Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 139

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 139. The Sword Ghost Meets the Master Craftsman
“Come now, try this one too.”
“M-ma’am…….”
“Mother, I’m telling you this looks better!”
“Young lady…….”
“Oh! It really does suit you, doesn’t it? Sun Hyang looks lovely in red jewels?”
“Ahem! My eye is sharp, isn’t it? These are earrings made of pomegranate stone, and I told you they don’t suit me at all?”
Peng So Hwa and Namgung Sang A had seated Cho Sun Hyang in front of a mirror and were holding various ornaments up to her face one after another.
Cho Sun Hyang’s cheeks had flushed crimson like apples, and her fingers fidgeted restlessly.
“…….”
Ho Yeon gazed at the scene for a long moment, then raised his Cheonrae Gi faintly.
Crack!
Static electricity sparked, and his hair stood on end, becoming disheveled.
“Mother.”
“Yes?”
“Do we have any olive oil, by any chance?”
“There should be a bit left in the drawer.”
“……And a comb?”
“Why don’t you look through the jewelry box?”
Though Peng So Hwa answered Ho Yeon’s question, her gaze remained fixed on Cho Sun Hyang.
“Now, try this ring as well. It’s made of red jade.”
“I-it seems too large for me, ma’am.”
“Nonsense. Just slip it on your thumb. Oh, how beautiful!”
“But then it’s inconvenient when doing laundry…….”
“Hmm? Why would you be doing laundry?”
At Cho Sun Hyang’s murmur, Namgung Sang A blinked, tilting her head.
“Because I’m Master Ho Yeon’s attendant, ma’am?”
“What? I was told you were a guest.”
“She is a guest. Sang A, why don’t you scold her a little?”
As Ho Yeon pouted his lips and spoke, Peng So Hwa laughed softly.
“Ho ho, I’ve tried telling her several times myself. But our Sun Hyang here is more stubborn than she appears—obstinate as an iron string, I’d say.”
“Our Sun Hyang?”
“Ma’am, how can one who owes a debt accept kindness with ease? It would be a punishment for me to do so. Please, do not rob me of the chance to repay your grace.”
The moment Ho Yeon’s brow twitched, Cho Sun Hyang spoke in measured tones and lowered her head.
“My, how sincere!”
“Heh heh, isn’t she? The girl has real integrity.”
Under the shower of praise from Namgung Sang A and Peng So Hwa, Cho Sun Hyang squirmed with embarrassment.
Watching her, Ho Yeon was utterly bewildered.
‘What did she do to Mother while I was away in Hangzhou? She’s completely wrapped around her finger now.’
Since childhood, his mother had been unable to resist anything cute.
Cho Sun Hyang was renowned as one of the Four Beauties of Autumn, her looks exquisite, yet her cheeks still retained the plumpness of youth, round and full as a squirrel’s.
And on top of that, she spouted proper, measured remarks—Confucius said this, Mencius said that.
It seemed that while he was away in Hangzhou, Peng So Hwa had taken quite a liking to Cho Sun Hyang and kept her close.
‘It’s something…… it’s just something…….’
That spot had been his, originally.
He’d never particularly enjoyed it and had found it rather tedious, but being displaced rankled—far more than he cared to admit.
And besides…….
“Wow! The more I look, the more beautiful she is! How can her eyes be so blue?”
“Ah…….”
“Indeed. Could the Qinghai Lake itself be as beautiful as those eyes?”
“Um…….”
As another memory surfaced—of someone else who had occupied that place—Ho Yeon’s expression hardened subtly.
“I’ll step out for a moment.”
“Ah, then I’ll……!”
“You stay here. I’m leaving the Se Household grounds.”
Ho Yeon cut off Cho Sun Hyang, who had moved to follow, and left the room at once.
Creak! Slam!
As the door shut, Peng So Hwa spoke with concern in her voice.
“Oh dear, is our boy angry?”
“Mother! Don’t go soft on him.”
“Still…….”
“The plan worked. Ho Yeon felt jealous.”
Clench!
Namgung Sang A squeezed her fist tight as she spoke to Peng So Hwa.
“Didn’t Ho Yeon want to see himself in that blue silk robe? He’d never wear it, saying it’s suffocating.”
“Mm…….”
“At least we’ll get him dressed up for the wedding! We’ll even put a Precious Crown on his head.”
“That does sound lovely. We should hang a Jade Pendant at his waist too.”
“Of course! And we’ll add a Silver Bracelet made of…….”
Watching the mother and daughter launch into an animated debate about how to adorn Ho Yeon, Cho Sun Hyang managed an awkward smile.
‘They’re such good people…… What am I supposed to do……?’
Her lips trembled faintly as anguish flickered across her eyes.
* * *
After leaving the Se Household, Ho Yeon stopped at a tangerine candy vendor and picked up one Tangerine Candy before arriving at the Cheonnam Iron Workshop.
“Oh my, Young Master Ho Yeon! Welcome!”
“Master Ho, how have you been?”
“Ha-ha! All thanks to our Iron Divine Dragon!”
Ho Il Chi, the master of the Cheonnam Iron Workshop, treated Ho Yeon with the reverence one might show a god.
That day when lightning had suddenly split the clear sky and iron had piled up like mountains—
In fifty years of life, Ho Il Chi had never witnessed anything so extraordinary.
From that moment on, Ho Il Chi referred to Ho Yeon as the divine dragon who commanded iron, his respect absolute.
“What brings you here? Resupply isn’t due for another ten days. Ah, or perhaps you’d like me to show that miracle once more?!”
“No. Didn’t you hear the results from the Three Sages Council? The iron will be released soon.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“I came for something else today.”
Thud!
Clang!
Ho Yeon set down a heavy sack from his shoulder and popped a Tangerine Candy into his mouth.
“Crunch, crunch! I need you to forge me a sword from this.”
“Hmm? What is this?”
When Ho Il Chi dragged open the sack, inside lay lengths of darkened chain.
‘Ahhh, refreshing. Wait—refreshing?’
Ho Il Chi shivered at the chill seeping from the sack, his eyes widening.
He had just come from the forge, swinging his hammer, and every inch of his body burned with heat.
Yet the moment he opened that sack, coolness washed over him.
“Y-Young Master? Could this possibly be……!”
“Crunch! It’s Eternal Cold Iron.”
“……!”
Ho Yeon nodded as he bit down on the Tangerine Candy, and Ho Il Chi’s eyes went as wide as saucers.
“Im-Impossible! Eternal Cold Iron?!”
“Not Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, just Eternal Cold Iron.”
“Where on earth did you obtain such a treasure? It’s not something money can buy……!”
“I picked it up on a bridge.”
“You picked it up on a bridge? Did you perhaps visit the Immortal Realm?”
Ho Il Chi asked in disbelief, but Ho Yeon merely shrugged.
“Eternal Cold Iron…… !”
Ho Il Chi stared into the sack in a daze.
The metal gleamed with a dusky sheen, and within its dark luster flowed a faint crimson tint.
Transfixed by the sight, Ho Il Chi wetted his lips and spoke.
“Tsk, tsk. Young Master. My greed knows no bounds, but my skill is unequal to the task.”
“Hmm?”
“I shall bring my father instead.”
“Your father?”
As Ho Yeon tilted his head in confusion, Ho Il Chi disappeared into the workshop.
A moment later, he returned supporting an elderly man.
‘…… A blind man?’
Ho Yeon’s brow twitched as he watched the old man, eyes shut, feeling his way forward.
The man appeared to be well past eighty, yet his entire frame was corded with muscle.
His skin bore countless scars—most of them burn marks.
“Easy now, boy. Take it slowly.”
“Father! This isn’t the time for that!”
“Hmph, what’s gotten into you? Has the Baek Household come calling? Hmm?”
The old man, unable to resist his son’s insistence, stepped outside and came to an abrupt halt.
“This cold. Eternal Cold Iron, no doubt.”
“Ah.”
Ho Yeon responded with admiration at the old man’s murmur.
Had he sensed the essence of iron?
It was something different from a warrior’s Gi Jeok—the Iron Essence Perception of a true master craftsman, the sensation of touching iron’s very nature.
The old man before him was undoubtedly a craftsman who had reached that pinnacle.
“I am Namgung Ho Yeon. May I ask your name, sir?”
“I am called Ho Mok No.”
“Father, this is the young master I told you about—the one they call Iron Spirit Divine Dragon.”
At Ho Il Chi’s words, Ho Mok No turned his closed eyes toward Ho Yeon and spoke.
“Hmm, I thought you’d be around forty years old, yet you’re still so young?”
“…….”
“Goodness, your Killing Intent runs deep. I cannot tell whether I’m looking at a man or a ghost.”
“Father! What sort of thing is that to say to the young master!”
“Listen here, blind fool. You should know who you’re dealing with. It’s the only way to live long.”
“You’re the blind one, Father!”
“…….”
At Ho Mok No’s words, a smile bloomed at the corners of Ho Yeon’s mouth.
“Old Ho, can you see me?”
“Hard not to.”
“What do you see?”
“A thousand blades.”
“Heheheh.”
Ho Yeon nodded in acknowledgment.
He had found a Master Craftsman in the most unexpected of places.
“How is it that a Master Craftsman of your caliber remains unknown to the world?”
“What good is a name? A blacksmith need only eat his fill of iron and make an honest living.”
“The blades forged by Old Ho must surely have made a name for themselves in the Martial World?”
“In my younger days, when my blood ran hot, I forged blades mostly. Now I make hoes and spades.”
“Ah? Have you ascended from the realm of the Killing Blade to that of the Life Blade?”
“I wouldn’t know about such things. As I’ve grown older, I’ve simply come to love what grows from the earth.”
“Hm?”
As Ho Yeon and Ho Mok No conversed, Ho Il Chi could only blink his eyes wide.
Clink.
Ho Yeon picked up the pouch containing Eternal Cold Iron and handed it to Ho Mok No.
“Would you forge blades just this once? I need a gift for my father.”
“Hmm, I’ve heard that your Baek Household was triumphant. But this much here—two long swords and one short blade. That would still leave a bit more than an ounce of iron remaining, wouldn’t it?”
Ho Mok No weighed the pouch by holding it alone, then recited the quantity without hesitation.
Ho Yeon smiled broadly and replied.
“Then the remaining long sword can be a wedding gift for our elder brother.”
“And the short blade?”
“A congratulatory gift for our sister on attaining Martial Arts Peak. Why not?”
“Heheheh, you certainly know how to allocate things.”
Ho Mok No smiled broadly, turning his closed eyes toward Ho Yeon’s waist.
“You seem to have quite an appetite for blades. Do you not need one for yourself?”
“I already have what I want.”
“Hmm?”
“Above all, I myself am a blade.”
“Ah yes, that you are.”
Click, click!
Ho Mok No nodded and reached into the pouch, feeling the Eternal Cold Iron fragments through his fingers.
Then his brow furrowed.
“Which no-talent fool touched this?”
“Pardon?”
“Father!”
At the sudden curse, Ho Il Chi cried out, but Ho Mok No’s expression showed no sign of softening.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. If you lack the skill, don’t lay a hand on it. To touch it clumsily is to ruin fine iron.”
Ho Mok No clicked his tongue with a hint of regret and turned to Ho Yeon.
“Do you know anything about Eternal Cold Iron?”
“Well, as much as anyone else does. Iron that’s absorbed yin energy for ten thousand years, found in small quantities in the north, I believe?”
“Hmm, it’s a treasure whose unique durability makes refinement extraordinarily difficult. They say it can’t be severed unless struck by Strong Qi — no more needs to be said…….”
“That’s wrong.”
As Ho Il Chi interjected at Ho Yeon’s words, Ho Mok No shook his head and continued.
“Properly refined Eternal Cold Iron cannot be severed even by Strong Qi.”
“What?”
“It’s just a rumor born from how difficult perfect refinement truly is.”
Clang!
Ho Mok No lifted a bundle of Eternal Cold Iron and imparted knowledge to his son.
“Do you truly think the cold essence condensed over ten thousand years can be melted down by mere human furnaces and bellows?”
“Then…… how is it melted?”
“The power of a volcano is required.”
“What?”
“I’ve only refined one perfect Eternal Cold Iron blade in my life. I traveled directly to the volcanic region at Wudailian Pool.”
“Wudailian Pool…… isn’t that far away in Heilongjiang Province? You went all that way just to refine a single blade?”
Ho Il Chi spoke in disbelief, and Ho Mok No nodded as if it were obvious.
“A master craftsman must throw himself into a volcano or the depths of the sea if that’s what his desired blade demands.”
“……Now I understand why Mother still calls Father a worthless wretch.”
“Hmm, in any case. This cannot be refined now. I could give it rough form, imperfectly, but I won’t have it.”
Ho Mok No handed the bundle containing the Eternal Cold Iron to Ho Yeon.
But Ho Yeon didn’t take it, lost in thought instead.
After a moment, a smile bloomed at Ho Yeon’s lips as he spoke.
“Old Ho, what you’re saying is that you need heat as intense as a volcano, yes?”
“……?”
“I have a method.”
* * *
“Ow! My back. I’m falling apart.”
A beggar old man had arrived in Hefei.

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