If I put Taecheon above, then Chu Sowon was older.
“Taecheon is the top rank,” I said. “You can address each other however you like, but I won’t tolerate anyone acting like the hierarchy doesn’t exist.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Taecheon turned to Chu Sowon.
“I’ll call you Brother Chu.”
“Then I’ll call you Brother Tae.”
“I’ll be in your care from now on.”
“I should be the one saying that.”
Watching the two of them, I couldn’t help but smile.
Especially Chu Sowon’s addition would be a huge boost for True Martial Sect.
While they were exchanging names, a sound-transmission came in.
— My lord. It’s Milyeong.
“You can come in.”
At my words, Milyeong revealed himself and held out a bundle of papers.
“Information on Steel-Glory Trading Company, my lord.”
I took the papers from him.
“Introduce yourselves.”
Milyeong stepped forward first, cupping his fists.
“It’s an honor to meet the famed Blood-Dance Death God in person.”
“You know of me?” Chu Sowon asked.
“For people like us in the shadows, the Blood-Dance Death God is an object of respect. Of course I know you well.”
“No one should know my face, though.”
“We might not know your face, but we all know that Blood-Heaven Dagger. Isn’t it your beloved blade?”
“You even know about the Blood-Heaven Dagger. So you really do admire me. Your concealment technique is excellent as well. At this rate you’ll surpass me before long.”
“That’s far too much praise. I’m still nowhere near enough to surpass the Blood-Dance Death God.”
“Your humility is excessive.”
“I am Milyeong, the shadow of the Lord of the Hao Clan.”
“Hm? If you’re the Lord of the Hao Clan’s shadow, why did you just call this man ‘my lord’?” Chu Sowon asked, puzzled.
“I said I’m the Lord of the Hao Clan’s shadow. I never said I serve him,” Milyeong replied. “The one I serve as my lord is Young Master Jeok here.”
Listening to the two of them, my attention drifted to the dagger at Chu Sowon’s waist.
“That dagger really is the one that went for my neck, right?” I asked.
The room went cold in an instant.
“Th-that time, I...” he stammered.
“I’m not trying to scold you,” I cut in. “Can I just take a look at it for a moment?”
Chu Sowon quickly drew the dagger and held it out with both hands.
SHIING—
I drew the dagger fully and examined it from every angle.
“The harmonization isn’t quite right.”
“...Pardon? That can’t be,” Chu Sowon said, startled. “It was crafted directly by Weapon Hundred-Craftsman, one of the Five Great Artisans of the Central Plains.”
“I’ll fix it up for you.”
“...Sir?”
“I’ve studied how to reforge weapons.”
Chu Sowon squeezed his eyes shut.
So this cherished dagger of his was going to disappear from the world.
From the look of it, he probably thought I’d read something in a book and now wanted to experiment on the real thing.
But what could he do?
He’d already made up his mind to offer up everything.
Once he thought of it that way, his heart felt a little lighter.
“I’ll be in your care, my lord,” he managed.
“Don’t worry. I’ll turn it into the greatest dagger in the world for you.”
I turned to Milyeong.
“Do you know any smithies around here?”
“I don’t know any personally, but I can look into it.”
“It’d be nice if we could borrow one for about a week.”
“Yes, understood.”
Taecheon spoke up.
“The Provincial Exam isn’t far off. Are you really not planning to study, young master?”
I tapped my temple with my fingers.
“It’s already all in here. There isn’t anything else to read.”
I grinned, and everyone gave me a shocked look.
I’d always had a good head to begin with. After taking the Elixir of Heaven’s Reversal and growing younger, it got even better.
Thanks to that, I could learn everything at a far greater speed than before.
It wasn’t just my head that improved.
My body felt firmer than before, and I had the distinct sense my strength had grown as well.
I’d never truly gone all out, so I couldn’t be certain, but I could feel that the power I could unleash now was far beyond what it used to be.
Thanks to my “little brothers,” my body had improved, my mind had improved, and I’d even gained parents and a family.
Good boys.
Still, the fact that they ran away is, as expected, unforgivable.
“You really are incredible, young master,” Taecheon murmured.
“It’s not like we have anything urgent to do here anyway,” I said. “So I thought I’d try some reforging for the first time in a while. There’s nothing better for clearing your head.”
“Huh? When have you ever done that before? That’s strange. I’ve always been by your side, but we’ve never once gone to a smithy,” Taecheon said.
“I went when you were running errands for Father out in Shaanxi.”
“Ah! Right. I did step away for a bit then. When else did you ever pick up that kind of experience?”
“I want to experience everything the world has to offer.”
It was a technique I’d learned from my little brothers in the past, but it was true that I wanted to experience everything in the world.
“That’s a fine idea. I’ll help out at your side,” Taecheon said.
“Thanks.”
“Still, wouldn’t it be better to practice reforging on some other sword first?” he added carefully.
“Why? Are you worried I’ll mess it up and destroy this one?”
“Yes.”
Taecheon was honest.
I looked over at Chu Sowon.
“If I botch it and destroy this, I’ll get you another true masterwork to replace it. How’s that sound?”
“Really? Thank you.”
He should have said no, but his true feelings slipped out before he could stop himself.
“Ah! I—I mean...”
I snorted.
“See? Just be that honest. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
Chu Sowon ducked his head, embarrassed.
I glanced at Taecheon and Milyeong.
“You two want to hand yours over too?”
Without a word, Taecheon held out his sword.
Milyeong hesitated, then squeezed his eyes shut and extended his own blade.
“I’ll repay your trust.”
I smiled with full confidence. The three of them, for their part, were just praying I would at least preserve the basic shape of their weapons.
****
The smithy Milyeong found was a place that had recently fallen on hard times and was cornered financially.
Inside, a young man who looked to be the son was pleading with his father.
“Father. Just this once.”
His father, a bald old man with a bristling beard, exploded.
“You brat! No matter how tight money is, how can you offer our furnace to some nobody who isn’t even a craftsman?”
“If we don’t take this money, the fire in that furnace will go out! Is that what you want? Do you really want to watch the furnace our forebears protected go dark?”
“Grrr...”
“Just this once. If we grit our teeth and get through this one time, we can keep the furnace alive.”
“Sigh... Fine.”
At the thought of the furnace that had been passed down since his ancestors going out, the old man had no choice but to yield a step.
“So we just lend the smithy to the fellow for two days, right?”
“Yes.”
“And what do we do in the meantime?”
“He said we can work like normal. He only wants to borrow the forging furnace and the anvil.”
“Whose son is he supposed to be?”
“He says he’s a young master from somewhere called True Martial Sect.”
“A martial artist?”
“Not exactly. He said he came here to take the Provincial Exam that’s being held.”
“The Provincial Exam? Then he should be memorizing one more line of text, not borrowing a smithy out of nowhere.”
“How should I know why? Maybe banging on some iron feels more refreshing than studying for him.”
“Ugh. How did we even end up in this state? I’ve no face to show our ancestors.”
“This is all because of that bastard,” the son ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) said bitterly. “We lost the top-grade masterwork we were supposed to deliver, and then the sword we forged again was only mid-high quality, not true top-grade... We couldn’t hand it over to the client, kept buying materials to try again, and that’s how we wound up like this.”
“That doesn’t mean we can hand over a mid-high-grade sword. Mid-high is not a masterwork. It’s just a sword. Only true top-grade can bear the name of a masterwork. I’m a craftsman. I will never hand over anything that isn’t a proper blade.”
“Yes. And if we endure just this once, we can forge a proper sword again and hand it to the client.”
“Sigh. Fine. We’ll do as you say.”
“Father, you just sit back and relax. I’ll teach him just enough, let him have his fun, and send him on his way.”
“Right. Do that. If I watch, I’ll get too frustrated to sit still.”
****
When I arrived at the smithy, the son came out to greet me.
“Welcome. I’m Mok Cheol, the tool master of this smithy. The man over there is my father, Mok Gwang, the master smith and artisan of this forge.”
“I’m Jeok Wigang of True Martial Sect,” I said.
“Have you ever worked in a smithy before?” he asked.
“Yes. I learned a bit over someone’s shoulder.”
Sure. “Learned.”
From his point of view, I’d probably just watched someone do it and swung a hammer a few times at best.
Mok Cheol spoke, thinking that to himself.
“What would you like to do? If you tell me, I can teach you properly.”
“I just need the forging furnace and the anvil. Ah, and a hammer.”
“That’s really all you need? You don’t want me to teach you anything?”
“No.”
“Understood. Then please use the forging furnace and anvil in the room at the very back.”
I went to the back room and looked over the furnace there. A satisfied smile came to my lips.
“I’ve already lit the fire,” Mok Cheol said. “Is this to your liking?”
“Azure Flame, huh. That’s not a fire just anyone can kindle. Looks like I came to the right place.”
“...You know Azure Flame?” he asked, surprised.
“Yes. Good. The weapon I’m going to work on today is a masterwork forged from Blacksteel Stone, so I needed Azure Flame. This way, I won’t have to adjust anything.”
“A masterwork forged from Blacksteel Stone? And you’re going to work on that?”
“This one,” I said, holding out the dagger. “The balance is subtly off, so I’m going to fix it.”
The moment he saw the dagger, Mok Cheol’s eyes lit up.
“May I take a look, just for a moment?”
“Go ahead.”
He took the dagger and examined it closely.
Before long, Mok Gwang had sidled up and snatched the dagger from his son’s hands.
Then he stared at it, his face filling with shock.
“This is... the work of Weapon Hundred-Craftsman.”
“Father!”
“And you’re saying you’re going to reforge such a fine dagger?”
Mok Gwang glared at me with clear disapproval.
Mok Cheol hurriedly moved to block his line of sight, hiding that glare.
“Yes,” he said quickly. “From what I can see, it’s perfect. The balance feels perfect in the hand too.”
Mok Gwang nodded slightly.
Everything about it seemed perfect.
That young master must not know what he’s talking about.
He was probably just saying the “balance is off” without really understanding, trying to act knowledgeable.
Then he’d smack it a few times with the hammer, claim he’d “fixed the balance,” and the people around him would clap and coo over him.
I’d seen it all before.
And this dagger was going to be sacrificed for that cooing.
It wasn’t just any dagger either, but one crafted by Weapon Hundred-Craftsman, one of the Five Great Artisans.
Unable to bear it any longer, Mok Gwang opened his mouth to say something—but before he could, Mok Cheol, sensing it, swiftly covered his father’s mouth, snatched the dagger back, and handed it to me.
“Haha! Young master, we’re quite busy, so we’ll head out. Please enjoy yourself as you like.”
“Thank you.”
Dragging his father, Mok Cheol hauled him back inside.
“Let me go!” the old man barked.
“Father!”
“Didn’t you see that? It’s a dagger by Master Weapon-Craftsman! And you expect me to just sit here while he ruins that precious thing?”
“It is Master Weapon-Craftsman’s dagger,” Mok Cheol said. “Precisely because of that, there’s no way it’s going to be ruined by the hands of a beginner like him. Just leave it. He’ll swing the hammer a few times, pretend to reforge it, and then leave.”
“Damn it all! Why are rich brats all so selfish and willful?”
“We just need to do our own work,” Mok Cheol said firmly. “Don’t worry about him. We’ve got things we need to finish too, remember? There’s not much time, Father.”
“Grrr... Fine. I got it.”