Chapter 706
Chapter 706
Chapter 706. Whereabouts (3)
At the sudden vibration I felt, I became tightly alert.
Because this is surely a vibration caused by a formation.
I do not get caught in formations, but one never knows.
* Kkui! Kku! (Geumryeong)
But judging from Geumryeong’s reaction, it does not seem to be a trap.
While suppressing the flames with the energy of the Great Yin Ice Sea Divine Art, I headed toward the place Geumryeong was pointing at, and found a child.
The child was inside a large water barrel, with his face covered by a towel soaked in water.
A child knows how to do that?
A little surprised, I approached the child.
“Let’s get out! I came to save you!” (MC)
Then I picked up the child, soaked the wet towel in water again, and covered the child’s head with it.
And as I went out of the house, I sensed something strange.
The fire in the house was gradually dying down.
Even though they were not places where I had suppressed the flames while passing through, the fire was going out.
At the same time, I realized that something was absorbing my energy.
Since it is usually not with good intentions that another being absorbs one’s energy, I could not help but become tense.
But a thought suddenly came to me.
Why did I only realize now that my energy was being absorbed?
When I examined the energy leaving me in detail, I understood the reason.
Because it was not absorbing my inner arts, but only the yin qi contained in my inner arts.
That was why I had not noticed.
First, let’s get out.
No matter how much the flames are weakening, it will be a disaster if the ceiling or walls collapse.
“Hoo!” (MC)
I went outside like that and set the child down on the ground.
“Aigoo, Ik!” (Woman)
“Mother!” (Ik)
The mother and child hugged each other, and then repeatedly bowed their heads toward me.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” (Woman)
“I am truly glad I could save the child.” (MC)
Just then, my bodyguards and the villagers came carrying water. It was not as if I had come out that slowly, but the village people’s response was faster than expected.
“Still, it was fortunate this time.” (Villager)
“I know. Last time it burned down completely.” (Villager)
From what the villagers said, it seems there had been a fire before as well.
In any case, the fire was extinguished.
There was also the fact that I had suppressed the flames inside and they had poured water outside, but it was thanks to the mysterious power extinguishing the flames.
Fortunately, they should be able to salvage some of the household goods.
At that moment, I saw two men running over frantically from afar.
They look somewhat familiar... Ah, those must be Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s second and third sons.
They resemble Elder Blacksmith Yeom and his wife.
“Is, is everyone safe?” (Yeom Ui)
At that question, the child’s mother answered.
“Yes. Ik and I are safe.” (Woman)
“What a relief! Sister-in-law!” (Yeom Ye)
“This person here saved Ik.” (Woman)
At her words, one man politely bowed his head to me.
“Thank you very much. I will never forget that you saved my son’s life.” (Yeom Ui)
He carefully asked.
“So, if I may, could I know your honorable name?” (Yeom Ui)
I was about to answer when Palgap introduced me first.
“Young Master is Young Captain Eun Seoho of the Eunhae Trading Company, sir. He is also called Seonhyeopmirang, sir!” (Palgap)
At those words, the people murmured.
“Ooh! Seonhyeopmirang!” (Villager)
“As expected!” (Villager)
“I thought I had seen him somewhere before! So it was Seonhyeopmirang!” (Villager)
Among them, there were some who looked like disciples of the Zhongnan Sect, and they were gazing at me with eyes full of admiration.
Palgap...
I sighed inwardly and said,
“I am Eun Seoho, Young Captain of the Eunhae Trading Company. Elder Blacksmith Yeom once asked me to send his regards, and as I happened to be passing nearby, I stopped by for a moment.” (MC)
“Ah, I remember. I have heard much from Father. He said you are a grateful person who has tonics prepared for him every year. But now you have even saved my son’s life like this... Thank you very much.” (Yeom Ui)
“Saving a person is only natural.” (MC)
I expressed my humility like that and turned my head to look beside me.
“But since the house has burned...” (MC)
“It is all right. Fires happen so often that we did not put that much care into building it.” (Yeom Ui)
Well, since a smithy is a place that handles fire, fires do tend to happen often.
“When I looked earlier, the child had entered the water barrel and was covering his face with a wet towel.” (MC)
“Ah, he did as I told him. I told him to do that if a fire broke out.” (Yeom Ui)
“Thanks to that, the child was able to stay safe. And it seems the elder asked me to stop by here in case something like this happened.” (MC)
Then I took out gold coins from my pocket and held them out.
“Please use this money for restoration.” (MC)
“No! You saved my child, so how could I accept even something like this...” (Yeom Ui)
“Do not refuse. I am not giving this to you for free.” (MC)
“Pardon?” (Yeom Ui)
I said with a smile,
“I would like to request a self-defense dagger to give my wife.” (MC)
“Of course. Even without that, I ought to make one for you.” (Yeom Ui)
“Not now. I will ask you later.” (MC)
As we were talking like that, a middle-aged man approached.
Seeing him, Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s second son introduced him.
“He is the village chief of our village. His family has served as village chiefs for generations.” (Yeom Ui)
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Eun Seoho, Young Captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.” (MC)
“I am Jang Po, the chief of this Ongok Village. I am truly grateful that Master Seonhyeopmirang has visited this village and also prevented this misfortune.” (Jang Po)
“I only happened to save him while passing by.” (MC)
“They say that is what it means for a connection to be made.” (Jang Po)
Chief Jang said.
“If you are not busy, please stay the night at my house before you go.” (Jang Po)
At this, I was about to refuse with a wave of my hand, but then I recalled what Elder Blacksmith Yeom had said.
He said the one who passed along his Senior Uncle’s letter was the village chief.
And that his family has served as village chiefs for generations.
“If it is not a burden, I will impose on you for one night.” (MC)
We headed to Chief Jang’s house and received quite a plentiful reception.
“I heard that Master Seonhyeopmirang does not enjoy drinking, so I prepared tea.” (Jang Po)
“Thank you. Please drink with me.” (MC)
Like that, we ate, drank tea, and shared a pleasant conversation.
“It is truly fortunate that the fire at the smithy was not large.” (MC)
“Indeed. By the way, if my memory serves me, until about twenty years ago, there had never once been a fire... It seems I will have to speak to them sharply about paying attention to the embers.” (Jang Po)
“Please do not. This time, they nearly lost their son because of the fire. Even if you do not, they will not be careless in managing it. And since it is a smithy, there are some things that cannot be helped.” (MC)
As I dissuaded the village chief like that, I sensed something strange.
“But you said there were no fires twenty-some years ago?” (MC)
“Yes. That is right.” (Jang Po)
As far as I know, it is almost impossible to run a smithy without large or small fires.
Since it is a place that always handles fire, whether while working or while away, there is bound to be a possibility of fire.
But there had never once been a fire... There is something here, isn’t there?
“I heard that back then, someone else, not the current people, operated that smithy.” (MC)
“Ah, that is correct.” (Jang Po)
He nodded.
“I remember as well. He had quite a fiery personality. Compared to him, his younger brother, who occasionally stopped by, was on the gentle side.” (Jang Po)
Pardon?
No, just how foul was his personality for Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s master to be described as gentle?
Elder Blacksmith Yeom said his own personality had become damnable because of his Master.
“But his skill was truly the best. Once you used a farming tool made by that old man, you could not use anything else. And the disciples of the Zhongnan Sect lined up to obtain swords made by him as well. But now that he has passed away...” (Jang Po)
He wore a regretful expression.
“Are the people currently at the smithy not skilled as well?” (MC)
“Of course the people there now are skilled too, but compared to that old man, I cannot help feeling unsatisfied.” (Jang Po)
I smiled and said,
“That is only natural. He was a blacksmith who ranked among the top five in the empire.” (MC)
“...Was that so?” (Jang Po)
Seeing his eyes widen, it seems he did not know.
“There is something I would like to ask.” (MC)
“Please speak.” (Jang Po)
“I heard that your father passed a letter to Elder Blacksmith Yeom when he came to sort through that person’s belongings.” (MC)
“Ah! That.” (Jang Po)
He nodded.
“I still remember it. That old man from the smithy came to my father, entrusted him with that letter, and said he would close the smithy three days later.” (Jang Po)
Chief Jang continued.
“And about five days later, he passed away.” (Jang Po)
“I see.” (MC)
“Seeing as you know that old story, you must be fairly close to that younger brother.” (Jang Po)
“Of course. He is the foremost blacksmith in our village. And the two who run the smithy that caught fire earlier are Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s sons as well.” (MC)
I continued.
“By any chance, before he passed away, did that person do anything special?” (MC)
“Mm, I do not think there was anything special... Ah! He did go to the great mountain often at the time.” (Jang Po)
The great mountain?
“By the great mountain, do you perhaps mean...” (MC)
“Yes. Mount Zhongnan.” (Jang Po)
“......” (MC)
The next day.
I headed to the smithy.
Since the burned things had been cleared away, only the floor remained.
“The floor... is granite.” (MC)
Granite is quite hard. And granite is common around this area, so it is often used as flooring like this.
But the granite flooring... is double-layered.
One layer would be enough, so I was wondering why it had deliberately been laid in two layers when I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
“You have come?” (Yeom Ui)
“Ah, yes.” (MC)
They were Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s two sons.
“I apologize. I cannot remember your names.” (MC)
“How could you know names we never told you? My name is Yeom Ui. And my younger brother is Ye.” (Yeom Ui)
Ui, Ye?
Blacksmith Yeom Ui, the second son, smiled and explained.
“As you may have noticed, Father named us siblings by taking one character each from loyalty, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trust.” (Yeom Ui)
“I see. It is nothing else. I was just finding it curious that the granite on the site is double-layered.” (MC)
“Ah... That has been the case from the beginning. According to the village elders, when Father’s late Senior Uncle established himself here, he cherished those stones and brought them with him.” (Yeom Ui)
“I see.” (MC)
I nodded and stepped onto those stones.
Woooong.
The vibration I felt once again.
Sure enough, the vibration I felt yesterday was not an illusion.
And only the yin qi from my energy was being absorbed.
When I focused on the movement of that yin qi, I could tell where the yin qi was being absorbed.
This floor.
I think I understand why the granite flooring is made of two layers.
There is a formation between the two layers of flooring.
That formation did not merely absorb yin qi. It transformed that yin qi into water qi and spread it throughout the entire house.
So this was the true nature of the power that made the flames die down.
Come to think of it, the village chief said as much.
He said that until twenty-some years ago, there had never once been a fire in this smithy.
There are two differences between then and now in this smithy.
The owner changed because Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s Senior Uncle passed away, and that Senior Uncle dealt with the Ice Crystal, so there is no Ice Crystal here.
Then the reason fires did not happen until then is simple as well.
It must have been because of the Ice Crystal.
Because this formation transformed the Ice Crystal’s energy into water qi and made it envelop the house, a fire could not occur.
And Elder Blacksmith Yeom’s Senior Uncle guessed that he would die and dealt with the Ice Crystal.
Judging from the looks of it, the Ice Crystal seems to have been passed down through generations, so why did he not give that Ice Crystal to his younger brother?
According to Blacksmith Yeom Ui, the new owner of this smithy, when he established himself here, he brought this granite flooring with great care.
If so... It is possible that he had originally been somewhere else, then got into trouble because of the Ice Crystal and fled here.
The Ice Crystal is a treasure among treasures.
To the extent that the Northern Sea Ice Palace would regard it as sacred.
That must be why he dealt with it himself, so his younger brother would not suffer trouble.
Though his personality was foul, it seems he cared for his younger brother quite a bit.
Since he often climbed Mount Zhongnan before he passed away, he must certainly have hidden it on the mountain.
Then I should retrieve it if possible.
Because I heard from Master that one of the duties of Snow Wind Palace is to manage and protect Ice Crystals taken out of the North Sea.
In other words, I must ensure that the Ice Crystal is not used in the wrong place.
I left that place and asked Palgap about Warrior Changun’s whereabouts.
“Warrior Changun is meeting with the disciples of the Zhongnan Sect, sir.” (Palgap)
“Really?” (MC)
I headed to the place where Warrior Changun was meeting the Zhongnan Sect disciples.
Warrior Changun seemed to be asking about the recent state of his sect, but one disciple bluntly questioned him back.
“Honestly, Senior Brother, you are no longer a main disciple of the Zhongnan Sect but an outside disciple, so why are you even curious about that?” (Zhongnan Sect Disciple)
At those words, Warrior Changun looked flustered.
“After causing great disgrace to the sect, if that is how things turned out, I do not know why you do not simply remain prudent and what lingering attachment you still have that makes you curious.” (Zhongnan Sect Disciple)
No, is that really something to say to Warrior Changun right now?
No matter how the situation turned out, a Senior Brother is still a Senior Brother.
* Kkui! (Geumryeong)
See, even Geumryeong does not like it.
I approached them and said,
“There is such a thing as the heart of a fox returning to its hill. Even beasts, when they die, place their heads toward the den where they grew up. How much more so for a person?” (MC)
“Hup! Master Seonhyeopmirang.” (Zhongnan Sect Disciple)
“Warrior Changun may have come to leave the Zhongnan Sect, but it is a place no different from his hometown. Is it the conduct of Taoists who claim to practice the Dao to look down on Warrior Changun’s feelings as he misses that place and wonders about it?” (MC)
This will not do.
I should take this chance to correct their habits a little.