Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Hmm……”

Late at night, Dan Woo-hyun, who had left Hwa So-mi sleeping soundly by the campfire, swallowed a sigh. Since he had decided to live with her and keep her by his side, he first needed a place to stay.

In other words, he had to build a house.

Once he decided to build a house, he was slightly at a loss as to where to begin.

He already had a layout of the house in his mind.

Because ever since he was a child, there was a place like this where he had wanted to settle down and live if he ever could.

It was a modest dream he had harbored since his childhood.

To think he would build it with his own hands.

Just the thought of it made his heart flutter.

For now, he looked around.

Although it was a house for only two people… one adult and one child… didn't it need to be a bit spacious since the child needed room to run around and play?

Furthermore, since they were deep in the mountains where few people set foot, there was no need to make it small.

Then, the first thing he had to prepare was the ground to build the house on.

The surrounding area was filled with bushes, trees, and boulders. Clearing them away one by one was also a significant chore.

Even with dozens of workers rushing to clear the site, it would take more than fifteen days just to level the ground.

Dan Woo-hyun picked up the sword wrapped in an old cloth, which he had not taken out until now.

He gripped it and swung it horizontally in a wide arc.

Swoosh!

A strange energy flew out, and in an instant, the surroundings flashed in a circle.

A sudden gust of wind blew and soon died down.

Crack-!

Soon, the scene that unfolded before his eyes was astonishing. The densely packed trees fell over with their trunks severed.

The rocks were shattered to pieces, and the rough ground was leveled flat.

The bushes had vanished, as if they had never existed.

In a single instant, he had performed a divine feat, performing all at once a workload that would have taken dozens of laborers over fifteen days to complete.

Cutting down trees, turning rocks to dust, and making bushes disappear with a single swing of a sword was by no means a technique that could be executed simply by being skilled at controlling one's internal energy.

“Mmm……”

At the sudden loud noise, Hwa So-mi groaned and tried to open her eyes. After all, the sound of countless trees falling all at once sounded as loud as a clap of thunder.

However, she collapsed back down and fell asleep again.

This was because Dan Woo-hyun had tapped her acupoint.

“It would be better for you to sleep for a while.”

If he showed her such a sight, she would surely make a fuss, calling him an immortal or something.

In particular, Dan Woo-hyun disliked being called an immortal the most.

“Next, I should shape the wood to erect the pillars.”

The foundation of any house was wood. Since the house was built by erecting pillars and placing walls on them, making timber was the priority.

Slash, slash, slash, slash-!

He thrust the sword at the trees exactly as he envisioned in his mind. With just a few simple swings, pieces of timber suitable for their respective roles began to be created one by one.

If a carpenter had witnessed this scene from the side, a comedy would have surely ensued, with him kneeling and begging to be accepted as a chief disciple.

Before long, all of those numerous trees were shaved down.

Now that the timber to build the house was complete, all that was left was to assemble them one by one using these pieces.

Dan Woo-hyun moved his body while keeping in mind the roles of the cut timber. He drove the pillars into the ground and steadily raised the building. The timber, which had been so abundant, was transforming into a single house in an instant.

“It is fine, but it is a bit large……”

After setting up the pillars, it turned out to be quite large.

It was large enough not to fall short even when compared to an ordinary manor. Considering the partitioned sections, there were also quite a few rooms.

Well, since he had envisioned a house where dozens of people could stay during his childhood, it was only natural for it to turn out this way.

For two people to live in, the house itself was simply too large.

‘Should I cut some of it off?’

However, he soon shook his head.

It was because he thought that no matter how large it was, it could not possibly match the Emperor's Ninefold Imperial Palace.

Next, he had to build the walls. Generally, walls were also built by fitting pieces of wood together. However, he had already used up all the timber just to raise the frame.

Making more timber again was no trouble at all, but there was no fun in that.

“They say if you build a house with yellow clay, it is extremely warm!”

Suddenly, the words of a child who belonged to the same beggar pack in his childhood came to mind.

Using yellow clay to build walls blocked the wind well and made it possible to stay quite warm in winter.

Come to think of it, he seemed to have seen some yellow clay on the way to Yueyang.

In that case, there was no reason to hesitate.

* * *

Hwa So-mi opened her eyes with a disheveled appearance.

It was not the time when the morning rooster crowed noisily. She had opened her eyes naturally to the warm sunlight beaming down. Since she had clearly slept outdoors yesterday, it was only natural for the sunlight to shine down on her.

“Hmm?”

The moment she got up and looked around, Hwa So-mi could not believe her eyes. It was clearly a place where only bushes and trees had grown thick until just a day ago.

Yet, looking around, a large open clearing had appeared, and a large house had been built.

From there, she saw Dan Woo-hyun hanging a door.

The child rubbed her eyes.

Although she was young, she was still capable of thinking, so she was at a loss as to how to accept this nonsensical situation.

She swallowed a groan with a grunt and looked up at the sky.

Was it a gift sent down from the heavens?

“Are you awake?”

“Mister, it's strange. There is a house here.”

“Yes, there is.”

“Clearly yesterday, it was……”

“It was there yesterday too. It was just a bit old, so I repaired it.”

“No, yesterday it was definitely……”

“It was there yesterday too.”

“……”

“……”

Hwa So-mi tightly shut her mouth.

To her memory, this was a place where there was not even a single thatched cottage, let alone such a splendid house.

However, since he spoke so firmly, for some reason she began to wonder if her own memory was mistaken.

No, Dan Woo-hyun's words must be correct.

Why would he tell such a lie?

In any case, she was glad that a house had appeared. Furthermore, since this house was right in front of Dongting Lake, she could reach the water's edge in just a few steps.

It would also be easy to catch fish.

Patter-

Hwa So-mi approached Dan Woo-hyun with quick, short steps. Dan Woo-hyun was just installing the last window.

Only then did it feel like the house was complete, but Hwa So-mi felt a bit strange.

Because the old house that supposedly existed yesterday looked extremely clean.

Even the walls were made of yellow clay.

How could a house built with yellow clay… which even a child like her knew was hard to obtain… be abandoned?

But if Dan Woo-hyun said so, then so be it.

She nodded in agreement.

“Wow…… it's wonderful. The house is huge! It's like a manor!”

“I am glad you like it. I put quite a bit of effort into building it.”

“Building it?”

“……No, repairing it.”

“Ah……”

Seeing Hwa So-mi nod in understanding, Dan Woo-hyun let out a sigh of relief.

‘Fortunately, she is young.’

At that moment, words that rubbed Dan Woo-hyun the wrong way reached his ears.

“Hehe, it's really cool. But there's no wall, is there? Is that why it was abandoned?”

“……”

Dan Woo-hyun's eyes flashed.

* * *

Going north about four li from the house, there was a large cliff. The grand, sheer cliff looked like something that could never be scaled by human strength, no matter who looked at it.

Late at night.

Dan Woo-hyun stood there.

“What if thieves break in?”

He had never particularly worried about thieves. In the first place, the moment anyone approached with such intentions, they would lose the ability to breathe. However, Hwa So-mi's words were not wrong.

A house had to be perfect.

Especially since it was a house built quite splendidly, it had to be that much more perfect. Had he ever seen a manor without walls?

No, he had not.

A manor had to have walls.

Furthermore, Dan Woo-hyun had built it himself. It could not be anything less than perfect.

Who was he? Was he not the one who had been praised as the Martial God?

He possessed a personality that was only satisfied when everything he did was perfect.

Dan Woo-hyun, who had been staring at the cliff, swung his scabbard just like that.

Boom-!

A massive sound that shook the heavens and earth rang out.

* * *

“……”

“……”

Hwa So-mi had a dumbfounded expression on her face in silence. A wall that did not exist just a day ago had appeared. Completely surrounding the house, it was also considerably high.

It was to the point where the inside could not be seen from the outside at all.

Just when on earth did this appear?

“The wall……”

“It was originally there.”

“Pardon?”

“It was originally there.”

“I…… didn't say anything.”

Hwa So-mi smiled awkwardly. It was unclear whether she was convinced or not, but she seemed to just let it go. However, she soon looked around the house grounds and let out a small sigh.

“What is the matter?”

“Well, Mister. Doesn't it somehow feel really empty?”

“……”

* * *

A considerable distance from Dongting Lake, there was a small village. The villagers there held a ritual every year, which was a prayer to the old pine tree that had protected the village for a long time, asking for its protection again this year.

There was a legend that the old pine tree had been planted by one of the Eight Immortals long ago, and it was said to ward off misfortune and help the village prosper greatly.

The pine tree was considerably large.

Since it was a tree that had kept its place for over a thousand years, what need was there to describe its grandeur? As if protecting the village, the pine tree stretched its giant branches in all directions, showing off its majesty.

Early in the morning, one of the village elders walked toward the old pine tree for a stroll. Praying to the old pine tree every morning, asking for a good day, was a routine he had kept since his childhood.

However.

“Gasp?!”

It was gone.

The old pine tree, which should have been standing proudly in its place, was nowhere to be seen. There were clear traces of someone digging around the area, and not a single root was left in the hollowed ground.

The old man foamed at the mouth right then and there.

* * *

“Wow…… wow, yesterday this wasn't……”

“It was here.”

“……Yes.”

Cutting off Hwa So-mi's words, Dan Woo-hyun looked around with a satisfied expression.

A grand manor had been created. It would not fall behind even when compared to the manors in Yueyang.

In the clearing, the thousand-year-old pine tree stretched its branches, showing off its majesty, and stones of colorful shapes and hues, brought from god knows where, were scattered all over the place.

Since he had even dug a large pond on one side, he was finally satisfied.

“Haha.”

A laugh escaped his lips involuntarily.

In fact, there was still a tremendous amount of work left to do. He had to make the beds, of course, as well as the utensils they could use, one by one. Furthermore, since he could not let the child starve, he also had to go fishing.

Now that he had things to do, he felt his empty heart being filled.

He was busy.

How long had it been since he last felt this kind of pleasant busyness?

It seemed rewarding even without practicing martial arts.

“But, Mister……”

“Shh, do not say a word.”

Dan Woo-hyun made Hwa So-mi shut her mouth.

Because every time some words came out of this child's mouth, a scream of despair would surely erupt from somewhere.