‘It’s old, and small.’

That was the old man’s first impression of Jang Family Village. Sitting on the slowly swaying A-frame carrier, he looked at the sparsely lined houses and added in a voice so small that no one else could hear.

“…And peaceful.”

It seemed that time had indeed passed. His body relaxed at the unremarkable scenery, and a corner of his heart felt a tickle. Just like that day, over twenty years ago.

‘It was the same when I took that boy in.’

Suddenly, a child he had met long ago flashed before his eyes. Normally, he would have just tossed him a few iron coins or ignored him and passed by, but that day was different. Was it because it was right after he had realized he was suffering from the illness of old age? As he looked at the owner of the hand that was desperately reaching out, he had found himself uttering a single phrase without realizing it.

‘Will you come with me?’

“Elder. We’ve arrived.”

At the woodcutter Jang Pal’s voice, the old man snapped back to his senses. They had already stopped in front of a small house. From within the fence, which was made of roughly woven branches, a small something shot out.

“Daddy!”

“Aigoo, my daughter!”

Barely six or seven years old, a little girl came running and clung to her father’s leg. The old man, who had lightly jumped off the A-frame carrier, stared at the scene.

“Is that your child?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. Hyang-ah, say hello. This is…”

Come to think of it, he still didn’t know the old man’s name. The old man waved his hand at Jang Pal, whose words were trailing off.

“There’s no need for formal introductions.”

Just as Jang Pal was smiling awkwardly, Hyang-ah, who had been looking up at the old man with sparkling eyes, toddled over and patted his gaunt thigh.

“Grandpa!”

“Hm?”

“What’s your name, grandpa?”

“I don’t know. I’ve forgotten it myself.”

For the old man, it was an answer meant to avoid annoyance, but for Jang Pal, it was different.

‘His mind is not sound enough to even remember his own name.’

As a simple mountain person, he felt very sorry for this old man. Abandoned by his children and dressed in clothes no better than a straw mat, he couldn’t just let him wander the streets like this.

“Elder, please have a meal first. I will prepare a place for you right away.”

“It’s fine. What I got earlier is more than enough.”

“Still…”

“There is someone I must find. I have been delayed for a long time, so please understand.”

After finishing his words, the old man paused. Understand? The word that had flowed from his mouth felt unfamiliar. He was a man who had lived his entire life without restraint. Everyone feared and revered him. Even the renowned masters of the Murim tucked their tails before him. But to this countryman whom he had met less than an hour ago, such words came easily.

‘I’ve gotten old. Definitely old.’

Someone tugged at the sleeve of the bewildered old man. He looked down and saw chubby baby cheeks wiggling.

“Who are you looking for? Hyang-ah is good at finding people.”

“…Are you now?”

“Uh-huh! Yesterday, I found Grandpa Jang who lives three doors down.”

“That was well done of you.”

“When I found him, he gave me something yummy. I ate until my tummy was full.”

She spoke nonsensically and then placed her hands firmly on her hips. Her expression was even quite solemn.

“And people need to eat to have strength. At grandpa’s age, you can even chew on cast iron.”

“H-Hyang-ah!”

“Uahahaha!”

The old man laughed heartily for the first time in a long while. When was the last time he had laughed like this? It must have been well over ten years. After his laughter subsided, he stroked the round little head.

“Yes, you are right. This old man can even chew on cast iron.”

“Uh-huh. I’m always right.”

The old man let himself be led into the house by Hyang-ah, who was pulling at his sleeve with a proud smile, as if he couldn’t win against her. He was a man who wouldn’t budge even if a man of great strength challenged him, but today was an exception. More than anything…

‘This isn’t so bad.’

He was rather enjoying this situation. He even felt as if he had become an ordinary old man for a change.

As he entered the room, Jang Pal’s wife soon brought in a dining table.

“The side dishes are not much.”

As she said, the food was simple. A few seasoned vegetables and mixed-grain rice. The meat soup she had brought out as a special treat was pale in color and bland in taste. However, it was a meal prepared with sincerity. It was clear at a glance that they were not well-off, yet they welcomed the shabby old man at their table not as an uninvited guest, but as a guest.

‘Well, I’ll be.’

The old man finished his meal, engulfed in a strange feeling. Hyang-ah asked with sparkling eyes.

“Grandpa. Was it good?”

“Yes, it was the most delicious thing I’ve eaten recently.”

“Right? My mom is the best cook in our village.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yep!”

It wasn’t that good, though. The old man swallowed the words he wanted to say and nodded. This meal wasn’t eaten for its taste. It was eaten for its sincerity. Hyang-ah, on the other hand, was oblivious to this and chattered on excitedly.

“The Grandpa Jang who lives three doors down sometimes comes to our house to eat too. Though yesterday, I was the one who got to eat. Hehe.”

Jang Pal, who was watching his daughter fondly, said, “Hyang-ah, did you go to the elder’s house again?”

“Yep, Grandpa gave me something yummy yesterday. The other big brothers too.”

“How many times have I told you not to be a nuisance to the elder… But big brothers?”

Jang Family Village was a small village. The few young people had either left for the outside world or had thrown themselves into a martial arts sect with dreams of adventure. The remaining ones had their own families, so there was almost no one Hyang-ah could call a big brother. But big brothers?

“Were they people you’d never seen before?”

“Uh-huh. They were tall, handsome, and gave me this much food. So I helped them find grandpa.”

“Find him? They were looking for the elder?”

“I don’t know. They were just looking for grandpa. They were cool big brothers with sticks on their waists.”

“Sticks on their waists… swords?”

Martial artists. They were martial artists, for sure. The faces of Jang Pal and his wife, who had come to the same conclusion, turned serious. For ordinary commoners like them, martial artists were objects of fear. How they had trembled in fear during the war between the Taiyuan Jin Family and the Hengshan Sword Sect just a few months ago. But now, unidentified martial artists were close by. And their only daughter had gotten involved with them.

Jang Pal opened his mouth with an anxious face.

“So what happened?”

“When I took them there, grandpa yelled.”

“D-Did you hear who those big brothers were?”

“I heard, but I forgot!”

It was a bright answer, but dark clouds formed in the parents’ hearts. Jang Pal hastily rose from his seat.

“I must go see. The elder might be in some kind of trouble.”

“Hyang-ah’s father!”

“You stay here with Hyang-ah. I’ll just take a quick look and come back, so don’t worry.”

Contrary to his words, he picked up the axe leaning in a corner of the room. It was at that moment, as his alarmed wife was about to stop him.

“Sit down.”

“Pardon?”

“Are you deaf? I said, sit down.”

The old man, who had been sitting quietly, pushed himself up. A cracking sound came from his gaunt knees.

“I’ve had a good meal. I’ll go for a walk. And pay for my meal while I’m at it.”

Jang Pal, who was staring blankly at the old man, laughed in resignation.

“That is no place for you to go, elder.”

“It’s the other way around. That place is no place for you to go.”

“Please stay here. I will be back shortly.”

“And you think you can come back?”

The old man stared at Jang Pal with an unreadable expression. Meeting the deep and profound eyes, he felt as if his breath had stopped.

“If those guys are even a little, just a little bit bad, you won’t be able to come back. Are you planning on having your child grow up without a father?”

The gaze shone like a flash of lightning for a moment, then faded. The old man, who patted his back as if nothing had happened, held out his hand towards Jang Pal.

“Give it here.”

That was all. But Jang Pal, as if possessed by something, handed the axe to the old man.

“You’ve taken good care of it. This is best used only for chopping wood.”

The old man, who was silently looking at the sharp axe blade, grinned at Hyang-ah. The child, sensing the atmosphere, had her large eyes already moist with tears.

“Why the long face?”

“I think I, Hyang-ah, did something wrong. Hyang-ah did wrong.”

“Yes, this time, you were in the wrong.”

Just as a sorrowful cry was about to burst out, a voice as soft and fluffy as a cotton blanket followed.

“So from now on, be extra careful so that something like this doesn’t happen again. Listen to your parents well, understand?”

“Uh-huh… But grandpa.”

“Speak.”

“Can you come back?”

The old man couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Of course. I’m at an age where I can chew on cast iron, what can I not do?”

At that moment, Jang Pal, who had been dazed for a moment, snapped back to his senses. No matter what, to hand an axe to an old man suffering from senility. He must have been well and truly possessed. He had to fix this right now.

“Elder, please give me the axe back. This is, this is really not right…”

The next moment, Jang Pal couldn’t continue his words and his mouth fell open. An utterly unbelievable sight was unfolding before his eyes.

Crunch. Cra-crunch.

The axe blade was breaking. Every time the yellowed teeth, which looked like they couldn’t even chew a soft chicken bone, moved, the axe blade, which he sharpened with care every day, snapped off piece by piece.

“Wh-What is this.”

“Your child, she has an eye for people. She was very accurate.”

The conversation he had with the old man a while ago flashed through the astonished Jang Pal’s mind.

‘Why are there so many clan villages here? Just an hour ago, there was one called Hong Family Village or something.’

‘Hong Family Village? Hong Family Village should be at least three hundred li from here. Are you perhaps mistaken with another place?’

‘Do I look like an imbecile who can’t even remember something from an hour ago?’

Only then did Jang Pal realize. That everything the old man had said until now was not a lie. He was no ordinary old man. An old man who could walk three hundred li in an hour and chew on cast iron could not be ordinary. Only they were capable of such a marvelous affair.

“A martial artist…”

The old man asked Jang Pal, whose legs were trembling, “Right, where did you say those guys are?”

***

A voice filled with ecstasy flowed from between Jang Taebo’s lips.

“I will create for you the greatest divine weapon in the world.”

Tiring!

Fuck, if I knew this would happen, I would have shown him sooner.

Hyeok Mujin also had a look of disbelief on his face. No, on closer inspection, it was a look of shock.

“Th-That’s all Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

I scratched my chin. What do I know? The system just says it’s Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, so I guess it is.

“Uh, probably.”

“No, it can’t just be ‘probably’!”

“I guess so.”

To be honest, I was also baffled. When Jang Taebo showed no reaction earlier after hearing I had Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, I just thought, ‘So for the guys who play in the big leagues, Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron is a basic item.’ But it turns out…

‘Is it like ‘10% apple flavor added’ in a drink?’

It’s called the best mineral in the world, but if it’s only used by chipping off a little bit to attach to a blade, then it must be incredibly rare. The fact that I can use 100% while everyone else is using 5% or 10% additives is a huge advantage. It means I can win with the power of my items.

“With this, with this, I can create the masterpiece of my lifetime.”

Jang Taebo’s body trembled, unable to contain his emotion. It was hard to believe he was the same old man who had been so indifferently playing hard to get just a moment ago. Of course, I was happy that things had worked out well.

“Where on earth did you get such an enormous amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

“It’s a secret.”

“D-Did you perhaps discover a mine with a large deposit of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron!”

Jang Taebo’s eyes flashed like high beams. He had said he no longer needed anything, but now he was…

“Tell me!”

I shook my head coolly. Not only did I not know the location of any mine, but I couldn’t tell him the truth either.

“I can’t.”

“Please! I’m begging you like this!”

“W-Whoa, what are you doing?”

Now he was grabbing my trousers and clinging to me. In his eyes, the soul of a craftsman who had walked a single path for decades was burning.

“Heyyy—!”

“Aigoo, really!”

It was at that moment, as I hastily pulled Jang Taebo’s hands off me.

“Is this the house of the Grandpa Jang who lives three doors down… son of a bitch. I’ve caught his habit. Anyway, is this Old Man Jang’s house?”

A sharp, clear voice pierced my eardrums.