Arc 1: Protagonist
DR Chapter 12
by BlossomTLḋℜJin Cheon-hee strained his ears but couldn’t hear anything.
Was it because Yeo Ha-ryoon had cultivated internal energy? There were stories that Ha-ryoon had good intuition since childhood.
Jin Cheon-hee said:
“Wanna eat this?”
He took out another rice cake and handed it to Yeo Ha-ryoon. Then he moved his lips to signal:
‘Act as natural as possible.’
Yeo Ha-ryoon immediately caught his intention.
He brought the rice cake to his mouth.
“It’s delicious.”
He meant it sincerely.
“Right? The kitchen chef made it himself.”
Not long after, a woman walked out.
She was a tall woman with a refreshing and bold impression.
“Ah, it’s my benefactor.”
It was a familiar face.
“Oh, hello!”
“Have you been well? Little benefactor.”
It was Gongsun Yeong. Since he saved her life, she’s been calling Jin Cheon-hee ‘little benefactor’. Some of the servants gossip about her casual way of speaking.
But Jin Cheon-hee knew that although her words seemed light, they actually weren’t. It was her own way of making a serious promise.
As he wondered why she had come all the way here instead of staying with her sister Gongsun Hyeon, she said:
“I’m gathering flowers for my sister. She likes flower tea.”
In her large hands were many flowers, pulled out by the roots.
Whether it was because of her strength, or because she intended to steep the roots in tea as well, or simply due to her unrefined personality, the option of just picking the flowers seemed to have never occurred to her.
“Little benefactor. I heard you’re an amazing doctor? You must know a lot about medicinal herbs that are good for the body, right?”
“I don’t know much about herbs because I haven’t learned much about them. I specialize in surgery. But shouldn’t you be the one taking the herbs, Gongsun Yeong noona?”
“I’m healthier than anyone, so I’m fine. Look at this.”
She picked up a stone and applied force.
Crunch-
Seeing the stone turn to powder in an instant, Jin Cheon-hee was inwardly shocked.
‘Wow, I guess I really should learn martial arts too.’
She continued speaking:
“My sister cried herself to sleep yesterday worrying about me, and then she caught a cold. I’m too ignorant to know how to gather anything but flowers like these… And my sister is going to be the family head, so she can’t be sick.”
‘But that sister actually wants to give up the position of family head to you.’
-The head of the Gongsun clan should be someone strong and steadfast. It’s not a position that someone weak and wicked like me should take, Yeong-ah. My dear Yeong-ah.
Jin Cheon-hee sighed.
“I can find some mugwort for you. But before that, couldn’t you just have a servant bring some tea?”
“She won’t drink it unless I make it myself. My sister becomes picky when she’s sick.”
Gongsun Yeong said that and then spoke to Jin Cheon-hee.
“…And thank you so much. Not only did you save my life thanks to you, but now I’m troubling you again like this.”
She smiled brightly.
“Want to make tea together? My sister really wanted to meet with you alone anyway.”
***
What about Gongsun Yeong had Gongsun Hyeon so smitten?
In the novel, Gongsun Yeong dies early on. As a result, all descriptions of Gongsun Yeong are narratives stemming from Gongsun Hyeon’s memories.
Memories of the deceased tend to be beautified.
The Gongsun Yeong that Gongsun Hyeon remembered was like this:
-Sister, don’t worry. What’s there to be afraid of in this world as long as I’m with you? I’ll work hard at martial arts and studies to become a great person.
The reality was like this:
“There’s some mugwort…”
“Hup!”
Thud thud thud thud thud!
She pulled out mugwort with a terrifying momentum, like a human rice-planting machine.
Mixed in were some weeds as well.
That’s right. She couldn’t distinguish between weeds and mugwort.
Even after being taught several times, she couldn’t remember.
However, her ability to completely devastate the surroundings without leaving a single blade of grass could be called genius-level.
‘Does, does learning martial arts make everyone like this?’
Looking to the side, even Little Cheonma was staring blankly at Gongsun Yeong, at a loss for words.
Apparently not.
‘This is different from the description. No, the hard-working part is the same, but something is fundamentally different!’
It was funny enough that they ended up picking mugwort in the backyard, but what was more frightening was how quickly it was accumulating.
Jin Cheon-hee gave up on picking alongside her.
He knew that humans couldn’t compete with machines.
He sorted out the weeds, mugwort, and ornamental flowers one by one.
‘This looks like an expensive orchid that’s obviously more ornate… It’s probably a hundred or thousand times more expensive than mugwort… Right. Let’s just blame it all on noona. It’s not wrong, is it? I told her to pick mugwort, not to desertify the entire area.’
Jin Cheon-hee smiled brightly.
“Noona, we’ve gathered enough. In fact, it might be too much.”
“Oh, really? I can do more…!”
“No. I think it’s better not to do any more.”
“Really? Don’t you need anything else besides mugwort? Should I get some trees for you?”
-Our Yeong-ah, who’s like snow and flowers… Our kind and delicate Yeong-ah…
‘How is she like snow and flowers… This is just a human farming tool.’
Jin Cheon-hee realized with a shudder that 80% of memories about the deceased are lies. And that Gongsun Hyeon’s rose-colored glasses for Gongsun Yeong were made of titanium.
“This is mugwort. Since there’s too much, after making it into tea, let’s share it with others besides Gongsun Hyeon noona.”
“Oh? Yeah, yeah! As expected, our little benefactor is so kind! To think of such things.”
‘Since I’ve messed up these expensive ornamental flowers, I need to make some accomplices.’
There’s a saying that a senior in the military told me. If you eat alone, you’ll get indigestion.
By the time everyone realizes the truth, mugwort tea will be in everyone’s stomachs.
Jin Cheon-hee smiled brightly.
“I don’t know much about how to brew tea.”
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s okay.”
At that moment, Little Cheonma Yeo Ha-ryoon, with a pale expression, said:
“I… I’ll go back. Let me know if anything happens.”
“Okay. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“…Hyung-nim.”
“That’s right. My dongsaeng.”
Jin Cheon-hee didn’t forget to brainwash(?) Little Cheonma even while picking mugwort.
***
After picking mugwort, Yeo Ha-ryoon disappeared.
‘Tsk tsk. He’s still a kid after all. He got fed up and ran away.’
Clicking his tongue, Jin Cheon-hee looked to the side.
Just boiling mugwort doesn’t make it mugwort tea. Therefore, a process was needed to turn the mugwort into tea. And the result of that process was next to him.
What was that process?
Wash the mugwort, leaving only the leaves and removing all the stems.
After that, dry the washed mugwort in the shade, then roast it once over fire.
Cool it down and dry it again.
This process needs to be repeated several times for mugwort tea to be completed.
With even the maids from the Gongsun clan joining in, they worked all day with dedication to roughly get it into a form that could be brewed as tea. However, the taste still couldn’t be guaranteed.
‘It doesn’t matter. What’s important is Gongsun Yeong’s sincerity.’
Gongsun Yeong was involved in this entire process, making it by hand.
Rather than doing it properly, it felt more like she was ruining the maids’ work, but that wasn’t really important.
After the preparations were finished and they could finally brew the tea,
Gongsun Yeong smiled brightly.
Jin Cheon-hee thought her smile was nice to look at, but he didn’t say it out loud.
“I hope my sister likes it.”
“She will like it, noona.”
“Our little benefactor! You always say such pretty things.”
She laughed boldly and ruffled Jin Cheon-hee’s hair.
Her large hand completely covered his hair.
It was a warm hand.
A young master from a noble family, and a martial artist at that, went through this troublesome process.
Not once did she show any signs of dislike.
The servants looking at her all had bright expressions. It was like looking at the spring sunshine.
A person who constantly boosts the energy of those around her.
That’s the kind of existence Gongsun Yeong was.
‘So that’s why Gongsun Hyeon cherished her so much.’
It’s the act of a petty person to be jealous of someone who has what you don’t. In comparison, Gongsun Hyeon was a great person.
When the mugwort tea was finished, Gongsun Yeong took out a dark-colored tea set.
There must be many pretty white and blue tea sets, but Gongsun Hyeon apparently likes black tea sets.
She poured hot water to steep the tea and then discarded it.
The first water is discarded, and the tea brewed with the second pour has a richer aroma and better taste.
After pouring the second water, she picked up the tray herself.
She headed straight for the room where Gongsun Hyeon was staying.
“Sister. I made tea!”
Soon, a small voice was heard.
“I’m not feeling well right now…”
It was a clear dismissal. Gongsun Yeong laughed heartily.
“I knew our sister would be like this.”
Saying that, she opened the door without permission.
She’s excessively bold. No, should we say unrefined?
As Jin Cheon-hee hesitated whether to follow her in, she lightly kicked his bottom with her knee.
“It’s okay. Come in.”
Inside, a bedroom with thin curtains could be seen.
Through the curtains, the figure of a woman was faintly visible. She was wrapped in black clothes.
“You’re not going to drink my tea?”
“…Yeong-ah.”
“I made it with the little benefactor by picking mugwort together. I also added everything that Master Divine Doctor Baek Rin said was good for the body.”
Going closer and parting the curtains, there sat a pale and thin woman.
She was so thin that the outline of her spine was visible behind her neck.
She was sitting with her back curved like a cat, which made her thin body look even more bizarre.
Black Ice Poison Dragon Gongsun Hyeon.
A nickname given because she likes to wear black clothes (黑, black), rarely smiles (氷, icy), and occasionally shows a demonic aura that’s like poison (毒, poison).
At the head of the bed was a Go board, with black and white stones tangled like mud.
The chaotic battle on the board without any formality somehow gave people goosebumps.
She put down a Go stone.
Tak-
What was she thinking on this board?
If Jin Cheon-hee hadn’t read the novel, he might have seen her only as she appeared.
To Jin Cheon-hee, if Gongsun Yeong was like a hero, Gongsun Hyeon was like a strategist.
But not in the vein of Zhuge Liang or Zhou Yu[1].
More like Xun Yu[2].
It was strange. The woman before his eyes was the one people called the Poison Dragon.
She didn’t even show a slight smile, nor did she get close to people.
She cleared away the Go board.
“You’ve come. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while, but I’m sorry to show you this state.”
‘Normally, you would have invited me to a formal setting. But now, regardless of that, Gongsun Yeong just barged in.’
Gongsun Yeong smiled like a large dog and poured tea for her sister.
Gurgle-
The sound of tea pouring echoed awkwardly.
Jin Cheon-hee said:
“It’s alright. Please speak comfortably. Gongsun Yeong noona is already speaking casually to me.”
“This fool… Haa…”
Gongsun Hyeon glared at her younger sister and eventually let out a sigh.