Chapter 318: Heonwon (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 318: Heonwon (13)
A cool twilight draped over the wild hills.
It was near Taiyuan in Shanxi Province. A dilemma had arisen after Jeong Yeon-shin, Great Monk Wonjeok, Gun Yurin, and Jeon Baek surrounded one of the Martial Venerables of the Deep Martial Alliance.
It concerned the fate of the Twin-Wing Blood Venerable.
Great Monk Wonjeok deferred to the Commander of the Demonlight Wing first. "May this humble monk spare this man's life?"
Jeong Yeon-shin fell into thought.
An opponent who harbored murderous intent first; a person who committed visible atrocities. He had always reserved his lethal strikes solely for such foes.
The only exception had been the Azure Qilin, Namgung Se-jin—perhaps the reason his dreams were occasionally troubled.
It was to the point where he felt he could manifest the Imperial Sword Form if he simply willed it.
"I do not mean to treat his wounds. Merely that I will not kill him," Great Monk Wonjeok said. "Since this bald monk is inherently hypocritical, it is enough to leave him with his breath intact on this earth and move on."
The Shaolin Temple observed the Rule of Non-Killing. Despite being a prominent sect in the Jianghu, they did not permit murder.
They were, first and foremost, a Buddhist temple. The moment a monk took a life, they became an apostate.
It was said that this was why fist and kick techniques, staff techniques, and other self-defense methods had flourished in Shaolin. This absolute principle remained unbroken even when the Yuan Dynasty swept across the land.
Mount Song was the birthplace of the continent's martial arts; it was practically the heart of the Jianghu itself. Shaolin's stance was as heavy as ironclad law, passed down through the ages.
Even Namgung's First Sword, famous for his eccentric temper, reportedly never forced a Shaolin monk to commit murder. Not when he was part of the Namgung Clan, nor after he struck his own name from the family registry and pledged his allegiance to the Thirteen Heavens: Martial Dragon Association.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth. Below him, the Twin-Wing Blood Venerable, covered in dark blue bruises, glared up at him fiercely.
"Living as a commoner will be painful for him."
The Buddhist ordination scars on Great Monk Wonjeok's forehead twitched upward.
"Did you say a commoner?"
"His dantian and the meridians of his four limbs must be destroyed. We must leave no future trouble."
Sigh...
A sigh escaped the Brightfolk monk's lips.
Having casually passed the sentence as the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, Jeong Yeon-shin flinched inwardly. This was an era when the Buddhist sect's prestige was at an all-time high.
No one under heaven would want to get on the bad side of a high monk of the Shaolin Temple. Especially someone from Henan, who had grown up admiring and mimicking the Hundred-Step Divine Fist as a child.
Am I being cold and harsh?
It felt just like when he dealt with his niece, Hye-ah. Just as he was about to reflect on himself—
"How immensely merciful and compassionate!"
"Pardon?"
"It is no wonder the people of the world call you the incarnation of Nezha. You truly hold the lives of the common people dear."
Great Monk Wonjeok laughed heartily.
A saccharine sweetness emanated from the monk's gaze. It felt as though he were patting Jeong Yeon-shin's head with his eyes.
"Considering what this man has done in the Jianghu to earn the name Twin-Wing Blood Venerable... we must indeed do at least that much. This humble monk failed to think of it. Even a common method can become a brilliant idea when brought forth in the right situation."
"I see."
Jeong Yeon-shin squared his shoulders.
Gun Yurin, who had been staring blankly at the two, parted her lips in sheer bewilderment.
"Wait, wait a minute. You're leaving this bastard alive?"
"He is an utterly atrocious villain, I tell you! His malice reaches the heavens! There's no telling what means he might use to become powerful again...!" Jeon Baek clutched his throat as he spoke from behind her.
They were the ones who had dealt with the now-sprawled Twin-Wing Blood Venerable the longest.
They had witnessed his talent, his vicious temperament, and the achievements he had accumulated to rise as one of the Three Martial Venerables of the Deep Martial Alliance. Their unease was bound to weigh a thousand pounds.
The corners of the Twin-Wing Blood Venerable's mouth trembled upward.
"The Desolate Fortress, Shaolin. How... truly merciful. Someday, I will master an Upper Dantian sword art... and surely repay this favor. To our young lady as well."
His voice was razor-sharp, reminiscent of a cold blade.
He was a man whose talent with the sword had shaken the world. A grandmaster who had synthesized the high-level martial arts of the Deep Martial Alliance into a dual-sword style. His boast regarding swordplay did not sound like an empty threat.
Helpless among these powerhouses, Gun Yurin bit her lower lip, a sharp gleam flashing in her eyes.
Right then.
A faint, clay-colored line flashed five times in the air, followed a beat later by a dull, heavy thud. It was the sound of flesh rupturing.
The Twin-Wing Blood Venerable's groan escaped a breath later.
"Argh!"
His limbs thrashed violently.
Dark bruises began to swell on his arms and legs. A faint breeze rippled outward from his sunken lower abdomen.
It was the wave of internal power leaking from his ruptured lower dantian; his accumulated internal energy was so deep that even the surrounding bushes swayed incessantly.
Handling his wooden staff like an iron bar, Great Monk Wonjeok slammed it vertically into the ground.
Thud!
The punishment Shaolin meted out to expelled disciples.
A staff strike imbued with the Internal Heavy Hand Technique had been delivered. Under the heavy shockwave, the meridians of his four limbs were pulverized, and his dantian was shattered to pieces. It had happened in the blink of an eye.
Even after unleashing such a harsh strike, Great Monk Wonjeok did not spare the Twin-Wing Blood Venerable a single glance.
The Brightfolk high monk's gaze remained fixed on the Commander of the Demonlight Wing. Unlike when he swung his staff at the Twin-Wing Blood Venerable, his eyes were incredibly benevolent.
"Earlier, you kept pace with this humble monk with wondrous footwork. A strong trace of Dharma Power emanated from your Body Protection Scripture. As expected, Benefactor, you seem to possess a natural immortal bone and the makings of a Buddhist. The Guardian Fighting God, Nezha, permeates your every action."
The stiffness of their first meeting had vanished from the tone of one of Shaolin's Four Great Vajras. It had softened immensely.
A clear, pure light shimmered in his eyes.
"Ha." Gun Yurin, who had been holding her breath among these transcendent masters, took a step back with a look of utter disbelief.
It was said that the high monk before her was a supernatural entity who had spent a hundred years in wall-facing meditation. He couldn't possibly be sane. The light shining in that handsome monk's eyes looked bizarre, as if he were wearing some kind of rose-colored glasses.
"When Emperor Wu of the ancient Liang Dynasty sought to contend with Bodhidharma, Bodhidharma crossed the river on a single reed to avoid killing. That legend became the foundation of the Body Protection Scripture known as Crossing the River on a Reed. The physical cultivation methods he created for health have been passed down under the names of the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic and the Marrow Washing Classic." Great Monk Wonjeok smiled warmly. "Rumors abound that the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, when engaging in battle, threatens his surroundings by enveloping his entire body in lotuses. Perhaps the Body Protection Scripture you showed this humble monk will one day be known as the steps of Nezha treading upon the Lotus Platform of the Western Pure Land."
It was a story concerning the Buddhist afterlife.
The Lotus Platform referred to the pedestal upon which a practitioner sits after death. Its proper name was the Nine-Grade Lotus Platform. It was said to be made of nine lotuses.
Jeong Yeon-shin's lips twitched slightly, but he remained silent. He merely thought: Is this really okay?
No matter what he said or did, he somehow managed to win people over.
He wondered if this was what happened when the temperaments of his maternal grandfather and the Seventh Apostle were mixed, but slapped himself inwardly, realizing it was not a proper thought to have about a high monk of Shaolin.
Foolish Jeong Yeon-shin, how utterly wicked of me...
This was why one of Shaolin's Four Great Vajras had accepted Jeong Yeon-shin's Shanxi moniker without reservation. It was equivalent to having a title containing "plum blossom" recognized by the Old Immortal of the Mount Hua Sect.
"Your words are too generous. I have recently come to deeply revere Great Master Bodhidharma."
Sincerity filled Jeong Yeon-shin's voice. The sense of unity he felt with Shaolin's founding patriarch was just that profound. The current Commander of the Demonlight Wing felt a wave of emotion, as if he had been stranded alone in a remote jungle beyond the borders and had finally encountered another human being.
"Excellent, excellent!" Great Monk Wonjeok uttered the archaic praise with great satisfaction.
A peak expert who had opened his Upper Dantian was extremely sensitive to another's aura. He was a master adept at discerning truth from falsehood and reading the intensity of emotions to block an opponent's strikes. The supreme monk's mouth stretched into a wide, beaming smile.
"I must offer a donation to you, Benefactor."
"...An offering?"
"In truth, this humble monk traveled down here with a nephew-disciple, but because his pace was so terribly slow, we became separated. The Bright-Righteous Pill that this bald monk received from the temple's Medicine King Hall is also in his possession. This old monk does not like carrying cumbersome things on his person."
Indeed, his only baggage was a single wooden staff. He had neither an alms bowl for begging nor a sleeping bag to rest his body comfortably.
"Great Monk...?" Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes widened.
Would he be able to heal his internal injuries even before returning to the Desolate Fortress?
The Bright-Righteous Pill of the Shaolin Temple. It was a legendary internal medicine in which the Brightfolk secret arts were fused with the medical skills of Shaolin's Medicine King Hall.
He had taken it once before. It was just before the Demonlight Wing, the Thread-Annihilation Unit, and the Azure Sky Unit gathered to strike the Hwangbo Clan. The moment he consumed it, the qi and blood throughout his body had recovered in an instant. He remembered how incredibly precious the medicinal efficacy felt as it flowed through his entire body.
"However, seeing as the Benefactor's body is currently unwell... I am reluctant to leave you alone. It will likely take some time to locate my lacking nephew-disciple."
"Compared to your kindness, Great Monk, it will not be a long wait," Jeong Yeon-shin replied calmly.
Suddenly, as he thought of Heonwon Chang, the Lazy Flame Dragon, and Shin So-bin, it made no sense to refuse. His companions might scold him, saying the Commander's body must come first.
The same went for Great Monk Wonjeok's absence. A Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress relying on one of Shaolin's Four Great Vajras? Anyone would find it preposterous.
He did not feel a great threat from the Killing Gate and the Moyong Clan he would face in the future. A strange inspiration had come over him after defeating and killing the Jegal Clan Leader. A premonition that, from now on, things would work out somehow.
Even now, the image of a sword shimmered in his mind. The Northern Light Sword strapped to his waist was whispering to him. Let us go meet our companions.
"You are already a complete martial artist, Benefactor." The smile did not fade from Great Monk Wonjeok's face, which was as smooth as his shaven head. "This humble monk's anxiety was foolish. Let us meet in Taiyuan."
Crunch.
The sound of treading on snow was crisp. With those final words, the monk turned and walked away. The hem of his orange Buddhist robe fluttered over the snowy field.
Jeong Yeon-shin, Gun Yurin, and Jeon Baek remained.
"Now things are clean." Glancing at the writhing Twin-Wing Blood Venerable at her feet, Gun Yurin tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "My mind is at ease. I've prevented the dregs of our alliance from interfering with my grand undertaking. Now, all that's left is to charge forward."
"Is it true that you have seized control of the Deep Martial Alliance's martial forces?" Jeong Yeon-shin asked abruptly.
Letting out a smirk, Gun Yurin shrugged her slightly squared shoulders. "Unless my damn father shows up, nothing will go wrong. There are only four people who outrank me in the chain of command: the Leader of the Deep Martial Alliance and the Three Martial Venerables."
"What about the Eldest Son?"
"He's equal to me." Her expression turned serious, and her lips parted. "You really don't need to worry. The high and mighty are too busy plotting to rule the world to move their heavy asses. The Twin-Wing Blood Venerable was their limit."
Flap!
Gun Yurin gave her sleeves a wide flick. She seemed to have lost all interest in the sprawled Twin-Wing Blood Venerable. At least, on the surface.
"Heh... Hehehe..." The swordsman, who had lost everything, could only let out a groan-like laugh. He looked completely out of his mind. In the eyes that occasionally glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin, frustration and despair were laid bare.
Though he had spoken of an Upper Dantian sword art earlier, he could not maintain his composure after losing the dantian and meridians he had spent his entire life cultivating.
This was the Jianghu.
"Let's go." Jeong Yeon-shin turned first. Gun Yurin and Jeon Baek followed immediately behind.
The late winter sunlight was deep. Everything was pure white. Though they had grown somewhat closer, a strange sense of distance remained among the group, and they walked in silence for a long while.
The one-armed Jeon Baek watched Jeong Yeon-shin's reactions so closely that it made their initial meeting pale in comparison.
"I will go to the latrine for a moment."
"Where is there a latrine out here?"
"Young Lady, just play along. You shouldn't pry into private matters."
"Hurry back. If you steal something again, I'll break your wrists. Have some respect for our alliance's reputation..."
"Yes, yes," Jeon Baek muttered as he slipped away, returning only after a long while with a sly excuse about his bowels being backed up.
He was a scholar-like martial artist who would look quite handsome if he smiled, but he maintained a low posture in front of Gun Yurin and Jeong Yeon-shin.
Jeong Yeon-shin caught a faint, fishy scent from Jeon Baek's fan. It was the smell of fresh blood, which had not been there before. It was easy to guess that the latrine story had been an excuse.
He had gone back and killed the Twin-Wing Blood Venerable.
"..."
Jeong Yeon-shin did not press him.
Only the crunching sound of stepping on snow echoed. A cool silence trailed behind the three pairs of footprints left in a neat line.
This was the martial world. This was the Jianghu.
* * *
The shadow cast beneath the cliff was massive. It was large enough to swallow several figures without leaving a trace.
"We should have killed them sooner. How many times is this that we've let them slip away after practically catching them?"
"Are they not all disciples of prestigious families? Since they harbor the energy of spirit medicines that have not yet fully dissolved into their bodies, we must naturally treat them like sacred treasures."
"Let's put aside the bastard of the Killing Gate or the Solar Divine Pulse. What about the daughter of the Desolate Shin Clan? I don't know who raised her, but her temper is no joke. I should have slit that slender neck of hers with a single stroke..."
"Do not act rashly. There are no exceptions."
"Is that truly the order from above?"
"There is much to extract from that girl as well. All successors of the families under the Desolate Fortress are raised to be the next Black Ranks. They do not worry about their accumulated qi amount; they only care about the years it takes to fully dissolve the energy of spirit medicines."
"What a blessed life. Damn it."
"Originally, the source of the Essence Absorption Great Law is the Heavenly Demon lineage. You should be grateful that such a secret technique has entered our family. Who knows if the benefits will come to you one day?"
"Hmm..."
"More importantly, that Hwangbo bastard is the problem. We went through the trouble of splitting up their group, yet the damage is immense."
"I heard. Was the southern formation of the Net of Heaven and Earth destroyed?"
"Melted down."
"What about the Unit Commander? There's no way the second greatest expert of the Moyong Clan couldn't catch him..."
"He captured a messenger from the Shanxi branch of the Hao Sect. I heard there was some incomprehensible information written on it, said to be a code word delivered to Hao Sect branches across the country."
"That's no small matter. Can we know what it is?"
"Of course. A phrase warning to beware of a pink hem..."
Crunch.
The shadow of the cliff swallowed a horrific sound of tearing flesh. With that single noise, all signs of life in every direction instantly vanished.
There was not even the sound of bodies collapsing. It was as if everyone's bodies had been crushed whole.
Soon after, a pale-white, deep pink hem arrogantly brushed past a corner of the shadow.
Not a single sound was made.