Chapter 54
“Ahh! I feel alive again!”
“I’m so full… I can’t eat another bite…”
Dang Jin-ak’s face was glowing again, as if he had never looked tired before. Eun Sowol’s flat stomach had also puffed up like a balloon.
In front of them were plates stacked neatly, as clean as if they’d already been washed.
Dok Go-ryong let out a deep sigh as he looked at the two lying around like overstuffed sacks.
“Two gluttons… You’re paying for your own food.”
Dang Jin-ak wiped the oil off his lips and grinned.
“Of course! No need to worry about money—I brought plenty of silver notes!”
“Uncle, worrying about rich people is the most useless thing ever.”
“Who said that?”
“My mom!”
“What in the world did my sister teach this kid…”
Dok Go-ryong shook his head while Sowol and Jin-ak giggled together.
“Hyung, we’re checking out the medicinal herb market tomorrow, right? How much do you know about the Yunnan herb market?”
“Not much. I just got some basic info from Pachoek Chaeju and Yoo Yeo-yeon.”
Before Ko Taehong’s recommendation, Dok Go-ryong had already gotten a tip from Yoo Yeo-yeon about Yunnan. But that was it. He didn’t know the details.
“The Yunnan herb market is famous because the climate is good for wild herbs, and because it’s close to the ‘New Wulin’. Oh—Sowol, do you know what that is?”
“I know a little.”
It means martial groups that exist outside the central regions. And the closest “New Wulin” to Yunnan would be… Nanman?
“Good, then you get it. Since Yunnan is close to Nanman, trade is active and rare items hard to find in the central plains are often sold here. What kind of info did you get?”
“I heard that the market has many herbs, but if we want rare ones, we’ll have to go to the black market.”
“The black market can be risky. You might get scammed unless you can properly identify herbs. But no worries!”
Jin-ak puffed his chest out and smiled confidently.
“With me here, you won’t get scammed!”
“As you should. Since your qinggong is useless, at least be good for something.”
“Well… yeah, I should prove I’m useful…”
As Jin-ak looked a bit down, Sowol patted his arm.
“It’s okay! Uncle Aki is super useful! I feel really safe because you’re here!”
Although Jin-ak had asked to be called “oppa,” Sowol decided to call him “Uncle Aki” instead. It just felt wrong calling someone the same age as her uncle “oppa.”
But that one compliment brought Jin-ak’s energy right back up.
“Uncle! Can I see the list of rare herbs Grandpa Dang wrote for us?”
“What for?”
“Just show me!”
As Sowol stomped her feet, Dok Go-ryong pulled a paper from inside his robe.
‘Let’s see how many of these I know…’
She opened the paper, wondering how to pass the info on to her uncle, then suddenly froze.
“Wait… can you even read?”
Dok Go-ryong’s words made Sowol break into a cold sweat.
‘No, I can’t…’
Of course, the list was written in Chinese characters. Sowol hadn’t learned to read yet.
To her, the black stuff was just scribbles and the white was just paper.
There were lots of things written, but not a single word she could understand.
‘Wait, I thought people who get reincarnated usually automatically know how to read? Why not me?’
Ah… maybe because she was just a side character meant to die in Uncle’s backstory?
“You probably won’t be able to read it. Jin-myeong couldn’t read either.”
“I… don’t know anything…”
Sowol answered in a tiny, embarrassed voice. Jin-ak just laughed and patted her head.
“If you don’t know, you can learn. It’s not that hard. I’ll teach you.”
“Really?! You promise?!”
“Of course. For now, I’ll read it to you. This one is called Ho-jang-geun, because it looks like tiger stripes. And this one…”
Sowol ended up sitting on Jin-ak’s lap, listening carefully and memorizing what he taught her.
Dok Go-ryong watched the two with a quiet smile as he took another sip of his drink.
The next morning, the group headed straight to the herb market.
It was loud and chaotic, with endless stalls stretching far into the distance.
At the entrance was a huge wooden sign reading Cheongyakjang (Blue Medicine Market).
“This is Cheongyakjang, Yunnan’s herbal market! Wow, I’ve only heard of it, but it’s even more amazing in person.”
“Just walking through that place would take all day.”
Even Dok Go-ryong and Jin-ak were impressed.
It really lived up to its reputation as the best herb market in the central lands.
“Let’s go already!”
It looked like half a day wouldn’t be enough to see everything. Sowol boldly stepped forward—only to get her head grabbed.
She glared up at her uncle.
“Hold on, kid. Promise me something before we go in.”
“What is it?!”
“Don’t go running off on your own.”
“I won’t! Do I look like a little kid to you?”
“If something looks interesting, don’t just wander off. If you get lost, stay where you are. Don’t follow strangers.”
“Okay, okay! Don’t worry! Don’t you trust me?”
Dok Go-ryong gave her a long look up and down, then sighed.
“Ugh! What’s with that look?!”
Sowol shouted in frustration, but Dok Go-ryong ignored her.
“Alright, alright, don’t fight. We haven’t even started yet. Come on! Sowol, want to hold my hand?”
Sowol took Jin-ak’s hand. Then she looked to her right—only to see Dok Go-ryong glancing down at her.
“Hmph! I’ll walk with Uncle Aki!”
“Who wants to hold your hand anyway?”
Dok Go-ryong snorted and walked ahead. Sowol stomped her foot in frustration after trying to mess with him first.
“Seriously! Why do you two always fight over nothing?”
Jin-ak shook his head and led the bickering pair into Cheongyakjang.
“Welcome! You won’t find stuff like this every day! Look at the roots on this Polygonum! Not a single one is damaged!”
“For a special customer, only the finest herbs! This color and smell—no fake can match it!”
“Come look at this Cheongsimwon! One dose and your whole body will feel alive again!”
Stalls lined the road endlessly. Merchants shouted, trying to grab attention and sell their goods.
“Oh, hyung. This one looks pretty decent.”
“Not bad.”
Even Dok Go-ryong, who wasn’t very interested at first, was now showing curiosity. That meant the quality was really high.
“Not bad? Sir, these are high-grade herbs even in other regions! You have a sharp eye! These just arrived this morning!”
The merchant rubbed his hands together with a greedy smile.
“How much for one ho-jang-geun?”
“Seven mun per geun! Buy more and I’ll throw in a little extra!”
“Hmm… I see. Maybe next time.”
“Huh? You’re leaving? You won’t find a better deal than this!”
They heard the merchant calling out behind them, but Jin-ak just waved and kept walking.
“Wait, we’re not buying? Did the guy try to scam you?”
“No, that wasn’t too expensive. In fact, it was a fair deal. The quality was excellent—almost a bargain.”
Dok Go-ryong answered for Jin-ak.
“Oh? Hyung, you know the market prices?”
“I used to pick herbs and sell them sometimes. Why? You thought it was overpriced?”
“Nope. That was the exact right price.”
Both Sowol and Dok Go-ryong tilted their heads, confused.
“In another region, we might’ve bought it right away. But did you forget? This is Cheongyakjang. And we’re only at the entrance.”
‘Ah, that’s true!’
The prices Dok Go-ryong mentioned were for normal areas. But this was Cheongyakjang.
There was no way prices here would match those outside.
Places that gather a lot of items usually have lower prices.
“We’re just getting started. We shouldn’t load ourselves down so quickly. Let’s look around more and find the right price.”
“Ooh…”
Sowol looked up at Jin-ak with admiration. He puffed his chest proudly.
“You’re smarter than I thought. I figured you were clueless about this kind of stuff.”
“Isn’t Uncle Aki from a noble family? I heard rich young masters usually throw money around.”
But those follow-up comments made Jin-ak freeze.
Those two always teamed up like that at the worst moments.
