The Spider's Threads and the Approaching Storm
Two years later.
"Teacher!"
The moment Jegal Gyun, the very person we'd been talking about, suddenly appeared, Dokgo Seok shot up from his seat.
"Haha, getting such a warm welcome makes this old man not know where to put himself."
"Please, sit here right away!"
So saying, Dokgo Seok hurriedly cleared the seat beside him.
"Then I shall impose."
Perhaps because they had traveled together for quite some time, Jegal Gyun naturally joined our table.
"I wonder if everyone has been well."
Jegal Gyun said this while scanning the faces of our group.
"It has been a long time, Teacher."
"Have you been in good health all this while?"
"Haha, seeing such lovely young ladies after so long brightens these old eyes."
When Dokgo Rin and Sister Gyeong-a greeted him in turn, Jegal Gyun smiled with satisfaction.
"By the way, Teacher, where is Young Master Jegal? Why have you come alone today?"
"Ah, that grandson of mine attended the sixtieth birthday banquet and immediately left Chang'an. We agreed he would come later on his own. So I came by myself."
"That's a shame. If he had come, we could have shared a drink."
As he spoke, Dokgo Seok naturally filled Jegal Gyun's cup with liquor.
"So, Teacher, how are things at the Murim Alliance these days?"
Jegal Gyun shook his head as if it were a headache, then drained the cup in one go.
"Don't even mention it. The Alliance Leader's sudden death has paralyzed all operations within the Murim Alliance. That friend Wiji Cheon may have had complicated relationships with women, but he had a good head for work. Thanks to him, all the workload has fallen on me."
"I-I see."
Dokgo Seok made an awkward face upon suddenly hearing about Wiji Cheon's womanizing ways, but Jegal Gyun continued without seeming to mind.
"By the way, while passing by earlier, I overheard that you had something to ask of me. What might that be?"
"Huh? You heard that?"
"This old man's ears are still quite sharp, you see."
Jegal Gyun let out a hearty laugh and looked at Dokgo Seok with eyes that said, 'If you have something to say, say it quickly.'
Dokgo Seok hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Teacher, are you aware of the series of attacks on various sects and clans that have occurred over the past few years?"
"Ah, that matter. I know it well."
"I have some materials I personally investigated. I'd like to hand them over to you and request protection for our Dokgo Clan."
"Ho, you're requesting protection from the Murim Alliance? Does your father, Dokgo Jin, know about this?"
"No. This is entirely my own decision. If it were my father, he would say that help from the Murim Alliance is unnecessary."
"Hahaha! You know your father's personality well! Indeed, that friend would absolutely say something like that."
"Then, Teacher, could you perhaps..."
As Dokgo Seok refilled Jegal Gyun's empty cup and made his request, Jegal Gyun nodded readily.
"Very well. Aren't we friends, you and I? I might refuse others, but how could I turn down a request from a precious drinking companion?"
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Dokgo Seok bowed deeply with a moved expression.
"What is there to thank me for? After all, the Murim Alliance was created so that we could help one another in times of need. One could say it's finally doing what it's supposed to."
Jegal Gyun smiled kindly as he spoke, then picked up a side dish with his chopsticks and continued.
"By the way, what exactly does this material you've organized contain?"
Instead of answering immediately, Dokgo Seok glanced around and lowered his voice.
"They say birds listen to daytime words and mice listen to nighttime ones. This doesn't seem like the right place to discuss it. I'll treat you to a drink later and explain everything then."
"Ho, is it that important?"
"If my guess is correct, we may be able to predict where those black-clad attackers will strike next."
"Now that is a most intriguing story."
Jegal Gyun stroked his beard as he spoke.
"Young Master, how can you stop talking right when it seems like you're about to say something important?"
Sister Gyeong-a, who had been pretending not to listen while secretly paying close attention, spoke with an exasperated look. Dokgo Seok gave a bitter smile and made an excuse.
"Sorry. This is truly important, you see."
The fewer people who know about something like this, the better, right? It was such a sound argument that Sister Gyeong-a could only pout her lips and refrain from complaining further.
Anyway, perhaps because of the sense of relief that his business in Chang'an was now complete, Dokgo Seok spent the rest of the time drinking comfortably with Jegal Gyun. Their drinking session probably wouldn't end at the funeral hall; they'd likely move to another location and continue late into the night. That was when they would also share the rest of their secretive conversation. But since it was obvious that a child like me couldn't join them, I decided to just sit quietly, watch the show, and enjoy the snacks.
The trip to Chang'an, including the time for the round journey from Sichuan to Shaanxi, took about three months. At first I had been worried about traveling such a long distance, but after going and coming back, I felt glad I had followed along.
Even though this world was from a novel, its background was still ancient China. Thanks to that, we were able to visit famous tourist spots that carried the authentic local atmosphere—places I could never have visited in my previous life—before returning to Sangam in Sichuan, where the Dokgo Clan resided.
"We're back, Father."
"I see."
"Have you heard the news about the Murim Alliance Leader?"
"No matter how much of a backwater Sangam may be, news of a giant like the Murim Alliance Leader's death reaches one's ears quickly."
Dokgo Jin turned as if to leave after saying this, but then paused, cleared his throat, and spoke.
"You went on a long journey in my stead. It must have been tiring, so come inside and rest for a while."
At those words from Dokgo Jin, Dokgo Seok momentarily wore a dazed expression before answering vigorously.
"Yes, Father!"
The sight of the two men setting aside their dark past and reconnecting as family somehow made my chest tighten with emotion.
I wish my own father had been like that.
Recalling a wish that could never come true, I gave a bitter smile, bowed to the escort warriors who had looked after me, and returned home alone in silence.
The more one becomes absorbed in something, the faster time flows, like a running river.
Over the past two years, I had struggled desperately to master the Mist Spirit Thread. I underwent hellish training to improve my basic physical abilities, and once my body had a solid foundation, I learned the mind method that Dokgo Rin had taught me.
The mind method she taught me was called the Limitless Mind Method. According to her explanation, it was a slight modification of the Great Void Mind Method she had learned. When I asked if that meant it was practically the same as the Great Void Mind Method she practiced, Dokgo Rin shamelessly replied that it was fine since the name was different.
Anyway, knowing that advanced internal energy cultivation methods couldn't be bought with money, I diligently practiced the Limitless Mind Method she had taught me.
And so, when the second winter I spent here passed and the third spring arrived, thanks to Dokgo Rin's devoted teaching, I was able to perfectly master the Mist Spirit Thread.
"Ssssss..."
I took a deep breath.
Spreading my legs shoulder-width apart, I filled my lungs, expanded my chest, and awakened the energy that had been sleeping in my lower dantian.
What I was doing now was a kind of warm-up. Before operating my qi in earnest, I was sending a signal to my dantian in advance to heighten its alertness.
The threads hanging from the tips of all ten fingers were made of Thousand Silk, the material Dokgo Rin had bought for me at a fabric shop in Hanzhong two years ago. I had never taken it off my person even once since then, so it had practically become one with me.
Once my concentration was complete, I began to rapidly swing the Thousand Silk threads attached to the tips of both hands in the prescribed sequence.
Infused with qi, the threads writhed as if alive and flew forward, instantly transforming into the shape of a noose that bound the bamboo target I had aimed for. When I pulled hard with force, the bamboo was sliced clean through as if it were tofu.
Though they were ordinary threads with no edge, once infused with qi they became sharp enough to easily cut through bamboo.
As I bent down to pick up the ten pieces of bamboo that had been severed in an instant by the Mist Spirit Thread, familiar applause came from behind me.
Clap, clap, clap!
"Since there's nothing more for me to teach you, I suppose you can leave the mountain now?"
"...Please stop teasing me, Miss."
I said this while looking at Dokgo Rin, who had somehow approached right in front of me, with a sullen expression.
Her fluorescent green hair fluttering in the wind, her softly glowing eyes, the black martial uniform embroidered with a silver dragon, and the two blades that resembled kitchen knives at her waist. In the nearly two years since we met, Dokgo Rin had grown so much that she was almost unrecognizable. She smiled like a cat and said,
"What? I'm always speaking from the heart, you know?"
"When you say it with that smile, it has zero credibility, you realize?"
"Busted."
She stuck her tongue out playfully.
She had already become an invincible beautiful girl whose peerless beauty made the title of 'heavenly beauty' seem insufficient. It had already been two years since we attended Wiji Cheon's sixtieth birthday banquet in Chang'an. Before we knew it, the original story's starting point was drawing near.