Chapter 106
106
Was it because she was finally getting some fresh air?
The Deposed Queen seemed excited.
She giggled at the blades of grass brushing against her ankles and marveled at the mushrooms growing on a rotten tree stump.
“Is this a flower?”
“It’s a mushroom.”
“Oh my, so that’s how mushrooms grow? I only ever saw them in food, so I didn’t know.”
“Mama, don’t touch that. It’s a poisonous mushroom.”
“Oh my.”
The Deposed Queen recoiled in horror from the mushroom, and Yeon-ryang chuckled as he picked a wild peach from a tree for her.
“Eat this instead, Mama. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s edible.”
“Thank you, Yeon Daehyup.”
“Here, our sister can have one too, and here’s one for the fur ball.”
“Kieek!”
Ju-ryeong answered spiritedly and accepted the wild peach with his front paws.
“Mama, you should wash it with water before you eat it. If you eat it as is, the fur will make your throat itchy.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The Deposed Queen replied and carefully wrapped the wild peach in her sleeve. She looked at it with fascination, as if she had never seen one before.
Walking at the Deposed Queen’s pace, we arrived at the stream long after lunchtime.
Yeon-ryang found a suitable spot and skillfully started a fire with a fire starter, while I threw acorns to catch fish.
The Deposed Queen’s eyes widened as she saw the fish floating to the surface of the stream.
“Ye, Yeon So-hye? How did you do that?”
“Haha, it’s just a trick.”
The Deposed Queen pursed her lips, then came over and grabbed my hand, exclaiming excitedly.
“I’ve never even heard of fishing with acorns. Yeon So-hye, you must be a Martial Arts World expert!”
I’m not, though.
“They say experts can fly through the sky and walk on water without getting wet, is that true?”
“Ahaha, my gra—, ahem, my teacher can do that. I’m still far from it.”
“You must have an amazing Martial Artist as your teacher!”
Amazing indeed… in terms of both martial prowess and temper…
The Deposed Queen didn’t stop there and wanted to know what kind of person my teacher was.
Seeing my troubled expression, Yeon-ryang smoothly changed the subject.
“I told you you’d be surprised, Mama, didn’t I? Thanks to our sister’s skills, we don’t have to worry about starving. Mama, have you ever seen fish being prepared?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“I’ll show you. Mama, come closer.”
Yeon-ryang took my basket and sat the Deposed Queen down, explaining the differences between freshwater and saltwater fish.
The Deposed Queen nodded attentively, and then a rumbling sound came from her stomach.
“Oh my.”
She blushed and covered her stomach, so I smiled and held out my hand.
“Mama, you should eat the peach first. Give it to me, I’ll wash it for you.”
“Thank you, So-hye.”
I quickly washed the wild peach and handed it to her, and the Deposed Queen shyly crunched into the fruit.
Ju-ryeong, who had been watching us, dipped his short front paws into the stream and splashed around.
“Ju-ryeong, give it here.”
Chuckling, I washed his wild peach while Yeon-ryang, having finished preparing the fish, placed the fish skewers over the fire.
“How much longer do we need to cook them?”
“Almost done, Mama.”
“It smells wonderful.”
The Deposed Queen, propping her chin on her hand and watching the fire, looked as happy as a child on a picnic.
Next to her, Ju-ryeong was crouched low, drooling.
Ju-ryeong, who had been staring at the sizzling grilled fish, snatched a skewer when Yeon-ryang looked away.
“Ju-ryeong! That’s not cooked enough yet!”
“Just let him be. He eats them raw anyway, so what does it matter? Mama, try this. It’s cooked evenly.”
“Thank you, Yeon Daehyup.”
The Deposed Queen, having received the fully cooked fish, seemed unsure of how to eat it.
She hesitated for a long time before cautiously taking a bite of the fish.
The Deposed Queen’s face lit up as she chewed.
“It’s delicious!”
Then, she sucked the bones clean and devoured the fish in an instant, seemingly unaware that there was soot on her face.
She must have liked it.
“Eat slowly, Mama. I’ll grill more if you want.”
At Yeon-ryang’s gentle voice, the Deposed Queen blushed and quietly put down the skewer.
“So, are you two traveling around the Central Plains?”
“Something like that.”
“Where were you before you came to the hermitage?”
“We’ve been to all the big cities, like Wuhan.”
“Oh my, I heard that the Murim Alliance headquarters is in Wuhan. Were there really many Martial Artists? They say the Yellow Crane Tower is very beautiful? How was the food?”
Even with the endless stream of questions, Yeon-ryang answered all of the Deposed Queen’s questions without showing any sign of annoyance.
The Deposed Queen seemed captivated by Yeon-ryang’s stories and opened her mouth with admiring eyes.
“The life of a Jianghu person is wonderful. I would like to go on such a journey someday.”
“You can do it right now, Mama. What’s so special about traveling? Traveling is just seeing places you haven’t been before. Even going around this mountain once is traveling.”
“Yeon Daehyup is right.”
The Deposed Queen covered her mouth and smiled shyly. I asked brightly.
“Mama, then how about enjoying a short trip with us today? We can see the bizarre rock formations and eat snacks on the trees.”
“Thank you for the offer, So-hye. But with my physical strength…”
“Hey, don’t worry about that. It’ll be like this.”
Before the Deposed Queen could answer, I picked her up.
“Oh my!”
The Deposed Queen, startled by being lifted into the air, hugged my neck tightly.
Even though she had gained some weight, she was so light that it felt like holding a paper doll that would fly away in the wind.
“So, So-hye! I’m heavy! Put me down!”
“Heavy? You’re as light as a feather, Mama. You need to eat more meat.”
At my answer, the Deposed Queen’s face turned as red as a tomato. Yeon-ryang chuckled.
“Mama, please understand. Our sister is just very strong.”
“Where should we take you first? Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“A, are we going like this?”
“Are you uncomfortable? Should I carry you on my back?”
At my question, the Deposed Queen shook her head.
“No. It’s okay. I, I wanted to go to the highest peak.”
“The highest peak?”
“Yes. The peak that’s directly visible from the cliff above the hermitage. I’ve always wondered what’s at the top.”
The Deposed Queen pointed to the peak. I glanced back.
“Did you hear that, Brother? Come with Ju-ryeong. We’ll go ahead?”
“Okay. I’ll be there soon.”
Yeon-ryang nodded and stamped out the fire with his foot. I carried the Deposed Queen and ran up the mountainside.
“Kyaa!”
Startled by the speed, the Deposed Queen screamed and tightened her grip around my neck.
“We’re here, Mama.”
The Deposed Queen, who had been tightly closing her eyes and trembling, slowly opened her eyes and gasped at the scenery before her.
Crape myrtle flowers blooming everywhere surrounded the hermitage.
Below the hermitage, a cloud-like mist created a mystical atmosphere.
“So that’s what Chilbong Hermitage looks like from afar…”
The Deposed Queen muttered, unable to take her eyes off the scenery before her.
Smiling gently, I carefully put the Deposed Queen down, and she began to look around with a curious expression.
I followed behind the Deposed Queen as she walked down the peak.
“Mama, be careful of the tree roots!”
“Where are the tree roots, oh my!”
The Deposed Queen, who had been walking slowly, stopped in front of a tall apricot tree. Her eyes became moist as she looked up at the ripe apricots.
“When I went to the summer palace, there was a large apricot tree. My child loved apricots, so whenever we went for a walk together, he would always lead me to the apricot tree.”
The Deposed Queen’s nose turned red as she reached out towards the apricot tree. However, the branches were too high for her to reach.
“Ah, I’ll pick them for you, Mama.”
“Thank you, So-hye.”
The Deposed Queen stepped back and wiped her eyes as she composed herself. However, I couldn’t reach them either.
As I struggled, Yeon-ryang, who had arrived late, asked.
“What are you doing, Sister?”
“Brother, you’re here? Pick some apricots for me. My arms can’t reach.”
“You’re supposed to stretch your arms and legs to grow taller faster. Stretch your arms out further. Oh my, this looks like a good place to lie down.”
Yeon-ryang answered teasingly and lay down under the apricot tree, leisurely looking up at me. I pouted.
“Don’t do that, just pick them for me. You can reach them easily.”
“Our little one has a chance to grow taller, how can I, as her brother, take that away from her?”
“You’re abnormally tall, okay? You don’t think about how big you are, do you?”
I grumbled and started climbing the tree to pick the apricots.
Yeon-ryang, who was humming a tune with a blade of grass in his mouth, reached out while lying down.
“Are they ripe? Give me one too.”
His appearance was so annoying that I glared at Yeon-ryang and stomped my foot.
The branches shook violently, and ripe apricots rained down on Yeon-ryang.
“Ack! Ouch! Ugh!”
Yeon-ryang spat out the blade of grass and muttered, covered in sticky apricot juice.
“…I was wrong. Just tell me with words.”
The Deposed Queen burst into laughter, and Yeon-ryang shuddered and wiped his face.
Pretending not to hear, I held a handful of apricots and jumped lightly down from the tree.
\ \ *
After that day’s outing, the Deposed Queen spent most of her days with us.
She cooked with Yeon-ryang and learned how to identify and prepare medicinal herbs from me.
Looking at the Deposed Queen, who was full of life, I wondered if she had missed people.
People who didn’t care about formalities, who didn’t worry about being caught up in palace intrigues, and with whom she could talk comfortably.
It wasn’t easy to tell such a Deposed Queen that we would be leaving soon.
But we couldn’t stay at the hermitage forever.
We had to leave this place before the summer retreat ended and people started coming and going from the mountain.
As I was sharpening my Flying Dagger, I sighed, and Yeon-ryang tilted his head.
“Why the sigh, Sister?”
“Brother, the Ghost Festival is coming soon.”
“The summer retreat ends around that time, doesn’t it? It’s time to leave. Why? Are you worried about Mama?”
“Yeah. She’s just gotten healthier, but if we leave, her meals will become poor again. What if her health deteriorates again?”
“Our sister has too much affection. You’ve done your part by saving her. Mama will understand.”
Yeon-ryang stroked my head as if to comfort me.
As I nodded slowly, he said.
“What’s urgent now isn’t Mama’s health. It’s clearing So-hye’s name.”
“Huh? You mean the Murim Alliance?”
“Yeah. When we go down the mountain, let’s go to the Murim Alliance and prove that you have nothing to do with the cult.”
