A Sword Named Uicheon
It had been quite some time since the assassins under the command of Seonup had launched their assault. The combined attack Mu Yeong and I unleashed, along with the overwhelming power of the Thunder Fire Star Flame, had surpassed all imagination. Most of them lost their will to fight and retreated because of it… and the few who remained were slaughtered one-sidedly by Mu Yeong and me.
I let out a long, languid sigh from the small room inside the forge as that thought crossed my mind. My body felt sluggish, probably from the aftereffects of the battle.
It’s already been several days since that ambush ended. It’s about time I returned to the Mount Hua Sect…
I sat with my fingers laced behind my head, leaning halfway against the wall. From the opposite corner, Mu Yeong watched me and yawned loudly.
“Haaam.”
“…Senior brother.”
“What?”
“I definitely sent a messenger pigeon to the sect, but we haven’t received any reply?”
When I asked, Mu Yeong nodded and opened his mouth.
“The Mount Hua Sect did send a response, but the content was ridiculously simple. They just said they’d give us a few more days to wrap things up before coming back.”
“Hmm… I see. I thought the sect leader might have something to say, but he approved it so easily.”
“Well, I’m not surprised. There must’ve been plenty going on inside the Mount Hua Sect too.”
“Like what?”
When I posed the question, Mu Yeong shook his head with a wry smile and answered.
“Probably the second and third generation disciples who went out for intensive training are returning to the sect, or Master is busy trying to make you the sect’s head disciple.”
“…Now that you mention it, that does make sense.”
“Hey, with my experience, you think I can’t predict something this obvious? I’ve been running around outside for years. You develop a certain intuition after that long.”
“That’s pretty impressive, senior brother.”
“…Thanks for the compliment.”
I was still leaning against the wall, exchanging idle chatter with Mu Yeong, when I slowly rose at the approach of someone’s presence. At my movement, Mu Yeong swallowed nervously and brushed off his knees, standing up at the same time.
That was the moment.
Creak. The door slid open and Dong-il burst in, breathing hard as he shouted.
“The work is finally finished…!”
“Oh…!”
“It took a whole week to complete?”
While Mu Yeong marveled beside me, I kept my arms crossed and spoke in a calm tone. Dong-il flinched, his shoulders trembling, before answering with an apologetic look.
“I’m truly sorry for missing the deadline… My father hasn’t been feeling well, so I had to take on a large portion of the work myself.”
“……”
“My skills are still far from sufficient, and my experience is lacking. Even though I hammered away at the anvil following my father’s instructions as best I could… it was painfully clear that I wasn’t up to the task.”
Dong-il spoke his honest feelings without reservation. It was impossible to respond coldly to someone who had lowered himself this much. So I let a faint smile curve my lips, shook my head once, and spoke.
“Still, the finished product is solid, right?”
“…Yes! The straight sword and dagger made from refined iron turned out as the finest weapons imaginable. Anyone who sees them will have no choice but to admire them.”
“If the quality is good, that’s a relief.”
At my words, Dong-il let out a breath as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and nodded. Then he gestured for us to follow.
“Please come outside! It would be best if you judged them for yourselves.”
“Heh heh, how long has it been since I left this stuffy room?”
Mu Yeong chuckled as he spoke. Agreeing with my senior brother’s reaction, I uncrossed my arms and rolled my still-stiff shoulders with a grunt.
Thud. Thud. As I stepped through the open door into the main forge, I looked around and thought,
Compared to the miserable sight from a few days ago, this is like night and day.
Unlike the past when old materials and trash had been scattered everywhere to the point of making one sigh, the place was now lined with weapons, a blazing hot furnace, and a neatly arranged anvil that looked freshly used. The forge had finally been restored to normal.
Just a short while ago it looked like a pigsty.
As I recalled the recent past with fresh eyes, I soon spotted the blacksmith—Dong-il’s father—standing with his hands behind his back, watching us. He still wore that stubborn expression, his face set in a hard line.
I glanced at the blacksmith and finally spoke.
“I heard it’s finished.”
“…As you said.”
“Are you satisfied with it?”
“Of course!”
At the blacksmith’s bold declaration, I smiled with satisfaction. The blacksmith smiled back, then picked up a sword that had been leaning against the wall and floor.
“……!”
“This is the finished product.”
Swoosh. The blacksmith held out the completed straight sword to me. It was a magnificent piece, with an ornately decorated sheath and hilt, and flawless finishing touches. The sheath even featured engravings in intaglio, as if the characters had been carved out. As I examined that part closely, I murmured,
“Uicheon…”
“I went ahead and named it… What do you think? If you don’t like it, I have spare sheaths. I can carve new characters for you.”
“……”
At the blacksmith’s words, I ran my fingers over the engraved section of the sheath and asked,
“…Did you take it from Romance of the Three Kingdoms or some old legend?”
“Hmm…! The former is a bit of a stretch. I was inspired by a poem from Song Ok. If I had to choose, the latter fits better.”
“Either way is fine. It’s a name with real resonance.”
“You like it?”
At the blacksmith’s question, I gave a small laugh and answered.
“I like it very much. I’m satisfied.”
“…That’s a relief. Truth be told, the sword was finished yesterday, but I carved the engraving at dawn. I got so excited that I ended up engraving the characters right away.”
“Well, that can happen.”
I continued staring at the completed straight sword—no, the Uicheon Sword—before finally drawing the blade from its sheath.
Srrrng…!
A crisp, clear ring echoed through the air.
“Ooh…!”
“…Indeed, it’s a famous blade.”
While Mu Yeong let out an admiring exclamation beside me, I calmly inspected the blade and its keen edge before giving a short assessment.
No matter how I look at it, there’s not a single flaw… In fact, the more I examine it trying to find fault, the more I’m left in awe of its monstrous perfection.
Even someone as stingy with praise as me had no choice but to acknowledge it. I nodded in satisfaction.
The blacksmith, who had been watching the scene with a pleased expression, spoke as if pouring out his heart.
“In truth, this commission was a major turning point for both me and my son, Dong-il.”
“……”
“We were forced to borrow money from a third-rate black path gang, and things had gotten so bad we might have sunk to the bottom… In that bleak situation, you saved our father and son.”
“From my perspective, I only did what was natural.”
“As someone who knows all too well how difficult it is to actually help the weak, I feel like I should kneel before you. So please, don’t say such things.”
“Hmm…!”
“You are not simply a customer who placed an order.”
He smiled faintly and continued.
“To us father and son, you are a benefactor who bestowed a grace we could never repay even in a lifetime.”
“……”
Not long ago, the blacksmith’s eyes had been devoid of any drive. Now that same man had rekindled a firm resolve and was expressing his sincere gratitude to me.
As I listened in silence, Dong-il, who had been smiling beside him, bowed deeply to me.
“Thanks to you, I was able to reclaim the dream I had given up on.”
“……”
“I was just a boy working as a waiter at an inn, nearly beaten to death by someone from the Zhongli family. You pulled me out of that pit.”
Dong-il looked at me with clear, bright eyes. For some reason, a faint emotion welled up inside me, and I couldn’t respond with silence alone. I gave a slight smile and spoke.
“Then it wasn’t in vain.”
Dong-il and the blacksmith smiled and nodded. At their expression of gratitude, one thought came to mind.
This too is a connection.
Indeed, as you continue to live, there are twists and turns, and life-threatening crises come one after another. Yet—
“……”
Every once in a while, these good deeds accumulate little by little, and you realize that all the hardship and effort up until now had not been meaningless.