As he ate the strawberry, he saw himself walking through a druid garden. He even came to a halt at one point, staring at the berry in his hand, which made the others ask whether there was dirt on the fruit. He replied that he was staring at it because it was too delicious. As he ate more, he finally realised that the fruit's nature force was being absorbed into his body.
That surprised him, because he had never imagined he could absorb nature force simply by eating, and it gave him even more reason to move to the countryside. After some time the day of his discharge arrived, and he was seen off by the grandmother who had shared a room with him at the hospital. The old woman commended him for being so resilient, saying she had never seen anyone manage to lose twenty kilograms in just three weeks.
She let him know that he still had a long way to go for his health, and he assured her that he understood. He thanked her for worrying about him and wished her a speedy recovery. As he touched the old lady's hand, he passed a great deal of nature force into her body.
It would not cure her instantly, but it would at least help. The old woman complimented his smile and told him never to let go of it, because seeing him smile made her feel good too. Then she remembered that he had sold his house, and she asked him where he was headed. He replied that he had decided to move to the countryside to recuperate.
He said he wanted a quiet place where he did not have to worry about the city, and the old woman recommended White Tiger Mountain to him. Soon afterwards Sihon arrived at the old house where he would be living on the mountain. After clearing weeds for a while, he headed to the market, because he had things he needed to buy.
The moment he set foot in the market he was blown away by how lively it was. It was a feast of scents and colours, like a miniature version of a big city festival. He also found out that a five-day market did not mean it opened on the fifth. It meant that it opened every five days.
Then he came across the market snacks he had seen in his vessel's memories, and he began to salivate, hoping he could get his hands on them. One of the snack sellers saw him staring hard and urged him to buy some, but he rushed off to avoid temptation, telling her he was fine. He was determined to get this body back in shape no matter what it took.
A little later he made his way into a seed and plant shop, where he met the seller, an old man. The man asked him what he wanted, and he pointed to the tomato seedlings and said he wanted them. The man was surprised and asked why he was interested in tomatoes. He replied that he really liked tomato plants, and told the man to add some vegetable seedlings for wraps and salads.
In fact, he wanted one of every seed the man had in the shop, which left the old man completely shocked. After that he asked whether he had grapevines, and the man led him to the vines, saying he had some five-year vines at sixty thousand won. Then the man called his attention to the fact that it was already too late in the year to be planting.
He let Sihon know that a tomato would grow fast if he planted it right, but that he was more worried about whether the seeds would even sprout in the hot season. The old man said Sihon was buying so much that his conscience would not let him stay quiet. Sihon was impressed by the old man's sincerity and told him not to worry, assuring him that he would be fine.
He was a druid, after all, and he had nothing to worry about. The store owner was pleased that he still wanted to buy even with the risks, but told him not to come complaining later. Sihon started packing everything he had bought, and when he was done he bade the man farewell. Then the man watched him branch out to the other stores, picking up more necessities for himself.
The old man was horrified at the idea that he intended to carry all of it by himself. To help out, the store owner drove his supplies up to his house, because there was no way Sihon could have fitted everything he had bought onto a bicycle. He had not known that, being an ignorant druid.
After offloading everything, he packed all the supplies into a corner so he could finish pulling the weeds. He was in the middle of this when a strange man showed up in his yard with a gun tucked behind him. Sihon was stunned as the stern-looking old man spoke to him, expressing surprise that this was the first time he had seen him around.
The old man asked whether he was planning on living there, and Sihon was too stunned to answer. After that whole strange first encounter, the man ended up helping him in his garden. He told Sihon that he had to fix the fence and the gate, because it might be warm now, but he had to prepare for winter or he was going to suffer.
The stern-looking old man turned out to be his neighbour, Jong. Jong had come to check out the big fellow who had moved into the house below the mountain, and he ended up sharing all sorts of tips for country living. Since a druid never turns away a teacher, Sihon made sure to listen attentively to everything the old man had to offer.
Jong, for his part, was surprised to find that Sihon was a big softy, when he had assumed he would be frightening, built like a mountain as he was. He was also impressed that the young man listened to his elders, and he decided he would check on him more often, since he was new to the country. An hour later the two of them had sorted out the yard, and then Jong noticed something odd.
He realised that he was not smoking, which was strange. He had smoked for so long that he usually coughed whenever he stood up, and Sihon asked him whether he had quit. Jong replied that he was already trying his best to stay off it, but he was still surprised that he had not coughed. What he did not know was that his system was being filtered simply from being around Sihon.