"Flew?"
"Yes. You definitely flew."
"But I don't know how to fly."
"I don't know how to fly either. Since you and I are both human, it's normal not to know how to fly. But you flew."
"...!"
"...?"
The more Jeok Yorap thought about it, the more mysterious Cho Myung seemed.
He had flown from somewhere and landed in the middle of a pack of beasts, and the beasts had tucked their tails like dogs.
Even though he had seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.
The more he thought about it, the more mysterious it was.
Cho Myung, for his part, was also puzzled.
He had flown?
What Cho Myung remembered was up to the moment he was slammed against the wall in the basement.
But he had flown through the sky?
Cho Myung, not knowing what had happened after he lost consciousness, just blinked his eyes.
Jeok Yorap, who had been staring intently at Cho Myung, made a face as if to say, "What can you do?"
"It seems to have happened while you were unconscious, but anyway, we both survived, so that's what matters for now, right?"
Cho Myung just blinked his eyes and then nodded.
Jeok Yorap patted Cho Myung's head and asked.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No. I'm not hurt anywhere."
When Cho Myung answered, Jeok Yorap nodded as if he had expected it.
Hunters and herbalists often get injured or attacked by beasts while wandering in the mountains, so they all have some knowledge of medicine.
Jeok Yorap, who had already examined Cho Myung's body, found it strange that for a body that had flown from somewhere and crashed to the ground, it was surprisingly fine.
There were no broken bones or torn wounds, and his pulse was full of energy.
"So, where are your parents? Where is your home? What on earth happened...!"
Jeok Yorap put aside the strangeness and asked again.
But before Jeok Yorap's question was finished, Cho Myung's face hardened rapidly.
Jeok Yorap quickly continued, trying to reassure Cho Myung.
"I'm asking so I can take you there. It will take a few months to get to the world where the Han people live, but if you want, I'll take you. So don't worry and tell me."
Jeok Yorap really intended to take Cho Myung.
As an herbalist with no family or relatives, where couldn't he go?
Since he had been saved thanks to Cho Myung, he was willing to go anywhere with him as a way of repaying the favor.
But Cho Myung's reaction, after a long pause, was unexpected.
"I... can't go back home."
"What do you mean? You can't go back home!"
"I was sold."
"Sold?"
"A Taoist grandfather bought me with silver coins."
"A Taoist grandfather? Then where is that person?"
"The Taoist grandfather is...!"
Cho Myung stopped talking and his whole body trembled.
Then he drew up his knees, curled his body up tightly, and buried his face between his knees.
And then he just kept trembling.
Jeok Yorap instinctively knew that Cho Myung had been through something terrible.
That's why he was trembling in fear just by recalling it.
Jeok Yorap went to Cho Myung and rubbed his back, just as his mother had done for him when he was young.
"Forget it. There's only you and me here. The things that scared you are not here. So you don't need to be scared anymore."
As he rubbed his back, Cho Myung clung to Jeok Yorap.
Jeok Yorap told him it was okay and continued to rub his back.
An hour later.
Jeok Yorap, being an herbalist, would dry a few medicinal herbs that were good for the body and drink them like tea. He boiled some Green Leaf Purple Stem Herb, which calms the body and mind, and poured it for Cho Myung.
"It's hot, so blow on it and drink it slowly."
"Okay."
Cho Myung drank the hot tea, blowing on it slowly.
It had a bitter taste, so it didn't suit the young Cho Myung's palate. But knowing that Jeok Yorap had given it to him out of kindness, Cho Myung continued to drink it, one sip at a time.
"I still don't know your name. What is your name?"
"It's Myung. Cho Myung. Myung (明) is one of the characters my grandfather learned somewhere, and it means bright."
"The sun and moon combined, so it has to be bright. It's a very good name."
"I like my name too."
Cho Myung answered and smiled like a child.
At this moment, perhaps because he had forgotten the things he had been through, he looked very innocent.
Jeok Yorap felt good just looking at the smiling Cho Myung. But he couldn't just keep smiling.
"Cho Myung, sometimes you have to force yourself to do difficult things."
"...?"
"Will you tell me what you remember?"
Cho Myung's face immediately hardened.
Jeok Yorap waited quietly for Cho Myung to open his mouth.
Cho Myung clamped his mouth shut, his face stiff, and his body curled up, then he began to tremble. Just thinking about it brought on a wave of fear.
"You don't have to say it. Stop thinking about it."
Jeok Yorap quickly went over and stroked his back.
Cho Myung gradually calmed down, but Jeok Yorap's questions grew even bigger.
'Later, it would be better to ask again later.'
Some more time passed.
When it seemed that Cho Myung had shaken off his fear, Jeok Yorap made a suggestion.
"Since you were born in a poor family, you probably haven't learned much, and since you have nowhere to go right now, how about you learn how to dig for herbs from me here? If you learn it well, you won't have to live with an empty stomach."
"...!"
"Since you said you have nowhere to go back to, I'm asking you to live with me. What do you think?"
"Okay."
Cho Myung answered without hesitation.
For Cho Myung, who had no one else in the world to rely on but Jeok Yorap in front of him, there was no more welcome word than the suggestion to live together.
"Good. It's already late today, so let's rest and go dig for herbs with me tomorrow."
"Yes, Grandfather. I'll work hard."
Cho Myung, thinking he had to be diligent to avoid being abandoned, forced himself to speak energetically.
Jeok Yorap didn't think as far as the young Cho Myung being afraid of being abandoned.
So only the unfamiliar title of "Grandfather" caught his ear.
"Grandfather?"
"Yes, Grandfather."
In Cho Myung's eyes, Jeok Yorap's face was full of wrinkles, so he was a grandfather.
That was all.
But from Jeok Yorap's perspective, it wasn't such a simple title.
It was a title he had never heard anywhere, and a title he had always wanted to hear someday.
Jeok Yorap's lips stretched into a wide, pleasant smile.
"Good. I'm a grandfather. From now on, call me Grandfather."
He had never had a family of his own, but what did it matter?
If they formed a connection like this, that was family.
And it was a connection that had saved his life.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"No, I'm not hungry."
"It's been about four hours since I met you, and you're not hungry?"
"Yes. I only need to eat a little. I'll work hard too."
"Work? What work?"
"Digging for herbs."
It seemed he was seriously misunderstanding something.
Jeok Yorap felt the need to explain again.
"It's not work. Well, it is work, but I'm not trying to work you. It's for your future. When you grow up, you'll need to know how to do something to make a living, right? So I'm saying you should learn how to dig for herbs and make a living with that. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
The way he answered immediately didn't seem like he really understood.
Jeok Yorap considered explaining again but decided to leave it.
It wasn't easy to make a child understand with his way of speaking, and he would naturally find out after a few days.
"Wait a moment. I have some jerky, so let's make some porridge."
Cho Myung stared blankly at Jeok Yorap preparing to make porridge.
Jeok Yorap is a good person and not someone who would harm him.
That's how Cho Myung judged Jeok Yorap.
The next morning.
Jeok Yorap left the log cabin with Cho Myung long after the sun had risen.
He didn't hurry, thinking of Cho Myung.
"When we go to dig for herbs, we have to wander in the mountains all day, so always pack enough jerky and water, and you might meet a beast, so don't forget to bring a knife."
"Okay."
Cho Myung's face looked quite bright as he answered.
It wasn't because of the characteristic forgetfulness of children who forget other things in the face of immediate pleasure.
Cho Myung was clearly aware of his situation at this moment.
For a moment, even as he stepped out of the log cabin door, the fear that he might face another fear if he went outside had washed over him.
Nevertheless, the reason he could show such a changed appearance was thanks to Jeok Yorap's affectionate care.
"Cho Myung, you look good! Live with a smile like that. There's an old saying that even ominous energy can't carelessly approach a person who lives with a happy smile."
"Okay."
Cho Myung answered brightly, even with a smiling-eyed expression.
When he came out of the log cabin door, there was nothing to be afraid of, and instead, the clear and cool air filled his lungs with a refreshing feeling.
Not only that, but the warm sunlight caressed his whole body warmly, making him feel very good.
"You little rascal."
Jeok Yorap also smiled.
As if infected by Cho Myung's smile, a smile naturally appeared on his face.
"Let's dig a lot of herbs today and tomorrow and make some money. With that money, let's buy Cho Myung some clothes and shoes. And if there's any left over, let's buy something delicious to eat. Sounds good, right?"
"Yes."
Cho Myung, who had changed 180 degrees overnight, answered cheerfully.
Jeok Yorap set out on the road with such a cheerful Cho Myung.
An hour after leaving the log cabin.
Jeok Yorap and Cho Myung sat side by side on a steep mountainside, drinking water and chewing on jerky.
The basket Jeok Yorap had placed on the ground was limp.
All they had dug for half a day was a handful of Green Leaf Purple Stem Herb.
Since Green Leaf Purple Stem Herb doesn't make money unless you bring a large amount, it meant they had wasted two hours.
"I guess I'm more suited for hunting than herbs after all. But I can't hunt at this age... Tsk!"
Jeok Yorap lamented slightly.
Cho Myung, who had been staring blankly at the scenery below the mountain, looked back at Jeok Yorap.
And he held back what he had been thinking for a long time and finally said it now.
"Grandfather."
"Hmm?"
"Do all herbs smell the same?"
"Smell?"
"Yes."
"They're different depending on the type. There might be some similar ones, but they can't be the same. But why do you ask?"
Cho Myung picked up the basket that was between him and Jeok Yorap.
He sniffed it once with a twitch of his nose and then looked at Jeok Yorap.
"This is the right smell."
"What do you mean, right?"
"This smell."
"This smell?"
"Yes, this smell. There was a lot of it over there earlier."
"...!"
Should he believe it or just laugh it off?
Jeok Yorap stared blankly at Cho Myung and then got up.
It was something the surprisingly mysterious Cho Myung had said. There was no reason not to believe it.
"Shall we go to the place you mentioned?"
"Yes."
Jeok Yorap, with a half-believing, half-doubting face, had Cho Myung lead the way back the way they came.
When they arrived near a small spring they had passed an hour ago, Cho Myung changed direction.
After passing through some bushes and somehow going around a rather dangerous-looking rock, a sunny spot where the sunlight shone well appeared.
And there, Green Leaf Purple Stem Herb was growing in abundance.
"To think there was a place like this!"
Jeok Yorap couldn't hide his surprise and approached the place where the Green Leaf Purple Stem Herb was growing like a field.
Looking closely, it wasn't just Green Leaf Purple Stem Herb.
"Huh, there's Purple Red Herb too. Oh? This looks like a Wind Orchid, also called a Dragon Herb... or is it not?"
If it really was a Wind Orchid, it could be worth a considerable amount of money.
That's because among Wind Orchids, the one called Dragon Herb is sold at a pretty high price to those who grow ornamental orchids.
"Your nose is a lucky nose! A lucky nose!"
Jeok Yorap, exclaiming in admiration, looked back at Cho Myung.
But Cho Myung lifted his face and twitched his nose.
Then he soon frowned.
"There's a terrible smell over there. It's like a foul smell or a rotten smell."
"When you wander in the mountains, you often see the rotting carcasses of animals. Anyway, now that I know your nose is a lucky nose, I'll have to make good use of it."
"Okay."
The young Cho Myung didn't even think about whether he had always been this good at smelling, he was just happy.
He was just happy thinking that he had been helpful and would continue to be helpful in the future.
Jeok Yorap patted Cho Myung's head and began to dig for herbs.
"When you dig for herbs, you have to be careful not to damage the roots."
"Okay."
Cho Myung answered from the side with a face full of curiosity.
(End of Chapter)