Chapter 19
Chapter 19
19.
Rain and the Man of Steel (2)
I can’t acquire my main Weaponry right now. So, I need to find a substitute until then. The key is whether Uncle Geum Cheolyong can create it.
Actually, it doesn’t matter if he can’t.
I just hope that Geum Cheolyong doesn't disappear after making Weaponry with only a good handle, but becomes a craftsman who challenges more valuable work.
.
.
.
Geum Cheolyong watched the rain and said to me,
“It’s not going to be easy.”
“That’s right.”
“More than anything, it’s not easy to find such hard steel. As you said, everything would be solved if we could find Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron. Finding Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron is as difficult as Ganghoin finding Celestial Jade.”
“That’s right.”
“But if it’s also heavy, we might be able to find something by looking at the Black Market.”
The Black Market is a general term for places where Heukdo experts obtain Weaponry. There were places that held auctions, and places that made and sold them. Geum Cheolyong saying he would look at the Black Market sounded like he meant he would find iron, not buy ready-made swords.
I kept my mouth shut here too.
Making Weaponry was entirely Geum Cheolyong’s job, who had been running the Iron Squad for a long time. It wasn’t something I should interfere with.
However, if Geum Cheolyong really made Weaponry that I could be satisfied with, that would also be my good fortune and Geum Cheolyong’s destiny.
It seemed that he hadn’t been making excellent Weaponry at his own discretion because he was afraid of the experts of the Martial World, but I was going to break that taboo.
Either way, if something happened to Dragon Head Smithy, I was going to protect it.
Geum Cheolyong asked me,
“Do you have a name in mind?”
I immediately answered the name of the weapon.
“The name of the Weaponry is Mad Blade.Mad as in crazy, Blade as in blade.
Geum Cheolyong recited the meaning of the Weaponry.
“So, it’s a crazy blade? If that’s the case, you said the shape of the weapon doesn’t matter, so can I understand that Blade means to tear the opponent apart and kill them?”
“Something like that.”
“Would it be okay if I made it a Straight Sword? If you’re not going to use any techniques, a Straight Sword is the most suitable.”
A Straight Sword is, as the name suggests, a straight sword with no curvature in the blade.
“A Straight Sword would be even better. Because men go straight.”
Geum Cheolyong stared at me for a moment at my unexpected nonsense, then said,
“I’ll do that. I’ll make it a Straight Sword. Its name will be Mad Blade, and it will contain this Geum Cheolyong’s unbreakable conviction.”
I smiled slightly.
“Good.”
Jang Deuk-su, who had been listening quietly, added a word.
“Mad Blade… that’s a terrifying name.”
Geum Cheolyong imagined the Weaponry he had to make and asked,
“What’s the deadline?”
“The deadline is set by the craftsman, not the client. Would a craftsman produce a satisfactory finished product if you kept pushing them? Anytime is fine.”
In fact, Geum Cheolyong had never been a craftsman, but I was going to treat him like one.
Geum Cheolyong stroked his chin.
“That’s true too. I can’t predict the period for finding the materials either. I’ll call you one day and present you with that Mad Blade. In that sense.”
“Yes.”
Geum Cheolyong pointed to the empty bowl and said,
“You have to buy the noodles today. I got a good meal again today.”
“Are you going to get a meal from a poor Shop Assistant?”
Geum Cheolyong looked at me with an impossible expression.
“You’re not a Shop Assistant. I don’t know when you stopped being one, but. Let’s say I’m getting a meal from the Low Filth Sect’s leader today.”
Jang Deuk-su, who was wiping the dishes, asked as if curious,
“Low Filth Sect? What’s the Low Filth Sect? Did Jaha make it?”
I answered for him.
“Deuk-su hyung.”
“Why?”
“Hyung is also Low Filth Sect.”
Jang Deuk-su replied with a surprised expression.
“Huh? Me? When did I join?”
“Everyone I know is already a member.”
“Ah.”
“In that sense, always provide free noodles to the leader. Got it?”
Jang Deuk-su widened his eyes like a tiger and said with a serious expression.
“Customer, why are you doing this?”
“……”
Anyway, it doesn’t work well with the men of Ilyang Prefecture.
I had no choice but to take money out of my pouch and put it on the table.
Suddenly, my gaze turned to the outside of Chunhyang Restaurant first. Then, Geum Cheolyong and Jang Deuk-su also followed my gaze and stared outside.
Men were standing in the rain.
Geum Cheolyong said as if worried,
“Well, uninvited guests in the rain. Of course, they must be your enemies, right? I’ve never lived a life of sin. I haven’t even been near a House of pleasure.”
Jang Deuk-su’s eyes also became kind at once.
“I want to help, but I can’t fight. I can’t do business if I hurt my hands.”
Even so, Jang Deuk-su visually confirmed the location of the sharpest kitchen knife. Anyway, if they invaded Chunhyang Restaurant, the restaurant owner was also thinking of wielding a knife.
I shook my head and said,
“Is there any sign that those guys came looking for me?”
At this time, the guys outside said to Chunhyang Restaurant,
“Lee Jaha… I know you’re in there. Come outside.”
Jang Deuk-su nodded.
“Leader, they’re telling you to come out.”
As I, who had been promoted from customer to leader, looked at Jang Deuk-su, Jang Deuk-su said in a serious tone,
“Be careful.”
Geum Cheolyong also sincerely worried about me.
“Leader, be careful. My back hurts whenever it rains… It’s a chronic disease.”
I took the whip off my waist and stood up.
“Leave it to me. These bastards, bothering me when it’s raining.”
As I left the store, Geum Cheolyong said to Jang Deuk-su,
“The words ‘these bastards’ somehow sound like he’s talking to us.”
Jang Deuk-su shook his head.
“No, he’s not.”
“He’s not?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I’m the hyung. Jaha isn’t that kind of guy.”
“In the Martial World, the one with strong Martial arts is the hyung.”
“Then is the elder also Jaha’s younger brother?”
“Deuk-su, are you going to judge a difference of more than ten years by Martial arts? Let’s just move on.”
“Yes.”
* * *
I went outside and looked at the rats getting rained on.
Only one person had the atmosphere of an expert. It was a bald man who was wrapped in a Wind Cloak all over his body, barely revealing his eyes.
As expected, the bald man wearing the Wind Cloak opened his mouth.
“Is that the weakling?”
The other men answered.
“Yes.”
The eyes of the guy wearing the Wind Cloak looking at me were truly murderous.
“These guys say you dared to kill Neung Ji-seok of Black Fan Stronghold, is that true?”
I tilted my head.
“Neung Ji-seok, that’s a name I think I’ve heard before.”
Of course, I knew he was the guy who died at my hands near Purple Glow Inn.
Looking at the rats around me, there were quite a few familiar faces. They were the martial artists in Poetry Blossom House. That meant they were Jo Sam-pyeong’s other subordinates.
I asked the man wearing the Wind Cloak.
“Is the bald man getting rained on Neung Ji-seok’s senior brother?”
“I am Wi Seon-woo of Black Fan Stronghold.”
As soon as I heard the name Wi Seon-woo, one alias came to mind.
‘If it’s Wi Seon-woo, then it’s Ring Sword Twin Devils.’
What kind of fate is this?
Ring Sword Twin Devils are the guys who challenged me and died when I was the leader of the Low Filth Sect.
Wi Seon-woo and Gu Yang-su, who are senior and junior brothers, are called Ring Sword Twin Devils, and I only now learned that they are from Black Fan Stronghold. Perhaps Black Fan Stronghold is a force without much cohesion, so they may have left Black Fan Stronghold later.
One day, when a big dispute arose over Jang Bo-do, Ring Sword Twin Devils were the murderers who annihilated forty or fifty experts from Heukdo and Baekdo in one night.
Of course, Ring Sword Twin Devils died at my hands, and the treasure at the place Jang Bo-do pointed to also became mine.
Wi Seon-woo released the Wind Cloak, and his face was properly revealed.
The guy who died at my hands was looking at me with a young face.
Of course, I didn’t rule out the possibility that Gu Yang-su was hiding nearby.
I said, holding the whip,
“Poetry Blossom House guys, go inside. If you don’t want to get caught up and die.”
Wi Seon-woo was so obsessed with killing me that he didn’t even look at the rabble. The Poetry Blossom House rabble slipped away and took their places quite a distance away. They were curious about the outcome of the fight.
Wi Seon-woo asked.
“You little brat, why did you kill Neung Ji-seok?”
I replied briefly.
“The crime of burning down my house.”
Wi Seon-woo grinned.
“That was a good enough reason to kill him. Thanks to that, you’ll die too.”
“Does the world work the way you want it to? There won’t be many things that work the way you want them to, like your hair.”
Veins popped out on Wi Seon-woo’s forehead.
“I’ll have to tear your mouth first.”
At this moment, the sky flashed.
The moment Wi Seon-woo and I clearly confirmed each other’s faces, we both grinned at the same time.
Wi Seon-woo took a stance while holding two Ring Swords. He’s stronger when he joins forces with Gu Yang-su and launches a combined attack than when he fights alone.
It’s unfortunate for Ring Sword Twin Devils, but I know their swordsmanship well.
I had several disputes with not only Ring Sword Twin Devils but also the Murim Alliance, so the more skilled an expert was, the higher the probability that I knew them.
Now I have the power of Golden Turtle Wandering Skill made with Celestial Jade and the experience of my past life.
Because of that, all of this was a game on a rainy day.
“Wi Seon-woo, you’re shortening your life on purpose. You have a face that would enjoy a long life if you didn’t meet me. It’s a pity.”
It was a statement mentioning his past life’s fate, but Wi Seon-woo, who had no way of understanding, snorted at my words.
“Crazy bastard.”
“You’re sharp.”
In the meantime, the rain became heavier.
Swishhhhhhh!
Wi Seon-woo kicked away the puddles here and there and rushed in fiercely. As my whip flew, Wi Seon-woo, who avoided the whip by sliding, wielded two Ring Swords and quickly closed the distance. He basically knows how to kill an opponent holding a whip.
He wasn’t thinking of creating distance.
On the contrary, I moved horizontally and secured a distance where I could strike with the whip.
For a while, Wi Seon-woo and I moved in a circle, and in the process of continuing the preliminary battle to take the initiative, we were completely soaked in the rain.
My strategy for the preliminary battle was to maintain a tight tension with Wi Seon-woo.
That way, Gu Yang-su, who would be waiting nearby, would show himself with a high probability.
For this reason, I deliberately focused on defense.
In the meantime, the sky flashed three times in a row, and thunder rumbled in the distant sky.
Somewhere, I heard a splashing sound, and Cha Seong-tae suddenly arrived with a Straight Sword in his hand.
As soon as Cha Seong-tae arrived, I warned him.
“Stand by. He’s an expert.”
“Yes.”
Cha Seong-tae replied briefly and took off the eye patch he had been wearing until now. It was because he couldn’t see well because of the pouring rain.
While blocking Wi Seon-woo’s attack, I had no choice but to say to Cha Seong-tae.
“There’s one more guy nearby. Be careful.”
Cha Seong-tae flinched in surprise and glared here and there between the heavy rain, holding the Straight Sword tightly.
“I understand.”
A moment later, Cha Seong-tae said.
“There’s only Poetry Blossom House rabble around here?”
Before Cha Seong-tae could finish speaking, a black object spun and flew from the pouring rain in the air.
“Huh?”
Then, two blades spread to the left and right, and Gu Yang-su, with a dark face, revealed himself and joined Wi Seon-woo.
Cha Seong-tae spat out profanity with a very surprised expression.
“Wow, shit, he was really there.”
As soon as I saw Gu Yang-su’s face after a long time, laughter flowed out.
“Hehe.”
Since both Ring Sword Twin Devils had appeared, there was no need to save strength. I immediately wrapped Blazing Chicken around the whip.
Red light swirled around the whip, which moved like a bad-tempered snake in the rain.
Gu Yang-su spat out briefly as if telling him to be careful.
“Junior brother, he’s an expert who’s hiding his strength. Be careful.”
“Yes.”
Wi Seon-woo and Gu Yang-su tore to the left and right, and each wielded their twin swords in a structure that surrounded me from both sides. As soon as they confirmed my power, it was a camp they chose with the intention of prolonging the fight.
Since the process of recovering the whip is slower than other Weaponry, Ring Sword Twin Devils’ response was appropriate.
Now, they must be thinking of a structure where one guy entangles my whip with two Ring Swords, and the other guy ambushes me from behind.
I read Ring Sword Twin Devils’ thoughts and engaged in a water battle.