The Heavenly Grant Forest
At the entrance of the Heavenly Grant Forest stood a grand gate. A sign bearing the name of the Sichuan Tang Family hung from it. In front of the gate waited two experts from the Tang Family and four monks from the Great Menglong Temple.
“Hello, Elder Ilwon.” Tang Chǐng stepped forward and cupped his fists in greeting toward the visiting Elder Ilwon. The elder returned the courtesy with a smile.
“The weather looks particularly fine today.”
“Yunnan’s weather has been good, hasn’t it?”
“Hehe! Right now is a wonderful time. When it rains a lot, though…”
Elder Ilwon laughed and shook his head.
“One will miss the weather one has left behind.”
Tang Chǐng looked up at the sky at these words.
“To miss the weather…”
A faint trace of melancholy lingered in his voice. Elder Ilwon smiled.
“Are you thinking of Sichuan City?”
“I think of it always.”
Tang Chǐng answered softly, then looked at the elder.
“It seems strange that such a high-ranking person as Elder Ilwon would be conducting a sermon here.”
“Hehe! Sermon…”
Elder Ilwon burst into laughter and shook his head.
“I am not conducting a sermon. I am protecting the Wulin of Yunnan.”
“What do you mean?”
Tang Chǐng looked puzzled. Elder Ilwon smiled.
“The Heavenly Grant Forest has been opened to the public. The Tang Family members have already entered. Wulin folk are creatures who live and die out of curiosity…”
He glanced at the inscription on the rock.
“Moths will fly in once they see the light.”
“Indeed.”
Tang Chǐng nodded. Elder Ilwon continued.
“I still carry a good name in Yunnan. Those moths will not meet a pointless death.”
“We could avoid the inconvenience, but I wonder whether we are troubling Elder Ilwon.”
“Not at all. If there is a way to prevent killing, it is only right. Namu Amitābha.”
Smiling, Elder Ilwon seated himself on the cushion placed before the gate and closed his eyes in meditation.
Tang Chǐng smiled at the sight. After the Tang Family servants settled in, the Great Menglong Temple had treated the Tang Clan with utmost respect.
Beyond food and laborers, Elder Ilwon, the temple’s vice-abbot, remained on site at all times to oversee the affairs of the visitors.
Elder Ilwon opened his eyes while still meditating.
“Guests are arriving.”
Tang Chǐng looked straight ahead. In the distance, a group of people was approaching.
“The Qingcheng Sect, the A-mi Temple, the Zhuge Clan Residence, and the Cheongchang Sect.”
Elder Ilwon followed Tang Chǐng’s gaze and nodded.
“I can recognize the Cheongchang Sect too.”
From his viewpoint, he knew the major sects of Central China but was especially familiar with the Cheongchang Sect.
Both the Cheongchang Sect and the Great Menglong Temple had once shared the same anti-demon movement. They had once been allies and remained on friendly terms even now.
The Tang Family experts straightened their postures as the guests drew nearer.
The riders halted before the gate and dismounted.
“Hehe! Is that Tang Chǐng?”
A Qingcheng Sect Taoist laughed heartily and pretended to recognize him. Tang Chǐng smiled and cupped his fists.
“Monk Mun-sun, it has been a long time.”
The rider who had come running was none other than Monk Mun-sun, the nemesis of Tang Myung from the previous life.
“Indeed. How vexing. You moved here without a word to us.”
“You know the circumstances of my family.”
“Ha! Really…”
Mun-sun sighed and shook his head.
“We should have lent our support from the sect. But the sect also had its own difficulties.”
“No. The first thing we saw upon leaving the hidden ground was Qingcheng Sect disciples guarding my family’s estate. We are truly grateful.”
Tang Chǐng cupped his fists as he spoke. Mun-sun smiled and glanced at Jeong Myeong beside him.
After the Tang Family was destroyed, Jeong Myeong had earnestly asked the elders to assign guards to the Tang Clan.
At first the Qingcheng Sect had refused. They could not spare disciples when the demonic cult might strike at any moment.
But Jeong Myeong had pleaded with utmost sincerity. In the end the elders stationed guards from nearby family sects around Chengdu.
‘It was fortunate I listened to Jeong Myeong back then. The Tang Clan is so grateful now.’
Mun-sun smiled inwardly and spoke aloud.
“Where in the world is the Qingcheng Sect and the Tang Family? We are blood brothers, are we not? Do not worry about the Tang Clan. The sect’s disciples have been guarding the Tang Clan Castle with ironclad loyalty.”
“Thank you.”
Responding to Tang Chǐng’s courtesy, Mun-sun smiled, glanced at the inscription, then looked at the rock beside it.
“Anyone who enters the Heavenly Grant Forest without permission shall die.”
“I have heard the Heavenly Grant Forest is extraordinary. The inscription is truly magnificent.”
Tang Chǐng smiled faintly.
“One is allowed to enter with permission.”
“Then inform them inside.”
Tang Chǐng stepped through the gate and shouted loudly into the open air.
“Guests from the Qingcheng Sect, A-mi Temple, Cheongchang Sect, and Zhuge Clan Residence have arrived.”
He stepped back out. Mun-sun asked, puzzled.
“Is the Tang Clan Castle close?”
“Only a one-hour journey by light kung fu.”
Mun-sun tilted his head.
“A whole hour away… will your shout carry the news?”
“The Heavenly Sage hears all things.”
“A whole hour away… you expect him to hear your shout?”
Tang Chǐng nodded and smiled. Mun-sun stood there in bewilderment, unsure whether to believe him. Just then Elder Ilwon clasped his hands and spoke.
“The owner of the Heavenly Grant Forest is beyond the comprehension of common Wulin understanding.”
Mun-sun turned to look at him.
“A monk from the Great Menglong Temple?”
“I am Ilwon.”
Elder Ilwon clasped his hands. From the Cheongchang Sect, Chu Mu-jin of the Yipin Three Guests spoke softly.
“He is a dharma disciple of the abbot of the Great Menglong Temple. In Yunnan he is known as a great sage.”
“Namu Amitābha. What an honor.”
Elder Ilwon looked at Tang Chǐng and smiled.
“It seems permission has been granted.”
Tang Chǐng nodded.
“Please follow me. I will guide you.”
Mun-sun asked.
“Do we not need to receive a reply inside?”
“The distance is great, so the reply will not arrive quickly. If the Heavenly Sage does not come, we shall take this as permission and enter.”
“Won’t it take time for the Heavenly Sage to reach here? Then should we not wait longer?”
Tang Chǐng and Elder Ilwon laughed at these words.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing. Then please follow.”
Tang Chǐng laughed and kicked the ground. Mun-sun looked at him in surprise, then mounted his horse with the others and followed behind.
***
Upon reaching the Tang Clan Castle deep within the Heavenly Grant Forest, Mun-sun smiled.
Countless halls stood inside the forest, and Tang Family servants were living there.
As they walked the castle grounds, the servants greeted them with cupped fists and bows.
Mun-sun and his companions returned the greetings. Though called servants, they were all masters renowned enough to be called elders in the Wulin world. Mun-sun knew them well.
Seeing people he knew were doing well filled Mun-sun with satisfaction.
“It is a relief to see the Tang Family settled so firmly.”
Tang Chǐng nodded with a smile.
“The family head is waiting inside.”
With that, Tang Chǐng led them toward the inner part of the castle. They soon reached a small pond.
There, Tang Myung sat in meditation inside a large jar, circulating qi.
Milyeong Unit members then appeared before the guests.
“The family head is in circulation. Please wait a moment.”
The Milyeong Unit leader nodded.
“Of course.”
Mun-sun smiled at him.
“I am glad the unit leader is safe.”
“……” Mun-sun sighed deeply at the words.
“The previous family head was a public figure as the family head, but in private he was a close elder brother to me.”
“I know.”
Mun-sun was a lively man who loved making friends and had traveled the Wulin extensively.
He had once traveled together with Tang Cheon-deuk when the latter was still the young family head, so their bond was deep.
“Tang Myung…”
Mun-sun realized he had almost spoken the wrong name when he saw the unit leader staring at him intently. He corrected himself quickly.
“Namu Amitābha! Now he is the family head.”
“Correct.”
“With Tang Myung as family head leading the servants so well, you will soon be able to return to Sichuan.”
“That is right.”
The unit leader looked up at the sky.
“The sky over Yunnan and the sky over Sichuan may be different, but we must live beneath Sichuan’s sky. The same applies to the Qingcheng Sect and the A-mi Temple, does it not?”
The monk from A-mi Temple nodded at the meaningful words.
“Namu Amitābha… that is correct. For us, the sky over Sichuan is the most important.”
As the monk spoke, he glanced toward Tang Myung with surprise.
A vast aura surged from Tang Myung’s body.
“Peak?”
“Has Tang Myung reached the Peak realm?”
Jeong Myeong asked in surprise and joy. The unit leader smiled behind his mask and nodded.
“He reached the Peak some time ago.”
When the unit leader had come here and seen Tang Myung, he had been shocked to discover that the man he had once been blocked by the First-class wall had now become a Peak master and welcomed him.
***
Tang Myung opened his eyes with a deep breath. The Milyeong Unit leader’s voice entered his ears through a private message.
[Guests have arrived.]
Tang Myung smiled as he saw Mun-sun and rose.
He walked toward the group.
‘Mun-sun…’
In the previous life he had been an enemy of the Tang Family, and his own responsibility had been heavy. The Qingcheng Sect’s failure to support the Tang Clan back then had only sharpened his resentment.
But Jeong Myeong’s death had shown him the true meaning of friendship. He had decided that the Qingcheng Sect’s mistake in the previous life would be left unpunished.
He had already expected that people from the Qingcheng Sect and A-mi would come. He had encountered them in the previous life.
Therefore, he had already settled his stance toward them.
Tang Myung cupped his fists and bowed his head.
“Tang Myung greets the senior brothers and sisters.”
He then smiled and bowed to the Zhuge Clan members.
“Tang Myung greets Uncle Zhuge Jin.”
The middle-aged man with refined features, Zhuge Jin, smiled and returned the cup of the fists.
“Personally I am your nephew, but publicly I am the family head of the Great Sichuan Tang Family. Speak freely.”
Tang Myung smiled at the strict line drawn by Zhuge Jin.
“Thank you for your words.”
He cupped his fists and bowed to the other masters.
“Though lacking, I am Tang Myung, who has ascended as family head. I ask for your guidance in the future.”
When Tang Myung revealed the authority of the family head while remaining modest, Mun-sun smiled and cupped his fists.
“It must have made you very happy to see Tang Myung as family head, Brother Tang.”
Tang Myung smiled at the respectful tone Mun-sun used toward him.
‘That’s right. Mun-sun is like this.
Mun-sun cherished his own face greatly. Unlike in the previous life, he did not sharpen his anger when his face was not respected.
“I thank you for coming even in the midst of my family’s crisis.”
“What kind of words are those? The three pillars sustaining Sichuan are the Qingcheng Sect, the A-mi Temple, and the Sichuan Tang Family. We should have come earlier, but the Wulin Alliance was formed to block the demonic cult and our minds have been occupied.”
“I have heard of the Wulin Alliance. It is fortunate that Central China responded so quickly to block the demonic cult.”
Tang Myung nodded.
“So the reason you came to my family is the Wulin Alliance?”
Zhuge Jin smiled and replied.
“We are not here to request membership in the Wulin Alliance to test your family’s stance. The Tang Family must focus on rebuilding now.”
This was a story from the previous life, when he had grown angry thinking the Tang Family was being ignored.
But things were different now. Thinking of the servants’ deaths, it was far more important to nurture the family’s power.