Missed Lunch and a Fishing Trip

Because of this, he tended to get hungry later than others and often didn't go to the village's communal kitchen for lunch.

Since he and Bok Taejin hadn't gone to the communal kitchen today, everyone probably assumed they were still wandering the fields—maybe hunting and roasting meat or foraging for wild fruits.

With Im Beomhyeon, the local expert, guiding him, no one worried that Bok Taejin would go hungry.

As a result, no one came to check if they were still at home.

And so, the two of them had completely missed lunchtime.

Im Beomhyeon sighed, looking defeated as he dragged Bok Taejin back to his house.

He untied a basket hanging high in the kitchen and pulled out a generous amount of dried meat, handing most of it to Bok Taejin first.

After hanging the basket back up, he took some meat from Bok Taejin's hands and started chewing.

Seeing this, Bok Taejin followed his example and began eating as well.

The dried meat was pork, though he wasn't sure how it had been prepared—it had a subtle fruity aroma.

The texture was just right, neither too tough nor too oily, making it incredibly addictive.

Unfortunately, Im Beomhyeon was a big eater and devoured food at an astonishing speed.

Bok Taejin hadn't eaten much before the entire portion they had taken down disappeared into Im Beomhyeon's stomach.

Bok Taejin stared longingly at the hanging basket.

There were several baskets in the kitchen.

Were they filled with different kinds of delicious food, or were they all just dried meat?

Even if it was only dried meat, he thought to himself, he would never get tired of it.

Im Beomhyeon smacked him on the back of the head. "Let's go! I'll take you to eat something even better!"

Bok Taejin's eyes lit up instantly, and he abandoned all thoughts of the dried meat to follow Im Beomhyeon eagerly.

This time, however, Im Beomhyeon headed to the toolshed—and took out… a fishing rod?

These were extremely simple fishing tools—just a rod, a line, and a hook.

Nothing more.

Im Beomhyeon only carried two buckets, one large and one small, with the smaller bucket placed inside the larger one.

Besides that, he brought nothing else.

After walking for a short distance, Bok Taejin suddenly let out a surprised sound and asked, "Isn't this the way toward the Jade Blossom Mountain Range?"

Previously, when Im Beomhyeon took him to see the farmlands, they were all far from the Jade Blossom Mountain Range.

But now, after taking a few turns, the road was leading them in that direction.

At that moment, Bok Taejin abruptly realized that Im Beomhyeon's house was actually the closest to the Jade Blossom Mountain Range in all of Hwayang Village.

The hills behind Im Beomhyeon's house didn't seem too steep, but they stretched far and wide.

He couldn't help but wonder if they were somehow connected to the mountain range.