All I’d told them was to sit down and eat before they left, but their loyalty was shooting up without end.
“And tell those people to eat too. How am I supposed to eat comfortably with them just standing there like that?”
“Yes!”
The masked men stood and spoke to the bandits.
“You heard our lord, right? Go eat dinner.”
“Yes!”
The words were barely out of their mouths before the bandits rushed to grab their evening meal.
Watching that, I propped my chin on my hand and slipped into thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Don’t they handle people better than I expected?”
“It does seem that way.”
“They’d be perfect as training instructors.”
Taecheon nodded.
“Judging from how meek those bandits are now, they must have talent.”
“I’ll tell Ungyeol to pick some people out. Father’s way of dealing with True Martial Sect’s fighters has always been too gentle for my taste, so this works out.”
Taecheon, for his part, looked like he was silently praying for the True Martial Sect warriors’ souls.
“All right, let’s eat.”
I picked up my chopsticks and took a bite of the food in front of me.
“Hm?”
I blinked in surprise.
“What is it?”
“It’s good. I didn’t expect anything, but it’s good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Taecheon picked some up as well.
“Huh? It really is good. I think it tastes better than what we had at Taihua Pavilion, that fancy place.”
I called out to the bandits.
“Who cooked this?”
At my question, one man raised his hand.
“You used to cook professionally?”
“Yes.”
The other bandits chimed in to explain.
“He’s from the Sichuan Delicacy Office.”
“Isn’t that an official post for researching food?”
“That’s right. But he got falsely accused and was about to be executed, so he ran.”
I looked at the man.
He didn’t give off the kind of energy of someone inclined to do bad things.
“What kind of accusation?”
“They accused him of using poison in his cooking. I’ve really been wronged.”
“Come with me. I’ll take revenge on the bastards who framed you.”
“Pardon?”
“In return, how about cooking at my house?”
“Are you serious about taking revenge for me?”
“Yeah. I’ll take revenge and clear your name.”
“Th-then I’ll follow you.”
“Anyone else here with real skills?”
Another man raised his hand.
“I used to work at a smithy.”
When one person raised his hand, others started raising theirs too.
“I was a carpenter.”
They each started naming what they were good at.
I grinned.
Every one of those skills was something True Martial Sect could use.
“Good. You’re all coming. I’ll pay you properly. Your situation will be a lot better than this bandit life.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. From now on, you’re not bandits—you’re fighters of True Martial Sect.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
Everyone looked delighted.
Everyone except two men whose displeasure was written all over their faces.
The bandit boss and his vice-boss.
In an instant, all of their underlings had been swallowed up, and their stronghold had effectively collapsed.
“You two are coming too.”
“Us too? We don’t have any skills besides fighting......”
“You two built this stronghold up, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“If the two of you grew it to this size, that’s a skill. Don’t you think?”
“D-do you really think so?”
“Yeah. Come on. There’s got to be something you can do.”
“Th-thank you.”
I grinned and spoke to the masked men.
“You heard me, right? From now on, these people belong to True Martial Sect. Train them properly.”
“Us?”
“Yeah. From what I saw, you’re talented at handling people. Go ahead and unleash that talent to your heart’s content.”
“Understood.”
The masked men’s expressions hardened as they turned to the bandits.
“You heard our lord. Starting tomorrow, it’s hell training.”
At those words, the bandits’ smiling faces all drooped into miserable expressions.
Meanwhile, Taecheon carefully offered his opinion.
“Young master, if you send all these people off without saying anything, won’t the Sect Master be startled? And besides, there’s nowhere for them to stay.”
“How long would it take to get a place ready for them?”
“At least half a year, I’d say. And for proper lodgings, you’d be looking at a full year.”
“Yeah?”
I looked at the masked men.
“Drill them thoroughly here for a year before you send them.”
“Yes, my lord!”
I turned back to Taecheon.
“Happy now?”
“What about the money?”
“Hm?”
“True Martial Sect’s finances have limits. If that many people show up at once, it could cause trouble for the budget.”
“Ah! Right. I didn’t think about the money.”
Should I just tell Jin Muryang to cough up some cash?
No.
I wanted to solve this with my own strength.
“I’ll have to find a way to make money.”
I didn’t want Father getting put in a bind because of something I started.
The problem was how to earn that money.
That was when Chu Sowon casually offered his opinion.
“If you make other swords stronger the way you strengthened my sword, I think it would bring in quite a bit of money.”
“You think that would sell?”
“It would! You could name your price. And if you tell Milyeong you need buyers, I’m sure he could find them.”
Even an ordinary sword could be turned into a famed blade, a treasured sword, or a divine sword.
Just like Chu Sowon said, it sounded like money.
All I had to do was buy decent swords and engrave enhancement formulas into them.
Wait—wasn’t inner power supposed to have different properties from person to person?
Then what if I engraved the formulas to match the properties of their inner power?
I probably wouldn’t have to worry about money at all.
Martial artists never skimped on money when it came to a weapon that fit them perfectly.
This really did sound like a good idea.
‘I’ll have to sweet-talk Grandfather into giving me as many weapons as possible.’
And while I was at it, I’d borrow Heavenly Martial Castle’s smithy for a bit.
I do have a conscience, so I’m planning to make a few divine swords for Heavenly Martial Castle before I leave.
*****
We were still riding along leisurely in the wagon toward Heavenly Martial Castle.
Thanks to Ungyeol, the road there had been smooth with no serious trouble.
There was still half a year left until the Metropolitan Exam, so there was no need to rush.
I’d have plenty of time even if I stayed at Heavenly Martial Castle for a bit before heading to the imperial city.
We were taking it easy on the way to Heavenly Martial Castle like that when I saw people gathered in the distance.
It looked like they’d run into some kind of trouble.
As we drew closer, I saw that their wagon had been smashed.
Looked like a rockfall had come down out of nowhere and crushed it.
The cargo stacked on the wagon was refined iron, so it hadn’t been smashed to pieces, but the problem was that they now had no way to move all that weight.
Right then, a sturdy-looking wagon just happened to be passing by.
A middle-aged man with a fine beard blocked the wagon I was riding and cupped his fists.
“I’m sorry for blocking the road like this.”
I stood up, took in the situation, and spoke.
“Looks like you need my wagon.”
“That’s right. We have to get that refined iron to the Heavenly Martial Castle smithy by tomorrow, but if we go to get another wagon, we’ll be late. We’ll compensate you however you’d like, so please lend us your wagon.”
At the mention of Heavenly Martial Castle, I smiled and got down from the wagon.
“Of course. They say the world is one family—if someone’s in trouble, you help them. Use mine.”
“A-are you serious? On behalf of the Heavenly Martial Castle smithy, I offer you my sincere thanks.”
“You can thank me later. Let’s load that stuff first.”
The people there were moved that I was the one urging them to hurry and load.
“All right. We’ll load it first, then speak again.”
He bowed his waist to me, then shouted to his companions.
“Let’s move!”
When Taecheon drew our wagon up to their cargo, the men threw their strength into hoisting the refined iron onto it.
The weight must have been considerable; even with several men working together, it took quite some time.
I couldn’t stand watching anymore and stepped forward.
“Step aside.”
“Sir?”
When I reached for a lump of refined iron with one hand, the middle-aged man flinched in panic and tried to stop me.
“That’s extremely heavy!”
His warning had barely left his mouth before the refined iron was in my hand.
The jaws of every man present dropped open.
The refined iron that took three or four men to barely lift—I was picking it up like it was a pebble.
For a moment, it almost felt like the refined iron I held was the only thing that was light.
THUD—.
The heavy sound as it hit the wagon deck alone made it clear that what I’d lifted was anything but light.
Ignoring their shock, I loaded the rest of the refined iron from the ground onto the wagon in an instant.
“That’s all of it. Let’s head out.”
“Y-yes. Yes.”
They all stared at me with stunned faces.
“Your strength is incredible. Have you trained in martial arts?”
“No. I don’t have inner power.”
“Then you lifted that refined iron with pure strength?”
“Yes. I’ve been unusually strong since I was a kid.”
“Wow. You really are incredibly strong for someone who doesn’t look it. Have you ever thought about joining Heavenly Martial Castle?”
“No. I’ll soon be heading to the imperial city to sit for the Metropolitan Exam.”
“The Metropolitan Exam? Then you’ve already passed the Provincial Exam?”
“Yes. I passed this time.”
“Whoa......”
What a waste.
He had that monstrous strength, and yet he was sitting for the civil exams.
If he became a government official, it would be an awful waste of talent.
If it were the military exams, he’d pass in one try.
Not that it was my place to talk about someone else’s life choices, so all I did was nod with a face full of regret.
To us, he was an incomparable benefactor.
I couldn’t say anything he didn’t want to hear to a benefactor like that.
I’d refused any sort of reward.
Where else in the world would you find someone with this kind of chivalry?
He was someone everyone ought to take as a model.
That didn’t mean we could just gloss over the favor we’d received.
“Please give Heavenly Martial Castle a chance to treat you. We can’t just send you off like this after receiving such a favor.”
“In that case, would it be all right if I use the Heavenly Martial Castle smithy?”
“Pardon? The smithy? May I ask what you need it for?”
“As ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) a hobby, I work with metal.”
“Ah! I see. You’ll need permission from the Master Smith. But if not for your help, the Master Smith of Heavenly Martial Castle would have been in trouble as well, so I’m sure he’ll allow it. It’s just that you probably won’t be able to use the main furnace, only an auxiliary or an outside furnace.”
“That’s more than enough.”
“All right. Then I’ll do whatever it takes to get you access to a furnace.”
“Thank you.”
Perfect.
I needed money badly, so I was planning to make and sell as many weapons as I could.
There had to be plenty of rich martial artists at Heavenly Martial Castle, right?
I was going to do business with them.
Still, since it was my grandfather’s place, I planned to make his gift first.
I’d originally meant to make it before I started selling, but one thing after another had kept me from it.
Even so, it would be a bit much to show up at Grandfather’s home empty-handed, so I intended to put my talent to full use.
What kind of energy did Grandfather use again?
I closed my eyes and recalled the time I’d sparred with him.
In my mind, I could feel his movements and the flow of his energy vividly.
It seemed to start with fire, pass through the energy of earth, then discharge as the energy of metal.