Episode 9
Hey, you!
"You're busted, just come on out!"
At my words, Pippi, who had been hiding behind the gate, revealed himself.
"Ppi? (You knew?)"
"Duh. How could I not notice you following me so close?"
"Ppi, ppi...? (O-obviously following? Who?)"
"You."
"Ppiik! (Ugh!)"
Pippi, caught red-handed, let out a groan.
"So, you got anything to say for yourself?"
At my question, Pippi hesitantly approached me and bowed his head.
"Ppii.... Ppi. (Sorry. I thought it was an easy path, so I really didn't think you'd get lost in the mountains.)"
'I was planning to get an apology when I saw Pippi again....'
But seeing Pippi so bummed out, I felt bad.
"Okay, I forgive you. And about the shinseoncho... Thank you for getting it for me."
"Ppi! (If you want more, I can get you more anytime, so just tell me!)"
'Ugh, he's going to get me more?'
It's been a few days since I stopped taking that nasty herbal medicine, but I can still taste how bitter it was. Just thinking about it makes my mouth pucker.
"What I had was plenty. So don't bother getting any more. Anyway, I gotta get going to the Ma-gyo, so see ya."
I told Pippi goodbye and headed the way the map showed, but Pippi kept flapping along right beside me.
"Why are you following me?"
"Ppiik-ppik? Ppiik! (What if you get lost again going to the Ma-gyo alone? I'm specially following you.)"
Pippi was only down for a second before getting all cocky again.
'It's definitely better to have two than one.'
"If you're not going to leave me behind again this time, you can come with me."
"Ppiik! (I'll see how you do!)"
'Seriously, this bird...!'
I was ticked off, but I didn't want to lose the only friend I'd managed to make.
'I have no choice.'
"Let's go. We need to hurry."
'Because there's a mountain of things to do once we arrive at the Ma-gyo.'
This time, Pippi didn't argue and started flying in the same direction as me.
* * *
"The map said there was a rocky mountain, but...."
I stared at the insane view, thinking one wrong step would send me straight to the afterlife.
'It didn't say it was a cliff!'
Pippi, who had been leading the way, seemed to have already crossed the rocky mountain and was resting.
On the high cliff, there was a narrow path just wide enough for one of my feet to fit.
'If I just make it through this part, the path gets wider.'
I stared at the wider path on the other side, took a deep breath, and clenched my fist.
'How did I get this chance to go to the Ma-gyo! I can't go back without doing anything! I'll just go for it!'
Holding onto the protruding parts of the rock, I carefully placed my foot on the narrow path.
'Don't look down. Don't look down....'
I kept my eyes glued forward, afraid I'd fall if I looked down.
Thud....
Then, I heard something falling below my feet.
"Whoa, geez!"
'I almost died for real.'
I accidentally looked down and freaked out.
The place where my foot had been was collapsing.
'This is too high. If I fall, I'll definitely die.'
The cliff was so deep that its end was nowhere in sight.
Moreover, it was early morning, and thick fog had set in, giving it an even more creepy feeling.
'I'm so scared. Can I cross this place safely?'
I wanted to turn back so bad, but I remembered Dad nursing me for three days straight, and that kept me going.
'Right! Don't give up. Just gotta keep going, no matter what! I can do it! I can do it!'
I kept repeating 'I can do it' in my head and carefully made my way to the last step.
"I can do it! Seol Cheon-seong!"
With a shout, I finally got off the cliff's edge and collapsed on the spot, my legs giving way.
"I did it! I did it!"
It was tough, but making it across on my own made me feel amazing.
'I feel like I can do anything now! I made it through that death trap, what can't I do?'
Feeling super confident, I adjusted my backpack and kept going, full of energy.
* * *
'I'm hungry and tired.'
After walking all day, the sky was already darkening.
"Pippi, let's sleep here."
"Ppi! (Okay!)"
'I was planning to sleep in the mountains for one night anyway.'
That's why I came fully prepared, I tell you!
"Pippi, watch this!"
"Ppiik? (What are you going to do?)"
At my words, Pippi landed beside me.
I took out the straw and twigs I had prepared in advance from my backpack.
I quickly twirled the twigs and started a fire.
"Here, how is it? We can sleep warmly like this, right?"
"Ppi, ppiik. (A-amazing. I've never seen a seven-year-old make a fire before.)"
'Of course, you haven't! After getting lost in the mountains, I learned how to make a fire from Ik-seon's dad, you see!'
"Well, it's not that amazing."
I said that, but I was totally feeling proud of myself. I grabbed the food from my backpack.
"I have jumeokbap, and you have honggwa!"
"Ppiik? (You have one for me too?)"
Pippi asked in surprise, as if he hadn't expected it.
"Yeah, I brought it just in case I might meet you."
"Ppi...ppik? (For... me?)"
"You got me shinseoncho for me too, didn't you? But are you... crying?"
I didn't expect him to be so touched by just one honggwa, but Pippi's pretty green eyes were moist with tears.
"Ppiik! (Birds always cry!)"
'He's definitely crying....'
Maybe embarrassed to show me, Pippi wiped his tears with his wing.
'I thought Pippi was just a cocky bird, but he's actually pretty sensitive.'
"Wow, there are so many stars!"
I looked up and saw tons of stars shining in the night sky.
"It feels like we're on a trip with family."
"Ppiik? (Family?)"
"Yeah, I've been thinking I'd like to have a younger sibling to play with. But Pippi, even though I haven't known you for long, when you picked honggwa for me, and when I was sick, I thought if I had a younger sibling, wouldn't it be like you and me?"
'We fight, but in the end, we take care of each other.'
When I said 'family,' Pippi's face lit up.
"Ppiik…. (Family for me too….)"
"Ah, I'm sleepy. Pippi, we have to wake up early tomorrow and leave again, so I'm going to sleep first. You should sleep soon too."
I was so tired from the day's craziness that I wrapped up in my blanket and crashed by the fire.
'My body is melting.'
The warmth made me super sleepy.
* * *
The mountains at night are full of scary creatures, as dark as it gets.
The predators of the mountain saw the fire and slowly crept towards Cheon-seong.
Pippi looked back at Cheon-seong, who was fast asleep.
'He's sleeping so soundly, even with all the danger. If I hadn't shown up, he'd be mountain lion food by now.'
It was definitely saying the right thing, but Pippi didn't feel good thinking about Cheon-seong being eaten by mountain beasts.
'Honestly, the life or death of a human child isn't really important to me, but.'
Then, Cheon-seong's words came to mind.
"It feels like we're on a trip with family."
'Right, the life or death of a human child doesn't matter, but if it's family, it's a different story.'
Predators were slowly closing in from all directions, centered around the place where Cheon-seong and Pippi were warming themselves by the fire.
Then, as Pippi spread his transparent wings, a powerful blue aura sprang up around him.
The predators, scared by Pippi's powerful aura, slowly backed away in fear.
Pippi's green eyes, watching them, shone fiercely.
"Ppiik. (Get lost.)"
* * *
"Ppiik-ppiik-ppiik! (At this rate, my back will break from the weight!)"
From the morning, I was riding on Pippi's back, listening to Pippi's grumbling.
'Of all things, why does the bridge that I absolutely have to cross to get to the Ma-gyo have to be broken?'
But I didn't give up easily.
'Because I have Pippi.'
When I first asked Pippi to carry me, he totally refused, but....
"Well, I have no choice. I'm not planning to go home until I get to the Ma-gyo, so I have no choice but to try crossing even a broken bridge. If I get swept away by the current and disappear, don't tell my dad. He'll definitely be sad."
I pretended to cry, looking at the bridge that was hanging weakly on both sides of the river, swaying helplessly in the raging currents.
"Ppiik…, ppiik! (I have no choice…. Get on then!)"
And so, for the rest of the journey, I ended up borrowing Pippi's back.
'If I'd known it would be this easy, I would've asked Pippi to carry me ages ago.'
Compared to that crazy mountain crossing, listening to Pippi complain was nothing.
"Oh! I see the Ma-gyo over there!"
"Ppiit! (I'm alive! My back!)"
It's just a little annoying.
Anyway, I could see a mountain range stretching out horizontally in the distance.
There, red flags with a picture of a black dragon holding a star were planted everywhere.
'Come to think of it, Dad's conception dream was a dragon.'
Even if I didn't fully understand the meaning contained in the picture, I knew that the flag symbolized that Dad had become the new master of the Ma-gyo.
'It seems like I've come to the right place.'
"Ppi! (Landing!)"
Pippi landed in a sunny spot in the mountain range and put me down.
"One! Two!"
"A strong body makes strong power! But don't forget, if your body can't handle the power, you'll go crazy with Juha-imma!"
"Yes!"
Hiding behind a large rock, I peeked at the place where the sound was coming from and saw Ma-gyo people training their bodies.
'It's a more wholesome scene than I thought.'
Usually, when you think of Ma-gyo, you think of cruel processes such as murder or collecting the souls of the dead to skip the stage of training and developing inner energy and quickly unleash powerful martial arts.
'In fact, most of the Ma-gyo in the martial arts novels I've read had such settings.'
However, according to a brief mention in the original novel, the appearance of the Ma-gyo completely changed after Dad became the Heavenly Demon.
'It's still called Ma-gyo, but it emphasized inner energy training, and indiscriminate killing was forbidden.'
That didn't mean the status of the Ma-gyo had declined.
'Indiscriminate killing disappeared. If you acted against the Ma-gyo's teachings, you would disappear without a trace.'
Since the originally strict teachings were enforced to not neglect training, it was only natural that the Ma-gyo elites, who were already strong by mastering demonic arts, became even stronger.
The number of deaths itself decreased, but if you spoke ill of the Ma-gyo, you would be immediately captured, so their notoriety became even higher than before.
In summary, it's improved, but it's still brutal! That's what it means.
'Even so, this is the only way to find a treatment for my weakened mind and body! I will definitely make it happen!'
I stepped out from behind the rock and boldly blocked the path of the Ma-gyo people who were doing morning exercises and shouted loudly.
"Take me on as a member of the Ma-gyo, Big Brother apprentice!”
