“Why are you looking like that?”
“Nothing at all, Elder.”
“Elder, huh? Ha ha. I’m not someone worthy of that title. Anyway, come on. Have a seat. I’ll treat you to some tea.”
“Thank you.”
The heat emanating from the furnace was quite intense, probably to create good iron.
While Chaejin, boasting powerful martial arts, was unfazed, I certainly was not.
Noticing this, Mak Noya led Chaejin and me outside.
Under the tent set up outside the sword room, there was an old table. Mak Noya used the brazier there to boil water and started talking without being asked.
“Wow~. I’ve heard about this, but this place has such a good vibe.”
“If you’ve heard, then…”
“The local leader here says it’s a great place. It’s really nice.”
He said this while grinning and took out a cigarette from his pocket. He looked at me, asking for permission to light it.
So, I glanced at Chaejin.
“It’s fine.”
As soon as Chaejin smiled and gave her approval, Mak Noya and I lit up right away.
As we watched the smoke rising from the sword room mix with that from the tent, Mak Noya calmly said,
“Hongseongsan is Mount Yeongsan. And Seomhwa Village has been receiving the mountain’s spirit for a long time. I believe you already know that.”
“Of course.”
“Therefore, if you keep hammering iron here, you might hear the sound of the iron.”
“The sound of iron? What’s that?”
“You could think of it as the enlightenment of blacksmiths. The Moonjeong’s swordsmanship. She must be the daughter of Doje, right? It’s a work made by my master who heard the sound of iron from Doje’s famous sword.”
“Huh? It wasn’t the spirit of a weapon obtained from a secret realm?”
“Haha. You should ask Doje about that later.”
Chaejin looked at Mak Noya with curiosity. In the meantime, he quickly finished a cigarette and rummaged through the pack, only to click his tongue when he saw it was empty.
“Here you go.”
I handed him a cigarette pack. He grinned and stuck one in his mouth to continue his story.
“Honestly, I didn’t plan to come here. With my age, who knows when I’ll leave.”
“I see.”
“So I set aside others’ requests, hoping to burn everything and hear the sound of iron, but haha. The moment I arrived here, I had this intuition that maybe, just maybe, I could hear the sound of iron here. You, Yu Jiju, do you know what I’m talking about?”
“You want me to help you out a bit?”
“If possible, could you bring me some good iron? The local leader said he’d pay for it…”
The boisterous attitude from earlier vanished, and he was now sheepishly pleading.
I smiled and nodded at him.
“Understood. Don’t worry.”
I already knew of a mine where good iron could be found.
There was.
Hao-mun had already done some investigations, casually mentioning a few expected locations while we were drinking before, and with the knowledge from Heavenly Bright Moon, I knew a few mines with undiscovered veins.
Among those, I identified a good iron-extracting mine that would be found around the later part of the first volume, and another mine that Hano assessed to be okay.
I had subtly hinted at the abandoned Juchun Mine, not far from Yangwi-seong, to the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild.
Cheonilhwa conducted the exploration and development right away, and I heard some results were achieved a few days ago.
Thanks to that, more money was earned than what was invested, which is a delightful matter.
“There should be good news soon.”
“Got any interesting stories?”
I simply smiled at his eager ears instead of answering. Cheonilhwa had asked for that mining information to be kept secret.
Still, as an investor wanting quality iron, Cheonilhwa wouldn’t hold back.
Regardless of the backstory, he quickly lost interest as long as good iron could be obtained.
“Oh dear. I’m so sorry for holding such a busy person. I look forward to your future assistance. I’ll surely choose only the best for you.”
“Likewise, I appreciate it. I plan to install the法宝 (Law Treasure) I got from Changwoon-kwan today.”
“Oh? You mean the Changri-kwon’s Pacho-seon?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. It seems the landowner is serious about developing this village. That’s good news. If it embodies the strength of Master Jongri, the quality of production will definitely increase. However… I heard installing that is no ordinary task. Are you considering requesting Hongseongmun for help?”
“It’s not particularly difficult, I just need to do it with Chaejin.”
“Hmm… Well, if you say so. Let me know once it’s installed. I’ll make you some decent armor.”
“Thank you.”
I finished my conversation with Mack, who had become even more polite and friendly than before.
Now all that’s left is to go back, do some work, and wait until night falls.
“If you’d like to wander a bit longer, just let me know.”
“Really? Then can I take a slow stroll?”
I nodded as I gazed at Chaejin’s bright smile.
I needed to clear my head, so it would be nice to take a break and enjoy a stroll.
Walking around Seomhwa Village wasn’t rare, but walking aimlessly like this was a first.
While looking around the fields and reclaimed lands on the way back, Chaejin glanced off into the distance and casually asked, “How was Changwoon Mountain?”
“There was so much to see. And there was also an attack from the demonic cult.”
“Oh. That must have been fun… Wait?”
“The demonic cult’s attack. Did you know that Changwoon-kwan often gets attacked by them?”
“Um… I know that, but why did they choose that time to attack?”
“Good question. But thanks to that, I got various things, so there’s nothing bad about it. It’s like a blessing in disguise.”
“It really is a case of ‘turning misfortune into fortune.'”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nope. Facing Gangshi, Chae learned Tai Chi, which helped a lot.”
Thanks to Chae learning Tai Chi, Chaejin was able to fight alongside Sayoon.
Honestly speaking, I never expected this, so if I said I wasn’t happy, that would be a lie.
“My biggest pride is not rejecting your suggestion back then.”
“Ah. Uh. Well, if you think that way, I’m relieved… Huh…”
Chaejin let out a big sigh. It seems she’s still too embarrassed to look this way.
Haha. Look at this, just for a thank you.
“So? How about you?”
“Well, nothing special. Oh, right. Gichajo says he’ll come by soon.”
“Is that so? That’s good. Yohwan needs to show off her skills later.”
“That guy loves tasty food and drinks, so I think Yohwan will hit it off well with him.”
Well, that old lady does love her food and drink.
Chaejin and I chatted about this and that as we walked, and before we knew it, we arrived at the inn.
“Alright! Time to train?!”
“…Weren’t we supposed to rest today?”
I thought we were taking a break since we went for a walk. But our top-notch instructor wasn’t buying it at all.
“Stop whining. And if we want to sync our breathing later, we need to practice more, right?”
How does she always manage to make such valid points?
With Chaejin winking and smiling, I couldn’t say a word and just took my stance.
Night fell. As the inn was about to close, Chaejin, Yohwan, and I gathered at the inn.
“Yohwan, you don’t need to be here.”
“Aren’t you setting up a treasure for Changwunguan? If the balance seems off, I can let you know, can’t I? Trust me, even with one eye, I’m sharp.”
Saying that nonchalantly, she opened the basement door.
Maybe because there were several holes in the ceiling connecting to the outside?
It wasn’t completely stuffy, but being underground had a unique dampness that couldn’t be avoided.
But at this moment, no one seemed to care about that.
“A flag, huh… So if we get a reward from Changwunguan, we can obtain it?”
“That’s right.”
“Haha… It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.”
Looks like Yohwan knew what the three flags I had were. After all, most major sects usually have at least one of these flags.
“Alright then.”
In the center of the basement, I set up the parchosun. At that moment, a soft light began to emanate from the parchosun, wrapping around Chaejin and me.
“What do we do now?”
“Nothing much. Just like before, you just need to perform the same martial arts.”
“The Eight Immortals are those of Taoism. Therefore, they value yin and yang. The process of setting up the treasure is similar. We use the same martial arts, but the treasure is affected by the techniques of different people, releasing the power contained within.”
“The Eight Immortals are divine beings of Daoism. Therefore, they place great importance on Yin and Yang. The process of establishing a Dharma treasure is similar. While we use the same martial arts, the performance of another person’s martial arts influences the Dharma treasure and unleashes the power contained within.”
“Seems like you know that well,” Chaejin nodded at her additional explanation.
“Then let’s begin with Yuhwanjeonghyeong.”
Yuhwanjeonghyeong.
Chae is the first chapter of Taijiquan and the one I learned first.
And Chae is the core of Taijiquan.
Recalling the first time I learned Yuhwanjeonghyeong, I stretched out my left hand.
A beam of light radiated from the parted hands between us. The consciousness had begun.
Confirming that, Chaejin gracefully waved her left hand.
As if she were dancing.
When I also moved my left hand to match her movement, our realms collided.
But there was no impact.
This was also harmony and flow.
As if to demonstrate that the most important aspect of Yuhwanjeonghyeong is softness, or You (柔), Chaejin’s realm and mine gently passed by each other without any collision.
“Do you remember? Extremes are mutually hostile, which signifies unity.”
“I know.”
Was it because we had already matched once? Or was it because Chaejin was adapting to me?
As my and Chaejin’s Taijiquan progressed, the Paechoseon kept shining with unwavering brilliance.
Once Yuhwanjeonghyeong concluded, we moved on to Jin Hongha (眞洪河).
When entering the chapter named after the vast river, Chaejin’s movements quickened.
Flowing like the waters of a wide river, it brushed past the ground, swiftly engulfing my realm as I too unfolded Jin Hongha, claiming her territory.
Seize, be seized, eat, be eaten.
Perhaps because the size remained constant as our realms shifted?
The light of Paechoseon grew stronger before slowly beginning to settle.
“Hoo… That’s it for now.”
Unlike the beginning, seeing Paechoseon radiating a soft light, I exhaled and stopped the Taijiquan. Chaejin, also matching me, looked at the Paechoseon with a sense of wonder, and I planted the prepared flags around it.
With this, all items produced from Seomhwa Village will be influenced by the Dharma treasure, improving in quality.
“Is that the end then?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Chaejin gazed at the Dharma treasure and nodded slightly. Her expression was serious, as if she had made a decision.
“Are we going to have a spar now?”
“Because we promised.”
“Then after the spar, you will depart…”
“…Excuse me? Me?”
Wasn’t my original purpose for staying here to spar?
When I looked at her, Chaejin widened her eyes in disbelief and said, “Innkeeper, there’s still more to teach you, so where do you think you’re going?”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
