Chapter 168

Quest

System

In Search of the Herb of Eternal Youth

This spirit herb exists only in legend.

Rulers who dreamed of immortality and eternal youth poured vast amounts of wealth and manpower into searching for the Herb of Eternal Youth, but no one has ever found it.

However, if you have about a thousand years left to live, it might not be a bad idea to give it a try.

Grade: ???

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Mission: Acquire the Herb of Eternal Youth (Incomplete)

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

“No!”

Beep.

System

You rejected the Quest.

Just look at this damn quest. Even its Grade was nothing but question marks.

What? “If you have about a thousand years left to live, it might not be a bad idea to give it a try”?

What kind of bullshit was that?

At my incredulous stare, Jang Taebo stroked his beard.

“What? Can’t you do it?”

“…How exactly am I supposed to do that?”

“Then forget it. Give me back the He Shou Wu.”

Jang Taebo snatched the He Shou Wu from my hand and began chewing it with a crisp crunch.

“Oh, it’s sweet. Just what you’d expect from a fifty-year-old specimen.”

“…”

“Hm? Are you all still standing there? Did you need something?”

“No, elder.”

“Why?”

“Does asking someone to bring you the Herb of Eternal Youth sound remotely reasonable?”

“It’s been a long time since I met someone who cared about common sense in the Murim. There’s Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng, so why wouldn’t there be an Herb of Eternal Youth?”

“…”

That sounded surprisingly plausible.

I almost let myself be persuaded, but quickly came to my senses. Somehow, I had to convince this old man who seemed impervious even to a needle.

“If there’s anything else you need, I’ll get it for you. Anything you want. Just not something like the Herb of Eternal Youth.”

“Really?”

“Of course. If necessary, I’ll mobilize the full strength of my family.”

“Hm. I’ve heard plenty about how formidable the Jin Family of Taiyuan has become these days.”

Jang Taebo nodded and opened his mouth.

“Then I’m thirsty. Bring me a bottle of gongcheong seokyu.¹”

“Pardon?”

Gongcheong seokyu? The stuff said to grant a jiazi of internal energy with a single drop?

I barely stopped myself from letting loose a stream of profanity. Jang Taebo continued with a sly grin.

“You said you wanted to make a weapon out of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, didn’t you? Then you’ll need a fine scabbard, too. I hear there’s a dragon at the end of the world. Pull out one of its claws and bring it back. And while you’re at it, bring me a dragon pearl.”

Ding.

System

Quest Get Gongcheong Seokyu, a Dragon’s Claw, and a Dragon Pearl has been created.

Would you like to accept the Quest?

Y / N

…As if.

Feeling my insides boil, I closed the Quest window. Hyuk Mujin covered his mouth and whispered,

“I think the old man’s senile.”

“I can hear you. You wet-behind-the-ears brat certainly have a lot to say.”

Just as Jang Taebo began waving a fist the size of a pot lid, Cheongpung thrust his hand into the air and shouted,

“I’ll go find them! Let me do it!”

“What?”

“The Herb of Eternal Youth! Gongcheong seokyu! A dragon!”

At last, the neighborhood’s resident lunatic had stepped forward.

His eyes sparkled like morning stars, and his every gesture burned with enthusiasm. Faced with Cheongpung’s intensity, Jang Taebo flinched and took a step back.

“Who are you?”

Cheongpung answered energetically,

“I’m my grandpa’s grandson!”

“Who’s your grandfather?”

“My grandpa!”

“…What a lunatic.”

Welcome. First time dealing with Cheongpung?

As Jang Taebo shook his head from side to side, I casually added,

“Do you happen to know Great Hero Mae Jonghak?”

“Though I’m not a martial artist, I’ve spent my entire life with one foot in the Murim. Do you think I wouldn’t know the Sword Saint, whom even butchers have heard of?”

“That friend is the disciple personally raised and taught by the Sword Saint.”

“What? Is that true?”

“Why would I lie? Especially while staking the name of someone as distinguished as the Sword Saint?”

“Hah. So he’s the Sword Saint’s successor…”

Had that worked? No matter where you went in the world, connections were king: school ties, hometown ties, and blood ties.

In the Murim, the Sword Saint Mae Jonghak’s very existence inspired respect and awe.

Jang Taebo stared at Cheongpung in evident surprise, then opened his mouth.

“So what do you want me to do about it?”

“Ah…”

“I have nothing to do with Huashan. Well, I did make a sword at the request of the current Sect Leader of Huashan, Heavenly Sword True Person,² about thirty years ago. But that’s all.”

His firm voice continued.

“I’m eighty years old. I’m still in good health, and I’ve accumulated plenty of wealth. As a man who has worked iron all his life, I can proudly say that I rank among the top three in the world.”

“That’s why I’m asking you.”

“That’s why I’m refusing you. I’ve finished all the work I care to do. I’ve made swords until I’m sick of them.”

“I use a spear.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Yes.”

“A spear would take even more work. I’d rather make a sword.”

“Elder!”

I grabbed Jang Taebo’s hand and gave him an earnest look.

“Couldn’t you think of it as something to pass the time and help me just this once?”

“When did I say I wouldn’t?”

“You just said you wouldn’t.”

Jang Taebo harshly shook off my hand.

“I said I’d help you. If you bring me the Herb of Eternal Youth.”

“Oh, please.”

“Bring me the gongcheong seokyu and dragon pearl while you’re at it. I hear that when fighting a dragon, you should avoid its tail, circle around behind it, and choke its neck. I’m telling you so you don’t get hurt.”

“…A dragon isn’t a person. How am I supposed to kill it by choking it?”

“Then burst its balls.”

“What if it’s female?”

“See you in the next life.”

I had finally met a formidable opponent.

His way of screwing with people had been honed over decades. My fists trembled, and the back of my head throbbed.

“Are you really going to be like this?”

“That is precisely how I’m going to be.”

“I didn’t want to go this far…”

“Go on. Spit it out.”

“Should I spread the word that the former Guild Leader of the Ironcraft Guild lives here?”

I was only saying it. Obviously, I had no intention of actually doing it.

But Jang Taebo merely grinned at my threat to make his life difficult.

“Then I suppose I have no choice. I’ll have to return to the Ironcraft Guild before all sorts of gnats start swarming around.”

“Huh?”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. As I was thinking that, Jang Taebo asked,

“If I return to the Ironcraft Guild, what do you think I’ll do?”

“…How would I know?”

“I’ll devote the rest of my life to making ten weapons. Then I’ll distribute those weapons, each made with all my heart and soul, to the leaders of the Nine Sects and One Gang, while having in-depth conversations with them about the Jin Family of Taiyuan. Your name will come up quite a lot, especially.”

“W-What are you planning to tell them?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination. Oh, and you do know that martial artists will stake their lives on their weapons regardless of how advanced their martial arts are, don’t you? I’m sure they’ll be happy to grant a small request of mine.”

“…”

It might be a small request to the leaders of the Nine Sects and One Gang, but it would be anything but small to me or the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

If he bad-mouthed us with even a few words in front of them, a hit to our reputation would be the least of it. We might even face real pressure from them.

“Well, I suppose I should start preparing to leave. Let’s see, what should I pack…?”

As he turned to go into his room and pack, I grabbed his wrist. Jang Taebo asked innocently,

“What is it?”

I lowered my head helplessly.

“Please stop. I admit defeat.”

“Is that all?”

“I’m sorry for acting cocky.”

“And?”

“I won’t tell anyone that you’re living here.”

“Given that you came looking for me like this, it can’t be something only you know, can it?”

“I’ll explain everything properly to my eldest brother, too.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course.”

“Hm. You’re not completely ill-mannered, then.”

Having gotten every answer he wanted, Jang Taebo smiled with satisfaction.

I had defeated enemies stronger than me time and again, but I couldn’t break the will of an old man enjoying a quiet retirement.

So where am I supposed to have the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron forged?

I’d finally thought I was about to have my first cherished weapon…

I was staring dejectedly at the half-chewed, discarded He Shou Wu when Jang Taebo spoke.

“You said you were making a spear?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you deaf? Why do you keep asking me to repeat myself?”

I hurriedly raised my head and saw Jang Taebo’s gruff face. He continued,

“Well, if you ask me to make it myself, I’ll obviously refuse. But I can at least give you an introduction.”

“You mean the Guild Leader of the Ironcraft Guild, your disciple…”

“Do you think the Guild Leader has that much time on his hands? He’s busy, too. Even someone like you would have to wait several years at the very least.”

“Several years?”

“What, did you think a weapon could be completed overnight? He’s not as good as me, but he’s skilled enough that his orders are bound to be backed up. Even picking and choosing which ones to accept, it still takes that long.”

Even so, several years?

The prospect of such an unexpectedly long project left me short of breath.

“T-Then what do I do?”

“What do you mean, what do you do? I’ll write you a letter of introduction. Take it with you. You’ll be going there with a recommendation from his master, so he’ll probably finish it a little sooner. That fellow makes one hell of a spear.”

“Ooh. Ooooh.”

“The village was in an uproar because of those mounted bandits, and I heard you were the one who dealt with them. I’ll do this for you as a special favor. Do you have paper, a brush, and ink?”

Hyuk Mujin, suddenly singled out, answered with a bewildered expression,

“No.”

“Right. One look at you, and I can tell you don’t carry such things. Then what about you…?”

“Chomp, chomp, chomp.”

He’s eating those now?

Jang Taebo sighed at the sight of Cheongpung stuffing the dumplings we had bought at the inn into his mouth until his cheeks looked ready to burst.

“…Are the dumplings good?”

“Chomp, chomp. Yes.”

“Mae Jonghak took in a strange one in his later years. Fine, wait here a moment.”

“Old people should just die. Young people these days have no manners.”

Muttering loudly enough for us to hear, Jang Taebo went inside and returned with paper, a brush, and ink.

“First, the weapon is a spear… Do you have a particular shape or weight in mind?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Tell me.”

I described in detail the weight and shape that had become thoroughly familiar to me over seven years of wielding a spear.

Each time, Jang Taebo either nodded silently or added advice on how to make a spear better suited to me.

He really is an expert.

Sixty years in the trade had not gone to waste.

He gave my body a quick once-over, then rattled off one correction after another. He gauged the size of my hands and the length of my arms and legs with uncanny accuracy, then adjusted the thickness and shape of the spear shaft little by little.

“All right, this is the last thing. Where are you planning to put the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron? In the spearhead, presumably?”

“…?”

“Why are you making that face? You said you had Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. You’re not planning to leave it out, are you?”

“No, I’m going to use it…”

“Do you not have much? By my estimate, ten nyang should be enough to produce something worthy of being called a renowned spear. You could pass it down as a family heirloom without shame.”

How much was ten nyang? I still wasn’t used to the unit of weight, so I had no idea.

As I hesitated, Jang Taebo barked,

“Ah! How much of it are you going to put in?”

“That’s… Just a moment.”

Seeing was believing. It would be faster to show him directly.

Pretending to rummage through my travel bag, I took the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron from my Inventory and casually held it out.

“It’s about this much.”

“…”

“Elder?”

Jang Taebo didn’t answer. He stared intently at the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, which was larger than an adult’s head, for a long time before asking in an intensely hoarse voice,

“This… This is all Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

“Yes. This isn’t your first time seeing it, is it?”

“I-I can’t believe this.”

His wrinkled hands trembled faintly. Jang Taebo stroked the cold, blue-tinged Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron as though he had been reunited with a child after sixty years. A sharp light flashed in his eyes.

“Entrust it to me.”

The old man who had found everything a nuisance was nowhere to be seen. His voice brimmed with passion and vitality.

“I’ll make you the greatest divine weapon in the world.”

Ding.

System

The Quest mission has been completed.

Quest Find the Master Artisan has been successfully completed.

A linked Quest has been created.