Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Prosthetic Arm
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"Can't end the day like this!"
"Let's drink till we're crawling out on all fours!"
The warriors of the Spearflash Sect rushed straight to an inn on the outskirts of Luoyang and rented out the entire place for the night. Including the innkeeper's labor, of course.
They chose a simple inn over an expensive tavern not just because their numbers were modest, but also because frugality was ingrained in them.
They had received plenty of gold from Overseer Seo, and even if they blew it all in one night, no one would point fingers. Yet their extravagance never exceeded a certain modest limit.
The amount spent by the Spearflash Sect warriors on a night of hearty eating, drinking, and revelry came to just over fifty silver taels.
It was the opposite of how the wealthy scattered gold pieces around for a night's fun, but that didn't mean the Spearflash warriors had any less enjoyable evening.
Yu Jingwang mingled with them, laughing and chatting, before eventually settling into a quiet corner. He sat there blankly watching the Spearflash warriors weep, laugh, and shout at the top of their lungs.
All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind. If he had made a different choice in front of the Myriad Gold Pavilion Master, what kind of time would they be having now?
There would have been no anger. They would have put on forced bright faces instead.
Wei Huan would have approached first with a grin.
'Trying to wipe out all that debt at once—doesn't that strike you as a bit conscienceless?'
The other warriors nearby would have chimed in exaggeratedly.
'Gambling has its ups and downs. What game do you only win at?'
Then they would have returned to Jiangxi Province and quietly let time pass, with a lingering regret tucked away in a corner of their hearts.
Yu Jingwang thought to himself.
'I know my choice wasn't the right answer. But it wasn't wrong either.'
Yet one question lingered unresolved to the end.
Why had the Myriad Gold Pavilion Master acted that way?
Yu Jingwang pondered long and hard but couldn't find the answer.
He decided then. Soon, he would seek out the Myriad Gold Pavilion Master again and ask straight out.
*
The next day, two Spearflash Sect warriors who lost at drawing straws departed for Jiangxi. They had decided to bring everyone from Jiangxi to Luoyang first, then head to Yunnan together.
They chose not to send a messenger pigeon to the Spearflash Sect headquarters. They planned to deliver the good news in person and savor the sight of their comrades' shocked delight.
In other words, most of the group stayed in Luoyang. They would have to remain there for at least ten more days before heading to Yunnan.
With many needing to recover from injuries before the long journey south, it wasn't a waste of time.
And it wasn't just the Spearflash Sect warriors—Dang Mujin's group had one injured member too. Namgung Myeong.
His left arm wound clearly needed much longer to heal, yet Namgung Myeong was busily urging Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong.
"When are you making my prosthetic arm?"
"Isn't healing the arm first the priority?"
"It's not something you finish in a day. Just preparing a bit early."
Dang Mujin glanced at Namgung Myeong's left arm. The wound still looked gruesomely painful. It would take at least several months to heal.
At least it was fortunate that Namgung Myeong could press his own麻穴 points to dull the pain.
"If the prosthetic touches that arm, even blocking the pain points with acupressure would make it hard to avoid agony."
"It doesn't have to touch directly, right?"
He wasn't wrong. In fact, keeping the severed left arm stump and the prosthetic from touching seemed better in every way. As a physician, and as the prosthetic's maker, Dang Mujin thought so.
Besides, Dang Mujin wasn't in a position to coldly refuse Namgung Myeong's request.
"Well... alright. Let's start a bit early. Seolyeong, can we borrow that workshop you used to work at for a day?"
"Should be fine. Follow me."
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong followed Dan Seolyeong. Fortunately, the workshop wasn't far from the inn.
As Dan Seolyeong entered the workshop, a woodworker with a thick beard jumped in surprise.
"Dan Seolyeong? Didn't you head off somewhere far?"
"Came back for some business."
"I see. Good to see you after so long. Is that guy with you the husband material you mentioned before?"
Her plan to set up Dang Mujin as husband material from a year ago had been exposed, so Dan Seolyeong grinned broadly.
Dang Mujin wasn't displeased by the story either, so he smiled confidently and took Dan Seolyeong's hand. A ticklish warmth filled a corner of his chest.
Of course, Namgung Myeong, standing a step behind, scowled at the sight.
The woodworker dusted off his hands lightly and approached Dang Mujin.
"Tall and handsome young man. Seolyeong said you have quite the handiwork skills."
"I manage to do my part, nothing more."
"If that were all, she wouldn't be making such a fuss. Anyway, Seolyeong. What brings you here? Just to say hi?"
"It's a hello, but also to borrow some space while I'm at it. Mind if we use the small workshop down there?"
"No problem. There's some decent quality lumber stacked inside—just use what you need."
Well-seasoned wood used by a skilled carpenter wasn't cheap. But the woodworker seemed to like Dan Seolyeong a great deal and didn't mention any payment.
"By the way, what are you making that you need the space for?"
"A prosthetic arm."
The woodworker's gaze swept over Namgung Myeong's left arm, wrapped tightly in black cloth.
"Hmm. Heard of people wearing prosthetics but never seen one in person. If you need help... no, wait. I've got nothing urgent, so might as well come along."
The woodworker led the group to a small workshop a short distance from the main one.
Opening the door filled their nostrils with the thick, fragrant scent of wood. In one corner of the small space, stacks of well-dried oak and paulownia wood towered.
Dan Seolyeong naturally took her position and began drawing on a wooden frame filled with fine sand, explaining as she went.
"Wrap around the shoulder and secure the upper arm with leather straps. That way, the prosthetic won't touch the wound. Make the rest similar to a normal person's arm, and that's it."
It was an object that wouldn't move anyway. As long as it was sturdy and looked natural to others, that was enough.
Beyond the shape, weight was the main concern. Matching the right arm's weight would prevent imbalance.
Perhaps that's why Namgung Myeong had requested the prosthetic—with an eye on the center of gravity over aesthetics.
"Won't take long to make. Let's prototype one, test it for a few days, note improvements, then craft the final version carefully."
As Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong prepared to start, Namgung Myeong interjected with his requirements.
"Everything sounds good, but put some effort into the joints."
"Joints? It won't move anyway—do you even need joints?"
"Of course. And make the joints as flexible as possible. Not just like a normal person's, but even more so."
It was an odd request, but not impossible. Dang Mujin asked back.
"More than normal—how much more?"
"Enough for unnatural movements no ordinary person could do. Like the wrist or elbow spinning full circles. That would be even better."
"What on earth for... Never mind. Let's just make it."
Dang Mujin shrugged it off, but Dan Seolyeong's expression soured slightly. Unlike Dang Mujin, who just built to spec, she had to redesign with every added condition.
Dan Seolyeong clutched her head, scribbling on the sand board before starting her explanation.
"Alright. Let's make it step by step from the shoulder. Start with this part. Three inches from here to here, carve the inside into the smoothest curve possible. Better to drive a wooden peg at this point."
"Mm."
"And make spheres two and a half inches in diameter. Need three of the same size—for the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. No knots or cracks."
"Got it."
Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong worked in skilled tandem to build the prosthetic. It had been ages since Mokinhang that they pooled their strengths like this, so old memories surfaced pleasantly.
The individual parts Dan Seolyeong requested were hard to guess the purpose of in isolation.
Namgung Myeong, Dang Mujin, and even the woodworker were in the same boat. Only Dan Seolyeong held the full picture in her head—the final product would only reveal itself upon assembly.
The woodworker stood beside Namgung Myeong, staring intently at their work.
He had seen Dan Seolyeong assemble mysterious parts into strange objects many times before. Impressed by her diligence and curious about the results, he had helped her several times.
The woodworker specialized more in relatively small, intricate items like furniture and ornaments rather than large, crude ones like carts or farm tools, so he had the skills to assist.
He was a man of considerable pride. He believed few carpenters anywhere surpassed him.
But watching Dang Mujin work, the woodworker unwittingly grew humble.
The way he held the carving knife and shaved the tough oak along its grain with fluid ease was astonishingly masterful.
His speed outpaced any ordinary carpenter, the results were excellent, and he wasted no wood rushing.
'Young, but exceptional skill. Something to learn from.'
Deciding to take the day off, the woodworker stepped out, locked the door, tidied the workspace roughly, and returned. It hadn't even taken time for a cup of tea.
Yet in that short while, a highly unfamiliar object had appeared. A single intricately carved wooden sphere.
The woodworker instinctively reached out and picked it up. The texture felt oddly eerie.
It was unmistakably wood. But while wooden, it wasn't a texture achievable by carving wood. A subtle difference he had never conceived of before.
Woodworking was the process of shaping wood to purpose, creating objects where surfaces met precisely. Carving a round object with a knife inevitably left angular traces.
But this sphere had no such meeting surfaces. Or if it did, they were so minuscule even his sensitive fingertips as a carpenter couldn't detect them. The woodworker inwardly clicked his tongue.
'Pre-made? Must have taken effort... No. Maybe polished the exterior like sharpening a sword blade.'
As the woodworker examined and set down the sphere, an identical one appeared beside it. Same size as the one just inspected. He touched the second one. Identical texture.
'Huh...?'
With a hunch, the woodworker watched Dang Mujin's work. Just then, Dang Mujin was crafting the third sphere.
He sliced off the edges of the square wood block with swift strokes, then pushed the carving knife smoothly like shaving clay. Peeling away the wood like fruit skin, a soft sphere emerged.
Dang Mujin then fiddled with the sphere using his left hand, shaving off dissatisfying spots ever so lightly. The tiny wood shavings produced were too fine even for "sawdust" to describe adequately.
The woodworker unwittingly gaped. This transcended skill levels—it bordered on the theoretically possible and impossible.
In that moment, he decided to accept the phenomenon at face value.
Not questioning "How did he do that?" but rather "This young man can apparently do such things!"
The subsequent work proceeded at equally baffling speeds. Dan Seolyeong sketched and explained on the sand board, and the part materialized almost immediately.
Only then did the woodworker understand why Dan Seolyeong always seemed grateful yet unsatisfied whenever he helped.
'She landed herself one hell of a husband material.'
The woodworker let out a silent chuckle. Laughter was all that came.
The work that began in the early morning wrapped up only as dusk fell.
Attaching the prosthetic to Namgung Myeong's shoulder, it looked fairly convincing. Though it only dangled limply.
The woodworker seized the chance to ask.
"You said you'd make a new one later? So this is a prototype?"
"Yes. Can't perfect it in one go."
"Then you'll need the workshop again."
"Exactly. Could we possibly borrow it for another day later?"
The woodworker thought. He had lived honorably all his life, but now was the time to be shameless.
"Of course. But with a condition."
"What is it?"
"Don't toss that prototype later—give it to me instead?"
"Sure, no problem."
The woodworker quietly clenched his fist in quiet joy.
*
Late that evening, the group returned to the inn.
The Spearflash Sect warriors and Chu Sam were already holed up in their rooms asleep, while Hong Geolgae, still awake, approached with keen interest to inspect Namgung Myeong's prosthetic.
"Wow, well-made. Looks like a real arm. But why put so much effort into a prosthetic that doesn't move?"
"You practice to make it move."
"Huh?"
Namgung Myeong took a deep breath, and the prosthetic moved very slowly. It was an unexpected sight.
"What? How?"
Dan Seolyeong's eyes widened in confusion, but Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae understood. He had lifted the arm using the principle of Object Manipulation from Afar.
"You had us make it so you could move your arm like that?"
"Not easy, is it."
As Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae reacted tepidly, Namgung Myeong nodded.
"Can't wield it skillfully right away. But it'll help with training."
Namgung Myeong moved the prosthetic again, trying to lift a small bundle from the table.
He managed to place the hand atop the bundle. But grasping the knot failed—it was more like twitching fingers than gripping.
For an ordinary person, lifting an object was simple. But for Namgung Myeong, raising something with his left required a complex process.
Simultaneously manipulating the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and all five fingers via Object Manipulation from Afar was basic.
He needed to control the force adeptly without losing balance. Not in days or weeks, but a distant prospect whether achievable at all.
"What's the point of training the left arm like that? Strengthening the right would be far more effective."
"Well. Practicing Object Manipulation from Afar this way might lead to some tremendous insight someday. Legendary Flying Sword Control is an extension of it, right?"
"Big dreamer. Anyway, good luck."
As Dang Mujin stretched and turned to leave, Namgung Myeong spoke.
"Of course, it has other uses too."
"Like what?"
Namgung Myeong raised his left hand, and the left wrist began spinning like a top. Slowly, but steadily in one direction without stopping. Far simpler than moving fingers.
Dang Mujin, Dan Seolyeong, and Hong Geolgae all stared blankly at Namgung Myeong's bizarre trick before snapping to.
"So what about it?"
"Ah, see... this distracts the enemy, draws their eyes away."
"Distracts?"
"Yeah. Doesn't it feel a bit off?"
Namgung Myeong raised his right hand with a sinister grin. In it was Dang Mujin's sword.