The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 10

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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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10
Woo Geom-san’s Struggle for Supremacy
Woo Geom-san looked around with a look of wonder on his face.
It was because the scenery, lined with large buildings and high walls, felt so unfamiliar to him.
Shops stood in dense rows on both sides of the wide avenue, and countless people moved back and forth through the streets, haggling over goods.
It was the first large city they had entered since he teamed up with Baek Ho-yang.
This county, which bore the name Pingli, was of a stupendous scale that could not be compared to any village they had passed through so far.
Seeing a place that looked so full of human life after such a long time seemed to instantly wash away the fatigue accumulated from traveling all the way here.
Baek Ho-yang spoke with a smile.
“You seem pleased.”
“Huh? Yes!”
Woo Geom-san replied with an embarrassed expression.
To the Taoist Baek Ho-yang, the bustle of the city was merely a nuisance. However, to Woo Geom-san, who was born and raised in a city and a large estate like the Woo Family Manor, this kind of scenery was entirely familiar.
It felt as though he had returned to his hometown after a long time, which made him feel good.
Baek Ho-yang understood Woo Geom-san’s feelings.
This was because he, a Taoist, and Woo Geom-san, who was born and raised in the city, were fundamentally different by birth.
A Taoist dislikes the bustle of the secular world, but ordinary people are bound to gain the strength to live from such a hectic scenery.
It wasn’t a matter of what was good or bad; they were simply that different.
Baek Ho-yang said to Woo Geom-san.
“Before we secure lodging, let us stop by a drapery shop first.”
“A drapery shop, you say?”
“Yes! There is something I must buy.”
“If it’s a drapery shop, there’s one right over there.”
Woo Geom-san pointed with his finger toward a reasonably large shop further down the avenue.
It was a shop hanging a banner that read Zhangjia Drapery Shop.
A drapery shop was quite literally a place where cloth and clothing items were bought and sold.
At the entrance of the shop, cloth, the material for clothing, was piled up like a mountain.
Without needing to choose any further, the two went straight into the Zhangjia Drapery Shop.
“Welcome.”
As they entered the drapery shop, a clerk greeted them.
Baek Ho-yang spoke to the clerk.
“Where are the ready-made clothes?”
“If it’s clothing you’re looking for, they are inside. What kind of clothes are you searching for?”
The clerk replied politely.
Because the aura felt from Baek Ho-yang’s entire body was unusual.
The clerk, who had dealt with countless people, instinctively realized that Baek Ho-yang was no ordinary man.
“They are clothes for myself and my grandson to wear. If possible, it would be good if they are durable and comfortable to move in.”
“We have plenty of such clothes.”
“Ah, and by any chance, could we obtain some scraps of cloth, a needle, and some thread? Of course, I will pay the fee.”
“May I ask why you are looking for those?”
The clerk wore a puzzled expression.
Weaving hemp or silk and making clothes was the domain of women.
Naturally, it was not a common thing for men to seek a needle and thread.
Baek Ho-yang replied calmly.
“I have a use for them.”
“Then I will pack them for you when you leave. You do not need to pay a separate fee for that.”
“Thank you!”
“Think nothing of it. Please step inside.”
The clerk led Baek Ho-yang and Woo Geom-san to the inner section of the drapery shop, where the ready-made clothes were kept.
The two picked out and changed into the ones with the roomiest fit among them.
The clothes they had originally been wearing were torn and worn out from fierce combat, so they discarded them without any lingering regrets.
After paying for the clothes and stepping outside, the clerk handed them a scrap of cloth, a needle, and thread.
“Thank you!”
Baek Ho-yang thanked the clerk and then went back out.
Woo Geom-san asked as he looked at the items held in Baek Ho-yang’s hand.
“What do you intend to use the needle and thread for?”
“It is because of your hand.”
“Pardon?”
“Since the bones seem to have fully fused, shouldn’t you slowly begin to revive your sense of touch?”
“What does that have to do with a needle?”
“You will naturally find out tonight. First, let us secure an inn.”
“Yes!”
Until reaching this place, they had slept in the open for nearly seven days and nights.
Thanks to that, their hair and entire bodies were covered in dust.
For today at least, he wanted to wash with clean water and sleep comfortably in a tidy room.
Finding an inn was also Woo Geom-san’s responsibility.
Baek Ho-yang, who had lived his entire life in the mountains, was ignorant of the ways of the world. On the other hand, Woo Geom-san, who grew up in the Woo Family Manor, was well-versed in these market conditions.
He easily found the cheapest and cleanest inn on the street.
It was an inn that even had a well and a stable in the rear yard.
After paying the owner, the two washed themselves cleanly by the well side.
Washing his body with cold water made him feel alive again.
After their meal, Baek Ho-yang thrust the needle, thread, and scrap of cloth toward Woo Geom-san.
“From now on, you must practice threading the eye of the needle.”
“The eye of the needle?”
“Yes! Once you thread the eye of the needle, you must stitch this cloth at regular intervals.”
“Mm!”
Woo Geom-san let out a low groan.
Because only then did he grasp Baek Ho-yang’s intention.
The bones of his right hand had been shattered into tiny pieces.
Though the bones had fused thanks to Baek Ho-yang’s miraculous ability, it was entirely imperfect, just like a cracked vessel.
Even if it recovered perfectly, it would likely be difficult to swing his fist to his heart’s content as he had before.
An even greater problem was precisely the function of his fingers.
In the process of treating the bones, his muscles had become constricted, making it difficult even to bend them.
Because of that, he had to use his left hand instead of his right hand even when using chopsticks.
Since Woo Geom-san was originally right-handed, he had to learn how to use chopsticks from scratch. However, he could not live using only his left hand forever.
He had to revive the ruined functions of his right hand.
The method Baek Ho-yang had chosen was none other than sewing.
Passing a flimsy, thin thread through a tiny needle’s eye that was barely visible to the naked eye was by no means an easy task.
To women accustomed to sewing, it might be nothing special, but to men who had only done heavy labor, it was a task of higher difficulty than any other work.
Baek Ho-yang spoke.
“It will be harder and more painful than you think. Even so, if you endure patiently and make an effort, the function of your right hand will greatly recover someday.”
“I understand. I will begin right away.”
“Very well!”
Woo Geom-san immediately sat on a chair and attempted to pass the thread through the eye of the needle.
His right hand trembled violently as if he had suffered a stroke.
Even the simple motion of picking up a slender thread was too much of a strain for Woo Geom-san right now.
The moment he curled his fingers to pick up the thread, a tremendous pain surged.
The constricted muscles had stimulated the nerves.
“Urgh!”
Woo Geom-san let out a groan in spite of himself.
It felt as if his fingers and the back of his hand were going to tear apart.
He had guessed vaguely, but it hit home just how disastrously ruined his hand truly was.
He felt like crying.
Because his right hand, which would not move as he wished, felt like someone else’s hand rather than his own.
Not a single one among his five fingers moved according to his will.
It barely maintained its shape, but it was no different from a tree branch.
Woo Geom-san bit his lip firmly.
Because a sudden stubbornness surged within him.
‘I will never give up.’
Just getting to this place had been a continuous series of hardships.
He had fallen and broken down countless times.
Thanks to that, he was at a point where not a single spot on him was uninjured.
Even so, he didn’t give up.
Thanks to that, he was able to figure out the feeling of walking correctly.
He knew that as long as he didn’t give up, he would eventually be rewarded like that someday.
Woo Geom-san first focused his mind to calm his trembling hand. However, the hand with ruined nerves and muscles did not calm down easily.
Thick beads of sweat poured down incessantly from Woo Geom-san’s face.
Simply picking up the thread with his fingers was consuming an immense amount of stamina.
Rip! Rip!
He felt a sensation as if his constricted finger muscles were tearing.
Every time that happened, Woo Geom-san’s brow and fingers twitched involuntarily.
Baek Ho-yang watched Woo Geom-san’s desperate struggle without a word.
Viewed by a woman who performed sewing without a second thought, it might look ridiculous. However, right now, Woo Geom-san was more serious than ever before.
Even more so than when he practiced the Eight Steps Mountain-Heavy Fist during his childhood.
Whether his blood-sweating efforts had worked, the tremors in his hand finally began to subside little by little.
Woo Geom-san took a brief breath and then brought the thread to the needle.
Tick!
His first attempt failed miserably.
The thread missed the eye of the needle by a wide margin.
Simply picking up the thread and threading it through the needle’s eye were tasks on completely different dimensions.
As he moved the fingers holding the thread, the tremors that had barely stopped broke out once again.
Tick! Tick!
The thread repeatedly missed the needle’s eye and poked empty air.
Even so, Woo Geom-san did not rest and continued to try repeatedly.
Like that, Woo Geom-san’s night was passing by.
***
“Yaaawn!”
The next morning, Woo Geom-san yawned with bloodshot eyes.
Because he had tried to put the thread into the tiny needle’s eye until dawn, his eyes felt stiff and fatigued.
He realized acutely that threading a needle’s eye was such a difficult and tiring task.
Despite exerting such effort, he had ultimately failed to succeed even once.
The price of his effort was harsh.
His entire right hand ached as if it would tear apart, and his fingers were cramping intermittently.
Even so, he didn’t feel bad.
Because it felt like moving his fingers had become slightly easier than yesterday.
“Whew!”
After wiggling his fingers for a moment, Woo Geom-san began to loosen up his body in earnest.
Twisting his upper body and arms this way and that, he relaxed his knotted muscles.
He also meticulously loosened his legs, which had suffered from traveling the long distance.
Having loosened his knotted muscles like that, Woo Geom-san left the inn.
Perhaps because it was still early dawn, there were hardly any people on the street.
Woo Geom-san began to walk the empty street.
It was so he wouldn’t forget the feeling he had mastered while coming all the way here.
As he walked the street, that specific feeling came alive.
Woo Geom-san walked the avenue with his entire concentration focused on his legs.
By the time he returned to the inn after walking like that for nearly one Shijin, his entire body was drenched in sweat.
Woo Geom-san took off his top and drew water from the well to wash his body.
After washing with cold water like that, he felt refreshed.
It was precisely then that Baek Ho-yang came outside.
“Grandfather.”
“Have you been out walking?”
“Yes!”
“You’ve worked hard since early morning.”
“I’m just doing what naturally needs to be done, so how is it hard work?”
“In this world, there are countless people who fail to do or refuse to do what naturally needs to be done. You are doing well enough.”
“Hehe!”
At Baek Ho-yang’s praise, Woo Geom-san wore a genuinely joyful expression.
No matter how much he pretended to be mature, he was still just a young fifteen-year-old boy.
It was an age vulnerable to praise.
Baek Ho-yang handed him a towel and said.
“Let’s wash up and head out. There is much to prepare.”
“Yes!”
Woo Geom-san wiped off the moisture with the towel and put his top back on. Then he went inside the room, packed all his luggage, and came out.
With the luggage slung over his back, Woo Geom-san asked.
“Where are we going now?”
“Let’s buy dried rations first and then look for a blacksmith shop.”
“A blacksmith shop?”
“Yes! I must buy a sword.”
“Ah!”
Woo Geom-san nodded his head.
Come to think of it, he had found it strange that no weapon was visible on Baek Ho-yang.
Because Baek Ho-yang had mentioned at some point that he used a sword as his weapon. So he too had vaguely thought that he might learn his sword arts someday.
‘A sword…’
As he pictured a sword, his fingers strangely tingled.

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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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