Thwack!

A fern was plucked by a small hand.

Chew, chew.

The plant went straight into his mouth, and a bitter taste filled it.

His face contorted at the unpleasantness, but his stomach was being filled.

This was all he could do for now.

Begging?

There was no need for such a thing.

The mountain was like a treasure trove, full of things to eat.

However, the wisdom to find food is not given to everyone.

Cheonyeong, who had lived as an assassin, had learned to distinguish between medicinal herbs and poisonous plants.

In fact, the basics of medicine and poison are the same.

Most plants in the world have a dual nature; they become medicinal herbs when their poison is removed, and poisonous plants when their medicinal properties are removed.

For now, he was eating them raw, so he was only chewing on plants with medicinal properties...

Cheonyeong, who was walking along the mountainside, plucking and chewing on plants, took off his shirt and made a makeshift bag.

It was a worn out and holey piece of clothing, so its ability to retain heat was significantly low, but it was perfect for carrying the plants in front of him.

What does it matter if he doesn't have a shirt?

He was going to leave before winter came anyway.

Cheonyeong, who had made the makeshift bag, first examined the surrounding plants.

What looked like common plants to the untrained eye, appeared as food and medicinal ingredients to Cheonyeong.

The plant Cheonyeong was digging up while squatting on the ground was Ixeris.

This plant, classified under the Asteraceae family, had its leaves, stems, flowers, and roots all used as medicine.

Moreover, it had the effect of healing wounds when crushed and applied.

"It's a field, a field."

Cheonyeong dug up the Ixeris that filled the ground and put them in the makeshift bag made from his shirt.

Cheonyeong smiled contentedly at the quickly bulging bag and moved to another spot.

"That damn Makgae bastard. He really hit me a lot."

Cheonyeong, his face contorted from the stinging of his wounds, found a small stream, a puddle, and soaked his body in it.

"It stings."

His face contorted not from the cold, but from the stinging sensation of the water touching his wounds.

"Damn bastard."

After washing his body clean, Cheonyeong came out, crushed the plants with a fist sized stone, and applied them generously to his wounds.

No matter how he thought about it, it was a funny thing.

To think he would return to this exact time.

Although it was a forced choice, wasn't it the point where his life had changed?

"Life is truly..."

Cheonyeong, who had torn his shirt used as a makeshift bag and tied the applied plants to his wounds, quietly stared at the flowing stream.

He had filled his stomach, and applied medicine to his wounds...

Now, what should he do first?

If he utilized what he had learned, he could quickly become the most outstanding assassin in the vicinity.

But that life ended as it was.

He had to live differently.

As it happened, all the memories of his past life remained.

Even the Samyang Divine Art, which he had not mastered but had memorized in his head.

The path of a martial artist, not an assassin.

And the top priority in his new life was set.

Those creditors who had ruined his family... and the officials who had backed them.

In his previous life, he had not been able to take revenge on them in the end.

Because he was tied to the organization and could not return to Sichuan.

Now it's different.

He was determined to take revenge on them.

Hadn't he vowed and vowed again not to live like his father's words, which were like a last will?

The assassin organization was the same.

"The Nine."

Because he had returned to the past, it was something that had not yet happened...

They had kidnapped him at will and raised him as an assassin.

They fed him that damn thing and bound him so he couldn't even escape...

Technically, they hadn't done anything wrong to him now.

But his memories were not like that.

How could he pretend something so vivid had never happened?

"Grudges... must be repaid."

Cheonyeong's eyes, looking at the stream, shone with a blue light.

First, the creditors before that.

He was thirteen, so it had been three years since his family was ruined.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had been biding his time.

But it was impossible for now.

If he went to them with this weak body, his labor would only be exploited again.

He had to build up the strength to fight them first.

For that, he didn't necessarily have to stay in the vagrant village. He didn't need to say goodbye either.

It was a place where people who met on the road formed a group, so no one cared if someone disappeared.

Also, they only gathered for begging, so there was no one to sanction him for not following.

The reason why the people of the vagrant village form groups and follow someone as a leader is because it is advantageous for begging.

To prolong their tenacious lives.

But there was one thing that bothered him.

"Yongcheon..."

He was once a comrade.

And he had saved his life twice.

Of course, it was something he did after he grew up a little, not now, but like the assassin organization, the memory was vividly engraved in his mind.

He owed him his life, but he could not repay it in the end.

Because he died first while protecting him.

How surprised and happy he was when he returned and saw his face.

Now he can repay it.

The debt he owes him...

"Well, then shall I first look for a place that can be a hideout? During the day... I'll have to train hard."

Cheonyeong, who had made his plans for the future, rummaged through the mountainside.

And only when the sun was setting and the mountainside was dyed red did he return to the vagrant village outside the city walls.

"Huh? Cheonyeong?"

Yongcheon, who was loitering outside the vagrant village as if looking for something, ran over with a startled expression.

"Where have you been all day?"

Seeing the sweat on his forehead, it seemed Yongcheon had been looking for him all this time.

"Huh? But you, what's with your appearance?"

"What?"

"No, why are you covered in so much grass..."

It's not grass, it's medicine.

A special remedy for healing wounds.

"Gasp! Your clothes? What happened to your clothes?"

I used them as bandages to fix the grass you mentioned.

I tore them...

"No way? Did you lose them? That precious thing?"

It's not precious at all.

It was embarrassing to even call it clothes in the first place.

"What are you going to do if it's cold at night?"

It's full of holes anyway, so it can't even block the cold...

Cheonyeong burst out laughing at the sight of Yongcheon, whose face grew more and more worried as he examined his body.

This guy too... he hasn't changed.

"Oh right! You've been starving all day, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

"Eat this."

Yongcheon quickly looked around and carefully took something out from his pants.

What was wrapped in a small cloth was food.

He said there was a feast at Lord Kang's house, right?

It seemed Yongcheon, worried about him, had secretly packed some food without the other children knowing.

Cheonyeong looks at Yongcheon.

"Yongcheon."

"You bastard, why are you so moved? Who else would take care of you if not this big brother?"

"..."

We're the same age.

My birthday is even a few months earlier.

Yongcheon pats his shoulder and smiles brightly.

The satisfaction of helping a friend. Pride.

But my gaze right now was not like that.

This in your hand...

This, where various foods are mixed together and you can't even tell what they originally were.

Is it dog food?

Yes, if it were the old days...

If it were the thirteen year old Cheonyeong who wandered the vagrant villages, he would have gone crazy from starving all day and eaten it greedily.

He would have been grateful too.

But now... I'm not me anymore?

Yongcheon's heart is truly grateful... but his hand doesn't readily reach out.

And why from his pants... that location is quite ambiguous...

"Yongcheon."

"Yeah!"

"I'm not hungry."

"What?"

At the words meant not to hurt him, Yongcheon's eyes widened, and he hurriedly put his hand on his own forehead.

"Oh my, you bastard... what the hell is wrong with you."

Yongcheon, with a crying face, once again examined Cheonyeong's body.

I can't bring myself to say... that I can't eat it because it's dirty.

"Hey, Yongcheon, that's not it."

"That damn Makgae bastard! How did he beat the kid to this state! That damn bastard."

His worry for him turns into anger towards Makgae.

He usually calls him boss even when he speaks informally...

Well, they say even the emperor gets cursed in his absence.

But stop it.

You're no match for Makgae yet.

"Yongcheon, you just eat it."

"Huh? Me... eat it?"

"Yeah. I'm really not hungry."

At those words, Yongcheon's gaze, which had been staring at Cheonyeong, turned to the food in his hand.

"I ate a lot..."

That's a lie.

You bastard. I saw your Adam's apple move vigorously just now.

"You really not going to eat?"

"Yeah. You eat it. I'm fine."

As Cheonyeong nodded, Yongcheon, who had been constantly swallowing his saliva, finally succumbed to his appetite.

"Then I'll eat it."

"Yeah, eat."

"Alright. I can't let the other kids take it."

Yongcheon began to eat the food in his hand greedily.

Poor bastard.

In fact, Yongcheon is a guy with great talent.

Cheonyeong know well because he watched him from the side.

His talent has not yet been revealed due to his status as a vagrant child...

Chomp chomp.

"..."

Munch, munch.

"...Ugh!"

Cheonyeong finally threw up.

Damn it, to think my stomach has become so weak.

But he couldn't stand it after seeing that sight.

He could tolerate the fact that the unidentifiable food came out of his pants...

But the sight of you eating it so deliciously...

"Ugh!"

"Cheonyeong? What's wrong? Are you not feeling well again?"

"Ugh!"

"That damn Makgae bastard! Just you wait! I'll definitely get my revenge!"

It's not Makgae, it's you.

But he couldn't say it in the end. It seems today's incident might become a lifelong secret.

"Le, let's go..."

"Huh?"

"I'm tired."

"Oh, right! You were groaning all night... wait a minute, let me finish the rest."

Yongcheon scraped the food clean, even the cloth.

"Ugh!"

In the vagrant village he returned to after finishing his long bout of vomiting, the children who had finished begging were gathered around the bonfire.

"What? You're fine?"

When Cheonyeong returned, Makgae, who was sitting in the best spot, grimaced.

Thinking about last night, he wanted to slap him in the face, but it wasn't the time yet.

"Where have you been?"

"I went to the mountain..."

"To the mountain?"

"Yeah... I thought I'd eat some berries..."

"Berries? Were there berries?"

"Huh?"

"So you didn't work and just went around picking and eating berries?"

At Makgae's words, Cheonyeong smiled awkwardly.

Is that... work?

A young kid doesn't think about earning money by sweating... he thinks begging is work.

And if I earn it?

Do you think I don't know that you'll take it all anyway?

The memory of you taking the children's things and putting them in your own pocket is clear.

"Sorry, but there were no berries."

"..."

"I was hungry, so I just drank a lot of stream water."

"You idiot. That's just like you. Just you try skipping out on begging again."

Makgae, who had given him a warning, sneered at Cheonyeong.

This bastard...

Hmm, I was just going to quietly leave after persuading Yongcheon.

But now that I think about it, I can't.

Since I was hit, I have to pay him back.

And for the sneer just now...

It seemed he would have to stay a little longer.

"Did you really drink stream water?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, you fool. What are you going to do if you get diarrhea? You should have just eaten it when I gave it to you... It was so hard to bring it without Makgae knowing."

Yongcheon looked at Cheonyeong worriedly, thinking of the food he had just devoured.

Stop it.

It keeps coming to mind.

"It's okay. Yongcheon, I'm tired, can I go to sleep?"

"Yeah, let's do that. If you stay awake, you'll just get hungry."

At Cheonyeong's words, Yongcheon went first and laid out a spot for him.

He laid it out with all his heart, but it was still just a straw mat.

Worn out and tattered...

"Pfft! A pair of idiots doing a great job."

"Leave them be, boss. Don't worry about it. If they get hungry from that, it's their own loss."

"That's right. By the way, I really ate my fill today."

"By any chance, did Brother Ucheol say he won't call us again next time?"

At Makgae's sneer, the children stopped him, and the topic soon changed.

"Don't worry. Who am I? Am I not your boss? I already told Brother Ucheol earlier."

"Really?"

"Of course! Not only that, but Brother Ucheol said he would let me join his gang soon."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What about us?"

"You guys? Well... I'll see how you guys do."

"I'll do well! I'll do really well."

At Makgae's words, the children answered with bright faces.

Cheonyeong, lying on the straw mat prepared by Yongcheon, looked at Makgae, who was chatting with the children, and smiled coldly.

Makgae.

You probably won't be able to join Ucheol's gang.

Because you've made a grudge with me.

(End of Chapter)