Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: The Mysterious Granny
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Gulp, gulp.
"Phew."
The most dignified-looking person in the world eats like a bandit.
"I'll live, I'll live. Thank you kindly."
"No, it's nothing. Does it suit your taste?"
"You bet, you bet. I ate it so deliciously."
Who knew she was so starved? The old woman polished off a whole bowl of ramen in the blink of an eye, like a crab hiding its eyes, then beamed brightly.
"Shall I get you more?"
"Tsk tsk, my belly's stuffed—I can't eat another bite. What a tender heart this young lady has."
Everything else was fine, but those crude silver scissors dangling from her waistband kept drawing my eye.
The rough scissors were caked in years of use.
"Hmm, thanks to this pretty young lady, I've staved off hunger once again. What should I give in return?"
"Huh? Once again?"
For a split second, the grimy face of a homeless person overlapped the kindly smiling grandmother's features.
"Huh...?"
A face I'd seen somewhere before.
But when I leaned in for a closer look, only the benevolent old woman's smile remained.
As I stared blankly at her face, she reached out her hand.
"Mm."
Her rough, wrinkled hand gently stroked my head.
A fluffy, warm feeling welled up inside me.
"Tsk tsk. You fed the starving and clothed the naked. This old lady must give the young one a gift."
Suddenly, the crude old woman's presence and tone shifted entirely.
She was still tenderly petting my head, but I couldn't even twitch a muscle.
"So that this pretty young lady, who treads a perilous path, stays free from illness, this old lady shall pray."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The Absolute Divinity prays for freedom from disease and longevity. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The Absolute Divinity prays for eternal life and immortality. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The Absolute Divinity prays for recovery and well-being. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Divine Body attempts growth. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Divine Body gradually transcends birth, aging, sickness, and death. An incomprehensible energy seeped deep into my body.
I'd been bone-tired, but suddenly vitality surged through me.
I had no idea what it was, but the warm, cozy sensation told me it wasn't harmful.
"Uh... Granny, who are you?"
At my question, the granny tenderly stroked my head once more.
"This old lady emerged from the wishes of many, but now that wishes have dwindled, I'm just a starving crone wandering about."
After petting me for a good while, she rummaged in her bosom and pulled out something like a drawstring pouch.
"What's this?"
"A seed. The land here's good—try planting it."
I shook the pouch, and a single seed tumbled out.
[Yellow Flower Seed] ● Seed of the Laughing Flower [Owner: Han Ga-eul (Heavenly Peach)] "Whoa, Laughing Flower? What a pretty name."
"Ho ho. You can see it, eh?"
The granny smiled just like the flower's name, then suddenly stood up.
"Young lady, got any wishes right now?"
"Uh, s-suddenly?"
"Even small ones are fine."
Her abrupt question left me blank—no ready answer sprang to mind.
"Hmm, I've still got time, but someone asked me to sing for them. So I'm supposed to perform in front of a crowd, but I don't have a song picked out."
I wondered if it was too trivial, but the granny was still smiling kindly.
"Perfect. This old lady loves songs too. A song always comes with understanding. That's how the melody flows."
"Uh, um... yeah. I don't know much about singing."
"Tsk tsk."
—Snap!!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The Absolute Divinity intervenes in the Song Witch Realm. The granny snapped her fingers, nodded as if all was set, then stared intently at Baek Seol.
"I see. Child of the ancient Blue Moon, eh? How's Goldie doing?"
Baek Seol perked up her ears and bobbed a front paw.
"Good, you've nested in a fine spot. Take good care of the young lady for me."
After her cryptic exchange with Baek Seol, the granny slowly descended the porch steps.
"Young lady, this old lady will take her leave. Oh, and Yama's been talking about you a lot."
"Yama?"
I racked my brain, but no acquaintance named Yama came to mind.
"Hmm, I heard you'd met, but no? Yama, that is."
"Ah! I did meet him. Wait, Yama?"
"Tsk tsk, this old lady's prattling nonsense. See you next time."
She ignored my question and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Wait, hold on!"
A cool breeze blew, scattering the smoke completely.
I stared blankly at the empty spot, but the granny didn't return.
"Baek Seol, what's Blue Moon?"
"The red place."
"Red? But Blue Moon?"
"Yeah."
Blue Moon or whatever, everything happening was beyond my grasp—my head couldn't keep up.
"Ugh, whatever."
—Fizz, fizz.
"Hoo—"
I lit a cigarette to soothe my aching head and tapped out the pouch onto my palm. Seeds of various colors spilled out, along with a sky-blue bead.
[Bright Spring Water] ● Water nurtured in Bright Spring Pond. [Owner: Han Ga-eul (Heavenly Peach)] "A bead... of water?"
Peering closely, I heard the trickle of a stream from inside the bead.
"Toss it."
"Toss it? This?"
As I examined the bead, Baek Seol advised from beside me.
"Hmm."
Fine, what's the worst? I walked to the yard and lobbed it into position.
Tink!
It hit a rock with a glass-shattering sound.
Crack!
"Huh?"
—Whoosh!!
"Eek!"
Water gushed madly from the bead.
I scooped up Baek Seol nearby and leaped back.
The bead spewed water like a flood, soon forming a massive lake.
"No way, insane."
Staring at the pristine lake before me, my heart pounded wildly instead of calming.
In hindsight, everything the granny gave me seemed off.
Opening my hand revealed the colorful seeds.
[Blue Flower Seed] ● Seed of the Weeping Flower [Owner: Han Ga-eul (Heavenly Peach)] "The names are pretty, though."
There were somber-looking seeds too, but the standout was the black one swirling with dark energy.
[Black Flower Seed] ● Seed of the Cart-Ruinous Malice Flower [Owner: Han Ga-eul (Heavenly Peach)] "Damn it."
What kind of flower has such a vicious name? My danger sensors flashed urgently.
Startled, I flung all the seeds from my hand.
The seeds scattered in the air, then caught the wind and took their positions.
They flew east, west, south, north.
The last one, wrapped in swirling black energy, planted itself dead center.
Embedded around the lake, the moist soil meant they'd grow without care—but that worried me more.
"Probably just the granny wanting a flower garden, right?"
"Yay!"
"No. You can't eat these, got it?"
I petted Baek Seol, who just perked her ears without replying.
Unease washed over me. I'd have to watch her closely.
"Baek Seol, what did the granny do to the training ground earlier?"
"It changed."
"What did?"
Baek Seol extended a front paw and poked the air.
Vmmm!
The space hummed.
[Select Training Ground] 1. Tutorial Finale - Final Battle 2. Song Training Ground It used to jump straight to the tutorial without asking.
Two simple choices hovered before me.
I tapped Song Training Ground, and more text unfolded.
1. Water Palace Song 2. Chunhyang Song 3. Simcheong Song 4. Heungbu Song 5. Red Cliff Song "Oh, my god."
An exclamation bubbled up from my dantian.
The song list outdid my dad's generation disco—my head spun.
I knew next to nothing about this stuff, but I'd heard of them somewhere.
The first, Water Palace Song, was about the Dragon King wanting a rabbit's liver...
As I scanned the songs, I glanced down to see Baek Seol grooming her fur on my palm.
"That Dragon King bastard's gonna die."
Rage built toward a Dragon King I'd never even seen.
Slap and liver blow reserved.
Time to check how swollen that liver was.
"Baek Seol, Dragon King raid?"
"This one."
Baek Seol, mid-groom, stretched out a paw.
"Chunhyang Song?"
"Yeah!"
No clue what she based it on.
Seemed like she picked it for the pretty letters, but compared to the others, it rang familiar.
"Hmm. What's the story again?"
"Yay!"
I vaguely recalled it from childhood fairy tale books, but details were fuzzy.
"Alright then?"
Without a second thought, I tapped Chunhyang Song, the one Baek Seol picked.
I expected more options, but the world flipped upside down.
[Chunhyang Song selected] [Random assignment] [Chunhyang Song - In Prison: Understanding] The world inverted, and when I came to, a musty mold smell hit first.
"Prison?"
Straw littered the floor, a wooden restraint called a "knife" locked around my neck.
Even wooden bars carved from trees instead of iron. No doubt about it—a jail cell.
Recalling the message before entering, it mentioned "In Prison" and "Understanding."
"What? I'm Chunhyang?"
The setup jogged my fuzzy memory of the plot.
Namwon County's new magistrate wants to bed Chunhyang.
No—he wants to bed me.
The story was Chunhyang struggling to avoid NTR from the gold-toothed pervert magistrate Mongryong.
「Young lady, a song always comes with understanding.」
"Understand him trying to bed me?"
—Crack! Crunch!
I strained against the thick wooden collar around my neck, and it shattered.
Why understand?
I'd make him understand with overwhelming force.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Side Story]
[Streamer, Wear Anything!]
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— Viewer ↳ Reply [⚔️ㅗㅜㅑ Don't nix reverse bunny girl, protect it!] — Viewer [⚔️Wear a dress only good boys can see!] "My fans are good kids, right?"