Arriving at Shaolin Temple (3)
The Murim Alliance's esteemed elders stood before them.
Huashan Sect elder Myeongwol-ja.
Kunlun Sect senior elder Cheongheo Jin-in.
Joint Sect elder Cheon-un.
Hengshan Sect leader Gu Jung-hak.
A traitor lurked among them.
Someone scheming to profit and seize power by exploiting the revenant outbreak.
Though unlikely, even Mu Hye Daesa and Jegal Seong couldn't be ruled out. No one was above suspicion.
Who was the traitor?
Seo Baek stepped forward to Mu Hye Daesa and drew a sealed letter from his bosom.
"This is the letter I brought."
All eyes locked onto the letter.
The elders who had dismissed Seo Baek moments before shifted, their gazes sharpening.
A letter delivered by a boy not yet twenty. Surely nothing remarkable, they thought—but what if it truly held the secret to halting the revenants?
Whoever claimed that technique would dominate the Central Plains Murim overnight. Not just the practical edge of the revenant-countering method, but the grand justification of saving the world.
Mu Hye Daesa examined the proffered letter with care.
Yet he left the seal intact. He opened the abbot's room door, placed it on the central table inside, and emerged once more.
Thud. Mu Hye Daesa shut the door and turned.
Storing it unopened baffled the onlookers.
The eldest, Kunlun's Cheongheo Jin-in—his hair and beard snow-white—spoke up.
"Why not open it now?"
"An important letter like this should be read when all are gathered."
"All?"
"Wudang Sect hasn't arrived yet."
Ah... The elders frowned in unison.
The disciple dispatched urgently from Wudang to the Murim Alliance hadn't reached Shaolin.
Shaolin, Wudang, Huashan—the pillars of Central Plains Murim. Excluding any spelled trouble. If Wudang cried foul later, claiming exclusion, there'd be no defense.
Especially with Wudang and Huashan's imperial ties; Shaolin tolerated no slight in relations.
Huashan elder Myeongwol-ja offered a wry smile.
"That Wudang disciple's infamous for missing deadlines. Always off in a daze, the fool."
"......"
Silence fell. No one else dared mock Wudang—not when a Huashan elder could chide a far junior disciple.
"Guests, unpack and take tea first. We'll reconvene in the abbot's room in half a shichen. Amitabha."
Mu Hye Daesa gave a ritual half-bow. The elders dispersed to their quarters. With the abbot's room serving as the Alliance meeting hall, even he headed to temporary lodgings.
"Follow me."
Jin-mun led Seo Baek's group.
Wang Yi Sam cocked his head at the unguarded abbot's room.
"No guards at all? Leaving the letter just sitting there okay?"
"Eight Great Protectors front and back, Nahantan and Janggyeonggak on the flanks. 18 Arhats and escorts stand ready at all times."
"The 18 Arhats too?"
"I lead them."
"Whoa......"
Wang Yi Sam clamped his jaw shut.
The 18 Arhats gathered Shaolin's top experts, elders aside.
Eighteen strong, no replacements unless one shifted posts. Inevitably name-checked among rising stars.
Learning their plank-road guide was the leader left Wang Yi Sam speechless.
With the 18 Arhats encircling...
No soul would dare trespass.
And escape? Shaolin's defenses were impenetrable.
Mu Hye Daesa's choice made sense.
But one more reason.
"Shaolin would never peek first."
"......!"
The group nodded at Jin-mun's words.
Take it to quarters? Accusations of hoarding the secret would fly.
Nuance layered his act...
They reached their quarters: worn but spotless, ample rooms.
Guest monks brought tea as bags dropped.
Muscled frames, far from typical greeters.
Gatekeepers by role, now martial monks doubling up amid shortages.
"Hwangshan Mao Feng. Please."
"Anhui Province tea, right?"
The sword-for-hire's travels paid off; Wang Yi Sam nailed the origin.
"Correct."
"Anhui's distant—how?"
"Abbot favors it; we stock leaves. His order for guests."
Anhui: the province Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam had boated past.
No fetching fresh now; reserved for him.
Sharing it bespoke goodwill.
"Graciously."
They sipped, blowing steam.
Premium indeed. Rich scent banished staleness; heat eased bloat, lightening limbs.
Seo Baek traded subtle glances with Song Hyeon mid-sip.
How long wait?
Half shichen.
Understood.
Half a shichen: action time.
Back in quarters, Huashan elder Myeongwol-ja brooded.
Court and Murim: unspoken non-interference for ages. Now? Ignored.
Court courted power to bolster itself.
Not mere officials—the emperor, crown prince, rival sons!
Strike right alliances now: seize Central Plains rule. Long-term backers of a new emperor? Immense sway.
Wudang moved first, unexpectedly.
Huashan matched, forging court ties.
Couldn't sever Central Murim fully. Dispatched Myeongwol-ja to affirm Alliance membership.
Token, transparently.
Kunlun, Joint, Hengshan: same formality.
Hengshan sent leader Gu Jung-hak—yet weakest great sect.
Scheme to amplify voice this crisis.
Won't claim center.
Dire turns.
Rooted in Western Frontier Guryunsa clashes.
Black Wolf Castle born to repel invaders. Mere assassin forge? No—imperial web.
Revenant plague traced there.
Shika Manor's mystery loomed.
Founder: prior abbot Beopjeong Daesa.
Begged a Seres-Sichuan border hermit to build it.
Died battling Guryunsa elites. Few recalled Shika Manor now.
Alliance elders aside, sect heads oblivious.
Yet from shadows: outbreak cure arrives...
Stop it? Imperative.
Vital: who stops it!
That sect claims justification, spoils—for decades.
Letter holds secret?
Huashan learns first.
Top sword arts? Huashan boasts.
Shaolin—fount of all; Wudang—profounder. Swords alone? No.
Swords insufficient.
Flashy Huashan needed wings:
That letter.
Confident smirk—then noise outside.
Kindred schemer: Kunlun senior Cheongheo Jin-in.
Remote western Kunlun struggled Central influence.
Frontier neighbor: ravaged in Guryunsa war.
Revival brewed.
Sending non-leader senior elder? Ambition gleamed.
Distance? Potential boon.
Reframe: flaw to forte.
Snag letter, bolt home—Central pursuit futile.
They'd used Kunlun as bulwark.
No payback.
Ninety-plus. Even masters fade.
Deathbed gift for Kunlun.
Slipped guard-check—spotted something.
Joint elder Cheon-un pondered alike.
Gansu Joint: trade-toll rich.
Silk Road chokepoint. Tolls from merchants, escorts—under "safety."
Wealth overflowed; craved Central clout.
Weak arts vs Shaolin, Wudang, Huashan: coin moot.
Outbreak severed trade; coffers dried.
Leapfrog relics; Joint reigns.
Sword secured tight; door swung.
Hengshan leader Gu Jung-hak seethed at Alliance snub.
Others: elders, disciples. He—leader—personally.
Treatment? Identical.
Shaolin "fair"? I'm leader!
Damn Alliance! Damn Huashan!
Huashan rivalry burned. Sword fame? Eclipsed, perennial runner-up.
Now imperial whispers.
Doomed trailing.
Mid-meditation: odd aura. Eyes flashed open.
Deserted abbot's room.
Table: lone sealed letter.
Creak. Door yawned; intruder slipped in.
His identity: ......