No Matter What Happens
Sun Wukong closed his eyes for a moment.
He had once ridden the Somersault Cloud all the way to the end of the world. Five pillars stood there, and Sun Wukong had undone the sash at his waist and pissed on them. Those five pillars had been the Tathagata's fingers. He had somersaulted across the heavens more times than he could count, and he had never once left that palm.
Sun Wukong, in the Buddha's hand.
"Something's happened to the Tathagata?"
There was no one in this world Sun Wukong feared. He was a being who had come into existence of his own accord — the noblest of golden monkeys. And even he feared exactly one soul. For the Tathagata alone, he felt a reverence and a dread that seemed to have no bottom. It was why, no matter how much he groused and cursed at Guanyin, he never truly defied her. She spoke with the Tathagata's will.
Teacher Janggyeong's voice came hesitant, almost reluctant.
"A rumor, mind you. Nothing confirmed."
"So what happened, then?"
"Well... they say the Tathagata is in pain."
"Pain?"
Sun Wukong let out a hollow laugh. That old fellow — the one who had shed every desire and every suffering in existence to become the first Buddha? He stared at Teacher Janggyeong as if the man had lost his mind, and the teacher only shook his head, looking just as bewildered.
"A rumor. A rumor. It leaked out among the Buddhas who attend the Bodhisattva, but of course everyone is denying it."
"Hmph. And what did Guanyin have to say?"
"The Bodhisattva herself seems occupied with some matter or other. Lately it has been nearly impossible to catch even a glimpse of her. She did not even attend the Jade Emperor's birthday banquet."
Sun Wukong's brow furrowed hard.
"What the hell is going on up there?"
"A strange current has been running through the Celestial Realm, that much is true. But what it is, I truly cannot say..."
"The Jade Emperor? Old man Taeshang Laojun?"
"They don't appear to know a thing."
Sun Wukong let out a long breath. An absurd rumor that the Tathagata was suffering — and now Guanyin herself had vanished from sight.
Something's happening up there too.
And of all times, here he was stuck in the lower world. A thick, suffocating weight settled on his chest.
Honestly, Sanzang, you idiot. You always have to go and lose your soul at the worst possible time.
Sanzang's smiling face drifted up, faint and unbidden. Sun Wukong swept a hand through the air and wiped it away.
Whatever this is, I need to find Sanzang and get back up there. Fast.
Something about all of this sat wrong with him. The words Baekgwiwang had spoken — that the Tathagata was weakening. And now a celestial rumor that he was in pain.
Which means Baekgwiwang knew the gossip of the Celestial Realm while sitting down here in the mortal world.
That made no sense. Even Sun Wukong could only reach Heaven through Teacher Janggyeong. And that was only possible because he had swallowed the predecessor Myodu-eung's Inner Core, which let him request a brief conversation when he wanted one. If the other side did not answer, there was no reaching the Celestial Realm from below at all.
So they've got a way to talk to Heaven — and someone up there is answering them.
Sun Wukong pressed his fingers to his brow. The deeper he dug, the more he turned it over, the more it felt like sinking into a bog.
Ah, Sanzang.
You. Yeah? If you'd just kept a better hold on your soul. Huh? No. Wait. If you'd just never reincarnated at all and stayed a Buddha in the Celestial Realm. Yeah? Then none of this would be happening.
I swear. I'm not letting you off easy.
Sun Wukong ground his teeth, Sanzang's face still burning behind his eyes — and that was when a pain like his whole body splitting apart came crashing through him.
"Kh."
A single choked sound. Teacher Janggyeong started.
"You're badly hurt?"
"Hurt...? Do I look like I'd take a wound from the likes of Baekgwiwang?"
It was not that easy, though. He had poured out every last drop of the Yoryeok packed into his dantian. Even for Sun Wukong, with every celestial power sealed away, it had been an overload he could barely endure. He crushed the pain down and twisted his face against it. Trying to think about Sanzang and the Celestial Realm on top of this was too much. He swept the tangled thoughts from his mind. They were not problems that thinking alone would solve. Better to smash into them and find out as he went.
He changed the subject.
"I found Geumgak."
"Ah, did you? That's a relief."
"Doesn't seem like he remembers a thing from his past life. How was he supposed to follow the order to find the Seven Star Sword?"
"I was told an imprint technique had been sealed in his mind."
"An imprint technique."
"Ordinarily, the imprint would have awakened through some designated event and restored a portion of his memories. I suspect Baekgwiwang's scheming is what severed that."
"Is there a way to wake the memories?"
"Taeshang Laojun said to come before his spirit tablet and perform a rite."
"A rite?"
Sun Wukong snorted.
"You want me to hold a memorial service in front of that old man's portrait?"
"Hahaha. Teacher Sun, you know this. A rite is the only way a human being can reach Heaven. And Geumgak is human now."
"Nnngh."
Sun Wukong made a pained noise. If he wanted the remaining fragments of the Seven Star Sword, Geumgak's memories had to come back. And he had to go to Mt. Wudang anyway. He needed to find the mountain's Earth Deity and ask after the Ruyi Jingu Bang — and he needed to be led to the Golden Cord as well.
He nodded.
"Nnh. Must've been a rougher fight than I thought. My head's killing me."
"You poured out that much power and opened a channel to the Celestial Realm. Of course it hurts. Rest. You'll feel better once I withdraw."
"Ah — before you go, Teacher Janggyeong."
"You have another message?"
"Find out where the rest of the Seven Great Sages are."
"Hrm!"
"Whether they're in hell, whether they fell into the wheel of reincarnation — and U-mawang too."
"U-mawang is under the Tathagata's watch... but I will do everything I can."
"Thanks, Teacher."
The grave face the cat had worn while speaking melted, in the next breath, into something utterly foolish.
Mrooow.
Sun Wukong stroked slowly down the spine of the cat nuzzling into his chest as he lay there. Then, out of nowhere, he spoke — a thought that had flickered through his mind before the fight began. He slipped a hand under the cat's leg and hoisted it straight up.
"What, you planning to dump your kittens on me too someday?"
Mrow?
"Hmph. Don't even think about it. I only keep you around so I can talk to Teacher Janggyeong. Don't go bringing me any brats."
Mrooow.
Whether it understood or not, the cat purred. Sun Wukong huffed a quiet laugh.
The fighting was over.
Namgung Jinbaek and Muyoung first settled their bodies at the Namgung Clan's safe house. Fortunately, Namgung Jinbaek was not so frail a man that Yoryeok could wreck his meridians and shatter his dantian. He drove every last trace of it out by his own strength and brought his body back under control. Even Sun Wukong was left clicking his tongue in amazement.
"If it hadn't been for you, Teacher Sun, my boy would have been in real danger."
Namgung Jinbaek took his hand with genuine, unguarded gratitude.
"It isn't much, but please accept this."
What he held out was a lacquered case and a plaque carved from blue jade. Sun Wukong tipped his head.
"The elixir in the case is called the Azure Dragon Pill. A spiritual medicine unique to the Namgung Clan, refined after years of research."
A spiritual medicine unique to the Namgung Clan, perfected through years of painstaking research.
"Honestly, I don't think I need it..."
Sun Wukong let the sentence trail off, and Namgung Jinbaek smiled wryly.
"The more the merrier, no? Internal energy is the sort of thing you can never have too much of. And what you do with it is entirely up to you, Teacher Sun. You could even give it to someone as a gift."
Sun Wukong accepted it with real thanks. It was not the value of the Azure Dragon Pill itself that moved him so much as the feeling in the gesture — the intent of the man offering it. He looked a little embarrassed.
"And this jade plaque?"
"It is called the Blue Heaven Jade Plaque."
Sun Wukong figured it would make a decent ornament — something that would clink nicely if he pinned it to his clothes. Had anyone else been standing in that room, they would not have been able to keep the shock off their face.
"And lastly — whatever request you make, Teacher Sun, the Namgung Clan will pour its full strength into granting it."
"Hnh."
"Ah. One thing more. Even if you and the Namgung Clan should part ways and become enemies, we will forgive you once. Even if you kill our family and flee — present this plaque, and it is an unconditional pardon."
Sun Wukong looked down at the plaque in silence. This was no bauble. He felt the enormous weight sealed inside the jade. His fingers closed around it.
"This seems far too precious to just hand over."
"To tell the truth, it was not going to be the plaque. After the Changryong Chulgwan, I had meant to give you the Azure Dragon Pill. I thought a fine wine on top of that might have been enough to please you."
"Wine would've been an excellent gift. And an excellent thanks."
Sun Wukong cackled, and Namgung Jinbaek laughed with him.
"But after everything that happened — above all, you saved my son."
"..."
"Having felt this demonic energy burrow into my own meridians, I know. Muyoung could never have overcome it alone. Even if I had tried to help him, I could not have looked into another man's body in that kind of detail. It was not my own."
A benefactor of the Namgung Clan. And more than that — a benefactor who had saved a father's son. Namgung Jinbaek surged to his feet and bowed until his waist folded nearly in two.
"The Namgung Clan will stand with Teacher Sun."
"No matter what happens."
Sun Wukong looked at him in silence. A human body — and yet this was the Sword Star who had cost Baekgwiwang, a demon who had once wielded the Yoryeok of the Seven Great Sages, one of his eyes. Sun Wukong could see, clear as day, how large this man's aid would loom in the many fights still to come.
...That far, the thought was calculation.
Then Sun Wukong took Namgung Jinbaek's hand in earnest, and meant it.
Beyond the Fiery Golden Eyes, the man's soul was smiling, clear and bright.
Putting their bodies back together was a slow, grinding business. Even with Sun Wukong having treated Namgung Muyoung, the underlying internal injuries had been severe to begin with. Namgung Jinbaek, too, still needed more time to recover. In the end, the others decided to move first.
"We shall see you at the Wudang Sect, Teacher Sun."
The Butterfly Immortal took Geumgak with him, the Blue Heaven Corps escorting them, and set out for the Wudang Sect. Word had just arrived that Wudang's own pursuit team had entered Anhui Province. They moved ahead to make contact.
"The Namgung Clan's aid, and everything you have done for us, Teacher Sun — I will deliver it all exactly as it was. The truth, and nothing else."
A clear light rose in the Butterfly Immortal's eyes. Fighting at Sun Wukong's side, he had seen it all with his own flesh: how this man had cut down every assassin, torn the Yusal Sect itself apart, and in the end saved Geumgak. He was a lay disciple by origin, but his generational standing was equal to the current sect leader's — a renowned elder respected across the entire martial world. If he simply told what he had witnessed, the Wudang Sect would have no choice but to offer the Namgung Clan and Sun Wukong every thanks they could muster.
Where some depart, others arrive.
"My lord! Teacher Sun!"
Muhwa reached Anhui Province with the Wulin Alliance's pursuit team. It was the Black Tiger Corps, regarded as the Alliance's finest strike force.
"A step too late, I see. You've already taken care of it."
"Already? I thought I was going to die of the headache."
Muhwa beamed at Sun Wukong's grousing. They had come running, but with the matter already settled, the Black Tiger Corps had little left to do.
"We'll conduct a brief investigation and return."
The commander of the Black Tiger Corps said it, and Namgung Jinbaek shook his head.
"I will present myself at the Wulin Alliance in person."
"...The clan lord himself?"
Surprise broke across the commander's composed face at the news that the lord of the Namgung Clan would come to the Alliance himself.
"Something grave is unfolding in the martial world. I need to go and make the danger known with my own mouth."
"That is..."
"I have matters to attend to first. Wait for me a little while."
"Understood."
Namgung Jinbaek turned to Sun Wukong.
"Teacher Sun — you still mean to go to the Wudang Sect?"
"I've got business there too."
"I'll take Muyoung with me to the Wulin Alliance. He ought to make his face known to the Alliance's people as the next clan lord. In that case... it will be hard on the Discipline Hall Master, going to the Alliance and then coming all the way out here, but go with Teacher Sun and Seowol to the Wudang Sect."
Namgung Jinbaek trusted Sun Wukong past trust, the way a man trusts family. What he placed his faith in, though, was overwhelming martial power. Whenever he watched Sun Wukong's faintly unhinged behavior, even that faith had a way of wobbling. Muhwa, however — having already been to the Wulin Alliance and discussed this affair — would more than hold his own at Wudang.
Muhwa nodded.
"Understood. I'll go and support Teacher Sun. And Seowol should get some experience in the martial world while she's already out, yes?"
Namgung Jinbaek smiled wryly.
"You think that child would go home just because I told her to?"
"I'm not going!"
Namgung Seowol shouted it as if the very idea were absurd.
Once the situation had more or less settled, Namgung Jinbaek spoke again.
"Teacher Sun. Walk with me a while?"
"A night walk's always welcome."
Sun Wukong grinned. The two of them left the safe house and walked, unhurried, saying nothing at all, letting the soft night air wash over them.
How long it lasted, he could not have said. Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.
"How long are we just going to walk?"
Namgung Jinbaek smiled, a little pained.
"You noticed."
"When your feelings are leaking out that badly, how could I not?"
"I thought I had composed myself. Hard to hide from your eyes, it seems."
Namgung Jinbaek drew a deep breath and drew his blue sword. His face settled into a deep, still calm. Formal stance. Correct bearing. A voice of boundless humility spilled into the dark.