As I dashed absentmindedly toward the main hall, where the Dokgo family’s secret training ground was located, a familiar voice rang out from above.
“Chilbok!”
“Rin!”
It was indeed a dramatically timed reunion.
The moment she spotted me, Dokgorin leaped down from the roof and grabbed my face with both hands, asking fervently.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Is there any pain?”
“I’m fine. Rather, it’s Kyungah sister I’m worried about.”
As I said this, showing her Kyungah on my back, Dokgorin gasped in shock and questioned me.
“Did she get hit by an arrow?”
“Yes. Fortunately, it seems like her lungs and heart were spared.”
“Then let’s move her to safety and treat her.”
“Sure. That was exactly what I was thinking.”
After exchanging our thoughts, Dokgorin naturally joined our group.
However, while I was chatting with her, it seemed the assassin who had been chasing us finally caught up and boldly revealed himself.
“You! I won’t let you die peacefully!”
It seems the grudge spawned from me killing his comrade had caught up with him.
“Heh, this is getting interesting.”
But now, I had Dokgorin, who was destined to reach the heights of a great warrior, by my side.
As the assassin directed his blatant killing intent toward me, she mumbled and unsheathed two daggers that were dancing at her waist.
The short, angular blades were reminiscent of a Chinese sword, a rough cutting knife known as the Hui Chai Dao.
No matter how one looks at it, this was not a weapon suitable for a daughter of a prestigious family, yet I knew how Dokgorin primarily employed it.
That was—
*Swoosh!*
With a throw.
The knife whizzed through the air, and the assassin hastily deflected it.
But when he witnessed the Hui Chai Dao changing its trajectory as if it were alive, the assassin exclaimed in surprise.
“What! Is that the Gigi Sword?”
“I still have one more.”
As if it wasn’t over yet, Dokgorin threw the other dagger, which had been playing in her hand, toward the man.
“Ugh!”
Again, he barely managed to deflect the blade, but now he had double the knives to contend with.
At first, it seemed he was managing to hold his own, but eventually, the exposed gaps led to the assassin’s neck being brutally cut off.
“Was that even challenging?”
The two daggers returned to Dokgorin’s hands as if rewinding a film.
In reality, she had merely attached strings to the handles for remote control, but it seemed the assassin had never suspected anything until the very end.
“Let’s go, Chilbok. I know a place where we can hide well.”
With an indifferent expression, she dusted off the blood on her blades and said to me, and I nodded in reply.
“Yes, Miss.”
I followed quietly behind her as she led the way.
*
The Dokgo family’s secret training ground.
The first mention of its existence comes very early in the original story.
When Weijichun led an attack against the family, Dokgojin perished, and the family faced annihilation. It was the secret training ground beneath the main building that enabled Dokgorin to survive against all odds.
The original purpose of this secret training ground was for the heads of the family to secretly pass down the family martial art, Nine Commons Weapon Essence, to their children, ensuring that the techniques and countermeasures did not leak outside the clan.
So, it wouldn’t be strange for Dokgorin to know about this place.
As we moved toward the main building to hide in the secret training ground, we encountered Dokgoseok at the entrance, covered head to toe in blood.
“Rin! You’re safe!”
Dokgoseok approached with a relieved expression.
However, upon noticing the loose sleeve of his right arm, Dokgorin asked, bewildered.
“Brother? What happened to you…?”
“Oh, this? I met the guys who raided the family while I was out searching for you.”
Feeling shy, Dokgoseok scratched the back of his head only to realize his right arm was missing, awkwardly lowering his hand.
“This injury is nothing for a warrior, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
As he spoke and walked closer, he must have finally noticed Kyungah on my back, and his face turned pale.
“Kyungah!”
He questioned me with an urgent tone.
“What in the world happened?!”
“She got hit in the back by an arrow from an assassin. Fortunately, the wound isn’t deep, but if left unattended, she could die from excessive bleeding.”
“Ugh! I shouldn’t have told you to wait just one more day!”
Dokgoseok muttered in a flustered tone, shaking his head before pressing the reversed scales on the neck of a dragon-shaped statue standing at the entrance of the main building.
Then, with a thunderous rumble, the once solid dragon statue moved aside, revealing a staircase leading downward.
“If you go down here, you’ll find the family’s secret training ground. Stay hidden until this situation is resolved.”
Hearing Dokgoseok’s words, Dokgorin quickly asked.
“What about you, brother?”
“I plan to return to the shrine. My brother and parents are still over there.”
“Don’t go back; just hide here with us. Father will take care of the remaining thieves.”
As Dokgorin insisted, Dokgoseok smiled bitterly.
“Rin, you worry about me? Tomorrow the sun will rise in the west, indeed.”
“Is this really the time for jokes? You could die if you go back!!”
“But the shrine holds my parents, siblings, and the clan members. I can’t flee alone and abandon them.”
“Then I’ll go with you and fight!”
As Dokgorin said this, ready to draw a sword at any moment, Dokgoseok gently patted her head and spoke calmly.
“You know you’re aware of it too. If we go there now, we’ll all die.”
Saying this, he took out a weathered book from his robe and placed it in Dokgorin’s arms.
“This must be what they’re after. From now on, you must protect this, Rin.”
“If it’s that important, brother, you should guard it yourself!”
“I’d like to, but the situation doesn’t permit it.”
Saying this with a bitter smile, Dokgoseok looked at me standing next to Dokgorin.
“Chilbok, please protect Rin in my place.”
“…Yes.”
“Rin, make sure to eat well, brush your teeth before bed, and remember, all men are wolves, so don’t trust anyone except Chilbok.”
“…Understood.”
“I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend your wedding. Please tell Kyungah I regret that. This is a gift for her, so I hope you can deliver it.”
As he said this, Dokgoseok handed over a beautifully adorned necklace to the tearful Dokgorin.
“Well then… I should have no regrets anymore. Oh, by the way, before I leave, let me give you a few pieces of advice.”
Dokgoseok said this while looking at us.
“First, don’t seek vengeance.”
“Second, don’t try to know your enemies.”
“Third, being ordinary is the best.”
As long as you adhere to these points, life will proceed without hindrance.
Having said that, Dokgoseok smiled gently before closing the door to the secret passage.
“Rin, I’m sorry I couldn’t play with you much when you were little. I wanted to be a good brother, but in the end, I couldn’t.”
And with a sorrowful expression, he added.
“Forgive me. This foolish brother.”
*Thud!*
*
The moment the door to the secret training ground slammed shut, Dokgorin unexpectedly burst into tears, having suppressed them until now.
Thoughts of her harsh treatment toward Dokgoseok over the past two years flooded her mind.
If she had known this would happen, she would have treated him better.
Although she regretted it late, it was now too late to change anything.
“Are you… okay, Miss?”
Chilbok spoke awkwardly, but she didn’t want to show a crying face to him right now.
“Just give me a moment alone.”
Saying this, she handed Chilbok the healing medicine for Kyungah and secluded herself in a corner of the secret training ground.
‘I thought this time would be different.’
Before returning, she believed all the misfortunes that had befallen her stemmed from Weijichun.
So she had killed Weijichun first, thinking it would end everything and had let her guard down.
And that complacency had returned as a painful reprisal.
‘No matter how much I struggle, the fate of my family being annihilated won’t change?’
Before her return, she thought everything was orchestrated by Weijichun.
But if it wasn’t him, then who would invade the Dokgo family for some reason?
Then Dokgorin suddenly recalled that Weijichun had a ten-year gap in his history.
‘During that time, could he have been part of some organization? Did the rapid increase in his strength during his youth come from that place?’
If that organization spearheaded this invasion, the likelihood of Weijichun being one of their collaborators or spies was high.
Otherwise, as the powerful leader of the Murim Association, he wouldn’t have risked appearing here himself.
In this situation, any force capable of nurturing and directing such strong fighters would be exceedingly rare.
Engaging her thoughts…
‘Could it be related to the Dark Cult?’
This was a sufficiently plausible suspicion.
If it was indeed the Dark Cult, then gaining strength in a short period wouldn’t be unusual, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they were eager to plant spies within the Murim Association.
Lost in deep thought, Dokgorin’s gaze landed on the book Dokgoseok had given her.
“By the way, he said they were after this book.”
The Nine Heavens Profound Sword.
It was a martial technique she had never heard of before.
Thinking it might be a clue, she opened the book only to discover a note tucked inside the pages.
As she unfolded the note, it contained writing in Dokgoseok’s handwriting, and the contents were truly shocking.
No wonder.
“Beware of the royal family.”
It hinted at the royal family’s involvement behind all these incidents.
