Chapter 326

“Hey, look at this.”

“What is it?”

At his colleague’s call, Do Yeon-san replied without even turning his head.

“Look at this. It’s really amazing.”

“What’s all the fuss about?”

“Just come and see.”

When Do Yeon-san’s reaction was lukewarm, his colleague grabbed his hand and pulled him over. Only then did Do Yeon-san put down the hammer he was holding and go to his colleague’s workbench.

On his colleague’s workbench lay a large, unidentifiable mineral.

“What’s so amazing? It’s just a rock, isn’t it?”

“Because it’s no ordinary rock.”

“What’s so special about it?”

“Watch closely.”

His colleague chipped off a small piece of the mineral with a hammer and chisel.

He took the piece, about the size of a child’s fingernail, placed it in a transparent crystal box, and poured water over it. A surprising thing happened.

Chiiiik!

The mineral suddenly melted, emitting a hazy smoke.

Instantly, his colleague grabbed his hand and said,

“Step back! It’s poison.”

“Poison?”

Do Yeon-san’s eyes widened in surprise.

His colleague threw a pre-prepared mouse into the crystal box and quickly sealed the lid tight.

The smoke, which was hazy at first, soon turned transparent.

The truly astonishing thing happened at that moment.

The perfectly fine mouse suddenly coughed up blood from its seven orifices and died.

“What the?”

“Kills, doesn’t it?”

“What? What happened?”

“I don’t know either!”

“If you don’t know, who does?”

Do Yeon-san asked with a dumbfounded expression. His colleague shrugged and said,

“That thing, it was mixed in with the iron we brought in from Nanman this time. Someone must have thought it was iron ore and put it with the rest.”

Tang Cheolsan, the owner of the Iron Mountain Workshop, was a man of great ambition.

He wanted to establish a workshop that surpassed the old Tang Clan. For that reason, he imported rare minerals not only from the Central Plains but also from the Outer Regions to use in making weapons.

This was because some of the minerals imported from the Outer Regions had the effect of strengthening weapons.

The mineral Do Yeon-san’s colleague was testing now was one of those imports.

“It looked somehow different from regular iron ore, so I chipped off a little piece to test it. But I completely forgot and left it near some water while I went to do something else.”

“And?”

“And the dog we’re raising in the workshop was running around and dropped the mineral fragment into the water.”

“The dog? You mean that Black Dog?”

“Yeah! Gu Deokryong. The dog that bastard is raising.”

Gu Deokryong was one of the master craftsmen at the Iron Mountain Workshop.

He was the kind of man who lorded over others because of his slight skill, treating the apprentices like rats. So all the apprentices hated him.

Perhaps taking after its owner, the dog Gu Deokryong raised was also ill-tempered and constantly causing trouble.

Because of that, all the apprentices wanted to kill the dog. But they didn’t dare lay a hand on it, wary of Gu Deokryong.

“When the mineral fragment fell into the water, the dog started sniffing it, going ‘sniff sniff’. But then smoke suddenly started rising.”

“So?”

“Yeah! After sniffing the smoke, it died in an instant, just like that mouse. That’s why I tested it.”

“My god!”

“Isn’t it really amazing? A mineral that produces a deadly poison when it touches water. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Probably no craftsman in this workshop knows that something like this exists.”

His colleague chattered on excitedly.

He was extremely thrilled by the appearance of a new mineral he had never encountered before. But to Do Yeon-san, his behavior seemed very dangerous.

“If we study this thing well, something truly incredible might come out of it. Like a real Hidden Weapon made by the Sichuan Tang Clan. We might be able to create the Iron Mountain Workshop’s own true Secret Transmission, not some fake Tang Clan one.”

“I think it would be better to just leave it alone.”

“Ah, why?”

“It’s dangerous. If you handle it wrong, you might get poisoned and die before you even make anything.”

“Nah! No way.”

Despite Do Yeon-san’s concerns, his colleague didn’t seem to care much.

He had an excited expression, wondering what kind of fun thing he could make with this mineral.

A few ideas for things to make with the mineral also popped into Do Yeon-san’s head, but he deliberately ignored them.

There was a high probability that making something with such a dangerous object would bring disaster instead.

It was then.

“What’s wrong with Dabok? Why is this bastard dead?”

Gu Deokryong’s mournful voice came from outside.

Do Yeon-san said to his colleague,

“Hide that for now. If you’re not careful, you might get beaten to death by that bastard.”

“Okay!”

His colleague quickly hid the mineral under the workbench.

“Everyone, assemble!”

Gu Deokryong gathered all the apprentices.

He grilled the apprentices to find out the cause of the dog’s death. But no one opened their mouths.

In the end, the apprentices were tormented by Gu Deokryong all night long.

“Hah! Fuck.”

Do Yeon-san sighed as he looked in the mirror.

Because he hadn’t slept properly the previous night due to Gu Deokryong, both his eyes were completely bloodshot. The fact that he had to go home looking like this made him sad.

Today was the day he was going home after a long time.

The life of an apprentice at the Iron Mountain Workshop was extremely strict, so they couldn’t wander outside carelessly. This was because the Iron Mountain Workshop strictly controlled outings, concerned about the leakage of their Secret Transmission.

The apprentices lived inside the Iron Mountain Workshop and could only visit their homes on designated days.

It was his one permitted outing per month, but because Gu Deokryong’s dog had died the day before, he had been tormented and was now a mess.

Still, Do Yeon-san tried his best to smile.

He couldn’t show a tearful face when he was going home after so long.

He changed into his cleanest clothes and left the Iron Mountain Workshop.

In his pocket were three Nyang of silver.

It was money he had earned by secretly selling things to Pyo Wol.

Wanting to see the happy faces of his parents and younger brother, he quickened his pace.

His house was in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts.

Since the Iron Mountain Workshop was also on the outskirts, it didn’t take long to get home.

“Mom! Dad! Su-in!”

Do Yeon-san shouted for his family as he ran into the house. But the atmosphere inside was strange.

A cold chill lingered, and there was no sense of warmth at all.

“Mom, Dad?”

Do Yeon-san cautiously took a step.

It was strange that there was no sign of life from people who would normally come running out at the mere sound of his footsteps.

He had a bad feeling. And his feeling was not wrong.

The moment he opened his parents’ door, his eyes flew wide open.

“M-Mom! Dad, what happened…”

The two of them were lying collapsed, covered in blood.

Do Yeon-san rushed to embrace their bodies and shouted.

“Mom! Dad!”

But the two of them didn’t even stir, let alone answer.

They had already stopped breathing.

Their bodies were cold, meaning they had been dead for quite some time.

Do Yeon-san hugged them and screamed in despair.

Only after a long time had passed did Do Yeon-san come to his senses.

“Where’s Su-in?”

He frantically searched the house for his only younger brother. But his brother was nowhere to be found in the house.

Pyo Wol came down to the first-floor dining hall for breakfast.

“That man…”

“Is that Pyo Wol?”

As soon as he appeared, murmuring voices could be heard from all over.

The news of what had happened on the second floor last night had already spread.

Until now, very few among the general public knew Pyo Wol’s name and Alias. But those who had witnessed the meeting between the prodigies and Pyo Wol yesterday had eagerly spread rumors about him.

His beauty, more stunning than a woman’s, and his presence, not inferior to the prodigies of Jiangsu. Above all, his powerful Martial Arts that subdued Tang Ikgi in a single move.

All were elements sufficient to attract the interest of gossips.

After the prodigies’ meeting ended, the guests on the second floor went to different taverns and chattered about what they had witnessed.

The rumor spread quickly, and in just one night, there was hardly anyone by the Great Lake who didn’t know of Pyo Wol.

Among them were people who had come since morning just to see Pyo Wol.

They marveled at Pyo Wol’s beautiful appearance.

“They said he was more beautiful than a woman…”

“Indeed, just looking at him is enough to be bewitched.”

The customers shook their heads with expressions of awe.

As a region of sensual pleasures, the Great Lake had many beautiful women and no shortage of handsome men. Thanks to that, the people living around the Great Lake had quite high standards. They weren’t impressed by just any handsome man or beautiful woman. But Pyo Wol was on a completely different level.

From the lines of his face to the look in his eyes, nothing about him was ordinary.

Just by looking at him, they felt their minds grow hazy.

The handsome men and beautiful women they had seen until now fell far short compared to Pyo Wol.

“Insane! Truly insane.”

Everyone nodded as if in agreement with someone’s thoughtless remark.

As Pyo Wol sat down, a Waiter quickly rushed over.

“Was your sleep comfortable?”

“It was fine.”

“That’s a relief. Hehe!”

The Waiter smiled brightly.

He had been kind yesterday, but he was even kinder today.

This was because he had watched Pyo Wol subdue Tang Ikgi from up close.

It might have been an indelible humiliation for Tang Ikgi, but for the Waiter, it was a sight he would boast about for the rest of his life.

The image of him subduing Tang Ikgi in a single move and exuding a presence that surpassed the prodigies of the Golden Sky Society was still deeply engraved in his heart.

Just looking at Pyo Wol made the Waiter feel a heroic spirit welling up inside him.

“You’ll be having a meal, right?”

“Yes!”

“Hehe! Please wait just a moment. The head cook is preparing a special meal to serve to you, Great Hero.”

“A special meal?”

“Yes! It’s a dish the head cook only serves to special guests. Everyone who has tasted it has said it’s a taste of heaven.”

The Waiter’s face was full of pride.

Pyo Wol nodded.

He wasn’t particularly picky about food or a gourmet, but there was no reason to refuse when someone was offering to treat him.

The Waiter quickly poured warm tea into the cup in front of Pyo Wol.

“Then please wait while drinking your tea. I’ll bring it right away.”

The Waiter placed the teapot on the table and quickly ran to the kitchen.

Left alone, Pyo Wol gazed out the window.

He knew the guests inside the Inn were stealing glances at him, but he didn’t pay it much mind.

He was well aware of how much his splendid appearance drew people’s attention and had grown very accustomed to such situations.

The furtive glances of people no longer bothered or burdened him.

People just watched with secretive gazes like stray cats. Not a single person came forward to speak to Pyo Wol.

Thanks to that, Pyo Wol waited for his food while looking at the view of the Great Lake unfolding outside the window.

The surface of the Great Lake, bathed in the morning sun, sparkled like jewels. On it, fishermen who had set out their boats since dawn were casting their nets.

The scene was as beautiful as a painting.

To people accustomed to such scenery, it might just be a part of daily life, but to Pyo Wol, it brought a strange feeling.

Pyo Wol had lost his basic human emotions while being raised as an Assassin. Because of that, he lacked empathy and did not react much to external stimuli.

Pyo Wol knew this fact as well. But the four months on Mount Tianjung had brought a great change in him.

It was not simply limited to achievements in Martial Arts or enlightenment. Something in his spirit had also changed.

Thanks to that, he could look at such a scene not with an unfeeling gaze, but with eyes filled with emotion.

The beautiful scenery led him into a world of contemplation.

For a Martial Artist who had reached Pyo Wol’s level, such moments of contemplation were very precious.

It could be the beginning of a sudden insight.

But at that moment, a voice interrupted his contemplation.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Though she spoke in a low voice, thinking she was being considerate, Pyo Wol’s contemplation shattered like glass dropped on the ground.

Pyo Wol frowned slightly and looked at the owner of the voice.

A woman, lavishly adorned, was smiling at him.

There were over a dozen ornaments holding her upswept hair in place. The ornaments, painstakingly crafted by a master, were so beautiful that a price could not be put on them. But what was more beautiful than anything else was the woman’s face itself.

The being before him proved just how beautiful a woman could become if she set her mind to it.

The woman smiling seductively at Pyo Wol was none other than Eum Yujeong.