Episode 372 Don’t make the dumplings explode.
My eldest brother and I arrived at Baek Eungji to eat.
I chose to eat out because my eldest brother, who had eaten the food I cooked several times in the occupied guesthouse, seemed to have doubts about life.
In fact, this is not a place where you can comfortably come and go for a meal. However, I replaced the Gyeonggong training that I had to do anyway with this.
In other words, since you repeat the ideal process of training in order not to starve to death every morning or lunch, your muscles will become strong and you will feel like dying.
Life is suffering anyway.
When you run, you get hungrier, and when you’re hungry, food tastes better. It was a positive process as my digestion improved again on the way back. The eldest brother followed along without saying a word, probably because he didn’t like the food I cooked.
Remember. Tasteless food is so scary. So much so that even the man called Geomma had to run around to eat. This means that the noodles I made are more scary than the Demonic Cult army.
“…What should we eat?”
The Sword Demon looked at me.
“Choose whatever you like. “Anything is okay.”
It seems that any food that I didn’t make is okay, but that also applies to me. My eldest brother and I walked slowly down the street between Baek Eung-ji and looked around.
My eldest brother and I have similar tastes in choosing restaurants.
Busy places with a lot of customers are filtered out first. However, we do not enter places where there are no customers at all. Because most likely, there is someone like me in the kitchen. A store with a reasonable number of customers or an old restaurant is better.
We sat down in a quiet spot, ordered food, and looked around the street.
A wooden sword and a light sword were placed side by side on the table.
While waiting for my food, I put my legs up on an empty chair in front of me.
My eldest brother and I watched the people and merchants passing by without much conversation, and looked at the ordinary sky and ordinary daily life.
We remained silent until the food came out.
The eldest brother asked as the ordered food was placed on the table.
“Didn’t I order too much?”
“Why don’t you just eat it and leave it behind?” I only eat one meal these days anyway. “Let’s cram in as much as we can.”
While I was eating the food I ordered, my eldest brother pointed to Tangchori Cheok with his chopsticks.
“Why do you like this so much?”
I looked at the sword demon.
“It wasn’t in our guest room.”
“hmm.”
The Sword Demon nodded. While eating, I told him the trivial reason why I came to like tangchorichuk.
“It was difficult to eat. One day, I bought the ingredients and tried making it myself. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought. I put it in a bowl, placed a small bottle of Tougangju next to it, and ate one with chopsticks before thinking about it. It is correct to buy and eat tangchoricheok. I swore I would never make it again. “I also keep my oaths.”
Geomma picked up a piece of stewed pork with chopsticks.
“Is this really that difficult to make?”
“Maybe I’m not good at it.”
Geomma said while chewing tangchorikcheok.
“It’s so sweet that I don’t think I can eat much.”
I took the Doogangju that Jeomsoi brought and poured it into a glass.
“I have to get over the sweetness.”
The eldest brother drank some Dougangju, rinsed his mouth, and then swallowed it.
“At school. If an incident occurs inside where food is poisoned, the people in the kitchen and their family will be destroyed. Also, there are people who taste the food before it is served and also taste it after it is served. If we did that, wouldn’t the incidents of poisoning food be eliminated?”
I shook my head.
“Wouldn’t it still have been there?”
“there was. Still, since the principles were established, the three clans could not avoid extinction. After becoming Master Jwasa, he had several servants, and among them, he was the youngest. I found out later that I never even asked his name. “One day, I didn’t see him, so I asked around and people who usually responded well were confused.”
I poured drinks for my eldest brother and listened to his story.
“When I asked him again, he said he died while tasting the food I was about to eat.”
“hmm.”
“You hid the fact that you were dead?”
The Sword Demon continued speaking.
“That’s right. Only then did all the servants come and before I could say anything, they were all kneeling and waiting. “It was a situation where all the servants could die with just one word from me, or if the situation escalated, the people who made the food could be killed.”
“How did you do it?”
The eldest brother answered calmly.
“It passed.”
“It couldn’t have been easy, right?”
“It wasn’t easy.”
“I found it? Was it difficult to find out because it happened in the past?”
The Sword Demon shook his head.
“I couldn’t find it. “If this is discovered, not only will my servants die, but everyone in the kitchen will die.”
“It happens again. “Then there were many reasons why the servants kept quiet.”
The eldest brother was eating and looked at the food.
“…One day, while I was eating, I thought of the dead servant. I also feel strange that they didn’t ask my name. It’s strange that he died instead of me. If I had a family, I would have taken care of them, but I had no family or connections. He just took poison and died in vain. Just make a rough estimate. He must have been a family brother or disciple of those who fought for the position of chief priest. The problem was that there were too many people to suspect. “Where on earth did the nameless servant’s death begin? No matter how far back I went, there was no end in sight and no conclusion was reached.”
I looked at my eldest brother’s expression.
The eldest brother said.
“When I searched for the cause, I ended up thinking of the people I killed. I learned that if you kill it, it comes back in some way. Even if it was something I did to survive. “The cult leader and the people I killed were all families or factions of people competing for the cult leader position, so I learned that assassination attempts against me and the cult leader were as natural as water.”
“It must be something that repeats itself endlessly.”
“I thought everyone in the church was afraid of the leader and me, but in fact, humans are not like that. At some point, when he decides to sacrifice his life, the religious leader appears to be just an ordinary person. There are many people in the magic island who gave their lives. By the time the sect leader reached the top spot, he suffered from constant assassination attempts. There was also an assassin who suddenly appeared, challenged the cult leader, and whose identity no one found out until he was killed by the cult leader. However, his skills were strong enough to challenge the religious leader.”
“What did you think when you saw that?”
“Even if you become number one, you cannot decide the direction of your life according to your own taste. You’re stuck on the line of death and killing, and you keep killing and moving forward. “Until I die.”
I nodded and then ate with my eldest brother. The rice didn’t go down as well as before, but I put it in anyway. Half of the food was left. After Jeomsoi cleaned up the dishes, he rested again with his feet on the chair.
I looked at the old man selling sweets and asked my eldest brother.
“Does the church have a lot of assets?”
“There are a lot.”
“Why are there so many?”
“It’s not the original family, so if you want to join the church from outside, you have to give up half of your assets.”
“Half? “Is there any reason to sacrifice so much money to go in?”
“There are some families that you really need to join. The old headquarters controls a specific route for trade with the West. If you are a member of the upper class, if you join the church and use the trade routes, you can accumulate enormous wealth that cannot be compared to the half of the wealth you gave before.”
“I guess there is a family that made some money like that?”
“There are several places. “We can join forces and increase the size.”
“where are you?”
“Representative examples include Myeongcheonwiga and Biroksangdan (祕錄商團).”
“Do we really need to join hands with the Demonic Cult and insist on that path?”
The eldest brother nodded.
“There is more to do. There are many people in the western region who are persecuted because of their religion. They moved them to the central plains and also traded slaves. “There are no sanctions even if prohibited items are brought in, and if a problem arises, the old headquarters steps in and resolves it by force.”
“Isn’t it possible that the Archduke’s maternal family is part of that faction? “If the religious leader was the first to join hands, it could be from a wealthy family.”
“It could be so.”
“Those who are crazy about martial arts lead people who are crazy about money, and when those who are crazy about money learn martial arts again, they become powerful madons. In any case, it would be close to impossible to completely eradicate the Demonic Cult.”
“What is it like?”
“The more money merchants have, the more cautious and smart they are. If the magic is defeated, he will pretend to be a merchant, and if the magic is strong, he will show a double attitude of belonging to the cult. “I will do anything that makes money, so there must be a magic path even in the commercial path.”
I made eye contact with the elderly man sitting on the street and then asked my eldest brother.
“Eldest brother, would you like to eat some sweets?”
“I don’t eat sweets.”
“What do you eat every day?”
I went to the old man and bought some sweets and then came back. After pouring it out on the table, I picked a round piece of taffy stuck to a stick and put it in my mouth. The eldest brother rummaged around, chose the smallest one, and put it in his mouth.
I said while looking at the old man.
“It’s sweet.”
I looked at my eldest brother.
“Aren’t you worried that sugar can also be poisonous?”
The eldest brother was looking at the old man. The old man smiled awkwardly at his eldest brother and nodded once. Then the eldest brother also nodded once.
“It’s not poisonous. It’s only natural…”
I called out to Jeomsoi who was passing by and pointed to the danggwa. Then Jeomsoi looked around at the sweets, pointed out one, and said.
“thank you.”
After a while, there seemed to be no customers, so Jeomsoido sat down nearby and looked around the street with us.
The eldest brother, who was chewing a confectionery, said.
“The fortress.”
“huh.”
“The number of times I think about death has decreased these days. “With this mindset, I don’t know if I’m stronger or weaker than before.”
I answered with a smile.
“It’s not depression, what kind of bullshit is that?”
The eldest brother also smiled and said.
“That’s right.”
The eldest brother also placed an empty chair in front of him and put his legs on it. Men with nothing to do that the world would envy. That’s us.
“When I think of death, I think of the noodles I made. “That’s hell.”
The eldest brother eventually burst out laughing.
I also laughed and ate the confectionery. Jeomsoy next to me laughed and joined the conversation.
“…I guess your cooking skills are terrible.”
I answered while looking at Jeomsoy.
“Noisy.”
“yes.”
“Have you tried it?”
“no.”
“Where are the best dumplings here?”
Jeomsoy pointed to an alley beyond the road.
“If you go inside, there is a dumpling restaurant. If you pay for the errand, I will buy it now. “There are no customers.”
“Do you want to?”
“yes.”
I said as I took out my wallet.
“Then, buy plenty of dumplings and food for the owner. Please package ours so we can take them with us. “Don’t run and make the dumpling burst.”
“All right.”
After receiving the money, Jeomsoy headed to the dumpling restaurant. The eldest brother muttered as he chose another confectionery.
“This is addictive again.”
“My teeth are going to rot. stop eating.”
The eldest brother chose a round taffy and put it in his mouth. A little while later, Jeomsoi appeared from the alley, holding a wrapping cloth filled with dumplings in both hands.
“Why are there so many dumplings?”
I said to Jeomsoi who was running towards me.
“Are you the son of this bastard from a dumpling restaurant?”
“Isn’t it? “He gave me a lot of money, so I bought a lot.”
“But it’s still too much.”
Jeomsoi put one wrapping cloth down on the table, delivered the other wrapping cloth to the kitchen, and then returned.
“thank you for this food.”
“okay.”
At this time, a bent old woman came out of the alley, walking slowly, and muttering something.
“Dong-seop, change…you should take the change.”
Jeomsoi screamed at the old woman crossing the street.
“No, grandma. “I told you to just take it, so why not bring it again?”
The old woman also shouted back.
“I have more change than I bought the dumplings, you idiot. Is it an errand? “Give me some change.”
The old woman left the change with Jeomsoy and then looked at me.
“Did you run an errand for dumplings?”
I nodded.
“yes.”
“Why did you give me so much money?”
“grandma.”
“yes.”
“Have you ever heard of damn money?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“I am a young man who is crazy about money.”
The old woman clapped her hands and laughed out loud. She was a generous grandmother. I told Dongseop.
“Give it again.”
Dong-seop handed the change back to the grandmother. The old woman, who was holding the change, slightly raised her hand.
“You made a windfall?”
“let’s go.”
Dong-seop helped the grandmother and headed back to the dumpling restaurant. The two people were nagging each other.
“Why did you run out here again when I told you to just take it? “If you sprain your back, the medicine will cost more.”
I said while sucking on the confectionery.
“Where on earth did that money come from? Since it was money that was in the Black Cat Room, there is a possibility that it was money that Daenachal had saved up. It could be the money that the Namak Nokrim Alliance had accumulated. “I don’t know who it is.”
Suddenly, my eldest brother and I were watching the alley. Dong-seop, who had been hit on the buttocks by someone’s kick, was being pushed out. Then two guys appeared and hit Dong-seop on the head.
“If you see me, say hello. “You bastard.”
They were well-dressed local people. As if I had made a promise, I made eye contact with my eldest brother and then called out to the group.
“Hey… hey!”
Then, when I screamed, the crowd looked at me. As the Koreans with slightly stiff complexions looked towards the alley, three or four more people came out of the alley. Then, five or six people came and spoke to me.
“why…?”
“why!”
A total of six people stood in front of my eldest brother and me, taking in all kinds of moods, but the mood suddenly changed as they discovered the wooden sword and the light sword. Above all, some of them were unable to open their mouths as soon as they saw the eldest brother.
I looked around the neighborhood and said,
“Why are you hitting me? “Do you want to search?”
Six people scratched their cheeks or avoided my gaze with a nervous look on their faces. I said while looking at the six people’s outfits and their proud facial expressions.
“I remembered all your faces.”
“….”
“I’m Mongrang’s brother, you guys, we’ll see. “I have to tell you.”
A man then looked at me with a surprised expression.
“yes?”
“My name is Mongrang.”
The six people suddenly straightened their posture.
“Oh, I’m sorry. older brother. “I don’t know.”
“sorry.”
“sorry. older brother.”
Strangely, here, Mongrang’s name seemed to be more frightening than the eldest brother’s atmosphere. As he wandered around the neighborhood on a random day, beating up men and trying to seduce women in any way possible, Baek Eung-ji’s ramblings must have had a notoriety comparable to that of a teenage master in the Jungwon region.
I pointed to Dongseop.
“Dongseop is Mongrang’s favorite younger brother. I apologize. “Before I bring you a poopy bastard.”
I said this after seeing the pathetic bastards apologize to Dong-seop.
“Get out of here.”
“yes.”
After the pathetic guys disappeared, I made eye contact with my eldest brother. The eldest brother also had a bewildered expression on his face.
“Your disciple has a great reputation?”
“That’s right.”
I burst into laughter with my eldest brother.
