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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing, Elder.”
“Elder, my foot. Haha. I’m not old enough to be called that. Anyway, come, sit. I’ll serve you some tea.”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps it was to create good steel, but the heat emanating from the furnace was considerable. Chae-jin, who boasted strong martial arts, was indifferent, but I was not.
Noticing this, Elder Maksa led Chae-jin and me outside. Under the tent set up outside the forge was an old table.
Using the brazier there, Elder Maksa boiled water and served us tea, then started talking without being asked.
“My, I’ve heard about this place. It has a really good energy.”
“If you’ve heard about it…”
“The magistrate here. He kept saying how good this place was. And it really is.”
Chuckling, he took out his tobacco. And he looked at me, asking for permission to smoke.
So I looked at Chae-jin.
“It’s fine.”
As soon as Chae-jin gave her permission with a smile, Elder Maksa and I lit our tobacco.
As we watched the smoke rising from the forge mix with the smoke rising from the tent, Elder Maksa spoke calmly.
“Hongseong Mountain is a sacred mountain. And Seomhwa Village has been receiving the energy of the sacred mountain for a long time. I believe you know that.”
“Of course.”
“As such, if I hammer iron here, I might be able to hear the sound of iron.”
“The sound of iron? What’s that?”
“It’s like an enlightenment for blacksmiths. Miss of the Moonlight Pavilion. You must be the daughter of the Sword Master, right? The sword used by the Sword Master was also made by my master, who heard the sound of iron.”
“Oh? It wasn’t a unique weapon obtained from a hidden realm?”
“Haha. You can ask the Sword Master about that later.”
Chae-jin looked at Elder Maksa with a curious expression. Meanwhile, he quickly finished a stick of tobacco, rummaged through his tobacco pouch, and smacked his lips after seeing that it was empty.
“Here you go.”
I offered my tobacco pouch. He smiled, took one, lit it, and started talking again.
“Actually, I had no intention of coming here. I’m old, and I don’t know when I’ll go.”
“I see.”
“So I put aside other requests and was training to hear the sound of iron, burning everything I had. Haha. It’s funny. Just when I came here, I had a feeling that I might be able to hear the sound of iron here. Landlord Yu, do you know what I’m going to say?”
“Are you asking for support?”
“If possible, could you get me some good iron? The magistrate said he would pay for it, but…”
His bold attitude from earlier was gone, and he was now earnestly pleading, hesitantly.
I smiled and nodded.
“Alright. Don’t worry.”
I already knew of mines that produced good iron.
The Hao Clan had already investigated and told me about several promising locations during our previous drinking session, and with the knowledge from the Celestial Moon Order, I knew of several mines with undiscovered veins.
And among them, I had discreetly given information to the Cheonghoe Company about a closed mine not far from Yangwi Fortress, which produced good iron and was deemed satisfactory by Hano, discovered around the latter half of Part 1.
And Cheon Il-hwa had immediately started exploration and development there, and I heard a few days ago that they were getting some results.
Thanks to that, I made more money than I invested, which was good news.
“You’ll hear good news soon.”
“Is there something interesting going on?”
He leaned in with great interest, but I just smiled instead of answering. Cheon Il-hwa had also asked me to keep the information about that mine a secret.
Still, as an investor, Cheon Il-hwa wouldn’t refuse if I asked for good iron.
As if he didn’t care about the back story as long as he got good iron, he quickly lost interest.
“Ahem. Well, well. I apologize for holding you up when you’re busy. I’ll be sure to repay you in the future. I will definitely forge only the best items for you.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it. And I plan to install the artifact I obtained from Changun’gwan today.”
“Oh? Is it by chance Jongli Quan’s Pachoseon?”
“Yes.”
“My, my. It seems the landlord is planning to develop this village properly. Haha. That’s great. If Master Jongli’s power is imbued, the quality of the products will increase. But… I heard that installing it is no ordinary task. Are you planning to ask the Hongseong Clan for help?”
“It’s not that difficult, and I can do it with Miss Chae.”
“Hmm… well. If you say so. Let me know when it’s installed. I’ll make you a nice piece of armor.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing the conversation with Elder Maksa, who had become more polite and friendly than before, I thought it was time to go.
“If you want to look around more, please tell me.”
“Really? Then shall we take a slow walk, as a stroll?”
I nodded, staring at Chae-jin’s bright smile.
I needed to clear my head a bit too, so let’s relax and enjoy a stroll.
Walking around Seomhwa Village wasn’t rare, but this was the first time I had walked around without any particular thought.
We looked around at farmland and reclaimed areas, and on the way back, Chae-jin looked far away and said offhandedly.
“How was Changun Mountain?”
“There were many things to see. And there was an attack by the Demonic Cult.”
“Aha. That must have been fun… What?”
“An attack by the Demonic Cult. Do you know that Changun’gwan is frequently attacked by the Demonic Cult?”
“Uh… I know that, but why did they attack at that time?”
“I know, right. But thanks to that, we got various things. It’s a case of a blessing in disguise.”
“Were you hurt anywhere?”
“No. Chae Family Tai Chi was very helpful in dealing with the jiangshi.”
Thanks to learning Chae Family Tai Chi from Chae-jin, I was able to fight alongside Sayun.
Honestly, this was something I hadn’t expected, and it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t happy.
“Not refusing your suggestion back then is my greatest pride.”
“Ah. Uh. We, well, if you think so, that’s good… Haaa…”
Chae-jin let out a big sigh. But she still didn’t look at me, perhaps because she was shy.
Haha. What’s there to be shy about with this kind of thank you.
“So? How was it on your side?”
“Well, nothing special. Ah. Right. Elder Gicha-jo said he would visit soon.”
“Is that so? That’s great. Yohan will have to show off his skills properly later.”
“Since he likes delicious food and alcohol, I think he and Yohan will get along well.”
Well, that old lady also likes to eat and drink.
Chae-jin and I chatted about this and that as we walked, and we arrived at the inn before we knew it.
“Now! Time for training?!”
“…Weren’t we taking a break today?”
I thought we were taking a break since we went for a walk together, but our ace instructor didn’t let that slide.
“Don’t be a baby. And we need to practice more to match our breathing later.”
How can she say such correct things so casually?
I couldn’t say anything to Chae-jin, who smiled with a wink, and just took my stance.
It was night. When the inn was about to close for business, I, Chae-jin, and Yohan gathered at the inn.
“Yohan, you don’t have to come.”
“You’re installing an artifact from Changun’gwan, right? If the balance seems off, I can tell you from the side. Just trust this old lady. Even if I only have one eye, I can see these things clearly.”
The old woman spoke nonchalantly and opened the basement door.
Due to several holes in the ceiling of the basement that connected to the outside, it wasn’t completely unventilated, but the dampness unique to basements was unavoidable.
But no one here cared about that right now.
“A flag… It’s something you can get as a reward from Changun’gwan, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Haha… It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those.”
Yohan seemed to know what the three flags I had were. Well, most large clans almost always possessed at least one of these flags.
“Alright. Then.”
I placed the Pachoseon in the center of the basement. At that moment, a faint light began to emanate from the Pachoseon, and that light began to settle on me and Chae-jin.
“What do we do now?”
“It’s nothing special. Just like before, we perform the same martial art.”
“The Eight Immortals are Taoist deities. Therefore, they value yin and yang. The process of installing an artifact is the same. Using the same martial art, but influenced by the other person’s performance, the artifact unleashes the power contained within.”
It seemed she knew it well. With her additional explanation, Chae-jin nodded.
“Then let’s start with the Yuhwan Form.”
The Yuhwan Form.
The first form of Chae Family Tai Chi, and the one I learned first.
And the core of Chae Family Tai Chi.
Recalling the first time I learned the Yuhwan Form, I also extended my left hand. As we faced each other and extended our hands, the Pachoseon emitted light between them.
The ritual had begun.
Confirming that, Chae-jin gently waved her left hand. As if dancing.
Matching that movement, I also moved my left hand, and the domains of Chae-jin and I collided.
But there was no impact.
This too was harmony and flow.
As if to show that the most important thing in the Yuhwan Form was softness, that is, ‘yu’ (柔), Chae-jin’s domain and mine simply passed through each other smoothly instead of colliding with impact.
“Remember? The extremes are opposites, and this signifies union.”
“I know.”
Was it because we had already practiced together once? Or was it because Chae-jin was adjusting to me?
As Chae-jin and I performed the Chae Family Tai Chi, the Pachoseon strengthened its light without shaking.
After the Yuhwan Form was finished, next was the Jin Hongha (True Vast River). As we entered the form with the meaning of a wide river, Chae-jin’s movements became faster.
Like a wide river moving, she slid across the floor, quickly encroaching on my domain, and I also performed the Jin Hongha, encroaching on her domain.
Taking, being taken, consuming, being consumed.
Perhaps because the two domains changed while maintaining a constant size, the light of the Pachoseon intensified and then slowly began to subside.
“Huu… That’s it.”
Confirming that the Pachoseon was emitting a faint light, unlike before, I exhaled and stopped the Chae Family Tai Chi.
Chae-jin also matched me and looked at the Pachoseon with a curious expression, and I placed the flags I had prepared around the Pachoseon.
With this, all products produced in Seomhwa Village would be influenced by the artifact and their quality would improve.
“Is this the end?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Chae-jin stared at the artifact and nodded slightly. Her expression was serious, as if she had made up her mind.
“Now we will have our duel?”
“Since we promised.”
“Then after the duel, you’re leaving…”
“…Yes? Me?”
Wasn’t the original purpose of her staying here for the duel? As I looked at her, Chae-jin said with wide, bewildered eyes.
“I still have to teach you, Innkeeper, where would I go?”
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