At my question, the old servant answered.
“It was over ten years ago. Lord Song gave it to my former master at his younger sister’s funeral, but my former master threw it away on the way back. I was attending him at the time, so I secretly picked it up and kept it.”
Wow…
I once again felt disgusted by Hae Chul’s sheer shamelessness.
How could a person be that vile?
At the same time, the servant standing before me felt remarkable in his own way. Keeping something like this for ten years wasn’t easy.
“Thank you. Monk Ji Sang will be very happy.”
.
.
.
I returned to Shaolin Temple and requested an audience with Venerable Mu Yeon, the Sutra Library Pavilion Lord.
Meeting the Abbot himself would be ideal, of course, but the Abbot wasn’t someone I could see whenever I wished.
So instead, I decided to meet the Pavilion Lord of the Sutra Library, the place Monk Ji Sang belonged to.
Palgap said he was a highly respected man too.
A little while later, Monk Jong O came to tell me that Venerable Mu Yeon had granted my request.
I followed him toward the Sutra Library.
An elderly monk was standing outside the building, and the moment Monk Jong O saw him, he hurriedly bowed.
“I greet the Sutra Library Pavilion Lord.”
Ah, so that was Venerable Mu Yeon.
I hadn’t expected him to come out and wait in person instead of receiving me in some guest room.
That was more than I deserved.
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Amitabha. I am Mu Yeon, the one in charge of the Sutra Library.”
So he was of the same generation as the Abbot.
That made him far my elder.
“Please speak casually to me. I’m still a junior in the martial world.”
“Then I shall.”
He readily nodded and continued.
“I’d wanted to meet you myself anyway. Care for a cup of tea?”
“I’d be honored.”
I followed him inside the Sutra Library.
The place he led me to was a pavilion built beside the pond next to it.
A great deal of what the Sutra Library stored was made up of books.
That made nearby water less than ideal, but water still had to be close at hand in case of fire.
The pond looked man-made, but it was wider than I’d expected.
Then again, considering the size of the Sutra Library, it made sense.
Venerable Mu Yeon personally brewed tea for me as I sat across from him.
“Drink.”
“Thank you.”
I lifted the cup and took a sip.
This Venerable really knew how to brew tea.
“Thank you.”
“Pardon?”
“For Ji Sang.”
Ah…
“Ji Sang is my disciple’s disciple. He was also a boy I was especially fond of.”
As far as I knew, to become a martial monk at Shaolin Temple, one had to become the formal disciple of a martial monk whose name was already listed in the Arhat Hall within seven years of entering the temple.
Then after three more years of training and approval, that person could finally become an official martial monk.
So that made Venerable Mu Yeon Monk Ji Sang’s grandmaster.
“My disciple was deeply heartbroken over what happened to Ji Sang. He’ll be very glad too when he hears about this.”
“Is he away somewhere?”
“He stepped out for a while in response to a request.”
“I see.”
“So, why did you wish to see me?”
“Because of this.”
I took the letter out from inside my robe.
It was still sealed, though I had carefully opened it, read it, and restored it.
I had to confirm whether this really was something meant for Monk Ji Sang.
I also needed to make sure it wasn’t something that could harm him.
After checking, I was certain of one thing.
This was a letter that absolutely had to be delivered to Ji Sang.
“I’d like you to pass this letter on to Monk Ji Sang.”
“It looks quite old.”
“There is a story behind it.”
I explained the background of the letter to him.
After hearing it, the Venerable slowly nodded.
“So this is, in effect, the only keepsake left behind by Ji Sang’s mother.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“He may have entered the Buddhist path and cut his ties to the mortal world, but blood ties are blood ties for a reason. And I believe this letter may finally help Monk Ji Sang let go of the last lingering regret still left in his heart.”
“If you say so, then I believe you. And if this letter was preserved like this for more than ten years, then perhaps it truly is heaven’s will that it reach Ji Sang. Very well. I will make sure he receives it.”
“Thank you.”
After leaving the Sutra Library, I immediately told Palgap to pack our things.
It was time to leave Shaolin Temple.
After saying my farewells to everyone except Monk Ji Sang, who was still in Penance Cave, I headed with my group to the estate I’d arranged in Daeri County.
When I arrived, everything had been fully cleaned up, and the place had regained its former appearance.
Now all that was left was to tie up the last loose end.
I called for Escort Guards Jin Yu and Yeo Eung-am.
“You called for us?”
“You’ll need to make a trip to Gaebong. Find out how Hae is living.”
“Understood.”
I sent Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am along as well because he’d just reached Peak this time, and I wanted him to adapt to it quickly.
The faster he used his Lightness Skill at full speed, the faster he’d settle into it.
At my order, the two Escort Guards moved out at once.
The reason I sent my own Escort Guards instead of requesting help from the Beggars’ Sect was the Murim Alliance.
The moment I asked the Beggars’ Sect for information on Hae Chul, suspicion might fall on me.
One of my rules when cleaning up a mess is making sure no one has reason to suspect me.
The two men returned after two days.
“You’ve done well. Was Hae living comfortably?”
But Jin Yu’s answer caught me off guard.
“He’s dead.”
“What? Dead?”
“Yes. They say they found a half-burned corpse in a nearby forest. It had been stabbed multiple times, but they never found the killer.”
Judging by how brutal it was, it had to be murder born from a grudge.
A grudge…
Come to think of it, I’d heard he’d personally beaten several servants to death.
So of course there would be plenty of people who hated him.
Tsk, tsk. He should’ve been more careful walking alone at night.
Looks like heaven was angrier than I thought.
I didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for his death. He brought it on himself.
Then no one would come looking for Monk Ji Sang now.
Hae Chul’s wife and son were still alive, of course, but by the time they ever came to look for Ji Sang, he would have become someone they wouldn’t even dare raise their eyes toward.
Inside Shaolin Temple’s Penance Cave.
Ji Sang was meditating there.
When he first learned his mother had died, he’d been overwhelmed with grief and torment.
But not anymore.
Now he was grateful that he could at least pray for her peaceful passage into Heaven. If not for Eun Seo-ho, he knew he wouldn’t have even had that much.
And that wasn’t all.
Eun Seo-ho had promised to help him.
Ji Sang didn’t know why those words had sounded so reliable.
But one thing was certain.
That man was the sturdy rope heaven had lowered down to him.
“Ji Sang, are you there?”
A voice called out to him.
It belonged to Venerable Il Sim, a high monk who had entered the Transcendent Realm and stayed in Penance Cave to guard his own heart and actions.
When Ji Sang first entered Penance Cave, Venerable Il Sim had apparently taken an interest in him and visited several times to talk with him.
Perhaps because he liked him, Venerable Il Sim kept coming back from time to time after that and offered him much guidance.
Ji Sang quickly rose and stepped out of the cave.
“You called for me?”
He was slightly puzzled. It was still deep dawn, before sunrise.
“Come inside.”
Venerable Il Sim entered the cave Ji Sang was staying in, and Ji Sang hurriedly followed.
Venerable Il Sim said to him,
“Sit in a lotus position.”
“Yes.”
Ji Sang obediently did as told, unsettled by how stern the Venerable seemed compared to usual.
“Open your mouth.”
“Pardon?”
“Now!”
Ji Sang opened his mouth, and in that instant, Venerable Il Sim shoved something into it.
“Mmph!”
“Chew it well. It was expensive.”
At those words, Ji Sang had no idea what was going on, but he hurriedly chewed.
But before he could chew it more than a few times, it melted away and slid down his throat.
The instant it did, a hot force began rising from his stomach.
“From this moment on, I’ll help guide your Inner Qi! Stay sharp! Don’t open your mouth again! No matter how much it hurts, endure it!”
Still half in a daze, Ji Sang began Breathing Meditation with Venerable Il Sim’s help.
The force inside him was far too immense for him to guide on his own.
But with Venerable Il Sim’s assistance, he was able to direct it and circulate it properly.
After immense struggle, he finally completed one full circulation.
It felt like it had taken several times longer than usual.
Then, as he sat there exhausted, Venerable Il Sim’s voice reached him.
“Now try circulating it on your own.”
Ji Sang did as told, and the moment he began, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
His Inner Qi had increased tremendously.
He forced himself to stay calm, completed the circulation, and opened his eyes.
“Well? Did you make progress?”
“H-how did this happen? My Inner Qi has clearly increased.”
“How much do you think it grew?”
“Fifty years… no, a little more than that, I think. What in the world happened?”
“What you just swallowed was an Elixir called Nine-Leaf Purple Ginseng. Ah, don’t get the wrong idea. That wasn’t from me. It was from your mother.”
“What?”
Ji Sang couldn’t make sense of any of it.
Venerable Il Sim brusquely answered the question for him.
“I don’t know the full story either. All I know is that that audacious brat Eun Seo-ho told me to pass it on to you. He even asked the Abbot to provide Inner Qi guidance for you. Since you’re in Penance Cave, the Abbot dumped that duty on me instead.”
“…”
“And he told me to pass along this as well. He said that Elixir was the tangible form of your mother’s sacrifice, or something like that.”
But Ji Sang still didn’t have all his answers.
He desperately wanted to know what had happened outside, but there was no way to find out.
He had set the term at one month himself, and that meant he couldn’t leave before then.
In any case, Ji Sang had now reached the Peak Realm.
In other words, he now qualified to have his name entered into the Arhat Hall.
But the month wasn’t over yet, and so he quietly continued training and meditation.
Then one day, someone came to see him.
“Grandmaster!”
The one who had come was Mu Yeon, the Sutra Library Pavilion Lord and Ji Sang’s grandmaster.
“I heard the news. You’ve reached Peak? I’m proud of what you’ve achieved. Your master will be overjoyed when he hears.”
“I only achieved this because many people helped me.”
“I expected no other answer from you.”
Smiling gently, Venerable Mu Yeon held out an old letter.
“Take it. It’s a letter from your mother.”
“What?”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho asked me to give it to you.”
He then explained how Eun Seo-ho had come into possession of it.
“For it to endure more than ten years and still reach you at last, your mother’s feelings for you must have been that desperate.”
Venerable Mu Yeon smiled as he spoke.
“The Abbot made a special exception and permitted you to keep this letter. Well? What are you standing there for? Take it.”
“Ah, yes.”
Ji Sang accepted the letter with trembling hands.
“Then I’ll be on my way. I look forward to the day you leave this place. Hahaha.”
With that, Venerable Mu Yeon left Penance Cave, and Ji Sang, now alone, looked down at the envelope.
It was old and stained with grime.
And written clearly across it were the words: [To my son, Baek A-seong.]
Baek A-seong.
That was the name he’d used in the secular world.
He bit his lip and stared at those words for a long time before finally breaking the seal and pulling out the letter.
[My son, are you doing well?]
The moment he read the first sentence, tears burst from his eyes.
[I heard that you entered Shaolin Temple. I know it must be very hard there. I kept holding myself back because I didn’t want to make you worry over your mother for no reason, but in the end, I couldn’t bear it and wrote this letter.]
[My son, how tall have you grown? How large have your hands become? By now, I imagine you’ve grown far taller than I ever was. Your father was very tall too, you know.]
‘Yes, Mother. I’ve grown very tall.’
[My son, I hope you won’t resent Manor Lord Song. He treated me far better than I deserved. And he even made it possible for my elder brother to live in comfort, so how could I not be grateful for that?]
‘I don’t resent Manor Lord Song.’
[My son, since you’ve already decided to become a martial monk of Shaolin Temple, then work even harder and achieve your goal.]
‘I did. I became a martial monk.’
[And grow strong. Be the kind of man whose body is strong, but whose heart is even stronger.]
‘Yes, Mother. I’ll become strong.’
[Once I send this letter, I don’t know when I’ll be able to send another. But this mother will always pray for your peace and safety.]
It felt as though the reason he had safely become a martial monk was because of his mother’s prayers.
[Please stay healthy.]
Drip. Drip.
Tears were falling onto the letter.
The contents were brief, but in that moment, the feelings Ji Sang’s mother had poured into it crossed more than ten years and finally reached him.
Ji Sang made a vow.
Someday, no matter what, he would repay Eun Seo-ho for this kindness.
Clatter, clatter.
I was currently on my way to Beijing.
After wrapping up everything at Shaolin Temple and taking care of matters at the new estate as well, I was finally heading back to Beijing.
I recalled the contents of the letter from Monk Ji Sang’s mother that I’d taken a quick look at.
There wasn’t a single line in it about her elder brother.
So she had known too.
She’d known what her brother had done. That was why she hadn’t written a word asking for forgiveness.
Mm, I should be arriving in Beijing soon.
First, I’d get some proper sleep, then deal with the rest.
That was what I was thinking when it happened.
Hm? That presence feels familiar…
The moment I saw who was approaching me, I made up my mind.
I needed to run.
–TL Notes–
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