Chapter 06 - An Act of Vengeance (1)
Chui sought out a village in Naesong County, Anhui.
From the houses where pale smoke rose from the kitchen fires came a variety of sounds—laughter, crying, and angry shouts.
Among them was one house from which no smoke rose, and no sound could be heard.
A crumbling, thatched-roof house.
Chui passed through the dilapidated brushwood gate and into a courtyard overgrown with weeds.
‘All Tools of Farming’
Each time the chilly wind blew, the cracked sign creaked and groaned.
It appeared to have once been a blacksmith's forge that made farming tools like sickles and rakes.
“It's been a long time for this place, too.”
Chui muttered to himself.
It was a place he had visited before his regression, back when he was making a name for himself as the Spear Demon.
…*Creak!*
Chui brazenly threw open the door to the forge and went inside.
“Who is it?”
A voice came from the darkness.
Chui answered.
“It’s me.”
“……?”
At that, an old man sitting on a table lifted his head.
The old man, who was missing his right eye, right hand, and right leg, raised his bloodless face to look at Chui.
“And who are you?”
“Chui.”
“Never heard of him. We’re closed for good. Not doing business anymore.”
“I know.”
Chui walked over to the old man and sat down in front of the table.
And said,
“I’ve come to have some farming tools made.”
“I said we’re closed. Are your ears plugged, boy?”
“First, I’d like to request a hammer.”
“…Crazy bastard.”
The old man looked away from Chui.
And just as he was about to bring the bottle in his hand to his lips.
“Seventeen chon in length. The handle, four chon in circumference. The head, spherical. I’d prefer the weight not to exceed ten geun.”
Chui’s words stopped the old man’s hand.
He lowered the bottle he was about to drink from and stared at Chui for a moment.
“You won’t be able to drive any nails with that.”
“It’s not for driving nails.”
“Hmph. Should I add a few spikes to the hammerhead while I’m at it?”
“That would make it inconvenient to carry.”
“…….”
The old man stared at Chui in silence.
Presently.
*Tap-*
He set the bottle down on the table.
Then he narrowed his one remaining eye.
“Anything else?”
“Two awls, eight and a half chon each. One forged twenty-six times, the other thirty-four.”
“The handles?”
“Anything will do. However, cover them with the hide of a monster. From around the loin would be best.”
“The finish?”
“Flawless.”
The old man scratched his head vigorously. Dandruff fell like a pile of salt.
“It’ll take a while.”
“No. Do it quickly.”
“Come back the morning after tomorrow.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.”
“Truly a crazy bastard.”
The old man threw the bottle far away, shattering it.
The potent liquor soaked the dusty floor.
Chui asked.
“I’d like something with some weight to it, something clean.”
“How about a sword.”
“Too short.”
“An axe.”
“Too heavy.”
“Looking for a spear?”
“Let me see it.”
The old man stood up.
He moved a cover on the floor and opened a wooden hatch beneath it.
Presently, the old man pulled out a spear wrapped in black cloth.
A single, unadorned, jet-black spear.
Chui said with a blank face.
“It’s too short. It needs to be over one jang to be useful.”
“You’ll only find something like that at a military base. This is the longest I have. It’ll take a day to sharpen the blade.”
Chui nodded.
“Do you have anything small and sensitive?”
“How about iron thorn spikes?”
“Bring them all.”
The old man rose with a heavy gait and swept his hand across the upper wall.
Dust rained down, revealing a small compartment inside the wall.
It was filled with strangely shaped spikes.
*Click- clack!*
The old man took four spikes and joined their heads together.
The spikes assembled firmly.
“The spikes are hollow, so they’re good for drawing blood. They have barbs at the tips, so once they’re in, they don’t come out easily.”
Chui nodded silently.
Then he asked again.
“Work clothes?”
“Hmph, now I’ve seen everything. A man looking for clothes in a blacksmith’s shop.”
The old man clicked his tongue.
But the weary look in his eye from before was long gone.
*Shuck-*
He took off the dirty tunic he was wearing.
It was a leather garment made of gray fur, with clear signs of dried and hardened liquor and vomit stains in several places.
The old man shook it out vigorously and laid it on the table.
“Bearskin. From a beast that ate seventy-four people.”
“You managed to catch it?”
“No one could catch it. It died of old age on its own.”
Chui ran a hand over the bearskin armor.
The old man added.
“Most weapons can’t pierce it. Well, it might hurt a little, though.”
Chui nodded.
“And for dessert?”
“What flavor?”
“The kind that makes your tongue parch. A strong one.”
As soon as he heard that, the old man climbed onto the table.
Dust rained down again, and a hatch near the rafters in the ceiling opened.
Inside, small, palm-sized jars were lined up in a row. The old man took out a sealed jar from the very back.
“A potent poison. From the southern barbarians. I heard the Miao people use it, but I was too scared to check.”
“Can I have a taste?”
“Normally, I’d have to charge you.”
Chui broke the seal on the jar and sniffed the scent rising from within.
Then he said curtly.
“You were swindled, old man.”
“Damn it. I had a feeling.”
“Give it to me anyway. The Qiang people’s poison is still useful. Even if it’s not as good as the Miao’s.”
Chui finished his order.
The old man said in a dry voice.
“Where should I send it?”
“I’ll come get it.”
“You seem to be itching to do some farming.”
“Before that, I plan to make some fertilizer. To bury in the fields beforehand.”
“You’ve bought quite a few things. It’ll be expensive.”
“Tell me what you want.”
Chui spoke, and the old man listened.
No talk of money passed between them.
The old man closed his one eye and thought for a moment.
“…After retiring, I lived quietly by myself. Raising the only daughter I had late in life.”
The old man spoke, and Chui listened.
“My daughter died.”
“…….”
“Three days ago.”
“…….”
“Can you bring her back to life?”
“…….”
The old man spoke to himself, staring at the door creaking in the wind.
When Chui didn’t answer, he let out a small sigh.
“The scent of blood on you was so strong, I thought you were a ghost and asked. I guess it’s impossible after all.”
Then, as if he had no other choice, he said.
“Then, as a consolation, at least kill the bastards who killed my daughter.”
“Who are they?”
“The Black Way Guild.”
“Understood.”
“There are four of them.”
“I said, understood.”
“They’re called the Four Scholars of the Black Way… Damn it, aren’t you even going to ask who they are?”
The old man grumbled.
Chui stood up as if there was no need to hear more.
“I’m going to kill them all anyway.”
With those words, Chui left the forge.
Just as he was about to pass through the brushwood gate.
*Halt-*
Chui’s steps stopped.
He saw an empty doghouse next to the gate.
In front of it, a horse bone with dried blood on it lay on the ground.
The old man’s voice came from behind.
“I butchered the dog in Boknal. That’s how I got through this summer.”
The bone the dog had once gnawed on had become the thing that killed it.
Chui picked up the thick horse bone.
The old man asked.
“Why that?”
“I like it. I’ll use this until my things are ready.”
Chui left without a backward glance.
And the old man, watching him go.
The old man’s expression was strange.
It was impossible to tell if he was laughing or crying, or perhaps both.
It was also impossible to know if he was thinking of his daughter or of those who killed her, or perhaps both.
* * *
The Black Way Guild. An unorthodox sect that held sway over Naesong County.
Inside the sprawling, whale-backed estate of the Black Way Guild, an important meeting was being held today.
It was the day the heads of the regional branches gathered to settle their tribute payments.
For that reason, the eyes of the guards standing at the main gate of the Black Way Guild were sharp and alert.
Just then.
A boy dressed in rags walked up to the main gate of the Black Way Guild.
In his hand, he held a stinking bone.
One of the guards sneered.
“And what stray dog bone is this that’s rolled in?”
The guard spat at Chui, who stood before the gate, and said.
“You carry that around to gnaw on it? Get lost. You stink.”
But the guard could not continue.
*Crack!*
The bone, swung from top to bottom, had shattered his skull, killing him instantly.
“Wh-what the!?”
“This bastard!?”
The two other guards who had been snickering beside him reacted in a flash, but.
*Thwack! Crunch-*
Their faces were caved in and their necks were broken by the bone, killing them instantly as well.
Chui. Who had just killed three members of the Black Way Guild.
He flicked off the fresh blood that now coated the bone.
Then he opened the main gate of the Black Way Guild and walked inside.
Beneath the blazing torches, the guild’s estate was clearly visible.
He had been here before his regression, so the layout was roughly familiar.
‘…I missed quite a few last time.’
Chui lifted the bone and swung it through the air a few times.
It seemed killing three guard dogs wasn’t enough to warm him up.
‘This time, I’ll be a bit more thorough.’
He knew all the escape routes, so he would be able to catch and kill even those who had gotten away in his past life.
Chui slowly made his way forward.
Deeper into the Black Way Guild.
Into the deepest part of the hunting ground.
0 Comments