Chapter 99: Qinghai Iron Workshop
Deep in the secluded mountains.
The sorrowful wail of a child echoed so sharply that it sent chills down the spine.
“This is……”
Shock flickered across Chae Seo-ryeong’s face.
As the daughter of a blacksmith, she could clearly tell that there was something terribly strange about this sword’s resonance.
Memories of what she had once heard at the Kunlun Sect came to mind—children had been disappearing.
“It can’t be… right?”
Chae Seo-ryeong asked as though seeking confirmation.
But Jin Seong-un did not answer.
He focused only on infusing the sword with Women’s Moon Qi. For reasons he could not explain, he simply felt instinctively that this was what he had to do.
The wailing continued.
The more Moon Qi he poured into the sword, the more that gentle, pure white energy wrapped around it as if soothing and polishing it, the louder and more sorrowful the cry became.
Time passed.
Then the crying gradually began to fade.
And at that moment, something strange occurred.
Ssshhh—
Bluish-white mist rose from the sword.
The clear, wavering haze drifted upward into the sky.
As it ascended, the cries diminished.
By the time the wailing stopped entirely, Jin Seong-un had withdrawn the Moon Qi.
The bluish-white mist continued rising until it vanished beyond sight.
For a while, both Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong gazed blankly up at the sky.
“……”
Then the two turned to look at each other.
They seemed to be thinking the same thing.
The Qinghai Iron Workshop was doing something strange to its swords.
“But why didn’t anyone notice? You’re not the only martial artist capable of spreading sword resonance.”
Chae Seo-ryeong’s doubt was reasonable.
It was well known that masters at the peak could channel their energy into a blade, allowing its sound to resonate.
It was often called the realm of Sword Unification.
Jin Seong-un pondered briefly before replying.
“It must be because of the martial art I trained in.”
The Noble Enchantress’s Women’s Moon Heart Method.
It was an energy that gently embraced all things.
That Moon Qi seemed to soothe whatever had been trapped within the sword and send it to the heavens.
It had to be connected to the missing children.
It could not have been an illusion—for the sword’s resonance had unmistakably been the wail of a child.
“Lady Chae.”
“Yes.”
The atmosphere around Chae Seo-ryeong grew heavy.
Jin Seong-un continued.
“Is it possible for a sword to carry the cry of a human being?”
Jin Seong-un’s knowledge of the murim was shallow. Naturally, his understanding of swords and other weapons was limited.
But Chae Seo-ryeong was different—she had been born and raised in a blacksmith’s household.
After some thought, her face turned a little pale as she answered.
“There is something known as the Ghost-Crying Sword.”
“A ghost’s wail?”
Chae Seo-ryeong nodded.
From what she knew, the only weapon said to carry a human voice was the Ghost-Crying Sword.
“I don’t even know if it really exists. It’s supposedly forged by mixing a human soul into molten steel. The resentful spirit becomes trapped in the blade.”
“……Why would anyone make such a thing?”
“I don’t know. Maybe for religious reasons, or maybe they believed a sword would become stronger if it held a human soul. But again—I don’t know if the Ghost-Crying Sword even truly exists. I don’t even know if ghosts are real.”
“Ghosts are real.”
Jin Seong-un spoke with certainty.
Chae Seo-ryeong’s eyes widened.
He looked like the last person who would ever believe in such things.
“You’ve seen one?”
Jin Seong-un nodded.
Of course he had—many times, in fact.
He had come all the way here at the request of his ghostly teacher.
“We need to investigate the Qinghai Iron Workshop. We must find out what exactly is going on. This is something that must be done, apart from the wager with Falling Flame Manor.”
Chae Seo-ryeong nodded in agreement.
Children had gone missing, and now a child’s cry had been heard from one of Qinghai’s swords.
There were far too many suspicious points to dismiss as coincidence.
“Tonight, I will go alone.”
Jin Seong-un declared.
Chae Seo-ryeong’s eyes widened.
“Let’s go together.”
“I only mean to take a quick look. Just to see what’s happening.”
“Which is why we should go together.”
Their gazes clashed.
Both were stubborn, neither willing to look away first.
Time passed.
Tears welled in Chae Seo-ryeong’s reddened eyes.
“Ah.”
She finally broke eye contact.
But she still could not back down.
“Then why did you bring me here? Why did you have me train in movement arts along the way? And what if the Qinghai Iron Workshop is protected by formations?”
Her eyes brimmed with worry.
This was not mere stubbornness.
Even Divine Thief had been ensnared by the Workshop’s formation. Since she was the only one capable of reading the energy of formations, she had to be there.
She added firmly:
“Even the Sima Clan got trapped in formations.”
“……”
He had no good rebuttal.
At last, Jin Seong-un sighed.
“Then promise me one thing.”
“What is it? I’ll promise two if you want.”
“……We’ll go together. But if danger arises, you must flee without hesitation. And I will be the one to decide when that moment comes.”
In other words, if he told her to run, she had to obey immediately—without argument, without stubbornness.
Chae Seo-ryeong was about to retort when—
“If I were alone, a situation that isn’t dangerous might become dangerous because of you, Lady.”
“……”
Chae Seo-ryeong’s expression turned solemn.
Jin Seong-un’s meaning was clear.
He was telling her not to become a burden.
And it was true. If she were captured or put in danger, Jin Seong-un would have to split his focus unnecessarily.
“I understand.”
“I promised the Manor Master that I’d return you safely. Dealing with a thief is already troublesome enough, don’t make me into a liar as well.”
Jin Seong-un spoke with a serious face.
Chae Seo-ryeong blinked in surprise.
“You weren’t a thief to begin with?”
“……An inn waiter.”
“Exactly. So wasn’t thievery your main job and inn waiting your side job?”
Jin Seong-un sighed.
Once this was over, he thought he should really try living an honest life.
That night, rain poured heavily.
Two masked figures stood atop the wall of the Qinghai Iron Workshop.
Kang, kang—!
Even at such a late hour, the sound of hammering echoed endlessly from within the workshop.
The sharp, heavy clash of metal against metal mingled with the sound of rain, producing an eerie atmosphere.
The two masked figures exchanged glances.
A nod.
No words were needed. In the next moment, Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong leapt into the air together.
.
.
.
The Qinghai Iron Workshop was massive.
Easily five times the size of Falling Flame Manor.
Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong moved cautiously across the rooftops.
– Over there!
Chae Seo-ryeong sent a voice transmission, pointing to the next roof.
Her reddened eyes could see clearly through the formation spread across the entire workshop grounds.
There was no need to rush.
Formations were not meant to be broken through quickly, but rather navigated carefully by stepping precisely on the life gates, advancing slowly and calmly.
Thus, the two penetrated deeper and deeper into the Qinghai Iron Workshop.
Suddenly, Jin Seong-un raised his hand.
Chae Seo-ryeong halted immediately.
Peering over the eaves, Jin Seong-un saw two armed martial artists patrolling as though guarding the workshop.
The moment he saw them, Jin Seong-un instinctively knew.
‘Demonic practitioners.’
Though he had never seen a Heavenly Demon Cult martial artist before, the unique aura they exuded was unmistakable.
They were unlike unorthodox martial artists.
There was something far more ominous and suffocating about them.
If he had to describe it—it felt like sticky, clotted blood.
‘It’s similar to my Blood Demon master’s energy.’
Not entirely the same.
But there was definitely a connection.
As they waited quietly on the roof, they overheard the demonic practitioners speaking.
“How many are left?”
“Only four more this month.”
“Handle it with some leeway.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two then walked off in different directions.
Jin Seong-un secretly tailed the one who seemed higher-ranked.
– That way!
Chae Seo-ryeong’s voice transmission came.
Indeed, thanks to her ability, they could avoid causing unnecessary disturbances.
They pursued carefully, stepping through the formation’s life gates.
The demonic practitioner soon entered a hall.
When Jin Seong-un pointed to its roof, Chae Seo-ryeong nodded—it was safe.
He climbed onto the roof and heightened his senses.
Faint voices drifted through. A conversation between the middle-aged martial artist who had entered and an elderly man.
“I’ll bring four more within half a month.”
“Hoho, thanks to you, we’ll be able to fulfill this month’s schedule smoothly.”
“And what about what we discussed before?”
“Ah, the Kunlun Sect’s sword.”
Jin Seong-un’s eyes sharpened.
The old man continued.
“The only request was to lengthen it by one chi. Likely because the third-generation disciples are growing older. Doesn’t seem related to martial arts.”
“I see.”
“And truthfully, Kunlun doesn’t cling to sword shapes. You know this. But Namgung is different. Take a look.”
The rustling of paper.
The sound of metal brushing against cloth.
Jin Seong-un strained his ears further, his impatience growing.
The voices resumed.
“The Namgung Clan has altered their sword. Seems they’ve adjusted their martial arts slightly. The sword’s weight has been reduced ever so slightly. Since the form remains the same, however…”
“They must be planning to form a female fighting corps, since their Young Master is a woman.”
“Precisely. That was my thought as well.”
The two went on to discuss the Murim Alliance, the Nine Sects One Gang, the Five Great Clans, and various righteous factions of the orthodox murim.
As Jin Seong-un listened, he pieced together their purpose.
‘So the entire Qinghai Iron Workshop is a pawn of the Demonic Cult.’
The cult supplied children to the workshop.
For what purpose, he could not be sure.
At best, they might be enslaved. But thinking back to the sword’s wailing resonance, Jin Seong-un had a darker premonition.
The workshop, in turn, supplied information about the orthodox sects’ martial arts to the Demonic Cult.
Martial arts constantly evolved. And as they did, sects commissioned new swords to match.
The workshop then relayed those changes to the cult.
Their aim was obvious—to keep pace with the orthodox murim’s advancements.
Just as the Murim Alliance treated the Heavenly Demon Cult as its greatest foe, the cult saw the orthodox murim the same way.
It was a clever strategy.
Martial factions guarded their martial secrets jealously, but ultimately, their weapons reflected those very changes.
In places like the Five Great Clans or the Nine Sects One Gang, where supreme and intricate subtleties were cultivated, sword dimensions were minutely adjusted—weight, length, width, strength, curvature.
Adjustments so delicate they could never be spotted by the naked eye. Only the commissioners and the smiths knew.
Jin Seong-un resolved to send a letter to Yichang.
Then Oh Jeong-san, or someone else, could discreetly alert the orthodox murim.
At that moment—
Both Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong’s heads snapped toward the same direction.
“Uwaaaaahhh!!”
A scream.
A child’s scream.
Without hesitation, Jin Seong-un and Chae Seo-ryeong leapt toward it.