The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

Crackle—

The firewood burned brightly in the furnace.

And in front of it, Namgung Il sat, carefully watching the flames.

At the same time, the kitchen was filled with the savory aroma coming from the cauldron.

"Uh..."

Yeonghwa stared blankly at him from behind.

Why was Namgung Il suddenly cooking rice here?

Yeonghwa still couldn't solve that question.

'Was he not satisfied with the meals so far?'

No, to think so, Namgung Il had always emptied his bowl until now.

Was that all? Wasn't it more than once or twice that he had asked for more rice because that wasn't enough?

Considering his recent appetite, it didn't seem that was the reason why Namgung Il was doing this now.

'In the first place, does it even make sense for a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan to come into the kitchen and cook rice?'

If this fact were to reach Namgung Cheong's ears, it would not end simply.

How dare you let a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan enter the kitchen.

It was clear that he would hold the maids working here at the Blue Sky Pavilion, including herself, responsible.

"Y-young Master!"

In the end, Yeonghwa had no choice but to call Namgung Il.

Weren't the maids over there also gathered and looking this way with anxious eyes?

Here, it was her turn to step forward as the representative.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"Huh? I'm cooking rice."

That was a fact that anyone could see.

Seeing Namgung Il answering so calmly, Yeonghwa's chest felt even more stuffy.

"So... I'm asking why you, the Young Master, are squatting in a place like this and cooking rice."

"Why? Can't I cook rice here?"

"Of course not!"

"Why not?"

Was Namgung Il really asking her that because he didn't know the reason?

Although she felt that Namgung Il was teasing her now, Yeonghwa began to explain the reason step by step.

"Aren't you a noble person who inherits the blood of the Namgung Clan, Young Master?"

"Noble, my ass. We're all people with the same blood flowing through us."

"That's not the problem... I'm saying that you have your own role, Young Master."

"..."

"Cooking rice in a place like this is the job of the maids over there, and you, Young Master, should be concentrating on your martial arts training to lead this Namgung Clan in the future."

When Yeonghwa said that, Namgung Il's gaze turned to the maids.

Then, as if to say that was right, the maids began to nod their heads desperately.

Although Yeonghwa passionately explained the reason, Namgung Il still had a look on his face as if he couldn't understand.

"I trained today too. So isn't it fine?"

"That's not it... Hah... Young Master, then I'll be frank."

"Wait a minute before that!"

Suddenly, Namgung Il raised his hand urgently and shouted.

Yeonghwa was also surprised by that.

Seeing Namgung Il shouting so urgently, something big must have happened.

"I have to take out the fire now."

"...?"

"Or the rice will burn. So I'll listen to you after that."

Namgung Il said and began to take out the firewood from the furnace.

No... was cooking rice more important than her story right now?

In the meantime, Yeonghwa was even more dumbfounded because Namgung Il's skill in controlling the fire was so proficient.

"Hoo—it's done."

"...May I speak now?"

"Uh, yes."

"...Listen carefully."

"Wait a minute!"

What was it this time?

Yeonghwa was starting to get annoyed.

"I forgot to open the lid and stir the rice."

"..."

"Wait a minute."

Fine, do whatever you want now.

Yeonghwa watched what Namgung Il was doing with a feeling of resignation.

Fluffy—

As he opened the lid, white steam billowed upwards.

At the same time, exclamations from the maids were heard from over there.

It was clear just by looking that the rice in the cauldron was cooked very well, so the maids were surprised by Namgung Il's rice-cooking skills.

'Is this the time to be impressed!'

Shouting inwardly, Yeonghwa glared at the maids.

At that moment, the maids became quiet again.

Yeonghwa sighed inwardly and looked at Namgung Il again.

Swoop—

At that moment, something entered Yeonghwa's mouth.

"Kyaak—!"

"Ah, was it too hot?"

"Spit—! What on earth was that!"

"Hoo—now, I've cooled it down, so try it again."

Namgung Il said and was already holding out the rice paddle to Yeonghwa again.

No... I said I'm done with the rice!

As if she couldn't take it anymore, Yeonghwa raised her voice and said.

"Young Master!"

"I know."

"...?"

"If the fact that I'm doing this in the kitchen reaches my father's ears, you guys will be harmed."

"..."

"Weren't you all restless from a while ago because you were worried about that?"

When Namgung Il asked directly, Yeonghwa couldn't say anything.

Seeing that, Namgung Il continued to speak with a light smile.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you."

"..."

"I'll keep my promise, on my name."

When Namgung Il went that far, Yeonghwa's eyes widened as if she were slightly surprised.

Because she knew what it meant for a martial artist to stake their name.

Especially, the children of prestigious families like the Namgung Clan do not carelessly stake their names because the honor of the family is also at stake.

"So don't worry."

"...Young Master."

"Then will you try some of this now?"

"..."

In the end, Yeonghwa took a small piece of rice from the rice paddle and put it in her mouth.

"How is it?"

"...It's delicious."

She wasn't just saying it; it was really delicious.

Not too sticky, and not undercooked either. This was much more perfectly cooked than the rice cooked by the maids here.

'No... how can the Young Master cook rice so well?'

Of course, Yeonghwa was puzzled by that fact.

Because Namgung Il had probably never cooked rice a single time in his life.

Of course, it could have been a coincidence, but to think so, Namgung Il's rice-cooking skills that she had seen earlier were not ordinary.

Nod— Nod—.

Hearing Yeonghwa's answer, Namgung Il nodded his head as if it were natural.

'How many bowls of rice have I cooked? As expected, my skills haven't rusted yet.'

He had prepared his master's meals countless times when he was in the Beggars' Sect.

His current rice-cooking skills came from his experience back then.

Especially since his master had a very sensitive palate, so much so that he would overturn the table if the rice was even slightly burnt, he remembered practicing cooking rice to death for the first few months.

"Disciple."

"Yes, Master."

"You call this rice?"

"...Pardon?"

"Give it to the dog right now and make a new one!"

What kind of beggar has such a picky palate...

Thanks to that, only the dog ate its fill and became plump.

Of course, that plump dog also went into his master's stomach soon after.

Namgung Il came out of his memories and spoke to Yeonghwa again.

"Yeonghwa, there are some things I need."

"Things you need?"

"Uh, please get me the things here."

Namgung Il said and handed Yeonghwa a piece of paper.

A large jar, a blanket, and this... are these medicinal herbs?

Considering that he had just cooked rice, Yeonghwa couldn't help but wonder why he needed such things.

"Young Master... what on earth are you going to do with the things here?"

"I'll let you have a taste when it's all done."

"Pardon? What?"

When Yeonghwa asked with a puzzled expression, Namgung Il said with a meaningful smile.

"I'm going to brew liquor."

* * *

When Namgung Il first said he was going to brew liquor, Yeonghwa had thought he was joking.

A direct descendant of the Namgung Clan brewing liquor.

It wasn't something anyone could do, and it was a problem on a different level from cooking rice, so she had no choice but to think it was nonsense.

However.

Swoosh— Swoosh—.

Namgung Il was mixing something with a proficient hand.

'Is he really... brewing liquor?'

Of course, Yeonghwa couldn't know that.

Not only did she not know how to make liquor, but she also had no great interest in cooking in general.

At a glance, it looked as if Namgung Il was just playing with rice.

"Young Master... what are you mixing now?"

"I'm mixing rice and nuruk."

"Nuruk...?"

"Without this, it won't ferment well."

"..."

Although Namgung Il was explaining something, to be honest, Yeonghwa had barely understood anything.

She was just getting the feeling that Namgung Il seemed to know something about liquor.

In other words, what he was doing now was not playing with rice, but sincerely making liquor.

'The Young Master... liquor?'

The more she thought about it, the more dumbfounded she was, and she couldn't speak.

How did Namgung Il know so much about liquor?

She had never even seen him drink liquor, let alone brew it like now, so it was natural that Yeonghwa couldn't understand this situation.

Swoosh— Swoosh—.

Leaving such a Yeonghwa behind, Namgung Il was concentrating hard on his work.

'It's been a while since I've brewed liquor like this.'

This was also something he had learned due to his master's influence.

Rice and liquor.

Thinking about it now, it seemed that his master had thought of him not as a disciple, but as some kind of kitchen maid.

'Thanks to that, my liquor was quite famous among liquor lovers for a while.'

As he catered to his master's picky palate, the quality of the liquor naturally improved.

What was born thanks to that was the Tear and Sweat Liquor.

As the name suggests, it was a liquor mixed with his tears and sweat.

The last time he made it, the price of the Tear and Sweat Liquor was about one gold tael.

He remembered that the longer it was aged, the more expensive it was.

'I probably would have become rich if I had just lived off liquor.'

Well, that's not important now.

There was only one reason why he was suddenly making liquor.

That was to consume the thousand-year-old wild ginseng he had obtained from Namgung Ji more efficiently.

In the world, people usually make and consume spiritual pills for that purpose, but since he didn't have that much skill, he was choosing this method instead.

'Thousand-year-old wild ginseng infused liquor... I'm already looking forward to what it will taste like.'

If people heard this now, they might call him crazy.

To think of making and eating a thousand-year-old wild ginseng as infused liquor.

On the contrary, it was a dangerous act that could harm the spiritual medicine, so everyone would think it was foolish.

"..."

Of course, Namgung Il knew that fact well too.

No matter how much of a drinker one was, would they be crazy enough to put a spiritual medicine in liquor with an unverified method?

But the liquor he was making now was different.

In fact, his master had consumed spiritual medicines with this recipe, and he had also experienced its efficacy firsthand.

Splash—

Namgung Il finally mixed various medicinal herbs and then added an appropriate amount of water.

Soon, the jumbled mixture all went into the jar, and Namgung Il closed the lid and covered the area with a thick blanket.

"Is it... finished?"

Yeonghwa asked, looking with a puzzled expression.

"Now I'm going to let it age like this for about three days."

"..."

"Look forward to it. I'll let you have the first sip."

Why was he trying to feed her something again and again...

Unlike Namgung Il's face, which was full of confidence, Yeonghwa's face was full of uneasiness.

(End of Chapter)