Chapter 168

“Seventh Young Lord has a good eye. That’s right. This is the incredibly precious Heaven Silkworm silk.”

I was speechless.
The bastard had vanished without a trace for months, only to suddenly reappear and hand me Heaven Silkworm silk.
It was absurd.
With only a little exaggeration, it was valuable enough to rival a divine weapon or wondrous artifact.
And he had simply shown up carrying something like that and told me to take it?

“Explain what happened in a way I can actually understand. Start with why you ran away.”
“Ran away? It was a grand journey.”
“If you disappear without leaving so much as a scrap of paper, you ran away.”
“Is that so? Hehe.”

Hwang Seung-jong chuckled softly before beginning his story.

“The four of us went to the Ice-Soul Demonic Realm, remember? We barely made it through together. I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened back then. I was a little pathetic.”
“A little?”
“……Is that important? Stop interrupting me.”

I nodded.

“I’d actually been pretty confident. I have the Illusory Demon Talent, and I’d prepared all sorts of things beforehand. But for all that confidence, I completely lost my head in there.”

Hwang Seung-jong gave a bitter smile.

“I thought that if I didn’t overcome that memory, I might never be able to move forward for the rest of my life. I couldn’t let it become another ‘wall’ like the one I felt with Geuk Mu-hyeok.”
“…….”

I had thought he was the kind of guy who simply drifted through life without thinking too deeply about anything.
He had improved while I helped with his training, but I still thought he had a long way to go before becoming truly useful.
Apparently, I had underestimated Hwang Seung-jong.

“So you went to the Ice-Soul Demonic Realm alone?”
“Yeah.”
“The place the four of us barely made it through?”
“I thought it might be a little less cold the second time. Turns out I was wrong.”

Hwang Seung-jong joked lightly.
I looked him over.
His lips were cracked, and scars and frostbite marks covered his exposed skin. His clothes went without saying.
These weren’t signs of someone who had simply gone through a hard time. They were the marks of someone who had nearly died again and again.

“Some of the trials were easy. They were the same ones we’d faced before, so I already knew how to handle them. But starting from the seventh trial, things got rough. An ice wall as huge as Mount Tai came crashing down, and I nearly got crushed to death.”

Hwang Seung-jong chuckled as he continued.

“At the ninth trial, I thought I was finished for sure. My consciousness was fading, and I found myself thinking, ‘Fuck, I shouldn’t have come here.’ That pissed me off enough to get stubborn. Want to guess how it turned out?”
“You overcame it. That’s why you’re standing here.”
“Correct!”

A sharp light flashed in Hwang Seung-jong’s eyes.

“Once I survived that, the world looked different. So I pushed through the tenth trial with confidence. And do you know what was waiting at the end?”

Hwang Seung-jong tapped the spool of Heaven Silkworm silk.

“This. Heaven Silkworm silk. You have no idea how exhilarating it was.”
“You went through all that to get it, and you’re giving it to me?”
“Yeah. The moment I saw it, I thought of you.”
“Me? Why?”
“You dragged me out of the mire. You were also the one who got the Revealing Truth Treasure Mirror. Shouldn’t I show at least this much gratitude to someone I owe that much to? Here, take it.”

Before I knew it, I had accepted the Heaven Silkworm silk.
It felt strange.
I had never expected to receive anything from Hwang Seung-jong. No, not just from him, but from Im Yeon, Ak Mu-jin, or any of the others either.
And now I had been given Heaven Silkworm silk of all things.

“……It’s soft.”

I savored the silky softness of the Heaven Silkworm silk beneath my fingertips.
After admiring it several times, I said to Hwang Seung-jong,

“I failed to recognize a truly generous man. I had no idea you were this bighearted.”
“Hehe. As long as you know now.”
“Thanks.”
“As long as you know that too. Looks like quite a lot happened while I was gone?”

Hwang Seung-jong looked around as he spoke.
He had been gone for several months, so naturally he knew nothing about recent events.

“Well, you see- Never mind.”

I started to explain, then shook my head.
To properly explain everything that had happened, I would have to start with the Heaven Rebelling Society and go through far too much.

“You can catch up on the news later. Let me ask you something first.”
“Is it about the absolute formation at Hidden Cloud Pavilion? You mentioned something about that earlier.”
“Right. We need to move it. The relocation is almost finished, but that formation has been holding everything up. I asked your family, and they said no one but you could move it.”

Hwang Seung-jong nodded.

“I built the formation with it and even engraved my own formula into it. To move it, you’d need someone more skilled than me and a formation implement of an even higher grade than the dragon horn. I don’t know about the first requirement, but how many people could possibly meet the second? Even my family, with all the formation implements we possess, probably has only two of that caliber. And they’re already in use.”

“How long will it take to move?”
“Hard to say. I’d have to devote a full day to it. Moving a formation once it’s been installed is no simple task. Want me to start right now?”

Hwang Seung-jong started to move.
I raised a hand to stop him.

“Forget the relocation. Get treated first.”
“I’m fine despite how I look. A couple days of good sleep and I’ll be back to normal.”
“Your ankle’s twisted.”
“What?!”

Hwang Seung-jong looked down at his ankle.
His bold demeanor vanished instantly.

“Aaaagh! My foot!”

Then he collapsed onto the ground and rolled around.
I couldn’t help shaking my head.
The noisy bastard had finally returned to what would have been my peaceful everyday life if not for the Heaven Rebelling Society.
I chuckled.

That night.
I sat in my room with the Heaven Silkworm silk before me, lost in thought.

‘What should I use this for?’

It was light, tough, and strong.
A single slender strand could stop most blades.
It also conducted internal energy extremely well.

Considering those properties, several possibilities came to mind.
The first was weaving it into a protective garment.

‘A whole garment would take too much.’

It didn’t look like I had nearly enough Heaven Silkworm silk for that.
I could probably manage it by mixing in other materials, but then I wouldn’t get its full effect.

‘Should I braid it into a rope? Or wrap it around the handle of my cold-iron dagger?’

As I considered the possibilities, Im Yeon, who was standing nearby, asked,

“Have you decided how you will use it?”
“Not yet. I’m still thinking.”
“Would a protective garment not be best? For Young Lord’s safety.”
“I don’t need a protective garment. The Guardian Court has one.”

Im Yeon blinked.

“Would Young Lord not need a protective garment of your own?”
“If I can borrow it, it’s practically mine anyway.”
“…….”

She looked at me like I was some random beggar off the street.
I hadn’t seen that look from her in a while. So today was the day it returned.

“I’ve decided.”

I finally reached a conclusion.

“Gloves would be best.”
“Gloves?”
“My hands are always the parts of me closest to the enemy. Gloves would help both offensively and defensively. Besides, there isn’t enough material to make a protective garment. I don’t always fight with my cold-iron dagger either, so having a pair of these on my hands would be reassuring.”

Im Yeon nodded in apparent admiration.

“Ah, that is indeed very sensible.”
“Didn’t you just look at me like I was a beggar?”
“M-Me?”
“Yes.”

Naturally, I expected her to deny it.
But then,

“I-I’m sorry, Young Lord!”

……She really thought of me as a beggar?

‘……The problem is working it.’

My thoughts returned to the Heaven Silkworm silk.
There was no way weaving Heaven Silkworm silk was easy.
The Iron-Soul Workshop also had craftsmen responsible for things like the leather wrapped around sword hilts and spear shafts.
But the truth was that they were less skilled than the smiths.
I had no desire to entrust the Heaven Silkworm silk to them.

‘There has to be someone incredibly skilled in the Cult……’

I searched my memories carefully, but no name immediately came to mind.
Then again, I had only seen Heaven Silkworm silk once or twice in my previous life. Why would I have bothered learning who specialized in working with it?

That was when it happened.
Guard Go’s voice came from outside.

“Young Lord, a letter has arrived from the Strategist’s Office.”
“Now?”

While I wondered what this was about, Im Yeon accepted the letter and handed it to me.
When I opened it, the message was extremely brief.
There was something Gal So-ye wanted to discuss.

‘What is it?’

If she was sending a letter this late at night, it should have been urgent, yet there was nothing saying I needed to come immediately.
Even her handwriting was perfectly composed.
I rubbed my chin for a moment before saying,

“Guard Im, let’s go to the Strategist’s Office.”
“Yes. I will prepare at once, Young Lord.”

We arrived at the Strategist’s Office.
Gal So-ye sat in her office, staring intently at the objects laid out on the desk.

“You’re here?”

She didn’t even turn her head, keeping her gaze fixed on the desk.
Three things lay on top of it.
One was a half-burned bundle of papers.
It was the bundle I had taken from the Ink Scholar.
I had gone through it already, but there was nothing particularly important to me, so I had given it to Gal So-ye.

The other two items were a partially torn scrap of paper and a small piece of metal.
I sat across from her and asked,

“What are these?”
“They were recovered from the base. The Heaven Rebelling Society members destroyed a large quantity of documents, but we found a few pieces among the discarded remains.”

Gal So-ye pushed the scrap of paper toward me first.
I examined it.
It listed item names, quantities, and dates.

“Looks like part of an inventory ledger.”
“Exactly. The Strategist’s Office initially judged it to have little analytical value.”
“But?”

Gal So-ye pointed to one section of the torn page.

“Three geun¹ of Black Iron Sand. Two geun of Copper Ore Powder. Half a geun of Azure Sky Stone. Four hop² of Cold Mercury.”

I tilted my head.
Black Iron Sand and Cold Mercury were expensive, but neither was particularly rare.
Gal So-ye continued.

“None of the materials is special on its own. But once you realize this is a manufacturing formula, the story changes. Black Iron Sand and Copper Ore Powder in a three-to-two ratio. Add Azure Sky Stone and Cold Mercury as auxiliary materials, and you can create a special alloy.”

Gal So-ye held out the piece of metal.

“The Iron-Gold Wi Family determined that this fragment is made from that very alloy. I asked what it might have been used for, but even they couldn’t give me a definite answer. I want to know what this piece of metal is. Where it was made, and what it was made for.”
“So that’s why you called me?”
“For some reason, I thought Seventh Young Lord might know.”
“Aren’t you overestimating me a little?”
“I doubt anyone evaluates you more accurately than I do. Neither too highly nor too low. Just appropriately.”

Well, Gal So-ye was certainly clearheaded.
I picked up the metal fragment.

It was small and finely made.
When I ran a fingertip across its surface, it felt smooth at first, yet I could make out minute irregularities.

I examined the cross-section.
Nothing stood out.
But after shaking it and even sending internal energy into it, I suddenly realized something.

‘It has two layers.’

The metal fragment had been constructed in two layers.
When the outer layer received an impact, the inner layer absorbed it.
It was designed so that only an impact above a certain force would reach the inner layer.

‘Why would it need a structure like this?’

I examined it more closely.
Something I had missed earlier caught my eye.
There was a groove carved inside.
It could hold something very small.
Something like,

‘Powder.’

“Falling Thunder Powder!”
“Falling Thunder Powder?”

I explained briefly.
Gal So-ye undoubtedly knew all of this already, but she listened calmly.

Falling Thunder Powder was the Heaven Rebelling Society’s primary weapon.
When cornered, they struck the pouches containing the powder and blew themselves up.
It was powerful, but its limitation was obvious.
The user had to die.

‘But this could change that.’

Falling Thunder Powder was extremely sensitive.
Handle it improperly and it could explode even when you had no intention of detonating it.
Naturally, the same problem would arise while throwing it.

“So Seventh Young Lord believes this was created so the Heaven Rebelling Society could preserve its forces. A container that would allow them to throw Falling Thunder Powder and kill the enemy without having to blow themselves up.”
“That’s what I think.”
“Then it must be a prototype. We have yet to see one actually used.”
“…….”

I didn’t answer.
Not deliberately. The longer I handled the metal fragment, the more strangely familiar its texture felt.

‘Where have I felt this before?’

I carefully retraced my memories.
A memory from one particular night suddenly surfaced.
Red cloth. Illusion arts. And a sharp concealed weapon that had pierced my side.

‘Wait. Don’t tell me?’

Yes. I had felt this texture before.
The concealed weapon that had lodged in my side had been made from the same material.
Which meant,

‘The Dark-Shadow Gu Family.’

More precisely,

“Gu Cheong-won…….”

I murmured the name under my breath.