The Mending Studio - Chapter 16

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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 16
The Knight’s Division party had spent the night at an inn in Cheong-ha City, the closest settlement to Soji Fortress, along with Yeon Byeong-shim.
But the next morning, Yeon Byeong-shim had vanished without a trace.
All that Yu Jang-ha and his companions could rely on was a special Spirit Talisman crafted by the Knight’s Division.
The one Spirit Talisman that Yeon Byeong-shim carried and the one they still possessed resonated with each other.
They traced the connection between the two talismans and found themselves led, unexpectedly, to Soji Fortress itself.
The real problem came after.
The moment they entered Soji Fortress, the connection between the two talismans abruptly severed.
So Yu Jang-ha had dispatched his people to ask the residents about the princess’s whereabouts.

“We followed that connection here,” Yu Jang-ha said.

He continued speaking.

“We understand it isn’t right to enter the Holy Land’s domain without permission. But the princess, whom His Majesty the Emperor holds most dear, has disappeared without a trace, and we had no choice.”
“The connection broke the moment you entered Soji Fortress?”
“Yes.”

There was no hesitation in Yu Jang-ha’s reply. His gaze did not waver, and when Jang Hyeon-jin-in probed with the Divine Technique, he sensed no suspicious disturbance in the man’s spirit.
After studying him for a moment, Jang Hyeon-jin-in judged that he was not lying.
He spread the Divine Technique carefully around the area. Various energies and Tao Aura flowed throughout Soji Fortress, yet he detected not the slightest hint of what could be called a Prohibition Array.
That fact astonished Jang Hyeon-jin-in even more.
If the connection between the two talismans had truly severed here, as Yu Jang-ha claimed, then it meant there existed a method whose traces he could not even find.

‘Is this his doing?’

If he could not even sense the existence of such a thing despite unfolding a Prohibition Array, the gulf between the two men was difficult to fathom.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in clicked his tongue inwardly once more. His awe of Yeop Jang-cheong deepened.

“This is the domain of Tae Hyeon Holy Land,” he said.

He regarded Yu Jang-ha.

“The people here live ordinary lives, and as you sensed, there dwells an incomparably powerful master in seclusion here.”

Yu Jang-ha’s eyes wavered.

“If the princess is truly here, the greater likelihood is that she remains of her own accord, not that she is being held captive by force.”
“But——”
“Take your people and leave. Or wait on the outskirts of Soji Fortress.”

Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s tone was resolute.
Yu Jang-ha kept his lips shut, unable to answer readily.
It was undoubtedly his own party’s fault to have entered the Holy Land’s domain without permission.
Yet returning without finding the princess would leave him with no explanation to offer the imperial court.
If, as Jang Hyeon-jin-in suggested, an unparalleled master dwelt in seclusion in Soji Fortress, and if Yeon Byeong-shim was indeed here, then there was a possibility she remained of her own will rather than being forcibly detained.
After a long moment of inner conflict, Yu Jang-ha finally nodded.

“Understood. I will gather my party and wait on the outskirts.”

He was turning to leave when——
Swish-swish.
A broom swept the ground nearby.
Yu Jang-ha’s gaze drifted thoughtlessly toward the sound.
In front of a general store.
A tall, graceful woman was sweeping up dust from the street, broom in hand.
Yu Jang-ha’s eyes widened.
There was no need to look twice.

“Princess!”

The voice echoed across the entire street.
Yeon Byeong-shim’s hands stilled.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in and Yuk Mu-ssang turned their heads in unison.
It really was Yeon Byeong-shim.
But in her hands was a broom.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s eyes twitched faintly.
Yuk Mu-ssang also looked back and forth between Yeon Byeong-shim and the broom, disbelief written across her face.
The princess whom the Emperor of Dae Yeon favored most was sweeping in front of Yeop Jang-cheong’s general store.
Just moments before, Jang Hyeon-jin-in had said it was more likely that the princess had remained here of her own volition. But seeing the sight before them, Yu Jang-ha’s suspicion was understandable.
The same question surfaced in both Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s and Yuk Mu-ssang’s minds at once.
Had Yeop Jang-cheong really detained Yeon Byeong-shim here?
The two exchanged a brief glance. They could not fathom why someone like Yeop Jang-cheong would bother to hold the princess of Dae Yeon captive and make her do menial labor.
Unable to find an answer, their confusion only deepened.
Yu Jang-ha received an even greater shock.
Just moments before, Jang Hyeon-jin-in had said the residents here were honest folk, and there was even a supreme master among them, so the princess could not possibly be held by force.
But how was one to interpret the sight before them?
The princess was sweeping without even a lady’s maid at her side.
Anger rose in Yu Jang-ha’s face.
The mere fact that the Emperor’s most beloved princess was holding a broom in front of a stranger’s store was shock enough for him.
The anxiety he had been suppressing before Jang Hyeon-jin-in transformed at once into rage.
He walked quickly toward the store.
Dae Yeon was also an ancient homeland that had endured through long ages. Even if the Tae Hyeon Holy Land was a powerful sacred place, Yu Jang-ha did not believe it was overwhelmingly superior in national strength and underlying power.
Yet the Emperor’s most cherished princess was performing chores here. At the very least, he felt the Tae Hyeon Holy Land owed an explanation.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in and Yuk Mu-ssang followed behind him.

“Your Highness.”

Yu Jang-ha bowed deeply before Yeon Byeong-shim.

“It is my fault for arriving late. You must have suffered greatly.”

Yeon Byeong-shim’s brow furrowed, far from pleased.

“Why have you come here?”

Even as she spoke, she glanced cautiously toward the interior of the store.
Yu Jang-ha did not miss even that small gesture.

“I have come to take Your Highness home.”

Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

“Should anyone dare to detain Your Highness here and force her into such labor, this old man will surely―”
“Stop.”

Yeon Byeong-shim’s voice cut sharply across his words.
Yu Jang-ha hesitated.
Her face held not a trace of levity.

“Do you even know whose dwelling this is before speaking such words?”
“Your Highness?”
“Do you wish to bring calamity upon the entire nation of Dae Yeon by recklessly loosening your tongue here?”

The anger drained rapidly from Yu Jang-ha’s face.
Yeon Byeong-shim had invoked the very fate of Dae Yeon itself. This was no warning to be dismissed as mere jest.
She was not speaking out of fear.
Rather, it was genuine concern in her eyes—anxiety about what he was about to do.

“What do you mean―”

Yu Jang-ha gazed absently into the general store.
And froze.
That peculiar Tao Aura which had unsettled him from the moment he entered Soji Fortress—
The faint, indecipherable presence diffused across the entire village was concentrating, darkening, centered precisely here.
From a distance, the aura had been too murky to trace, its direction impossible to fix. But standing before this shop, it became unmistakable. The timber walls, the weathered door, the plain signboard—nothing outwardly distinguished it as remarkable.
Yet from within that ordinary facade, an aura he could not fathom flowed ceaselessly outward.
A single shop felt like a vast wellspring.

‘Surely not.’

Yu Jang-ha’s expression transformed in an instant. The source of that unidentifiable aura he’d pursued since arriving at Soji Fortress was this modest little shop.
Even someone as formidable as Jang Hyeon-jin-in—stronger than himself—had been wary of this proprietor, and Yeon Byeong-shim had warned that catastrophe might befall all of Dae Yeon.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in spoke coldly from behind him.

“Your momentum just now was quite impressive.”

Yu Jang-ha turned slowly.

“You were ready to speak of killing the proprietor without even knowing what manner of being he is?”

There was a edge of displeasure in Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s tone. He had taken pains to visit today, only to nearly suffer humiliation before this opponent he had honored with his presence.

……
“I didn’t expect Dae Yeon’s Knight’s Division commander to be so reckless.”

Yu Jang-ha had no rebuttal.
Overlaying the aura before him with the reactions of those two, Yeon Byeong-shim’s warning no longer sounded like exaggeration.
And the shop itself was the source of the aura that shrouded Soji Fortress.
Now Yu Jang-ha understood why Yeon Byeong-shim had stopped him.
The princess’s presence here was no humiliation. It might even be something made possible only by this dwelling’s master’s permission.
To such a being, he had just revealed his killing intent.
All the pieces fell into place at once.
Why Yeon Byeong-shim had thrown herself before him, why Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s anger had run so deep—he thought he understood it now.
Only then did the weight of what dangerous words he had uttered truly sink in.

‘What have I done……’

Yeon Byeong-shim looked between Jang Hyeon-jin-in and Yuk Mu-ssang.

“Do either of you know Yeop Jang-cheong?”
“You called him Yeop Jang-cheong?”

Jang Hyeon-jin-in asked softly.
Yuk Mu-ssang also turned to look at Yeon Byeong-shim.

“Does the princess address him by that name?”

At hearing that title, Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s eyebrows stirred faintly. Yuk Mu-ssang, too, fell momentarily silent.
Yeop Jang-cheong—that name. The gazes of both turned toward each other almost at once.

‘Has she already become his disciple?’

Nearly the same thought struck them both. If it were truly so, then the former princess of Dae Yeon had acquired a Fortunate Encounter that no amount of wealth or power could procure.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s expression softened slightly.

“I’ve come to see him as well.”

Yeon Byeong-shim smiled.

“I see.”

Jang Hyeon-jin-in gazed into the general store and asked.

“Is he inside at the moment?”
“Yes, he is.”

Yeon Byeong-shim nodded.

“Though he’s currently occupied with a painting.”

At the mention of a painting, the eyes of both Jang Hyeon-jin-in and Yuk Mu-ssang gleamed with sudden intensity.
They both knew all too well what happened when Yeop Jang-cheong picked up a brush.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in himself had only glanced briefly at the calligraphy that Yi Jang-myeong had brought, yet his mind had been wholly seized by the world contained within it. Yuk Mu-ssang was the very person who had witnessed Yeop Jang-cheong’s calligraphy firsthand and broken through to the threshold of the Geumwon Sword Realm.
Two people with such experiences from a single work of art could hardly dismiss the chance to witness a painting being created directly before their eyes.
Jang Hyeon-jin-in would have gladly stepped inside at once, but he restrained himself.
He was the lord of Tae Hyeon Holy Land. In ordinary circumstances, he was accustomed to being received with precedence wherever he went.
But standing before the man who had come to call, he understood that such rank held no meaning. Though he could not grasp precisely what manner of being Yeop Jang-cheong was, he knew without question that this was not someone toward whom he could afford pretension.
So he harbored no resentment at the wait. Indeed, he deemed it far more discourteous to rush someone engaged in their work.

“Miss Yeon.”

He turned his attention to Yeon Byeong-shim.

“I’ve come to pay my respects to Master Yeop. Would it be all right to enter now?”

Yeon Byeong-shim glanced into the store once more.

“It would be better to wait a moment longer. Master Yeop hasn’t yet set down his brush.”

She held up the Broom in her hand.

“I’ll finish sweeping and check on things inside once I’m done.”
“Very well.”

The lord of Tae Hyeon Holy Land had agreed so naturally to wait in the middle of the street that Yu Jang-ha found himself taken aback once more.
Then it happened.
Footsteps sounded from within the store.
A young man in pale blue robes emerged slowly into the street.
His complexion was clear as jade, his gaze serene. A leisurely, gentle smile played at the corners of his mouth, seeming to ease even the tension of those who beheld him.
He bore neither the characteristic oppressiveness of an Immortal Cultivator nor the arrogance of one accustomed to high station.
Not a shred of the Tao Aura typical of an Immortal Cultivator emanated from his being. Yu Jang-ha reached out cautiously to sense it, yet could read nothing—not even a whisper of power.
That very flawless ordinariness proved more unsettling.
He seemed nothing more than a scholar one had long known from the neighborhood.
It was Yeop Jang-cheong.
Behind him bounded a large black dog.

“Woof!”

Upon seeing the strangers, Heuk Hwang instinctively stepped forward.
But the moment he sensed the aura leaking from Jang Hyeon-jin-in, his neck stiffened.
He retreated several paces.

‘That old one… quite formidable.’

Heuk Hwang’s eyes flickered slightly. In his current state, not yet fully recovered, even the stray power that had grazed him was enough to tell him that Jang Hyeon-jin-in was no trivial opponent to challenge rashly.
But then Yeop Jang-cheong’s figure entered his field of vision.
Heuk Hwang’s shoulders, which had tensed, relaxed once more.

‘But in the end, what does it matter before the master?’

The creature stepped forward again, baring its teeth.

“Grrr…….”

Yeop Jang-cheong found the sight absurd.
The moment it noticed he was standing beside it, the beast that had been cowering with its tail between its legs moments ago regained its false bravado.

‘The name Heuk Hwang is wasted on this creature.’

He sighed inwardly.
But to Jang Hyeon-jin-in and Yu Jang-ha, the sight meant something entirely different.
Both old men’s faces went rigid at the same moment.
The aura emanating from Heuk Hwang was unmistakably that of a Demon King.
Though it bore the marks of some grievous wound and was not in perfect condition, the fact of its nature as a Demon King remained unchanged.
Yet the Demonic Aura was strangely thin.
Yu Jang-ha’s throat moved.

‘He’s keeping a Demon King like a dog?’

Moreover, even with his own Original Infant at the mid-stage, he could sense no trace of Immortal Cultivator power from Yeop Jang-cheong.
And yet he could not regard the man before him as the perpetrator.
After observing Jang Hyeon-jin-in’s manner and Yeon Byeong-shim’s warning, and seeing the Demon King at Yeop Jang-cheong’s feet obey so tamely, the opposite conclusion came naturally.
Might not a figure of an unimaginable realm be living in seclusion here, despite his youthful appearance?

‘I see now.’

Only then did he understand why Jang Hyeon-jin-in had been so careful in his dealings with Yeop Jang-cheong.
A chill raced up from his feet.
Moments ago, he had even harbored killing intent toward such a being.
He did not wish to contemplate what might have transpired had he truly forced his way into the small shop.
In that light, Yeon Byeong-shim’s presence here took on an entirely new meaning.
If Yeop Jang-cheong were the sort who could seize someone and hold them fast at will, the Knight’s Division would never have found her, and besides, he would have had no reason to go to such trouble.
Rather, if the Princess could remain at the side of such a figure and receive his instruction, that alone would be a profound Fortunate Encounter.

“Master Yeop.”

Yuk Mu-ssang stepped forward first and offered a bow.
Yeop Jang-cheong paused upon seeing her.

“Miss Yuk.”

It had been several days since he had seen her last.
Yuk Mu-ssang was dressed somewhat more neatly than before. Yeop Jang-cheong smiled without much thought, supposing that even Immortal Cultivators took care with their appearance when meeting someone. But this time, she was not alone.

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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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