The Mending Studio - Chapter 22

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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 22
Around that time.
Yu Jangha was making his way to Cheongha City together with Yeon Bingshim.
When he’d left Sojijin, he hadn’t intended to return to Jedo so soon.
But the moment Yeon Bingshim unrolled the calligraphy she’d received from Yeop Jangcheong on the road, his mind changed.
The essence of Sword Path True Meaning flowing between the strokes was astonishing even on second viewing.
There was no reason to travel the roads for several ordinary days carrying such a thing.

“Your Highness, the Ninth Princess.”
“Yes?”
“The moment we arrive in Cheongha City, I’ll activate the Transmission Formation.”

Yeon Bingshim blinked.
The Transmission Formation of Dae Yeon was not something opened carelessly.
Each activation consumed over a thousand Spirit Stones—and a single Spirit Stone was worth a hundred gold taels.
To open one formation required spending more than a thousand of these stones.
The farther the distance, the greater the consumption. To traverse thousands of leagues from Cheongha City to Jedo, the Spirit Stones expended would have to increase proportionally.
From Cheongha City to Jedo was thousands of leagues.

“In such a rush?”
“Your Majesty must see this with her own eyes.”

Yu Jangha’s reply was decisive.
Light from the Transmission Formation flickered several times, and space twisted.
In less than an hour’s time, the two of them stood before the Grand Hall within the Imperial Palace.
Had they traveled ordinarily across such a distance, they would have spent several more days on the road. In place of burning vast quantities of Spirit Stones, he had bought time with wealth.
The realization of having returned home swept over her before the fatigue of the long journey could settle in.
The two exchanged a glance before stepping inside the Grand Hall.
In the center of the palace stood a middle-aged man dressed in a golden dragon robe, his hands clasped behind his back.
The Emperor of Dae Yeon.
Yeon Yangnian.

“Your daughter Yeon Bingshim pays her respects to Father.”

Yeon Bingshim knelt and performed the courtesy.

“Yu Jangha pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

Yu Jangha brought his hands together and bowed lightly at the waist.
Yeon Yangnian’s rigid expression softened at the sight of them.
Yu Jangha was the foremost figure of the Knight Order, possessed of absolute power. For someone of his stature, there was no need to perform a full kowtow before the Emperor.

“There are no outsiders here—rise.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The moment Yeon Bingshim got to her feet, she moved to her father’s side.

“Father.”
“Mm.”
“I’ve missed you.”

Yeon Yangnian let out a soft laugh.

“Save that sort of talk for your mother.”

Yeon Bingshim pouted slightly.

“Why?”
“How many times have you rushed back like this without any real reason?”

Yeon Yangnian looked his daughter up and down.

“Well? What trouble have you caused out there this time?”
“Father!”

Yeon Bingshim’s eyes filled with indignation.
Beside her, Yu Jangha burst out laughing.

“Your Majesty, I assure you, not this time.”

Yeon Yangnian raised an eyebrow.

“If even you’re taking her side, I suppose she must be telling the truth.”
“Of course I am.”

Yeon Bingshim took hold of her father’s hand.

“Do I truly cause nothing but trouble in your eyes, Father?”
“Haven’t you, though?”
“That’s hardly fair.”

Yeon Yangnian laughed aloud at last.
The moment she had returned safely, his heart had already eased.
Yeon Bingshim was the daughter he cherished most. Now that he had seen her face returned unharmed, the worry he had suppressed all this while dissolved of its own accord.

“Very well. I was wrong to suspect you this time.”

As his laughter subsided, he asked:

“Then what could possibly have driven you to use the Transmission Formation and make such haste to return?”

Yeon Bingshim’s expression shifted.
The playfulness drained from her face.
Ever since leaving Sojijin, she had wondered many times why Yeop Jangcheong had recited that poem to her, turning it over in her mind throughout the journey.
And when she arrived at Jedo and saw her father’s face, its meaning had become far clearer still.

“Because of a poem.”

Yeon Yangnian’s brow furrowed.

“A poem?”

Yeon Bingshim nodded.
Then, slowly, she recited:

“Day lilies bloom upon the hall steps; the wanderer journeys across the heavens.”

The smile faded from Yeon Yangnian’s face.

“A parent waits at the hall door; yet the day lily flower cannot be seen.”

Silence fell within the Grand Hall.
It was a short poem, without ornate rhetoric or obscure allusions.
And yet that very simplicity made its meaning cut all the more cleanly. In just a handful of lines lay the full weight of a parent’s heart longing for a distant child, and the filial piety of that child, learning too late what that waiting truly meant.
But Yeon Yangnian could not speak for a long while.
Slowly, he raised his hand above his daughter’s head.
Yeon Bingshim lifted her gaze to meet his.
In her father’s eyes shone a warmth different from before—a depth that would have brushed aside her words as jest on any other day, yet today seemed to reach something far deeper within him.

“Our daughter…….”

Yeon Yangnian fell silent for a moment, caught in the memory of her running wild as a child.
He laughed softly.

“She’s truly grown up now.”

A gentle warmth spread through the Grand Hall. Yu Jangha smiled quietly beside them.
The evening light from the Imperial Palace stretched long across the threshold.
Yeon Yangnian stroked his daughter’s hair for a while.
Then curiosity seized him.

“But who composed that poem?”

It was brief and unpretentious.
Yet it had touched something within him in a way that was difficult to ignore. Even for Yeon Yangnian, who had encountered countless verses in his lifetime, it was not a work easily forgotten.
Yeon Bingshim smiled faintly.

“What sort of person do you think wrote it, Father?”

Yeon Yangnian stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Did you perhaps encounter some master of letters hiding their name in the outer world?”

Yeon Bingshim shook her head.

“No, Father.”
“Then who?”

Yeon Yangnian’s gaze turned toward Yu Jangha.

“Is it someone you also know?”

Instead of answering, Yu Jangha met Yeon Bingshim’s eyes.
She nodded lightly.
Then Yu Jangha drew out a long scroll from his sleeve.
It was carefully mounted calligraphy.
Yeon Yangnian’s eyebrows rose.

“What is that?”
“It would be faster for you to see it yourself, Father.”

Yeon Bingshim grasped one end of the scroll.
Yu Jangha supported the other side.
The two of them unrolled the calligraphy slowly.
Ink-black characters appeared.
The moment a single line of characters became visible, the air within the hall transformed.
Yeon Yangnian’s expression hardened.
An invisible pressure flowed from the characters themselves.
The strokes were neither wild nor deliberately ostentatious, yet the more one’s gaze met them, the more an immeasurable sword intent pressed forth from within the ink.
Without thinking, Yeon Yangnian stepped back half a pace.

“This is…….”

His consciousness was drawn in an instant into the profound meaning enshrined within the characters.
A sword path true meaning that defied naming poured forth from between the strokes of ink. The single line of characters before his eyes was no longer mere writing.
Each stroke seemed to bear overlaid sword intent that pressed down upon the spirit of the beholder.
Yeon Yangnian’s breathing grew ragged.
He was both the emperor of Dae Yeon and a swordmaster of considerable skill himself.
Precisely because of this, he grasped far more quickly than anyone else just how extraordinary the sword path true meaning flowing from the calligraphy truly was.

“Hah.”

Yeon Yangnian had come back to himself.
Cold sweat had beaded on his forehead without him noticing.
He couldn’t tear his eyes from the calligraphy as he murmured.

“To embed this much of the Sword Path True Meaning into mere writing?”

Yu Jangha nodded quietly.
Yeon Yangnian’s expression grew heavy in an instant.

“Minister Yu.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Who wrote this calligraphy?”

He looked at the characters once more.

“And what exactly did you encounter out there that you return bearing such an object?”

Yu Jangha stroked his beard.

“Your Majesty. On this journey, the Princess and I encountered someone.”
“Someone?”
“A person too extraordinary to be called merely peerless.”

Yeon Yangnian’s gaze sharpened.
Yu Jangha had witnessed countless masters across his lifetime.
His title as first among the Knight Order was not won lightly. If such a man spoke with such reverence, the likelihood of an ordinary hermit master was low.

“Who?”
“He dwells in a place called Sojijin, within the bounds of the Tae Hyeon Holy Land.”

Yu Jangha paused for a moment.

“My meeting with him was made possible by the Princess’s efforts.”
“Bingshim?”

Yeon Yangnian’s gaze immediately turned to his daughter.
Yeon Bingshim smiled demurely and nodded.
Yeon Yangnian could wait no longer.

“Tell me everything, from beginning to end.”

Yeon Bingshim took a moment to gather her thoughts.
She hesitated briefly on how much to explain. Everything she had experienced in Sojijin was so strange that recounting it to someone who hadn’t lived through it might sound like wild fantasy.
Still, there was no reason to conceal it before her father and Yu Jangha.
So she began slowly, starting from when she had fallen asleep at an inn in Cheongha City, only to awake in an unfamiliar place.
Sojijin, the Jangcheong Miscellaneous Shop, and a young man named Yeop Jangcheong.
At first, she had taken him for an ordinary proprietor.
But the tea he offered, the calligraphy and paintings, the go board, and everything she experienced in the courtyard—all of it defied common understanding.
Yeop Jangcheong himself seemed to regard none of these things as remarkable. That very composure was what made it hardest for Yeon Bingshim to explain.
And how he had written characters for her directly, and sung her a Day Lily poem before she departed.
Yeon Yangnian’s expression grew increasingly complex as the story unfolded.
At first came doubt.
Then surprise.
Finally, words came with difficulty.

“Such a person has been hidden within Dae Yeon?”
“Yes.”

Yeon Bingshim answered.
Yeon Yangnian turned to Yu Jangha.

“Since you’ve seen them directly, I’ll ask.”
“Please do, Your Majesty.”
“What level of power does this person possess?”

This was ultimately what Yeon Yangnian most wanted to know. Showing deference to a master was one thing; leaving an existence whose very nature defied comprehension lodged near the heart of the Imperial Household without understanding anything was an entirely different matter.
Yu Jangha let out a hollow laugh.

“Your Majesty puts me in a difficult position.”
“You don’t know?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea, Your Majesty.”

Yeon Yangnian’s eyes narrowed.
Yu Jangha continued calmly.

“Even standing face-to-face at close distance, I couldn’t sense a trace of power. They felt no different from an ordinary person.”
“Their courtyard alone contained so many karmic opportunities it defied counting. Take only the black dog they keep as a pet—it’s a Demon King.”

Yeon Yangnian’s fingers went rigid.

“A Demon King… they keep as a pet?”

For a moment, Yeon Yangnian doubted his own ears.
If even one Demon King appeared in the borderlands of Dae Yeon, the entire regional forces would mobilize.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Like a dog?”

Yu Jangha gave a bitter smile.

“I myself wouldn’t have believed it without seeing it directly.”

Yeon Yangnian looked back at the calligraphy.
Even the single object before his eyes lent weight to Yu Jangha’s words—they sounded far from exaggeration.
Yu Jangha exhaled slowly.

“If I may venture a guess, they are most likely a Peerless Master who has reached at least the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.”

Yeon Yangnian’s face hardened.

“At least?”

Yeon Yangnian repeated the words almost to himself. The very name of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage represented a height that even the Imperial Household of Dae Yeon could not treat carelessly.
Yet Yu Jangha spoke of such a realm as though it were merely the lower bound.

“It would not be surprising if they surpassed even that.”

Yu Jangha lowered his voice slightly.

“It is difficult to rule out the possibility that they are a being descended from the Upper Realm.”

Silence fell within the hall.
Yeon Yangnian found himself covering his mouth with one hand.
The Upper Realm.
Even to speak of it carried a weight that made one hesitate.
If such a being truly dwelt quietly hidden within Dae Yeon’s borders, it was a secret that could never be shared carelessly.
It was an existence that Dae Yeon’s strength could neither embrace nor forcefully probe or surveil. The wiser course was to pretend ignorance and maintain the distance the other party desired.
If he had chosen hermitage, there must have been reason enough for it.
Broadcasting her identity out of idle curiosity risked provoking his anger—and Dae Yeon as a whole might not survive the consequences.
Yeon Bingshim’s face had grown noticeably pale.
She already knew Yeop Jangcheong was no ordinary man.
But hearing Yu Jangha speak the words aloud again—that Heuk Hwang was a Demon King—made her suddenly, sharply aware just how extraordinary a place Sojijin truly was.
After a moment, Yeon Yangnian’s gaze shifted toward his daughter.
A different concern flickered in his eyes.

“General Yu.”
“Your Majesty.”
“The circumstances of how Bingshim first met that man—they trouble me.”

Yeon Bingshim’s expression hardened.
Yeon Yangnian spoke slowly.

“She fell asleep in Cheongha City and woke in Sojijin, with no one knowing how she came to be there?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“A being of such power would more likely know her identity than fail to know it.”

Yu Jangha’s eyes deepened.
Yeon Yangnian lowered his voice.

“Is it possible he means to use Bingshim as a piece on some board?”
“Father.”

Yeon Bingshim reacted at once.
But Yu Jangha raised a hand, signaling her to wait.
He himself had not entirely dismissed such a possibility.
From the moment Yeon Bingshim vanished, the Imperial Household had devoted all its attention to finding her.
That was why Yu Jangha had journeyed to Sojijin himself.
But after meeting Yeop Jangcheong in person at Sojijin, his thinking had shifted.
A being of Yeop Jangcheong’s caliber would find it no difficult matter to move a single princess if he so chose.
Yet precisely because of that, a question had arisen.

‘What need would there be?’

If he wished to move the Imperial Household of Dae Yeon, why would he need to use Yeon Bingshim as a go-between?
There was a strong likelihood that he was a being whom even the Emperor of Dae Yeon himself could not easily refuse.
Yu Jangha considered briefly before he spoke.

“I cannot entirely rule out the possibility.”

Yeon Yangnian’s face grew heavier.

“But I believe there is no such necessity.”
“On what grounds?”
“If that man wished something, he would have no need to use the Ninth Princess to obtain it.”

Yu Jangha spoke without inflection.

“No one in Dae Yeon—not myself, not Your Majesty—could easily stand against his will.”

Yeon Yangnian did not reply.
Those words were the most uncomfortable and yet the most undeniable truth.
When the gap in power is vast enough, even conspiracy becomes unnecessary.
And yet, as a father, his heart could not find complete rest.
As Emperor, perhaps he could have accepted Yu Jangha’s judgment. But in this matter, he was first and foremost Yeon Bingshim’s father.
He did not wish to turn away from any path that might offer confirmation, however remote the possibility.
Yeon Yangnian fell silent for some time, thinking, until at last he came to a resolve.

“Yu Jangha.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Step back for now. I must consult with the Patriarch on this matter.”

Yu Jangha bowed lightly.

“Then I shall take my leave, Your Majesty.”

After he departed the hall, Yeon Yangnian turned his gaze to Yeon Bingshim.

“Bingshim.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Gather that calligraphy.”
“Why?”

Yeon Bingshim blinked, clearly taken aback.
She had not anticipated that Yeon Yangnian would take this matter all the way to the Imperial Household’s Patriarch.
His expression had grown grave.

“Come with me to meet the Patriarch of the Imperial Household.”

If there existed someone in the Imperial Household of Dae Yeon who had lived longer than him and gazed upon the world from a higher realm, they might offer clarity to the questions that now troubled him.

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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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