Peach's Journey to the Martial World - Volume 1
A single bead of sweat rolls down Fist Demon Grandpa's neck. The air grows heavy in an instant.
Tat-tat-tat! His hands blur with speed. At the same time, my left eye throbs and the world slows down. Thwack! I snatch his wrist at the perfect moment. His Adam's apple bobs.
"W-why are you doing this?"
"Grandpa, you can't do that."
"H-huh? W-what? Evidence! What are you even talking about?!"
The way he stammers is proof enough.
"Come on, you pulled a card from the bottom."
"Keh-heh. If you caught me, just pay the fine already."
"Ugh!"
The hwatu cards Fist Demon Grandpa tossed scatter across the floor of the octagonal pavilion beside Black Dragon Pavilion.
"Now only Military Grandpa is left."
"It won't be easy."
Military Grandpa sweeps up the scattered cards and begins shuffling them. This time, honestly. Thud. He deals one card in front of me. I peek at the corner—April. I look up at his face. Completely expressionless. Tough opponent. No way to read him from his expression.
Clink. Military Grandpa checks his own card and drops a handful of coins on the table.
"Ten jeon."
"You're betting big."
"If you're scared, you can just fold."
Check one card, bet, then receive the last card—the standard no-limit rules. My first card isn't bad. Plenty of decent to strong combinations come from April.
"Bird!"
Baek Seol sends the urgent report. If it's a bird, it's January. Good hand.
"Hmm. Baek Seol keeps staring at my cards."
"Probably just curious. She loves it when you pet her."
Military Grandpa reaches out and gently strokes the top of Baek Seol's head. The corner of his mouth, which had stayed flat the whole time, twitches upward.
"Jo-a!"
"Heh-heh. A spiritual creature, indeed."
"Peep!"
"Mm. You too, Dan-pung. Come here."
"Dan-pung?"
"Yes, Dan-pung."
Dan-pung scurries over and gets a careful pat as well. Military Grandpa's smile grows even brighter. Just like Arthur Grandpa, these gruff old men are all secretly soft-hearted.
Clack.
"I'll take it."
"Ahem!"
He shuffles again and deals me another card. I lift the corner—September. A nine-four hand. Not the worst, since it's not a blank nine-four. As long as it doesn't turn into an Ali with January-February, I can still force a redraw.
"Flower!"
'What kind of flower?!'
"Flower!"
Telepathy isn't working. There are too many kinds of birds and flowers. In Seotda, January, February, April, and August are all birds. I have no idea if Baek Seol saw a crane, an oriole, or a lark.
Clack.
"Twenty jeon."
He's going hard. If I assume the worst possible hand from bird and flower, it's a double bright. My hand is just a plain nine-four, not even a blank one.
Clack. I shove every coin piled in front of me into the center. For the first time, a flicker of panic crosses Military Grandpa's normally blank face.
"Call. All-in."
"Hah… heh-heh. Child, you'll regret this when you lose everything."
"Grandpa, you just got a lot more talkative. If you lose, you'll end up like the others behind you."
He glances at the other grandpas watching from behind. Gulp. His Adam's apple moves noticeably.
"You should at least keep what's left. You're the wise one here, Military Grandpa."
"……"
My bold bet visibly rattles him. He must have never gambled before. A long silence follows.
"……Fold."
"Yes!"
When the game that started with 100 coins ends, I have 440. It was just for fun, so it's not a huge amount. Two coins can buy a bowl of noodles, so I basically won enough for 220 bowls.
"What was your hand?"
"April and September."
"What?!"
When I lay my cards down, Military Grandpa's eyes nearly pop out of his head.
"Kahaha! Military, you got completely wrecked by Gaeul!"
Fist Demon Grandpa bursts into laughter. Military Grandpa flips his own cards—January-February. An Ali. If we'd kept going, it would've been a redraw.
"I'll put this to good use as travel money when I leave."
Clatter. I sweep the scattered coins into my inventory space. The numbers tick upward rapidly.
[Player Points: 0P]
[Remaining Funds: 1,431,110,000 won]
[Remaining Funds: 89 Gold 46 Silver]
[Remaining Funds: 1 Gold 2 Silver 814 Copper]
Each coin is worth a thousand won. Silver coins are a million won each, and gold coins are twenty million. Unlike the Tower, there's no exchange office nearby and no angel to instantly convert currency, so I'm just piling up coins. Looking at the points stuck in the floor, I should probably head up the Tower soon to earn some gold.
"You all know the flower-card game I taught you only uses coins, right?"
"Hahaha, of course!"
Sword Demon Grandpa, who had been watching from behind, lets out a hearty laugh and sits back down. Even though we only played with the smallest denomination, my purse has grown by six hundred thousand won. If this turns into silver and gold, losing would be instant and catastrophic.
"Grandpas, Grannies, I'm heading out now. I think it's time I got moving."
"Mm, already?"
The once-cheerful pavilion falls silent in an instant. They really don't want me to leave. Even after all the things I did to delay it, including playing hwatu, they're still like this.
"Don't worry too much."
"No, we're worried about the other side—mmph!"
Poison Demon Grandpa clamps a hand over Fist Demon Grandpa's mouth. Their closeness makes me smile too.
Then Granny, who had been quietly watching, reaches out and pats my head.
"Yes, child. Go safely. If you leave now, you'll reach Hefei before sunset."
"Neng!"
"And the medicine you obtained—I'll make sure it reaches your grandfather."
"Oh, I already sent it."
"Sent it?"
Granny's gaze lifts to the sky. The heavens above the Heavenly Demon Cult are filled with pigeons and eagles.
"I really need to do something about those. I can't even tell them apart."
She seems to think I used carrier pigeons to send the herbs and liquor.
"But why are there so many birds?"
"It looks like the Martial Alliance has figured out we have the Divine Maiden. The fact that they're recklessly sending out those expensive carrier hawks means they're in a hurry."
"Eh? That's a nasty trick."
"Keh-heh, indeed. Nasty little things."
There are probably as many patients as there are birds in the sky. This world is completely insane in every way.
"Granny, Grandpa, I'm going now."
"Go safely, child. You're keeping the jade plaque I gave you, yes?"
I rummage in my robes and show her the jade plaque she gave me when we first met. She nods.
"If anything happens, show it to the other party without fail."
"Neng! Thank you!!"
"And if you truly have no other choice, break the plaque."
"This?"
Granny nods again without answering.
"Mm… Okay! I'll keep that in mind!"
"Good. Be careful on your way."
"Yes! I'll be back!"
***
The moment I pass through the hidden passage Granny and I once rode a carriage through, a cliff opens up before me. Behind it lies a cave leading outside, and tucked between the bushes concealing the passage sits a hidden carriage.
"Let's go."
"Eung!"
"Peep!"
The faces of the grandpas and grannies who kept offering me the carriage keep flashing in my mind.
"They're good people, aren't they?"
"Jo-a!"
"Peep!"
Since the whole reason I came here was to blow some wind into the cotton balls' noses, I have zero desire to take the carriage. Thud, thud. As I walk toward the exit, my footsteps echo inside the cave.
Beep!
"Baek Seol, food."
"Jo-a!"
Beep!
Clatter.
"Dan-pung, food."
"Peep!"
When I hold out my palm, Dan-pung jumps down from my shoulder and starts stuffing sunflower seeds into his cheeks.
"Let's see."
I unfold the crumpled note Military Grandpa gave me. It's covered in crooked handwriting. There really are this many sick people, huh.
"First, go to the Martial Alliance and meet the Alliance Leader, or go to the Shaolin Temple. Where should we start?"
Both of them are too busy eating to answer. While I'm reading the note aloud, I feel bright sunlight on my face. Once I exit the cave, the first thing that hits me is clean air rushing into my nose. My mood lifts immediately.
"Wow, the air is so nice."
"Peep."
"You like it too, Dan-pung?"
"Peep!"
His cheeks are puffed out with seeds as he wags his tail happily. He really likes it here.
"The weather's nice too. Let's take it slow and enjoy the trip."
"Jo-a!"
According to Military Grandpa, this place is ridiculously huge.
"This is exactly why I prepared!"
I reach into my inventory and pull out the thing Man-wook got for me. It appears with a flourish.
"This is it. Yatta!"
"Eung!"
"Peep!"
Vroooom! Vrooooom—!
I grip the clutch and twist the throttle. The motorcycle roars to life.
"Let's gooooo—!!"
The bike tears down the dirt road.
"Aaaaaah!"
"Soooooo fun!"
"Peeeeeep!"
Screeech!
"Whoa, hold on."
The moment I hit the brakes, the bike skids to a stop in a cloud of dust. I've only been riding a short while and my whole body is already shaking.
"Did my butt just split in two?"
"Peep— Peep!"
"Butts are originally two pieces? Dan-pung, you're a genius squirrel."
"Peep!"
If I keep riding on this rocky, unpaved road, my butt is going to split into four.
"No choice. Let's go slow."
VROOOOOOOM—!!!
"Peeeeeep!"
"Baaaaah!"
"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b?!"
Baek Seol must not have eaten enough earlier.
***
As I keep riding, I spot people in the distance surrounding a carriage with swords drawn.
Screeech—!
I brake hard nearby. Dust billows up and every head turns toward me.
"W-what the heck is that?"
Confusion fills their eyes.
"What? It's the Wind Forest Three Brothers. You wanna die?"
"H-huh?! M-Miss Han…"
"Don't call me 'Miss.' If you don't want to die, hand over everything you have. Now."
As I walk toward the Wind Forest Three Brothers, a cry rings in my ears.
"Peeeeep—!"
"Dan-pung, we've already stopped."
"Peep?"
Dan-pung tilts his head, then belatedly looks around.