Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 20

 

When I came to my senses, I was climbing a mountain.

 

Sweat was streaming down my entire body. I pushed aside the small branches blocking my vision and stepped on tree roots embedded in the ground as I frantically moved forward.

 

Then suddenly, I realized.

 

‘Ah, this mountain.’

 

It was that mountain.

 

Nabu Mountain, where Seo Dan had fallen.

 

I don’t know why I suddenly knew this. I had never been to this mountain before, and I had simply come here looking for a place where Spirit Medicine might be found.

 

But I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Somehow I felt like I knew this place well. This path I was on now was definitely…

 

At that moment.

 

“Huff, gasp…”

 

Strange visions began to appear.

 

It was the sight of a small, emaciated child urgently climbing the mountain, but their labored breathing and unsteady steps suggested they weren’t in a normal state.

 

I looked closely at the child’s appearance and gradually realized.

 

‘That’s me.’

 

That familiar figure.

 

It was the appearance of Seo Dan, whom I had possessed.

 

‘I’m tired now, really tired…’

 

Suddenly, various memories came pouring into me.

 

Memories of having to care for a sick Mother since childhood. Days of constantly worrying about how to make money somehow, going around everywhere and doing whatever work was available.

 

In all of that, Seo Dan was gradually becoming exhausted.

 

The constant bowing and scraping, the begging, the beatings – it was all difficult. One day when a drunken Drunkard slapped both cheeks and caused a nosebleed.

 

In the end, Seo Dan stole the Mistress’s jewelry.

 

It was an extremely impulsive action.

 

“How dare you steal the master’s jewelry?!”

 

Of course, it was natural for Seo Dan, who had never stolen anything in their life, to get caught.

 

The moment the jewelry hidden in the bundle was discovered, Seo Dan was seized by two sturdy servants and forcibly stuffed into a sack. Then they were hung from a beam and beaten mercilessly with clubs.

 

The beating continued for a full half day. Looking at Seo Dan sprawled on the ground covered in blood, the Servant spat.

 

“This beggar brat repays kindness with enmity after we took pity and took you in? Ptui, if I see you again next time, there’ll really be trouble!”

 

Seo Dan was only able to leave after bowing several times and expressing gratitude.

 

However, even going home wasn’t easy. Their whole body felt like it would break apart and they couldn’t even stand properly, and people just glanced sideways and avoided Seo Dan as they crawled along.

 

Seo Dan ultimately couldn’t even take a few steps before collapsing unconscious. And when they opened their eyes, the surroundings had grown dark.

 

Seo Dan looked up at the pitch-black sky and thought.

 

‘This is hard.’

 

Seo Dan staggered to her feet and began walking again. There was a well along the way, so she drew water and washed her face that was dirty with dirt and blood.

 

Then, looking at her reflection in the water, she thought again.

 

‘This is so hard.’

 

When she arrived home, fortunately Mother was asleep. Seo Dan crept into her room like a little mouse and changed out of her clothes that had become rags.

 

When the next day came, she told her shocked Mother a ‘lie’ that she had been falsely accused and driven out. Mother believed Seo Dan’s lie. Watching Mother cry, Seo Dan muttered to herself.

 

‘This is too hard…’

 

Seo Dan went around looking for work for a while. But whether rumors about Seo Dan had spread, everyone showed reluctance. The Po Family next door ran around frantically trying to clear her name, but it was no use.

 

In the end, Seo Dan climbed the mountain to gather medicinal herbs herself. Whether it was really to gather medicinal herbs, I don’t know.

 

She just had one thought.

 

‘…I want to stop now.’

 

When she came to her senses, Seo Dan was standing on top of a cliff.

 

Seo Dan blankly stared down at the darkness below the cliff. The darkness looked cozy. It seemed like she could rest peacefully if she went into it.

 

Seo Dan, just like that…

 

“Gasp…!”

 

I snapped my eyes open.

 

My whole body was covered in sweat. When I hurriedly looked around, sure enough, I was standing on top of that cliff.

 

My heart was pounding like crazy.

 

‘Why am I here…?’

 

Only then did I think I understood why I felt that sense of déjà vu.

 

I had been following the exact same path that Seo Dan had taken up. And naturally, Seo Dan’s memories had flowed into me, and I had arrived at the same place Seo Dan had reached.

 

At this very spot where Seo Dan had thrown herself. Seo Dan, Seo Dan had tried to end everything…

 

“Huh?”

 

That’s when it happened.

 

A small medicinal herb on the cliff caught my eye.

 

“Huh huh?”

 

I grabbed the tree trunk beside me and crouched down. When I stretched my neck out as far as possible, a fragrant scent brushed past my nose.

 

I was certain only after I spotted the nine leaves growing on the stem.

 

That’s it.

 

Nine-Leaf Purple Lingzhi!

 

Only then did I finally regain my sense of reality. Right, I climbed the mountain because of this. I had unconsciously recalled the original story’s content and came here looking for the spirit medicine.

 

To save the Young Miss.

 

‘I have to get that.’

 

The medicinal herbs were blooming in a truly precarious spot.

 

It was a distance where my fingertips could barely reach if I did well, but I could fall straight down if I made a mistake.

 

I lay down flat right above where the medicinal herbs were. I stretched my hand as far as possible, but it was nowhere near enough. Just a little more, I needed to go further down.

 

Fortunately, there was a small tree protruding right next to me, so I grabbed the tree with my left hand.

 

Then I slowly lowered my upper body. Blood rushed to my head and sweat formed on the bridge of my nose, but I focused all my attention solely on the medicinal herbs.

 

Little by little, my body and the medicinal herbs were getting closer. I reached out my hand again.

 

The medicinal herbs, I can reach them!

 

‘Good, if I can grab them by the roots like this…!’

 

Just as I was about to grab the medicinal herbs.

 

Snap.

 

“Huh?”

 

Suddenly, the force supporting my left hand disappeared. I quickly looked to the side.

 

The tree I had been holding was broken.

 

“…!”

 

Unlike my body that began to fall, my eyes were still fixed on the medicinal herbs. I hadn’t grabbed the medicinal herbs yet. If I could at least grab the medicinal herbs while falling…!

 

I squeezed out my concentration until the very end. And just as the medicinal herbs were about to brush past my body, I swung my hand and snatched the medicinal herbs along with the soil.

 

I could see nine leaves caught in my hand. Just as I was about to burst into cheers.

 

“I got it…! Huh?”

 

Whoosh.

 

Before I knew it, my body was floating in mid-air.

 

At the same time, my vision went dark.

 

* * *

 

When I regained consciousness, I was sprawled out on the dirt ground.

 

Blink, my locked consciousness gradually returned.

 

I was blankly blinking my eyes when I suddenly came to my senses and looked at my right hand. I could see nine leaves swaying above my tightly clenched fist.

 

I let out a sigh of relief.

 

‘I barely survived…’

 

I looked up at the cliff I had fallen from.

 

Looking at it again, the cliff wasn’t a complete precipice but had a high hill rising below it. I would have noticed if it had been bright, but because it was a dark night, I couldn’t see the bottom.

 

Moreover, getting caught on small branches here and there seemed to have slowed down my falling speed. I tried to get up but sat back down again.

 

“Agh! …Huh?”

 

Looking again, my right ankle was swollen.

 

It didn’t seem to be broken, but whether I had twisted it while falling, the throbbing didn’t seem like a normal condition.

 

I let out a deep sigh. Instead, I looked up at the sky to gauge the time.

 

‘Dawn hasn’t broken yet. There should be time.’

 

It was fortunate that I woke up quickly. I looked around and picked up a sturdy tree branch. Then I supported my body with the tree branch, stood up, and slowly began to walk.

 

Cold sweat dripped down. My whole body ached, and especially whenever I put weight on my right foot, I felt a stabbing pain as if being gouged with an awl.

 

I wanted to faint right then and there, but I endured it. Before I knew it, I was muttering to myself without realizing it.

 

“It’s not hard, it’s not hard…”

 

At some point, I was thinking of Seo Dan.

 

Perhaps Seo Dan had experienced something similar to this.

 

When she walked home covered in blood, when she climbed the mountain to give up on life. Had she felt this kind of pain and helplessness?

 

But I know.

 

Seo Dan’s true feelings. Her real heart hidden behind despair.

 

That day, Seo Dan definitely fell from the cliff. That’s the truth. Seo Dan tried to end everything through death. That’s also the truth.

 

But at the moment of falling, Seo Dan instinctively grabbed onto a tree branch above the cliff.

 

Her small body hanging from the cliff trembled violently. At some point, Seo Dan had started crying.

 

‘I, sob, I…’

 

Seeing that sight, I wanted to ask.

 

You didn’t really want to die, did you?

 

You didn’t want to give up, did you?

 

That must have been it. That’s why you desperately clung to the tree branch and struggled with your body, crying your heart out as if in sorrow.

 

Even though you couldn’t survive in the end, if you regret that choice…

 

“Haa, haa…”

 

I won’t give up for your sake too.

 

In the distance, I could see the main gate of the Seo Family Estate. The gatekeeper must have recognized me as he hurriedly went inside. When I barely reached the front of the gate, I saw the Chief Steward rushing out.

 

“Child, your body…!”

 

I smiled faintly at the Chief Steward who was looking at me in shock. Somehow, I seemed to see a vision of Seo Dan smiling faintly in front of me.

 

I eventually collapsed right there. With my right hand extended, still holding the Nine-Leaf Purple Lingzhi.

 

Truly, it was a blackout.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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