Climbing the Path
We walked up the path.
Even as we climbed, a voice buzzed incessantly in my ear.
"So, about the silver-grade weapon that came out this time. The blade is just..."
Her chattering voice was clear and beautiful, but the words coming out of her mouth were anything but refreshing.
"Specifically, they didn't just use ordinary iron, but attempted an alloy, so the durability is absolutely incredible!"
"...Ah, yes. I see."
In one ear and out the other. It was a specialty of mine, so it wasn't particularly difficult, but...
"Furthermore, they added a new method related to metallurgy this time, so even when sharpening the blade, the difference is..."
"..."
There was a limit to everything.
With her talking without a single moment of rest, I felt like my ears were about to bleed.
...The girl's tongue is far more unrestrained and swift than I anticipated, Yoo Chun-gil muttered, sounding slightly put off.
Even Yoo Chun-gil seemed slightly repulsed.
Should I praise her for being impressive?
Normally, I would have at least given some half-hearted responses, but...
"It's not just the silver-grade. I think we need to make changes when crafting high-tier armaments from now on."
"Excuse me, Lady."
"So, regarding the temperature of the flames, perhaps we could—"
"Lady Dang...!"
I raised my voice, cutting her off. Dang Ye-ran, who had been rambling non-stop, flinched and paused.
"Ah... yes?"
"Could you calm down a bit? I feel like my ears are about to bleed."
When I pointed to my ringing ears, Dang Ye-ran's cheeks finally flushed red.
"I-I'm sorry. I got excited without realizing..."
At times like this, she looked like an ordinary girl.
But the things she rambled about so excitedly were bizarre, to say the least.
Is that stuff really that interesting?
What new sword was forged in the Cheolgang.
What materials went into it, and what properties it possessed.
As she listed them off one by one, Dang Ye-ran's eyes sparkled with pure excitement.
It meant she was genuinely passionate about it.
"I don't really have anyone to talk to about these things... I went a bit too far. I'm sorry."
Seeing her downcast expression, I sighed and spoke.
"You can talk as much as you want, but I just meant you should pace yourself."
It was excessive.
It was clearly too much right now.
Just look at Cheon Ui-jin and Do-hyeong walking behind us. They looked completely dumbfounded.
She said it was a secret, but does she have no intention of hiding it?
She had said her interest in blacksmithing was supposed to be a secret.
But how could it remain a secret if she blabbed about it so openly? I couldn't wrap my head around it.
Perhaps realizing this herself, Dang Ye-ran shut her mouth with an embarrassed look.
I let out a small chuckle under my breath.
Why bother speaking at all if she was going to react like that?
She was truly a peculiar woman.
Putting that aside.
I looked around, turning my head this way and that.
Where on earth did Dok-jon's ghost go?
The ghost that had been bothering me was nowhere to be seen.
At first, I thought he might be attached to Dang Gyeong-ak, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Is he a bound spirit?
If he wasn't clinging to a person, perhaps he was a land-bound spirit tied to the estate itself.
If so, it wouldn't be strange for him to wander around the Dang Clan estate.
Hmm.
If that ghost really was Dok-jon, just as Yoo Chun-gil said...
Should I really leave that old man to his own devices?
It felt like it would cause trouble if Yoo Chun-gil just roamed around freely.
But the bigger problem was...
The old man surely knows that, yet he isn't doing anything.
Seeing him wander around so confidently made me think he had something else up his sleeve.
Indeed.
What was that old ghost plotting this time?
I was subconsciously keeping an eye on him.
Of course.
The same goes for that old man, too.
Just as I was keeping tabs on Yoo Chun-gil.
I knew Yoo Chun-gil was keeping tabs on me as well.
After all, we both harbored secrets from each other.
Click.
I idly toyed with the hilt of my sword.
Do you want to know what the funny thing was?
Normally, I should find this annoying or bothersome.
But right now, I felt a strange emotion instead.
Could it be anticipation? No, that would be too childish.
Amusement.
The amusement of not knowing what Yoo Chun-gil would pull next.
It was much closer to that than anxiety.
Well, whatever.
I glanced up at the empty air, looking at Yoo Chun-gil.
What exactly does he want to do?
It was the question that had intrigued me the most lately.
What is it that he wants?
What did Yoo Chun-gil truly desire? I was curious.
Didn't Yoo Chun-gil originally ask something of me?
And that was...
He asked me to investigate his death.
How he died.
Yoo Chun-gil claimed he couldn't remember.
However.
He was absolutely certain it wasn't a natural death.
He said it wasn't due to an illness as the world believed, but was definitely foul play.
That was why Yoo Chun-gil had asked me to find out how he died, but...
Right now, he doesn't seem to care about that at all.
He currently showed zero interest in his own death.
It was as if his own amusement came first, and he didn't care what happened to him.
...Then what does he want me to do?
What did the old man really want to achieve?
I knew he had some sort of intention.
And that intention...
I know he's trying to use me in some way.
Yoo Chun-gil had a goal.
And he needed to use me to achieve it.
Is that why he keeps handing me all these things?
That was my current guess.
But still.
It wasn't a certainty.
Just a speculation based on circumstantial evidence.
Hmm.
I kept walking while pondering these questions.
If my assumptions so far were correct...
Either he wants something else more than finding out about his death...
Or...
He already knows who killed him in the first place.
I figured it was one of the two. And if that was the case...
"...As expected."
It meant there was not a single soul in this world to trust.
"Nothing is ever easy."
Once again, I realized that getting involved with ghosts only brought trouble.
As I nodded, feeling the weight of this realization once more...
"Yes? Did you say something?"
Dang Ye-ran asked.
I quickly shook my head and replied.
"Ah, it's nothing. Just lost in thought for a moment."
"...Ah. I see."
Dang Ye-ran smiled brightly at my response.
Looking at her, I asked.
"How much further do we have to go?"
We had been walking for a while. Just how far was this place?
Was the training ground really that far?
Feeling a bit annoyed, I asked, and Dang Ye-ran immediately pointed toward a building with the tip of her finger.
"Ah. It's right there, the building you can see."
Just as she said, a large building was visible right ahead.
It was quite far from the guest quarters.
I narrowed my eyes slightly as I looked at it.
Hmm...
It was far more peculiar than I had expected.
As we approached, the area near the entrance of the training ground was mostly surrounded by trees.
It seemed like there were far more trees here than in the forest surrounding the park.
Not only trees, but grass, rocks, and flowers were scattered all over the place.
Why is there so much stuff here?
The variety was immense. They hadn't just planted trees at random.
Furthermore...
It's well-maintained.
It wasn't overgrown or messy; it was clear that meticulous care had been taken to keep it neat.
In other words...
There is definitely an intention behind this layout.
It was a landscape designed with precise calculations.
Hmm.
Fascinating. Why go to such lengths?
I took a quick glance around as I kept walking.
"You can come this way...!"
For some reason, Dang Ye-ran, looking even more excited than before, led the way.
Watching her, I asked.
"But is it really alright for us to use this place?"
It was a bit funny to ask now that we had arrived, but I still had to make sure.
She said this is a training ground for the family bloodline. Is this really okay?
What was a training ground for the family bloodline?
It was literally a space reserved only for the direct descendants of the family.
It sounded special enough by name, but its appearance made it even more so.
It's completely different from the guest training grounds.
The place we used felt like they had just cleared out a random room for us.
But this place radiated a sacred aura just by looking at it.
The quality of the energy is on a different level.
The layout and the quality of the pillars.
The flow of energy emanating from them was extraordinary.
I only know the basics of feng shui by sight, but...
Even I could tell at a glance.
This is impressive.
The location was so perfect that even a master feng shui expert would bow in respect.
The more I looked, the more it seemed like a place where outsiders would absolutely be forbidden.
"Ah, it's fine. I've reserved this time slot."
Dang Ye-ran told me not to worry with a confident smile.
"Reserved...?"
"Yes. The family members divide the time slots to use the training ground... and right now is my turn."
"..."
So they did things like that here.
A prestigious clan was indeed different.
...Well, as long as it's fine for us to go.
Since she put it that way, it should be fine.
Thinking so, I followed Dang Ye-ran.
Even then, her mouth didn't rest for a second.
"So, this time..."
What kind of sword she saw.
What kind of iron she liked, and what she felt from it.
Dang Ye-ran was busy chattering away at me.
Naturally, I let it go in one ear and out the other.
"...Ah, yes. I see."
My ears were ringing.
The funny thing was, when I told her to quiet down, she didn't talk any less—she just lowered her volume.
...This is making my head spin.
Was this woman's personality always like this?
When I first saw her, I thought she would be on the quieter side.
She looks like she could kill someone with her words.
Perhaps it was a trait of the Dang Clan, but Dang Ye-ran had a rather sharp appearance.
Yet, when she talked about blacksmithing or weapons, she felt like a completely different person.
Should I call it pure?
Her bright, non-stop chatter held an unadorned innocence.
Because she truly loved it.
Because she couldn't contain her passion.
"...Hmm."
Knowing that, I didn't stop her.
I just had to bear it for a little bit.
That was all.
Enduring it all the way, we eventually arrived in front of the training ground.
Now I could finally train in peace, right?
Just as I was about to harbor such hopes...
Clack! Tap!
A sound echoed from inside the training ground.
The moment she heard it, Dang Ye-ran froze in front of me.
Seeing her mouth, which had been chattering away, shut tight and her body stiffen, I knew something was wrong.
"Lady Dang. What is it?"
"...Just a moment."
Dang Ye-ran, who had been smiling just a second ago, wore a stiff expression as she grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open.
Creak!
The door opened, revealing the interior.
As expected, a vast and sophisticated training ground was revealed.
And in the center of it stood someone.
It was a young man in white martial robes, loosening up his wrists.
He stood in a slightly shaded area.
As he turned his gaze toward us, only his pupils gleamed in the dim light.
...Wow.
I couldn't help but admire him inwardly the moment I saw him.
I had felt it this morning too, but he really had a terrible impression.
Which meant this young man was a face I recognized.
"Well, well."
The young man.
A descendant of the Dang Clan and the second son of Dang Gyeong-ak.
One of the geniuses currently known as the Seven Great Talents.
"What a strange combination."
Dongnyong curled his lips as he looked at Dang Ye-ran.