Winter Wind…
Master once told me that was another name for the Snow Wind Palace.
Did Venerable Abbot mean he knew I belonged to the Snow Wind Palace when he said that to me?
But the question still lingered.
Because that was all he said.
At first, I wondered if I’d misheard him, but there was no way someone at the Profound Realm like me could’ve heard wrong.
What exactly had Venerable Abbot meant by saying that to me?
That Voice Transmission had almost sounded… nostalgic.
Could it be that even Venerable Abbot was being cautious?
The Snow Wind Palace had been wiped out by unidentified enemies.
Though maybe calling it wiped out wasn’t entirely right, since its lineage still survived.
Either way, no one knew who the culprits were, so Master and the other survivors of the Snow Wind Palace had remained cautious all this time.
And anyone who held goodwill toward the Snow Wind Palace was probably the same.
So maybe he’d only dropped a hint.
Maybe he meant that if there was anything I wanted to know about the Snow Wind Palace, I should ask him.
But what if it was a trap?
Then again… if it were a trap, Venerable Abbot’s presence had been far too clear and pure.
Just like Master’s.
I’ll probably get another chance to meet him soon. When that happens, I’ll test the waters.
“Young Master.”
Just then, Palgap came in.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu and Escort Guard Myeong Jong just headed out to switch shifts.”
“I see.”
This is taking a while.
Which probably meant there was that much to sort through.
Honestly, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am already had the experience and skill to reach Peak.
He just hadn’t managed to break through that wall yet.
I really hope this turns out well for him.
Just then, Palgap spotted Geumryeong rolling around on the table with a gold tael in its arms and clicked his tongue.
“Hah, this little guy! You’re seriously crazy for money, aren’t you?”
Then he casually slipped the gold tael out of Geumryeong’s grasp.
“Ku… Kui?”
The second it lost the gold tael, Geumryeong launched itself headfirst at Palgap.
“Ghk!”
Maybe it was because it hit him in just the wrong spot, but his whole body trembled.
“Huuurk…”
“Tsk, tsk. I told you, you don’t mess with Geumryeong’s money.”
“Kui!”
Having somehow gotten the gold tael back, Geumryeong waddled over to me and started rolling around again.
“Honestly, why would you go bother Geumryeong when it was just sitting there…”
After a moment’s thought, I pulled out a gold tael from my pocket and held it out to Palgap.
“Here, this one’s yours.”
“What’re you giving me that for?”
“Weren’t you wanting to play with a gold tael too?”
“I–I’m not on Geumryeong’s level!”
He said that, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
Oh, he likes it.
A gold tael was worth a fortune, sure, but giving one to Palgap didn’t feel like a waste at all.
“Well, if you’re giving it to me, I’ll gratefully take it.”
Are you really a bear?
For a second, I pictured a trained bear doing tricks with a gold tael… but I decided to preserve Palgap’s dignity.
Two days passed after that.
I headed over to relieve the guards where Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am was.
Most of the monks who’d fallen into a trance alongside him had already come back to their senses.
Every one of them had gained some kind of enlightenment. The martial monks had clearly advanced further, and even the monks who studied the scriptures seemed to have a deeper look in their eyes.
Is today the third day?
He was still standing there with his eyes closed in that exact same posture.
In my case, I broke through to Peak and then Profound in the middle of battle.
I think my internal energy had already been more than enough. What I’d lacked was real combat experience and enlightenment, so my realm rose under those conditions.
That was probably why I was able to gain enlightenment through the life-and-death fight with the madman when I obtained the Silver Mist Sword, and later through the life-and-death battle against the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader in the North Sea.
Thinking back on it now, I really did almost die.
Anyway, in Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am’s case, it seemed he hadn’t advanced because he lacked enlightenment.
That was probably why he still hadn’t come to his senses yet. He was sorting through that enlightenment even now.
Then it happened.
Woooooong.
The force pouring out of Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am’s body suddenly turned violent.
I’d heard enough over the years to understand what was happening.
“This is…? Don’t tell me his enlightenment is about to conclude?”
At my question, Escort Guard Jin Yu nodded.
“Yes. This is the most critical moment. Escort Guard Myeong Jong, go call the others!”
“Yes!”
“I’ll help too.”
“My lord, please make sure that force doesn’t harm anyone nearby.”
“I will.”
There were still people nearby who hadn’t yet awakened from their trance.
Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am’s unstable Qi could hurt them.
I immediately spread my presence. But the realm I’d publicly revealed to the outside world was only Peak.
So I restricted it to that level.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Murim Alliance had eyes and ears even here at Shaolin Temple.
By then, the other escort guards, including Escort Guard Seo Wu, came running over.
They spread out as well, releasing their own Qi or taking up positions to protect the area.
How much time passed like that?
The violent force gradually quieted, and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am let out a deep breath.
Then he opened his eyes. A sharp light flashed in them, only to fade a moment later.
“Uh…”
He looked flustered.
Which made sense, considering every one of us was staring at him.
I smiled and cupped my fist.
“You’ve reached Peak. Congratulations.”
Even after hearing that, he only blankly blinked at me, and Escort Guard Seo Wu spoke to him.
“For now, regulate the rest of your Qi with Breathing Meditation.”
.
.
.
A little later.
After finishing his Breathing Meditation, he opened his eyes and immediately failed to hide his shock.
“I–I… I’ve finally reached Peak!”
“Congratulations.”
After I spoke, the other escort guards offered their congratulations too.
Escort Guard Lee Pil, Escort Guard Myeong Jong, and Escort Guard Chang Un were all still first-rate warriors, and though they looked envious, they still congratulated him without holding back.
I said to them,
“The three of you will reach Peak someday too. I’m looking forward to that day.”
They answered with sheepish smiles.
The truth was, they probably felt it too. Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am had reached Peak because his time had come, and he hadn’t missed that chance.
And their time hadn’t come yet.
I continued.
“But I hope you won’t grow too impatient. Every one of you is precious to me.”
That makes three Peak warriors among my escort guards now? That’s reassuring.
I turned my head and looked at Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body, still resting where it had been.
What was it about that preserved body that made people fall into a trance the moment they saw it?
Staring at it did leave me with a strange feeling I couldn’t quite explain.
I asked Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am,
“Escort Guard Yeo, you entered a trance the moment you saw Venerable’s preserved body. Can you explain what it felt like back then?”
At my question, he nodded.
“Before that, didn’t we turn Venerable’s preserved body so it faced east?”
“We did.”
“After that, the moment I saw Venerable’s face, it felt like he smacked me in the back of the head.”
“What?”
“With a shout–ah! Yes, with a shout.”
“What kind of shout?”
“Like… ‘You idiot! What are you hesitating for?’”
“What?”
“And then… he told me to stop thinking stupid thoughts… It was terrifying.”
I lifted my head and studied Venerable’s preserved body.
“But he’s smiling so kindly.”
At my words, the other escort guards tilted their heads.
“Venerable is smiling kindly?”
“Yes.”
“To me, he looks pitying.”
“He just looks expressionless to me…”
“In my eyes, he looks proud.”
And just like that, I understood.
Venerable’s preserved body looked different depending on who was looking at it.
No, what in the world was Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body?
Nothing like this had happened at the Sword Tomb on Yanzhi Mountain.
It seemed this phenomenon only occurred after Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body was brought into Shaolin Temple.
Then again, the world was full of things that couldn’t be explained by ordinary common sense.
My own death and return to the past was proof enough of that.
Come to think of it, had the person who kept trying to stop Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body from being properly returned to Shaolin expected this?
Was that why they’d been so relentless?
Now that I thought about it, that Unorthodox Sect bastard I’d tied upside down from a tree had confessed something. Someone had hired him to spread false rumors about the preserved body.
Someone with a dangerous air about him… who was it?
I had no real lead, but the Murim Alliance was still the most suspicious.
Experience had already taught me they were anything but clean or righteous.
Sometimes it felt like the current Murim Alliance’s real goal wasn’t to unite and strengthen the Orthodox Sect martial world, but to divide it and weaken it.
Of course, on the surface they still looked devoted to the Murim Alliance’s original purpose…
And they made a grand show of valuing fairness and justice.
Even though in truth, they were far more cowardly and petty than anyone else.
The Murim Alliance.
As always, countless people were busily moving about in their own places today.
As the heart of the Orthodox Sect martial world, the Murim Alliance received reports of every incident across the country without exception.
Because of that, the topics they discussed varied widely.
But today, everyone without exception was talking about the strange phenomenon at Shaolin Temple.
“Did you hear? About Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body Shaolin brought back this time.”
“Of course I heard! They say a huge number of Shaolin monks gained enlightenment just by seeing it.”
“Hah… lucky bastards.”
“Do you think my realm might rise too if I saw that preserved body?”
“Tsk, tsk, don’t be ridiculous. That’s Shaolin’s treasure. You think they’d casually show it to outsiders?”
“Mm, yeah, I guess not.”
While everyone shared similar feelings about Shaolin’s good fortune, the Alliance Leader was in no mood to celebrate.
“So in the end, that affair failed?”
At the Alliance Leader’s words, a man prostrated himself before him and bowed his head lower.
“I deserve death. I was incompetent…”
“And the ones hired for that job?”
“We silenced them. Even if they open their mouths now, it’ll only be in the afterlife.”
“Tsk. Fine. Dispose of those remains somehow.”
“Yes! I will make sure it’s done.”
Once the Alliance Leader’s subordinate left, he sat down at his writing desk.
Beads of sweat were still forming across his forehead. More specifically, they hadn’t stopped since the moment he’d seen Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body.
That damned bald donkey of a monk!
When he received word that Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body had been brought to the Murim Alliance, he’d gone personally to inspect it.
And the instant he saw it, he understood.
It would interfere with his great undertaking.
Because Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body still carried the will he had held in life.
The will to exterminate evil.
About four days passed after Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am reached Peak.
We were finally in a position to leave, but a message came asking us to wait just a few more days.
Hmm…
Looks like they’re tying themselves in knots over what reward to give me.
Shaolin Temple itself was still a little chaotic too.
I heard they planned to build a hall facing east and keep Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body there.
Usually, they’d cremate a body through the dabi rite…
Could it be that the book I delivered contained a final wish related to this?
And the disciplinary stain against Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk had been lifted. That meant he was no longer a fallen monk, but once again a disciple of Shaolin.
That’s good news.
I headed uphill past the Guest Hall. There was a training area there where Shaolin’s disciples practiced.
My escort guards were highly skilled.
Three of them were still first-rate, but even by Shaolin’s standards, first-rate was by no means a low realm.
So, at the request of Shaolin’s martial monks, they ended up holding sparring matches.
It was to help them build experience, and my escort guards didn’t think badly of the idea either.
They were basically friendly bouts, and of course the Discipline Hall Master had granted permission.
I had as well.
By the time I reached the training grounds, Escort Guard Seo Wu was already in the middle of a match with another martial monk.
Shaolin martial arts were known for being bold and forceful.
But they weren’t only that.
One of Shaolin martial arts’ defining traits was that they could shift endlessly to match the opponent.
Still, their core purpose was defense and suppression.
Which made sense. Killing someone for personal reasons would violate the killing precept.
So my escort guards had tried to fight with their swords sheathed, but the monks refused.
They said that wouldn’t make for proper practical training.
And they weren’t wrong. Any cold weapon carried by a martial artist in the martial world was naturally sharpened, and Shaolin’s martial monks had to be prepared to face people like that.
As I watched my escort guards spar, something brushed against my senses.
Hm?
That presence… it’s the Qi of the Unorthodox Sect.
Not someone deeply involved with the Unorthodox Sect, though. More like someone who’d merely met with one of its people.
Ever since reaching the Profound Realm, I could sense even that much.
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve brushed it off.
Passing by members of the Unorthodox Sect while moving through the streets wasn’t exactly rare.
But this was Shaolin Temple.
No one carrying the Qi of the Unorthodox Sect should’ve been able to come and go here.
Pretending to move around naturally, I tracked down the source of that lingering trace.
It was a monk I’d crossed paths with several times before.
He hadn’t carried any trace of the Unorthodox Sect yesterday.
But today, he did.
Then there was only one answer.
He’d secretly met with someone from the Unorthodox Sect.
What could his intention be?
–TL Notes–
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