After talking with Dokgorin, I returned with water from the nearby stream and heard from Kyungah that today’s lunch was vegetable fried rice and pickled cucumbers.
It seemed they had prepared it as a special meal because it was hard to eat fresh vegetables for a long period while traveling.
However, despite such good intentions, not a single person in our party preferred vegetable fried rice over meat fried rice.
“Ugh, carrots.”
“Just try picking and eating.”
“……”
Under Kyungah’s sharp gaze, Dokgoseok swallowed the carrots from his spoon without protest.
Seeing that, Jeongalgyun, who was eating the fried rice, laughed as if it was amusing.
“Hahaha! Anyone would think that maid is your wife!”
“Please don’t say such scary things, sir. This guy and I feel more like long-standing adversaries or siblings, definitely not in that kind of relationship. Imagining this guy as my husband is just horrifying.”
Seeing him speak so seriously once in a while, it seemed he was often misunderstood as having such a relationship.
Then, Kyungah, who had been quietly sitting, suddenly turned red and lashed out.
“I don’t like married men like you, you know?! And calling an unmarried young woman horrible, who’s blocking my marriage route?!”
“Considering how you’re over twenty, you can’t exactly call yourself young…”
“Shut up!”
It seemed to be something she was subtly concerned about, as she chased after Dokgoseok, who grabbed his bowl and ran away.
Well, it couldn’t be helped that a woman over twenty would be treated as an old maid by the standards of this era.
Usually, most got married in their teens.
After finishing a lunch that was somewhat tasty, Dokgorin and I said we would go play for a bit and then moved a little away from the party to start our first formal training under a zelkova tree.
“From now on, the martial arts I will teach you, Chilbok, is called Muryeongsa (霧靈絲), which uses wires made of iron.”
Dokgorin said this and showed me the silk thread she had bought from the textile shop earlier.
“However, training with iron wires from the start could lead to serious injuries, so for the time being, we will learn the basics of Muryeongsa using this silk thread.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Then, before we really begin training, I will ask you one question. What do you think memorization is, Chilbok?”
“Memorization?”
“Yes. Just say what comes to mind.”
It was a sudden question, but I thought quietly and answered.
“Literally, a weapon used by assassins?”
“Hmm, not exactly my favorite answer, but not entirely wrong either.”
Dokgorin said this and pulled out a long piece of silk thread that was wrapped around the spool.
“In my opinion, a weapon designed to kill a person with just this much length is precisely a memorization tool.”
However, compared to regular weapons, it is easier to hide, and even the elderly, women, and children can handle it easily.
“So you must be careful with it. A moment’s carelessness might injure not just your opponent but yourself as well.”
“……”
The moment I heard that, I couldn’t help but flinch.
At first, I was blissfully happy about learning martial arts, but thinking about learning something that could actually kill people made it hard to be purely cheerful.
Seeing my expression freeze, Dokgorin rewound the silk thread in her hand and said,
“Of course, just because you learn this technique doesn’t mean it will definitely be used to kill someone. In fact, my teaching you Muryeongsa means to prepare for unexpected situations for self-defense. But just as a person holding a sword should know they can kill someone with that sword, a person using memorization should understand that they can kill a person at any time with it.”
“…I think I understand what you’re trying to say.”
“Then that’s good to hear.”
Dokgorin said this and handed me the spool of silk thread she had in her hand.
“From now on, this is Chilbok’s item. Don’t part with it when you sleep or wash.”
“Then what will you use?”
“I’ll be fine without one. I’m learning other martial arts too.”
I nodded and held the silk thread while asking Dokgorin,
“So what should I do now?”
“For a warrior, a weapon is an extension of the body. So it’s most important to practice repeatedly until you can handle the weapon like your own body.”
After explaining, Dokgorin said with a serious expression.
“So from now on, let’s practice string games.”
*
The method of special training that Dokgorin suggested to me was string games.
Honestly, when I first heard it, I thought she was joking.
And I could understand why, as she proposed this while wearing a serious expression after saying she would teach me a killing technique, but when it turned out the training method was string games, one would typically think she was joking.
Yet, Dokgorin’s expression was incredibly serious, and I knew she wasn’t someone to joke around like this, so I had no choice but to comply with her instructions.
And the result was this.
“Five-pointed star.”
I created a pentagonal star shape with the silk thread in my hand, following the prompt given by Dokgorin.
“Three-tiered tower.”
This time, it was a tower shape with increased difficulty.
I calmly strung the thread between my fingers without panicking, creating the three-tiered tower shape that Dokgorin instructed.
“Stairs.”
Even higher in difficulty.
But if it collapsed here, I would have to start over again from the beginning.
I gritted my teeth and made the stairs shape as Dokgorin requested.
“Forbidden City.”
As I untangled the thread to create the Forbidden City shape, I suddenly felt my mind go blank.
Forbidden City? How do you make the Forbidden City?
“Wrong.”
If my hands stop, that’s it.
Not being able to create the designated shape of the Forbidden City within the given time, Dokgorin promptly declared my failure.
At the same time, as the tension abruptly released, I let out a deep sigh.
“Miss, honestly, isn’t it cheating to ask for the Forbidden City?”
“Why do you think that’s cheating?”
“No, how can one make the Forbidden City shape with thread?”
After four days of training, I had managed to express all reasonable shapes, but making something overly complex was still a struggle.
“I can do it.”
With a casual face, Dokgorin took the silk thread that was wrapped around my hand and quickly demonstrated how to create a castle shape with string.
When she showed me it could be done right in front of my eyes, no matter how much I protested it wouldn’t work, I would only embarrass myself.
Thus, instead of arguing with Dokgorin, I asked her how to do it.
“There’s no shortcut in string games. You have to practice countless times to create the shapes you want at the desired moment.”
Saying this, Dokgorin unraveled the silk thread in her hand and slowly demonstrated the process of making the Forbidden City shape again.
“Are you planning to ask the enemy to wait for a moment because your thread got tangled?”
It was an undeniable point, so I sighed slightly and nodded.
“…I understand, let’s take a break before continuing.”
Eventually, having exhausted myself, I raised both my hands and feet in surrender. Dokgorin must have thought teaching more today would also be difficult, as she said she understood and unraveled the silk thread in her hand.
When I first started this training and only heard the term string games, I had envisioned the ordinary string games I did back in elementary school, but I couldn’t help but be shocked at the level of difficulty that was incomparable.
It was understandable because the string game Dokgorin was speaking of involved expressing the given theme with string in a short amount of time.
Naturally, such sharpness of reflexes was essential, and even the slightest mistake could cause the silk thread to unravel from my hands, leading to frustration repeatedly.
As I visibly sulked, Dokgorin cautiously asked,
“Chilbok, do you think I’m teaching too difficult?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never learned martial arts from anyone else, so I have no basis for comparison.”
“If you think it’s too hard, I can consider finding another training method starting tomorrow.”
“Thank you for the thought, but it’s okay.”
“Why?”
“If I can’t overcome this level of challenge, I feel like I’ll whine every time I learn martial arts from now on.”
As I said this and steeled myself again, Dokgorin stared at me intently.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, but I think I’ve fallen for you all over again.”
“…Let’s just continue training.”
“Are you embarrassed or something?”
“Not at all.”
“Come on~ you seem a bit embarrassed~.”
Saying this, Dokgorin poked my side with a playful expression.
But since I didn’t want to admit her words, I pretended not to hear and wrapped the silk thread back around my hand.
*
A considerable amount of time had passed since we left Hanjung.
“I think you two have gotten a lot closer recently.”
While traveling along the well-paved road, Dokgoseok, who was leading the way, spoke up first.
Not being able to ride, Dokgorin, who was holding the reins, replied with a brusque tone.
“Is there a problem?”
“There’s a saying that men and women should not sit together until seven years old. No matter how young Chilbok is, I think you two are getting too close.”
“If that’s the case, it’s fine. I plan to marry Chilbok.”
Then Dokgoseok chuckled and said,
“Lin, marriage isn’t something you can just decide to do with your heart. Depending on the circumstances of the families involved and their interests, sometimes the spouse can change.”
“What about you, second brother? Didn’t you have a love marriage?”
“Oh, unlike my elder brother who will inherit the family, I’m the second son and have no major responsibilities, so I was free to choose my bride. But I don’t think it’ll be the same for you.”
Dokgoseok said this while glancing at my face.
“Do you really think your father would smile and give his consent if you two got married?”
“One can only find out by measuring the long and short.”
“Sometimes, you can know even without measuring.”
Saying this and looking at me, Dokgoseok spoke in a somewhat admonishing tone.
“You, Chilbok, should understand what I mean.”
Unable to outright deny his words, I replied, “I understand. Confucius,” and nodded.
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