We had sailed swiftly down the long north-south stretch of East Dongting Lake and were now entering the wider, east-west basin of South Dongting Lake, continuing our journey for quite some time.

As he looked out at the water, Sagong Won, the head boatman of the Dongting Eighteen Boats, pointed toward a certain spot and spoke up.

"That over there, Sir So-ryong, marks the start of East Dongting Lake."

"From there?"

"Yes. That little reed island is generally used as the dividing point between East and South Dongting Lake. Of course, it’s not a strictly defined boundary, so opinions vary."

Some people, he explained, consider it East Dongting only after going around the island, while others claim it begins right there.

What he was pointing at was a small reed-covered islet, jutting out like a signpost from the marshlands on the left side. And sure enough, looking around, there were no fishing boats to be seen here.

Until now, we’d passed plenty of fishing vessels hauling up nets and luxurious boats ferrying people about on West and South Dongting Lake—but here, nothing. Not a single sail in sight.

"So we’ll rest until nightfall and head out as planned?"

"Yes, sir. Understood."

We didn’t set sail into East Dongting Lake right away.

There were no patrol ships in sight, but better safe than sorry.

"Geumdo, let’s move over to that reed island for now."

—Brrrmm.

The area around the belly of Dongting Lake fluctuated between being a lake during the rainy season and turning back into marshland, so it was filled with thick reeds.

Clusters of small islands were stuck together here, so I had Geumdo head in that direction.

Trailing behind us were the pirates in their little boats.

They seemed to be following obediently without any trouble—but only because they were all tied together and being towed by Geumdo.

They had agreed earlier to cooperate with us, but judging from their sour expressions, I had taken the precaution of roping them up.

“Th-then we’ll just row and follow behind you ourselves.”

“No need for that, is there? If we tie your boats to Geumdo, we can tow you along.”

“I-it’s fine, really...”

“No no, you’ll need your strength if you’re rowing out into the lake at night. Oh, and in case any of the ropes snap or a boat drifts off, my daughter will be bringing up the rear.”

“Y-your daughter will be following us?”

“Yes, my daughter. Cho-ya?”

—Ssrrrr...

“...”

After maneuvering Geumdo into position between the reed islands, I gave a direct order to Sagong Won.

"Then we’ll rest until sunset and move out as soon as the sun goes down."

"Understood, Sir So-ryong! Everyone, rest on the boats until sundown!"

"Yessir..."

"Got it..."

The pirates responded weakly to the command and began docking their boats beside the reed island to rest.

Watching them settle in, I decided it was time to prepare a swimsuit.

Since I’d likely need to swim in search of a spirit beast, the flowing robes of the Central Plains wouldn’t do at all.

‘I’ll have to model something after what the pirates wear.’

Trousers in the Central Plains were usually baggy, but the pirates typically wore only short pants down to their knees, often without tops.

They were a bit tight-fitting—probably because they often had to go into the water. It actually didn’t look too bad.

"Looks like I’ll need to find Unmirang."

Unmirang had worked in the palace, managing and tailoring garments—a palace maid, in other words.

I decided to enlist her help for this task.

"Has anyone seen Unmirang?"

"I haven’t, Sir So-ryong."

"Alright. Thanks. Where could she be? Maybe in the cabin?"

I checked the galley and her quarters below deck, but there was no sign of her.

So I knocked on Tang Hwa-eun’s door to ask if she had seen her.

"Have you seen Unmirang anywhere, Hwa-eun?"

"I saw her heading into your cabin earlier."

"Did you? Thanks, Hwa-eun."

After a long search, it turned out she was probably cleaning my room.

Unmirang really went all out when it came to cleaning.

‘Guess I ran around for nothing.’

Just as I reached out to open my cabin door—

I heard faint voices from inside.

"Miss Bini, I heard you asked Miss Hwa-eun how babies are made?"

—Ssrr. 『Yeah. But Mom said she’d tell me when I’m older. Bini’s already pretty big, though.』

"Hehe. Then shall I teach you? I received proper instruction back in the palace, you know."

—Srrt? 『Really?』

"I’ll teach you secretly, without Miss Hwa-eun knowing."

Apparently, the two had grown quite close. Though Unmirang couldn’t understand Bini’s language, she was responding as if she did.

It seemed she was about to pass forbidden knowledge to Bini.

And for a moment—I hesitated.

Should I stop this?

Bini was only one year old.

It definitely felt too early for this. But if Unmirang did pass on that kind of knowledge, it might save us some future awkward situations...

At that moment, my foot accidentally tapped the door.

—Tap.

—Srrt! 『Someone’s outside!』

"You like that?"

—No! 『I said someone’s outside!』

"Okay, okay, I’ll tell you quickly. So, a man and a woman—mmph!"

Though Bini had warned her someone was outside, Unmirang kept right on going—

Until I opened the door.

What I saw was Bini wrapped tightly around Unmirang’s face.

Unmirang’s eyes bulged then shrank between Bini’s limbs, and the moment she unwound, she quickly stepped back.

"Oh! You meant this spot needed cleaning! Sir So-ryong!"

—Ssrr. 『Y-yeah. Uh, Dad?』

The two of them were obviously trying to change the subject.

It felt too awkward to point anything out, so I decided to just play dumb and redirect the conversation.

If I brought it up, they might end up asking me to explain...

"Unmirang, so you were here?"

"Y-you were looking for me?"

Now that I pretended not to notice, both of them looked visibly relieved.

I nodded at Unmirang’s question.

"Yeah, I heard you’re good with a needle, so I wanted to ask a favor."

"Oh, sewing? Of course! When it comes to needlework, no one beats this Unmirang. So, what do you need done? Did something tear?"

I rummaged through a crate in the cabin and pulled out an old pair of pants.

"Not torn, no—I was hoping you could turn these into those short pants the pirates wear."

"These?"

"Yeah. I think I’ll need to swim tonight to look for the spirit beast, so..."

Once I explained why I needed the shorts, she examined the pants and asked,

"Ah, so you need them quickly?"

"Right. Think it’ll be ready soon?"

"You said you'd head out after sunset, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then one or two hours is plenty. No problem. Hand them over."

She held the pants up to my waist to measure roughly, then left and came back °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° with a basket of sewing tools.

And so the sewing began.

About an hour later, Tang Hwa-eun stopped by the cabin, saw Unmirang, and tilted her head in curiosity.

"What are you doing, Unmirang?"

"Oh, Sir So-ryong asked me to turn these into short pants like the pirates wear."

"Sh-short pants?"

"Yes. I think he plans to go into the water wearing these."

She looked at me, then at the shorts—her cheeks flushing slightly.

With a hesitant voice, she asked,

"So-ryong, are you going to wear just... those?"

"Yeah. I’ll probably have to chase Cho into the water. And if I wear long robes like these, they’ll soak and I won’t be able to swim."

"I—I see."

She nodded, face slightly flushed, then turned to Unmirang with a determined voice.

"Alright, what can I help with?"

Clearly eager to assist.

***

As the sun went down, I changed into the shorts Unmirang had made for me.

They were knee-length, with a firmly secured waistband to ensure they wouldn't come off if Cho swam too fast and pulled me along.

The moment I stepped out of the cabin wearing those short pants, Sister Seol’s eyes lit up as if to say, “Oho! Impressive!”

"So-ryong, you’ve really built up some muscle, huh? You used to look just like a regular civilian at first."

"Back then I was. I’d barely started training in martial arts."

Now that I’d reached Samhwa Chwijung, my internal energy had strengthened, and with it, so had my physique. I wasn’t the same guy anymore.

I’d become a bit more solidly built, and I felt confident in it—but Sister Seol turned to Hwa-eun for confirmation.

"Hwa-eun, doesn’t So-ryong look amazing?"

At that, Hwa-eun, hiding behind Sister Seol’s shoulder, blushed and quickly nodded.

She was clearly embarrassed that I had taken off my top, but it was also obvious she was genuinely impressed—too much so to say anything.

‘Yeah... I guess I have gotten a bit more dashing.’

"Alright then. Shall we get going?"

As I stepped out onto the deck wearing just the shorts, Sagong Won, the leader of the Dongting Eighteen Boats, widened his eyes and asked,

"Sir So-ryong, that appearance...?"

"Ah, I thought I’d better be comfortable for swimming. The clothes your men wear looked ideal for swimming, so I thought I’d try it too."

"That’s right. Heavy clothes soak up water and make it hard to swim. That’s why they wear theirs like that."

"Shall we get started, then?"

"How about saying a few words before we depart?"

"Ah."

Realizing he wanted me to address the troops, I stepped out to the prow. Before me, the pirate boats were lined up and waiting.

Their faces were full of reluctance—but what else could they do?

Rather than stir up morale with battle cries, I chose to ease their nerves.

"Some of you seem worried about capsizing in the whirlpool, but there’s no need. My daughter and my younger sister will be standing by to assist any overturned boats."

"Daughter?"

"Younger sister?"

The pirates blinked, confused at the mention of a daughter and a sister.

Right on cue, Cho and Yeondu poked their heads out on either side of me, peering past the boat railings.

"This is my daughter. And this is my younger sister."

—Ssrrrr. 『I’m the daughter.』

—Shaaaa. 『I’m the younger sister. But come to think of it, So-ryong, I might actually be older...』

As I introduced them, Yeondu questioned why she was the "younger" one.

She must’ve heard somewhere that whoever is younger in age is the younger sibling.

‘It’s just for the pirates’ understanding. And honestly, Yeondu, you kind of feel like a little sister to me.’

—Shaaa... 『A brother who steals his little sister’s Neidan, huh...』

‘L-let’s forget about that, Yeondu. I apologized, remember? And human brothers do that sometimes—take stuff from their sisters. It’s, uh... a sign of closeness. True siblings and all.’

As expected, she hadn’t completely let it go. She still brought up that past incident.

While I was trying to console her, the pirates asked,

"T-the spirit beasts are going to help us?"

"A spirit beast?"

‘What, are they doubting this?’

They clearly didn’t believe my daughter and sister were actually going to help them.

To shake off their doubts, I decided to show them.

"Cho, flip that boat over for me."

—Ssrrrr! 『Okay, Dad!』

At my request, Cho darted forward and flipped one of the boats nearby without hesitation.

"Aaaaghhh!"

"Whoa, whoaaa!"

"Please, have mercy!"

The other pirates panicked, and those who fell in flailed about in shock.

Then I gave another command to Cho.

"Flip it back over and fish the men out. Put them back in the boat."

—Ssst! 『Okay!』

She dove beneath the boat, and we heard a huge splash as she flipped it back upright.

—Splash!

Cho then soared over to a man clinging for dear life to a nearby boat. Like a mother dog carrying her pups by the scruff, she began plucking up pirates one by one and dropping them safely back into their boat.

"Aaaargh! I’m gonna die! I’m dying! Help!"

"Aieee! I’m done for!"

Each time their necks were gripped, they flailed and screamed dramatically—but once seated safely back in the boat, they clutched their napes and looked like they’d just shaved ten years off their lives.

Smiling, I said,

"If anyone falls overboard or their boat capsizes, we’ll help right away—so don’t worry. Understood?"

"Y-yes, sir! We won’t fall in, promise!"

"Yes, absolutely! I swear I won’t fall in!"

Wait—why were they so insistent about not falling in when I just said we’d help?

Well, at least they looked more motivated than before. That was enough for me.

"Alright, let’s move out!"

At my command, the pirate boats began gliding forward toward East Dongting Lake.

The moonlight lit up the water, illuminating the small boats as they scattered across the lake.

***

"So-ryong, you know not to do anything reckless, right? Be careful."

"Of course. You can trust me this time."

"Hmph. You always say that."

"Sister Seol..."

"Alright, alright. Just keep your promise."

"Yes, ma’am!"

As the pirate boats spread across Dongting Lake, I said my goodbyes to Hwa-eun and Sister Seol, then rose quickly into the sky with Yeondu and Cho.

From above, we surveyed the boats spreading across East Dongting Lake.

I’d instructed them not to spread too wide—and sure enough, the boats had maintained a search radius of just a few hundred meters.

We continued north, waiting for a whirlpool to appear...

But all night, not a single sign of one.

"Yaaawn."

Time passed, and the sky began to brighten.

In the distance, the first light of dawn began to shimmer on the horizon.

I considered calling for a retreat—but before I could give the order, the pirates below began turning their boats around and heading back toward South Dongting Lake on their own.

Just then, Hwa-eun’s voice echoed in my mind.

『So-ryong, still no sign?』

"No. Looks like today’s a bust. Maybe we try again tomorrow? The light’s coming up—we should start heading back."

I figured we’d have to search another area tomorrow.

But then, Hwa-eun added something.

『So-ryong, heading back at dawn is fine—but you should be alert now.

My grandfather used to fish a lot, and he always said: once the light of dawn starts to break, the fish get more active.

If it’s a fish-type spirit beast... it might start moving around now.』

And just then—

Yeondu shouted in alarm.

—Shaaa! 『So-ryong! Down there!』

Snapping my gaze downward, I saw the water at the rear of the retreating pirate boats suddenly surge and swirl.

It’s here!

Something had taken the bait.