He Became the Genius Blacksmith of the Namgung Family - Chapter 81

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 81

Episode 81

The Namman Brothers all rushed out.

They left to find traces of the traitor and also to find leather of a taste that the traitor would absolutely not be able to pass by.

Namgung Cheon-gang also got up from his spot.

“It’s not like I have a herniated disc. What’s the point of lying down with just a sprain.”

Well, a sprain can become a disc problem if left untreated.

Thanks to the effects of his divine techniques, it had already completely healed.

‘By the way, is it four divine techniques that the Myriad Artifacts Returning to the Origin Technique has absorbed now?’

Namgung, Peng Clan, Beggar’s Sect, and now Namman too.

Phew, that’s quite a lot.

I might burst from overeating.

“Anyway, with the passive effects from four divine techniques, how could a sprain not heal?”

Now I’m perfectly fine.

I could jump around energetically and it would be okay.

Rather, just from lying down a bit.

I’m overflowing with energy?

“So what should I do?”

I should work.

What was the original reason for coming to Cheonjaeum?

To help the Namman brothers root out the traitor?

Nah.

No.

Wasn’t it to fix the ‘Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo’, the loom for weaving silk from Baeknyeon Jamsasa thread?

And also to repair the other broken silk looms.

“While the brothers were making the cloud-walking shoes, I finished repairing all the broken silk looms in between.”

I just haven’t made the cloud-walking shoes yet, that’s all.

Now there’s only one loom left – the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo.

This Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo is located in the Silk Cocoon Chamber made of black stone in Jamsagak.

To enter this place, I needed Sister Namgung Yeong’s key.

So, Namgung Cheon-gang left the medical clinic and met Sister Namgung Yeong.

“You’re finally going to fix it!”

Namgung Yeong was absolutely delighted.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Sister. I should have fixed it first…”

“No, little brother. Considering how hard you worked running around to find the Blood Cult and resolve the misunderstanding between Namman and Namgung, I could wait long enough.”

“But you’ve lost muscle mass…”

“It’s okay. I just couldn’t maintain my usual amount of strength training. If I used to do 10,000, I’ve only reduced it to about 5,000.”

“And your face looks gaunt too…”

“Since my strength training decreased, the amount I eat has reduced a little too.”

“…”

I need to fix it quickly.

So our sister can do 10,000 strength exercises again.

“I’ll go fix it right away!”

“Yes, please do.”

And so, after getting the key from Namgung Yeong, Namgung Cheon-gang headed to the Silk Cocoon Chamber.

Opening the door to the secret chamber, the weaving room came into view at a glance.

The place for silk, the baskets for cocoons, and so on.

Everything was neatly organized and arranged in its proper place.

Just looking at it was satisfying.

“Our sister has been coming here every day to clean.”

I could even feel warmth, as if weaving work had been done just minutes ago.

How much she must want to do weaving work…

“And here I was turning my attention to cloud-walking shoes and other looms! Bad Namgung Cheon-gang! You deserve to be scolded!”

Tsk, bad guy.

I made a fist and bonked my head.

“…”

Now I feel embarrassed after doing that.

“Ahem, ahem.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly and approached the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo.

“No matter how I look at it, this is really strange.”

What is?

The malfunction of the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo.

The other looms I fixed while making cloud-walking shoes definitely had traces of being ‘gnawed’ by rats.

However, the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo had no gnawing marks, but traces of ‘impact’.

“The core components are very slightly misaligned from that impact, and to think this is the work of rats is really absurd.”

A rat making a fist and striking.

Just thinking about it is ridiculous.

“The Namman Daeseong is exactly the size of a nutria, so if it made a fist and hit, there would be impact…”

But this Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo is made of hundred-year cold iron.

Moreover, the creator is Mak Noya.

“That’s our Master.”

The successor of Cheongeumjeong before me.

Furthermore, the world’s greatest blacksmith who could achieve silent breathing and full-speed production even without awakening or status windows.

A loom made by such a person gets misaligned by a mere rat’s strike?

“No way, that’s impossible.”

Unless it was infused with internal energy, it’s out of the question.

“…Did they really do it with internal energy?”

Is it possible for a blood rat, not an ordinary Namman Daeseong?

“Then it’s really a monster, isn’t it?”

At that level, it seems like it could cause a martial arts world crisis.

How do you stop 100,000 nutrias that use internal energy?

“…Ugh, how terrifying. Anyway, we need to catch it quickly to have peace of mind.”

That’s why the Namman Brothers are working hard, isn’t it?

“I should work hard too.”

I already knew which parts needed repair.

I just need to make new parts, fit them in, secure them, and then check.

I’ll need hundred-year cold iron, but I can just use the original parts for that.

“I came to this Silk Cocoon Chamber both to take those parts and to check one more thing.”

What is that?

“How did the rat get in here?”

Right.

It was to find where the rat entered.

I say it’s the work of a blood rat, but…

Looking around the secret chamber, there’s not a single place a rat could enter.

“As Sister Namgung Yeong said, not even other small animals, let alone rats, could get in.”

With fierce security and a black stone secret chamber that’s hard to damage even with swords.

“Really, no matter how I look, there doesn’t seem to be any corner where an animal could enter…”

Even searching every nook and cranny, there’s not even an ant hole, let alone a rat hole.

“But looking at the description of the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo, it indicates there was damage caused by a blood rat.”

The status window doesn’t lie.

If that’s what the written explanation says, then that must be right.

“Hmm.”

That’s why it’s even more of a headache.

The explanation says one thing, but when I actually look at it, it’s not like that.

“What is this, some kind of locked room murder case?”

Why is this problem so complicated?

“Wait a minute?”

What if I can’t find it because I’m approaching this as a craftsman?

“Instead of trying to find the cause of the Jamsagi Gijo damage, what if I approach it like a detective solving a locked room murder?”

Maybe I’ll find an answer that way.

“Alright. From now on, I, Namgung Cheon-gang, am not a blacksmith, but Conan and Sherlock.”

Detective investigation rule number one.

Examine all surrounding objects thoroughly.

“Hmm, hmm.”

Looking at the storage cabinet where silk cocoons are placed.

Also re-checking the silk reeling process.

The Silk Cocoon Chamber also had a reeling room where Namgung Yeong personally extracted silk.

The baskets for holding silkworm cocoons are all here.

“Hmm. Nothing special here either.”

As I was about to leave again, I casually looked at the cocoon baskets.

They’re bigger than ordinary baskets.

Almost the size of a laundry basin.

“When I first saw them, I wondered why the baskets for holding cocoons were so big.”

Turns out there was a good reason for it?

“I had no idea the cocoons would be that big…”

From ones the size of a child’s forearm to ones the size of an adult’s forearm.

I saw them while repairing the Jamsagi Gijo.

Since there are functioning machines too, I couldn’t miss seeing the work being done.

Cocoons the size of forearms?

That means the silkworms are that big too.

People usually think of silkworms as ordinary caterpillars.

Yes, that’s about right.

But the silkworms of Cheonjaeum were on a completely different level from ordinary silkworms.

“When I was surprised by the cocoons, Sister Namgung Yeong showed me the silkworms before they became cocoons.”

That day I learned that there are silkworms the size of medium dogs.

“…And that was just a 30-year silkworm.”

Then what on earth are the 100-year silkworms…

“…”

Let’s not think about it.

“Well, they’d have to be that big for the entire forest to be covered with silk so no one can enter.”

Now I understand completely.

“Even the family head can’t get close to that side—”

Huh?

Wait, just a minute!

Namgung Cheon-gang rushed over to the laundry basin—no, the cocoon basket.

It really is big.

He could fit inside it with room to spare.

“A place where cocoons the size of adult forearms go in.”

An adult forearm is at least 60cm long.

“And the largest 30-year cocoon I saw was about 1 meter.”

The Blood Rat’s size is like a nutria.

A nutria’s size is at least about 40-60cm.

“Including the tail, 70cm to 1 meter.”

Cocoon size: 1 meter.

Blood Rat size: 70cm to 1 meter.

“…The case is solved!”

Ta-da!

Namgung Cheon-gang pushed up glasses that weren’t even there.

Somehow it seemed like a sparkling sound effect appeared.

With his other hand pointing forward, one corner of his mouth curved up.

The smile of a detective who solved the case.

That expression settled on Namgung Cheon-gang’s face!

“The Blood Rat hid inside a cocoon, then destroyed the machine when Sister wasn’t around!”

Looking at the circumference, it’s definitely possible!

“Unless there’s some other entrance I don’t know about!”

Currently, this method is the most likely way to enter the Silk Cocoon Chamber!

Just in case, I picked up a cocoon and used my identification ability.

As expected.

Hehehe.

Ah, this brilliant mind.

What should I do with this insight?

I’m proud of you, Namgung Cheon-gang.

You’ve upheld Grandfather’s honor, Namgung Cheon-gang!

“But saying that a Blood Rat was hiding in a cocoon means that someone who handles cocoons has ties to the Blood Cult.”

Maybe that person is the traitor the Namman Brothers are looking for.

However, all of this is speculation, not certainty.

To be certain, I need proper evidence.

“The best evidence would be catching them in the act.”

There’s no more perfect evidence than that.

Then, to catch them in the act?

“Fixing the machine comes first, after all.”

Actually, I don’t know the reason for destroying the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo.

However, there haven’t been any particular incidents since the machine was destroyed.

‘At most, there was just trouble with the Namman brothers.’

Surely, if the traitor and Blood Cult were connected, something would have happened quickly.

“If nothing has happened so far, it means they haven’t gotten what they want yet. So if I repair the broken Baeknyeon Jamsagi Gijo, they’ll try to break it again.”

Isn’t there a saying like this?

Criminals return to the scene of their crime.

And once a criminal method works, they use it again.

“Well then. Shall I set a trap to catch them in the act?”

A big trap to catch a human-sized rat, that is.

“For a human-sized rat trap, what kind of effect would be good?”

For an ordinary rat trap, it would be good to clamp down hard with metal.

But that would be hard to clean up afterward.

Just imagine a rat that burst from a big piece of metal falling on it.

“…Ugh, just thinking about it is horrible.”

So if I’m going to catch a rat anyway, it’s better to catch it in pristine condition.

That way cleanup is easier too.

“The best method would be rat poison. Well then, I’ll make sure to feed it proper poison.”

Very thrillingly, that is.

“Hehehe.”

Namgung Cheon-gang laughed wickedly and immediately began working to set up his mousetrap.

First, of course, was repairing the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Jeoso.

Taking the parts, he rushed straight to the blacksmith’s forge.

“Melting Baeknyeon Hancheol shouldn’t be a problem.”

Baeknyeon Hancheol melts at an even higher temperature than Baekryeonjeonggang.

Moreover, refining it is also tricky.

It’s not ordinary ore, but ore close to a mystical artifact.

However, who is Namgung Cheon-gang?

Though he may have spent 18 years of his life stuck in Cheongeumjeong melting only Baekryeonjeonggang.

He’s an S-rank blacksmith from his previous life.

Wouldn’t he have handled mystical ore like this before?

If he hadn’t, he couldn’t have handled Seongcheol either.

Besides, he’s now even stronger than before melting Seongcheol.

Baeknyeon Hancheol is light work.

Clang, clang, tang, tang!

Parts reprocessing completed in just half a shichen (1 hour).

Rushing back to the silk cocoon chamber, he fitted them in and repaired it.

Thong, thong!

Tang, tang!

“Since Master already completed it, there’s not much to fix, which is nice.”

Just reprocess the parts and fit them in, and the repair is done.

There’s no work sweeter than honey like this.

Naturally, this was only possible because it was Namgung Cheon-gang.

If it had been another blacksmith?

Half a shichen, what’s that?

It would have taken at least two weeks.

Three days for the process of removing parts, three days for refining the Baeknyeon Hancheol.

The remaining time?

The size, length, thickness of the parts, and so on.

Time spent on making them exactly the same.

This too would be impossible without being at least master-level or higher.

Looking once and smoothly extracting it.

Namgung Cheon-gang was amazing for properly making custom-fitted parts.

But wait, are parts everything?

Didn’t he say it?

That he would set an electrifying mousetrap.

“That mousetrap is none other than this Jamsagi Jeoso itself!”

What’s a mousetrap?

It’s a trap that catches mice by placing food they like.

“If what the Blood Letter is after is the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Jeoso, then what could be better than that very Baeknyeon Jamsagi Jeoso becoming the trap.”

That doesn’t mean he’s modifying it though.

“I’m going to apply my breath. Let’s see… checking the Baeknyeon Jamsagi Jeoso.”

Ding.

The Baeknyeon Jamsagi Jeoso already imbued with abilities.

However, it’s not an ability imbued by Namgung Cheon-gang’s breath.

It’s an ability granted by Mak Noya.

Therefore, Namgung Cheon-gang’s breath count is 0.

“The breath applied to masterpieces and supreme masterpieces is indeed different.”

Masterpieces get 2 times, supreme masterpieces get 3 times.

A fact confirmed when the Namman Brothers’ luck-bringing flowers were divided into masterpieces and supreme masterpieces.

Now it’s become even more certain.

“Phew. Good. Let’s apply the breath.”

Namgung Cheon-gang looked around.

No one was there.

It’s a secret chamber, so there’s no way anyone would be here.

“No one will come in either.”

When entering this place, he had asked the Namgung Family warriors standing guard.

Not to let anyone in except himself.

“No presence either. Even checking with Insight Eye, there’s no one.”

Perfect for applying breath.

Namgung Cheon-gang stood before the Baeknyeon Jeoso.

He stretched out both hands and steadied his breathing.

Phew.

‘For breath meant for an electrifying mousetrap…’

Cheonryejeowang Sinkong is indeed perfect.

Then?

‘Even setting aside other abilities, it would be good if the martial art’s unique power was imbued…’

The content of breath application.

‘If it’s the unique power of Cheonryejeowang Sinkong, it would be lightning, right?’

In a way, it might be attribute bestowal.

He’s never tried it before, so he can’t jump to conclusions.

But isn’t lightning the unique power felt from the martial art’s name itself?

‘The description too.’

If, as he thinks, that lightning power is the martial art’s unique power?

‘A perfectly electrifying mousetrap will be complete!’

However, he must concentrate.

He must pray for it to work.

A desperate heart is needed.

“Phew.”

Therefore, Namgung Cheon-gang concentrated even more, breathing heavily.

Quietly closing his eyes.

He cast away distracting thoughts.

In his slowly opening eyes, a blue light rippled.

A clarity like the clear sky had been transferred directly was contained within.

Soon, as if entranced.

Creating lightning in his outstretched hands.

He calmly recited.

“Breath application. Activate.”

Brilliant four colors arose from both outstretched palms.

Pure white light formed the greatest radiance.

Flash!

Soon, terribly clear and intense lightning burst forth from Namgung Cheon-gang’s entire body.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————