Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: When Rain Falls in Turbulent Times, the Hidden Dragon Moves (1)
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There was a woman walking down the street. Even among the throngs of people, her curvaceous figure and mysterious aura immediately drew everyone's eyes.
Any ordinary maiden from a humble household would have blushed under such heated gazes, but she walked on with an unchanging expression, as if this kind of attention was utterly commonplace.
The woman's name was Eum Yugyeong.
After her clash with the Poison Fox, she had left Honam Province and headed north. She was now in Dengfeng County of Henan Province.
Dengfeng County was home to Song Mountain. And on Song Mountain stood the Shaolin Temple, leader of the Nine Great Sects and the spiritual pillar of Buddhism.
As the saying goes:
All the world's martial arts hail from Shaolin.
It was said that every martial art in the world originated from Shaolin.
After Patriarch Bodhidharma passed down the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture and the Marrow Washing Scripture, countless martial disciplines were born.
The most renowned among them were the Seventy-Two Peerless Techniques.
What would be ultimate secret arts in other sects numbered seventy-two in Shaolin alone.
Nor were the Seventy-Two Peerless Techniques the only ones. Shaolin possessed numerous supreme arts unknown to the outside world.
Thus, the jianghu implicitly acknowledged Shaolin as the pinnacle of all martial learning. Had Shaolin harbored ambitions of conquering the jianghu, the world might already belong to them.
Even Wudang Sect, which was considered comparable in influence, fell short when it came to pure martial might.
It wasn't for nothing that all martial arts under heaven were said to stem from Shaolin. Their arts were vast and profound.
As a result, Shaolin's influence spread not just through Dengfeng County but across the entire Central Plains.
Many came seeking even a single stance or form from Shaolin's arsenal. Among them were no small number of renowned jianghu warriors.
Consequently, the people of Dengfeng were quite friendly toward martial artists. Swordsmen and saber wielders roamed the streets in abundance, yet no one eyed them with fear.
Thanks to this, Eum Yugyeong could stroll the streets without a care for prying eyes.
The atmosphere brimmed with reverence for the martial way. In Dengfeng alone, countless folk had learned at least a smattering of Shaolin techniques.
Though lacking the talent to become core disciples of the head temple, most had picked up one or two basic Shaolin forms.
Eum Yugyeong envied Dengfeng's vibe.
'Someday, may our cult know such a day.'
Most in the Demonic Cult likely shared her wish.
Shaking off her thoughts, Eum Yugyeong ascended Song Mountain.
Song Mountain, known as the Central Peak among the Five Mountains of the Central Plains.
It lacked Huashan's sharp menace but was imbued everywhere with a majestic, divine energy that put people at ease.
After climbing for some time, the Shaolin mountain gate came into view. True to its prestige, two monks stood guard before the massive gate—Shaolin's guest-welcoming monks.
Shaolin was a martial sect among the Nine Great Sects, but at its core, it was a Buddhist temple. Hundreds climbed the mountain daily to offer prayers or light incense.
The guest-welcoming monks' duty was to distinguish ordinary pilgrims from martial artists with special business and guide them accordingly.
"Amitabha! Patron, please halt a moment."
The guest-welcoming monks blocked Eum Yugyeong's path. She stopped obligingly.
"What brings you to our temple?"
"I stopped by Dengfeng on my way and thought to stay the night at Shaolin to offer prayers."
"I see. Have you trained in martial arts?"
"A little, for self-defense. Is that a problem?"
"No issue at all. But if you wish to stay overnight, you'll need to leave your weapon here. Is that acceptable?"
"Certainly."
Eum Yugyeong answered readily. The guest-welcoming monk smiled warmly.
"Then please write your name and sect in our visitor's log. We'll escort you to the guest quarters."
"Understood, monk."
Eum Yugyeong handed over her sword and inscribed the log.
[Eum Yugyeong, born in Yin Family Fortress of Hami in Xinjiang. Trained in family arts.]
"From the borderlands, perhaps? This is the first I've heard of Yin Family Fortress."
"That figures. It's just a small clan in Hami."
"I see. Understood. Follow me, please."
"Yes!"
Eum Yugyeong followed the guest-welcoming monk.
"Currently, only the Guest Reception Hall, the Grand Hero Hall, and a few other spots are open to lay devotees. We ask your understanding."
"Why is that? Most temples open everything."
"Shaolin is no ordinary temple but a martial sect that teaches and practices the arts. With our long history, we have much to preserve. For various reasons, we can't open everything. We hope you understand."
The guest-welcoming monk answered her question without a hint of annoyance, explaining in detail.
The guest-welcoming monk's monastic name was Haeu.
Haeu held a fairly high position among the Guest Reception Hall monks and enjoyed sharing Shaolin's history with visitors at the mountain gate. His pride in the temple ran deep.
While listening to Haeu, Eum Yugyeong arrived at the guest quarters.
The guest quarters lay near the mountain gate, enclosed by tall walls for complete isolation. Yet the quarters and surrounding training grounds were so vast that it felt anything but cramped.
Haeu assigned her one of the rooms.
"You may stay here. Evening meal is in one hour—head to the dining hall in the back."
"Thank you."
"Rest well."
Haeu bowed and withdrew.
Alone now, the smile faded from Eum Yugyeong's face.
"Impressive."
Shaolin hadn't probed her identity too deeply. This stood in stark contrast to other sects' exhaustive interrogations and verifications.
In her eyes, it was the leisure of the strong.
A millennium of accumulated power and experience. Confidence in themselves allowing such nonchalance.
Yet they weren't wholly defenseless.
The guest quarters were thoroughly separated from the main temple. No access to Shaolin's key buildings from here.
To Eum Yugyeong, Shaolin resembled a dragon's lair or tiger's den.
"Hoo."
She let out an unwitting sigh.
If only she had a choice—but as always, circumstances offered her no easy path.
Eum Yugyeong passed the time in her guest quarters lodging. She strictly observed meal times, striving not to draw attention.
She made her move after the evening prayers. After joining the others in worship and heading back, she slipped into a side path.
From her bosom, she drew a mask and donned it—a preparation made before entering.
Face concealed, Eum Yugyeong moved stealthily.
She had never visited Shaolin before, but its layout was etched in her mind. Those who rose to certain ranks in the Demonic Cult were required to know the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
She moved without a sound.
For the head of the Nine Great Sects, Shaolin's defenses were oddly lax. Thanks to this, Eum Yugyeong reached her target without trouble.
The Sutra Pavilion.
Here were stored all Shaolin's martial scriptures and sutras. It wasn't exaggeration to say the temple's history and might were preserved within. Unlike other halls, it was ringed by stringent defenses.
Over a dozen warrior monks guarded the exterior. Their sharp gazes bespoke extraordinary skill.
"Hoo!"
Eum Yugyeong drew a breath.
An ordinary warrior would quail before their presence and never dream of infiltrating, but she was different.
For such moments, she had mastered not just martial arts but stealth and infiltration to perfection.
Ethereal Cloud Mist Movement.
A Demonic Cult secret stealth technique. It concealed one's presence and aura in the air itself—imperceptible save to those at the absolute pinnacle.
Eum Yugyeong deployed the Ethereal Cloud Mist Movement and approached the Sutra Pavilion. Though the warrior monks glared right at her from mere steps away, they sensed nothing.
She slipped inside unharmed.
The Sutra Pavilion's interior was staggering. Bookshelves crammed floor to ceiling held volumes without a single gap. Many were martial scriptures.
The Seventy-Two Peerless Techniques were there, along with arts from other sects that had somehow made their way in. A single leak would upheave the jianghu.
But Eum Yugyeong spared them not a glance. She sought something else.
Her eyes rapidly scanned the shelves.
'Record of a Thousand Days' Secret Matters.'
The book she hunted.
Penned thirty years ago by the Heavenly Observatory Scholar, it objectively chronicled the Great War of Righteousness and Evil.
In the war's final thousand days, the scholar roamed countless battlefields, plainly recording what he witnessed without embellishment. That was the Record of a Thousand Days' Secret Matters.
'Our cult's sacred relic vanished from a battlefield he visited. The record must detail it.'
She had learned of the Record recently. It was essential to tracking the relic.
Eum Yugyeong passed a dozen shelves in a flash. Anxiety flickered across her face.
'If even the Record yields no clue to the relic, I can no longer check the cult leader's dominance.'
She was among the precious few in the Demonic Cult who opposed another Great War.
How much time passed?
Her eyes lit up.
'Found it.'
In the corner of the last shelf sat a book boldly titled Record of a Thousand Days' Secret Matters.
Eum Yugyeong hurriedly pulled it out and skimmed.
"The real thing."
"Amitabha! I wondered what you sought so eagerly—turns out it's the Record of a Thousand Days' Secret Matters."
A calm voice sounded from behind.
Chills raced up Eum Yugyeong's spine.
'When?'
Every sense on high alert, she had confirmed no presence in the pavilion multiple times. Yet the voice carried the weight of one who had watched her from the start.
Eum Yugyeong turned cautiously. A young monk in plain gray robes stood there.
He appeared just into his early twenties.
His spotless black eyes brimmed with innocence, his bright smile striking.
"Who are you?"
"Amitabha! This monk is So Cheon."
"So Cheon? One of the Nine Dragons?"
Alarm flashed in Eum Yugyeong's eyes.
Who in the jianghu knew not the name So Cheon?
The once-in-a-generation genius who had mastered fifteen of the Seventy-Two Peerless Techniques to perfection. Whispers even called him the greatest prodigy in Shaolin history.
Rumor held he loved training more than eating, spending most days in training grounds or the Sutra Pavilion.
"Amitabha! And who might you be, patroness? Why seek the Record? It's hardly special."
"To some, a worthless pebble; to others, more precious than gold."
"You're no ordinary soul. Then again, none but the extraordinary could sneak into Shaolin's Sutra Pavilion. From where do you hail?"
"Were you watching from the beginning?"
Eum Yugyeong countered with a question. So Cheon smiled brightly.
"Amitabha! This monk was here from the start."
"Then you saw me hunting this book? Why?"
"It intrigued me. Most who come here seek martial scriptures, not such trivia."
Eum Yugyeong's face hardened.
If he had been here all along yet evaded her senses, his skill might surpass hers.
Shuu!
Realizing her disadvantage, she launched herself out of the Sutra Pavilion.
So Cheon shook his head.
"As expected!"
He showed not a trace of worry.
How could he? This was Shaolin.
"Intruder!"
The guarding warrior monks spotted her sudden emergence and shouted.
The silent temple grounds awoke.
Warrior monks mobilized, and a majestic bell tolled across all of Song Mountain.
"Amitabha!"
So Cheon's figure vanished from the Sutra Pavilion.