In a dark and gloomy warehouse.
Namgung Ji was squatting in a corner with an anxious expression.
'How did I end up hiding in a place like this like a rat...'
There was no need to think deeply.
The reason he was suffering here now was solely because of that brat.
Knowing what that brat would demand of him if they were to run into each other, Namgung Ji was hiding himself so as not to run into him in the first place.
'I should have been suspicious when that brat accepted the spar. No, who would have thought that my second brother would lose in a spar in the first place?'
Namgung Ji had also been confident of Namgung Hae's victory.
Otherwise, would he have been crazy enough to bet a thousand-year-old wild ginseng on a bet with that brat?
But in the end, he had lost the bet with Namgung Il, and now he was in a situation where he had to give him the thousand-year-old wild ginseng.
'In this situation, the atmosphere is not right to ask my mother for a thousand-year-old wild ginseng...'
Since the spar that day, Suseonghwa's mood had been running from the worst to the worst every day.
It was like a powder keg that could explode at any mont...
Although no sparks had flown to Namgung Ji yet, Namgung Hae had already been swept up in the aftermath and had disappeared.
"Hae-ah, I'm disappointed. Your grandfather was also unable to contain his disappointnt and left the clan."
"...I'm sorry."
"Think about what you did wrong while in closed-door training until the beginning of next year."
"M-mother! Closed-door training? No matter how much, that's..."
"Are you going to disappoint
and your grandfather again?"
"..."
"You must beco much stronger than you are now. Do you understand what I an?"
Last night, Namgung Hae had finally entered the Closed-Door Training Cave.
There, one could only eat grain pills and water, and could not receive proper sunlight.
Literally, to continue a lonely training alone, completely cut off from the world... that was closed-door training.
Shiver—
Rembering yesterday's events, Namgung Ji's body trembled without him realizing it.
Namgung Hae, who had been forced into the Closed-Door Training Cave.
If he trained there, he might be able to achieve greater accomplishnts than usual.
But to be locked up alone in a dark place, eating only water and grain pills for almost half a year... Namgung Ji felt that he could never do that.
'It's best not to get on my mother's bad side for now.'
Seeing Namgung Hae enter the Closed-Door Training Cave, Namgung Ji was even more unable to ask Suseonghwa for the thousand-year-old wild ginseng.
If she were to find out that the thousand-year-old wild ginseng was not going into his stomach, but Namgung Il's... he might be locked up in the Closed-Door Training Cave forever and never be able to co out.
'That can't happen!'
That was the reason why Namgung Ji was now hiding in this warehouse like a rat.
At least a month... only after that much ti had passed would he be able to cautiously talk to Suseonghwa.
'I'll have to hide here until then...'
Thinking that, a deep sigh escaped Namgung Ji's lips without him realizing it.
If only he hadn't written this notarized docunt or whatever, he wouldn't have had to hide like this.
Namgung Ji untied the bundle he had brought before coming here.
Haaah—
Seeing the rice balls in the bundle, another sigh escaped Namgung Ji's lips.
To think that these rice balls were his lunch and dinner today.
Compared to the als he usually ate, it was truly shabby.
"I guess I have to eat this..."
His second brother was probably not even able to eat these rice balls right now.
Thinking that, did it provide so comfort... no, it was more miserable.
Thinking that the brat who had made him and his brother like this was probably out there nonchalantly eating at, Namgung Ji's body trembled without him realizing it.
Rumble—
...Forget it.
Thinking about that would only make him hungrier and more annoyed.
Namgung Ji accepted reality and picked up a rice ball.
Chomp—
As he bit into the rice ball, Namgung Ji's eyes widened slightly at the savory taste that spread on his tongue.
'M-at!'
To think there was at inside the rice ball!
Namgung Ji was very happy, looking inside the rice ball as if he had discovered a treasure.
"Then I'll be going..."
"Young Master!"
"...?"
"Good luck."
Why was the face of the maid who had handed him the bundle coming to mind at this mont... Namgung Ji forced himself to hold back the lump rising in his chest and chewed the rice ball carefully.
Squeak.
"...?"
Namgung Ji stopped eating the rice ball and looked at where the sound ca from.
A rat was secretly looking this way from a corner.
If he had found it normally, he would have kicked it, asking what it was looking at, but the mont he saw the rat, Namgung Ji's heart ached with an unknown sense of kinship.
"...Yes, you and I are in the sa boat."
Squeak.
"I think I'll be indebted to you for a while. You have so too."
Namgung Ji said and tore off a piece of the rice ball and threw it to the rat.
And a mont later.
Namgung Ji had finished eating the rice ball and was now talking to the rat.
"Kkang-jwi, how long have you been living here?"
"Squeak—"
"It's been a while. Is it okay if I live here with you for a while?"
"Squeak—"
"...Thank you. You're a good guy, aren't you?"
Namgung Ji had to hide here until night fell anyway.
Just then, a talking companion had appeared by chance.
Although he looked like a madman at a glance, Namgung Ji was even giving the rat a na and pouring out all the inner thoughts he couldn't tell others.
"Kkang-jwi, don't carelessly put your seal on paper."
"Squeak—"
"If you do it wrong, you'll be screwed like ."
"Is that why you're hiding?"
"Yes, if I run into that Namgung Il brat in this situation..."
Namgung Ji stopped talking and shut his mouth, suddenly feeling a chilly aura.
What was that voice that was directed at him just now?
At first, he thought he had heard an auditory hallucination, but Namgung Ji soon realized that was not the case.
"You're screwed, aren't you?"
"..."
"Now, I'll give you ti to make an excuse. Three, two, one..."
"No!"
Namgung Ji hurriedly turned his head and shouted.
Then, he saw Namgung Il's figure in front of him.
He was sure he hadn't heard the door open, so Namgung Ji could only be puzzled as to when Namgung Il had co behind him.
"What do you an, no?"
"Th-that's..."
When Namgung Il asked, Namgung Ji hesitated and his words trailed off.
No matter how you looked at it, this situation looked like he was hiding here to avoid Namgung Il.
Just then, Namgung Il rustled sothing out of his clothes and showed it to Namgung Ji.
"Namgung Ji will imdiately provide a thousand-year-old wild ginseng if Namgung Il wins the spar with Namgung Hae."
"...!"
"If this is violated, the value of the thousand-year-old wild ginseng will be converted into money, and ten tis that amount will be paid."
Namgung Il summarized the contents of the notarized docunt and then rolled it up again and put it back in his clothes.
Even at that mont, one person was with his mouth agape, as if frozen.
Namgung Il looked down at such a Namgung Ji and said calmly.
"I don't care which one you choose."
"...!"
"Will you give
the thousand-year-old wild ginseng right now, or will you give
ten tis that amount?"
"W-wait a minute!"
Namgung Ji seed to have co to his senses and hurriedly began to rummage through his clothes.
A mont later, a piece of silk appeared from Namgung Ji's clothes.
Namgung Il knew imdiately that there was sothing inside that silk.
"S-sorry for being late! I'll give it to you now, so please forgive !"
"..."
Namgung Il silently received the silk that Namgung Ji was holding out.
And when he peeked inside the silk, a root of wild ginseng revealed itself, and Namgung Il remained silent and looked down at the wild ginseng for a while.
Gulp—
Seeing that, Namgung Ji felt as if his throat was burning with tension.
What he had just given Namgung Il was not a thousand-year-old wild ginseng, but just an ordinary wild ginseng.
Of course, it was a high-grade one among wild ginsengs, but even so, its value was clearly lower compared to a thousand-year-old wild ginseng.
'I hope he falls for it...'
That wild ginseng was sothing Namgung Ji had prepared in case of such a situation.
But to think he would actually have to pull it out.
Of course, if Namgung Il fell for it, there would be no problem, but if he were to be caught that it was a fake, that would really be the end.
'It'll be fine... I heard it's impossible for a non-expert to distinguish between a real and a fake.'
Especially just by looking at it like that, it's absolutely impossible to distinguish.
Of course, if he were to take it later, Namgung Il might notice that sothing was strange, but by then, the wild ginseng would have already disappeared into his stomach, wouldn't it?
By then, there would be no more physical evidence, so if he just insisted that he had given a legitimate item, no matter how much of a notarized docunt existed, he wouldn't be able to say anything more to him.
'I just have to get through this mont... As long as that gets into his stomach.'
Still, it was a thod that had a risk, so he had tried not to use it as much as possible.
Since he had been discovered by Namgung Il like this, he had no choice but to bet everything on this now.
"..."
In the silence, Namgung Il showed no action and just continued to look down at the wild ginseng.
He wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at it anyway, so why was he taking so long?
In the end, Namgung Ji, like a thief with a guilty conscience, couldn't hold it in and opened his mouth.
"What's wrong? The item is genuine, so stop..."
"Hey, Namgung Ji."
Just then, Namgung Il called Namgung Ji in a cold voice.
"Do I look like a pushover to you?"
"...Huh?"
"Where did you get a fake and try to lie?"
How did Namgung Il know that it was a fake?
For a mont, Namgung Ji was at a loss for breath with that question, but he soon ca to his senses and imdiately refuted those words.
"Why is that a fake!"
"..."
"I gave you a real thousand-year-old wild ginseng!"
It's do or die now.
Namgung Il probably wasn't claiming it was a fake with concrete evidence.
Thinking that he was just testing him, Namgung Ji continued to speak.
"I get it! You're trying to extort more money from
like that, aren't you?"
"..."
"That's you violating the terms! How can you make such a baseless claim without any evidence..."
"There is evidence."
"...Huh?"
Namgung Ji had a blank face for a mont.
To think that there was evidence that it was a fake.
He had thought that was also a bluff, but for that, words that sounded too expert-like began to pour out of Namgung Il's mouth.
"There are quite a few ways to distinguish wild ginseng, but the easiest way is to look at this head part."
"...Head?"
"This upper part here."
Namgung Il said and kindly pointed to the part with his finger.
"Anyway, the older the wild ginseng, the longer and more nurous the nodes in this part beco."
"..."
"This much... would be about fifty years old. It's a good enough wild ginseng."
That's accurate.
He was sure he had heard that it was fifty years old when he obtained the wild ginseng, so Namgung Ji knew that those words were not just nonsense.
"And the sll. People usually think that the older the wild ginseng, the stronger the scent, right?"
"..."
"But a thousand-year-old wild ginseng is not. It's actually close to odorless."
"..."
"And you can also tell by looking at the fine roots. A thousand-year-old wild ginseng doesn't have this many fine roots."
"..."
"Want
to say more?"
Namgung Il asked in a calm voice.
But Namgung Ji couldn't answer, with a blank face.
Why Namgung Il knew so much about wild ginseng, Namgung Ji naturally couldn't know the reason.
"...It's all nonsense!"
"What, you're still trying to deny it?"
"Yes! How can I believe what you're saying..."
"Then let's go to an expert."
"...Huh?"
"You said you can't believe . Then we should go to soone we can trust to confirm."
At those words, Namgung Ji broke out in a cold sweat.
Now, anyone could see the flustered look on his face.
And.
Namgung Il spoke to Namgung Ji again with a cold smile.
"Before that, let's write one more notarized docunt."
"..."
"If this wild ginseng is a real thousand-year-old wild ginseng, I won't take it. But if it's revealed that this is a fake... what will you bet?"
Those words finally sealed the deal.
To add another notarized docunt in this situation.
It was a battle where the result was already visible, so Namgung Ji naturally had no choice but to raise the white flag.
(End of Chapter)
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