Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Zen Exchange
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As five-spice pork and ginseng chicken were laid out on the table, the monk requested liquor.
"No rice wine?"
The squad members watching him suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.
It was as if they had heard those exact words somewhere before.
"I'll bring it right away."
Yeong-gak rose and headed into the kitchen, prompting the squad members to nod in unison.
'That punk said the exact same thing.'
Yeong-gak brought the liquor jug straight out and glanced warily at Se Yeong.
"Om mani padme hum..."
Se Yeong couldn't help but chuckle.
Hahaha...
"Drink up."
At his permission, the squad members lit up more than Yeong-gak himself.
They hadn't touched alcohol in ages.
The siblings fetched the drinking vessels, and Yeong-gak and Paeng Se Gi ladled from the jug, offering the first cups to the monk and Gang Gyodu.
The monk slowly picked up his chopsticks, savored the dishes, and sipped his liquor.
The scene was almost reverent, like some sacred rite.
'What an enigmatic fellow.'
Se Yeong ate while never dropping his guard.
No matter how harmless he seemed or how deep his bond with Yeong-gak, one could never predict when an opponent might turn.
"That was delicious."
The monk set down his chopsticks and gazed steadily at Se Yeong.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
The monk countered Se Yeong's question with one of his own.
"May I take this one with me?"
"Who would hold back someone who wants to go?"
He seemed thoroughly pleased with Se Yeong's reply.
Kekekeke...!
"You've got a knack for Zen exchanges, lad."
Once his hearty laughter subsided, he asked again.
"Then what do you make of the people of the martial world?"
"Thieves and bandits worse than beggars."
Se Yeong spoke his mind without hesitation.
"Then you must be a thief or bandit yourself?"
"Spot on."
"And what of heroes?"
"Hypocrites intoxicated by their own brand of 'good'."
The monk was genuinely impressed by Se Yeong's unflinching responses.
He had never met someone so young with such unwavering convictions.
And those convictions were compelling enough to stir the heart.
Originally, he had planned to thrash Se Yeong and drag Yeong-gak back to Shaolin.
But from the moment he entered the village, his thoughts began to shift.
'Had he not become a blood-soaked wanderer, he'd have deep ties to the Buddhist gates.'
The squad members, mid-sip, perked up at the exchange between him and Se Yeong.
They had never once thought of themselves as thieves or bandits.
Yet upon reflection, it didn't sound entirely wrong.
The martial world was the law of the jungle, after all.
The monk turned his gaze to Yeong-gak.
"At first light, head to the village's largest inn and deliver twenty pun."
"Understood, Elder."
Yeong-gak didn't even ask why.
"That was a fine meal. Time to be off."
He rose and slowly made for the estate's exit.
Yeong-gak hurriedly stepped in front.
"The night deepens. Why not depart at dawn?"
"Foolish child. Do you not know daylight is merely the sun hanging in the sky?"
He scolded Yeong-gak and casually raised a fist.
"This is all I have to pass on to you. Watch closely."
The monk thrust his fist toward the darkening night sky.
Boom!... Boom!... Boom!
Three explosive blasts echoed in succession from the heavens.
A shockwave swept over the squad members in an instant.
Ah...
The squad members were utterly awestruck by his near-divine martial prowess.
Who on earth was this monk to unleash such power?
Se Yeong was just as stunned.
He didn't know the monk's identity, but his skill surpassed even the Six Net Sword Matriarch and the Heaven Dominating Blade King.
"Om mani padme hum."
Yeong-gak clasped his hands and bowed deeply.
"Shaolin could do worse than a demon Buddha."
The monk paused on his way out, then halted again.
"One more thing—beware Emei's Six Net Sword Matriarch."
His warning was directed not at Yeong-gak, but Se Yeong.
Se Yeong replied calmly.
"She's already dead."
The monk, just stepping out of the estate, froze mid-stride.
"Show me."
Show what?
Se Yeong pondered briefly, then fetched the matriarch's sword from his room.
Upon presenting it, the monk clasped his hands just like Yeong-gak.
"Om mani padme hum."
"Don't let Emei's lineage die out. I'll take this sword."
The monk pocketed the blade and departed the estate.
"Until next time, Elder."
Yeong-gak bowed toward his retreating figure, then turned back.
"Who the hell was that monk?"
As soon as he vanished, the squad members swarmed Yeong-gak with questions.
"Ah... Elder Yo Gong."
Only then did Yeong-gak reveal his identity.
The squad members stared at him blankly.
Yo Gong was the Heavenly Steel Fist Buddha, one of the Five Absolutes of the Martial World.
Yet he rarely ventured into the jianghu, so few knew his face.
His status as an Absolute stemmed from Alliance Leader Namgung Je's own words.
"Shaolin's prestige overwhelms the martial world, and Yo Gong's single fist shatters the Dragon-Spear Sword Emperor."
Here, Dragon-Spear referred to Namgung Je's moniker, the Dragon-Spear Sword Emperor.
Rumors had long swirled of Shaolin's supreme master.
Namgung Je's confirmation elevated Yo Gong to the Five Absolutes.
"First time I've seen Elder Yo Gong."
"I've only heard tales myself."
"But why call him 'Elder' instead of 'Master'?"
At Yi Cheon Yeong's question, Yeong-gak scratched his bald head.
"He's not my master. He'd drop by now and then, teach a move or two, and send me on errands. The other elders taught me more martial arts."
"What kind of errands?"
"Sneak out of Shaolin for liquor and meat. Sometimes without a coin, so I'd even pawn off other monks' wooden fish bowls. Still gives me chills thinking about it."
"You're the crazy one. Who thinks to sell wooden fish bowls?"
The squad members were dumbfounded.
Turned out, Yo Gong was the one who introduced him to liquor and meat—and to martial arts.
And Yeong-gak had inherited the monk's brazenness to boot.
Somehow, three Absolutes had already crossed paths in this estate.
They had clashed with the Heaven Dominating Blade King, slain the Six Net Sword Matriarch, and the Heavenly Steel Fist Buddha had simply departed.
The only one left was the Tang Family's Vengeful Dark Emperor.
Se Yeong turned to Hahu Yeon and Dang Ok Yi.
"Your families might come calling now?"
They bowed their heads low.
"No chance of that, Hero Han. I've been cast out by my family."
Dang Ok Yi's response was much the same.
"I'm a side branch—they won't even spare me a thought."
Yi Cheon Yeong spoke next.
"Mount Hua's probably banking on the Six Net Sword Matriarch. Even without her, times are tough—they won't easily send disciples."
Se Yeong's eyes fell last on Sa Sa Un.
He glanced nervously at the others before speaking haltingly.
"Our family has some wealth, but no masters to boast of. If they come, I'll send them packing myself."
Sa Sa Un had zero intention of returning to the Murim Alliance or his family.
If he ever did, Se Yeong would no longer be in this world.
Ak Su Deok entered the hall with a white-haired elder.
"I come before the Supreme One."
The white-haired elder knelt inside the hall and bowed his head to the ground.
"What brings the Veil Lord of the Black Moon Veil?"
The elder buttered him up before answering.
"The Supreme One remains ever majestic."
The White Master looked down at him with impassive eyes.
"Did you come just to say that?"
Irked that his flattery fell flat, the elder seethed inwardly.
'What does it cost to play along with an old man's jest?'
The Black Moon Veil and the Four Whites had no ties until a decade ago.
Then someone commissioned the White Master's death for 500,000 nyang of silver.
He had intended to decline, but greed took hold.
Killing the White Master would crown Black Moon Veil as the jianghu's top assassin guild.
So he infiltrated the Four Whites personally for the hit.
But he was swiftly captured and faced execution.
Resigned to death, the White Master spared him on condition of submission—and revealed the Hidden Child Dancer.
The Hidden Child Dancer was a short sword about two chi long, once wielded by the Killer King two centuries prior.
"This blade... was with the Four Whites?"
The elder forgot his peril in asking.
And he never forgot the White Master's reply.
"Seems the Killer King was my ancestor."
Later, he learned the White Master had commissioned his own "death."
Rather than claim the assassin guild's treasure, the elder bowed at his feet.
"The Moyong Family has commissioned a hit for 200,000 nyang. Target: Han Se Yeong."
A glint sparked in the White Master's previously dull eyes.
'Cunning bastards.'
The 200,000 nyang wasn't coming from Moyong coffers.
It was Han Se Yeong's bounty—they meant to claim it as proxy.
"When do you move?"
The elder laid out his plans without pause.
"The Six Net Sword Matriarch's after his head—we must hurry. Tonight, we'll take the kids to Geumcheon."
"You'll die."
"Yes. Han Se Yeong is as good as dead."
A faint smile ghosted the White Master's lips at his retort.
"I meant Black Moon's assassins will die."
The elder looked up slowly at the seated White Master.
Black Moon Veil vied for top assassin guild in the jianghu.
"How can you be sure?"
"The Six Net Sword Matriarch is already dead."
The elder shuddered violently at those words from the White Master's lips.
'That damn... dog...'
He was truly furious.
Had he known the matriarch fell to Han Se Yeong, he'd never have taken the job.
Even assassins drew the line at the Five Absolutes.
If Han Se Yeong slew her, he was the new Absolute in her stead.
"I'll... decline the commission."
"Try it. But the Veil Lord must lead personally."
The elder struggled to read the White Master's intent.
'Does he mean to discard Black Moon Veil?'
As if sensing his thoughts, the White Master continued.
"If the hit fails, sell me out."
"Understood."
Only then did the elder relax.
"Sell me out" meant return alive.
Yet facing an Absolute was no small feat.
His fighting spirit blazed fiercely.
Success would make Black Moon Veil unrivaled in the jianghu.
The yellow chicks had grown into fierce-eyed roosters.
"When do we eat 'em?"
Paeng Se Gi asked Sa Sa Un every time he eyed the coop.
"We raise them for eggs, not meat."
"Aw, one or two won't hurt."
This exchange repeated so often that Dang Ok Yi, listening nearby, finally snapped.
"Hey, you lunatic! You brought the most feed when they were chicks!"
True enough, Paeng Se Gi had lavished feed on the chicks.
Not just grains—worms, earthworms, even leftover centipedes.
And snakes hibernating under rocks.
Paeng Se Gi jutted his lips.
"Just fattening 'em up to make better chickens."