Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Episode 19. Elder, Please Become the Blacksmith of the Poison Demon Sect (1)
Soon after, the grounds of the Poison Demon Sect.
The steward, Seok In-gu, blinked at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
“Why are you all here….”
Dozens of blacksmiths who had previously worked for the Poison Demon Sect had returned.
Among them, a sturdy man with powerful, muscular arms.
Cheol-u stepped forward as their representative and shouted.
“Do I know? They told us to pack our bags from the Black Kill Sect and return to the Poison Demon Sect.”
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t know what’s going on either. And this….”
Cheol-u fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a letter.
“The woman who led us said to give this to the steward.”
“…?”
In-gu took it and read it, his eyes widening in surprise.
“The Young Sect Leader has retrieved the blacksmiths from the Black Kill Sect. And told us to bring them to the forge?”
For a moment, In-gu was speechless.
‘Is the Young Sect Leader sane?’
No, where do we even have a forge!
Are they perhaps asking to borrow one?
If that’s the case, even if it’s blasphemous,
this damned Young Sect Leader must be out of his mind.
‘Oh dear. I won’t live to see my natural end like this. With our current finances, it’s hard enough to even take care of the people we have. Why on earth are they increasing the mouths to feed!’
In-gu pressed his temples firmly.
Cheol-u sensed something was amiss.
“Steward, what do we do now? We’ll have to work for the Poison Demon Sect from now on, but does the Poison Demon Sect have the means to operate an ironworks?”
“Th-that’s….”
Led by Cheol-u, the other blacksmiths also demanded an answer from In-gu.
“Please tell us! If we work, can the Poison Demon Sect pay us a monthly wage?”
“What about the forge equipment? It hasn’t been maintained for a long time, aren’t we unable to use the forge’s tools!”
Their livelihoods were at stake, so they were understandably anxious.
Cold sweat trickled down In-gu’s forehead.
‘This is driving me crazy!’
Nothing was prepared.
But the blacksmiths, unaware of this, pressed In-gu harder for an answer.
“Steward Seok, please tell us clearly!”
“That’s right, Steward Seok. Please answer! What are we supposed to do!”
Should I tell them the truth?
No, that’s a bad move.
Looking at the state of the blacksmiths,
if I told them the truth, they might riot on the spot.
In-gu felt like crying.
‘What on earth do they expect me to do!’
Just then!
KWA-AA-ANG-!
Someone kicked the door of the Poison Demon Sect as if to break it down and entered!
Instantly, all eyes turned backward.
“…?”
A handsome young gentleman.
And the middle-aged man standing next to him, pressing his forehead, spoke to the youth.
“Hey, Hyeok-ah! Please, be gentle! You almost broke the perfectly good gate!”
“Father, this way everyone pays attention, don’t you think?”
The blacksmiths stared at the two men with bewildered faces.
Un-hyeok pointed at them.
“Look there. They’ve gathered in a mob. It looks like if we were a little late, something big would have happened, doesn’t it?”
“Sect Leader-nim!”
As if finding a lifeline,
In-gu pushed through the crowd of blacksmiths and rushed breathlessly towards Ryun Hui.
“Steward Seok.”
In-gu, on the verge of tears, pleaded with Ryun Hui.
“Where on earth have you been? Do you know how hard it was for me!”
As the old man sobbed, Ryun Hui was also flustered.
“Well… calm down first. Here’s what happened….”
“Allow me to explain.”
Un-hyeok stepped forward and shouted to everyone.
“To put it bluntly, you will all be working at the Poison Demon Sect’s forge from now on!”
“Who are you, young sir, to be stepping forward?”
To Cheol-u’s question, Un-hyeok pointed to himself.
“Me?”
“That’s right.”
Cheol-u, as the representative of the blacksmiths present, stood before Un-hyeok.
“Even Steward Seok couldn’t answer. What makes you, a young sir, so sure, to make such a promise to us?”
“That’s right, we want a proper answer from the Poison Demon Sect Leader, not a third party!”
“Poison Demon Sect Leader, please tell us!”
The other blacksmiths chimed in.
THUMP-!
Un-hyeok stomped his foot, and the resulting tremor spread throughout the Poison Demon Sect.
“QUIET!”
Instantly, the blacksmiths’ mouths snapped shut.
Un-hyeok shouted at them.
“The reason you have returned to the Poison Demon Sect is my doing. Therefore, you should hear the answer from me.”
“Who exactly are you…?”
“Dok Un-hyeok.”
Dok Un-hyeok.
Dok Un… Hyeok?!
Could it be the disgrace of the Poison Demon Sect, Dok Un-hyeok?
“I am the Young Sect Leader of the Poison Demon Sect, Dok Un-hyeok!”
Cheol-u and the other blacksmiths’ eyes widened like saucers.
Who was Dok Un-hyeok?
Wasn’t he a degenerate who lived in debauchery day after day?
But how…
‘This is unbelievable. That dashing young gentleman is Dok Un-hyeok?’
They were so shocked that they were all rendered speechless.
Un-hyeok continued speaking.
“I cannot tell you the details of the process, but I will certainly address what you are curious about!”
Un-hyeok raised his index finger.
“First, you don’t need to worry about your monthly wages! I will pay them no matter what.”
At that moment, In-gu flinched.
Even so, this is too much!
To overcome a crisis, are you lying about something that affects people’s livelihoods?
As In-gu tried to stop Un-hyeok.
Tap-!
Ryun Hui grabbed his shoulder.
‘Sect… Leader?’
When he looked back, Ryun Hui shook his head.
‘No, why are you stopping me?’
Ryun Hui spoke quietly through telepathic transmission.
「I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier. But you don’t need to worry about what Hyeok-ah is saying. I’ve secured all the money to pay them.」
‘What do you mean?’
「Hyeok-ah has forged ties with the Dragon Brocade Hall.」
‘Wh-what?!’
In-gu couldn’t transmit telepathically, but his expression seemed to ask, ‘How did you do it?’
「Hyeok-ah is quite resourceful. It seems he has formed a rather deep connection with the Dragon Brocade Hall.」
They even lent him money without interest.
Furthermore, the Dragon Brocade Hall would lend them their own forges until the Poison Demon Sect’s revenue streams normalized.
「So, for now, it’s best to just watch quietly. Hyeok-ah seems to have a plan.」
Meanwhile, the blacksmiths, having heard Un-hyeok’s full explanation, had their eyes wide open.
“Is that true? Does the Poison Demon Sect truly have the capacity to employ us?”
“Yes. Not only that, but we’ve also prepared a forge, so you can use it to your heart’s content. Only one thing has changed. You’ve simply returned to the Poison Demon Sect from the Black Kill Sect!”
The blacksmiths’ gazes turned towards Ryun Hui.
It was as if they were asking, ‘Can we really believe his words?’
Ryun Hui shouted.
“On the name of the Poison Demon Sect Leader, Dok Ryeon-hwi, I swear that Hyeok-ah’s words are not a lie.”
WHOOSH-!
At that moment, the blacksmiths’ faces brightened.
“If you say so, then we can rest assured!”
With the assurance of their livelihoods, the atmosphere among the other blacksmiths also softened.
“So, we are to work at the Poison Demon Sect again then.”
“That’s good! Honestly, did we leave because we hated the Poison Demon Sect? We left because the conditions weren’t right.”
The blacksmiths nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, and frankly, how badly were we treated by the blacksmiths at the Black Kill Sect?”
“They just showed us prejudice because we were from the Poison Demon Sect, even though they lacked skill!”
“That’s right, honestly, when their blacksmith master told them to make us do menial tasks… if it weren’t for our families, I would have quit on the spot!”
“Indeed. I understand that feeling.”
“This… can’t be.”
In-gu rubbed his eyes.
‘Is this… a dream?’
But the scene unfolding before him was undeniably reality.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t the Young Sect Leader say he would restore the Poison Demon Sect’s glory when he dueled Neung Ja-pil?’
Currently, the Poison Demon Sect’s biggest problem is ‘finances.’ There’s no source of income, only expenses.
To maintain their threadbare livelihood, how many sleepless nights did In-gu spend racking his brain?
‘The Young Sect Leader has solved the most fundamental problem.’
They are skilled blacksmiths.
As long as they make things, they will naturally sell.
‘Finally, we have a proper source of income!’
“Sob…!”
Perhaps it’s because I’m old, but I find myself crying easily.
As In-gu wiped his eyes with his sleeve, Ryun Hui patted his back.
“You’ve worked hard. How difficult it must have been with our meager resources. I know well that it’s thanks to you that the Poison Demon Sect could somehow endure.”
“S-Sect Leader…!”
Knowing that his efforts were recognized was a great source of strength to his heart.
At this moment, In-gu was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Thank you… Thank you….”
“Thank you? My friend, that’s what I should be saying.”
Dok Ryeon-hwi clasped In-gu’s hand tightly.
“Thank you for enduring this long.”
“Sob, sob…!”
And then Ryun Hui looked at Un-hyeok.
Watching him explain the future plans to the blacksmiths, a satisfied smile naturally bloomed.
‘I’m grateful to you too.’
Although the beginning was humble, Un-hyeok was steadily moving towards his goal.
Perhaps, without Un-hyeok, this opportunity could not have been created.
“Sniff…!”
Having calmed down a bit.
In-gu, who had sniffled, clenched his fists tightly.
“I have made up my mind, Sect Leader.”
“Hmm…?”
“I admit that I lacked faith in the Young Sect Leader until now. But I, Seok In-gu!”
In-gu patted his chest a couple of times.
“From now on, I will absolutely believe whatever the Young Sect Leader says.”
…Huh? Suddenly?
Ryun Hui was taken aback, but it seemed that the fact that Un-hyeok had solved the financial problem had a tremendous impact on In-gu.
“As the Young Sect Leader says, if he calls a stone rolling on the street a flower, I will believe it is so.”
“What do you mean…? My friend, how can a stone become a flower?”
“If you cannot see it that way, then it must be my lack of faith.”
In-gu closed his eyes and clasped his hands together towards Un-hyeok.
“Money Master, I believe.”
At that moment, Ryun Hui had a premonition.
A fanatical follower of Un-hyeok, even more so than himself, had been born.
Meanwhile.
Gwang Ya Gong, U Gwang Mu, was thinking about the story recently told by the Black Kill Sect.
‘Black Spirit Stone Iron, they said the Black Kill Sect had acquired that precious ore.’
So, he had dragged his old body and intended to pick up his hammer after a long time, but.
What had these brats eaten to suddenly change their minds!
– We do not possess the Black Spirit Stone Iron! Therefore, we naturally cancel the request to forge weapons with it.
What kind of nonsensical talk was that.
He had been so excited at the thought of working with the Black Spirit Stone Iron.
When Gwang Mu questioned them, these insolent people got angry and turned him away.
At this point, Gwang Mu’s pride was piqued.
The whereabouts of the Black Spirit Stone Iron.
Indeed, in whose hands had the Black Spirit Stone Iron fallen?
‘Looking at the atmosphere of the Black Kill Sect, something seems to be amiss. Something must have happened, so I should go find that woman.’
Within the Divine Cult, there was no one who could match her when it came to information.
“Dragon Brocade Hall Master.”
So-ye greeted Gwang Ya Gong with a smile.
“Why has Gwang Ya Gong come? Actually, I was just about to send word that I had found what you were looking for.”
“Ho ho…!”
At that moment, Gwang Ya Gong’s eyes sparkled.
“Could it be that the item you found is the Black Spirit Stone Iron?”
So-ye took a sip of the tea in front of her.
“As expected, you knew.”
“Well, the Black Kill Sect had originally commissioned me to forge weapons with it. But….”
Gwang Ya Gong clicked his tongue, seemingly displeased.
“They suddenly canceled the request. So I came to find you. Do you happen to know whose hands the Black Spirit Stone Iron has fallen into?”
“Yes, I do. Actually, the owner of the Black Spirit Stone Iron changed recently.”
“The owner of the Black Spirit Stone Iron changed? What do you mean?”
“Well….”
So-ye gave him a hint about what had happened between Un-hyeok and the Black Kill Sect recently.
After hearing all of it, Gwang Ya Gong burst into laughter.
“I see! That’s why the atmosphere at the Black Kill Sect was like a funeral.”
The Black Kill Sect Leader is no ordinary person.
Yet, to be so thoroughly defeated by a greenhorn who hasn’t even lost his baby teeth.
If rumors spread that they lost the Black Spirit Stone Iron and their artisans, their reputation within the Divine Cult would be severely damaged.
It was natural for the Black Kill Sect to keep the incident quiet.
“My, my, this is the most interesting story I’ve heard lately. So, the Black Spirit Stone Iron is in the possession of this fellow named Dok Un-hyeok?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s decided.”
Bang-!
Gwang Ya Gong pushed himself up from his seat.
“Let’s go. I should go meet this Dok Un-hyeok.”