Chapter 40
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Patriarch's Legacy
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Nangyo asked.
"What is this?"
"It's the Go board left behind by Patriarch Dharma."
Nanghye shared the tale of the Go board handed down through Shaolin generations with Nangyo.
That naturally sparked a question.
Nangyo asked.
"Senior Brother, you're the one with the highest skill among us—why give this to me?"
"Who knows when I might fall in battle? I can't keep it hidden forever. You at least should know."
"Please don't say such things!"
"Haha, alright. Don't get upset."
With a chuckle, Nanghye rose from his seat and delivered his final words.
"But remember this: since it's from Patriarch Dharma, it must hold something that will greatly aid Shaolin. You have to solve it."
"Couldn't we solve it together?"
"I probably won't have the time."
"What do you mean..."
"I'll be off now."
Somehow, he seemed to have foreseen trouble coming his way.
That very day, Nanghye vanished without a trace.
"G-Great Master Gwanghyang has disappeared!"
If only he'd died, at least a body would remain.
Instead, he faded from the world as if he'd never existed.
By then, Nangyo was slowly losing his mind.
But Shaolin was growing weaker by the day under the Blood Sect's assaults.
They needed a new unifying figure.
Given his merits in distribution and the Righteous-Demonic Great War, Nangyo was the obvious choice.
"No."
"Nangyo is too unstable."
Yet the elders deemed it impossible to elevate him to gang leader, his temperament soured by Nanghye's death.
Thus, his junior brother Nangjin ascended to the position, becoming the current Abbot Hyeonyong.
After the Righteous-Demonic Great War ended, Nangyo made one request of Abbot Hyeonyong.
To solve the homework his senior brother had left behind.
Understanding his resolve, Abbot Hyeonyong cleared the top floor of the Sutra Pavilion, granting it as Nangyo's private chamber.
There, he began his seclusion, devoting himself solely to the puzzle.
It was his senior brother's dying wish, after all.
Time passed in isolation from the world, the days blurring together.
Then, on an ordinary day like any other...
Someone knocked on the door of his Narrow Palace.
"...Why not chat with me once in a while?"
"You? With me?"
It felt like awakening from a long slumber.
*
As the story wrapped up, Nangyo spoke in an awkward tone.
"Ahem, with that in mind, I'm grateful to you. Thanks to you, I could finally solve Senior Brother's homework."
Yi Ho-chang offered a faint smile at the thanks.
"No need. I did it because I needed to, that's all."
"Such humility..."
"It's true. But wouldn't your thanks be better directed at Abbot Hyeonyong?"
"I know. That poor guy must have suffered under a lousy senior brother like me."
"It's not too late. You can still become a fine senior brother from now on."
"Yeah, I should."
Nangyo fell silent for a moment.
Yi Ho-chang followed suit, walking with only Nangyo's back in view.
It was Yi Ho-chang who broke the silence first.
"Master."
"What."
"I hope you're happy."
"Happy?"
"I wish you'd lighten your heart's burden a bit. Wouldn't Master Gwanghyang want that too?"
It might have been presumptuous coming from an outsider.
But he wanted to say it anyway.
In Yi Ho-chang's eyes, Master Gwanghyang had seemed like a good man.
And good people don't burden their juniors.
At those words, his master let out a wry chuckle.
"I'll try."
Right.
It wouldn't be that easy.
But this was another trial for Nangyo to overcome.
Yi Ho-chang knew better than anyone how painful it was to feel someone's absence so keenly.
He'd been through something similar.
That's why he could empathize.
This glimpse of Nangyo might be his true self, before sinking into eternal grief.
Soon after, they reached a narrow cavern.
Tiny compared to the previous space—barely room for four people.
Yet what to do was clear.
A stone wall etched with a crisp 19x19 grid, like knife carvings.
'A Go board.'
And holes dug by fingers or prayer beads.
Nangyo eyed the beads.
"This is..."
"What's wrong?"
"These are the prayer beads used by Patriarch Dharma."
"Aren't those incredibly valuable?"
"Valuable? You bet. Made from Snow Flower Bin Iron—a mineral that's beautiful, sturdy, and doesn't bend easily. See this?"
"Flame-like patterns."
"Right, that's the hallmark of Snow Flower Bin Iron. So why are they embedded here?"
"Maybe nothing suitable for white stones."
"White stones?"
The dug holes likely represented black stones, the white beads white stones.
The reasoning was simple.
"This is the two meridian puzzles we solved on the way, combined."
"Y-You remembered them all?"
"Why not? They weren't hard."
Nangyo shook his head in disbelief.
"Easy for you... Never mind. Can you solve it?"
"Of course."
Yi Ho-chang studied the problem slowly.
Overall, black and white's territories differed vastly.
Each puzzle alone seemed even, but together? Not at all.
'White is crushing it completely.'
No doubt about it.
The gap was pro-level handicap territory.
Likely played by Patriarch Dharma and a disciple.
White, with first move, held a river-sealing dominance.
Irreversible...
'...or so one might think.'
But Yi Ho-chang saw it.
The one move to reverse this life-and-death ko.
"Master, ever heard of Heaven-Earth Domination?"
"...A capturing shape that devastates the capturer? Why?"
"See that white stone peering into black's upper-side big dragon?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to turn it into a Heaven-Earth Domination favorable to black."
Nangyo's eyes widened like saucers.
"A simple tiger's mouth, maybe—but something you can intentionally create?"
"Sure. Why not?"
Do you know one of Yi Ho-chang's many pro nicknames?
Foreman.
The construction slang for squad leaders.
Why?
Because he wielded stones like workers, shaping the board as he desired.
Actually, his most infamous pro nickname.
'Not just my stones—I command the opponent's too.'
Even pros feared it.
So for him, it was possible.
'Plenty doable.'
After calculating, Yi Ho-chang spoke.
"Master, see the black stones forming a 'sun' shape from the upper-side flower point?"
"Yes."
"There's a white stone one space away. Attach across to it. Place there."
"What are you talking about?"
Nangyo hurriedly added, baffled.
"That white stone is peering into the big dragon with a sun shape!"
"So?"
"Who peers without connecting? That's suicide no matter how you look."
Yi Ho-chang sighed at the dismissal.
"Master. Do you play better than me?"
"No, but common sense..."
"Just watch."
Yi Ho-chang grabbed a sharp stone nearby, sketching a rough board on the floor.
He pointed.
"Here."
"Why there?"
"Just watch closely."
Swipe, swish. Swipe.
Yi Ho-chang placed black and white without hesitation.
No subjectivity.
Even Nangyo had to nod—it was obvious.
When Yi Ho-chang drew the final black stone...
"O-oh...!"
"Heaven-Earth Domination. See? Now black's forces can push into the center. Back to even."
Nangyo clapped unwittingly, in awe.
And reverence.
'Dozens of moves ahead, at least?'
Who could do this?
No—who'd already seen it?
Mouth agape, Nangyo asked.
"You... aren't some immortal, are you?"
Long in the faith, yet Yi Ho-chang prompted the question naturally.
Yi Ho-chang shrugged it off.
"Immortal? Nah, just competent."
"Who knows. Maybe an ageless elder."
Truth be told, he'd heard it so often it bored him.
Praise or whatever—moderation's best.
Yi Ho-chang brushed it aside.
"Alright, now place the stone."
"Leave it to me."
Nangyo channeled internal energy into his fingertip.
Thrust concisely where indicated.
Crack!
Surprised by the feel, Nangyo tilted his head.
"Huh? Went in too easily."
"I know you're strong, Master. No need to show off."
"No, it really went in easy."
"Yeah, that's power Go."
"What—! Hey, power Go isn't like this...!"
That instant.
Crack-crackle!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the wall, collapsing entirely.
Yi Ho-chang and Nangyo froze briefly—then their pupils dilated at the sight beyond.
Yi Ho-chang spoke first.
"That... isn't it...?"
"...Yeah, looks like it."
At Nangyo's confirmation, Yi Ho-chang cautiously entered.
Dim inside, but light from outer luminous pearls faintly illuminated.
Center: a rock carved lotus-shaped.
Its flat top held a rectangular board.
Seeing it, Yi Ho-chang exhaled tensely.
"Whew."
Lifting it, checking the side—his lips curved like a crescent.
取和
Take Harmony—the very precept.
*
By the time they climbed back out, the sky had brightened.
Time spent searching the space, plus errands—half a day gone.
Yet both faces beamed with refreshment.
Especially Nangyo's.
"Haven't breathed fresh air like this in ages."
"Tell me about it."
Their brightness stemmed not just from the air.
Nangyo had shed his heart's burden at last; Yi Ho-chang held his long-sought prize.
Yi Ho-chang and Nangyo headed to the abbot's quarters.
Crowded there—monks awaiting them, mid-ritual prayers.
Nangyo pounded the door like a triumphant general.
"We're here!"
"Senior Brother!"
Abbot Hyeonyong intuited success from Nangyo's glow.
True to it, Nangyo waved the underground find.
"Whoa!!"
Hot cheers erupted at the Take Harmony board.
Abbot Hyeonyong stroked it emotionally, then addressed Yi Ho-chang gratefully.
"Young hero, we owe you our deepest thanks. You've seized Patriarch Dharma's final gift. From the fiends to this—you've helped us endlessly."
"No, no. It's the merits of Shaolin monks revering and cultivating the Buddha's teachings. How could it be my doing?"
"Buddha... sending us a bodhisattva... Namu Amida Bul."
"Alright, greetings later—sit, everyone. With the board found, it's time to end this."
At Nangyo's urging, the three sat.
Nangyo handed both boards to Yi Ho-chang.
"You finish it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Yi Ho-chang bowed, accepting them.
Go Master Swordsman