Chapter 6
‘I’ll give it all up now and just live lazily.’
And so, Jegal Haesu became one with his blanket.
He spent empty days without ever leaving his chamber.
Since the family estate would be inherited by his older brother anyway, there was no reason for him not to live idly.
The Jegal family tried to keep the story of Jegal Haesu’s indolence hidden.
But, as they say, words without feet travel a thousand miles—rumors slowly leaked out and eventually spread far and wide.
“Jegal Haesu doesn’t leave his room and only lazes around.”
From then on, Jegal Haesu began to be called the Idle Young Master.
But he didn’t care.
He did nothing and met no one, so there was no real harm to him.
Yet, he could never dispel the feeling of being alone.
At night, lying quietly in the dark, loneliness would gnaw at him.
Even when his body was at ease, his heart would sometimes feel unsettled.
Jegal Haesu knew exactly who was the cause of that discomfort.
It was none other than his brother, Jegal Sagun.
“Haesu, you must be so upset. I know you’re staying inside your room because of it. I understand you completely.”
“Haesu, come outside whenever you want. I’ll always be waiting for you.”
“Haesu, just trust your brother. I won’t let anyone insult you.”
“Haesu…”
Whether he was weak, lazy, or whatever he chose to be, his brother always believed in him.
Only his brother never looked down on him.
Though he was the very one who was the source of comparison and the cause of Haesu’s laziness, Jegal Sagun was also his only ally.
And so, Haesu could never hate him.
Jegal Haesu truly respected and loved his brother—even if he never once put it into words.
Even as he lay idle in his chamber, he vowed someday to repay his brother’s kindness.
But then, his flawless older brother left the family estate “to broaden his horizons” and came face to face with the Demonic Cult.
And in the end, he was kidnapped by one of their vile followers.
At first, Jegal Haesu couldn’t believe it. No—he refused to believe it.
His brother wasn’t at the peak of martial cultivation, but he was skilled enough not to lose to most warriors.
Moreover, he had mastered the Jegal clan’s formations and hidden weapons, so he could even handle opponents stronger than himself.
And yet, such a brother was kidnapped by the Demonic Cult? The same Demonic Cult that had supposedly been annihilated, returning once again?
The entire clan was thrown into chaos by his disappearance.
Their father, shocked, fell into qi deviation and took to bed. Without anyone left to hold things together, the family was on the verge of collapse.
In all that uproar, the only one who came to his senses was Jegal Haesu.
He wanted to save his brother from the vile Demonic Cult. And if he couldn’t, at the very least, he wanted revenge.
Because his brother… was the only person who had ever treated him as human.
Without him, Haesu would long ago have ended his own life to escape his miserable existence.
One person’s faith had been no different from saving another’s life.
Jegal Haesu finally stepped out of his chamber and began practicing again, reviewing everything he could still learn.
He didn’t care if the clan acknowledged him or not.
His efforts didn’t stem from a desire to be recognized—they came from the simple wish to save one person.
He trained diligently in martial arts, waiting for any news about Jegal Sagun.
But no word came. Not for five whole years.
It was as if his brother had vanished into thin air.
Even so, Jegal Haesu never gave up waiting.
Because he knew why the Demonic Cult had kidnapped his brother and the other promising young warriors. He simply couldn’t find news about his brother himself.
Then, hearing that a young disciple of Wudang who had also been abducted by the Cult had resurfaced, Haesu decided this was his chance and left the clan.
Maybe his brother would also reappear somewhere.
And with the Cult clearly moving again, he might also be able to gather information about them.
Before leaving, he even snuck into the clan’s secret archive—a place only his father and brother were allowed to enter—taking advantage of the clan’s turmoil.
Perhaps he would find something useful there.
And in that archive, Jegal Haesu discovered a manuscript left behind by his uncle, Jegal Taek.
A chance encounter, thanks to tripping like a fool.
‘I’m going to fall…!’
As he pictured himself landing hard on his backside, he cursed himself.
A fool who couldn’t even walk properly, let alone cultivate martial arts.
‘…Huh?’
But at that moment, he noticed a hollow beneath the broken floor where he had fallen.
Inside, to his surprise, was a book hidden away.
And instantly, he sensed it.
‘This must be a supreme manual among manuals!’
I’m not a fool!
I fell only to encounter a stroke of destiny.
His mood lifted, he eagerly picked up the book.
Its title read: Admonitions Left to the Lacking.
The very first line said this:
“You who have entered a forbidden archive and yet stumbled because your martial skills are lacking—this book is for you.”
It suited Jegal Haesu perfectly.
‘Damn ancestor… I am that fool.’
Amazingly, the manuscript described the locations of various rare elixirs his uncle had hidden.
Jegal Taek had intended for these precious medicines to be revealed to a descendant with poor martial skills.
It was an action one could only call eccentric.
Jegal Taek had preferred studying other fields over martial arts, and the clan had never liked him for it.
Then one day, he mysteriously disappeared, and everyone assumed he had died.
But to think he had left behind such a manuscript.
For Jegal Haesu, it was more precious than any martial arts manual.
If he could consume those hidden elixirs, perhaps his blocked meridians would be healed.
And if his body recovered, his chances of rescuing his brother would greatly increase.
Though five years had passed since his brother’s abduction, he was certain his brother couldn’t have died so easily.
Surely, the Demonic Cult had a reason for keeping the young prodigies alive.
If they had meant to kill them, they would have done so immediately.
Memorizing all the locations of the elixirs, Jegal Haesu secretly slipped out of the clan.
It was the Idle Young Master’s first departure into the world.
And the very first elixir he resolved to find was the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
Thus, he traveled all the way to distant Anhui Province.
But when he finally encountered the ginseng in its cave, it was so bizarre that all thought of eating it vanished instantly.
Eating it felt as if he would be killing a person.
“Our ginseng.”
Jegal Haesu murmured softly, though no one was there to hear.
“Ginseng, since fate has brought us together like this, I want to help you too. I feel like we share a similar story…”
But the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, deep in slumber, did not answer.
When her vision brightened, Sosŏ’s first thought was this:
‘So even after becoming a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, I can still fall asleep.’
Was she human or ginseng? At this point, what was the difference? If it was going to be like this, she should’ve just been reincarnated as a human!
Before long, Sosŏ realized a second fact.
‘My vision is clear?’
More naturally than yesterday, she lifted her thickest root.
And what she saw was a sleeve.
Sosŏ glanced at her reflection in the window by the bed—
And nearly jumped out of her skin.
‘Oh heavens, a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng wearing clothes! What kind of grotesque sight is this?’
Just then, a drowsy voice came from behind her. Jegal Haesu had just awakened.
“Ginseng, you’re awake? Ah, did the clothes startle you? I made them.”
Grotesque indeed, young hero.
“Why is there nothing I can’t do? Even sewing… surely I am the perfect groom candidate.”
Jegal Haesu carefully picked up her small body.
“Now that I look at it, the clothes I made for you resemble a bride’s gown.”
‘…’
“The perfect groom and his ginseng bride! What a splendid pair.”
He laughed heartily at his strange idea, clearly pleased with himself.
Sosŏ, on the other hand, trembled all over.
‘Young Master Eun-u… Being with this man really is okay, isn’t it?’
The more time passed, the more she longed to see Young Master Eun-u.
