Dawn was beginning to break from the east. At a small wooden table set up in the new guard post, Yoe Choin (in Moen Kang Yo's body) sat upright, holding a calligraphy brush.
Before him were not construction blueprints, but a sheet of pale blue silk paper he had received from the Namgung clan the previous day. He dipped the tip of the brush into black ink with the same steady movements he usually used to calculate gravitational loads, but this time he was using it to compose words.
"To Lady Namgung Shiri, Chief Inspector of the Red Clouds,"
Choin paused. He gazed at the bridge, which now stood in perfect symmetry in the morning light.
"The construction report for the East Line is complete. The Iron Fang Bridge has undergone static and dynamic load tests, with results exceeding quality standards. This structure is now a lifeline that will never again be clogged by bandit 'waste.'
However, I must submit a formal apology. I was unable to personally attend your promised 'strength' and 'symmetry' inspection. A systemic failure has just been detected in the West Sector of the Evernight Gate sect. Reports indicate the accumulation of 'disturbing materials' by unruly groups who believe they can establish sovereignty over land that is not theirs.
The field audit cannot wait. I must ensure that the pillars of my leadership do not decay before the political storm season arrives. I entrust this bridge to your clear-eyed supervision. Do not let a single bolt loose, because when I return, I want to see this bridge remain as beautiful and symmetrical as I have ever seen in... the structure of our partnership.
See you at the next audit."
Choin folded the paper with millimeter precision, stamped it with a wax stamp bearing the Evernight Gate mark, and handed it to a messenger apprentice who was already at the ready with the fastest pigeon.
"Hahaha! 'Cooperative structure'? You really are as rigid as reinforced concrete, Foreman!" the voice of the real Moen Kang Yo boomed inside Choin, his laughter filled with mockery.
"Why didn't you just say you missed him? You spent five minutes just thinking about the word 'symmetry'!"
"Shut up, Boss," Choin said, rising from his seat.
"Measurement prevents contractual miscommunication. And now, focus. The West is not a place for aesthetics."
"Demolition Unit! Prepare the field survey equipment!" Choin shouted as he exited the guard post.
Jin-Pyo immediately ran over, his armor clanking loudly.
"Foreman! All units have been calibrated. We're ready to move West. But... I hear there aren't just any thugs there. They call themselves the Black Stone Guild. They live in the old mines and have skin as hard as granite."
Choin gazed west, where the mountains looked sharper and barren, a dark gray as if the entire area were made of rusted metal.
"No matter how hard granite is, it still has cleavage, Jin-Pyo. We just need to find where the microcracks are."
The journey west took most of the day. The atmosphere slowly changed. Where the East held rivers and humid forests, the West contained only narrow canyons with the wind howling like a chainsaw cutting through metal. The dust here contained sharp iron particles, making it painful to breathe.
"Slow down!" Choin ordered as they began to enter a path flanked by steep cliffs.
"Jin-Pyo, watch the cliff face. There's an unnatural erosion pattern up there."
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from above. A giant boulder came hurtling down, targeting the Demolition Unit's ranks.
"Load-Bearing Formation! Now!" Jin-Pyo roared.
The Evernight students quickly gathered, planting their shields into the ground at a 45-degree angle—the perfect force distribution Choin had taught them.
BOOM! BOOM!
The rocks slammed into the shields, but instead of crushing the students, they bounced sideways, following the slope of the shields. Choin jumped onto one of the falling rocks, using its momentum to rocket up the cliff.
Blueprint's glowing blue eyes scanned the three large, muscular men wielding rock picks. They wore thick animal skins and their faces were covered in black mining dust.
"The safety audits here are terrible,"
Choin said, landing quietly behind them.
"Using gravity to attack without permission to occupy land... that's a serious offense."
"Who are you?!" One of them, a man with an axe tattoo on his arm, tried to swing a giant mace at Choin.
Choin didn't draw his sword. He simply shifted his feet slightly, letting the hammer strike the ground. Bang! The ground shook, but Choin had already caught the hammer handle with his left hand.
"Your hammer has a lot of mass, but your footwork is unstable," Choin whispered. He channeled a bit of his Internal Finishing Qi into the hammer handle.
"Let's do a vibration test on your arm bones."
Choin jerked his hand at a high frequency. The vibrations traveled through the hammer and directly hit the nerves in his opponent's arm. The man screamed in pain as his arm suddenly went paralyzed for a moment, his hammer clattering to the stone.
"Are you from the Black Stone Guild?" Choin asked, staring at the other two thugs, who were now hesitant to advance.
"We are the rightful owners of this mine! Evernight Gate has had no rights here since their old leader died!" roared the other man.
At the same time, in Red Cloud City, Namgung Shiri sat on the balcony of his residence, holding a pale blue letter that had just arrived. The scent of fresh ink from the letter seemed to carry the scent of wood dust and iron from Moen Kang Yo.
She read the last sentence over and over again: "...I want to see this bridge remain as beautiful and symmetrical as I've ever seen it... our cooperative structure."
Shiri closed the letter, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Cooperative structure... he's really using the metaphor of a building to avoid telling the truth,"
Shiri muttered with a smile she couldn't hide.
"Young Miss, is there a problem with Young Master Moen's report?" asked Jo-Sun, her loyal aide.
"No, Jo-Sun. Quite the opposite," Shiri stood, gazing out at the Western mountains, which were beginning to be covered in dusk.
"He's been doing some 'taming' in the West. He's a workaholic. But that's precisely what makes him the most reliable foundation in this jianghu."
Shiri turned to Jo-Sun with a sharp gaze.
"Prepare for the Namgung clan's official visit to the Western border in three days. I want to see how he 'tames' those hardened thugs. And Jo-Sun... make sure we bring a supply of lubricating oil and the best steel bolts. I want to give him a reward that... symmetrical to his work."
Back in the Western canyon, Choin now stood before a mine gate made of sheet metal. Around him, dozens of Black Stone Guild members had surrounded him, wielding various mining tools that had been transformed into weapons.
"So, do you choose to be 'scrap material' or 'new labor'?"
Choin asked, finally drawing his Black Iron Heavy Sword. The black blade absorbed the fading sunlight, creating an overwhelming aura of intimidation.
"We're not afraid of a puny foreman like you!"
roared their leader, a hulking old man known as Elder Granite.
"Foreman, allow me to destroy this old man's bone structure," hissed the original Kang Yo, his voice filled with pure murderous intent.
"He talks too much."
"Hold back a little. We need their strength to dig up the energy crystals beneath this mine," Choin replied.
"But... a little 'dismantling' of their bodies seems necessary to ensure compliance with the contract."
Choin raised his sword, his blue eyes mapping every weak point in the iron gate before him.
"Jin-Pyo! Prepare the lever unit! We're going to force open the gate!"
Night was falling in the West, but in Yoe Choin's eyes, this was just the beginning of a long night shift to ensure all the pillars of the Evernight Gate stood upright, for the future of the sect... and for the sake of someone challenging its symmetry in Red Cloud City.