A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 61

61. Intensification (2)

The girl, who introduced herself as Dang Wol-ah, stood just a few steps away from Son Bin.

Standing under the blue moonlight, she appeared to be a small, frail girl, but her voice was surprisingly low and rough.

“So, you are Young Miss Wol-ah.”

Son Bin bowed lightly to her.

“I am Son Bin. This is a bit sudden, but it’s nice to meet you.”

It was indeed sudden. Still, it was their first time meeting, so it was only natural to show respect.

However, Son Bin’s reaction wasn’t what the girl expected. She hesitated for a moment, seemingly flustered, then slightly lowered her head in acknowledgment.

“I, I am Dang Wol-ah.”

“I know.”

Son Bin smiled.

“I heard you a moment ago.”

Only then did the girl realize that she had already revealed her name. She lowered her head deeply again.

‘This could go on forever,’ Son Bin thought.

Son Bin gave a wry smile. It seemed that having a conversation with this girl would require a great deal of time and patience.

“You can check.”

The girl raised her head.

“You said you wanted to check my pulse, right? It’s okay. You can do it.”

He couldn’t see her expression beneath the veil, but he could tell that she was looking directly at Son Bin.

*Ssak.*

The girl’s hand went into her sleeve and took something out.

It was a small, cute-looking ball of thread. As she held the end and unwound it, a slender silver thread extended from her fingertip.

After cutting off a certain length of the silver thread from the ball, she held the silver thread with both hands and looked at Son Bin.

Son Bin extended one hand towards her, slightly rolling up the sleeve of his other hand to reveal his wrist.

*Sabak.*

With a bit of hesitation, she approached. And she said to Son Bin in a very small voice, “Thank you.”

*Sarak.*

The girl bent her knees slightly.

*Whirik.*

Her silver thread lightly rotated from her fingertip and wrapped around Son Bin’s wrist once.

Then, the girl held the end of the silver thread with one hand and lightly placed the index and middle fingers of her other hand on the silver thread.

And the girl closed her eyes and focused all her senses on the subtle vibrations felt through her fingertips.

*Woong.*

The subtle and heavy vibrations felt through the silver thread. Completely different from simply feeling a pulse, Son Bin’s inner self, reacting to the girl’s delicate internal energy, slowly began to reveal itself with a low resonance.

Towards that deep inner self, the girl’s consciousness slowly but surely began to sink.

‘Hoo,’ Son Bin thought.

Meanwhile, Son Bin was looking down at the girl, slightly marveling. He had heard of the method she was using to check his pulse.

Instead of placing fingers directly on the wrist, it was a method of checking the pulse through a silver thread. (This technique is used to sense subtle energy flows.)

The subtle vibrations transmitted through the silver thread were slightly irritating to the senses, but he just assumed that was how it was supposed to be.

‘Is she knowledgeable in medicine?’

He wondered if it was really necessary to go this far, but considering the girl’s personality, it was understandable. What Son Bin was really curious about was something else.

‘But why me…’

“Ah.”

Son Bin’s thoughts were interrupted by the girl’s short exclamation.

“Such incredibly pure internal energy.”

The girl exclaimed. The expression, as she felt it, flowed out naturally, not even considering that someone was listening.

“So transparent, like a shining star, and so beautiful… How on earth can one refine their internal energy like this?”

And soon, with a slight frown, the girl said.

“But in terms of absolute size, it’s just a handful. Beautiful, but like a very fragile starlight. If you were to compete in internal energy strength with a master… you would definitely lose.”

The girl shook her head.

“How could you use such a sword art with this…”

“As for how, the answer is simple.”

The girl’s slender shoulders seemed to flinch slightly.

Son Bin continued.

“I simply ride my sword on the flow.”

*Sarak.*

The veiled girl raised her head. A glimmer of sparkling eyes could be seen faintly beyond her veil.

“The flow… you say?”

“Yes.”

Son Bin said. He looked up at the night sky.

“The flow is everywhere. If you ride your sword along the great flow, everything will naturally open and follow, like water flowing. But even that is just the beginning.”

Those were Sa Hyeok’s words.

Not only following the flow but also transcending it.

The three moves of the Dismembering Moon Sword that he showed last were still vivid in Son Bin’s mind. Compared to that, what Son Bin was doing now was truly just the beginning.

“I… I need to correct my judgment.”

The girl’s voice trembled slightly.

“If that’s true, there will be no one in the world who can endanger you.”

“Pardon?”

Son Bin inadvertently lowered his head to look at the girl. And soon, he smiled wryly.

The world was too grand a concept. Even for Son Bin, a writer who originally enjoyed exaggerated expressions, it was too far-fetched.

“There’s no way. I’m just someone who watches and records from the sidelines… just that kind of person.”

The girl did not understand Son Bin’s words. She couldn’t understand what the words ‘watching and recording’ meant.

But one thing was clear: she could never understand his words as she was now.

‘What is this person looking at?’ she wondered.

She couldn’t even dare to guess.

She couldn’t possibly know what this person, who said that even the realm of seeing the flow full of heaven and earth and riding one’s sword on that flow—which even the supreme masters could only grasp the edge of—was just the beginning, was seeing.

‘Ah.’

A shiver ran down her spine. The girl trembled slightly without realizing it.

“Please.”

Without realizing it, the words burst out.

It was like a person drowning, instinctively clinging to something in front of them, something that seemed like it would save their life, with all their might.

The girl said, “Please save me.”

“Pardon?”

Son Bin asked, taken aback by the unexpected words.

Then, the girl, realizing what she had said, flinched and stepped back. The silver thread she was holding limply loosened and fell to the ground.

“S, s, sorry.”

The girl’s words were weak, as if they would break at any moment.

What on earth had she just done? It was something she couldn’t believe she had done, even after doing it herself.

The girl turned around and tried to run away.

“Wait a moment.”

At Son Bin’s words, the girl’s body seemed to freeze. Son Bin spoke to her, who was still turned away, averting her gaze.

“I will help,” Son Bin said in a quiet but firm voice. “Anything I can do.”

Those words were like an unbelievable illusion to the girl. The strength drained from the hand clutching her clothes, and her legs gave way, making her feel like she would collapse to the ground.

The girl bit her lip. This wouldn’t do. She was afraid of what she might say or do to him.

At this rate, she might even take off her veil.

*Tak.*

She ran away as she was. It didn’t take long for her frail figure to disappear into the shadows of the trees at night.

“Ah.”

Looking at the place where the girl had disappeared, Son Bin sighed.

“I wanted to help…”

Son Bin’s words were sincere. The girl’s awkwardness in dealing with people reminded him of Sa Su-yeon.

The girl’s sorrowful voice, saying that she was a monster, somehow reminded him of Sa Su-yeon’s forlorn appearance when they last parted.

Besides, her passive and headstrong appearance somehow made him feel like he was looking at a frightened young animal.

It was only natural that Son Bin, who was already a teacher to cute little disciples, would be moved.

‘Hmm?’

Suddenly, something sparkling on the ground caught Son Bin’s eye.

It was the silver thread that the girl had dropped. Son Bin picked up the sparkling silver thread.

As he looked at the silver thread, wondering whether he should return it or not, he noticed something strange.

The ends of the silver thread, the parts that the girl had been holding, were blackened.

“What is this…”

Son Bin frowned and muttered. The silver thread simply sparkled under the moonlight without saying a word.

* * *

The journey was difficult. Avoiding wide and comfortable roads naturally made it harder.

However, the atmosphere of the journey was not bad. No, it could even be said to be good.

That was because of the strange sense of camaraderie that had formed among the group. The center of that camaraderie, which didn’t distinguish between guards, embroiderers, those from Cheongwon, or those from out of town, was Son Bin.

“Teacher Son, come over here and eat with us.”

“This guard is sharing the meat he’s been hoarding. Come on over.”

“It’s not hoarding, okay? I brought it to eat together from the start.”

While the guards were chattering, Eun Cho-bin smiled at Son Bin and said, “Go ahead.”

“Then, I’ll be back.”

Son Bin bowed to Eun Cho-bin and glanced at Dang Wol-ah’s carriage.

Since that day, she hadn’t shown her face at all. He was still concerned about everything she had said and done that day.

‘I wonder if she’ll come out today either.’

Just because he looked at it didn’t mean the girl in the carriage would come out.

Turning his head, Son Bin went to where the guards were gathered, hanging a pot. Before he knew it, some of the embroiderers were subtly joining them.

Watching that scene, Eun Cho-bin said to herself, “It’s nice to see. I don’t know how long it’s been since the journey was this enjoyable.”

“Yes. It’s all thanks to Teacher Son.”

Chief Jang replied. His voice was gruff, but Eun Cho-bin could tell that Chief Jang was saying it sincerely.

“How was the martial arts instruction? Was it alright?”

“I was able to realize a lot of my own shortcomings,” Chief Jang said. “But now that I know the path I must take, my mind is rather lightened.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

“How about you, Young Miss…”

“Ah, and Chief Jang, why don’t you go to Soyang once?” Eun Cho-bin said, as if quickly cutting off Chief Jang’s words.

“Soyang, you say?”

Soyang was a fairly large medium-sized city nearby. It was also a place that the journey, which had chosen small and rough roads to avoid being seen, was deliberately avoiding.

“Go and see what the situation is like. If the rumors have subsided, we don’t need to take such rough roads anymore. If you go by horse, you should be able to rejoin us around evening.”

Eun Cho-bin told Chief Jang the planned route of the journey.

Normally, the chief would never leave the journey alone, but now that Son Bin was here, and as the head of the company, Eun Cho-bin, said, it was necessary to assess the situation.

Chief Jang immediately left on horseback, and the journey continued that day without any particular difficulties, although the road was rough. He was able to rejoin Chief Jang in the evening, fulfilling the journey planned by Eun Cho-bin.

However, the news that Chief Jang brought made Eun Cho-bin’s face harden in an instant.

“It’s gotten more serious?”

“Yes.”

Chief Jang said with a stiff face. Son Bin and Eun Cho-bin, who were listening, also had dark expressions.

“The rumors have spread not only to the Green Forest [bandits] and minor heretical sects but also to the orthodox martial arts clans and minor noble families.”

“Even the orthodox martial arts clans and minor noble families?”

“Yes. They are using the justification that the Tang Clan’s treasures should not fall into the hands of the Green Forest or heretical sects…”

Eun Cho-bin bit her lip. She could fully understand what Chief Jang was implying without having to hear the rest.

“Does that mean they will protect us?”

Son Bin asked.

Eun Cho-bin was dumbfounded.

“There’s no way.”

Eun Cho-bin’s voice was sharp.

“We will be forced to hand over the goods, and they will try to trade directly with the Tang Clan. They’ll say they found the goods you were robbed of. For us… it’s no different from dealing with the Green Forest. Whether it’s a tiger or a wolf, it’s the same in that the journey fails.”

In fact, she wanted to say that they were no different from armed robbers. She wanted to say that it was better to have no witnesses or people involved, so they might kill the entire journey.

But she didn’t know what kind of relationship Son Bin had with the martial world, so she couldn’t recklessly make negative comments.

“In short, it means that whether it’s a wolf or a tiger, it’s the same in that we’ll be eaten anyway.”

“Yes.”

Son Bin pondered. Meanwhile, Chief Jang continued.

“And it seems that some of our journey’s movements have been exposed.”

Eun Cho-bin’s complexion hardened again.

“That’s likely. After all, the roads are limited. Especially the local martial arts centers and sects will know the surrounding geography in detail.”

Choosing detours or side roads essentially means secretly escaping before the opponent notices. There are many roads, and the number of opponents guarding them is limited.

However, if the number of opponents increases, you will eventually encounter them no matter which road you take.

“Then what should we do?”

Son Bin asked. Eun Cho-bin asked back with a bitter expression.

“Well, what should we do? In this situation, there are not many paths we can choose. But the problem is that no matter what choice we make, the result of losing the goods is predetermined.”

“That’s a very unfavorable outcome.”

Son Bin said.

“If it’s the same anyway, wouldn’t it be better to take a step forward?”

“What do you mean? Do you have any ideas?”

Eun Cho-bin asked.

Son Bin replied, “No. Not yet. But someone once said that if you don’t know a tiger, you’ll be eaten, but if you know it, you can hunt it.”

Eun Cho-bin frowned slightly, wondering what he was talking about.

“Ah, more than that, please tell me about this journey. Everything, all of it.”

“Everything… you say?”

Eun Cho-bin asked back with a stiff face.

“Yes,” Son Bin said with a serious expression. “And then let’s talk about the tiger. Even if we can’t hunt it, maybe we can come up with a good plan.”