The Legend of the Northern Blade Chapter 49

<-- Episode 49: Chapter 8: Tale of the Demon Sword (妖劍雪花) (1) -->

Baekryong Sangdan has its own Ho Sangdan. As it mainly transported expensive items that were difficult to entrust to external agencies, it consisted of treasures that even Baekryong Sangdan could trust.

Most of the staff stay in lodgings within Baekryongsangdan, where six people usually occupy one room. The natural bond between staff sharing the same room was bound to become stronger. That kind of bond was what differentiated the Hosangdan of the White Dragon Sangdan from the Hosangdan of other merchants.

The staff’s lodgings had a large training hall attached to them. The young Bopyos were practicing martial arts in the training hall, while the more experienced or older Bopyos were spending time talking or playing baduk together under the shade of a tree on one side of the training hall.

Yoon Hu-myeong entered Bopyo’s lodgings.

“Danju.”

Gong Jin-seong, who can be said to be the leader of the staves, stood up from his seat. Gong Jin-seong, now in his mid-forties, had great faith and was strong in martial arts, so he was fully trusted by the treasurers.

Yun Hu-myeong smiled.

“How are you?”

“haha! We are doing well thanks to Danju. “But what brought you here?”

“Where is the yellow staff?”

“If you were my brother, you would be teaching a child in the corner over there.”

“Have you brought in disciples?”

“What about the disciple? This time, Kwak Yi-soo’s friend’s son came in, right? “I’m just teaching you this and that out of my heart because of my old relationship with that friend.”

“is it?”

Yun Hu-myeong nodded and headed to the corner of the training hall. There, a boy in his early to mid-teens was sweating and dancing. In front of him, an older man who appeared to be in his mid to late forties was sitting and speaking as if giving a lecture.

“You need to put more strength on your shoulders there! It is more important to not only focus on the flow of internal energy, but to integrate it with external energy! “You bastard, I tell you to give me strength, don’t be so stiff!”

The boy broke into a cold sweat at the older man’s shouting. He tried his best, but he couldn’t accept Jangnyeon’s teachings at all.

‘Your talent is terrible.’

Yun Hu-myeong is also a martial artist who has learned martial arts. Although his accomplishments were not great, he was confident that he had an excellent eye for people. Even in Yun Hu-myeong’s opinion, the boy’s talent was poor.

It was to the point where it would have been better to view this as the movements of a drunken drunk rather than a martial arts feat.

Yun Hu-myeong shook his head as if there was nothing more to see and approached the older man.

“Yellow staff.”

“Oh my, Danju.”

Only then did the older man called Hwang Bo-pyo realize the existence of Yun Hu-myeong and stand up. The older man with a slightly stooped waist and dark skin was none other than Hwang Cheol.

“What are you doing in such a squalid place?”

“Mother, call me.”

“Noma?”

“exactly. “He told me to come in right away.”

“No, what happened to Noma… … .”

“I think you have something important to say.”

“Then we should go.”

After answering, Hwangcheol looked at the boy and said.

“Inseok, if you don’t want to follow the merchant’s procession and get stabbed to death, do it without stopping. “You are the type of person who is so mediocre that you would just rather die.”

“no way! “Say really bad things.”

“I’m saying this all for you, you bastard.”

When Hwangcheol turned around, the boy pouted. However, he could not refute anything because he knew that Hwang Cheol was right.

The boy’s name is Kwak Mun-jeong. She came to Bopyo to take responsibility for her family’s livelihood in place of her father, Kwak I-su, who died two years ago while accompanying the merchant in a procession. Although his martial arts skills were insufficient to play the staff, the Baekryong Sangdan, which recognized his father’s contributions, readily accepted him.

Hwang Cheol and Kwak Yi-su had a friendly relationship. When Hwang Cheol was away, Kwak Yi-su left the house and died unexpectedly. After that, Hwang Cheol taught martial arts to Kwak Mun-jeong from time to time.

Hwang Cheol said hello to Yun Hu-myeong and then headed to Noh Tae-tae’s residence.

Yun Hu-myeong looked at Hwang Cheol’s back as he walked away.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s very strong in martial arts and he doesn’t seem to be very intelligent, so what did my mother see in that man that made her consider him important? What advantages did my mother see that I did not see? ‘It’s really difficult.’

Kwak Mun-jeong was watching with bright eyes next to him, but Yoon Hu-myeong didn’t even recognize him.

“Noma, this is Hwangcheol.”

“Come on in.”

After Noh Tae-tae gave permission, Hwang-cheol carefully opened the door and went inside. Hwang Cheol, who came inside, showed his power to Tae Tae Noh. Then Noh Tae-tae offered Hwang Cheol a seat.

“Please sit down, Hwang Bo-pyo.”

“Thank you, Norma.”

Hwangcheol carefully sat down. Then Noh Tae-tae smiled kindly.

“how are you?”

“Thanks to Noma, I am living a very comfortable life.”

“thank god. “I am always grateful to Hwang Bo-pyo.”

“What have I done… … .”

Hwang Cheol trailed off.

In fact, he has never once stood out in the White Dragon Sangdan. He simply remained faithful to his daily routine. But Roh Tae-tae didn’t seem to think so.

“But what did you call me for?”

“This time, my third child is going to Yunnan.”

“What if Yunnan?”

Hwang Cheol’s expression suddenly became serious. He also knew what the situation was like in Yunnan from rumors he heard.

“Because he pioneered the branch, he feels a great sense of responsibility.”

“Mmm!”

“So, I hope Hwang Bo-pyo will follow along.”

“Can I help you?”

“I believe in the yellow staff.”

Noh Tae-tae looked straight at Hwang-cheol. Hwangcheol sighed softly.

“I am not as great a person as Norma thinks. “Martial arts aren’t that great either.”

Noh Tae-tae just smiled.

“Whew! I will follow along for now, but don’t expect much.”

“Thank you, Hwang Bo-pyo.”

“When can I leave?”

“It’s in fifteen days.”

“I’ll be back before then, so please give me a moment. “There is a place I must go.”

“Please.”

“then… … .”

Hwang Cheol showed off his power to Noh Tae-tae and then went out.

Noh Tae-tae turned his head to the window and muttered.

“I hope your luck protects my son this time too… … .”

Even when Yoon Ja-myeong escaped from a desperate crisis seven years ago, and even when Noh Tae-tae fell into a life-or-death crisis five years ago, Hwang Cheol was by her side. Since then, there have been several crises where the fate of the top was at stake.

I didn’t really notice it at the time, but after overcoming a crisis, Hwang Cheol was always there. Hwang Cheol expressed that he was lucky, but Roh Tae-tae knew better than anyone else that it was not possible simply by luck.

Hwang Cheol had the strength to overcome the crisis. Whether it was intentional or truly accidental.

Roh Tae-tae believed that luck was also a talent. And people born with such talent were rare in the world.

☆ ☆ ☆

Hwang Cheol returned to his residence after urging Kwak Mun-jeong to study martial arts diligently since he would be away for a long time.

When I opened the chest lying on one side of the room, I saw the vouchers I had worked so hard to collect. Hwang Cheol took all the slips and came out.

The place he was heading to was the Party of Wealth. The Jaemuldang is literally a place that manages the wealth that comes into Baekryong Sangdan.

“No, who is this? Hwang Bo-pyo, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

When Hwang Cheol entered, Seok Jung-sang, the head of the family, welcomed him. Seok Jung-sang and Hwang Cheol were similar in age and drank alcohol occasionally. I can’t say we were very close, but I couldn’t see him as a complete stranger either.

Hwang Cheol handed Seok Jung-sang a slip. Then Seokjungsang frowned slightly.

“Again?”

“Please take care of me like you did last time.”

“her! Do you have any hidden children? What is this… … .”

It is an event that takes place several times a year. Hwang Cheol converted the money he worked hard to save by working as a treasurer into items needed for daily life. Things like rice and other food items, clothes and iron ingots.

He went somewhere with a wagon full of goods. They never say where the destination is or who they are delivering it to.

No matter how many questions I asked, he would not answer and once he left, he would be gone for more than ten days, so my curiosity could not help but grow. Seok Jung-sang also asked a question while drinking, but in the end, he couldn’t find out anything.

All the stone merchant could do was hand over various daily necessities at a much lower price than the market price. That wasn’t a problem because that’s what Jaemuldang did anyway.

“Wait a moment.”

Seokjungsang counted the slips and then picked up a brush and wrote something on a piece of paper. He handed the paper to his subordinate and ordered him to prepare what was written on it.

“How many days will it take this time?”

“I will be back within 15 days at the latest.”

“is it? “Then let’s have a drink then.”

“It seems difficult.”

“why?”

“As soon as we return, we must take the Third Confucius to Yunnan.”

“Are you accompanying us?”

Seokjungsang frowned. He also heard that Yoon Ja-myeong was going to Yunnan. But he didn’t know that he would go all the way to Hwangcheol.

“I won’t see you for quite some time.”

“Let’s have a big drink as soon as we get back. “I will buy it then.”

“Really?”

“You know I’m not the type to say two things out of my mouth, right?”

“cancer! That’s why I like you. “I can’t wait for you to come back.”

Seokjungsang tapped Hwangcheol on the shoulder. Hwangcheol smiled at that.

Hwangcheol left Baekryongsangdan in a carriage full of luggage. The carriage he rode left Nanju and began heading north.

As we left Okmungwan (玉門關), a desolate landscape completely different from the central plains unfolded. If you go west like this, you will reach Xinjiang. Xinjiang was only developed in the provincial capital, Oromokje (烏魯木齊), and it was so desolate that you could not see a single person even if you went for several days.

Because it was a periphery beyond the reach of central authority, Xinjiang was not governed by law. Instead, it was local warlords or feudal lords who ruled Xinjiang. However, because the land was so vast, there were places that could not be controlled even by the power of warlords or feudal lords.

When passing through a place like that, you had to be careful of swarms of magic bandits.

The magicians cleverly maintained a balance between the warlords and the Toho and attacked merchant merchants and travelers. It was said that they were so cruel that they never spared merchants or travelers.

Until a few years ago, five groups were active individually, but recently, a group of magic bandits called Bihwangdae (飛荒隊) is said to have integrated and absorbed other magic bands. Because of this, the warlords and local governments were also in a state of emergency. If they were separate gangs, there would be no problem, but if they were a group of magic bandits united as one, it would be hard to even imagine how many they would have.

Hwangcheol has never suffered much damage from magic enemies until now. People thought that Hwangcheol was amazing. Others are attacked even when dozens of people gather in groups, but Hwangcheol has never once heard a rumor of his items being stolen by magic bandits. Because of this, there were even people who deliberately waited for Hwang Cheol and moved with him.

Hwangcheol rarely rested. If the horse pulling the carriage got tired, it would rest for a while, but other than that, the horse never got out of the carriage. When they were tired, they did some running or slept while holding the reins. Since the meal was simple and dry, there was no need to skip meals.

I don’t know if they had disappeared after seeing him or if they were plundering somewhere else, but we never met the bandits.

Hwangcheol moved north, north. The temperature dropped noticeably and the wind became fierce. Even though he felt the cold not being easy to endure even when using his inner strength, Hwangcheol did not think that it was cold.

As we climbed further north for a day, an endless white plain unfolded. It is covered with snow. The horses continued to snort as if it was not easy for them to take a single step with the snow falling down to their knees.

We were getting closer to our destination. Accordingly, a strange heat was also rising on his face.

Far away in the plains, a particularly white mountain caught my eye. Hwangcheol smiled at the sight of the mountain, which boasted its sole presence, like an uninhabited island floating in the white sea.

We have finally arrived at our destination.

“Confucius.”

A light of longing flashed in Hwang Cheol’s eyes.

☆ ☆ ☆

Whiing!

A bitter wind was blowing through the valley. Everything in the world was frozen by the biting cold. Even though he was wearing thick clothes, the man was walking lightly as if he had just gone for a walk in the cold that made him shiver.

The man’s hair was messy and covering his face, as if it hadn’t been trimmed for quite some time. His clothes were all torn, so he only wore bare bottoms and no top at all. Despite this, the man walked lightly as if he did not feel the cold at all.

The snow is up to thigh height, but only faint footprints remain where the man passed.

When the man arrived at the place he was looking at, there was a large brazier. A fire was burning in the brazier, and the heat was so strong that there was not even a trace of snow left inside Bangwonsipjang.

The distance between the man and the furnace was about a dozen miles, and yet I could already feel the tremendous heat. The hot air rushes into my lungs, making it difficult to breathe, and it feels like my eyeballs, which are directly exposed to the heat, are burning.

Still, the man walked towards the brazier without blinking.

Puzzle!

Inside the furnace, a nearly pure white flame was rising, and at the center of the flame was a long object. The object, which had received tremendous heat, was red-hot.

The man who was checking the condition of the object suddenly threw the steel tongs next to the furnace into the fire. The man took out a long object and placed it on a workbench near the furnace.

The object lifted by the tongs was metal. The long metal was radiating tremendous heat, as if it had been plunged into lava.

“Boy, you’re finally surrendering now.”

The man’s lips, slightly exposed through his hair, smiled.

It was an incredibly long fight.

It took two years to get here. It was two years ago that the man decided to make a sword out of metal.

In the meantime, many swords were broken. So the man decided to make a stronger sword. What I saw then was a black stone stuck on one side of the house. This is an item that was revered as a sacred stone by a tribe in Yunnan.

It was so hard and heavy that it was useless, but I kept it because it was a gift from a loved one.

At that time, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘What if I make a sword out of that guy?’

The man immediately put his thoughts into action.

At first I thought it was simple. No matter how strong the metal is, it can be easily melted by the flames of the furnace he made. But it wasn’t long before he realized how easy he had thought.

The black stone did not move even in the intense heat of the furnace. The black stone did not change at all, as if it was mocking the man.

At this point, the man also started to feel embarrassed. The man mobilized all his knowledge and conducted numerous experiments to modify the furnace and increase the heat. After six months, the man finally found a way to increase his firepower.

By adding a few more ingredients to the existing fuel, the heat of the furnace increased dramatically. Only then did the black stone change little by little.

From then on, the man’s fight began. The man waited for the black stone to heat up and then hammered it. Until then, the man had no idea that the tedious work would continue for two years.

The black stone deformed little by little every day, and only after two years had it changed into the form the man desired.

It was a sword.

Although the handle was not made, it was clearly a sword body as it stretched out in a smooth line like a woman’s naked body.

Two days ago, the man evenly spread mud on the sword body and placed it in the furnace. Through this process, the material of the metal changes and its hardness improves dramatically.

Now it was time to cool the heated sword body in the special oil prepared in advance. The man lifted the sword body with tongs and put it into the oil drum.

Chi-ik!

In an instant, steam rose.

It was important to calculate the exact time.

Even if I put it in for too long or take it out too quickly, it didn’t work. It was important to get it out when the time was most appropriate. This process is called quenching and is one of the most important processes when making a sword.

The man closed his eyes. He feels the change of the sword with his fingertips and measures time with the sound of his oil splashing.

‘just now.’

The man pulled out a sword from the oil.

The man carefully examined the sword body. The man smiled after confirming that the mud had not fallen. Because he was exactly what he wanted.

The man placed the mud-covered sword body on the workbench. Now all I had to do was wait for the heat to cool down naturally. We have truly overcome the most difficult juncture.

Once the blade cooled down, all that was left to do was remove the mud and sharpen the blade. Sharpening the blade was nerve-wracking, but compared to the process so far, it wasn’t that difficult. It’s like crossing the ridge.

“phew!”

It was time for the man to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Confucius!”

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice.

When the man turned around, he saw an older man sitting in a large carriage, looking at him.

A smile spread across the man’s lips visible through his hair.

“Hwangsuk!”

“Confucius!”

The older man who got off the carriage was none other than Hwang Cheol. And the man approaching Hwang Cheol was none other than Jin Mu-won.

Jin Mu-won hugged Hwang Cheol warmly. Hwang Cheol’s eyes were tearful.

“ball… … “Janim.”

martial arts,