Return of the Heavenly Sword

Chapter 31. Talent (2)

I gave Nam Geon a suitable reply to his nonsense.

“The world is full of strange people.”

There were more than a few psychopaths who believed that what belonged to others was theirs, simply because they had learned a martial art or possessed a bit of strength.

If only to cure those bastards of their psychopathy, I couldn't afford to be leisurely.

“Enough with the chatter. Come at me. If you don't fight properly this time, I will just leave you behind.”

At my warning, Nam Geon steadied his breathing and rushed toward me with powerful steps.

Whoooosh!

The staff he swung flew at me with a fierce, world-tearing sound.

I willingly took a step toward that staff, which seemed capable of shattering my bones with a mere graze.

Swish!

Even though I dodged it by a hair's breadth, my skin stung.

The fine hairs on my body stood on end, and goosebumps rose.

“Yes! This is how a duel should be!”

My body was weary from the continuous training. My concentration, which had been scattered due to my empty dantian, sharpened.

Dodging his strike, I swung my sword and struck Nam Geon’s side.

Clang!

As expected, it had little effect.

It didn't matter.

This was training, after all.

Whoooosh.

Perhaps thinking he couldn't catch me with just the staff, Nam Geon now mixed in punches and kicks.

His form was much more concise than yesterday.

Seeing no way to dodge, I blocked his fist with my sword.

Crrack!!

Starting from the wrist holding the sword, every muscle and bone in my body screamed.

I didn't even need to take a direct hit; a mere graze could cripple me.

I could even see a fine crack forming on the sword I was holding.

However, I couldn't stop the duel just because my sword had a small crack.

“Hahahaha!”

Because, once again, trajectories were being embroidered in the air.

Nam Geon was looking at me with a strange expression, but that mattered little.

***

The duel ended in just over a quarter of an hour.

It wasn't just because the sword had broken.

I had spare swords, after all.

The problem was that Nam Geon had collapsed again.

Once more, I ordered him to follow on foot, and while swinging my sword in the air, I recovered my internal energy with the Jade Cloud Divine Art.

Once my internal energy had recovered a little, and Nam Geon seemed to have regained some of his stamina, we resumed our movement art training.

We repeated this training without rest for a long while.

Around the time the sun was high in the sky, we sat down on the mountain path.

“We should eat some of the food the innkeeper’s wife packed for us.”

Nam Geon, his face pale, plopped onto the ground and said.

“Fi-finally, we eat. I-I was so hungry my body kept trembling.”

We each untied the bundles on our backs and began to eat.

Munch, munch. Chomp, chomp.

Nam Geon wasn't just eating; he was practically absorbing the food.

His portion seemed to be at least five times larger than mine, but we finished our meals at roughly the same time.

I spoke to Nam Geon, whose face was bright after the pleasant meal.

“We’ve wasted time eating, so let us run again.”

His face turned pale.

“A-again, Big Brother?”

When I nodded firmly, Nam Geon said with a tearful face.

“Aren’t you tired, Big Brother?”

“I am.”

“Th-then we’re running again?”

“It’s better for the body to hurt than for the heart to ache.”

It was something I had always thought, so I said it without much thought, but I soon regretted it.

They were difficult words for such a young boy to understand.

However, Nam Geon, contrary to his usual self, wore a complicated expression and soon rose to his feet.

“Bi-big brother is right.”

“...…You understood what I said?”

“I-I learned the Iron Blood Golden Skin Art. It hurt so much every day. But, after a day, it was okay.”

The boy, having stood up, suddenly pounded his own chest with his right hand.

“Bu-but the heart didn't get better even after time passed.”

No, his hand had clearly struck his skin, but instead of a thud, there was a “clang, clang” sound.

“I-I’m stupid, so I don’t remember anything from when I was little. Bu-but I remember one thing. I-I originally had a mom and dad. Bu-but Dad said. Th-that I was too stupid and ate too much, so he c-couldn't raise me. S-so I was abandoned.”

“…….”

“Bu-but Mom found me and raised me. Sh-she gave me food.”

It seemed the ‘mom’ he was talking about now was Cha Hui, the leader of the Steel Sinew Sect.

“But, m-mom said. If I d-don't listen, she'll abandon me. Every time, my ch-chest hurt. It st-still hurts even after a long time.”

As I listened, I suddenly recalled what had happened a short while ago.

“I’m sorry. From now on, I won’t speak of abandoning you.”

At my answer, the boy smiled brightly.

“Hehet. Th-thank you, Big Brother.”

I smiled wryly.

“Let’s get going.”

I might grow fond of him at this rate.

***

A similar routine continued after that.

After four days of concurrent training and travel, we arrived at a place called Huaihua.

It was a little smaller than Shaoyang, but still a fairly large village in this area.

Above all, it was a village located on the path from Hunan to Guizhou.

We entered the village in the afternoon and wandered around, searching for something.

It wasn't an inn we were looking for.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering iron.

“It’s over there.”

Following that familiar sound, which I could hear every time I struck Nam Geon with the hammer, we arrived in front of a building that appeared to be a forge.

A wave of hot air and smoke hit us as soon as we opened the door.

A blacksmith, who had been hammering a piece of red-hot iron, turned his head to look at us.

“Do you need something?”

“We’d like you to forge a sword.”

“A sword?”

As the blacksmith repeated the question, I spoke to Nam Geon.

“Give him the hammer.”

“Uh, okay, Big Brother.”

Nam Geon held out the giant hammer he had been carrying on his back.

“Please melt this hammer and forge one large sword.”

The reason we sought out a forge was to turn that hammer into a greatsword for Nam Geon to use.

I was planning to start teaching him the Mighty Sword soon.

Thanks to the help of my eyes, the form of the Mighty Sword was slowly taking shape.

It was thanks to the training of hammering Nam Geon's body every evening for the past four days.

Besides that, we had also been consistently training in the Mighty Sword while traveling.

The only problem was that an ordinary sword couldn't withstand Nam Geon's monstrous strength.

Also, considering Nam Geon's size, a regular sword would look more like a dagger or a short sword in his hands.

As soon as I finished speaking, Nam Geon, who had been holding out the hammer, flinched in surprise and pulled it to his chest.

“Bi-big brother? W-what do you mean, melt the hammer?”

“Didn't you ask me to teach you how to fight? I am a swordsman, so I intend to teach you the sword, not how to swing a hammer.”

“B-but this is m-mom's memento.”

“That's why I'm saying we should melt the hammer to make a sword. Just as your appearance changing doesn't make you a different person, that hammer changing into a sword doesn't mean it's no longer a memento, does it?”

“I-is that so?”

I added a word for the confused Nam Geon.

“Trust me.”

“R-right. Big Brother is smarter than me.”

Only then did Nam Geon hold out the hammer again.

The blacksmith, who had been watching us with a strange expression, asked.

“Your younger brother seems to be developing quite fast.”

“R-right. Everyone said I grew up fast.”

At Nam Geon's reply, the white-haired blacksmith smiled as if looking at his own grandchild and asked.

“Hahaha. How old are you?”

At that question, Nam Geon tilted his head, folded his fingers, and then answered.

“N-nineteen this year.”

“…….”

For some reason, the blacksmith turned his head to look at me.

“And, how old are you, sir?”

“I am sixteen.”

“...…But why is he calling you Brother?”

“Isn't how you lived more important than how many years you've lived?”

At my answer, the blacksmith looked back and forth between Nam Geon and me for a moment.

Then, with a complicated expression, he opened his mouth.

“Ahem. Anyway, you want me to turn that large hammer into a sword, is that right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hmm. Given its considerable size, it won't be easy to forge a perfect edge.”

“That doesn't matter. In fact, a duller one is better. If it's sharp, it will break more easily, won't it?”

It was a sword for Nam Geon to use, anyway. With his monstrous strength, he could tear opponents apart even if it wasn't sharp.

“I understand. Since the hammer is so large, it will be quite an ordeal to melt it down and forge it into a sword. I'll have to charge a hefty fee. Is that alright?”

I nodded at the blacksmith's question.

However, we had no money.

We had taken a very small portion of the wealth from raiding the Five Sword Sect and the Steel Sinew Sect as emergency funds, but it had already run out on the way here.

On Nam Geon's food expenses.

We were only able to make it this far without starving thanks to a lucky encounter with some evil sect bastards along the way, where we took their weapons and sold them.

Even so, I had no intention of using force or threats to have the sword made here.

I was not that kind of trash.

I put on my most friendly smile for the blacksmith and asked.

“By any chance, are there any evil sects or unorthodox factions around here?”

I planned to rob the trash, return the wealth to the residents, and trade the weapons they used.

This place was quite large, so it was more than likely that some evil sect bastards had settled here.

Above all, the atmosphere of the village I had observed on my way to the forge felt somewhat grim.

I had a gut feeling. A feeling that there was definitely something here.

But the blacksmith shook his head.

“There are no evil sects in this village.”

Could it be that this blacksmith was in league with the evil sect bastards and was trying to hide them? The suspicion arose in my mind.

Just then, the blacksmith looked at the scabbard on my hip and Nam Geon's hammer before speaking.

“From the looks of it, you seem to have learned martial arts.”

“That's correct.”

As I wasn't sure yet, I answered politely. The blacksmith sighed and said.

“There are no evil sects, but a lecher has recently appeared in this area. Two girls from the village have already disappeared and were found as corpses in the back mountain, you see.”

The blacksmith’s eyes were filled with the emotion of pity.

A lecher.

The moment I heard those words, the first thing that came to mind was a member of the Seven Evils and one of the Three Disasters.

The Lust Disaster.

The Lust Disaster was a piece of trash who, fittingly for his title, had become a master by learning the Absorption Art.

The Absorption Art was a filthy and evil demonic art that increased one's internal energy by absorbing the essence of others.

As it absorbed the essence of others, it naturally boasted an incredible growth speed.

Therefore, the best way to kill the Lust Disaster was to deal with him before he could accumulate internal energy through the Absorption Art.

The problem was, I had no knowledge of the Lust Disaster's whereabouts before he began his lecherous activities in earnest.

Could this lecher be that Lust Disaster? The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.

In the first place, if it were the Lust Disaster, he wouldn't have bothered kidnapping young girls.

While I was thinking about the Lust Disaster, the blacksmith spoke again.

“If, by any chance, you could kill that lecher bastard? Those two girls weren't my biological granddaughters, but I've known them since they were babies in this same village. If you avenge those children, I will gladly forge this hammer into a sword for you. I don't have much, but I'll add some money on top.”

I thought it turned out for the better.

I was just regretting having to kill time in this village while the sword was being made.

But now, a very rewarding task of killing a lecher had come up, so it was no longer a waste of time.

Whether that lecher bastard was the Lust Disaster or not, he was a lecher, and therefore deserved to die.

“You can keep the money. For now, please start forging the hammer into a sword right away. We will go and catch that lecher.”

“The hammer, right now?”

“Yes. We intend to leave as soon as we catch the lecher. Besides, if we fail and are killed by the lecher, you can just keep the hammer, elder, so you won't be at a loss.”

Waiting for the sword to be completed even after catching the lecher was a waste of time.

“And, could you tell me where the lecher’s tracks were last seen? Ah, was it by that back mountain?”

At my question, the blacksmith nodded.

“It was that back mountain, but not where the girls' bodies were found. The Yangui Sect scattered to chase the lecher, and two of them were killed by him instead.”

“What kind of people are the Yangui Sect?”

“Didn't I say there are no evil sects in our Huaihua? It's thanks to the Yangui Sect protecting us. This time too, they boasted that they would deal with the lecher, but it seems it's not so easy this time around.”

The blacksmith sighed, clearly frustrated in many ways.

After that, I asked the blacksmith for more information about the lecher for a short while.

“Let's go, Geon.”

“Uh, okay, Big Brother.”

After hearing all the stories the blacksmith knew, we left the forge and headed for that back mountain.