Reincarnation of the Fist King Chapter 3

< The King is recovering >

Danwoo Seong, who had satisfied his hunger with some food, walked around Anga and inspected the structure.

It was a larger villa than expected.

It appeared to be a retreat owned by a wealthy galactic elite, not a private residence. Behind the garden stood a detached annex, which, upon entering, was bare and devoid of furniture or fixtures. It seemed like a place that could be converted into an indoor training facility.

To the right of the villa were several warehouses filled with food, alcohol, medicinal herbs, and an unidentified plant. Asking the local officials revealed that its use was more akin to a drug. It was more toxic than commercially available tobacco and was a type of hallucinogenic plant.

The only thing that helped was the herbal medicine warehouse.

Although it wasn't an elixir, it was a haphazard mix of high-quality ginseng and tonics purchased with the wealth of the upper class. While taking it now would likely be counterproductive, it would be somewhat helpful if taken after recovering.

The conditions were good for the location.

It was Lee Jin-eon's fault for not being able to utilize this.

In the worst state of health, he could hold women, eat meat and drink alcohol, and enjoy hallucinogenic herbs, and he could say goodbye to this world perfectly.

This thought occurred to me.

Lee Jin-eon likely suffered from mental illness. Anxiety, panic, and fear likely played a significant role in his psyche.

What on earth were you afraid of?

What on earth didn't you like?

Who made Lee Jin-eon come to this house?

I had a feeling that upon returning home, there would be many people I'd have to show off. Beating people was the King of Kwon's specialty, so my heart pounded like a child waiting for entertainment.

Danwoo Seong has no choice but to side with Jineon Lee.

I thought I would help him sort out the situation that had been bothering him.

Maybe it was my younger brother, or maybe there was someone at the top who had vested interests involved.

Anyway, Lee Jin-eon is no longer the Lee Jin-eon of before.

At least by the time he returned home, he'd be a healthy man. Dan Woo-seong wasn't the type to focus solely on building his internal energy. Even with his healthy body, he was confident in his fighting abilities thanks to the external skills he demonstrated.

I thought that I should quickly build up my internal energy by taking over the entire upper level and buying a large quantity of elixirs that would allow me to quickly build up my internal energy.

Originally, Dan Woo-seong was a man who had no interest in ‘money.’

He had no interest in accumulating or storing wealth. But now that he was the heir to the Galactic Empire, he decided to use his wealth to his advantage, and to make a killing.

There was a clear reason to surpass the king of the previous life, so money was just a means.

***

Dan Woo-seong, who spent seven days correcting his posture, changing his diet, and eating breakfast for exercise, finally went out for a walk outside his house on the eighth day.

I felt more energetic than before, and the number of times I would break out in a cold sweat had noticeably decreased.

Above all, the concubines were startled by the prince's transformation. Danwoo-seong spoke to the concubines as they set out for a walk.

“Okay. I’ll go for a walk by myself, so go in.”

“Are you okay?”

Dan Woo-seong nodded and waved his hand. His physical condition was much better than the magistrates had expected.

The first stage of the recovery process was as ordinary as a trickling stream.

I ate light meals, stopped drinking alcohol, and drank lukewarm water as if I was washing my stomach.

The next step in recovery was walking. I walked until my digestive system was doing its job and my stomach started growling.

The congressmen no longer seemed as surprised as before. Even the congressman, who always wore a strange expression, now only asked if I slept well last night.

Although the terrain of Guhwasan was rugged, he felt he could run within a few days. Only after sweating profusely did Danwoo-seong return to his home. He was now more active than he had been eating.

I was thinking of adjusting my diet again.

As we returned to Anga, a servant whose face was now familiar approached us and asked us this.

“Confucius.”

"why?"

“I hope your health is recovering quickly, so please send a letter to your family······.”

Danwoo-seong cut off Sibi's words.

"That's nonsense. I haven't fully recovered. If I need to write a letter, I'll take care of it."

Sibi was even more frightened when she realized that Confucius's tone of speech had changed drastically.

"All right."

“And it seems like groceries and other necessities come in from outside sometimes.”

“Yes, items sent from my hometown arrive once a month.”

“If they ask, tell them that I am still recovering. Tell the other servants the same.”

"All right."

There was no need to announce to the outside world that he was recovering.

Danwoo Sung suddenly realized he didn't know the father, family, or siblings of Lee Jin-eon. He had a rough idea of their names through letters, but he thought it would be awkward to actually meet them.

Danwoo-seong, who was about to head to his room, asked Sibi.

“Is there anyone who can draw?”

“I’ll look for it. Should I send it to your room?”

“Send it.”

***

He spoke to Danwoo Seong after being summoned.

“Just draw a portrait.”

"yes."

The Grand Duke had been bored at home, so even if he was asked to do something a little out of the ordinary, he simply accepted it. The maid responded without thinking.

“Shall we start with the family?”

"No, I'm not necessarily talking about just my family. Since you mentioned you're good at it, I just had an idea. I just need to draw the faces of those around me. My father, my brothers, and especially the troublemakers around me. Seeing their faces… I think it might help me recover."

“Huh? The one who was causing trouble······.”

"Yeah, I feel that way. I want to beat you. I want to hit you. When those feelings arise, your fists naturally tighten. And then your health naturally recovers quickly."

When he spoke so seriously, Sibi was embarrassed.

But if the Grand Duke says so, then so be it.

Sibi replied with a laugh.

"All right."

Sibi quickly lowered her head and covered her mouth with her hand.

"sorry."

Danwoo Sung also smiled faintly.

“It’s okay. It’s not a crime to laugh.”

“Oh, then who should I draw first?”

"Starting with someone who can draw well. Now, these portraits are going to be drawn with a focus on features. It's not about drawing details. It's about capturing key features like a mole on the forehead or a bald head. Do you understand?"

“Okay, I understand.”

“As you draw each page, say it is finished.”

"yes."

Sibi drew a picture, and Danwoo Seong corrected his posture.

After a while, Danwoo-seong stopped drawing and spoke to the sibbi who was staring at him intently.

“Stop staring and draw.”

“Oh, yes.”

Sibi tilted her head and picked up her brush.

'It's definitely become strange.'

This was because Danwoo Sung was repeating certain postures to stretch his legs and performing all sorts of strange movements to make his body more flexible.

But that strangeness wasn't negative.

The Archduke's expression and tone of voice were becoming more and more different from before, as if a cool breeze had washed over him. Given his normally handsome face, the change didn't strike me as a bad thing.

While Danwoo-seong was doing moonlit gymnastics······.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Sibi is the second son, Confucius.

The second Confucius was a handsome Confucius like Grand Duke Li Jinyan, and he was the most popular Confucius among the upper class because of his upright conduct and polite speech.

He planned to start by drawing the picture he was best at, and hone his sense of style. After a while, Danwoo-seong relaxed and admired the second Confucius's drawing.

“You drew well. Please write the title of the drawing and your name at the bottom every time.”

“What’s the title?”

"Yeah. A painting should have a title. For a portrait, just write "Portrait of someone" and that's it. And you should also indicate who painted it. Your painting might sell for a high price later, right?"

Sibi's eyes grew wide.

“Huh? My drawing?”

Danwoo Seong said with a smile.

“You don’t know how the world works. Just like me······.”

Sibi, not understanding Danwoo Seong's words, was momentarily lost in thought about how much the painting would sell for.

“Okay, just a moment. First of all······.”

Sibi wrote 'President Lee Hwa-eon (李和言), Lee Gong-ja' under the painting, and wrote her own name, 'Myohyang'.

Danwoo-seong nodded.

“This is correct.”

"yes."

“By the way, didn’t you draw the second one too handsome?”

“You’re actually more handsome.”

“Oh, I see.”

"Of course, the Grand Duke is more handsome. You two look so much alike."

Danwoo Seong said with a smile.

“It’s late. I’ll be waiting for you when I draw.”

Feeling burdened, Sibi replied in a crawling voice.

"yes."

“From now on, don’t do miscellaneous work, and spend your time practicing drawing.”

“Oh? Then the work······.”

"How many troublemakers are there clinging to this place? They're noisy, and they do what they're told."

"All right."

“By the way, I heard you’re good at drawing.”

Sibi's face turned red at Danwoo's praise.

“Then I will continue to show off my skills.”

“Okay.”

Danwoo Sung began to correct his posture again. He sat on the bed and stretched his body into various positions, occasionally hearing a thud.

With that level of drawing skill, it seemed unlikely that Lee Jin-eon would make the mistake of not recognizing someone he already knew.

***

“You’ve worked hard. Go and rest.”

“Yes, Master, will you come tomorrow evening?”

"No, just say you're drawing at your place, on my orders. Go and draw everyone you can. That'll give you practice."

"All right."

As the argument broke out, Danwoo Seong examined the painting.

Danwoo Sung carefully examined the portrait of the man leading the Milky Way.

Of course, the owner is Lee Jin-eon's father.

Although it was a portrait drawn by a sage, it was drawn with a focus on features, so it was possible to roughly determine what kind of person it was through the head shape, features, mouth, and eyes.

'He seems like just a hard worker, but he's built a great business. Or maybe he inherited the business…'

If it was the size of the upper reaches of the galaxy, it might not have grown in its time, but rather inherited a family business.

Both of my brothers are handsome.

Second, President Lee Hwa-eon had the impression of a bright scholar, but third, Lee Ja-eon, was clearly different in appearance from the two previous brothers.

I felt like I had martial arts skills.

Perhaps their mothers were different. Seeing as there was no portrait of their mothers, Lee Hwa-eon and Lee Jin-eon's mothers could have already passed away.

Among these, the subject of the most sharply depicted portrait was a man named Ouyang Hou, the leader of the escort group.

“Was Guyanghu the leader of the escort group?”

It was a man whose name I had heard in the world of martial arts.

The fact that Guyanghou was the leader of the escort troupe hinted at several things. First, it implied the wealth of the upper class. Guyanghou was a master of the Ouyang family. Having invited a master from that family to become the leader of the escort troupe, his monthly salary must have been substantial.

But we had to look further into whether they were just paying money.

The Guyangse family is a particularly hard-line faction even within Baekdo. Because they naturally tend to view the upper class as inferior, a detailed investigation into the situation required a visit to their hometown.

For the rest, I remembered only names and facial features. There were no famous people, and the impressions I got from portraits were so unattractive that I could easily forget them.

<The King, Recovering> End

ⓒ Eugene Sung

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