Chapter 92: Familiar Comfort
Falling Flame Manor was not a small household.
There were more than a dozen blacksmiths alone, and dozens more servants handling various chores.
The number of retainers was by no means small either.
Moreover, because it was a smithy, the sound of hammering never ceased all day long.
Yet in such a place as Falling Flame Manor, an alien stillness settled.
It was only natural.
Jin Seong-un had spoken, infused with inner energy, that he wished to have a match with Falling Flame Manor.
His words were loud enough that even the apprentice stoking the bellows in the corner of the smithy could hear them.
“A, a match?”
Chae Seo-ryeong blinked as she repeated the words.
Could it be that he was angry with her?
But would he really come here at night just to challenge her to a duel?
“Yes. A match.”
Jin Seong-un did not bother to bring up the name of the Divine Thief here. He assumed that the servants and ordinary smiths probably did not know about the wager between the Divine Thief and Falling Flame Manor.
“What kind of match…?”
“I will explain after meeting the Manor Head.”
At that, Chae Seo-ryeong made an awkward expression.
After all, Falling Flame Manor was also a household with history and tradition.
A young man could not simply show up in the middle of the night and say, ‘Manor Head, let us talk,’ and expect her to come out.
‘Considering Mother’s temper…’
She grew worried that a conflict might break out when she thought of her mother, Chae Ga-hee, who was the Manor Head and had a fiery disposition.
Just as Chae Seo-ryeong was racking her brain—
“A blacksmith, is it?”
Suddenly, a low and sharp voice rang out.
All eyes, not only Chae Seo-ryeong’s but also those of the servants, turned toward the source.
A middle-aged woman with red hair flowing behind her approached.
With every step, an unshakable dignity exuded from her.
Jin Seong-un watched her briefly before bowing his head.
“No.”
“Then a martial artist?”
“I am an inn boy.”
“……”
For a moment, Chae Ga-hee looked dumbfounded.
What kind of match would an inn boy come to Falling Flame Manor for…
Then, she remembered something Chae Seo-ryeong had once said.
‘So it’s that boy.’
A thief even more skilled than Seo-ryeong herself, one who had broken through the formation set by the Murim genius of the Sima Clan.
She also recalled something she had once said to her daughter, half in jest.
– He must be the disciple of the Divine Thief.
Her eyes changed.
Immediately, a fierce aura surged from her entire body.
As though signaling the beginning of something, murderous qi burst out from every corner of the manor, pressing down on Jin Seong-un.
“W-wait a moment!”
Chae Seo-ryeong flailed her arms in panic at the empty air.
To her, Jin Seong-un did not seem like a bad person. She had no solid evidence, and it was certainly not because he was handsome.
It was just a feeling.
When she had used Falling Flame Point Pupil to read Jin Seong-un’s energy, his qi had been purer and clearer than anything she had ever seen before.
‘Someone like that can’t possibly be a villain.’
Chae Seo-ryeong was certain of it.
So, even though the situation was ridiculous, she thought at the very least they should hear him out.
Jin Seong-un quietly endured the pressure weighing down on his shoulders. The energy was quite strong.
This was certainly not an ordinary smithy. Its level was comparable to a decent Murim faction.
Despite the blatant release of killing intent, Jin Seong-un remained calm, which made a flicker of surprise cross Chae Ga-hee’s eyes.
“What kind of match do you speak of?”
“I have heard that there is still a wager here in Falling Flame Manor that has yet to be resolved.”
Chae Ga-hee and Jin Seong-un locked eyes for a moment.
In truth, Jin Seong-un did not have a favorable impression of Falling Flame Manor.
After all, his teacher the Divine Thief’s death was connected to their ancestor, and he had not been fond of Chae Seo-ryeong’s thievery either.
After some time passed—
“Come inside.”
Chae Ga-hee abruptly turned and walked away.
Jin Seong-un watched her back for a brief moment before following. Chae Seo-ryeong and the servants only blinked in bewilderment.
The guest hall of Falling Flame Manor.
It was not lavish but was decorated with an elegant, old-fashioned style. Inside, Jin Seong-un, Chae Seo-ryeong, and Chae Ga-hee sat facing each other across a low table.
None of the three said a word.
A servant cautiously entered, set down refreshments, glanced at Jin Seong-un’s face, and quietly left. Still, silence remained.
Jin Seong-un and Chae Ga-hee sat expressionless, each lost in thought, while Chae Seo-ryeong fidgeted anxiously between them.
After a short while, Chae Ga-hee twitched her brow and finally spoke.
“If you came here, shouldn’t you state your business?”
“I already said my business.”
“Yes, the wager. But what kind of wager could an inn boy and a smith possibly have?”
“……”
Jin Seong-un fell silent.
Truthfully, he did not know what the wager was.
The Divine Thief had only told him that he would understand once he came to Falling Flame Manor.
But blurting out his teacher’s name immediately felt difficult. It had been decades. He could not know whether the descendants here still remembered the wager or not.
Mentioning the Divine Thief’s name rashly might only lead to strange misunderstandings.
So instead, he fixed his gaze and held his ground with solemnity.
Silence once more.
Eventually, Chae Ga-hee spoke again, her face weary. She had never lost a battle of patience before, but this fellow looked ready to sit in silence until morning.
“Are you saying you are truly that person’s successor?”
Jin Seong-un’s expression brightened slightly.
So the descendants did know of the wager.
“That’s right.”
He then recalled the thoughts he had been turning over in his mind the whole way here.
To declare himself as the successor of the Divine Thief was fine. After all, it was not a lie but the truth.
That was why the method mattered.
‘I bought an inn, only to discover Martial Gods living in the storage shed, and one of them was the Divine Thief. I then became his disciple.’
If he said this, Falling Flame Manor might easily report him to the authorities as a lunatic barging in.
So, he crafted a different story.
“At that time, when my mind was troubled, I stopped by the shrine of Guan Yu on Mount Li…”
A mysterious voice had guided him, and following it, he had found the Divine Thief’s hidden residence.
There, he had learned the Divine Thief’s supreme arts, then burned everything in accordance with the command written within.
The Divine Thief had left a record that if someone truly mastered his supreme arts, they should go to the Falling Flame Iron Workshop and finish the unresolved wager.
“That is why I came. When I asked people, they said the old name of Falling Flame Manor was Falling Flame Iron Workshop.”
When the name Falling Flame Iron Workshop was mentioned, a flicker of surprise flashed in Chae Ga-hee’s eyes.
It was an old name that someone young like Jin Seong-un should not have known.
“Very well, I understand your claim.”
Chae Ga-hee called Jin Seong-un’s explanation a “claim.” From the beginning, she could not believe a stranger’s words in full, especially words like these.
“Do you have proof to support your words?”
“I do not.”
“……”
For once, Chae Ga-hee made a dumbfounded face. She looked at Jin Seong-un as though staring at a madman.
“Well, you may check the hidden residence beneath the shrine of Guan Yu. I cannot say if it will count as proof, but still.”
Jin Seong-un had intentionally left the door wide open. The records left on the floors and walls would lend credibility that it was indeed the Divine Thief’s dwelling.
After speaking, he studied Chae Ga-hee’s reaction.
She pretended to be thoughtful as she sipped her tea. But her lips moved ever so slightly — as if sending a voice transmission somewhere.
Soon, Jin Seong-un sensed someone leaving Falling Flame Manor in haste.
“That is not enough to make me believe all your words.”
“Then how can we settle the wager?”
Jin Seong-un was equally frustrated.
To fulfill his teacher’s request, he needed Chae Ga-hee — or anyone — to explain the contents of the wager.
But with this level of wariness, even dragging out the details of the wager would be difficult.
Since this request had come from one known as a Martial God, he had not expected it to be easy. Still, he had not anticipated this kind of obstacle.
‘Just what kind of matter is this?’
If even the descendants of the one who had wagered with the Divine Thief were so guarded, then it must concern the entire Falling Flame household.
After a moment of deep thought, Chae Ga-hee finally spoke.
“If you are truly the successor of the Divine Thief…”
“……”
“Then there is nothing in this world you cannot steal.”
Jin Seong-un looked at her intently.
She continued.
“Can you steal what I ask of you? If so, then I will believe you are the Divine Thief’s disciple.”
To prove that he was indeed the successor of the greatest thief in history, naturally the test had to be theft.
At least, that was how Chae Ga-hee saw it.
After some thought, Jin Seong-un asked,
“What should I steal?”
Chae Ga-hee gave a dry laugh.
At the very least, his confidence resembled the Divine Thief she had heard about in childhood tales.
Then she spoke with a provocative smile.
“From the Zhongnan Sect, steal twenty swords engraved with the name of Falling Flame Manor.”
She studied Jin Seong-un’s face.
The Zhongnan Sect — what kind of place was it? It proudly occupied a place among the Nine Sects One Gang of the orthodox faction.
Together with the Mount Hua Sect, it split the Murim of Shaanxi into two. It was a great sword sect.
Chae Ga-hee expected Jin Seong-un to flinch, at least a little.
‘Even if he is truly the Divine Thief’s successor…’
After all, he looked no older than her own daughter, Chae Seo-ryeong.
But her expectation was immediately overturned.
“By when should I bring them back?”
“……”
Instead, both Chae Ga-hee and Chae Seo-ryeong looked somewhat startled.
Chae Seo-ryeong imagined herself sneaking into the Zhongnan Sect.
For small items, she was confident she could steal them, as she always had.
But swords were different.
In a sword sect like the Zhongnan Sect, swords were treated with utmost care. The Daoist disciples cherished their swords, and even the yet-undistributed blades in the armory would be under guard.
Most of all, to steal not just one but twenty swords — to Chae Seo-ryeong, it seemed impossible.
Chae Ga-hee also regarded Jin Seong-un with a strange expression before speaking.
“You seem so confident…”
Just then.
A voice transmission rang in Chae Ga-hee’s mind.
– It is truly the Divine Thief’s residence.
For the first time, Chae Ga-hee’s eyes wavered.
Mount Li was practically the back mountain of Xi’an. That such a hidden residence of the Divine Thief existed so close by…
Fixing her eyes again on Jin Seong-un’s calm face, Chae Ga-hee spoke.
“By tomorrow morning.”
“Well… understood.”
Jin Seong-un nodded.
Her brow twitched at his response.
“Are you truly so confident?”
“I suppose I will only know once I try.”
With that, Jin Seong-un rose without hesitation. This test pleased him, regardless of his feelings about Falling Flame Manor.
He remembered the inn he had stopped at before coming here.
There, the Daoist disciples of Zhongnan Sect had mocked the swords of Falling Flame Manor.
If he had to steal something, it might as well be something they themselves did not even value.
Leaving Falling Flame Manor, Jin Seong-un headed straight for Mount Zhongnan.
With his task clear, there was no need to waste time.
When he reached near the summit, dozens of grand pavilions came into view.
‘So that is the Zhongnan Sect.’
It was his first time actually seeing one of the Nine Sects One Gang, which he had only heard of all his life.
Naturally, two young Daoist disciples stood stern guard at the front gate.
Among them was someone Jin Seong-un already knew.
‘Dumpling.’
That Daoist who had sat in the inn, juice dripping from his mouth as he ate dumplings, and who had made lewd comments about Chae Ga-hee and Chae Seo-ryeong.
From a distance, Jin Seong-un watched them briefly, then pulled over the mask he had brought.
A familiar comfort settled over him.