Kofi thanks to: Flowersky
“Are you just going to bother the apothecary again because of your intuition? Were you a childish bastard who bullies the person he likes? No, right? You would have known if you had fed him blood from the beginning, so why are you chasing him like a rabbit?”
“It’s my last resort, damn it. If he drinks my blood and dies, I’ll have to search all over again.”
“Well… That’s true. Hey, anyway, leave the apothecary alone. The guys even said they were dying because they were bored digging into the apothecary.”
Of course, just looking at the report, it was already obviously boring.
That was, if it hadn’t been for the incident of coming down from the mountain at night and the strange 5-story tree trunk.
“Muwon.”
Tae Cheonoh, with his arms on his knees, looked up at Muwon.
“You also need to learn how to admit your mistakes.”
“Says the guy who pissed himself.”
“Ha, that felt so fucking good. I was so upset that I lost some money. You bastard, look at me. Even if you do whatever you want, you won’t be hated. Because why? You’re rich, have a big dick, your face is also good. Who could hate you? So, whether the apothecary is a Hwa or not… I mean, he was fine even after drinking your blood, so he isn’t a Hwa, right? Tae Muwon, don’t you like the circumstantial evidence?”
Tae Cheonoh’s tongue was long.
“All the circumstances point to it not being true, but if you are so interested, I think it means something else. But you’re hopeless with the apothecary anyway.”
He thought it was funny to see him spinning tales and rambling alone, so Muwon prompted, wondering how far he would go.
“Why?”
“You took off his clothes, fed him blood, and acted like a total madman. Do you think it’s fine if you just give him 20,000 hwan? No way. When you gave it to him, you should have said ‘Hm? Oppa was too harsh, wasn’t I?’ and patted him on the back. Only then would there be some hope. If it’s not enough to be sweet and kind, you can then do a background investigation behind their back. Then, they will be very favorable.”
Muwon responded to Tae Cheonoh’s nonsense with a laugh.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Fuck, then shall I call the apothecary ‘oppa’?”
“Let? Qts jgf sbe…?”
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“Sweet, huh.”
The face that spoke of “sweetness” was full of disquiet. However, Tae Cheonoh did not realize it and grumbled on his own.
“Hey, good idea! If you’re interested, approach gently. Ha, my tears are blocking my vision. Our Muwon, who didn’t know love, fell for someone who wasn’t even a woman, and an older man at that.”
The boredom on Muwon’s previously indifferent face disappeared, and interest appeared.
“Oh, that might be fun too.”
A malicious smile appeared on Muwon’s face, as if he remembered something fun. It was a smile like that of an evil god wondering how to play with a helpless human.
***
The dockside was noisy, for a whale fishing boat, the largest fishing boat in Cheonghwa Town, succeeded in hunting. It had been almost a month since they set sail.
Cheonghwa Town, which had no special products, occasionally had exchanges with the 1st Continent thanks to whale hunting. However, the whaling ships that went out to hunt often came back empty-handed, so a successful hunt was a cause for celebration in Cheonghwa Town. In addition, the ship returning today carried the surprising news that it had captured a sperm whale.
Sperm whales had too much fat to be used for food, but the refined oil was used as fuel for warships and luxury ships. Additionally, the ambergris that came from the sperm whale’s intestines was called the treasure of the sea. It was used as an ingredient in the finest perfumes, and it was priceless as the name suggested.
Even merchants from the 1st Continent who did not visit Cheonghwa Town for some time had already formed a camp at the dockside to buy ambergris.
Hearing the news that merchants from the 1st Continent had arrived, Cheongyeon was busy from the morning. He was wondering if he might be able to find dried Boksu flowers today. Of course, there was no way merchants would bring dried Boksu flowers, which were not worth any money, to Cheonghwa Town. However, if he asked them to find the flowers, he might get them later.
The problem was when merchants from the 1st Continent entered Cheonghwa Town. They didn’t even set foot in Cheonghwa Town except for the arrival of sperm whales, and at most, a sperm whale was caught once every three months. If Cheongyeon was unlucky, there were many times when he wasted money for over half a year.
On days when merchants from the 1st Continent arrived, there was always a large market set up on the dockside. As it was a major event, Cheongyeon arrived at the dock with a bicycle loaded with medicinal herbs. The new bike he recently bought made climbing hills much easier than before.
Shop owners from each region brought their goods like Cheongyeon and lined up the goods for sale on the floor. The dockside entrance and the convenient central seats had already been occupied. Each of them had a flag with a banknote drawn on it. It was a picture of Cheonghwa Town or a 100-hwan bill used on each continent.
The center of the 100-hwan bill depicted a skull surrounded by snakes and flowers, a mark representing the Merchants’ Association.
Not everyone could join the Merchants’ Association if they wanted to. You could only join if you consistently made sales over a certain amount. Dandelion Bar, where Cheongyeon worked, was also part of the Merchants’ Union, but ‘Cheongyeon Apothecary’ could not even dip a toe in it.
Cheongyeon settled down in an inconspicuous corner of the closet and spread out an old blanket. On top of it, trimmed bellflowers, sorrel with beard roots removed, dried dandelions, cut branches of sycamore tree, etc. were arranged.
A handwritten sign with the name of the medicine and simple efficacy information was also placed. As the previous client disappeared, he also started selling dried lotus tea leaves.
[Lotus tea (15g) 300 hwan – nourishing tonic]
If he said that it was good for virility, there might be a dispute, so he just lumped it together. It was so expensive that few people would buy it anyway. He just hoped that a merchant from the 1st Continent would recognize the value of the item and buy it.
“Hmm? Why is lotus tea so expensive?”
A man wearing a dark blue coat and a stylish fedora pointed to the price written on the sign. Judging from the crisply ironed coat, he seemed to be a merchant from the 1st Continent.
“It’s expensive, since it’s effective.”
“To increase immunity?”
“For stamina.”
The merchant, who was laughing at the insignificant appearance, showed curiosity at Cheongyeon’s response. Then he leaned towards Cheongyeon, who was squatting.
“Are you giving me a signal now?”
It’s been a long time since he had been flirted with like this. Cheongyeon answered bluntly.
“No. I only sell medicinal herbs.”
“How expensive are you going to charge? Would 5,000 hwan be enough?”
The merchant pointed to the bag carried by the servant behind him and said that he had a lot of money.
“As I said, I only sell medicinal herbs.”
“But you’re mentioning stamina?”
Although Cheongyeon was often harassed by the people of Cheonghwa Town, that was as far as it went.
“I’ll take care of you, so don’t be so snobby.”
The people of Cheonghwa Town did not push forward like the 1st Continent merchants.
‘Cheongyeon, the apothecary, brings misfortune to those around.’ It was because the fact was not treated as a mere rumor.
Cheongyeon also knew the rumors surrounding him well. The false rumor that the flower shop owner who raised him drowned and the truth that those who tried to harm him disappeared without a word.
Cheongyeon let go of most of the rumors and neither denied nor confirmed them. However, whenever he heard that the flower shop owner was trying to sell him to pirates, he vehemently denied it. However, the rumor was never corrected.
He squatted down and looked up at the merchant who was touching this medicinal herb for no reason. If he wasn’t going to buy it, he wanted him to leave quickly instead of dirtying them with his hands. Cheongyeon didn’t feel like asking that merchant for any favors. It was clear that if he requested dried Boksu flowers, he would attach strange conditions.
“Hwang Ran-nim, I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”
Cheongyeon turned his head at the unfamiliar voice he heard at first glance.
In the direction he looked stood Saturn, the bear-like man. As soon as Saturn saw Cheongyeon, he was greatly startled. His eyes looked like he had spotted someone who shouldn’t be here. Cheongyeon nodded his head towards Saturn, whom he had not seen in a long time. Saturn, still frozen, shifted his eyes here and there and looked around.
“Hey, I didn’t go to the apothecary. We met by chance outside, you know.”
Saturn spoke gibberish with a burning face. Then, he nodded his head and took out a bill from his suit pocket. Checking the sign more confidently than before, he pointed to a certain place.
[Lotus tea (15g) 300 hwan – nourishing tonic]
“Is this the most expensive one here?”
“Yes.”
“Then please give me this.”
Thanks for the chapter ❤️
Saturn is such a cutie patootie 🥰🥰
Thank you for the translation
Oh boy he’s gonna start harassing even more, ahhhhh what’s he gonna do!
Saturn is a keeper lol
I wonder if Muwon is setting a trap right now with this merchant guy!
Actually this merchant reminds me of Muwon with the way he talks
no entiendo el tema de la sangre de Muwon
Aw Saturn is adorable (so far)
Saturn is my husband, it was true love!
(/▽＼*)｡o○♡
Saturn’s bae atp