It burned red.
As if the red sun was rising, continuously rising higher.
The round jewel turned red…
“Uhhh….”
Hae Yeon’s round head was now red.
‘What kind of guy can have this much qi…’
He was confident that he had the most internal qi among those of his age. But this confidence was based on arrogance. Weren’t his skills established in Shaolin, with not many people around?
But the disciples of Mount Hua, who were standing to either side of him, were now more relaxed than ever… all while doing the same thing as him.
‘Was Disciple Jo Gul and Disciple Yoon Jon’s qi this strong?’
If they hadn’t picked some old ginseng to eat, how on earth did they get like this?
Besides…
“That bald head! What did you eat today! Can’t you do it properly?!”
“…you told him to only eat grass.”
“Then what should I say? Would you like some meat?”
“…that wasn’t my intention….”
Hae Yeon added cooling water to the conversation from behind. Of course, even that was being blown away by the heat surrounding the forge.
‘That fucking devil!’
If the Buddha was really looking down on this reality, why did he let this devil down onto this land?
No, this was not something to bother the Buddha with. Wasn’t that human a Taoist?
Oh heavens! How can you just watch and not do anything?! Lightning or something! Just make sure to solve this problem facing the world!
“Se-See! Look at him thinking of other things!”
Flinch.
Hae Yeon quickly infused qi into the handle.
“Once upon a time, Shaolin’s people were so focused that once they entered into meditation, they wouldn’t even notice a bird shitting on their heads! Shaolin these days! Eh!”
“How can a bird shit on their heads when their heads are that smooth? You are speaking nonsense.”
“In the old days, birds had guts!”
“…madman!”
Hae Yeon, who listened in on this conversation, shut his eyes tightly.
Wasn’t this a strange thing? He hated that Baek Cheon, who was next to him, was talking more than Chung Myung, who openly harassed people.
Kwaaaaak!
Hae Yeon opened his eyes and frowned at the brazier. It felt like he was choking on the heat raging around it.
‘How much more do we have to do this for?’
It had already been two days since he last slept, and shift after shift came and went. Now everyone was exhausted regardless of their….
“Kuak! This alcohol is amazing!”
“…”
Ah. I hate him, for real.
Chung Myung turned the bottle upside down and licked the last drop from it. Pushing the last drop into his mouth, he reached to the side…
“Empty?”
The table next to him was empty.
Chung Myung looked and smiled at Tang Gunak,
“Lord, we are out of alcohol.”
“…I see.”
Tang Gunak frowned at his words.
“Everyone is working hard, but what is it that you are doing?”
“Uh? What?”
“…”
Tang Gunak lowered his gaze without answering Chung Myung.
Tang Gunak wasn’t sure where Chung Myung had gotten it from, but he was sitting on a comfortable-looking chair. Just watching Chung Myung sit there and drink made his stomach burn.
No, that chair was fine.
But all the bottles lying on the floor was shocking.
“Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”
“Yes?”
Finally, Tang Gunak’s face stiffened, and he said,
“I have no desire to call out your desires and actions, but still… there is a limit to all this, right? Not just the Tang Family, but the other disciples from Mount Hua and even Monk Hae Yeon of Shaolin are suffering so much… so do you have to drink like this in front of them?”
“Ah…?”
Chung Myung bowed his head, and this made Tang Gunak think Chung Myung was feeling bad.
“You can drink alcohol once this is finished. As the head of the Tang Family, I can no longer give you alcohol.”
“I understand what you mean.”
Chung Myung shook his head.
Tang Gunak was quite surprised by this.
‘He is actually good at listening.’
He thought this guy was stubborn but he…
It was then…
“Kid Pyung!”
“YESSSS! Sword Saint Elder!”
“…”
Tang Gunak’s eyes twitched.
Tang Jo Pyung, who was watching the furnace from far away, came running at the call of Chung Myung.
“You called?”
Chung Myung pointed to the bottles spread out on the table and floor.
“Let’s put these away.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“The Lord said that it is against proper etiquette to drink here. I made a mistake.”
The old man immediately looked at Tang Gunak.
Flinch.
In the face of those eyes, Tang Gunak began to step back like he was a child.
“G-Great Uncle. It isn’t…”
“You brattttttt!”
“…”
Tang Jo Pyung frowned,
“Do you know who this person is?! How dare you!”
“…”
No, you don’t even recognize the Lord of the Tang Family, Uncle! Why did you have to believe that guy’s words and let this happen?
Why are you conscious only when this guy speaks?!
“This! This Man! The Plum Blossom! Plum Blossom Sword Saint! He is the best swordsman of Mount Hua, who has made the Demonic Sect shiver in pain! And he is like a brother to my grandfather Tang Bo! What? Cannot drink? You said No?”
“…t-that is not what I said, Uncle…”
“Shut up!”
Tang Gunak’s eyes were covered in tears.
This was sad.
It was extremely upsetting.
“How dare you make a foolish remark about drinking alcohol with this person?! This person deserves to drink even within the main halls of Shaolin!”
Hae Yeon, who was suffering to the side, turned his head in shock.
‘No, Elder. Isn’t that a permission that only Shaolin should give?’
It was so horrible that he couldn’t even speak while infusing qi into the furnace.
Tang Jo Pyung’s praise of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint would never end,
“The hero of the heavens who defeated countless of those demons!”
“Hehehehe.”
“The greatest sword in the world! Uh? The best in the world! No! In the heavens!”
“Hehehe!”
“And he is the greatest guest of the Sichuan Tang Family! Even our own grandfather or great great great grandfather would never dare say such things to me! That goes against the laws of our family! Should I use my cane to put some sense into you?”
“Hehehe!”
Chung Myung laughed, and seeing this, anger rose in the heart of Tang Gunak.
‘N-No! Why are you like this to me?! Why?’
At that time, Tang Jo Pyung shouted with red eyes,
“Answer me!”
“I-I am sorry.”
“Go and bring alcohol for the table right now!”
Before he knew it, Chung Myung was back to lying on his chair.
“Get Shaoxing wine.”
“Yes! Get that for him!”
“Get some bamboo leaf too.”
“Right, that too! No! Bring all the bottles we have! All different kinds!”
When Tang Gunak hesitated, Tang Jo Pyung was wide-eyed,
“Why? Should I do it myself?”
“N-No! Great Uncle! I will bring them all right away!”
“Run!”
“Yes!”
When Tang Gunak was just about to run, Tang Pae and Tang Zhan came out,
“F-Father. We will do it!”
“Stay here!”
As the two rushed away, Tang Gunak turned to the sky above the furnace,
‘Where did I go wrong…’
I should have stopped him from impersonating the Plum Blossom Sword Saint. Why did I allow all these things to happen?
Whether or not he thought so, Chung Myung asked Tang Jo Pyung,
“So, still taking some more time?”
“It is almost done.”
“Why is it taking this long?”
“If it were melted, we would have already been done, but it takes more time to melt cold steel compared to iron cubes. Now that we are at the final stages, Elder should help us out.”
“Uh? Me?”
“Yes. We need a large amount of power at the end.”
“Ugh…”
Chung Myung groaned in agony as he got up.
“Yes. It is better to end sooner rather than later. Let’s go.”
And they moved forward.
“Sasuk! Sago!”
“I get it!”
Baek Cheon and Yu Yiseol followed him.
“Everyone, come out!”
When Chung Myung shouted, Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, and Hae Yeon stepped back.
Chung Myung let out a deep breath and grabbed the brazier.
Yu Yiseol and Baek Cheon also closely held the brazier and began to infuse their qi into it as Tang Jo Pyung sat down in front of the furnace again.
“Do your best! Let the brazier burn!”
“UGHH!”
Chung Myung’s qi began to glow, and the other two responded by doing the same.
Tang Gunak was a bit shocked by this.
‘Even if he was called ‘young disciple’, Chung Myung and the others all have a tremendous amount of qi.’
He gasped for breath and asked Yoon Jong, who was walking out,
“Are all the disciples of Mount Hua this strong?”
Yoon Jong glanced back for a moment and shook his head.
“No. Everyone is strong… but the average is Soso.”
“About Soso’s level.”
Tang Gunak turned his head and looked at Tang Soso. At the entrance of the workshop where she and Baek Sang were moving about.
Since they were the weaker ones, they couldn’t help them out this time.
‘Right, that is the average level.’
No. That wasn’t the normal level! Soso’s internal qi was not low compared to her peers, and after moving to Mount Hua, she had already improved by so much!
Even so, there was a difference….
“The pills seem to have worked.”
“You know?”
“I am the head of the Tang Family. How can I not know what you people did when you went to Yunnan?”
Yoon Jong shyly scratched his head.
And that attitude made Tang Gunak happy.
‘He didn’t even look at Soso.’
If the Lord of the Tang Family came to know only this, one would be suspicious of what had happened, but even after knowing that, he didn’t care.
‘A nice place.’
He could see why Soso wanted to move to Mount Hua.
“Then…”
That moment…
Rumble!
A loud noise came from within. Tang Gunak looked up in shock and saw white flames rising over the chimney.
“… I don’t know, for real.”
The end of the work had arrived. In the workshop, Tang Jo Pyung’s voice came out, excited,
“Bring the frame!”
“Yes!”
The waiting Tang Family members grabbed the frame and carried it over. Then, under orders, they carefully placed it near the furnace.
“Hold it tighter, you brats!”
“Yes!”
Tang Jo Pyung’s eyes were close to madness.
“Get out!”
Having scolded all his family members, he took the long iron rod and began stabbing the bottom of the furnace.
“Take the hot steel out!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After hitting it several times, it was almost as if a hole had opened up in the bottom as molten metal, which appeared close to white, flowed out.
“Kuak!”
“Oh god!”
The Tang Family members, who were far away, each burst out an exclamation.
Sparks erupted from the molten metal. It was as if a river of flame and metal was flowing down. The heat was so great that even though he moved back, his skin was still red.
Kukuku!
Tang Jo Pyung, who scraped up the last bit of metal, threw the iron rod down.
“Done!”
Chung Myung took his hand off the furnace and watched the molten iron, which was all in the long frame, radiate heat.
Somehow, just looking at it made him feel refreshed.
“Isn’t it all about letting it cool down now?”
“Yes, Sword Saint Elder. Since it is set into the mold, all we have to do is let it sit. And then we can tap it into shape.”
“Hmm. This is not as large as I thought it would be. Can you make many?”
“No. It is said that a sword made with cold steel doesn’t always come out properly. We will have to use some hard, refined steel-making skills, and then we will use some Yunnan steel. Besides, aren’t Mount Hua’s swords thinner than normal swords? There will be enough.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Chung Myung smiled at the happy news.
‘I was worried, but he is a better craftsman than I thought.’
‘Oh! It is getting cold already!’
Tang Gunak, who was watching this from the side, admired the way the tip was cooling. It was his first time watching a sword be made from cold steel.
“Oh god, such a clear silver shine.”
When molten iron that was poured from a furnace began to cool down, it would normally turn black and rough. It was common for one to pound these blemishes out, cleaning them, and then the sword would shine. But for these swords, the moment they began to cool down, it was already as clear as snow.
“This is really ten-thousand-year-old cold steel. Look at it cooling down so fast.”
Tang Jo Pyung stood tall.
“Cold steel that has been properly melted, and the cast has yin qi, as the name suggests, it is cold. So it cools down fast.”
“Indeed… amazing, Great Uncle.”
“This is nothing.”
Tang Jo Pyung waved his hand lightly, but Chung Myung tilted his head like he couldn’t understand something.
“But…”
“Yes.”
“Why did you take this long? As the saying goes, it takes less than a fistful of iron to make a sword, so why did it take so long to make these?”
“To cut it.”
“…that looks thicker than my forearm, how will you cut it? And it has already cooled down.”
“Hehehe. What joke are you making.”
“Uh?”
Chung Myung still didn’t understand, and so he asked, to which Tang Jo Pyung chuckled.
“Cold steel is the best, but it isn’t exactly steel. Elder, you can probably cut through it like cutting through mud.”
“…”
“Now, as I said, you can cut through it one at a time. I will tell you the right length.”
“…”
Chung Myung’s eye twitched.
Cut?
What?
Cold steel?
The other day he almost broke his waist trying to cut it, and now he wanted to cut something thicker than his forearm?
Tang Jo Pyung didn’t even know the meaning behind Chung Myung’s look and continued to draw lines.
Chak chak chak!
“…”
The length of a finger was drawn onto a big sheet of cold steel.
“Now! Elder! You can cut it here.”
“…me?”
“Of course.”
“But I am not the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?”
“Hahahah. Do not joke. Please start here, I can make it into a sword from there.”
“… I am telling the truth.”
“Hahahah. Such a joke. It was fun.”
No, brat!
I am not joking, I am not him!
… I want to turn back time.
The actions of heaven.
In the end, karma always comes around.
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