RHDWK 2

Chapter 2

“What? 7 jeon for one box? Please give me a small discount!”

“Ahem, act reasonable, young lady.”

“Tsk.”

I grumbled as I picked out coins from my purse and handed them to the herbal medicine merchant.

This is exactly why it’s better to go pick herbs in the mountains myself. Market prices are far too expensive.

“Tell you what. A high-grade medicinal herb is arriving today, so I’ll give you the right to order it in advance.”

“Eing, how much are you going to rip me off for this time? What is it?”

“A medicinal herb descended from the heavens, none other than Cheonma! What do you think, doesn’t that tempt you?”

I flinched at the merchant’s words.

He was surely referring to Cheonma, the vegetable herb. Perhaps because I still remembered being killed by Sima Jin, my body automatically reacted to every single syllable of that name.

“What’s with that dubious look? It’s a wonderful herb!”

“I know it’s a great herb. So how much is it?”

“How about 5 jeon for one root?”

The herb merchant stretched out his palm towards me.

With a triumphant expression, he acted as if he were the only person in this market willing to sell it at such a low price.

“Ha! Not for a whole box, but for just one root?”

“You know far too little about the world, young lady. This is a rare herb that only grows in high-mountain regions.”

The merchant shook his head at my complaint, treating me like an ignorant child.

Still, it definitely seemed like it would come in handy if I had it.

“Hmm, alright. Coincidentally, I came into a lump sum of money recently.”

A few days ago—whether it was an error by the original author or not—a customer buying a 2-jeon herb threw down a whole silver coin with grand flair.

I thought about returning it, but feeling slightly wicked, I slipped the silver coin straight into my pocket.

Thanks to that, I earned a plump month’s worth of living expenses.

“Please deliver it to my herbal medicine shop!”

“Alright, I will. A courier from the escort agency should deliver it around the hour of the Shin [3–5 PM].”

After finishing my shopping, I returned to the shop.

Two years had passed since my mother was dragged away by mysterious people.

I had hidden for a week in the medicine shop, which was set apart from our main residence, waiting for her, but she never returned.

Perhaps the reason I had no parents when I first possessed So-baek’s body was because I lost them during this time.

To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t be that sad even if I lost a mother.

Having been an orphan who never had a family, I didn’t know how much family could impact one’s life.

However, family turned out to be a much bigger presence than I had thought.

Even if it was only for a year, and even if I was a fake rather than her real child…….

Regardless, I had become Dang So-baek, and she was my mother. There was no way I couldn’t feel sad.

I didn’t know whether this grief belonged to the original So-baek or to me, nor did it matter.

After surviving, I spent days frantically searching for any trace of my mother, but I couldn’t find a single clue.

The only thing I could guess was that it was the work of wicked villains like the Demonic Cult.

Since my mother told me to live, I couldn’t just collapse and give up.

I gathered the intact belongings that hadn’t burned down and moved permanently into the medicine shop.

For two years, I inherited and modestly ran the shop my mother left behind.

Fortunately, since this was a world disguised as a martial arts universe, when I told the neighbors that we were attacked by bandits, they understood with pitying expressions.

Thanks to that, the shop enjoyed a steady stream of customers.

Returning from the market, I froze while organizing the herbs I bought as I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror.

Amidst my long black hair, strands of faint white hair were beginning to sprout.

“That was a close call. Where did I put the medicine?”

Rummaging through the cabinet, I looked for the medicine I took once every month.

“Found it.”

This medicine was handed to me by my mother—a poison that temporarily suppressed the spiritual energy of a mythical creature. When that energy drained from my body, the white hair characteristic of the White Snake dyed itself black.

Thanks to this, I was able to live as an ordinary human for two years.

While organizing the herb boxes, a knock sounded at the door.

“Who is it?”

I wiped the dirt off my hands and opened the door.

“…….”

“I heard you ordered Cheonma.”

A suspicious man wearing a bamboo hat with a black veil drooping down stood there alone.

I did order Cheonma, but…….

Wondering if he was the courier delivering the herbs I ordered this morning, I looked closely at his hands.

“Excuse me…… where is the Cheonma?”

“I am that Cheonma.”

The man placed his hand over his chest and spoke with a dead serious face.

“…….”

I tilted my head, wondering if I had misheard him.

“I ordered a medicinal herb though?”

“Since you said Cheonma, I somehow thought you were referring to me…… Was I a vegetable in my previous life?”

Is this guy insane?

As I stared at him in utter disbelief, the man pulled back his veil and lifted the hat concealing his face.

Wait, where have I seen this man before?

Ebony hair falling loosely around him, and red eyes just like mine.

“This one’s name is Sima Jin. It is a name that will soon echo across the entire world, so remember it even in the underworld, So-baek.”

The moment my eyes met his, the final words of that bastard I had tried so hard to forget flashed through my mind.

As I realized his identity, my hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably.

It felt as though the agony that consumed my entire body when he stabbed me was rushing back all over again.

Wait, hold on a second.

It’s way too early for Sima Jin to be looking for me!

Besides, what’s with this youthful face, and what is this crazy nonsense about him being Cheonma?

Could this be divine punishment for pocketing that extra silver coin a few days ago without telling the truth?

“So, I believe the Cheonma you ordered, young lady, must be me.”

I ordered Cheonma to use as a medicinal herb, so why on earth did the actual Heavenly Demon show up instead?!

“What…… what on earth…….”

Good grief, I was so flabbergasted that words couldn’t even form properly.

Why on earth is Sima Jin here right now?

Was he supposed to be here around this time?

No matter how hard I thought about it, there was no setting in the novel where he met Dang So-baek at this point in time.

Granted, Dang So-baek was a one-line throwaway character so I couldn’t know everything, but before my regression, Sima Jin had clearly treated me like someone he was meeting for the very first time.

What kind of messed-up original plot is this!

And above all!

Leaving behind Sima Jin, who was spouting utter nonsense, I ran straight back to the market.

“The Cheonma is right here.”

“Honestly, don’t you know doing business relies on trust with customers?”

“My apologies, haha.”

With a hearty chuckle, the herb merchant handed me a small medicine box.

Do you know how much this cost me?

Grumbling as I turned to leave the shop, someone approached me with an awkward laugh.

Judging by his uniform, he looked like a courier from the local escort agency.

Wasn’t this the person who was supposed to bring the Cheonma to my shop?

Not that ultimate villain spouting nonsense that he himself was Cheonma.

“I am truly sorry, young lady.”

“Who is that man? Is he a courier?”

I knew better than anyone that Sima Jin couldn’t possibly be a courier.

I only asked because I was curious why a young master who should be at the headquarters of the Demonic Cult—a mastermind who shouldn’t come looking for me for at least another ten years—had shown up at my shop.

“We picked up a pretty skilled guy recently and thought he’d make a good courier, but……”

“P-Picked up?”

You picked up the ultimate mastermind?!

Are the couriers at this agency acting like female leads in web novels or something?

You know, the classic female lead trope of picking up the villain off the street!

“Man, I had no idea that guy was a fool.”

The courier rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, apologizing repeatedly.

Something was definitely off.

Sima Jin had been frail since birth, so he shouldn’t have left the Demonic Cult’s headquarters more than once in his lifetime.

Why on earth was the guy who belonged at the Demonic Cult picked up by an escort agency to become a courier, and to make matters worse, why was he delivering wrong orders?

And somehow, Sima Jin was being treated like an idiot.

Come to think of it, the Sima Jin I saw earlier seemed so missing a screw that I wondered if he was really the same guy.

I mean, what sane person claims they were a vegetable in their past life?

Because of that, I didn’t feel a sense of crisis.

Is this a dream after all? Have I been seeing things lately because my body is weak?

Clicking my tongue, I took the medicine box and returned to the shop.

“…….”

What the… why is he still here?

The herb Cheonma was in my hands, and his business here should have been finished…… yet Sima Jin was sitting comfortably on the chair outside my shop.

Would you like to continue with the next chapter?