Episode 61. Asked to launch my magazine,
“To whom?”
The old man put on a determined expression and lightly ‘slammed’ the table with his fist.
“I made a promise to myself… and to the person most dear to me. And… I can’t betray that oath. So…”
Gu Jeong-deok continued, looking at Han Ibi with an intense expression again.
“…Killing me and taking my things would be a good idea.”
There was silence between the two for a while.
What broke the embarrassing mood was Han Ibi’s awkward laughter.
“Ah… haha. haha. You too, sir. “If you can’t give it to me, you’ll say you can’t give it to me. Do you really need to make such a scary joke?”
“It’s no joke.”
Han Ibi’s expression hardened again.
Gu Jeong-deok said.
“So take this money and look for Lee Ham Jong-su again.”
“Lee Ham Jong-soo is not common….”
Han Yi-bi said, looking at Gu Jeong-deok.
“…You know very well, don’t you? Because you are a first-class, experienced herbalist. “I don’t have time.”
“I’m sorry…”
There was a deep silence for a moment.
At that time, Han Ibi caught her eye on a bottle of liquor placed in a corner.
Next to it was a bowl of cold rice and a plate of unidentifiable grasshoppers.
It had a terrible sight and a terrible smell. Even more so when I smelled the herbal medicine and smelled it.
Ebi Han said.
“I see you were about to have a glass of medicinal wine.”
The old man smiled awkwardly and said.
“Well, it’s awkward because I’m always alone.”
“Do you have any other family members?”
At that moment, Han Ibi found it. There is a somewhat sad look in Gu Jeong-deok’s eyes.
“Well, if I had stayed, I would have been a grandmother, but because she left so early… I will forever remember her as a beautiful, young wife in my heart.”
Ah… I feel like I asked something I shouldn’t have asked.
Han Ibi was about to ask what happened to her child, but stopped.
Shit.
It’s time to at least change the topic.
Han Ibi suddenly said while gently rubbing her stomach.
“oh my. Old man. By the way, do you have anything to eat? Now that I think about it, I was busy all day and didn’t eat anything properly.”
Gu Jeong-deok said with a troubled expression.
“Well… it’s an old man living alone, so there’s nothing special… would you like some cold food?”
Ebi Han said.
“Well, if it’s okay with you, it’s okay with me. In that case, alcohol is also included…”
“The Taoists of the Cheongseong Sect do not drink alcohol…”
“I am not a member of the Cheongseong Sect.”
“aha. I see. “Then, although there is nothing to eat, let’s eat together.”
Normally it’s an expression of humility… but there really wasn’t anything to eat here.
Han Ibi said as she walked towards the food with frequent steps.
“Hmm… Did I mention that I am an herbalist?”
“I didn’t tell you last time.”
“aha. Look at my mind. Yes? But I have another job.”
The old man was looking at Han Ibi with an expression as if she was wondering what kind of nonsense this was.
“Even though it’s like this, I lived in Jeomsoi for a while.”
Tiring!
[The Splitting Art has been activated.]
* * *
Gu Jeong-deok opened his eyes wide and was speechless.
The magic of taste was so horribly captivating that it paralyzed my tongue.
The old herbalist said, stuttering.
“This… is this really… a hwagwa (a type of shabu-shabu, one of the traditional Chinese foods) made with ingredients found in our kitchen?”
Han Ibi said with a grin.
“To be precise, I also used some medicinal herbs. Of course, not the expensive ones. “There are quite a few things that can replace spices.”
Gu Jeong-deok said with admiration.
“If I had known that Pacheonwoong meat was this delicious, I would have just eaten it myself instead of selling it.”
Han Ibi said with a grin.
“As expected, right? They probably paid a lot of money for the high-end Giru. “Maybe it’s at the level of a big horse.”
Fuwaak!
Gu Jeong-deok was so embarrassed that he ended up spitting out some of the soup.
said the old man.
“oh my. Excuse me. But the money…”
“The money is fine. That’s just what I said. “It’s enough for me to just get the price of the horse.”
“By the way, how did you know I went to Giru? “Have you been following me?”
“you’re welcome. Could that be possible? If you think about it, it’s obvious. “Unless you are an emperor, it would be natural to find no place to find such high-quality meat, even if you wash your eyes, except for the highest quality meat.”
“Uh… adventure. That’s right. I’m…”
Grumble!
At that time, Han Yi-bi picked up the bottle and poured alcohol into the old man’s glass, and then poured a full glass of alcohol into her own glass as well.
Gu Jeong-deok looked at the scene silently, then raised his glass and said.
“Anyway, nice to meet you. “If Sohyeop wasn’t an herbalist, we wouldn’t have sat across from each other like this.”
“I am truly honored to meet such a great herbalist.”
“ha ha ha. “Stop painting your face with gold.”
Gu Jeong-deok then drank the white liquor in an instant.
But…
“Huh? “How did this happen?”
He said again, looking towards Han Ebi with wide eyes.
“This is cheap white liquor, but why does it smell so…”
Han Ibi said with a smile after seeing that.
“ha ha ha. I think I may have done something presumptuous. “Among the medicinal ingredients, I boiled a little of the island herb in water and put it in the bottle.”
“You mean salamander? It is a medicine for rhinitis….”
“It is a medicine for rhinitis, but among the so-called nobles, it is used as an ingredient to hide the bitter taste of alcohol and to give off a subtle scent.”
Hahaha. Actually, I cheated a bit on the herbal encyclopedia.
The old man tapped his knee and said.
“iced coffee. My life was in vain. I lived in vain. Even though I have such good ingredients at home…”
“What could I have done? “It’s all thanks to the old man who prepared good ingredients at home.”
So the two people sipped and sipped and shared the bear hotpot that Han Ibi had made.
It could truly be said to be a ‘top-class’ meal, worthy of a high-end guesthouse.
As soon as I got drunk, I started talking more.
Gu Jeong-deok brought another bottle of alcohol without even asking.
This time, he put in some salamanders…
just as the atmosphere was getting warmer.
Han Ibi passed by the yard and suddenly asked about something she was curious about.
“Young Master. “But why did you plant so many flowers outside?”
Then Gu Jeong-deok’s expression hardened.
I guess I could say I’ve become a bit depressed.
“It wasn’t me… my son planted it…”
Han Ibi said.
“aha. “It turns out you have a son.”
“exactly. “That child really loved flowers.”
“You seem to be a man of rare charm.”
Then Gu Jeong-deok smiled and said.
“exactly. “It doesn’t suit you.”
“But there were only three kinds of flowers.”
Gu Jeong-deok’s expression changed subtly again.
“That’s right… they were all flowers that my son liked…”
At that time, Han Ibi realized.
The son’s actions that appear in Gu Jeong-deok’s words are all ‘past tense’.
He continued.
“The child always said that he looked like a buttercup flower.”
Buttercup buttercups are small, yellow flowers.
When they bloom individually, they are somewhat unsightly, but when they bloom together, they are extremely beautiful.
The language of flowers is ‘innocence’.
Ebi Han said.
“I guess he was a very pleasant young man.”
Then Gu Jeong-deok’s expression brightened.
“exactly. “He was a very playful but very sweet child.”
I don’t have the courage to endure any longer.
Now… I think it’s time to ask.
“But your son…”
“…I went first…”
Gu Jeong-deok looked at the ceiling with a blank expression for a moment and then said.
“I went first… with my wife.”
As expected….
Han Ibi said.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t even know that…”
“What is there to be sorry about? “It’s my heartless son’s fault for leaving his father alone…”
He closed his eyes for a moment.
An expression as if lost in remorse.
But soon he opened his eyes and said.
“I’m sure he’s doing well somewhere. “I can tell.”
“you’re right. “It will definitely happen.”
“ha ha ha. “Thank you.”
Han Ibi thought it would be a good idea to quickly change the topic, so she spoke.
“But the pomegranate flower was really pretty.”
Then Gu Jeong-deok quickly pretended to know.
“exactly. Pomegranates are a symbol of multiple fortunes and are famous for being loved by beautiful women… but the flowers that bloom on their own are also just as beautiful.”
Han Ibi agreed.
“That’s right. “There are many people who don’t know, but pomegranates are also a model of ‘peaceful beauty.’”
As expected, this is a cheating from the ‘Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs’.
But it must have worked well for Gu Jeong-deok, as he said with a chuckle.
“exactly. exactly. Beauties love pomegranates. “The child she brought was as beautiful as the pomegranate flower.”
“Ah, guess who your son brought?”
Then Gu Jeong-deok’s expression subtly changed again.
‘I’m sure I didn’t ask something wrong…’
Gu Jeong-deok closed his eyes for a moment and remained silent before opening his mouth.
“Sohyeop treats me as if he were my son. “I don’t even want to think about it now, but…”
There is something unusual about the atmosphere.
“…My son was a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect.”
Han Ibi asked in shock to the point where her eyes popped out.
“yes?”
“That child was a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect. Originally, I wanted to raise him to become an herbalist after me… but the problem was that he was so talented… he caught the eye of a Taoist monk from the Cheongseong faction and ended up taking him in. “He has rare muscle and martial ability… Maybe it’s because I fed him all kinds of precious herbs from an early age.”
Gu Jeong-deok spoke to Han Yi-bi, who didn’t know what to say.
“But aren’t you a blue-hearted person who farts a bit in Gangho? So, when I first came in, I was worried because I felt like I had done something pointless, but… I was able to adapt and I felt like I was recognized quite well.”
“I see.”
Gu Jeong-deok closed his eyes for a moment and seemed lost in thought.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, as if he was suddenly lost in an old memory.
He opened his eyes slightly and said.
“Did you ask me who my son brought earlier?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“She was a pretty girl. He was an unusually pretty child. “He also really liked pomegranates.”
“I guess you had a lover?”
Then Gu Jeong-deok laughed and said.
“A lover. ha ha ha. “That child was a bright and playful boy, but he was different from me and was poor at women.”
To me, it’s just the vegetables and the rice….
“But I could tell that my son liked that girl because she kept bringing her.”
“It seems like it was on your mind.”
(Continued in the next part)
