Episode 881: Your Well-being Is Revenge
Do you have something for me to run an errand for?
The middle-aged man hammering in the iron room answered the child’s question curtly.
“does not exist.”
The shirtless man was thin and small, but he put real strength into his hammering.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No.”
It was a few days ago that the child began visiting this small iron room on the outskirts of the village.
The child was a little kid who didn’t look even ten years old.
Then I’ll clean this area.
The one who really needed to be washed was the child. Their clothes were getting dirtier day by day, likely because they slept outside.
The child wandered around the iron room and began cleaning without being asked.
He set up a hammer, chisel, and tongs upright and cleared away the ash that had fallen next to the fireplace. After sweeping and mopping the floor, he put the scattered items back in their places.
Because he was small, he had to drag the large hammer using both hands and his body.
The man simply worked silently and did not chase the child away.
Bang! Kaang!
It was because I knew that the child was working like this and surviving the day on the food I gave him.
If he didn’t stay here, he would either become a beggar or fall into the hands of people he really shouldn’t meet and be sold off somewhere.
Fortunately, this quick-witted and clever child knew very well how important a free meal here was, so he never offended the man.
After cleaning diligently in his own way, the child looked at the swords, daggers, and blades hanging on one wall.
In this iron workshop, not only farming tools such as hoes, sickles, and plows were made, but also various weapons used by warriors. There were so many different items that it was hard to believe the owner of this workshop could produce all of them by himself.
The child looked up at the concealed crossbow hanging on the wall. Perhaps because it was a dangerous weapon, it was secured with a chain with a lock.
“Did you make that yourself, too? If hit by that, even a martial arts practitioner would die, right?”
As always, the man did not answer.
I want to make things like that later, too.
The man stopped hammering and asked the child.
“Why do you want to make it?”
Even though he had been there for several days, he had only been given food and had never once been asked a question, so the child answered this first question clearly.
“He said that you need a skill to make a living.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
The man did not ask about the father. For the emotion visible on the child’s face when he answered “father” was not hatred, but longing.
Such a father would never have neglected a child like this, so he must have died.
“Can I learn this skill too?”
“Isn’t there an easier job if it’s just to make a living?”
The child seemed to have been to other places besides this one.
The village inn said they didn’t need a waiter.
He is still too young to do any work other than being a waiter in the marketplace.
“Eat your meal.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Now the child walked to the table in the corner on their own. When they opened the cloth covering the basket, they found rice balls and dried meat inside.
The child ate the rice ball and meat slowly. They ate so hurriedly that they didn’t spill anything. They tried their best not to offend the man. Even though they were very hungry, they didn’t eat everything that was there.
“Would you like to learn ironwork techniques?”
The child was startled by the unexpected words and ran toward the man.
“Yes! Please teach me!”
The man looked into the child’s sparkling eyes and nodded.
“Finish eating your meal first.”
“Yes!”
The man started hammering silently again.
Kaang! Kang!
From that day on, the child began learning the work in earnest at the iron room.
Since he was still too young, he could not do the hard work. He cleaned and ran errands while watching the men do their jobs. In fact, watching was the greatest learning experience.
The child was smart and bright for his age, so the man told him many stories, even though he knew it was too early.
“Before you can control iron, you must know how to control fire, and before you can control fire, you must know how to control your mind. Ultimately, the work of the ironworks depends on how well you manage it.”
The child did not yet know just how formidable this man’s ironwork skills were. Nor did he know that he was not skilled enough to be running a small ironwork in such a remote place.
“If you are afraid of fire, you cannot do this job. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore it either. Do you understand?”
Although the child could not fully understand everything the man said yet, he listened attentively to what he was saying.
A few months passed like that.
* * *
The child was walking down a dark street.
His face was tense, as if he were being chased by someone, and he held a crossbow in each hand. It was the very same one that had been displayed in the iron room. The crossbow was so heavy that he carried it against his chest and walked with difficulty.
As someone walked toward the front, the child hid behind a tree. Once the person passed, the child came out again and continued walking.
The child’s gaze was fixed on a military officer in the distance.
Someone blocked the path of the child as he cautiously walked toward the spot.
Upon seeing who it was, the child was startled. It was the man who owned the iron room standing there. He had clearly confirmed that he was asleep.
“……mister.”
The man asked with a cold gaze, “I’ve fed you and sheltered you for the past few months.”
Did you come to the iron room to steal it from the beginning?
The child could not say no. After working for several months, he eventually figured out how to use the crossbow. He also found out where the key to the lock holding it was.
The man held out his hand, telling him to hand over the crossbow.
The child stepped back and spoke.
I need this.
For the child, desperation outweighed guilt. The child had a reason for being this way.
“That guy killed my father. I’m going to kill him with this.”
The child told his story while crying.
He lived alone with his father.
His father did menial work at Yongbaek Mugwan, the largest military academy in the area. Because he was inherently diligent, he had no trouble providing for his son.
Then one day, Father returned home having been severely beaten by someone.
Groaning in pain, Father said he would be fine after sleeping, but he never woke up.
Listening to the neighbors who were burying my father, I learned that he had been beaten to death by Jong-chu, the master of Yongbaek Martial Arts School.
The reason was truly trivial. It was simply because he had not placed the training equipment Jong-chu had instructed him to put where he wanted, and even that was a misunderstanding on his part.
Jongchu had a bad temper even normally, but it worsened when he was drunk. Beating and harassing people was a daily routine for him, and he was drunk that day as well.
He had caused trouble many times before, but because his martial arts skills were so good and his temper was so vicious, everyone kept quiet about his evil deeds and let them slide.
Does a person die from being hit a few times? They must have had another underlying condition.
That was what the guy said upon hearing the news of his father’s death.
The child spoke while crying. Even before coming to the iron room, the child had been dreaming of revenge. The man said he couldn’t work because there were no positions available for him as a waiter, but the child had planned to save money as a waiter to take revenge.
“I overheard the customers talking. They said that if I paid them, the assassin would kill someone. But it would have taken me twenty years to save up that money.”
Of course, there is a high chance that even that money will be lost to scammers who promise to introduce you to assassins.
This is the only way I can get revenge.
Tears streamed down from the child’s eyes. The child truly loved their father, and the father was their everything.
The man looked at the child without a word. He was a smart child with strong willpower. What child would dream of revenge just because their father died, and what child would work in an iron room for months to steal a crossbow?
Heaven gave the child such specialness, but also gave him trials that he could not handle.
The man calmly scolded the child.
Is your stealing okay, but only his crime is a crime?
The child could not answer.
“You cannot kill that person. That crossbow has such strong recoil that even if you aim and shoot at the opponent, you won’t hit them.”
The child looked down at the crossbow he had held in his arms until the very end, even though it was too heavy. It was not something that could be hit simply by pulling the trigger.
“Even if you were lucky enough to guess correctly, you too would be guilty of murder. You would be locked up in a dungeon for the rest of your life.”
The child, with his head bowed low, was clearly fully prepared. That is why the man scolded the child for a different reason.
“Not only you, but I will suffer as well.”
“You?”
“Since a kid like you brought a crossbow like this, wouldn’t they track down where it came from? Thinking a child wouldn’t do such a thing, they’ll assume I ordered it. Are you okay with me dying for your vengeance?”
How could this child have thought that far?
“sorry.”
The child kept shedding tears, to the point where one wondered how there could be so many tears in those small eyes.
“Would your father want you to be imprisoned for the rest of your life while taking revenge for him?”
The child didn’t say anything.
Your well-being is my revenge.
It was just as the man was taking the crossbow from the child’s arms.
The child asked the man.
“Then what about the guy who killed my father?”
The man walked away without saying anything.
Come out tomorrow as well.
The child flinched and looked at the man. He never imagined that he would be told to come out after stealing the crossbow.
“Didn’t your father tell you? That you need a skill to make a living.”
* * *
Kang, kaang!
The man who had been hammering briefly turned his head to look at the table in the corner. The meal prepared for the child every day remained exactly as it was, covered with a cloth. Although the time for the child to come out had passed, the child had not come out.
Just as the man, who had been staring at it for a moment, was about to hammer again, someone spoke from behind.
Please sharpen this sword for me.
The man answered without looking back.
“Take it elsewhere. I cannot sharpen such a precious sword.”
Then, a customer from behind asked.
“How do you know it is a precious sword without even seeing it?”
“Well… it is your sword.”
The man turned around.
The person smiling in front of him was Geom Mu-geuk. The owner of this iron room was none other than Myeong-sin, a subordinate of the Killing King.
“I thought I had completely hidden my past, but that is not the case.”
“If that were the case, you should have lived by selling rice or clothes.”
As he parted ways with Geom Mu-geuk, Myeong-sin had said he would live by working in the Iron Chamber. There was no way Tongcheongak would fail to find Myeong-sin’s whereabouts.
Myeong-sin stared intently at Geom Mu-geuk. He recalled what the Young Sect Leader had said. It was the answer to why he was sparing his life.
It’s because I don’t want to sweep away people like you on my way. I thought it would be nice if there were at least one cool assassin somewhere in this world who would take a single coin offered by a little kid who unjustly lost their parents as payment and kill the villains.
That is why Myeongsin was glad to reunite with Geom Mugeuk. After all, he was the only person who truly understood him.
Geommugeuk looked outside and spoke.
“Miss Lee, come in.”
Ian, who had been outside, came inside.
Geom Mugeuk introduced her as if he were proud.
“This is my beloved.”
From his highly excited voice to his facial expression, it conveyed the sentiment, “What do you think? Isn’t she a wonderful woman?”
Ian shook his head with a look of disbelief. It seemed as though Geom Mu-geuk would introduce himself like that to everyone he met.
Ian bowed respectfully and greeted Myeongsin.
“I heard about you on my way here. It is an honor to meet you.”
“I do not know what you heard, but I am far from being a person of honor.”
Myeongsin was skilled enough to be the second assassin of the Underworld. He could tell at a glance that Ian’s martial arts were superior to his own.
“You have achieved great things at a young age. It is truly an honor for me to meet you.”
Ian was traveling with Geommugeuk, witnessing various lives.
I resolved with a vague wish that I should live this way, but I knew how difficult it was to live a completely different life.
But as you can see, such lives actually exist.
I didn’t realize that such a formidable assassin could live running a small iron room like this.
After exchanging greetings with Ian, Myeongsin asked Geommugeuk.
“Why have you come to find me?”
“Have you forgotten? Didn’t you promise to send me some good items every now and then? I have come here because you haven’t sent any, no matter how long I wait.”
Of course, that wasn’t the reason. It was because I was curious about how Myeongsin was living.
Did you even wait?
He was the Young Cult Leader who still carried the Black Demon Sword, known as the second most powerful sword in the Demonic Realm. Once he became the Leader, he would wield the Heavenly Demon Sword, the greatest sword in the Demonic Realm. What other fine weapon in the world could he possibly need?
“I haven’t been able to make a good product yet.”
“Please make sure to send it to the main school when you do.”
Myeongsin nodded, as it meant he wanted to continue their relationship. It was actually something to be grateful for.
Geommugeuk came to see Myeongsin partly because he wanted to see him, but also because he really wanted to convey this message.
Live with peace of mind from now on. The ghosts of the past will no longer follow you.
Myeongsin could tell. He knew that the organization he had once belonged to had completely vanished. He was now a completely free man.
Thank you.
The two men’s gazes intertwined in the air. Geommugeuk bid farewell to Myeongsin.
“Then let’s see each other again next time.”
“Let’s do that.”
Ian looked at the two of them in surprise. Are you really going to leave like this? Just to see their faces? Without even sharing a meal?
While traveling together, Ian learned new things about Geommugeuk. He had thought he knew Geommugeuk better than anyone, but that was a misconception.
The journey to get here was quite long. I didn’t know before that this person traveled such a long distance for this brief meeting. I thought he was just someone who wanted to eat, drink, and see everything before leaving since we had come all this way.
Which appearance is the real one?
You say Geommugeuk talks a lot? He’s someone who just gives a smile like that and leaves.
After saying goodbye to Myeongsin and leaving the iron room, I saw a child running towards me in excitement.
With a look of pure joy on his face as if he had the whole world, the child entered the room and shouted.
“Mister! They say that guy died last night. He was drunk and tripped…”
Myeongsin’s voice was also heard.
“You rascal, you’re late. Hurry up and clean first.”
“I’ll really learn and work hard from now on!”
“Eat first.”
“Yes!”
Geom Mu-geuk, who had been gazing at the small iron room, turned his gaze toward the sky. A smile formed on his lips as he looked up at the unusually blue sky today.
You won’t even accept a single coin.
