#54: The Eve Festival (4) — The Patriarch of Sichuan

Having easily jumped over the ironworks’ wall, Jin-hyeon sprinted straight toward where the voice came from.

“Gasp! Wh-what?!”

“An intruder!”

“S-stop him! Where’s a blade?!”

Ignoring the smiths’ urgent shouts, Jin-hyeon rushed inside in a breath and stopped.

“Who are you!”

Drawing a sword and pointing it at Jin-hyeon with a tense face was a middle-aged man with sun-darkened skin.

From his stance alone he had no affinity with the sword. His eyes trembled and his posture was awkward.

Just as Jin-hyeon was about to speak.

“Stand down.”

A weak voice, tinged with a familiar dull iron rasp, stopped the man.

“Guild Master?”

“He is not someone for you to treat lightly. Step back.”

Though lacking strength, the dignity in the voice was great. The middle-aged man lowered his sword and stepped aside.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes flashed.

“Guild Master.”

“So it was you, Teacher.”

The ironworks’ Guild Master, Yeo Bang, looked in a dire state. A long cut ran from his right collarbone to his left flank, bleeding considerably.

Even so, Yeo Bang’s eyes were clear. His stubborn iron soul burned unceasingly.

“I saw your white hair as you crossed the wall.”

“Let me examine you first.”

“I am only grateful.”

The middle-aged man cried out.

“Guild Master!”

“Stand back.”

Kneeling, Jin-hyeon pulled back Yeo Bang’s upper garment.

‘Good.’

It was a saber wound. But the cut was quite clean.

Jin-hyeon immediately pressed Yeo Bang’s acupoints to staunch the bleeding.

“Considering the blood loss, the wound isn’t deep. It’s a clean slice. Treat it well and there’ll be no aftereffects beyond a scar.”

For an ordinary elder, it would likely leave aftereffects.

But Yeo Bang’s body was robust. It was so well-kept that compared to many young men he would be judged better, not merely good for his age.

His will was firm as well. With good rest he could fully get back up.

“Still, it could fester, so I’ll take minimal measures. Please endure it, even if it hurts.”

“Do not worry.”

Wooong.

Heavenly Wolf Qi gathered in Jin-hyeon’s hand.

It was a minute amount. A faint heat exuded from his bare palm.

‘I should be able to do it now.’

He placed his hand right over the wound.

Seueu.

The Heavenly Wolf’s heat began selectively burning away any possible iron poison.

It was delicate work. Had he remained at the Wolf-Call Path rather than the Cunning Wolf Path, handling internal energy like this would have been unthinkable.

It was only because he had opened up even the fine meridians and refined his Qi control to the utmost, was it possible. So-called absolute masters use similar methods to draw out turbid qi that has invaded a wound.

But drawing it from one’s own body and removing it from another’s are very different. It was only natural for the latter to be harder.

‘Good.’

Jin-hyeon’s brow and cheeks dampened with sweat.

Heavenly Wolf Qi, being Extreme Yang, made the True Qi itself extremely forceful and volatile. Mishandled, it could inflict internal injury on Yeo Bang, hence he could not inject True Qi into his body.

Despite the terrible pain, Yeo Bang did not twitch an eyebrow. His will was indeed formidable.

After a moment.

“I’ve removed most of the poison. At this level, the wound won’t inflame or fester inside. You can get it stitched up.”

“Thank you.”

Relieved at the assurance, color returned to Yeo Bang’s face.

With a set face, Jin-hyeon asked:

“Who was it?”

“I do not know. He wore a hood, so I could not see his face. But he was certainly a swordsman.”

“A swordsman?”

“Yes.”

“Judging by the wound, it was cut by a fairly thick edge. This is a saber cut rather than a sword cut.”

“Indeed, I was cut by a single-edged blade, yet he was a swordsman.”

Jin-hyeon did not ask if he was certain.

Yeo Bang was a craftsman who could tell what weapon a man used from bare hands alone. If he said swordsman, then swordsman it was.

The middle-aged man hurriedly interjected.

“Guild Master, let’s stitch the wound first.”

“Wait. The Teacher said it is fine. Then it will be fine.”

“But…”

Gesturing him back, Yeo Bang spoke calmly.

“I do not know how the culprit reached my room. It was likely that he had used what the Kangho call ‘stealth arts.’”

Even without stealth arts, with training it is possible to infiltrate unnoticed by common folk.

But this was a famed ironworks and the walls were high. And given the clean wound, he was no riffraff.

“What he wanted was the Replica of the Soul-Killing Blade.”

“Soul-Killing Blade?”

“The Soul-Killing Blade was the beloved blade of the Mad Demon who caused the blood incident a dozen years ago. So many had died by his hand that it was said that dead souls clung to it, hence the name.”

The Mad Demon, and the Soul-Killing Blade.

“An ill-omened blade, but certainly a marvelous treasure saber. I hammered for three years wanting to make one not inferior to it. In the end I made one that was not inferior to it.”

“I see.”

“It’s one of my masterpieces. I hung it in my room, and he seemed to aim for that alone.”

“How do you know? You didn’t watch him.”

“He did not seem flustered by my appearance. And there’s no reason not to take other blades as fine, even if seen.”

That made sense.

“He looked somehow buoyant. He vanished too fast, but he didn’t seem old.”

How could he know even that?

Jin-hyeon did not believe all of it, but deemed it worthy of reference.

This was because he trusted Yeo Bang’s career as a master craftsman. Those eyes that could tell at a glance the weapon a warrior used.

“I understand. Rest for now. Wipe the blood with clean cloth and stitch it.”

“Teacher.”

“Speak.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to carry on the ironworks’ renown.”

What was he suddenly trying to say?

“If you had not awakened this man then, I might have lived forgetting the trust between people.”

“You are not such a man.”

“I am such a man. Truthfully, upon hearing your words, it felt as though you had exposed my willful denial of reality, and I could not raise my head.”

“…”

“I know well you are no ordinary person.”

“Enough words…”

“And I know you are someone deeply connected with our craft.”

Jin-hyeon’s eyes wavered.

Yeo Bang smiled and said.

“To know a sword’s fracture by sound alone takes a master’s ability. Even high masters of the Kangho find it hard. This is the realm of making.”

“…”

“Sichuan is truly in turmoil. That a divine man like you appeared here can only be called fate.”

“I am not so great a man.”

“Yet I glimpsed turmoil in your eyes.”

Yeo Bang took Jin-hyeon’s arm.

“I do not know what you desire. But to these old eyes, you seem to be hesitating much.”

“!!”

“If you give insight on worldly matters even to an old man, though you may waver and despair, you will never walk the wrong path. Therefore…”

In his deep eyes, the divine light of his iron soul glimmered.

“Go forward without hesitation.”

“…”

“I had been hoping to say this to you when we next met.”

Looking quietly down at Yeo Bang, Jin-hyeon nodded.

“I will carve your words in my heart.”

Smiling, Yeo Bang spoke to the middle-aged man.

“Go to my room and bring the Indestructible Sword.”

“Yes.”

Soon, the man brought a sword.

It had a long hilt and long blade. Over four feet in total length, with a broad scabbard, it was almost a greatsword in appearance.

“This sword is a failure. However I try, I cannot set an edge on it, so it’s blunt. Nearly seven kilos in weight, it’s useless to swordsmen who handle nimble blades. Yet its hardness and spring are tremendous. Lacking only keenness, it is second to no treasure sword.”

“Guild Master.”

“After meeting you, I obtained the steel used to make this Indestructible Sword. I wished to forge you a proper blade.”

“…”

“Advise me when I forge the new sword. Until then, you can use the Indestructible Sword.”

He seemed to see at a glance what sword suited Jin-hyeon.

His skill was fine, but this discernment could claim world’s best. No craftsman under heaven likely had eyes like Yeo Bang’s.

Jin-hyeon bowed his head gravely.

“We’ll meet again.”

“Go safely.”

Jin-hyeon slung the Indestructible Sword over his back and kicked off the ground.

Huk!

Like a heavenly steed summoning wind and flying, his figure cleared the ironworks in an instant and headed northeast.

Staring blankly at the vanishing Jin-hyeon, the middle-aged man spoke in haste.

“Guild Master, why give the Indestructible Sword to a man not close to us?”

“Until your discernment is well honed, how could I retire?”

“…”

“Enough. Fetch some cloth at once.”

“Ah, yes! Understood.”

Yeo Bang looked up at the sky.

“The night wind is particularly cold. A storm must be coming.”

Running out, he gripped the Indestructible Sword’s hilt jutting over his right shoulder.

‘Solid.’

True to its name, even the hilt held steel. At this level, it would definitely hold out.

Jin-hyeon liked this sword. It felt like a training blade prepared in advance for him.

But beyond liking the sword, Yeo Bang’s words lingered in his chest.

‘Go forward without hesitation…’

Yeo Bang knew nothing of him. Yet he said that.

Turning it over, Jin-hyeon closed his mouth again and ran.

Paang!

In a short time, the Calling Wind, Flying Horse Art settled quickly into his body. Turning was still clumsy, but for straight-line traversal it was satisfactory.

He arrived at Dam Jun’s branch in an instant.

“I’m sorry. The Stone Pillar is not presently on site.”

“When will he return?”

“Unknown, but he’s expected to be back within about two hours.”

“When he returns, tell him to find me.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the message, Jin-hyeon ran off again in all directions.

They said seven murder cases had occurred over the past few days.

Not seven people, but seven cases. The actual victim count could be higher.

‘Crazy bastard.’

For whatever reason, killing civilians cannot be excused. Even the ruthless conqueror, the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader, never deliberately caused civilian casualties beyond the rare few swept up by war.

In short, the culprit was doing what even historic demon lords would not. It was the worst of the worst.

‘First, I need to know where the constables are searching…’

Then Yeo Bang’s words came to mind again.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes wavered.

He had to focus on the case, yet their talk kept circling in his head. However he tried to set it aside, it would not fade.

‘Damn it, what am I doing? I need to find the killer first.’

Hwoong!

At last, Jin-hyeon halted his movement art.

A thought arose that could not be postponed.

‘Why?’

He looked at his hands.

Smoothed hands. The past that swung a hammer was no longer in them.

‘Why am I rampaging in the night to hunt a killer at all?’

Gyeong Se-hwi had been a kind, cheerful youth. He was good-natured, easy with anyone, and quite mischievous.

Conversely he disliked conflict. When trouble arose, he hesitated even to mediate. In short, a mild character.

If that nature were his root, if he bore that self…

If Gyeong Se-hwi were surely himself, even with the Alliance Leader’s experience that had altered his temperament, he should not leap into such things.

Moreover he owed nothing to Sichuan. He owed only the Seol clan. The rest were all others’ affairs.

‘What does that matter? People are dying. Civilians at that.’

Reasons, reasons, reasons.

‘I liked those streets. I just want to see that lively crowd again. I’m only moving as my heart tells me.’

Truth, inside, desire.

‘There’s no reason needed! I just…!’

Then, from somewhere, a majestic voice sounded.

‘Do you need a home?’

Unwittingly, Jin-hyeon answered.

“I do.”

‘Why?’

“Because I want to secure my ground. Because that’s my dream.”