[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 53

Sitting on the wooden porch, enjoying the scenery, I shared ramen with Baekseol.

“Finished eating?”

“Yeah, it was tasty.”

After finishing the meal, Baekseol climbed onto my lap, and I petted her while pulling out a cigarette and putting it in my mouth.

“Ahhh, nice. I should use this place as a villa.”

Staring blankly at the clear sky while smoking, I thought, “Is this what happiness feels like?” Thanks to the soft and warm Baekseol, even my hands felt happy.

After exhaling the last puff of smoke, I stubbed out the cigarette.

“Baekseol, I need to go hunting.”

Baekseol, who had been sitting on my lap enjoying my touch, closed her eyes and when my hand stopped, she playfully tapped her front paws as if complaining.

“Since we’re here, we should level up before leaving. If we wait any longer, the sun will set.”

After giving Baekseol one last pet, I set her down on the porch.

“Baekseol, summon for me.”

[Ding!]

<Basic Training Wooden Doll is being summoned.>

As I raised my arms and prepared, the wooden doll charged at me the moment it was summoned.

After facing it several times, its movements were predictable, moving mechanically like a machine.

I dodged. Then I kicked.

Even with just these two simple actions, my stamina drained significantly.

Using Heavenly Eyes for a brief moment, I twisted my upper body fiercely and delivered a powerful kick with all my strength, infusing it with a Heavy Hit.

—Crack!

The wooden doll’s head split and disappeared like smoke.

“Phew…”

As I got more familiar with the movements and felt the immediate joy of growth, I hunted for a while. Leveling up was just around the corner.

[Growth Rate: 96% (96/100)]

[Remaining Money: 640,000 won]

“Haah… My body really doesn’t want to move. My eyes feel so dry too.”

“Master. Are you going to stop?”

“No, I should finish strong. Summon for me.”

<Basic Training Wooden Doll is being summoned.>

I stared at the wooden doll that appeared immediately after my words, then mustered the last of my strength and charged at it.

Dodging the expected punch, I kicked with all my might towards the doll’s groin.

“Ahhh! Nutcracker kick!”

Now, the naturally infused Heavy Hit and the smoothly extended kick landed squarely on the wooden doll’s bare crotch.

—Crack!

With the sound of wood splitting, the doll split from the groin up to the head and disappeared.

[Ding!]

[Growth Rate: 100% (100/100)]

[Remaining Money: 660,000 won]

[●●●●● is advancing to the next stage.]

[ㅁ○●●●]

[Entry Level 2nd Stage]

◈Comprehensive Martial Arts

◈Basic Fist and Foot Techniques

◈Basic Footwork

◈Basic Lightness Skill

◈Basic Breathing Techniques

[Growth Rate: 0]

“Ugh… Jin-gak? Bleh…”

As soon as I finished dealing with the last wooden doll, some strange knowledge flowed into my mind.

The world felt like it was spinning, and I bent my head, feeling nauseous. Just then, Baekseol jumped and flew over.

I felt the weight on my shoulder and the touch of Baekseol’s cute front paw stroking my cheek.

“Master, are you okay?”

“My stomach… feels queasy. I think I’m gonna die. Whew…”

After taking deep breaths for a while, I started to feel the dizziness fade.

Meanwhile, Baekseol kept rubbing my cheek without stopping. I picked her up and held her in my arms.

“I’m okay now, thanks, Baekseol.”

“Master, rest now.”

“Yeah, I should. Can we go back to where we were?”

At my question, Baekseol flicked her front paw, and in the blink of an eye, we were back on the bed in the rooftop room.

“We’re back.”

The endless wide field and clouds were gone, and I felt a bit suffocated.

As I was about to let out a frustrated scream, I felt something soft in my arms and looked down to see Baekseol snuggled up.

“Baekseol, can you stay here?”

“Where I belong is by your side, Master.”

“I see…”

The quiet room, which always felt dirty whenever I turned off the broadcast, now felt brighter thanks to the little Baekseol in my arms.

“Let’s wash up and sleep. I’m so tired I could collapse.”

I thought about soaking in the cheap bathtub I had cleaned, but I was too exhausted, so I decided to just take a quick shower.

I took off my clothes, entered the bathroom, and turned on the water. Warm water poured out from the showerhead attached to the wall.

“Baekseol, can I shampoo you?”

“What’s shampoo?”

“It makes your fur soft and fragrant, but you’re already like that, so maybe you don’t need it?”

“I want it.”

I pumped the shampoo once and rubbed it on Baekseol. Her body was so small that just one pump covered her completely in foam, making her invisible.

“Pfft. Where did Baekseol go?”

Baekseol, who had disappeared into the foam, jumped up onto my head and started wetting herself with the shower water.

“Baekseol, if you do that, all the foam will flow down onto my head.”

Even as she rolled around on my head playing, she didn’t fall off. I thought, “She’s not like a normal rabbit.”

“What kind of rabbit loves water that much?”

“I like it.”

Thanks to Baekseol playing on my head, I had to wash my hair twice before I could finally step out of the bathroom.

“Baekseol, come here. I’ll dry you off.”

I had sold almost everything in the house to open the shop, and except for my phone and computer, the hair dryer was pretty much the only electronic device left.

While I dried myself off, Baekseol stood there with her wet body…

Baekseol, who had been wandering around the house, heard my voice and came over.

“Where are you wandering off to? Come here.”

Baekseol jumped onto my lap in one go, and I started drying her fur with a hair dryer.

“This place looks weird.”

“Seems pretty normal to me. What was it like where you came from?”

“Dark and red.”

“What kind of neighborhood is that?”

As I talked to Baekseol and dried her, she flipped around without me having to say anything.

“All done. You’re all fluffy now. Let’s go to bed.”

I picked up Baekseol and threw myself onto the bed. Exhaustion washed over me, and after washing my face, I lowered my hand to find Baekseol settling on my palm.

“Do you really have to settle there?”

“My spot.”

I turned to my side and watched Baekseol rub her face all over my palm before curling up and falling asleep.

***

As I squinted my eyes against the sunlight, the first thing I saw was Baekseol curled up and sleeping on my palm.

I felt bad about moving because I didn’t want to wake her, so I stayed still.

I picked up my phone with my other hand and saw a ton of messages from last night.

Lin Eonni: “Autumn, are you home?”

Lin Eonni: “Did you eat dinner?”

…

…

I ignored the pile of questions and checked the TripleNet community, only to find chaos.

Title: [Bangjang, if you’re dead, answer me]

[Red Parade]

“Are you really dead?”

[dhgkaak] “I’m dead, how am I supposed to answer?”

ㄴ[Absentee Cover] “LOL”

ㄴ[Hallelujah] “Did you trade your brain and money with the president?”

[Wasabi Soybean Powder] “Bangjang, get your act together!!!!!”

Eonni had sent a barrage of texts after I fell asleep, and TripleNet had gone on break without any notice, so the place was a mess.

“Damn it. This is driving me crazy.”

I must have used up all my energy because even though I fell asleep early, I didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky.

As I was checking my phone to figure out what was going on, I felt a wriggling sensation on my palm, as if Baekseol had noticed I was awake.

“Master.”

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“I’m hungry.”

“I just woke up. We’ll eat in a bit.”

“I’m hungryyy.”

I handed Baekseol a flower I had just bought.

[Ding!]

[Remaining balance: 560,000 won]

“Here’s your favorite white bellflower.”

I handed the flower to Baekseol and got up to smoke a cigarette. Baekseol held the flower in her mouth and climbed onto my shoulder.

“Won’t the cigarette smell?”

No answer, just busy plucking the petals.

While watching Baekseol eating, I grabbed a cigarette and went out to the yard.

“Whew— I just want to roll around on the training ground porch.”

But thinking I should still handle things, I called my sister.

– Ga-eul!!!

“Sister.”

– Why didn’t you check your messages, ahhhh!

“I fell asleep early yesterday, so I didn’t see them. Sorry.”

– Oh, I see. It’s okay!

“Okay. I’ll make sure to check next time.”

– Got it. Ga-eul, I’m working right now, so let’s talk later.

“Okay, okay. I also need to explain to the kids why I suddenly went on a break without saying anything.”

– Okay! Hang up, I’ll call you later.

“Alright.”

After talking with my sister, I put out the cigarette I had smoked and went back inside, sitting in front of the computer.

“Baekseol, I’m going to talk to someone else, so don’t interrupt. If a rabbit talks here, people will find it weird.”

“Only my owner can hear my voice.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah.”

Feeling somewhat relieved, I switched the microphone and turned on the TripleNet broadcast.

[Lady Han Ga-eul has started the broadcast.]

<Lol>

Since visiting Cheol, it seemed like viewers were joining faster.

[LOL the title is so annoying]

[Bangjang!!!!! Do you want to see me die?]

[Bangjang, do you really want to die?]

“My babies, come quickly.”

My words got an immediate response.

[Ah, crazy LOL]

[That voice sounds familiar]

“It’s the 3,000-won microphone you guys loved.”

[Give me back my healing]

[You still haven’t thrown it away? LOL]

[I’m going crazy I’m going crazy I’m going crazy]

“I’m sorry. Have my little ones calmed down? If you have, I’ll switch it out.”

[Ah LOL let’s make up (forced)]

[It’s so crackly LOL]

[Wow, our Bangjang’s way of making up is so creative LOL]

[Sorry sorry sorry]