Chương 10: One in Four

The soft orange light illuminating the study stretched Elder Noh's shadow in multiple directions across the floor of the Obsidian Palace. His barrel-chested body looked small in comparison to the umbral doppelgangers extruding from his feet. Despite the omnipresent cold, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he stared at the man who would decide his fate. Sect Leader Kang Hyeon-je was seated, but his presence completely dominated the room.

He looked at the elder with a penetrating gaze that both demanded accountability and threatened consequences.

"Never before has the Iron Vigil failed to detect an intrusion. And yet, a member of the Hundred Ghost Pavilion managed to climb into the Archives – and nearly took the head of my successor. I've given you time to conduct your investigation, Noh. Now, speak. Tell me how this happened." The Disciplinary Elder bowed, his thick neck straining against his collar. The motion caused the droplet of sweat to fall off his cheek and splatter on the floor.

"We have interrogated the men who held the first and second watches. And we have retraced every step of the Hundred Ghost Pavilion operative. The failure ultimately came down to timing." The balding man stepped forward and placed a small, hand-drawn diagram onto the Sect Leader's desk. It showed the patrol routes of the Iron Vigil, marked with red ink.

"The assassin struck during the transition between the first and second watch," the Disciplinary Elder explained.

"When the guards to the north had descended the stairs and their replacements were still on the way. The blind spot was not large; a third of a ke, at most. To time the assault with that opening so perfectly, one would need access to the guard rotation schedule." The Sect Leader looked down at the diagram for a moment, before glancing back at the man in front of him. His eyes were cold as they locked onto those of the elder.

"That schedule is kept under your seal – inside the Disciplinary Court itself."

"It is," Elder Noh replied, as he felt his rapidly beating heart fall into the pit of his stomach.

"Which means the breach is deep. We are not looking at a bribed gate guard or a sleepy watchman. The only conclusion I can draw is that the Disciplinary Court itself has been compromised." The Sect Leader stood up and walked around the desk, his oxblood robes trailing behind him as he moved. Everywhere he passed, his huge body interrupted the light of the braziers, causing the layout of the shadows in the den to flicker and change.

"You are telling me that one of your own is a traitor."

"The list of suspects is dangerously short," Elder Noh replied, grimly.

"The watch captains who receive the orders. The supervisors who draft those orders. Or... the administrative staff in my inner office who transcribe those drafts. High-ranking members, Sect Leader. Men who have served me for decades." Hyeon-je moved to stand directly in front of him, his shadow bathing the old man in darkness.

"A snake in the bed of the Disciplinary Court. If word of this leaks outside of the sect, the Iron Vigil will lose all credibility. Our defensive strength will be severely undercut if we lose the illusion that our fortress is impenetrable."

"Everything has been locked down," Elder Noh assured him, additional droplets of sweat beginning to bead across his brow.

"And all the possible culprits have been confined to their quarters under the guise of an 'operational review.' But…I cannot hold them forever. I need to know which of them sold us out to the Ghosts." The Sect Leader looked down at him from above. The elder was not kneeling, but he might as well have been.

"And you've found no other leads? No trail of silver? No likely motivation?"

"None," Elder Noh was forced to admit.

"The Ghost the boy killed was a Specter – no tongue, no papers, no identifying marks. The trail began and ended on that balcony." The old man let out a frustrated huff.

"The only thing we can do is to try and extract a confession. If one of the suspects eventually talks, we may find a path forward." The Sect Leader remained silent for a moment before responding, leaving the crackle of slowly dying coals as the only sound filling the room.

"Someone must speak, Noh, or I will have no choice but to purge the entire Court. Begin your interrogations. Find me a culprit and a trail to follow. I would prefer to know exactly how far this gangrene extends – before I am forced to amputate the entire limb." Chae-ha took a deep breath, trying to lower her heart rate and calm her nerves as she approached the Medical Pavilion.

The white granite construction, still speckled with occasional dark impurities, set it noticeably apart from the other structures in the sect. It looked clean and healthy, especially from a distance, where the colored minerals in the stone were less obvious. The sprawling compound housed multiple wings, including the medical bay and training centers. A second story rose up over parts of the structure, but everyone knew the true heart of the institute – the laboratories – lay below the ground.

Chae-ha entered the building and proceeded down a flight of stairs. Just as she reached the Lower Laboratory, a parade of students began to file out. The young girl waited for them to pass before steeling herself and entering the chamber. The room was a sterile fusion of white tiles and grey stone, chilled by blocks of ice kept in the corners. Large study tables with tops made from polished granite sat in rows, surrounded by stools for students to sit on.

At the front of the room, wiping down a set of scalpels with a pungent cloth, was the person Chae-ha had come here to find: High Elder Shim Baek-un. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The Medical Elder was one of the sect's few female disciples – and was no less imposing for it. The woman was older, her face clearly weathered and worn, her neatly bundled hair an almost unnaturally pure white.

But despite her age, the elder's impressive physique wouldn't have been out of place on a warrior in her prime. Her broad shoulders and corded muscles were evident even under the heavy apron that – for now – took the place of her elder's robes.

"The clerk with the shattered meridians," she remarked.

"Unless you've come to report a theft, you've wandered quite far from your proper domain, little one."

"I'm a junior Inspector now, elder," Chae-ha replied, placing two full silver taels on the woman's workbench. The metal rang against the stone with a clear, undeniable authority.

"And I'm not here to report a theft. I'm here to purchase inventory." The Medical Elder paused, her eyes shifting to the silver.

"We don't sell medicine to civilians, little one."

"I don't want medicine. I want the unclaimed remains from your anatomy lessons. The ones the students have already opened and cataloged, destined for incineration." She gestured toward the empty dissection tables.

"I'm offering a rate of two taels per seven bodies. I also want access to this room after the first watch, and the right to use the 'discarded materials' I'm purchasing for my own research." Elder Shim tilted her head slowly in burgeoning curiosity.

"Does Elder Gwak know you're here, little Inspector?" Chae-ha shrugged.

"He does not. But I am not trying to hide it from him. And I have no reason to think he would object." The Medical Elder nodded slowly as she considered that for a moment.

"Your proposal is quite unusual. But… I also see nothing fundamentally wrong with it. You are offering a fair exchange of resources. Providing you clean up after yourself and do not interfere with the studies of my students, I see no reason to deny you. Besides," she continued, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes, "it can't hurt for the Medical Pavilion to be in the good graces of a newly minted Inspector."

Chae-ha placed her hands into her sleeves and raised her arms in front of her, as she lowered her head in a slight bow.

"Thank you for your understanding, Elder Shim." The young girl held the position until she saw the older woman's hand reach out and cover the silver taels, before turning to leave."' Understanding' is perhaps the one thing for which you should not be thanking me. The mystery of why you're doing this remains unsolved. What exactly are you planning on learning here, little one?" Chae-ha paused before giving her answer. A hint of mischief rose in her own eyes as she looked back over her shoulder." Cham-jeom-sul."

A few days later, Mu-cheon found himself wincing at the whoosh his fist made as it passed a finger's width in front of Chae-ha's nose. He'd thrown that one with real force. Not with his full strength, of course, but still – the strike was capable of doing real damage if it connected. Thankfully, it had not. With Chae-ha freed from her clerkly duties, the two were able to practice in the light of day. It had only been a week, but the young girl's defensive art was already beginning to evolve.

Two steps were now four, and one girl now felt like six. Chae-ha stepped again, her petite form hidden deep inside her billowy robes. Each step was deliberate, slow, and carefully placed, but they were still somehow impossible to track. The misleading motion of her fluttering panels was augmented with strategic flicks of her wrists, ankles, and hips. Her movement may not have been fast, but it never stopped, and the weighted hems ensured the garment continued to flow deceptively. Mu-cheon shook his head.

She looked like she should be vulnerable to any number of strikes, but somehow, her body was never where it seemed to be. The young man tried again to gauge her position, but his next blow also passed harmlessly through her sleeve. It's too bad her motions wouldn't be as effective against a sword as they were against punches. When they first began training together, it had quickly become apparent that her technique had some limitations. For one thing, it could not be used reactively.

Waiting for a strike and then trying to dodge failed almost all the time, even when Mu-cheon went very lightly. Against the assassin, Chae-ha had the benefit of seeing the man turn around and then lunge at her from relatively far away. But against an opponent who was already in her face, it rarely seemed to work. The young girl's ribcage bore the bruises to prove it. Chae-ha's solution was to be proactive. If she couldn't start moving after she saw a strike coming, then she simply needed to always be moving.

And to Mu-cheon, the dance she was developing looked dizzying. She only had four steps, and he wasn't going full strength, but the Inner Disciple could already feel some pressure when he sparred with her. Left or right? Did she lunge, or did she not even move? It felt like she was everywhere and nowhere, all at once. Her stamina only lasted so long, but the measured nature of her steps made persistence possible. After almost an hour of training, they agreed to take a quick break.

Chae-ha sat down on the stone tiles beneath their feet, breathing heavily. Across from the secluded courtyard, the two saw a procession of officials entering the Disciplinary Court. Armed guards seemed to be escorting several sect members inside.

"Do you know what's going on?" Chae-ha asked as she waved her hand in their direction, still somewhat out of breath. The young man's face hardened.

"They're looking for a traitor. The one who leaked the guard rotation schedule, and let the assassin in." She took a moment to process that.

"Do you think they'll find him?" Mu-cheon looked away.

"They had better. I know my father. If they don't…there will be a purge." Quiet settled over the two training partners, the silence between them dominated by the sound of heavy breathing slowly but surely stabilizing. The young man looked back at Chae-ha and decided to change the topic to something less morbid.

"I'm impressed, you know. It's already hard to keep track of you. Once you have more steps…this technique may become invincible." Chae-ha shook her head.

"Not likely. There's an obvious counter strategy." Mu-cheon's eyebrows shot up.

"Really? What is it?"

"Don't try to strike where you think I am. That's the one place I'm definitely not. Instead, just…guess, and swing at random." She gestured to her own small form.

"I only have four steps, and I have no other defense. If you have a weapon, and you guess right, I…die."

"Are you telling me that in combat, against a smart opponent, this technique has a one in four chance of ending with your death?"

"Well," Chae-ha responded, slightly hesitant, "it's more complicated than that. Some strikes can cover big areas. But…yes. That's basically what I'm saying." She looked at him grimly.

"This is why I still need more steps. With each one I add, the probability of…failure…goes down."

"Failure? Is that what we're calling it now?" The young girl looked down at her feet.

"This technique can't remain the 108 Phantom Steps in name only, senior brother. If I can make one-hundred genuinely different steps, the odds of dying to a simple random strike go down to only one percent." Mu-cheon raised his hand to his chest, his heart racing.

"Isn't there some way to make it safe? To not be…gambling with your life every time you do this?" Chae-ha pondered that for a moment before shaking her head again. She raised her eyes and met his gaze with a determined heart.

"The only way to do that…would be to touch infinity."