Chapter 148: Chapter 148

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Sunlight shone warmly on the courtyard.

Jang Geon sat at the breakfast table, picked up a spoon, and began scooping rice into his mouth. Seeing him like that, Madam Yeom, Jang Un’s wife, quickly brought over warm soup and side dishes and set them before him.

“Eat plenty, brother-in-law. You’ve been through so much suffering lately.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law.”

Jang Geon gave a faint smile and began eating in earnest. Watching him, Jang Un clicked his tongue softly.

“You fellow, if you’re going to stay in New Sichuan, stay properly. Why do you keep getting caught up in dangerous things?”

“Brother, leave him be. Isn’t he safe and back now?”

Madam Yeom took Jang Geon’s side and scolded Jang Un. Jang Un let out a dry cough and turned his head.

The problem was that Jang Geon had only been sick and weak on the first night, and for the next few days after that, he merely idled around like a jobless slacker. At first, Jang Un had been worried by his younger brother’s name frequently heard here and there, but seeing him lounging around all day and playing tricks with the children, a worry of a different direction began to form. Wondering if this fellow might become a loafing hooligan living off others at this rate.

“Uncle! Then are you playing lazily today too, Uncle?”

Just then, Dan Sang-woon’s son, Dan Yong-joong, asked abruptly while chewing his food. Dan Sang-woon’s children, seeing Jang Sang and Jang Yeong call Jang Geon uncle, called him that as well. Jang Geon didn’t bother to correct it.

“You brat! Calling an adult lazy—who taught you to speak so carelessly?”

Before Jang Geon could answer, Dan Sang-woon gave a small scolding first. Swinging his feet on the chair while eating, the child flinched in surprise at his father’s stern face and opened his two eyes wide. Afterwards, rolling those big eyes back and forth between Chae-yun and Dan Sang-woon, the child spoke in a subdued, creeping voice.

“I’m sorry…”

“You should apologize to Brother Jang, not your father.”

The child apologized to Jang Geon again. Jang Geon smiled faintly and shook his head.

“I was idling a bit. It’s alright.”

As Jang Geon smiled for him, the child quickly erased his sullen mood and resumed eating. As Jang Geon watched that, he felt Jang Un’s gaze from beside him.

When their eyes met, Jang Un spoke.

“So you do know. Then how about coming out to the guild today to take a look around?”

Jang Geon slowly shook his head while maintaining his smiling face. As if expecting that, Jang Un let out a small sigh and focused back on his meal. Afterwards, the bustling breakfast quickly came to an end.

Jang Un was busy with guild work. If the house hadn’t been attached to the guild, he wouldn’t even have been able to come home. So after clearing the table, he went straight to work at the guild. Madam Yeom and Chae-yun were also busy preparing to welcome the children’s writing tutor who would visit shortly.

Only Jang Geon had time to spare and to spare, so he brought a chair to one side of the courtyard and smoked a rolled leaf while basking in the sunlight. Leaning his back against the backrest with a rolled leaf in his mouth and his head tilted up toward the sky, he certainly looked like an unemployed hooligan.

Just then, someone approached him. It was Dan Sang-woon, who should have gone to work with Jang Un.

“Brother Jang.”

Jang Geon slightly opened just one of his closed eyes to look at him.

“Today the kids will be busy studying writing too, so what do you plan to play with?”

When even Dan Sang-woon mentioned idling around, Jang Geon smirked.

“Well. I was thinking of creating a fist art today.”

“Fist art? Hahaha!”

Dan Sang-woon laughed, thinking it was a joke when Jang Geon said he was creating martial arts as casually as if deciding to go fishing today. Jang Geon laughed as well. Of course, to Jang Geon, it was no joke. To the guild members, it might look like he was merely idling, and that was partly true, but one side of Jang Geon’s mind was genuinely pondering martial arts.

However, since he had no intention of bothering to explain and make Dan Sang-woon, who had already laughed, feel awkward, Jang Geon took the rolled leaf from his mouth and asked.

“Seeing as you’re talking to me instead of going to work, you must have something interesting in mind.”

“Hmm. It’s nothing that incredible… Thanks to you, Brother Jang, I entered this guild, earned a lot of money, and have been making all sorts of things I wanted to make…”

Unlike approaching stealthily and initiating conversation first, Dan Sang-woon hesitated slightly and talked around the point. Jang Geon did not rush him and quietly listened to his words.

“…So what I mean is, if you have nothing special going on today, would you care to come to my workshop?”

“That sounds fun. Let’s go.”

Jang Geon answered readily, put the rolled leaf back in his mouth, and stood up. Dan Sang-woon quickly led the way, guiding him to the new workshop attached behind the guild building.

The workshop was slightly larger than the warehouse Dan Sang-woon used to have. There was a large furnace on one side, and all sorts of iron pieces, wooden blocks, and papers with scribbles were rolling around. Picking one up, it was a heavy gear. As he looked around at it, Dan Sang-woon dragged out a machine from a corner and pulled off the cloth covering it.

Seeing that, Jang Geon’s mouth gaped so wide that his rolled leaf almost dropped.

“This…”

The device consisted of an iron cylinder, in front of which a large iron wheel was connected by several long iron rods. A person seeing it for the first time would wonder what it was, but to the eyes of Jang Geon, who possessed a rough knowledge of machinery, it looked like a rudimentary steam engine—and furthermore, a machine that could lead to a steam train if expanded in size with a cargo carriage attached.

“Oh! As expected, Brother Jang seems to roughly guess even without seeing it operate. Haha.”

Dan Sang-woon set the body of the machine over the furnace, fetched a water bucket from a corner of the workshop, and filled it with water. Then he lit a fire and fiddled with this and that.

“You already know about the rickshaw, right? Thinking while making that, I felt that using this device, one could make a wheeled device that moves on its own without people, oxen, or horses pulling it. Although it still needs more research and has many problems, I’ve roughly implemented the principle like this.”

A moment later, when the sound of boiling water echoed from the body over the furnace, Dan Sang-woon fiddled with something again. At that, a metallic clanking sound rang out, and white steam puff-puffed out above the device as the wheels slowly began to turn.

“Haha! How about attaching this in front of a carriage instead of horses? As long as water and fuel are continuously supplied, an Iron Horse that runs without tiring is born. Isn’t it splendid?”

Looking at it with surprised eyes for a moment, Jang Geon smirked upon seeing Dan Sang-woon laughing brightly.

“It would be even better to lay iron tracks on the ground and glide smoothly over them. Making it far larger than a small carriage would be ideal.”

“Oh…”

Even though Jang Geon didn’t explain in further detail, a picture seemed to form in Dan Sang-woon’s mind as he kept his eyes fixed on the steam engine and remained quiet for a long while. Only after Jang Geon tapped his shoulder a moment later did he snap back to his senses and show other items as well.

A brush connected to a small container from which ink dripped very little by little, a smaller and more elegantly modified oil lighter, a doll that moved on its own via a clockwork mechanism—it was clear he was trying to make items that could be sold in addition to the steam engine.

Jang Geon looked at the doll bobbing forward on its own for a moment via spring force. If Dan Sang-woon continued his research with the support of the Jang Family Merchant Guild at this rate, he seemed poised to spark a single-handed industrial revolution. Perhaps an era where steam trains ran through the dry wasteland and martial artists competed in martial arts atop them was not far off.

Ultimately, a wandering swordsman merely walks along embracing a single blade amidst a changing world. Jang Geon decided to be satisfied that thanks to him, Dan Sang-woon had not died and could continue pursuing his dream.

“Brother Jang?”

Jang Geon looked at Dan Sang-woon at the voice calling him. Even though he was the only martial artist under heaven besides Jang Geon capable of invoking the Primordial Thunderbolt, looking solely at his face, one could not guess at all that he was such a high master. Perhaps because he was such a person, he was able to master it. Just as one must realize tranquility to invoke thunderbolts.

Jang Geon spoke.

“Hmm. Well, I’m originally a jobless hooligan, but seeing you idling like this too, it seems you have no particularly busy work today either.”

“Ah… Haha, in truth, well, Guild Master Jang handles almost all the business, so I hardly do any guild work. When I get busy tinkering with things, it’s endlessly busy, but when I idle, I can idle endlessly too. Hahaha.”

“Then let’s go have a daytime drink.”

Dan Sang-woon’s eyes widened round. He hesitated for a moment and asked.

“…Uh, won’t Guild Master Jang scold us for that?”

“I’m buying liquor to drink with my own money, so who could say anything? Let’s go, I’m buying.”

When Jang Geon spoke as such and led the way out of the workshop, Dan Sang-woon quickly followed along as well.

“Ahem, ahem… Still, I think I should tell my wife before going…”

“Sister-in-law Yeom might not mind, but Lady Chae would definitely get angry. No, wait, if it’s Sister-in-law Yeom, she might rather prepare a table for us to drink at home. So let’s just go quietly.”

“Ahem, ahem…”

Even while clearing his throat repeatedly like that, Dan Sang-woon did not pull back and followed behind Jang Geon. Since the workshop was set up behind the guild, the two leaving the workshop checked the interior mood discreetly and naturally slipped out into the alleyway.

Passing through winding alleyways and emerging onto a somewhat larger street, bright sunlight and people busily coming and going could be seen. Jang Geon, dressed in casual clothes, trudged along looking for an eatery or inn suitable for daytime drinking. Beside him, Dan Sang-woon looked around at the surrounding streets and people as if finding it amusing. Evidently, he had not gone outside easily even after joining the Jang Family Merchant Guild.

While thinking about where to enter, a small inn caught Jang Geon’s eye. Amidst signs filled with grand exaggerations claiming to be New Sichuan’s finest eatery or the New Continent’s supreme tavern, it was a small inn that merely hung flags inscribed with single characters for Food and Liquor.

Liking its unadorned appearance, Jang Geon’s steps headed toward it.

Lifting the beaded curtain at the entrance and stepping inside, it was a small inn just as seen from the outside. Perhaps because the inn was small, or perhaps because it had some other charm, people were dining here and there. People who had come for daytime drinking like Jang Geon and Dan Sang-woon could also be seen.

When they sat down, a man who appeared to be both cook and waiter soon brought teacups and a teapot. And glancing at Jang Geon and Dan Sang-woon, he spoke.

“Liquor?”

Jang Geon nodded and added words.

“And side dishes too.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Sipping tea while sitting like that for a moment, New Sichuan white liquor and simple stir-fried side dishes soon arrived. Jang Geon and Dan Sang-woon filled and emptied their cups. Dan Sang-woon seemed to hesitate slightly at first, but after a few drinks went down, he soon began delightfully emptying cups with gulps.

“Hahaha! So Yong-ah already likes Sang-i and follows him around. Judging by how he talks, Sang-i doesn’t seem to dislike it either… Ah, kids these days are really fast…”

With a flushed face, Dan Sang-woon talked about the children. When talking about inventions he looked like a young child, but when talking about real children he looked like a father of two. Jang Geon also chuckled and emptied his liquor cup while agreeing. Coming out somewhat on impulse, it had a taste of its own.

As they emptied cup after cup, the sunlight coming from outside seemed to be heading toward afternoon before they knew it. Yet even after drinking like that, their face color was not much different from the beginning. Setting a new dish on the table, the cook spoke.

“Where did two heavy drinkers come from?”

“I think it’s because the side dishes are delicious.”

At Jang Geon’s compliment, the cook smirked and returned. Afterward, Jang Geon and Dan Sang-woon drank liquor using the new dish as both meal and side dish.

Just then, the beaded curtain of the inn lifted, and two new people entered. The two wore bamboo hats and white martial robes. Judging by the swords strapped to their backs, they appeared to be martial artists. Returning to the kitchen, the cook saw them and spoke.

“Sit in any suitable spot. Liquor?”

It was a bit blunt for treating martial artists, but this was New Sichuan, home of the Martial Alliance. If trouble erupted, hooligans who usually strutted around claiming to be martial artists couldn’t even preserve their bones.

However, the two white-robed people did not answer the cook’s question, but raised their bamboo hats slightly and looked around the inn. And soon discovering the person they were looking for, they began walking briskly toward them.

And sensing a peculiar presence from the moment they entered, Jang Geon slowly shook his head and filled his cup. By the time he emptied that cup, two white-robed figures had approached the table where he and Dan Sang-woon sat.

One white-robed person spoke.

“Jang Geon?”

Jang Geon set down his cup, picked up the liquor bottle, and spoke.

“That’s a voice I’m hearing for the first time.”

“Are you Jang Geon? Demon-Slashing Knight-Errant Jang Geon?”

Filling his cup, Jang Geon paused for a moment. Demon-Slashing Knight-Errant was another title he was hearing for the first time. At that, Dan Sang-woon, watching the mood, spoke quietly.

“It’s a moniker attached to your name since a few days ago, Brother Jang. I think it’s quite splendid.”

Jang Geon grumpily chuckled and raised his filled cup. Without even looking at the white-robed person, he spoke.

“Yeah, if I am Jang Geon, what of it?”

The white-robed person was silent for a moment. But his twitched fists indicated that Jang Geon’s attitude was not to his liking. He spoke as if gritting his teeth.

“…Do not act so impolitely before the person you are to meet from now on. The one who will become the mistress of a clan—”

“Warrior Yong. Stop and step back.”

However, at the words of another white-robed person standing behind him, he immediately stopped speaking, bowed his waist slightly, and stepped aside. Emptying his cup, Jang Geon leaned back against his chair and watched with a grumpy posture. Judging by the voice, the other white-robed person seemed to be a woman.

She approached Jang Geon like that and took off her bamboo hat. Beneath it was a young—or rather, a woman more fittingly called young girl.

She spoke.

“My name is Seom Ji-young. I have a request for you.”

[LINE 215]