The Eternal Forge
Blood was clearly streaming down from his back.
Jeon Jo’s mind snapped into focus, though it came far too late.
The contempt he had felt for Maeng Tak and O San vanished in an instant.
At this rate, I’m going to get taken down.
Before, he had beaten Haomun members without caring how many there were. They never fought back, and even if one or two resisted, they posed no real threat.
But this time was different.
The two men refused to simply take the beating like before. They even knew how to counterattack, just like disciples from proper murim factions.
In that desperate moment, Mun Hong, Jeon Jo’s comrade from the Six Harmonies Gang, rushed in and attacked O San.
The fight had returned to one-on-one.
Yet Jeon Jo, having lost his will to fight, could no longer press Maeng Tak the way he had earlier.
With four blades clashing at once, the narrow space descended into pure chaos in the blink of an eye.
That was when it happened.
Golden Crow Guards who happened to be patrolling the area—reinforced because of the Thousand Lotuses—surrounded the four men.
“Stop right there! Who dares draw blades in the capital? Resist and we will cut you down! Surrender quietly!”
In the end, all four discarded their weapons and were arrested on the spot.
Even as they were dragged away bound in ropes, the four continued hurling curses at one another.
“You sons of bitches! You’re all dead, you hear me? How dare Haomun trash raise blades against Six Harmonies Gang members?”
“Why? Does the Six Harmonies Gang’s belly not take steel?”
“You crazy bastards! You’re from the Cha Mun branch, right? Wash your necks and wait! You fucking pieces of shit! You dare touch me? Every last one of you is finished!”
“Do whatever you want, you idiot! Who do you think you are? Talking like you’re the leader of the Six Harmonies Gang. A worthless nobody like you.”
The Golden Crow Guard commander escorting the martial artists bellowed, “Shut your mouths! One more word and I’ll gag every last one of you!”
Only then did the four men clamp their lips shut.
The next morning.
Dan Yeop had just finished breakfast at a nearby eatery and returned to the Jangan County Office when a visitor arrived.
Jang Uk, who introduced himself as the patrol leader of the Cha Mun branch, spoke urgently.
“Constable Dan, two of our Cha Mun members were arrested by the Golden Crow Guards last night after getting into a fight with Six Harmonies Gang members. We had nowhere else to turn, so we came straight to you. Please help us.”
Dan Yeop was preoccupied with the Thousand Lotuses culprits, but he could not ignore a request from the Cha Mun branch.
After all, the whole reason he had become a constable was to watch over Haomun’s interests.
“What are their names?”
“Maeng Tak and O San. They were taken to the Western Market Guard, so they should still be there.”
“Understood. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise the Golden Crow Guards will listen to me. I’m only a constable from the Jangan County Office.”
“Since you’re the one handling the Thousand Lotuses case, they’ll listen. Right now the Golden Crow Guards’ biggest headache is the Thousand Lotuses.”
“Then that’s fortunate.”
After parting with Patrol Leader Jang Uk, Dan Yeop headed straight for the Western Market Guard.
If they had already been transferred elsewhere, even he would have difficulty pulling strings.
Fortunately, Captain Wang Jeon, the officer in charge of practical affairs at the Western Market Guard, gladly accepted Dan Yeop’s request.
Dealing with captured martial artists only brought headaches; he was rather pleased that the county office was willing to take them off his hands.
“By the way, I heard the Jangan County Office pulled off something big. Have you identified the culprit yet?”
“Not yet. But we’ve discovered an important clue and are currently investigating, so we should be able to uncover their identity soon.”
“Is that so? That’s good to hear. Pass this on to County Magistrate Do-gyeom. If you need the Golden Crow Guards’ help in apprehending the culprit, request it anytime.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After bidding Captain Wang Jeon farewell, Dan Yeop took Maeng Tak and O San with him.
Just as Dan Yeop had stepped forward to spirit the two men away, the Six Harmonies Gang had quietly taken Jeon Jo and Mun Hong.
Because of the incident, Haomun watched the Six Harmonies Gang’s reaction carefully, but surprisingly the Six Harmonies Gang said nothing about it.
The clash between Haomun members and Six Harmonies Gang members caused a small ripple throughout Chang’an Castle’s murim world.
Some said the leader of the Six Harmonies Gang had gone soft, while others voiced concern that the attitude of Haomun members had changed from before.
Mannyeon Cheoljang.
Even from the outside, the scale of Mannyeon Cheoljang was impressive.
Dan Yeop walked past the farming tools displayed in front and stepped inside.
The ceaseless sound of hammers striking iron rang out from somewhere deeper within.
From the noise, it seemed there was a separate forge behind the main building, much like the one at Jipdanhyang.
When Dan Yeop showed interest in the inner area, a man in his thirties stepped forward to block him.
“Welcome. What are you looking for?”
Dan Yeop spoke directly. “I am Constable Dan Yeop of the Jangan County Office. I’ve come to meet the owner of Mannyeon Cheoljang.”
The Hundred-Refined Cow-Hair Needle
Mannyeon Cheoljang was a renowned forge even across the empire.
The blades crafted by Great Blacksmith Muk Cheol-sim were considered masterpieces and had even been offered to the imperial family.
After growing old, Muk Cheol-sim had entered the Buddhist path and no longer forged weapons.
Even so, his disciples continued to produce blades at Mannyeon Cheoljang and sell them to the military and martial officials.
Muk Cheol-sim had not opposed his disciples making weapons.
After all, they could not sustain the forge by making only farming tools in the capital.
These days, his son, the Young Great Blacksmith Muk Geum-gang, oversaw both the production and sale of blades.
Muk Geum-gang was startled by the unexpected words from the young man.
He had seen the youth in tinted glasses poking around and thought, Where did this pretty boy come from? only to hear he was a constable.
“You don’t look like any constable I’ve ever seen.”
At those words, Dan Yeop took out his constable plaque and showed it to the middle-aged man.
“Good heavens, you really are one. What business does the great blacksmith have with you?”
“May I ask who you are, sir?”
“I am Muk Geum-gang, the Young Great Blacksmith of Mannyeon Cheoljang. The great blacksmith you seek is my father.”
“I see. I came because I have something to ask.”
“I know everything about Mannyeon Cheoljang, so you may ask me. Of course, only if you wish to.”
Dan Yeop studied the middle-aged man.
At forty, it was certainly an age where he would know everything about the forge.
Nodding, he took out a white cloth from his robe.
He carefully unwrapped it and revealed a needle as thin as cow hair.
“Have you seen this item before? From what I’ve gathered, people say only Mannyeon Cheoljang could have made it.”
The moment he saw the needle, Muk Geum-gang’s eyes wavered, but he quickly returned to normal.
Dan Yeop did not miss that fleeting instant.
From the beginning, he had come precisely to observe the man’s reaction.
“Well, it’s the first time I’ve seen it… In any case, it is not something made at our Mannyeon Cheoljang. My father stopped forging twenty years ago. He hasn’t even made farming tools in the last ten years.”
“Then do you know who might be capable of making a needle like this?”
“No ordinary skill could imitate it. There is no one around me with that level of ability.”
“You’re not saying the great blacksmith himself could do it?”
“Of course not. He retired from the craft twenty years ago.”
“Then what about your own skill? As the great blacksmith’s successor, you must be quite capable.”
Dan Yeop gazed steadily into his eyes.
He had assumed Muk Cheol-sim had been able to set down his hammer because he trusted his son’s ability.
“To be honest, I cannot even reach my father’s heels. It’s embarrassing, but my skill is roughly the same as the other blacksmiths here at Mannyeon Cheoljang.”
“Since even the Young Great Blacksmith doesn’t know, I suppose I must meet the great blacksmith himself. Please guide me to him.”
“Hmm, very well.”
Muk Geum-gang said something to another clerk, then led Dan Yeop out through the back gate.
Beyond the back gate, three separate forges came into view, and behind them stood enormous buildings.
It felt as if an entire small village was hidden here.
A sound of admiration escaped Dan Yeop’s lips.
“Wow. Quite the scale.”
“We’ve been running a forge on this spot for over a hundred years.”
There was clear pride in the words, so Dan Yeop simply nodded.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang—.
Leaving the sound of hammers ringing from every direction behind them, Muk Geum-gang headed toward a building in the rear.
A short while later, he stopped in front of a building bearing the plaque Manse-dang.
“Father, a constable from the Jangan County Office has come to see you.”
An old man in his eighties opened the door and stepped out onto the veranda.
“A constable, you say?”
Dan Yeop brought his hands together and bowed.
“I am Constable Dan Yeop of the Jangan County Office. I came because I have something to ask the owner of Mannyeon Cheoljang.”
“Heh heh. To think there are still people looking for me at my age. I don’t know whether to be glad or annoyed. Come up.”
When Dan Yeop stepped onto the veranda, Muk Cheol-sim spoke to his son.
“You must be busy. Go take care of your work.”
“Yes.”
Muk Geum-gang turned and left without another word.
Once the two of them were alone, Muk Cheol-sim led Dan Yeop into the inner hall.
Inner hall.
While pouring tea into Dan Yeop’s cup, Muk Cheol-sim began.
“So what brings you here? What are you curious about?”
Dan Yeop spread the white cloth on the table and said, “I am looking for the person who made this.”
“Hmm. It’s been a long time since I last saw a Hundred-Refined Needle.”
“Is that what it’s called—the Hundred-Refined Needle?”
“Its full name is Hundred-Refined Cow-Hair Needle, but we shorten it. Where did you get this?”
“It was found in the body of a constable who was watching Grand General Choe Eon’s residence last night. It was the work of one of the culprits who murdered the general. Did you make this needle, Great Blacksmith Muk?”
“I did. The Hundred-Refined Cow-Hair Needle was the last thing I made, twenty years ago.”
“Who commissioned it?”
“It was an order from a broker named Song Ik.”
“Song Ik? Where is he now?”
“He died about ten years ago when a plague swept through the region.”
Dan Yeop frowned.
If that was true, the link to the culprit had just been severed.
Then he suddenly remembered that the son, Muk Geum-gang, had claimed not to know about the Hundred-Refined Cow-Hair Needle.
Muk Geum-gang had only said his father stopped working twenty years ago.
Had he truly not known that his father made the needle twenty years ago?
“By the way, I can’t help but admire this Hundred-Refined Cow-Hair Needle. It must have taken tremendous effort to create. How long did it take you to make it?”
“I devoted an entire month to it. If I had done it alone, it would have taken at least three months.”
“Others helped you, then?”
“Of course. The others shaped the basic form of the steel needles for me.”
“I see. Thank you for your time.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help after you came all this way.”
“Not at all. You were a great help. If not for you, Great Blacksmith, I wouldn’t even have known its name. Simply learning the name is significant progress.”
“That’s true. Safe travels.”
After bidding Muk Cheol-sim farewell, Dan Yeop left the inner hall.
Hmm. The son claims he doesn’t know, yet the father made it with help from others? Interesting. Very interesting.
When he returned to the main building, Muk Geum-gang approached with an awkward smile.
“Did your conversation go well?”
“Yes. He said it was something he made twenty years ago.”
“My father did? Huh! I had no idea.”
“He also mentioned that other blacksmiths helped him at the time.”
Dan Yeop looked at Muk Geum-gang with meaningful eyes.
It was as if he were asking, Are you still going to insist you knew nothing?
“Tsk, I must have been in the western regions learning metalworking techniques back then. I really didn’t know. I only returned to Mannyeon Cheoljang about fifteen years ago. That’s why I said it wasn’t one of our pieces.”
“Ah! So that’s what happened. Thank you for telling me before I went and arrested the wrong person. Hahaha.”
When Dan Yeop laughed