Arriving at Shaolin Temple (Part 2)
The group began their ascent of Xiao Shi Peak.
But the terrain was as treacherous as ever. Sure enough, a narrow ledge clung to sheer cliffs, piercing through the clouds and stretching endlessly onward.
Wang Yi Sam asked Jin-mun,
"Aren't guests at Shaolin Temple supposed to stay at the Reception Hall?"
"Due to the revenant outbreak, we've relocated the Reception Hall and the quarters at the mountain's base higher up. We've even sealed off the old paths, relying solely on these ledges now."
"Ugh."
Wang Yi Sam let out a long sigh at the prospect of climbing the ledge once more.
Dang Ryong trailed behind the group with his usual listless expression.
He hadn't exchanged a single word with them the whole time and had sustained himself on his own dried rations.
He seemed like a ghost following them, giving Wang Yi Sam chills every time he glanced back.
But on second thought, it was absurd—his own group was no different.
A true band of comrades shared a common purpose, yet not one of them was remotely normal, were they?
Even Wang Yi Sam himself had joined the trip to Shaolin for money and fame...
He'd kept his distance before, but now on the narrow ledge, Dang Ryong had no choice but to stick close behind.
"What kind of assassin can't even hide his presence and has to trail right behind us like this?"
"Just leave him be. He'll handle himself."
Wang Yi Sam grumbled, but Seo Baek dismissed it, saying to ignore him.
A good while after they started up the ledge,
a bridge came into view ahead.
"This is the Heaven-Linking Suspension Bridge," Jin-mun explained.
Heaven-Linking Suspension Bridge—a bridge that inquired after the heavens.
True to its name, it spanned a dizzying abyss between sheer cliffs.
Just looking down made one's mind reel.
Yet it was built sturdy enough to reassure anyone crossing. Instead of ropes, it was woven from iron chains like a net, with thick wooden planks fixed firmly for the base.
Iron gates flanked both ends, designed to open and close.
Jin-mun explained their purpose.
"Unlikely as it is, if a revenant horde made it this far, we'd seal the gates to block them."
"Wouldn't a horde just smash through those gates?"
"We've accounted for that. If they break, a mechanism triggers—the ends detach, and the whole bridge plummets."
The group nodded in approval.
It was an ironclad defense!
As they approached, a Shaolin monk guarding the gate cupped his hands in greeting and bowed.
"Senior Brother, you've arrived."
"Well done."
Creak. The monk opened the gate. The group crossed, their footsteps clattering on the planks.
A faint mist clung to the bridge, giving the sensation of walking through clouds in the sky.
On the far side, another monk opened the gate to welcome them.
But just as they finished crossing, a high-pitched whoosh echoed from somewhere.
"That's an odd bird call."
"It's not a bird—it's a whistle."
"...!"
The whistle continued, starting close by but gradually fading into the distance as time passed.
It was the Shaolin monks defending Xiao Shi Peak, using whistles with set patterns to signal the group's arrival.
Beyond the bridge stood two massive boulders, with stone steps carved between them.
Hundreds of steps stretched upward, seemingly touching the heavens, their end impossible to discern.
At last, when the group crested the stairs, an unbelievable sight unfolded—one unfit for such a high peak.
In a vast plaza stood hundreds of Shaolin monks, arrayed in perfect formation like soldiers on parade.
Buddhist prayer beads on their foreheads. Robust, muscular builds that even loose robes and sashes couldn't hide. Piercing gazes from fierce eyes.
The Shaolin monks cupped their hands in unison.
"Amitabha. Shaolin Temple welcomes our guests from Sichuan."
The sight of hundreds chanting Amitabha in greeting was truly spectacular. A swell of heroic spirit stirred in Seo Baek's chest.
Wang Yi Sam tilted his head, puzzled.
"How'd they know we're from Sichuan, me and the kid?"
Jin-mun answered.
"Shaolin uses whistles with fixed patterns for signals, like beacon fires."
"Whoa, not even wasting a whistle breath..."
Wang Yi Sam marveled once more at Shaolin's meticulous defenses.
"This way."
As Jin-mun led them, the hundreds of monks parted in perfect unison, forming a path.
The majestic scene filled the group with pride.
Beyond the plaza loomed the mountain gate.
Its plaque bore the bold characters: Shaolin Temple.
But as they stepped inside, Song Hyeon asked Jin-mun,
"I thought Shaolin forswore swords and blades?"
"Since the revenant outbreak, the Abbot has temporarily lifted the precept against killing. You're free to carry edged weapons."
As Jin-mun said, each monk wore a hefty dao at their waist.
Wang Yi Sam, veteran of the martial world, recognized them from rumors.
"That's Shaolin's Demon-Subduing Dao, isn't it?"
"Correct."
Shaolin, sworn to non-violence, normally forbade bladed weapons.
Yet they'd not only relaxed that rule but armed with Demon-Subduing Daos... The revenant crisis's severity was clear.
Shaolin's famed staff techniques were altered too—the tips sharpened to points.
A measure to pierce revenant necks in one thrust.
The Abbot had resorted to desperate countermeasures against the undead.
Beyond the weapons, revenant precautions dotted the grounds.
Spears with sharpened bamboo tips woven into nets like fish traps stood everywhere.
"Revenants won't climb the ledges to reach here. But thorough preparation never hurts."
Jin-mun's voice rang with conviction.
"On the flip side, descending Xiao Shi Peak has gotten harder, making life at Shaolin tougher."
"In what way?"
"Food's manageable. We grow wheat and beans up here for noodles and tofu. But clothing supplies are dire."
The group nodded.
With revenants rampant, luxuries aside—even cheap cotton or hemp was scarce.
"Our stockpiled cloth will run out soon. At least fewer novices are joining amid the crisis, so we're holding on. Hard to call that fortunate, though."
"..."
The revenant outbreak had upended the world.
Even Shaolin Temple, the martial world's North Star, was at its mercy.
The group passed famed Shaolin sites.
The main hall housing the Niō guardians.
The pagoda forest, where stone stupas of past monks stood in orderly rows.
The Eight Guardian Courtyards encircling the Abbot's residence.
"The Eight Guardian Courtyards were once for the Abbot's bodyguard monks, but now house the Murim Alliance's luminaries."
"Using it as a VIP Reception Hall?"
"Something like that."
Wang Yi Sam's half-joking jab hit sharp; Jin-mun smiled in response.
Beyond the courtyards lay the Abbot's chambers.
There, the Shaolin Abbot and Murim Alliance elders already awaited the group.
"Amitabha. Welcome, guests from Sichuan."
A high monk with compassionate eyes cupped his hands in greeting.
He was Mu Hye, the Red-Faced Avalokiteshvara—Shaolin's Abbot in this revenant era, also leader of the Murim Alliance.
Blinded in one eye from grave wounds during the outbreak, he wore a black eyepatch.
Seo Baek returned a formal fist-and-palm salute.
"Seo Baek of Shika Manor in Sichuan."
"Come in. We've awaited you long."
Beside Abbot Mu Hye stood the Alliance elders in a row.
As revenants ravaged the land, each sect had sent senior representatives to Shaolin. The crisis prolonged their stay.
Five Alliance luminaries resided here now.
Jegal Seong, first young master of the Jegal Clan and vice-leader—known as the Jade-Faced Scholar.
His silver veil mask hid his face from all but a few in the martial world.
He wore it still. But more striking was his empty right sleeve.
Like Abbot Mu Hye, he'd lost his right arm to revenants. For leader and vice-leader to suffer such wounds spoke volumes of the chaos.
The other four elders hailed from:
Huashan elder Myeongwol-ja.
Kunlun senior elder Cheongheo Jin-in.
Joint Faction elder Cheon-un.
Hengshan sect leader Gu Jung-hak.
All key figures from the Nine Great Sects of the Central Plains.
Unlike Abbot Mu Hye's warm welcome, the four elders eyed the group coldly or indifferently.
Wearied by the endless crisis?
No, Seo Baek thought, shaking his head inwardly.
Their gazes weren't mere fatigue or resentment of uninvited guests.
They were looking down on the group.
Put oneself in their shoes—it made sense.
A boy from Sichuan claiming to end the unstoppable revenant outbreak? From some obscure Shika Manor no less?
Their discomfort was natural.
Without Abbot Mu Hye, they wouldn't have bothered greeting the group. The Alliance teetered like a candle in a storm.
As the elders scanned the group with icy stares, Seo Baek observed them keenly.
His master had named six righteous peak masters who might counter the Shika Heart Method—especially those with rival inner arts.
Four stood before him now.
Abbot Mu Hye, Jegal Seong, Myeongwol-ja, Cheongheo Jin-in.
Add Ami sect leader Jeong Su Sa Tae and Wudang's top disciple Jin Ha-gun, and that made six.
Foes whose victors over Shika Heart Method were unpredictable. If one turned enemy, it spelled serious trouble...
No.
Seo Baek shook his head again inwardly.
Jegal clan's second son Jegal Hyeok possessing a Black Wolf Secret Book copy. The Underground Hall colluding with officials to isolate Shaolin.
Behind it all lurked a traitor leaking info from Shaolin.
Someone betraying Shaolin and the Alliance, exploiting the outbreak for power.
One of these elders before him was that mastermind!
The crisis had already begun.