That afternoon.
I asked a monk from the Guest Hall named Jong O, whom I’d gotten fairly close to, about that monk.
“Ah, you mean Monk Ji Sang.”
“So his Dharma name is Ji Sang. Would it be all right if I asked what kind of person he is?”
“He’s one generation below me. He handles work related to managing the Sutra Library, and he’s a quiet disciple who simply does his duty without complaint.”
“I see.”
“That’s why not only the disciples around his generation, but the elders above them, all think well of him… But why are you asking about Monk Ji Sang?”
At that question, I casually gave the excuse I’d already prepared.
“Oh, it’s nothing serious. I was just curious. Everyone else seemed engrossed in the sparring matches, but he alone looked completely uninterested. Judging by his clothes, he seems to be a martial monk.”
“Ah, please don’t take it the wrong way. Monk Ji Sang has talent in martial arts, but perhaps because his heart is soft, he dislikes using martial arts to make others suffer. He’s a monk through and through.”
“I see.”
I faintly frowned as I remembered the look in Monk Ji Sang’s eyes earlier.
That expression had definitely been… guilt and frustration.
There had to be something going on.
Using someone’s weakness against them was exactly the Unorthodox Sect’s specialty.
That night.
For the first time in a long while, I had a dream.
At dawn.
As Ji Sang made his way to the Sutra Library, he recalled the day he first came here.
He had arrived at Shaolin Temple at the age of seven, led here by his maternal uncle’s hand.
“From now on, this is where you’ll live. If you die, you die at Shaolin Temple. If you live, you live at Shaolin Temple.”
“Uncle, I was wrong. Please don’t leave me here. I’ll eat less, I promise. Please send me back to where Mother is.”
“You ungrateful little brat! Does it offend you so much to see your mother is living happily after remarrying into a wealthy household?”
“N–no, that’s not what I meant…”
“If you truly care about your mother, then never even think about leaving this place! That is the greatest act of filial piety you can offer her! Do you understand?”
“…”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
And so Ji Sang began his life at Shaolin Temple alongside thousands of other disciples.
Shaolin was a place that turned no one away and held no one back from leaving.
Because of that, whenever it accepted disciples, an enormous number came flooding in.
But around two-thirds failed to endure the brutal training and harsh life of that first year and dropped out.
Shaolin also deliberately pushed the children hard during that first year to see whether they truly had the resolve.
Truthfully, Ji Sang had dreamed every day, just like the others, of leaving Shaolin Temple behind.
But if he left this place, he had nowhere to go.
And more than anything, he loved his mother.
So he repeated his uncle’s words to himself again and again – that enduring this place, no matter what, was the greatest act of filial piety he could offer his mother – and he gritted his teeth and held on.
Fortunately, he had talent in martial arts, and when he came of age, he was given the option to remain at Shaolin as a martial monk.
And before long, he realized something.
If he wanted to remain at Shaolin Temple for as long as possible, the best thing he could do was avoid drawing attention to himself.
So that was how he had lived – like someone who was there and not there at all.
And yesterday, he had gone to see his maternal uncle.
The moment he officially became one of Shaolin’s martial monks, his uncle somehow found out and contacted him.
After that, he’d been reaching out about once a year.
And when they met yesterday, his uncle said this.
“Do you still want to see your mother?”
“I severed my ties to the secular world long ago. All I wish is for my mother to live happily in this life and pass on to paradise.”
“They don’t call blood ties blood ties for nothing, do they?”
“…”
“The truth is, your mother wants to see you. You’ve grown into such a fine, dignified young man. Showing her how well you’ve grown so she won’t worry about you anymore – wouldn’t that be filial too?”
At those words, Ji Sang bit his lip.
It had been since he was seven years old that he’d last seen his mother. How could he not want to see her?
There had been too many nights to count when he cried himself to sleep because he missed her.
“But there’s a problem.”
“…What is it?”
“The Manor Lord your mother remarried into is gravely ill. They say he’s on the verge of death. They’ve already tried every treatment they could think of, but nothing’s worked.”
“…”
“So now there’s only one method left. An Elixir. I heard Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body was recently brought into Shaolin Temple.”
“That is true.”
“I heard there’s an Elixir residing within Blood Staff Star Monk’s body. Bring it to me.”
“What?”
Ji Sang was stunned.
“I can’t do that! How could I possibly lay a hand on Venerable’s preserved body?”
“There’s nothing to worry about. Once you find the Elixir, set it on fire and destroy the evidence. Then who would ever know it was you?”
“…”
Ji Sang hesitated, and his uncle pressed on.
“If Manor Lord Song dies, your mother will become a widow all over again. And she’s not even the main wife – she entered that house as a concubine. What do you think will happen to her then?”
“…”
“But if you bring back that Elixir, your mother will win Manor Lord Song’s favor.”
Recalling those words, Ji Sang scrubbed both hands over his dry face.
The deadline his uncle had given him was the day after tomorrow.
Which meant he had no time to hesitate.
As he headed for the Sutra Library, he slowed to a stop while passing the Mahavira Hall.
“Maybe… I should go in for a moment.”
By chance, no one was inside.
That almost never happened. He stepped in, then sank heavily to the floor.
“Huu…”
A deep sigh escaped him.
“I don’t think I’ve lived a life full of wrongdoing. And even if I have made mistakes, I don’t believe they were enough to throw me into this kind of torment.”
…
“So could you please help me just this once? My mother’s husband… if only his illness could be cured by tomorrow… then… then my uncle’s demand would become unnecessary.”
…
Naturally, the Buddha gave him no answer. Just as always, he merely looked down at him in silence.
The Mahavira Hall.
This place could be called the heart of Shaolin Temple. And enshrined within it was the Buddha statue.
And right now, I was hiding behind it.
Why was I here?
…Sigh.
Because of the dream I had last night.
I was watching Monk Ji Sang because he seemed suspicious, and before I knew it, I’d drifted off and fallen asleep.
And in that dream, Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk appeared.
He was looking at Monk Ji Sang with a pitying expression, and the place where that happened was right here inside the Mahavira Hall.
Then he looked at me and pointed east. Sunlight was pouring in from that direction.
The moment I woke from the dream, I immediately understood what that gesture meant.
In other words, he wanted me to come to the Mahavira Hall when the morning sun rose.
So I moved at once, and when I saw Monk Ji Sang approaching, I quickly hid here.
Thanks to that, I learned something unexpected.
Please heal my mother’s husband by tomorrow. Then my uncle’s demand will become irrelevant.
It was only a brief statement, but I could infer quite a few things from it.
First, his mother remarried.
Otherwise, he would’ve called the man his father, not his mother’s husband.
Second, the one giving him orders was his maternal uncle, and the deadline he’d been given was the day after tomorrow.
That was why he’d prayed for the man to recover by tomorrow. It had to happen by then so word could reach his uncle in time.
Third, Monk Ji Sang’s uncle lived somewhere near Shaolin Temple.
That was another thing I could infer from his words about tomorrow.
If the news only needed one day to reach him, then he couldn’t be far away.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the expression Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk had worn in my dream.
A pitying look.
If he’d appeared in my dream, then he was probably asking me to help Monk Ji Sang.
First, I need to look at Monk Ji Sang’s monastic record. You can’t help someone properly without knowing the facts.
The records were kept in the Sutra Library.
Naturally, security around them was tight, but slipping in and out unnoticed wasn’t particularly difficult for me.
Besides, my Qi had a quality that made it hard for others to detect.
After memorizing the information written in Monk Ji Sang’s record, I left the Sutra Library and returned to my quarters.
“Palgap.”
“You called for me?”
“I need to step out for a bit.”
“What? This suddenly?”
“Just tell them I have something urgent to take care of.”
At my words, Palgap nodded as though he understood perfectly.
“Understood. I’ll make sure that’s what people hear.”
He really does get it without me having to explain.
So I left with Escort Guard Seo Wu.
It seemed unlikely Monk Ji Sang would make a move before tomorrow, but you never knew.
So after asking Escort Guard Jin Yu to keep an eye on Monk Ji Sang, I went down the mountain from Shaolin Temple.
There were quite a few villages around Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple stood. Which made sense. In the mountains, the most dangerous things were tigers and bandits.
The safest place to live was naturally near Shaolin’s experts, who could deal with both.
I headed for the village listed in Monk Ji Sang’s monastic record.
Daeri County, a village south of Mount Song.
The reason I only brought Escort Guard Seo Wu was simple. Aside from Escort Guard Jin Yu, his Lightness Skill was the fastest.
I decided to first look into Monk Ji Sang’s uncle.
Finding him wasn’t difficult.
“Twenty years ago or so, they were nobodies.”
“Their entire fortune was barely a tiny patch of farmland.”
“Then his widowed younger sister came back to her family after her husband died, and suddenly his life turned around.”
“She became Manor Lord Song’s concubine – the richest man in the neighboring village. To be fair, that younger sister was unbelievably beautiful.”
“But the truth is, she never wanted to become Manor Lord Song’s concubine in the first place.”
“Of course she didn’t! What mother would want to be separated from her own son?”
“Anyway, Manor Lord Song bought land for her family, and that’s how that bastard got to swagger around playing the role of Manor Lord.”
“And the nephew he practically dumped at Shaolin ended up becoming a martial monk too.”
That testimony alone told me enough.
His younger sister becoming Manor Lord Song’s concubine, and his nephew becoming a disciple of Shaolin – both had clearly happened because he’d forced the issue.
I headed for the estate where the uncle lived.
“…”
The sight of it left me speechless.
The estate was far larger and more lavish than I’d expected.
No, if he was living this well, there was no need to send his nephew off to Shaolin in the first place.
And making his nephew a disciple of Shaolin meant cutting off that boy’s paternal family line.
If he wanted Shaolin’s prestige, shouldn’t he have sent one of his own children there instead?
As I quietly swallowed my anger, someone entered the estate.
The unpleasant Qi I sensed from him was unmistakable. It was the Qi of the Unorthodox Sect.
I followed after him and secretly infiltrated the estate.
He headed for the guest reception room.
I erased my presence and moved up onto the roof.
Then I peered through a narrow gap beneath the tiles to watch them.
Inside, the man I assumed was Monk Ji Sang’s uncle sat facing the guest I’d just seen.
The guest wore a nasty smile and looked to be around first-rate.
“So, how do you think things will go?”
The moment I heard that, I sharpened my focus.
“You needn’t worry. I already gave that brat his instructions, and he could never disobey me.”
“And what makes you so certain?”
“I made sure to press right on his weak spot. He’ll definitely burn Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body.”
Just as I thought…
The plot to destroy Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body was still in motion.
Monk Ji Sang’s uncle rubbed his hands together and said,
“So then, you really intend to keep your promise?”
“Of course. If the job succeeds, I’ll repay that thirty-thousand-tael debt for you just as agreed.”
…Sigh.
So that was it. Monk Ji Sang’s uncle had fallen into debt to someone, and to repay it, he’d stepped into something he never should have touched.
And by associating with the Unorthodox Sect like that, he’d been tainted by their Qi, and that trace had passed on to Monk Ji Sang as well.
There wasn’t much else to hear after that, so I quietly slipped out of the estate.
“Let’s go.”
“It seems you found something, but judging by your face, something still doesn’t sit right with you.”
At that, I touched my face and asked,
“I didn’t think I was that bad at hiding my expression. How could you tell?”
“I could just tell by looking.”
I gave an awkward smile.
“Well… you’re right. I did figure out the full outline of what’s happening. If they succeed in destroying Blood Staff Star Monk’s preserved body, someone will pay off a thirty-thousand-tael debt for them. But…”
I rubbed my chin as I spoke.
“His younger sister is Manor Lord Song’s concubine, and Manor Lord Song is supposedly the richest man in the neighboring village. A man like that could easily spare thirty thousand taels. Wouldn’t it be simpler to ask his sister to get the money?”
“It would.”
“Then I need to look into the younger sister – the one who became Manor Lord Song’s concubine.”
Before long, we headed to Manor Lord Song’s estate in the neighboring village. And there, I confirmed what I’d already begun to suspect.
“Manor Lord Song is sick? What nonsense is that? He’s bursting with life. I saw him this morning myself.”
Just as I thought, the story about Manor Lord Song being bedridden was a lie.
I asked about Monk Ji Sang’s mother.
“Ah, you mean that beautiful concubine? The daughter of the Hae family from nearby Daeri County.”
“That’s right.”
“But why are you looking for her now?”
“What?”
“She already died ten years ago from an internal illness. She always missed the son she left behind at her maiden home…”
–TL Notes–
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