WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 21: This Mere Youngster Is the Tianshan Sect’s Swordsmith?

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"Where the hell do you get off impersonating someone?!"

Jin Mu-yeong snarled, shoving his face right up close.

'...That bastard again.'

Why was he here again?

Mu-yeong frowned deeply as he looked Do-hyeon up and down.

"Ha. You're a nobody. If you're going to impersonate Master Do, at least wear a Suppression Talisman."

Mu-yeong gave a derisive snort.

Do-hyeon was wearing one.

He had only released enough Spiritual Power to maintain his disguise.

Ordinary Suppression Talismans were simple items that could only be switched on or off.

They either sealed Spiritual Power or released it.

There was no middle ground.

To Mu-yeong, the faint Spiritual Power leaking out of Do-hyeon looked exactly like the aura of a low-ranking sorcerer who was not even wearing a Suppression Talisman.

There was no way Mu-yeong could know that Do-hyeon's Suppression Talisman was a cheat item with adjustable output.

Besides, Do-hyeon had taken off his mask in the TK Hotel suite that day.

Mu-yeong could never have imagined that the pretty-faced young man standing before him was the same Master Do.

Still, Do-hyeon had no intention of telling him the truth.

Why had he gone as far as changing his face?

Wasn't it because he didn't want those Four Great Houses to learn his real identity?

After spending all night reading through the Goblin Fire Gallery Ji-an had set up for him, Do-hyeon had learned quite a bit about this world.

At the foundation of the Occult World stood the Twelve Great Houses.

Each one revered one of the twelve zodiac deities.

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

Twelve surnames and twelve houses modeled after the zodiac.

Among them, the four houses at the very top were those that served the Four Guardian Deities.

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

Those four, which revered the dragon, tiger, chicken, and snake respectively as symbols, were what people constantly called the Four Great Houses.

'...Fine, the dragon and tiger make sense.'

But the Vermilion Bird was a chicken, and the Black Tortoise, the deity of House Hyeonmu, was a snake?

'...Isn't that forcing it a little?'

Well, the names sounded cool, so he decided to let it slide.

Anyway.

The name of the guy glaring at him now was Jin Mu-yeong.

The Jin in his surname used the character associated with the dragon.

The Azure Dragon Sect belonged to that family, which was one of the bloodlines of the Four Great Houses.

'Then what was that guy doing at the TK Hotel?'

Curious, Do-hyeon had contacted Ji-an as soon as he closed the gallery.

[Ah... Mr. Jin Mu-yeong? He's from a branch family, and apparently he caused so much trouble that his family has practically cast him out. So he acts without caring what they think, I guess?]

The details didn't matter to Do-hyeon.

What mattered was that Mu-yeong had the blood of one of the Four Great Houses.

[It might be best not to get too close to him personally... Even if he's been cast out, blood is thicker than water. As long as he has the Jin surname, there's no telling when he'll become involved with his family again. You have to keep your identity hidden, Do-hyeon. There is no need to get tangled up with someone from the Four Great Houses and invite trouble.]

The Tianshan Sect gave him enough protection that they wouldn't openly touch him.

Still, Do-hyeon didn't like the thought of those families discovering who he really was.

If he told that guy the truth, the flawless persona he had worked so hard to create could be destroyed overnight.

"Hey. Can't you hear me?!"

He couldn't exactly tell him his face had changed.

Fine.

He would ignore him for now.

"Hey! Where are you going?!"

When Do-hyeon started walking, Mu-yeong bristled and followed.

"I don't know what you did to get past the Nameplate inspection, but I'll expose you for who you really are. Just you wait, got it?"

Nameplate.

According to what he had read in the gallery yesterday, a Nameplate's authority was absolute in the Occult World.

A user's unique Spiritual Power was registered to it, proving their identity.

Passing a Nameplate inspection at an event hosted by someone this important also meant that the hosts had officially guaranteed his identity.

In other words, no matter how certain Mu-yeong was that Do-hyeon was an impersonator, he couldn't grab him by the collar right now.

Laying a hand on him here would be openly challenging the hosts' authority.

Mu-yeong knew that too, which was why he could only rant instead of actually doing anything.

'...Do whatever you want.'

Once this job was over, he would probably never see him again anyway.

Did he really need to explain himself in detail?

He had come here to work, so he just needed to do the job and leave.

With that thought, Do-hyeon quickened his pace toward the depths of the mansion's vast garden without so much as acknowledging him.

"Hey! Where are you going, you bastard?! Just wait until this job is over! I won't let you get away with this!"

Mu-yeong kept throwing furious threats from behind him, but that was all.

Whatever. Let him do as he pleased.

* * *

When they reached the entrance, waiting staff opened the massive doors from both sides.

An elderly gentleman in an immaculate suit greeted them as they stepped inside.

"We've been expecting you. The others have already arrived, so I will show you both to the reception room."

They followed the old gentleman down the hallway and entered the reception room.

Two people were seated on leather sofas in the spacious room.

One was a young woman.

Beside her sat a middle-aged man in a traditional robe, his legs crossed.

Do-hyeon's gaze naturally drifted toward the woman.

More precisely, it settled on the object resting carefully on the woman's lap.

Something long, wrapped several times in fine cloth and tightly tied with string.

'...A Japanese sword?'

Its length and shape made it unmistakably a sword. A long, slender one at that.

The woman held the cloth bundle in both hands as though cradling a newborn.

The middle-aged man beside her, on the other hand, had several scroll-like items hanging from his waist.

Even his appearance gave off an air of smug arrogance.

Once Do-hyeon and Mu-yeong sat side by side on an empty sofa, the old gentleman looked over the group and spoke.

"Now that everyone is here, I will explain the nature of the request."

'So there was a broker on site after all. Is this gentleman the one?'

As if he had read Do-hyeon's thoughts, the old gentleman gave a small bow.

"I should introduce myself. I am this household's butler. I oversee the general affairs of both the family and their business. In particular... managing matters related to sorcery is my primary duty."

The butler smiled faintly.

"As such, arranging requests like this and gathering people such as yourselves also falls under my responsibility."

Ah.

So he wasn't a member of the sorcerer family. He was the manager who hired and directed people whenever necessary.

In other words, he was both a butler and a broker.

"So, what did you call us here for?"

The middle-aged man in the traditional robe asked, arrogantly tipping up his chin.

"Yes. Since you are all busy, I will get straight to the point."

The butler cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

"The reason you have all been gathered here is... because misfortunes have not stopped befalling this household."

A heavy shadow fell over his face.

"After the former chairman passed away, his son inherited both the business and this mansion. Yet around that time... one misfortune after another began to occur."

The butler counted on his fingers.

"There were repeated traffic accidents outside. The servants who worked here fell ill one by one, and some even met with accidents. That is not all. The chairman's family also continued to suffer unexplained, dreadful incidents."

It sounded like a familiar, predictable story.

"Thus, we concluded that... something sinister had taken root in this mansion."

The butler paused before continuing.

"The former chairman spent his life collecting rare objects. Ceramics, paintings, blades... there are too many to count."

"After bringing in someone to examine them, we discovered that the sinister energy was leaking from among the chairman's collection."

The woman, who had been quietly listening, stroked the sword on her lap and spoke.

"Then why... haven't you disposed of those collected items already?"

Her voice was low and calm.

"That is the problem."

With an awkward smile, the butler slowly rose from his seat.

"It would be faster to show you than to explain it. This way, please."

* * *

They followed the butler through an inner door.

"...Wow."

The woman exclaimed in awe.

Beyond the door lay an enormous museum.

Display cases stretched beneath the high ceiling as far as the eye could see.

They were filled with luminous ceramics, statues, and Ritual Implements of bizarre shapes.

Antique paintings lined the walls in ornate frames, while glass cases displayed armor and swords as tall as a person.

"This is the repository where the late master's lifelong collection is stored."

The butler shrugged.

"As you can see, every piece is rare. He would occasionally invite acquaintances here to show them around."

"...So how much is all this worth?"

Mu-yeong asked, swallowing hard.

"Well. If you totaled everything here... I would estimate at least one hundred billion won."

"O-One hundred billion?!"

Mu-yeong's eyes widened as if they might pop out.

One hundred billion won.

That meant this entire mansion was worth one hundred billion won.

"That is why the current head of the household could not simply lay a hand on it all."

The butler smiled bitterly.

"We do not know which item is the source of the problem. Burning everything would mean burning one hundred billion won, but leaving it alone means people will continue to be harmed."

'...They're stuck between a rock and a hard place.'

"But there is something else."

The butler lowered his voice further.

"The most troublesome part is... we do not even know what the source of the problem is."

"What do you mean?"

"Because every person experiences something different."

The butler began counting on his fingers again.

"Some claim they saw a statue moving in the middle of the night. Some say they had nightmares, became trapped inside a painting, then woke up. Others cut their hands while polishing a dagger and have been wasting away ever since. Different objects, different symptoms."

"...Vengeful Spirit Transfer."

The woman holding the sword murmured softly.

The butler nodded heavily.

"Yes. That is correct."

Vengeful Spirit Transfer.

He didn't know exactly what it was, but from the sound of it, one thing had spread by moving from object to object.

So one thing had originally been the true source of the problem, but it had infected the surrounding objects as well.

Now, they could no longer tell which one was the original culprit.

"That is why we called you here."

'...So that's why they summoned me.'

Do-hyeon quietly sorted through the situation in his head.

He had been puzzled at first.

Why would an Exorcism request like this come to a blacksmith?

He had asked Seo Ji-an about it.

Her explanation was simple.

Artisans in this world were incredibly rare.

Because few people could inscribe Spell Formulas, whenever there was even a hint that a job involved them, people were called in regardless of their specialty.

Finding someone with the exact specialty needed for every Spell Formula-related job was harder than picking stars from the sky.

The houses colluded to accept only the easy jobs.

There was also no shortage of people who charged a fortune while their skills were nothing special.

Well.

There were plenty of armor, swords, and other metal objects in here.

It wasn't unreasonable for a blacksmith like him to be involved.

The butler turned toward the group.

"There are two artisans and two sorcerers. Since you are all meeting for the first time, allow me to introduce you."

First, the butler gestured toward the man in the traditional robe.

"This is Yoo Seon-woo, a Spell Painter of House Jujak."

'A Spell Painter.'

He had seen that term in passing while browsing the gallery last night. The character for sorcery combined with the character for painting. Just as it sounded, it probably referred to someone who wielded sorcery through paintings.

The man called a Spell Painter raised his chin arrogantly and gave a slight nod.

"I am Yoo Seon-woo."

The butler then pointed to Do-hyeon.

"And this is... Master Do of the Tianshan Sect."

At that moment, the air in the reception room stirred subtly.

Yoo Seon-woo's brows twitched.

The woman holding the sword stared at Do-hyeon with wide eyes.

"T-This person... is the Tianshan Sect's Master Do?"

She asked as though she couldn't believe it.

It was understandable.

The artisan of the Tianshan Sect, whom they had only heard about through rumors, turned out to be a strikingly young man.

Yet Do-hyeon, standing at the center of everyone's attention, was focused elsewhere.

His thoughts were entirely occupied with the long cloth bundle on the woman's lap.

He could sense an unusual flow from it.

Whether someone was introducing him or not, he remained busy assessing the structure of the weapon in his head. To the others, that indifferent attitude made him look like an immature brat who couldn't even read the room.

On top of that, Do-hyeon was only releasing the tiny amount of Spiritual Power needed to maintain his disguise.

Naturally, to their eyes, he was nothing more than a greenhorn who could handle only that much Spiritual Power without even wearing a Suppression Talisman.

"..."

The gazes of the others, including the woman, gradually cooled.

Yoo Seon-woo's lips curled upward in a mocking slant.

"Hm. What is your specialty, then?"

The instant the introductions ended, Yoo Seon-woo arrogantly asked Do-hyeon.

His tone made it clear that he wanted to hear the answer for himself.

"...I'm a blacksmith."

"A blacksmith."

Yoo Seon-woo snorted and lifted his chin.

"It seems your people hand out the title of artisan quite generously. A young man like you is already going around with that title. In my line of work, you would still be grinding ink under a master's tutelage at your age."

Do-hyeon let the remark go in one ear and out the other.

He had already heard that every one of the Four Great Houses was rude as hell.

Even Jin Mu-yeong had consistently been disrespectful to everyone but himself.

"Well, I heard this collection contains a great many paintings."

Yoo Seon-woo continued smugly.

"I expect I shall be of great help."

"Then, everyone."

The butler folded his hands neatly together.

"Your task is to identify the source of the problem among these objects and perform an Exorcism on it. The faster you finish, the more generously you will be compensated. Lodging and meals will be provided throughout your stay, and the servants will see to your food."

As the butler was about to rise, he added something.

"Ah, one more thing."

He raised a finger.

"The master has also instructed us to set aside separate bonuses based on contribution. The person who performs the best will receive a correspondingly generous sum."

After finishing, the butler gave the group a respectful bow.

The faster they finished, and the more they contributed, the more they would receive.

Good.

Those were conditions Do-hyeon liked very much.

* * *

Beside him, Yoo Seon-woo glanced sideways at the young man.

This child had come here calling himself an artisan, yet he couldn't even properly contain his Spiritual Power and let it leak out.

'...They said the Tianshan Sect's Master Do was so impressive. He doesn't look like much.'

It seemed the rumors had been nonsense.

He was likely just an outsider from China who wanted to establish himself in Korea, exaggerating some minor achievement as much as possible.

Even what happened at the TK Hotel must have been nothing more than a lucky break.

This was perfect.

Paintings were the key to this request.

There was one greenhorn, one woman who could only wield a sword, and one street thug.

They said there would be an additional payment based on contribution.

Standing out among such a motley group and taking the entire reward for himself wouldn't be difficult.

Besides.

There was no denying that this Tianshan Sect Master Do had become the center of attention lately.

The elders of the Four Great Houses had also been displeased by the sight of an outsider coming in and stirring up the Korean scene.

If Yoo Seon-woo could put this arrogant upstart in his place here, it would only be a matter of time before his name carried more weight among the elders.

Yoo Seon-woo's lips curled even further.

'I'll teach you exactly what a difference in standing looks like, you brat.'

Footnotes:

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