“Not happening!”

Look at that voice.

The thunderous roar, belying his age of eighty, made Cheong Pung swallow what was in his mouth.

“Benefactor, he looks like he really doesn’t want to do it.”

I heard him too, you brat.

I had heard he was a rather stubborn character, but I hadn’t expected this. However, if I were the type to back down after a few shouts, I wouldn’t have come this far. I spoke calmly.

“Elder. First, please calm your excitement and listen to what I have to say…”

“What is there to talk about? In the end, aren’t you just asking me to make a weapon for you?”

“Uh, well, that is correct.”

“To an old man who retired ten years ago, you come in the middle of the night and brazenly ask me to make a thing that kills people?” Jang Taebo’s eyes widened as he shouted. “Will you not get out of my sight this instant!”

“Sob, hwaaaaah!”

As the loud shouts continued, the little kid in Jang Taebo’s arms burst into tears.

Hyeok Mujin, holding the fire striker, muttered in a voice low enough for only me to hear.

“What a temper on that old man…”

I agreed, but it was also true that I had been too hasty. Looking at the current atmosphere, it seemed he wouldn’t accept my request even if he died and came back to life.

‘This is a problem.’

I had to return by tomorrow at the latest for the banquet on New Year’s Day.

Just as I was hesitating, the villagers, who had heard the unusual commotion, began to poke their heads out of their doors one by one.

“What’s all this racket?”

“Wasn’t that Old Man Jang’s voice? I heard little Hyang-ah crying too.”

“Elder. Is there a problem over there?”

Revealing our identities here would do neither of us any good. No, in fact, they would be the ones at a disadvantage. Jang Taebo’s brow furrowed.

“It’s nothing. Just some young punks who got drunk and came to the wrong house.”

“Tsk, tsk. Kids these days are all like that. If you need my help…”

“The thought is enough.”

At his firm reply, the open doors closed one by one, and the murmuring voices died down. Once the surroundings became quiet, Jang Taebo stared at us with sharp eyes.

“Go back. And don’t ever come looking for me again.”

His tone was softer than before, and his voice was lower, but it was still dripping with ice. I had no choice. As he turned his back to comfort the sniffling child, I bowed towards him.

“I will come to see you again tomorrow.”

“Are you deaf? Did you not hear what I just said?”

“…Then, we will be on our way.”

Just as I was about to turn, I suddenly spoke up. A thought had occurred to me that might just move his heart, even a little.

“I am in desperate need of a Master Craftsman’s help. That is why I have come to find you, elder.”

However, Jang Taebo answered without even looking back.

“If you go west for an hour, there is a large village with a smithy. The owner there is quite skilled.”

“Is he skilled enough to refine Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. The hardest and sharpest mineral in the world, a mystical ore imbued with a strange power that could even withstand Sword Qi. It was said to be so precious and rare that even highly skilled blacksmiths might never see it once in their lifetime.

‘If it’s Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, he might just be moved.’

But Jang Taebo’s reaction was far from what I had expected.

“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, you say? Then you should go to the Iron Crafts Workshop. If you entrust it to that fellow who is the leader, he will do a decent job. He learned a thing or two looking over my shoulder, after all.”

The moment I heard his indifferent voice, I realized. To him now, even a rare metal like Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron was no different from copper.

“It’s getting late.”

A clear order to leave. I had no choice but to turn on my heel. Hyeok Mujin and Cheong Pung followed, speaking up.

“What are you going to do?”

“What else can I do? I’ll have to keep trying to win him over until tomorrow.”

“Chomp, chomp-chomp.”

“He seems to be no ordinary stubborn old man… No, that aside, where did you get the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Chomp-chomp, chomp-chomp-chomp.”

“……”

“……”

Cheong Pung, sensing our gazes, offered his bundle.

“Would you like one? There’s still a lot left.”

We shouted at the same time.

“Not hungry!”

***

We stayed the night at a crumbling inn. As the only inn in the small village, it was old and shabby in every way, but it had one advantage. The innkeeper was a local who had lived in Jang Clan Village for forty years. He had been wary of us, dressed as martial artists, but his mouth stretched from ear to ear when I slipped him a silver coin.

“Old Man Jang, you say?”

“Yes. The one who lives over that hill.”

The innkeeper nodded at once.

“Ah, of course I know him. He comes to our inn sometimes.”

“Does he?”

“Yes. He drinks alone sometimes, and occasionally joins the gambling tables.”

“He likes to gamble?”

“Not so much that, but it seems he does it just to pass the time. He’s someone who rarely leaves his house more than once a week.”

“A homebody, I see.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, just talking to myself. Is he any good at gambling?”

The innkeeper thought for a moment before answering.

“He’s so-so. If I had to say, he always loses a little, but seeing as he comes every time without even having a livelihood, he must have saved up a fortune when he was young.”

That would be right. It’s a rule that fanatics don’t spare any expense on their passion. All martial artists are weapon fanatics, and Jang Taebo was one of a kind custom weapon maker. He must have made more money than he knew what to do with.

‘So trying to entice him with money is out of the question?’

I had a rough idea from last night’s events, but he was a truly difficult person. A deal is only made when you satisfy the other party’s desires, but he seemed quite content with his current life.

“And what else? For example, does he ever make anything?”

“Make anything?”

“You know, like kitchen knives. Or pickaxes.”

A repeated life becomes a habit. It would be even more so for Jang Taebo, who had lived his entire life dealing with fire and iron. If it were me, my hands would be itching too much to sit still.

However, the innkeeper made a strange face.

“The elder? He dislikes moving so much that he pays extra to have firewood delivered from an escort agency in the winter. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

What is this, escort agency rocket delivery?

A homebody plus extreme laziness. There was simply no opening to wedge myself in.

Hyeok Mujin and Cheong Pung, who had been listening to the conversation over breakfast, suddenly cut in.

“He’s a total fortress.”

“Chomp-chomp. Wow, I’ve never seen a person like that.”

“…I’ve never seen a person like you either.”

One of the drawbacks of this inn was that the food was terrible. Just looking at the owner’s hands was enough to seriously doubt the hygiene, but Cheong Pung was scraping up the leftover food as if such things didn’t matter.

“Is it good?”

“Yes! When I lived with my grandfather, I only ate grass and grain pills every day.”

“Ah, grain pills.”

That I could understand. I would rather make a pancake out of Jin-ho-hyung’s vomit than eat that.

“……”

“Squad Leader, what’s with that expression?”

“Chew-chew. Benefactor, is something wrong?”

“…No, just feeling a little nauseous.”

On second thought, that was a bit much. I waited for Cheong Pung to clean the last plate and then stood up.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Already? It’s just the Hour of the Dragon[1].”

“Can I have just one more dumpling?”

The innkeeper quickly chimed in.

“The elder is old, so he doesn’t sleep in much. And I’ll pack the dumplings for you right away.”

“Alright, satisfied?”

I handed the innkeeper another silver coin. He waved at us from the front of the inn until we were out of sight.

***

“Elder, did you have a peaceful night?”

Jang Taebo, who was out in his yard, frowned upon seeing us. Or more accurately, he frowned upon seeing me.

“I thought I told you not to come back.”

“Still, I couldn’t just leave like that.”

I put on a broad, friendly smile. During my bottom-tier Hunter days, there were guys who cursed at me to my face. This was nothing.

“It felt wrong to come empty-handed, so I bought a small gift.”

“Hm?”

“The innkeeper was quite talkative. He said an acquaintance of his recently dug up a thirty-year-old He Shou Wu.”

He Shou Wu was a medicinal herb still used in modern times. In martial arts novels, hundred-year or thousand-year-old He Shou Wu popped up all the time, but here, digging up a thirty-year-old one was said to be like plucking a star from the sky. In other words, it was an item that was hard to find in this area even with money.

“A thirty-year-old He Shou Wu… so?”

“I was worried that you might be feeling frail these days. I thought of you, elder, and brought it.”

Jin-ho used to say like a habit that a person’s body starts to break down once they pass thirty. His eyes would feel dry, his stomach would burn, and the day after borrowing a USB, his legs wouldn’t even have any strength. If Jin-ho in his prime was like that, how much more so for an old person? For health, there was nothing better than a thirty-year-old He Shou Wu.

“Hmph. Why don’t you eat it?”

“Oh my, me? No, sir. I brought this for you, elder.”

He’s taking the bait.

Feeling the fishing rod twitch, I held out the He Shou Wu. It was an item that could accumulate about a year’s worth of internal energy if consumed properly, but I didn’t regret it one bit.

“Please, have it. They say it’s best to chew it raw, root and all.”

“Hmm, shall I?”

Yes, hurry up and eat this, then spit out a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron spear for me.

At my bright smile, Jang Taebo popped the He Shou Wu into his mouth and began to chew. The atmosphere was completely different from last night.

‘Oh, the mood is good.’

If I gently soothe him while the mood is good like this and then put in my request…!

But the next moment, I heard the sound of my hopeful future snapping.

“Ptooey!”

“……?”

“……?”

“……?”

I, Hyeok Mujin, and Cheong Pung stared at the half-chewed He Shou Wu that had been spat onto the ground.

He spat it out? A thirty-year-old He Shou Wu? Why?

As we stared with bewildered expressions, Jang Taebo asked as if nothing had happened.

“What’s with you all? Is something wrong?”

“…No, why did you spit that out?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s bitter.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words at his confident reply. Is he serious?

“Well, of course it’s bitter, it’s good for your body.”

“Tsk, tsk. You’ve never eaten He Shou Wu before, have you?”

“…No.”

I had eaten hundred-year-old snow ginseng before, but it wasn’t my body at the time, so I wouldn’t know.

As I inadvertently agreed, Jang Taebo rummaged in his robes and then tossed something over.

“What is this?”

When I caught it, I saw it was a wooden box the size of a pencil case. Jang Taebo said with a dismissive laugh, “Open it.”

He said he gambles sometimes, and his speech patterns are at the level of a master gambler.

With a sense of tension I couldn’t explain, I opened the wooden box.

“It’s a fake! …I mean, it’s a He Shou Wu?”

A He Shou Wu?

And not just any He Shou Wu. Its body and roots were thicker than the one I had given him earlier. A fragrant scent pierced my nose.

‘Check Item.’

Tiring!

[Fifty-Year-Old He Shou Wu]

• Type: Spiritual Herb
• Grade: First-Rate
• Restriction: None
• Description: A He Shou Wu that has grown in nature for fifty years and has just begun to contain spiritual energy. If absorbed by a martial artist who has learned an internal energy art, they can gain up to two years of internal energy.

They said even a thirty-year-old one was hard to find, so where on earth did he get a fifty-year-old one? As I stood there speechless, Jang Taebo gave me a winner’s smile.

“It’s an item that comes in once every four months through the Gubang Escort Agency[2]. The head there owes me a bit of a debt. He’s tight-lipped, too.”

“…Is that so.”

So it was a regular delivery from the Gubang Escort Agency. No wonder the old man was more vigorous than most young men.

“Cut the transparent tricks. I am a man who no longer needs anything.”

“You do seem like it.”

He had money saved up, and he had achieved professional success. He even had a full head of hair. The only thing he didn’t have was a family… but if I offered to introduce him to a pretty grandmother, he’d probably try to kill me.

“What must I do for you to accept my commission?”

Jang Taebo cleaned his ear with his pinky.

“If you bring me the Herb of Eternal Youth, I’ll think about it.”

“Pardon?”

“Did you not hear me? The Herb of Eternal Youth. The spiritual herb said to grant eternal life.”

Tiring!

This time, it was me who shouted.

“Not happening!”