarce only a handful existed.
Wish I could give some to Father...
After gawking awhile, I plopped onto a random box with a sigh.
Where's the exit!
The medicine's effect was fading—dizziness returning, pain creeping back.
Then—
Tap, tap.
A faint knocking, like on a wall somewhere.