Chapter 499

Spring was in full swing, but the night wind blowing along Dongting Lake’s winding waterways was chilly.

Jang Taebo entered Jin Wikyung’s heavy-cloth tent, claimed the spot in front of the brazier, and sat down to warm himself.

“Whew. Now I feel alive.”

Jin Wikyung smiled and handed him a cup of tea.

“You’ve had a long journey.”

“Good thing I happened to be in Henan. If I’d been in Shanxi, I wouldn’t have come even at your request, Lesser Family Head. Working an old man who’s just waiting to die this hard…”

I looked at Jang Taebo’s threatening muscles and thought,

He looks plenty capable of hard work…

Just look at him. He wasn’t merely fit; he was built. While overwork shaved years off other people’s lives, the worst it could do to Jang Taebo was cost him some muscle.

Wipeng seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He glanced from his own forearm to Jang Taebo’s, then spoke.

“I heard everything that happened in Sichuan and Hubei. I came myself to see if all was well and settle the matter in Henan while I was at it. It seems my timing was good.”

Jin Wikyung laughed heartily and patted Wipeng on the shoulder.

“Wipeng. You truly are my Zhang Liang!”¹

“I’m a martial artist.”

“Oh. Then Han Xin.”

“Han Xin was purged in the end.”

“Xiao He, then.”

“Xiao He was a civil official too.”

“……”

Jin Wikyung looked at Wipeng as though he wanted to purge him on the spot, then cleared his throat.

“Ahem. It seems you’ve had a great deal bottled up.”

In an ordinary relationship between lord and retainer, Wipeng would have denied it. But he was one of the few people who could openly give Jin Wikyung a hard time.

“Yes, my lord. Did you not know?”

“I knew, but I didn’t expect you to come all this way to tell me.”

“I didn’t come of my own accord. You summoned me. Do you realize you’ve been away for nearly three months? Not long ago, even Sect Leader Lee came to ask whether something had happened to you.”

“Cough, cough!”

The way Jin Wikyung kept clearing his throat suggested he had plenty to feel guilty about.

Wait. Sect Leader Lee? Wipeng couldn’t mean…

“Are you talking about Young Lady Lee—Lee Seowol?”

Wipeng shook his head.

“Not Young Lady. She is the bona fide Sect Leader of an established sect, Third Young Master.”

“Oh. Right.”

The Mount Heng Sword Sect had once sought to become the dominant power in Shanxi Province, only to collapse after a series of disasters.

However, Lee Seowol, the only surviving blood relative of the Blood Wolf Sword, had survived with my help and sworn loyalty to the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

Vassal or not, a Sect Leader was still a Sect Leader.

When did I last see her…? Has it been over a year already?

It was around the time Jeok Cheongang and I left the Jin Family of Taiyuan for Mount Jiuhua. A year had passed in Murim alone. Counting my time in the modern world, it had been even longer.

I could still remember our parting clearly.

“Excuse me, Sect Leader Lee.”

“Young Lady.”

“Pardon?”

“Please call me Young Lady.”

“Ah, yes. Young Lady Lee, then.”

“Go ahead, Young Master Jin.”

“May peace prevail throughout your household.”

“……”

“And may your sect prosper too. Whatever you do, I hope it all goes well.”

Hmm. I thought we’d parted on a fairly warm note.

The Lee Seowol I remembered had the resolve you’d expect of a martial family’s daughter. She hadn’t backed down even when Pung Yang came at her with the Red Wind Band. The ruined Mount Heng Sword Sect must have recovered quite a bit by now.

“So, is Young Lady Lee doing well these days?”

Wipeng considered the question.

“In some respects, yes. In others, perhaps not.”

“Why? Is something going wrong?”

“If you’re asking about the sect, the Mount Heng Sword Sect has already completed its reconstruction. Under Sect Leader Lee’s command, it is growing rapidly, and the number of its disciples is increasing every day.”

“Oh.”

“Great Hero Cheol Mubaek, the Tiger of Mount Heng and a friend of her late father, has also ended his seclusion and is taking an active role in the affairs of the Mount Heng Sword Sect.”

“Ohh.”

Then everything was going well, wasn’t it?

Wipeng narrowed his eyes at my puzzled look.

“Third Young Master, forgive me for asking, but have you truly not contacted her once since then?”

“Contacted her? About what?”

“……Hah. Never mind. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

The mood had turned strange. Jang Taebo clicked his tongue beside me, and a thought flashed through my mind.

No way. Come on, it can’t be. But what if…? No. That’s not it.

Jin Wikyung rescued me from my sudden confusion with a single remark.

“I’m glad to hear Sect Leader Lee is doing well. What about my second brother? I haven’t seen him in months.”

Wipeng gave me a look usually reserved for a pill bug, then sighed.

“He’s much the same. He lives on the fasting pills stored in the training hall and hasn’t set foot outside.”

“Mukyung, that fool. What is he trying to do…?”

Jin Wikyung had reason to worry.

Before I left for Mount Jiuhua, Jin Mukyung had lost a duel to Cheongpung. From that day on, he’d shut himself in the training hall and refused to come out.

A year had passed. The Star-Array Grand Banquet had been held, and Dark Heaven’s shadow now hung over Murim. He was still in there.

He did say he wouldn’t come out until he’d accomplished something great.

There was a time when all of Murim called Jin Mukyung a once-in-a-millennium genius.

Even the direct disciples of the Nine Sects and One Gang, with their generous supply of exceptional martial arts and elixirs, couldn’t compare to him. Despite being born into a fallen martial family on the fringes, Jin Mukyung had risen to the forefront of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes on the strength of his martial arts alone.

And then he met Cheongpung.

For Jin Mukyung, Cheongpung’s existence must have been an enormous shock and an equally enormous stimulus. The fact that he was still training in seclusion more than a year later was proof of it.

He’ll accomplish something. I’m sure of it.

The Jin Mukyung I knew was a genius, no question.

He hadn’t had the Sword Saint to teach him, or exceptional elixirs and martial arts handed to him. He’d come this far on his own. I couldn’t imagine what he might be like when he finally emerged.

The question is when.

He wasn’t going to emerge when he was nearly sixty, was he?

If he survived on nothing but fasting pills until then, I’d genuinely respect him and treat him as my hyung.² Frankly, a full year of eating those tasteless things was impressive enough.

Even Wudang Daoists brought jerky instead of fasting pills when they practiced wall-facing meditation. What did that tell you?

One bite of a fasting pill, and even the worst vegetarians—the kind who flip over the grill at a barbecue restaurant—would go looking for pork belly.

While I was thinking about that, the conversation had moved on to Jang Taebo.

“By the way, Lesser Family Head, will you tell this old man why you summoned him?”

In response to Jang Taebo’s grumbling question, Jin Wikyung abruptly tossed out a single phrase.

“Ironcraft Hall. What do you think?”

“I’ve never heard of such a place in the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”

“You wouldn’t have. It was established only a few days ago.”

Jang Taebo frowned.

“It’s a strangely familiar name. It reminds me of the Ironcraft Guild, where this old man once worked.”

“I named it with you in mind, Old Master Jang. Master of Ironcraft Hall. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“Lesser Family Head.”

Jang Taebo sighed.

“I left the Ironcraft Guild long ago.”

“Then perhaps it’s time you came back.”

“I’m old and tired. I haven’t the strength to lift a hammer.”

Jin Wikyung stared meaningfully at Jang Taebo’s threatening muscles, then moved his lips.

“Youngest.”

By now, I knew exactly why he’d summoned Jang Taebo. I tapped White Flame, strapped across my back, and let it fall.

Clang!

“Oh no! I dropped a divine weapon made by a blacksmith too old and tired to lift a hammer!”

“……”

“My spear, made from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron! They say it’s incredibly difficult to work. I wonder who made it…”

Jang Taebo glared at me as though he wanted to tear me apart.

“Enough.”

“Why? I wasn’t talking about you, Elder.”

“I made it, didn’t I?”

“What are you talking about? How could someone who can’t lift a hammer make this?”

“…That damned brat.”

Jang Taebo sighed as though the ground itself had collapsed, then looked at Jin Wikyung.

“Was this why you gave me all sorts of help?”

“Of course not. It was a simple kindness to the artisan who made a divine weapon for my beloved youngest brother.”

“Then I’ll answer your proposal.”

“I’m listening.”

“No. That is the only answer this old man can give. It wouldn’t change with a blade at my throat.”

I shot my hand up.

“What about the spear?”

“Shut up before I take it back and snap it.”

“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. Special feature: fucking hard.”

“…Why did I ever make a spear for a bastard like you? What riches and glory did I think I’d get out of it?”

“Just become the Master of Ironcraft Hall. I hear you’ve had plenty of help from our family.”

“I’ll repay you with money. Do you think I’m going to put myself through that kind of hell again at my age?”

“Seriously? You really won’t do it?”

“Then what are you going to do? I said I wouldn’t.”

“Then just tell me your conditions. I’ll meet as many of them as I can.”

“Conditions?”

A smug smile appeared on Jang Taebo’s face.

“Remember this time last year? I’ll set the same conditions.”

“The conditions from back then? You can’t mean…”

“The Herb of Eternal Youth, gongcheong seokyu,³ a dragon’s claw, or a dragon pearl. Bring me any one of those.”

Beep.

System

• A Sudden Quest, No Way You Can Do It Anyway, has been created!

• Quest Objective: Obtain at least one of the items Jang Taebo named.

Clang! Crash!

I sprang to my feet and shouted.

“Come on! Where am I supposed to find any of that? You’re asking for a dragon, not even an imugi!”⁴

“Imugi⁴ or dragon, bring me one first. Then I’ll bury my bones in the Jin Family of Taiyuan. If you can’t, keep quiet.”

Beep.

System

• Quest details have been changed.

• Quest Objective: Obtain an imugi’s⁴ claw.

I checked the changed System window and nodded.

“Oh, that works. Here.”

“My mind hasn’t changed, so don’t waste your effort—what are you suddenly giving me?”

“An imugi’s⁴ claw.”

“Huh?”

“An imugi’s⁴ claw. You told me to bring you one.”

“…What?”

Jang Taebo’s pupils shook as though an earthquake had struck.

He was a Master Artisan ranked among the three greatest in the world, and he had once served as the Guild Leader of the Ironcraft Guild, the finest blacksmith organization under Heaven.

“An… an imugi’s⁴ claw? Is it real?”

“Look at the length. It’s obviously not one of mine.”

“No, I mean, where in the world did you…”

“I caught it.”

“What?”

“There are bones and scales too.”

“That’s impossible!”

“Go see for yourself after sunrise. Great Hero Wipeng’s only heard about it in a letter, so you two can go together.”

Beep.

System

• The Sudden Quest, No Way You Can Do It Anyway, has been successfully completed!

• As a Quest Reward, the Jin Family of Taiyuan has acquired Jang Taebo!

• Achievement unlocked: Wow, You Found It!

Along with the cheerful System notification, Jin Wikyung warmly put an arm around Jang Taebo’s shoulder.

“I look forward to working with you from now on, Master of Ironcraft Hall.”

“……!”

Jang Taebo’s eyes were utterly vacant. The Jin Family of Taiyuan had acquired its very own Dobby⁵—no, slave.