“Father, are we really flat broke now?”
At his son’s question, Hae Chul could only bite his lip in silence.
“You’ve got some emergency money stashed away, right? Come on, hand it over. I already promised the guys I’d go have fun at a pleasure house with them today. You really want your own son humiliating himself out there?”
Hae Chul snapped at his son’s absurd whining.
“Shut up! What emergency stash? There’s no such thing!”
“There really isn’t?”
“If you’ve got a secret stash, then you hand it over!”
“Why would I have anything like that?”
Like father, like son. His son was just as reckless with money as he was.
He had been doted on as the only child, but people always said children were their parents’ mirror.
“You’ve got Ji Sang, don’t you? Why not ask him for some money?”
The moment he heard that, Hae Chul hurriedly clapped a hand over his son’s mouth.
“Shh! Don’t go around telling people you know Ji Sang.”
“Why not?”
“Just do as I say!”
“Seriously? This is so annoying!”
“I’m the one who’s annoyed!”
“Why are you yelling at our son like that?”
Then his wife jumped in too and started laying into him.
“You think this is the time to be shouting? You told us to trust you! And now look at this!”
“Damn it! Why’s everyone only coming at me?!”
With that, he stormed out of the manor.
His so-called family still hadn’t even grasped the situation. All they knew how to do was hold out their hands and pressure him for more, and it made his blood boil.
But before long, reality sank back in.
What he really wanted was to throw money around and wash away this filthy mood.
The problem was, he didn’t have any.
“Damn it! Damn it! Aaaagh!”
After raging like that for quite a while, screaming until his throat hurt, he finally started to calm down.
But that still didn’t solve the real problem.
He had no idea how he was supposed to survive now.
“Hm? Well, if it isn’t Manor Lord Hae?”
Just then, a stranger he’d never seen before approached him.
“Who… are you?”
“That’s cold. We’ve shared drinks together quite a few times, haven’t we?”
“My apologies.”
The truth was, he had drunk with so many people that there was no way he could remember them all. Once you spent your days getting wasted in taverns, you ended up drinking even with people you didn’t know.
Though lately, because of the Prohibition Decree, he hadn’t been able to drink at all.
“Well, it’s fine.”
The man smiled as though he didn’t care and lazily fanned himself.
Hae Chul felt like he had seen him somewhere before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember where.
“By the way, do you live in this village?”
“No. I stay in Beijing. I came because I had business at Shaolin Temple.”
“I–is that so?”
“But you look troubled. Did something happen?”
Hae Chul’s mind immediately started racing.
Judging by the man’s clothes, he looked like the son of a fairly wealthy family. And from the way he spoke, it seemed they really had shared drinks several times.
‘This is perfect!’
He put on a warm smile and said,
“Good thing we ran into each other like this. It’s about the drinks we had together. The truth is, we were supposed to split the bill each time. I actually paid for your drinks too. So shouldn’t you settle that tab now?”
Of course, that was the kind of thing that ruined face and turned people into enemies.
But he needed money right now.
“Hm? What are you talking about? I paid for every drink we ever had.”
“…What?”
A response he’d never expected.
“Every time I saw you, you said you’d left your money pouch behind, remember? So I told you I’d cover it. Altogether, it should be about twenty silver taels.”
“D–did I?”
“And I still have the note you signed, promising that you’d repay all those drink costs one day…”
“…!”
“If you’d like, I can send someone to Beijing and have it brought here.”
He had pounced on what he thought was an easy target, only to find himself biting into solid iron.
It almost felt like he could hear his teeth shattering.
“N–no need for all that. I must’ve been mistaken. Ahem.”
“Well, since we happened to meet like this, why don’t we at least have some tea?”
I took Hae Chul to a nearby tea house.
This bastard… who the hell did he think he was trying to fleece?
It was written all over his face. He’d been calculating how to squeeze money out of me from the moment we started talking.
He’d probably done the exact same thing to Manor Lord Song, the one who had taken his younger sister in as a concubine, after she died.
He could try it a hundred times.
He wouldn’t make a dent.
Why had I hidden my face behind a Face-Veiling Fan and brought Hae Chul to a tea house like this?
Because I was sending him out of this village for good.
Once I started gently scratching where he itched, he quickly spilled everything about his situation.
“My, my! So all your land and your house were seized?”
“That’s right. They said the seizure will only be lifted if I repay the 30,000 taels.”
“That’s rough.”
“And I don’t even have money to survive day to day anymore. I’m in real trouble.”
I pretended to think for a moment, then made a suggestion.
“What about your in-laws?”
“Hm? My in-laws?”
“Yes. To be honest, a man in your position must’ve helped your wife’s family quite a bit over the years, right? In that case, wouldn’t it be fine to stay with them for a while?”
At my words, his eyes lit up.
“That’s right! Exactly! Do they have any idea how much money they’ve taken from me all this time?”
Just as I expected, life immediately returned to his face.
According to what Palgap found out, Hae Chul’s in-laws lived near Gaebong. Not so far away that it was unreachable, but far enough from Shaolin that he wouldn’t be able to casually come back.
Especially not once he was penniless.
“Ah, I should get going.”
“Thank you. Take care on your way.”
With that, I left.
Safe travels. Let’s never meet again. And don’t go looking for Monk Ji Sang either.
A few days later, Palgap returned from the village with an entertaining piece of news.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“What is it?”
“Manor Lord Hae went to his in-laws’ place.”
“Really? Good.”
That took care of Manor Lord Hae Chul’s problem too.
Honestly, part of me wanted to just kill him outright.
But I didn’t.
This would humiliate him far more.
A son-in-law who had strutted around in comfort suddenly lost everything and came crawling to his wife’s family.
What family would welcome that?
His own wife already looked down on him, so there was no chance her relatives would treat him with any respect.
They’d see him as nothing but a burden and treat him like a nuisance.
Just like they had done to Monk Ji Sang in the past.
On top of that, I heard he’d always acted insufferably superior toward his in-laws, so really, he deserved every bit of it.
“And the rumor we spread this time is moving around nice and naturally too.”
“Ah… is that so?”
Not long ago, I had started a new rumor.
That Hae Chul had spat toward Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s remains while they were being taken to Shaolin Temple, and that he had been utterly ruined because of it.
Half of all rumors are nonsense to begin with.
But once a rumor keeps piling up, it can turn even fiction into a real tiger.
It seemed the rumor was already working, because letters were apparently pouring in from people asking to come pay their respects.
Yes, this was better.
Rather than trying to hide everything, making it openly known to everyone was safer in its own way.
.
.
.
A few days later, a novice monk who served the Abbot came to see me.
So he was finally calling for me.
I followed the novice monk to the Abbot’s quarters.
“Amitabha. I’m sorry I called for you so late.”
“Not at all.”
“So, did you enjoy yourself?”
Ah… as expected of the Abbot. He already knew everything.
I pretended not to notice and took a sip of tea.
“You have my thanks.”
“Cough, pardon?”
Honestly… I had expected him to scold me for going too far…
But there was a faint smile resting on the Abbot’s lips.
“Ji Sang is a good disciple. But the karma he carried was so heavy that even I found it painful to watch.”
“Then why didn’t you intervene?”
Honestly, if the Abbot had stepped in, the matter could have been settled easily.
But he hadn’t.
“Because everything has its proper time. And your arrival was proof that the time had finally come.”
The Abbot took a drink of tea and calmly continued.
“And even if I had intervened, the matter would not have been truly resolved at its root.”
“…”
He was right.
“And thanks to you, Venerable Hye Jin’s remains were protected as well. Ji Sang told me it was all because of you.”
“Did Monk Ji Sang… tell you everything?”
At my question, he nodded.
To be honest, what had happened was the kind of thing that was far too difficult and painful to tell plainly.
But Ji Sang had still laid everything bare.
He was even more deeply cultivated than I had thought.
“That is why I am even more grateful to you. Because you helped Ji Sang, he was able to stop himself from committing such a deed.”
“…I just couldn’t stand that situation.”
“Is that so?”
“Then may I ask why you call Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk by his Dharma name instead of his title?”
Strangely, only the Abbot called him Venerable Hye Jin instead of Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk.
“Isn’t that only natural? He was Shaolin’s disciple. Is it strange to call a Shaolin disciple by his Dharma name?”
In other words, the Abbot was honoring the fact that the man had been, above all else, a disciple of Shaolin.
“That was a foolish question.”
“Not at all. It’s natural to be curious.”
Then from now on, I should call him Venerable Hye Jin too…
Hm. No, to me, he was still a senior in the martial world, so I’d stick with Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk.
“Setting that aside, the reason I called you here is because of the reward I mentioned before.”
All right! Reward time.
The Abbot took out a box from beside him and held it out to me.
“Take it.”
I accepted it and opened it. Inside were six pills.
“I’ll say this just in case. They are not Greater Return Pills or Lesser Return Pills.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t even dream of expecting that much.”
Those were treasures of Shaolin Temple.
“But they are still pills worthy of being called elixirs. They will greatly help with internal Qi training. Though there is one condition.”
“What is it?”
“They do not pair well with internal Qi that carries cold energy.”
“I see.”
Now I understood why the Abbot was giving these to me.
He was thinking ahead for my future.
“And what are these pills called?”
“Vajra Essence Pills.”
Cough!
The name made me choke before I could stop myself.
Vajra Essence Pills?
These were only one rank below Lesser Return Pills.
No, seriously, I know I accomplished something big, but giving me six of these?
“My, are you all right?”
“I–I’m fine. But isn’t this a bit too generous?”
“What are you saying? Thanks to you, countless disciples were saved, and Shaolin preserved its pride. How could this be too much?”
When he put it like that, it really did sound like I had every right to accept them…
I made up my mind.
When I gave these to the Escort Guards, I was absolutely not telling them what they really were.
It’d be a waste if they choked while swallowing them.
I calmed myself and said to the Abbot,
“I know this is shameless, but may I ask one favor?”
“What is it?”
I took out the box I had brought with me, opened the lid, and held it out.
“It’s Nine-Leaf Purple Ginseng.”
A flicker of surprise appeared in the Abbot’s eyes when he saw it.
But why did he keep looking at my face instead of the ginseng?
“I didn’t expect you to show that to me.”
Ah, so the Abbot already knew I had gotten my hands on it too. He had just assumed I’d quietly keep it for myself.
Hah, Abbot.
I don’t take what isn’t mine.
I smiled and continued.
“This belongs to Monk Ji Sang. It’s simply the wealth built on his mother’s sacrifice, made real in this form.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So I want to give this to Monk Ji Sang. And I’d like you to help guide his internal Qi after he takes it.”
“That is your request?”
“It is.”
“And what if I refuse?”
At those words, I immediately held out the Vajra Essence Pills the Abbot had just given me and replied,
“Then please accept these instead, and grant me that favor.”
My answer made the Abbot clear his throat.
“You do have a talent for making people uncomfortable. I was only joking.”
“Were you? You sounded so serious that I couldn’t tell.”
But it was obvious enough that he had just tested me.
He must have been probing whether I truly meant it.
“Very well. I’ll do as you ask.”
“Thank you.”
“However, there is someone else who will help guide Monk Ji Sang’s internal Qi.”
“What?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it, but I quickly realized who he meant.
There was one more master at the Transcendent Realm in Shaolin besides the Abbot.
Though he was currently in Penance Cave by his own choice.
“There’s one more thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“What do you plan to do with Venerable Blood Staff Star Monk’s remains… no, Venerable Hye Jin’s remains?”
“I intend to leave them as they are. That way, we’ll find out who Shaolin’s enemies really are.”
The Abbot’s eyes were cold as he said it.
“That answers my question. Thank you for indulging my foolish curiosity. Then I’ll take my leave now. I seem to have imposed on you.”
“This was enjoyable, thanks to you. Travel safely.”
I withdrew from the Abbot’s room.
Now then, I should start preparing to leave for Beijing.
That said, Hae Chul and his family should’ve reached his in-laws by now.
I wonder how they’re doing.
–TL Notes–
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“I should- Nah, nevermind.”
Ha! I love this guy!