Chapter 48
48
The Iron Workshop had tight security.
Four martial artists patrolled as a team, and one had to write their name and purpose of visit in the entry log to enter.
Even the direct descendants of the family were no exception. Dang Ju-hee took the log the guard offered and scribbled down the purpose of her visit.
- Dang Ju-hee, here to see Cho-hee.
Then, she handed me the brush.
"Here. You write too."
"What should I write?"
"Write whatever you want."
"Does Deokju have to write too?"
"Tell her to wait outside. It'll be a hassle if something goes missing while she's with us."
"That's what she says, Deokju. It'll take a while, so why don't you wait in the detached palace?"
"Yes, Young Miss."
Deokju retreated obediently.
Seeing that the rigid Deokju didn't insist on following, it seemed the Iron Workshop was off-limits to anyone who wasn't involved.
I pondered over the purpose of my visit and wrote my name below Dang Ju-hee's.
- Dang So-hye, accompanying Dang Ju-hee.
The martial artist managing the entry log pressed his lips tightly. He seemed to be trying hard not to laugh.
Was this not right?
I flipped through the log to see how others wrote and saw neatly written words.
- Dang Hwa-yeop, taking out whetstone for Hidden Weapons maintenance and 8 Tribulus Ferrestris.
...So that's how you write it. No wonder he was laughing.
I returned the entry log, trying to act nonchalant, and the guard nodded and opened the gate.
"The entry is very strict."
"Metallurgy is the Tang Clan's lifeline. We have to prevent leaks."
Dang Ju-hee replied as if it were obvious and pointed to the wall.
"Those are all formation traps, so don't even think about climbing over the wall. They've applied Eight deadly poisons, so you'll die if you get hit. I wonder if you'd be okay?"
So they wouldn't let intruders off easily. It seemed every place was sensitive about technology leaks.
As soon as I entered the Iron Workshop, I felt a heat that was incomparable to the outside. It felt like standing in front of lava.
"It's always summer here."
Dang Ju-hee grumbled and strode inside. I followed Dang Ju-hee.
The sound of metal dragging on the floor, the bellows, and the sound of quenching hot metal echoed and mingled.
Clang! Clang!
Following the cheerful hammering sound, I saw Dang Cho-hee, beads of sweat on her brow, hammering heated metal.
"Cho-hee. Your sister is here."
Dang Cho-hee didn't stop hammering even at Dang Ju-hee's call.
Dang Ju-hee sat on a nearby box as if she expected it. She crossed her legs and beckoned me.
"Come and sit down, youngest. It'll take a while."
"How long will it take?"
"About two hours?"
Four hours in this heat? Shouldn't I go and do my own thing?
I was about to grumble, but I was soon captivated by the sight before me.
Every time Dang Cho-hee swung the hammer, the metal on the anvil sparked bright yellow flames.
As the sparks, glittering like stardust, faded, the shape of the metal had changed.
Sometimes strong, sometimes weak.
Her skill in shaping the heated metal with skillful hammering was extraordinary at first glance.
Dang Ju-hee smiled when she saw I couldn't take my eyes off the anvil.
"She's good, right?"
"Pardon?"
"Cho-hee, I mean."
"Yes. She's amazing."
To belittle that talent as a blacksmith's game, her father must have eyes in his ass.
"She hasn't even been hammering for half a year. She ran away to the Iron Workshop saying she'd rather make Hidden Weapons than pretend to be a good wife, and unexpectedly found her talent."
"Half a year? Isn't that genius?"
"Did you hear that? Cho-hee. You're a genius."
Dang Ju-hee laughed, and Dang Cho-hee blushed and frowned.
"Don't talk nonsense. Why did you come?"
"To have tea with the three of us."
"No."
"We waited for an hour?"
"You waited on your own."
Dang Ju-hee wasn't discouraged by the cold reply. She smiled confidently and took something out of her sleeve.
"Guess what this is?"
"...Where did you get that?"
"I'll give it to you if we have tea together."
"I asked you, where did you get the Kunwu Iron?"
Dang Cho-hee slammed down the hammer and glared at Dang Ju-hee. Dang Ju-hee shrugged at the fierce look.
"Uncle got it for me to make a Claw Blade."
"The White Wind Merchant Guild is amazing. The elders of the Iron Workshop said they haven't seen Kunwu Iron in a long time."
"They're pretending they don't have it while they do. Looks like Uncle is having a power struggle with Father."
Dang Ju-hee, speaking as if it were someone else's business, tossed the iron ingot. Dang Cho-hee caught it lightly and frowned.
"Father didn't give you money?"
"It's probably a commission rate issue. It's not like it's a one- or two-day thing. Are we going for tea now?"
"Let's go."
Dang Cho-hee nodded and turned her gaze to me. She scanned me up and down indifferently and gestured slightly.
"Hand."
"Yes?"
"Open your hand."
Dang Ju-hee made a humming sound as if she were watching something interesting.
"Heung. Cho-hee, are you giving the youngest a gift? Our Cho-hee has grown up?"
"Shut up."
I hesitantly held out my hand, and Dang Cho-hee placed something in it.
It was a thin piece of metal in the shape of a butterfly.
"What is this?"
"Flying Dagger."
"Did you make it, sister?"
"Yeah."
Then, she stared at me intently. She had a face that wanted something.
"It's cool."
"..."
Wasn't that what she wanted? I hurriedly blurted out anything.
"I've never seen anything like this. Ahaha, what is this used for?"
"Throw it."
"Throw it?"
"It's a Hidden Weapons, so you have to throw it."
Dang Cho-hee replied and picked up the Flying Dagger.
She put the Flying Dagger between her index and middle fingers, spun it around, and gracefully stretched out her arm as if dancing.
The Flying Dagger, flying lightly like a butterfly, pierced the edge of the wooden box. At the same time, the box burst open.
"Ooh."
I couldn't help but exclaim at the scattering wood dust. Was it because she worked as a blacksmith? She was stronger than average.
"If someone gives you Poison, don't be a fool and eat it, just stick the Flying Dagger in their face."
Was she telling me to stick the Flying Dagger in her brother's face?
Dang Cho-hee, who casually spat out terrifying words, retrieved the Flying Dagger and placed it in my hand.
I thought she had no interest in me, but it seemed she was worried about me eating Poison.
"Were you worried about me? Thank you, sister."
When I smiled brightly and made eye contact, Dang Cho-hee frowned and turned her head away. Her neck was red.
She wasn't cold, but shy. I roughly knew how to deal with her too.
"Sister. This is my first time touching a Flying Dagger. Would you teach me how to throw it?"
"...I guess."
Dang Cho-hee replied awkwardly.
I smiled as I put the unfamiliar Hidden Weapons in my arms.
* * *
Dang Ju-hee's chatter, which started with how the silk of Suzhou was different from the Brocade made in Sichuan, continued with the amount and market price of the silk brought in by the White Wind Merchant Guild, and ended with bragging that she would make summer clothes with Suzhou silk.
...What about the silk?
I knew she was talkative, but I didn't know she was this talkative, so my head was spinning.
Dang Cho-hee was also poking at the refreshments with a bored face. She looked like she wanted to run away right now.
So that's why she didn't want to have tea.
"Youngest should also make summer clothes, right? Youngest doesn't have a nanny, so who takes care of her? Does Madam Jin take care of her? Did the seamstress take her measurements?"
"Ahaha, I think the clothes my sister gave me are enough."
"Those are winter clothes. You said you're hot now. It'll be very hot in the middle of summer, right? Should I call the seamstress? That's a good idea. Let's take measurements and go buy silk. I'll pick a color that suits you well."
"She said it's enough. Let her do what she wants."
"Cho-hee, you should go out too. Make some new clothes. What's with your appearance? Soso, bring the seamstress. Let the merchant guild know that we're going to see silk."
"Yes, Young Miss."
The maid who was serving tea hurriedly left at Dang Ju-hee's command. Dang Cho-hee frowned in disgust.
"I'm not going. I'm going to the Iron Workshop."
"Cho-hee. You have to think about the family's reputation. We're like the Tang Clan's signboard. If our appearance is terrible, everyone will misunderstand that the Tang Clan is in trouble. Right, youngest?"
"Yes? Uh... I guess so."
It was an unusually sensible remark.
That's right. I also thought the Namgung Family must be very rich when I saw Namgung Hwi's clothes.
Now that I heard it, I should care enough not to tarnish the family name...
Is there a need? I'm an Illegitimate Son. They'll probably think I'm not being treated well.
Dang Cho-hee seemed to be thinking similarly and picked at her ear.
"There's an idiot who pours money into the brothel every day, who would misunderstand."
"Pfft."
I burst out laughing.
Dang Young-ho was a fool, and Dang Juyeop was an idiot.
Looking at the way the two spoke, they weren't born from the same womb... but they were definitely sisters who grew up together. They got along well.
Dang Ju-hee poked my cheek when I laughed.
"Oh, the youngest laughed."
"I'd laugh better if my sister didn't bother me."
"When did I bother you? I'm just trying to play with the youngest."
Dang Cho-hee cut her off as if telling her not to talk nonsense.
"You're the one who wants to play."
"No, the youngest..."
Dang Ju-hee, who was giggling, erased her smile and stared at the air.
"What is it? Why did you come?"
"Father is looking for you."
Surprised by the thick voice, I turned around and saw a stranger standing there.
"Father? Why?"
"I don't know. I just came to tell you because he called. Maybe he's setting a wedding date."
The man, replying as if he didn't care, swept back his hair. Dang Ju-hee bared her teeth and sneered.
"How kind of you."
"You're welcome."
The man, who seemed used to the sarcasm, met my gaze. He tilted his head and opened his mouth.
"But... there's a face I haven't seen before."
The man, narrowing his eyes and scanning me, raised one corner of his mouth as if he was displeased.
"Looking at that pretty face, I know who it is. Everyone must have a lot of free time? To have time to hang out with an Illegitimate Son."
"Look at the way you talk. You should mind your own business."
Dang Ju-hee said with a disdainful face. Dang Cho-hee also frowned.
There was no need to ask who the guy who suddenly talked about Illegitimate Son was.
The unusually luxurious green robe. A face that was a spitting image of Dang Mu-hyeok. A direct descendant of the Tang Clan, and someone who could freely belittle me as an Illegitimate Son.
It was definitely the last brother I hadn't seen yet, Dang Hwa-yeop.
