Chapter 31
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Shaolin Mountain Gate
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Shaolin Temple's massive main gate, the Mountain Gate.
The moment Yi Ho-chang passed beneath it, he felt overwhelmed by its immense size.
'So this is the famous Shaolin.'
The Shaolin Temple he'd only heard about in words.
Even when he'd gone to China for tournaments, he'd never visited Shaolin, let alone done any proper sightseeing.
So he'd always thought he'd make a point of coming after retirement someday. Seeing the "real" Shaolin Temple like this stirred strangely fresh emotions.
'I should compare it to the one in China later.'
Once inside, the first thing to greet the escort caravan was a pair of exquisitely carved stone pillars shaped like guardian kings and dragons.
A bit further on, they arrived at the Guest Receiving Hall, where Shaolin welcomed its visitors.
Yu Kyung spoke up in front of the hall's entrance.
"We can't all go into the Guest Receiving Hall. Only up to three, including the representative."
With that, Escort Leader Wei Su-su, Yi Ho-chang as her personal guard, and Bok Jung-ho as the representative of the escorts were selected.
As the three entered, an old monk sat there quietly reciting sutras. Sensing their presence, he rose and greeted them warmly.
"Welcome to Shaolin. I am Hyun-yong, the abbot of this temple."
His voice was worn by the passage of time.
Yet the inaction and Buddha-nature emanating from him explained why he was the abbot.
Wei Su-su politely clasped her hands in greeting toward Abbot Hyun-yong and said,
"I am Wei Su-su, acting head of the Great Britain Escort Agency and chief escort leader for this mission. It has been a great honor to return the command tablet once used by the former abbot, Great Master Gwang-hyang."
Wei Su-su handed over the command tablet, wrapped in fine cloth.
Abbot Hyun-yong unwrapped it, inspected the item, then gently caressed it. Soon, his voice thickened with emotion as he replied,
"We are truly grateful. Shaolin will never forget this grace."
It was a moment that revealed just how precious the command tablet was to Shaolin.
Wei Su-su smiled faintly and responded,
"Not at all. It was only what should have been done."
"You are humble even beyond that. By the way, I hope your journey here was uneventful?"
"......I was just about to bring that up, but first, allow me to express our thanks. If Abbot Hyun-yong hadn't sent reinforcements, we would have suffered greatly."
"I'm glad we could help."
"How did you know? Your aid arrived so perfectly timed."
At her question, Abbot Hyun-yong placed a hand on his chest.
"The Buddha told me to do so. The bodhisattvas said the envoys would face great peril and that I must fulfill my duty."
......So what Yu Kyung said was true?
Coming from the abbot, it couldn't possibly be empty words.
Wei Su-su nodded and said,
"I heard the surviving remnants have been imprisoned."
"Yes, we've placed them in the prison for now. As for that man called Mu-myeon, Yu Kyung informed us about him as well. We'll investigate to uncover the truth. To target Great Master Gwang-hyang's command tablet is to make an enemy of Shaolin, so leave it to us now."
"Thank you. We'll assist however we can."
"Heh heh, thank you."
"Then what are your plans for the command tablet now?"
"Per our precepts, we'll enshrine it in the Patriarchs' Hall, like the relics of our predecessors."
The Patriarchs' Hall was where the remains and effects of Shaolin's past eminent monks were kept.
With security tight enough to keep even a mouse out, it was the perfect place for it.
Abbot Hyun-yong shifted his gaze back to the command tablet and said,
"......Now that we've finally recovered the one thing Great Master Gwang-hyang left behind, even death holds no regrets."
"Our congratulations."
Abbot Hyun-yong smiled faintly at Wei Su-su's words and said,
"When do you plan to depart for Yingbo?"
"I've sent a letter to the Great Benevolence Gang Leader about this incident. He says he'll send reinforcements, so I can't specify an exact date yet."
"Understood. Then please stay comfortably until they arrive. The Buddha surely desires it as well."
After conversing a bit longer with Abbot Hyun-yong, the three left the Guest Receiving Hall.
He hadn't been able to ask about the Ten Go Precepts.
Not only did he lack the standing to speak up, but it wasn't the right setting for such a personal request anyway.
'I'll have to time it carefully.'
It was right after they exited the Guest Receiving Hall.
Bok Jung-ho stretched as if washing away his accumulated fatigue.
"At last, one major task is done."
"I look forward to your care on the return trip as well, Dragon Pearl Gang Leader."
"Of course. No need to worry on that account."
Bok Jung-ho's face visibly relaxed.
It was only natural.
Having cleanly resolved the burden he'd carried all this time, his mind felt clear.
At that moment, a raspy voice called from behind.
"Bok Jung-ho!"
It was Yu Kyung.
He carried two jars tied to strings, each larger than his face, with Mo Gun-hyeong at his side.
"What is it?"
"It's been ages—let's catch up over a drink. Yeah?"
"......A drink?"
Bok Jung-ho grinned at the words.
There was no reason to refuse.
And so, that night, a small drinking gathering took place at the Nourishing Hall where the escort caravan was staying.
It felt a bit contradictory for a monk to drink, but who cared?
No one here would point fingers at a monk for having a drink.
Unexpectedly, Wei Su-su was there as well.
"Oh my! This is truly delicious."
Unlike her delicate appearance that suggested she lived on dew alone, she downed cup after cup of strong liquor without a change in her complexion.
Instead, Yu Kyung was the first to pass out.
"Ugh......"
After just a couple of drinks, his face turned beet red, and he fell asleep.
Bok Jung-ho suggested expelling the alcohol with internal energy, but Yu Kyung waved it off, saying that defeated the purpose of drinking.
'He bragged about being a boozehound, and look at him collapse like this......'
As expected.
Whether in the modern world or the martial arts world, men's bravado with alcohol deserved some credit.
Time passed, and soon only Yi Ho-chang and Wei Su-su remained sober at the Nourishing Hall.
Wei Su-su drained her cup in one go and smiled at Yi Ho-chang.
"This young hero handles his liquor well too."
"My charge can't pass out before her guard does."
"Ho ho, so reliable. But I've noticed since earlier—you look like someone with worries. Is something the matter?"
"Ah, was it that obvious?"
Yi Ho-chang didn't hide his concern at Wei Su-su's question.
No, he'd joined the drinking session precisely to resolve it in the first place.
'I was going to ask Yu Kyung originally, but......'
With him dead drunk like that, no chance.
But he had no intention of giving up.
As the saying went, if you lacked teeth, use your gums. Yi Ho-chang began confiding his worry to Wei Su-su.
"Actually, Escort Leader, I have a favor to ask."
"Speak freely. For the young hero who saved my life, any request must be granted."
"Then, just this once, if I may ask......"
After hearing Yi Ho-chang's story, Wei Su-su nodded once more.
"So that's what happened. Understood."
Having heard his concern, Wei Su-su nodded firmly and took a sobriety pill from her bosom, popping it into her mouth.
Instantly, the alcohol scent around her vanished completely.
She rose from her seat and said,
"Since it came up, why not go take care of it right now?"
"Right now? What do you mean?"
She handed Yi Ho-chang a pill as well and said,
"They say pull the iron horns while they're hot. Better to resolve it now that it's on the table. And as my personal guard, you'll naturally come with me."
"Ahh."
I see.
What a sharp one.
At her words, Yi Ho-chang quickly swallowed the pill.
The boiling alcohol scent in his stomach disappeared in an instant.
As if he hadn't drunk a drop.
Amazed, Yi Ho-chang asked,
"What is this? It's incredible."
"Isn't it? Come on, let's go—I'll explain on the way."
"Got it."
The two headed toward the abbot's quarters.
Though sober now, Wei Su-su's cheeks still seemed faintly flushed.
*
Abbot Hyun-yong filled a wooden cup with water he'd brought and said,
"Senior brother, please quench your thirst."
He was in the Pagoda Forest, where the stupas and graves of past eminent monks stood like trees.
Specifically, before Great Master Gwang-hyang's stupa.
"Your unworthy junior has been too occupied with this undeserved position to visit."
He had personally erected this stupa on the first anniversary of Great Master Gwang-hyang's disappearance.
It felt like yesterday, yet ten years had passed, and the monument bore traces of weathering.
Gazing up at the stupa, he gave a small smile, then looked at his own hand.
His wrinkled hand, aged like the stupa, trembled faintly.
'At last...... I've found your trace.'
How many sleepless nights had he endured upon hearing of his sudden disappearance during the Righteous-Demonic Great War?
His reliable senior brother.
His old friend.
To him, who had lost his parents to Blood Cult demons, he had been like a father.
"Even the heavens seem to know and celebrate tonight."
He reached toward the moon in the night sky, as if trying to grasp it.
But of course, it slipped away.
The thought made him see how much the moon resembled his senior brother, Great Master Gwang-hyang.
"Visible yet ungraspable, illuminating my dark nights. It truly resembles you."
Abbot Hyun-yong lingered long in reminiscence.
Then, after emptying the cup and refilling it with fresh water, he rose.
It meant his senior could drink whenever thirsty.
Returning to his abbot's quarters afterward, just as he prepared for late evening prayers—
"Abbot!"
It was Hwan-jo, head of the Eight Great Protectors who guarded him, and the dormitory supervisor.
His unusually urgent tone prompted Hyun-yong to let him in at once.
"Ab-Abbot!"
"What is it? Calm yourself and speak."
"Th-The remnants in the prison... they've all been murdered......!"
"......!"
Abbot Hyun-yong's eyes widened at Hwan-jo's words.
How could they breach that heavily guarded prison?
This was no ordinary matter.
For Shaolin's most secure prison to be breached meant the entire temple was exposed to danger.
Abbot Hyun-yong asked calmly,
"How were the remnants killed?"
"All their heads were severed."
Even the method was brutal.
It meant they hadn't even been given a chance to end their own lives.
Abbot Hyun-yong's eyes narrowed once more.
'Shaolin has only now regained stability since Great Master Gwang-hyang's disappearance......'
After a moment's deliberation, Abbot Hyun-yong said,
"For now, keep it hushed. Tighten security at the Sutra Pavilion and Patriarchs' Hall even further, and station people throughout the temple grounds, inside and out."
"Yes, as you command."
He wanted to dispatch men immediately, but with guests present, he couldn't.
Abbot Hyun-yong didn't want word of this to spread outside.
Just then—
Knock knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
He sent Hwan-jo to check, and it turned out to be Wei Su-su.
Confirming the guest's identity, the two exchanged glances before opening the door.