Chapter 102. The Entire World is My Home (23)
Nothing else existed in Woo-Moon’s mind.
There was just a single concept, one idea.
The Sword!
‘I’ll catch you! I’m going to make you mine!’
With an unassailable conviction, Woo-Moon continued to strike the metal billet with his hammer.
Finally, a long while later, he let out a long breath and stopped hammering.
“Whew.”
Hisssss!
The sound of the sword he had forged meeting water was refreshing. The sputtering water and steam hissing during the quench made for a beautiful sight.
With a strong sense of satisfaction, Woo-Moon then proceeded to take the blade to a whetstone to finish the bevels and sharpen the edge. The only sound in the quiet forge was the grating of steel on stone.
Go Jin-Cheong couldn’t hold himself back any longer and returned to his personal forge, beginning to forge himself.
The charcoal-black unfinished blade in Woo-Moon’s hand began to emit a cold silver glow as it moved across the whetstone. With every swipe, it grew colder and colder.
“...That was incredible,” Jeong-Woo muttered with a blank expression.
They all could see that the sword that Woo-Moon had forged was incredible with a single glance. No, to be frank, it wasn’t just incredible. None of the talents present currently had a sword that was better than the one Woo-Moon had forged.
“How amazing, just flawless, that sword is. But, you really are surprising, Young Hero Song of the Iron Sword Baek Family...”
Xiahou Jinxian suddenly came to his senses when he heard Tang Yu-Ryeon speak with a blank and dreamy gaze. Realizing that even he had been drawn into Woo-Moon’s rhythm, his face blushed with shame and anger.
‘Damn it! That crazy-ass bastarde!’
Baek Ryeong approached Woo-Moon as he swung his finished blade around with a satisfied smile.
“Uncle, can I hold it for a moment?”
How could Woo-Moon refuse his niece, as cute and innocent as could be?
Moreover, there was also that incident regarding the twenty taels...
“Here.”
Taking the offered blade, Baek Ryeong smiled broadly as she caressed it with her fingers.
“It’s amazing. You really are incredible, Uncle! I never once could have imagined you would be so good at smithing!”
Namgoong Sung shook his head.
“I really lose to you in every way, don’t I, hyung-nim.”
Hearing those words, Jeong-Woo felt infinite pride. Although his pride was singed every time someone asked why someone from the Song Family was representing the Iron Sword Baek Family, he couldn’t help but be proud and content with the fact that Woo-Moon was their uncle and representing their family now.
Right at that moment, Go Jin-Cheong, covered in sweat, came over and handed Woo-Moon some sword fittings.
“To be honest, I looked down on you at first. I would like you to take these as my apology.”
The way Go Jin-Cheong spoke had suddenly changed. He wasn’t speaking to Woo-Moon as a warrior of the Justice Coalition anymore but as a junior who was also walking the path of the smith.
Having watched Woo-Moon forge his sword closely, Go Jin-Cheong worked incredibly diligently to create a hilt, guard, and scabbard that matched Woo-Moon’s sword perfectly.
“Thank you.”
Somehow, Woo-Moon felt as though he had become very close to Go Jin-Cheong.
As Woo-Moon put together the blade he had forged and the fittings Go Jin-Cheong had given him, Go Jin-Cheong moved over to the corner of the smithy and returned holding out another sword.
“Your skills as a swordsman should be just as excellent as your forging skills. I would like you to be the owner of this sword.”
The sword was the greatest piece Go Jin-Cheong had ever forged. Though he didn’t know that, Woo-Moon could instinctively feel what a masterpiece it was, and he didn’t waste one second drawing it from the scabbard.
Shing!
The sword had the word “Inkblade” engraved at the base of the blade, and true to its name, the sword didn’t have the usual silver glimmer of steel. Instead, it was pitch-black, and its glow was subdued, almost as if it absorbed light instead of reflecting it.
Its darkness was in strange contrast to Woo-Moon’s creation, which shone with a chilling silver light.
“This is incredible! As expected, I have much to learn before I can reach your level of skill, head smith,” Woo-Moon said. He spoke as if he wasn’t just someone who had shown up out of the blue but a smith who had been working at the smithy for a long time.
“What you made is more than good enough,” Go Jin-Cheong cheerfully responded. He was pleased that Woo-Moon praised the sword he had forged.
What Woo-Moon was saying wasn’t just empty words. Although the sword he had forged was excellent, Inkblade was closer to perfection than anything he’d ever seen.
Baek Ryeong stuck out her tongue in a cute manner.
“Head smith! Hehe, can you give me a sword as a present, too?”
Baek Ryeong’s ability to read the room was certainly impressive. Seeing her cute and shameless act, Go Jin-Cheong chuckled. He was in a good mood because of Woo-Moon; moreover, as he had a granddaughter close to Baek Ryeong’s age, he felt instinctively close to her.
“Okay, okay. Just wait a moment.”
After a while, Go Jin-Cheong brought over a sword that, while not as incredible as Inkblade, was still marvelous. Everyone looked on in envy as he handed it to Baek Ryeong without asking for anything in return.
At that moment, Ma-Ra suddenly appeared next to Woo-Moon.
“Huh?!”
The talents of the Xiahou Family, Tang Yu-Ryeon, and the smiths were all greatly shocked. It was only natural they would be, as a beautiful girl with stark white hair and Transcendent Class cultivation suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
As soon as Tang Yu-Ryeon saw Ma-Ra, her face soured as she intuitively realized the girl was more beautiful than her. However, she immediately started deceiving herself to make herself feel better.
‘H-hmpf. Even if you’re that beautiful, your eyelashes are still a bit shorter than mine. So I’m the prettier one!’
She then turned around to see Xiahou Jinxian nearly drooling at the mouth as he stared at Ma-Ra.
‘And to think this bastard was acting as if he would give up his liver for me only a few moments ago!’
Any feelings she may have had for Xiahou Jinxian suddenly disappeared.
“Yes, yes, just keep on drooling!” she spat in a voice dripping with disdain before turning around and swiftly stomping her way out of the smithy.
Although she paused for a moment to look at Woo-Moon with a wistful gaze, her heart felt as though it was tearing apart when she saw Ma-Ra, who was prettier than her, standing next to him.
“Agk! Young Lady Tang!”
Xiahou Jinxian stopped for a moment, comparing the two women before quickly chasing after Tang Yu-Ryeon. Seeing Woo-Moon standing next to Ma-Ra, Xiahou Jinxian deflated slightly at the thought of having to compare against him. Thus, although Ma-Ra was somewhat prettier, he chose to follow after Tang Yu-Ryeon, who seemed relatively more straightforward to chase.
Unfortunately, after seeing his drooling face, Tang Yu-Ryeon was even more of a lost cause than Ma-Ra.
As that drama unfolded, Woo-Moon turned to Ma-Ra, who was staring at him.
“What’s wrong?”
She drew the wrist crossbows and bolts, Silver Moon Discs, her short sword and daggers... countless hidden weapons and items for assassination that seemed to contrast entirely with her slender frame emerged from within her robes.
“Please.”
Having been with Ma-Ra for quite some time now, Woo-Moon immediately realized what she meant.
“You want me to repair all of this, right?”
Ma-Ra nodded calmly, while on the other hand, Woo-Moon suddenly realized something as his heart pounded.
“Ma-Ra! Did you just say ‘please’?”
Ma-Ra's eyes widened slightly at his words.
Even she was surprised by herself as she realized she had taken the initiative to ask for help. In fact, even her being surprised like this was surprising in itself. Were these...emotions?
While Ma-Ra became lost in her thoughts and didn’t respond, Woo-Moon smiled brightly.
“Okay, good. I’ll fix it all! How could I not, considering our adorable Ma-Ra asked for it herself? Hehe.”
As Woo-Moon laughed boisterously, Eun-Ah suddenly put her front paw on the anvil.
Clunk.
“Kya!!”
Woo-moon and Eun-Ah’s eyes met, and there was silence for a moment.
Woo-Moon’s expression hardened. He lifted his hammer and brought it down upon Eun-Ah’s front paw.
Clang!
Eun-Ah quickly drew her paw back, startled and scared.
“Aren’t your claws made of metal, anyway? What are you even scared of? They’ll get sharper by themselves, don’t worry.”
Eun-Ah shook her tiny head and puffed out her cheeks in response as if she was upset that Woo-Moon refused to sharpen her claws.
‘Her expressions really are human-like.’
As Woo-Moon chuckled to himself, Go Jin-Cheong spoke to Ma-Ra.
“Oho! All of these are high-class items. Little lady, what do you think about me handling this for you?”
Knowing that the smith’s skills were superior to Woo-Moon's, Ma-Ra nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Okay.”
“Hey! I know he’s more skilled than I am, but don’t you think you should have at least acted as if you were considering it?”
In response, Ma-Ra used her stealth art to vanish.
“Hmmpf. Fine. Let’s go back!”
Although he spoke to everyone, the only ones to follow him were Ma-Ra, Baek Ryeong, and Eun-Ah. Still, he didn’t care much about the others' decisions and just turned to leave the smithy.
“Come visit us anytime! I’ll always make some space for you!” Go Jin-Cheong shouted at him from behind.
Woo-Moon actually turned around and hugged the head smith firmly.
“Thank you! I’ll definitely come to see you again, head smith!”
Namgoong Sung, Baekri Yeong-Woon, and Jeong-Woo ran toward Go Jin-Cheong after Woo-Moon left.
“Head smith! Please give us swords, too.”
The smith just looked at them blankly before turning around.
“I’ll give you one if you pay.”
“This is unfair!”
“I should have been born a woman, too!”
***
That night, Woo-Moon wanted to get some good sleep after all the trouble, so he didn’t leave his room for his usual late night training. However, his sleep was interrupted when he suddenly felt an uninvited guest approaching his living quarters.
‘Who is it?’
A moment later, Ma-Ra also felt the uninvited guest’s presence.
As soon as the person opened Woo-Moon’s door and entered, Ma-Ra suddenly dropped from the ceiling and placed the backup knife she had kept at the person’s throat.
“Who?”
Bi Yeo-Jung, the uninvited guest and Woo-Gang’s former lover, was calm even as she faced Ma-Ra’s obvious bloodlust.
“I came here to speak with Young Hero Woo-Moon, senior brother Woo-Gang’s hyung-nim.”
Woo-Moon signaled to Ma-Ra and turned to light the lamp behind him.
“Wait, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to do that.”
It seemed as though something was on her mind.
‘Ah, I guess she doesn’t want anyone to know she came here. It makes sense. It doesn’t look good for a lady to go to another man’s room this late.’
It wasn’t an issue anyway, as they were all martial experts and could see each other as clearly as day, even without any light.
“What can I do for you? Is there something going on with my brother?”
Bi Yeo-Jung was impressed at how quickly Woo-Moon caught on to the situation at hand.
“Yes, I came here because of senior brother Song.”
Woo-Moon’s gaze changed slightly at the words “senior brother Song.” As he looked at Bi Yeo-Jung, he wondered if his own junior sister was doing well.
“Do you perhaps remember the strange mood when you and the other Three Great Sword Families members entered the inauguration ceremony for the Righteous Heroic Warriors Squadron?”
“Yes.”
“The reason for the awkwardness was...”
Bi Yeo-Jung explained the derogatory remarks that had been made against Woo-Moon and how Hyeon Yu-Yeon and Woo-Gang had angrily spoken out in defense of Woo-Moon.
Woo-Moon clenched his fists as the disgusting faces of Choo Moon-Hwi and Woo-Gang’s two senior brothers appeared in his mind.
‘I’ll make all of you bastards vomit blood.’
It was only then that he understood the reason Bi Yeo-Jung had come to see him at this hour.
“Is it Yu Cho or Hyeon Mu-Cheol? Or is it both?”
Bi Yeo-Jung was once again impressed. Woo-Moon had hit the nail on the head.
“It’s senior brother Hyeon. For some reason, senior brother Yu didn’t seem to be angry at all. However, senior brother Hyeon was fuming after returning because senior brother Song, who normally stays quiet and calm, lashed out at him in public. He said he would need to have a spar with senior brother Song, as he needed to teach his junior brother a lesson on disrespecting his elders.”
“Where are they?”
“They went out toward the southern gate of the Justice Coalition Estate. There is an abandoned temple nearby with an empty field.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
After taking a second glance at Eun-Ah, who rarely woke up after falling asleep, Woo-Moon opened his door.
“Let’s go, Ma-Ra.”
“Yes.”
‘How dare these bastards think about touching my brother?’