The Sichuan Tang Family room.

“…”

Tang Gunak looked at Tang Soso with a slightly complicated expression. On the other hand, she was looking back at him with twinkling eyes.

Tang Gunak closed his eyes.

‘This isn’t wrong.’

There really was nothing wrong with her.

Tang Soso was now a confident disciple of Mount Hua and a full-time warrior. So, it could be said that her appearance was quite normal.

However, to Tang Gunak, she was still his young daughter, someone who was once like a flower. Because of this, he couldn’t help but feel unfamiliar with her current appearance. Even though this wasn’t the first time he’d seen her since she had joined Mount Hua.

And her hair was tied loosely.

Compared to the clothes she wore when she was in the Tang Family, she looked too comfortable in her current garb. And her healthy-looking tanned skin!

‘She seems fine?’

Right. It is fine!

Actually, who cares? My daughter is healthy.

And he put on a happy smile looking at her,

“You had a lot of trouble coming here!”

“No, Father!” loudly replied Tang Soso.

“…you can speak a little lower now.”

“Yes!”

“…”

Tang Gunak was stunned and turned to Chung Myung, who was tilting his head.

“Why?”

“…”

This brat made a bandit out of someone else’s daughter…

‘No. It is whatever, she is healthy now…’

As his internal thoughts began to clash, Tang Gunak’s lips trembled. The facts weren’t organized yet!

“R-Right! It is good having you home after so long.”

“Yes! I like it too!”

“…”

Soso…

Please, at the very least, speak comfortably with your father.

Please…

Tang Gunak’s shoulders dropped at this. But the shock he received was nothing compared to what Tang Pae experienced.

“…Soso.”

“Uh?”

“That… uh…. You changed a lot.”

“Uh? I feel the same?”

“…”

Right. If you say so, then it has to be true.

Hehehe…

Tang Pae glanced at his sister with an awkward face before averting his gaze. And in an even more awkward voice, he questioned Chung Myung,

“…is that possible, Disciple Chung Myung?”

“Yes!”

“…”

His lively answer only left Tang Pae more confused.

In the past, he had once thrown daggers at this man during his fight with Tang Gunak. Because of that, he was no longer the leading successor candidate, and he was now fighting with Tang Zhan for that position.

Of course, there were no ill feelings towards this disciple. What he did was something no warrior should do, and even now, he felt regret and shame toward Chung Myung.

But now, Tang Pae also admired him.

‘So bold.’

Chung Myung accepted his greetings with a bright smile as if he didn’t care.

‘This is the difference between us.’

When they first met, Chung Myung was a disciple of Mount Hua. But now, his skills had made him a giant, a giant so tall that it could not be expressed with words.

So Tang Pae had no choice but to be surprised at Chung Myung’s response. Tang Pae’s voice lowered, and he was now humble.

“Thank you.”

“Uh? For what?”

“For leaving my mistake…”

He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before he could speak,

“It was a time when I was being foolish. Please forgive me for not being able to apologize properly.”

“…Uh?”

But Chung Myung tilted his head like he didn’t remember what Tang Pae was referring to. And just as Tang Pae began to doubt that it even happened, Baek Cheon whispered in Chung Myung’s ear.

“The one from before who stabbed you.”

“What? He is that brat?”

“…”

As if he didn’t know, Chung Myung opened his eyes wide and looked at Tang Pae. Baek Cheon sighed, covering his face.

Come to think of it, Chung Myung had rarely seen Tang Pae. Back then, Chung Myung had only gotten a small peak at him before fainting from the stab wound. And after that, Tang Pae was grounded.

“No! You must want to die! How dare you show me your face! You put a sword in my back…”

“Disciple.”

“…it can be left at that. Well. Hehe. Let’s forget about what happened in the past and get along in the future.”

“…”

The change in what words Chung Myung used made Tang Pae sweat.

‘In another sense, he is scary.’

Scary in a different way. And Tang Gunak, who had been watching this, smiled.

‘Is it really good that I formed an alliance with them?’

Uh…

It seems a bit late to feel regretful…

“Ahem.”

Tang Gunak cleared his throat.

“Well, you must have had a hard time coming here. Really… right, it must have been troublesome.”

How hard was the journey if it were people who pulled the cart?

It was Chung Myung who ordered this, but he couldn’t understand the disciples who had followed along with this.

“Yes. I heard you were coming, but for what reason?”

“Uh? Didn’t you see?”

“See what?”

“The things in the cart.”

“The tightly packed things.”

“Ah. It was raining, so we had wrapped them up, so you didn’t get to check it.”

“The letter I received said that you would explain it.”

“Ah. It is nothing. I want you to make some swords, and we brought the materials.”

“Materials?”

“Yes. Cold steel.”

“Ah. What was that again can I… what? Ten Thousand Year Cold Steel?!”

Tang Gunak was shocked.

“Is that true? Is that what you brought?”

“Yes.”

“Eh, that isn’t some metal you can just find by digging around, just where did you get so much of it?”

“They were buried in Mount Hua.”

“…”

The life drained out of Tang Gunak’s face. It took longer than expected for him to regain his sense.

In the midst of that, a voice inside him said, ‘What were the ancestors of the Tang Family doing?! Why did they settle down in a land that doesn’t even give anything!’

“C-Cold water, Father.”

“Ugh.”

Tang Gunak took the water Tang Zhan had offered.

“First, I need to check things. Is it really what you say?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

As Tang Gunak quickly moved and left the hall, his family and the disciples from Mount Hua followed. The pace was close to a run, and Yoon Jong asked Baek Cheon,

“But Sasuk…”

“Uh?”

“Is cold steel that precious? No, I knew it was precious, but the reaction of the lord….”

“…what could I know that you don’t?”

“…”

Well, it seemed like it.

Just then, Tang Gunak stopped walking and shook his head as he searched for the general.

“General! General!”

“Yes, Lord!”

Sang-Su freaked out and ran over. He couldn’t help but be surprised to hear Tang Gunak shout; usually, his lord never raised his voice.

“W-What is happening!”

“Where is the cart that Mount Hua pulled in!”

“Ah, the cart?”

Tang Sang-Su replied calmly as if there was no need to make a fuss,

“The wheel broke, so I left it in front of the back workshop so it could be repaired.”

“What’s in there?”

“With it…”

“Move!”

“Ack!”

After almost pushing him away, Tang Gunak ran forward with a terrifying speed. Indeed, in front of him was the cart filled with precious metal, the things it held seemed clearly visible.

“S-So much…. Ugh.”

Tang Gunak grabbed his chest like this was too shocking,

“This… you fucking bastard! You knew what this was, and you still did it! Those who touch this will receive punishment!”

Eventually, he pulled out a needle from his sleeve and threw it at the disciples from Mount Hua.

“N-No, what is with this mad man all of a sudden!?”

Chung Myung pulled out his sword seeing Tang Gunak’s attitude, and slashed the needle.

Even in the midst of this, it was absurd how he didn’t throw it in the direction of Soso.

Tang Gunak was in a rage as he slowly took off the cloth covering the cart.

Then, the metal cart full of metal fully revealed itself. At first, it seemed to be just cast-aside scrap, making it difficult to determine the material by its appearance, but Tang Gunak knew what this was.

“Euk! Euk!”

Taking several deep breaths, he touched the metal. A cold chill ran down his fingers, and his eyes widened.

“R-Right! This is it!”

It was one of the best metals.

Tang Gunak hastily stripped the cloth off and looked at the steel with eyes filled with shock, surprise, and excitement.

“T-This much….!”

“Hehe, right?”

Chung Myung quietly approached him, but Tang Gunak suddenly turned toward him, making Chung Myung flinch.

“…what? Is it not? It has to be.”

“… Yah, you…!”

Tang Gunak grabbed Chung Myung and threw him.

“Do you know what kind of material this is? By weight, it is a hundred times more expensive than gold! No, only a hundred? Truthfully, it would be worth a lot more than that!”

Chung Myung, who had flown away, landed and tilted his head.

“Uh? Is that so? I didn’t think much about that.”

“No, what are you even talking about? It has been a hundred years since its price has skyrocketed. After the war with the Demonic Sect, this steel was all dried up.”

“I-I guess so.”

Then I can understand…

“With this much, even if Mount Hua sells it all, there wouldn’t be enough money to buy it all! And you only wrapped it in cloth and brought it? Is your head made of stone?”

“No, that is just a lump of metal…”

At the sight of Chung Myung pouting, Tang Gunak turned around and staggered as he picked up the cart.

Lump of metal?

Just a lump of metal?

If one of his family members… if someone from the Tang Family had said this, Tang Gunak would have sewn their mouths shut.

However, his opponent now was a swordsman who didn’t know how precious this metal was.

‘Let’s not talk about it.’

Right. What would anger bring? This guy always acted like this.

“Phew, right… so why did you bring so much of this metal here?”

“To make a sword.”

“… a sword?”

“Yes, Plum Blossom swords.”

“…”

Tang Gunak’s eyes twitched.

“Making swords out of all this?”

“Yes.”

His face, which had finally calmed down for a second, turned red again, but this time he quickly regained his composure.

‘No, do not get too excited about this.’

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Chung Myung and asked,

“Are you planning to make a sacred weapon for a martial arts sect?”

“No, just simple Plum Blossom swords. To give to my sahyungs.”

“…crazy…”

“Uh?”

In the end, Tang Gunak, who couldn’t stand it, finally uttered harsh words.

“What? I’d rather make a sword out of gold for that. No, if this sword is made, then you could buy a mansion with it. Since when has Mount Hua become such a wealthy sect!?”

“Hehe. You don’t seem to know.”

“…Uh?”

Chung Myung pushed his stomach out.

“I have a lot of money.”

“…”

Tang Gunak finally sat down. It seemed like he had shouted more today than all of his life combined.

“…You are not in a proper state of mind.”

Of course, he knew this already… he knew Chung Myung was half mad.

“Can you make it?”

“…”

“I brought this here because I thought you could make it. But, if you cannot, I will look elsewhere.”

Tang Gunak’s head spun.

After a while, he sorted out his thoughts and calmed down.

“Of course, we can make it. If it’s the smelting technique of our family, it isn’t that difficult to make swords from this.”

“Oh! Then….”

“Instead, there is a condition.”

“Uh?”

Tang Gunak’s eyes shone.

“Can you give me a bit of it?”

“…”

“I won’t ask for much, just a little! What are friends for? Hahaha!”

Tang Soso, who had been watching this, just quietly turned her head.

Her father, whom she had always been proud of… was making her ashamed today.