The Past Entwined by the Four Gods (4)
Lee Beon stretched his back with a groan as he rose to his feet. “Hoo. These days I can’t even focus for half a day at a stretch. I’ve lived long enough, sure, but watching my own stamina slip away like this… it’s truly disheartening.”
Tam-gyeong clicked his tongue.
“Is this really so surprising? At your age, it wouldn’t be strange if you went to the Buddha’s side this very evening. Your declining strength isn’t exactly new.”
“Listen to you. Going to the Buddha’s side is a blessing. Still, a man ought to have something to show before he meets Him with any dignity.”
“The Buddha probably doesn’t approve of us doing this sort of thing.”
“This guy, always with the smart mouth…”
“Wouldn’t He much prefer we spent this time seeking the path to liberation? Honestly, what secret of reincarnation could possibly hide inside immortality…?”
“There you go again. Sigh. For a man who deciphers texts, you certainly have a lot to say.”
“A little chatter helps me endure this labor, doesn’t it?”
“Enough. I’m going outside to soak up some sun. You should ease off and rest awhile too.”
“No. I gave up everything to come this far. I won’t live half-heartedly like you, brother.”
“Give it three more years. The boredom becomes unspeakable.”
After their light-hearted exchange, Lee Beon patted his lower back once more and stepped out of the cave.
The cavern stretched on endlessly. Its length and winding paths were so complex that memorizing the route alone would take a full fifteen days.
Of course, the former monks who lived here knew every twist and turn with their eyes closed. It made sense; even the youngest among them—the most recent arrival—had already spent over eight years in this place.
“Hoo.”
Lee Beon drew a deep breath the moment he emerged, and his face filled with pure refreshment.
“A man really does need sunlight.”
The cave was cooler than expected. The presence of both luminous pearls and moisture-repelling stones kept the air dry, which only made the chill more pronounced.
This year, Lee Beon had reached the age of one hundred and seven.
In a world where ordinary people struggled to live even a single sixty-year cycle, he had lived well past a century. What was more astonishing was how vigorous he still appeared—easily passing for a man in his seventies.
Lee Beon closed his eyes and began circulating his qi.
The serene energy rose from his dantian and flowed throughout his body, driving out the invading cold and turbid qi.
Lee Beon smacked his lips.
“The movement of my inner energy has slowed again.”
After more than a century of steady cultivation, the purity of his internal energy was so profound that it would not be an exaggeration to call it the greatest in the world. He had refined and refined it again and again, passing through multiple stages of perfection. Without such qi, he could never have remained this vigorous at his age.
Of course, that only applied to his internal energy. Having left the blood-soaked winds of the martial world more than thirty years ago, even dodging the blade of an ordinary peak expert had become difficult.
Huh. Has the time finally come for me to depart?
A slower flow of inner energy meant a slower mind as well. Qi moved by will. At the ultimate realm, the moment intent arose, energy would surge fast enough to unleash a technique completely.
Lee Beon had never reached that lightning-like level, but he had once been a master with the Limitless realm in sight. Now even that refined energy moved only as quickly as his intent could focus.
Hmm.
Lee Beon glanced down at his hand, then looked back up at the sky. A faint smile touched his lips.
“I have lived a long time.”
At sixty, death had terrified him. Though not a monk, he had been a believer who followed the Buddhist law, yet he could not escape the primal fear of oblivion.
At seventy, the fear had faded, but melancholy took its place. The realization that his existence would vanish from this world—and that the world would hardly change without him—had left a bitter taste.
Then eighty passed, and ninety.
Only then could Lee Beon accept death fully, as nothing more than a natural current. No, he had even come to see it as a blessing.
For every living thing, death was a predetermined rest—an eternal sleep that freed one from the clamor of the mundane world so one could finally rest in truth.
That was why a person had to strive harder while still alive. After all, one would have eons to rest. Before that came, one merely moved busily for a few short decades.
It was not exactly the mindset of a proper Buddhist, yet entrusting one’s life to the vast, long flow of nature as a simple human being was no easy matter.
Lee Beon hummed a tune as he looked around.
“Heh, heh. When will this old man die, I wonder? When will I finally meet the Buddha… Hm?”
Lee Beon blinked.
What he saw was a monk with a wild, bushy beard and a head that had been shaved clean but now sprouted hair the length of fingernails. The man sat beneath a boulder, eyes half-closed, muttering to himself. He looked gaunt, as though he had refused both food and drink for days.
It was Beom-oh.
Lee Beon clicked his tongue. “Another pitiful sentient being lost in anguish.”
He already knew why Beom-oh had fallen into such a state; Tam-gyeong had told him. After hearing the story, Lee Beon had thought that while the boy named Yeon Hojeong was no ordinary person, this monk with so much fire built up in his chest was equally extraordinary.
“No matter how sharp the dagger, it cannot pierce iron armor. If he was shaken by the harsh words of someone like Yeon Hojeong, it means this monk has lived with his ears wide open, doesn’t it?”
As he quietly observed Beom-oh, a mischievous glint suddenly flashed across Lee Beon’s face.
A moment later—
Splash!
“Huaaak!”
Beom-oh shot to his feet in shock.
Before him stood Lee Beon, still holding the gourd he had used to douse the monk with water. The old man was laughing heartily.
“You fool. Do you really think moping like that will bring enlightenment that wasn’t there, or melt away the anguish you’ve piled up?”
“E-Elder?”
“Enough worrying. Go fill your stomach. Even if you want to burn your anguish away, you must stay alive first to either burn it or extinguish it. Don’t let it consume you until you die, you idiot.”
Beom-oh’s expression was pure bewilderment. He was too startled to react, and since the one who had splashed him was an elder far beyond his station, he could not even get angry.
Lee Beon chuckled and glanced behind him.
“What do you think? Do you agree with me?”
A voice brimming with laughter answered.
“This little brother thinks the same. One must live first. Only by living can we see more, hear more, feel more.”
“Heh heh. That’s something neither you nor I need to worry about. At our age, if our last breath leaves us this evening, there’s nothing to regret.”
“It would still feel a little lonely. If you were to leave first, brother.”
“That’s none of my concern. I’d rather congratulate you. Finally escaping this hellish mortal world, and all that.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Still smiling, Lee Beon turned his gaze to the young man standing beside Tam-gyeong.
“Oh?”
After looking Yeon Hojeong over from head to toe, Lee Beon suddenly burst into roaring laughter.
“Kwa ha ha ha ha! My word, you’ve brought quite the remarkable young man!”
The abrupt laughter startled more than just Yeon Hojeong and Beom-oh.
Even Tam-gyeong—who had shared a brotherly bond with Lee Beon for many long years—looked at his friend with genuine surprise. He could not possibly be unaware of the young man’s identity, so the sudden outburst was puzzling.
Lee Beon stopped laughing and studied Yeon Hojeong.
“Your name is Yeon Hojeong, yes?”
“……That’s correct.”
“Hah! What a fine answer! But my brother is right. You’re rough, yet not arrogant.”
Lee Beon winked.
“Of course, that changes with your enemies. Am I wrong?”
Yeon Hojeong found himself unable to reply right away.
The old man had taken one look at him and exploded with laughter, then winked with familiar ease. For a moment Yeon Hojeong thought his own face might spasm from the sheer unexpectedness.
Beyond that, Lee Beon’s strange aura carried a power that made even Yeon Hojeong hesitate to respond casually.
His true energy was clear and deep. Though heavy and dense like a single solid mass, when that concentrated power flowed through the old man’s voice, it transformed into a comfortable dignity that dominated the entire atmosphere.
It was astonishing. Yeon Hojeong was the sort of person who spoke his mind even before the Heavenly King of Fighting. His nature had never been one to yield to another’s presence.
Lee Beon asked Tam-gyeong, “So, did you tell him what kind of people we are?”
“Not only that. I told him what we do as well.”
“Puhul! How could you reveal something like that so easily? Every Buddhist sect in the Central Plains keeps their lips sealed on the matter.”
“As you can see, he isn’t the type with a loose tongue.”
“I know that, but one can never be too sure. Even if the boy keeps silent, the martial world is always eager to drag secrets into the light under the pretty name of truth.”
Even if Yeon Hojeong said nothing, someone might capture him and forcibly extract the information. No matter how strong a person became, the future remained unknown. Yeon Hojeong would eventually taste defeat, and that defeat might very well lead to death.
And the gangho held countless methods ordinary people could never imagine. If he fell victim to soul-stealing techniques or nameless demonic arts, anything was possible.
Tam-gyeong spoke calmly. “He is the successor of the Sasinmu. He would choose death before falling to such tricks. Besides, the secret that all the Buddhist orders of the Central Plains have hidden may not stay buried in Foshan forever.”
Lee Beon’s eyes gleamed. “Successor of the Four Gods… You’re certain?”
“I am.”
“Have you already crossed hands with him?”
Tam-gyeong’s smile deepened. “Not yet.”
“Among us, only you have ever entered the gaze of the Martial God. But you’ve grown old as well. Without clashing with him directly, how can you be so sure he is the disciple of that mysterious person you spoke of?”
“That is also true. Still, I wanted to introduce him first.”
“What a guy.”
Lee Beon turned back to Yeon Hojeong. “You heard everything about what we’re doing here?”
“I did.”
The corner of Lee Beon’s mouth curved upward. “You don’t think it’s just a bunch of senile old men gathered together moaning about their troubles, do you?”
“I don’t know whether the elders have caught dementia, but I don’t believe the entire Buddhist community of the Central Plains is a gathering of madmen.”
“What? Pu ha ha ha ha!”
Lee Beon burst into laughter once more and nodded repeatedly. “That fellow really is a rare specimen! I like him. When I only heard your description I wondered if such a reckless bastard truly existed, but seeing him in person—he’s wonderfully bold!”
Yeon Hojeong frowned. “I only heard that you elders are digging into the secret of immortality. I was never told what connection that has to the Four Gods.”
“Huh?”
Lee Beon looked at Tam-gyeong. “You said you told him everything?”
“I told him what we are doing.”
“But you didn’t mention the part about the Four Gods?”
“Correct. I told you—I wanted to let you meet each other before we started digging into every little detail.”
“……The kid who got completely hooked by those words and followed along is something else, too.”
Shaking his head, Lee Beon asked Yeon Hojeong, “Well, since the cat’s out of the bag, let’s speak openly. Boy, you said you don’t know what connection our work has with the Four Gods?”
“That’s right.”
“Then at least tell me this. Do you know that the Sasinmu you have trained is the ultimate art of the Four Directions Martial Emperor—the man who created the greatest legend of all time three hundred years ago?”
“I cannot say I’m certain, but I had inferred as much.”
“Inferred… Very well. Then let me ask you one more thing.”
Lee Beon’s expression grew deadly serious.
“Do you believe the Four Directions Martial Emperor—a man who lived three hundred years ago—is dead? Or do you think he might still be alive?”
“What do you…?”
“The person who taught you the Sasinmu. Who do you think he was? Not a single martial history book in the world records that the Four Directions Martial Emperor ever took a disciple?”
“……?!”