Huh? An accident?
I thought the only reason for a man like Kang Yoon-ho to die would be when he becomes Kang/Yoon/Ho someday. But no, fairness dictates it must be Kang/Yoon/Ho, huh?
Anyway, here I am—an accidental casualty because the rope snapped.
So now I’m not just some barbarian writer but a ghost writer, huh? Kang Yoon-ho, who was assassinated by my father-in-law. I’ll be a ghost meeting a little child.
“Hey you, be my ghostwriter!”
Just make sure you don’t write my name wrong, or you’ll end up with a flaming skull instead of a ghost. Better tell the child to pronounce carefully.
Kang Yoon-ho is dead, but Ho Pil is still alive. With Ho Pil’s new works continuing to be published, who in the world could he be? The women who held shares of my physical legacy are starting to get curious.
The story of Kang Yoon-ho. Part 2. A new tale begins.
“Master Kang!”
Possessing a woman isn’t really my thing. I need to find a suitable candidate first.
But wait. If there’s a twist where I’m in a ghost state, that could be an opportunity for me to get incorporated into a heroine’s story. I should look for a promising girl.
As I’m pondering choices between the protagonist and the heroine, a loud noise suddenly interrupts my thoughts.
“Master Kang! You can’t lose consciousness again! You can’t sleep! Please wake up!”
“W-where am I?”
My eyes opened unconsciously.
“Are you starting to regain your senses?”
A middle-aged man with silver hair asked worriedly.
“I clearly fell into a pit…”
As I gathered my wits, I found myself lying on a luxurious bed.
“I rushed over after hearing your scream, and found the broken rope. The warriors who came down to check discovered you at the bottom of the pit and brought you back.”
My father-in-law must have saved the unused rope lying around. Never did I imagine it would rot from moisture. The man continued explaining.
“So that’s how it was.”
Now my dream of becoming a ghostwriter ruling the Central Plains as a flaming skull is over.
“How’s your body?”
“I don’t think anything’s broken or injured.”
Must be thanks to all the training. Luckily, there’s nothing major wrong.
“That’s a relief. The investigators of the accident said you must have fallen near the bottom.”
“Huh? I distinctly…”
“It was a free fall from a height of four Zhang, which is known to be the height at which humans feel the most fear. So you momentarily lost consciousness.”
The man added it was nothing to be embarrassed about, as it was a common occurrence.
That’s strange.
I definitely felt like I fell from a really high place. Wasn’t it as high as I thought?
“You must have had a hard time carrying me up the cliff.”
“It was nothing. In fact, there’s a hidden staircase for the management right next to the cliff.”
“…”
Father, if you were going to get me a rope, couldn’t you have just told me where the staircase was?
“What about the exam?”
I confidently said I would participate but ended up in an accident. I can’t face Miss Zhuge and my mother-in-law now.
“The head of the family blames himself too, saying it’s his fault. But this was an accident; once you recover, you can try again.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“By the way, aren’t you hungry?”
“I just woke up… Ugh!”
As I lifted my upper body, I felt a sudden throbbing pain and bowed my head.
“Are you alright?!”
“Just a second. My temples…”
Have I been lying down for too long? My temples feel numb. I pressed my fingers to my head and raised my hand to signal I was fine.
“You’ve just woken up after several days, so your body might be weak. If you’re okay, let’s get you something to eat.”
With a headache, who feels like eating anything?
As I tried to refuse, the throbbing in my temples subsided, and a hidden voice within me suddenly spoke up.
“I’m hungry…”
How many days have I been lying down? I felt so famished I wanted to rush to a nearby shop.
I can’t help it.
“I’m definitely very hungry. If it’s alright, I’d like to ask for some food.”
“I’ll bring it immediately.”
——
“What’s this?”
As soon as I sat at the table, an unexpected dish was placed before me, not the porridge I had anticipated.
“Dumplings.”
“Dumplings?! Are these the famous dumplings from the Zhuge family?”
Dumplings! A delicacy enjoyed by people around the world. The story of their origin is quite something.
They say the God of the River was furious, and to calm the storm, one had to offer a rough tribute, but instead, they made dumplings to please the Water God. That tale is none other than that of Zhuge Kongming!
So essentially, the Zhuge family is a thousand-year-old dumpling restaurant that even my grandma’s 50-year-old pig’s feet place can’t compete with.
“Yes, it’s a dish we must serve to guests visiting the Zhuge family.”
“I’ve always wanted to try it, but how did I—?”
Surely, the Zhuge family is renowned for its dumplings. I was too shy to ask for dumplings, worried about sounding picky since I was already being treated like this.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the dumplings in front of me.
“I heard Master Kang mumbling in his sleep.”
“Is that so?”
“Please don’t hesitate; just eat.”
I never planned to refuse anyway.
The aroma of the dumplings wafted up, teasing my nose with the scent of high-quality flour. The meaty smell was absent, making my head spin.
Just the smell made it seem delicious.
I grabbed the meat immediately.
“This is deathly delicious!”
The dumpling skin was thinner than Northern-style, resembling Southern-style dumplings. It was elastic, chewy, and held together the stuffing without any fuss.
The juice spread smoothly across my tongue. No time to hide my surprise; as I chewed, the texture of the meat confidently asserted its existence.
A violent taste of meat. At the same time, the juice from the chives wrapped around the meat’s flavor, preventing it from being too greasy.
Perfectly traditional meat dumplings.
A thousand-year-old tradition that shows the old can be a splendid classic, not just outdated!
“Looks like you’re enjoying it.”
“Even though I just got up from my bed, I’m not struggling to eat at all. I want to keep eating.”
The Zhuge family dumplings are impressive enough to impress even the God of the River. Curiosity settled, and today, I might just become a steam locomotive powered by dumplings.
I’ll speak my impressions frankly.
“At our Zhuge family, we call that ‘delicious.’”
Do they think I’m some barbarian? Anyway, the sudden outburst of discrimination against barbarians by these Central Plains folks needs to be acknowledged.
“I’ll prepare more dishes.”
As I was about to say something, an unexpected dish was set before me.
“Noodles?”
Suddenly?
“I heard you were mumbling, so I prepared this. Do you not want it?”
“No, it makes sense now.”
Dumplings and noodles. It is quite the perfect combination.
“I’ll bring out the next dish.”
Dishes began to appear on the table as if waiting for this moment.
“This is…?”
“Dongpo pork, fish-duck soup, braised pork, sautéed vegetables, Suzhou fish, Nanjing duck, and this is—”
“Is that… alcohol?”
The man presented a small bottle containing a very fragrant substance.
“This is Ye Ah Hong. A medicinal liquor, perfect for a toast; just one glass, please.”
“Ye, Ye Ah Hong!”
“Looks like you wanted this kind of liquor.”
“…”
I was momentarily left speechless, looking at the dishes before me.
“Is there any food here that doesn’t appeal to you?”
“Haha…”
I liked everything on my plate. All these beautifully prepared dishes! I wanted to grab my chopsticks and try them immediately.
But.
I didn’t pick up the chopsticks; instead, I looked at the man.
“Is there something wrong?”
“…Who among the daughters of the Zhuge family recently got married?”
Without realizing it, my voice turned cold.
“What do you mean?”
“Ye Ah Hong is a tradition of a daughter saving this liquor for when she gets married. I’ve always wanted to try this.”
“That’s great! Master Kang seemed to have wanted this, so I brought it out.”
“Except that it was made with the customs from the Merdimun region, making it hard to find even in Hubei Province.”
“…!”
I recalled a martial novel I read when I was young. A scene where a hero presented Ye Ah Hong while seeking revenge for his dead daughter.
As a child, I thought I’d definitely try it once I grew up. Now I have this precious liquor before me. Foods I want to eat and liquor I want to drink, why is what spills out not my appetite but only a bitter laugh?
“Why didn’t you bring me a death map with the duck instead?”
Isn’t it odd? Once suspicion starts, it just grows and grows.
“When did I get up and sit at this table?” The walls seem to blur. I can’t see outside the window.
The man’s expression fades away. The world becomes hazy.
The man asked me, looking strangely surprised.
“…How did you know?”
How did I know?
“The food is just too much like something out of a martial arts dating sim!!!”
Everything came crumbling down in an instant.
——
“This isn’t a martial arts dating sim!!! …Ugh!”
When I opened my eyes, there was no ceiling above me.
I felt the cold stone beneath my back. Touching it with my fingertips, I realized it was an artificially laid flat stone.
What happened? I began desperately assessing my situation.
“I’m falling!!!”
In an instant, I’m becoming a wingless angel. The pit was my only hope, but I’m not falling as I wish.
In a struggle to survive, I recalled a conversation I had with Im Ha-yeon one day.
“You’ve been focusing too much on your toes since earlier.”
“Isn’t it natural to run on bamboo?”
“You’re only paying attention to what’s beneath you. You’re barely standing. To move forward, you need to focus your whole body.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“What you’re practicing isn’t just light body movement; it’s martial arts to control your whole being. It’s the Shadowless Body Technique that changes direction in midair. Should I try dropping from a height?”
“Let’s do that after I grow wings.”
“Right. It was thanks to the Shadowless Body Technique that I survived.”
Is this what it feels like to fully utilize all resources in a crisis? Using what I’ve barely learned, I adjusted direction midair and managed to grab onto a wall.
Thanks to that, I ended up exhausting all my internal energy and collapsed just before hitting the ground.
“Did the formation trigger while I lost consciousness?”
I mumbled as I struck the stone tablet with the name of the formation written on it.
[Appetite Control].
“I’ve complained about martial arts food, but did it really show me illusions of martial arts food? To be honest, I’m glad.”
Though that illusion did have some serious problems.
“Honestly, it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be.”
I didn’t come here and not eat anything.
I checked my physical condition. No breaks. No wounds. Did my mastery of the Shadowless Body Technique deepen? Oddly, my body feels lighter.
Alright. I’m in perfect condition to face the next challenge.
“Let’s go.”
I opened the door right in front of me.
