Chapter 372
Chapter 372
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 381
Chapter Title: Shaolin Temple on Mount Song
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Among the Five Mountains of the Central Plains, Mount Song—known as the Central Peak—hosted the Shaolin Temple, hailed as the North Star of the martial world.
Mount Song had three peaks, and Shaolin was situated on Lesser Room Peak among them.
As one ascended Lesser Room Peak, the grand and majestic halls of Shaolin came into view along the northern foothills. Spanning thirty thousand pyeong, these ancient structures steeped in the traces of time stirred something in the hearts of all who beheld them.
Even a single roof tile here could be called history.
Countless legends and myths permeated each and every building.
The Thousand-Year Shaolin.
The weight of that name alone was enough to command reverence from all.
Passing the Reception Hall that greeted visitors upon entering Shaolin, and beyond the Sutra Pavilion—legend of the Central Plains' unmatched scholars—lay the Precepts Institute, which oversaw the discipline of Shaolin's disciples.
Deeper within the stern atmosphere of the Precepts Institute, surrounded by the Eight Great Guardian Courtyards, a modest hall came into view.
Compared to the other imposing structures, this unassuming place was none other than the Abbot's Quarters, where Shaolin's leader resided.
Within the Abbot's Quarters, elderly monks sat in a circle.
They were the Hye-generation elders, the highest-ranking in current Shaolin.
Their gazes turned to the elderly monk at the center of the circle.
A gaunt-faced monk with a thick gray beard rolled his prayer beads.
The old man, wearing glossy beads worn smooth from constant use and faded robes, was none other than Hye-seung, the abbot leading Shaolin, the North Star of the martial world.
Hye-seung slowly rolled his prayer beads and murmured softly.
"By now, he should have arrived, no?"
"Even if delayed, he would have reached Hefei by now. We urged haste, so he might already be there meeting the Namgung clan's patrons."
"Heh heh, how on earth did that child come to possess such a thing?"
Hye-seung gazed at the table.
Until recently, a wooden box containing a golden, lustrous spirit pill had sat there.
Hye-gong, Hye-seung's junior brother and head of the Precepts Institute, replied.
"Isn't that why we sent him—to find out?"
Shaolin's own Yeorae Merchant Guild had been carrying out a secret mission.
Transporting the roots of the Solar Spirit Herb, the key ingredient for recreating the long-lost Great Reversion Pill.
The Yeorae Merchant Guild had successfully brought the Solar Spirit Herb roots to Shaolin, and the gathered Hye-generation elders could not help but feel encouraged upon seeing the ingredients for the Great Reversion Pill.
But that optimism was short-lived.
The moment they saw the 'Golden Immortal Pill' brought by the guild's chief steward, Abbot Hye-seung and the Hye-generation elders were all turned upside down.
That spirit pill shook the elders' hearts in an instant.
Not merely because its efficacy outshone the martial world's supreme Great Reversion Pill.
"...Do you not sense the aura of the Great Reversion Pill?"
"C-Can this be? Could it be that secret legend said to have been lost during the Demon Blood Tribulation?"
"N-No way, the Immortal Sage's secret?!"
They had not lived through the Demon Blood Tribulation themselves, but they remembered clearly the stories passed down from their masters.
Stories repeated until their ears and throats wore out.
—If only we had the Immortal Sage ancestor's secret technique, if only we had that secret, Shaolin could have bloomed like the lotus once more... Ah, what a pity, such a pity.
It was what their masters always lamented, seeing Shaolin's vital energies damaged by the aftermath of the Demon Blood Tribulation.
Thus, they remembered it vividly.
The Immortal Sage of Great Wood.
A genius of pill refinement born from Shaolin.
It was said no pill refiner throughout history had reached his level.
He had already created a Great Reversion Pill surpassing all predecessors by the age of thirty!
It was said that during the Demon Blood Tribulation, this Immortal Sage had crafted a spirit pill along with his late-life insights.
The manual for that pill, whose name had not even been properly transmitted, had remained a legend—until now, contained in that wooden box.
And delivered, of all places, from the hands of a Namgung clan child.
"For the Golden Immortal Pill, lost alongside the Immortal Sage during the Demon Blood Tribulation, to appear now—and from the Namgung clan, which had little connection to our Shaolin."
Though both belonged to the Orthodox Heaven Alliance, it was fair to say Shaolin and the Namgung clan had almost no exchanges.
It was said that during the Demon Blood Tribulation era, Shaolin's divine monks and Namgung's Sword King had been close, but that was ancient history.
"...The Immortal Sage was said to have been friends with the Sword King. Perhaps he foresaw something like this."
"Traces of him have been found in various places, but we never could track him down in the end. Would he have left it specifically with the Sword King?"
"Isn't fate an unknowable thing? I've lived eighty years, yet I still cannot grasp it."
Hye-seung smiled faintly.
A large prayer bead rolled.
The Hye-generation elders quietly exhaled.
Fate, fate.
"Didn't that child convey this pill to signal that his fate with Shaolin continues?"
"This humble monk has not fully escaped worldly ties, so I still suspect the Namgung clan approaches with some agenda."
"Agenda? Heh heh, what could they possibly gain by fleecing Shaolin's baldies?"
"Senior Brother Abbot!"
"I'm speaking freely since no one's around."
Seeing Hye-seung chuckle heartily, Hye-gong spoke quietly.
"Senior Brother Abbot. If there is a formula for this immortal pill, we must learn it. And we must discern what intentions that Namgung clan child has in summoning Shaolin."
Hye-gong felt all of this was unnatural.
For a Namgung clan child to casually produce the Immortal Sage's spirit pill that Shaolin had sought so desperately—how could it not raise suspicions?
'Even if that child wields great influence in the Namgung clan, he wouldn't act so recklessly.'
The spirit pill brought by the Yeorae Merchant Guild already surpassed the Great Reversion Pill on its own.
Yet he had handed it over just like that.
Not even straw sandals would be given away so freely.
"Isn't this fate itself, a fated turn? The reconnection of the severed tie with the Immortal Sage must be the Buddha's will."
"......"
"So, you desire the immortal pill's formula?"
"If it exists, we must reclaim it. Isn't it Shaolin's by right? We should also reconsider our ties with the Namgung clan..."
"Reclaim it."
Hye-seung smiled faintly as he looked around at Hye-gong and the other brothers.
"Wasn't it passed to an old connection of the Immortal Sage? How is that Shaolin's?"
"...If it were the Immortal Sage, he surely would have instructed us to pass on the technique."
"And if not?"
"......"
"The Immortal Sage did not transmit his secret to Shaolin. Even if you are right, couldn't the Namgung clan have simply kept it? Demanding it back would be spurning their goodwill, no?"
Hye-gong groaned in frustration.
Hye-seung continued.
"If it's fate, it will connect; if not, it won't."
"...Senior Brother."
"For now, shouldn't we simply be grateful to the Namgung clan for delivering the immortal pill? It proves the Immortal Sage's creation was real."
"......"
"What matters is the heart of Namgung's patrons. I, for one, am reluctant to demand a treasure we had forgotten now that it reappears."
Hye-gong furrowed his brow.
"What would you have us do, Senior Brother?"
Hye-seung smiled breezily.
"What I want hardly matters, does it?"
"......"
"Let's wait and see. Heh heh!"
At Hye-seung's words, Hye-gong and the brothers exhaled lowly once more.
Hye-gong thought to himself.
'...At least it's Deokjin who went. He's well-versed in worldly affairs, so he'll surely bring benefit to Shaolin.'
Indeed, that was true.
* * *
Namgung Jangcheon received Shaolin's Deokjin in the Heavenly Palace Hall.
Deokjin was one of Shaolin's first-generation disciples and the eldest of the famed Eighteen Arhats, said to be the finest among them.
His mature aura and silent gaze evoked a stone Buddha.
The two second-generation Eighteen Arhats who accompanied him exuded no ordinary presence either.
Namgung Jangcheon inwardly let out a sigh of admiration.
'As expected of Shaolin.'
But Shaolin was Shaolin...
'Why on earth have they come suddenly?'
Seeing the Shaolin monks arrive out of the blue at the Namgung clan estate, Namgung Jangcheon felt puzzled deep down.
The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans were not on the best terms, but Shaolin had always maintained neutrality.
And they had no particular friendship with the Namgung clan...
"Please, come in!"
At Namgung Jangcheon's warm welcome, Deokjin greeted him with Shaolin's traditional clasped hands.
"This humble monk is Deokjin of Shaolin. To meet the Namgung clan head once more like this! We met once before, yes?"
"Yes. We did meet once before. Your memory is impressive, Great Master."
"Haha, with such a distinctive presence as the clan head's, how could I forget?"
Deokjin chuckled lightly, praising Namgung Jangcheon.
With a smile, Namgung Jangcheon asked,
"I was quite surprised to have Shaolin's great masters visit our humble estate."
"We are the ones who are late. We've only now come to pay our respects."
"Late? Nonsense! Haha, Shaolin's great masters are always welcome here."
As Namgung Jangcheon nodded, Chief Steward Geum Gwang-mo served iron-guan yin tea to the Shaolin monks.
A rich tea aroma filled the Heavenly Palace Hall.
Silence seeped in alongside it.
Namgung Jangcheon glanced at Deokjin and the others.
'...Why are they here?'
What was this about, exactly?
Shaolin, of all places.
It felt awkward to ask outright, as if they were waiting for him to speak first.
'Could it be related to the second one?'
When had he gotten tangled up with Shaolin again?
During the trip to Hangzhou for the Five Clans Alliance, Geum Cheom-sang had been absent, so Namgung Jangcheon was in the dark about what had happened in the interim.
Thus, he could only wonder why Shaolin had come...
'Assuming it's tied to the second one already clears up half the mystery. Heh, heh heh!'
He had summoned Namgung Hyeok and Namgung Ryong since they were esteemed guests.
Well, if it was Namgung Hyeok involved, that explained Shaolin coming all this way.
As Namgung Jangcheon thought this, Deokjin broke the silence, quietly drawing a wooden box from his robes.
"Namgung Hyeok the patron asked me to deliver this to Shaolin."
"Pardon? What's this?"
"Heh heh! Surely the clan head knows."
...He's my son, but I have no idea what he's up to outside.
Namgung Jangcheon chuckled and quietly opened the box's lid.
Click!
What on earth was this about?
Deokjin watched, thinking to himself.
'The clan head is quite the actor. Pretending not to know even though he must.'
There was no way a Namgung clan child would send such a treasure to Shaolin on his own whim.
He assumed the Namgung clan desired closer ties with Shaolin.
And once he saw the pill, the clan head would get to the point.
What intentions lay behind sending such a thing to Shaolin...
"...Isn't this the Golden Immortal Pill?"
Impressive composure. Not broaching the main topic yet?
"The second one gave you this?"
"Heh heh, yes. Surely you knew, clan head..."
"Why would that rascal give away something like this?"
"...Hm?"
"He's not the type to hand out treasures willy-nilly..."
Namgung Jangcheon muttered, then startled and looked at Deokjin.
'...Trying to fleece them?'
Now robbing temples too?
They matched perfectly.
Had he not seen Namgung Hyeok's schemes once or twice?
Even within the Namgung clan, there were too many to count on one hand!
Namgung Jangcheon laughed.
"Heh heh heh! Just in time, I've called the second one. You should speak with him directly."
"This humble monk wishes to discuss with the clan head..."
"Heh heh heh! Speak of the devil, here he is."
"Pardon? Hm?!"
Deokjin turned toward the main gate of the Heavenly Palace Hall in bewilderment.
At that moment.
Boom!
The doors flew open as if about to shatter, and a figure burst in.
With the setting sun sinking behind him, Namgung Hyeok entered wearing a gentle smile, prompting Deokjin to chant in alarm.
"...Ah, Amitabha!"
A smile as benevolent as the Buddha's.
"You've arrived! You've come!"
"......"
"Ooh! Our... esteemed monks! Wow, you're positively glowing!"
Namgung Hyeok approached with a laugh.
Namgung Jangcheon watched his entering second son and chuckled.
'Right on cue.'
The second one was gearing up to fleece the temple.
Heh heh heh!
A strange air settled over the Heavenly Palace Hall.