I Want a Sword
Ten.
Guiwondan was a supreme elixir.
Because it was made directly by the Tang Clan, it carried a poisonous edge.
For someone who couldn’t overcome a proper ascension-grade martial art, it was nothing more than a health tonic. But for Soyeong, who had formed her dantian with the Hyeoncheon Jinwon Shingong, it was different.
Fifteen years of cultivation settled cleanly into her dantian.
And that wasn’t all. Her body, already so accustomed to poison through invulnerable to a hundred toxins, drew in even the energy contained in that venom and added another five years’ worth.
Twenty years of cultivation in all.
It was more than enough to break through an entire realm.
“...Done.”
As soon as the maid left, Soyeong had swallowed the Guiwondan and gone into seated meditation. She could feel the swelling tide of inner power and smiled with deep satisfaction.
“Congratulations on reaching a new realm.”
“Cong... congratulations.”
Jinha and Garyeong, who had stayed at her side ever since she took the elixir, offered their congratulations on her achievement.
Garyeong only followed along because Jinha had congratulated her first, and she’d fallen in step without really thinking about it.
“Thanks.”
Soyeong smiled.
It had been a very long time since she’d felt the thrill of breaking through to a new level.
Not once since reaching the Mystic Realm had she felt this sensation.
I ran toward the Life and Death Realm, a realm spoken of only in legends, and in the end I never reached it.
Perhaps the Life and Death Realm didn’t even exist.
But if it did...
“Well, that’s a story for after I’ve finished everything I need to do.”
First, she would kill Yeon So-ha.
But killing him wouldn’t be enough.
I’ll make you die slowly, just like I did.
“Now then, shall I learn the secret martial art the clan lord gave me?”
Soyeong spread out Cheongi Hwanmu.
Her confinement still had ten days left.
That was more than enough time to learn a single martial art.
“Young Lady, are you up?”
On the eleventh day after Soyeong had been punished, Garyeong called to her from outside the door.
With a sudden bang, the door flew open all by itself.
Soyeong was already awake.
But she stood at least ten paces away from the door.
So how had it opened on its own?
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Did the Young Lady do that?”
“Of course I did. Who else would have?”
Soyeong twitched the index and middle fingers of her right hand a few times.
At once, the water jug on Garyeong’s tray shot through the air and landed neatly in Soyeong’s hand.
Opening a door and moving a water jug without touching either one.
Could this be the legendary air-hand plucking objects?
“Not quite.”
As though she had read Garyeong’s thoughts, Soyeong spoke before the other girl could even ask.
She lifted the jug, took a sip of water, then looked at Garyeong, who still seemed thoroughly bewildered.
“Come closer.”
Garyeong walked over to Soyeong and looked at the right hand she held out.
A thin white piece of thread was tied around Soyeong’s index and middle fingers.
“Is that yarn?”
“Yeah. Yarn.”
Soyeong flicked her fingers a few times, and the thread at her fingertips moved, pulling the door shut.
“The thread’s moving!?”
“This is Cheongi Hwanmu. It’s a martial art that feeds qi into a thread tied to your fingertips and lets you move it however you want.”
“You learned that in just ten days?”
“Just ten days? It was ten whole days.”
Soyeong was entirely serious.
To grasp the subtleties of the technique, grow used to it, and make it one’s own—ten days was more than enough.
Cheongi Hwanmu was certainly a difficult ascension-grade martial art, but for Soyeong, it was the perfect level.
And it had its uses.
Right now it could only open and close doors or move objects around with a thread.
But what if I used something as thin as wire?
It would become a hidden weapon invisible to the naked eye.
Watching Soyeong move things around without touching them, Garyeong let out a small sigh.
“So that’s why you asked me to bring thread for your martial arts training. I thought the Young Lady was going to sew for ten whole days.”
“Sewing is for little girls.”
Garyeong gave her a flat stare at that.
With a face as beautiful as a fairy descended from heaven, she said things as though she weren’t a woman at all.
Were all female martial artists like this?
“Anyway, Young Lady, today marks the end of the clan lord’s punishment. You’re free to leave the room now.”
“Really? Great.”
At that, Soyeong pushed herself up from the bed at once.
“Let’s get ready to go out. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
“You’re going to see the clan lord?”
“No. Why would I go looking for that man?”
That man? Even so, he was your real father...
Garyeong silently objected to Soyeong’s words.
But she couldn’t show it on her face.
In truth, Garyeong didn’t much like Tang Cheon-ak either.
Perhaps it was because she had spent the last several days with Soyeong and, in that time, had built up at least a small sense of connection with her.
Between someone who was a little close and someone who was merely distant and unknown, it was only natural where one’s feelings would lean.
“Then where are you going?”
At Garyeong’s question, Soyeong wrapped her long robe around herself and said, “There’s still one present from the clan lord I haven’t used yet.”
Whether she liked the clan lord or not was one thing. A gift was a gift, and if she’d been given one, she would take it.
“We’re going to Manryeongak.”
It was early morning, just after sunrise.
The air was hot with heat, and the hammering of iron rang out all around.
This was where every hidden weapon and every armament of the Tang Clan was forged.
Manryeongak.
“As expected. This is the Tang Clan, all right.”
The moment Soyeong stepped inside, she was truly impressed.
The forge was full of weapons and tools scattered everywhere.
And yet every single one of them was of a quality that stood among the best in the world.
“Ah, that’s trash, so don’t touch it. We’re melting it down and reusing it.”
One of the forge workers chided Soyeong when she picked up a sword lying nearby.
Soyeong held the sword up and asked him, “I was sent here by the clan lord. Where do I go?”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what’s your name?”
“Tang Soyeong.”
At the name, the forge worker finally remembered her face.
She was the very person who had caused all that uproar with the sparring match that shook the Tang Clan.
“My apologies. I’ll take you to Manryeongak Lord at once.”
“Thanks.”
Soyeong followed the man deeper inside.
They passed through the hard stares of rough-looking workers and the harsh sound of iron being struck, until at last they reached a certain chamber.
Though the whole forge was thick with heat, this place was even hotter than the rest.
“Here we are.”
With that, the forge worker turned and left immediately.
Manryeongak was famous even within the Tang Clan for being independent and self-contained. Even though Soyeong was a blood relative bearing the clan lord’s orders, she didn’t receive any special treatment.
Inside, an elderly woman was hammering iron.
-Clang! Clang! Clang!
She kept hammering without concern for whether anyone had approached her or not, her attention fixed only on the steel before her.
Soyeong knew eyes like hers.
Just like Jinha.
And just like her own.
The old woman before her had the same look.
-Sssssshhh!
When the heated iron was plunged into water and cooled, its true form emerged.
A smooth blade.
If she took it outside as it was, it was the kind of sword that would make everyone desperate to own it, hailing it as a peerless weapon.
-Crash!
But the old woman shattered it without hesitation.
“Damn it!”
And then, cursing furiously, she brought her hammer down on the already broken blade again and again, smashing it to pieces.
Only after hammering away for a long while did she finally turn her gaze to Soyeong.
“...And what are you?”
“Tang Soyeong.”
At the old woman’s words, Soyeong answered with her name as if it were nothing at all.
Even while sweat poured down her from the heat, there wasn’t a trace of discomfort on her face.
Rather, she looked as though she had just seen something precious.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Not much. Watching you hammer iron made me lose track of time.”
“Oh? So you know how to appreciate the hammering of iron?”
“A craftsman’s skill looks impressive even to someone who doesn’t know a thing about it.”
“Hahaha!”
At Soyeong’s words, the old woman laughed in clear pleasure.
Though her face was refined and delicate, she certainly knew how to say things that pleased people.
“I like you. Right, you came here because you want a weapon made?”
“Before that, I’d like to hear your name.”
“Hm? Haven’t I said it yet? I’m Jeok Hwa. Just a humble blacksmith.”
“Like I said, if a humble blacksmith can do this much, then the world must be short on masters. You’ve got a way with praise.”
“Ha! I like you even more!!”
-Ha ha ha ha ha!!
Jeok Hwa laughed like a man.
Though she was a woman, her presence was every bit as fierce as that of any male blacksmith.
Well, that was probably why she held the position of Manryeongak Lord in the Tang Clan.
“Tang Soyeong... I’ve heard of you. They say there’s a genius who beat the hell out of the Third Young Lady.”
“That’s right. That genius is me.”
“Hahaha! You’re full of confidence, aren’t you? I like that.”
Jeok Hwa took a liking to Soyeong.
Young people brimming with confidence were always entertaining to watch.
And when such a person even showered her with flattering words, there was no way not to like them.
“Good! Then tell me—what kind of weapon do you want?”
Jeok Hwa spread both arms wide.
Soyeong was a child of the Tang Clan, so she would probably want hidden weapons. What would it be? Flying needles? Needles? Daggers? Or perhaps some especially unusual hidden weapon?
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
There was no craftsman in the world better at making Tang Clan hidden weapons than Jeok Hwa.
Looking at her, Soyeong thought for a moment and then said quietly, “A sword.”
It was an entirely unexpected answer.