The next morning, when Tang Mujin returned to the guest hall, Hong Geolge and Gwiui were lounging around, barely turning their heads to acknowledge him.
Hong Geolge wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air. “What’s that smell? Did you go to a tavern down the mountain or something?”
His reaction was simple and straightforward.
Gwiui, however, was not as innocent. He was quicker on the uptake than Hong Geolge.
‘The head of the Chubo clan mentioned checking out the hut.’
‘I think I saw a hut near the waterwheel before entering the Shaolin Temple.’
‘There was a woman working with a pickaxe next to it.’
‘The smell of alcohol. And an overnight stay.’
Gwiui grinned slyly and made a suggestive gesture with his hands. “Had a fun night, did you?”
Tang Mujin recoiled, shouting in disbelief. “What on earth, old man? Have you finally lost it?”
Hong Geolge, not following the exchange, asked, “What? What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that Tang Mujin is way ahead of you in certain… experiences,” Gwiui teased.
“That’s not it at all!” Tang Mujin protested.
“Look at him, denying it so shamelessly. Imagine how upset the other party would be… or maybe not. She seemed like quite the character.”
Gwiui’s smirk had a way of making people instinctively clench their fists.
Tang Mujin didn’t resist the urge and swung his fist, but Gwiui casually caught it with his palm. Gwiui’s understanding of martial arts was deeper than Tang Mujin’s, allowing him to deflect the blow effortlessly.
Tang Mujin sighed deeply. He had never felt the need for martial arts training more acutely.
‘I really need to train harder from now on.’
Gwiui cleared his throat a couple of times and then spoke with a serious expression. “Anyway, did you gain anything?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Did you exchange names?”
“She said her name is Dan Seolyeong.”
“Good job. Exchanging names is always the first step, especially if you’re going to be seeing each other for more than a day or two.”
“Right. It’ll take months of work, day and night.”
“Months? Just a few months?”
“Why?”
Gwiui looked at Tang Mujin with a face full of disdain. “Approaching a woman with such a trashy mindset. I should inform Miss Dan before things get too deep.”
”…Weren’t we talking about the wooden dummies?”
“No, I was asking about this,” Gwiui said, repeating his suggestive gesture.
Tang Mujin felt a wave of dizziness. He had always thought the generals in old stories who fell for provocations were fools, but now he realized how wrong he was.
As Tang Mujin’s hand moved toward his sword hilt, Gwiui gently pressed down on it. “Just kidding. Anyway, since it’s clear this will take a while, I should get busy with my own work.”
“What work?”
Expecting more nonsense, Tang Mujin asked with a skeptical look. Surprisingly, Gwiui had a legitimate plan.
“I’m going to compile a medical book with all my knowledge. I’ve been putting it off, but now seems like the right time.”
Gwiui being occupied was a welcome development. If left idle, he would likely hover around Tang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong, causing mischief.
“That’s great. What about you, Hong Geolge?”
“Me?”
Startled by the mention of his name, Hong Geolge had no plans, as usual. A true free spirit.
If he had to do something, it would be either begging or training, neither of which was suitable for the Shaolin Temple.
He couldn’t beg from the monks, and practicing martial arts that differed from the Shaolin style would be odd.
Hong Geolge made up his mind. He would go wherever his heart felt at ease.
“I think I’ll head to the village below.”
Their plans were of no help to each other, but at least they had something to do. Gwiui clapped his hands.
“Alright then, let’s get to work. Dismissed.”
Tang Mujin went straight to find Dan Seolyeong. He wondered if she would be working with the pickaxe again, but today she was crouched on the ground, scribbling something.
“What are you up to?”
“Oh, you’re here? I’m figuring out the order of tasks.”
“Hmm.”
“First, I need to ask, what’s the condition inside the wooden dummy hall? Is there anything salvageable? I’ve heard it’s been in bad shape for a while.”
Tang Mujin hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “There’s not much worth saving. Everything’s old and decayed. The remaining items are so fragile they could break with a touch.”
“Even the dummies?”
Tang Mujin picked up a small stick and drew a wooden dummy in the dirt. The design was simple, so it didn’t take long.
“There are about thirty dummies like this.”
He then erased the drawing with his foot. “But now they’re in such bad shape, it’s hard to tell how they move.”
“So the structure of the hall is a mess, and there’s no dummy worth salvaging.”
Dan Seolyeong crossed her arms, pondering, then nodded. “Alright. Let’s start by making a prototype dummy. It’s better to make mistakes early. Sit tight and wait.”
As Tang Mujin sat down, Dan Seolyeong went into the storage and returned with carving tools and a bundle of dried wood.
She placed the materials in front of Tang Mujin and crouched beside him.
“Let’s focus on the internal structure first and worry about the exterior later. I need to see if the dummy moves as I envision. Should we make it smaller to make it easier? How small can you make it?”
“Hmm.”
Tang Mujin quickly carved two small gears from a piece of wood, each slightly larger than a thumbnail.
He inserted a thin rod through the gears, meshing them together and giving them a spin. Despite the rough surface, they turned without much issue.
“I can make them this small easily. Any smaller would require more precision.”
Dan Seolyeong’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Impressive. Then let’s make a scaled-down dummy about knee or thigh-high. First, let’s carve hexagonal rods. Half an inch thick, one foot long, six pieces.”
Tang Mujin carved the parts as instructed, but the dimensions Dan Seolyeong described didn’t match his expectations exactly.
He ended up making the pieces slightly larger and then trimmed them down to size.
After several rounds of trimming and cutting, Tang Mujin had a realization.
“I need to make a ruler first.”
He cut a long piece of wood and carefully etched evenly spaced notches into it. With a two-foot ruler in hand, the work became a bit easier.
Even with the ruler, the process wasn’t as satisfying as he’d hoped.
To be precise, making the parts wasn’t the issue; it was the inexplicable frustration.
It took Tang Mujin some time to identify the source of his frustration.
In the past, he always knew exactly what he was making and understood it fully before starting.
But this time was different. Only Dan Seolyeong knew the final structure of the dummy.
He was making parts without knowing their purpose or where they fit.
It felt like walking blindfolded, guided by someone else, rather than heading toward a known destination.
Working this way was frustrating, and it naturally slowed him down.
Eventually, Tang Mujin stood up and spoke. “This is too slow.”
Dan Seolyeong didn’t understand his complaint. “Too slow? At this pace, we could finish a dummy in two days.”
“By my standards, it’s slow. More than that, it’s frustrating. I need to understand how the dummy moves. Each dummy in the hall moves differently, right?”
“Yeah, none of them move the same way.”
“Which dummy is this a prototype for?”
“The first one on the right.”
“Can you explain how it moves?”
“It extends its right arm, not fully, just halfway, while slightly lifting its left leg…”
Dan Seolyeong started to explain but then changed her mind. There was a better way. She stood up abruptly.
“Watch. It moves like this.”
She alternated extending her arms and lifted her leg, mimicking the dummy’s movements. The actions were short and simple.
But Tang Mujin couldn’t help but laugh.
Dan Seolyeong’s movements were so stiff, like a puppet on strings in a shadow play. The contrast between her awkward movements and serious expression made it even funnier.
Realizing how she must have looked, Dan Seolyeong’s face and ears turned red as she raised her pickaxe.
“What’s so funny? You asked me to show you!”
“I’m not mocking you. It was just a natural reaction.”
“Same difference!”
Despite the brief spat, Dan Seolyeong’s demonstration was quite helpful. Tang Mujin’s work pace noticeably improved.
The difference was clear enough that even Dan Seolyeong had to accept her fate. She was destined to mimic the dummy’s movements in front of Tang Mujin.
The work on the internal structure of the wooden mannequin, which had begun early in the morning, stretched on well past sunset. As the surrounding darkness made it difficult to continue, Dan Seol-young stood up and stretched.
“It’s too late. Let’s finish this tomorrow.”
“No, we’re almost done. Let’s wrap it up today. Do you have a lamp?”
“No lamp, but I can make a torch.”
“Will that work?”
“Of course.”
Making a torch required oil, which wasn’t cheap. But Dan Seol-young was eager to see the mannequin completed today if possible.
She tore up some old, unwearable clothes, soaked them in oil, and wrapped the fabric around a stick to fashion a small torch. Once lit, it provided just enough light.
Tang Mu-jin resumed his work.
Under the flickering torchlight, Dan Seol-young watched the mannequin take shape. She also watched Tang Mu-jin, absorbed in his task. There was something joyful about it.
The work took longer than expected, requiring Dan Seol-young to fetch more oil-soaked cloth twice.
Judging by the sky, it was around midnight.
With a face full of anticipation, Dan Seol-young gazed at the completed mannequin.
Though it was just a framework, not yet resembling a human, to her eyes, it was already a magnificent creation.
“Let’s see it move. Should I do it?”
“No, I’ll handle it.”
The prototype mannequin wasn’t connected to any machinery. Tang Mu-jin grasped a small rod beneath it and slowly turned it to the right. The stiff interlocking of the parts was oddly satisfying.
The mannequin moved its limbs slowly, just as Dan Seol-young had demonstrated earlier. The motions were a bit awkward, but satisfying enough.
“Looks like it turned out well.”
Tang Mu-jin smiled with satisfaction. He had crafted all sorts of odds and ends before, but this was his first time making something that moved.
But there was no response. He glanced over to see Dan Seol-young staring intently at the mannequin.
She reached out to it, and Tang Mu-jin handed it over.
Dan Seol-young moved the mannequin, watching as it slowly waved its limbs.
She gazed at it, entranced, like a child with their first toy or an old woman fulfilling her last wish.
Tang Mu-jin watched them both for a moment before standing up.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. You should get some rest too. We have work to do.”
“Okay.”
As Tang Mu-jin urged her, Dan Seol-young cradled the mannequin and headed home. Judging by her expression, she’d likely spend the night tinkering with it.
Tang Mu-jin turned away and made his way to the Shaolin Temple’s gate.
But it was long past sunset, and the gate was firmly shut.
He couldn’t sneak over the wall, nor could he make a fuss to have it opened. Sleeping in front of the gate wasn’t an option either.
After a moment’s thought, Tang Mu-jin returned to Dan Seol-young’s house.
She had already gone inside, leaving no one outside.
Under the star-filled sky, Tang Mu-jin was the only person around.
Creak—creak—
The sound of the waterwheel turning echoed, accompanied by the loud chirping of insects on Sosil Peak.
The weather was still mild, and the grass and earth beneath him were soft.
Tang Mu-jin lay down, gazing at the moon, and soon closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.