Chapter 174. Spear and Shield (1)
Han Bin was surprised by the final line.
[The time given to complete the scattered formulas across the martial world is three years. Once the period passes, the dragon will return to its original place...]
His surprise was short-lived. Han Bin quietly smiled.
Returning to its original place clearly meant it wouldn't wait indefinitely for his growth.
As he committed the final line to memory, new text appeared before his eyes.
[To learn the True Dragon Shadowless Hand...]
After reading through to the end, Han Bin opened his eyes.
When he did, Gong Son-su and Gong Son Myeonghu were standing guard around him.
Tilting his head at the sight, Han Bin stood up.
"Why are you doing that now?"
"Someone just infiltrated the area."
"An intruder?"
Han Bin tilted his head again.
His senses detected no presence.
Yet Gong Son-su knew? It made no sense—nobody here surpassed Han Bin when it came to sensing auras.
Reading Han Bin's expression, Gong Son-su continued nonchalantly.
"The threads we laid on the floor reacted."
Gong Son-su pointed with his index finger.
A small bell hung there.
Looking closely, it wasn't ringing audibly, but it trembled faintly.
It seemed like a device that would chime if anyone approached.
Of course. They'd guarded this place for ten years—they wouldn't leave the murals unprotected.
Such an alarm was only natural.
Then the faintly shaking bell finally rang.
Ting.
"A hundred paces out. You should hide for now."
Gong Son-su replied gravely, but Han Bin quickly interjected.
"Hide behind the wall and watch first."
With that, Han Bin ushered Gong Son-su and Gong Son Myeonghu into the space behind the wall, then draped the curtain over it.
He slipped in after them.
Peering cautiously outside, he saw no one entering through the door.
Han Bin closed his eyes and heightened his senses to the max.
Moments later, he tilted his head and glanced toward the door.
He'd picked up a presence now, but it felt familiar.
That was when it happened.
Ting. Ting.
The bell rang louder.
The door creaked open.
Creak.
At the same time, the sound of robes brushing the floor echoed.
Swish. Swish.
The footsteps drew closer until someone stopped right in front of Han Bin.
A voice followed.
"Who kidnapped my disciple?"
Han Bin's jaw dropped at the voice.
It belonged to none other than Hong Chilgae.
Confirming the intruder, Han Bin swept aside the curtain and dashed forward.
"Master, how on earth did you get here?"
Hong Chilgae looked flustered by Han Bin's casual question.
"Gasp, my disciple! You're safe?"
"Of course I am."
"I rushed here because it sounded dangerous... Well, you're safe, so that's a relief. Phew..."
Hong Chilgae let out a long sigh, then spotted Gong Son-su behind Han Bin.
"You... aren't you from the Gong family?"
"And you're that Hong fellow from the Beggar Clan?"
Hong Chilgae and Gong Son-su pointed at each other.
They clearly knew each other from before.
As the two gawked in mutual shock, Han Bin wedged himself between them.
"Elder, Master—what the hell is going on?"
"I'll explain."
As Gong Son-su stepped forward, Hong Chilgae waved him off.
"He's my disciple. I should do the talking. Why are you butting in?"
As the two bickered, Seol-hwa arrived late.
"I'm here, Young Master."
"Good, you made it."
"I brought Grandpa Hong Chilgae like you said."
Only then did Han Bin piece it together.
He'd told Seol-hwa to inform Hong Chilgae if he didn't return.
She'd followed orders faithfully.
That explained why she was later than Hong Chilgae—Han Bin's gaze fell on the tanghwa candy and skewers in her hands.
She must've stopped to buy some on the way.
Catching his look, Seol-hwa smiled awkwardly.
"There's no way you'd let anyone take your candy, right?"
Han Bin waved her off at the lame excuse and took the lead.
"Let's get out of here first, Seol-hwa."
"Yes, Young Master."
Han Bin quietly exited the study.
Gong Son Myeonghu hurried after him.
"I'll come with you."
About the time it took to sip a cup of tea...
Hong Chilgae and Gong Son-su, glaring at each other like they might devour one another, finally tilted their heads.
"Where'd he go? My disciple."
"Beats me..."
Only then did the pair chase after Han Bin in a panic.
A short while later.
In the Gong Son family meeting hall.
Han Bin learned a bit about Hong Chilgae's mysterious past.
The story began before he became a beggar.
He'd been born into a fairly well-off family, it seemed.
He'd met Gong Son-su as a child at the village schoolhouse.
Even more surprising—they still exchanged occasional news.
Even after Hong Chilgae joined the Beggar Clan and Gong Son-su entered imperial service, they kept in touch.
Gong Son Myeonghu, listening wide-eyed beside them, suggested their relationship had been a secret.
The sight of a Beggar Clan elder and a grand scholar chatting like kids brought smiles to everyone.
In a way, both were grand masters in their fields.
A rare scene nowhere else.
As laughter filled the air, talk turned to future events in Jangun-hyeon, and faces grew serious.
During the discussion, Han Bin pulled a fan from his robe.
Snap.
Gong Son-su tilted his head at the fan on the table.
Han Bin unfolded it.
Shhhrk.
A landscape painting appeared, and Han Bin pointed to certain sections.
Maps were drawn there.
"Elder, do you know this place?"
Gong Son-su's eyes widened.
"That place..."
He trailed off, glancing at Gong Son Myeonghu.
The younger man picked up.
"I know it better than Grandfather. But how do you know of it, Young Master?"
"It's just a spot marked as suspicious in this village. I don't know what's there."
"Hm. Well, the place you marked is an escape route."
"An escape route?"
"The passage you followed me through."
"Yeah, isn't that connected here?"
"Not just here. It's a maze of tunnels stretching under Jangun-hyeon. Probably dating back to the Qin dynasty. I made the ones leading here; the other exits are original entrances."
"One more question, then."
"Go ahead."
"What happens if those entrances get sealed?"
Han Bin asked from his past life's memories.
"Sealed?"
Gong Son Myeonghu closed his eyes, imagining it.
Han Bin waited patiently.
When Gong Son Myeonghu opened his eyes, they trembled.
He shook his head gravely.
"If that happens alongside the scenario you described..."
He trailed off.
Gong Son-su stepped in.
"I'll say it. About a third of Jangun-hyeon's people would vanish."
"A third?"
Han Bin asked in shock.
He couldn't connect sealed tunnels to mass disappearance.
Reading his face, Gong Son-su whispered.
"A third of the people here are ours. Where do you think our intel comes from? Inn boys, passing coachmen... A third are our people. Everything they see and hear flows here."
That much Han Bin had guessed.
"And if the exits seal, they die?"
"In a world-shaking crisis, the underground tunnels are the only shelter. They'd flee there. But when food runs out? Starvation's inevitable."
"I see. Could you explain the tunnels in more detail, Elder?"
"Of course..."
Once the explanation ended, Gong Son-su asked quietly.
"But why do you think it'll be sealed?"
"Nothing major. Just one favor."
Han Bin said earnestly.
If his memories held, the Gong Son family's informants would all be buried there.
The marked exit would become a pit, dug up like a grave.
Perhaps someone aimed to erase the Gong Son family from existence.
If Han Bin hadn't come, only Gong Son Myeonghu might survive—abandoning the family name to roam the martial world as a master of disguise and lightness skill.
Seeing Han Bin's expression, Gong Son-su furrowed his brow.
"Tell me. If I can, I will."
"No matter what, don't flee to the secret tunnels."
"Hm. Understood. It's no secret now that you've told us—and you even tailed us there. The tunnels have lost their value."
"Then... can I use them for something good?"
Everyone tilted their heads at Han Bin's words.
The next morning.
Han Bin's group exited the Gong Son family gates.
Hong Chilgae glanced at Han Bin and sighed.
"Phew... Disciple, you're something else."
"My martial arts, Master?"
"Nah, your knack for sniffing out jobs. Better than anyone."
"Haha, thanks for the praise."
"And so shameless. Hmph."
Hong Chilgae eyed him disapprovingly.
Han Bin knew why.
Because he'd learned Muyeongbo from the Gong family.
Why learn Muyeongbo over Gugeol Ship-pal-bo?
The Dragon Scale Sword Art's message.
The scroll said True Dragon Shadowless Hand hid within Muyeongbo.
And it was true.
A corner of his Yongrin Sword Art now held True Dragon Shadowless Hand forms.
[Fusion Chapter]
[Gugeol Ship-pal-bo]
[Jinyong Pahon Geom]
[True Dragon Shadowless Hand]
Confirming the manual, Han Bin soothed Hong Chilgae.
"I learned it just in case, but I'll stick to Gugeol Ship-pal-bo for lightness skill now and always. Nothing faster exists."
"Haha!"
Hong Chilgae burst into laughter that shook the air.
Seol-hwa tilted her head and chimed in.
"I heard the Beggar Clan is the spear. Is there a shield too, Young Master?"
"They should be arriving about now..."
Han Bin trailed off, gazing toward the inn housing the Red Blood Alliance Wolf Corps.
At the same time, at the inn where the Red Blood Alliance Wolf Corps lodged.
Sim Miho, overseeing unexpected repairs, tilted her head.
A group of martial artists was milling about in front.
She rushed over.
Standing before the apparent leader—a woman—Sim Miho spoke cautiously.
"This inn's closed for a bit. Sorry, but please go elsewhere..."
The woman waved her off before she finished.
"We're not here for a room."
"Then why...?"
"We heard Hebei Paeng family's Fourth Young Master came here, so we hurried over."
"Sorry, may I have your name?"
"I'm Jin Semi of the Henan Baeksa Gate."