Chapter 56
Chapter 56
A frigid atmosphere began to fill every corner of the annex. Yet Youngho still wore a gentle smile on his face.
In contrast, Hwangbo Nyeong clenched her fists so tightly that she looked ready to explode at any moment.
"I have something I wish to say to you briefly. Would you be willing to follow me?"
When Hwangbo Nyeong spoke politely, Youngho responded with equal courtesy.
"I am sorry, but I would like to rest for today."
"Then perhaps tomorrow……"
"We have somewhere urgent to go tomorrow. If time permits later, I shall speak with you then. Is it something very urgent?"
"……No."
Hwangbo Geumhyeon wondered why his niece was showing such keen interest in Youngho.
‘He certainly seems difficult to read…….’
This alone would not have been enough to draw Hwangbo Nyeong’s attention.
‘Have they already met once before?’
Hwangbo Nyeong’s face clearly suggested that they had met before, yet Youngho’s expression was filled only with puzzlement, as though he were truly seeing her for the first time.
One strange point was that he did not seem surprised even after hearing the name of the Hwangbo Clan.
‘He must have some backing.’
The person before him was undoubtedly no ordinary individual.
‘I cannot properly discern his Martial Might.’
Perhaps he had learned some special martial art that concealed it from plain sight, or else……
‘His Martial Might is so high that even I cannot properly gauge it.’
It had to be one of the two. Naturally, Hwangbo Geumhyeon assumed that Youngho had learned some special martial art.
Hwangbo Geumhyeon was a master of the Transformation Realm. And there existed no one in the world strong enough to deceive the eyes of a master of the Transformation Realm.
‘…Unless it is the Heavenly Demon?’
Perhaps the one called the strongest under heaven, the Heavenly Demon, might manage such a feat.
Meanwhile, even as Hwangbo Geumhyeon pondered the Heavenly Demon, the fierce battle of nerves between Hwangbo Nyeong and Youngho continued.
Frowning openly, clearly displeased with the situation, Hwangbo Nyeong said,
"Then may we at least speak alone here and now?"
"I am afraid that will not be possible either."
"And why not?"
At her sharply edged voice, Youngho smiled faintly.
"I am a member of the Unorthodox Faction. If it became known that a daughter of the Hwangbo Clan was associating with someone from the Unorthodox Faction, the world would be thrown into an uproar."
It was sound reasoning—perfectly logical and correct. Yet there was something Hwangbo Nyeong desperately wished to ask him.
-You deceived the world.
At her Voice Transmission, Youngho glanced toward Hwangbo Geumhyeon. The latter shrugged and said,
"I have no hobby of eavesdropping."
At those words, Youngho nodded.
-What do you mean?
Even through Voice Transmission, Youngho revealed none of his true colors. Hwangbo Nyeong’s eyebrows twitched. As if to tell her not to misunderstand, he sent another transmission.
-I have not seen many among those who call themselves Orthodox Sect members who truly keep their word.
Just as Hwangbo Nyeong was about to ask what he meant, Hwangbo Geumhyeon suddenly flinched and cleared his throat awkwardly. Hwangbo Nyeong looked at him in disbelief.
-You were listening?
-How could I not? My cherished niece is showing such emotional agitation.
Rubbing her temple as though she had a headache, Hwangbo Nyeong spoke aloud.
"I apologize for the discourtesy. I shall visit again next time."
"It is quite all right. I hope we will surely be able to speak next time."
At Youngho’s sharp remark, Hwangbo Nyeong’s earlobes reddened. It had been she who asked to speak.
Yet it had also been she who made it impossible—more precisely, because she had brought Hwangbo Geumhyeon along.
With no other choice, Hwangbo Nyeong stepped out of the annex and said,
"I hope I may at least treat you to a meal sometime later."
"At that time, I shall tell you as much as you wish."
‘By the time we meet again, at least three years will have passed anyway.’
Youngho hid those words in his heart and smiled. Normally, such a suspicious smile might have caused discomfort, but given Youngho’s face, Hwangbo Nyeong felt none at all.
‘That face is a complete cheat.’
Letting out a deep sigh inwardly, Hwangbo Nyeong bade him farewell and left.
After confirming that Hwangbo Nyeong and Hwangbo Geumhyeon had gone quite a distance away, Horyeung spoke to Youngho.
"Why did you deliberately draw the attention of the Hwangbo Clan? With your abilities, Young Master, you could have easily hidden from their notice."
"That is true. But they are necessary for the one we are about to find."
"The person we are to find?"
Horyeung pondered Youngho’s intentions for a moment. Soon, realization dawned upon him, and he let out a sigh.
"So it was not merely because this is where your close friend was born and raised."
"That is right."
"I have never heard that there is any noteworthy blacksmith in this place."
"I believe there is."
Hyeon-gang, who had not understood a word of their conversation, asked Youngho,
"Why is a blacksmith suddenly being mentioned?"
"Ah~ you remember the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron we brought, don’t you?"
"Yes. When I first saw it, I thought my liver would drop out from shock."
"What an exaggeration."
"I am serious. Even I have never seen Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron of such purity."
"It is certainly a fine item."
"Is there a blacksmith here capable of forging a sword from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?"
"You catch on quickly."
"After you have said this much, anyone would answer the same way."
"That is right. As you said, I intend to forge a sword here. Though with this amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, I can probably only make five or six swords at most. Still, for now, this will suffice."
"You are aware that it does not explain why someone like you would come all the way here merely to forge a sword, aren’t you?"
One of the Three Dragons would not travel this far simply to commission a sword—no matter if it were a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron Sword.
"The blacksmith must be exceptionally skilled."
"He is considerably skilled."
"I would like to see just how skilled he is."
"If we compare it to medicine, he is your equal."
Hyeon-gang did not wish to admit it, but Youngho never spoke falsehoods. Reluctantly, he nodded.
Thus, the next day arrived.
Youngho lightly loosened the muscles that had tightened overnight.
Crack, crackle—
For nearly a Quarter-Hour, he stretched every part of his body.
Though even simple exercises sufficed to loosen the body, Hyeon-gang still seemed unable to understand and asked,
"Why do you perform these exercises every morning? Your body is always in optimal condition already."
"If I do not do this, it feels as though my body is not in optimal condition."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"If you say so, then it must be so."
After loosening his neck one last time, Youngho said,
"Right. Hosan, Chowon. Bring the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and follow me."
"Yes."
Once everyone had finished preparing, Youngho stepped out of the inn with his group.
In an instant, Horyeung’s expression twisted.
‘Are we being followed?’
Someone was tailing them. To be precise, they were likely tailing Youngho.
"Young Master, what would you have us do?"
"Just leave them be."
Horyeung, growing anxious at the thought that they might fail to recruit the blacksmith Youngho had personally acknowledged, asked again,
"Will that truly be all right? They may follow us all the way to where the blacksmith is."
"It is fine. That gentleman is thoroughly sick of the Orthodox Sect."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that……?"
"You will understand when we get there."
As he spoke, Youngho glanced at those secretly trailing him and thought,
‘If they are letting a treasure rot away, then I suppose it is fine if I take him.’
If they are not going to use him anyway, why should I not?
Youngho inwardly mocked the foolish and ignorant Hwangbo Clan, as well as the forces of the Orthodox Sect.
The blacksmith Youngho intended to take was one who would later be evaluated as the greatest blacksmith throughout past and present. Of course, that was a story of the future.
‘He should be around forty by now.’
He did not know the exact age. Still, he clearly remembered that in the future, the man had been a stubborn old elder.
At the thought of meeting an old comrade again after so long, Youngho found himself unusually excited.
Noticing this rare side of him, Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon exchanged Voice Transmissions in fascination as they followed behind.
After walking for about a Quarter-Hour, Youngho’s group arrived at a blacksmith’s forge.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic ringing echoed throughout the workshop, and the clear sound of hammer striking steel reverberated in Youngho’s ears. Inside the sweltering forge stood a young man forging a sword, sweat pouring from his body.
Though sweat continued to stream down him and his exhaustion was evident, the young man maintained a steady rhythm, striking the sword at precise intervals.
Like a seasoned Martial Artist executing a flawless technique, his hammer blows contained not the slightest error.
‘At least he was still young at this time.’
Compared to the old man he would become, youth was only natural—but knowing his future appearance made this sight feel strangely out of place to Youngho.
Just as Youngho was about to speak to the young blacksmith—
"Is Kang Yongchong here?"
The man who spoke casually shoved Youngho’s shoulder aside as though Youngho were beneath notice, then walked toward the young man and continued,
"Why not give up already and come over to our side? Honestly, the Black Dragon Branch is not a bad place."
At that, the young man called Kang Yongchong rose from his spot and said,
"Please grant me a little more time."
"Then at least repay the interest right now. If you do, we might grant you a bit more time."
Kang Yongchong bit down hard on his lip. He felt powerless. He had never imagined that money alone could reduce a man to such humiliation.
By all rights, Kang Yongchong should never have been cornered like this. He was capable—exceptionally so.
But there was one thing that shackled his ankle.
‘If not for Great-Grandfather’s dying wish…….’
One day, his great-grandfather had lost an arm to the rampage of a Martial Artist—an Orthodox Sect member, no less.
The family had been furious and lodged a formal protest with the Murim Alliance.
Their forge had enjoyed a respectable reputation in the region, so they had naturally believed the Murim Alliance would take proper measures.
But the Murim Alliance had not sided with the forge. Instead, they had demanded a significant compensation payment for the crime of insulting an Orthodox Sect member.
At first, even the local residents had raised their voices against the Murim Alliance’s tyranny. But when the Murim Alliance issued a light threat, customers gradually stopped coming to the forge.
They had known. Even if they were Orthodox Sect members, they were still human—corruption and misconduct would inevitably exist.
But the Murim Alliance of that time had been far more rotten than they had imagined, and Kang Yongchong’s great-grandfather had happened to become one of its victims.
Thus, his great-grandfather had given his family strict instructions: never become entangled with the Orthodox Sect. In fact, he had even said that those of the Unorthodox Faction were far better by comparison.
Of course, that was a matter of the past. The present Murim Alliance had cut away its festering parts and now always acted for the sake of the common people.
Yet the distrust of the Orthodox Sect, passed down through generations, had reached even Kang Yongchong’s father. Kang Yongchong himself had grown up listening to his late father’s words, and thus could not enter the Orthodox Sect’s side.
Even though he knew the current Murim Alliance was relatively clean.
Having lost its reputation, the forge had no choice but to relocate repeatedly in hopes of regaining public trust.
And the place they had barely managed to settle in—by sheer misfortune—was Shandong.
However, the repeated relocations had drained their funds. Eventually, during his father’s generation, they had borrowed money from the Black Dragon Branch.
When his father died, that debt passed directly to Kang Yongchong.
There had been his great-grandfather’s dying wish—not to even exchange words with the Orthodox Sect. So Kang Yongchong had acted cautiously to avoid any entanglement with them.
As a result, money grew ever scarcer, and the debt only increased.
In the moment of Kang Yongchong’s hesitation—
"What? You have debt?"
Only then did Kang Yongchong realize that a young man had entered the forge.
"Hmm… That makes things a little troublesome……. Fine. I will give you a job."
"Pardon?"
As Kang Yongchong reflexively asked back, Youngho grinned.
"I will entrust you with one task, owner. The compensation will be generous, so do not worry."