Chapter 36 – They Say the World Is So Wide, Let Me Go See

Chapter 36 – They Say the World Is So Wide, Let Me Go See

Clang! Clang!

The workshop of the Craftsmanship Hall, where clear and cheerful sounds echoed continuously.

The Craftsmanship Hall was the hall responsible for the weapon production of the Sichuan Tang Clan, where dexterous artisans gathered.

Not to mention metallurgy for making hidden weapons and swords, construction and the production of mechanisms were all works of the Craftsmanship Hall's artisans.

In one corner of that Craftsmanship Hall.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

San-ho was continuously hammering the heated iron placed on the anvil.

Behind him, bright red flames flared up from the red furnace, which never went out all year round.

“Seriously, why is my life like this?”

San-ho, holding a hammer, muttered with a dazed expression.

It was because fragmented memories had suddenly surfaced after he mastered the Heaven-and-Man-as-One Art. No, to be precise, the problem was the events of the past that he saw within those memories.

Why was everything so complicated?

'First of all, I must recover my memories. To do that, finding the secret manual is the highest priority.'

The memories that came back had parts missing in the middle, like an illegally streamed movie, and since he had to deduce things based on that content, his mind was in a jumble.

However.

Among all the unsolved mysteries, by far the greatest mystery was Tang San-ho himself.

‘…But seriously, what kind of guy is he?’

The discrepancy between the Tang San-ho he had heard about through other people's mouths and the Tang San-ho he had directly seen and felt was simply too great.

He supposedly rarely left the annex, so why did an unexpected past keep popping up? He was already worried about the past he would uncover once he recovered his memories.

‘Why are there so many secrets?’

San-ho, who unexpectedly had to embark on a three-thousand-league journey to find his memories, was in a highly perturbed state of mind.

‘Usually in situations like this, don't you dig up the hidden secrets of the world, or go hunt the Heavenly Demon… and if you fail, you die, or something like that?’

I would rather prefer that. That's a bit cool, at least.

Although I have seen many instances of someone living well after possessing a body, this is the first time I have seen someone having to find the memories of that body. Wow, but it is not just something I am watching, I am the actual person in this body. This is quite absurd…

To think that my dream of living a normal life is thwarted here as well.

“…Ahaha, haha!”

This is fun. Huh? Very fun.

San-ho struck down with the hammer with a smiling face, his eyes wide with madness. Bright red sparks flew in all directions.

Clang! Clang!

The process of hammering the iron taken from the furnace, cooling it in water, and tempering it was repeated. Even while thinking about this and that, the sight of San-ho steadily hammering the anvil was more than enough to draw the attention of those around him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

…Of course, not in a good way.

On the opposite side of the workshop where San-ho had taken his spot.

The gathered artisans were constantly whispering among themselves while looking at San-ho.

“What is it…”

“Elder, you go ask him…”

“Do-eun, you go ask him.”

“Huh? I don't want to…”

Amidst the buzzing voices, the sound of San-ho's ceaseless hammering could be heard.

Clang! Clang!

At that moment, the Leader of the Craftsmanship Hall, Tang Mu-seon, approached while looking at the gathered artisans.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Hall Leader…”

The artisans cast a glance at San-ho, who was sitting and occupying one of the furnaces, and then looked back at Tang Mu-seon. Thanks to their expressions which clearly said, 'Please do something about this,' Tang Mu-seon's gaze also turned toward San-ho.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“………”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“…………”

At the loud sound of hammering that rang out continuously, Tang Mu-seon's expression also changed to look similar to those of the Craftsmanship Hall's artisans.

Why, after coming here for the first time in a while…

He looks like he could melt cold iron with just the sparks flying from his eyes…?

Normally, since San-ho received training focused on martial arts, the proportion of his training at the Craftsmanship Hall was relatively small. However, when San-ho was mentally struggling, angry, irritated, or bursting with resentment… that was to say, when he was in a bad mood, he would always visit the Craftsmanship Hall.

The reason was simple.

“……Sigh…”

Clang! Clang!

The reason that could be known just by listening to the sound.

“Why… is he acting like that again all of a sudden?”

“We do not know either. He came out early this morning at dawn and has not budged for over half a day.”

Usually, when San-ho took a seat in front of the furnace, the martial artists of the Craftsmanship Hall would watch from a distance, thinking, 'The Young Master's mood is twisted again.' However, today, the severity was particularly extreme.

“Hall Leader, please stop the Young Master…”

“Would he listen if I stopped him?”

“Wouldn't it be safer for the Hall Leader to go rather than us going?”

“That is right. Do you see the look in the Young Master's eyes? I thought he had replaced the heat of the furnace with his gaze.”

Although he knew it was half-joking, San-ho's gaze was brutal enough for such jokes to be exchanged.

Of course, it was not as if San-ho would act prickly just because someone spoke to him or got close. Rather, he would smile brightly and behave amiably.

But.

“If you get close, you keep hearing him laugh…”

Naturally, the most terrifying person was the one who laughed in a situation where they should not be laughing.

The sight of San-ho laughing with clear eyes while hammering as if to shatter the anvil generated a truly bizarre sense of fear.

The bright red glowing furnace and the rising smoke behind him also played a part. He seemed to be fanning the bellows half-heartedly, but the flames inside the red furnace were immense. …Wait, was this an illusion?

In the end, Hall Leader Tang Mu-seon stepped forward as if pushed by the hands of the artisans.

“C-cough…”

Clang!!

Before Tang Mu-seon could even finish making his presence known, a powerful sound struck down on the anvil.

“………”

“Pardon? Ah, Hall Leader. Did you call me? I am sorry. I did not hear you because I was concentrating.”

Lifting his head abruptly at the sound of the cough, San-ho greeted him without stopping his hammering. It was slightly bizarre how his head was directed toward Tang Mu-seon while he was clearly hammering the red-hot iron.

“…Right. What is it this time? Did someone pick a fight with you again?”

“Nothing happened, though? I just felt like I have been neglecting metallurgy lately.”

Shrugging his shoulders lightly, San-ho picked up the iron he was hammering and submerged it in the water.

Sizzle.

As thick smoke rose, the dimly glowing red iron cooled down gently.

As if hammering wasn't enough, San-ho tapped the bottom of the blast furnace to draw more molten metal. Scarlet molten metal flowed out into the mold connected under the perforated furnace.

Scrape!

After scraping the molten metal to fit the mold, San-ho brushed off his hands.

“You used Hundred-Refined Steel. Are you making hidden weapons?”

“Yes. A few types of flying daggers and a dagger.”

“They are nothing special, so you could have just taken and used what is already available.”

Because of you, others are too distracted to even come near…

Tang Mu-seon asked as he felt the gazes of the artisans stealing glances from the opposite side.

“I wanted to do it myself for the first time in a while. Since it is a skill I learned from the Hall Leader, shouldn't I put it to good use?”

It was half true, but half false.

San-ho was currently making hidden weapons without the mark of the Tang Clan.

This was to hide his identity, which the mark would reveal, when he went out into the Jianghu.

San-ho expected that the remaining two volumes of the secret manual he had not found would be somewhere in the Central Plains. This was because he had already searched the detached villa, as well as the library where the family's secret manuals were stored, but there was not even any similar content.

‘Let's hide the fact that I am looking for the remaining secret manuals as much as possible.’

Murong Tak did not hesitate to commit heinous acts to destroy the secret manual.

What if, as per the worst-case projection, there were more people like that? Since he did not know what kind of lunatics might be in the Jianghu, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

Since he could not request the Craftsmanship Hall to make hidden weapons without the mark, he was forging them himself.

“………”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Tang Mu-seon flinched slightly at the sight of San-ho, whose hammering did not stop even though their eyes were clearly meeting.

‘Somehow, it feels like the sound has gotten louder than before.’

Clang!!

A truly formidable hidden weapon is going to be born today.

Tang Mu-seon nodded as if giving up.

“…Uh-huh, right. Then carry on. If you need anything, come inside.”

He eventually left San-ho behind and headed deeper into the workshop. Although he felt the stinging glares of the artisans looking at him, the laughter that crept out from in front of the furnace was even more chilling. Although he was a precious disciple with outstanding talent, right now… well, there were times when one wanted to keep some distance.

Another half a day passed like that.

“Ah, how refreshing!”

San-ho, who had been sitting in front of the furnace's heat the entire time, stretched with a flushed face.

It seemed that hammering the iron with all his might against the hot flames for the first time in a while had somewhat relieved his stifled chest.

He spoke while looking satisfyingly at the hidden weapons he had forged and tempered repeatedly.

“Good. This should be enough.”

A sharp aura hovered.

The tips of the hidden weapons were made fierce, and the surfaces were polished so as not to reflect light.

San-ho, who left the Craftsmanship Hall with a much lighter expression, wiped the sweat beaded on his forehead.

“……Whew…”

Behind him, the artisans who had not gone anywhere near the red furnace all day let out sighs of relief.

Did he leave? Thank goodness. From now on, if someone tries to pick a fight with him, let's eliminate… no, stop them. We can't let this happen, it's too creepy…

Whispering voices could be faintly heard.

***

The next day.

The Family Head's Hall in the Inner Castle of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

“Father, your son is coming in.”

At the words of San-ho, who entered after straightening his robes, Tang Hwa-seon, who was examining documents, raised his head.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Speak.”

A voice that felt heavy and weighted.

“I wish to go out into the Jianghu.”

San-ho got straight to the point without any further hesitation.

Then, he carefully recited the prepared answers in his head.

‘Your son has learned a lot from watching the commotion at this assembly and the martial artists of the great families. In particular, I keenly felt the lack of my own experience and wish to see a wider world, so please grant me permission.’

Good. This is about right.

It was just when San-ho, with a tense expression, was about to open his mouth.

“I understand.”

“Your son, this asse… Pardon?”

San-ho blinked at Tang Hwa-seon's unexpected response.

What?

Just like that?

Just like the closed family tradition of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the travels of martial artists belonging to the family into the Jianghu were not very free either. This was a fact that could be seen just by looking at the Tang Clan Village, the collective settlement of the Tang Clan.

Even more so since he was of the direct lineage, which was why he had prepared a list of responses for various situations beforehand.

‘I thought I would have to persuade him for days and days…’

Tang Hwa-seon gave a mere three-character reply and began to focus on his documents again. San-ho felt slightly bewildered by the exceptionally clean-cut response.

“……Really?”

Enough to ask back in spite of himself.

“Have I not already permitted it? Go ahead.”

He stared blankly at San-ho, who stood before him, and once again permitted his journey into the Jianghu.

“Normally, I should not send you, but after this assembly passed, many thoughts came to my mind. I wondered if I had merely been keeping you as children in my embrace… without knowing that you had already grown wings.”

Pausing for a moment, he suddenly recited from the Four Books.

The Way of the gentleman is like traveling a far distance: one must begin from what is near. It is like climbing a height: one must begin from the bottom.

(The Way of the gentleman is like traveling a far distance: one must begin from what is near. It is like climbing a height: one must begin from the bottom.)

“It is said in the Doctrine of the Mean that one cannot go to a far place without stepping on what is near, and to climb a high place, one must start from a low place.”

Having spoken of the gentleman's Way, Tang Hwa-seon continued in a low voice.

“Since you have proven yourself at every moment in the Tang Clan Village.”

“………”

“Have you not fully completed your preparations to move forward? So this time, prove yourself once again in a wider world.”

Ah.

I had seen it before.

In Tang Hwa-seon's eyes, the same emotions as when he had first faced him after waking up here were contained.

Suspense and anxiety, and anticipation.

Reading the true meaning contained in those eyes, San-ho smirked, lifting the corners of his mouth.

I can do it.

Answering silently in my heart with the same response as back then.

Thus, the young master of the Sichuan Tang Clan's first journey into the Jianghu was decided.

No one yet knew that this moment's decision would be the start of overturning the power balance of the Jianghu.