Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 173

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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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Episode 173. The Sword Demon’s Sorrow — Pyeong Mu Tan
“Ugh, ugh…….”
A dark night.
The moonlight was too faint to illuminate the room.
The moon hanging in the sky was thread-thin, barely visible to the eye.
It was the new moon.
―This is worse than usual tonight.
Cheon Rae Geom spoke with concern in his voice.
He had broken the habit of sleeping fitfully against the wall after the family worried over it.
But Namgung Ho Yeon could not shake the habit of holding his sword as he slept.
Because of this, Cheon Rae Geom knew that Ho Yeon sometimes suffered nightmares, groaning in distress.
―There’s reason enough for it. Looking at the moon, it appears to be the eighth month’s new moon tonight.
Heuk Ya Tae Geom answered Cheon Rae Geom’s concern.
―Today is Pyeong’s memorial day.
“Uhhhhh…….”
Ho Yeon’s groans continued.
He was wandering through memories from three hundred years before.
* * *
Shaanxi Province, Weinan.
It was a city in the southern region of the Wei River, one of the tributaries of the Yellow River.
In the Weinan Carpentry Workshop, named after this city, the sounds of sawing wood, planing timber with adze, and hammering had been ringing out since morning.
Swick! Swick!
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
“Now, look here. This is oak. There are dozens of varieties, but they all share the common trait of superior durability and strength.”
“How are we supposed to tell every type of wood apart?”
“You brat! If you can’t distinguish one kind of wood, how can you call yourself a carpenter? You should drop the ‘carpenter’ part and just be called ‘worker’!”
“……I never said I was a carpenter.”
As Dan Wee Myeong muttered this, the burly Jang Han before him cried out with a stunned expression.
“Good heavens! Listen here, everyone! Our youngest says he’s not becoming a carpenter!”
“Hehe! Well, of course not! What young man would want such backbreaking labor?”
“Hahahaha! Master, you’re too much. Stop teasing the innocent boy!”
“Ha, Wee Myeong! Run away right now! More than one person has had their life ruined after catching the workshop master’s eye!”
The other carpenters chimed in with chuckles at Jang Han’s outburst, each adding their own jab.
Then the burly Jang Han, Pyeong Mu Tan, bellowed.
“You lot! If we’re not in sync like this, how can we work together? Say carpentry is good, now!”
“Krhehe. Wee Myeong, the pay’s decent for the hard work.”
“Yeah, that’s true. If I save up starting now, I can get married within five years.”
“Haha! What about my daughter? She’s already started babbling.”
The other carpenters spoke playfully in response to Pyeong Mu Tan’s words.
Though they seemed to be teasing, their eyes held a degree of sincerity.
“Hmph, well enough. Once I pay off this debt, I’m leaving this workshop tomorrow.”
Dan Wee Myeong snorted dismissively, turning away from their hopeful gazes.
At that, Pyeong Mu Tan struck the back of Dan Wee Myeong’s head with his palm, large as a pot lid.
Whack!
“Ow! Why’d you hit me?!”
“Heh heh. What’s with you, kid, raising your voice so boldly? In this workshop, only I as master can raise my voice.”
“……Goddamn, that’s disgusting.”
Watching Dan Wee Myeong grumble, Pyeong Mu Tan spoke.
“And you, brat. What debt are you talking about? Have I ever lent you money?”
“……You paid the physician.”
“Well, as an adult, could I ignore a child lying there dying?”
Pyeong Mu Tan shrugged his shoulders.
A month before, he had gone to the mountain to fell timber and came back down carrying not wood but a blood-soaked Dan Wee Myeong on his back.
It was Pyeong Mu Tan who had taken him to a physician and saved his life, covered as he was in sword wounds.
“Now then, as I was saying, among the oaks, red oak is hard and strong, but it’s brittle and unsuitable for outdoor use despite being fine for interior flooring.”
Dan Wee Myeong gazed steadily at Pyeong Mu Tan, who had resumed his explanation.
‘……Why doesn’t he ask anything? He’s no ordinary boy. He even picked up all my swords.’
Pyeong Mu Tan asked Dan Wee Myeong nothing.
He simply brought him to the workshop once he had recovered, saying labor was short, and taught him the carpenter’s trade.
“White oak, on the other hand, is suitable for shipbuilding and outdoor furniture, while evergreen oak is resistant to rot and pests—it’s ideal for making furniture that lasts.”
‘The less you know, the better. Besides, today’s the last day anyway.’
Dan Wee Myeong studied the workers of the Weinan Carpentry Workshop one by one.
They moved through their labor with sweat glistening on their skin, luminous somehow.
Dan Wee Myeong shook his head.
He and these people inhabited different worlds.
Pretending not to know was the kindest mercy they could offer each other.
“Little one, are you listening?”
“…Yes.”
“Heh heh, look at all these oak trees—they seem the same, but there’s incredible variety among them, isn’t there? People are exactly like that. We look similar enough, but everyone carries their own circumstances.”
Pyeong Mu Tan stroked the back of Dan Wee Myeong’s head roughly as he continued.
“But remember this one thing: every oak tree bears acorns. That’s truly wonderful.”
“Why?”
“Because it creates something.”
……
“Hahahaha! That’s why I love carpentry. With these two hands, I can make anything!”
Pyeong Mu Tan burst into hearty laughter, then asked in a softer tone.
“What do you say? Don’t you want to become a carpenter?”
“…I’m fine as is.”
“Argh! Become a carpenter!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Even if you don’t, you’re still my little one!”
Hmph!
“Fwhaha! The master’s persistence is something else!”
Kekeke. The little one’s stubborn as an iron wire, isn’t he?”
“Ha! If you become a carpenter, I can trust my daughter to you, can’t I?”
Another day, no different from yesterday.
The boisterous, foolish work day faded into evening.
That night.
Creak!
Dan Wee Myeong left the Weinan Carpentry Workshop.
He had bound a dozen swords together with twine and stepped into the cool dawn air.
“You’re leaving?”
“…!”
At the voice from behind, he spun around in surprise to see a heavy money pouch arc through the air toward him.
Whoosh! Clink-clink!
“So the brat leaves without a word? How impudent.”
“Pyeong… Pyeong Mu Tan.”
“What’s that? Do you think I fed you and gave you shelter expecting payment? That hurts, it does.”
……
Dan Wee Myeong fell silent, the money pouch now in his hands.
He had placed it on the bed and left quietly, yet Pyeong Mu Tan had known. The old man must have understood that today was the day.
“How did you know?”
“Your wounds have healed. I figured you’d be gone soon enough.”
……
“Take this with you.”
“…What is it?”
Pyeong Mu Tan handed over a peculiar chest shaped like a carrying frame.
The long wooden case, reinforced with steel at every corner, looked sturdy and well-made.
“It’s called a Sword Box. Doesn’t carrying your blades tied like that get uncomfortable?”
……
“Stop drawing attention to yourself. Put them in here and carry it properly. With the Sword Box on your back and a Black Cloak draped over it, you’ll look like someone hauling goods—nothing more.”
At Pyeong Mu Tan’s words, Dan Wee Myeong finally voiced the question he’d been holding back.
“Why don’t you ask me anything?”
“If I ask, will you answer?”
……
“See? I told you. People are just like oak trees, aren’t they? Everyone has their own reasons. That’s all there is to it.”
Pyeong Mu Tan’s smile caught the moonlight and shone bright.
“…I’ll repay you for this.”
“That’s enough. Just take it.”
“Why? Don’t you need the money? Pyeong Mu Tan, don’t you want to live well?”
“Puh-hah! That’s exactly why you’re still a child, little one.”
“What do you mean?”
“Heh, a boy becomes a man not when he merely gets by, but when he realizes he must live with true purpose.”
Clack! Thunk!
Pyeong Mu Tan sheathed the sword in the Sword Box and ruffled Dan Wee Myeong’s hair.
Swish. Swish.
“Live with purpose. Just as the oak tree produces acorns, you must live a life that creates something of value.”
…….
“Well? What do you have to say?”
At Pyeong Mu Tan’s question, Dan Wee Myeong—who had been staring intently at the Sword Box—offered an unexpected reply.
“Evergreen wood.”
“Hmm?”
“This is made from evergreen. It resists rot and insects, so it will last a long time.”
“Oh! You noticed that? Hahahaha! All my teaching has borne fruit!”
As Pyeong Mu Tan broke into hearty laughter, Dan Wee Myeong offered his final farewell.
“Pyeong. I’m sorry, but I have no intention of becoming a carpenter. I’m the kind who breaks things, not makes them.”
“Heh, you stubborn brat. Still refusing to the very end?”
“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
“Very well. Stay healthy until then, little one.”
Dan Wee Myeong shouldered the Sword Box and departed the Weinan Carpentry Workshop.
But the promise made with Pyeong Mu Tan was never kept.
Five years later.
When Dan Wee Myeong returned to Shaanxi Province, the Weinan Carpentry Workshop had vanished, replaced by some sort of tavern.
“The Weinan Carpentry Workshop? Ah, now that I think of it, this place used to be a lumber yard.”
“Did they move somewhere else?”
At Dan Wee Myeong’s question, Jeom So Yi shook her head firmly in response.
“It went under.”
“……Went under?”
“You know what a Sword Demon is, don’t you?”
As Jeom So Yi whispered the question, Dan Wee Myeong’s body went rigid, and he gave a small nod.
“I’ve heard of one.”
“The master of the Weinan Carpentry Workshop harbored that murderer.”
…….
“A few years back, some physician’s testimony brought the whole thing to light. All the carpenters from the Workshop were arrested.”
“……Where to?”
“Where else? When you say Shaanxi, you think Huashan. When you say Huashan, you think Shaanxi.”
Jeom So Yi continued, shielding her mouth as if afraid someone might hear.
“Those carpenters came out as broken wrecks. Imagine—these so-called Prestigious Orthodox Sects torturing common folk just to catch that Sword Demon. That’s how desperately they wanted him. Tsk.”
…….
“But the master never came back alive. The other carpenters all claimed ignorance, but the master—he never denied his connection to the Sword Demon.”
…….
“He kept saying something about ‘our youngest brother.’ So his corpse came down from Huashan during the Eighth Month New Moon.”
…….
“According to Yeom Jang, both his hands had been severed.”
“Hahahaha! That’s why I love being a carpenter. With these two hands, I can make anything!”
“Whether you like it or not, you’re our youngest!”
Crash!
“You damned fool……!”
“Oh my, I’m so sorry! That was in poor taste, wasn’t it? Hehe.”
Leaving the apologetic Jeom So Yi behind, Dan Wee Myeong bolted from the tavern.
Without delay, he headed east toward Huayin County.
Several days later.
As the sun began to set.
A single figure ascended Yeonhwa Peak, the western summit of Huashan and the cradle of the Hwasan Sect.
“Hmm? Who is that?”
“A woodcutter, perhaps?”
The two martial artists guarding the Hwasan Sect’s main gate spotted a man in a black cloak moving westward against the blood-red sunset.
His back bulged as if he were carrying a A-frame—a figure that resembled a woodcutter.
“Halt!”
“State your sect and name!”
The man who had stopped in his tracks at the gestures of the two Murin looked up at the grand gates of the Hwasan Sect and opened his mouth.
“Youngest of the Weinan Carpentry Workshop. Dan Wee Myeong.”
“Weinan Carpentry Workshop? There’s a sect like that?”
“Heh, must be some trivial rural sect, I suppose.”
“Guffaw! A sect of woodcutters? That’s hilarious!”
“Cackle! And Dan Wee Myeong—that’s definitely a Sword Demon’s name….”
Whoosh!
Dan Wee Myeong cast off his black cloak.
The Sword Box came into view.
Clatter! Clatter!
The blades inside the Sword Box began to quiver, as though begging to be drawn.
It was as though the lingering spirit of Pyeong Mu Tan whispered from the heavens.
Asking why it had taken so long.
Saying it was far too late.
Cursed youngest.
“Huh—ack……!”
“That… surely not!”
The two Murin recognized the box strapped to the man’s back.
They could not have failed to know it.
A verse from the Sword Box Martyrdom, famous throughout the entire Martial World of Zhongyuan, flashed through both their minds.
Death Dwells in the Sword Box on One’s Back.
When one bears the Sword Box upon their shoulders, death dwells within that box,
When the Box Opens, Heaven and Earth Stain Red with Blood.
And when the box opens, all of heaven and earth turns crimson with blood.
Screech-screech-screech-screech-crack!
Dozens of blades were drawn from the Sword Box.
The sword edges, reflected in the setting sun, billowed with sharp ominousness and killing intent,
and the Sword Demon Dan Wee Myeong declared in a voice split and fractured:
“I’ve come to collect the blood debt.”
Scrape! Scrape!
Crash-boom-bang!
The bodies of the two Murin were torn asunder, and the gates of Hwasan Sect shattered in an instant.
That day, all of Yeonhwa Peak burned, and the scent of plum blossoms was never again found upon Huashan.
* * *
“Damn it all.”
Step, step, step.
Ho Yeon, who had left Heuk Juk Won, pressed his temples.
His sleep had been restless because of some foolish dream, and his condition was far from ideal.
He wondered why he’d been thinking of Pyeong Mu Tan so much lately—was it because that old man’s memorial day was approaching?
‘Damn it, he’s not stuck to my back as a ghost, is he? Please, I’ve already avenged the blood debt.’
The Sword Demon never managed to live the life of a carpenter that Pyeong Mu Tan had wanted.
An oak tree produces acorns, but the Sword Demon produced nothing at all.
In return, he had burned Hwasan Sect quite thoroughly—was that not enough for the old man?
‘……Well then. I’ll make an effort in this life. So please, rest in peace.’
It was just as Ho Yeon was offering prayers for Pyeong Mu Tan’s peace that it happened.
Strange sounds began to drift from the direction of the front gate.
“Heaven and Earth, Primordial Ancestor.”
“Heaven and Earth, Righteous Qi.”
“Pyeong Mu Tan has no fear.”
“Spirit returns to the Great Void.”
“……What is that?”
It came from the direction of Yeonu Garden.
Ordinarily, the shouts and vigorous cries of Hwasan Sect priests should have been heard,
but today, for some reason, the sound of the Blessing Chant drifted through the air.
Drawn as though enchanted, Ho Yeon witnessed the sight of some two hundred Hwasan Sect priests gathered in Yeonu Garden, chanting the True Words in unison.
“Forgive my former transgressions.”
“Transform resentment into grace.”
“Untie the knots and release the bonds.”
“Purify and harbor no regrets.”
The True Words carried the meaning of confessing wrongs, begging forgiveness, and resolving the resentments that bind the heart.
Namgung Ho Yeon watched the enigmatic ritual unfold in silence.
The incantation had been droning on for roughly an hour and was nearing its end.
“Compassion of the Most High.”
“Universal Salvation for All Beings.”
“Boundless Merit and Virtue.”
“Eternal Peace and Tranquility.”
With the final blessing—that all might dwell in perpetual peace—the ceremony concluded.
Namgung Ho Yeon approached Un Am, one of the Daoist priests he recognized, and asked a question.
“What is this?”
“Ah? Sword Demon! When did you arrive?”
Un Am’s face brightened at the sight of Namgung Ho Yeon, and he greeted him warmly.
The Hwasan Sect disciples around them began to murmur among themselves, startled by the sudden appearance of the man who had kept to the shadows for so long.
“Just now. But what was all that?”
“Ah, the Mu Tan Memorial Service, you mean?”
“……The Mu Tan Memorial Service?”
As Namgung Ho Yeon pressed for clarification, Un Am scratched the back of his head and spoke.
“It is a ceremony to honor Pyeong Mu Tan, a man who died unjustly three hundred years ago due to our sect’s error.”
“…….”
“I mentioned it to you before, didn’t I? That it was our sect which mistakenly bound together the Sword Demon’s vendetta and the grudge.”
Un Am continued, his smile tinged with sorrow.
“After the Sword Demon Blood Vengeance incident, during our investigation into what happened, the sect’s fault came to light. Since then, we established this memorial service and hold a ceremony each eighth month new moon.”
Un Am pointed toward a simple altar table.
Upon it stood a single memorial tablet.
[Pyeong Mu Tan]
Namgung Ho Yeon gazed at the tablet for a long moment before asking,
“So, no training today?”
“We were planning to begin shortly…….”
Un Am studied Namgung Ho Yeon’s expression carefully.
He knew about the man’s habit of using the back entrance to avoid the training grounds.
“We shall practice as quietly as possible, ensuring we do not disturb you, Sword Demon…….”
“……Go ahead.”
“Pardon?”
“Show me what you’ve got.”
Un Am blinked.
A moment later, understanding Namgung Ho Yeon’s intent, Un Am’s face brightened and he cried out,
“Ah, understood! Everyone, assemble!”
Un Am hurried about gathering the Hwasan Sect disciples.
“Don’t hold any grudge against me, old carpenter,” Namgung Ho Yeon murmured, his gaze lifting toward the clear sky.

“Three hundred years of offerings should be enough, shouldn’t it?”
Whoooosh!
As if answering on Pyeong Mu Tan’s behalf,
a cool breeze swept through and brushed gently across Namgung Ho Yeon’s hair.
* * *
A month had passed.

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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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