Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Venerable Minglian
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Secular name: Wi Jong-sun. Dharma name: Hyangbaek. Currently the Emei Sect Leader.
Venerable Hyangbaek was facing the most uncomfortable situation imaginable.
Out of nowhere, her taesabu—the master's master herself—had appeared.
Worse, she was even nagging about a junior causing trouble.
"...So, do you know what this one blurted out? 'Insolent wench! I'll rip you to shreds!' The sheer shock of it. My breath caught, and I found myself chanting the sutras for the first time in fifty years."
"Amitabha."
"Yes. Chanting Amitabha, I told her, 'Amitabha. I'll explain the full story, so please summon Venerable Hyangbaek.' But she brazenly claimed not to know you. Does that make any sense?"
Venerable Minglian might be inflexible and stubborn, but she wasn't arrogant or vicious by nature. She surely hadn't said anything that extreme, as the taesabu described.
Venerable Hyangbaek glanced sidelong at Venerable Minglian, kneeling beside her. The tense atmosphere kept her silent, but her face overflowed with injustice.
Protecting one's juniors was a superior's duty. Steelng herself, Venerable Hyangbaek spoke up in Venerable Minglian's defense.
"Taesabu, it's only natural Venerable Minglian wouldn't know you. She's forty-five this year and entered Fuhu Temple thirty-six years ago. When you left the Emei Sect, she hadn't even been born, much less received the precepts."
"No, Jong-sun. It's not about her failing to recognize me—that doesn't bother me. How could a disciple of the Buddha spew curses the moment we met?"
Tsk, tsk. Halyeong clicked her tongue. She didn't forget to grumble about "kids these days."
To Venerable Hyangbaek's eyes, though, Halyeong was simply in a huff.
She had returned after so long and expected a warm welcome, but when it didn't come, she'd gotten sulky.
This wasn't Venerable Minglian's fault, though. Few even knew Divine Nun Hwayeon was still alive, let alone what her face looked like.
And with a conical hat on top of that—how was anyone supposed to recognize her?
'Does return-to-youth make the mind childish too?'
A rather convincing theory.
Hayeong seemed to catch something, narrowing her eyes.
"Did you just sigh?"
"How could I do such a thing before you, Taesabu? It must be my chronic condition tightening my chest—my breathing just got rough."
"Hmm."
Before Halyeong could latch onto that, Venerable Hyangbaek swiftly pressed on.
"In any case, Venerable Minglian's discourtesy wasn't born of malice. She is still young, with little experience in the world. Forgive her this once for my sake, and I promise to instruct her properly."
Hayeong stared fixedly at Venerable Hyangbaek's face.
In the fine lines at the corners of Venerable Hyangbaek's eyes, Halyeong saw a child's face.
A child who had only recently received the precepts.
Her dearly beloved little disciple.
A young novice nun still more comfortable with the name Jong-sun than Hyangbaek.
"Aw, fine."
Hayeong turned her head with feigned reluctance, and Venerable Hyangbaek allowed herself a small smile.
Truth be told, setting this incident aside, Venerable Hyangbaek had already suffered any number of petty slights because of Halyeong.
Just as the Shaolin Temple abbots inherited the moniker "Divine Monk" through the generations, so too did Emei Sect leaders traditionally bear the title "Divine Nun"—the highest honor among nuns.
But that tradition had been shattered because of Halyeong.
No matter that she had left the Emei Sect and cast off her dharma name, the fact remained: Divine Nun Hwayeon, of a far senior generation, was still alive. This made later leaders reluctant to claim the title "Divine Nun."
The previous leader had thus been known as Peaceful Venerable rather than Peaceful Divine Nun when she passed, and Venerable Hyangbaek herself had demurred the epithet Divine Nun Hyangbaek to this day.
Layfolk and most Emei monastics assumed it stemmed from Peaceful Venerable and Venerable Hyangbaek's humility, but that was only because they didn't know the full story.
Venerable Hyangbaek yearned to be called Divine Nun Hyangbaek. Halyeong dimly sensed as much—she herself had been thrilled to bursting when first addressed as Divine Nun Hwayeon.
Breaking the silence, Halyeong cut to the chase.
"Bring Dang Mujin here."
"Understood."
Venerable Minglian rose with a glum expression and stepped out. She soon returned with Dang Mujin in tow.
Spotting Halyeong, Dang Mujin looked utterly baffled, clearly at a loss for what was happening.
"Dang Mujin. Come here, roll up your upper garment, and lie face down. Venerable Minglian, extend your hands."
Hayeong had spent all this time gleefully berating Venerable Minglian, but she had no intention of behaving like a petulant child forever.
The previous Golden Justice Pavilion Lord had died without passing on her knowledge, so locking Dang Mujin away had likely been Venerable Minglian's best course of action.
Once Dang Mujin lay in position, Halyeong seized Venerable Minglian's hands and guided them onto his back.
Dang Mujin thought nothing of it, but Venerable Minglian balked at making contact, fumbling awkwardly. At forty-five years old, she had never once touched a man's bare skin.
Somehow, it felt both embarrassing and sinful.
Seeing this, Halyeong let out a chuckle.
"Still such a child."
Hayeong laid her pale palm atop Venerable Minglian's back and pressed down steadily on the back of her hand. In moments, Venerable Minglian's palms met Dang Mujin's back. Her hands gave a faint twitch.
In place of the late Golden Justice Pavilion Lord, Halyeong began her instruction.
"Now. Close your eyes and focus your mind. Sense Dang Mujin's acupoints and the flow of his internal energy."
"Yes."
"When someone appears possessed by demonic influence, which acupoint do you check first?"
"I'm not sure."
"Many qualify, but the three most vital are Fengfu at the back of the head, Yutang on the chest, and Qihai before the dantian."
Hayeong's internal energy drew forth Venerable Minglian's own, guiding it to the three acupoints on Dang Mujin.
"These three acupoints bear a connection to the behaviors shown under demonic influence. What sort of connection, do you suppose?"
Venerable Minglian pondered deeply but couldn't venture an answer.
Instead, Dang Mujin—still lying prostrate—offered a guess.
"If demonic qi seeps into Qihai before the dantian, the internal energy destabilizes. If it takes root in Yutang before the heart, the temperament turns explosive. And if it burrows into the brain via Fengfu in the nape, control over one's actions is lost—is that it?"
Hayeong flashed a grin.
"Exactly. You've got a physician's knack for it. Venerable Minglian, check those three points for any traces of demonic qi infiltration. Do you sense anything?"
Venerable Minglian focused intently but soon shook her head.
"...Nothing at all."
"Good. This child's heart demon has no tie to demonic qi whatsoever."
"Then what caused him to fall into it?"
"When martial artists turn savage, folk lump them together as 'heart demon possessed' or 'lost to qi deviation.' But from my experience, heart demons fall into three broad categories."
Hayeong splayed three fingers, then folded them one by one as she spoke.
"First: innately volatile temperament. Second: loss of control during cultivation of an evil art. Third: temperament warped by some shocking trauma. In my view, Dang Mujin falls into the third."
Lowering her voice, Halyeong continued her explanation.
"The most common by far is the second, though. Eight or nine out of ten heart demons stem from practicing deviant or evil arts. With time and effort to expel the demonic qi, the issue resolves—so Pure Heart Fist cultivation works well for them."
Reading between the lines, those with innate volatility or trauma-induced distortion gained nothing from Pure Heart Fist.
Venerable Minglian stole a glance at Dang Mujin. Hadn't she essentially imprisoned him without offering any real help?
Dang Mujin bore no grudge, of course. Life underground had been comfortable, the Emei Sect's meals delicious, and his training fulfilling. If anything, it had felt more like secluded cultivation than confinement.
"Then, for cases like this, what should be done?"
"I don't know any cure. The usual practice was simply to confine them if the symptoms were severe. One can't just let them run loose and harm others."
"And how does one judge if symptoms are severe or mild?"
After some thought, Halyeong replied.
"The key factor is frequency. If everyday triggers set them off, it's dire. There were those who seized up at the murmur of a crowd or the mere sight of metal implements."
Dang Mujin, however, reacted only to masked figures.
Encounters with masked folk were so rare—one or two in a lifetime, if that—that it hardly qualified as dire by Halyeong's measure.
Still, Venerable Minglian sensed something amiss.
"But simply releasing him doesn't feel like the right answer."
"True. The trouble with Dang Mujin—unlike some third-rate hack—is that he possesses real strength of his own. An outburst wouldn't stop at hurting one or two people."
Rather than offering a clean solution, Halyeong kept circling the topic.
At last, Namgung Myeong—who had listened quietly till now—spoke up. He had boldly promised Dansullyeong that he would bring back Dang Mujin; failing that would cost him face.
"Confining Dang Mujin just to avoid masked people defies all reason. It's undoubtedly an overreaction."
Hayeong turned to Namgung Myeong with a smile.
"You're right. It's awkward—an excessive response. But there's one way forward. You lend a hand."
"My hand how...?"
"Your martial prowess seems a cut above Dang Mujin's, from what I can tell. Accompany him, keep watch, and ensure he causes no trouble—that would set my mind at ease. If that's too much for you, find someone else to fill the role."
"I can do it."
Namgung Myeong answered without hesitation.
It wasn't as if anything would change. Ever since meeting Dang Mujin while working at Cheongjasu, they had stuck together without fail.
Moreover, Halyeong's explanation of heart demons had sparked a faint idea in Namgung Myeong for treating him. He had endured a similar affliction in his own childhood.
In a stern voice, Halyeong pressed him once more.
"Don't answer rashly. Should word reach me that Dang Mujin harmed someone while in the throes of his heart demon, I will hunt you down and demand payment for it. Hiding won't help. If you run, I'll go straight to your clan. Is that acceptable?"
Namgung Myeong's eyes flew wide. He had assumed no one present—Dang Mujin aside—knew he hailed from the Namgung Clan.
Had someone tipped her off in secret? No, that was impossible. The only one who could have was Dang Mujin, and he had been out of the Golden Justice Pavilion basement for less than half a shichen.
Hayeong chuckled softly.
"What, surprised?"
"...Yes."
"I've known since our first encounter. Your gait, your gestures, even your breathing—they all betray your origins. You can't fool these eyes."
Namgung Myeong shuddered.
His uncle Namgung Jinyah's words before his murim debut came back to him.
"Myeong-ah, once you're out in the jianghu, beware three kinds of people."
"Who?"
"'Old folk, women, and children—mind them well.'"
Only now did Namgung Myeong realize: Halyeong was an old woman who was also a child.
If one had to name the most dangerous person in the vast Central Plains, it would surely be her.
Her threat to visit the Namgung Clan and demand recompense was no bluff.
And should that day come, Namgung Jincheon would hardly shield him.
More likely, his father would punish him and cast him from the clan—dooming him to a lifetime without paternal recognition.
And yet Namgung Myeong nodded once more.
"It's fine. I can handle it."
"Very well."
Venerable Hyangbaek and Venerable Minglian wore baffled expressions, evidently unclear on how events had unfolded.
With generous magnanimity, Halyeong asked the pair,
"Venerable Hyangbaek, Venerable Minglian. Will you release Dang Mujin? He will answer to me and Myeong."
Their lofty taesabu, rather than commanding, was seeking their permission.
Venerable Hyangbaek and Venerable Minglian nodded as one.
*
"My thanks for the assistance."
Descending Emei Mountain on the road back to Chengdu, Dang Mujin expressed his gratitude to Halyeong. No matter how tolerable his underground stay had been, her help was undeniable.
Hayeong waved it off airily.
"No need. This wasn't mere charity."
"Pardon?"
"Back in Zhongjing, I told you a time would come when I'd need your aid. Remember?"
"Yes."
"When preparations are complete, come find me. There's something you must handle in Yi Chung's stead."
Hayeong didn't wait for his reply.
She gave Dang Mujin's back a couple friendly pats, flashed a playful grin, and then departed with steps swift as the wind.